D.C. Man Pleads Guilty in Transgender Killing


WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a 23-year-old District man faces up to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty in last August's slaying of a transgender man in Southeast.

Derrick Antwan Lewis of 18th Street, NE, pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court Wednesday to manslaughter while armed. He's expected to be sentenced in November and faces a mandatory five years behind bars.

Authorities have said Lewis shot 26-year-old Aaryn Marshall of Newcomb Street, SE, two times in the chest before dumping the body in a grassy area on Aug. 20, 2003.



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GOP Platform Draft Seeks Gay Marriage Ban
By CALVIN WOODWARD
The Associated Press


NEW YORK - Republican leaders are pushing for a constitutional ban on gay marriage in the GOP platform, opening a new point of contention between social conservatives and outnumbered but vocal factions fighting to give the party's statement of principles a more moderate tone.

A draft of the platform, shown to delegates on the eve of hearings Wednesday, set up a noisy debate just days before the Republican National Convention, highlighting divisions over gay rights, abortion rights and President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research.