Week3-Same sex marriage, legal, the US

Guam Couple Seek to Overturn Ban on Same-Sex Marriage

APR 13 2015, 6:07 PM

A lesbian couple sued the U.S. island of Guam on Monday, five days after they were denied a wedding license, in just the second legal challenge to restrictions on same-sex marriage in the U.S. territories.

Kathleen Aguero and Loretta Pangelinan, both 28, said in a 25-page suit (PDF) filed in U.S. District Court for Guam in Hagatna that while they could have chosen to fly to a mainland state that recognizes same-sex marriage, they "wish to marry on Guam so that all their friends and family may attend and participate in their joyous occasion."

The suit, which names Gov. Eddie Calvo and territorial Registrar Carolyn Garrido as defendants, says Aguero and Pangelinan sought a wedding license last Wednesday in the village of Mangilao but officials refused to accept the application — even though Guam is part of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.

The suit says the clerk's office gave Aguero and Pangelinan two documents — a 2009 opinion from the Guam attorney general's office and a copy of the Guam Code, both specifying that "marriage means the legal union of persons of the opposite sex."

"We're seeking marriage equality for all," R. Todd Thompson, the women's attorney, told NBC station KUAM of Hagatna. "We are asking the judge to obey the 9th Circuit precedent, which says that sex is not an appropriate distinction to make when filing for a marriage license."

In a statement, Calvo's office said: "Guam law, as currently written, prescribes marriage as between a man and a woman. Given this information, unless the law is changed by the Legislature, or unless a judicial edict is issued declaring the Guam law to be inorganic or unconstitutional, he believes the Department of Public Health should continue to enforce the law as written."

Only one other case has been filed addressing the legality of same-sex marriage in the U.S. territories, whose residents are U.S. citizens but who don't have all the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.

Puerto Rico's justice secretary said last month that he would ask a federal appeals court to overturn the island's ban on same-sex marriage as "legally indefensible" in a suit filed by two Puerto Rico women who were legally married in Massachusetts but whose wedding wasn't recognized on the island.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/guam-couple-seek-overturn-ban-same-sex-marriage-n340886

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-Kathleen Aguero and Loretta Pangelinan

      WHEN-APR 13 2015

      WHAT-Kathleen Aguero and Loretta Pangelinan are seeking marriage equality for all

      WHY-They wish to marry on Guam so that all their friends and family may attend and participate in their joyous occasion

      WHERE-Mangilao

      HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1.lesbian:女同性戀

   2.defendant:被告；辯護的

   3.attorney:律師

   4.judicial:司法的；法庭的

   5.edict:官方命令；勒令

   6.inorganic:無組織的；無生物的

   7.unconstitutional:違反憲法的

   8.citizenship:公民權

   9.joyous:快樂的

 10.prescribe:規定

Week2-Nepal earthquake, 2015, death toll, kill

As time for mourning ends, Nepal turns focus to repair and recovery

By Moni Basu and Manesh Shrestha, CNN

May 7, 2015

On the 13th day of Nepal's tragedy, the nation ended a period of mourning that is customary in Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

Mourners took ritual baths in the Bagmati River and offered prayers for the loved ones they lost in the magnitude-7.8 earthquake that rocked this Himalayan country April 25.

In Kathmandu, the capital, signs of normalcy blossomed next to the scars of disaster.

At Tudikhel, the sprawling city's largest green space, rows of bright blue tents flown in by the Chinese government provided shelter for hundreds of families displaced from their homes.

Under an recreational tent sponsored by Samsung, people sat on the floor watching a Nepalese movie on a large flat screen. Inside another tent, Japanese medics provided care for the sick.

Some people said they would remain here for a while, their homes damaged to the point of being unsafe. Tremors from aftershocks can still be felt here.

The earthquake's death toll now stands at 7,803. The Kathmandu district took the brunt of the losses, with 3,035 fatalities. Nepal's National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC), says 403 people are believed to missing. It's the first time the agency has released a figure of those unaccounted for.

More than 10% of the country's homes were destroyed (299,588) or damaged (269,107), according to NEOC data.

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/07/world/nepal-earthquake-missing/index.html

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO-not given

      WHEN-May 7, 2015

      WHAT-the results of Nepal earthquake 

      WHY-earthquake      

WHERE-Nepal

      HOW-not given

Keywords：

   1.mourn-哀痛；哀悼

   2.customary-習慣上的；合乎習俗的

   3.brunt-衝擊

   4.ritual-儀式的

   5.magnitude-巨大；重大

   6.normalcy-常態；正常

   7.sprawl-使不規則地延伸

   8.tremor-震顫；顫抖

   9.fatality-死亡；死者

  10. sponsor-發起者

Week1-阿帕契醜聞

‘Apache helicopter scandal’ officers to be impeached

By Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

The Control Yuan has voted to impeach 601st Air Cavalry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Lao Nai-cheng (勞乃成) and two other officers over security breaches and rule violations in what came to be known as the “Apache helicopter scandal” earlier this year.

A nine-member Control Yuan committee yesterday said that it had voted unanimously to impeach Lao, a pilot-instructor for the US-made AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.

Brigade commander Major General Chien Tsung-yuan (簡聰淵) was impeached after a unanimous vote, while brigade personnel section head Lieutenant Colonel Tao Kuo-chen (陶國禎) was impeached after an 8-1 vote.

Lao took a group of 26 relatives and friends, including a Japanese man and five domestic caregivers who were foreign nationals, on a private tour of a restricted-access base which houses Apache helicopters and other advanced aircraft.

That visit on March 29 led to a firestorm after one visitor, TV personality Janet Lee (李蒨蓉), posted photographs on Facebook that drew widespread public criticism.

The Control Yuan report accused Lao of “wasting” the NT$40 million (US$1.28 million) the government spent to send him to the US for flight training.

“Lao took the nation’s assets as his own private property. He used the Apache helicopter as a social networking tool and took the helicopter helmet as a prop for a private party. During the investigation, Lao continued to lie about his actions and tried to cover them up. He has brought dishonor to the military,” the report said.

Chien was was the first person to breach base security with a tour for his relatives and friends on Feb. 20 this year, the report said, adding that Lao followed Chien’s example.

The investigation said that Tao was in charge of security and access to the base on March 29, but violated registration requirements and other regulations in permitting Lao’s group to bypass security checks.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/07/08/2003622542

Structure of the Lead：

      WHO- Lao Nai-cheng , Chien Tsung-yuan , Tao Kuo-chen , Janet Lee

      WHEN- not given

      WHAT- investigate

      WHY-Janet Lee (李蒨蓉), posted photographs on Facebook that drew widespread public criticism

      WHERE- The Control Yuan

      HOW- not given

Keywords：

   1.impeach- 彈劾

   2.breach- 突破口

   3.unanimously- 一致

   4.domestic- 國內

   5.lieutenant- 陸軍中尉；海軍上尉

   6.brigade- 旅；隊

   7.bypass- 撇開