U.S. Orders Judge in Alabama to License Same-Sex Marriage Weddings  —  MOBILE, Ala. — A federal judge here on Thursday ordered that a county probate judge must comply with her earlier ruling and cannot refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.  —  The federal judge …

GOP profanity, ‘math challenges’ color showdown on immigration  —  House and Senate Republicans offered up plenty of color on Wednesday about the looming shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, but solutions were harder to find.  —  Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) …

A GOP one-party state?  —  If the Republican nominee for president is elected in 2016 — even by one vote — America will become an effective one-party state with the GOP controlling the presidency, the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court.  —  I warn my fellow liberals who casually discuss …

Obama Secretly Partied With Bill Ayers Last Summer  —  On Aug. 30, 2014, MSNBC anchor Alex Wagner and former White House chef Sam Kass got married at a private wedding north of New York City.  It was widely reported at the time that President Obama, a longtime friend of the groom, attended the ceremony with his family.

“Sarah Palin with a Harvard degree”: Why new senator Tom Cotton is so frightening … Newly elected Tom Cotton of Arkansas is one of the youngest members of the Senate, only 37 years old, a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law and a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Why They Fear Scott Walker  —  As I write this, the No. 1 “most read” story on the Washington Post's website is its investigation into the college years of Scott Walker, headlined: “As Scott Walker mulls White House bid, questions linger over college exit.”  Most of the time …

Which image of Obama mugging for BuzzFeed's cameras diminishes the presidency the most, ranked  —  The #Millennial-friendly website BuzzFeed has taken over for Zach Galifianakis as the White House's preferred video venue for encouraging young people to sign up for health insurance.

Biden: 2016 is battle for third Obama term  —  The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee should embrace the notion of a third term of the Obama presidency, Vice President Biden said Thursday, during a speech at Drake University in Iowa.  —  “I call it sticking with what works,” Biden declared.

Bill would allow concealed weapons across state lines  —  Gun owners would be allowed to carry concealed weapons around the country under new legislation introduced in the Senate.  —  The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act would allow gun owners who have a concealed carry permit …

Photos Show Russian Military in Ukraine Arming Separatists  —  UPDATE 3:11 P.M.: Following publication of this story, serious questions have been raised about the authenticity of some of the photographs provided by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R., Okla.).  Several images of the Russian convoys appear …

How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life  —  Credit: Photo illustration by Andrew B. Myers.  Prop stylist: Sonia Rentsch.  —  As she made the long journey from New York to South Africa, to visit family during the holidays in 2013, Justine Sacco, 30 years old and the senior director …

Things Everybody Does But Doesn't Talk About, Featuring President Obama  —  How did we get Obama to use a selfie stick?  Oh, because he wants you to go to https://www.healthcare.gov.  —  So what does President Obama do when no one's around?  —  View Video ›

Campaign Manager Pleads Guilty to Coordinated Campaign Contributions and False Statements  —  First Criminal Prosecution in the United States For  —  Campaign Finance Coordination between Political Committees  —  A campaign finance manager and political consultant pleaded guilty today …

Little League cheating call raises allegations of racism  —  Shares -  —  Supporters of a Chicago Little League team that had its national title revoked over allegations of cheating accused the Little League organization Wednesday of racism.  —  Little League International announced Wednesday morning …

The Destroyer Goeth  —  I met Walter Cronkite once.  He was a jerk.  —  The occasion was the 100th anniversary of my college newspaper, the Daily Texan, where Cronkite had worked as a young man before dropping out of the University of Texas.  It was 1999, and the possibility of …

Democratic leaders tell John Kitzhaber: It's time to resign  —  Senate President Peter Courtney and House Majority Leader Tina Kotek met with Gov. John Kitzhaber on Thursday morning and told him it was time to resign, according to multiple sources.  —  Courtney is expected to meet with reporters at 1 p.m.

Assad, Hezbollah, and Iran's onslaught towards Israel  —  Map shows attempt by ‘axis of resistance’ to secure towns and strategic points in order to drive rebels out of Israeli border region.  —  Roi Kais  —  Mere days after the start of the operation, the Syrian Armed Forces declared …

Student reprimanded for saying “God Bless America”  —  A Florida high school student was disciplined after a national atheist organization took offense when he concluded the morning announcements by saying “God Bless America.”  —  A spokesperson for the Nassau County School District told …

Is Jeb Bush Buying the Nomination?  —  Reading about the 2016 presidential campaign, it's easy to forget that America considers itself a democracy.  Here are a few recent headlines, chosen almost at random: “Jeb Bush's eye-popping event: $100K per ticket,” “Hillary Fundraising Off to a Slow Start …

“Darwin Was Wrong Day” a Hit  —  The Internet has been buzzing ever since I announced Darwin Was Wrong Day in response to Darwin Day.  February 12, Charles Darwin's birthday, is often celebrated by secularists and, sadly, even some Christians.  Instead, I declared that today should be Darwin …