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ByAdamBeam The Associated Press MOREHEAD, KY. Kim Da- vis's deputy clerks have been busy since their boss was hauled to jail, issuing 10 marriage licenses, in- cluding seven to same-sex couples, her employee Brian Mason said Wednesday. And if Davis tells him to stop after she returns to work, Mason said he'll tell her he can't obey her, and instead must follow a fed- eral judge's order to con- tinue issuing licenses to anyone who is legally eligi- ble to receive them. Some came from far away to get married in Rowan County. Mark Shrayber and Allen Corona flew in from San Francisco, say- ing Wednesday that they wanted to show their sup- port for other gay couples af- ter the judge forced an end to Davis' marriage boycott, which she launched in re- sponse to Supreme Court's legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide. "We are in 2015. We are not burning witches any- more," said Shrayber, add- ing that he's disgusted to see Davis becoming "a martyr." Shrayber and Corona picked up their license at the office on Tuesday, got married at Morehead State University, and then re- turned Wednesday to file the paperwork. Some lo- cal residents ran up to hug them, they said. Davis, meanwhile, will return to work either Fri- day or Monday to face an- other day of reckoning af- ter taking several days off to spend with her family, ac- cording to Charla Bansley, a spokeswoman for Liberty Counsel, the Christian law firm representing Davis. The Apostolic Christian, now a symbol of strong re- ligious conviction to thou- sands across the globe, would not say whether she would allow licenses to con- tinue to be issued or try to block them once again, defy- ingafederalcourtorderthat could send her back to jail. Davis walked out of the Carter County Detention Center's front door Tues- day, arm in arm with her lawyer and with Republi- can presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, to a po- dium backed by a 150-voice church choir. Thousands of supporters and waved white crosses and sang "Amazing Grace" and "God Bless America." In lifting his contempt order against Davis, Bun- ning said he was satisfied that her deputies were ful- filling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence. But Bunning warned that she could go right back to jail if she interferes with the issu- ance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples upon her return. "Kim cannot and will not violate her conscience," said Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel, the Chris- tian law firm representing Davis. As for what might happen next, he said "You'll find out in the near future." Staver said the licenses deputy clerks issued to same-sex couples last week are not valid because they were not given under Davis' authority. But the Kentucky attorney general's office said it believes otherwise. Attorney General Jack Conway also said that for now, he won't appoint a special prosecutor to inves- tigate whether Davis com- mitted a state crime by re- fusing to issue licenses. One rejected couple had asked the local prosecutor to consider charging Davis with official misconduct, a misdemeanor applicable to public officials who ne- glect their duties. Rowan County Attorney Cecil Wat- kins cited a conflict of in- terest and passed the com- plaint to Conway. But in a one-sentence statement Wednesday, Con- way noted that Davis' ac- tions are being monitored already: "Judge Bunning and the federal court have control of this matter, and therefore a special state prosecutor is not necessary at this time." SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CONTROVERSY Deputyclerksayshe'llobeyfederaljudge By Matthew Perrone The Associated Press WASHINGTON Federal of- ficials need to do more to prevent for-profit stem cell clinics from exploiting and potentially injuring pa- tients, according to an ar- ticle published in a leading medical journal. The New England Jour- nal of Medicine commen- tary follows a May ar- ticle by The Associated Press that identified 170 U.S. clinics that charge between $5,000 and $50,000 for stem cell pro- cedures that purport to treat dozens of diseases and conditions, includ- ing Alzheimer's, arthri- tis, erectile dysfunction and hair loss. The journal authors highlight the risks of un- proven stem cell proce- dures, a burgeoning field that has flourished despite little evidence of its safety or effectiveness. They also call on the Food and Drug Administration to clarify rules governing the space and to work with state medical boards to penal- ize physicians pushing bo- gus therapies. The FDA said in a state- ment Wednesday that it "understands the need for clear guidance and has issued three draft guid- ance documents to specif- ically address this area." Such draft guidance docu- ments serve as recommen- dations, not legal require- ments. There is no dead- line for when they must be finalized. Currently, none of the procedures offered by clin- ics are approved by the FDA, which oversees med- ical products. Yet doctors routinely describe their of- ferings as "healing" or "re- generative" medicine, sug- gesting their potential to cure patients. "Their language is in- tentionally imprecise and exploits the vulnerability of patients with debilitat- ing diseases," notes the commentary by Professors Hermes Taylor-Weiner and Joshua Graff Zivin, of the University of California, San Diego. The largest stem cell chain in the U.S., the Cell Surgical Network, has more than 100-affiliated physicians operating in 24 states. It advertises procedures for more than 30 diseases and condi- tions, including Lou Geh- rig's disease, multiple scle- rosis and congestive heart failure. Yet fine print on the network's websites states that its physicians are con- ducting experimental re- search: "We do not claim that these treatments work for any listed nor unlisted condition, intended or im- plied." Dr. Mark Berman, the group's co-founder, called Wednesday's commentary "misleading and of no sig- nificance." "There are laws against fraud and if this weren't a safe and even effective pro- cedure, we would have quit doing it long ago," he wrote in an emailed statement. "We are moving forward. The train has left the sta- tion." While the FDA has reg- ulations governing human cells — including the fat- derived stem cells used by most clinics — they are vague and rarely enforced by the agency. When ques- tioned, most stem cell doctors claim they are not subject to FDA reg- ulation because they are practicing in-office sur- gery, which falls under the oversight of state medical boards. MEDICAL RESEARCH Experts: Unproven stem cell procedures need more oversight By Kimberly Pierceall and Sally Ho The Associated Press LAS VEGAS Officials re- leasedmoredetailsWednes- day on a dramatic British Airways airplane fire in Las Vegas as they investi- gate how an aircraft accel- erating for takeoff could suddenly erupt into flames — or whether it could hap- pen again. The London-bound plane was speeding down the runway Tuesday afternoon when it caught fire, forcing the pilot to hit the brakes. The blaze sent smoke pour- ing from an engine and led the aircraft's crew and 157 passengers to flee down emergency slides, which fire officials said deployed properly. At a news conference, of- ficials lauded the emergency response but noted more people were hurt than pre- viously reported. Twenty- seven people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, most with cuts, bruises, burns and scrapes from the evacuation slides. At least two complained of smoke inhalation. The evacuation took only minutes and appeared or- derly, with some passengers even making it out with their luggage. They then hurried across the tarmac as flames leaped from the Boeing 777-200 and dark black smoke billowed. The radio call from the plane's pilot to the air traf- fic control tower was brief, calm and to the point. The pilot can be heard saying "mayday, mayday" before he asks for firefight- ing help. A moment later, he calmly tells the tower: "We are evacuating on the run- way. We have a fire. I repeat. We are evacuating." Clark County fire offi- cials said they had fire en- gines rolling within 45 sec- onds of a 4:13 p.m. call from the tower. They had water on the fire within two min- utes, and by 4:18 it was out. Fire officials said it could have been a lot worse but the blaze was confined to the left engine, and there was no wheel or brake fire. "That aircraft was full of fuel," said Fire Capt. Mike Atchley, among the first of 53 firefighters at the scene. A National Transporta- tion Safety Board team was traveling to Las Vegas from Washington, D.C., to inves- tigate, agency spokesman Eric Weiss said. Prelimi- nary reports usually are is- sued within about a week, and a complete investiga- tion in unusual or prece- dent-setting cases can take more than a year. "We're calling it an en- gine fire," Weiss said. "We're interested in the exact chain of events." The plane had two GE90 engines made by GE Avia- tion, and the company said heat distress was evident on the left engine and fuselage. On social media, pho- tos and videos showing passengers who deplaned with their rolling luggage and personal items were talked about and mocked, although the evacuation didn't appear to be affected by people taking their be- longings. Passenger Karen Bravo, 60, of Las Vegas, said she happened to have her purse, and some other passengers farther back in coach had time to grab their carry- on luggage while waiting to evacuate. Checked bags were left behind. "It would be like if your whole house was on fire, and you had to go out the door," she said. The Association of Flight Attendants, which does not represent the British Air- ways crew, said the work- ers would have encouraged passengers to leave with- out their belongings for ef- ficiency. The union said it has called for updated evac- uation standards to match the latest cabin conditions, as more people fly with carry-on luggage and per- sonal electronics. The checked bags on the British Airways flight weren't destroyed, but passengers hadn't gotten them back as of Wednes- day morning. They were told another plane was on its way and they should be departing for London later in the day. 27 TAKEN TO HOSPITAL Plane that caught fire in Vegas was accelerating for takeoff DAVIDSOMERS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Smoke billows out from a plane that caught fire at McCarren International Airport, Tuesday in Las Vegas. JONATHAN PALMER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rowan County clerk Kim Davis, center, hugs her attorney, Matt Staver, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, center le , next to her a er being released from the Carter County Detention Center, Tuesday in Grayson, Kentucky. TIMOTHY D. EASLEY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A er five days behind bars, Davis was ordered released from jail Tuesday by the judge who locked her up for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. 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