CONNECTICUT
Gun owners rush to register weapons
Connecticut gun owners are rushing to register certain firearms and ammunition that will be considered illegal contraband in the new year. People have been lining up early at the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection’s headquarters in Middletown in recent days to turn in applications for assault weapons certificates and high-capacity magazine declaration forms so they can legally keep the items. Under a wide-ranging gun control law, passed earlier this year in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, gun owners have until Tuesday to submit the paperwork.
CALIFORNIA
Nativity features Martin, not Jesus
A Southern California church nativity scene is featuring a bloody Trayvon Martin in place of the infant Jesus in an effort to stir a community conversation about gun violence. The nativity scene on the lawn of the Claremont United Methodist Church — which shows Martin in a hoodie, slumped over and bleeding — was created by 57-year-old congregant and artist John Zachary. Zachary said he wanted to make the Nativity relevant to modern times and generate a community conversation. Some people call the depiction sacrilegious.
SPAIN
Mass backs new abortion law
Thousands of people attended a Mass in Madrid to honor family values and support government moves aimed at tightening restrictions on abortion in Spain. Archbishop Antonio Rouco Varela led Sunday’s outdoor service in Colon square and said “the gift of life” should be considered sacred and not tampered with. The conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Dec. 20 gave his Cabinet approval for a new abortion law that would allow terminations only in the case of rape or when there is a serious health risk to the mother or fetus. The law needs parliament’s approval.
CHICAGO
Pregnant teen shot to death
Suburban Chicago police investigating the fatal Christmas shooting of a pregnant teenager as an alleged drug deal went awry nearby have charged her boyfriend and his brother with first-degree murder. Eva Casara, 17, whose baby survived and remains hospitalized, wasn’t an intended target — nor was she involved in the situation police believe was a drug deal that spiraled out of control, Dolton Police Chief John Franklin said. Charged are her boyfriend, Anthony Lee, 16, and his brother, Diante Lamont Coakley, 21. Casara, who was 5½ months pregnant, was pronounced dead early Thursday.
CALIFORNIA
Time short for brain-dead girl’s kin
The family of a California girl declared brain dead after complications from tonsil surgery was running out of time Sunday to find a new facility to take her in and keep her on a ventilator. A judge’s ruling will allow Children’s Hospital Oakland to remove 13-year-old Jahi McMath from life support at 5 p.m. today unless her family appeals. The family is now pinning its hopes on a New York facility after two California care homes withdrew offers to accept the teen.
EL SALVADOR
Evacuations begin near volcano
Authorities in El Salvador evacuated an area around the Chaparrastique volcano after the peak shot a cloud of gas and ash about 3 miles into the air on Sunday. Civil Defense Director Jorge Melendez said a yellow alert had been issued and investigators had been sent to the area to look for signs of fresh lava, but that none has been detected so far. The 7,025-foot volcano is about 90 miles east of San Salvador, the capital. Its last significant eruption was in 1976.
UKRAINE
Protest turnout slows down
About 20,000 people protested in Ukraine’s capital on Sunday, maintaining more than a month of rallies opposing the government’s decision to shelve a key deal with the European Union. But the turnout on a clear, cold day was markedly lower than at previous rallies, which had attracted hundreds of thousands of people. The demonstrations were sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision last month to spike an EU deal in favor of closer ties with Russia.
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