In the Nation

WASHINGTON - A law recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states and countries took effect yesterday in the capital, and a D.C. councilman said he planned to follow up with a bill that would allow gay-marriage ceremonies in the district.

The D.C. Council approved the recognition bill in May. Congress, which has the final say over the city's laws, had 30 days to review it but took no action. Under the law, gay and lesbian couples wed in other jurisdictions have the same benefits and rights as other married people under D.C. law.

Council member David Catania said he intended to introduce by the end of the year a bill that would allow same-sex marriages to be performed in Washington. - AP

WASHINGTON - Basic questions remain unanswered over how to prosecute or otherwise deal with hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Obama administration lawyers acknowledged yesterday, just over six months before the prison is expected to close.

The Defense and Justice Departments are reviewing each of the 229 cases of terror suspects and foreign fighters now at the U.S. Navy prison in Cuba, a process that Pentagon general counsel Jeh C. Johnson said would be finished "before the end of the year."

President Obama has ordered the prison closed by Jan. 22, but it's unclear how many detainees will face trial, or where, and how many will be held indefinitely. Those decisions, the lawyers told the Senate Armed Services Committee, will partly determine how many legal rights the prisoners have. - AP

WASHINGTON - A widespread and unusually resilient computer attack that began July 4 knocked out the Web sites of several government agencies, including some that are responsible for fighting cyber crime, the Associated Press has learned.

The Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission, and Transportation Department Web sites were all down at varying points over the holiday weekend and into this week, according to officials inside and outside the government.

Some of the sites were still experiencing problems yesterday evening. Cyber attacks on South Korea government and private sites also may be linked, officials there said. U.S. officials refused to publicly discuss any details.

- AP

Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega asked the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday to block his extradition to France to face money-laundering charges, contending that as a prisoner of war he must be allowed to return home. Noriega has lost four previous efforts to persuade federal courts to stop the French extradition.

Alberto Gonzales, who resigned as U.S. attorney general two years ago, was hired by Texas Tech University to teach political science this fall.