Eve Conant

The day before Arizona's controversial immigration law takes effect, reports show immigrants are fleeing the state. But the law is not the only cause of declining numbers.

OutServe, an organization of gay and lesbian active-duty service members, launches today, and most members plan to remain anonymous as they work with the Pentagon toward repealing "don't ask, don't tell."

After more than a year protesting the Army's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, Lt. Dan Choi gets official notice of discharge in accordance with DADT.

After criminal charges were dropped today against gay military members Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. James Pietrangelo, Choi alleged that the government was "embarrassed."

Conservative pundits have been critical of Gen. Stanley McChrystal for talking trash about the administration to a Rolling Stone reporter, but many are arguing that Obama shouldn't have accepted the general's resignation, and that in fact it's Obama's poor judgment that started the mess.

Within the gay-rights movement this year, there have been gains both large and small: hospital visitation rights, the passage of hate-crime legislation, congressional votes that could repeal the military ban on openly gay soldiers. So why are so many activists concerned?

After months of legal wrangling, closing arguments are being heard Wednesday in California's landmark gay-marriage trial, Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

Last month marked the beginning of the end for the military's policy on gay servicemembers. But when will the ban be repealed, and how exactly will life change for gay soldiers currently serving, or for those wishing to serve?

It's hard to imagine that the immigration debate in Arizona could get more extreme, but it did this week when Arizona State Treasurer Dean Martin, a Republican candidate for governor, suggested Tuesday that the state could build tent cities to house what could be a vastly rising number of illegal immigrants arrested under the state's new immigration law.

If Arizona watchers were hoping for news or progress from today's meeting of President Obama and Gov. Jan Brewer to discuss the state's new immigration law, they will be sorely disappointed. Conservative news outlets were particularly nonplused.

We now know that a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" will be inserted into the defense authorization bill, which will be due for a vote in late June or early July. That step was a huge victory, but there are many hurdles still facing the repeal.

Many gay advocates were celebrating the votes, but concerns remain. Lt. Dan Choi and Captain Jim Pietrangelo began what could potentially be a lengthy hunger strike and have three demands for President Obama.

One of the longest serving members in congressional history—and an unlikely civil-rights advocate—has thrown his support behind the effort to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," which is expected to come to crucial votes in both the House and Senate shortly.

Gay-rights advocates are not yet celebrating what—by all indications—appears to be imminent action on the Hill to move toward a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Why?

It was what gay advocates and opponents to the military's law banning openly gay soldiers had been anxiously waiting: by early evening Thursday Congress was taking action to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. "The importance of this vote cannot be overstated – this is the beginning of the end of a shameful ban on open service by lesbian and gay troops that has weakened our national security," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "The stars are aligning to finally restore honor and...

Even before Obama spoke at a press conference today, conservative bloggers were on the attack. Why? Because Obama hasn't given any press conferences since last summer, nearly 10 months ago.

Law-enforcement officers from cities in Arizona and a half dozen states met today with Attorney General Eric Holder in an hourlong, closed-door meeting to share their frustration with the new Arizona immigration law, saying it will make their jobs more difficult and even increase crime.

Last May, Iraq veteran Lt. Dan Choi publicly announced he was gay on The Rachel Maddow Show as a protest against the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In an open letter released exclusively to NEWSWEEK, Choi says he opposes the deal to end the policy because it "does only half of what was promised."

Conservative and family-values organizations have launched into what may be a desperate and doomed campaign to turn back a breakthrough compromise on repealing "don't ask, don't tell," which has kept gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military for some 17 years. The Obama administration has publicly approved the compromise, and lawmakers could vote on the repeal as early as this week. But criticism is also coming from some leading advocates of repeal.

Gay-rights advocates held two concurrent meetings Monday at the White House and on Capitol Hill to hash out a compromise on repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, The Advocate is reporting.

President Obama has agreed to a compromise between lawmakers and the Defense Department that will help pave the way for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," the military's 17-year-old ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the armed forces.

Rand Paul is making the rounds of talk shows trying to dial back the media storm over his Civil Rights Act PR fiasco, and even dad Ron Paul has weighed in to defend him, arguing that liberals are jealous of his son's political future.

In examining Rand Paul's comments, in which he argues against key parts of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Washington Monthly's Steve Benen makes a valid suggestion: "In the larger context, I also suppose it's time to start asking Republican leaders across the country a straightforward question: 'Your party's Senate candidate in Kentucky has a problem with the Civil Rights Act.

This Week in Conservative Media I'm not sure what Mexican President Felipe Calderón could say that will win him any points in conservative media circles.

This Week in Progressive and Liberal Media It has become iconic—the photo on the front page of The Wall Street Journal this week of Elena Kagan playing softball—and for all the wrong reasons.

Even before President Obama officially announced Elena Kagan as his Supreme Court pick, gay-rights advocates were celebrating and conservatives were grumbling.

This Week in Conservative Media Plans for the construction of a mosque just two blocks from Ground Zero are prompting outrage in the blogosphere, but the emotional reaction appears to falling on deaf ears.  The Cordoba House project, according to CNN, calls for a 15-story community center that would include a performance-art center, gym, swimming pool, and a mosque.

Don't blame Arizonans—or immigrants—for the state's draconian new law.

This Week in Liberal and Progressive Media The delight could hardly be concealed in the coverage of Christian-right leader George Alan Rekers's 10-day European vacation with a "rent boy."  According to the Miami New Times, Rekers, a prominent antigay activist who cofounded the Family Research Council, arrived at Miami International Airport with a young male escort, and later insisted he had hired the man to help him with his baggage. "I had surgery.

 The headline of a recent National Review Online editorial tells it simply: "Yes, Keep Drilling." Why? Here is a rundown of some conservative talking points on why Americans might want to drop the "drill, baby, drill" motto—it doesn't sound so good now—but should drill on anyway.Oil remains our most cost-effective source of transportation fuel. "Others already have observed, correctly, that the risks involved in drilling off the coast of the United States are small in proportion to those...