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GAY MARRIAGE-UTAH
Face of gay marriage in Utah an unlikely pair
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The young couple that has become the face of gay marriage in Utah is an unlikely pair for the role.
Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity were both raised in conservative religious families that shun gays: Sbeity in a Muslim family in Lebanon and Kitchen in a Utah family that belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
They each came out when they were 16 years old and had parents who struggled to accept the revelations.
They are one of three gay and lesbian couples who are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Utah that led a federal judge to overturn a same-sex marriage ban in December.
They will be in Denver Thursday for a hearing before a federal appeals court that is reviewing Utah's ban.
OVERDUE HELICOPTER-GRAND COUNTY UPDATE
Police: 2 dead in Emery County helicopter crash
((Eds: Updates with fatalities.))
MOAB, Utah (AP) — Authorities say two men searching for elk antlers by helicopter have died after crashing in the Range Creek area of Emery County.
The Grand County Sheriff's Office in a statement Monday said 38-year-old pilot Robin Venuti from Washington, Utah and 36-year-old passenger Albert Rubio of Beaver left Green River Sunday at about 11 a.m.
Steven White tells the Deseret News helicopter crews combed over three counties Sunday and Monday before finding the chopper.
Officials say the helicopter was reported missing about nine hours after the pair set out looking for elk antler sheds.
Search crews from the Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Agriculture scoured Carbon, Emery and Grand counties for evidence of the chopper.
White called the terrain there "treacherous," with narrow, steep cliffs.
RECLUSE CABIN BURGLAR
'Mountain Man' pleads guilty to weapons charges
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A man accused of eluding authorities for several years while burglarizing remote cabins across a wide swath of Utah has pleaded guilty to federal weapons charges.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah says the 46-year-old Troy James Knapp accepted the plea deal Monday in a St. George courtroom.
The agreement calls for a prison sentence of 10 ½ years, pending a judge's approval in June.
Charges of assault against a federal officer and felony weapon possession were dismissed against Knapp, known as the "Mountain Man."
He is accused of shooting at a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter and aiming an assault rifle at other officers before surrendering in April 2013.
Knapp also is charged with more than 40 burglary-related crimes in seven Utah counties.
MOM REPORTS THREAT
Police arrest teens who made social media threats
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Salt Lake City police say a mother's monitoring of her son's Facebook account may have averted a fatal shooting.
Salt Lake police detective Greg Wilking says they arrested two teenagers Friday afternoon at West High School on suspicion of weapons, threat and drugs charges.
Wilking says the mother alerted authorities earlier that day to postings made on Facebook and Instagram by the teens threatening to shoot her son.
He says police found the two teens, ages 16 and 17, in a parked car with a pistol and loaded magazine. They also found marijuana.
The teens' names are being withheld because they are juveniles. They suspect they may have gang ties.
Wilking says the mother's social media vigilance may have prevented a tragedy.
LAKE POWELL RESCUE
30 year-old rescued from Utah rock climbing fall
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A 30-year-old rock climber is in the hospital and is expected to recover after he was struck by a falling chunk of sandstone over the weekend.
The Kane County Sheriff's Office said in a Sunday statement the Colorado man began climbing Lake Powell's Gregory Butte Saturday morning.
Officials say he fell to the end of his rope after grabbing a faulty rock anchor.
They say he was hanging on by his harness when a rock loosened by the anchor fell from above, hitting his helmet.
The climber's friends called police from a boat below.
A team of police agencies reached the man by helicopter before flying him to a hospital in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Officials say the experienced climber had serious injuries but did not give further details.
SPEAR-WIELDING MAN STANDOFF
Spear-wielding man arrested in Cedar City standoff
CEDAR CITY, Utah (AP) — Authorities say they've arrested a Cedar City man accused of barricading himself in his house, setting it on fire and jumping out with a spear and knives taped to his hands.
Police say the incident happened Saturday evening after the 36-year-old man allegedly assaulted a relative and threatened to kill his family and officers who entered the home.
Officers say the man apparently started a fire using accelerants and left through a bedroom window before taunting the police.
He later complied with officers and was booked into the Iron County jail on charges including aggravated arson, domestic violence in the presence of a child and possession of explosives.
HANTAVIRUS-KANE COUNTY
1 case of hantavirus confirmed in Kane County
ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — Health officials say they've confirmed a case of the potentially deadly hantavirus disease in Kane County.
Southwest Utah Public Health Department spokesman David Heaton says an adult was reported sick on Thursday and is receiving medical care.
Hantavirus is found in the droppings, urine and saliva of rodents, especially deer mice. It starts with flu-like symptoms and leads to difficulty breathing.
The last reported case of hantavirus in the department's five-county region was four years ago in Iron County. It's not spread from person to person.
Health officials say the infection can be prevented by avoiding contact with rodents or their droppings.
Authorities advise cleaning up rodent droppings by spraying them with disinfectant and wiping them up with disposable paper towels, rather than vacuuming or sweeping.
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