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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The New York state Senate is expected to give final approval later today to a measure legalizing medical marijuana, under strict guidelines. The state Assembly passed the legislation 113-13. The so-called Compassionate Care Act would legalize certain forms of marijuana for severely ill patients. The legislation does not allow the drug to be sold in plant form or smoked.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama plans today to direct the labor Department to draft rules ensuring same-sex couples can take emergency leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act regardless of what state they live in. Obama is pushing to expand protections by allowing same-sex couples to take advantage of the same federal benefits available to married heterosexual couples.
GENEVA (AP) — There's been a big surge in refugees forced from their homes by war or other violence. The United Nations refugee agency reports that at the end of last year, 51.2 million people had been forced from their homes worldwide, the highest figure of displacement since World War II. The agency says the bloodletting in Syria and other recent crises have lot to do with the surge.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Heavy rain and flooding have devastated parts of northeastern Bulgaria, killing at least 12 people and leaving an unknown number of others missing. Police officials in the worst-hit Black Sea resort town of Varna say torrential rain flooded large parts of the coastal town. A state of emergency is in effect.
DENVER (AP) — Firefighters with cadaver dogs continue their search for a person believed to have died in the explosion of a suburban Denver home. The body is thought to be somewhere beneath the smoldering wreckage. The blast leveled the home and blew out neighbor's windows. The cause is also under investigation.
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