Court halts gay marriage events in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco on Thursday as Massachusetts lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages in the only state where they have been ruled legal. Teary-eyed couples were quickly turned away at San Francisco's city hall, where 4,161 gay couples have tied the knot in the last month. On the other side of the country, Massachusetts legislators returned to the Capitol to consider a constitutional amendment that would strip gay couples of their court-granted right to marriage but allow civil unions. The amendment won approval during two preliminary votes, but its final passage is far from certain.

Ex-political aide accused of spying for Iraq

NEW YORK -- A former news reporter and press secretary for four members of Congress was charged Thursday with being a paid Iraqi intelligence agent and trying to contact her distant cousin -- the White House chief of staff -- to alter U.S. policy. Susan Lindauer, 41, was taken into custody in her hometown of Takoma Park, Md., and made a brief court appearance in Baltimore, where a federal magistrate ordered a psychiatric evaluation and released her to a halfway house, pending the posting of $500,000 bail. "I'm an anti-war activist and I'm innocent," Lindauer told WBAL-TV outside the Baltimore FBI office. The indictment said she accepted $10,000 for working for the intelligence service from 1999 to 2002, including payments for lodging at the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad and expenses during meetings in New York City with Iraqi agents.

IRS audits increase for high-income taxpayers

WASHINGTON -- The IRS increased its audits of individuals and couples making more than $100,000 last year, but even high-income taxpayers faced low odds of being called upon to document their expenses and deductions. Audits of taxpayers who earned $100,000 or more increased 24 percent between 2002 and 2003 as the IRS searched for unpaid taxes. Most of the increased activity centered on individuals or couples earning $250,000 or more. Despite the stepped-up effort, the IRS audited only one in 95 tax returns filed by high-income taxpayers.

Package prompts closure of Georgia Capitol

ATLANTA -- About 1,400 people were evacuated Thursday from the Georgia Capitol and five other state buildings after a worker handling a package reportedly developed a rash, officials said. The Department of Transportation employee and 12 others who had been near the unopened package were taken to a hospital's decontamination unit. All were being released Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman said. A police bomb squad robot and a hazardous materials team sent into the department's mail room found no indication the package was dangerous. Firefighters took it away in a black garbage bag and the evacuation order was lifted. Tests on the package probably will be completed today.

-- From wire reports