Nation IN BRIEF : MINNESOTA : Judge Bars County From Melting Guns

A judge blocked Hennepin County, Minn., officials from melting down 5,000 firearms collected under a cash-for-guns program after two men sued to have the registration of each weapon checked. Dennis Leaf and Joel Kuntz said they believed that weapons burglars stole from them were going to be destroyed. Their lawyer said they are arguing that the county has a duty to return any stolen gun to the rightful owner or compensate the owner before destroying the firearm. The cash-for-guns effort paid $50 for each weapon turned in, primarily to get them out of the hands of teen-agers.