Judge strikes down Prop. 8, allows gay marriage in California [Updated]  —  A federal judge in San Francisco decided today that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, striking down Proposition 8, the voter approved ballot measure that banned same-sex unions.

Google and Verizon in Talks on Selling Internet Priority  —  WASHINGTON — Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content's creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

Gibbs dismisses Missouri vote against federal health insurance mandate  —  White House press secretary Robert Gibbs flatly dismissed Missouri's vote Tuesday rejecting a key part of the healthcare law.  —  Gibbs said Missouri's vote approving a ballot initiative to exempt residents …

Senate Vote Clears Way for $26 Billion in Aid to States  —  WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday cleared the way to provide $10 billion to states and local school districts to prevent teacher layoffs and an additional $16 billion in federal aid to cash-strapped states, and the Speaker …

Briton held for wearing a bikini in Dubai shopping mall after fight with Arabic woman  —  A British holidaymaker has been charged with indecency in Dubai after walking through the world's largest shopping centre in a bikini.  —  The woman was buying clothes and gifts in the Dubai Mall …

Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images  —  For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they're viewed.  The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that “scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.”

White House Statement on Proposition 8  —  A White House statement regarding Wednesday's ruling overturning Proposition 8 said President Barack Obama had spoken out against the measure because it was “divisive and discriminatory.”  —  A White House spokesperson sent the following statement …

Why We Should Welcome McConnell's Demand for Hearings on Rescinding 14th Amendment  —  The “your papers, please” hysteria spreading through the Republican Party has reached a new low.  Now, they want to corrupt the U.S. Constitution to promote their opposition to immigrants and immigration.

President Obama courts wealthy donors  —  Obama is speaking at these press-free events, if not behind a lectern or with a microphone.  —  Four times in the last week, President Barack Obama has quietly departed from his official White House schedule and slipped into private …

The Tea Party's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Night  —  Moderates rule a series of high-profile primaries.  —  Kansas Rep. Todd Tiahrt, along with his wife, Vicki, concedes to Jerry Moran during a watch party for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Creating a hybrid for the blogosphere  —  Not only is the blogosphere changing how voters consume information, it's also creating new jobs in politics, policy and online communications consulting.  Although there is still no formal job description for “blogger relations” staffers …

Updated.  Must Watch: The Broken Window Fallacy  —  This brilliant video is a simple illustration on the fallacy of claiming that calamities stir economic growth.  Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize - winning economist, says the attacks of 9/11 and World War II brought great economic benefits to the nation.

Pence: Obama ‘most anti-Israel’ president in modern history  —  President Obama is running the most anti-Israel White House in modern history, a member of the House GOP leadership charged Wednesday.  —  House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.), a staunch ally of Israel, assailed Obama for his record on that country.

Specials complicate Senate races  —  Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) is huddling with his lawyers to decide whether to mount a legal challenge to force his way onto the November ballot for the special election to serve out the remainder of President Obama's Senate term.

Ugly Populism  —  I'd like to associate myself with everything Alan Jacobs just wrote in his post on the mosque and community center being built near Ground Zero.  Newt Gingrich is a politician I would've considered supporting in a bid for the presidency.  His behavior during this episode has cost him any chance at my vote.

Diversity Debate Engulfs Hunter High in Manhattan  —  With one of its alumnae, Elena Kagan, poised for confirmation as a justice on the United States Supreme Court, it should be a triumphant season for Hunter College High School, a New York City public school for the intellectually gifted.

The 2012 GOP Contest  —  Our national polling on the 2012 Republican Presidential contest pretty consistently shows what amounts to a four way tie between Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Newt Gingrich.  But to get a feel of how things might play out in reality it's interesting …

Caroline Giuliani's Shoplifting Bust: Updated x 2  —  Here's what we've got on the shoplifting bust of Caroline Giuliani, by our Police Bureau Chief, Rocco Parascandola.  —  The Ivy Leaguer daughter of former Mayor Rudy Giuliani was busted Wednesday afternoon for trying to get a five-finger discount …