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."

Minneapolis Columnist: Gays will Destroy Marriage

A couple of our Minneapolis readers sent in this column from the Star-Tribune by Katherine Kersten, which apparently had no counterpoint.

Writes Kersten:

"Once marriage is stripped of its organic purpose, why restrict it to two people? Two lesbians and the sperm donor for their child, polygamists, bisexuals: All will want society to recognize and respect their relationships. And why should marriage be open only to people with a sexual relationship? That discriminates against two female friends who want to share the burdens of rearing their kids, or a disabled brother and sister who live together. Some of the most influential proponents of same-sex marriage seek to 'get the state out of the marriage business' altogether. It's ironic that in other realms of life, Americans are very aware of the risks of tampering excessively with nature. Many of those urging us to transform humankind's fundamental social institution are the very people who preach about such risks in the environmental context and warn that the actions of individuals affect the well-being of all. The natural world, they say, can stretch only so far before breaking as we tinker with the realities of its systems."

The Perilous, Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage [star tribune]

Obama Nominates Sharon Lubinski as U.S. Marshal; Would be First Openly Gay Marshal in the Nation

President Obama yesterday nominated Assistant Minneapolis Police Chief Sharon Lubinski for U.S. Marshal. If she is selected, Lubinski would be the first openly gay U.S. Marshal in the country and one of two active female Marshals of 94 serving across the country, and the first female to serve in Minnesota.

Said Obama: "Assistant Chief Lubinski has dedicated her career to the noble cause of protecting her fellow Americans. She has displayed exceptional courage in the pursuit of justice, and I am honored to nominate her today to continue her selfless work as a U.S. Marshal for the District of Minnesota."

In a press release, the White House noted Lubinski's background: "She has served in the Minneapolis Police Department for 20 years, 10 of those years in command positions. Prior to joining the Minneapolis Police Department, she spent eight years with the Dane County Sheriff’s Department in Madison, Wisconsin. She is currently a member of the community faculty at Metropolitan State University School of Criminal Justice. Lubinski earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master’s from Hamline University, where she is also currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Public Administration."

Lubinski said she would be honored to serve: "During my 30-year career, I’ve actively partnered with federal law enforcement agencies in many different capacities,” Lubinski said in a statement. “The U.S. Marshal has a uniquely important role as the chief enforcement officer of the federal courts, charged with ensuring the safety and effective functioning of our justice system."

News: Irving Penn, Blood Donation, Jesus Luz, Moon Impact, Poe

Impact of Moon by probe to be broadcast live on NASA TV tomorrow morning.

Photographer Irving Penn dies at 92.

Madonna buying posh Upper East Side apartment for Jesus Luz.

Gay travel agents converge on Tel Aviv.

Tracklist for Susan Boyle album includes Madonna and The Monkees.

Teen talk: My parents don't know my boyfriend's parents are gay. "My mom is asking to meet Robby's 'mom and dad.' She has spoken with one of Robby's dads on the phone but she doesn't know another dad exists. I don't want this to come between my parents and Robby. Should I just break up with him now and avoid doing this or lie and tell my mom that his parents don't want to meet?"

WATCH: OneRepublic's video for "All the Right Moves".

Levi Johnston workout photos.

Self-assessment, right of gays to donate blood at issue in Canadian court case: "Kyle Freeman, 36, relied on his own self-assessment that he wasn't infected with any sexually transmitted diseases when he lied about having sex with men on a donor-screening questionnaire...Freeman is suing the agency, claiming he didn't answer the question truthfully because Canadian Blood Services violated his Charter right to equality regardless of his sexual orientation when it asked him whether he had ever had sex with other men, even once, since 1977. The discovery Freeman had syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that can damage the heart, brain and eyes if left untreated, was made only after Canadian Blood Services screened his donated blood."

Mika plays with puppets on Spanish TV.

Dozens join lawsuit against Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito.

15 gay TV characters who never came out of the closet but should have.

Edgar Allen Poe to get funeral he never had: "On Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each - the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe."

The superheroes of your dreams.

Several prominent Twin Cities religious leaders speak out for marriage equality: "Retired Bishop Lowell Erdahl of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Rabbi Jared Saks of Temple Israel in Minneapolis are among those speaking at a Capitol news conference."

Poll: "Whatever" is most annoying conversational word.

Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins Nobel Prize for Literature: "Announcing the award in Stockholm, the Swedish Academy described Ms. Müller, 'who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.' Her award comes on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Europe."

News: Tallest Man, The Moon, Net Neutrality, Mexico City, DOMA

National Equality March releases preliminary schedule of events.

Department of Justice lawyers again defend same-sex marriage ban: "Consistent with the rule of law, however, the Department of Justice has long followed the practice of defending federal statutes as long as reasonable arguments can be made in support of their constitutionality, even if the department disagrees with a particular statute as a policy matter, as it does here."

8'1": 27-year-old Turkish man named world's tallest.

Wockner: Campaign to undo Prop 8 kicks off in San Diego. "The campaign's first main task is to collect 694,354 valid voter signatures to put an initiative on the 2010 ballot to remove Prop 8 from the California Constitution. It is generally believed that about 1 million total signatures need to be collected to get the required number of valid ones."

NASA reveals crater at the moon's south pole where it will crash a satellite on October 9. It's the coldest known place in the solar system.

Pierre Trudeau, Mark Tewksbury inducted into Candian Queer Hall of Fame.

LETTER: Student's claim of teachers' anti-gay harassment was retaliation, according to six other students.

Are you lookin' at Kellan Lutz?

In case you missed it: Parks & Recreation's gay penguin episode.

In anticipation of its introduction, New Jersey Catholic bishops step up attacks on marriage equality bill.

Mexico City gay bar patrons warned of homophobic crimes.

Is D.C.'s police chief dismantling the department's Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit?

Barney Frank not interested in Kennedy Senate seat.

Robert Pinter, who was arrested by the NYPD in a porn shop sting, has taken his case to federal court: "The actions taken against the Plaintiff in targeting him, entrapping him, arresting him, taking him into custody, and otherwise detaining him and prosecuting him were taken for collateral objectives other than the legitimate objectives associated with an arrest and prosecution."

Male model fix: Brian Shimansky.

Adam Lambert steps out to Pink concert with boyfriend Drake LaBry.

Nathaniel Rogers from Film Experience talks about his trip to the Oprah show.

Mike Huckabee wins Values Voter Summit straw poll for 2012 presidential candidate: "Abortion was key for the activists in their voting, with more than 40 percent saying it was the most important issue in determining their choice of candidate to support. Protection of religious liberty was next with more than 18 percent of the vote; gay marriage was third with more than seven percent of the vote."

The only gay bar in Cairns, Australia is going straight.

A Single Man: How Tom Ford found his big screen style.

FCC to oppose telecoms in a bid for net neutrality: "The rules will escalate a fight over how much control the government should have over Internet commerce. The Obama administration is taking the side of Google, Amazon.com Inc. and an array of smaller businesses that want to profit from offering consumers streaming video, graphics-rich games, movie and music downloads and other services."

News: DOMA, Jesus Christ, Scott Evans, Le Mystique, Steve Jobs

DOMA repeal effort heating up: Nadler to introduce bill, HRC delivers surveys.

Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Community Churches rile bigots with billboards that say Jesus loved gays. Church website.

And this is what they mean when they say 'Jesus freak'.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District in California to provide harassment and discrimination prevention training as part of the settlement of a lawsuit involving football players who harassed the lead actress in a production of Rent and used anti-gay slurs in a Facebook video.

Minneapolis promoters First Avenue dump 'murder music' singer Buju Banton: "While seven shows have been cut, Banton’s tour still includes 20 other scheduled stops."

Ohio anti-discrimination ordinance to get floor vote.

Check out Saturday Night Live's upcoming line-up.

One Life to Live's Scott Evans talks about acting with his mom, coming out.

Randi Reitan: This mom is heading to the National Equality March.

Lesbian couple married in Iowa wants name-change in Nebraska. State says no.

A majority of Minnesota State Fairgoers approve of equality for gays and lesbians: "In the adult survey, participants were asked 15 questions; teens were asked 11. A total of 6,702 adults answered poll questions, and 476 teenagers. ... The adult poll asked: 'Would you support legislation that would provide same-sex couples with the same legal and economic rights and responsibilities as married couples, such as providing health care insurance coverage for one another, inheritance and pension benefits, hospital visitations and medical decision making?' More than 61 percent said yes and almost 34 percent said no."

Whitney Houston hits #1, looks to Oprah season opener.

Drag queen to sing at Giants game.

Part two of Outsports' interview with Johnny Weir: "I think everyone has the right to ask people anything. But the way I see things like coming out parties and being very theatrical and making such a big spectacle of things, I just don’t agree with making it a big spectacle. I was born Johnny Weir, whatever that entails. People can make their own assumptions and people can talk and people can chat, but it doesn’t change who I am and all of these things that contribute to my life."

Le Mystique: Montreal's oldest gay bar closing its doors.

Steve Jobs talks to the NYT David Pogue following Apple's iPod event yesterday.

Ashton Kutcher thinks pink.

Maine marriage equality opponents to rally in Augusta on Sunday: "More than 1,000 gay-marriage opponents are expected to rally in Augusta for an evening event Sunday featuring religious and conservative leaders from across Maine and the country. It's the second such rally held in the state capital this year and it's designed to inspire and motivate same-sex marriage opponents, said the Rev. Bob Emrich, of Plymouth, one of the organizers."