USA

The World Court in The Hague Wednesday ordered the US to delay the executions of five Mexicans on death row in Texas prisons until the court can review their cases. The first of the executions is scheduled for Aug. 5.

Massachusetts moved a step closer to allowing out-of-state gay couples to marry legally within its borders Tuesday when the state Senate repealed a 1913 law. Opponents argue that the 1913 statute is needed to ensure that Massachusetts respects the marriage laws of other states.

German carmaker Volkswagen announced plans to build a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., that will employ 2,000 people when it opens in 2011, the BBC reported. Sites in Michigan and Alabama had also been in the running. VW closed its last US plant (in Pennsylvania) in 1988.

In the latest airline innovation for generating needed industry revenue, Delta Air Lines Inc. began printing ads on boarding passes Tuesday for customers who checked in at home. Other major carriers are poised to follow suit.

With a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th inning, Michael Young of the Texas Rangers drove in the winning run in Tuesday night's baseball All-Star Game, which the American League won, 4-3. The outcome extended the AL's dominance; it now owns a 11-0-1 record against the National League since 1996. The game occurred in the last year of New York's Yankee Stadium (a new ballpark is being built next door) and lasted a record 4 hours, 50 minutes.

In order to comply with last month's Supreme Court ruling that struck down Washington's 32-year ban on handguns, the District of Columbia Council approved legislation Tuesday that permits residents to begin applying for handgun permits. Guns must be kept unloaded or otherwise disengaged unless there is a perceived threat of immediate harm in the home. Above, Mayor Adrian Fenty is joined by D.C. police chief Cathy Lanier in announcing new firearm regulations.

Following a year-long pilot project, Washington has launched the $100,000 MuralsDC project aimed at combatting graffiti in the city by enlisting teenage artists to paint a series of murals. The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities is expected to approve plans for 12 murals during the next year.