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Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson In the United States, gas prices were decreasing during the summer months — much to the relief of the Biden Administration. But with the 2022 midterms less than a month away, Biden officials and Democratic strategists are not happy to see gas prices increasing once again. Journalist Ken Klippenstein, in an article published by The Intercept on October 11, emphasizes that higher gas prices are politically advantageous for the government of Saudi Arabia — which would prefer to have Republicans rather than Democrats in control of the United States’ federal government. “When, jus… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Brendan Gleeson joined the ‘Joker’ sequel to work with Joaquin Phoenix. The 67-year-old actor has been cast in ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ and revealed that he joined the Todd Phillips film to collaborate with Phoenix after the pair starred in the 2004 film ‘The Village’ together. Brendan confirmed that the success of the original movie – with Joaquin claiming the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck/Joker – also played a part in persuading him to take the role. Asked how the ‘Joker’ sequel appealed to him, he told Collider: “It wasn’t the material, which is a great way to get me out of having to answer any questions about the criteria. “It was the achievement of the first film. I worked with Joaquin before on ‘The Village’… And so I knew him from then.” Brendan continued: “And that performance, I’m still in awe of it. That performance as Joker, in that first movie. It was one of the most extraordinary achievements I’ve ever had. “And for Todd to have – Worked the movie around to allow for that, I didn’t have to be asked twice. I really didn’t.” Lady Gaga has been cast in the sequel as Harley Quinn and Margot Robbie – who played the Joker’s love interest in three movies – loves the idea of the character being passed around by “great actors”. The 32-year-old actress said: “It makes me so happy because I said from the very beginning, all I want is for Harley Quinn to be one of those characters, the way Macbeth or Batman always gets passed from great actor to great actor. “And I feel like in not so many cases are they female characters. “Queen Elizabeth I, but like beyond that — which I got to have a crack at as well, which I was honoured to do. I was like, ‘Wow, Cate Blanchett did Queen Elizabeth I. Now I get to.’ “ View the full article

Published by AFP Dimorphos' egg-like shape and craggy, boulder-dotted surface finally came into clear view in the last few moments before DART's impact Washington (AFP) – NASA on Tuesday celebrated exceeding expectations during a mission to deflect a distant asteroid, in a sci-fi like test of humanity’s ability to stop an incoming cosmic object from devastating life on Earth. The fridge-sized Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) impactor deliberately smashed into the moonlet asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, pushing it into a smaller, faster orbit around its big brother Didymos, NASA chief Bill Nelson announced. That changed its orbital period by four percent, or 32 minutes — from 11 hour 55 minutes to 11 hours 23 minutes, bettering an expectation of 10 minutes. “At some point in the future, if we find an asteroid that is threatening to hit Earth, and would be large enough to really do some damage, thank goodness that we will have had this successful test,” Nelson told AFP. The asteroid pair loop together around our Sun every 2.1 years, and pose no threat to our planet. But they are ideal for studying the “kinetic impact” method of planetary defense. DART’s success as a proof-of-concept has made a reality what was once science fiction — notably films such as “Armageddon,” “Deep Impact,” and “Don’t Look Up.” Never actually photographed before, Dimorphos, which is 530 feet (160 meters) in diameter or roughly the size of a big Egyptian pyramid, appeared as a speck of light around an hour before impact. Its egg-like shape and craggy, boulder-dotted surface finally came into clear view in the last few moments, as DART raced toward it at roughly 14,500 miles (23,500 kilometers) per hour. Pseudo-comet In the days that followed, astronomers rejoiced in stunning images of matter spreading out thousands of miles — pictures collected by Earth and space telescopes, as well as a tiny companion satellite that traveled to the zone with DART. Thanks to its temporary new tail, Dimorphos has turned into a man-made comet. But quantifying just how well the test worked required an analysis of light patterns from ground telescopes, which took a few weeks to become apparent. The binary asteroid system, which was around 6.8 million miles (11 million kilometers) from Earth at impact, is visible only as a single dot from the ground. The dot’s brightness changes as Dimorphos passes in front of Didymos, which is significantly bigger at half-a-mile wide. Four optical telescopes were involved in measuring the orbital period — all in Chile and South Africa — while two US based radar telescopes helped confirm the finding, said NASA planetary scientist Nancy Chabot. The test also showed scientists that the asteroid is less like a solid rock, and more like a “rubbish pile” of boulders bound by mutual gravity. If an asteroid is more solid, the momentum imparted by a spaceship will be limited. But if significant mass is pushed at high velocity in the opposite direction to impact, there will be an additional boost. “It looks like the recoil from the ejecta blast off the surface was a substantial contributor to the overall push given to the asteroid,” said NASA scientist Tom Statler at a briefing. The test will serve as an “anchor point” for simulations and calculations about the outcome of future impacts, he added. Mass extinction No known asteroid larger than 140 meters (460 feet) in size — big enough to devastate a city — has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years, according to NASA. But wait long enough, and it will happen. The geological record shows, for example, that a six-mile wide asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, plunging the world into a long winter that led to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs along with 75 percent of all species. The agency plans to launch in 2026 a telescope called the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor to better characterize potentially hazardous 140-meter asteroids and comets that come within 30 million miles. So far, less than half of the estimated 25,000 NEOs of 140 meters have been discovered. Kinetic impact with a spaceship is just one way to defend the planet, albeit the only method possible with current technology. Should an approaching object be detected early, a spaceship could be sent to fly alongside it for long enough to divert its path via using the ship’s gravitational pull, creating a so-called gravity tractor. Another option would be launching nuclear explosives to redirect or destroy an asteroid. NASA believes the best way to deploy such weapons would be at a distance, to impart force without blowing the asteroid to smithereens, which could further imperil Earth. View the full article

Published by AlterNet By David Badash,The New Civil Rights Movement Appearing at a campaign even Tuesday embattled Republican Senate nominee for Georgia, Herschel Walker, mocked transgender service members to his supporters as U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), stood by and laughed. Walker has never served in the military despite his recent false claims of having had a “military career.” “Hey, just think about it: Pronoun? In our military?” mocked Walker, 60, whose own son is gay. “How do you identify? In our military? These are war times. What happened to pushups?” hew asked as the crowd laughed. “Situps?” “‘Cause I … Read More View the full article

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

Published by Reuters By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday unveiled a proposal that would make it harder for companies to treat workers as independent contractors, potentially upending the gig economy and other industries that rely heavily on contract labor. The line between when a worker is considered a company’s employee, who is entitled to various legal protections, or an independent contractor has shifted over the last decade, as businesses have faced an increasing number of lawsuits by workers who claim they were misclassified. WHY IS WORKER CLASSIFICATION IMPORTANT? Most federal and state labor laws, such as those requiring a minimum wage and overtime pay, prohibiting discrimination or protecting the right to unionize, only apply to a company’s employees. This makes employees much more expensive for companies to use than independent contractors – up to 30% more, according to some studies. Worker advocates have said that millions of workers are misclassified as independent contractors and deprived of fair wages, benefits, and basic protections against discrimination and retaliation. Business groups have maintained that independent contracting helps to create jobs and gives workers more flexibility and opportunities to operate their own businesses. WHAT IS THE CURRENT LAW? In the final days of the Trump administration last year, the Department of Labor adopted a rule favored by business groups that makes it easier to classify workers as independent contractors under federal wage law. The rule says workers who own their own businesses or have the ability to work for competing companies, such as a driver who works for Uber and Lyft, can be treated as contractors. The Biden administration withdrew the rule, but a federal judge in Texas ruled in March that it had not followed the proper procedure for doing so and reinstated the prior standard. WHAT WOULD THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL DO? The proposal unveiled on Tuesday would require a company to treat workers as employees when they are “economically dependent” on the company for work. The Labor Department said it will consider whether workers have an opportunity for profit or loss, the permanency of their jobs, and the degree of control a company exercises over a worker, among other factors. The proposal is similar to legal guidance issued during the Obama administration that was withdrawn by the Labor Department under former President Donald Trump, a Republican. The agency must now collect and review public comments, so the rule will likely not be finalized until well into next year. WHICH INDUSTRIES WILL BE AFFECTED MOST? Any change in policy is expected to have a negative impact on an array of industries including retail and manufacturing, but the effect on the explosive growth of the “gig economy,” which heavily relies on independent contractors, has received the most attention. Last year, U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Reuters that many gig workers should be classified as employees. Limiting independent contracting would also have an outsized impact on trucking companies that rely on contractors who own their trucks to meet fluctuations in demand and avoid the costs of maintaining fleets of trucks. Trucking firms raising prices or limiting services could, in turn, place further strain on supply chains that have already been hobbled by the COVID-19 pandemic. HOW WOULD THE RULE AFFECT WORKERS? The proposed changes would be a boon to many workers by guaranteeing them the minimum wage, overtime pay and reimbursements for mileage and some other work-related expenses. Many gig and delivery workers currently work long hours for low pay and lack safety nets, such as paid – or even unpaid – time off, according to worker advocates. At the same time, limiting independent contracting could lead some companies to slash the number of workers they hire, eliminating some jobs altogether. Companies would have greater control over workers who are considered employees and have more say over when and where work is performed. WILL THERE BE LEGAL CHALLENGES TO THE RULE? Almost certainly, given the significant impact it will have. Lawsuits targeting the final rule could claim that the new definition of “employee” is broader than federal wage law allows or that the Department of Labor did not follow the proper administrative procedures in adopting the rule. Trade groups and individual companies and workers could also bring claims under the U.S. Constitution or argue that the rule conflicts with existing regulations on specific industries. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brendan O’Brien (Reuters) -Baltimore prosecutors on Tuesday dismissed their case against a man found guilty of the 1999 killing of his ex-girlfriend in a case that drew national attention after the podcast “Serial” raised doubts about his guilt. Adnan Syed, 42, served more than 20 years in prison for the slaying of Hae Min Lee. A circuit court judge vacated the murder conviction last month and released him after an investigation identified problems with the case, leaving prosecutors to decide whether to retry him. On Tuesday, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby said during a news conference that she ordered prosecutors to drop the criminal case against Syed after DNA testing cast doubt on his guilt. “The criminal justice system should be based on fair and just prosecution and crux of the matter is that we are standing here today because that wasn’t done 23 years ago,” she said, apologizing to the Lee and Syed families. “Today, justice is done.” Mosby said no DNA was recovered from Lee’s skirt, panty hose or jacket during a touch DNA testing that was recently performed for the first time on the evidence. She added that DNA was found on Lee’s shoes, but it was not from Syed. “Finally, Adnan Syed is able to live as a free man,” Syed’s lawyer, Erica Suter, said in a statement released to local media. Mosby said the investigation into who killed Lee remains open. Syed has maintained he was innocent and did not kill Lee, who was 18 when she was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. The podcast “Serial,” produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, drew national attention to the case in 2014. Prosecutors filed a motion on Sept. 15 to vacate the conviction after conducting a yearlong investigation alongside a public defender representing Syed. Several problems were found with witnesses and evidence from the trial, the investigation found. Four days later, prosecutors told Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn that they no longer had confidence in “the integrity of the conviction,” and that justice required that Syed at least be afforded a new trial. Prosecutors said they had discovered new information about two alternative suspects, whom they have not named, including one who had threatened to kill Lee, and both of whom have a history of violent crimes against women. Their identities were known to the original prosecutors but not disclosed to the defense as required by law. Phinn then ordered Syed to be released from prison, where he was serving a life sentence, and put him on home detention. Mosby said Syed will need to go through an innocence certification process for those who are wrongly convicted. (Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Chizu Nomiyama) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Catarina Demony and Miguel Pereira LISBON (Reuters) – A commission investigating child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said on Tuesday it has already gathered more than 400 testimonies of alleged victims but admitted the number of actual cases was “much higher”. The Portuguese commission started its work in January after a report in France revealed around 3,000 priests and religious officials sexually abused over 200,000 children over the past 70 years. The Portuguese Catholic Church has been rocked in recent weeks by various cases of alleged cover-up of sexual abuse including by bishops who remain active in church roles. “Concealment is inherent in sexual abuse cases,” said commission member Daniel Sampaio, a Portuguese psychiatrist. “Of course there was concealment by the Church.” One of the highest-profile cases involves Jose Ornelas, who is the head of the Portuguese Bishops Conference (CEP). Public prosecutors have said they are investigating Ornelas. A teacher has accused him of covering up sex abuse at an orphanage in Mozambique in 2011. According to Portuguese newspaper Publico, the teacher said he reported sex abuse by two Italian priests to Ornelas, who was in charge of the mission at that time. The teacher claims Ornelas took no action. CEP defended Ornelas in a statement and said that he reported the case to the local congregation in Mozambique, which found no evidence of abuse. So far, 424 testimonies have been validated, but Pedro Strecht, the head of the commission, said the number of victims was “much higher” as many of the people the commission spoke with mentioned others they knew who were also abused. Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a conservative, came under fire after he said “400 cases (of alleged sexual abuse of minors) doesn’t seem to me to be particularly high”. On Twitter, lawmakers from left to right have described Rebelo de Sousa’s comments as “unacceptable”. From the 424 testimonies, 17 were sent to the public prosecutors’ office for investigation as all others were committed over 20 years ago and legal proceedings can no longer be initiated. There are 30 other testimonies currently under evaluation that may be eligible to be sent to the public prosecutors’ office, Strecht said. “There are several situations in which the same alleged abuser is mentioned by different people,” he said, adding most of the victims were young boys. “It is unequivocal that given these traumatic events…the victims expect an apology.” Strecht said his team would present a final report in January next year. (Reporting by Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes in Lisbon; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by Reuters DUBAI (Reuters) -Clashes between protesters and security forces persisted across Iran on Tuesday, with social media videos showing tanks being transported to Kurdish areas, which have been a focal point of the crackdown on protests over Mahsa Amini’s death in custody. Protests calling for the fall of the clerical establishment have swept Iran since Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died on Sept. 16 while being detained by the morality police in Tehran for “inappropriate attire”. While observers do not believe the unrest, now in its fourth week, is close to toppling the government, the protests mark one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, with reports of strikes spreading to the vital energy sector. The authorities are waging a deadly crackdown. Videos on social media showed trucks moving dark green tanks to Kurdish areas, raising the stakes in the revolt. Reuters could not verify the video footage. Tensions have been especially high in Kurdish regions, given Amini’s ethnic background. Human rights groups say Iran’s Kurdish minority of more than 10 million has long been oppressed – a charge the Islamic Republic denies. The Hengaw human rights group reported “intense conflict” on Tuesday between protesters and security forces in three cities in Kurdistan province – Sanandaj, Baneh and Saqez, where Amini was buried last month. Protesters in Saqez set fire to a statue of local members of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hengaw said. In video footage shared on the widely followed Twitter account group Tavsir1500 from Sanandaj, shooting could be heard and women screaming. Reuters could not independently verify the footage from Hengaw or Tasvir1500. At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by the security forces, according to rights groups. The government says more than 20 members of the security forces have been killed. Iranian authorities have said they will investigate civilian deaths. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network said security forces had killed at least 30 protesters, injured another 825, and arrested more than 2,000 in the predominantly Kurdish regions. Reuters could not independently verify the report. The Iranian authorities have blamed the violence on an array of enemies including armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents, with the Revolutionary Guards attacking their bases in neighbouring Iraq a number of times during the latest unrest. Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi reiterated accusations that Iranian Kurdish dissident groups were supporting the protests and said security forces would “neutralize the desperate anti-revolutionary effort”. ENERGY SECTOR Unrest continued elsewhere overnight after demonstrations spread into Iran’s vital energy sector, according to videos on social media which Reuters could not confirm. Energy installations in southwestern Iran were hit by strikes for a second day on Tuesday, with workers protesting at the Abadan oil refinery, Kangan and the Bushehr petrochemical plant, according to the widely followed Tavsir1500 Twitter account. Videos posted on the account showed a few dozen workers chanting “Death to the dictator”, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A regional official said on Tuesday the workers at the Assaluye plant were angered by a dispute over wages and were not protesting over Amini’s death. Governor Ali Hashemi said some Iranians had tried to hijack the workers’ protests by chanting anti-government slogans, according to Iran’s Young Journalists Club News Telegram account. It was a combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and bazaar merchants that helped to propel the Shi’ite clergy to power in the Iranian revolution four decades ago. Dozens of universities are also currently on strike, with students playing a pivotal role in the protests. Meanwhile, in the city of Fuladshahr in the central province of Isfahan, protesters set fire to the office of a prayer leader, according to a video posted by Tavsir1500. The authorities’ crackdown on protesters has prompted some Western states to draw up more sanctions on Iran, stoking diplomatic tensions at a time when talks to revive Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are at a standstill. France’s foreign minister said on Tuesday five of its nationals were being held in Iran and the European Union had agreed the technical aspects to impose sanctions on Tehran, which would come into force next week. France lashed out at Iran on Oct. 6 accusing it of “dictatorial practices” and taking its citizens hostage after a video was aired in which a French couple appeared to confess to spying. (Reporting by John Irish in Paris and Dubai newsroom: Writing by Michael Georgy/Tom Perry; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega JoJo Siwa and new girlfriend Avery Cyrus celebrated their newfound romance at the happiest place on earth! On Tuesday, October, 4, the couple were seen enjoying the Halloween festivities at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., alongside a few friends and the Dance Mom star’s mother, Jessalynn Siwa. mega “They were laughing and seemed really happy,” an eyewitness exclusively told OK! about Siwa and Cyrus’ outing. “They were with a big group but seemed to be attentive to each other.” JOJO SIWA SHINES BRIGHT AT RED CARPET EVENT AFTER CANDACE CAMERON BURE DRAMA: PHOTOS As OK! previously reported, the duo went TikTok official on Monday, September 12, after the Dancing with the Stars alum shared a video of the two smooching in a photo booth alongside the caption, “Happiest girl.” “Avery doesn’t know I’m posting this, but I’m so proud of her for learning this,” Siwa shared in an additional clip of the two learning a dance routine together. “I have to share so you can see her CUTEST HAPPY FACE!!! That SMILE.” mega The newfound love comes mere months after the child star officially called it quits with Kylie Prew, who she was dating on and off since early 2021. JOJO SIWA BREAKS SILENCE ON BACKLASH FROM CONTROVERSIAL ‘LESBIAN’ COMMENT Prew confirmed the breakup news during an Instagram live in August. mega “I don’t like drama and it makes me really, really anxious and so I don’t really wanna talk about it for a while. It’s OK, it’s not deep, I promise. Everything’s fine,” she insisted of the secret split. “Not everything has to be messy and gross because it’s not and I just want to clear the air.” “We’re both safe and happy and healthy and that’s all that matters. There doesn’t need to be drama because that just gives everyone unwanted anxiety,” the influencer said. The Nickelodeon alum also chimed in on the situation, noting she still thinks Prew is “awesome.” “She’s having the time of her life, I’m having the time of my life I was very happy that it can be, because that’s all I wanted,” Siwa later said of her ex. “But I’m really happy that I remember all the fun times, all the good times, and nothing bad happened, it just is the definition of a cheesy saying of ‘right person, wrong time’ and I hate cheesy sayings, but they’re true. Everything’s good. I’m good.” View the full article

Published by AFP The US Supreme Court's ruling could allow Rodney Reed's case to be reopened — or pave the way for his execution by lethal injection Washington (AFP) – The US Supreme Court heard an appeal Tuesday from a Texas man on death row who maintains his innocence and whose case has drawn the attention of celebrities, lawmakers and millions of Americans. The court did not address the merits of Rodney Reed’s case, but debated a narrow technical issue, relating to delays in criminal proceedings. Its decision, expected before June 30, will however have a direct impact on the future of the 54-year-old Texan by authorizing the reopening of his case or, on the contrary, his execution by lethal injection. Reed, an African-American man, was convicted by an all-white jury in 1998 of the rape and murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. Traces of his sperm were found on the victim’s body, but Reed insists he is innocent of the 1996 murder and that he and Stites had a secret consensual relationship. Reed’s supporters believe that evidence gathered after the trial points to another suspect, Stites’s fiance Jimmy Fennell, a disgraced police officer who later served a 10-year prison sentence for a kidnapping and rape committed while on duty. A fellow inmate says Fennell confessed to him that he had killed Stites because she was sleeping with a Black man. Fennell has denied any involvement in Stites’s murder, but police initially considered him a suspect. Texas prosecutors claimed during Reed’s trial that he had sexually assaulted several other women before Stites’s murder. His execution was stayed just five days before it was to be carried out in 2019 following a campaign that included reality star Kim Kardashian, the singers Rihanna and Beyonce, and Texas lawmakers including Republican Senator Ted Cruz. Two petitions seeking to halt Reed’s execution that circulated on the internet drew more than 3.5 million signatures. DNA testing of murder weapon To prove his innocence, Reed asked the Texas authorities in 2014 to conduct new DNA analysis on the murder weapon, a belt that was used to strangle Stites. His appeals for DNA testing were repeatedly denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, so Reed turned to the federal courts. But they refused to intervene on the grounds the request came too late, after the two-year window allowed to challenge a state court ruling in federal court had closed. The question before the Supreme Court is, when does the window open? At the hearing, judges appointed by Democrats seemed to be leaning in his favor. “Isn’t that the simplest thing just to say (that) the person isn’t harmed until the state process has come to an end and we know for a fact what the state judgment is?” asked justice Elena Kagan. Conservative justices, who regularly denounce the delaying tactics of death row inmates, did not show their preference. Judge Samuel Alito merely noted the issue is “case specific and really quite narrow.” Supporters of Reed gathered in front of the Supreme Court with a large banner proclaiming “Rodney Reed is innocent!” View the full article

Published by New York Daily News More than half of LGBTQ youth who came out before they were teenagers “seriously considered suicide” in the past year, new data released Monday shows. The data — released ahead of the 34th annual National Coming Out Day on Tuesday — analyzed the correlation between the age at which LGBTQ people in the U.S. decide to share their sexual orientation with others and the risk of suicide. National Coming Out Day is a day when the LGBTQ community highlights the power of visibility in the fight for equality. Researchers with The Trevor Project found that 56% of youth who came out before the age of 13 … Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Ahead of National Coming Out Day on Tuesday, Madonna has sparked a debate amongst her 1.6 million TikTok followers about her sexual preference. With her latest social media antics, the pop star toyed with whether she is gay. “If I miss, I’m Gay,” she waged with words that appeared on the screen as she attempted to toss a pair of pink underwear into the trash. After she seemingly missed her mark on purpose, the newly pink-coiffed Madonna said, “Oh well.” The Sunday TikTok post comes on the heels of the 64-year-old “Vogue” singer being spotted locking lips with Dominican rapper Tokischa. The 26-… Read More View the full article

Published by The Mercury News Elon Musk doesn’t seem to believe he played any role in alienating his 18-year-old transgender daughter, who made the legal move this year to no longer be related to her controversial billionaire father “in any way, shape or form.” Instead, the Tesla CEO told the Financial Times in an interview published Friday that his child’s decision to distance herself from him was caused by “neo-Marxists” at educational institutions, Page Six reported. Musk didn’t specify what institutions had worked their influence on his daughter, but he said, “It’s full-on communism and a general sentiment that if you’… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Emily Ratajkowski appears to have come out as bisexual on TikTok. The model, 31, responded to a video on Monday (10.10.22) that asked those who “identify as bisexual” if they “own a green velvet couch”. Emily, who has filed for divorce from her estranged husband Sebastian Bear-McClard, then showed off her green velvet couch. It prompted fans to fill the comments section of her post with congratulations for “coming out” as being attracted to men and women, with many declaring: “Yet another win for the ladies.” Emily’s apparent admission to being bisexual comes as celebrities including Madonna and Shay Mitchell appeared to admit they were part of the LGBT+ community ahead of ‘National Coming Out Day’ on October 11th. It comes amid rumours she is dating Brad Pitt, 58, after the pair were reported to be “spending a lot of time” in each other’s company. A source told People: “Friends aren’t sure if it’s serious. They don’t appear to be ‘dating’ formally.” It emerged in September Emily had officially filed for divorce from her 41-year-old ex-husband Sebastian amid allegations he cheated on her. She lodged a filing to end their four-year marriage at Manhattan’s Supreme Court, after the couple first split in July amidst reports film producer Sebastian, with whom Emily shares 19-month-old son Sylvester Apollo Bear, was a “serial” cheat. A source close to the model confirmed the split to People in July and said Emily was focused on parenting. The insider was quoted saying: “They split recently. It was Em’s decision. She is doing OK. “She is strong and focused on her son. She loves being a mum.” Neither Emily nor Sebastian have not yet commented publicly on the state of their relationship. They married at a New York court on February 23, 2018, with Emily confirming the news with the Instagram post: “Sooo, I have a surprise, I got married today.” She later said she only took “30 seconds” to decide she wanted to marry the ‘Uncut Gems’ producer. In October 2020, the pair announced they were expecting their first child together, but Emily declared it was “something a woman does by herself, inside her body, no matter what her circumstances may be”. She added: “Despite having a loving partner and many female friends ready to share the gritty details of their pregnancies, I am ultimately alone with my body in this experience. “There is no one to feel it with me – the sharp muscular aches in my lower abdomen that come out of nowhere while I’m watching a movie or the painful heaviness of my breasts that now greets me first thing every morning. “My husband has no physical symptoms in ‘our’ pregnancy – another reminder of how different a woman and man’s experience of life can be.” View the full article

Published by The Kansas City Star With a new crop of hard-right Republicans expected to join the Missouri Senate, some Democrats are worried that the upper chamber’s priorities will swing more to the right in the next legislative session. Conservative wish list items such as bans on transgender student athletes and legislation that targets school curriculum have failed to pass in previous years amid infighting among Republicans. But Senate Democrats say those policies could have enough momentum in the coming years with more hard-right members joining the upper chamber. “I’m at a loss, frankly, of what to do — I wish Missourian… Read More View the full article

Published by PopCrush Janet Jackson posted a rare photo with her niece Paris Jackson on Friday, Oct. 7. The photo was snapped at a party during Paris Fashion Week in France. “So good catching up w/ my beautiful niece @parisjackson,” Janet captioned the post. Paris replied with a black heart in the comments. Paris, who is the daughter of Janet’s late brother Michael Jackson, has become a notable figure in her own right through modeling and music. However, she’s kept her relationship with her famous family private, and this photo marks the first time Paris and Janet have been publicly seen together since Michael’s me… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson In the past, billionaire venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel was described by many pundits as a libertarian. But in the 2022 midterms, the far-right U.S. Senate candidates he has been promoting — from “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance in Ohio to Blake Masters in Arizona — are decidedly MAGA, pushing a severe social conservatism that is far removed from libertarianism. Steve Bannon, host of the “War Room” podcast and former White House chief strategist in the Trump Administration, has praised the 54-year-old Thiel for trying to make Congress as MAGA as possi… Read More View the full article

Published by PsyPost Do people who use OnlyFans have significantly different sexual attitudes compared to the general population? New research published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviors suggests that is not the case. The new findings indicate that OnlyFans users and nonusers have similar attitudes regarding things like casual sex and the importance of birth control. OnlyFans allows users to subscribe to different content creators in order to access exclusive content. This content can include everything from photos and videos to personal messages and behind-the-scenes looks. The platform has become increasingly … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Chris Gallagher and Sarah N. Lynch (Reuters) -Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four other defendants linked to the far-right group are on trial for charges of seditious conspiracy and other felonies arising from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump’s supporters. Here is a look at the defendants and the charges they face. STEWART RHODES Rhodes, 57, of Granbury, Texas, is a former U.S. Army paratrooper turned Yale University-educated lawyer. He is the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, which U.S. officials have described as an anti-government group. Rhodes says it is a non-partisan group whose members, including current and former military, police and emergency service personnel, have pledged to uphold the Constitution. Rhodes and his co-defendants are accused of conspiring to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Rhodes and the other defendants face the rarely prosecuted charge of seditious conspiracy, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and defined as attempting “to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States.” He and the other defendants also face charges that include obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents. Rhodes and the others have pleaded not guilty. According to the indictment, Rhodes began encouraging his Oath Keepers followers in November 2020 to “oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power.” Trump has made false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. Rhodes set up a chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal in which members planned to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, when Congress was scheduled to certify Biden’s victory, according to the indictment. Rhodes spent thousands of dollars on firearms and related equipment before and after Jan. 6, the indictment stated. He entered restricted Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, directed Oath Keepers members by text and telephone on what positions to take up around the building, and continued plotting with co-conspirators after the attack, according to the indictment. His attorneys have said he will take the stand and testify in his own defense later in the trial. THOMAS CALDWELL Caldwell, 68, of Berryville, Virginia, helped coordinate preparation for what the Oath Keepers called quick reaction force, or QRF, teams, which were ready to rapidly transport weapons into Washington from just outside the city to support operations around the Capitol, according to the indictment. The indictment said Caldwell, a retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander who once worked for the FBI, took a reconnaissance trip into Washington in November 2020, chose a hotel in suburban Arlington, Virginia, as the quick reaction force’s base of operations, and mapped routes to the Capitol from the hotel. During the Jan. 6 attack, Caldwell joined with others in pushing past barricades and climbing stairs to a balcony in a restricted area on the west side of the Capitol building, according to the indictment. Caldwell has denied he was a member of the Oath Keepers, but prosecutors have said he has strong ties to the group. His wife is expected to take the stand later in the trial to assist with his defense. KELLY MEGGS Meggs, 53, of Dunnellon, Florida, was the head of the Florida chapter of the Oath Keepers and led a first group of members into the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment. Meggs and other Oath Keepers members, many wearing paramilitary clothing and patches with the Oath Keepers insignia, marched in an organized military fashion up the east steps of the Capitol and stormed through a heavy set of doors into the building alongside a mob, the indictment said. KENNETH HARRELSON Harrelson, 41, of Titusville, Florida, helped Meggs in organizing the Florida Oath Keepers and was part of the militia group that stormed into the Capitol building, according to the indictment. These members pushed forward as part of a mob that “assaulted law enforcement officers guarding the doors, threw objects and sprayed chemicals toward the officers and the doors, and pulled violently on the doors,” the indictment added. Harrelson and others later moved toward the House of Representatives chamber in search of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Congress, but did not find her, it said. JESSICA WATKINS Watkins, 40, of Woodstock, Ohio, led the Ohio team of Oath Keepers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to the indictment. The Afghanistan war veteran charged into the building with other members and commanded those around her to push against a line of officers guarding the hallway to the Senate chamber, before retreating when officers used a chemical spray, the indictment says. Meggs, Harrelson and Watkins also face charges of destruction of government property due to damage done at the Capitol building, according to the indictment. Her attorney has told the jury that Watkins, a transgender woman, has always struggled to fit in and her actions that day are a reflection of that. PREVIOUS DEFENDANTS Three other Oath Keepers defendants – Joshua James, Brian Ulrich and William Todd Wilson – pleaded guilty this year to engaging in seditious conspiracy in connection with the attack. They are awaiting sentencing and could potentially be called as witnesses at the trial. Four other Oath Keeper defendants also charged with seditious conspiracy are due to go to trial in late November. (Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Sarah N. Lynch, editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mike Scarcella WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a bid by gay-marriage opponents to block the public release of video of a watershed 2010 trial in California that overturned a voter-approved ban on gay nuptials in America’s most populous state. The justices declined to hear the appeal of a lower court’s 2021 ruling in favor of news media companies including public radio and TV broadcaster KQED and advocates of gay marriage who sought release of video of the proceedings made for the trial judge. Proponents of the 2008 ballot initiative, called Proposition 8, had argued the video should remain sealed based on the trial judge’s pledge at the time to keep it private. Christopher Dusseault, a lawyer who fought to unseal the video, said the Supreme Court’s order cleared the way “for public release of this important historical record.” “While the trial took place more than 12 years ago, the lessons that it teaches about equality and justice could not be more vital today,” added Dusseault, of the law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. The two-week trial in federal court in San Francisco, presided over by U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, involved a lawsuit brought by two gay couples who challenged Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage in California, which passed with the support of 52% of voters. Walker ruled in 2010 that the state’s bar on same-sex marriage violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court in 2013 let Walker’s ruling stand, paving a way for same-sex couples to marry in California. The Supreme Court in June 2015 in a landmark ruling of its own legalized gay marriage nationwide, ruling along the same constitutional grounds as Walker. Walker recorded the 2010 trial for what he said would be a tool to help him write his ruling, stating that “it’s not going to be for purposes of public broadcasting or televising.” The recording has remained sealed since then though a written transcript of the trial long has been available. The Supreme Court in 2010 rejected a bid to allow the trial to be publicly broadcast, finding that such a step was not allowed under the San Francisco federal court’s rules. San Francisco-based KQED in 2017 asked a federal court to “unseal the tapes and permit them to be viewed by everyone.” It said in a legal filing that the tapes are of interest to “court-watchers, law students, scholars, historians, activists, concerned citizens and those interested in the transparent operation of the judicial branch.” A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2021 that the video recording of the trial could be released. Writing for the majority, Circuit Judge William Fletcher said Proposition 8 supporters had failed to show how they would be harmed by its disclosure. In dissent, Circuit Judge Sandra Ikuta called the court’s order “another sad chapter in the story of how the judiciary has been willing to bend or break its own rules.” Charles Cooper, the conservative lawyer who pressed the effort to keep the video sealed, told the Supreme Court in seeking review of the 9th Circuit ruling that “the root question in this case is whether a federal judge’s binding promise, made to litigants in open court and on the record, is worthy of trust.” In a statement on Tuesday, Cooper called the Supreme Court’s order “sad and lamentable,” adding that the justices let stand “a decision deliberately reneging on a federal district court judge’s solemn and unequivocal promise in open court.” (Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by The Detroit News Taylor Swift is a mad genius. If that is somehow not the case, she sure is doing a good job of fooling everyone. Swift is currently ramping up toward the release of her new album, “Midnights,” which is due out Oct. 21. For those dialed in, its hype cycle has been absolutely unhinged, full of enough mysteries, clues and fan theories to power their own internet. Is Swift gay? Many fans think “Midnights” will signal her coming out. Is it tied to her feud with Kim Kardashian? Well the fact that it’s coming out on Kardashian’s birthday can’t be a coincidence, can it? That’s just the top layer. Fans… Read More View the full article

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock Rob Halford confirms that the recording is finished for Judas Priest‘s new album – except his vocals, that is. “It’s done except for me,” he tells UCR with a laugh. Guitarist “Richie [Faulkner] has been doing interviews like I have, and I’ve been reading it as it comes on my social media. Richie says, ‘Everything’s done except for Rob.’ It’s true, man. It’s true.” Even though it does not yet have a title or release date, the pending LP will serve as the follow-up to 2018’s Firepower. “My scratch vocals are on there, but I’ve got to do my parts,” Halford adds. “I can bang it out in a couple of … Read More View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by PopCrush Madonna has everyone hung up after seemingly coming out as gay on TikTok. On Sunday (Oct. 9), the pop icon posted a video of her participating in the TikTok trend where users throw an item into a bin or cup and if they miss, it means something surprising. The idea is to miss the target on purpose, thereby confessing something in the process. In the clip, Madonna holds up a pair of pink underwear before attempting to toss them into a garbage can. The words “If I miss, I’m gay” are emblazoned across the screen and, sure enough, she misses her throw. Madonna then throws her hands up in the air. W… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, Chief Justice of Iran, attends a crisis meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Speaker of Parliament, at the presidential office in Tehran. Mohammad Javad Ostad/Iranian Presidency/dpa Iran’s chief justice has for the first time proposed a dialogue with opponents of the country’s leadership as protests against the government continue. “Citizens or political groups should know that we have an ear for protests and criticism and are ready for dialogue,” Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei said on Monday. According to the Donya-e Eqtesad news portal, he conceded that Iran’s political system could also have “weaknesses and flaws” and said that “we are ready to listen to suggestions and also have no qualms about correcting any mistakes.” He went on to say, however, that peaceful protests must be distinguished from violent riots. Iran had so far spoken of a conspiracy by foreign countries and armed Iranian opposition groups in connection with the near month-long protests, and has started a crackdown. There were further protests on Monday. Tension on the streets and internet restrictions have paralysed large parts of the economy. Germany and several other western countries have called for sanctions against Iran’s leadership. Britain on Monday said it had imposed sanctions on Iran’s so-called morality police “in its entirety” as well as five political and security officials in Iran. The protests were set off by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly not adhering to Iran’s strict Islamic dress code. View the full article