Northstar, Marvel’s first openly gay hero, is going to tie the knot with his boyfriend in mainstream superhero comics’ first same-sex wedding in an upcoming issue of “Astonishing X-Men.”

The announcement comes on the heels of DC co-publisher Dan DiDio’s revelation that an iconic DC character will reveal he is gay in a June issue, joining prominent lesbian character Batwoman beneath the rainbow banner.

Northstar, whose real name is Jean-Paul Beaubier, is a Canadian mutant whose superhuman abilities allow him to move and fly at supersonic speeds. He’s also a professional skier, Olympian, novelist and businessman who made his debut in “Alpha Flight” #10 in 1984. He openly revealed his sexuality eight years later, in 1992′s issue #106, and officially joined the X-Men in 2002.

In “Astonishing X-Men” #50, set to hit comic shop shelves Wednesday, Northstar proposes to his boyfriend, Kyle Jinadu, a fellow snowsports enthusiast who possesses no superpowers. The couple will seal the deal in issue #51, slated for a June 20 release.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supported gay marriage, reversing his position on a controversial social issue just six months before the November election and adopting a stance fraught with uncertain political implications.

Mr. Obama had been under intense pressure this week to lay out a clear stance on same-sex marriage after Vice President Joe Biden and other top advisers endorsed it. Mr. Obama said that after years of lengthy discussions with friends and family, including his wife and two young daughters, he now "personally" believes gays and lesbians should have the right to marry.

"I've been going through an evolution on this issue. I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally," Mr. Obama said in a television interview with ABC. "At a certain point I've just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married."

Mr. Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to publicly support gay marriage. His endorsement is largely a symbolic moment for a country that is actively wrestling with the issue.

From the adult store that distributes free condoms from their drive-thru window as a daily community service, Pleasures will be giving away special gift bags filled with condoms, lubricant and toy cleaner to celebrate Mother’s Day.

“When people are equipped with the right tools, motherhood is a choice,” said Pleasure store owner Sherri Williams. “If only one unwanted, unplanned child birth was prevented by this free Mother’s Day gift, then Pleasures has done its job for the community.”

On Sunday, May 13 both Pleasures locations will distribute an unlimited supply of free condom gift bags to their respective communities between the hours of 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.

“Cities and states spend so much time and money trying to close adult stores when they could simply require that such stores provide these valued services,” said Williams who battled for nine years to overturn Alabama’s ban on the sale of adult toys.

There is no implied contract on Twitter, legal or social, which demands that you follow all those who follow you. That hasn't stopped a 40-something Japanese man from suing a porn star because she ignored his ongoing tweets to follow him back on the microblogging site.

According to the Tokyo Reporter, a Japanese man claiming to be an education reporter used multiple Twitter accounts in an attempt to gain the attention of  Aoi Sora, a porn star known for her lead roles in “Revenge: A Love Story,” (described by the Tokyo Times as a "psycho-sexual thriller") as well as a film named for an amply-endowed female zombie (the title of which is totally NSFW). His daily tweet-pleas reportedly read something like this:

"I am a fan of yours; please follow me,” “Please consider following,” “How’s work? Your English is getting better. Please follow me,” and, in the end, he wrote in English, “Please follow me."

Comedian, actor and former heroin addict, Russell Brand, has suggested politicians should regard drug addiction as a disease to be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal or judicial matter.

The flamboyant film star, who arrived to give evidence to the Commons home affairs select committee, wearing a black hat, gold chains and crosses, and a torn black vest top, confirmed he had been arrested around a dozen times for drug possession.

He agreed it would be "a brilliant idea" if the policing costs of "nicking people for possession" were instead used to fund treatment and drug education programmes.

But Brand, who has given frank accounts of his battles to overcome heroin addiction, was careful to make clear he didn't want to start "banging the drum" for legalisation. He said he didn't feel qualified to talk about legalisation although he did think it was possible for some people to take drugs safely and he didn't want to be identified with a "just say no campaign".

He said he didn't think that drug addicts cared about the legal status of the drugs they were taking, or where they came from or the consequences for those involved in their production.

JAKARTA // A plan to ban mini-skirts in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has drawn the ire of women's groups and human-rights organisations.

The religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali, wants to draw up "a set of universal criteria" on what constitutes pornography, "one of which will be when a woman wears a skirt above the knee".

Mr Suryadharma heads a new task force set up to enforce a tough anti-pornography law drafted by Islamic parties in Indonesia's ruling government coalition. His comments follow a threat by the parliamentary speaker, Marzuki Alie, to ban female politicians from wearing short skirts, because "you know what men are like - provocative clothing will make them do things".

Mr Marzuki added: "There have been a lot of rape cases and other immoral acts recently, because women aren't wearing appropriate clothes."

The debate about hemlines - which began last year, when the governor of Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, blamed a spate of rapes in public minivans on miniskirts worn by victims - has highlighted tensions between conservatives and liberals in Indonesia.

While most people practise a relaxed version of Islam, the archipelago is home to a wide diversity of cultures and religious interpretations. In the devoutly Muslim province of Aceh, known as the "verandah of Mecca" because the religion first entered Indonesia there centuries ago, hijabs are compulsory for women.