San Francisco - The California Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would hear legal challenges to the recent voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage.
A hearing was scheduled for March, and the court refused to permit gay weddings to resume pending a ruling.
The decision was greeted by supporters and opponents of the ban, who want a ruling to clarify the situation once and for all.
Washington - Republican John McCain picked up the final prize of the US presidential election on Wednesday, winning the hotly contested battleground of Missouri by a narrow margin.
More than two weeks after the vote, results showed him beating president-elect Barack Obama there by fewer than 4,000 votes.
The Missouri secretary of state's office showed 1,445,812 votes for McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, to 1,441,910 votes for national winner Obama and his running mate Joe Biden.
The state brings the final tally in the electoral college to 365 for Obama to 173 for McCain.
Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates briefed lawmakers Wednesday on the pending troop agreement with Iraq.
The agreement establishes the legal basis for the future presence of US troops in Iraq, after a UN mandate expires December 31, and calls for the withdrawal of all forces by the end of 2011.
"The security situation has improved so dramatically, and the Iraqi security forces have improved so dramatically that we are confident that if things continue to trend as they have been, our services will not be needed in Iraq come 2012," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters.
New York - US stocks slid more than 5 per cent on Wednesday, taking the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 8,000 mark for the first time in five years, amid gloomy financial news and fear for US automakers.
The economic fears were fed by the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve board meeting that showed members believe the US economy will contract between now and mid-2009, and suggested more interest rate cuts could be necessary. Other economic news showed US consumer prices fell 1 per cent in October, the largest one-month decrease since inflation prices started being published in 1947.
Washington - Federal Reserve board members believe the US economy will contract between now and mid-2009, and suggested more interest rate cuts could be necessary, according to the minutes of the central bank's October meeting that were released on Wednesday.
The minutes made no mention of a recession, though two straight contracting quarters is typically defined as a recession. The world's largest economy contracted by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, according to an initial government estimate.
Washington - US central bank officials believe the US economy will contract between now and mid-2009 and suggested more interest rate cuts could be necessary, according to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's October meeting that were released on Wednesday.
The minutes made no mention of a recession, though two straight contracting quarters is typically defined as a recession.
San Francisco - The California Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would hear legal challenges to the recent voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage.
Washington - Republican John McCain picked up the final prize of the US presidential election on Wednesday, winning the hotly contested battleground of Missouri by a narrow margin.
New York - US stocks slid more than 5 per cent on Wednesday, taking the Dow Jones Industrial Average below the 8,000 mark for the first time in five years, amid gloomy financial news and fear for US automakers.
Washington - Federal Reserve board members believe the US economy will contract between now and mid-2009, and suggested more interest rate cuts could be necessary, according to the minutes of the central bank's October meeting that were released on Wednesday.
Washington - US central bank officials believe the US economy will contract between now and mid-2009 and suggested more interest rate cuts could be necessary, according to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's October meeting that were released on Wednesday.
