Unanimous ruling: Iowa marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman  —  REGISTER STAFF REPORTS  —  The Iowa Supreme Court this morning unanimously upheld gays' right to marry.  —  “The Iowa statute limiting civil marriage to a union between a man and a woman violates the equal protection clause …

Congress Approves Budget  —  $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan Paves Way for Obama Goals  —  Congressional Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's ambitious and expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching priorities.

Jobless Rate Hits 8.5% After 663,000 Jobs Lost in March  —  The American economy shed another 663,000 jobs in March, the government reported Friday, bringing the toll of job losses during the recession to 5.1 million.  —  The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the national unemployment rate climbed …

Palin, Ruedrich call for Begich resignation  —  WASHINGTON — The head of the Alaska Republican Party today called on Sen. Mark Begich to step down from the U.S. Senate, saying that the state's voters would have re-elected former Sen. Ted Stevens had they known the U.S Department of Justice would abandon its prosecution of him.

Why is this man bowing?  —  The caption on the photo above reads: … What's wrong with this picture?  Americans do not bow to royalty.  In my view, when the royal is the ruling tyrant of a despotic regime, the wrong is compounded.  Putting aside the breach of American protocol …

On the World Stage, Obama Issues an Overture  —  LONDON — In his debut on the international stage, President Obama presented himself as the leader of an America that can no longer go it alone, and as abiding by the protocol of a global new deal.  —  It was a performance that ranged …

Churchill wins CU suit but awarded just $1  —  Ward Churchill won his case against the University of Colorado today as a Denver jury unanimously decided he was fired in retaliation for his controversial essay about the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.  —  The jury gave Churchill $1 for past losses …

As Crisis Loomed, Geithner Pressed But Fell Short  —  Before Timothy Geithner became Treasury chief, he regulated major U.S. banks.  Now he says: “We're having a major financial crisis in part because of failures of supervision.”  —  In September 2005, Timothy Geithner made one of his most visible moves …

Carville: Obama has best day as president  —  Editor's Note: James Carville, a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, was the Clinton-Gore campaign manager in 1992 and political adviser to President Clinton.  He is active in Democratic politics and a party fundraiser.

‘Congressman A’: Rahm Emanuel  —  Now Obama's top aide, ‘Congressman A’ had grant held up, indictment says  —  The White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel listens as President Barack Obama delivers remarks to open the White House Forum on Health Reform in the East Room of the White House.

Russia's Medvedev hails ‘comrade’ Obama  —  LONDON (AFP) - - Russia's Dmitry Medvedev hailed Barack Obama as “my new comrade” Thursday after their first face-to-face talks, saying the US president “can listen” — even if little progress was made on substance.

Sources: Google In Talks To Acquire Twitter (Updated)  —  Here's a heck of a rumor that we've sourced from two separate people close to the negotiations: Google is in late stage negotiations to acquire Twitter.  We don't know the price but can assume its well, well north of the $250 million valuation …

Murdoch says papers should charge on Web  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch, whose media company News Corp owns one of the few U.S. newspapers that makes people pay to read its news on the Web, said more papers will have to start doing the same to survive.

Little Change in Negative Images of Bush and Cheney  —  Favorable ratings for both are at or near their all-time lows  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Neither George W. Bush's deliberate silence about the Obama administration nor Dick Cheney's ready criticism of it appear to have altered U.S. public perceptions about either man.

Free-Marketeers Should Welcome Some Regulation  —  The private sector made the biggest mistakes.  —  President Barack Obama took his proposed financial regulatory reforms to London this week for the G-20 meeting, while free-market advocates objected.  While many of Mr. Obama's ideas warrant skepticism …

China's Dollar Trap  —  Back in the early stages of the financial crisis, wags joked that our trade with China had turned out to be fair and balanced after all: They sold us poison toys and tainted seafood; we sold them fraudulent securities.  —  But these days, both sides of that deal are breaking down.

Video shows girl's flogging by Taliban  —  Mobile phone movie shows that militant influence is spreading deeper into Pakistan  —  A video showing a teenage girl being flogged by Taliban fighters has emerged from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, offering a shocking glimpse of militant brutality …

Sebelius spared tough questions  —  Here's one way to breeze through a confirmation hearing: Get it scheduled for the same day that the Senate votes in a marathon session on the budget resolution.  —  Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius fielded less than two hours' worth …

Burris adviser slams Dem leadership  —  A senior adviser to Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) slammed Democratic leaders Thursday evening, saying “they have tried their best to discredit” the new senator in the wake of his appointment by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The American Super-Bower  —  This picture is worth a thousand words.  So let me see if I understand American protocol in the age of Obama: The First Lady hugs Queen Elizabeth as if she's some granny at a seniors' center photo-op, but the President of this republic prostrates himself …