Midday Roundup: Texting dispute leads to murder

Movie theater violence. A 71-year-old retired police officer shot and killed an unarmed man in a Florida movie theater Monday after starting an argument over texting. Curtis Reeves Jr. told Chad Oulson, 43, to stop sending text messages during the previews playing before a showing of Lone Survivor. When Oulson, who was watching the movie with his wife, Nicole, refused to put down his phone, Reeves complained to theater staff. As they tried to intervene in the conflict, Reeves pulled out a gun and shot Oulson once in the chest. According to witnesses, Oulson told Reeves he was sending messages to his young daughter. Reeves, who has been charged with second-degree murder, claims something struck him in the face during the argument and he was in fear of his life. Witnesses said someone threw popcorn as the argument escalated.

Budget bill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a compromise budget plan Monday night, raising hopes Washington may be able to postpone the specter of another government shutdown at least until September. The $1.012 trillion bill decreases federal spending by $164 billion, compared to the last budget adopted when former President George W. Bush was in office. If approved, the spending plan would raise wages for federal employees by 1 percent and reinstate $1 billion in funding for Head Start programs. But it would cut spending at the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Gay-marriage ban. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday approved a bill banning same-sex marriage and membership in or encouragement of any gay clubs, societies, and organizations. International leaders blasted the new law as human rights activists reported officials had already started to arrest homosexual men in the northern part of the country. Nigeria has the second largest HIV epidemic in the world, with an estimated 3.4 million people infected. According to 2010 statistics, 17 percent of gay men have the disease, compared to 4 percent of the entire population. Activists say the new law will hinder efforts to control the epidemic because people will be afraid to seek treatment for fear of getting arrested.

Forecast dispute. DirecTV customers will have to find a new place to get their weather forecast after the satellite television provider cut off access to The Weather Channel on Monday. The two companies are fighting over subscriber fees, the amount DirecTV pays to carry the all-weather station. Although the dispute revolves around money, DirecTV executives claim their customers don’t like The Weather Channel’s new emphasis on reality programming. “Consumers understand there are now a variety of other ways to get weather coverage, free of reality show clutter, and that The Weather Channel does not have an exclusive on weather coverage—the weather belongs to everyone,” said Dan York, DirecTV’s chief content officer.