SACRAMENTO (AP) – A 22-year-old Sacramento man has been sentenced to 150 days in jail for his role in the death of a Fijian immigrant.

Shevchenko was convicted in June of disturbing the peace and simple assault for throwing a bottle during a confrontation last summer between two groups at Lake Natoma, about 15 miles east of Sacramento.

Jurors deadlocked on a hate crimes charge that accused Shevchenko of starting a fight with Satender Singh because he believed Singh was gay.

Singh died last July, four days after he was allegedly hit by another man in Shevchenko’s group, Andrey Vusik.

Investigators believe Vusik has fled the country and is wanted by the FBI.

LEWSISTON, Idaho (AP) – Some Democratic campaign buttons made for distribution in Idaho show an unlikely pair: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Larry Craig.

But don’t expect the staunch Republican to throw his support behind Obama or for the presidential candidate to ask Craig to change his mind and run for Senate again. Apparently the button manufacturer picked a picture of the wrong Idaho Larry.

The 3-inch button by Tigereye Design was intended to show Obama beside Larry LaRocco, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, the Lewiston Tribune reported.

Craig is not seeking re-election following his arrest in a Minnesota airport restroom sex sting.

The buttons weren’t ordered by the LaRocco campaign, said Dean Ferguson, LaRocco’s communications director. They appear to have been produced by a commercial firm that makes campaign memorabilia involving Democratic races around the country, he said.

“That sounds like it’s going to be a collector’s item,” Ferguson said. “I’m sure Sen. Obama appreciates Sen. Craig’s support.”

Bill Hall, editor emeritus of the Tribune’s editorial page, said he bought 10 from the company’s Web site before they were withdrawn and fixed. The Obama-Craig buttons are no longer available for purchase.

“I realized it was a mistake, like finding a coin that’s been damaged in the making, so I quickly ordered 10 of them,” Hall said.

Neither officials with Tigereye Design nor Craig’s office could immediately be reached for comment.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (AP) – Indiana State Police fired two officers after allegations surfaced they assaulted a man outside an Indianapolis gay bar.

The assault took place as the man was leaving Greg’s, a well-known, local gay club.

The man reported the attack to Indianapolis Metro Police, who began a criminal investigation.

There was not enough evidence to charge the police officers with a crime, but Metro Police turned over the file to the State Police, which conducted its own internal affairs review.

Officers Marcus Baxter and Curtis Swanson were fired July 31, The Indianapolis Star reported.

“They were probationary officers, and their conduct is not the kind of conduct we would tolerate,” Maj. Carlos Pettiford told the paper.

Pettiford said because they were probationary officers they could be dismissed at any time.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The Topeka Fire Department is investigating a small fire outside of a church whose members protest at soldier’s funerals.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports on its Web site that a fence and garage at Westboro Baptist Church became engulfed in flames early Saturday. The fire did not spread to the church building.

Topeka Fire Marshal Greg Bailey said the cause of the fire has not been determined.

However, a spokeswoman for the church, Shirley Phelps-Roper, believes it was deliberately set.

Members of the church frequently picket military funerals, arguing that the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God’s punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

Bailey said damage is estimated at $10,000.

BOSTON (AP) – The Massachusetts House of Representatives has given its initial approval to a bill that would require all future legislation be written in language that is gender neutral.

The one-paragraph bill says legislation should contain non-gendered phrases such as “he/she” or “his/her,” instead of following past practice and using the masculine pronoun by default.

The legislation was inspired when Rep. Cory Atkins, a Democrat, read a bill related to nursing more than a year ago and noticed all the masculine pronouns.

“If you’re a guy, you think this is no big deal. And if you’re a woman, you’re insulted, considering we’re 52 percent of the population,” said Atkins.

Atkins still remembers how incredulous it was to read the masculine pronoun in a bill related to nursing.

“I thought I must have picked up the wrong legislation because it was all, ‘he’ this, ‘he’ that, when nursing is predominantly a female profession,” she said.

Other states have adopted a similar practice, and at least a half-dozen have amended their constitutions to install gender-neutral language.

Maine changed its drafting standards in 1988 to adopt gender-neutral language, with exceptions for bills singling out men or women in some context. The standards also offer a series of preferred terms to avoid gendered language.

“Alderman,” for example, is replaced by “municipal officer.”

A law professor said the proposed change is part of a trend in the business and legal professions. It’s been propelled, in part, by the rise of female executives.

“There are a lot more women attorneys today than there were 20 or 30 years ago. And there are a lot more men than there were 20 or 30 years ago who would be offended if they thought something was targeted at men only instead of men and women,” said Richard Bales, a professor at the Northern Kentucky University law school who has written on the topic.

Bales added: “You should avoid even the possibility of offending someone by redrafting the language. It’s not that hard to do.”

The Massachusetts bill was sent to the Committee on Bills in the Third Reading on July 23, meaning it could come back for a vote before the full chamber at any time. Members expect support in the Senate, where Therese Murray serves as the first female president in the chamber’s history.

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear a case involving an East Helena church accused of breaking state campaign laws.

Canyon Ferry Road Baptist Church is appealing a 2006 decision by U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula.

Molloy upheld a ruling by the state commissioner of political practices. The commissioner found the church had become an “incidental campaign committee” and should have reported its activity in support of a constitutional initiative to ban same-sex marriage.

The initiative, which defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, passed by about a 2-to-1 margin in 2004.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear the case Monday in Seattle.

NEW YORK (AP) – The spiritual leader of the world’s Anglicans is urging an extended ban on consecrating another gay bishop until their troubled fellowship can be healed.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams made the plea Sunday, the final day of the Lambeth Conference, the once-a-decade Anglican meeting in Canterbury, England.

The 77-million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

The 650 bishops at the conference said in a statement that there is widespread support among them for a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops and blessing same-sex couples.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) – A novice rider has bicycled 350 miles from Jones Beach on Long Island to upstate Lake Placid to honor his late brother and raise money for AIDS research.

Tom Monks wheeled into Lake Placid at noon Wednesday.

The self-described “average guy” from Long Island told the Plattsburgh Press-Republican that the ride up Route 22 has taken him five days.

Monks’ ride has been in honor of his brother, Jimmy, who died of AIDS in 1991. Monks says his ride has raised more than $6,500 for the Center for AIDS Research and Treatment in Manhassset, Long Island.

The 44-year-old Monks chose to ride to Lake Placid because his family has a summer place at Sekon on Upper Saranac Lake.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A group of Russian-born immigrants made $3 million helping 380 asylum-seekers file bogus applications over a four-year period, federal authorities charged July 29.

David Lynn, 33, posed as an immigration lawyer and coached natives of eastern Europe on how to claim persecution on religious, sexual orientation or other grounds, prosecutors said.

He charged $8,000 per person or $10,000 to $12,000 per family, according to officials who said they found $560,000 in cash and two gold bars hidden in floorboards of Lynn’s home during a 2007 raid.

Despite a reputation that spread through the eastern European community in northeast Philadelphia and adjacent Bucks County, only a handful of the applicants actually obtained asylum.

Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid said Lynn and his underlings exploited the asylum process – which she called “one of the cornerstones of the American immigration system” – for profit.

“This fraud was about nothing more than money,” Magid said.

Lynn, who came to the U.S. from Israel, ran a supposed translation service that attracted asylum seekers from the Philadelphia area and beyond. He claimed to be a lawyer but had no such training, officials said.

Most of the clients were from Russia, while others were from Ukraine, Poland and elsewhere. The green card seekers were coached to tell immigration officials they feared persecution for being Baptist, Jewish, a Jehovah’s Witness or gay, authorities said.

Clients dissatisfied with the process ultimately tipped off authorities to the operation, Magid said.

The defendants include Lynn, who lived in Holland, Pa.; his father-in-law, Yevgeny Zemlyansky, 61, of Feasterville; Ilya Zherelyev, 46, of Philadelphia; Anatoly Zagrinichny, 62, of Philadelphia; Akbar Kadirov, 54, of Philadelphia; and Nelly Katsman, 41, of Holland.

Lawyer Anna M. Durbin, who represents Lynn, was in court and did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.

The defendants were expected to make initial appearances in federal court in Philadelphia this week.

Lynn, also known as David Waisman, had not yet been arrested, but prosecutors said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials knew of his whereabouts. He is in the U.S. illegally, they said.

The other defendants are naturalized citizens or legal permanent residents, authorities said.