Proposition 8 Proponents File Appeal, Steven Slater Defended By Ex-Wife, Tim Pawlenty Suggests Voters Have Right To Remove Justices, Cristiano Ronaldo Liked So Much He Makes History

An update from California, with news that attorneys for the proponents of Proposition 8 late Thursday filed a request with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco asking the appeals to grant a stay that would prevent gay marriages from proceeding in the state “to avoid the confusion and irreparable injury that would flow from the creation of a class of purported same-sex marriage.” Earlier Thursday, United States District Judge Vaughn Walker issued an order that the stay on same sex marriage will expire at 5:00pm PST August 18th, unless an appeals court intervenes. The appeal will now be heard by a special “motions panel” comprised of three judges (two appointed by Democrats and a third by a Republican) at what is the largest and busiest federal appeals court in the United States, with jurisdiction over nine western states.

Thursday morning, the ex-wife of suspended JetBlue flight attendant Steve Slater made an appearance on The Today Show, and disputed claims from passengers aboard Flight 1052 that the now infamous Slater behaved badly throughout the trip from Pittsburgh to New York City. She also dismissed claims that Slater was inebriated at the time of incident aboard the plane at the conclusion of the flight. She was asked about comments left on Slater’s MySpace page that read “Beating alcoholism and substance abuse ‘one day at a time’ has opened up new worlds of opportunity for me,” and why, if he were sober, would he take two beers from a beverage cart prior to disembarking the place via the emergency slide. “I don’t know Steven to have a problem with alcohol or substance abuse,” she said. “He handled it beautifully if that’s the case.” Late Thursday, through his attorney, Steven Slater said he wanted to return to his duties as a flight attendant, saying “his hope is to return to the aviation business.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty in Iowa Thursday said that he believes voters hold the right to remove judges if they disagree with their rulings, a reference to an attempt in Iowa to try to vote out three state Supreme Court justices up for re-election this November who ruled in March, 2009 that the state’s ban on gay marriage was a violation of the constitution. Pawlenty, a Republican, has opted not to seek a third term as governor and is instead preparing to run as a candidate for president.

Cristiano Ronaldo is liked – a lot – ten million likes in fact.