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McCain backs initiative barring gay marriage in California The endorsement, announced Thursday night on ProtectMarriage.com, the Web site of the Protect Marriage campaign, was not a surprise. The Arizona senator previously said he was happy Californians would be voting on the measure, which the secretary of state's office designated Friday as Proposition 8. "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona," McCain said in a statement released by the Protect Marriage campaign. "I do not believe judges should be making these decisions."
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Israel has a year to stop Iran bomb, warns ex-spy: A former head of Mossad has warned that Israel has 12 months in which to destroy Iran's nuclear programme or risk coming under nuclear attack itself. He also hinted that Israel might have to act sooner if Barack Obama wins the US presidential election. Shabtai Shavit, an influential adviser to the Israeli parliament's defence and foreign affairs committee, told The Sunday Telegraph that time was running out to prevent Iran's leaders getting the bomb. Mr Shavit, who retired from the Israeli intelligence agency in 1996, warned that he had no doubt Iran intended to use a nuclear weapon once it had the capability, and that Israel must conduct itself accordingly. |

| Employers cut jobs for sixth straight month Employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June, the sixth straight month of nationwide job losses, underscoring the economy's fragile state. The unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 percent. After-tax incomes and spending show big gains: The millions of economic stimulus payments gave a massive jolt to household finanances in May, sending after-tax incomes up by the largest amount in 33 years. The payments helped boost consumer spending by the largest amount in six months. Inflation Now Enemy No. 1 for Fed Bernanke is determined to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that contributed to the Great Depression. But he's also mindful of how Fed mistakes contributed to the Great Inflation in the 1970s, and he wants to show he's determined to avoid those as well. |
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"Republican spines are further stiffened by conservative bloggers such as Tom Del Beccaro"
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