Palin supports federal ban on gay marriage
NEW YORK - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage - a break with running mate John McCain, who has said states should be left to define what marriage is.
NEW YORK - Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin says she supports a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage - a break with running mate John McCain, who has said states should be left to define what marriage is.
In an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network to be broadcast today, the Alaska governor said she voted in 1998 for a state amendment banning same-sex marriage.
"I wish on a federal level that's where we would go," Palin said.
In a debate with Democratic rival Joe Biden, Palin said she was "tolerant" of gays and supported certain legal protections for same-sex couples, such as hospital visitation rights.
Palin also said she would object if she heard a supporter at a rally yell threatening comments about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. - AP
Biden has no big health worries
WASHINGTON - Joseph R. Biden Jr. has only routine aging issues, though there's no evidence he has had a brain scan to fully rule out another aneurysm such as the one that required emergency surgery 20 years ago.
But the Democratic vice presidential candidate's medical records, released yesterday, show no reason for concern about another aneurysm: He has no symptoms, has healthy blood pressure - 120 over 78 - and seems to have healthy heart arteries.
At 65, Biden has minor age-related conditions to contend with: He takes medication for an enlarged prostate, but a biopsy found no prostate cancer. He takes the statin drug Zocor to keep his cholesterol in the healthy range.
The only blip: The Delaware senator did have at least one, possibly two, episodes of a fairly common form of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation in 2006. - AP
Ayers visit nixed for safety issues
OMAHA, Neb. - The chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said he wasn't pressured to cancel a visit by William Ayers, the Vietnam-era radical who is now a University of Illinois professor, and would have resigned if someone had tried.
Ayers, whom the McCain campaign has sought to tie closely to Barack Obama, had a Nov. 15 invitation to speak to a campus education conference; the invitation was canceled Friday because of safety concerns, Chancellor Harvey Perlman said. - AP
Ohio governor rips GOP tactics
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Republicans are trying to scare newly registered voters by filing lawsuits questioning their eligibility, the state's Democratic governor, Ted Strickland, said yesterday.
The GOP has filed numerous legal challenges questioning the status of 200,000 newly registered voters, warning about potential voter fraud.
"In the last few days the Republicans have tried to instill fear in Ohio voters about whether their registrations to vote will be challenged," Strickland told reporters.
The latest filing - by GOP fund-raiser David Mygal - challenging Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's handling of voter registration discrepancies came Friday, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Brunner and said the state GOP didn't have standing.
John McCain's southwest Ohio campaign chairman, prosecutor Joe Deters, has issued a subpoena for personal information of 40 percent of the 671 voters who registered and cast a ballot on the same day during a weeklong period earlier this month. - AP
