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.

Patricia Heaton, Sports Stars Rebut Michael J. Fox on Missouri Stem Cell Ad  —  St. Louis, MO (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life advocates in Missouri have prepared a response ad to one that actor Michael J. Fox has made in numerous states that contains misleading information about pro-life candidates and their views on stem cell research.

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 …

Interview of the Vice President by Scott Hennen, WDAY at Radio Day at the White House  —  Q I've had the honor of introducing our next guest at Cabela's in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.  I've interviewed him just off the MSUM Dragon gym floor in Moorehead, even at his hotel suite in St. Paul …

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.

MilBlogs: Losing a Precious Resource  —  "I see this expanding considerably with the communications tools that are out there now," said Sgt. 1st Class Irwin Walters, who oversees personnel issues for the Manassas unit, and works in the IT procurement office for the IRS in his civilian life.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.