Caroline Cruz was ready to see "The Lion King" on its Richmond opening night. "I expect colorful costumes and great dancing," said 10-year-old Caroline, a dancer herself. Her sister, 13-year-old Eva Cruz, was equally enthusiastic as the girls and their p

WESTFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Police say an 18-year-old woman has died and two other people required hospitalization after a fiery early morning car crash in Westfield. Two other passengers, 22-year-old Randy Smith of Douglas and 18-year-old Ashlin Dion of Hun

The dissenting judge in the Feb. 8 Proposition 8 ruling, N. Randy Smith, claimed that governments have an interest in "responsible procreation theory, justifying the inducement of marital recognition only for opposite-sex couples" because they are the on

The presiding question after Proposition 8's 2-1 defeat last week in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is simple: If an appeal is filed, will the U.S. Supreme Court take the case or take a pass? The answer is: Yes, to both. Contemplating the high cou

This week the earlier court ruling that California’s Proposition 8 is unconstitutional was upheld by U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. And in Washington, the state legislature passed “same-sex marriage” legislation. The governor will sign it on Valent

Undefeated prospect Tom DeBlass needed just 41 seconds to submit Randy Smith with a first-round heel hook in the Ring of Combat 39 main event on Friday at the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The submission over Smith -- who became a th

A change of opponent on roughly one week's notice and the news that his light heavyweight title defense would become a heavyweight title bout didn't hinder Tom DeBlass from doing what he does best. Winning. The #3-ranked light heavyweight on the 2012 Wor

Ring of Combat 39 will take place on Friday, February 10 from the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The main event will feature highly-touted light heavyweight Scouting Report prospect Tom DeBlass as he battles late replacement Ra

Ring of Combat 39 will take place on Friday, February 10 from the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The main event will feature highly-touted light heavyweight Scouting Report prospect Tom DeBlass as he battles late replacement Ra

9th Circuit Judge N. Randy Smith, who wrote the dissent in the court's Prop 8 ruling One of the most remarked-upon aspects of the first round of Prop 8 litigation, that concluded this week with a 2-1 defeat for the initiative at the 9th Circuit Court of

Supporters of same-sex marriage jubilantly marched in the streets of West Hollywood Tuesday evening in celebration of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that Proposition 8, the initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state, is unconstitutio

This is Scripps research professor Corinne Lasmézas. Credit: Photo by Randy Smith, courtesy of the Scripps Research Institute Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal

More than 50 people who gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown San Francisco greeted the ruling with cheers. They held signs and waved rainbow flags. Backers of Proposition 8 said they would ask the Supreme Court to overturn the 9th Circuit

On Tuesday, Mormons—the religious group that invested most heavily in the 2008 California Proposition 8 campaign to ban same-sex marriage—responded to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision finding the measure unconstitutional. The first LDS response

SAN FRANCISCO — Gay marriage foes now have a simple choice in the legal battle over California’s Proposition 8: ask a federal appeals court to reconsider its ruling invalidating the voter-approved ban on gay nuptials, with low odds of success, or move sw

A sign marks the site of a previous fatal accident along the highway where Edward Sherwood, of Hawthorne, was killed in an accident when a Ford Ranger driven by Grand Island resident Chelsea De Priest, who had her baby in the vehicle, heading east on SR

PHOENIX -- A federal court ruling Tuesday overturning California's ban on gay marriage could provide the legal fodder to overturn a similar voter-approved constitutional amendment here. In a split decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the

Logically, Judge Reinhardt’s opinion moves forward in three steps: first, he determines whether there is a valid case for the court to decide at all (yes); second, he searches for the narrowest ground upon which the case could be decided (finding it in a

Editor’s Note: Jennifer C. Pizer is the legal director and the Arnold D. Kassoy Senior Scholar of Law at The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a national research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy. By Jennifer