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.

Connecticut Crucible for a War Debate  —  When the three candidates in Connecticut's celebrated Senate race met for their final debate on Monday night in New London, only one of them appeared to be having a good time.  —  It was not Ned Lamont, the tense and fidgety businessman who had captured …

Cheney confirms that detainees were subjected to water-boarding  —  WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al-Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning.

Youths torch two buses near Paris  —  Youths in the Paris suburbs have attacked two buses on the eve of the first anniversary of rioting among immigrant communities.  —  In Nanterre, northwestern Paris, about 10 passengers fled a bus as masked youths set it ablaze, police said.

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.

Argentine lawyer asks to jail Iran officials for Jewish center blast  —  Argentine prosecutors on Wednesday asked a federal judge to issue an arrest warrant against former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others for the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural center that killed scores of people.

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.

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.

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.

BUT HE STARTED IT.  I've long been of the opinion, in all seriousness, that Republicans have it in for the disabled.  First there is their positioning regarding discrimination against people with disabiilties in the workplace (President Bush, for instance, has repeatedly appointed judges …

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 …

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.

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.

Democrats lead in US election-Reuters poll  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voters strongly favor Democratic candidates over Republicans in the Nov. 7 congressional election and harbor growing doubts about the Iraq war and the country's future, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released Thursday.

Media blamed for Islam bias  —  AUSTRALIAN Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty believes the media is fuelling a growing bias against Islamic Australians, warning that increased vilification of Muslims is fomenting home-grown terrorism.  —  In a speech delivered in Adelaide …