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1. The California Supreme¹ Court has upheld a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. But the court decided² that the thousands of gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect can stay wed³.

2. Senate Democrats⁴ are promising⁵ they'll do their best to get President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee⁶ confirmed quickly. Republican senators meanwhile are reacting cautiously to Obama's choice of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to become the nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice.

3. North Korea celebrated⁷ its underground nuclear test on Tuesday amid a storm of international criticism against the move. Top officials marked the test with speeches and applause.

4. After years of arguments, a South Carolina judge has approved the settlement over James Brown's estate. It gives nearly half of Brown's wealth to his charitable trust, about a fourth to his wife and young son, and the rest to his adult children. Brown died in 2006.