In the latest rankings of such corporate policies by the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay-rights group, many of Exxon's Fortune 500 counterparts got scores of 80 or higher on a scale of 100. On Wednesday, in the latest attempt to pressure the company into change, a gay-rights group called Freedom to Work teamed with a high-powered Washington law firm to file what they described as a groundbreaking discrimination complaint against Exxon in Illinois.

Juan Manuel Ramos, 63, was caught viewing illegal images in a darkened library parking lot.

Democratic lawmakers say their efforts to restore abortion services and family planning funding made a difference in the Legislature.

There was a mass resignation in China Grove on Wednesday night as dozens of angry residents and city officials crammed into City Hall over the results of a contentious May 11 election. During the unofficial meeting, key members of the China Grove staff — including the municipal court judge, city attorney, city administrator, municipal court staff and the administrative assistant to the Police Department — resigned in protest of how they said they have been treated by members of the City Council. Longtime Mayor Dennis Dunk lost a heated battle to newcomer Eugene Ripps last month, and “shortly after ... the work environment changed and it became extremely difficult for the staff and I to do our duties,” said Susan Conaway, city administrator since 1986.