Rabbis opposes ban on same-sex marriage

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A group of Reform rabbis endorsed the legalization of homosexual marriages today but stopped short of recommending that rabbis perform the ceremonies.

The 1,750-member Central Conference of American Rabbis is the first major group of Jewish leaders to formally oppose government bans on same-sex marriages.

Most of the comments during the vigorous debate centered on an amendment specifying that the group was not deciding the controversial issue of rabbis officiating over single-sex ceremonies.

The organization expects to vote on single-sex marriage officiation at next year's meeting in Denver.

Teaching evolution still OK in Tennessee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The state Senate voted yesterday to kill a bill that would have let school boards fire teachers who tell students that evolution is fact.

The bill, which dredged up memories of the infamous Scopes ''Monkey Trial,'' would have made the teaching of evolution as fact a form of insubordination. It would have allowed but not required school boards to fire the offenders. It was defeated in a 20-13 vote.

The most famous legal battle over evolution took place in 1925 when Dayton, Tenn., biology teacher John Scopes was convicted in the so-called ''Monkey Trial.'' That conviction was later overturned on technicality.

The law under which Scopes, a substitute biology teacher, was convicted, was tougher than the one rejected by the Senate today: It outright prohibited any teaching of evolution that conflicted with the biblical creation story.