Amid apparent family rift, wake held for Mary Kennedy, estranged wife of RFK Jr.

BEDFORD, N.Y. - The two sides of Mary Richardson Kennedy's grieving family faced off in court Friday, just hours before she was mourned at a wake at the estate where she committed suicide. Details of the legal dispute were sealed by a judge, but it came as the Kennedy and Richardson families were finalizing arrangements for separate memorial services for the 52-year-old architect and environmentalist, who hanged herself Wednesday. Mary and Robert Kennedy had been going through a lengthy, contested divorce. Mourners — so many that some had to park on nearby side streets — converged Friday evening on the brick mansion in suburban Bedford, N.Y. Floral deliveries and vans full of people arrived as two police cars were stationed at end of the long driveway, keeping reporters at a distance. "Everyone loved her. She was part of our family," brother-in-law Douglas…

Obama's support for gay marriage emboldens activists, politicians in battleground states

PORTLAND, Maine - President Barack Obama's support for gay marriage has emboldened activists and politicians on both sides of the issue, setting off a flurry of political activity in a number of states and serving as a rallying point in others where votes on gay marriage laws are being held this fall. With the nation divided on gay marriage, Obama's declaration this month — a day after North Carolina voters approved an amendment to the state constitution affirming that marriage may only be a union of a man and a woman — has added a wrinkle in the political debate on a touchy subject. Obama's stand has put wind in the sails of gay marriage supporters, while providing political fuel to opponents, said…