SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A retired Presbyterian minister is facing a church trial for performing weddings of gay couples during the brief period when same-sex marriage was legal in California.

The Rev. Jane Spahr has been accused of publicly, intentionally and repeatedly violating church doctrine when she presided at the weddings of 16 couples between June and November of 2008.

Eleven of the couples are expected to testify as witnesses at the trial scheduled to start Tuesday at the Presbytery of the Redwoods in Napa.

It’s the second time the 67-year-old Spahr has faced sanctions from the Presbyterian Church (USA).

A regional church court convicted her in 2007 for marrying two lesbian couples. But the church’s top court later acquitted her, saying the ceremonies were not real marriages.

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California would officially end a requirement that a state agency research the causes and cures for homosexuality under a bill approved by the state Senate.

The bill updating a 60-year-old law was sent back to the Assembly Monday for final action.

The law passed in 1950 classifies gays as sexual deviants. It requires the Department of Mental Health to research the causes and potential cures for homosexuality.

The bill, AB2199, was carried by Sen. Roy Ashburn, a Republican from Bakersfield. Ashburn revealed he was gay earlier this year after he was cited for driving drunk while leaving a gay bar.

The measure passed the Senate on 36-0 vote without debate.

BOISE (AP) - An Idaho aviator has reached an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to temporarily block his discharge under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that bars openly gay and lesbian military members from service.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network says an agreement reached Monday prevents the Air Force from discharging Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach until a judge can consider its request for a court order to stop his ouster from the military.

The network, an advocacy group seeking equal treatment of gays in the military, is representing Fehrenbach in his legal fight to keep his job and last week filed a federal lawsuit in Idaho.

The lawsuit asks for an order to stop Fehrenbach’s discharge until a full hearing can be scheduled. It also wants the law declared unconstitutional.

ST. PAUL(AP) - MSNBC says it has rejected a TV ad calling for a boycott of Target Corp. over a political donation in Minnesota.

MSNBC spokeswoman Alana Russo says the commercial submitted by the liberal group MoveOn.org violates its advertising policy by directly attacking an individual business.

MoveOn announced plans earlier this week to spend $35,000 airing the ad on MSNBC nationally and on three networks in the Twin Cities. The group says the stations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market are running the ad.

MoveOn head Justin Ruben says the rejection is “the height of hypocrisy.”

Minneapolis-based Target last month donated $150,000 to a political fund supporting conservative GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer in Minnesota. That triggered a national backlash from gay rights groups and liberals.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A year to the week after the country’s largest Lutheran denomination opened its ranks to non-celibate gay pastors, critics of the new policy are preparing to launch a brand new denomination.

Former members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are holding a convention this week in Columbus, Ohio.

On Friday, the Lutheran CORE group plans to formally launch the North American Lutheran Church. Its 18 charter members are Lutheran churches from around the country whose congregations voted to split from the ELCA over what pastors and members say is a clear break from scriptural teaching.

In all, 199 congregations have voted to leave the ELCA. Another 136 could leave if their congregations pass a second vote to do so.

NEW YORK (AP) - Ricky Martin has picked an appropriate title for his autobiography: “Me.”

The Puerto Rican singer is set to release his memoir on Nov. 2. It will also be released in Spanish the same day. That edition will be titled “Yo,” which is Spanish for “I” and “me.”

Martin has said that preparing to write the book was one of the reasons he decided to reveal earlier this year that he is gay.

Martin said in a statement Thursday that the project led him to extract memories that he had erased from his mind. He says the book was not easy but allowed for an “incredible spiritual journey.”

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration has told the United Nations that America’s human rights record is less than perfect but stressed that the U.S. political system has built-in safeguards that promote improvements.

In its first-ever report to the U.N. Human Rights Council on conditions in the United States, the State Department said Monday that some Americans, notably minorities, are still victims of discrimination.

The report noted that although the U.S. now has an African-American president and that women and Hispanics have won greater social and economic success, large segments of American society suffer from unfair policies and practices.

High unemployment rates, hate crime, poverty, poor housing, lack of access to health care and discriminatory hiring practices are among the challenges the report identified as affecting blacks, Latinos, Muslims, South Asians, Native Americans and gays and lesbians in the United States.

The report, which drew on meetings that U.S. officials held with various groups around the country since January, also cited concerns from civil rights activists and citizens related to immigration and racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.

The 29-page report was submitted to the Human Rights Council on Friday but was not published until Monday.

The report’s findings were cautiously welcomed by human rights activists but will likely draw fire from conservatives who opposed joining the council. They said the U.S. should not be judged by countries with poor human rights records.

The administration sought to rebuff such criticism in the report, saying its participation in the review was not an acknowledgment “of commonality with states that systematically abuse human rights.” It also said the report did not reflect “doubt in the ability of the American political system to deliver progress for its citizens.”

The American Civil Liberties Union praised the administration for engaging with the council but said the report neglected to address key areas where the U.S. has not met its human rights obligations.

“It is time for the U.S. to match its human rights rhetoric with concrete domestic policies and actions and create a human rights culture and infrastructure that promote American values of equality and justice for all,” said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s human rights program.

CHEYENNE (AP) - A gay couple has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Wyoming law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman.

David Shupe-Roderick and Ryan W. Dupree of Cheyenne say the Laramie County Clerk’s Office has refused to issue them a marriage license. They’re asking U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to stop the state from enforcing any laws that block gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage.

Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg declined comment Tuesday, saying he hadn’t reviewed the lawsuit yet.

Shupe-Roderick and Dupree are acting as their own attorneys in the case.