President Obama, facing criticism that his administration has failed to respond aggressively to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, assured supporters in San Francisco on Tuesday that "the situation in the gulf is heartbreaking, and we're doing everything we can." Carla Marinucci

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Senior managers complained oil giant BP was "taking shortcuts" by replacing heavy drilling fluid with saltwater in the well that blew out, triggering the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to witnesses.

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• BP CEO yet to make call on choking gulf oil gusher

After 17 years, a repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military heads into two razor-thin votes before the House of Representatives and the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. Carolyn Lochhead

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Melting pot or racial divide? The growth of interracial marriages is slowing among U.S.-born Hispanics and Asians. Still, blacks are substantially more likely than before to marry whites.

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Matier & Ross: After five years of booze, bareback runners and increasingly bad press, insurance giant ING is bowing out as sponsor of San Francisco's annual Bay to Breakers race. 

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