N.J. court opens door to gay marriage  —  TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey's highest court opened the door Wednesday to making the state the second in the nation to allow gay marriage, ruling that lawmakers must offer homosexuals either marriage or something like it, such as civil unions.

Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears  —  The Tennessee Senate race, one of the most competitive and potentially decisive battles of the midterm election, became even more unpredictable this week after a furor over a Republican television commercial that stood out even in a year of negative advertising.

Olbermann Gives Us The Visual To Limbaugh's Attack On Michael J. Fox  —  By now everyone has heard Limbaugh's little commentary about Michael J. Fox's appearance in the ad for Claire McCaskill.  Well tonight Keith Olbermann supplied us with the visual to accompany Rush's latest show of idiocy.

Youths torch 3 buses in suburban Paris  —  PARIS - Youths forced passengers off three buses and set the vehicles on fire overnight in suburban Paris, raising tensions Thursday ahead of the first anniversary of the riots that engulfed France's rundown, heavily immigrant neighborhoods.

Kerrey Offers His Support to Lieberman  —  As Senator Joseph I. Lieberman stood beside Bob Kerrey, the former Nebraska senator, to accept his endorsement on Wednesday, the two seemed to differ about whether the war in Iraq had made the United States safer.  —  Like Mr. Lieberman …

Secure Fence Act Signed by the President  —  I just left the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act of 2006, critical legislation that authorizes at least 700 miles of two-layered fencing along our southwest border.

Airport taxi flap about alcohol has deeper significance  —  The airport taxi controversy may go deeper than the quandary over whether to accommodate Somali Muslim cabdrivers who refuse to carry passengers carrying alcohol.  Behind the scenes, a struggle for power and religious authority is apparently playing out.

Voters Increase Support for Stem Cell Research After Viewing Michael J. Fox Ad  —  Republicans' Support for Republican House Candidates Declines  —  FLEMINGTON, N.J.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—A new national study revealed that American voters' support for stem cell research increased after they viewed …

Rights Group Fires Publisher of Foley E-Mail  —  A liberal gay rights group said Wednesday that one of its employees, acting anonymously, had created the Web site that first published copies of unusually solicitous e-mail messages to teenagers from former Representative Mark Foley, which led to his resignation.

Schmidt angry to see 'cowards' speech in TV ad  —  Political Notebook  —  Rep. Jean Schmidt blasted Democrat Victoria Wulsin on Wednesday for allegedly breaking a U.S. House rule that prohibits using the broadcast of House floor proceedings in campaign ads.

What Osama Wants  —  THE French saying, often attributed to Talleyrand, that "this is worse than a crime, it's a blunder," could easily describe America's invasion of Iraq.  But for the United States to pull entirely out of that country right now, as is being demanded by a growing chorus of critics …

An Ascent Shadowed By Questions on Race  —  In February 2004, Sen. George Allen was on a bus taking him from Birmingham to Selma, Ala. On a video screen in front of him was "Eyes on the Prize," the acclaimed documentary chronicling the civil rights movement.

The Glenn and Helen Show: Gov. Mark Warner on Politics, Family, and Not Running for President  —  Mark Warner looked to be the strongest Democratic contender for President in 2008 except for Hillary Clinton.  We'd been slated to interview him when he decided not to run …

Five US troops killed in Iraq as Bush under fire  —  Source: Reuters  —  The military said on Thursday five more American troops were killed in Iraq, bringing the U.S. death toll for October to 96, as President George W. Bush sought to deflect mounting election-year pressure over the war.

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data  —  If things go as planned for liberal bloggers in the next few weeks, searching Google for "Jon Kyl," the Republican senator from Arizona now running for re-election, will produce high among the returns a link to an April 13 article from The Phoenix New Times, an alternative weekly.

Love Me, I'm a Journalist  —  A PROFESSION'S ROMANCE WITH ITSELF.  —  On Monday, I singled out Tim Rutten of the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz as I admonished journalists for overreacting to staff cuts at newsrooms around the country.