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Published by AlterNet Louisiana residents who want to access adult web content and pornography online must now enter information from a valid driver’s license or state ID into a program called LA Wallet in order to prove they are 18 or older, according to Mashable. This is thanks to House Bill 142, a new law that went into effect on January 1. The law says that any commercial website that contains 33.3 percent or more pornographic material must “perform reasonable age verification methods to verify the age of individuals attempting to access the material.” While porn websites claim that they won’t collect any users… Read More View the full article

Published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch BONNE TERRE, Mo. — Missouri on Tuesday executed by lethal injection a transgender inmate who stabbed, strangled and raped an ex-girlfriend 19 years ago. The 49-year-old inmate had been living for about 18 months as a woman named Amber McLaughlin, but filed appeals and signed a final written statement Tuesday with a previous name, Scott McLaughlin. McLaughlin is the first openly transgender woman executed in the U.S. and the third person executed in a 12-month span in Missouri. The state delivered a fatal dose of pentobarbital at 6:39 p.m., and McLaughlin was pronounced dead a short time later,… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Could marriage be on the horizon for Real Housewives of Orange County alum Braunwyn Windham-Burke? The former Bravo celeb shared a since-deleted Instagram post that showed off new bling and a “promise” to girlfriend Jennifer Spinner that quickly sparked engagement rumors, RadarOnline.com has learned. Windham-Burke, 45, and Spinner, 38, began dating five months ago after the reality tv personality split with her husband of 23 years, Sean Burke. The couple is now reportedly on the hunt for their “forever home,” adding to speculation that they could be ready to exchange nuptials. mega On January 2, Windham-Burke shared a picture with Spinner. While the Instagram story was short-lived, it was up long enough for the rumor mill to turn and speculate about the ex-Orange County housewife’s future plans with her girlfriend. “We started 2023 with a promise,” she wrote. In the photo, Windham-Burke was seen with her left hand over Spinner’s as the two traveled in a car on a road trip. Both women wore diamond-encrusted silver bands in the snap, with Windham-Burke’s new bling on her left hand. mega Windham-Burke shared another snap from their travels that pictured the two walking beside one another with the caption, “Road trippin and state hunting!” The picture was taken as the two lovebirds traveled from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Charleston, South Carolina — travel plans the pair made as they are allegedly “searching for a forever home for the family.” A source close to the former Bravo star spoke of the new romance and what could be in store for their future. mega “You really never know. Braunwyn is Braunwyn!” the insider told Page Six on the romance. “I do know that the two are madly in love.” Windham-Burke came out as a lesbian in 2020 after being a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Over the course of her 23-year marriage with estranged husband Sean, the Windham-Burkes welcomed seven children together — Bella, 22, Rowan, 20, Jacob, 17, twins Caden and Curren, 9, Koa, 7, and Hazel, 4. While a large family would be expected to be hesitant to welcome a new parental figure to their life, the insider claimed that the family, including Sean, “love” Spinner. View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega Brazil has announced the country will reactivate its investigation into alleged fraud by Republican Congressman-elect George Santos. The announcement came as the newly elected lawmaker was set to begin his first day in U.S. Congress, RadarOnline.com has learned. Brazilian authorities had previously suspended their investigation for 10 years after allegedly losing track of Santos. After the Republican won his election and flipped New York’s 3rd Congressional district, a crucial victory for the GOP, scandal quickly plagued the incoming lawmaker — who was sworn into the 118th Congress on January 3. Recent allegations of fraud and misrepresenting his past brought his whereabouts into public view, which prompted Brazilian officials to reexamine their case against the new congressman. mega Santos was accused by Brazilian officials of using a stolen checkbook in 2008 to allegedly spend over $700 under a false identity. Brazilian authorities claim the congressman made the fraudulent purchases at a clothing store in Niterói. Following the allegation, Santos spoke of the fraud claim on a Brazilian social media website and stated, “I know I screwed up, but I want to pay.” The statement by Santos would be contradicted in 2022 when the then congressman-elect spoke with the New York Times on his past — and claimed he’s never committed any crimes. mega “‘I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,” Santos told NYT. Shortly thereafter, Santos’ history of illusion began to crumble and he eventually confessed to fabricating parts of his resume. Santos admitted that he falsely represented his work history for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, as well as coming clean on not holding degrees from NYU and Baruch College. On top of misrepresented resume credentials, Santos was accused of fabricating his family’s history, particularly a statement he made about his grandparents being Holocaust survivors. The newly elected representative, who ran as an openly gay Republican, also hid his marriage to a woman while on the campaign trail and only recently acknowledged the union. A past lover recalled dating Santos — and his discovery of the politician being wanted in Brazil. The 118th Congressmega Pedro Vilarva claimed that he dated Santos when they were 18 and 26, respectively. The alleged former lover accused Santos of pawning his phone behind his back while they were together, in addition to allegedly lying about his income. Vilarva claimed that after they dated for a few months, he and Santos made the leap to move in together in 2014. After they were in their shared home, Vilarva revealed that he ended his relationship with Santos after he discovered that the lawmaker was wanted in Brazil for the 2008 alleged fraud incident. Santos is now under federal, state, and international investigation to determine whether or not he committed criminal acts. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Fashion designer Harris Reed will forever be grateful for the “amazing” support he got from his mother when he came out as homosexual. The 26-year-old clothing expert – who is the creative director for French fashion house Nina Ricci – told his model mother Lynette Reed that he was gay when he was just nine years old and he’ll never forget her unwavering words of love and encouragement which gave him the confidence to be himself. In an interview with ELLE UK – for which Harris and his work was photographed by Silvana Trevale – he shared: “I remember sitting at the dining table and announcing, ‘Mom, I like boys. I’m gay.’ And her being like, ‘Yeah, we know. We see that. We love that.’ It was really amazing to have that kind of support.” From that moment, Harris – whose dad is British documentary film producer Nicholas Reed – decided to embrace who he was in his fashion choices at school, but he admits it wasn’t always easy. He said: “I was very much a child that always knew who I was, in the sense that I wore exactly what I wanted. I had quite exaggerated mannerisms and I didn’t really give a f*** about how I expressed myself, whether in a Walmart or in the playground. I think it made my mom’s job more challenging, because she was constantly shifting me and my sister around to make sure that I was in spaces where I was accepted and not ridiculed. “I remember wearing rhinestone Havaianas and eating lunch in the boys’ bathroom, hiding my feet because people kept tormenting me.” Harris – who has dressed stars such as Harry Styles Adele, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus among many more – says his move to London to study at Central Saint Martin’s art school opened his eyes to the wider LGBTQ+ community and emboldened him even further to be his true self and to reflect his personality in his work. He said: “I remember calling my mom the first week of my degree, sobbing, ‘Mom, am I basic? I think I’m so basic.’ It was the first time I had met a transgender individual. The first time I met someone who was non-binary. I had friends who were pansexual, who were polyamorous. I felt so uneducated – I thought wearing skinny jeans, combat boots and my AllSaints biker was the limit of who I was, and then I realised I had not even cracked the surface.” Explaining how his new friends and community changed his work, he added: “I was designing womenswear how womenswear ‘should’ be designed. Then I experimented with menswear, going very Savile Row in a traditional sense. And then I was like, ‘What the f*** am I?’ My work was getting mediocre responses because I didn’t believe in it.” Go to Elle.com/uk/HarrisReed to read the full interview with Harris Reed View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English JK Rowling received an £18 million payout from her publishing company last year amid the fallout from her transgender rows. The 57-year-old ‘Harry Potter’ creator – said to be worth around $1 billion (£835 million) – got the windfall as a dividend for shares in her Pottermore company, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday. (04.01.23) Accounts seen by the Mail also showed Pottermore, which is JK’s digital publishing firm, made a pre-tax profit of £5.7 million on a turnover of £37.8 million in the financial year up to March 2022. JK said in December any attempts to “cancel” her over her views have led to an increase in her book sales. She told writer Suzanne Moore’s ‘Letters from Suzanne’ publication on the Substack publishing subscription site: “The only time I’ve ever made reference to being cancelled, my book sales went up… I do not consider myself cancelled.” JK recently accused Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon of being a “destroyer of women’s rights” after the politician’s SNP and the Scottish Labour Party backed the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which passed through the Scottish Parliament in December and allows Scots to self-identify their legal gender. JK was criticised by trolls and transgender campaigners for wearing a T-shirt bearing the “destroyer” message and posted a picture of herself wearing the top online. She has also been slammed for liking a tweet which referred to trans women as “men in dresses”, and been hit by online attacks and death threats since she bemoaned in 2020 the loss of references to biological women. The writer took issue with an online article’s mention of “people who menstruate” by tweeting: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Among those who have since hit out at the author over her remarks are ‘Harry Potter’ actors including Daniel Radcliffe, 33, and Emma Watson, 32, as well as Eddie Redmayne, 40, who featured in her ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films. JK also recently ended up in a war of words with singer Billy Bragg over transgender rights and accused him of using the “Holocaust to attack feminists”. She claimed “bearded men”, including Billy, 65, and BBC chat show host Graham Norton, 59, are defining what a woman is instead of leaving it to females. View the full article

Published by Raw Story According to a report from the Washington Post, once Republicans settle on an acceptable speaker and newly-elected House members can be sworn in, a California Democrat is skipping using a religious text like the Bible and will instead use a classic and valuable Superman comic. Rep-elect Robert Garcia, whose campaign website used a Superman-inspired graphic, has chosen to take his oath using a vintage Superman comic from 1939 a mong other mementos. The report notes, “Garcia tweeted Tuesday that when he is sworn in, underneath a copy of the Constitution will be three items ‘that mean a lot to me… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Todd Chrisley is clearing the air following rumors that he’s gay and that he had a passionate affair with former business associate Mark Braddock. As OK! reported, Mark testified in Todd and Julie Chrisley‘s federal fraud trial that he and the patriarch were intimate for about a year in the early 2000s. After their alleged affair ended, Mark and Todd apparently continued a friendship until 2012 that the former likened to a “brotherhood.” mega However, according to Mark — who worked for Todd’s foreclosure management company, Chrisley Asset Management — they began to receive anonymous threats exposing them for fraud and their alleged affair. TODD & JULIE CHRISLEY, TERESA GIUDICE & MORE! ALL OF THE REALITY STARS FOUND GUILTY OF COMMITTING CRIMES: PHOTOS He claimed during his testimony last year that he withdrew thousands of dollars from his bank account and gave them to Todd to pay off the blackmailer. Eventually, Mark turned on the family, turning the patriarchs in for bank fraud and tax evasion. mega Todd — who is due to report to a Florida prison this month for his 12-year sentence — addressed the scandalous rumors on his “Chrisley Confessions” podcast. Talking to his son Chase, 26, Todd said on the Tuesday, January 3, episode: “What insulted me the most is that, out of all these 54 years, for me to finally be accused of being with a man, it would be someone who looked like Mark Braddock.” The Chrisley Knows Best star, 53, then took aim at Mark’s appearance, likening him to “a toad” and “someone that looks like a thumb.” mega “Someone who says he’s only had sex with his wife and me,” continued Todd of his former associate, whom he called out for seemingly changing his story several times in the last few months. SAVANNAH CHRISLEY ADMITS SHE’S BEEN ‘SO ANGRY’ SINCE PARENTS TODD & JULIE’S FRAUD CONVICTION Making light of the rumors, Todd said he would be less bothered if George Clooney or Brad Pitt made the allegation instead of Mark, who landed a job with Todd in 2005. “That is the one thing that is the most insulting. To say that I couldn’t pull something better than that… there’s better to be had by Todd Chrisley than that,” joked Todd. Following Mark’s May 2022 testimony — during which he claimed he altered documents to help the Chrisleys get loans — Todd and Julie were sentenced to a combined 19 years in prison and 16 months of probation. Todd and Julie tied the knot in 1996 and share three children: Chase, Savannah, 24, and Grayson, 16. Todd also has two kids with ex-wife Teresa Terry: Lindsie, 32, and Kyle, 30. Page Six reported on the podcast episode. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Todd Chrisley‘s first wife, Teresa Terry, knew as she walked down the aisle in 1990 that their shotgun wedding — when she was just 19 and he was 21 — wasn’t the best idea. In shocking divorce documents, the soon-to-be imprisoned Chrisley Knows Best star’s teenage bride admitted that she had no idea of the alleged violence and terror that was to come, RadarOnline.comhas learned. By 1994, the high school sweethearts, who are parents to Lindsie and Kyle, had devolved into acrimonious spouses allegedly thanks to Todd’s iron fist. “He likes to control his environment,” Teresa claimed. “I had two small kids [but at home] everything had to be picture-perfect; your hair always had to be fixed and you had to be dressed to the 10s,” Todd’s ex-wife alleged, adding she “grew tired of being constantly corrected.” Mega She also claimed that she grew afraid. Terry filed a “prevention of family violence” order against her husband, claiming that two years prior he had “wielded a knife threatening to kill her” and three days after that he allegedly “tore all of her clothes, including her undergarments, from her body and battered her using his closed fist.” Todd was ordered to stay 1,000 feet away from Teresa, and soon she filed for divorce, saying she “fears for her life” and asked for a restraining order to keep her estranged ex from “harassing, harming, [or] vilifying” her or their kids. Teresa also accused him of cheating on her with his now-wife, Julie, even providing dates and location of their alleged trysts. Mega In typically fiery fashion, Todd shot back that he “vehemently and categorically denies [treating Teresa] cruelly” and successfully lobbied for joint custody of their kids. While he found fame on reality television, Teresa claimed he was a ticking time bomb: “You just cannot imagine how vindictive he can be.” Todd is currently gearing up for prison time after being convicted of defrauding banks out of $30 million and committing tax fraud alongside Julie. The married reality stars are set to turn themselves into separate prisons on January 17. The Chrisley patriarch will spend his 12-year sentence at FPC Pensacola, where he could make 12 to 40 cents per hourcleaning his fellow inmates’ feces out of the prison toilets. Mega Meanwhile, his new bride will be stationed at a facility more than two hours away, but as RadarOnline.com exclusively reported, Todd and Julie will still be able to communicate behind bars. Until then, they are leaning on their family, religion, and therapy in the final weeks leading up to prison. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mega Though former President Donald Trump may be best known for his catchphrase “you’re fired,” it seems the ex-POTUS was looking to expand his horizons, working on trademarking the phrase “Rigged Election!” shortly after the 2020 presidential election. Days after the event on November 9, 2020, Trump’s then-aide Dan Scavino reached out to The Apprentice alum’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, looking into 45’s request, according to new documents released by the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 attack. “Hey Jared! POTUS wants to trademark/own rights to below, I don’t know who to see – or ask…I don’t know who to take to,” read the email, per Kushner’s testimony, bolding the phrase, as well as “Save America PAC!” Mega Though Kushner looped in several administraton higher-ups, including his son Eric Trump and Sean Dollman, who served as the Chief Financial Officer for the president’s first re-election bid, it seems technical difficulties halted Trump’s desires. “Both web URLs are already registered. Save America PAC was registered October 23 of this year,” the Trump Organization exec wrote. “Was that done by the campaign?” Mega “’Save America PAC’ is already taken/registered, just confirming that,” Dollman replied, noting that they “can still file for ‘Save America.’” DONALD TRUMP CALLS PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN ‘MENTALLY DISABLED’ AS HE DECLARES HE HAD ‘ALMOST NOTHING TO DO’ WITH THE JANUARY 6 CAPITOL ATTACK Despite Trump’s insistence that voter fraud cost him the 2020 election, Joe Biden won the presidency, nabbing the popular vote by a 7 million vote margin while earning 306 Electoral College votes over Trump’s 232 votes. In 2021, a detailed investigation from the Associated Press found that in the six battleground states Trump challenged following his loss, there were less than 475 instances of possible voter fraud, with “virtually every case” consisting of “an individual acting alone to cast additional ballots” rather than a broader effort to rig the election, the outlet reported. Considering 25.5 million people voted in those six states — a fraction of the 154.6 million Americans that cast their ballot that year, per the United States Census Bureau %20turned,CPS%20voting%20supplement%20in%201964.)— these cases would not have altered the outcome of the election. Though the former POTUS is seemingly standing by the baseless assertion that he lost the presidential race due to voter fraud — “I won in 2016, did much better in 2020 (RIGGED!),” he wrote on his platform Truth Social last month — it seems the ex-Commander-in-Chief has previously admitted that he “didn’t win” the election. ‘WE DIDN’T WIN’: FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ADMITS ‘SHOCKING’ DEFEAT TO JOE BIDEN IN 2020 ELECTION “We got them by surprise in 2016, and in 2020 we did much better than we did in 2016,” Trump told Fox News staple Sean Hannity in June 2021. “Shockingly, we were supposed to win easily at 64 million votes and we got 75 million votes.” However, Biden ended up winning the election. CNN previously reported on the committee’s releases. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega A man claiming to have dated congressman-elect George Santos has accused the embattled GOP politician of stealing his cell phone before pawning the device for cash, RadarOnline.com has learned. Pedro Vilarva, who spoke out against Santos over the weekend, claims he was 18 years old when he and Santos began a relationship together in Florida in 2014. Santos was reportedly 26 years old at the time the relationship started. Mega Even more shocking are Vilarva’s claims that the alleged couple’s relationship ended in 2015 after it was revealed Santos was wanted for alleged theft in Brazil. “He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor,” Vilarva said on Sunday, according to Daily Mail. “One day it’s one thing, one day it’s another thing. He never ever actually went to work.” Come 2015, Vilarva reportedly realized something was wrong when Santos gifted him with plane tickets to Hawaii that “turned out not to exist.” Vilarva then could not find his cell phone and came to the conclusion Santos “had pawned it.” “I woke up in the morning, and I packed my stuff all in trash bags, and I called my father and I left,” Vilarva explained after he conducted an online search of Santos and learned the then-26-year-old was wanted by Brazilian authorities for using a stolen checkbook to spend $700 under a fake name. Mega As RadarOnline.com previously reportedly, Vilarva’s allegations against Santos come as the embattled GOP politician is set to be sworn into Congress on Tuesday. Santos recently admitted to lying about his professional and educational background, as well as claims he is of Ukrainian-Jewish heritage and identified as “half-Black.” “My sins here are embellishing my resume,” he told the New York Post in December after admitting he lied about his work on Wall Street and graduating from Manhattan’s Baruch College in 2010. “I’m sorry.” House members on both sides of the aisle have since condemned Santos for lying about his resume in an effort to drum up support for his Congress bid, with many calling on the 34-year-old Republican to resign over his shocking web of lies. Mega “This is troubling in so many ways. Certainly, he’s lied repeatedly,” retiring House Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said on Sunday. “He certainly is going to have to consider resigning.” “I believe a full investigation by the House Ethics Committee and, if necessary, law enforcement is required,” added House Rep. Nick LaLota (R-New York). “New Yorkers deserve the truth and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without this distraction.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Meghan Trainor wants to become a “TV star”. The 29-year-old singer has revealed that she’d love to follow in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson by making a successful transition from the music industry to the TV business. She shared: “I want to be a TV star. I want to be the next Kelly Clarkson and have my own TV show, I want to be in movies, I want to write more music for other artists and I want to have four babies. I have a lot to do.” Meghan also revealed that she recently filmed “a guest star slot on a sitcom”. The ‘All About That Bass’ hitmaker – who released her latest album, ‘Takin’ It Back’, in 2022 – told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “I really want to do more acting. I have just filmed a guest star slot on a sitcom. “I can’t say which one but it has something to do with one of my girl mom mates. I play a character so I wait to watch it to see if I am any good.” Meghan relishes the challenge of acting and she’s keen to do more of it in the future. The singer – who married actor Daryl Sabara in 2018, after meeting him at a party in 2014 – said: “It was the most fun I have ever had. I cried when I had to leave. Daryl came to the set every day and hung out with me in the trailer. “He is so supportive. I would love to film a romcom and write the music for the film too. That would be the dream to star in a film and also write the soundtrack.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Trevor Hunnicutt (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden plans to commemorate the second anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol with a White House ceremony, according to a schedule released by his office on Monday. Friday’s event will mark a rare moment for Biden to wade into the live issues stoked by the deadly riot by supporters of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump. Their actions interrupted the certification of the Democrat’s 2020 victory. Biden has condemned the riot as a threat to democracy and the rule of law, but he rarely discusses his predecessor by name publicly and has framed his presidency around uniting and healing the country’s partisan divides. Soon to enter his third year in office, Biden has said he intends to seek another four-year term but has not formally his candidacy. Trump, who never conceded defeat in the 2020 election, has already announced that he is seeking his party’s nomination again in 2024. Last month, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives panel probing the 2021 attack asked federal prosecutors to charge Trump with four crimes, including obstruction and insurrection. It was the first time in history that Congress had referred a former president for criminal prosecution. Trump, who is facing two other federal probes, has dismissed the House investigation as partisan. The former president gave a fiery speech to his supporters on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, and publicly chastised then Vice President Mike Pence for not going along with his scheme to reject ballots cast for Biden. Trump then waited hours before making a public statement as thousands of his supporters raged through the Capitol, assaulting police and threatening to hang Pence. Five people, including a police officer, died during or shortly after the incident and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage. “A former president of the United States of America has created and spread a web of lies about the 2020 election. He’s done so because he values power over principle,” Biden said at an event at the Capitol last year marking the event, never speaking Trump’s name. “He can’t accept he lost.” Biden’s schedule said Friday’s ceremony would take place in the White House’s East Room. No further details were provided. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Bradley Perrett) View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. House of Representatives Republican Kevin McCarthy faces a bruising political battle on Tuesday as he seeks to overcome opposition from hardline members of his own party to win election as speaker. The role would give him the power to steer the House agenda as his party takes the majority, giving it the power to rein in Democratic President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate, as well as launch potentially damaging investigations into Biden’s family and administration. After four years as the Republican minority leader, McCarthy now needs at least 218 votes to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker. With 222 seats, the Republicans have a slim nine-seat House majority, but several party members vocally oppose him. A group of hard-line conservatives opposes McCarthy’s candidacy, concerned that he is less deeply vested in the culture wars and partisan rivalries that have dominated the House and even more so since Donald Trump’s White House years. They have criticized the California Republican for not taking a more aggressive stance against Democrats, who under Pelosi had been in control, on priorities including government funding, defense and border security. A protracted speaker election could undermine House Republican hopes of moving forward quickly on legislative priorities involving the economy, U.S. energy independence and border security, and signal a tough year ahead when lawmakers need to agree on critical issues including addressing the nation’s debt ceiling and funding the government. On Sunday evening, Republican lawmakers who were prepared to vote against McCarthy numbered in the double digits, according to a source familiar with the situation. “Kevin McCarthy had an opportunity to be speaker of the House, he rejected it,” said Representative Scott Perry, chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus in a Tuesday morning statement. He said that McCarthy had rejected demands by the group on multiple issues, including term limits for members of Congress and refusing to interfere in party primaries. More broadly, hardliners are concerned that McCarthy is not as combative with Democrats as they would like. They also are seeking deep cuts in domestic spending. No Democrats are likely to vote for McCarthy, so he does not yet appear to have enough votes to secure the job that would put him second in line for the presidency, behind Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. This could set the stage for hours of votes when the 118th Congress begins meeting at midday EST (1700 GMT). Asked on Monday whether he had the votes, McCarthy, who failed to win the speakership in 2015, told reporters at the Capitol: “I think we’re going to have a good day tomorrow.” He met on Monday with hardliners and supporters, but there was no immediate sign of a breakthrough. House Republicans are expected to meet behind closed doors on Tuesday morning, ahead of the speaker election. Representative Don Bacon, a McCarthy supporter, wrote on the online conservative news website Daily Caller that he could reach across the aisle to find Democratic support for an unidentified Republican candidate if hardliners did not to relent. While Republicans have won back the House, Democrats still hold the White House and Senate. Standoffs are expected over legislation to keep the government open, fund the military and address the U.S. debt ceiling. McCarthy faces a long-shot rival bid from hardline conservative Representative Andy Biggs. Along with Biggs, Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Matt Rosendale and Ralph Norman oppose electing him speaker. “I won’t be voting for Kevin McCarthy tomorrow. He’s part of the problem. He’s not part of the solution,” Good told Fox News on Monday. ‘TAKES TWO TO TANGO’ The record number of voting rounds to elect a House speaker is 133 over a two-month period in the 1850s. Every nominee in the last 100 years has succeeded on the first ballot. A standoff would leave the House largely paralyzed and could force lawmakers to consider another candidate. Incoming Majority Leader Steve Scalise and conservative leader Jim Jordan are seen as possibilities. But 15 House Republicans – elected from districts Biden won in 2020 – have warned that they will accept no one for speaker other than McCarthy. Strategists from both parties warn that larger problems could lie ahead for Congress if the House Republicans are left too divided to negotiate with Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “If the Republicans stick together, Democrats in the Senate will have to wrap their heads around a much more conservative product than they are accustomed (to) in order to pass anything,” said Republican strategist Josh Holmes, a former McConnell aide. Democratic strategist Jim Manley said that if Biden and Schumer did not have a House Republican with authority to negotiate with, then very little would get done, adding: “It takes two to tango.” The hardline Republican House Freedom Caucus is demanding rule changes that would enhance the group’s influence. Moderate Republicans have said they will accept rule changes only if doing so leads to McCarthy’s election as speaker. But some of McCarthy opponents, including Biggs and Gaetz, have suggested they would not back him under any circumstances. The Democrats have picked Hakeem Jeffries to serve as minority leader after Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker, stepped down from leadership. She will remain in office as a representative. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Michelle Nichols and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega Looks like Prince Harry is ready to move on from his old life for good. In a preview for the prince’s 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper, which will premiere on Sunday, January 8, on CBS, the journalist bluntly asked: “Can you see a day when you would return as a full-time member of the royal family?” “No,” the 38-year-old replied. Others weighed in on the dad-of-two’s response, and it seemed like they were thrilled he stay far away from the U.K. One person wrote, “I wouldn’t trust them to come back as working royals when they have sold their family out for cash. I wouldn’t trust them to not have hidden microphones/be taking photos w/o permission or selling even more stories for cash,” while another added, “The Royal Family can never trust him again.” After Harry and Meghan Markle, 41, moved to the U.S. in 2020, they have told their side of the story, which hasn’t sat well with his brother, Prince William, and father, King Charles. As OK! previously reported, Harry will release his upcoming memoir, titled Spare, on January 10, and it sounds like he’s not holding back. mega PRINCE HARRY ALLEGEDLY THREW FIT AFTER ELDERLY MAN ASKED FOR PHOTOGRAPH, CLAIMS BOOK: ‘HE STORMED OFF’ In another preview for the TV special, Cooper asked the Duke of Sussex if he tried to leave the monarchy in a quiet way, to which he replied, “Every single time I’ve tried to do it privately there have been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife. You know, the family motto is never complain, never explain, but it’s just a motto.” mega “They will feed or have a conversation with the correspondent. And that correspondent will literally be spoon-fed information and write the story. And at the bottom of it they will say that they’ve reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. But the whole story is Buckingham Palace commenting,” he continued. “So when we’re being told for the last six years, ‘We can’t put a statement out to protect you.’ But you do it for other members of the family. It becomes — there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Harry Melling says transgender rights are a “very simple” issue after the backlash against ‘Harry Potter’ writer JK Rowling. The 33-year-old actor, who found fame after playing Dudley Dursley in the wizard film franchise, says he can “only speak for himself” amid the furore surrounding JK’s comments on the transgender community, but says he supports the freedom for anyone to choose to identify in whatever manner they choose. He told the Independent: “I can only speak for myself, and what I feel, to me, is very simple, which is that transgender women are women and transgender men are men. “Every single person has the right to choose who they are and to identify themselves as what’s true to themselves. “I don’t want to join the debate of pointing fingers and saying, ‘That’s right, that’s wrong’, because I don’t think I’m the correct spokesperson for that. But I do believe that everybody has the right to choose.” ‘Harry Potter’ writer JK, 57, was last year defended over her transgender views by Ralph Fiennes. The 59-year-old actor, who played Lord Voldemort in film franchise based on the writer’s book series, said he understands where JK is “coming from” with her remarks on trans issues and branded the abuse and death threats with which she has been targeted in the wake of her comments “disgusting”. JK has been hit by online attacks since 2020 when she bemoaned the loss of references to biological women. She took issue with an online article’s mention of “people who menstruate” by tweeting: “‘People who menstruate’. I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?” Among those who have since hit out at the author over her remarks are ‘Harry Potter’ actors including Daniel Radcliffe, 33, and Emma Watson, 32, as well as Eddie Redmayne, 40, who featured in her ‘Fantastic Beasts’ films. JK also recently ended up in a war of words with singer Billy Bragg over transgender rights and accused him of using the “Holocaust to attack feminists”. She claimed “bearded men”, including Billy, 65, and BBC chat show host Graham Norton, 59, are defining what a woman is instead of leaving it to females. View the full article

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock Simon Le Bon said Duran Duran‘s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame brought them mixed emotions, because former guitarist Andy Taylor’s cancer meant he couldn’t join them for the ceremony. In a recent interview with BBC Radio 2, the singer described 2022 as their best year since the dizzying heights of the ’80s, and looked forward to more action in the coming year. “It was an incredible moment of pride, but also of sadness too,” Le Bon said. “Andy Taylor, he’s very unwell. And we were very sad that he couldn’t be there with us to share with us.” Le Bon explained that after the ceremony… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine @cher/twitter Cher is entering 2023 unbothered and in love! On New Year’s Day, the superstar posted two photos with boyfriend Alexander Edwards, and while she was beaming in the snaps, she also appeared to debunk rumors of an engagement, wearing the huge diamond ring he gifted her on her middle finger. mega However, the majority of fans didn’t even comment on the bling, as they were too focused on the singer, 76, calling her new man, 36, “Daddy” in the caption. After a slew of commenters cringed at her words, she hit back, quipping, “It’s Never been My Go To, But I Didn’t Realize That This Term Of Endearment Comes With Consequences.. God I Hope There’s No Mandatory Jail Time.” The mom-of-two followed up when one fan gushed over how happy the new couple look. “Ppl Hide In The Dark ,Light, In Basements, Penthouses … DONT LET THESE PPL CHANGE ANYTHING YOU WANT Love Etc.,” she tweeted. “Listen to these idiots & See hostility,& Vitriol in its purist Form.” Cher shared a second photo in which the two looked into each others while flashing their pearly whites, writing alongside the pic, “This should Send you Haters to The Part in Wizard of OZ…WHEN DOROTHY THREW WATER ON THE wicked Witch & Melted her.” @cher/twitter This isn’t the first time the music icon has clapped back at haters, who tried to diminish the romance due to the 40-year age gap. CHER’S MOTHER PASSES AWAY AT 96: ‘MOM IS GONE’ “I DONT GIVE AFK WHAT ANYONE THINKS. I’m Not Defending us. Haters are Gonna Hate…Doesn’t Matter That we’re Happy & Not Bothering Anyone,” she responded via Twitter. “Love doesn’t know math.” All of that being said, Cher acknowledged their age difference is “kind of ridiculous,” but they still “get along great.” “If I hadn’t met younger men in my life, I would have never had a date because older men just didn’t like me all that much,” she confessed on a December episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Well, I have had a couple of boyfriends that we were hovering around my age, but they just didn’t like me for some reason and maybe men don’t care if you’re funny, outrageous and want to do stupid things and you have the strong personality. I am not giving up my personality for anybody!” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Janet Jackson is determined to create a “non-toxic working environment” for her upcoming tour. The 56-year-old singer plans to follow the example of Beyonce, who previously vetted producers and rejected songs by artists for her ‘Renaissance’ album if they faced abuse or harassment allegations. A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Janet is taking a leaf out of Beyonce’s book and is implementing #MeToo checks as she prepares for her ‘Together Again’ tour. “The checks will see everyone from her dancers and band mates to crew and general staff vetted to ensure they don’t have a history of abuse. “It’s not cheap to do but for Janet and those close to her, creating a safe and kind work environment is more important than profits. “She also wants a completely non-toxic working environment for all her staff and by implementing these early checks she is eradicating the risk.” Janet is absolutely determined that nothing will derail her upcoming tour. The insider explained: “Janet’s ‘Together Again’ tour is expected to generate over £70 million and will be a massive event. A show that big and of the scale Janet plans cannot ­afford anything to happen to it. “Janet is determined everyone working on the tour can be completely comfortable and that they are in a safe environment.” In December, Janet announced details of ‘Together Again’, her first tour in four years. The chart-topping star told her fans that she couldn’t wait to see them again. Janet – who will perform in North America in April 2023 – said on Instagram: “You guys, I miss you so much, I am so excited to see you. You guys have no idea, I’ve missed you so much, so much, and I can’t wait to be with you. I’m so excited.” View the full article

Published by Al-Araby A rabbi in Israel reportedly said the newly appointed speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, was “infected with a disease” because of his sexuality. Rabbi Meir Mazuz, the rabbinic leader of Tunisian Jews in Israel, made the comments about Ohana – a staunch supporter of new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the first openly gay speaker of the Knesset – during an online lecture on Saturday, according to Israeli media. Mazuz, who has a long history of making inflammatory remarks about the LGBTQ+ community, said during his sermon that the annual Pride Parade in Israel was a parade of “beasts walk… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kesha is hoping for “great sex” in 2023. The ‘Praying’ singer is “so excited” for the year ahead and she’s expressed her hope that the coming 12 months brings “love and happiness” to her and her fans – as well as a more saucy wish. Sharing some photos of herself in a bikini on Instagram, she wrote: “So happy for a new year. So excited for what’s coming [star emojis] this year I hope brings us all love and happiness. Peace and joy! And great sex. [love face emoji] (sic)” Last June, the 35-year-old star declared she was “not gay” but “not straight” either. Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month, she wrote: “Happy pride! In case I haven’t been straight forward enough (LOL) I just wanted to take a sec to tell everyone that you are not only enough, just as you are, but the world is so f****** lucky to have you. “I’m not gay. I’m not straight. I don’t know what I am. I love people. I love people because we are all our own little consciousness journeys, dancing around the sun. How weird and interesting and fun this life is, right? “I refuse to be anything, really, except for open to it all. I know it can be confusing sometimes, but you are so seen and loved. “Love u animals, happy pride [rainbow emoji] see u at stonewall soon!!!!!(sic)” Kesha previously claimed she had “gone to the bone zone” with a ghost but a few months ago, she admitted she never actually had sex with a spirit, but had been involved in a “very sensual experience” with the supernatural. She said: “I was in Texas, Fort Worth, Texas, and I had something wake me up while I was in bed with my boyfriend at the time, and it was a touch down the body. “I woke up and looked at the end of the bed and there was an apparition of a woman. “So, full disclosure, I never actually slept with a ghost. But she did wake me up in a very sensual way.” View the full article

Published by Computer World By Charlotte Trueman After going on a hiring spree during the pandemic, tech companies are now laying off staff in job cuts that sometimes involve thousands of employees. While the layoffs may be necessary to help boost sagging profit margins, proponents of diversity in the tech sector are concerned that the job cuts may disproportionally affect underrepresented groups. According to Layoffs.fyi, the online tracker keeping tabs on job losses in the technology sector, 152,542 employees from 993 global tech companies were laid off in 2022. While the COVID-19 pandemic had a huge financial hit on i… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Marriage is on the horizon for “Good Morning America” host Robin Roberts. The anchor plans to tie the knot with longtime partner Amber Laign this year, she announced on Monday’s episode of the ABC morning show. “I’m saying ‘yes’ to marriage,” Roberts, 62, said. “We’re getting married this year. It was something we have talked about, but we had put it off.” She made the announcement during a segment with motivational speaker Gabby Bernstein, who encouraged Roberts to manifest what she wants in 2023. Roberts began dating Laign in 2005, according to People. She didn’t reveal a date or any specifi… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Martina Navratilova insists she’s “not done yet” as she braces herself to battle two cancers. The multi-Grand Slam winner, 66, made the declaration when thanking fans after it was revealed on Monday (02.01.23) she was had been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. She tweeted: “Needless to say my phone and twitter are both blowing up so I will say again – thank you all for your support and I am not done yet.” Billie Jean King, 79, has led the flood of support for Martina since she confirmed she had cancer, with the tennis icon hailing her for being “as brave as she is strong”. Martina, who is married to former Russian beauty queen Julia Lemigova, 50, and who won 59 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles in her four-decade career, said she had been hit with a “double whammy” diagnosis of two forms of cancer. She discovered an enlarged lymph node in her neck in November, with tests saying she had stage one throat cancer. Another “suspicious form” was then found in her breast unrelated to her throat cancer. Martina said: “This double whammy is serious but still fixable. I’m hoping for a favourable outcome. It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all I have got.” It comes 13 years after the tennis icon underwent radiation therapy for breast cancer and was given the all-clear after undergoing six weeks of chemotherapy. A spokeswoman for Martina added both her cancers “are in early stage with great outcomes”, with a statement released on Monday (02.01.23) saying: “Martina Navratilova has been diagnosed with stage one throat cancer. The prognosis is good and Martina will start her treatment this month. “The cancer type is HPV and this particular type responds really well to treatment. Martina noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck during the WTA finals in Fort Worth. When it didn’t go down, a biopsy was performed, the results came back as stage one throat cancer. “At the same time as Martina was undergoing the tests for the throat, a suspicious form was found in her breast, which was subsequently diagnosed as cancer, completely unrelated to the throat cancer. “Both these cancers are in their early stages with great outcomes.” Martina won’t be covering the Australian Open for the Tennis Channel from their studio but hopes to be able to join in from time to time by Zoom. Former left-hander Martina has become a key part of the BBC’s coverage at Wimbledon since her retirement. She will undergo treatment on her stage one throat cancer caused by the human papillomavirus this month. Martina lives with Julia in Miami with their two daughters, five Belgian Malinois dogs, turtles and a cat, and in 2012 she said motherhood had changed her so dramatically she had cut down on her travelling to spend more time with her family. Born in Revnice, Czech Republic, she was one of the first openly gay sports figures, with her record nine Wimbledon singles title wins coming between 1978 and 1990 before she retired in 1994 and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. View the full article

Published by Raw Story On Tuesday, ahead of the swearing in of the new Republican House majority, the Huffington Post laid out how a small group of far-right lawmakers are poised to wield total power in the chamber — making Republican leadership, including Kevin McCarthy even if he manages to be elected Speaker, effectively subservient to their demands. “With House Republicans holding just a four-vote majority, the influence of the party’s far right will only grow in the new Congress as each GOP vote holds sway. As Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute observed to The New Yorker recently, ‘When your mar… Read More View the full article