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Earlier this year, Massachusetts lawmakers lobbied for a proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage which would strictly define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, though it would leave existing Massachusetts same-sex marriages intact. While the recognition of the 26 marriage certificates does not actually change the legal status of the marriages, Patrick's decision has been heralded by the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) as a move toward treating same-sex couples equally to heterosexual couples. Patrick's order was criticized, however, by the Massachusetts Family Institute which said Patrick was "placing his personal preference above the law."

Massachusetts is currently the only US state to recognize same-sex marriage, after a November 2003 state high court ruling, and more than 8,000 same-sex couples have since been wed there.

Syrian officials and state-run media on Tuesday welcomed an ongoing visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Damascus, hoping that it would help alleviate tense relations between the two countries.

Elias Mourad, director general and editor-in-chief of Syria's ruling al-Baath party's organ the Baath newspaper, told local press that Pelosi's visit represents an affirmation of Syria's role in the Middle East.

He said differences inside the U.S. administration over Pelosi's visit showed that there are more and more opinions for engagement with Syria.

Meanwhile, Mahdi Dakhlullah, Syria's former information minister, said Pelosi's visit was "a step towards the right direction" which indicated a failure of the U.S. policy to isolate Syria.

Syria believed the visit signaled a sign that the U.S. policy regained a balance in dealing with the Mideast issues, he added.

"We think dialogue between Syria and the United States has restarted," Dakhlullah said, hoping that it would continue in a bid to pressure the Bush administration to reverse its unsuccessful Middle East approach.

Syrian official media, for its part, widely hailed Pelosi's trip as the government-run Damascus Radio welcoming it as "a step in the right direction ... because closing gates of dialogue is a flagrant mistake."

In addition, the Syria Times newspaper described Pelosi as a "brave lady" on an "invaluable" mission while the Tishrin daily stated in an editorial that Pelosi would discover herself that Syria was ready for serious and sincere dialogue with U.S. officials.

Pelosi, a staunch critic of U.S. President George W. Bush's Iraq policy, is scheduled to hold talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other officials on Wednesday about which she had "no illusions but great hope."

The trip, however, has met strong criticism from the White House which rebuked it as a "really bad idea."

On Tuesday, Bush criticized Pelosi's trip to Damascus as sending "mixed signals" that undermine U.S.-led efforts to isolate Syria.

Defending her trip to Damascus on Monday in Beirut, Pelosi argued that the journey was "an excellent idea" and she would discuss with Assad "the overarching issue of the fighting against terrorism and the role that Syria can play to help or to hinder."

Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. politician to visit here in years, arrived in Damascus Tuesday afternoon with a congressional delegation that grouped U.S. lawmakers from both Democratic and Republican parties.

Relations between Washington and Damascus have been strained since 2003 as Syria strongly objected the U.S. invasion of Iraq and blamed the U.S.-led occupation for the turbulences in the country ever after.

The White House, on the contrary, has been accusing Syria of supporting terror organizations and doing little to stop weapons and militants from infiltrating into Iraq and destabilize situation there.

Damascus supports the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement which Washington labels as terror organizations. Syria, however, insists that they are legitimate resistant movements.

U.S.-Syrian ties further deteriorated following the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005 after which Washington withdrew its ambassador to Damascus for its alleged role in the killing.

Syria denied any involvement in the murder although a UN probe has implicated senior Syrian officials in the case. Washington, which had since refused high-level contacts with Damascus, has been under pressure to engage directly with Syria to help quiet down upgrading turmoil in Iraq.

The U.S. bipartisan Iraq Study Group has urged the Bush administration to engage in talks with Syria and Iran over Iraq. However, the White House has largely ignored the suggestion.

The lawmaker promised to make the fight against illegal immigration the cornerstone of his 2008 bid, the report said. "The crisis of illegal immigration threatened not only our economy and our security but our very identity," he said in a statement.

"That ends today," said Tancredo, who, with the announcement, joined a crowded field that includes better-known hopefuls such as former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and Arizona Senator John McCain.

Born in Denver, Colorado, in December 1945, Tancredo has served as a House member since 1999. He supports deporting all illegal immigrants and has criticized a plan by the President George W. Bush, McCain and others to give some illegal immigrants a chance for citizenship.

An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now live in the United States. A recent USA Today/Gallup Poll shows immigration ranks fourth behind the Iraq war, terrorism and corruption as an issue that Republicans want the president and Congress to address.

U.S. audit authorities on Tuesday proposed auditors specify whether a company's financial restatement is due to an error or a change in accounting principles.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) said the change to their auditing standards would help investors clearly distinguish when a company restated their results to comply with a different interpretation of accounting rules, or made an actual mistake.

"The proposal would specifically focus auditors on ensuring that disclosures about those changes are accurate," board member Charles Niemeier said in a statement.

The standard, however, would not distinguish between different types of mistakes such as the misapplication of accounting rules, mathematical errors or fraud.

The audit watchdog also proposed it align its standards on how auditors evaluate the consistency with which a company applies U.S. accounting rules with a standard released by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which writes U.S. accounting rules.

The board also asked for public comment on a "concept release" that discusses whether an accounting firm that performed tax services for a company executive should be able to act as that company's auditor later in the same year.

The board said it wanted to hear comments on whether those services would compromise the firm's independence or if prohibiting those services would jeopardize a company's ability to switch auditors.

The financial statement proposal and the "concept release" are available for public comment through May 18.

Former Assemblyman Larry Bowler, a family advocate, said the court should defer to voters.

"At least four justices on that San Francisco bench are against the broad majority of California voters, who want marriage preserved and protected," he said. "The high court could deal a low blow to the voters by creating so-called 'same-sex marriages' in late 2007 or early 2008."
Liberty Counsel filed a brief representing Campaign for California Families. It challenged the assertion that protecting marriage is discriminatory.

"They aren't arguing for a minor change in marriage, but for a deconstruction of the entire institution of marriage," read a news release from the non-profit legal group. "The essence of marriage has always been the union of one man and one woman. We have never allowed any other human relationships to be united under the banner of marriage."