Around the Nation

Seceded Episcopalians Lose Calif. Land Case

SAN FRANCISCO -- California's high court ruled unanimously Monday that three parishes that left the Episcopal Church over its ordination of gay ministers cannot retain ownership of their church buildings and property.

The California Supreme Court ruled that the property belongs to the Episcopal Church because the parishes -- St. James Church in Newport Beach, All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. David's Church in North Hollywood -- agreed to abide by the mother church's rules, which include specific language about property ownership. The churches held deeds to the land in their own names.

The court ruled that Episcopal Church canons made it clear that the property belonged to the individual parishes only as long as they remained part of the bigger church.

"When it disaffiliated from the general church, the local church did not have the right to take the church property with it," Justice Ming Chin wrote for the seven-member court.

The 2003 ordination of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire set off a wide-ranging debate within the church and upset conservative congregations. Since then, four dioceses and about 100 individual parishes have split and set off bitter religious and legal feuds over church doctrine and division of property.

Last year, a Fairfax County judge ruled in favor of 11 congregations in a similar suit, citing that a Civil War-era Virginia law trumped Episcopal canons.

Access to Transcripts Denied in Illinois Case

CHICAGO -- A federal judge declined to release the transcripts of four telephone calls involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), saying that defense lawyers and those recorded by the FBI will have a chance to review and comment on the documents before they are made public.

Chief Judge James F. Holderman's decision means that a special Illinois House committee deciding whether to call for Blagojevich's impeachment will probably complete its investigation this week without access to the FBI tapes. A vote to impeach by the full House is expected this week. "It has become more clear with every day that passes that time is of the essence," said committee counsel David Ellis.

Another hearing is scheduled for Thursday, but attorneys for Blagojevich and his former chief of staff, John Harris, as well as others heard on the tapes, may get up to two weeks to make comments.

Also Monday, the U.S. attorney's office was granted a three-month extension to present evidence and obtain an indictment, with a new deadline of April 7.

8 Killed in Upstate N.Y. House Fire

RICHLAND, N.Y. -- A fast-moving house fire killed eight people, including four young brothers, despite the homeowner's frantic attempts to save them, authorities and a witness said. Only a few blackened fragments of walls remained standing after the fire -- possibly caused by a wood stove -- engulfed the aging two-story house in this Upstate community north of Syracuse. Authorities said they do not suspect arson.

Fire Kills 5 at Shelter in Texas

PARIS, Tex. -- A fire fueled by donated clothes ripped through a homeless shelter in northeastern Texas, killing five residents. Paris Fire Chief Ronnie Grooms said the cause of the fire was unknown, but investigators said a roughly 25-foot-long table piled with donated clothes was a possible starting point. Arson is not suspected, he said.

-- From Staff Reports and News Services