News: George Michael, Moon, Sonia Sotomayor, Iraq, Dinosaurs

George Michael denies split with partner Kenny Goss.

NASA probe takes aim at Moon.

D.C. police investigating man's death at "JO party": "The organizer of the men's parties, who asked that he be identified only as David, said the victim appears to have fallen on a cement floor in the basement of the house about 5 a.m. and possibly hit his head on a metal pipe or a brick wall. He said he does not believe the victim fell down a flight of stairs, as some have speculated in postings on Craigslist."

Gossip Girl ménage à trois in the works.

Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito trumped up charges against gays and lesbians, video shows.

Shepard Fairey and the art of the election to be featured in new book, Manifest Hope.

WATCH: Joe the Plumber's stand-up comedy routine.

Florida student teased for being gay breaks, assaults another student: "He said he had been teased for two days and that he was upset and lost control. He said he was sorry if he hurt anybody, but when he gets angry he cannot control himself and that it runs in the family, according to his Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office report."

David Beckham hangs out with his in-laws.

Spice Girls plotting reunion?

New York magazine takes a lengthy look at the danger faced by gays in Iraq.

Gavin Newsom struggling with fundraising in California gubernatorial bid?

Former Boston City Councillor sues police department, alleging gay bashing following sting over liaison with teen.

Sharon Lettman named Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition.

Largest ever dinosaur footprints found in France: "Imprints measuring up to 2 metres (6ft 6in) in diameter and stretching over a vast area of land have been uncovered near the village of Plagne, 30 miles west of Geneva, according to the National Centre of Scientific Research. In a statement, the centre said the significance of the prints could not be overestimated. 'According to the researchers' initial work, these tracks are the biggest ever seen,' it said."

Sonia Sotomayor begins work as SCOTUS justice: "in the two cases on the docket, she asked as many questions and made as many comments as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. The only sign of her newness was that she at times forgot to turn on her microphone before posing a question."

Backstage with Rufus Wainwright at last night's benefit for New York's Ali Forney Center.

David Letterman apologizes on air to wife and staff.

Tasmania to allow same-sex couples to register relationship.

Whitney Houston to join Desperate Housewives?

Dr. Erik Steele on marriage equality in Maine: "In the end, though, gay marriage is not about marriage or teenagers, and it is not even about gays as much as it is about us. Over the last 250 years, Americans have slowly chipped away the bias and ignorance used to deprive almost every American except wealthy, white men of equal standing before the law. The right of civil marriage for gays is about continuing that same march toward 'one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' You cannot oppose it without betraying American values and the rights hard won for you by those victims of prejudice in almost every family tree who fought in their time for the rights we have in ours."

Sonia Sotomayor Confirmed: First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice

Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed on a 68-31 vote by the Senate today, making her the nation's 111th Supreme Court justice, the third woman, and the first of Hispanic descent to serve on the Court:

"In a sign of the increasing partisan tension to battles over Supreme Court nominations, the 31 Republican votes against Sotomayor far outnumbered the GOP opposition to the Clinton administration's Supreme Court justices in the early 1990s, Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer. But it was a similar to the level of Democratic opposition to George W. Bush's nominees earlier this decade: Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. received 22 'no' votes from Democrats in 2005, while Associate Justice Samuel Alito received more than 40 'no' votes from Democrats in 2006."

Nine Republicans voted for Sotomayor. They are Lamar Alexander (TN), Kit Bond (MO), Susan Collins (ME), Lindsey Graham (SC), Judd Gregg (NH), Richard Lugar (IN), Mel Martinez (FL), Olympia Snowe (ME) and George Voinovich (OH).

Lambda Legal applauded the confirmation. See its statement here.

Watch the vote tally and announcement, AFTER THE JUMP...

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #517

PROPOSITION 8 2010 BALLOT MEASURE: David Mixner talks to Michelangelo Signorile about why it should happen.

JOHN MCCAIN: Still "going back and forth" on whether to vote for Sotomayor. UPDATE: McCain's decision, AFTER THE JUMP...

IMPLOSION FAIL: A building doesn't come down right.

JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA: Not arresting people for sex in a public park.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Senate Judiciary Panel Approves Sotomayor for Supreme Court

In a 13-6 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court, the WaPo reports:

"The 13 to 6 vote came nearly two weeks after the committee's members grilled Sotomayor for 2 ½ days, eliciting answers that betrayed little indication of how the nominee, an appellate judge for the past 11 years, would rule on the most significant issues that come before the nation's highest court. Sotomayor is President Obama's first nominee to the Supreme Court and would become the court's first Hispanic and its third female member...This morning's vote was as notable for its sharp polarization between the political parties as it was for its lack of drama. All the members had announced in advance how they intended to vote. Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a conservative, was the only Republican to join the committee's dozen Democrats in supporting Sotomayor. Two of the veteran GOP senators who voted against her, Charles E. Grassley (Iowa) and Orin Hatch (Utah), have never before opposed a Supreme Court nominee."

Sotomayor's confirmation now goes to the full Senate for a final vote.

Watch a clip of Senator Al Franken's statement before the vote and an interview with Senator Grassley about his and Lindsey Graham's votes, AFTER THE JUMP...

Senator Sessions Says He'll Do Crack Cocaine at Sotomayor Hearings

Senator Jeff Sessions announces his intentions to do crack cocaine during the Sotomayor hearings.

The AP explains: "The top Republican at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court hearing was talking about trying to schedule a Judiciary Committee hearing on the disparity between the sentencing of powder cocaine abusers and crack cocaine users."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sotomayor: I'd Approach Same-Sex Marriage Issue 'With Open Mind'

 

The issue of same-sex marriage came up again in this morning's Senate hearings on the confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. It came up yesterday in a question from Senator Charles Grassley regarding the case Baker v. Nelson.

This morning, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) asked Sotomayor if she understands there is a public policy exception in the 'full faith and credit clause' which affects how states differ in the way they treat marriage. Says Graham: "The reason these speeches matter and the reasons elections matter is because people now understand the role of the court in modern society when it comes to social change."

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) asked, "If the Supreme Court in the next few years holds that there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, would that be making the law or interpreting the law?" 

Sotomayor replies that Cornyn's question is basically a set-up and says that she would come to the issue with a completely open mind.

Watch both clips, AFTER THE JUMP...

(clips via hrcbackstory) HRC reports that several witnesses with anti-LGBT positions are slated for today's hearing.