FRANCE

Lawmakers approve same-sex marriage The French National Assembly on Tuesday authorized same-sex marriage and adoption by gay couples, despite France's long history as a homeland for Roman Catholic tradition. The legislation, passed in a 329-229 vote, was qualified as France's most far-reaching social change since abolition of the death penalty in 1981. The measure is to be taken up in April by the Senate and passed into law.

EGYPT

Police officers protest Morsi government Hundreds of police officers shut down the headquarters of Egypt's Interior Ministry in at least seven provincial capitals Tuesday in protests against what they called political exploitation by the government of President Mohammed Morsi. The demonstrations were a rare instance of open dissent by the country's security forces. Officials of a police union that called for a strike Tuesday charged that Morsi and his Islamist allies had used the police to beat back demonstrations by his political opponents and blamed officers for deaths.

RUSSIA

Law would ban stock holdings for some President Vladimir Putin introduced a draft law Tuesday that would ban senior Russian officials from holding bank accounts or stocks outside Russia, the latest in a series of measures intended to insulate the country's governance from foreign influences. The measure is expected to become law.

WASHINGTON

Treasury posts first surplus since 2008 The U.S. government posted a January budget surplus for the first time in five years, reflecting higher revenue from payroll and individual income taxes. Receipts exceeded outlays by $2.88 billion, compared with a $27.4 billion deficit in January 2012, according to Treasury Department data issued Tuesday in Washington. The nation had a $17.8 billion surplus in January 2008.

Bill seeks burial rights for Hmong soldiers Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced legislation to give 6,900 former Hmong fighters living in the United States the right to be buried in national cemeteries. The effort comes after the military denied permission for Gen. Vang Pao, a Hmong leader who died in California in 2011, to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Vang was among the Hmong soldiers who fought in the CIA-backed secret war in Laos during the Vietnam War.

UTAH

Police: 3 killed in drug house shooting A suspect was on the run after three people were shot to death and one was wounded at a known drug house in suburban Salt Lake City, causing temporary lockdowns at several area schools. Police searched Midvale for David Fresques, 25, who left his car at a nearby Motel 6. Fresques was paroled in November on a robbery conviction.

DELAWARE

Texas man identified as courthouse shooter A 68-year-old man whose son was engaged in a bitter custody battle was identified Tuesday as the man who opened fire in a Wilmington courthouse lobby, killing his former daughter-in-law and another woman. The gunman, Thomas Matusiewicz of Edcouch, Texas, fatally shot himself.

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