GOSSIPS IN THE UNITED STATES

From the Desk of: Raymond Sew, Timothy Rozen, Duane Pinault, Marjorie Labelle, Marla Karam, Roy Manfred.

"Actions of the president are, in my opinion, the most vile and hateful word." said Rosie O'Donnell.

Former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell said she planned to marry her longtime girlfriend Thursday in San Francisco, where more than 3,300 other same-sex couples have tied the knot since Feb. 12. O'Donnell announced her planned wedding to Kelli Carpenter on ABC's "Good Morning America," just two days after President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. She said the president's call is what inspired her to come to San Francisco, where city officials continue to perform same-sex weddings even as state courts are considering the legality of those marriages. "I think the actions of the president are, in my opinion, the most vile and hateful words ever spoken by a sitting president," O'Donnell said on the program. "I am stunned and I'm horrified

Branded a White Man

Fox News reported today that participants in the meeting said Noriega later told Brown, "As a Mexican-American, I deeply resent being called a racist and branded a white man." Brown said in a pseudo-apology Thursday: "I sincerely did not mean to offend Secretary Noriega or anyone in the room. Rather, my comments, as they relate to 'white men,' were aimed at the policies of the Bush administration as they pertain to Haiti, which I do consider to be racist." U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, a Florida Republican who organized the meeting, called Brown's comments "disappointing." "To sit there and browbeat this man who is a Mexican-American and call him names, it was inappropriate," he said. MaxNews.

"Iraqi Women Better Off Under Saddam", said Senator Hillary Clinton

Sen. Hillary Clinton said this week that Iraqi women were better off under Saddam Hussein, arguing that when the brutal dictator ran the country women were at least assured the right to participate in Iraq's public life. In comments that went unreported by the mainstream press, the former first lady told the Brookings Institution on Wednesday that since Saddam's removal from power, Iraq's postwar governing councils had engaged in "pullbacks in the rights [women] were given under Saddam Hussein." Sen. Clinton noted that while Saddam had been "an equal opportunity oppressor," women were at least assured certain constitutional guarantees. While ignoring reports about the brutal dictator's rape rooms and other forms of persecution that were routine for women under his regime, Sen. Clinton insisted: "On paper, women had rights."

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