The highest court in Maryland allows gay couples to divorce, even though same-sex marriage is not yet allowed in that US state.

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Maryland allows same-sex divorce

At the start of the year, the Federal Reserve was a dour pessimist — even though a range of economic indicators were starting to suggest that the nation’s recovery was finally gaining enough momentum to sustain itself. Read full article > >

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Fed likely to stay the course, even as economy appears mixed

Lawyers have agreed to settle a lawsuit against the company’s directors over its purchase of Merrill Lynch for $20 million, even though damages could reach $5 billion, according to plaintiffs of a parallel suit in Delaware.

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Bank of America Settlement in Lawsuit Is Challenged

Amadou Toumani Toure, ousted as Mali’s leader in last month’s coup, flees to Senegal, even though many of his allies are freed.

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Mali ex-leader flees to Senegal

Campaigners in Pakistan say cases of acid attacks are increasing in most areas, even though tougher penalties were introduced last year.

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VIDEO: Acid attacks increase in Pakistan

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are engaged to be married. This is not just speculation anymore , ladies and gentlemen, even though we were tempted to view with great skepticism a Hollywood Reporter story that broke this news earlier today. Read full article > >

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are engaged. For real.

A pattern has emerged during the Republican primary season: more Catholics favor Mitt Romney even though Rick Santorum is Catholic.

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Santorum Fails to Capture Catholic Vote

Yes, comedian Ali Wentworth is turning into her mother. “She’s not as out there as I am,” Wentworth told us about her mom, Muffie Brandon Cabot , Washington hostess, former White House social secretary and font of pithy one-liners. “But I definitely have her values and morals, even though I talk a funny game.” Read full article > >

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Ali Wentworth on growing up in D.C., her social secretary mom, and the wrong way to deliver a thank you gift to Donald Rumsfeld

He could have been the main character in one of the many books stacked wall to wall in his Parisian book store. George Whitman , 98, lived a large life — even though most of it from 1948 onwards, was spent in a tiny store across the river from the Notre Dame. Whitman, the owner of Shakespeare and Company bookstore, died in his apartment above the store Wednesday morning. Read full article > >

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Shakespeare and Co. owner George Whitman dies (Video)

NEARLY ALL THE Republican presidential hopefuls are now on record as wanting to build a 2,000-mile-long fence on the U.S. border with Mexico — a wildly expensive, staggeringly wasteful project that would do little to deter illegal immigration. The candidates have coalesced around this chimera even though illegal crossings, as measured by apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol along the Southwestern frontier, are at their lowest level in 40 years. Read full article > >

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Editorial:
Republicans are fencing with the truth on immigration

DENISON, Iowa Nine months ago, on a frigid winter night, a small group of local Republican leaders gathered at Cronk’s Cafe in this small Iowa town to talk about the presidential campaign. They had a dim view of Newt Gingrich that night. Arlan Ecklund was outspoken in his criticism of the former House speaker. “I think he’s polarizing,” he said then. “I don’t think he’s electable.” Today, he has changed his mind. “The problems that face our nation are greater than they’ve ever been,” he said. “I believe he’s the one candidate who doesn’t need on-the-job training. . . . I think he is electable, even though he has some baggage.” Read full article > >

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Iowa activists reevaluating Newt Gingrich’s candidacy

Open season for the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program has been deceptively dull. With the average increase for health insurance programs at a modest 3.8 percent for 2012, complaints by workers also have been modest, even though their salaries are frozen through the end of next year. Perhaps they remember this year’s 7.3 percent hike. Read full article > >

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Open enrollment for federal health benefits starts quietly

A man who married in 2003 is suing a photographer, citing omissions and demanding the re-creation of his wedding, even though the marriage ended in divorce.

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Suit Against Photographer Seeks Re-creation of Wedding After Divorce

Have you ever heard the expression “From one acorn, a mighty oak can grow.” That means that things of lasting value often start small, even though the final results may not be seen for years. A very cool volunteer project called Growing Native is like that. Volunteers contribute a small amount of time collecting seeds. But their goal is a long-term one: saving local forests and the Potomac River. Read full article > >

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Fun seed collection project for kids

Once every season or so, the TV critic finds himself in the tricky spot of recommending a new series even though he knows most of you are not going to like it very much. HBO’s “Enlightened,” which stars the achingly talented Laura Dern as a corporate drone in the throes of a disastrous midlife crisis, is just that kind of show. It is certainly not the comedy that the network’s ads have touted it as being; nor is it a straight drama with a clearly defined protagonist or particularly gripping plot developments. Nothing about it will cheer you up. Read full article > >

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HBO’s ‘Enlightened’: Portrait of a crazy lady