News: Mary Cheney, Lutherans, DOMA, Mariah Carey, Detroit

Federal judge rules that gay couple denied benefits should receive compensation: "U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt deemed the denial of healthcare and other benefits to the spouse of federal public defender Brad Levenson to be a violation of the Constitution's guarantee of due process and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, which is prohibited by California state law."

Mary Cheney and Heather Poe welcome new baby: "Sarah Lynne Cheney was born Wednesday morning at Sibley Hospital in Washington, weighing 6 pounds and 14 ounces. She is the seventh grandchild of the former vice president and his wife, Lynne."

Mariah Carey demands 20 fluffy white kittens, 100 doves, 80 security guards and more so she can turn on the Christmas lights at a London mall.

South African runner Caster Semenya keeps title after gender dispute.

Robert Pattinson can play things other than vampires.

Incoming gay Detroit City Council member Charles Pugh talks of AIDS crisis in city: “There needs to be more money targets at the crisis areas."

David Vitter won't comment on the Louisiana justice who refused to marry an interracial couple because he isn't familiar with Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case which lifted the ban on interracial marriages.

Demi Moore has lost a chunk of her thigh!

WATCH: Band uses naked men as furniture in new video.

Levi Johnston never intended to go full-frontal in Playgirl.

Neil Patrick Harris has a signature pose.

Probably one of the skankiest beards in Hollywood.

Anti-gay evangelicals met with protest at Syracuse University: "Pesto, a junior from Westchester County, said he saw the Deferios’ signs earlier in the day. It made him uncomfortable, he said, so he made his own sign. 'Corduroy skirts are a sin,' it said, referring to what Michelle Deferio was wearing. 'I was just making a gay joke,' he said. But friends saw him and joined in, standing with him and making signs of their own. Other students came and, by 6:30, there were about 70 people at the scene, holding signs, cheering and challenging the Deferios."

If you were called "Mary" for 55 years would you really want your name changed to "Terry"?

Adam Lambert is starting to resemble a member of the Queen's Guard.

Gay vs Gay? Queer/trans anarchist group Bash Back protests Join the Impact demonstration in Minneapolis.

A guide to D.C. marriage equality discrimination.

Mall Santas and doctors neckties are to be avoided if you want to escape the flu.

Gay couples blast DOMA in new court filing: "DOMA marks a stark, and unique, departure from the respect and recognition the federal government has long afforded to State marital status determinations."

Via Boy Culture, Susan Boyle sings Madonna's "You'll See".

UK pit bull owner hunted after allowing his dog to attack blind woman's seeing-eye dog.

Get hubbied.

Lutherans upset over gay clergy split to form new denomination: "Leaders of Lutheran CORE said Wednesday that a working group would immediately begin drafting a constitution and taking other steps to form the denomination, with hopes to have it off the ground by next August. 'There are many people within the ELCA who are very unhappy with what has happened,' said the Rev. Paull Spring, chairman of Lutheran CORE and a retired ELCA bishop from State College, Pa."

News: Sweden, Morrissey, Cameroon, Walmart, Kris Allen, Kenya

Straight ex-spouses speak up for marriage equality: "They are federal workers and professionals, men and women who share little except that their former spouses tried to live as heterosexuals but at some point realized they could not."

British town mourns albino squirrel.

WATCH: Morrissey storms off stage after fan hits him on head with bottle of beer.

POLL: Majority of Californians oppose putting marriage equality on the ballot in 2010. "Overall, 51% of California voters favored marriage rights for same-sex couples and 43% were opposed. Strikingly, however, almost 60% of Californians did not want to revisit the issue in 2010, just one election cycle after it last hit the ballot."

Conservatives up in arms over gay-friendly recommendations in Fort Worth Rainbow Lounge police raid report.

Asheville, NC city council to take up extending benefits to same-sex partners.

Manchester, UK closes gay village to cars in weekend experiment.

Wingnut Peter LaBarbera calls FBI on gay blogger Joe.My.God over reader comments he characterizes as "domestic terrorism".

Popular DJs Fernando and Greg back on the air in San Francisco: "Fernando Ventura and Greg Sherrell had been the most recognizable voices on KNGY's gay-themed programming schedule since 2005. Last year they received the Fall Honors award from northern California chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and in 2007 they were named to OUT Magazine's Top 100 most influential people in gay culture."

WATCH: Kris Allen's new music video for "Live Like We're Dying".

Shortened, revised trailer "de-gays" Tom Ford's A Single Man?

Gay activist detained in Cameroon after dispute with taxi driver.

Cleveland City Council to get mass postcard delivery on transgender rights ordinance.

Male model fix: Parker Gregory.

Gay couple, twin sons banned for life from Walmart over BIC lighter dispute: "'They asked if I had Bic lighters. I said, 'Yes,' and handed them over,' Paolucci said. 'Then they asked if I had a receipt. I said, 'Yes, you're holding it.' Then this group of Wal-Mart employees started forming around us.' Paolucci and Hitchcock said the employees were threatening and that one used a vulgarity. Their accusations frightened the boys, who began 'crying, screaming and freaking out,' they said."

The Guardian profiles fashion designer Henry Holland: "I think it [being gay] makes you more experimental. There's not that whole thing of, 'I can't wear that, I'd look like a poof', because you are a poof."

Master performance: "Tardy for the Party".

Sweden's Lutheran Church ordains first openly lesbian bishop: "Eva Brunne was ordained as bishop of Stockholm's diocese in a ceremony on Sunday. She lives in a "registered partnership" with another woman, a civil union between gays used in Sweden before same-sex marriages were legalized this year. The couple also has a child. 'It is very positive that our church is setting an example here and is choosing me as bishop based on my qualifications, when they also know that they can meet resistance elsewhere,' the 55-year-old Brunne told The Associated Press by phone."

Possible gay element investigated in murder of 55-year-old man in India.

More info on Kenya's plans to conduct "census" of gays for HIV/AIDS purposes: "Initial media reports said the project, which was announced last week, would be a gay census — raising fears that gays could be exposed against their will and questions about whether such a count could possibly be accurate. But Muraguri says all information collected by the government will be kept confidential and officials will not seek to contact all men who have sex with men in Kenya. The government will also seek to interview both male and female sex workers and intravenous-drug users."

News: H1N1, Banksy, Drew Gooden, Space Hotel, Justin Bourne

Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear appeal of lawsuit oever same-sex marriage referendum.

Dallas Mavericks Drew Gooden accused of calling fan a "faggot".

Lady Gaga found something else in her closet.

Census data: many similarities between straight married couples and gay married couples.

Gay candidate smeared as child molester in Annapolis election.

Anti-gay sign investigated as hate crime in Maine: "A hand-painted, plywood sign that had a threat directed at homosexuals was found nailed on a tree in the front yard of a Route 156 residence on Friday, police say."

Hypocrite: Rep. Joe Wilson blames Obama administration for vaccine shortage after voting no on funding bill to combat H1N1.

Space hotel to launch in 2012?

A look at Ultimate Fighting, its gay-friendly and not so gay-friendly fighters, and its gay fans: “Any guy involved in grappling is the furthest thing from homophobic in the world. I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever with not only our fighters or our fan base. The guys in the UFC, everybody is so cool, it’s great sportsmanship, everybody has respect for each other. I honestly, it wouldn’t be a big deal to me and most of the guys I know in this sport, it wouldn’t be a big deal for them either.”

Circus: Kylie Minogue spent Halloween in NYC with Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone.

Miss Gay America crowned in St. Louis.

Minor league hockey player Justin Bourne: End the gay slurs. "In my days as a hockey player, I did nothing but contribute to hockey's culture of homophobia and prejudice against gays. I used gay slurs more times than I'd like to admit. Six months after I left my last professional locker room, I felt a twinge of regret, followed by a full-out, stomach punch of regret. And by the time I finished the first draft of this column, I was disgusted with myself."

Is Precious this year's Slumdog?

Listen: Silverton, Oregon's transgender mayor Stu Rasmussen profiled on WNYC's Radiolab.

Dancing with the Stars' Derek Hough: I'm not gay, but I almost played one on Cougar Town: "It would have been perfect. With all the rumors going around, I thought it would be really funny because it's just not true. But I was like, you know what? If that's what you want to see."

Rihanna discusses assault: "I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears."

Banksy commentary on graffiti vandalism covered in graffiti by vandals.

Minnesota pastor quits over Lutheran position on gay clergy.

Mariah Carey nearly takes spill on Jay Leno.

Twitter war erupts after user calls British actor Stephen Fry's Tweets "boring."

Conservative Washington Times highlights Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway's opposition to lifting ban on gays in the military: "But Gen. Conway has gone further than others in stating his opposition to a change in policy, according to the former official, who has been privy to private conversations on the matter. "He feels very strongly that [removing the ban] would be disruptive, and he opposes it," said the former official. Gen. Conway's private remarks stand in contrast to public utterances by other service chiefs, who have restricted themselves to repeating a well-rehearsed mantra: If Congress introduces a bill to repeal the ban, they will discuss it with the chain of command. If Congress changes the law, they will follow the law."

Lutheran Boys Do Their Own Miley Cyrus Fire Island Party Video

Some (str8?) students at Midland Lutheran College in Nebraska were so enamored with the Fire Island gays' tribute to Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA", they made their own.

Must be some of those liberal Lutherans.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Ardi, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robots, Maine, Lutherans, Bryan Batt

Nate Silver: Same-sex marriage ban is underdog in Maine.

Ardi: Scientists find skeleton that predates 3.2 million-year-old Lucy, providing closest picture yet of "missing link".

Kanye West throws another tantrum.

Gore Vidal lets it rip once again.

Lesbian Jane Castor confirmed as Tampa's first female police chief.

NJ marriage battle heating up: "Momentum is slowly growing among Democrats in the Legislature to pass a bill allowing same-sex marriages during the lame duck session following the November general election. But Republican lawmakers at a Statehouse news conference said they preferred an amendment on the 2010 November ballot that would propose changing the state's constitution to permit marriage only between a man and a woman."

More on Kylie's opening night.

British actor Stephen Fry shrinks.

"Ex-gay" David Elliott confronts gay Arlington County board member Jay Fisette at County Fair: "According to a piece he wrote in the Christian News Wire, Elliott approached Fisette to rehash the details of the 2007 incident. 'I wanted to let you know that I was hit when I was working at this booth in a previous year,' he wrote. Fisette allegedly replied, 'What happened to you wasn’t good, but neither is your message.'"

Cheyenne Jackson to join 30 Rock?

Jogging Jake Gyllenhaal stops traffic in Pittsburgh.

St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church votes to leave denomination over acceptance of gays.

Mixner: Where will Obama be during the National Equality March?

Scientists turn clock back on aging muscles: "Our study shows that the ability of old human muscle to be maintained and repaired by muscle stem cells can be restored to youthful vigor given the right mix of biochemical signals. his provides promising new targets for forestalling the debilitating muscle atrophy that accompanies aging, and perhaps other tissue degenerative disorders as well."

Twilight Eclipse's shirtless wolf pack stays warm in Ugg boots.

Fish-mimicking robots help researchers plan the future of automobiles.

Boy George to return to London's West End with new live concert: "Boy George in Concert Up Close and Personal runs at the Leicester Square Theatre for ten nights only from 20 to 30 December 2009."

West Hollywood to celebrate 25th birthday.

Mad Men's Bryan Batt to marry his partner: "The gay actor, 46, has been dating Tom Cianfichi, an actor-turned-event planner, for two decades and the couple is now ready to make its union official with a wedding in Vermont, where same sex unions are legal."

Choose your own TV boyfriend.

The Foundation for Reconciliation to hold memorial during LDS conference weekend for gay Mormons who have committed suicide: "The foundation, in a news release, said it wanted to call attention to the issue in light of the LDS Church's 2008 support for the gay marriage ban in California, the July detention of a gay couple who kissed on the church's Main Street Plaza and a September speech given by LDS general authority Bruce C. Hafen denying a biological link to homosexuality."

Lutheran Decision on Gay Clergy May Split Church

Will the schism that occurred in the Episcopal Church over its decisions regarding gay clergy be repeated in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) as a result of Friday's vote to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as rostered leaders?

It looks as if that may be happening:

"Golden light filtered through the stained-glass windows of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church [in Chicago] on Sunday, illuminating a congregation on its feet. Everyone in the pews of the Wrigleyville church stood, some with tears in their eyes, applauding the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's recent decision to allow gay men and women in committed relationships to serve as leaders. 'It's a good day to be a Lutheran,' said Patrice Macken, a member of Holy Trinity for six years. 'I feel like it's a long overdue decision ... it's just a human-rights issue.' Meanwhile, at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst, Rev. Bill Shields opened worship with a cry of anguish. 'Dear Father, we come to you with heavy hearts because our church is in turmoil,' he prayed."

Meanwhile, in Wausau, Wisconsin: "At least two Wausau-area pastors think their church leaders made the right decision when they lifted a ban that prohibited sexually active gay and lesbian people from serving as ministers in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...The two Wausau pastors called the decision a necessary step as the Lutheran faith evolves in today’s society. 'Jesus forbid divorce, yet we let divorced people into our church,' said The Rev. Gary Froseth, the senior pastor at St. Stephen Lutheran Church. 'If you’re in a public, lifelong relationship, that should qualify you to be a pastor for a church.'"

And in Charleston, West Virginia: "A local congregation could break away from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, which voted Friday to allow sexually active, monogamous gays and lesbians to serve as clergy...Mahan predicts a majority of his congregation will want to leave the ELCA. 'I can't believe the church I loved and served for 40 years can condone what God condemns,' Mahan said after the vote to allow gay clergy."

The move by Lutherans has others wondering what will happen with other mainline denominations: "The Presbyterian Church (USA) has inched closer to joining the Episcopalians and Lutherans, but the latest effort to undo a policy requiring chastity of gay clergy was defeated this year. The nation's largest mainline denomination, the United Methodist Church, has moved in the opposite direction, hardening its opposition to non-celibate gay clergy...The ELCA's move is especially jarring and significant because 'it is viewed by all of us as one of the more Reformation-rooted, broadly orthodox denominations' and takes its theology seriously, said Richard Mouw, president of the multi-denominational and evangelical Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. 'It's a huge, huge departure for a church like that,' said Mouw, who has urged fellow conservatives in the Presbyterian Church (USA) to stay in the fold despite concerns about a leftward shifts on sexuality. He said one possible outcome is a 'new ecumenical dialogue on the right' uniting beleaguered conservatives from various denominations — though not under the banner of a new one."