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Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson Former football star Herschel Walker, who is hoping to unseat Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s 2022 U.S. Senate race, is campaigning as an anti-abortion hardliner — declaring that he opposes abortion even in cases of rape or incest or even if a pregnant woman’s life is in danger. But on Monday night, October 3, the Daily Beast reported that Walker had impregnated a woman in 2009 and paid for an abortion. Walker has vehemently denied her allegations, although his son Christian Walker finds the allegations and the Beast’s reporting to be totally credible. … Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Alex Henderson In Oklahoma, the OU Health hospital is counting on federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. But Republicans in that state have given OU an ultimatum: if they want to receive $108 million in Rescue Plan funds, Oklahoma Children’s Hospital — which is part of the OU system — will have to stop providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Washington Post reporter Kimberly Kindy, in an article published on October 4, explains, “The move, which Oklahoma Gov. Kevin J. Stitt (R) signed into law on Tuesday, marks the first time conservative sta… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Scooby-Doo and chums have been solving mysteries for generations, and the most recent installment of the franchise finally confirms what many already knew — Velma is gay Los Angeles (AFP) – After decades of rumor and innuendo, one of animation’s worst kept secrets has finally been confirmed: Scooby-Doo’s Velma is lesbian. Clips from Halloween special “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo,” released this week, show the brainy sleuth’s glasses fogging up and her cheeks reddening when she first meets villainous costume designer Coco Diablo. “OK, who am I kidding? I’m crushing big time Daphne! What do I do? What do I say?” she asks her friend in another scene. The gang of amateur detectives in “Scooby Doo” have been solving mysteries since 1969, delighting generations of children as they unmask a villain who invariably declares he “would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for you pesky kids.” The titular oversized dog, who will do anything for a “Scooby snack,” stumbles through crimes discovering clues with the help of friends, Shaggy, Daphne, Fred and Velma, who collectively make up “Mystery Incorporated.” Fans have long agreed that Velma is queer, but the new movie marks the first definitive confirmation. Producers of the franchise’s various series and movies have previously spoken about Velma Dinkley’s sexuality, even if they were not able to make it explicit on screen. In 2020 producer Tony Cervone posted an Instagram photo of Velma and another female character against a rainbow-themed Pride backdrop. “We made our intentions as clear as we could ten years ago,” he wrote in the caption at the time. “Most of our fans got it. To those that didn’t, I suggest you look closer.” Audie Harrison, director of the new movie, told NPR he did not expect Velma’s same-sex attraction to be “so groundbreaking,” and that he had “just set out to have fun with the comedy of an awkward teenage crush.” He added: “That being said, it does feel great to be a part of normalizing representation, especially with such a well-known franchise like Scooby-Doo!” Fans took to social media to celebrate the news. “OMG LESBIAN VELMA FINALLY CANON CANON IN THE MOVIES LETS GOOOOOO,” said one tweet which received well over 200,000 likes. “LET’S GO LESBIANS #Velma” wrote another. View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Armie Hammer made a rare outing to a golf club following the scandal that destroyed his marriage and career. The 36-year-old embattled Hollywood star was sporting noticeably new facial hair on Tuesday during his solo day out, RadarOnline.comhas learned. Hammer was photographed rocking a thick mustache and soaking up the sunshine at a Santa Monica club just one year after being publicly accused of sexual abuse and cannibalism. The unemployed former A-lister looked stoic as he slung his bag over his shoulder to exit the facility. Mega Wearing a blue sports shirt and a baseball cap with gray shorts and sandals, Hammer held onto his cell phone and appeared tense when he spotted the paparazzi nearby. His attempt to fly under the radar with his new stache didn’t work. In the pictures obtained by Daily Mail, Hammer glared at the photographers as he waited on the corner to cross the street when the lights turned. His hairy face isn’t the only new addition to the Death on the Nile actor. As RadarOnline.com reported, Hammer was seen in August with two bizarre tattoos after returning to the United States fresh from abruptly quitting his job at a Cayman Islands timeshare. Mega He reportedly took the job because he allegedly had no money after leaving a rehab facility in Florida where he sought treatment for sex, drugs, and alcohol. In July, Hammer walked away from his position after his new job title made headlines. He moved in with Robert Downey Jr., who allegedly paid for the trouble star’s rehab. The Call Me By Your Name actor’s job was exposed after someone tweeted that he was their friend’s parents’ concierge. Last year, Hammer was publicly accused of rape and cannibalism. Months before the allegations, his wife of 10 years, Elizabeth Chambers, filed for divorce. Mega “Elizabeth’s priority has always been her children and their well-being. The past year hasn’t been easy, but she and Armie have always had love for each other,” a source said at the time. “They’re slowly figuring things out as a couple, but being parents to their two kids will always come first.” Hammer and Chambers share two kids together — daughterHarper Grace, 7, and son Ford Douglas Armand, 5. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Alec Baldwin has reached a settlement with the family of Halyna Hutchins. The cinematographer was killed on the set of the Western movie in October 2021 after Alec discharged a prop gun that he had been informed was “cold”. The Hutchins family had filed a lawsuit against the ‘Beetlejuice’ star and other members of the production in February, alleging several violations of industry standards but it has now been settled as all parties believe Halyna’s death was an accident. The exact terms of the settlement, which is subject to court approval, have not been disclosed. ‘Rust’ will now resume production in January 2023 with Halyna’s husband Matthew Hutchins involved as an executive producer and all the cast members returning. In an Instagram post, Alec said: “We are pleased to announce today the settlement of the civil case filed on behalf of the family of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Throughout this difficult process, everyone has maintained the specific desire to do what is best for Halyna’s son. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to the resolution of this tragic and painful situation.” Matthew said he has “no interest” in apportioning blame for his wife’s tragic death and wants to pay tribute to Halyna’s “final work”. In a statement, he said: “We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of ‘Rust’, including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC. As part of that settlement, our case will be dismissed. “The filming of ‘Rust’, which I will now executive produce, will resume with all the original principal players on board in January 2023.” Hutchins added: “I have no interest in engaging in recriminations or attribution of blame (to the producers or Mr. Baldwin). “All of us believe Halyna’s death was a terrible accident. I am grateful that the producers and the entertainment community have come together to pay tribute to Halyna’s final work.” View the full article

Published by DPA Mexico's military forces have announced plans to set up their own airline to boost tourism in the country. Jacky Muniello/dpa Hotels, museums, national parks and an unused presidential plane: Mexico’s military is setting its sights on tourism with plans for army-operated flights to popular regions. The country’s armed forces are set to operate their own airline for tourism purposes in future, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced. The announcement comes after newspaper El Universal published military documents showing the plans after they were leaked by a hacker group earlier in October. The airline is set to begin operations next year with 10 rented aircraft, López Obrador said. The airline will also use the luxurious presidential plane that the head of state has been trying in vain to sell since he took office in 2018. According to the report by El Universal, the military also wants to operate several hotels, two museums and two national parks through a new tourism company called Itzamná, particularly in the popular holiday region around Cancún and Tulum on the Caribbean coast. Under the left-wing nationalist López Obrador, the armed forces are gaining more and more influence, for example in internal security and construction projects. Another newly founded military company is already responsible for the administration of four airports and the Tren Maya (Maya Train) railway project. View the full article

Published by PopCrush A man on Reddit decided to skip his “homophobic” sister’s wedding to party at a gay bar with his boyfriend instead. The man, 23, explained he grew up idolizing his sister, 29, and when he came out as a teenager she was supportive. However, that changed when she met her now-husband in college. “He grew up in a very traditional Christian household. They met at a frat mixer at Bama (she was in a sorority, he was in a frat),” he wrote via Reddit. He explained his sister had always been “neutral” when it came to politics, but after meeting her partner, she became “visibly uncomfortable” whenever he… Read More View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — “Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” offers viewers 10 hours of television featuring a serial killing cannibal and necrophiliac from Milwaukee. The popularity of this series is stunning and yet another example of the public’s taste for demons and true crime “entertainments.” This show hit the top of the Netflix rankings with nearly 200 million hours viewed following its Sept. 21 premiere and the 10-episode limited series shot to the No. 1 show on the service across dozens of countries. It has also been attended with controversy, as social media exploded due to Netflix’s decisi… Read More View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) The Slovenian parliament on Tuesday passed an amendment allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt after a constitutional court ruling made it the first country in Eastern Europe to do so. The family law amendment was passed by 48 MPs, with 29 against and one abstaining. Slovenia, which emerged from the break-up of Yugoslavia, is the first former communist country to endorse this reform in Europe, as most of its neighbours do not allow civil unions or same-sex marriages. The government of Estonia came the closest in 2016 by agreeing to recognize same-sex unions created in other countries. Cr… Read More View the full article

Published by ScreenCrush Velma Dinkley is finally depicted as a lesbian in the upcoming film Trick Or Treat Scooby-Doo!. It’s something that other writers have attempted to show in a more direct way, but for one reason or another, has never panned out. In the case of the James Gunn Scooby-Doomovies from the early 2000s, it came down to studio interference. Tony Cervone, a supervising producer on Mystery Incorporated, also spoke a little bit about his own attempts at depicting the character as a lesbian (via Variety). While it might not necessarily be incredibly obvious if the viewer isn’t looking for it, the intention… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Tiktok has repeatedly been criticised for its handling of comments and freedom of expression. Jens Kalaene/dpa TikTok is use word filters to suppress comments with certain words like “gay” and “LGBTQ” without users noticing, according to research carried out by German media. Comments featuring common drugs such as cannabis, crack, heroin, cocaine and LSD are also being suppressed on the video app, regardless of context, according research by broadcasters NDR and WDR and news service Tagesschau. The Chinese-owned video app, which has grown rapidly to rival the likes of Instagram and YouTube thanks to a highly addictive user experience, does not make it transparent to users if and why comments do not appear, according to the journalists, whose tests were carried out in Germany. Instead, the app is giving users the impression that their comments are public, a technique known as “shadowbanning”. TikTok users can therefore not be entirely sure whether their own comment is visible to other people. Among at least 20 words being blocked by TikTok in Germany are also “Nazi”, “slaves” and “gas” in what the researchers called a restriction on the freedom of speech. A TikTok spokeswoman admitted to the researchers that her company uses technology to “proactively” search for comments that violate TikTok guidelines or that constitute spam behaviour. They also try to prevent users from posting the same comment more than once. In the current instances, comments that did not violate the community guidelines had also been wrongly flagged as potentially harmful. “This should not have happened and we will continue to train our automated systems to ensure fair and consistent moderation,” the TikTok spokesperson said. The researchers had already reported last March that posts by users containing certain words were being suppressed on TikTok. Among the terms blocked at the time were the words “Auschwitz” and “National Socialism”, which are now apparently no longer blocked. View the full article

Published by DPA (L-R) Officials from the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Johan Aqvist, Hans Ellegren and Olof Ramstra–m, speak at a press conference where they announced the winners of the 2022 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The trio from Denmark and the US Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K Barry Sharpless win the prize. Rob Schoenbaum/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Work on “an ingenious tool for building molecules” – click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry – yielded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for a trio from Denmark and the US, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday. The award will be shared jointly between Carolyn Bertozzi of Stanford University, Morten Meldal of the University of Copenhagen, and Barry Sharpless, of Scripps Research in California. The award honours their work in a field that allowed “molecular building blocks [to] snap together quickly and efficiently,” said the academy. Sharpless, 81, came up with the theory. Following that, he and Meldal, 68, independently came up with the chemical reaction that is critical to the process. Bertozzi, 56, then built on that work to create reactions that work on living organisms. Sharpless now holds two Nobel Prizes in Chemistry. His first was awarded in 2001. Sharpless and Frederick Sanger are the only two-time Chemistry laureates, and two of seven total individuals and organizations to have won a Nobel Prize twice. The Red Cross, for example, has been awarded three Nobel Peace prizes. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 “is about making difficult processes easier,” the Nobel Committee for Chemistry explained. In click chemistry, molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently. Bertozzi took it to a new dimension and started utilising it in living organisms. Bertozzi’s “bioorthogonal reactions take place without disrupting the normal chemistry of the cell,” the academy says. The reaction pioneered here is very popular both in research and in industry because it makes it very easy to connect molecules. Although the process builds molecules unlike those found in nature, they often perform the required function. The theory developed by Bertozzi, Meldal and Sharpless can be used to explore cells, track biological processes and create better ways to target cancer, for example. This is already being tested in clinical trials. “This year’s Prize in Chemistry deals with not overcomplicating matters, instead working with what is easy and simple. Functional molecules can be built even by taking a straightforward route,” says Johan Åqvist, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. Professor Bertozzi could barely believe the news. “I’m absolutely stunned. I’m sitting here and can hardly breathe,” the US scientist said to Professor Hans Ellegren, who called her on the phone with the announcement. To Ellegren’s question of whether she was shocked by the news, Bertozzi responded, “that’s an understatement. I’m still not entirely positive that it’s real.” Bertozzi is the first woman among this year’s winners. The Nobel Prizes in medicine and physics went exclusively to men on Monday and Tuesday. She is also notably one of very few openly gay laureates of all time. Wilhelm Fuessl, director of the archive of the Deutsches Museum, holds a Nobel Prize medal. picture alliance / dpa View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Daley has been named Rimmel’s first ever male global ambassador. The Olympic gold medallist joins the ranks of fashion tour de forces like Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne becoming an international face of the drug store cosmetics giant and sharing how to “get the London look”. Of the news, the 28-year-old diver told GQ that the offer to work alongside faces like supermodel Adwoa Aboah “came as a total shock”. He continued: “I had to take a moment to sit down and really take in what the team had proposed to me. It’ll be interesting to see what the reaction to Rimmel having a man in their campaigns will be, but I really hope it’s a positive one.” Tom – who has four-year-old son Robert with his husband Dustin Lance Black, 48 – says his previous endorsement deals with brands such as Adidas are “nothing compared to how big this is. This is a global campaign that will be blasted onto everyone’s TVs.” The ‘1986’ founder – a knitting line created after he was seen doing needlework poolside at the Tokyo Olympics – is “hopeful” his role can show men that makeup is for them. Tom said: “I’m hopeful that the campaign, and myself as a man fronting it, can help men realise that make-up can be something they can incorporate into their everyday lives, without the fear that many of them have. It’s incredibly exciting to see that beauty is diversifying and becoming fully inclusive, no matter someone’s gender.” Rimmel – which is sold all over the world – believes Tom represents “a powerful role model” for his work in both sport and LGBT activism. Sarah Al Shohaib the beauty company’s senior vice president said: “Rimmel’s partnership with Tom Daley marks an exciting new era for the brand. We are proud of our mission to prioritise diversity and inclusion. As a world-class athlete and an advocate for mental health and LGBTQI+ rights, Tom is a powerful role model.” View the full article

Published by DPA Quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger speaks during an interview at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna. Efforts in “pioneering quantum information science” netted the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger. Hans Klaus Techt/APA/dpa Efforts in “pioneering quantum information science” netted the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger. According to the Nobel Academy, their work focused on “entangled quantum states, where two particles behave like a single unit even when they are separated. Their results have cleared the way for new technology based upon quantum information.” Quantum science promises to open up whole areas of new applications for computers, in everything from enhanced encryption to the ability to crunch massive amounts of numbers faster than any modern computer. The work of the three scientists – who worked separately – advanced theories that had been pondered by scientists like Albert Einstein for decades. Aspect is a professor at the Université Paris-Saclay and École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France. Clauser is a research physicist at JF Clauser and Associates. Zeilinger is a professor at the University of Vienna. Clauser, 79, has in the past described how when still at school he would spend time in the laboratory of his father, an aeronautical engineer. “I was supposed to be doing my homework, but most of the time I was just wandering around admiring the advanced equipment,” he said. With his father’s support – “a great teacher” – Clauser was destined for science, studying physics at the California Institute of Technology and going on to Columbia University in New York. He has also worked at the University of California in Berkeley and independently as consultant and inventor, publishing prolifically and receiving a number of awards, including the Wolf Prize in Physics along with Aspect and Zeilinger. Hobbies include racing yachts. Zeilinger, 77, was dumfounded on being told by phone of his award. “I’m still somehow shocked,” he said on Tuesday when he was connected to the official announcement in Stockholm after the Nobel Academy informed him more than an hour beforehand. “This prize is an encouragement for young people,” he said afterwards. Aspect, 75, is credited with refining Clauser’s experimental measurements, clearing away existing doubts about the theory. Quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger poses for a picture during an interview at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Vienna. Efforts in “pioneering quantum information science” netted the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for Frenchman Alain Aspect, American John F Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger. Hans Klaus Techt/APA/dpa View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Ex-President Donald Trump’s legal team was warned by the National Archives that a number of official White House documents were still missing, including a correspondence between Trump and Kim Jong-Un, RadarOnline.com can confirm. In a shocking development to come as Trump’s legal team continues to battle the Justice Department over the classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago during the FBI’s raid on the property in August, a letter released by the Archives on Monday shows Trump’s team was warned about missing documents as early as May 2021. Mega According to the letter, National Archives and Records Administration general counsel Gary Stern informed Trump’s legal team that “roughly two dozen boxes of original Presidential records” had still not been returned to NARA as of May 6, 2021. Included in the missing records was an “original correspondence” between Trump and Kim Jong-Un from Trump’s tenure as president, as well as a letter former President Barack Obama left for Trump during the presidential transition in January 2017. Maggie Haberman, who interviewed Trump for her new biography of the former president, Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, claimed that Trump once boasted to her about the “great things” he obtained during his time as president – including the Kim Jong-Un letters. “No, I think…that’s in the archives, but most of it is in the Archives,” Trump reportedly told Haberman when asked specifically about his correspondence with the North Korean dictator. “But the Kim Jong Un letters, we have incredible things. I have incredible letters with other leaders.” Mega As RadarOnline.com previously reported, NARA was ultimately forced to visit Mar-a-Lago in January 2022 to recover the 24 boxes of White House material believed to still be in Trump’s possession – although NARA only successfully recovered a total of 15 boxes. “In mid-January 2022, NARA arranged for the transport from the Trump Mar-a-Lago property in Florida to the National Archives of 15 boxes that contained Presidential records, following discussions with President Trump’s representatives in 2021,” the Archives said in a statement at the time. “Former President Trump’s representatives have informed NARA that they are continuing to search for additional Presidential records that belong to the National Archives,” the statement added. The remaining missing records were subsequently referred to the Justice Department in May 2022, which resulted in the raid on Mar-a-Lago by the FBI on August 8. Mega The FBI ultimately recovered an additional 33 boxes of material and records, including more than 100 classified White House documents and 48 empty folders marked classified. A copy of the search warrant used to raid Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida home later revealed the former president is currently under federal investigation for the “removal or destruction of records, obstruction of an investigation, and violating the Espionage Act.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Paresh Dave and Nandita Bose (Reuters) -The White House on Tuesday proposed a non-binding Artificial Intelligence (AI) Bill of Rights that it said would help parents, patients and workers avert harm from the increasing use of automation in education, health care and employment. The Biden administration’s proposal joins hundreds of other guidelines and policy frameworks released by tech companies, industry associations and other government agencies over the past few years. Like the others, the White House version suggests numerous practices that developers and users of AI software should voluntarily follow to prevent the technology from unfairly disadvantaging people. In some cases, algorithms for administering healthcare have not prioritized the needs of Black patients, and facial recognition has been deployed for policing in schools despite its potential for underperforming on darker skin tones. “These technologies are causing real harms in the lives of Americans, harms that run counter to our core democratic values, including the fundamental right to privacy, freedom from discrimination and our basic dignity,” a senior administration official told reporters. Some companies have introduced ethical safeguards into practice. But administration officials said they were concerned that new problems with AI are emerging. The Biden administration’s move comes at a time when the European Union is moving toward regulating high-risk systems while the United States has not come close to a comprehensive law to regulate AI. The pro-business U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that the non-binding proposal could hurt American businesses if they became rules. “There are some recommendations in the AI Blueprint that, if enacted into rules by policymakers, could handcuff America’s ability to compete on the global stage,” said the Chamber’s Jordan Crenshaw in a statement. Tuesday’s announcement did not include proposals for new laws. Instead, officials said regulators including the Federal Trade Commission would continue to apply existing rules to cutting-edge systems. The White House’s proposal says everyone in America should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems, discrimination by algorithms and abusive data collection. They also should be entitled to notice and explanation concerning AI programs they encounter. The Bill of Rights also asks companies, government agencies and others adopting AI to conduct significant testing and oversight and publicize results, so stakeholders can understand what a “reasonable starting point is” for action on issues, senior administration officials said. (Reporting by Paresh Dave and Nandita Bose; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Adler and Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by AFP The satirical website The Onion has filed a brief with the US Supreme Court in support of an Ohio man who created a parody page of his local police department Washington (AFP) – It’s not often that the justices of the US Supreme Court receive a legal brief that is laugh-out-loud funny. But they haven’t received one from The Onion before. The popular satirical website filed an amicus brief on Monday in support of an Ohio man who was arrested for creating a parody page on Facebook of his hometown police department. “Americans can be put in jail for poking fun at the government?” the Onion asked in the filing in support of Anthony Novak of Parma, Ohio. “This was a surprise to America’s Finest News Source and an uncomfortable learning experience for its editorial team.” The 18-page filing is a mix of serious legal argument, jokes, hyperbole and a defense of the art of parody. Claiming a daily readership of “4.3 trillion,” the Onion described itself as the “single most powerful and influential organization in human history.” It said the facts of Novak’s case “managed to eclipse what The Onion’s staff could make up.” Novak was arrested after creating a spoof Facebook page in 2016 mocking the police department in Parma. Accused of disrupting public services and interfering with police functions, Novak was acquitted in a jury trial. He went on to sue the police department charging that his free speech rights had been violated. An appeals court backed the police, however, and Novak is now seeking to have the Supreme Court hear his case. That’s where the Onion entered the fray, filing what is known as a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Novak. “As the globe’s premier parodists, The Onion’s writers also have a self-serving interest in preventing political authorities from imprisoning humorists,” it said. “The Onion cannot stand idly by in the face of a ruling that threatens to disembowel a form of rhetoric that has existed for millennia, that is particularly potent in the realm of political debate, and that, purely incidentally, forms the basis of The Onion’s writers’ paychecks.” View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Sarah K. Burris The media industry’s Editor and Publisher magazine released its cover story Monday about the Fox News empire and their efforts to “deliver cheap, expedient, viscerally-agitating content instead of the journalism its viewers need and deserve.” The report began with Jim Small, an Arizona political reporter who has been on the beat for 20 years. Until recently he covered rallies at the Capitol and political events, but now he has to put his safety first. Someone decked out in extremist insignias came after one of his colleagues. “I know who you are, and I’m keeping my eye on yo… Read More View the full article

Published by Ultimate Classic Rock Singer Sinead O’Connor sparked outrage on Oct. 3, 1992, when she tore up a picture of the Pope during her musical performance on Saturday Night Live. In the lead-up to the episode, show creator Lorne Michaels had all of his attention on outspoken host Tim Robbins. The politically active actor had pitched a searing broadside against NBC parent company and infamous polluters General Electric, which Michaels had rejected for the show, claiming the piece to be more pointed than funny. (Robbins, perhaps anticipating that outcome, included a scene in his sly 1992 political satire Bob Roberts, in whi… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online RIP. Country star Loretta Lynn died at 90 years old on Tuesday, October 4. The singer was surrounded by family when she passed away at her Tennessee ranch and died from natural causes, RadarOnline.com has learned. As this outlet exclusively reported, Lynn had all the arrangements planned prior to her death. “Loretta wants to turn most of her physical holdings into cash so she doesn’t burden her kids and grandkids with having to sell off stuff when she’s gone,” a family friend spilled last week. “But even more, she wants to plan her own memorial service so the day will go EXACTLY as she wants!” Lynn wanted to be laid to rest next to her late husband, Mooney, in addition to her children, Jack Benny and Betty Sue, at the family cemetery. “And that’s where Loretta wants her memorial service to be,” the insider noted. “She wants all of her fans to be able to attend, and there’s plenty of room at the ranch. Loretta has already asked her performing children and grandchildren to take the stage at her farewell event. She also wants lifelong friends such as Dolly Parton to help send her off in style.” The Coal Miner’s Daughter songstress had previous health issues, as she suffered a stroke in 2017 and broke her hip one year later. TMZ was the first to report the news about Lynn’s death. View the full article

Published by PopCrush Lena Dunham is once again facing backlash on the internet. On Sunday (Oct. 2), she tweeted, “When I go, I want my casket to be driven through the NYC pride parade with a plaque that reads ‘she wasn’t for everyone, but she *was* for us’- who can arrange?” The reaction to the cringe tweet was probably not exactly what she expected. One person replied, “‘She died as she lived: in a ploy for attention that was as puzzling as it was desperate.’” Another person tweeted, “gonna start living my life with whatever amount of confidence lena dunham has that makes her think she’s an lgbtq+ icon.” As the p… Read More View the full article

Published by Loudwire An (oddly specific) study on why heterosexual male guitarists play extreme metal music points to these guys wanting to impress other heterosexual men. This American Psychological Association (APA) study was referenced by the twitter account of British TV show QI, or Quite Interesting, yesterday (Oct. 2.) “Research shows that heterosexual men who learn to play extreme metal guitar are mostly motivated to do so in order to impress other heterosexual men,” the show tweeted, sparking some 66 or so replies (at the time of this writing) that were mostly in good fun. The study, itself, called “Extrem… Read More View the full article

Published by PopCrush During Lil Nas X‘s trek across North America on his Long Live Montero Tour, he recently pleaded with his fans to refrain from doing poppers at his concerts. “Stop doing poppers at my concert!” he tweeted on Sept. 28. “U do not need ur a–hole relaxed to see me perform industry baby!” the tweet continued. The rapper’s fans flooded his Twitter replies with snarky comments following the tweet. “But what if we decide to get freaky after the concert?” one person asked, while another wrote, “You can’t stop me.” Popular in the LGBTQ+ community, “poppers are often packaged in small bottles similar to e… Read More View the full article