Judge: Federal gay marriage ban unconstitutional  —  BOSTON — A U.S. judge in Boston has ruled that a federal gay marriage ban is unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage.  —  U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro on Thursday ruled in favor …

Walking Away From Million-Dollar Mortgages  —  LOS ALTOS, Calif. — No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.  —  The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed …

Sharron Angle's Advice For Rape Victims Considering Abortion: Turn Lemons Into Lemonade  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle has moderated a host of policy positions in her transition from a primary candidate to general election contender battling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Obama: Israelis suspicious of me because my middle name is Hussein  —  U.S. president tells Channel 2 Israel is unlikely to attack Iran without coordinating with the U.S.  —  U.S. President Barack Obama told Channel 2 News on Wednesday that he believed Israel would not try to surprise the U.S. with a unilateral attack on Iran.

Mehserle convicted of involuntary manslaughter  —  (07-08) 16:22 PDT LOS ANGELES — A jury found former BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle guilty today of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the New Year's Day 2009 shooting of an unarmed train rider, finding that he had acted …

Obama's new slogan: ‘Yes we did!’  —  KANSAS CITY, Mo. — President Barack Obama has a new campaign slogan.  —  “Yes, we did.”  —  And it doesn't stop there.  Republicans, an animated Obama argued Thursday, wouldn't have.  —  They wouldn't have set the economy back on track …

How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love Sarah Palin (Kinda)  —  I hailed the cab outside the offices of The Huffington Post around 10:30 P.M., bone-tired, slumping into my seat.  Five seconds later, the call came in from a number I didn't recognize.  At that moment, I knew I was screwed.

Kabuki Democracy: Why a Progressive Presidency Is Impossible, for Now  —  Few progressives would take issue with the argument that, significant accomplishments notwithstanding, the Obama presidency has been a big disappointment.  As Mario Cuomo famously observed, candidates campaign in poetry but govern in prose.

Spy Swap a Sign That Reset Is Working  —  Sure, U.S. and Russian spy services are agitating for a spy swap, but the fact that the two countries managed to so quickly figure out a mutually beneficial solution after the arrests of Russian spies last week suggests that Moscow and Washington work together …

S.F. considers banning sale of pets except fish  —  Sell a guinea pig, go to jail.  —  That's the law under consideration by San Francisco's Commission of Animal Control and Welfare.  If the commission approves the ordinance at its meeting tonight, San Francisco could soon have what is believed …

The Beholden State  —  How public-sector unions broke California  —  The camera focuses on an official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), California's largest public-employee union, sitting in a legislative chamber and speaking into a microphone.

Racial, Gender Quotas in the Financial Bill?  —  WASHINGTON - What one finds when reading congressional legislation is invariably surprising.  Take the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, for instance, which was created by merging Senate and House bills.  When the Senate returns from recess …

Money in the Bank?  No, Sandwich in a Can  —  DENVER — Is putting a sandwich in a can and calling it a “Candwich” the next can't-miss billion-dollar idea?  —  Even if it is, investors in Utah who put $145 million in the hands of a money manager named Travis L. Wright will still have thinner wallets.

Democratic senator's lead shrinks in California: poll  —  (Reuters) - Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer's edge over Republican challenger Carly Fiorina has dwindled to 3 points as she seeks re-election in November, with more Californians now holding an unfavorable view of the three-term senator, a poll released on Thursday showed.

Norway no longer safe from harm  —  Most Norwegians reacted with disbelief when al-Qaeda - seemingly out-of-the-blue -threatened to attack the Scandinavian country back in 2003.  —  There was even speculation al-Qaeda had mistaken Norway for neighbouring Denmark, which at the time had sent troops to support the US invasion of Iraq.

Man Charged in Marietta Mosque Arson  —  MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) — Officials say a 26-year-old man has been arrested and charged with setting fire to a Marietta mosque he had attended.  —  Marietta fire marshal Scott Tucker said Thursday that Tamsir Mendy was arrested Wednesday night and charged …

Elena Kagan Gets A Vital Endorsement.  —  In 1989, Elena Kagan filed an amicus brief arguing that 2 Live Crew's album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, which had been banned by a federal judge because of its sexual content, wasn't obscene in part because no one could possibly be aroused by it.

Democrats Fear They Can't Match $200 Million GOP Campaign Avalanche  —  WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?  —  Over the past few weeks, top strategists throughout the Democratic Party have been passed a chart by a concerned, well-respected operative underscoring the daunting task they face in the 2010 elections.

Company threatens to pull woman's health coverage over 1 cent  —  La Rosa Carrington has more than enough to worry about.  She's a single mother with two teenage daughters, she's fighting a type of leukemia that requires five days of chemo a month for four months, and she lost her job in May.

Unemployment Benefits Aren't Stimulus  —  Let's not reduce the incentive to find work.  A federal tax holiday is a better way to cut the high jobless rate.  —  The current debate over extending and increasing federal unemployment benefits encapsulates the disagreement between the Democrats …