I (and many other people right now) love New York! As Dan noted earlier this morning, the Empire State's Republican-controlled Senate late last night passed a monumentally important bill allowing same-sex marriage, and the state's governor (and future presidential contender?), Andrew Cuomo, signed it shortly after.

Cuomo's persistence and and insistence made this happen—personally appealing to wealthy Republican donors who would help him press his case among wobbling lawmakers and deliver on one of his most important campaign promises.

Befitting the historic nature of the vote, hundreds gathered to celebrate in Albany but mostly in New York City's West Village, outside the Stonewall Inn, where riots more than 40 years ago served as one of the forges that tempered today's gay rights movement.

So that's New York. And there's Texas. Tolerant, not-tone-deaf Texas. Officials there would like to emblazon a new brand of specialty license plate with the Confederate flag.

Congress buckled in a vote that would have choked off American funding for NATO's Excellent Libyan Adventure but still gave the president hell for not asking lawmakers' permission.

How much longer will the assault last? Rebels have laid claim to most of western Libya and have begun arming guerrillas in Tripoli, in advance of what could become a long, terrible siege of the capital.

Rounding up the rest of the horrible news from the Middle East/Central Asia: Hezbollah claims it's unearthed CIA spies among its ranks; a bomb outside an Afghan clinic has killed dozens; and protests (and brutish smiting by security forces) spread throughout formerly peaceful Syrian cities, including its capital, Damascus.

Google is facing an antitrust probe, yes. It's also accused of turning away overweight job applicants, perhaps fearing they'll too-eagerly avail themselves of the all-you-can-eat sushi at the Googleplex.

Not even making any effort to stop before the calamity, witnesses say, a truck driver plowed his semi into an Amtrak train in Nevada, killing two and injuring 20.

What happens when Whitey Bulger—the Irish mobster from Southie nabbed after 16 years on the lam, and a famed corrupter of lawmen—starts naming names?

CBS says: "Sit on it, Potsie, Joanie, Ralph Malph, and Mrs. C."

OH MY GOD! WILL SOMEONE PLEASE CALL ARTHUR FONZARELLI? RIGHT NOW?