New Jersey court recognizes right to same-sex unions  —  TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) — New Jersey's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples.  —  But the court left it to the Legislature to determine whether the state …

Press Conference by the President  —  THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much.  I'm going to spend a little more time on my opening comments than I usually do, but I'll save plenty of time for questions.  —  Over the past three years I have often addressed the American people to explain developments in Iraq.

TN-SEN: Corker Radio Ad Has Tom-Tom Drums During Mentions Of Ford  —  Okay, so Election Central has just obtained a radio ad which you've got to hear: It actually has what sounds like tom-tom drums playing in the background every time the ad talks about Dem Harold Ford, Jr. The ad …

Michael J. Fox ads for Democrats spark backlash  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The campaign ad opens with a familiar boyish face, now atop a body that sways uncontrollably.  Michael J. Fox, wearing a shirt and suit jacket, talks directly to the camera.  —  "They say all politics is local …

The GOP Leans on A Proven Strategy  —  Beset by discouraging polls and division within ideological ranks, the White House is accelerating efforts to woo back disaffected conservatives and energize the Republican base in a reprise of a strategy that succeeded in the last two campaign cycles.

Federal Rules Back Single-Sex Public Education  —  The Bush administration is giving public school districts broad new latitude to expand the number of single-sex classes, and even schools, in what is widely considered the most significant policy change on the issue since …

Insult to Injury in Iraq  —  It's been coming for a long time: the idea that fixing Iraq is the Iraqis' problem, not ours — that we've done all we can and now it's up to them.  —  Such arguments have been latent in the Bush administration's Iraq strategy and explicit in Democratic critiques of that strategy for some time.

The House Elections  —  People are always asking me, Which party is going to win the House elections?  The answer is, I don't know.  We have very many more publicly released polls than we used to have, and therefore more basis for making estimates.  But they're still just estimates, subject to error.

For Governor in Maryland  —  WHEN HE RAN for governor of Maryland four years ago, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s claim to the job seemed to rest on little more than a sense of entitlement and a telegenic, genial personality.  In fits and starts, though, he has grown in the role to become a generally proficient …

Venezuelan's Diatribe at U.N. May Have Backfired  —  Venezuela's populist leader, Hugo Chávez, earned giggles and guffaws at the United Nations last month with his mass appeal diatribe ridiculing President Bush as the devil.  Mr. Chávez said he could still smell the telltale scent …

Best of the Web  —  Our item yesterday in which we reaffirmed our support for the liberation of Iraq brought some very interesting reader comments.  This is from an American there who asks not to be named: … Reader Russ Daniel makes an interesting point about the media side of the war:

COVERING IRAQ: THE MODERN WAY OF WAR CORRESPONDENCE (EXTENDED VERSION)  —  Would you trust a Hurricane Katrina report datelined "direct from Detroit"?  Or coverage of the World Trade Center attack from Chicago?  Why then should we believe a Time Magazine investigation of the Haditha killings …

Congressman From Arizona Is the Focus of an Inquiry  —  Federal authorities in Arizona have opened an inquiry into whether Representative Rick Renzi introduced legislation that benefited a military contractor that employs his father, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

I Just Blogged To Say I Hate You  —  A moment of silence, please, for the Republican polemicist.  The list of casualties from this election year will be long; the battlefield will be strewn with the corpses of famous politicians (Rick Santorum) and anonymous embryos (thawed by a Senate that takes marching orders from Marty McFly).

Frist to GOP hopefuls: Don't stress Iraq  —  CONCORD, N.H. - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says if Republican candidates want to succeed on Election Day, they should turn their focus away from the Iraq war.  —  "The challenge is to get Americans to focus on pocketbook issues …