Combined briefs

WASHINGTON

Man sets self on fire

on National Mall

A man set himself on fire on the National Mall in the nation’s capital as passers-by rushed over to help douse the flames, officials and witnesses said Friday afternoon. The reason for the self-immolation was not immediately clear and the man’s identity was not disclosed. But it occurred in public view, on a central national gathering place, in a city still rattled by a mass shooting last month and a high-speed car chase outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday that ended with a woman being shot dead by police. The man on the Mall suffered life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to the hospital. He was standing by himself in the center portion of the Mall when he emptied the contents of a red gasoline can on himself and set himself on fire moments later, said Katy Scheflen, who witnessed it as she walked across the area.

WASHINGTON

Repairs planned for

health care website

Bedeviled by technology glitches that frustrated millions of consumers, the Obama administration is taking down its health overhaul website for repairs this weekend. Enrollment functions of the healthcare.gov site will be unavailable during off-peak hours, the Health and Human Services Department said Friday. The department did not release a schedule for hours of operation, but an HHS spokeswoman said the site would be taken down at 1 a.m. EDT each night for a few hours. The website will remain open for general information.

KANSAS

Same-sex couples must

file separate taxes

Kansas tax officials issued a ruling Friday saying same-sex couples must file their state income tax returns as if each person were single, even if they filed as married on their federal returns. The Kansas Revenue Department said it plans to provide a worksheet in its instruction booklet for calculating income, deductions and other data separately for each taxpayer. The agency contends the approach adheres to the Kansas Constitution’s definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. In August, the federal government said that all legally married gay couples will be able to file joint federal tax returns even if they reside in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages.

SALT LAKE CITY

Women’s roles highlight

Mormon conference

An ongoing debate about the limited role of women within the Mormon faith will take its place alongside sermons and announcements during a weekend church conference that brings 100,000 members to Utah. Women can hold many leadership positions in The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints, but they can’t be bishops of congregations or presidents of stakes, which include a dozen congregations. The church’s highest leaders, called the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, includes only men. The Mormon church has said the doctrine of the Church holds that men and women are equal, but in regard to the lay clergy, “The Church follows the pattern set by the Savior when it comes to priesthood ordination,” meaning women aren’t ordained.

FLORIDA

2 teens shot

outside school

Authorities say two teenage boys were shot and wounded outside an Orlando private school. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reports that a fight broke out in the parking lot of Agape Christian Academy shortly after classes let out Friday afternoon. When deputies arrived, they found a 16-year-old student suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip. The suspected shooter, who is not a student at the school, reportedly fled in a car with several other males. Authorities say the fight was apparently the result of an ongoing feud. Witnesses told deputies that a 17-year-old student had also been hit by a stray bullet or shrapnel, but family members had already taken him to a hospital.

MONTANA

Accused of killing mate,

bride pleads not guilty

A newlywed bride accused of pushing her husband off a cliff to his death in Glacier National Park after having second thoughts about her marriage pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday. Jordan Linn Graham, 22, appeared in U.S. District Court in Missoula on a new federal grand jury indictment charging her with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and making a false statement about the death of Cody Lee Johnson. The Kalispell couple had been married for eight days when Johnson, 25, disappeared July 7. Graham originally told investigators that Johnson’s “buddies from Washington probably came and got him,” according to the indictment.

SAN FRANCISCO

Man denies charges

of online drug sales

A San Francisco man denies charges that he operated an encrypted website where users could anonymously shop for drugs such as heroin and LSD, his attorney said on Friday. “We deny all charges. That’s the end of the discussion,” said federal public defender Brandon LeBlanc, who is representing defendant Ross Ulbricht. The denial came after Ulbricht, 29, looking calm, appeared in federal court in red prison clothes and shackles for a bail hearing. LeBlanc asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero to postpone the hearing, saying the case was complex. Spero granted the request and rescheduled the hearing for Oct. 9. Ulbricht has been charged in New York with narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering in connection with the website known as Silk Road, which is believed to have collected more than $1 billion in revenue.

MISSOURI

Social media fuels

dangerous goals

Experts in eating disorders are concerned about an Internet-fueled trend in which teenage girls and young women pursue an elusive and possibly dangerous weight-loss goal: to become so slender that their thighs don’t touch even when their feet are together. Specialists say achieving a so-called thigh gap is risky and virtually impossible. But some exceptionally thin models have the gap, which is upheld as a beauty achievement on countless Tumblr pages, blogs and other social media sites. Studies suggest that peer pressure from social media plays a significant role in eating disorders. A 2011 study at the University of Haifa found that adolescent girls who spent the most time using Facebook had a greater chance of developing a negative body image and an eating disorder.

OREGON

Boy, 14, kills 2

on hunting trip

A deer hunting trip in northeastern Oregon turned into a tragedy when a 14-year-old boy killed two others, including his foster father, at the cabin where the group was staying, authorities said. The boy then accidentally shot and wounded himself. Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer also said two guns were involved — a hunting rifle and a revolver — and the shootings both occurred around midnight Wednesday, with one victim shot inside a cabin and the other one outside. Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer would not say whether a motive had been established, and said he filed a probable cause affidavit listing two counts each of homicide and unlawful use of a weapon, but what charges would be filed would be up to the district attorney. District Attorney Ryan Joslin has not said whether the boy would be charged.