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Published by Euronews (English) A Lufthansa pilot drew a penis-shaped flight path in the sky last week after being diverted from Catania airport in Sicily. The 24-kilometre-long pattern was spotted by amused aviation fans on FlightRadar24. The aircraft left Frankfurt in Germany at 1.45 pm on 28 July and reportedly attempted to land at Catania twice before its course was diverted. It took just over 16 minutes to circle in the sky off the east coast of Sicily – a manoeuvre that created the penis shape – before returning to its original flight path and continuing to Malta. Local Italian media claimed that the disgruntled pilot… Read More View the full article

Afghan Refugees fleeing the countryThe safety of Afghanistan Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans people was immediately in serious question with the rapid return of Taliban control of Afghanistan. International LGBT organizations report their contacts in Afghanistan have gone dark or have become unreachable, and many organizations around the world are calling for governments and international bodies to provide for their protection and to offer asylum. Taliban Have Been and Remain Mortal Threat to All Gay Afghanistan Residents President Joe Biden’s announcement of complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by Aug. 31 sparked fears that the nation’s democratic government would fall back into the hands of the Taliban, unseated by the U.S. and its allies when the war began 20 years ago. Those fears came true with unexpected speed in recent days, and though the initial words from the Taliban is that they will respect the rights of women, this is not how it has gone in the regional cities they have taken over on the way. Most commentators expect the militant organization will reinstate Sharia Law, an expectation behind the many Afghanis trying to leave the country as soon as possible by any route available. Under the now-deposed government of President Ashraf Ghani LGBTQ Afghans enjoyed more, but still severely limited protections. The threat to LGBTQ lives under the Taliban has been made clear. The surprise would be if they was any change. Gul Rahim, who claims to be a Taliban judge, detailed last month that LGBTQ Afghans will be executed under Taliban rule. “There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high,” Rahim told German newspaper Bild. “There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high,” Judge Gul Rahim told German newspaper Bild last monthWe have found no reports specifically about LGBTQ plans or attempts to get out of the county and how they have fared, in general leaving is now a chaotic and dangerous proposition for almost all Afghans. Images of Afghans surrounding American planes on the tarmac of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul have given way to the stream of individual stories from those who get out anywhere, all of which end saying most of those in danger remain in Afghanistan without a clear path to getting out. On the first day of flights out, some died trying to get on flights, including some who reported clinged to aircrafts as they lifted off the ground. Taliban forces have begun blocking citizens from accessing the airport, breaking a promise made to the Biden administration. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stated Wednesday that U.S. military forces in Kabul and Qatar were “engaging directly with the Taliban to make clear that we expect them to allow all American citizens, all third-country nationals and all Afghans who wish to leave, to do so safely and without harassment.” At the moment, Sherman could only confirm that the Taliban wasn’t impeding Americans from leaving, though she couldn’t confirm that the status of every American currently in Afghanistan was known. President Biden has rushed thousands more soldiers and government employees to help protect and defend the Kabul airport, saying their capacity to process American Partners will double by early next week and flights will ramp up to hourly all day and night. Taking responsibility, Biden acknowledged “the buck” stops with him, the president said he and the military shared the same surprise as everyone else at the speed with which the Taliban took the country, highlighting that even after 20 years of training, a trillion-dollar investment, and extraordinary supply of American arms (now in Taliban hands) the Afghani military still would not defend itself even minimally. While surprised by the speed and expressing concern about the current chaos, the Biden position is that there was going to be chaos no matter what, placing blame on Trump “negotiations” that led to the release of top Taliban leadership who were then in Pakistan prisons. One of those Trump-released leaders arrived to take lead in the Taliban government Thursday. With plenty of blame to go around and decades of books and writing. to assign it, most worked to focus on getting Americans, allies and local partners through the impossible and dangerous process of getting out of the country. The Washington Blade reported Sunday that transgender U.S. State Department contractor Josie Thomas was among a collection of people trapped in a diplomatic support facility near the Kabul airport. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul stated that it could no longer “ensure safe passage” to the airport. Refugee Crisis Looms Those who are able to get out face a real possibility of ending up stateless with. the small numbers of refugees most nations are stepping up to accept. While Canada has promised to grant 20,000 displaced Afghans asylum and Biden pledged to expand refuge access to Afghans that worked with U.S. organizations in Afghanistan and others “who otherwise are at great risk”, other nations have been more cagey about housing Afghan refugees. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other top European officials announced a strategy to keep Afghan refugees in “transit countries” such as Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Iran and Pakistan, countries with large Afghan refugee populations, and all without real protections for LGBTQ people. Advocacy groups called on European nations to offer asylum to refugees from Afghanistan gay populations.. “As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, members of the LGBTIQ community are among those at greatest risk of suffering under Taliban rule. The international community must act quickly and decisively to aid all those fleeing persecution,” said the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration. In the UK, Stonewall UK urged the government to allow Afghan refugees as well. “LGBTQ+ Afghans have endured routine discrimination, abuse & persecution, including by the state. With the Taliban in power we expect this situation to deteriorate further, including the potential for a return to active enforcement of the laws that prohibit same-sex relationships,” read a statement from the organization. “The U.K. government must step up now to put in place a rapid response humanitarian evacuation program and help resettle Afghan people, as well as take action to protect those who have already sought asylum here in the U.K.,” said Stonewall UK CEO Nancy Kelley. “This is a time for showing leadership in upholding the UN Refugee Convention, and helping LGBTQ+ Afghan refugees to survive, resettle and thrive.” Going Dark Speaking to the Washington Blade, Charbel Maydaa, founder of Lebanese advocacy organization MOSIAC, said she has lost contact with many in the nation since the Taliban’s resurgence. “We don’t know what’s happening. They’re not online or they are really afraid to talk on Facebook,” Maydaa said. Maydaa stated that LGBTQ advocacy group ILGA Asia, of which Maydaa serves as alternate co-chair, is working to establish shelters for LGBTQ Afghans that are still in the country as they wait for a chance to leave the country. The organization is also pleading with governments internationally to “literally rescue them.” “LGBT+ Afghans really don’t have any options. They can either await a slow death or a quick one. Whatever little joy they had will evaporate knowing that the Taliban can take their life at any moment,” gay Afghan author and activist Nemat Sadat told PinkNews. “As bad as life was for LGBT under the regimes of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, there is no telling how severe it can get under the Taliban … It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Taliban will do what Nazis did to homosexuals: weed them out and exterminated them from Afghan society.” Afghanistan Gay: Previously on Towleroad LGBTQ Orgs Alarmed Their Afghanistan Gay Contacts Have Gone Dark; Call On Nations, World to Prioritize LGBTQ Safety As Likely Taliban Target Brian Bell August 19, 2021 Read More Taliban return to power as president and diplomats flee Kabul Towleroad August 15, 2021 Read More Trump Says He Never Brought Up Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops in Calls with Putin: WATCH Andy Towle July 29, 2020 Read More Large Financial Transfers Back Up Reports About Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops Andy Towle July 1, 2020 Read More Trump Knew Russia Was Paying Taliban Bounties for the Scalps of American Troops in March 2019, a Year Earlier Than Previously Thought Andy Towle June 30, 2020 Read More ‘He Can’t Spin This Out’ — Trump Knew About Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops as Early as January: WATCH Andy Towle June 29, 2020 Read More View the full article

Lil Nas XThe reign of Montero in the culture continued at Sunday’s BET Awards when out gay rapper Lil Nas X ended his scorching performance by locking lips with one of his backup dancers, giving the BET Awards stage its first gay male kiss ever. The moment capped off another stellar performance of the artist smash hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” that drenched itself in Black queer expression. Lil Nas X hasn’t been shy about embracing his queer identity since coming out as gay in 2019, openly expressing it through his music, fashion and performances in ways that mainstream hip-hop has never seen. Sunday’s kiss garnered a standing ovation from the live crowd made up of Lil Nas X’s peers in music and other media. He even got to share a backstage moment with Tyler, the Creator, another popular rapper who hasn’t been shy about expressing his LGBTQ-ness through his music, most notably on his 2019 album “Igor.” Lil Nas X previously praised Tyler and Frank Ocean for being examples of queer Black men in hip-hop that “made it easier for me to be where I am comfortably.” Lil Nas X’s performance wasn’t the only moment from Sunday’s BET Awards that placed that initiative in the forefront. Out rapper/actor Queen Latifah received the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday night, thanking her longtime partner, Eboni, and declaring “Happy Pride” during her speech. The days after the event have also been significant for LIl Nas X. He released a trailer reminiscent of Marvel Studios touting the release of his first album, “Montero,” and celebrated the two-year anniversary of his coming out on Wednesday. “I have officially been gay for two years,” he said. ” Wow that was fun what should I do next!?” Lil Nas X: Previously on Towleroad Lil Nas X’s BET Awards Liplock Praised as Rapper Flames Homophobic Critics, Celebrates Two Years of Being Out; ‘I Love Who I Am and Whatever I Decide To Do’ Brian Bell July 1, 2021 Read More ‘I Will Never Trust Pants Again;’ Lil Nas X Humorously Details ‘SNL’ Wardrobe Malfunction Brian Bell May 25, 2021 Read More Lil Nas X Gay Expectations: Disdainful of ‘sense of responsibility’. It’s not my job to be a good role model Towleroad May 11, 2021 Read More Stranger Things 4; Lil Nas X; Rainbow Capitalism; Apex Legends; Will Smith’s Dad Bod; Arm Wrestling; Edith Surreal; Adele; EFFY: HOT LINKS Brian Bell May 6, 2021 Read More Kids Ask Lil Nas X About The Closet (Sort of); His ‘Diamond Record’, And His Nicki Minaj Costume; Plus a Response Video Michael Goff April 16, 2021 Read More Mega-Post Update — Nike Sues; Church of Satan endorses Lil Nas for ‘giving middle finger to those who said he’d burn in hell’; Lil Nas X Coronation Day 4 Michael Goff March 29, 2021 Read More View the full article

Budweiser, Bud Light and all other Anheuser-Busch products won’t be on the menu at The Stonewall Inn during Pride weekend in what the iconic LGBTQ bar’s owners characterize as a protest of the company’s donations to politicians supporting LGBTQ discrimination. “We just felt Stonewall having the platform, the power to do this, it was important to stand up,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz told The Guardian. “We really just want Anheuser-Busch to stop donating to lawmakers who are trying to legalize discrimination.” In addition to pausing sales, the bar will also hold a ceremonial pouring down the drain of Bud Light and Stella Artois in support of the newly established “Keep Your Pride” campaign, an initiative from the recently created Corporate Accountability Action organization highlighting five large corporations, including Anheuser-Busch, publicly supporting the LGBTQ community while making hundreds of donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians. You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate Stacy Lentz, Co-Owner Stonewall inn According to the National Institute on Money in Politics, the beer-brewing giant made 48 donations totaling $35,350 to state and federal legislators in Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi that supported LGBTQ discrimination between 2015 and 2020. “Keep Your Pride” also highlights donations from AT&T, General Motors, NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola, with donations from all five totaling $324,250 between 2015 and 2021. “It’s unacceptable for so-called ‘allied’ corporations to use Pride celebrations as marketing opportunities, claiming to support the LGBTQ community while they take direct action that hurts LGBTQ people across the country,” Marie Coyle, spokesperson for “Keep Your Pride,” told The Advocate. “It’s never been more important for these companies to put their money where their mouth is,” Coyle added. “Either they can put an end to their support of these dangerous elected officials, or they can keep their Pride this year.” Lentz agrees, saying, “You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate … there are really no excuses, and companies like Anheuser-Busch need to own up to what they’ve done.” In a statement to The Guardian, Anheuser-Busch said it “supports candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation and industry growth.” The company also noted that it has” a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world we cherish and celebrate one another.” Bud Light Protest: Previously on Towleroad Stonewall to Pour Bud Light Down the Drain, Halt Anheuser-Busch Sales During Pride Weekend in Protest Brian Bell June 21, 2021 Read More Stonewall Inn Has Been Under Looming Landlord Ultimatum To Sign Long-Term Lease; ‘There is a need to preserve LGBTQ+ history’ Brian Bell June 11, 2021 Read More Gill Foundation Offers $250,000 Donation to Protect History and Legacy of NYC’s Stonewall Inn Amid Coronavirus Crisis Andy Towle June 30, 2020 Read More NYC’s Historic Stonewall Inn Says It May Not Survive COVID Shutdown, Launches Crowdfunding Campaign Andy Towle June 24, 2020 Read More David Letterman and Jonathan Van Ness Have a Facial Hair Face-to-Face on Self Care, Stonewall, and LGBTQ Rights: WATCH Andy Towle July 2, 2019 Read More The Stonewall You Know is a Myth – and That’s OK: WATCH Towleroad June 30, 2019 Read More Photo courtesy of Rhododentrites/Creative Commons View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop and Sabine Siebold BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Respect LGBT rights or leave the European Union, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told his Hungarian counterpart as the bloc’s leaders confronted Viktor Orban over a law that bans schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality. Several participants spoke of the most intense personal clash among the 27 EU leaders in years on Thursday night. “It was really forceful, a deep feeling that this could not be. It was about our values; this is what we stand for,” Rutte told reporters on Friday. “I said ‘Stop this, you must withdraw the law and, if you don’t like that and really say that the European values are not your values, then you must think about whether to remain in the European Union’.” French President Emmanuel Macron called it a battle over civilisation and culture. Hungary is now likely to face a legal challenge at the EU’s highest court. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said Budapest should also be subject to an as-yet untested procedure to cut EU funding for those who violate democratic rules. The new mechanism was introduced as closely aligned conservative governments in Poland and Hungary have shielded one another for years from grave sanctions under existing tools to protect EU democratic and human rights values. The provisions for schools have been included in a law primarily aimed at protecting children from paedophiles – a link that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described as “primitive”. In power since 2010 and facing an election next year, Orban has become increasingly conservative and combative in promoting what he says are traditional Catholic values under pressure from the liberal West. He told reporters before the closed-door meeting that the law was not an attack on gay people but aimed at guaranteeing parents’ right to decide on their children’s sexual education. The EU is pushing Orban to repeal the law – the latest in a string of restrictive policies towards media, judges, academics and migrants. Seventeen out of 27 leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed a joint letter reaffirming their commitment to protecting gay rights. “We all made it very clear which fundamental values we adhere to,” she said. Bettel, who is openly gay, said the only country other than Poland to support Orban in the discussion was Slovenia. He said it was time for Brussels to test its new procedure: “Most of the time, money is more convincing than talk.” (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Kevin Liffey) View the full article

Published by New York Daily News A lawsuit was filed Friday after a Nebraska high school shut down its student newspaper because it objected to certain LGBTQ content. The Nebraska High School Press Association, along with high school journalist Marcus Pennell, filed the suit, reports NBC News. The lawsuit takes aim at Grand Island Northwest Public Schools and its superintendent, claiming they violated the students’ First Amendment rights by shutting down the paper. The newspaper issue that sparked the controversy was published in June of 2022, and included an article titled “Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+,” which focused on th… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s official congressional Twitter feed was briefly suspended over tweets denouncing a planned rally supporting transgender rights outside the Supreme Court. The right-wing firebrand said Wednesday the social media giant disabled the account for several hours and blocked access to tweets about the so-called “Trans Day of Vengeance” rally that is planned for Saturday. “My official Twitter account was temporarily suspended for warning about (the rally),” Greene tweeted. The lawmaker accused the leftist Antifa of being behind the rally even though the organizing Trans Ra… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Who needs a formal dinner party, anyway? Poland locals couldn’t believe their eyes when none other than Prince William sat down for a meal at Warsaw’s Buetero Bistro, an eatery dubbed as a LBGTQ-friendly spot. The father-of-three made the impromptu stop on the night of Wednesday, March 22, where a fellow guest snapped a photo to show the royal, clad in a white button-down shirt, speaking to a waitress. mega An insider told a publication that William ordered the pulled pork sandwich with french fries, which rang in at just $10. “The team from Kensington Palace booked a local restaurant near where they were working and the prince decided to join them,” the source spilled of the gatheirng. “He asked them what they were doing and then asked to come along.” mega Shocking Fights: Prince William & Kate Middleton ‘Throw Things At Each Other’ During ‘Terrible’ Arguments, Claims Author Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Skipping King Charles’ Coronation Would Show ‘The Rift Will Never Heal’ Between Them & The Royal Family Kate Middleton All Smiles At Charity Appearance As She & Prince William Fight About Prince George’s Role In Coronation: Photos “It was a great night by all accounts,” added the insider. “The team really appreciated him asking to join them.” Needless to say, the owner of the restaurant — which bills itself as “an inclusive space where everyone can feel good” — was over the moon to have such a famous face at his establishment. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “We had absolutely no idea they were coming. We had a table booked for 12 people under the name of Daisy. It was supposed to be a Daisy birthday party,” Paweł Zasim told the outlet. “But then a bodyguard appeared and said that this wasn’t going to be a Daisy birthday party and then Prince William walked in.” The restauranteur noted the group “spent three hours” at the eatery, and at the end of their night, “they said they had a good time.” mega Zasim also humbly boasted about his food, revealing William “ate everything so I think he liked it.” William was in town to pay tribute to those who lost their lives and spoke to Ukrainian refugees. “The Prince of Wales took the opportunity to thank the President and the Polish people who have done so much to support the people of Ukraine who’ve fled here,” a royal spokesman said. “They discussed the importance of the need for ongoing support to Ukraine and its people.” Daily Mail reported on William’s dinner. View the full article

Published by Al-Araby With a South-Asian background, upbringing in the Gulf and ultimate relocation to the United States, Lamya (a pseudonym) deeply self-reflects about identity in her memoir,Hijab Butch Blues, while anchoring the coming-of-age tale in stories from the Quran. She reimagines Prophetic tales in contemporary, colloquial language, and interweaves lessons she extracts from the Quran with her daily life experiences. “Time and again, Lamya challenges readers to reject longstanding, culturally-informed binary ways of thinking. She writes about the uniquely heart-breaking homophobia of Muslims, who are also… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Howard Stern knows who should run for president in 2024: former The Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart. “When Jon Stewart hosted The Daily Show, they said that he was the most trusted newsman in the country. Like Walter Cronkite trustworthy,” the talk show host, 69, said during his SiriusXM radio show. “The guy is so f****** smart and bright and also witty and really measured when he takes on a debate,” the shock jock added. “He knows how to talk. You know he would work his a** off to be a good president. I’m telling you, he could also win, because people like Jon Stewart.” mega Stern first came up with the idea after watching some old videos of Stewart, 60, debating with TV star Bill O’Reilly. “Well, he owes it to his country to run. A lot more work, but the guy would be terrific and I think he’d do it,” Stern added. Stewart’s name has been brought up before, but it sounds like he has no interest in taking over the White House. “Ummm…No thank you,” Stewart tweeted in July 2022 in response to entering the political world. Pink Reveals Madonna ‘Doesn’t Like’ Her Because Of Awkward Misunderstanding 20 Years Ago: ‘She Tried To Kind Of Play Me’ Howard Stern Questions Whether Tom Brady Is ‘Going Sexless’ This Season After Gisele Bündchen Divorce Bachelor No More! Jon Hamm & Former Costar Anna Osceola Engaged After 2 Years Of Dating Stern, who has been vocal about his hatred toward Donald Trump, previously hinted he should be in the race. “I think I’m going to run for president,” he quipped in 2021. “If Trump decided to run again, you have to run against him. That’s my plan,” Stern’s sidekick Robin Quivers replied. “That’s what’s going to have to happen. We can’t leave it to the Democrats.” mega Though the radio personality admitted he doesn’t have all the qualifications people are looking for, he seemed confident he could win the race. “Who the f*** am I?” Stern asked. “I know, I’ll beat his a**. I told Beth [Ostrosky Stern], ‘I think I’m going to have to do my civic duty and run for president against Trump,” Stern claimed. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! “I would just sit there at debate and play that f****** clip of him trying to fix the election, over and over again,” Stern said, referring to Trump’s claims the 2020 election was rigged. “There’s no way I’d lose.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By John Kruzel WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a traveling Christian evangelist’s free-speech challenge to a University of Alabama requirement that he obtain a permit before handing out religious pamphlets and preaching from a sidewalk adjacent to its campus. The justices turned away an appeal by preacher Rodney Keister of a lower court’s ruling rejecting his claim that the university’s permit requirement violated free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Keister, founder of a Pennsylvania-based group called Evangelism Mission, regularly visits U.S. university campuses in hopes of spreading his Christian message to students, according to court filings. In 2016, Keister, along with a companion, preached using an amplifier and distributed Christian literature from a sidewalk adjacent to the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, trying to engage passersby. School officials told Keister he needed a permit for a public-speaking event, prompting him and his companion to leave. The university’s policy at issue governed when, where and how a person unaffiliated with the school may engage in public speaking on campus including on sidewalks, other than “casual recreational or social activities.” It required a permit application 10 business days in advance – which has since been reduced to five business days – and sponsorship by a student organization or university academic department. Keister in 2017 filed a civil rights suit against University of Alabama officials, arguing that the sidewalk’s status under the First Amendment is that of a “traditional public forum,” affording speakers the most robust protections available under the Constitution. Following losses in lower courts, Keister’s appeal in 2018 was turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court, prompting him to file an amended civil rights suit against school officials the next year. A federal judge in 2020 ruled in favor of the school officials, finding that the sidewalk was a “limited public forum” – a status giving public universities and other government entities more leeway to regulate particular classes of speakers or kinds of speech. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed last year. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in recent years has taken an expansive view of religious rights, though this case came to the justices as a free speech dispute. The high court is due to rule by the end of June in another free speech case involving religion. The court’s conservative justices during arguments in December appeared ready to rule that a Christian web design business owner named Lorie Smith has a right to refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages. Smith has said that under her Christian beliefs marriage should be limited to opposite-sex couples. (Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Madison Williams The 25-year-old admitted he initially didn’t intend to come out during his fighting career because of the possibility of negative responses. After an intimate video of UFC fighter Jeff Molina was posted without his permission on Thursday, the 25-year-old posted a statement on social media Friday revealing he is bisexual. In his statement, Molina said he preferred to come out on his own terms but stated that he wanted the news to come from him. Based on his statement, it sounds as if Molina didn’t intend to come out during his mixed martial arts career because he was worried… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet In 2012, then-Vice President Joe Biden endorsed same-sex marriage as President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign was getting underway. Now, more than a decade later, Biden revealed to The Daily Show what led to his change of heart. “I’m curious what your evolution was like on marriage equality and what the federal government might be able to do to protect LGBTQ Americans, especially trans kids, who are dealing with all these regressive state laws that are popping up right now,” correspondent Kal Penn asked of the president. “I can remember exactly where my, uh, epiphany was,” Biden began. REA… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA The cathedral on the Zócalo is considered the largest on the American continent. Philipp Laage/dpa Colonial palaces, the legacy of the Aztecs and Frida Kahlo, kaleidoscopic nightlife and cuisine – plus mezcal – to write home about: Despite its intensity and daunting size, a bold immersion in the best of Mexico City will change your world. Locals urge you to spend at least a week in this metropolis of 22 million people, but a three-day compact programme also hits the mark. Tour guide and architecture expert Santiago Garcia de Vinuesa recommends you start in the Centro Histórico – where it all began. Until the mid-19th century, today’s historic centre covered the entire city. “That’s why there are so many hidden buildings and gems from all eras here,” says Santiago. “It’s a hectic place because everyone comes here to shop. But it’s also very real.” The city’s birthplace is the mighty Zócalo main square and the vestiges of Tenochtitlán, the former heart of the Aztec Empire. Here, the ruins of the Templo Mayor, the main temple, are overshadowed by the giant Metropolitan Cathedral, once a symbol of the imperial power of the Spanish conquerors. When the tumult gets overwhelming, head through the archways to the grand colonial courtyards. Maybe take a bite too, for example in the Azul Historico restaurant, located at Isabel La Católica 30, run by renowned chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita. Moving west, you pass many impressive sights built under the rule of General Porfirio Díaz in the late 19th century, after Mexico’s independence. The ruling classes then took their cue from France, producing magnificent Art Nouveau buildings like the Palacio de Hierro – now a luxury shopping mall – and the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México, with its spectacular Tiffany glass roof. The Palacio Postal, the old main post office, is a masterpiece of Neo-Venetian architecture, while the Palacio de Bellas Artes cultural centre is a whirl of architectural styles, from neoclassicism to Art Nouveau and Art Déco. The cityscape mirrors the many influences pulling at its municipal chiefs over the centuries, says the guide. They sought to become more European, with a yearning also for the lifestyle of the American suburbs and an eye to the pre-Columbian past: “All of this while trying to be modern and cosmopolitan.” Taking it all in is thirsty work. Come the evening, head to the hip Roma district for at least one drink. Make it a mezcal cocktail with smoky pineapple at Licorería Limantour, which was ranked fourth on the list of the 50 best bars in the world in 2022. For dancing, head to the Zona Rosa, a party district and magnet for the LGBTQ community, with many bars and clubs. By day, its art galleries and antique shops offer stone lions, Jesus paintings, mahogany secretaries with golden inlays and Louis XIV-style chairs. Day two is all about art, culture and curiosities. Roma and the equally cool Condesa district, with their brunch bars, boutiques and peeling, dignified house facades evoke Europe, perhaps Barcelona or Rome. Both districts are fully gentrified and very pricey by Mexican standards. For lunch, try the fish restaurant Contramar at Calle de Durango 200. Another address often recommended is Mercado Roma (at Calle Querétaro 225). This food market hall laden with tacos, paella, ceviche, vegan Italian snacks and smoothies could hold its own in virtually any of the world’s famous hipster neighbourhoods. From here it’s a short stroll to the huge Chapultepec City Park, where those who prefer to avoid the promenade and its fly traders will find tranquillity on its many set-back trails. Here, fountains splash, squirrels hop in the trees, and traffic sounds are muffled. Around the park are several cultural highlights, starting with the imposing National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología). Also worth a visit are the museums of modern and contemporary art (Museo de Arte Moderno and Museo Tamayo) and the Casa Barragán, the former studio of the architect Luis Barragán. The Castillo de Chapultepec is also worth a visit. Built by the Spanish colonial rulers, the castle was the imperial residence of Maximilian I from 1864. The Austrian was installed as a puppet regent during France’s meddling in Mexico’s affairs and was killed three years later. Today, the site houses a history museum. From castles to cuisine, with a street food tour in the evening: Guide Clarissa Obregón says the majority of Mexicans eat on the street. Most work six days a week and time is short. “That’s why we need good street food,” she says. And you find it on every corner. A stop in Condesa brings tortas de cochinita pibil – braised pork sandwiches. On towards San Rafael, once a residential district and now middle class, where a street vendor made famous by YouTube serves succulent tacos campechanos with chorizo and beef. Then a retreat to a gloomy pulqueria tavern, where the national drink pulque, made from fermented juice, takes some getting used to and is served in three versions. “We say it makes you sociable and a bit frisky,” says Clarissa. “And it heals broken hearts.” At Mercado de San Cosme it’s fried quesadillas, tamales, stuffed corn dough, and atole, a heavy, hot drink also made from corn. Your stomach is now groaning but you keep eating because it tastes so good. Mezcal helps. Day three starts with some relaxation at Lake Xochimilco and then up to the cosy southern borough of Coyoacán. Here, tourists flock to the cobalt-blue Frida Kahlo Museum, also called Casa Azul, the birthplace and workplace of Mexico’s most famous artist. In the afternoon, take a tour through the canals of Xochimilco, built for agriculture but today a popular excursion area, where around 1,500 trajineras – colourful flat-bottomed wooden boats – glide with guests through the network of waterways. The grotesque highlight is the Isla de las Muñecas, the island of the dolls, where hundreds of them dangle in the trees, eerily weathered over the years. According to legend, a local man who found the body of a drowned girl kept hanging up dolls to honour her lost soul. It’s an old, colourful story, full of humanity and not nearly so scary when you actually get there – and maybe that’s Mexico City for you too. Tapas and drinks at Mercado Roma. Philipp Laage/dpa Mexico City’s Azul Historico restaurant. Philipp Laage/dpa Around 1500 trajineras can be found on the canals of Xochimilco. Philipp Laage/dpa Authentic food to go: A street food tour through Mexico City offers a contrast to the city’s high-end cuisine. Philipp Laage/dpa Roma, with its brunch spots and boutiques, is a highly gentrified and comparatively expensive neighbourhood. Philipp Laage/dpa In the posh district of Polanco, the avant-garde Museo Soumaya awaits. Philipp Laage/dpa In the peace and quiet of Chapultepec City Park, even the carousel is at a standstill. Philipp Laage/dpa On the Isla de las Muñecas in Xochimilco, dozens of dolls – some of them eerily weathered – hang in the trees. Philipp Laage/dpa Ruins of the Templo Mayor: This was once the most important and largest temple of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. Philipp Laage/dpa In the Centro Histórico there are buildings from all eras. Philipp Laage/dpa Centrally located and yet far away from all the hustle and bustle: Chapultepec City Park. Philipp Laage/dpa View the full article

Published by TravelPulse Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, is nestled on one of the largest, deepest and most stunning natural bays in the world, Bahia de Banderas. The title of World’s Friendliest City has been awarded to Puerto Vallarta thanks to the warmth of its people and for welcoming visitors with open arms. For more than 60 years it has established itself as a premier destination for the LGBTQ+ community, and no wonder, because in addition to the warm hospitality, Puerto Vallarta offers a wide variety of attractions, from restaurants and bars to spas and exclusive tours. That’s not to mention almost … Read More View the full article

Published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch There are a few political figures today more maligned by conservatives than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, mostly because she has been so effective. From her guidance of the Affordable Care Act through Congress more than a decade ago to her steady hand through the tumultuous Trump era, she built a legacy that history will treat far better than it will her detractors. But the 82-year-old Pelosi’s decision last week to step down as the House Democratic leader is the right one, handing off to a new generation during what is sure to be a confrontational reign by a slim Republican House majority. Whoe… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Pelosi rips up the State of the Union speech delivered by President Donald Trump in February 2020 Washington (AFP) – When Nancy Pelosi stunned the world by ripping up Donald Trump’s speech to Congress in 2020, the veteran lawmaker cemented the no-nonsense leadership style that made her perhaps the most effective US House speaker in history. The longtime leader of Democrats in Washington has been a master strategist in the role, chastening the unbridled Trump and twice leading his impeachment, but also shepherding historic legislation as she navigated America’s bitter partisan divide. As Pelosi announced she would be standing down from the leadership when Republicans take over the lower chamber, allies hailed her achievements as its first — and so far only — female speaker, while foes cheered her exit. But there is little doubt the 82-year-old Californian has left an extraordinary mark over a career that established her as one of the most powerful, and polarizing, figures in American politics. As a child, “never would I have thought that someday I would go from homemaker to House speaker,” Pelosi told fellow lawmakers Thursday, drawing applause from both sides of the aisle. Come January, she said, it will be time to let “a new generation” take the reins. San Francisco liberal A San Francisco liberal and multimillionaire, Pelosi is far from universally popular. She has long been a hate figure for the right — an animosity that seemed to reach shocking new levels when an intruder, apparently looking for the speaker, violently assaulted her husband in the runup to the November 8 midterms. During the deadly 2021 assault on the US Capitol, supporters of then-president Trump ransacked her office, and a crowd baying for blood chanted “Where’s Nancy?” as they desecrated the halls of Congress. The violence came after Trump refused to admit defeat and urged a rally to march on the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s win. Pelosi moved quickly after that to try to oust the man she called the “deranged, unhinged, dangerous president of the United States.” Corralling Democrats with the tight grip she maintained on the party for two decades, she secured a second impeachment of the president days before he left office. For as speaker, Pelosi was nothing if not effective. She was instrumental in passing then-president Barack Obama’s key health care reforms as well as massive economic packages after both the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Pelosi’s goal may have been partisan but she succeeded thanks to cold-eyed realism, including working when needed with then-president George W. Bush even while fiercely opposing his invasion of Iraq. Supporters believe she was vindicated on her anti-war stance and she was rewarded in 2007 when Democrats reclaimed the House and elected her speaker, making her the highest-ranking woman in US history until the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021. “I want women to see that you do not get pushed around. You don’t run away from the fight,” Pelosi said in a 2018 interview — the year before she began her second term as speaker. “If you’re effective as a woman, then they have to undermine you, because that’s a real threat.” The one congressional job mentioned in the Constitution, the prestigious speaker position brings almost unfettered control over the day-to-day legislative process. Pelosi had resisted Democratic calls to impeach Trump, the first time around, fearing the effects of overreach. But she felt she had no choice after he was caught holding up US aid to Ukraine as he pressed a conspiracy theory about Biden. That impeachment in 2019 poisoned her relationship with Trump, and as he wrapped up his State of the Union address later in the House chamber, Pelosi coolly tore up his speech — in an image that went instantly around the world. Pelosi has often hit back at Trump rhetorically, and was captured on video reacting furiously to suggestions he might join his supporters during the Capitol insurrection. “If he comes, I’m going to punch him out. I’ve been waiting for this,” she seethed. “For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.” Steeped in politics The granddaughter of Italian immigrants, Pelosi was born in Baltimore where her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, was a mayor and congressman who schooled her in “retail politics” from a young age and staunchly backed Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Pelosi has said her family taught her two political lessons. “One is to know how to count — count your votes to win the election. The other is listen to your constituents.” Pelosi attended her first Democratic National Convention before hitting her teens and was pictured with John F. Kennedy at his inaugural ball when she was 20. She moved to San Francisco and raised five children with businessman Paul Pelosi while delving into Democratic politics before being elected to Congress at age 47. Taking up causes important to a city with major LGBTQ and Asian-American communities, she fought to fund AIDS research and pressed human rights in China. She remains a vocal ally of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and won eternal antipathy from China’s communist leaders when, on a 1991 visit, she defiantly unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square honoring pro-democracy students killed in a crushed uprising. While easily reelected to Congress every two years, the self-styled “mother, grandmother, dark chocolate connoisseur” became seen as a centrist by the standards of proudly left-wing San Francisco as she sought legislative compromise. She will be stepping down at the end of a vexed congressional session in which she struggled to keep a lid on infighting between moderate and progressive Democrats. This year she still managed to burnish her political legacy with a controversial trip to Taiwan — amid warnings from Beijing of “serious consequences.” Defending the visit, she asked Americans to protect democracy worldwide and “make clear that we never give in to autocrats.” And in her outgoing speech, Pelosi aimed once last barb at her presidential adversary. Saying she has “enjoyed working with three presidents,” Pelosi named George W. Bush, Obama and Biden — but left out Trump. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Richard Cowan and Moira Warburton WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to step down from her leadership role after her fellow Democrats lost their majority in last week’s midterm elections positions Hakeem Jeffries – a liberal congressman from New York – as a likely top contender to lead the party for the next two years. Jeffries, 52, would be the first Black House Democratic leader, representing both the party’s diverse voter base and bringing a new generation of leadership. Pelosi, the first woman to hold the job of speaker, is 82, and two other members of the party’s leadership are in their 80s. House Democrats are scheduled to vote on their leaders on Nov. 30. Jeffries, who has held the leadership post of House Democratic Caucus chairman since 2019, also would represent a stylistic contrast to Pelosi, who made her announcement on Thursday. She has proven in two stints as speaker to be hard-charging whereas he is generally considered more reserved. “It’s Jeffries’ to lose,” said one House Democratic aide keeping close watch of leadership jostling, who asked not to be identified. Pelosi and other senior Democrats have been under pressure to give way to a younger generation of Democrats in the 435-seat House. Some other top Democrats may also covet becoming the top House Democrat. Current House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, 83, said he would not seek a leadership position in the next Congress and backed Jeffries. Also in the mix for the top leadership job might be the current No. 3 House Democrat, 82-year-old James Clyburn of South Carolina. Clyburn has been an important voice in the Congressional Black Caucus and played a major role in energizing President Joe Biden’s 2020 primary election campaign. Clyburn told reporters ahead of Pelosi’s announcement that he intends to remain in the House Democratic leadership regardless of the path she takes. “I plan to stay in leadership. I’ve been saying that all year,” Clyburn said, adding that he has “no idea” which leadership post he would fill in the next Congress. “It’s up to the caucus,” Clyburn said. Representative Katherine Clark, 59, of Massachusetts is likely to run for the No. 2 Democratic leadership job, a post known as “whip.” Clark has served in leadership positions and, like Jeffries, is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Moderate Californian Pete Aguilar could move up from vice chairman of the caucus to become chairman, the job Jeffries now holds. THE MINORITY PARTY The next House Democratic leader will be expected to work closely with others in party leadership on legislation, strategy and messaging. Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, 62, has also risen in prominence over the past few years thanks to his leading role in the impeachment of Donald Trump and the subsequent investigation into the Republican former president’s role in the attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But Schiff does not have his eyes on a House leadership position and instead is considering a run for the U.S. Senate, a source familiar with his thinking said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The post of minority leader wields far less clout that the speaker. The Democratic leadership team’s duty in the minority will be deciding if and when to help Republicans get essential legislation passed such as government funding bills, amid potential revolts from far-right Republicans. Republican Kevin McCarthy, positioning himself to become speaker, will preside over a very narrow majority in the chamber, with no more than seven votes to play with, depending on the outcome of the few remaining House races still up in the air, with votes still being counted. Top Democrats also will be responsible for promoting Biden’s agenda in the final two years of his term. And it would defend him during any Republican-led House investigations of his administration or his family. The party leader also plays a key role in raising campaign funds for House Democratic candidates – a task at which Pelosi excelled, having raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in her two-decade run. (Reporting by Moira Warburton and Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by New York Daily News “Jeopardy!” champ Amy Schneider testified Wednesday against an Ohio bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in the state. The Ohio native — who became a household name after winning40 consecutive games on the popular quiz show from November 2021 to January 2022 — opened up about life as a transgender woman, and the relief she felt after transitioning. Schneider, who came out as trans about five years ago, said that “from the moment that I was born, there was this quiet alarm going off at the back of MY head” that only stopped after she began transitioning. “After decade… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jesse Tyler Ferguson has welcomed his second child via surrogate. The former ‘Modern Family’ star and his husband Justin Mikita “are overjoyed” to add another bundle of joy to their family, a son named Sullivan Louis Ferguson-Mikita on Tuesday (15.11.22). In a joint statement, the 47-year-old actor and the 37-year-old producer said: “We are overjoyed to be a family of four.” Jesse and Justin offered their gratitude to their “incredible surrogate” – whose identity they have not revealed – and the head of the California Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills. They wrote: “A special thanks to @drshahinghadir for helping us grow our family and our incredible surrogate and all of the nurses and doctors.” Jesse and Justin were “sad” to miss the latest string of performances of their smash-hit Broadway play ‘Take Me Out’ but will be back on the Great White Way next week. They wrote: “Sad to be away from my @takemeoutbway fam tonight but we ran off to welcome our newest little one.” The couple – who also have two-year-old son Beckett – were congratulated by some of their A-list pals, such as Sarah Hyland, whose August wedding to Wells Adams was officiated by Jesse. His 31-year-old former co-star commented: “The sweetest!” The couple shared the news they were “expecting” again back in May. Jesse wrote: “@justinmikita and I have some exciting news, we’re expecting No. 2! Our growing family will be a family of four later this fall! We are so excited for Beckett to have a sibling.” In March 2021, the ‘Ice Age: Collision Course’ star remarked he found parenthood “astonishing”. Jesse said: “[Parenting is] astonishing. I can be in a bad mood and seeing [Beckett] super excited, kicking and smiling, it just immediately lifts my spirits. It’s so pure and sweet. And it gives me so much joy.” View the full article

Published by The Spun By Andrew McCarty On Tuesday afternoon, a former Kentucky star and current professional basketball player made a significant announcement. In a video posted to Twitter, former Kentucky standout Isaac Humphries announced he’s gay. The video shows Humphries addressing his teammates face-to-face. In the video, Humphries revealed he tried to take his own life because he was “disgusted” with himself before growing to love himself. “I decided that if I’m going to join a team, I’m going to come out publicly and just make sure people know that you can live and you don’t have to hide just because you’r… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Paresh Dave and Steve Gorman SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -The man accused of bludgeoning U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer after breaking into the couple’s home threatened to take her hostage and break her kneecaps if she lied under his questioning, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Monday. David Wayne DePape’s alleged intentions emerged as federal prosecutors charged the 42-year-old suspect with assault and attempted kidnapping in Friday’s predawn break-in at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home. Several state charges were filed separately in San Francisco Superior Court, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a public official, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced at a news conference. An arraignment was set for Tuesday, her office said. The 82-year-old speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a Democrat who is second in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency, was in Washington at the time of the assault. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, a real estate and venture capital executive, has undergone surgery for skull fractures and injuries to his hands and right arm, and he remained hospitalized on Monday. “Paul is making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process,” the speaker said in a statement on Monday. The attack, which Jenkins called “politically motivated,” has stoked fears about partisan extremist violence just over a week ahead of the midterm elections, on Nov. 8, that will decide control of Congress during one of the most vitriolic and polarized U.S. campaigns in decades. Democrats’ continued control of both the House and the Senate is at stake. As one of the highest-ranking Democrats in Washington and a longtime representative of one of America’s most liberal cities, Nancy Pelosi has been a frequent lightning rod for expressions of conservative criticism and contempt. Her office was ransacked during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump, some of whom hunted for her during the melee, following a fiery speech by Trump featuring false claims that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election was the result of fraud. AWAKENED BY STRANGER DePape was arrested by police officers dispatched to the Pelosis’ home after Paul Pelosi placed an emergency-911 call reporting an intruder, according to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the federal criminal complaint. The San Francisco Police Department recovered zip ties in the bedroom and in the hallway near the front door. Police also found a roll of tape, rope, a second hammer, a pair of gloves and a journal in DePape’s backpack, the affidavit said. The intruder had broken in through a glass door to the residence. Paul Pelosi, who was initially left unconscious from the attack, later told police that he was asleep when a stranger, armed with a hammer, crept into his second-floor bedroom and awakened him, demanding to speak with his spouse, the complaint states. According to Paul Pelosi’s account in the affidavit, he told the intruder that his wife would be away for several days and the intruder responded that he would stay and wait for her. Pelosi’s husband recounted that he managed to slip away to the bathroom to place the 911 call, the affidavit said. The suspect told police in an interview following his arrest that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage for questioning, and that if she told the “truth” he would let her go but if she “lied” he would break her kneecaps, according to the FBI affidavit. He told police he did not flee the Pelosi home after Paul Pelosi’s 911 call because, according to the affidavit, “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option to surrender.” Authorities said police officers arriving at the Pelosi home saw DePape and Pelosi struggling over a hammer. As the officers shouted at both men to drop the tool, DePape yanked the hammer away and struck Pelosi in the head before officers subdued DePape and took him into custody. DePape was charged in federal court with one count of assault on a family member of a U.S. official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official. Prosecutors alleged the offenses stemmed from the suspect’s intent to retaliate against the House speaker for her “performance of official duties.” The federal charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the charges. The state charges are punishable by a prison sentence of 13 years to life, Jenkins said. Online messages recently posted to several websites by an internet user named “daviddepape” expressed bigoted sentiments against minorities, Jews, women and transgender people while embracing the cult-like, right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon. Older online messages promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm the posts were created by the suspect charged on Monday. Experts on extremist ideology have said Friday’s attack appeared to be an example of a growing trend they call “stochastic terrorism,” in which sometimes-unstable individuals are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see online and hear echoed by public figures. (Reporting by Paresh Dave in San Francisco and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O’Brien and Leslie Adler) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Heather Timmons WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The frequent targeting of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by online extremists and political opponents likely contributed to the violent attack on her husband Paul, terrorism and extremism experts said. The intruder at the Pelosis’ home yelled “Where’s Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, according to a person briefed on the incident. An internet user with the same name as the man arrested at the scene, David Depape, expressed support for former President Donald Trump and embraced the cult-like conspiracy theory QAnon in online posts that referenced “satanic paedophilia.” Police have yet to comment on a motive in the attack. But terrorism and extremism experts believe it could be an example of the growing threat of so-called stochastic terrorism, in which sometimes unstable individuals are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see online and hear echoed by public figures. “This was clearly a targeted attack. The purpose was to locate and potentially harm the speaker of the house,” said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator and head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security, who is currently working with state and local law enforcement across the country on the issue. “This is a continuation of a trend that we have been experiencing over the past several years. It is a threat dynamic that has law enforcement extraordinarily concerned.” Pelosi has been demonized online and in public by both far right and far left-leaning political websites and figures. Graphics depicting her being beheaded, and a call to send immigrants to her home, with her address, circulated online this summer, according to Site Intelligence Group, which researches online extremism. Rita Katz, executive director of Site, said the Speaker was a hate figure for much of the political right, and is the “face of the Democratic establishment and, as such, at the center of many QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theories.” Those theories and people who espouse them are sometimes promoted by more mainstream public figures, amplifying the threats, experts say. “While the intent may be to mobilize one’s political base or generate ratings it also adds to the volatility of the threat environment,” said Cohen. Individual attackers, sometimes known as “lone wolves” frequently combine personal with political grievances and are reinforced and radicalized by things they read online, the DOJ’s research arm The National Institute of Justice reports. Attacks on political figures, places of worship and races or ethnicities have occurred in the United States for decades, but law enforcement professionals say the current environment is particularly dangerous. “Today’s radical extremism threat has this powerful digital component that can really accelerate recruitment and activate violence across a broader threat landscape,” Aisha Qureshi, a social science analyst at the National Institute, said in an agency podcast before the Pelosi attack. “Just the sheer volume and speed of misinformation spread through social media really exacerbates this problem,” she said. Threats against political leaders are rising in the United States. Cases related to “concerning statements and threats” against members of Congress jumped from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021, according to the U.S. Capitol Police. “Look at the FBI attack in Ohio,” said Todd Helmus, a senior behavioral scientist at security research firm Rand Corp., referring to an August incident when an armed man tried to break into the Cincinnati FBI headquarters. Helmus linked that incident to rhetoric surrounding the FBI’s removal of classified documents from Trump’s Florida estate. Site said the Pelosi attack was being celebrated online by far-right supporters. “We’re just waiting for more of these things to occur,” said Helmus. (Reporting by Heather Timmons; Editing by Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Embattled actor Kevin Spacey took the witness stand Monday at his Manhattan trial, where he launched into his testimony by revealing his rocky relationship with a “neo-Nazi” father who verbally abused him because he suspected his son was gay. Spacey, who is being sued in Manhattan federal court by actor Anthony Rapp in a $40 million civil lawsuit that claims the older actor aggressively came on to him in 1986 when he was 14, told jurors that his father was a white supremacist who ”used to yell at me about the idea I might be gay because I was interested in theater, and he didn’t enc… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -Angela Lansbury, the British-born actress whose career spanned eight decades and produced indelible portraits of a wide range of characters from villainesses to sleuths and light comic roles in movies, on stage and on television, died at age 96, her family said on Tuesday in a statement. Lansbury, who played a crime-solving mystery writer in the long-running U.S. television series “Murder, She Wrote,” “died peacefully in her sleep” at home in Los Angeles, according to a statement from her children. The actress was just five days shy of her 97th birthday, the statement said. In movies, Lansbury turned in riveting supporting performances, including her film debut as a teenager playing the conniving Cockney maid in “Gaslight” in 1944, as the doomed Sibyl in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” in 1945 and as Laurence Harvey’s evil, manipulative mother in “The Manchurian Candidate” in 1962. All three roles earned her Academy Award nominations. Nearly seven decades after her first film, she was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at age 88 in November 2013. Academy Award winners Geoffrey Rush and Emma Thompson offered a tribute to Lansbury at the ceremony. Rush lauded her as the “living definition of range,” while Thompson recalled tossing a pie at Lansbury during the filming of the 2005 comedy “Nanny McPhee.” (Reporting by Tyler Clifford, Lisa Richwine and Will Dunham; editing by Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Billy Eichner believes homophobia was a factor in the flop of his gay romcom ‘Bros’. Although Billy deleted tweets in which he referenced homophobia as a reason for ‘Bros’ low box-office takings on its opening weekend, he insisted that it was one of the factors for the surprise flop. Speaking at the New Yorker Festival, Billy said: “Homophobia is a bigger problem than as it pertains to this silly rom-com we made, you know what I mean? But do I think it’s a factor? Yes. I think in certain parts of the country, it probably was a factor.” However, he admitted that there were other issues too, including the wide theatrical release and the marketing of the movie. He said: “There’s a lot of factors to it. To open this movie, in this many theatres, a rom-com in 2022 — there are rom-coms with mega-stars, which struggle at the box office, and a lot of the biggest comedy stars are taking their movies to streaming. And for good reason. That seems to be where people want to watch these movies. I still love seeing these movies in the theatre. I grew up going to see all these romantic comedies at the movies with my parents. “It was a bold swing to open this movie in this many movie theatres without big movie stars.” He added about the marketing: “I think what we were doing is trying to find every which way to try to motivate people because the odds were so stacked against us for so many reasons. “It’s just funny, you know, life is absurd. It’s just a rom-com. We wanted to make a Nora Ephron movie about horny gay guys, and it’s inspired a lot of thinkpieces and op-eds. I didn’t know people were so interested in me. “I love the movie, and I just hope more and more people keep discovering it.” View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Matthew Chapman On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s short-lived first National Security Adviser and notorious conspiracy theorist, was just elected to a local GOP leadership position in Sarasota, Florida. “On Thursday evening, Flynn was one of several dozen new members of the local Republican executive committee elected by voice vote at the Morgan Family Community Center in North Port, Florida,” reported Michael Daly. “As if that were not scary enough, they also elected James Hoel, a local leader of the Proud Boys.” “Hoel and fellow Proud … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) – The crowning achievement of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday after 70 years on the throne, was to maintain the popularity of the monarchy across decades of seismic political, social and cultural change that threatened to make it an anachronism. A dignified, dependable figure who reigned longer than any other British monarch, Elizabeth helped steer the institution into the modern world, stripping away court ritual and making it somewhat more open and accessible, all in the glare of an increasingly intrusive and often hostile media. While the nation she reigned over sometimes struggled to find its place in a new world order and her own family often fell foul of public expectations, the queen herself remained a symbol of stability. She also tried to transcend class barriers and earned the grudging respect of even hardened republicans. To much of the world she was the personification of Britain, yet she remained something of an enigma as an individual, never giving an interview and rarely expressing emotion or offering a personal opinion in public – a woman recognised by millions but known by hardly anyone. “I think she’s brought life, energy and passion to the job, she’s managed to modernise and evolve the monarchy like no other,” her grandson Prince William, who is now the heir to the throne, said in a television documentary in 2012. THE YOUNG QUEEN Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on April 21, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street in central London. The young princess never expected to ascend to the throne: it was only after her uncle King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 because of his love for American divorcee Wallis Simpson that the crown passed to her father, George VI, when she was 10. She was just 25 when her father died and she became Queen Elizabeth II on February 6, 1952, while on tour in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip. Winston Churchill was the first of 15 prime ministers who served during her reign. “In a way I didn’t have an apprenticeship, my father died much too young and so it was all a very sudden kind of taking on, and making the best job you can,” she said in a 1992 documentary. “It’s a question of maturing into something that one’s got used to doing and accepting the fact that here you are and it’s your fate. It is a job for life.” During her 70 years on the throne Britain underwent dramatic change. The austere postwar 1950s gave way to the swinging 60s, the divisive leadership of Margaret Thatcher in the 80s, Tony Blair’s three-term New Labour era, a return to economic austerity and then the COVID-19 pandemic. Labour and Conservative governments came and went, feminism changed attitudes to women, and Britain became a much more cosmopolitan, multi-ethnic society. Elizabeth was on the throne for most of the Cold War from the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. During her reign there were 14 U.S. presidents, from Harry S. Truman to Joe Biden, and she met all bar Lyndon Johnson. Britain’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 exposed deep divisions in British society, while nationalists continued their push for a new referendum on Scottish independence that had the potential to rip apart the United Kingdom. “As we look for new answers in the modern age, I for one prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out the common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture,” the queen said ahead of a 2014 referendum on Scottish secession, in what appeared to be a message to politicians. Scots voted to remain in the United Kingdom. MORE EGALITARIAN Over time, Britain evolved into a more egalitarian society, where the ruling class had to make way for a burgeoning middle class, where aristocrats no longer dominated the top universities and the majority of hereditary peers lost their seats in parliament’s House of Lords. At first, Elizabeth relied heavily on her father’s old circle of advisers but gradually she brought in more career diplomats and business executives to the royal court as she and her husband Philip sought to modernise the monarchy. “She’s shrewd, she’s compassionate, she has a good deal of insight, and she has the typical and traditional virtues that you associate with the British,” former Prime Minister John Major said amid celebrations to mark her 90th birthday. “If you were designing someone to be monarch here in Britain, I think you would design someone exactly like Elizabeth II.” In 1992, the queen responded to criticism about royal wealth by offering to pay income tax and cutting the number of her family members on the state payroll. But her years on the throne were often far from smooth sailing. She spent much of the early part of her reign saying farewell to the British Empire amassed under her forebears, from Kenya to Hong Kong. Barbados was the most recent country to dispense with her as head of state in November 2021. However, she remained the monarch of 15 countries and head of the Commonwealth. Her marriage to Philip, a Greek prince she wed aged 21, stayed solid for 73 years until his death in April 2021, but her sister, daughter and two of her sons were – very publicly – not so lucky in love. She famously described as an “annus horribilis” the 40th anniversary of her accession in 1992 after three of her four children’s marriages failed and there was a fire at her Windsor Castle residence. PRINCESS DIANA’S DEATH The death in 1997 of Princess Diana, the divorced wife of Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, inflicted even more damage on the family’s public prestige. It was the only occasion during her reign when there was any serious suggestion that the monarchy’s days might be numbered. The period was famously captured in the 2006 Oscar-winning film “The Queen”, when Elizabeth was portrayed as earnest but misunderstood. But while her children and other royals at times blundered in and out of tabloid headlines with marital woes and public indiscretions, Elizabeth’s own behaviour remained above reproach. “It’s not that she’s never put a foot wrong, it’s more positive than that – she understands the British people,” said Professor Vernon Bogdanor, an expert in British constitutional history. The main criticism levelled against her was that she was too solemn, distant and aloof. Critics said the only time she had shown real emotion in public was when the royals bid a tearful farewell to their magnificent yacht Britannia, months after her stoical response to Diana’s death. But according to those who worked closely with her, in private she was not the detached public figure most saw, but perceptive, funny, and keenly aware of the nation’s mood. LESS FORMALITY In the last 20 years, backed by a far more professional and sophisticated media operation, there was still pomp and pageantry, but less formality around the queen and her family. Millions turned out for celebrations to mark her 50th, 60th and 70th years on the throne, while her starring role in a spoof James Bond film became the highlight of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. In the short sequence she greeted Bond actor Daniel Craig at Buckingham Palace, uttering just four words before visual effects showed her apparently joining him on a helicopter and parachuting into the stadium. A decade later at the start of a Platinum Jubilee pop concert, she again won huge plaudits for a pre-recorded comic sketch with Paddington Bear, in which she told the famous fictional character that she always kept his favourite snack – a marmalade sandwich – in her ever-present handbag. The queen was said to crack jokes with world leaders, enjoy an easy familiarity with long-serving Commonwealth heads of government, and relish a wager on race horses. Racing was an enduring passion. She was also accompanied for most of her reign by her corgi dogs, which earned a reputation for snapping at the heels of royal retainers and were descended from the dog called Susan she received as an 18th birthday gift from her parents. “What we actually know about the queen is remarkably little,” said Matthew Dennison, a biographer of Elizabeth. “We know that she enjoys racing. We know that she likes corgis. We know that she prefers blankets and sheets to duvets. But beyond that, we know almost nothing about her.” During World War Two she learned to be a driver and a mechanic while serving in the women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service. Her love of the outdoors and of animals was well documented and commentators said she came across as more at home in tweeds than tiaras. “I do rather begrudge some of the hours that I have to do instead of being outdoors,” she once said. Prince William’s wife Kate said that behind closed doors, the queen eschewed royal pomp. “You would expect a lot of grandeur and a lot of fuss… but actually what really resonates with me is her love for simple things, the lack of fuss and I think that’s a special quality to have,” Kate told a TV documentary to mark Elizabeth’s 90th birthday. CORONATION Elizabeth became queen in 1952 and was crowned on June 2, 1953 in a televised ceremony in Westminster Abbey, becoming the first queen in her own right since Queen Victoria and the 40th monarch in a royal line that traces its origin back to William the Conqueror in 1066. “Horrible,” she said of the carriage ride which took her from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey. “It’s only sprung on leather, not very comfortable.” In September 2015, she overtook Victoria to become the country’s longest ever reigning monarch, an achievement to which she said she had never aspired, and the following year there were more celebrations for her 90th birthday. She ascended the throne at the same age as Elizabeth I, but while the first Elizabeth saw her country attain the status of an important trading nation in the 16th century, her namesake presided over a Britain slipping from its position as a world leader in industry and technology. As Britain’s place shifted, so the queen came to stand for unity, and the pomp around her family – with gilded carriages and spectacular royal weddings – a source of national pride for many. Prince William’s marriage in 2011 to commoner Kate Middleton, which saw more than a million people throng London’s streets and drew an estimated two billion global viewers, was testament to that. Opinion polls showed the country still largely believed in the hereditary monarch as head of state. However, with her death, the monarchy’s future is set to face scrutiny like never before. Some commentators say the British public will not feel as strongly towards Charles, and polls suggest he is far less popular. The decision of Prince Harry, William’s younger brother, and his American wife Meghan, a former actress, to give up their royal roles has also robbed the institution of two of its most popular global figures, while their accusations of racism against the institution linger. The U.S. sex abuse civil lawsuit against second son Prince Andrew, which he paid to settle, has also inflicted damage on the family’s reputation. Andrew did not admit any wrongdoing in the case. He was not accused of criminal wrongdoing. FAMILY LIFE AND PUBLIC DUTY At her side for nearly all her reign was her husband, who she credited with being her “strength and stay”. “I was blessed that in Prince Philip I had a partner willing to carry out the role of consort and unselfishly make the sacrifices that go with it,” she said in February 2022 when she marked 70 years on the throne. The couple had four children: Charles born in 1948, Anne in 1950, Andrew in 1960 and Edward in 1964. She had eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. During much of her reign she was often upstaged for attention by three flamboyant women – her popular mother, Elizabeth the Queen Mother, her younger sister Margaret and later Princess Diana. But the personal sorrow of losing her mother and sister – who died within weeks of each other in her Golden Jubilee year of 2002 – helped the queen establish her own position, leaving her the undisputed matriarchal figure of the nation. Her working life included thousands of official engagements, varying from trips to schools and hospitals, to the grand ceremonies of state visits and national occasions. She was famous for wearing brightly coloured outfits with a matching hat on royal engagements, to ensure she stood out from the crowds on her many “walkabouts”. “I have to be seen to be believed,” she is said to have quipped. She also took her religious duties as Supreme Governor of the Church of England very seriously, saying in 2012 the established Church was “commonly under-appreciated”. She travelled further than any previous monarch, undertaking more than 250 overseas visits to well over 100 countries. She was renowned for her stamina and began cutting back on a once hectic timetable of foreign tours only as she moved into her 80s. Even in her 90s she regularly carried out engagements. On one such event at the age of 93, she told officials she was still capable of planting a tree before shovelling the soil into the hole, and it was another two years after that before she needed to use a walking stick in public. When she was hospitalised in March 2013 with symptoms of gastroenteritis, it was the first time she had needed hospital treatment in a decade. It was not until October 2021 that she next spent a night in hospital, and she doggedly carried on with light duties even after testing positive for COVID in February the following year. Her enduring importance was demonstrated at the start of the pandemic in 2020. With an anxious nation under a rigorous lockdown, the government turned to the queen to provide reassurance in a televised broadcast. Usually she gave such addresses only in her annual Christmas broadcast. The queen had a few notable security scares. In 1981, a British youth fired blank shots near her during the military Trooping the Colour ceremony. Her horse shied but she was unhurt. The same year, a “severely disturbed” teenager tried to assassinate the monarch while she was on a visit to New Zealand but he missed with his rifle shot. In July 1982, an unemployed labourer called Michael Fagan made his way into her Buckingham Palace bedroom. He spoke briefly to Elizabeth, who was in her nightclothes, before being hauled off by security guards. THE FUTURE “It has been said that ‘the art of progress is to preserve order amid change and change amid order’, and in this the queen is unparalleled,” then-Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech to parliament in 2012. “She has never shut the door on the future; instead, she has led the way through it.” The queen’s family and Britain’s political elite spoke in admiration of her ability to adapt without losing any of the dignity of her role. The future success of the monarchy could depend on how much Britons admire the next person on the throne. “Monarchy is only as good as the people doing the job,” said royal biographer Robert Lacey, who was historical consultant to the Netflix drama “The Crown”. “We are essentially, when you look at the structure and the way the country runs, a republic with this glorious bauble that we all enjoy on top. And we can always unscrew the bauble any time we want.” Elizabeth herself set out her life’s goal at an early age. “I declare before you all,” she said in a 21st birthday broadcast, “that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family.” (Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Fox News host Tucker Carlson is “deeply concerned” a number of text messages between him and Alex Jones may soon leak to the public, Radar has learned. The shocking development comes just hours after nearly two years’ worth of messages from Jones’ phone were obtained by the January 6 House Select Committee investigating last year’s attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Mega According to a report, Carlson is worried because he and the 48-year-old conspiracy theorist purportedly exchange text messages on a daily basis. Two people close to both Carlson and Jones also revealed the 53-year-old Fox News host is worried the text messages might leak because the content within the messages is reportedly “highly embarrassing.” Besides exchanging text messages every day, Carlson and Jones are also reportedly good friends – with Carlson not only regularly appearing on The Alex Jones Show but also supplying puff pieces and blurbs for Jones’ conspiracy-ridden writings. “Maybe Alex Jones is onto something,” Carlson recently wrote in a blurb for Jones’ upcoming book, The Great Reset: And the War for the World. “Read this book and decide for yourself who’s crazy.” Mega Carlson has also praised Jones’ “unhinged rhetoric” and once said that Jones “was more talented than [Carlson] was.” As RadarOnline.com previously reported, the Jan. 6 committee obtained two years’ worth of Jones’ text messages on Monday after his lawyer, Federico Andino Reynal, accidentally sent the messages to Mark Bankston. At the time, Bankston represented two parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting who sued Jones for defamation after Jones repeatedly claimed the shooting was a “hoax.” Bankston revealed on Monday that he was “cooperating with the committee” in connection to the cache of messages and emails, and a source also confirmed on Monday that the messages were successfully in possession of the Jan. 6 House committee. Mega Although Bankston has not revealed exactly when the messages were sent, who Jones was in correspondence with and what material the messages contained, he previously claimed the texts included “intimate messages” between Jones and Roger Stone, as well as between Jones and a prominent politician. Jones also testified before the Jan. 6 committee earlier this year, but the committee is hoping information found on the newly obtained phone may provide more evidence in connection to Jones’ alleged “central role” in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Daley will be “really sad” when he eventually quits diving. While the 28-year-old sports star currently has his sights set on the 2024 Olympics in Paris, he knows retirement is inevitable and is already looking ahead to his future. He said: “I love diving and the moment I choose to stop is going to be really sad. It’s only two years until the Olympics in Paris. It is a short cycle. It has been weird watching the World Championship scores and comparing them to what I’ve done in the past. The score I got for bronze in Tokyo was 40 points more than the gold medal score.” However, Tom’s current break from competing has allowed him to spend more time with his husband Dustin Lance Black, 48, and their four-year-old son Robbie, along with focusing on his other passions. He told Big Issue magazine: “But it has been nice to set different goals this year. I spend three nights in Pakistan, three nights in Jamaica but otherwise, I’ve just been with Robbie and Lance and it’s been so special. “Between my family, knitting and fighting for LGBT rights this year has been really nice. My priorities and perspectives have been massively shifted in terms of what matters most. I feel like I’m going to look back at this as one of the most important years of my life and the one where I really started to be active in the movement.” Meanwhile, the diver acknowledged that no person’s coming out story is the same as anyone else’s. He said: “There’s no one size fits all. My big advice is making sure you come out in your own time and that it has to be safe. And just being able to be yourself with one person is better than never being able to be yourself with anyone. “I came out back in December 2013. Initially I was just doing it because I didn’t want to feel like I had to hide any more. Since then, I mean, I’ve been married for five years, I’ve got a son that starts school in September, it’s all gone very quickly.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jennifer Coolidge got “a lot of sexual action” after starring in ‘American Pie.’ The 60-year-old actress took on the role of Jeanine Stifler – known as the ‘MILF’ or ‘Stifler’s Mom’ – in the 1999 coming-of-age comedy and joked that she has slept with hundreds of people since playing the part. She said: “I was so happy for ‘American Pie’ and the MILF thing. I got a lot out of being a MILF and I got a lot of sexual action from ‘American Pie.’ There were so many benefits to doing that movie. There would be like 200 people that I would never have slept with [had I not done it!]” Meanwhile, the ‘White Lotus’ star is also known for playing manicurist Paulette Bonafonte in the ‘Legally Blonde’ movies opposite Reese Witherspoon and has to deal with fans coming up to her to do impressions of her ditsy character’s famous line. In ‘Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde’, Paulette says: “Oh my God, you look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hot dog real bad.” Jennifer told Variety: “All day long and all night. Y’know, just so many people like say it on a plane, for f**** sake! It’s exhausting, this hot dog story! But I have to go with it. I have to go with it and say ‘Oh my God, you sound just like me when you say that!'” Jennifer is set to appear as Paulette once again in the upcoming ‘Legally Blonde 3’ but revealed she is even yet to see a script for the movie. She said: “Everyone keeps talking about it. I’m very excited about the script that is coming my way but I haven’t seen it yet!” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jane Fonda “avoids depression through exercise”. The 84-year-old actress revealed there is a lot of depression in her family so she does everything she can to avoid it. She told Vogue.com: “I come from a long line of depressed people. One of the ways that I avoid depression is through exercise. When I move, when I walk, when I exercise, the depression lifts. That and activism are the two best anecdotes for depression as far as I’m concerned. I mean, unless you have chronic depression, which is a different thing.” Jane also revealed she finds exercise empowering and has heard similar sentiments from other women who have done her famous workouts over the years. She said: “It started off with ballet. I started there and, oh, boy, that was it. I got hooked. When I took a ballet class, my body would change. So I did ballet almost every day. Then I was making a movie with Michael Douglas, ‘The China Syndrome’. I fell toward the end of the movie, and I broke my foot. It was in a cast for a while. Within a month, I had to do a movie where I wore a bikini, ‘California Suite’. So I had to do something, and I couldn’t do ballet. So after my foot got better, my stepmother told me about a class taught by a woman named Leni Cazden at the Gilda Marx studio. After a few weeks and my foot got better, I went and took the class and it was basically the workout. Oh, my God, it had a huge impact on me. “So that’s what I was doing. Leni and I decided to do a workout studio. Then she got married and was sailing around the world. I went ahead and did it. I was just fascinated with how [people embraced it]. I mean, maybe people started doing it because they wanted to get thin, but women would say to me, ‘I don’t take insulin anymore for my diabetes,’ or, ‘I stood up to my boss for the first time because I could see the muscles in my arms’. It empowered women in very profound ways. I was really happy about that.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English George Takei says Nichelle Nichols wanted to be “best lady” at his wedding. The ‘Star Trek’ actor reminisced about the time he asked his co-star – who died aged 89 on Sunday (31.07.22) – to be the matron of honour at his 2008 wedding to his husband, Brad Altman but the actress had other ideas. In a Facebook post, a follow up to his original tribute to the trailblazing television star, the 85-year-old actor wrote: “When my husband Brad and I got married, we asked Walter Koenig, who played ensign Chekov on the show, to be our best man at the wedding. We asked Nichelle to be our matron of honour. In her characteristic fashion, Nichelle declared, ‘I am not a matron! If Walter can be best man, why can’t I be best lady?’ Noting that Walter’s “best man” title implied the awkward title of “best woman,” she was determined to be known as the “best lady” to the guests. I told her, ‘Of course you are’.” George also remarked how “truly moved” he was by the outpouring of love and tributes to Nichelle, a “lifelong” pal of his. He also wrote: “I have been truly moved by the tributes and messages honouring the life and work of Nichelle Nichols, our very own Lieutenant and later Commander Uhura on Star Trek. Although our original series ran only three seasons, we became bonded as the fans of our show organised, convened and ultimately pressed for movies and spin-offs of the groundbreaking show. Nichelle and I spent the following decades together as not only colleagues from the bridge of the Enterprise, but as lifelong friends.” He continued, noting what she meant to “so many young Black women” for her work on the 60s sci-fi series. George added: “Much has been said about what a trailblazer and role model Nichelle was for so many young Black women, who saw in her hope and promise for their own future. I wanted to take a moment to share some stories about Nichelle that aren’t as well known, and which highlight her lively spirit, her incredible kindness, and her warm generosity.” He admitted he would “never forget” their first encounter, which predated ‘Star Trek’. George said: “Our friendship began six decades ago, before Star Trek, when she came backstage after a performance of a civil rights musical I was doing called ‘Fly Blackbird’ in Los Angeles. I will never forget that first meeting. She was stunningly beautiful. But beyond her beauty, she stood out. It was a time when many African American women “conked” their hair, which meant straightening it, as was the current fashion. Instead, Nichelle wore an enormous natural “Afro” sphere on her head. It was natural, it was proud, and it was glorious. I knew right then that she was a singular individual.” View the full article

Published by DPA Brooks Ashmanskas as Stanley James, Neil Patrick Harris as Michael Lawson and Emerson Brooks as Billy Jackson (l to r) in episode one of Netflix’s “Uncoupled.” Sarah Shatz/Netflix/dpa With “Uncoupled,” premiering this week on Netflix, Darren Star (co-creating with “Modern Family” vet Jeffrey Richman) offers up another urban lifestyle fantasy. One can think of it as the third in a New York trilogy beginning with Star’s “Sex and the City” and “Younger,” or a tetralogy if we include the short-lived 1995 prime-time soap “Central Park West.” But let’s call it a trilogy. Like “Younger,” in which Sutton Foster played a 40-year-old woman passing for someone in her 20s, it begins with a midlife breakup. Neal Patrick Harris stars as 40-something Michael, whose partner of 17 years, Colin (Tuc Watkins), tells him he’s moving out just as they’re about to enter the elaborate surprise party Michael has arranged for him. (Colin is turning 50; this is a story in which all the main characters are middle-aged.) Michael will spend the remainder of the eight-episode first season obsessing, trying to move on, obsessing some more, falling flat on his face (literally, in a nice bit of slapstick) and getting up again. (There is also a choice bit of him going downhill on skis, backwards.) Michael is a high-end residential real estate broker; the mighty Tisha Campbell plays his friend and business partner, Suzanne. (His other significant friends are art dealer Stanley, played by Brooks Ashmanskas, and TV weatherman Billy, played by Emerson Brooks.) The properties they deal with tend to be modern and charmless, in a way that spells money. (You are probably meant to find them impressive.) The interpolated shots of the city favour new glass towers over venerable landmarks. “I feel like I’m in one of those 1930s movies where the Depression is happening outside, but up here it’s just Fred Astaire and cocktails and soirees,” Michael says, viewing the apartment of Claire (Marcia Gay Harden), whose recent abandonment mirrors Michael’s. Yet this is true of nearly the entire series, if not the whole of Star’s oeuvre, in which even the bohemians are glamorous. His Manhattan, here a place of terraced penthouses, fancy restaurants and exclusive clubs, is scrubbed clean of the least sign of poverty or even middle-class life – as does seem to be the actual plan in a place where the average rent recently reached $5,000. (“I remember Hell’s Kitchen when you couldn’t walk west of 9th Avenue without getting knifed,” says Stanley. “Now it’s Chelsea, with better gays.”) Everyone here is well-off, though some are more fabulously wealthy than others. We are to understand Michael, who works on commission and is constantly hustling, as a kind of working stiff; still, when we see him walking out of an ordinary drugstore and into a “meet cute,” it feels for an instant as if we’ve entered a different series, and one we might like to stay in a little longer. As is common in Star’s shows (also including “Emily in Paris”), characters often find themselves meeting at private parties and exclusive events – an art opening, a roller disco fundraiser, a Central Park fundraiser, a celebration of the city’s most eligible men, a bris, a wedding, a poker game. And of course that exposition-rich opening surprise party, which includes a performance by Tony-winning composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (“Hairspray”). Inevitably, it will be suggested that the cure for lost love is sex – that is the custom in television – and thus we are treated to the 100th iteration of the “first time on a dating app” scenario. There is a lot of penis talk. But the explicit message is that sex is only sex; human connection, whether friendship or durable romantic love, is what matters. The lovelorn Stanley (“You do not want to be gay and single in this town at our age – you’re invisible”) and sexual butterfly Billy (“I think it gets better with age – the number of young guys who want to hook up with an older man is ridiculous”) put a dialectical frame around Michael, who is far from invisible but is not exactly on the prowl. His (comparatively) older-generation conservatism and his own proper nature keep him from diving headlong into hooking up, though he does wade in a little – and so, while there is sex, there is also refused or interrupted sex. (And because it’s funnier that way, one would hazard.) His wanting something more is what keeps “Uncoupled” a sweet, grown-up entertainment. Harris fits the part so well that one would imagine it was written for him. He retains some of his Doogie Howser boyishness, but he’s attractively weathered – the worry furrows in his brow serve the part admirably – and this accords with Michael’s middle-aged naïveté. (He’s buff, though, as is every man with whom he hooks up or almost hooks up; indeed, apart from the soft-edged Ashmanskas and the lithe André de Shields as Michael’s neighbour, the actually elderly Jack, buffness is practically taken for granted.) Still, this is not a one-man show. If not exactly a “Sex and the City”-style ensemble piece, given that the emotional focus is mainly on Michael, Billy and Stanley and especially Suzanne do get some individual storylines, and Claire becomes a more interesting character as she emerges as something like a new, needy friend. The supporting cast is strong. As Stanley, the Tony-nominated Ashmanskas makes a deep impression doing nothing in the least flamboyant; De Shields has the season’s most moving monologue and Campbell its best-delivered laugh line, “I know you’re mad, honey, but we’re going to need that stapler.” (You’ll have to watch for context.) As a straightforward romantic sitcom centred on gay men, “Uncoupled” is still a rarity for television, even for Star, who has been out forever – though that has more to do with the historical temerity of Hollywood than it does with the creator. Star has made a point of noting the story could be anyone’s, which is true enough and good business, even as there are plenty of references that are specific to the community – as when, confronted with a younger man who doesn’t want to wear a condom and has never heard of the AIDS quilt, Michael wails, “Oh my God, you millennials. Don’t you know where we came from, where you got your freedoms? Don’t you know what people like me — well not me, a little bit older, but I’ve seen ‘Angels’ – don’t you know what we sacrificed for you?” It’s that combination of specificity and universality that makes “Uncoupled” feel at once kind of radical and quite relatable. How to watch: Premieres on Netflix on July 29 View the full article

Published by The Detroit News LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Supreme Court on Thursday ruled Michigan’s current laws against discrimination based on sex includes a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, a ruling that effectively stops businesses from denying services or employment opportunities to the gay community. The 5-2 decision written by Republican-nominated Justice Elizabeth Clement found that discrimination based on sexual orientation involves bias based on sex because the individual’s sexual orientation is “generally determined by reference to their own sex.” “For example, attraction to females in a fel… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) -A long overlooked co-defendant of the Central Park Five, a group of Black and Latino teenagers wrongly convicted of raping a white woman jogger in 1989 based on false confessions, was exonerated of a related conviction by a New York judge on Monday. Steven Lopez was 15 when he was first named in the indictment along with other Black and Latino teenagers for the night-time rape and attempted murder of Trisha Meili, an investment banker whose horrific injuries became the subject of sensationalist media coverage. Lopez later pleaded guilty to robbing a male jogger that same night in a deal with prosecutors that saw the charges alleging his involvement in the attack on Meili dropped, and was sentenced to between 1-1/2 and 4-1/2 years in a state prison. On Monday, Judge Ellen Biben of the New York State Supreme Court agreed to a motion by Manhattan’s chief prosecutor and a lawyer representing Lopez to vacate the plea entered by Lopez when he was 17 years old, ruling that it was involuntary, unconstitutional and based in part on false witness statements. “What happened to you was a profound injustice and an American injustice,” Eric Shapiro Lopez, a defense lawyer who was not yet born when his client was indicted, said in remarks to Lopez before the court. “They say justice delayed is justice denied and I’m sorry we’ve had to wait for 30 years.” Lopez, whose long beard is now graying, appeared to have tears in his eyes. Meili was beaten and left for dead. The attack was seized upon by local media as an emblem of soaring crime rates in New York City in the 1980s. News stories frequently referred to the boys arrested by the New York Police Department as animals. Decades before he would become president of the United States, Donald Trump, then a prominent real-estate developer, took out full-page advertisements in city newspapers calling for the boys to be executed. Later, the five boys convicted at trial were exonerated when the true attacker confessed and was linked to the crime by DNA evidence. The case became a watchword for judicial overreach, racial profiling by both law enforcement and news outlets and the malpractice of police officers forcing confessions from innocent people. Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise and Yusef Salaam, now known as the Exonerated Five, spent years in prison. They brought a lawsuit against the city, which was settled for $41 million in 2014. Lopez was not part of that lawsuit, and his story has often been overlooked in coverage of the exoneration of his former co-defendants. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told the court that there was no physical evidence linking Lopez to the attacks on either joggers, and that the witness statements naming him had been recanted. That, coupled with Lopez’s youth at the time, made the plea involuntary, Bragg told the court. “Mr. Lopez, we wish you peace and healing,” the judge said after dismissing the indictment. “Thank you,” Lopez replied, his only remarks in court. “It is so ordered,” the judge said, as Lopez rose to shake the chief prosecutor’s hand. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Cynthia Osterman) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Darren Hayes was in a “dark place” before he came out as gay. The 50-year-old star – who is best known as frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden alongside Daniel Jones – penned an op-ed for The Huff Post at the start of July explaining that he had been on the “brink of suicide” before coming out and has now claimed that his new album “saved [his] life.” He said: “I would say my new album honestly saved my life. I was in a dark place, emotionally, not understanding that just like my sexuality, my creative outlet is a huge part of the person I am, and by denying that, I was denying an essential part of me.” The ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ hitmaker – who has been married to Richard Cullen since 2013 and was previously married to Colby Taylor – released his comeback single ‘Let’s Try Being in Love’ in early 2022 and explained that his return to the public eye has been “more authentic” than in his initial heyday. He told PEOPLE: “I realized that I had never truly been myself at the height of my fame and commercial success. would have been a huge regret of mine to have retired from the public eye without having come back to the world as my true authentic self. Because I have embraced myself fully in my art, I no longer feel the shame and stigma around my sexuality or my mental health. I openly speak about both because I believe they are connected, and by speaking about what most embarrasses us, it’s my hope that bringing light to sadness drives away the darkness.” View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams tapped ex-City Councilman Fernando Cabrera late Monday to serve as a faith adviser in his administration after the controversial Bronx politician apologized for his history of anti-gay views and remarks. Cabrera, a Christian pastor who was initially under consideration to become the city’s top mental health official, will act as a senior adviser in the newly formed Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships, Adams said in a statement. “I hope New Yorkers will give Fernando the opportunity to show his commitment to bringing together all New Yorkers, regardless … Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Water vegetation is seen at the Everglades National Park, Florida on September 30, 2021 Miami (AFP) – The plan to restore the Florida Everglades, the largest wetlands in the United States, will receive a federal investment of $1.1 billion to protect the region against the effects of climate change, the White House said Wednesday. “The Administration is making the largest single investment in the Everglades in US history,” the White House said in a statement. The money, which comes from already approved funds in President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress in November, will be spent by the US Army Corps of Engineers. “The iconic American landscape provides drinking water supply for over 8 million Floridians, supports the state’s $90 billion tourism economy, and is home to dozens of endangered or threatened species,” the White House said. The Everglades, a subtropical ecosystem of more than 607,000 hectares (1.5 million acres), is the scene of one of the biggest ecological rehabilitation projects in the world. The area is especially vulnerable to sea level rise, a consequence of climbing temperatures due to climate change, as an influx of saltwater could disrupt groundwater reserves and throw off the balance between the region’s plants and animals. The restoration efforts will try to revive the flow of water across the wetland, which has been interrupted by decades of human development. Scientists envision a complex system of canals, dams and water pumps. Congress in 2000 approved a $7.8 billion federally and state-funded plan to protect the Everglades, a national park, which, despite some advances, faced delay after delay. The money from Wednesday’s announcement could accelerate the project, according to Florida’s Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz. “This is enormous news, and allows us to set a course for quicker completion of the world’s largest ecosystem restoration project,” she said in a statement. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) – A jury on Wednesday convicted British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell of recruiting and grooming four teenagers for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. [nL1N2TE1OS] Here are 10 key moments from the trial: – In her opening statement, prosecutor Lara Pomerantz called Maxwell a predator who manipulated girls and groomed them for abuse by Epstein, her employer and onetime boyfriend. Maxwell saw recruiting girls for Epstein to have sex with as a means to maintain a luxurious lifestyle, Pomerantz said. “They were exploiting kids,” Pomerantz said. “They were trafficking kids for sex.” – Maxwell defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim began her opening statement by citing the biblical story of Adam and Eve to argue that Maxwell, like many women before her, was being blamed for a man’s bad behavior. Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell. “Epstein’s death left a gaping hole in the pursuit of justice for many of these women,” Sternheim said. “She’s filling that hole, and filling that empty chair.” – A woman known by the pseudonym Jane testified that Epstein first abused her in 1994, when Jane was just 14. Maxwell sometimes took part in sexual encounters with Jane and Epstein, and acted as if it were normal, Jane testified. “It made me feel confused because that did not feel normal to me,” she said. “I’d never seen anything like this or felt anything like this.” – Under cross-examination by Maxwell attorney Laura Menninger, Jane acknowledged she did not initially tell the FBI everything about Maxwell’s involvement. She said later under further questioning by prosecutors that she was not comfortable sharing all the details. “I was sitting in a room full of strangers and telling them the most shameful, deepest secrets that I’d been carrying around with me my whole life,” she said. – Prosecutors displayed for the jury a green massage table that was seized from Epstein’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate in 2005. Three of the four accusers said they gave Epstein massages that escalated into sexual activity. Pomerantz called the word massage a “ruse designed to get young girls to touch Epstein.” – Prosecutors showed the jury images depicting Maxwell’s and Epstein’s intimate relationship during the 1990s. The never-before-seen digital photographs showed Maxwell kissing Epstein on the cheek or rubbing his bare foot. – A woman known by her first name, Carolyn, testified that Maxwell once touched Carolyn’s breasts and buttocks while Carolyn was nude and told her she had a “great body for Mr. Epstein and his friends.” “Money will not ever fix what that woman has done to me,” Carolyn said, sobbing on the stand. – Jeffrey Pagliuca, an attorney for Maxwell, asked Carolyn why she did not mention Maxwell in her initial discussions with law enforcement but implicated her later in a claim to a victim’s compensation fund run by Epstein’s estate. The questioning was part of Maxwell’s efforts to paint the accusers’ accounts as unreliable. “You know that if any information you submitted is false, you can be in criminal trouble?” Pagliuca said, referring to the fund. – Elizabeth Loftus, a prominent psychologist, testified for the defense that people can confidently recount events that did not happen. Her testimony was part of the defense’s effort to argue that the accusers’ memories had been manipulated over time. “When you have post-event suggestion or intervention, people get very confident about their wrong answers,” Loftus testified. – Minutes before the defense rested its case, Maxwell stood up, and with Sternheim’s arm around her lower back, told U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan that she was declining to testify in her own defense. “Your honor, the government has not proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and so there is no need for me to testify,” Maxwell said (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The city of Washington, D.C., sued right-wing groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers on Tuesday, seeking to collect on the financial costs of the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath. The suit aims to hold accountable the groups that helped to organize a rally by thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump that evolved into an assault on Congress aiming to stop it from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine told reporters the defendants had caused physical and financial harm to Washington and its residents, adding that the city will seek “severe” financial penalties against the defendants. “Our intent … is to hold these violent mobsters and these violent hate groups accountable and to get every penny of damage we can,” he said at a news conference. The lawsuit seeks to recover the costs of deploying hundreds of city police officers to defend the Capitol against the attack, as well as medical and paid-leave costs incurred afterward. It also brings civil assault and battery charges against the two organizations, along with 30 named and 50 unnamed people it alleges were involved in the assault. The lawsuit opens up another legal front against alleged participants in the Jan. 6 attack. Four people died and hundreds were injured during the multi-hour onslaught, and one police officer died the next day of injuries sustained while defending Congress. Four officers who were at the Capitol that day have since taken their own lives. Nearly 700 people face criminal charges stemming from the event. Several alleged leaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty. The lawsuit invokes the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which allows people to sue for civil rights violations. It does not name Trump or former members of his administration as defendants. It is not clear whether the two groups are in a position to defend themselves, or whether the lawsuit will yield any financial penalties. Racine and other District officials said they hoped it would also serve as a warning to deter similar behavior by other extremist groups. “If we don’t get a penny in restitution, this lawsuit’s deterrent effect will say, ‘Be prepared to spend money, because we are coming after you,'” said Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District in the House of Representatives. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan, additional reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Scott Malone, Mark Porter and Bill Berkrot) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese LGBTQ rights activists on Wednesday hailed Tokyo’s move to introduce a same-sex partnership system as a huge step in their fight for equality in the only G7 country that does not fully recognise same-sex marriage. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike on Tuesday said the Japanese capital will draw up a framework allowing the partnerships early next year with an eye on making them legal in the fiscal year beginning April 2022. The extension of the system to Tokyo could potentially end up benefitting over 50% of the country’s population. Under the system, same-sex partners can register their relationship and gain some of the privileges enjoyed by married couples, such as being allowed to rent places to live together and gain hospital visitation rights. Though it falls short of a legal marriage, Tokyo’s move to adopt the partnership system is seen as an important step towards legalising same-sex unions in a nation where the Constitution still defines marriage as based on “the mutual consent of both sexes.” “This is amazing news,” said Masa Yanagisawa, head of Prime Services Japan at Goldman Sachs and a board member of activist group “Marriage for All Japan”. “Some conservatives have voiced concerns that even though these partnerships are just symbolic pieces of paper, they could undermine Japanese traditions or the traditional Japanese family system. Hopefully this will be a chance to prove otherwise.” Tokyo’s Shibuya ward in 2015 was the first place in Japan to introduce the partnership system. The system already covers 41% of Japan’s population and the extension to Tokyo means over half of the nation could potentially benefit, according to campaign group Nishiiro Diversity. Activists have long lobbied for the whole capital city to adopt the system, and stepped up such efforts ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic until this summer. “There may have been some restraint towards the national government and the fact that a lot of ruling party lawmakers are reluctant about this,” said Takeharu Kato, a lawyer in charge of a landmark court case in March that said barring same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. While Tokyo as a whole did not adopt the partnership system before the Games, the Olympics, with its focus on diversity, helped sway public opinion, Kato and others said. A recent poll of Tokyo residents conducted by the metropolitan government found 70% of respondents were in favour of same-sex partnerships. “I’m sure the Olympics had an impact since Tokyo has been thinking of what kind of legacy they should leave,” said LGBTQ rights activist Gon Matsunaka. Another incentive has been Tokyo’s interest in branding itself a major international centre and attracting foreign companies, many of which have greater emphasis on LGBTQ rights. As part of Governor Koike’s preparation for her announcement, she spoke with foreign business leaders, who said Tokyo was behind on that front, said Goldman’s Yanagisawa. “From my perspective as a Goldman Sachs employee, we want to attract international talent but Japan is always at a disadvantage,” he added. “We offer our own employee benefits on top of the national provisions to try to equalise the system but there’s a limitation to what is possible, and obviously not every company can do this.” The next goal is making marriage possible, though this probably requires more local areas to adopt same-sex partnership regulations, creating enough pressure that the national government can no longer ignore it. “Of course I’m happy,” said Kato. “But this is just one waypoint on a long road. We need to use it to push towards actual marriage.” (Additional reporting by Rikako Maruyama; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Harry has praised AIDS activists for “leading the call for COVID-19 vaccine equity”. The 37-year-old royal has written a letter to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – the director-general of the World Heath Organization – and UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima to mark World AIDS Day on Wednesday (01.12.21). In the letter, Harry – who has previously undergone public testing for HIV – says: “It is striking to now see the world’s leading AIDS activists are also leading the call for COVID-19 vaccine equity. “Vaccinating the world is a test of our moral character and we are experiencing a spectacular failure when it comes to global vaccine equity. Similar to the AIDS crisis, we’ve yet again revealed over the past year, that the value of life depends on whether you were born and/or live in a rich nation, or a developing country.” In his letter, Harry paid tribute to people who have lost their lives to AIDS. The prince also referenced Princess Diana’s efforts to break the stigma surrounding AIDS and HIV in the 80s and 90s. Harry – who now lives in the US with his wife and their two children – wrote: “We honour those whose lives have been cut short and reaffirm our commitment to a scientific community that has worked tirelessly against this disease. “My mother would be deeply grateful for everything you stand for and have accomplished. We all share that gratitude, so thank you.” Earlier this year, Harry blamed “mass-scale misinformation” for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The royal – who has Archie, two, and Lilibet, five months, with the Duchess of Sussex – explained: “Until every community can access the vaccine and until every community is connected to trustworthy information about the vaccine, then we are all at risk.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Deena Beasley (Reuters) -A trial of Pfizer Inc’s experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 was stopped early after the drug was shown to cut by 89% the chances of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease, the company said on Friday. The results appear to surpass those seen with Merck & Co Inc’s pill, molnupiravir, which was shown last month to halve the likelihood of dying or being hospitalized for COVID-19 patients also at high risk of serious illness. Full trial data is not yet available from either company. Pfizer shares surged 11% to $48.55, while those of Merck fell 8.5% to $82.80. Shares of vaccine makers also took a hit, with Moderna Inc, Pfizer’s German partner BioNTech SE and Novavax all down nearly 7%. Pfizer said it plans to submit interim trial results for its pill, which is given in combination with an older antiviral called ritonavir, to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of the emergency use application it opened in October. That filing is expected to be submitted before Thanksgiving, Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said in an interview with CNBC. The combination treatment, which will have the brand name Paxlovid, consists of three pills given twice daily. The planned analysis of 1,219 patients in Pfizer’s study looked at hospitalizations or deaths among people diagnosed with mild to moderate COVID-19 with at least one risk factor for developing severe disease, such as obesity or older age. It found that 0.8% of those given Pfizer’s drug within three days of symptom onset were hospitalized and none had died by 28 days after treatment. That compared with a hospitalization rate of 7% for placebo patients. There were also seven deaths in the placebo group. Rates were similar for patients treated within five days of symptoms – 1% of the treatment group was hospitalized, compared with 6.7% for the placebo group, which included 10 deaths. Bourla said that works out to being 85% effective. The data compared favorably to Merck’s oral antiviral in a similar patient population, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen said in a note. With the virus still circulating widely and current therapeutic options requiring access to a healthcare facility, antiviral treatments that can be taken at home to keep people with COVID-19 out of the hospital are critically needed, Chen said. Antivirals need to be given as early as possible, before an infection takes hold, in order to be most effective. Merck tested its drug within five days of symptom onset. “We saw that we did have high efficacy, even if it was five days after a patient has been treated … people might wait a couple of days before getting a test or something, and this means that we have time to treat people and really provide a benefit from a public health perspective,” Annaliesa Anderson, head of the Pfizer program, told Reuters. The company did not detail side effects of the treatment, but said adverse events happened in about 20% of both treatment and placebo patients. Ritonavir’s possible side effects include nausea and diarrhea. “These data suggest that our oral antiviral candidate, if approved by regulatory authorities, has the potential to save patients’ lives, reduce the severity of COVID-19 infections, and eliminate up to nine out of ten hospitalizations,” Bourla said in a statement. Pfizer said it was currently expecting to produce more than 180,000 packs by the end of 2021 and at least 50 million packs by the end of 2022, of which 21 million would be produced in the first half. Infectious disease experts stress that preventing COVID-19 through wide use of vaccines remains the best way to control the pandemic, but only 58% of Americans are fully vaccinated and access in many parts of the world is limited. Pfizer’s drug, part of a class known as protease inhibitors, is designed to block an enzyme the coronavirus needs in order to multiply. Merck’s molnupiravir has a different mechanism of action designed to introduce errors into the genetic code of the virus. Merck has already sold millions of courses of the treatment, which was approved this week by U.K. regulators, to the United States, the U.K. and others. Britain said earlier this month it had secured 250,000 courses of Pfizer’s antiviral. Pfizer is also studying whether its pill could be used by people without risk factors for serious COVID-19 as well as to prevent coronavirus infection in people exposed to the virus. (Reporting By Deena Beasley, additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; editing by Grant McCool and Anil D’Silva) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – A North Carolina court on Friday struck down a voter photo identification law passed by Republicans in 2018, finding it intentionally discriminated against Black voters likely to vote Democratic. The ruling marks the second consecutive Republican-backed voting law from North Carolina to be overturned by the courts. A U.S. appeals court in 2016 found a previous law targeted African Americans “with almost surgical precision.” In Friday’s ruling, a 2-1 majority of the Wake County Superior Court wrote that the 2018 law “was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters.” Other states with Republican majority legislatures have passed similar laws in recent years, some with renewed purpose after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely claimed the election was stolen for President Joe Biden. Georgia and Texas passed voter laws this year that triggered a national backlash from civil rights advocates. The North Carolina ruling did not find that supporters of Senate Bill 824 were racist, but that targeting Black voters because of their propensity to vote for Democrats was discriminatory. The ruling quoted from the 2016 federal appeals court ruling that overturned the previous law, known as House Bill 589. “We do not find that any member of the General Assembly who voted in favor of S.B. 824 harbors any racial animus or hatred towards African American voters, but rather …that the Republican majority ‘target(ed) voters who, based on race, were unlikely to vote for the majority party. Even if done for partisan ends, that constitute(s) racial discrimination,'” the majority said. That Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stood after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a North Carolina-based civil rights group that helped bring the suit, applauded the decision and vowed to fight any appeal. “(We) hope it sends a strong message that racial discrimination will not be tolerated,” Allison Riggs, the coalition’s chief counsel for voting rights, said in a statement. Sam Hayes, a lawyer the Republican North Carolina House speaker Tim Moore, declared, “This fight is far from over.” He referred to the November 2018 election, when voters approved a ballot measure supporting a constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote. “Once again, liberal judges have defied the will of North Carolinians on election integrity,” Hayes said. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio) View the full article

Max Harwood in “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”The film adaptation of the celebrated coming-of-age, drag extravaganza of a musical “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie” is finally set for release after a planned theatrical run was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film, led by newcomer Max Harwood in the titular role, is set for a September 17 release on Amazon, but audiences got their first look at LGBTQ film festival OutFest Los Angeles earlier this month. The film and original play are based on the 2011 documentary “Jamie: Drag Queen at 16,” which chronicles the journey of the real-life Jamie Campbell embracing his love of drag and attending his high school prom in full drag regalia. The film pays tribute to its subjects with footage of Jamie and his loving mother Margaret playing over the end credits. Reviews have been pouring in as the public waits for their chance to see the film, with Deadline’s Pete Hammond labeling it a “junior ‘Kinky Boots'” and The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney praising “Jamie for telling an LGBTQ story where “coming out isn’t a factor.” “Jamie has been out and proud for some time, and he responds to the taunts of obnoxious class smartass Dean (Samuel Bottomley) at school by basically saying, ‘Yeah, I’m gay, what of it,'” Rooney wrote. [This post contains video, click to play] Life Imitating Art Harwood has drawn an exceptional amount of praise for his film debut. The LGBTQ actor’s real-life story full of performing dreams mirrors Jamie to an intriguing extent, which, according to Hammond, comes through in his portrayal of the character. “Harwood never had acted before landing this plum gig, and he is thoroughly engaging, confident in his singing and fledgling showmanship and clearly understanding the core of this kid,” Hammond noted. “When I was growing up, I didn’t like playing football. I didn’t like getting muddy. I liked to dress up, and act and dance and sing,” Harwood told Attitude. “I was doing things that were more typically effeminate and I feel like, at the time, growing up, as an effeminate boy, there are opinions and thought that people put on you. I definitely felt othered, in that sense.” Harwood’s feelings of ostracization line up squarely with the experiences Jamie goes through in his journey of self-identity through the glamour of drag. Whether it be Jamie’s homophobic father or teacher who tries to force cultural gender norms upon him, key obstacles to Jamie’s self-actualization feel all too close to Harwood’s own experiences, and, frankly, those of so many others within LGBTQ circles. But having that in his past helped Harwood embrace Jamie’s empowering message. “Jamie is someone who knows who he is, and he’s waiting for everyone else to catch up and get on board,” Harwood said. “I think the whole play isn’t Jamie going, ‘Oh, do I want to be a drag queen? Do I want to do this?’ Jamie knows. he wants to be a drag queen. He is gay.” “I also feel like I’m at a stage in my life that I know who I am and that I know what I want,” he added. “I was navigating, not to prove to myself, but to convince my parents and my friends that I actually could do this.” Stage To Screen A huge part of maintaining the heart of the original stage production through the adaptation process was keeping the production’s creative nucleus intact and involved. Director Jonathan Butterell and writer Tom MacRae reprise their roles despite never working in movies before. Singer-songwriter and the original musical’s composer Dan Gillespie Sells also returns, teaming up with Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley on the film’s score. Producers Peter Carlton and Mark Herbert, co-founders of Warp Films, actually turned down funding from certain companies in order to keep the musical’s core at the forefront of Jamie’s jump to the silver screen. “What we’ve done a lot in Warp is back really talented people who’ve achieved in one area into another,” Carlton told Variety. To that end, the team also made sure to get Campbell involved in the film as well. His emotion toward the project exuded both on set and during a special preview of the film at the Edinburgh Film Festival earlier this month. “I just love that there’s a big show out there that has got someone who’s camp, feminine and flamboyant fronting it,” Campbell said in Edinburgh. “They’re the star of the show.” Everybody’s Talking About Jamie: Previously on Towleroad ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is The Gay Coming-Of-Age Tale For Everyone With an Inner (and Outer) Drag Queen Brian Bell August 25, 2021 Read More Elliot Page Awarded for Prejudice-busting Work and Life On And Off Screen; Sheds Light on Dark Prejudices; Shares Unseen Prides and Joys Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Billy Eichner ‘s ‘Big, Gay Divorce Comedy’ ‘Ex-Husbands’ Headed To Amazon; ‘It’s the Gay ‘War Of The Roses’ You’ve Been Waiting For!’ Brian Bell August 4, 2021 Read More Tommy Dorfman: ‘Some Moved Houses During the Pandemic; Some People Changed Genders;’ ’13 Reasons Why’ Star Comes Out a Trans Woman Brian Bell July 23, 2021 Read More Notorious Founders Of ‘Conversion Therapy’ Group Exodus Never Did ‘Pray Away’ the Gay; Come Out Again, Slam Similar Programs in Netflix Doc Brian Bell July 13, 2021 Read More Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster to Star in Gay Rom-Com ‘Fire Island;’ A Gay ‘Pride and Prejudice’ Brian Bell July 2, 2021 Read More Image courtesy of 2oth Century Pictures View the full article

Published by AFP Mat Wooller, director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, kneels among mammoth tusks at the University of Alaska Museum of the North Washington (AFP) – Walking the equivalent of twice around the world during a life lasting 28 years, one wooly mammoth whose steps have been traced by researchers has proven the huge beast was a long-distance wanderer. The findings, published Thursday in the prestigious journal Science, could shed light on theories about why the mammoth, whose teeth were bigger than the human fist, became extinct. “In all popular culture — for example if you watch (the cartoon) ‘Ice Age’ — there are always mammoths who move around a lot,” said Clement Bataille, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the lead authors of the study. But there is no clear reason why mammoths should have trekked great distances “because it is such an enormous animal that moving around uses a lot of energy,” he told AFP. The researchers were amazed by the results: the mammoth they studied probably walked around 70,000 kilometers (43,500 miles), and did not stay just on the plains of Alaska as they expected. “We see that it traveled throughout Alaska, so an immense territory,” said Bataille. “It was really a surprise.” Readings on a tusk For their study, the researchers selected the tusks of a male woolly mammoth who lived at the end of the last ice age. The animal — named “Kik” after a local river — lived relatively close to the time of the extinction of the species, around 13,000 years ago. One of the two tusks was cut in half to take readings of strontium isotope ratios. Strontium is a chemical element similar to limestone and is present in soil. It is transmitted to vegetation and, when eaten, is deposited in bones, teeth… or tusks. The tusks grow throughout a mammal’s life, with the tip reflecting the first years of life, and the base representing the final years. Isotope ratios are different depending on geology, and Bataille developed an isotopic map of the region. By comparing it with the data from the tusks, it was possible to track when and where the mammoth had been. At the time, glaciers covered all of the Brooks Range of mountains in the north and the Alaska Range in the south, with the plain of the Yukon River in the center. The animal returned regularly to some areas, where it could stay for several years. But his movements also changed greatly depending on his age, before he eventually died of hunger. During the first two years of his life, researchers were even able to observe signs of breastfeeding. “What was really surprising was that after the teenage years, the isotopic variations start to be much more important,” said Bataille. The mammoth has “three or four times in its life, made an immense journey of 500, 600 even 700 kilometers, in a few months.” Scientists say the male may have been solitary, and moving from herd to herd to reproduce. Or he could have been facing a drought or a harsh winter, forcing him to seek a new area where food was more plentiful. Lessons for today? Whether for genetic diversity, or due to scarce resources, it is “clear that this species needed an extremely large area” to live,” said Bataille. But, at the time of the transition from the ice age to the interglacial period — when they were extinct — “the area shrank because more forests grew” and “humans put quite a lot of pressure on southern Alaska, where mammoths probably moved much less.” Understanding factors that led to the disappearance of mammoths may help protect other threatened megafauna species, such as caribou or elephants. With today’s climate changing, and humans often restricting big species to parks and reserves, Bataille said, “do we want our children 1,000 years from now to view elephants the same way we view mammoths today?” View the full article

The Biden administration wants to address employment discrimination, homelessness and other issues that have a disproportionate effect on transgender people. The White House on Wednesday said it would gather federal agencies in the coming weeks, including the Justice Department, Defense Department and Department of Health and Human Services, to revise policies driving poverty, violence, and discrimination against transgender people. The announcement comes after the Biden administration had already pledged to reverse Trump-era policies that disproportionately impacted transgender Americans and restricted LGBTQ+ access to health care, housing, and equal treatment in prisons. The administration’s latest policy change affecting trans people came from the State Department, which said it would allow nonbinary and intersex people to obtain IDs and passports with an “X” gender marker instead of an “M” or an “F.” President Joe Biden with Youth Trans Leader Ashton Mota, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg marking “Pride back in the White House”Members of the White House initiative announced Wednesday, headed by the Gender Policy Council and Domestic Policy Council, plan to meet with trans advocates in the next few weeks to hear their policy recommendations. Meeting with advocates will be the group’s first step to address issues including employment discrimination, homelessness, abuse, and school bullying, White House spokesperson Matt Hill said. The White House has focused on trans rights at several events commemorating Pride month, culminating with a virtual “transgender equality” event on Wednesday that included U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, HHS Secretary Rachel Levine and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke as speakers. “So far this year, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures,” Biden said at his Pride speech last week in the East Room. “These are some of the ugliest, most un-American laws I’ve seen, and I’ve been here awhile. Many of them target transgender children, seeking to prevent them from receiving the appropriate medical care, for using the bathroom at high schools while they’re — the one where they’ll be most safe, even preventing them from joining sports teams with their classmates,” he said. Ashton Mota, the 16-year-old Human Rights Campaign ambassador who introduced Biden at his Pride speech last week, thanked the administration on Wednesday at the virtual transgender equality event. “After coming out and receiving support from my family, that’s one of the best things I could have asked for — because it’s given me a platform and a pedestal to be able to use my voice and represent a community that usually isn’t given a seat at the table to have these important conversations,” he said. Originally published by The 19th Trans protections previously on Towleroad BET Praises Lil Nas X’s First Gay Kiss At BET Awards. Rapper Flames Critics, Celebrates 2 Years Out; ‘I Love Who I Am and Whatever I Decide To Do’ Royalty Road: Nashville Dedicates Bianca Paige Way in Honor of Drag Queen and HIV/AIDS Advocate Bianca Paige Court Stalls Trans Toilet Attack, Dumps First Case; But Alito, Thomas Can Flush Minor LGBTQ Win By Waiting For a Looser No. 2 Case: Busy-Bee Days End Session Dutch Prime Minister Tells Hungary’s Orban to Respect LGBT rights or leave EU President Biden Names Jessica Stern U.S. LGBTQI+ Special Envoy, Signs Pulse National Memorial into Law Free Britney. Strange Bedfellows: Cher, Gaetz + Jordan, Megan McCain, the Justice Reporter From ‘The Nation’, Andy Cohen, Rose McGowan, and Amnesty F’in International RuPaul All Stars 6 Premiere: Variety Extravaganza, Blue Ball and a New Viewing Experience [RECAP and RANKINGS] Gay WW2 Hero Alan Turing Memorialized on New British £50 Note; ‘A Celebration of His Remarkable Life’ Bi-partisan Effort To Move 20,000+ Sexual Assault Cases/Year Out of Command Chain Gets Surprise Support of Defense Secy. Austin View the full article

Carl Nassib’s historic coming out on Monday is still sending shockwaves through the sports world and beyond. Nassib became the first active NFL player ever to come out as gay and is expected to become the first out gay player to play in an NFL regular-season game when he suits up for the Las Vegas Raiders later this year. Just as good, his NFL compatriots have been overwhelming in their support for him since the news broke. Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis voiced his support for Nassib in a statement to ESPN. “It’s 2021. All the more power to Carl. It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a person or as a Raider,” Davis said. Raiders head coach Jon Gruden also chimed in with kind words for Nassib, saying, “I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great.” Notable among the current NFL players that responded was New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley, who played with Nassib in college at Penn State University. Click to Page 2 and learn: Who is matching Nassib’s donation to Trevor project?; What is Nassib’s political party? How long will it be for his jersey to become the top seller? What’s Dan Savage think? And what do the gays look like “on their way to carl nassib’s instagram?” Page 2 –> View the full article

New £50 notes memorializing groundbreaking British computer scientist and World War II hero Alan Turing went into circulation on Wednesday, the date of what would have been his 109th birthday. The new note, which the Bank of England announced in 2019, is the first to be printed on plastic instead of paper and features Turing’s portrait on the note’s back along with a collection of signifiers highlighting Turing’s legacy in the fields of computing and mathematics. Those include listing Turing’s birthday in binary code, a table and formula from his foundational paper “On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem” and one of Turing’s more memorable quotes: “This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be.” “Our banknotes celebrate some of our country’s most important historical figures. That’s why I am delighted that Alan Turing features on the new polymer £50 note,” said Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. “Having undertaken remarkable codebreaking work here at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, he went on to pioneer work on early computers, as well as making some ground-breaking discoveries in the field of developmental biology.” “He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life,” Bailey added. The appalling treatment Bailey refers to is the criminalization of his gay identity despite his efforts to help defeat the Axis Powers during World War II by decoding the German Enigma codes. The new note features drawings of the British Bombe, one of the tools Turing used to break the Nazis’ code. Despite his heroic status, Turing was still prosecuted for being a gay man and underwent forced chemical castration at the hands of the Crown in 1952. Turing would die by suicide two years later. He was 41. The U.K. government didn’t apologize for Turing’s treatment until 2009. Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned Turing in 2013 and named a law pardoning hundreds of other men prosecuted for simply being gay after him. The Bank of England also flew the Progress Pride flag on Wednesday in honor of Turing’s memory. “Alan Turing’s appearance on the £50 note is a landmark moment in our history. Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world,” said Jeremy Fleming, Director of British spy agency GCHQ. “Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay,” he added. “His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.” Alan Turing: Previously on Towleroad Gay WWII Codebreaker Alan Turing to Be New Face of UK £50 Note July 15, 2019 Read More Justin Bieber, Rebecca Romijn, Donald Trump, Alan Turing, RBG’s Mentor, Joy Behar In Black Face, A Transgender Reveal Party, and More: HOT LINKS February 7, 2019 Read More Thousands of Gay UK Men Convicted for Gross Indecency Have Today Been Officially Pardoned January 31, 2017 Read More 93-Year-Old Gay WWII Vet Convicted of Gross Indecency Demands Apology From UK Government November 2, 2016 Read More ‘Alan Turing Bill’ to Pardon 49,000+ Gay Men Fails in UK Parliament: WATCH October 21, 2016 Read More UK Unveils ‘Alan Turing Law’ to Pardon 49,000+ Gay Men Convicted For Gross Indecency October 20, 2016 Read More Image courtesy of the Bank of England View the full article