World/Nation briefs May 11, 2014

Twitter proposal brings Texans cheerleader to prom

CROSBY, Texas - Michael Ramirez is a high school football player who spent most of his time on the bench last season and works part-time at a local McDonalds. Caitlyn is a Texans cheerleader whose life is devoted to intense workouts, coaching tumbling classes and studying communications at the University of Houston.

Yet 10,000 retweets later, the two were a prom couple.

For "Big Mike," as he's been known to his friends since his sophomore year at Crosby High School in suburban Houston, it all started as a joke during 3rd period, when Caitlyn followed him on a "Twitter following spree."

"I was all like, 'what if I took a Texans cheerleader to prom?'" Ramirez recalled asking his classmate. "He was like, that would be pretty cool."

So Ramirez sent Caitlyn a message. "If I get 10,000 retweets will you go to prom with me (insert smiley face.) you will get asked in a cute way!"

"Of course I will," responded Caitlyn, who according to Texans' policy isn't allowed to give her last name.

"Alrighttt!" Ramirez exclaimed.

Twenty-seven hours later, the high school senior who had recently broken up with his girlfriend had a date - as well as a lot a series of semi-envious, semi-genuine "attaboy" tweets from friends and dozens of new Twitter followers.

"It was just as a joke," Ramirez said. "I didn't think I was going to actually get it."

And he really didn't think it would attract attention beyond Crosby, a town of 2,300 people on the outskirts of Houston.

That one Twitter message, though, made Ramirez's prom a bit more than he originally had in mind. Not only were there TV cameras and microphones eager to talk to him about the whole thing, his date was a bit of mystery.

The Texans decided the prom would be a blind date. All Ramirez knew about Caitlyn before they arrived at Churrascos, the upscale Latin American restaurant where they dined Saturday before prom, was that her favorite color is pink and she likes sushi.

Arkansas issues same-sex marriage licenses

EUREKA SPRINGS, Ark. - Gay marriage arrived in the Bible Belt on Saturday, beginning with two women who had traveled overnight to ensure they'd be first in line.

"Thank God," Jennifer Rambo said after Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a marriage license to her and Kristin Seaton, a former volleyball player at the University of Arkansas. The Fort Smith couple wed moments later on a sidewalk near the courthouse; the officiant wore a rainbow-colored dress.

In total, 15 licenses were issued for same-sex couples in northwest Arkansas' Carroll County, Osborn said.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza paved the way Friday with a ruling that removed a 10-year-old barrier, saying a constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2004 banning gay marriage was "an unconstitutional attempt to narrow the definition of equality." Piazza's ruling also overturned a 1997 state law banning gay marriage.

But because Piazza didn't issue a stay, Arkansas' 75 county clerks were left to decide for themselves whether to grant marriage licenses.

Jonathan refused help to search for kidnapped girls - for weeks

LAGOS, Nigeria - The president of Nigeria for weeks refused international help to search for more than 300 girls abducted from a school by Islamic extremists, one in a series of missteps that have led to growing international outrage against the government.

The United Kingdom, Nigeria's former colonizer, first said it was ready to help in a news release the day after the mass abduction on April 15, and made a formal offer of assistance on April 18, according to the British Foreign Office. And the U.S. has said its embassy and staff agencies offered help and were in touch with Nigeria "from day one" of the crisis, according to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Yet it was only on Tuesday and Wednesday, almost a month later, that President Goodluck Jonathan accepted help from the United States, Britain, France and China.

The delay underlines what has been a major problem in the attempt to find the girls: an apparent lack of urgency on the part of the government and military, for reasons that include a reluctance to bring in outsiders as well as possible infiltration by the extremists.

Jonathan bristled last week when he said U.S. President Barack Obama, in a telephone conversation about aid, had brought up alleged human rights abuses by Nigerian security forces.

Ukraine's new PM gains stature with image of integrity

KIEV, Ukraine - When new Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk invited anti-corruption activists to his apartment in Kiev last month, the first thing he showed off was his toilet. "See for yourself," Yatsenyuk joked. "It's not gold."

It was a jab at ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, who along with his government cronies had a notorious penchant for gaudy luxury.

Yatsenyuk's interim government is seeking to carry out sweeping reforms to break from a culture of self-interest, cynicism and corruption that left the country on the verge of bankruptcy. Images of chandeliers, gilded pillars and ornate marble flooring that emerged from Yanukovych's mansion after he fled caused revulsion across Ukraine.

By contrast, Yatsenyuk flies economy, lets whistleblowers into his home and readily admits to mistakes. Those qualities have helped him grow in stature and win support for his administration - even as Ukraine struggles to avoid a possible breakup.

Yatsenyuk leads a motley team of young pro-Western professionals, idealists, nationalists and heroes of the Maidan protests - named after the square that was the magnet of dissent - as well as veterans of rough-and-tumble Ukrainian politics.

- The Associated Press