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Published by Reuters By Rich McKay and Gabriella Borter (Reuters) -Arctic cold extended its grip over much of the United States on Friday, combining with snow, ice and howling winds from a deadly winter storm roaring out of the Midwest to disrupt energy supplies and thwart travel for millions of Americans ahead of the holiday weekend. The extreme winter weather, which prompted city authorities across the country to open warming centers in libraries and police stations while scrambling to expand temporary shelter for the homeless, was blamed for at least five deaths on Friday. A 50-vehicle pileup on the Ohio Turnpike in a blizzard near Toledo killed two motorists, injured numerous others and shut down both lanes of the highway, state police reported. Stranded motorists were evacuated by bus to keep them from freezing in their cars in sub-zero temperatures, according to the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department. Three weather-related fatalities were confirmed in neighboring Kentucky – two from car accidents and one a homeless person who died of exposure. “Please stay home and stay safe,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Twitter, announcing the deaths. With the deep freeze stretching from Montana to Texas as it crept eastward, some 240 million people – more than two-thirds of the U.S. population – were under winter weather warnings and advisories on Friday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said. The map of existing or impending wintry hazards “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever,” the NWS said. ‘I GUESS IT’S COLD OUT’ The nation’s coldest spot on Friday was the remote northern Montana town of Havre near the Canadian border, where the mercury had risen from a low of 38 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 39 C) to minus 20 just before noon, the NWS reported. “It’s been colder, but yeah, I guess it’s cold out,” Tyler Schaub, the manager of Rod’s Drive Inn, acknowledged as he was flipping burgers on the grill. “We’re used to it, but even then it’s best not to stay outside too long.” Numbing cold intensified by high winds extended through the Deep South to the U.S.-Mexico border, plunging wind chill factors to single digits Fahrenheit (minus 18 to minus 13 Celsius) in the border city of El Paso, Texas. Exposure to such conditions can cause frostbite within minutes. Hard-freeze warnings were posted in southern Georgia and across much of all four Gulf Coast states – Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida. Farther north, the storm system produced blinding snow from the northern Plains and Great Lakes region to the upper Mississippi Valley, the Ohio Valley, western New York state and mountains of the northern and central Appalachians. The storm front pushed into New England, where wind-driven surf caused coastal flooding. SHELTER, ENERGY, FLIGHTS The extreme weather added to a humanitarian crisis in numerous cities facing an influx of migrants who have crossed the U.S. southern border by the thousands in recent weeks and lack permanent shelter. Their plight has added to local agencies scrambling to get people off the streets as the arctic blast arrived. The household routines and holiday plans of ordinary Americans were likewise disrupted just days before Christmas. With the nation’s energy systems strained by rising demand for heat and by storm-related damage to transmission lines, as many as 1.5 million U.S. homes and businesses were left without power on Friday, according to tracking site Poweroutage.us. Heating and energy prices spiked as inclement weather forced energy production cuts and bone-chilling cold drove demand higher. Severe winds, ice and snow upended commercial air traffic during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. More than 5,200 U.S. flights were canceled on Friday, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Nearly 700 flights into or out of Seattle’s major airport were axed as a separate storm system brought ice and freezing rain to the Pacific Northwest. The American Automobile Association (AAA) had estimated that 112.7 million people planned to travel 50 miles (80 km) or more from home between Friday and Jan. 2. That number was likely to drop due to treacherous weather complicating air and road travel going into the weekend. The city of Buffalo and its surrounding county on the edge of Lake Erie in western New York imposed a driving ban, and all three Buffalo-area border crossing bridges were closed to inbound traffic from Canada due to the weather. “If there’s any good news, it’s that the storm has moved quickly over some areas,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC on Friday. Last-minute holiday gift purchases may also have slim chances of reaching their destinations by Christmas. FedEx, United Parcel Service, the U.S. Postal Service and Amazon.com all alerted customers that severe weather was disrupting key operations in Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, the Dakotas and other areas hard-hit by bitter cold and blizzards. Weather forecasters said the massive storm over the Midwest had materialized into a “bomb cyclone” – a phenomenon caused by a drastic, rapid drop in atmospheric pressure that forms a kind of cold-weather hurricane. While some areas downwind from the Great Lakes received a foot or more of snow on Friday, “the big story wasn’t so much the falling snow but the blowing snow,” weather service meteorologist Brian Hurley said. (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Gabriella Borter in New York; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Tim Reid, Lisa Baertlein, Erwin Seba, Susan Heavey, Laila Kearney, Alyson McClaren and Scott DiSavino; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Aleksandra Michalska, Aurora Ellis and William Mallard) View the full article

Published by The Street By Veronika Bondarenko New York City is opening its first legal marijuana dispensary this month. Even after legalization, it takes a while for marijuana in a given state to be sold in stores like any other age-restricted item — while Colorado has over 1,000 retail and medical marijuana stores across the state, New York has not had a single official store despite legalizing medical cannabis in 2016 and recreational in the spring of 2021. This is, in large part, due to time it takes to work out the licensing rules and other red tape around taking something that was very recently still illegal o… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kenneth Li, Paresh Dave and Sheila Dang NEW YORK (Reuters) -Twitter Inc has restored a feature that promotes suicide prevention hotlines and other safety resources to users looking up certain content, after coming under pressure from some users and consumer safety groups over its removal. Reuters reported on Friday that the feature was taken down a few days ago, citing two people familiar with the matter, who said the removal was ordered by the social media platform’s new owner Elon Musk. After publication of the story, Twitter head of trust and safety Ella Irwin confirmed the removal and called it temporary. Twitter was “fixing relevance, optimizing the size of the message prompts and correcting outdated prompts,” Irwin said in an email to Reuters. “We know they are useful and our intent was not to have them down permanently.” About 15 hours after the initial report, Musk, who did not initially respond to requests for comment, tweeted “False, it is still there.” In response to criticism by Twitter users, he also tweeted “Twitter doesn’t prevent suicide.” The feature, known as #ThereIsHelp, places a banner at the top of search results for certain topics. It has listed contacts for support organizations in many countries related to mental health, HIV, vaccines, child sexual exploitation, COVID-19, gender-based violence, natural disasters and freedom of expression. By Saturday, the banner returned to searches about suicide and domestic violence in multiple countries under terms like “shtwt,” shorthand for “self-harm Twitter.” Whether the feature had been restored for other categories was not clear. The feature was not appearing for some search queries that Twitter has previously said triggered it, such as “#HIV.” Irwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. Twitter bans users from encouraging self-harm, though consumer safety groups have criticized the company for allowing posts that they say violate the policy. On Saturday, tweets showing graphic imagery of people cutting their arms appeared beneath banners on searches for self-harm. The disappearance of #ThereIsHelp had led some consumer safety groups and Twitter users to express concerns about the well-being of vulnerable users of the platform. In part due to pressure from such groups, internet services including Twitter, Alphabet’s Google and Meta’s Facebook have for years tried to direct users to well-known resource providers for safety issues. In her email on Friday, Twitter’s Irwin said, “Google does really well with these in their search results and (we) are actually mirroring some of their approach with the changes we are making.” She added, “Google provides highly relevant message prompts based on search terms, they are always current and are optimized appropriately for both mobile and web.” Eirliani Abdul Rahman, who had been on a recently dissolved Twitter content advisory group, said the disappearance of #ThereIsHelp was “extremely disconcerting” and that completely removing a feature to revamp it was unusual. (Reporting by Kenneth Li in New York, Sheila Dang in Dallas, Paresh Dave in Oakland, and Fanny Potkin in Singapore; Editing by Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Gary C. Caskey/UPI Photos/Newscom/MEGA; David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock For 22 years, the murder of JonBenét Ramsey has gripped the world. That she was just six years old is tragic enough, but the circumstances surrounding her death are even more horrifying. For the past several weeks, the hit podcast The Killing of JonBenét: The Final Suspects has been following a brand-new investigation into one of America’s most heinous unsolved murders – in an attempt to finally secure justice for JonBenét. As OK! readers know, the child beauty queen was found in the basement of her family home in Boulder, Colorado, on December 26, 1996, eight hours after she was reported missing. Her skull had been smashed and a garrote placed around her neck. It’s unclear which proved fatal – strangulation or the blow to her head, but what remains is the fact is that over two decades after her death the little girl’s killer is still at large. While the initial investigation was flawed, with police and prosecutorial misconduct, as well as widespread evidence tampering, the current investigation remains mired in doubt and misinformation. Someone had to find out the truth. John Dickerson/UPI Photos/Newscom/MEGA Now, for the first time, one of the most thorough investigations into the murder ever conducted is being shared with podcast listeners. A team of internationally renowned criminal investigators and journalists, experts and lawyers worked under the direction of JonBenét’s own father John Ramsey, his family and closest friends. Together, the team sifted through scores of new tips and leads, pored over never-before-seen crime scene evidence, searched through hundreds of pages of evidence, and conducted many exclusive new interviews. And it’s not too late to join the thrilling investigation. Catch up with the first half of the series in this OK! gallery. And listen to new episodes of The Killing of JonBenét: The Final Suspects every Monday through March 16 wherever you get your podcasts. Episode 1: Christmas Tragedy Christmas evening 1996 was a festive night in Boulder, Colorado. But by the early hours of the next morning, Dec. 26, The Ramsey’s posh home would become an unimaginable house of horrors. Shortly before 6 a.m., Mom Patsy discovered a two-and-a-half-page ransom note on the back hallway stairs demanding $118,000 for the return her adorable daughter. In a state of shock and disbelief, she searched the child’s empty bedroom and called 911. Within minutes, police, family and friends swarmed the house, contaminating the crime scene. David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock John Ramsey prepared to pay the ransom, then at 1 p.m. made another desperate search to see if anything was “amiss.” He went to the basement and opened the door, making a grisly discovery: the lifeless, sexually abused body of his beauty pageant princess. Two theories emerged: a possible intruder or a family member. Police suspicions immediately focused on the family, primarily mom Patsy. But why would a good Christian woman want to harm her beautiful child?’ Episode 2: The Case Against the Ramseys All of the evidence against John, Patsy and Burke Ramsey is investigated in great detail. Could one — or perhaps all of them — be responsible for JonBenét’s death? Ric Feld/AP/Shutterstock The podcast features arguments from those convinced of their guilt, as well as detailed evidence from investigators who believe they are victims of police harassment, cover-ups, and a 23-year smear campaign. Episode 3: A Father’s Anguish In an exclusive interview, John Ramsey tells all about the worst morning of his life, as well as new details about the family life he, Patsy, JonBenét and son Burke enjoyed, and the decades of suspicion he has endured as prime suspect for the killing of his daughter. He addresses the inconsistencies in his own accounts of that Christmas night and Boxing Day, and outlines his own efforts to find JonBenét’s killer. Episode 4: Narrowing Down Suspects While the Boulder Police Department suspected a family killer, the District Attorney’s office leaned toward the intruder theory. Early suspects included a kindly older man who played Santa Claus for the Ramsey’s two years in a row, the housekeeper who continued to work for the family, and a local who died soon after the little girl’s murder as a questionable “suicide.” Dozens of DNA tests were performed. But still police had no leads. That was until ten years later when a 41-year old former elementary school teacher claimed he murdered JonBenét. Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Shutterstock Arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, he confessed he drugged, sexually assaulted and accidentally killed the little princess. Many of the details in his statement were publicly known facts. On other points he was just wrong. He said he hung her up by her wrists but there was no evidence of that. Police also doubted his story because no drugs were found in her body. The podcast discusses these famous suspects and explains why those names are easy to rule out. The search for a killer continues, and the list of possible suspects has grown. Episode 5: New Leads Over the more than two decades since her tragic murder, leads have been followed to dead ends, rumors have circulated, and the internet has exploded with suspicions. But does one particular JonBenét expert really hold the key to solving this mystery once and for all? Episode 6: Alleged Business Grudges One of the suspects discussed in the podcast is a man from Boulder who may have had a motive to kill JonBenét, related to an alleged grudge with JonBenét’s father John Ramsey. His dark past is uncovered, along with his whereabouts the night JonBenét died. Paul Aikens/UPI Photos/Newscom/MEGA Also explored is the strange world of child beauty pageants that Patsy and JonBenét were such a big part of. Are they a pedophile’s playground? How aware of the dangers were the Ramseys? Episode 7: A Bone to Pick More names of possible killers are investigated, while a startling discovery could change everything. In the remaining episodes, more suspects are investigated, as well as a deep look into perhaps the most well-known and notorious aspect of the whole JonBenét mystery: her participation in child beauty pageants. Did those pageants put her at risk from potential abusers? And is her murderer to be found in that community? Thibault Camus/AP/Shutterstock New episodes of The Killing of JonBenét: The Final Suspects are released every Monday through March 16, wherever you get your podcasts. Episode 1: Christmas Tragedy David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock Christmas evening 1996 was a festive night in Boulder, Colorado. But by the early hours of the next morning, Dec. 26, The Ramsey’s posh home would become an unimaginable house of horrors. Shortly before 6 am, mom Patsy discovered a two-and-a-half-page ransom note on the back hallway stairs demanding $118,000 for the return her adorable daughter. In a state of shock and disbelief, she searched the child’s empty bedroom and called 911. Within minutes, police, family and friends swarmed the house, contaminating the crime scene. John Ramsey prepared to pay the ransom then at 1 pm made another desperate search to see if anything was “amiss.”. He went to the basement and opened the door, making a grisly discovery: the lifeless, sexually abused body of his beauty pageant princess. Two theories emerged: a possible intruder or a family member. Police suspicions immediately focused on the family, primarily mom Patsy. But why would a good Christian woman want to harm her beautiful child? Episode 2: The Case Against The Ramsey’s Ric Feld/AP/Shutterstock All of the evidence against John, Patsy and Burke Ramsey is investigated in great detail. Could one – or perhaps all of them – be responsible for JonBenét’s death? We hear arguments from those convinced of their guilt… as well as detailed evidence from investigators who believe they are victims of police harassment, cover-ups, and a 23-year smear campaign. Episode 3: A Father’s Anguish David Zalubowski/AP/Shutterstock In an exclusive interview, John Ramsey tells all about the worst morning of his life, as well as new details about the family life he, Patsy, JonBenét and son Burke enjoyed… and the decades of suspicion he has endured as prime suspect for the killing of his daughter. He addresses the inconsistencies in his own accounts of that Christmas night and Boxing Day, and outlines his own efforts to find JonBenét’s killer. Episode 4: Narrowing Down Suspects Rungroj Yongrit/EPA/Shutterstock While the Boulder Police Department suspected a family killer, the District Attorney’s office leaned toward the intruder theory. Early suspects included a kindly older man who played Santa Claus for the Ramsey’s two years in a row, the housekeeper who continued to work for the family, and a local who died soon after the little girl’s murder as a questionable “suicide.” Dozens of DNA tests were performed. But still police had no leads. That was until ten years later when a 41-year old former elementary school teacher claimed he murdered JonBenét. Arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, he confessed he drugged, sexually assaulted and accidently killed the little princess. Many of the details in his statement were publicly known facts. On other points he was just wrong. He said he hung her up by her wrists but there was no evidence of that. Police also doubted his story because no drugs were found in her body. We quickly discuss these most famous suspects and why those names are easy to rule out. The search for a killer continued. And the list of possible suspects grew. Episode 5: New Leads John Dickerson/UPI Photos/Newscom/MEGA Over the more than two decades since her tragic murder, leads have been followed to dead ends, rumors have circulated, and the internet has exploded with suspicions. But does one particular JonBenét expert really hold the key to solving this mystery once and for all? Episode 6: Alleged Business Grudges Thibault Camus/AP/Shutterstock One of the suspects discussed in the podcast is a man from Boulder who may have had a motive to kill JonBenét, related to an alleged grudge with JonBenét’s father John Ramsey. His dark past is uncovered, along with his whereabouts the night JonBenét died. Also explored is the strange world of child beauty pageants that Patsy and JonBenét were such a big part of. Are they a pedophile’s playground? How aware of the dangers were the Ramseys? Episode 7: A Bone To Pick Paul Aikens/UPI Photos/Newscom/MEGA More names of possible killers are investigated, while a startling discovery could change everything. Future Episodes Thibault Camus/AP/Shutterstock In the remaining episodes, more suspects are investigated, as well as a deep look into perhaps the most well-known – and notorious – aspect of the whole JonBenét mystery – her participation in child beauty pageants. Did those pageants put her at risk from potential abusers? And is her murderer to be found in that community? New episodes of The Killing of JonBenét: The Final Suspects are released every Monday through March 16 wherever you get your podcasts. View the full article

Published by Raw Story WASHINGTON — It wasn’t just Trump. The Republican National Committee assisted the former president’s campaign in spreading lies as it shook down millions of party donors for cash using “violent,” “threatening,” and “inflammatory” language in the wake of knowingly losing the 2020 election, according to the Jan. 6 committee. The ruthless tactics employed were too much for a whistleblower and even some in Trump world. But, after losing the election, “the Trump Campaign and the RNC had three of their largest fundraising days of the 2020 election cycle” which netted them more than $100 million. Sal… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story A Trump-loving lawmaker on Friday reportedly got testy with Capitol police after they stopped an aide from filming a video of him. According to CNN’s Manu Raju, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) “lashed out” at the police after they told his aide that he was filming in a prohibited area. “It’s disgraceful!” he yelled at the officers who stopped the aide from filming the video. Raju asked Rosendale why he was berating the Capitol police officers, and he simply walked away and said, “I got better things to do.” READ MORE: Nevada’s GOP secretary of state blew off Trump’s call when he tried to give her t… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story When 27-year-old Don Abram was in middle school, he dreaded going to his single mom’s Chicago South Side church where he was often the only male in a sea of females overflowing the pews. Other Black teens in his neighborhood taunted him as “fruity” with “sugar in his tank.” Abram dreamed of being a pastor but he had a secret that would be an obstacle; he was gay. kept from everyone, even his mom. He dreamed of being a pastor. He comforted himself with the idea that he could at least be an usher, greeting newcomers, and distributing cardboard church fans and Kleenex. But at 14, he debuted as a … Read More View the full article

Published by Al-Araby Designated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare rebuke of his new coalition allies on Sunday for saying they would advance laws allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people, pledging there would be no harm to their rights by his upcoming government. Netanyahu is set to form the most ultranationalist and religious government in Israel’s history between his Likud movement and several openly anti-LGBTQ parties. This has raised fears among Israel’s LGBTQ community that the new government, expected to take office in the coming week, will roll back gains made for LGBTQ rights in I… Read More View the full article

Published by Mongabay By Mactilda Mbenywe A family of viruses that can cause fatal Ebola-like symptoms that is also a critical threat to macaque populations is now “poised for spillover” to humans, a new report reveals. The study01194-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867422011941%3Fshowall%3Dtrue), published in September in the journal *Cell*, reveals that the animal virus has found ways to access human cells, multiply and evade parts of the immune system that defend people against sickness. Scientists note that this is “pretty rare.” The research team behind the study is… Read More View the full article

Published by Taste of Country Dolly Parton been delighting audiences in country music for more than 55 years, and she’s done it all with her husband Carl Dean by her side. The two have been married as long as she’s been in the business. They met in Nashville on her very first day in town and they wed on May 30, 1966. Their union has stayed strong through the years, and Dolly Parton attributes their lasting marriage to one thing, in particular: laughter. “We love each other, we respect each other, we both have a warped sense of humor,” she tells ET Canada‘s Morgan Hoffman in a recent interview. “I think humor, honestly, I t… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet Powerful Democratic consultants have dropped Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) since she disaffiliated from the Democratic Party to register as an Independent. Their departure will make it more difficult for her to win re-election in her home state if she runs again in 2024. “NGP VAN, which manages Democratic voter data, is set to cut off Sinema’s access at the end of January, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation,” The Huffington Post reported. “The ad makers who worked with her in 2018, Dixon/Davis Media Group, have split with her campaign. Two other Democratic sources sai… Read More View the full article

Published by PopCrush The side of TikTok nicknamed “Leztopia” is once again in shambles after JoJo Siwa‘s breakup with her ex-girlfriend Avery Cyrus, a social media influencer. The two dated for a few months before allegedly calling it quits while aboard a recent cruise. Now, on Dec. 20, Siwa posted a shady video to her TikTok account alluding to a mysterious “unplanned hookup” and insinuating that Cyrus used her for the attention. “But I love you why are you breaking up with me??!!” the captions in the video read, seemingly implying the line was meant to represent Cyrus, while Siwa lip-synced to an audio. “There’s… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet George Santos, the Republican congressman-elect for a House seat based in Long Island and Queens, New York, was seemingly exposed as a fraudster by The New York Times on Monday, but even more questions are now arising after he appears to have filed paperwork on Tuesday stating his place of residence is in Florida. That’s according to two investigative articles from Talking Points Memo. On Tuesday evening TPM reported that in May of 2021 Santos registered his company, Devolder Organization LLC, which has no website and it’s unclear what the operation actually does, in Florida. “On his congressi… Read More View the full article

Published by uInterview.com A lot went down in this week’s episode of Yellowstone, and a few moments really stood out in the scope of the show’s fifth season. Especially the show’s first LGBT kiss. The episode started with an intense flashback that explained Rip’s loyalty to John Dutton and the ranch. In his teenage years, Rip (Kyle Red Silverstein) beat a fellow cowboy to death because he spoke crudely about Beth, whom they both liked. In a revelatory moment for the show’s viewers, John (Kevin Costner) agrees to cover up the murder as long as he’s loyal to the Yellowstone Ranch. WATCH WES BENTLEY’s uINTERVIEW NOW! In an… Read More View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel Across Florida, support for LGBTQ+ students is crumpling like gift-bag tissue paper, as state education officials demand that school districts erase protections — many just a few years old, adopted after long and sometimes contentious public debate and heartfelt testimony by students and parents pleading that schools be safe for all students. The changes LGBTQ+ students and families asked for might have seemed radical at first to school board members — the right to be addressed by the gender they identified with, and use appropriate bathroom and locker-room facilities; the right to be protecte… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story A newly elected Republican congressman’s biography continues to fall apart under scrutiny. The New York Times revealed earlier this week that George Santos had apparently invented his academic and professional backstory, while subsequent reports called into question whether he was actually Jewish, and now The Daily Beast found new discrepancies in his biography. The 34-year-old Santos, who became the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress, was married to a woman he divorced in September 2019, which he has not discussed publicly. Less than two weeks after that divorce was… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet Fox News’ Tucker Carlson raged against Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s congressional visit as he took jabs at the Ukraine president’s attire and claimed he “dressed like the manager of a strip club” when he met with lawmakers. During his rare address on Wednesday, Zelenskyy, who was dressed in war fatigues, expressed gratitude for U.S. lawmakers’ efforts to assist his country during its ongoing fight against the Russian insurgency. Carlson’s remarks were made just hours after Zelenskyy’s address. READ MORE: Watch: Tucker Carlson believes that ‘Nazi race science’ will be used by California’s Reparations … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters UK MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill allowing transgeder people aged 14 and over to change their legal gender without the need for psychological or other medical evaluation though 14- to 16-year olds would still need parental or guardians’ agreement. In some other countries with similar laws, children under 18 still need parental approval. Scotland’s parliament also approved on Thursday a bill making it easier for people to change their legal gender, including lowering the minimum age to 16 from 18. The Spanish bill, which has been heavily criticised by the conservati… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters UK LONDON (Reuters) -Scotland’s parliament on Thursday approved disputed reforms that make it easier for transgender people to change their legal gender, including removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria and lowering the minimum age to 16 from 18. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) bill passed by 86 votes to 39, making Scotland the first region of the United Kingdom to approve a self-identification process for changing gender. Other countries including Ireland, Denmark and Argentina have adopted self-ID laws to make it simpler and less invasive to change gender. The bi… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Daniel Craig isn’t paying attention to rumours about the next James Bond. The 54-year-old actor – who made his fifth and final appearance as 007 in last year’s espionage blockbuster ‘No Time To Die’ – insisted he doesn’t take any notice of the speculation surrounding his successor as the iconic big screen spy. Speaking to the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast during a live special at New York City’s 92nd Street Y this week, he said: “I don’t really pay any attention. “I just… I don’t go on the internet, I don’t have social media.” However, the ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ star promised he’ll be going to watch the next Bond film at the cinema. Asked if he’ll enjoy seeing a new actor take on the role, he added: “I’ll be front and centre [at the theatre].” Reflecting on his own decision to join the franchise with 2006’s ‘Casino Royale’, Daniel admitted he was in two minds when it came to the “pros and cons” of such a big move. He explained: “It was on the pro list: it would change my life. It was on the con list: it would change my life. “And that really is something that — I knew that I had a certain level of anonymity, I could still kind of go out, I could still travel and go to an airport. “I could do all these things… I knew that would sort of disappear. But it was also on the pro list, and it worked for the best, I mean, that’s the thing. “I just couldn’t…. I went, my closest friends, that’s who I went to for advice, that’s what I did. And they were just like, ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ll regret this if you don’t do this.’ And I did, so here we are.” Speculation is rife about the identity of the next Bond, with Henry Cavill and Aaron Taylor-Johnson among the forerunners ahead of an official announcement. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Sam Smith struggles to cope with fame. The 30-year-old singer admitted that fame is the “biggest personal issue” in life because of how it can change relationships with others. even though it is not becoming to “moan” about it. Sam said: “Relationships change and family can change. Money can change that, and fame. Fame is probably the biggest issue I have had in my life. It is this horrible one as you can’t moan about it as I know I am very, very lucky to be in my position, but life does get turned on its head.” The ‘Stay With Me’ hitmaker – who will release new album ‘Gloria’ in 2023 – went on to add that fame can cost loved ones which is the “hardest part” of becoming a celebrity and had been “coming to terms” with personal issues during the production of latest album ‘Love Goes.’ Speaking on BBC Radio 2’s ‘First and Last’, Sam told Cerys Matthews: “You have to find a new way to talk to people you love and you lose people you love, which is the hardest part. I was at my lowest in my life writing my third album. I was coming to terms with gender stuff. I felt like I had to live up to this character of Sam Smith.” The comments come just days after the ‘Unholy’ singer teased that the upcoming album will be a “filthy golden goose time” and will be full of “absolute fun.” Asked what fans can expect, Sam replied: “Filthy golden goose time. Oh you’ll see on tour… I mean there’s no gooses on tour actually…[Expect] Fun. Absolute fun. It was my task to write an album that was full of joy and I think I did it. And so it’s fun, it’s sexy, raunchy, honest. Yeah, I’m proud of it.” View the full article

Published by DPA The logo of the clothing chain H&M hangs above the entrance of a branch in Berlin. T-shirts, sweaters and shopping bags adorned with images of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber are no longer on H&M's shelves after the Swedish clothing retailer pulled them following criticism from the singer. Hauke-Christian Dittrich/dpa T-shirts, sweaters and shopping bags adorned with images of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber are no longer on H&M’s shelves after the Swedish clothing retailer pulled them following criticism from the singer. Bieber had taken to social media earlier this week to rail against the line, referring to it as “trash” and saying that he had never given permission for the use of his image. H&M says it followed proper procedures in this regard. Nonetheless, the outburst prompted H&M to announce the items’ removal. They had already disappeared from online shops. “H&M has followed proper approval procedures, but out of respect for the collaboration and Justin Bieber, we have removed the garments,” it said. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rob Marshall had “no agenda” when casting Halle Bailey in ‘The Little Mermaid’. The 62-year-old director is helming the live-action take on Disney’s animated classic and explained that he and the crew auditioned “every ethnicity” before deciding to cast the black actress. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Halle said: “We just were looking for the best actor for the role, period. The end. “We saw everybody and every ethnicity. (The goal was to find someone who can be) incredibly strong, passionate, beautiful, smart, clever (and with) a great deal of fire and joy.” Rob explained that Halle has the kind of voice that was needed for Ariel and her love story with Eric (Jonah Hauer-King). He said: “That voice is something that is so signature and so ethereal and so beautiful that it captures the heart of Eric and he looks for her for the entire film.” Marshall explained that the team behind the movie took the opportunity to add more depth to Eric’s story in the new take on the film. The director said: “The role of Eric in the animated film – I’m sure the original creators would agree with this – it’s a wooden, classic prince character with not a lot going on. “There’s a whole story that’s developed in our film. He has a mother, a queen, that’s new to the film. He has a very similar trajectory in a way to Ariel. He doesn’t feel like it’s where he fits in, his world. “These two kindred spirits find each other and really teach the world about prejudice and about breaking down barriers and walls between these two worlds.” View the full article