National Briefs

POLITICS

PORTLAND, Maine — Maine voters will decide Tuesday whether to repeal a state law that would allow same-sex couples to marry. If it is repealed, it will be another major defeat for the gay-rights movement, which saw voters in California put a stop to same-sex weddings there last year. The polls have been difficult to interpret. But both sides say the contest will be extremely close and will hinge on turnout, particularly among 18- to 25-year-olds.

ALBANY, N.Y. — A day after Republican state Assemblywoman Dierdre Scozzafava abruptly suspended her campaign for a New York congressional seat, she announced Sunday she’s endorsing Democrat Bill Owens not the Conservative Party candidate favored by fellow Republicans. Scozzafava said Democrat Bill Owens would be better at building on the legacy of Republican John McHugh, who previously represented the 23rd Congressional District. McHugh vacated the seat after accepting a position in the Obama administration as secretary of the Army. The special election to replace him is scheduled for Tuesday.

EDUCATION

WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama today will launch a first-of-its-kind mentoring program with about 20 high school girls from greater Washington. She and White House staffers will act as mentors to high school juniors and sophomores. A similar initiative for young men is coming later, said Catherine McCormick-Lelyveld, the first lady’s spokeswoman.

RECORDS

CONCORD, N.H. — The bouncing mega-meatball record has landed in the East Coast. Matthew Mitnitsky, owner of Nonni’s Italian Eatery in Concord, said Sunday that a 222.5-pound meatball was authenticated as the world’s largest after being weighed by state weights and measures officials. A Guinness Book of World Records official confirmed the big meatball as a record breaker and presented Mitnitsky with a plaque.

RELIGION

HONOLULU — Hawaii marked the canonization of Saint Damien with a Mass and an interfaith celebration that underscored the 19th century priest’s enduring popularity in the islands. More than 1,200 people on Sunday attended the Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, the same church where Damien was ordained in 1864. The church seats about 500, so the overflow crowd watched on television monitors outside.

MILITARY

HOUSTON — Forty members of a Texas infantry regiment and the Japanese-American combat outfit that rescued them during one of World War II’s most famed battles reunited Sunday. The military units marked the 65th anniversary of the rescue at a fundraising gala in Houston hosted by the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation.

FROM WIRE SERVICES

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