"A federal judge in San Antonio on Wednesday declared Texas' ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. The Lone Star state's refusal to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages is also unconstitutional, he ruled."

"A group of legislators in Maryland has introduced legislation that would deny state support to federal agencies engaged in warrantless electronic surveillance in a move aimed at curtailing the National Security Agency's power to monitor and track citizens"

"A federal judge in Missouri ruled this week held that drivers have a First Amendment right to flash their headlights to warn other motorists of nearby police and speed traps. "

"A former Los Angeles public schools official is suing the system over settlements with dozens of students who were awarded $470,000 each, alleging that a teacher sentenced to prison on charges of lewd behavior never came into abusive contact with those children."

"A Texas man was arrested for waving a sign to warn drivers of a lurking traffic cop" (VIDEO)

"An important issue in the Muslim world is how women should dress in public." Not specifically government topic, but if we consider our freedoms compared with countries throughout the world, these comparisons are interesting!

"President Obama has pardoned an Omaha man sentenced to probation and home confinement for a drug conviction in 1996. The White House said Thursday that Chris Deann Switzer was one of 21 people who received clemency."

"Tuesday's vote overcame a Republican filibuster attempt that required 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to proceed on the budget measure. The count was 67-33, with a dozen Republicans joining the 55 Democrats and independents in support of the plan."

"Surveillance video captures the hug in question, showing Sam placing his arms around the teacher and giving her a hug. The teacher then pushes him away."

"Contractors for Fruit of the Loom, Hanes and Levi's worked in close concert with the US Embassy when they aggressively moved to block a minimum wage increase for Haitian assembly zone workers, the lowest-paid in the hemisphere, according to secret State Department cables."

"More than two thirds of the 177 countries included in the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index scored below 50, where 0 indicates the country's public sector is seen as highly corrupt and 100 as very clean."

"Legalizing medical marijuana will again be debated in the upcoming legislative session, though Iowa lawmakers have so far been loath to embrace a policy that is finding acceptance elsewhere."

"TSA Spent $900 Million on Behavior Detection Officers Who Detected 0 Terrorists"

" it's a higher profit level than all but two companies in the world: Exxon Mobil cleared $44.9 billion in 2012, and Apple cleared $41.7 billion."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Being speaker of the House doesn't make it any easier to sign up for health care coverage using the troubled federal website. Just ask John Boehner. The Ohio Republican says he had to re-start the process several times while spending four hours trying to sign up at HealthCare.gov.

President John F. Kennedy greets supporters during his visit to Fort Worth, Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963. This month marks 50 years since his assassination in Dallas, an event that jarred the nation and fueled a multitude of conspiracy theories about whether Kennedy was killed by a single gunman acting alone in the Texas School Book Depository.

Editor's note: Russell Wheeler is a visiting fellow in the Brookings Institution's Governance Studies Program and president of the Governance Institute. From 1991 until 2005 he was the deputy director of the Federal Judicial Center, the federal courts' agency for education and research.

Paula Matuskey, 15 years old: "Shocked, we looked across the room at each other, in total disbelief. Even hardened football players who were in our class were visibly crying. And somehow, even that early, some of us knew that this was going to forever change our society, our expectations and our country."

Previously, the agency had warned U.S. citizens of the "serious risks" of travel to the reclusive country -- including arbitrary arrest for what would be innocuous acts elsewhere. But its last travel warning, issued on October 1, didn't include the stronger language advising against all travel.

"The White House released a statement Thursday evening saying President Barack Obama would veto a bill introduced by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich) which would allow individuals to keep their health plans that had been canceled under the Affordable Care Act."