10 things you need to know today: October 13, 2014

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(Image credit: (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson))

1. Judge throws out Alaska's first-in-the-nation gay marriage ban

A federal judge on Sunday overturned Alaska's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Alaska's ban on same-sex marriage was the first in the nation. Judge Timothy M. Burgess ruled the amendment unconstitutional, saying that denying same-sex couples the right to legally marry "sends the public a government-sponsored message that same-sex couples and their familial relationships do not warrant the status, benefits, and dignity given to couples of the opposite sex."

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.