user: Washington National Cathedral to wed same-sex couples
updated 11:43 AM EST, Wed January 9, 2013

(CNN) -- When laws went into effect in three states for same-sex couples to marry, many were quick to line up at their city halls to exchange vows. Now they may do so in one of the nation's most prominent churches -- the Washington National Cathedral.

Most Americans know the house of God, also called the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, as a place where sacred rites are carried out on behalf of the nation. It has been host to the funerals of numerous presidents and of inaugural prayer services for four presidents, including Barack Obama.

But it is also an active house of worship in the Episcopalian Church, said the Cathedral's dean, Gary Hall. The denomination has developed a blessing rite that mirrors current wedding ceremonies for heterosexual couples and allows each bishop to decide to allow same-sex marriages in their churches or not.

Bishop Mariann Budde decided to allow the rite, since same-sex marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and now in neighboring Maryland as well, Hall said.

It was Budde's decision that led Hall to create the same-sex rite.

He sees it as "another historic step toward greater equality."

The states of Washington, Maine and Maryland all legalized same-sex marriages in referendums during the 2012 general election. It was already legal in the nation's capital.

In March, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two appeals cases related to same-sex marriage -- California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal benefits to same-sex couples.

The American Episcopal Church is intimately connected with the Church of England, which last week approved the advancement of male priests in same-sex committed relationships to the position of bishop. But those relationships must be celibate.

City halls in Baltimore; Portland, Maine; and Seattle erupted in celebration as the first same-sex couples tied the knot in December and January. Seattle's ceremony included 133 couples, who walked outside and down rain-slickened steps afterward, where they were greeted by cheers, confetti and a brass band celebrating the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington.

To wed at the National Cathedral, one member of the couple must be baptized into the Church, and both must commit to a Christian marriage of "lifelong faithfulness, love, forbearance and mutual comfort."

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Same-sex couples may now marry in the nation's most prominent church -- the Washington National Cathedral.
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Sanders calls this move the ultimate booty builder. Hold heavy dumbbells down by your sides (A). "Don't be afraid to venture into the land of 15, 20, or 25 pounds," says Sanders. "It always amazes me that women carry around a 25-­pound baby in one arm with no problem, but as soon as I hand them a 25-­pound dumbbell, they look at me like I'm crazy." Take a big step forward, keeping your torso leaned slightly over that leg (B). Press into that front foot to pull the rear one in. Start with "wedding march" style steps, bringing the feet together in between strides, then advance to fully alternating your lunges. Whatever you do, stride large. "Big steps work more glutes," says Sanders. Start with a rep scheme of 10 steps down and 10 steps back for three sets with a minute rest in between.

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Fitness fads come and go as surely as jean styles fluctuate from bell­bottom to skinny (and back again), but there are certain movement patterns that...
Explosion at Apple Supplier Caused by Dust, China Says
SHANGHAI — An explosion that killed three workers and injured 15 others last week at a Chinese factory that supplies products to Apple was caused by combustible dust, according to a preliminary investigation by the local authorities.

Firemen at the Foxconn factory in Chengdu, China, on Friday in a still image taken from television.

The explosion, which occurred Friday in the southwestern city of Chengdu, led to the partial shutdown of a plant operated by Foxconn, one of the world’s biggest contract electronics makers and a major supplier to companies like Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sony and Apple.

The shutdown created worries about supply disruptions for some Apple products, including the iPad, which experts say was being produced at the Chengdu plant. The aftermath of the explosion is also the latest problem facing Foxconn, which last year experienced a rash of worker suicides at several of its Chinese facilities.

Apple and Foxconn, a division of the Hon Hai Group of Taiwan, issued statements after the explosion last Friday saying that they regretted the tragic accident and that the cause of the blast was under investigation.

City officials in Chengdu said the explosion had been caused by combustible dust in an air duct at a polishing workshop.

Foxconn and Apple each declined to say which products were being produced at the Chengdu facility. Foxconn is one of Apple’s biggest suppliers, and the Chengdu complex is a relatively new factory, with 80,000 employees.

IHS iSuppli, a research group, said Monday that the explosion at the Chengdu facility could result in the loss of production of 500,000 Apple iPad 2 tablet computers during the second quarter of this year. IHS iSuppli said that while most of the iPad 2 production was taking place at another Foxconn plant, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, that factory might not be able to compensate for the disruption in Chengdu.

Foxconn has been moving aggressively over the last year to expand its operations in central and western China to keep up with production demands and to recruit more workers from the poorer inland provinces.

Apple has a longstanding relationship with Foxconn, which struggled last year to cope with a rash of worker suicides. Some labor rights groups say they believe the suicides were the result of harsh working conditions at Foxconn.

Foxconn, however, insists it treats its workers well. After the suicides, it hired counselors and installed large nets on some buildings to prevent suicides.

Apple later praised Foxconn’s efforts, saying the company had “definitely saved lives.” But Apple, like other global companies, has to deal with continuing problems that crop up in China’s huge factory zones. Apple, which has a strict code of conduct for its global suppliers, audits plants every year and publishes its findings.

Last year, Apple said its audits found that nine supplier factories in China had hired workers below the age of 16, the legal working age, and that other plants had falsified audit materials and even coached workers on how to respond to questions from auditors. Apple also said in its report that at a supplier factory in the city of Suzhou, 137 workers were exposed last year to the toxic chemical n-hexane, causing adverse health effects.

The Apple “Supplier Responsibility Report,” however, did not specifically name Foxconn for labor violations.

Some labor rights activists say Foxconn’s working conditions are poor and that Apple and Foxconn have failed to address complaints by workers.

On Monday, a Hong Kong-based labor rights group called Students and & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior said that it had noted a problem with “aluminum dust” in Foxconn’s Chengdu plant last March, when it issued a report on the company’s working conditions there.

The group said workers at the Chengdu factory had complained this year that “the ventilation of the department is poor. Workers polish the iPad cases to make them shiny. In the process, there is lots of aluminum dust floating in the air. Workers always breathe in aluminum dust even though they put on masks. When workers take off their cotton gloves, their hands are covered with aluminum dust.”

After the statement was released by the group, Foxconn issued its own statement saying it was “unfortunate” that the Hong Kong group was seeking to “capitalize on the tragic accident” with a statement that misrepresented “Foxconn’s commitment to the health and safety of our employees.”
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assistant: A facility in Chengdu operated by Foxconn, one of the worldâs biggest contract electronics manufacturers, had to be partially shut down.