Republican Wins Bellwether California Election  —  The California Congressional seat vacated by jailed former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham will remain in Republican hands after a special election Tuesday in which a lobbyist narrowly defeated a Democratic school board member.

Supporters lose in gay marriage ban vote  —  WASHINGTON - The Senate on Wednesday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, dealing a defeat to President Bush and Republicans who hoped to use the measure to energize conservative voters on Election Day.

Massive chip on her Coulter  —  Ann's vicious screed  —  When their husbands were killed on 9/11, four New Jersey widows tried to find out why - and now no-holds-barred conservative pundit Ann Coulter is mercilessly denouncing them as "witches."  —  "I've never seen people enjoying …

Official of U.N. Says Americans Undermine It With Criticism  —  UNITED NATIONS, June 6 — Secretary General Kofi Annan's deputy assailed the United States on Tuesday for withholding support from the United Nations, encouraging its harshest detractors and undermining an institution that he said Washington needed more than it would admit.

Officer at Fort Lewis calls Iraq war illegal, refuses order to go  —  In a rare case of officer dissent, a Fort Lewis Army lieutenant has refused orders to head out to Iraq this month to lead troops in what he believes is an illegal war of occupation.  —  1st Lt. Ehren Watada's Stryker brigade …

Media dance macabre  —  The Marine incident, and its aftermath, at Haditha tells us much more about the media than it does about the Marines.  And what it tells us ought to outrage us to the core.  —  On every radio and television show I appeared on last week (and all I observed) …

Media Death Watch in action on purported kidnapped Canadian soldier  —  Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan: Earlier this week, Glenn Reynolds reproduced an informal email from Afghanistan, which included an anecdote about the Canadian media maintaining the "Death Watch" (their own words) at Kandahar Airfield.

Voters reject Prop.  82  —  California voters soundly rejected Proposition 82 Tuesday, crushing the hopes of early childhood education advocates who hoped to make universal preschool public policy in the nation's most populous state.  —  Throughout much of the evening …

S. J. Res. 1: Marriage Protection Amendment  —  AP reports: … Technically, the Senate didn't reject it.  All that happened was that a cloture motion failed.  Yet, setting aside that minor point, why should this vote - or even passage of the amendment - "energize conservative voters"?

Self-Loathing and the Denial of Terrorism  —  You're an enlightened world citizen.  Your T-shirt says "9/11 was an inside job."  You're pretty sure we're living in a fascist state, that President Bush taps the Dixie Chicks' phones, Christian abortion clinic bombers outnumber jihadis …

Data Theft Affected Most in Military  —  Social Security numbers and other personal information for as many as 2.2 million U.S. military personnel — including nearly 80 percent of the active-duty force — were among the data stolen from the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs analyst last month …

McKinney deal may be in works  —  Lawyer rejects talk of any negotiations  —  WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors investigating the confrontation between Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and a Capitol police officer have been talking privately with McKinney's office in hopes of resolving …

Louisiana Governor Plans to Sign Anti-Abortion Law  —  BATON ROUGE, La., June 6 — Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco's office said Tuesday that she would shortly sign into law a strict ban on abortion that would permit abortion only in the case where a woman's life was threatened by pregnancy.