(MNW) Marriage Cases Are Speeding Up!

This week I'm in Pennsylvania, which gained the freedom to marry just a few months ago. We have big victories this week in Kentucky, and a ton of hearings coming up from one side of the country to the other. There's a battle of wills and a surprise move in Colorado. And one of the Prop 8 lawyers is headed back to court -- this time, as a judge.

(MNW) Marriage Confusion in Wisconsin!

Wisconsin's marriage ban is unconstitutional. There've been more big defeats for the National Organization for Marriage. Utah officials resist a ruling that they must recognize the marriage licenses that the state issued to gay and lesbian couples last winter. And Pennsylvania voters show their support for the freedom to marry.

(MNW) 16 Million Americans Gain Freedom to Marry!

More than sixteen and a half million Americans gained marriage equality last week, with decisive victories in Oregon and Pennsylvania. We have brand new lawsuits in the last few states that needed one. And the National Organization for Marriage has suffered even more losses this week.

(MNW) Triple-Loss for NOM in Oregon!

The National Organization for Marriage screws up again in Oregon. Judges in Idaho and Arkansas rule that marriage bans violate the US Constitution. Following another round of hearings, rulings are due any day now in Virginia and Pennsylvania. And a new lawsuit in Alaska leaves just three states with an unchallenged marriage ban.

(MNW) Showdown this Week in Virginia!

AFER heads back to court this week to protect its latest marriage equality win. Kentucky's Attorney General is running to become the state's first pro-equality Governor. Oregon surveys look encouraging, but voters could still pass a turn-away-the-gays discrimination bill. And a new public education campaign in puts LGBT family members front and center in Oklahoma.

(MNW) NOM's Latest Failure!

The National Organization for Marriage is scrambling to defend Oregon's marriage ban at the last minute, but things aren't exactly going how they'd hoped. The case to overturn Virginia's marriage ban gets a boost from one of the authors of the state's constitution. And the Governor of Pennsylvania wants to skip a trial on marriage and go straight to a ruling.

(POLITICS Weekly) Obama Victory; Petraeus Scandal; More Election Results; Bono; 2016; Beau!

• The Real Story of the Most-Liked Photograph of All Time!

• It's Official: Obama Wins Florida!

• The World Reacts to Obama's Win!

• CIA's Petraeus Resigns Over Extramarital Affair!

• Maine, Maryland and Washington State Back Gay Marriage!

HOME AWAY: Westboro Will Picket Joe Paterno's Funeral!

Joe Paterno's death caused, to put it mildly, mixed reactions: The Hollywood Reporter has a roundup, and it includes everything from George HW Bush's glowing remembrance of the Penn State coach to this zinger from a Late Show writer and producer: "Will there be a moment of silence for Joe Paterno, to honor his silence when he discovered children were being attacked?" But the most extreme reaction came, of course, from those paragons of understatement, the Westboro Baptist Church.

Pastor Fred Phelps' daughter, Margie, announced on Twitter yesterday that the church would picket Paterno's funeral, TMZ reports. "'Penn State Penn Rape' rings in Joe Paterno's ears in hell. He partook of sin for fame & fortune. Worth NOTHING to him now. #PicketFuneral," she tweeted. Another gem: "Stop pimping out your kids to raping coaches @CollegeFootball! WBC must picket Paterno funeral."

TACKLED: Sex Abuse Scandal Rocks Penn State!

Penn State's storied football program is reeling in a sex scandal that touches its top ranks: Longtime former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was yesterday charged with sexually molesting up to eight boys, and the school's athletic director and a vice president are expected to surrender tomorrow on perjury charges for failing to alert cops to the abuse, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A grand jury investigation yielded 40 charges spanning decades against Sandusky—20 of which allegedly took place while he worked for Joe Paterno, and the rest after his retirement in 1999, as he used Penn State facilities for his work with the Second Mile, a foundation for at-risk boys. "This is a case about a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys," says the state AG. The charges detail a grad student catching Sandusky having sex with a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State locker room, a janitor witnessing him performing oral sex on a boy, and other boys who were showered with gifts so long as they permitted abuse, among others. For a detailed breakdown, see the Patriot-News. Sandusky has been released on $100,000 bail; he could face life in prison.

DISGUSTING: Pennsylvania Professor Humiliates Lesbian in Class!

Christina Santiago, a student at Eberly College of Business and Information Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania says she was attacked and humiliated in front of her classroom because she is a lesbian.

During a discussion that turned to homosexuality, her business professor, who has not been identified, called it "disgusting, unnatural, and abnormal" and when Santiago identified herself as a lesbian he told her that the words applied to her. The teacher continued, telling her that "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam.

Santiago's instructor complained about voluntary diversity training and said that students like Santiago were forcing their sexuality on him.

An investigation is underway and students have held at least one rally in support of Santiago.

KARMA: Liquor Control Board Worker Accused of DUI!

An otherwise par-for-the-course DUI arrest is making the local headlines in Pittsburgh because the suspect happens to be an enforcement officer with the state Liquor Control Board. Police say the 39-year-old woman blew a 0.117 after being involved in a two-crash downtown last night, reports WPXI. Nobody was injured in the accident, which happened as the Pitt football game let out, notes WTAE. Not helping: She was apparently driving a state vehicle at the time.

(2011 East Coast Tour) MK Takes Philly by Storm!

MK @ Liberty Bell

by MK Scott

On Thursday, August 25th I boarded a Bus in New York for Philadelphia on Bolt Bus (a great and inexpensive way of traveling the east coast). After 2 hours, I arrive in a stormy and Rainy Philly and got ready to attend the LGBT Media Summit and NLGJA Convention at Loews Philadelphia.