Milwaukee

Environmentalist politician dies at 89

Gaylord Nelson, the folksy Democratic senator from Wisconsin who helped start the modern environmental movement with the creation of Earth Day 35 years ago, died Sunday. He was 89.

Nelson died of cardiovascular failure at his home in the Washington suburb of Kensington, Md., said Bill Christofferson, his biographer and family spokesman.

A conservationist years before it was fashionable, Nelson was recognized as one of the world’s foremost environmental leaders.

The former governor and senator started Earth Day in 1970, when an estimated 20 million people participated. April 22 is still celebrated today by planting trees, cleaning up trash and lobbying for a clean environment.

In the Senate, Nelson had a reputation for cocktail party stunts, like ripping up a Milwaukee phone book (there was a trick to it) or doing one-arm push-ups.

Atlanta

Church reps endorse same-sex marriage

A committee of United Church of Christ representatives approved a resolution Sunday that moves the church one step closer to becoming the largest Christian denomination to endorse same-sex marriage.

The resolution supported by the UCC’s president, John H. Thomas, drew overwhelming support and was recommended for approval when the General Synod votes on it today.

It would specify that bisexual and transgender persons merit the same support and protections as gays and lesbians. The wording was revised Sunday, however, to included the “recognition that this resolution may not reflect the views or current understanding of all bodies within the gathered church.”

UCC churches are autonomous, meaning the leadership does not create policy for its more than 5,700 congregations.

Oregon

Autopsy shows missing boy died of head trauma

A 4-year-old boy who police say was killed by his stepgrandmother and left along a rural road in the foothills of the Cascade Range died from a blow to the head, authorities said Sunday.

An autopsy conducted a day after Christine Coffman led police to her stepgrandson’s body determined the cause of death to be blunt force head trauma, said Officer Kevin Krebs, a spokesman for the Milwaukie Police Department.

Krebs did not reveal how authorities believe the child was killed or how many times he had been struck.

Coffman, 43, was charged Saturday with aggravated murder in the death of Matal Sanchez, who had disappeared Wednesday from his home in the Portland suburb of Milwaukie about 25 miles from where his body was found.

Coffman is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. It wasn’t immediately known if she had an attorney who could comment.

Maine

Bus filled with children rolls over on highway

A school bus taking kids from a summer camp to an amusement park rolled over Sunday, injuring several children.

All 37 children aboard were taken to hospitals for treatment or as a precaution, said Maj. Randy Nichols of the Maine State Police. None of the injuries was considered life-threatening.

The two campers most seriously injured were transported to a hospital in Portland, one by Lifeflight helicopter and the other by ambulance.

The other children, ages 12 and 13, were taken to hospitals in Brunswick and Lewiston. State Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland said most of the injuries appeared to be bumps and bruises.

The bus was part of a convoy of buses and vans carrying youngsters from Camp Modin to Funtown USA, a popular amusement area. Ten counselors and the driver were on board the bus.

Washington

Hard-line court nominee may spark filibuster

Senate Judiciary Committee members crystallized the debate over Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s replacement on Sunday, making clear that a hard-line conservative would trigger a furious battle on Capitol Hill that could touch off a Democratic filibuster.

The division emerged amid a conservative lobbying campaign against one possible pick, Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, a longtime Texas friend of President Bush who is considered too moderate by right-wing Republicans.

Bush has said in the past that conservative Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas are the kind of people he admires on the Supreme Court.

Bush was at Camp David mulling over his options, while Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York was urging a summit between senators from both parties and the president.