(San Diego, California) An investigation began Monday into the police shooting of a man they rescued when he went overboard during a gay pride related cruise in San Diego Harbor.

(Washington) Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, saying he could reverse his position and endorse the Arizona senator despite serious misgivings.

(Baghdad) Barack Obama began Monday his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House.

(Canterbury, England) The leader of the Anglican Communion said Sunday that the global fellowship faces "one of the most severe challenges" in its history, and he urged bishops at their once-a-decade Lambeth Conference to do the hard work of finding solutions.

(Boston, Massachusetts) An activist group hoping to pressure the Roman Catholic church into dropping its long-standing prohibition barring women from the priesthood says it ordained three women on Sunday.

(San Jose, California) The issue over whether homosexuality is the result of nature or nurture is likely to be key in a wrongful dismissal suit brought by a former San Jose City College professor who claims she was fired for advocating people chose to be gay.

(Kuala Lumpur) Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has provided an alibi to police to prove he did not sodomize a male aide but will not give a DNA sample for fear it could be manipulated to frame him, his lawyer said Friday.

(Anderson, County, South Carolina) Police want to question an Anderson, South Carolina man about allegations he assaulted his 18-year old son with a baseball bat when the teen returned home from a gay pride parade.

(Hollywood, Florida) A Hollywood, Florida police officer who was a contestant on HGTV's Design Star has been suspended from duty while the force investigates allegations he once starred in a gay porn video.

(San Francisco, California) A measure seeking to commemorate President Bush's years in office by slapping his name on a San Francisco sewage plant has qualified for the November ballot.

(Kansas City, Missouri) Although Republican presidential candidate John McCain has called Social Security "a disgrace," he still cashes his own retirement check every month.

(Washington) Sen. Barack Obama 's trip to the Middle East and Europe marks his first high-profile step onto the international stage, a campaign-season audition of sorts for a presidential hopeful pledging a new era in diplomacy and an end to the U.S. combat role in Iraq.

(Los Angeles, California) A new poll finds that a majority of voters in California would reject a ballot measure to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

(Canterbury, England) The spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans said he feels "great grief" that more than 200 bishops are boycotting the Lambeth Conference, calling it a wound to the once-a-decade meeting of the Anglican fellowship.

(Frankfort, Kentucky) A federal appeals court was asked Thursday to deny tax funding to a Baptist childcare agency that Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union say proselytizes youngsters in its care and fires gay employees.

(Los Angeles, California) Dozens of United Methodist Church ministers in California reportedly are defying church rules and performing wedding ceremonies for same-sex couples.

(West Palm Beach, Florida) The second of two men charged in the 2006 murder of Alan Shalleck, the collaborator of the "Curious George" books and TV series, has been spared the death penalty.

(Washington) Plans for a large-scale trial of a potential AIDS vaccine are being dropped in favor of a smaller, more focused study, the National Institutes of Health said Thursday.

(Washington) Same-sex marriage is legal in two states, but not a single one will show up in the 2010 census.

(Columbia, South Carolina) A South Carolina LGBT civil rights group has begun raising funds to pay the state's debt for the South Carolina is so gay ad campaign that South Carolina's tourism board has reneged on.