The Associated Press reports: Germany’s highest court has rejected an opposition party’s attempt to force a parliamentary vote on introducing gay marriage before September’s national election. The opposition Greens and Left Party, as well as parliament’s upper house, have proposed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. The governing coalition is divided on the issue and the lower house’s legal affairs committee has …

Gay Star News reports: Queen Elizabeth II has vowed the UK will protect people based on sexual orientation. The Conservative party, in an attempt to claw back after their failed bid to win a bigger majority in the UK election, has agreed to work with the homophobic DUP from Northern Ireland. Written by the Government, the Queen’s Speech was heard …

The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump slammed the Democratic Party Wednesday morning for what he described as a failure to work with Republicans in Congress. Trump late Tuesday also mocked Democrats for losing five special elections since he was elected president. On Tuesday night, Republican Karen Handel beat Democrat Jon Ossoff in the special election for Georgia’s 6th congressional district, …

CNN reports: Republican Karen Handel has won Georgia’s high-stakes special election, CNN projects, the most expensive US House race on record. A little after 9:45 p.m. ET, Handel led Democrat Jon Ossoff by 5.7 percentage points, with 136 out of 208 precincts counted and 190,000 votes reported. At a Hyatt Regency in northern Atlanta, more than 100 Handel supporters packed …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: Heavy rain made for a wet afternoon in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, although it was unclear if the deluge will have much of an effect on voting as the hours ticked closer to the end of Tuesday’s nationally watched runoff between Republican Karen Handel and Democrat Jon Ossoff. The National Weather Service said storms would likely …

USA Today reports: Jeff Sessions, the nation’s chief law enforcement officer and top prosecutor, has private lawyer of his own. Attorney Charles “Chuck” Cooper, a longtime advocate for conservative causes, has been providing counsel to the attorney general, most recently in preparation for his appearance last week before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating possible collusion between President Trump’s …

CNBC reports: A federal judge has rejected, for now, Martin Shkreli’s bid to reduce his criminal release bail from $5 million to $2 million during a hearing that exposed his high tax debts, legal fees, and off-beat collectibles. Shkreli’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman also said that the accused securities fraudster, who claimed to be worth up to $70 million when he …

Yahoo News reports: More than two years after leaving the Obama administration, former Attorney General Eric Holder is reentering the political fray. His goal: to lead the legal resistance to Donald Trump’s agenda — and perhaps even run against the president in 2020. Seized by a sense of urgency to oppose Trump and restore what he regards as America’s best …

The New York Daily News reports: Former Patriots and Chiefs offensive tackle Ryan O’Callaghan publicly came out on Tuesday, saying that he strongly considered committing suicide before he received support from the Kansas City organization. O’Callaghan discusssed the gripping, heart-wrenching journey he took as a closeted gay man in college football and the NFL in a piece by SB Nation’s …

The Hill reports: A Republican lawmaker introduced legislation on Tuesday to allow trained members of Congress to carry guns for self-defense in the wake of last week’s shooting at a GOP baseball practice. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) wants to ensure all lawmakers can qualify for concealed-carry permits that could be used in any state, regardless of local laws. “The tragic …

Sky News reports: Belgian officers have “neutralised” a person wearing an explosive belt at a major train station in Brussels, according to reports. Police have confirmed that an “incident involving an individual” has taken place at Brussels Central – the country’s busiest station – and say the situation is now under control. The main square has been evacuated, and witnesses …

Raw Story reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday acknowledged that his plan to contain North Korea has been a failure — but he gave the Chinese government credit for at least putting forth a good effort to help him out. Trump’s plan at the start of his administration was to rely on the Chinese government to use its leverage over …

The Verge reports: Do you tip your Uber driver? Uber has always prided itself on being a cashless experience, arguing since its inception that driver tips are only optional — and maybe even unnecessary. Even as its main rival Lyft bragged about the millions of dollars its drivers were collecting in tips, Uber stood steadfast against a growing number of …

Will this be Sean Spicer’s final briefing? After yesterday’s flurry of reports, many are surprised that this one is even happening. CNBC reports: White House press secretary Sean Spicer holds a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, his first on camera in more than a week. It comes after reports that the White House is considering moving Spicer out of the …

The Copenhagen Post reports: It seems that aside from producing excellent beer the Danish brewery Mikkeller is in possession of a sense of humour as well. And it’s not afraid to ruffle some feathers for a good cause. In collaboration with the Chinese microbrewery Great Leap Brewing, Mikkeller has come up with a beer that may very well irk certain …

CBS News reports: An armed Russian jet came within five feet of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. A U.S. official said Tuesday that the Russian aircraft came within five feet of a wing tip for a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance plane. The Russian jet then passed under the U.S. aircraft …

“I guarantee you, they had a conversation and he basically said, ‘Mrs. Lynch, call your attack dog off. We have killed people. We killed Vince Foster, we destroyed Webb Hubbell, we will destroy you’.” – Republican US House Rep. Pete Olson, telling a right wing radio host that when Bill Clinton met Loretta Lynch on that airport tarmac, he threatened …

Via press release from HBO: VICE News has obtained exclusive access to Argun Prison in Chechnya where it is alleged that gay men were rounded up and tortured as part of an unprecedented ‘anti-gay purge’ by Chechnya’s law enforcement. VICE News is the first international news organization to be allowed into the location, capturing images and footage from the now …

The Associated Press reports: The United States flew two supersonic bombers over the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday in a show of force against North Korea, South Korean officials said. The U.S. often sends powerful warplanes in times of heightened animosities with North Korea, and flew B-1B bombers several times this year as the North conducted a series of banned ballistic …

Mediaite reports: Eric Bolling and the Fox News Specialists led their broadcast Monday with a panel discussion about North Korea moments after news broke about the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who spent 17 months in a North Korean prison. And in those first moments after news of the death became public, Bolling questioned whether the United States …