N.J. Ruling Mandates Rights for Gay Unions  —  State Court Does Not Specify 'Marriage'  —  The New Jersey Supreme Court left the door ajar for the approval of same-sex marriage Wednesday, ruling that gay couples are entitled to rights no different from those of heterosexual couples.

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.

Politicians Get Nasty  —  With Midterm Elections Days Away, Ad Campaigns Are Getting Ugly  —  It's crunch time in election season, and with control of the House and Senate up for grabs, that means a ramping up in nasty, ugly attacks.  —  And with Republicans on the defensive …

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.

An Interview With President Bush  —  This afternoon I had the privilege of being one of eight columnists interviewing George W. Bush in the Oval Office.  The others were Tony Blankley of the Washington Times, Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post …

Iraqi Prime Minister Lambastes U.S.  —  Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki lashed out at the United States Wednesday, saying his popularly elected government would not bend to U.S.-imposed benchmarks and timelines and criticizing a U.S. and Iraqi military operation in a Shiite slum of Baghdad …

Argentina charges Iran, Hezbollah in 1994 Jewish center bombing  —  BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentine prosecutors charged Iran and the Shiite militia Hezbollah with the 1994 bombing of a Jewish charities office in Argentina that killed 85 people and injured 300.

Report: S.Korea to ban entry from North  —  SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea said Thursday it will ban the entry of North Korean officials who fall under a U.N. travel restriction — Seoul's first concrete move to enforce sanctions imposed after the North's nuclear test.

Jane Pauley Sues New York Times  —  Broadcaster claims fraud over appearance in drug industry advertorial  —  Claiming that The New York Times duped her into granting an interview for what turned out to be a drug company-funded advertising supplement, Jane Pauley has sued the newspaper for fraud.

Muslim leader blames women for sex attacks  —  THE nation's most senior Muslim cleric has blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals.  —  In a Ramadan sermon …

Outlook  — While our seat-by-seat analysis shows Democrats winning the House by a four-seat margin, the overriding question is whether a "wave" will deliver a really big Democratic majority.  That presumes an overwhelming sentiment that negates seat-by-seat analyses.