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May 31, 2012 | | FINALLY A Boston appeals court has shot down the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, paving the way for the Supreme Court to take it up. The Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan on why the GOP, traditionally the party of states’ rights, should embrace the no-brainer ruling. NO VERDICT The jury in the John Edwards trial has found the former presidential candidate not guilty on count 3 while passing a note to the judge that said they were deadlocked on the five other counts. The judge ruled a mistrial on the other five counts, and the jury is said to be released in the near future. The mistrial decision came after a dramatic day in which earlier in the day the judge had misunderstood the jurors, and thought there was a verdict on all the counts when the jury had only reached a unanimous verdict on one count. Edwards has been charged with six counts of misappropriating campaign funds, which could put him in jail for up to 30 years and have a maximum fine of $1.5 million. Edwards had been accused of using $1 million in campaign funds to cover up his affair and love child with Rielle Hunter. DOWNER The job market remains sluggish as summer kicks off, with more people queuing up to collect unemployment than expected last week. The number of weekly unemployment benefit applications increased for the first time in a month, disappointing economists who were expecting hiring to pick up in May. A separate jobs report Thursday reflected only modest hiring rates in private businesses. This data doesn’t figure into the May unemployment rate, which analysts expect will be an improvement from April. PACT The president of the European Central Bank said on Thursday that the current structure of the Euro Zone is “unsustainable,” as panic spread over Spain’s impending economic woes. Mario Draghi told the European Parliament that the next step will be for leaders of European countries to clarify what their vision will be. Meanwhile, investors hunted for safe-haven assets on Thursday, as many sought U.S. bonds and dollars. And Ireland went to the polls Thursday to vote on the European Union’s fiscal pact, the only country of the 25 pro-pact nations that has put the treaty to a vote among its people. CONTENTIOUS A ban on gender-based abortions was up for vote in the House on Thursday. The legislation that would make it a federal crime to carry out an abortion based on the sex of a fetus. The measure is aimed at abortions of female fetuses, a common practice in Asian countries such as India and China that is also believed to take place in the U.S. The bill is mainly backed by Republicans who see the vote as an issue of gender bias at a time when Democrats are accusing the GOP of waging a war on women. Meanwhile, opponents of the law, including the Obama administration, Democrats, and abortion-rights activists, argued that the bill only further limits a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy and could potentially lead to racial profiling of Asian-Americans. | | 
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