HARRISBURG — A federal judge who overturned Pennsylvania's law barring the recognition of same-sex marriage is rejecting a bid by a county official from eastern Pennsylvania to appeal it.

U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III issued his decision Wednesday on the request by Schuylkill County Orphans Court Clerk Theresa Santai-Gaffney. Her lawyers promptly said they would appeal his decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

Gov. Tom Corbett's administration was defending the law, but declined to appeal Jones' May 20 decision to strike down the 1996 law. Santai-Gaffney had also asked Jones to put that ruling on hold until an appeals court could review it.

Pennsylvania was the last northeastern state to bar gay marriage.

ERIE — Police have charged a northwestern Pennsylvania woman with giving her 13-month-old daughter booze in her sippy cup, which resulted in the child's hospitalization.Online court records don't list an attorney for 26-year-old Jessica Bachmaier, who was charged late Tuesday by Erie police with endangering the child and furnishing alcohol to a minor.Bachmaier told police and reporters last month that she believed a friend gave the girl vodka before she was hospitalized with a blood-alcohol content of 0.289 percent May 14. That's more than three-and-a-half times the legal level of intoxication in Pennsylvania.Bachmaier's daughter has since recovered and police say they're still investigating the friend's possible involvement.

CENTERVILLE — A Western Pennsylvania couple has been ordered to stand trial on charges they tattooed a smiley face and a derogatory word on a 12-year-old girl's arm while the spent the night at their home.The Titusville Herald reports 33-year-old Randall Charlton III and 30-year-old Melissa Becker, both of Centerville, waived their rights to preliminary hearings on child endangerment and related charges for the incident on May 14.Crawford County prosecutors say Charlton, a registered sex offender due to an Ohio conviction in 2000, and Becker didn't contact the girl's mother to see if the girl had permission to be tattooed. That's against the law in Pennsylvania.The girl was visiting children who were being supervised by Charlton and Becker when the incident occurred.The couple was ordered to trial after waiving their hearings Tuesday.

HARRISBURG — A bill headed to the governor’s desk will allow the Pennsylvania National Guard to offer cash stipends to help recruit and retain medical professionals.The bill, approved Wednesday by the state Senate, would authorize $1,000 monthly stipends for physicians and physician assistants during four years of medical residency or the first 36 months of service. In exchange, they would have to complete one additional month of service for each month they received stipends.Under a similar arrangement, $500 monthly payments for the first three years of service would be available to certain health officers.Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign the measure, a spokesman said.The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Scott Hutchinson of Venango, said the stipends will help fill many authorized but vacant guard slots.Funding for the program, which takes effect July 1, will come from the underused Educational Assistance Program.