WASHINGTON

Weiner makes it official, submits letter of resignation

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., has submitted his letter of resignation, ending – he hopes – the sex texting scandal that put the brakes on his career.

Weiner’s letter was received by House leaders Monday, four days after he announced he’d step down.

The missive was addressed to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Secretary of State Cesar Perales. House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were copied.

The letter was a terse one: “I hereby resign as a member of the House of Representatives for the New York’s Ninth Congressional District effective midnight Tuesday, June 21, 2011. It has been an honor to serve the people of Queens and Brooklyn.”

The letter is expected to be entered into the record on the House floor today.

ALBANY, N.Y.

Gay marriage stalls again after closed-door session

Backroom politics faced down hundreds of chanting protesters from each side of the gay marriage debate in New York on Monday as the issue stalled again over whether religious groups could be protected from discrimination charges under a same-sex marriage law.

And Albany’s notoriously entrenched politics won, for now.

After a three-hour, closed-door conference, Senate Republicans emerged without comment.

A vote within the conference to even move the bill to the floor for final legislative approval was pushed to at least today as private talks continue between Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who made same-sex marriage a major initiative.

FIFE, Wash.

Gambling mother charged with child abandonment

Police say a 3-year-old girl was left alone in a Washington state motel room while her mother gambled.

Seattle television station KOMO reported that police were called to the Sunshine Motel about 2 a.m. Monday when the manager found the girl wandering alone in the parking lot.

The mother and her boyfriend returned about 5:30 a.m. and said they had been at a casino and lost track of time, according to reports.

The mother was arrested for investigation of child abandonment and the boyfriend for investigation of drug offenses.

The child is in state care.

DETROIT

City changes how worst schools manage spending

The worst of Detroit’s schools will be pulled out of the district and placed in a system that gives principals and staff more control over spending, hiring and improvement efforts, state officials said Monday.

The overhaul is meant to help address problems in a debt-plagued district where nearly one in five students drops out. While the Detroit Public Schools has had a state-appointed emergency financial manager for two years, the current one said there’s only so much that can be done without more radical change.

“The system is broke and I can’t fix it, and you can’t fix it,” Roy Roberts said at a news conference where the plan was announced.

Up to 45 schools could be moved to the new system in the fall of 2012.

MIDDLESBORO, Ky.

Three workers freed from mine; trapped for 14 hours

Three maintenance workers have been freed and appear in good health after being trapped for 14 hours in a southeastern Kentucky mine. The men were freed Monday about 8:30 p.m.

The three had been on dry ground about 500 feet from the mine entrance since getting caught in the mine at 6:40 a.m. when officials say a collapse at the entrance sent water from a swollen drainage ditch gushing in.

 

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