‘Mean Girls’ star Jonathan Bennett married Jaymes Vaughan on Saturday (19.03.22).

The 40-year-old actor – who played Aaron Samuels in the 2004 comedy film – and his long-time partner tied the knot at the Unico Riviera Maya Hotel in Mexico.

Jonathan wrote on Twitter: “I never thought I’d have the courage to live my truth so boldly, and here I am, a proud gay man, who just became the luckiest man on earth. Meet Mr Mr Bennett Vaughan (sic)”

Their wedding ceremony was officiated by YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen.

And the wedding party followed the colour theme of black tuxedos from Express and white tuxedos by Robert Stanley Bespoke.

Jonathan told People: “It’s gender-neutral but everyone looks represented and feels sexy in their own way.

“So it’s like a new tradition for the community. You don’t have to do dresses and tuxes. Anyone who wants to wear a tux, wear a tux, go for it.”

Jonathan also recognises that their wedding was about the “entire” LGBTQ community.

The actor – who got engaged to Jaymes in 2020 – explained: “As we were going through this process, we realised that our wedding is also more than just about us. It’s about the entire community.”

Jaymes admitted their wedding was an emotional occasion and he couldn’t conceal his joy during the ceremony.

Reflecting on their special day, he said: “I got to marry my best friend! I knew we’d be emotional but I don’t think either of us realised just how overwhelming that moment would be until we were in it.

“Seeing him crying only made me cry harder, and then our guests cry harder, and then we’d all start laughing, and then all back into crying.”

Tom Daley makes “willy warmers” for his friends.

The Olympic diver’s favourite hobby is knitting and not only is it “therapeutic” for him, its a skill that’s also come in handy when it comes to arranging gifts for his friends.

He said: “It’s so therapeutic, and you can make some really crazy things.

“Honestly, the most requested thing for my friends’ birthdays and things like that are c*** socks. I’ve done so many willy warmers. It’s unreal.”

The 24-year-old sportsman admitted having his son Robbie, three, with husband Dustin Lance Black has unlocked “a whole different level” of his heart.

Speaking to TikTok star Holly H on her ‘Planet Weirdo’ podcast, he gushed: “I mean, I’m completely biased, obviously, but he is a really cute kid and he’s just really sweet and kind and caring. I mean, he’s the best.

“Becoming a parent is such a weird thing, you don’t realise how much you can love something until you become a parent.

“Once you’re a parent, oh my goodness, it unlocks a whole different level of your heart. It’s nuts, to be honest.”

Last summer, Tom scooped Olympic gold in the men’s synchronized 10 m platform diving event and bronze in the men’s individual 10m platform diving, and he recalled returning home to chaos and his celebrations taking a grim twist.

He said: “All my friends met me at the airport and then came back to my house and stayed with me for a week because my husband was working in Canada, so they didn’t want me to be on my own.

“So, I was living with eight humans and three dogs.

“The three dogs kept finding bits of food everywhere and they were also puppies, so they were pooing everywhere, throwing up everywhere.

“One night we went out and I came back and one of the dogs jumped up onto the bed, threw up on the pillow and I rolled over into it and I had dog vomit in my ear.

“And, imagine after a night-out, your first night-out after the Olympics, so it was a big one.

“Roll over, vomit in your ear and then the dog ran downstairs and had diarrhoea on my best friend Sophie’s sequined jacket.

“So, imagine trying to get diarrhoea out of a sequined jacket when you’re a little bit hungover. I say a little bit hungover, a lot hungover. It was just a whole moment to wake up to.”

Simon Rex wants to donate his fake penis to a museum.

The 48-year-old actor donned a prosthetic for his role in ‘Red Rocket’ and because he “wasn’t allowed” to take it home as a souvenir at the end of filming, he likes the idea of it being put on display instead.

He said: “I don’t think [keeping it] was an option, but it will be in a museum one day.”

When asked if he would donate the piece to the newly=opened Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, he added to People magazine: “I like that idea.”

Simon – who plays a con man and former porn star in the movie – only confirmed last month that he wore a prosthesis for his nude scenes and was amazed he “got away with it” for so long.

Speaking about making the admission when he accepted Best Male Lead at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, he said: “I finally had to let it be known.

“I just had fun with it, and me and [director] Sean Baker … we agreed that we were going to keep it mysterious, and not say whether or not that was really me naked.

“And at that point, after we won the Spirit Award, I said, ‘It’s time to tell people.’ We did this for eight months. We somehow got away with it for eight months. It was just time to let people know.”

The movie has marked a career resurgence for the former model and he admitted his sudden return to success has been “very surreal”.

He explained: “It’s been very surreal, because we’ve all been living in this strange time together, in this Twilight Zone pandemic, strange times collectively that we’re all in.

“So if you add, on top of that, this amazing highlight of my career, it just adds to the weirdness of it all.

“Sometimes I just start laughing. I’ll be in a hotel room by myself and I just start cracking up because it’s kind of like, life is just a big cosmic joke. And how is this happening now? And I still think I’m just reeling from it all.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was admitted to a hospital in Washington on Friday after experiencing flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with an infection, the high court said on Sunday.

Thomas, 73, was being treated with intravenous antibiotics, his symptoms were abating, and he expected to be released from the Sibley Memorial Hospital in a day or two, the court said in a statement.

The Supreme Court, which is set to be in session on Monday, said that Thomas will participate in the consideration of cases through briefs, transcripts, and audio of the oral arguments.

The court is set to hear four cases this week.

A court representative said earlier that all nine justices were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and had received booster doses.

A conservative and one of two Black men to have served on the Supreme Court, Thomas is the longest-serving of the current justices. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by President Joe Biden’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump.

Thomas was nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of liberal justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice on the court.

Separately on Monday, hearings will begin for federal appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s nominee, to become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Biden has tapped her to replace Stephen Breyer, 83, who is retiring and is the oldest justice on the current court.

Thomas spoke on March 11 in Utah and raised concerns about calls to add additional members to the court, and discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the court to conduct arguments remotely.

“I didn’t like the free-for-all in oral arguments where we interacted and interrupted each other. It’s more productive now. The arguments are contributing to the process of deciding the case as opposed to what was happening, which was almost like a catfight,” Thomas said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Stephen Coates)

By Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate begins consideration on Monday of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to be the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, with Republicans expected to pose tough questions about her professional background and judicial philosophy.

Democratic President Joe Biden last month nominated Jackson, 51, for a lifetime job on America’s top judicial body to succeed retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, setting up a confirmation battle in the closely divided Senate.

Jackson on Monday is set to make an opening statement during the first day of her Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, with the panel’s 22 members questioning her on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Senate has confirmed Jackson to three federal posts, most recently last year, when Biden nominated her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after eight years as a federal district judge in Washington.

Her confirmation would not change the ideological balance of the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.

But it would let Biden freshen the court’s liberal bloc with a justice young enough to serve for decades. Breyer, 83, is the court’s oldest member.

Jackson was raised in Miami and attended Harvard Law School, later serving as a Supreme Court clerk for Breyer and representing criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer.

She is likely to face sharp questioning from Republicans including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz on issues such as crime and cases she took when representing criminal defendants.

Some senators also could question her on race issues, including whether she should participate in an upcoming case challenging Harvard University’s affirmative action admissions policy used to increase the number of Black and Hispanic students on campus. Jackson serves on the university’s Board of Overseers and has faced calls to recuse herself from the case.

A Reuters review of 25 racial discrimination cases in which Jackson issued substantive rulings as a federal district judge found that she ruled in favor of plaintiffs in only three of them.

Jackson’s nomination fulfils Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to name a Black woman to the court, a milestone he called long overdue. If confirmed, she would be the third Black justice, following Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991 and still serving, and Thurgood Marshall, who retired in 1991 and died in 1993.

The Supreme Court said on Sunday that Thomas was hospitalized in Washington on Friday with an infection, although it added that he was being treated with intravenous antiobiotics and expected to be released in a day or two.

Jackson also would become the sixth woman to serve on the Supreme Court, which currently has three female justices – Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor.

Jackson’s nomination has been backed by prominent lawyers from across the ideological spectrum, civil rights groups and law enforcement organizations including the National Fraternal Order of Police, which represents rank-and-file officers.

Democrats narrowly control the Senate, which has the task of deciding whether to confirm a president’s judicial appointments. The Senate is divided 50-50 between the two parties, with Biden’s fellow Democrats controlling it because Vice President Kamala Harris can cast a tie-breaking vote.

A simple majority vote would be needed for Jackson’s confirmation, meaning she would get the job if all Democrats are united behind the nomination regardless of what Republicans do.

The court’s conservative majority has shown increased assertiveness, with rulings due in cases that could curb abortion rights and expand gun rights.

The confirmation hearing ends on Thursday with witnesses testifying about Jackson’s suitability for the job. The Judiciary Committee would then vote on the nomination in the coming weeks, followed by a final confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Breyer has said he would remain on the court until its current term ends, typically in late June.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham, Scott Malone and Gerry Doyle)

(Reuters) – Ukraine defied a Russian demand that its forces lay down arms before dawn on Monday in Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in a city under siege and already laid to waste by Russian bombardment.

In the capital Kyiv, shelling hit a shopping centre late on Sunday, killing at least eight people, wrecking nearby buildings and leaving smoking piles of rubble and the twisted wreckage of burned-out cars spread over several hundred metres.

Russia’s almost month-old assault on Ukraine has stalled along most fronts, failing to seize a single major city or swiftly topple the government. But Russian shelling and missiles have caused devastation in built-up residential areas.

FIGHTING

* Authorities in Odesa accused Russian forces of carrying out a strike on residential buildings in the city’s outskirts early on Monday, the first such attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port.

* Russian air forces hit a Ukrainian army military facility in the Rivne region with cruise missiles, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday.

CIVILIANS

* Ukraine described the situation in Mariupol on Monday as “very difficult” and said it had been unable to establish a new safe corridor to evacuate civilians from the beleaguered city. Horror and confusion reign in Mariupo, where people are burying dead neighbours by the roadside.

* Ten million people have been displaced by the conflict, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

SANCTIONS

* European Union leaders began a week of intense diplomacy aimed at agreeing further sanctions against Russia, including a possible embargo of its lucrative oil and gas sector demanded by some member states. But that move looks divisive. Germany is sticking to its stance that it cannot dispense with oil imports from Russia, a government spokesperson said. The 27-nation EU still relies on Russia for 40% of its gas.

DIPLOMACY

* The Kremlin said on Monday peace talks between Russia and Ukraine had not yet made any significant progress. Moscow has accused Kyiv of stalling talks by making proposals unacceptable for Russia. Ukraine has said it is willing to negotiate but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.

QUOTES

* “The violent aggression against Ukraine is unfortunately not slowing down,” Pope Francis said. “It is a senseless massacre where every day slaughters and atrocities are being repeated.”

* “Kyiv calling to the whole world … Come out of neutrality, you boys and girls,” some of the lyrics from Ukrainian punk band Beton’s reworking of the famous “London Calling” by British punk rock group the Clash.

(Compiled by Michael Perry and Stephen Coates; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Luann de Lesseps has issued an apology after she was allegedly “kicked out of a piano bar” for drunken behaviour.

The ‘Real Housewives of New York’ star insists she is recovering from alcohol addiction and admitted she slipped up after a video surfaced of her “belting out jumbled versions of songs” and being booed at Townhouse gay bar in the Big Apple.

In a social media post, the 56-year-old reality star penned: “This week, after a regrettable incident, I was faced with the truth.

“I want to apologize to the staff at Townhouse and anyone else I may have offended by my behavior.

“Clearly, my struggles with alcohol are real! While I’ve made great strides over the years, there’s been times I’ve fallen.

“It’s one day at a time! I’m in recovery and taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again. (sic)”

She signed off the message: “I’m grateful to my family and my friends for their constant support.”

According to The New York Post’s Page Six column, Luann had been performing her song ‘Money Can’t Buy You Class’, and allegedly told one of the people who booed her, “f*** you”, before reportedly being ejected from the bar.

Following the incident earlier this week, Luann said via a spokesperson: “I got up and sang a few Broadway songs they were playing.

“I realise I was a little bit tipsy, but we were having fun, and it was getting late. I’d been rehearsing, and I was in the mood to sing a few songs. Then Jim [Kierstead] said to me, ‘Lu, I have an early rehearsal,’ and then we left around midnight, 11.30 p.m.”

In 2017, Luann was charged for battery, disorderly intoxication and trespassing after an altercation with an officer.

She pleaded guilty to the three charges and was ordered to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work, attend AA meetings and get clean.

The former countess checked into rehab again in 2018, and previously shared how seeing how pop star Demi Lovato handled their own addictions inspired her to seek help.

She said in 2019: “You know who’s really been inspirational also is Demi Lovato, because she’s been very public about her struggle and I think it’s important.

“It’s kind of a private thing. But there’s a lot of celebrities at meetings, and so I don’t feel so alone.”

Demi, 29, had completed a stint in rehab following their near-fatal overdose in 2018.

(Reuters) – A U.S. judge ruled that a former county clerk from Kentucky knowingly violated the rights of same-sex couples by denying them marriage licenses in 2015, clearing the way for a jury trial seeking damages against her.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Friday also denied a request for immunity from former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis.

Davis thrust herself into the center of the U.S. culture wars on the issue of LGBTQ rights by denying the licenses in 2015, citing her religious beliefs. She briefly went to jail for contempt of court over her refusal and a deputy clerk in the eastern Kentucky county issued the licenses.

The two couples in the lawsuit had sought to marry in the immediate aftermath of the landmark 2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision Obergefell v. Hodges. They sued Davis in 2015, alleging she had violated their constitutional rights.

In the Obergefell case, the highest court in the United States found that, under the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, states must grant same-sex marriages and recognize those of other states.

But Davis repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses, despite a letter from the governor instructing all county clerks to issue the licenses and a legal opinion from the Rowan County attorney, which she had sought, advising that she had a legal requirement to do so.

“It is readily apparent that Obergefell recognizes Plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment right to marry. It is also readily apparent that Davis made a conscious decision to violate Plaintiffs’ right,” the judge ruled in a summary judgment.

With the essential facts in the case now settled, the two couples, David Ermold and David Moore in one case and James Yates and Will Smith in another, can proceed to jury trial to seek damages against Davis as an individual.

Davis had previously been granted sovereign immunity in her official capacity.

Liberty Counsel, a Christian organization representing Davis, said it would continue to argue she is not liable for damages because she is entitled to a religious accommodation granted by the state legislature and former Governor Matt Bevin.

The group’s statement also noted that conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court could seek to revisit and overturn the Obergefell decision.

“This case raises serious First Amendment free exercise of religion claims and has a high potential of reaching the Supreme Court,” Liberty Counsel founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in the statement.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Cher has offered her home to Ukrainian refugees.

The ‘Believe’ hitmaker has called on people in her “position” to “step up to the plate” and give those fleeing their homes amid Russia’s invasion a safe place to stay.

She tweeted: “I Would Like to Sponsor Ukrainian Families in My Home.

“They Would Be Safe Cared For.

“MANY PEOPLE IN MY POSITION NEED TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE.

“IF I WAS ALONE OR WITH MY CHILDREN, WE WERE TRAUMATIZED, I WOULD HOPE SOMEONE LIKE ME TO TAKE CARE OF US. (sic)”

The 75-year-old music legend – who has a mansion in Malibu – has been left overwhelmed by the conflict.

Seemingly referring to the war in Ukraine, the ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’ star wrote recently: “I’ve been alive since the year dot, and these years are the worst I’ve ever seen … add family to that and it’s a recipe for disaster cake.”

She has been using her platform to rally support for the people of Ukraine.

She urged: “We must find more tangible ways to help Ukrainian people! What does the word ‘support’ actually mean to the world?”

The singer left fans concerned last week when she revealed the reason she had been quiet on social media for almost a week was that she’d been having “personal problems”.

She tweeted: “Sorry I’ve Been MIA. Been having personal problems.”

Responding to a follower who asked if she is OK, Cher replied: “We all [cry emoji], but sometimes, we [cry emoji] a different kind of tears.Tears that hurt.

“We become overwhelmed,reach a limit.Then are forced to push that limit.”

A little later, the ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ hitmaker reassured fans that she was feeling “better” and that she needed to “regroup and reboot”.

She added: “I’m better today.

“Sometimes I reach what I think is my limit, then realise, I’ve got ‘miles’ more limit in me.

“Sometimes I get on what I ‘think’ is my last nerve, then find lots more ‘last nerves’ to get on.

“Sometimes I need to regroup, reboot, give ‘me’ a time out, then say f*** this. I won’t stop.”

Activists on both sides of the abortion issue collided in December 2021 protest in New York in connection with a Supreme Court hearing on a case that is expected to be decided this spring

New York (AFP) – Citigroup plans to provide travel benefits to workers who live in states that have passed laws to restrict abortion rights, such as Texas.

The big US bank said in light of “changes in reproductive healthcare laws in certain states,” it will provide travel benefits to “facilitate access to adequate resources,” according to a securities filing published Tuesday.

The document, prepared in connection with the bank’s annual shareholder meeting in April, does not specifically mention abortion.

But the new policy comes as several US states enact new restrictions.

These include the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans abortions after a heartbeat can be detected in the womb, normally around six weeks — before many women even know they are pregnant — and which makes no exceptions for rape or incest.

In Missouri, a state lawmaker recently introduced legislation intended to block residents from traveling out of state for abortions.

The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice research group, has said that 26 states are “certain or likely” to ban abortion if the US Supreme Court overturns the “Roe vs. Wade” decision later this spring in a ruling on a law in the state of Mississippi. 

In 2021, 19 states enacted restrictions on abortion rights, the institute said.

Legal analysts believe the 1973 Supreme Court ruling, which protects abortion rights, could be overturned  following recent court appointments.

At a December oral argument, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared largely sympathetic to Mississippi, but it was unclear how far a majority would go in striking down earlier rulings.

A same-sex kiss has been restored in Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ following outcry from the company’s LGBTQ employees and allies.

The upcoming movie – which stars Chris Evans as the real-life inspiration for ‘Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear – features a female character Hawthorne (Uzo Aduba) who is in a relationship with another woman.

Variety reports that a kiss between the two characters had been cut from the movie but after Pixar employees’ recent statement to Walt Disney Company leadership claiming that Disney executives had censored “overtly gay affection” in its films, the kiss has been restored.

Meanwhile, Chris previously shared his joy at signing on to voice Buzz Lightyear in the movie.

He tweeted: “I don’t even have words.

“And just to be clear, this isn’t Buzz Lightyear the toy. This is the origin story of the human Buzz Lightyear that the toy is based on.”

The movie will be “the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear” and “an action film” unlike anything Pixar has ever done before, with Pixar creative chief Pete Docter promising “a new twist to an iconic character”.