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Published by Radar Online mega King Charles III has taken over as head of the monarch after his later mother Queen Elizabeth passed this week — with his wife Queen Camilla by his side — but the Royal has been dogged by gay rumors for decades. The twice married and father of two strapping son has dealt with whispers it was all a beard to cover up his shocking secret life. Even his first wife Princess Diana raised questions about her husband’s sexuality. She recorded servant George Smith’s claims that he’d actually caught Charles in bed romping with a male aide. And there has been more talk over the years about alleged trysts between the now-King of England and various guys. “Rumors that Charles might be gay or bisexual have plagued the Royal family for years, ever since his marriage to Diana hit the rocks,” said one source. It’s well known that throughout his 15-year marriage to Di, Charles was caught carrying on with the wife of one of his close friends, Camilla Parker-Bowles, whom he ultimately wed in 2005. mega In 2011, a high-placed Palace source revealed to RadarOnline.com that even then, “many believed his romance with Camilla was just a cover for his real lifestyle.” The most devastating accusation came from former palace servant Smith, a gay man and a military veteran who suffered mental problems from his service. Valet Smith claimed that he was bringing Charles his breakfast in bed and stumbled upon the Prince and an “unmistakably sexual position” with a male aide. mega Charles’ supporters blasted the servant’s tale, declaring the man was a serious drink with mental issues. Also, Smith had a grudge against the man he said was romping with Charles. Smith charged that the man, later identified as Palace valet Michael Fawcett by “Majesty” magazine editor Ingrid Seward, has sexually attacked him — twice! “Mr. Smith claimed the aide raped him in 1989 and later tried to assault him again while they were accompanying the Prince of Wales on a tour to Cairo,” said a newspaper source. Scotland Yard investigated the rape claims but later dropped the case when Smith decided not to press charges. mega Still, Di recorded Smith’s shocking story on an audiotape which was later found in a locked box following her tragic 1997 death in a car crash in a Paris tunnel. “It’s clear from the tape that Diana may have had her doubts about the Prince’s sexuality,” noted Royal author Nicholas Davies. The tape has mysteriously disappeared. But newspapers around the world carried stories about the gay rumors, and Charles was forced to deny being a homosexual. Camilla stood by Charles and branded the Smith story as ridiculous. “It’s all nonsense, she said. “The bitter ramblings of a disturbed alcoholic.” Smith died in 2005 at the age of 44. Fawcett continued to be a part of King Charles’ inner circle for decades and worked for his foundation up until 2021. View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Actor Michael K. Williams has become a best-selling author, one year after his shocking death. The Brooklyn-born star of “The Wire” and “Boardwalk Empire” died on Sept. 6, 2021, at age 54. His autobiography, titled “Scenes From My Life” was nearly done when Williams suffered a lethal overdose of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. The 18-chapter tome, co-written by Jon Sternfeld, hit shelves on Aug. 23 and immediately became a bestseller. The book offers unflinching details of Williams’ childhood trauma, his battles with drug addiction and an acclaimed career that exceeded his own expectations. Alth… Read More View the full article

Published by St. Louis Post-Dispatch When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively allowing Missouri and other red states to immediately outlaw abortion, many who supported that decision scoffed at warnings that same-sex marriage and even interracial marriage rights could be next. Now, as congressional Democrats and some Republicans push legislation to protect marriage at the federal level, opposition from Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and other conservatives shows that there is, in fact, a genuine threat to existing marriages. In overturning Roe earlier this year, the court’s conservative majority rejected Roe’s constit… Read More View the full article

Published by Kaiser Health News Dan DeChellis started looking for a monkeypox vaccine around July Fourth but was unable to find a place that offered one in Orlando, Florida, where he lives. After about a week of searching online, he and three friends made an appointment in Wilton Manors, a city about 3½ hours south by car. DeChellis, who is gay, said he doesn’t understand why the vaccine wasn’t available closer to home or why getting answers about who was eligible from his local health department was so difficult. “My biggest takeaway from our experience has been just the difference in the state of Florida from county to cou… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Meaghan Ellis Since former President Donald Trump left office, the widespread conspiracy theories of satanist pedophilia have slightly waned but now it appears those baseless claims are making their way back to the forefront. In a new analysis published by NBC News, senior reporter Brandy Zadrozny explained the latest Satanic obsession brewing among members of the QAnon community. “While the current obsession with Satan was boosted in part by the QAnon community, partisan media and conservative politicians have been instrumental in spreading newfound fears over the so-called ritualistic abu… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Luke Evans says the UK has lost a “grandmother” after the death of Queen Elizabeth. The 43-year-old actor – who has done a lot of work with the Prince’s Trust – was flying when he heard that the monarch has passed away aged 96, and it made the Welshman want to “come home to London”. Appearing on Tuesday’s episode (13.09.22) of ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’, he said: “I was flying to New York [from LA] and as they called us for the plane they announced she’d died and it felt like we’ve lost our grandmother and all I wanted to do was come home to London.” Luke also opened up on the parallels to the Queen Mother’s death in 2002. He added: “The Queens mother died the day I arrived in London to live as a teenager and it felt like we were mourning together.” Through the Prince’s Trust, Luke has also worked with King Charles III during his time as the Prince of Wales, a title which has now been past on to his son Prince William. He said: “Charles made me feel a million dollars finding something I’m interested in and talking about it… “The prince’s trust has helped so much over 50 years and still is for young people who may not have had the best start in life.” Meanwhile, Luke’s comments about the queen were echoed by ‘Ted Lasso’ actress Hannah Waddingham, who admitted her death had hit her “far worse” than she expected. She told Variety: “It makes me emotional to think about it. “I sat with my dad on the sofa and I watched it all night until I couldn’t keep my eyes open because I couldn’t believe it. It is like a grandmother dying. “It hit me far worse than I thought it would and the enormous pressure that our King has on his shoulders now.” The queen’s death was announced on Thursday (08.09.22), with a Buckingham Palace spokesman saying at the time: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. “The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nandita Bose and Trevor Hunnicutt BOSTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden signed orders on Monday to push more government dollars to the U.S. biotechnology industry, as he promoted his initiative to create new treatments and cut the death rate from cancer. Cancer “doesn’t care if you’re Republican or Democrat,” Biden said at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, on the 60th anniversary of JFK’s ‘Moonshot’ speech that urged Americans to lead in the exploration of space. Biden drew a parallel between the former president’s goal of reaching the moon and his own goal of cutting cancer death rates in half in the next 25 years. “Today I’m setting a long term goal for the Cancer Moonshot – to rally American ingenuity, we engage like we did to reach the moon, but actually cure cancers…once and for all,” Biden said. He said research could spark medical breakthroughs, including a vaccine to prevent cancer, or a blood test that could detect cancer in an annual physical. The executive order allows the federal government to direct funding for the use of microbes and other biologically derived resources to make new foods, fertilizers and seeds, as well as making mining operations more efficient, administration officials said. The order “directs the federal government to ensure biotechnologies invented in the United States of America are made in the United States of America,” Biden said. Biomanufacturing has been used to generate cancer treatments, including those derived from plants or using re-engineered immune cells. The White House did not provide any specifics on how much money would be available, where it would come from or how it would be allocated. Further details are expected at a White House summit on the topic Wednesday. The U.S. federal government is already a source of funds to biotechnology research and development (R&D) through the National Institute of Health, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies. Overall U.S. funding for R&D has dropped as a percentage of gross domestic product since a peak in the 1950s, a trend Biden has pledged to reverse. Potential applications range from the biodiesel fuels made by Renewable Energy Group to the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech or the genetically modified seeds made by Corteva Inc. Biden also named Dr. Renee Wegrzyn, a longtime science adviser and who most recently served at the biotech company Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings Inc, as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a U.S. government-run biomedical research group. Biden’s son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 46, something the president has said helps inform his passion for the project. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose; Editing by Heather Timmons and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to publicly comment on a lightning rout of his forces in north-eastern Ukraine, but is under pressure from nationalists at home to regain the initiative. He has few quick fix options, if Western intelligence and open source analysis is accurate, and most of the potential steps he could take come with domestic and geopolitical risks. Since coming to power in 1999, Islamist militants in Chechnya and the wider North Caucasus region are among the toughest armed foes Putin has faced. In that instance, he chose to escalate with more force. These are some of his main options in Ukraine: STABILISE, REGROUP, ATTACK Russian and Western military analysts agree that — from Moscow’s point of view — Russian forces need to urgently stabilise the frontline, halt Ukraine’s advance, regroup and, if they can, launch their own counter offensive. There are however doubts in the West about whether Russia has the ground forces or sufficient equipment, given how many casualties it has taken and how much hardware has been abandoned or destroyed during what Russia calls its “special military operation” to destroy the Ukrainian army. “There is no manpower,” Konrad Muzyka, director of Poland’s Rochan Consulting, said after Russia’s setback in the north-east. “Volunteer battalions are under strength, and the recruitment campaign is not delivering what was expected. And I think it will only get worse as fewer men will now want to join. If Moscow wants to add men, it needs to conduct a mobilisation.” Russian efforts to increase the number of troops it can deploy include the formation of a new 3rd Army Corps, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov marshalling new forces, and Putin last month signing a decree to increase the size of Russia’s armed forces. Putin will need to decide whether to agree to demands from nationalist critics that he sack or reshuffle the military’s top brass, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a close ally. Putin has traditionally not given in to immediate pressure to fire subordinates, but has sometimes parted company with them at a later date. MOBILISATION Mobilising Russia’s reserves, who number around 2 million men with military service within the past five years, is doable but it takes times to train and deploy people. The Kremlin said on Tuesday there was no discussion of a nationwide mobilisation “at the moment.” Such a move would be popular with nationalists, but less so with some Russian men in urban centres who, anecdotal evidence suggests, are less keen on joining the fight. It would mean recalibrating official messaging on Ukraine and moving away from describing it as “a special military operation” with limited goals to an open-ended war. That in turn would force the authorities to abandon their policy of trying to ensure that the lives of most Russians go on as they did before Feb. 24 when Putin invaded Ukraine. Putting Russia on a full wartime footing would come with domestic political risks too, notably the risk of a public backlash against a forced draft. It would also constitute an admission that Russia is engaged in a full-scale war against a fellow Slav country – and that the war is going badly for Moscow. Andrey Kortunov, head of RIAC, a think tank close to the Russian foreign ministry, has said he believes the authorities are reluctant on mobilisation. “In big cities many people do not want to go and fight and mobilisation is not likely to be popular,” said Kortunov. “Secondly I think it is arguably in Putin’s interests to present the whole thing as a limited operation. The state would like to preserve as much as possible as it was before without making any radical changes.” Tony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia, has said it would take months before a mobilisation would have any effect on Russia’s fighting strength in any case. BET ON ‘GENERAL WINTER’ Two Russian sources familiar with Kremlin thinking told Reuters last month that Putin is hoping that sky-rocketing energy prices and possible shortages this winter will persuade Europe to strong arm Ukraine into a truce — on Russia’s terms. Some European diplomats believe that Ukraine’s recent battlefield success has undermined the urge of some Europeans to push Kyiv to make concessions however, while countries like Germany appear to have grown tougher on Moscow in recent weeks and more determined to ride out winter energy problems. The European Union has banned Russian coal and approved a partial ban on Russian crude oil imports. Russia in turn has sharply cut gas exports to Europe and made clear it could ban all energy exports, a lever Putin has yet to pull. EXPAND MISSILE TARGETING After its setback in north-east Ukraine, Russia struck Ukrainian power infrastructure with missiles. That caused temporary blackouts in the Kharkiv and adjacent Poltava and Sumy regions. Water supplies and mobile networks were also affected. The move was cheered by some Russian nationalists who would like to see Moscow use cruise missiles to cripple Ukrainian infrastructure on a more permanent basis, a move certain to attract international condemnation. The same nationalists have also long called for Moscow to strike what they call “decision-making” centres in Kyiv and elsewhere, something that it is unlikely could be achieved without significant collateral damage. END OR DOWNGRADE GRAIN DEAL Putin has complained that a U.N. and Turkey-brokered deal that allows Ukraine to export grain and other foodstuffs via the Black Sea is unfair to poorer countries and Russia. Putin is due to holds talks this week with Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan to discuss revising the deal, which provides Ukraine with much needed budget revenues. If Putin wants to immediately hurt Ukraine he could suspend or cancel the pact or refuse to renew it when it expires in November. The West and poorer countries in Africa and the Middle East would accuse him of worsening global food shortages; he would blame Ukraine. PEACE DEAL The Kremlin says it will dictate to Kyiv the terms of any peace deal when the time comes, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he will use force to liberate his country. Zelenskiy has said that includes Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Moscow has repeatedly said that Crimea’s status is settled forever. Conceding captured territory in eastern Ukraine in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic or Luhansk People’s Republic also looks politically impossible for Moscow as it has formally recognised them. Fully “liberating” the two self-proclaimed statelets from Ukrainian forces was one of the main reasons given for the “special military operation” in the first place. Handing back captured territory in southern Ukraine where Russia partially controls three regions looks like a hard domestic sell too. The southern Kherson region is directly north of annexed Crimea and the location of a canal which supplies the Black Sea peninsula with most of its water. Along with the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region, Kherson also gives Russia a land corridor through which it can supply Crimea, something Moscow has touted as a major prize. GO NUCLEAR Russian government officials have dismissed Western suggestions that Moscow would use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but it remains a worry for some in the West. Apart from inflicting mass casualties, such a move could start a dangerous escalatory spiral and formally draw Western countries into a direct war with Russia. Russia’s nuclear doctrine allows for the use of nuclear weapons if they – or other types of weapons of mass destruction – are used against it, or if the Russian state faces an existential threat from conventional weapons. Putin, in a quasi-autobiography in 2000, recalled cornering a rat in a corner with a stick when growing up in a dilapidated apartment building in then Leningrad and being surprised when the cornered animal threw itself at him and turned the tables. Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, has warned that a cornered Putin could go nuclear if he faced a humiliating defeat with no face-saving off-ramp. “If the choice for Russia is fighting a losing war, and losing badly and Putin falling, or some kind of nuclear demonstration, I wouldn’t bet that they wouldn’t go for the nuclear demonstration,” said Brenton. Retired U.S. general Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, agrees it’s a risk but has said he thinks it unlikely. “There is no real battlefield advantage to be gained, it would be impossible for (the) U.S. to stay out/not respond, and I don’t think Putin or his closest advisers are suicidal,” said Hodges. (Editing by William Maclean) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jack Queen WATERBURY, Conn. (Reuters) – A lawyer for families of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting told a Connecticut jury on Tuesday that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will never stop profiting off destructive falsehoods unless he pays for the lies he told about the massacre. The lawyer, Christopher Mattei, made his assessment during opening arguments at a trial where jurors will decide how much in damages Jones owes 14 family members of victims for claiming the massacre was a hoax. Jones’ trial came one month after a jury in Austin, Texas, awarded two parents $49.3 million in a similar case. Mattei told jurors it was important to stop Jones and his right-wing Infowars brand from “preying on people who are helpless” and encouraging years of harassment from Jones’ followers. “They knew the harassment was happening, but the lies were too profitable,” Mattei said. The family members sued Jones and Infowars parent Free Speech Systems LLC in 2018. They said the harassment was conducted by people who believed Jones’ false claims that government staged the Sandy Hook shooting with crisis actors as a pretext for seizing guns, and that the families faked their children’s deaths. Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place. The trial is being held in a state court in Waterbury, Connecticut, about 20 miles (32 km) from Sandy Hook, and is expected to last five weeks. Jurors are required solely to determine how much Jones and Free Speech Systems must pay for spreading lies about the killing of 20 children and six staff members at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Adam Lanza, the gunman, used a Remington Bushmaster rifle as he shot his way into the school, after shooting his mother to death at home. The massacre ended when Lanza killed himself as he heard approaching police sirens. A judge issued a default judgment in the case in November after Jones failed to comply with court orders. Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July. That would typically shield the company from lawsuits, but it agreed to face trial in August. The $49.3 million award in Austin, where Infowars is based, could be reduced substantially because it consists mostly of non-economic damages intended to punish Jones for his conduct. A lawyer for Jones has said he will seek to reduce the $45.2 million punitive damages component to $1.5 million, citing a Texas law imposing a cap. Lawyers for the parents have said the cap does not apply and Jones should pay the full amount. (Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Mark Porter and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham proposed new national restrictions on abortion on Tuesday, two months before the Nov. 8 midterm elections in which the abortion issue has emerged as potential albatross for Republican candidates. With control of the Senate up for grabs, and some jittery Republican candidates softening their positions on abortion, Graham announced legislation that would ban the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide. The move carries political risks. Polls have shown the issue of abortion has increased in importance for Democratic voters in the midterms after the U.S. Supreme Court in June overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had recognized women’s constitutional right to abortion for nearly half a century. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Sept. 7-12, 63% of respondents said they were less likely to back candidates who support laws that ban or severely restrict abortion. Graham’s bill, which will go nowhere in the Democratic-controlled Congress, is stricter than similar legislation he introduced in previous years that aimed to ban abortions after 20 weeks. The current bill allows exceptions in cases involving rape, incest or risks to the mother’s life and health. The bill quickly came under fire from Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who played on Graham’s allegiance to former President Donald Trump by branding the bill as a “MAGA” measure, using the acronym for Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again.” “Proposals like the one today send a clear message from MAGA Republicans to women across the country: your body, our choice,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. Abortion rights advocates have scored political victories in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision, which paved the way for a raft of state-level abortion bans to be enforced. Democrat Pat Ryan defeated a Republican rival in a House special election last month after making abortion his top campaign issue. In conservative Kansas, voters overwhelmingly rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state’s constitution. Democrats are now hoping to use the abortion issue to capitalize on Republican weaknesses in some House and Senate races. Republicans are favored to take control of the House in November but could have a harder time regaining the Senate majority, as Trump-endorsed candidates struggle in key swing states including Arizona, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Some Republican candidates, including Senate hopeful Blake Masters in Arizona, have gone so far as to change their campaign websites to eliminate hardline rhetoric on abortion, according to U.S. media reports. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Matthew Chapman On Tuesday, VICE reported that QAnon adherents are rejoicing over former President Donald Trump’s increasingly open embrace of their movement, symbols, and slogans. “Trump shared a picture of himself wearing a Q lapel pin, overlaid with the QAnon phrases ‘The Storm is Coming’ and ‘WWG1WGA,’ on his Truth Social account on Monday evening. The post had been originally shared on Truth Social by an account called ‘Patriots in Control,’ before Trump re-shared it,” reported David Gilbert. “‘How much more obvious can it get?’ one QAnon follower asked in the QAnon-focus Great Awakeni… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Matthew Chapman On Monday, The Daily Beast reported that Michael Flynn, former President Donald Trump’s short-lived first National Security Adviser and notorious conspiracy theorist, was just elected to a local GOP leadership position in Sarasota, Florida. “On Thursday evening, Flynn was one of several dozen new members of the local Republican executive committee elected by voice vote at the Morgan Family Community Center in North Port, Florida,” reported Michael Daly. “As if that were not scary enough, they also elected James Hoel, a local leader of the Proud Boys.” “Hoel and fellow Proud … Read More View the full article

Published by PopCrush During Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral procession, her disgraced son, Prince Andrew, was heckled by a Scottish protester. “Andrew, you’re a sick old man,” the heckler shouted. He was swiftly pulled from the crowd by police and other spectators, where he was then arrested. As he was pulled out and arrested, the protester shouted, “Disgusting!” He also said to the cop, “Oy, I’ve done nothing wrong.” The procession was being led by King Charles III as the coffin was taken to St. Giles’ Cathedral. According to the New York Post, the heckler is named Rory and told a reporter, “powerful men shouldn’t b… Read More View the full article

Published by The Detroit News LANSING, Mich. — Meshawn Maddock, the co-chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, labeled Pete Buttigieg, the U.S. transportation secretary and a gay former officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, a “weak little girl” in a Sunday tweet. Maddock’s post drew immediate criticism from Democrats with state Rep. Samantha Steckloff, D-Farmington Hills, calling on Republicans “to stand up against this garbage” and to ask for Maddock’s “immediate removal.” “The @migop chair chose today to raise homophobic and bigoted attacks against Michiganders,” Steckloff tweeted. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South B… Read More View the full article

Published by Al-Araby The European Union on Tuesday condemned the death sentences imposed by Iran on two women, Elham Chubdar and Zahra Sedighi Hamedani, who advocates and human rights groups say are LGBT activists and innocent of any crime. “The EU is – as a principle – fundamentally opposed to the death penalty at all times and in all circumstances, and aims at its universal abolition,” Peter Stano, the spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said. “The EU is also firmly opposed to all forms of criminalisation of sexual orientation and gender identity,” he added. Iran’s official IRNA news agency r… Read More View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) The EuroPride march, set for Saturday in Belgrade, cannot be held as planned due to security concerns, Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the organisers on Tuesday. “At 2:15 pm, we received a notification from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the march is not permitted, stating that security is the reason for the ban. That is all we know at the moment,” one of the EuroPride organisers, Goran Miletić, told the local outlet Nova.rs. Miletić clarified that the ministry had an issue with the planned route of the parade, which is expected to draw thousands of participants from Serb… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, speaks at an election rally in Piazza Duomo. Two weeks before Italy’s parliamentary elections, Meloni, as a possible future prime minister, has provoked the European Union with nationalist statements. LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa With barely two weeks to go before parliamentary elections in Italy, possible future prime minister Giorgia Meloni has spoken out against homosexual couples being allowed to adopt children. In a debate published by the Corriere della Sera newspaper, the party leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy said she believed “the best possible should be offered to children who have already had bad luck.” She specified that “means having a father and a mother, stability in the relationship, what our law prescribes.” The comments led to a clash with her debating opponent, the Social Democrat and former prime minister Enrico Letta, who replied that children need love above all. “But love doesn’t play a role here,” Meloni replied in the debate published Monday night, “the state does not standardize love, Enrico Letta!” To which the leading candidate of the centre-left alliance said, “Exactly, but you are standardizing love by saying what is love and what is not.” In Italy, lesbian and gay couples are currently not allowed by law to adopt children, but it is possible for one of the partners in a couple to adopt the other’s biological child. Meloni goes into the elections on September 25 as the big favourite. With her centre-right alliance – which includes the right-wing League and the conservative Forza Italia in addition to the Brothers of Italy – she is currently on course for a clear majority in parliament. She has repeatedly and clearly stated her views on gay and lesbian adoption in the past. “Yes to the natural family! No to LGBT lobby!” she bellowed in June during an appearance as a guest of the far-right Vox party in Spain. Recently, the issue took a bizarre turn when Federico Mollicone, the cultural representative of Brothers of Italy, demanded that the Italian public broadcaster RAI refrain from transmitting an episode of the children’s programme Peppa Pig. The episode features Penny the polar bear, who has two mothers. “Peppa Pig is an animated series for three-year-olds,” noted Meloni, who said she feared that “concepts are being imposed on children.” Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia party, speaks at an election rally in Piazza Duomo. Two weeks before Italy’s parliamentary elections, Meloni, as a possible future prime minister, has provoked the European Union with nationalist statements. LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Angelica Ross is bringing a new kind of razzle and dazzle to Broadway. The “Pose” star is making history as the first transgender actress to portray Roxie Hart in “Chicago.” She started her limited run at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre on Monday. And she’s still ecstatic about it. “It’s just going better than I had imagined but I will be honest and say that I was pretty excited from the notion of doing this,” she told the Daily News. “I come from a musical theater background … but it’s been a while since I’ve done this kind of this level of theater, live theater.” The Kenosha, Wiscon… Read More View the full article

Published by NJ.com DEAR ABBY: I am a teenage girl who has recently discovered I am bisexual. I told a few close friends, and I’m happy to say they have accepted me. Nothing has changed. I have not told any of my family yet. I know my parents will support me, but the problem is two of my four siblings. They constantly tease and taunt me, call me names and pick on me. I have been raised to stand up to bullies, and I am mostly confident with myself. I have brought up their bullying to my parents a couple of times, but after discipline from my parents they keep doing it. They are clearly homophobic, and I know they … Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards returned to Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater for the first time since 2019 on Monday, upended for three years by the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are all the winners from this year’s show, hosted by Kenan Thompson: Drama series“Yellowjackets” “Succession” – WINNER “Stranger Things” “Squid Game” “Severance” “Ozark” “Euphoria” “Better Call Saul” Comedy series“Abbott Elementary” “Barry” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” “Hacks” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” “Only Murders in the Building” “Ted Lasso” – WINNER “What We Do in the Shadows” Limited or anthology series“Dopesick” “The Dropout… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Department of Public Health said on Monday it had confirmed the area’s first death due to monkeypox, saying the individual was severely immunocompromised and had been hospitalized. The department said it had made the determination that the death in Los Angeles County was due to monkeypox together with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “The resident was severely immunocompromised and had been hospitalized,” the department said in a statement. It is the second known death of a person diagnosed with the disease in the United States. Texas last month reported the first death in a severely immunocompromised person who was diagnosed with monkeypox. The Texas case is still under investigation to see what role monkeypox played in the death. Monkeypox is rarely fatal, but people with weakened immune systems may be more likely to get seriously ill or die, health officials say. Anyone can become infected with monkeypox, which spreads through close contact with an infected person. Nearly all of the more than 21,985 monkeypox cases in the United States have occurred among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, according to the CDC. (Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Stephen Coates) View the full article

Published by AlterNet By Brandon Gage United States Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) on Monday chastised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for including the term “pregnant people” in its literature. Rubio also admitted to not knowing where he was. “Today we are subjected to things like, there are such things as pregnant men. As of – what is it, almost ten o’clock Eastern Standard Time, are we on standard or daylight time? I don’t remember it doesn’t matter – as of almost ten o’clock today, as far as I know, every single human being that’s ever been born was born of a biological woman,” Rubio declared in… Read More View the full article

Published by The Spun By Daniel Bates One of the most competitive running events in the world is taking a step towards full inclusion, per 19thnews.com. According to the outlet, the Boston Marathon is now including a nonbinary division with more details about what times they have to hit to join the race. For 18 to 34-year-olds, (the youngest group in the race) nonbinary runners must have recorded a marathon time of three hours and 30 minutes between September of last year and now; with times slightly increasing for each age group. One runner and director of an LGBTQ+ running club said they felt “instant excitement”… Read More View the full article

Published by Global Voices The report highlights the existence of a campaign in the Brazilian Legislature to discredit and ban education on gender and sexuality | Image: Giovana Fleck/Global Voices Municipal and state parliaments throughout Brazil and members of the National Congress have used political tools to weaken or ban sex and gender education over the past eight years, according to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in May 2022. In the report ‘I’m afraid, that was their goal’: Efforts to ban gender and sexuality education in Brazil, the international human rights organization analyzed bills and laws … Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — There will be a little less music on Broadway in the new year. The celebrated revival of “The Music Man,” starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, will shut down on Jan. 1 after 358 regular and 46 preview performances, its producers announced Tuesday. “We are so proud of our extraordinary company, led by Hugh and Sutton, for their tireless work in bringing joy to our audiences night after night,” producer Kate Horton said in a statement. “I am thrilled that Hugh and Sutton will continue to create their unique magic [on] the stage right through to the end of 2022 so that we can prope… Read More View the full article