Nation digest 4/22/03

Two men arrested near Canadian border crossing

DETROIT -- Two men were arrested after police saw them videotaping the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing, and found dynamite, a collapsible baton and shotgun shells in their car.

Officers saw the men during a routine patrol late Sunday, police spokeswoman Bernadette Najor said. The men, who were not identified, were being questioned by the FBI.

"We are trying to find out what their motivation was," Willie Hulon, special agent in charge of the FBI's Detroit office, said Monday.

Police said they holding the men, ages 26 and 30, on a felony charge of possessing a dangerous weapon because the officers found a collapsible baton -- similar to one carried by police -- in their car.

Church rules minister can't marry same-sex couples

BLUE ASH, Ohio -- A court of Presbyterian Church (USA) officials convicted a minister Monday of violating church law for marrying same-sex couples.

In the church's first trial on the practice, the court rebuked the Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken but refrained from suspending him or removing him from ministry. It also acquitted Van Kuiken on another charge accusing him of ordaining gays who won't adhere to a Presbyterian requirement of chastity.

Van Kuiken, 44, pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church in nearby Cincinnati, has acknowledged performing the ceremonies and ordaining gays as elders and deacons. The minister of 19 years contends the church is facing a crisis of theological intolerance.

He said he will appeal the conviction to a commission that oversees Presbyterian churches in Michigan and Ohio. He also said he will continue to ordain gays and to marry same-sex couples.

Students lose Internet access for file sharing

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State University cut off high-speed Internet connections for 220 students in their dorms because they were sharing copyrighted material, the school said Monday.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the move was made after the university received a complaint from a source he would not reveal.

"Upon investigation, we found that the students had publicly listed copyright-infringing materials on their systems to other members of this network," he said.

Music and movie industry groups have urged universities to crack down on the sharing of copyrighted files.

"I was kind of surprised at being caught," said Jason Steiner, a freshman in aerospace engineering. "I was sitting there online and all of a sudden I wasn't, with no idea why."

The connections will be restored once the copyrighted material has been removed, Kendig said.

-- From wire reports