The California Supreme Court threw the gay marriage debate into the middle of the presidential campaign. With their Thursday ruling overturning two state laws, crowds gathered all over the state to hear the news, which resulted in jubilation.

The overturning of a lower court’s blocking of gay marriage was a victory for tens of thousands across the state seeking the same rights as heterosexual couples.

In 2004, with another Presidential campaign in full swing, it was the Massachusetts Supreme Court that put candidate John Kerry on the hot seat to respond to how he would act on the issue as America’s leader. The same thing is surely to happen to either Democrat that emerges from the primaries with the nomination.

The 4 to 3 ruling becomes the law in 30 days. Expect the courthouses across the Golden State to be flooded with marriage requests from couples who were previously prevented from participating in a ceremony that above all, celebrates love.

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Many expected it would be a landslide, but the magnitude of that landslide was immense.

The West Virginia Democratic primary was held yesterday and Senator Hillary Clinton won by over 30 points. Rival Senator Barack Obama was not even in West Virginia yesterday knowing that losing would be a foregone conclusion.

From Missouri (a state he already won), Obama wished Clinton well and even hinted that the upcoming contest in Kentucky on Tuesday will also be a blowout.

Obama forged on and acted like a candidate who has already sewn up the nomination. Many believe, he has.

One of those who don’t share that opinion is Clinton. She vowed to go on in the Democratic contest all the way to the last primary that is held in June. Then what…is anyone’s guess.

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The symbol of all things arctic, the polar bear, was added Wednesday to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife department’s protected list. Placing the iconic bear on the list means that it is within the realm of extinction.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne made the announcement today that many had feared. As polar ice caps have melted, the polar bear has had little room for hunting, much less surviving. The government agency announcing this move today also signals a change in the administration’s thinking about global warming and that it truly exists.

Kempthorne has always tried to remove the list from even existing. He seems to have caved in to the realities of the world he is now witnessing.

Along the Canadian polar ice caps, the number of polar bears has dwindled to 25,000.

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Senator Hillary Clinton saw her delegate lead lower to two votes Friday as the defection to Senator Barack Obama continues.

Rep. Ciro Rodriguez of Texas announced his support for Clinton yesterday, but it was the only plus in the campaign’s pocket on this day. The Senator from Illinois who leads in voted delegates thus far, picked up two more delegates yesterday from the Virgin Island delegation.

A late addition superdelegate, Krisi Cumming of Utah, announced late yesterday that she was supporting Obama as well.

This is how it has been for Clinton since Obama’s convincing victory in North Carolina coupled with Clinton’s barely-there win in Indiana on Tuesday. Wednesday began to call into question whether Clinton legitimately had any more shot at the nomination and the flood gates opened.

The once triple digit lead Clinton had over Obama is gone. With only three weeks remaining in the Democratic primary season, it looks like America will not see its first female president, but may see its first African-American.

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First daughter Jenna Bush is getting married on Saturday at the family’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. Jenna has been all over the press lately, including Larry King’s CNN studio with her mom, Laura, promoting her children’s book that promotes reading, “Read All About It.”

This weekend, the attention on Jenna will solely be her as bride. As her father, President Bush, walks her down the aisle, Jenna is joining a tradition of First Daughter weddings dating back through American history. She’s marrying Republican activist Henry Hager in an outdoor wedding with expected guests near two-hundred.  

Although this First Daughter’s nuptials will be much smaller and further away from Washington, D.C. than most have been.

Many have been in the White House itself and lavish beyond belief. Jenna is going with the more sedate country girl wedding that will still have its share of glamour. She in no way is like Lynda Byrd Johnson married a then-unknown Captain in the Marines, Chuck Robb. Robb went on to become Governor of Virginia and also serve as its Senator.

Reflecting Jenna’s low-key personality and style, the bride insisted on a down-home, and laid back wedding in her home state. Maid of Honor, her sister, Barbara Bush welcomed the idea as her twin shares her penchant for shying the spotlight.

Stay tuned to The Wire as we get the details on the first Presidential wedding in over 40 years.

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As the primary race for the Democrats has gotten nastier, each contest becomes even more vital.

Tuesday saw Indiana and North Carolina take its turn in this Ferris wheel of a primary season for the Democrats. As Barack Obama mentioned in his victory speech from North Carolina, this is a campaign that, thus far, has lasted 15 months.

Obama had to be thrilled with his winning by double-digits in Tuesday’s North Carolina primary. If Hillary Clinton was to stay in the race, experts felt, she needed to make that state close. It wasn’t.

Clinton meanwhile was basking in the glow of an approximate 30,000-vote victory in the Hoosier state. Although pundits from across the networks thought she may actually withdraw from the race today, Clinton showed up at an event in West Virginia that was supposed to feature her daughter, Chelsea.

Mrs. Clinton’s entire schedule had been cancelled as of late last night. Many felt that by her cancelling her entire media interview schedule for Wednesday, it meant Clinton was leaving the race.

Where it goes from here is simple…West Virginia where the Mountaineers will determine what’s next.

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A U.K. study released today has found that American children are prescribed anti-psychotic medicines at six-times the rate of kids in Britain.

At a time where psychiatrists and parents are both wondering about the over-medicated situation of our children, this report should certainly further the debate.

Many experts believe that this study is pointless because of the fact that prescription rates for these drugs are up on both sides of the Atlantic. If any study needs to be undertaken, these experts argue, it is one to focus on the long term affects of the anti-psychotic drugs for ADD and other ailments.

On the list of the most used drugs are those utilized to treat autism and hyperactivity. The study covered over 500 children and began in 1992 through the University of London’s pharmacy school.

In a stark disparity, a U.S. study released last year had found that the numbers for American children taking these medications actually has increased at a much lower rate that the ones reported in the U.K. study. The U.S. study concluded when comparing years 1996 and 2001 that yes, the numbers have doubled, but not at the six times-rate that U.K. doctors are claiming.

In 2001, it was determined that 45 U.S. kids out of every 10,000 were prescribed anti-psychotic medications compared to in 1996 where that ratio was 23 per 10,000.

The entire study can be found in the May edition of the journal Pediatrics.

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The Kentucky Derby held its triumphant spectacle in the Bluegrass State and there were brilliant winners and a shocking post-race death. Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, the so-called “most thrilling two minutes in sports” - and moments after the euphoria of victory came the tragedy of defeat.

The filly, Eight Belles, soon after crossing the finish line, took a spill and suffered a life-ending break in both its front ankles. She was immediately euthanized. Big Brown was celebrating its victory over Eight Belles by 4 3/4 lengths in a thrilling horse race merely yards away. 

Immediately, the celebration of 150,000 people turned hauntingly quiet. It took a few moments to sink in, but the reality of the situation lay on the track in front of all of them and a world television audience and before long, it was over. Eight Belles has passed, released from its misery.

The Kentucky Derby has never seen such sensation quickly turn to sadness in its history.

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In the middle of a political scandal that shook Washington to its quivering knees, the so-called DC Madam has been found dead of an apparent suicide.

Police in Florida are saying that they found the body of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, 52, in a shed outside her mother’s mobile home. Palfrey’s 76-year-old mother found her hanging by nylon rope tied to a metal beam. Palfrey was found guilty in April for being the head of a prostitution ring that catered to the powerful and wealthy. The DC Madam was looking at up to 50 years in prison.

It was Louisiana Senator David Vitter who sparked the political scandal when police began studying Palfrey’s phone records as they were building their case and discovered Vitter’s listed repeatedly. The DC Madam claimed her company was solely an entertainment business and that Pamela Martin and Associates never broke the law.

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Ling Ling, Japan’s beloved giant panda, died yesterday at the Ueno Zoo.

The 22-year-old panda was born in China in 1985 and made his debut at the Tokyo zoo in 1992.  He was the only giant panda the country held in captivity in nationwide zoos. Ling Ling’s 22 years is equal to about 70 in human years.

After centuries of conflict between China and Japan, the gift of Ling Ling was seen as a gesture of good will and faith toward normalizing relations between the two countries. Now that Ling Ling has passed away, the Japanese government has asked China to lease one or two new pandas to wet an appetite of a Japanese citizenry that can’t get enough of the lovable giants.

Japan’s prime minister is set to welcome Chinese President Hu Jinatao to Tokyo this week and hopes to sign a deal to secure two more pandas in the very near future.

Japan’s Ling Ling is not to be confused with the Ling Ling the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. had for 20 years until her death in 1992.

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