National Gay & Lesbian Task Force returns $5,000 contribution from Democratic Party in light of Howard Dean’s statements to the Christian Broadcasting Network regarding marriage. Dean: “The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That’s what it says. I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is that we believe in inclusion, that everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and that equal rights under the law are important.”

Polargrizz: The first cross-bred polar and grizzly bear ever discovered in the wild is shot and photographed in Canada’s great white north. “Grizzly bears normally live on the Arctic mainland and southern Victoria Island, but in the past decade they have been sighted on islands farther north in the Arctic archipelago. The hybrid bear could be a one-time anomaly, but it could also be a worrisome sign of things to come.” (via treehugger)

Berkeley ice rink settles discrimination suit by two male skaters who were forbidden to hold hands while practicing at the rink. The rink “has agreed to hold diversity training for its employees, donate to the Gay Games and offer a gay skating night each month for the next year.”

Presenting, the iPod for Special Republicans.

Los Altos, California gets final approval for a gay pride parade. The Los Altos High School Gay Straight Alliance ignited controversy in the town by requesting permission for the parade earlier this year: “‘The town is not Bigotsville,’ said resident Tom Freed. Nor is it ‘Berkeley, San Francisco or San Jose. We’re Los Altos.’ And there were clearly fears about what the parade might mean to the town. Louis Windsor worried that the council was being controlled by a special-interest group and that the parade would alienate what he called the town’s majority — people who live there because they ‘cherish traditional American family values.’ Others, like Barrett McGrath, were concerned that the city’s gay teens were being used to promote what he called a gay bully pulpit and that extremists from all corners of the Bay Area would make a point of being at the parade.”

Chris Daughtry’s gay Idol moments…