Surrounded by cheering, clapping gay-rights activists and legislators, Governor Deval Patrick today signed a bill repealing a 95-year-old statute that had prevented gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/
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Breaking news about breaking wind: the world's oldest joke is a one-liner about flatulence, researchers say.

Academics have compiled a list of the most ancient gags and the oldest, harking back to 1900BC, is a Sumerian proverb from what is now southern Iraq.

"Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap," goes the joke.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/7536918.stm

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The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work.

July's reductions marked the seventh straight month where employers eliminated jobs. The economy has lost a total of 463,000 jobs so far this year.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080801/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy;_ylt=AhHcm2ELIKfeu.0hVldUgVas0NUE