Gay Marriage Approved by N.Y. Senate  —  ALBANY — Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed, and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born.

Michelle Obama: “Fortunately, We Have Help From The Media”  —  In an interview with CNN, First Lady Michelle Obama thanks the media for their “support” and “kindness.”  CNN reporter: “How's the family ready for this [the election]?  It's going to be quite vicious, isn't it?  How do you prepare for that?”

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN TO ATTEND PREMIERE OF THE UNDEFEATED AT PELLA OPERA HOUSE IN PELLA, IOWA  —  SANTA MONICA, Calif. (June 25, 2011)- Victory Film Group VictoryFilmGroup.com and ARC Entertainment announced today that Governor Sarah Palin and her husband Todd will attend the premiere …

Queen of the Tea Party  —  The presidential campaign of Michele Bachmann  —  If she'd fallen backward, she'd have been killed.  It was September 2009, during her second term in Congress, and a magazine had sent a photographer to shoot Michele Bachmann.  He escorted her to the third floor rotunda …

The Failure of Al Gore: Part One  —  It must be as perplexing to his many admirers as it is frustrating to himself that a man of Vice President Gore's many talents, great skills and strong beliefs is one of the most consistent losers in American politics.  —  “All political careers end in failure …

Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow justice by the neck  —  Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week, according to at least three knowledgeable sources.

Speechworld vs. Realworld  —  The Democrats seem to have given up on budgets.  Hey, who can blame them?  They've got a ballpark figure: Let's raise $2 trillion in revenue every year, and then spend $4 trillion.  That seems to work pretty well, so why get hung up on a lot of fine print?

Report: Bushehr experts killed in Russian plane crash  —  Iranian nuclear efforts suffer major setback as five leading figures in design of its nuclear facilities perish in crash  —  Five Russian scientists who assisted in the design of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant were among …

Lebanon Sunni clergy reject domestic abuse law  —  BEIRUT — Lebanon's highest Sunni Muslim authority on Friday rejected a bill aimed at protecting women against domestic violence and marital rape, saying it would lead to the demise “of the family as in the West.”

GOP Rep. McCarthy to Obama: ‘Get off the golf course’ and ‘get engaged’  —  The No. 3 Republican leader in the House took President Obama to task Friday, claiming he should put the golf clubs down and get directly involved in the budget talks with Congress.  —  “He's got to get off …

The Facts About Fracking  —  The real risks of the shale gas revolution, and how to manage them.  —  The U.S. is in the midst of an energy revolution, and we don't mean solar panels or wind turbines.  A new gusher of natural gas from shale has the potential to transform U.S. energy production …

A Sense of Euphoria Settles on the West Village  —  Passage of the same-sex marriage bill by New York lawmakers brought dancing in the streets of the West Village on Friday night.  —  Crowds gathered, screamed and embraced in Sheridan Square outside the Stonewall Inn, where the gay rights movement began 42 years ago.

First look: Fear over Greece grows - New this morning: Bernanke numbers drop - Hot this morning: Oil bounces back - Boehner under pressure  —  MIND MELD: WHY WALL STREET HATES WASHINGTON - Bring up Washington's understanding of financial markets around Wall Street and you get rolled eyes and four-letter words.