HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions.

The ruling comes just weeks before Californians go to the polls on a historic gay-marriage ballot question, the first time the issue will be put before voters in a state where same-sex couples are legally wed.

Connecticut was the first state to voluntarily pass laws to affirm civil unions.

PHILADELPHIA - A grieving Charlie Manuel plans to be in the Philadelphia Phillies' dugout Friday afternoon for Game 2 of the NLCS, just hours after his mother died.

The Phillies said that June Manuel died Friday morning at Roanoke (Va.) Memorial Hospital after a brief illness.

Manuel found out Friday morning after a meeting with his staff before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.