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Published by Radar Online RICHARD ELLIS/UPI/Newscom/The Mega Agency WNBA star Brittney Grinerlooked rattled with nerves as she awaits her fate for allegedly carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil through Moscow airport security in February. The imprisoned Phoenix Mercury star, 31, appeared in a Russian courtroom on Monday for a preliminary hearing ahead of her trial, which is now set to begin on Friday, July 1, Radar can confirm. RICHARD ELLIS/UPI/Newscom/The Mega Agency She was shackled in photos obtained by Daily Mail and will remain in custody until the trial ends, her lawyer, Aleksandr Boikov, confirmed. The 6-foot-9 athlete could be seen surrounded by prison guards ahead of her courtroom appearance. The drug charges against her carry a sentence of up to 10 years in a penal colony. Her release seemed unlikely following a recent Keir Simmons interview, during which Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s top spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, shut down the State Department’s position that she was wrongfully detained and could be viewed as a hostage. Peskov argued that “hundreds and hundreds of Russian citizens that were sentenced for carrying hashish.” “Why should we make an exemption for a foreign citizen?” he asked. “She violated Russian law, and now she’s being prosecuted,” Peskov continued. “It’s not about being a hostage. There are lots of American citizens here. They’re enjoying their freedoms … but you have to obey the laws.” Bill Shettle/Cal Sport Media/Newscom/The Mega Agency Griner was arrested on February 17, RadarOnline.com reported, after traveling to the country to participate in their professional female basketball league. She was accused of smuggling drugs into Russia after a hashish oil vape pen was allegedly found in her luggage and was quickly detained by authorities. The Olympic gold medalist’s serious legal woes have rocked her family, including her wife, Cherelle Griner, who said they have only been able to chat “sporadically” through letters as they fight for her release. Stacey Wescott/TNS/Newscom/The Mega Agency “I’m trusting her lawyers,” Cherelle said during an interview with Good Morning America. “‘How does she look? How is her spirit? How is her energy?’ I’m just asking all those questions, trying to just get some type of indication or vibe.” View the full article

Published by Al-Araby An investigation has been opened into a children’s magazine in the United Arab Emirates for promoting, according to authorities, homosexuality. The May issue of Majid Magazine, a popular comic for kids in the Arab world published by Abu Dhabi Media and sold in a number of countries, was withdrawn last week, as it depicted a multi-coloured character. “Amazing, I have the capability to colour things… Ali will wish to become like me,” reads one line. The term “homosexual” and “like me” in Arabic are “mithli,” which both spell and sound the same. Some social media users claim this was done on purp… Read More View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune CHICAGO — With rainbow flags adorning the streets around Montrose Avenue and Broadway Street and rainbow-clad people staking claims to sidewalk spots near colorful floats, it became official: The annual Chicago Pride Parade was back. The parade was canceled the past two years due to COVID-19 restrictions. But at noon Sunday it returned, stepping off in the Uptown neighborhood. It will end at the corner of Diversey Parkway and Sheridan Road in Lincoln Park, traversing its traditional route along Broadway and Halsted Street. “People keep telling me how excited they are,” Tim Frye, the parade’s o… Read More View the full article

Published by uPolitics.com A new Ohio bill that would allow for genital exams to be administered if the sex of a student was disputed is being debated by Ohio’s state representatives. Bill 151 is meant for any student who decides to go into sports, and their gender is disputed. Critics say that the law specifically targets transgender youth unfairly. State Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Ohio) said abuses could come about from the law, which passed the Republican-controlled Ohio House. “We stand to protect all children from child sexual abuse … as state-sanctioned child sexual abuse, which we believe this particular piece of le… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) -A Norwegian court on Monday identified the suspect in a deadly rampage at a gay bar in Oslo as Zaniar Matapour, a Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, as the city prepared a demonstration of solidarity to honour the victims later on Monday. Matapour, whom police have described as a radicalised Islamist with a history of mental illness, is accused of killing two people and injuring 21 on Saturday, the day the city was due to celebrate its annual Pride parade. He was apprehended by passers-by who chased him down the street. Police arrived at the scene five minutes after receiving the first emergency calls and took him into custody. The Oslo district court will decide on Monday the initial terms of Matapour’s detention during the investigation into the mass shooting. He will undergo a psychiatric evaluation as part of that, police said. Hours later, members of the city’s LGBTQ community will gather in front of Oslo Town Hall. Monday also marks the anniversary of New York’s Stonewall riots of June 1969, seen as the protests that gave birth to the international gay rights movement. Intelligence services said they had been aware of Matapour since 2015 and that he had been part of a network of Islamist extremists in Norway. “Around 2015 we were worried about this person,” Roger Berg, acting head of Norway’s police intelligence service, PST, told private broadcaster TV2 on Saturday. “We have followed him, to a degree. In more recent times, he was not one of the people we were the most worried about. “We assess everyone who are part of these networks … The information we had did not give us ground for further worry, which would mean we would follow him very closely.” The suspect’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, did not reply to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters. He told TV2 it was not possible to draw any conclusions about the motives or reasons for the attack. “It is far too early to do so,” he said. Matapour is accused of murder, attempted murder and terrorism. His response to the accusations is not known. Matapour moved to Norway as a child with his parents, tabloid VG reported. As an adult, he lived in Oslo, became a father and for several years his main source of income was benefits, it said. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; editing by John Stonestreet) View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Fireworks sparked a mass panic in Washington Square Park Sunday, sending throngs of celebrants of Pride weekend scrambling from the area, police said. Thousands of Pride revelers swarming the park panicked about 8:50 p.m. when fireworks were let off — a noise many mistook for gunshots. Video posted to Twitter show scores of terrified people running from the famed park. “People totally freaked out,” said one witness, who asked not to be named. “We heard two loud bangs and everyone just started running at the same time. People were just running every direction.” “Who would light firew… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Pink has declared any of her fans who support the overturning of Roe v. Wade should never listen to her music again. The pop star has weighed in on the US Supreme Court’s decision last week which ended protections on women’s right to abortions, meaning several states will now move forward with plans to ban or restrict the procedures – and Pink has now voiced her outrage. In a candid post to her 31.5 million Twitter followers, she wrote: “Let’s be clear: if you believe the government belongs in a woman’s uterus, a gay persons business or marriage, or that racism is okay – then please in the name of your lord never f*****g listen to my music again.” The 1973 Roe v Wade battle centred around ‘Jane Roe’ – a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey. She was a single mother pregnant for the third time who wanted an abortion, and sued the Dallas attorney general Henry Wade over a Texas law that made it a crime to terminate a pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life was in danger – arguing the law infringed on her constitutional rights. The ruling was overturned on Friday (24.06.22) and there has been an outpouring of anger from celebrities including Madonna, who declared she feels “scared” for her daughters. The 63-year-old singer- who is mum to Lourdes, 25, Rocco, 21, David and Mercy, both 16, and nine-year-old twins Stella and Estere – said she has been “plunged into deep despair”. In a post on Instagram, she wrote: “I woke up to the terrifying news that Roe V Wade had been overturned and that. Legislation has decided that we no longer have rights as women over our bodies. This decision has plunged me and every other woman in this country into deep despair … I am scared For my daughters. I’m scared for all women in America. I am just plain scared.” Other stars to have spoken out against the ruling include Lizzo, Tiffany Haddish, Halle Berry, Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday expanded the religious rights of government employees by ruling in favor of a Christian former public high school football coach in Washington state who sued after being suspended from his job for refusing to stop leading prayers with players on the field after games. In the latest of a series of Supreme Court rulings taking a broad view of religious liberty, the justices in a 6-3 decision sided with Joseph Kennedy, who until 2015 served as a part-time assistant football coach in the city of Bremerton and has since become a cause celebre for conservative Christian activists. The court’s conservative justices were in the majority and its liberal members in dissent. The ruling, authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, rejected the local school district’s concerns that in a public school setting Kennedy’s prayers and Christian-infused speeches could be seen as coercive to students or a governmental endorsement of a particular religion in violation of the First Amendment’s so-called establishment clause. The Supreme Court held that Kennedy’s actions were protected by his own rights under the First Amendment, which protects free speech and religious expression. The justices overturned a lower court’s ruling siding with the school district, which suspended him in 2015 after Kennedy repeatedly defied directions from officials to stop the post-game prayers while on duty and rebuffed their offers for him to use private locations in the school as an alternative. Powered by its conservative majority, the Supreme Court in recent years has expanded individual and corporate religious rights while narrowing the separation between church and state. The Bremerton school district argued that Kennedy “made a spectacle” of delivering prayers and speeches, invited students to join him and courted media attention while acting in his capacity as a government employee. Some parents said their children felt compelled to participate. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled against Kennedy, finding that local officials would have violated the First Amendment’s ban on government establishment of religion if they let his actions continue. Kennedy served as a coach at his alma mater, Bremerton High School, from 2008 to 2015. His lawyers assert that he “lost his job” because of his actions, suing in 2016. Kennedy sought a court order to be reinstated as a coach, accusing officials of religious discrimination and violating his free speech rights. Kennedy initially appeared to comply with directions to stop the prayers while on duty, the district said, but later refused and made media appearances publicizing the dispute, attracting national attention. After repeated defiance, he was placed on paid leave from his seasonal contract and did not re-apply as a coach for the subsequent season. Officials have pointed out that Kennedy no longer lives in the school district and has moved to Florida. He has said he would return if he got his job back. First Liberty Institute, a conservative religious rights group, helped represent Kennedy in the case. The Supreme Court has issued a series of rulings this year on religious rights. On June 21, it endorsed the use of public money to pay for students to attend religious schools in a Maine case. On May 2, it backed a Christian group that sought to fly a flag emblazoned with a cross at Boston city hall. On March 24, it directed Texas to grant a convicted murderer on death row his request to have his Christian pastor lay hands on him and audibly pray during his execution. In other religious rights rulings in recent years, the Supreme Court broke down barriers for public money to go to religious schools and churches and exempted family-owned corporations from a federal requirement regarding employee insurance coverage for women’s birth control on religious grounds. It also sided with a Catholic organization receiving public money that barred LGBT people from applying to be foster parents and backed a Christian baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Olivia Rodrigo is “devastated and terrified” after the Supreme Court terminated the constitutional right to abortion in the US. The 19-year-old pop star was appearing at Glastonbury music festival on Saturday (25.06.22) and welcomed fellow singer Lily Allen onto the stage to perform a duet of her 2008 hit ‘F*** You’ as a reaction to the overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade ruling. Olivia said: “I’m devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this. I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s*** about freedom. The song is for the justices: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you! We hate you.” However, the ‘drivers license’ hitmaker – who shot to global fame back in 2020 after her music went viral on Instagram – was thrilled to be at the annual music festival in Worthy Farm sharing the stage with Lily, who could be seen swearing with her middle fingers as Olivia rhymed off the names of the justices. She told the crowd: “This is actually my first Glastonbury and I’m sharing this stage with Lily, this is the biggest dream come true ever. But I’m also equally as heartbroken about what happened in America yesterday!” The song – which was written by Lily back in 2008 and featured on her sophomore album ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ – was initially inspired by then-President George W. Bush, who Lily described as a “f****** a********.” Some of the lyrics include: “F***you, f*** you very very much We hate what you and we hate your whole crew, so please don’t stay in touch.” View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Black people are more likely to be jailed for weapons possession than other New Yorkers — giving public defenders and civil rights advocates reason to support last week’s Supreme Court ruling expected to ease the process of getting a license to carry a gun. The defense lawyers’ unlikely alliance with the NRA-affiliated group of New York gun owners who brought the Supreme Court case is based partly on the argument that New York’s laws restricting gun owners’ right to carry weapons had racist underpinnings. “Society as a whole has a dramatically different view of Black people carrying… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations mocked the macho image of their absent adversary Vladimir Putin on Sunday, at a meeting in Germany dominated by the Russian President’s invasion of Ukraine. As the besuited leaders sat down for their first meeting of the three-day G7 summit in the sweltering Bavarian Alps, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked if their jackets should come off – or if they should even disrobe further. “We all have to show that we’re tougher than Putin,” Johnson said, to laughter from some of his colleagues. “Bare-chested horseback riding,” shot back Canada’s Justin Trudeau. “Oh yes,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Horseback riding is the best.” Putin, who prizes his sporty image, has been pictured shirtless several times in photos released by Russian state media, including one set in which he rode a brown horse while wearing wrap-around sunglasses, a gold chain and army trousers. The G7 leaders discussed efforts to further isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which has killed thousands of people and driven millions from their homes. Britain, Canada, Japan and the United States announced moves to ban imports of Russian gold. The G7 also includes France, Italy and Germany. (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Matthias Williams and Peter Graff) View the full article

Published by Al-Araby Turkish police on Sunday forcibly intervened in a Pride march in Istanbul, detaining dozens of demonstrators and an AFP photographer, AFP journalists on the ground said. The governor’s office had banned the march around Taksim square in the heart of Istanbul but protesters gathered nearby under heavy police presence earlier than scheduled. BREAKING: Turkish police break up Istanbul Pride march, detain dozens including media pic.twitter.com/0jxLjLDUOA — BNN Newsroom (@BNNTRnews) As usual Turkish gov’t doesn’t allow the Gay pride march in Istanbul today. Here a police officer is throwing LGBT… Read More View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Thomas Neumann Nassib commemorated Pride Month by revealing a charitable donation on Instagram. View the original article to see embedded media. Carl Nassib is a leader on and off the field for the Las Vegas Raiders, and he further elevated his social impact with a charitable announcement Sunday. Nassib, the first openly gay active player in NFL history, said in an Instagram post that he will match donations to The Trevor Project up to $100,000 in an effort that coincides with Pride Month. “I want to wish everybody a happy Pride Month. I also want to remind people why pride is important to … Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Dan Fastenberg and Randi Love NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pride celebrations hosted by LGBTQ communities across the United States this weekend took on a tone of outrage following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion and a wave of anti-transgender legislation. The weekend’s Pride events, which included Sunday parades in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver, came on the heels of fervent protests in some of the same cities since Friday, when abortion rights supporters took to the streets to decry the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion nationwide. LGBTQ leaders fear the ruling endangers personal freedom beyond abortion rights. In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the Court might reconsider other precedents, mentioning specifically the rulings protecting the rights to contraception, same-sex intimacy and gay marriage. “The anti-abortion playbook and the anti-LGBTQ playbook are one and the same. Both are about denying control over our bodies and making it more dangerous for us to live as we are,” Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD, said in a statement. Even before the Supreme Court’s ruling against abortion rights, the LGBTQ community’s Pride month jubilation was weighed down by a raft of Republican-backed state laws that specifically target transgender youth. The measures enacted in several red states bar classroom discussion of gender identity, block access to healthcare to help young people transition, and restrict participation in sports. “This march is going to have more of a serious tone than celebratory, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all,” Krystal Marx, executive director of Seattle Pride, said ahead of that city’s parade, which was expecting half a million attendees on Sunday. At New York City’s Pride parade, women’s health provider Planned Parenthood was the first group to kick off the march. Throngs of people dressed in rainbow colors cheered as Planned Parenthood representatives, holding pink signs that read “Together. We fight for all” started the parade in Manhattan around noon on Sunday. “Everybody please scream for Planned Parenthood!” an announcer called over a loudspeaker. The crowd then began a chant of, “We won’t back down!” (Reporting by Randi Love, Dan Fastenberg and Soren Larson and Gabriella Borter; Editing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by Knewz By Alex Lang New York (Knewz) — LGBT people experience anxiety and depression at higher rates than other people, according to U.S. Census data. In the most recent findings, about 50 percent of LGBT people reported symptoms of anxiety, according to the data. That figure has held fairly steady since July 2021. The results come as June marks “Pride” month in many communities. That figure is compared to 24.3 percent of non-LGBT adults who say they have anxiety symptoms. Anxiety in LGBT individuals was highest in LGBT people living with kids, the census found. That demographic also had the highest … Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Anderson Cooper says Richard Gere made him realise he was gay. The 55-year-old TV host – who is the son of late heiress Gloria Vanderbilt and actor Wyatt Cooper – went to see the ‘Pretty Woman’ actor, 72, starring in the gay-themed play ‘Bent’ back in 1977 with his mother’s friends and knew he was gay when Richard appeared on stage. He said: “They took me to see Richard Gere in Bent, which if anyone doesn’t know about the play Bent, it’s about two gay guys in the concentration camp. I mean the opening scene… It is the gayest thing you can imagine. And this was Richard Gere in 1977 [around the time he was in] ‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’. He was so beautiful. And I’m there. My mom didn’t go. It was just me and my mom’s two gay friends. And I just remember being like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gay. … I’m totally gay.’ “ The CNN star – who has son Wyatt, two, and Sebastian, four months, via a surrogate and continues to raise them with his ex-boyfriend Benjamin Maisani – went on to reveal that he even got to meet Richard Gere after the show in his dressing room and “couldn’t speak” when he laid eyes on the shirtless star. Speaking on ‘Radio Andy’, he added: “And afterward, Paul Jasmin was friends with Richard Gere. Cause Paul Jasmin took the pictures for ‘American Gigolo’ and we go backstage and Richard Gere is shirtless in his dressing room. And I couldn’t speak. And I had my Playbill and I wanted to get him to autograph it, but I was too — I just couldn’t stop staring at his chest. And so, fast forward to 10 years ago, I was interviewing Richard Gere and I took out the Playbill … and I told him the whole story and I had him sign it. Yeah. He was very tickled with it.” View the full article

Published by Al-Araby Queer rights activists in Lebanon have been forced to cancel protests outside the interior ministry after receiving death threats and warnings of homophobic counter protests. Activists and allies of the LGBT community in Lebanon had organised to meet in protest against a rising tide of homophobia from leading political and religious figures on Sunday, outside the interior ministry in Beirut. “In order to protect the safety of demonstrators, and make space for more organisations to take part in solidarity, we have decided to postpone Sunday’s action to a new date very soon” announced LGBT advoc… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP As companies react to Friday's Surpeme Court decision on abortion, they are trying to avoid similar pitfalls to those faced by Disney after Florida's New York (AFP) – Several large US companies have pledged to provide health coverage for out-of-state abortions, with a few also slamming the Supreme Court decision nullifying federal abortion rights. But the issue remains a hot potato, requiring companies to navigate dynamic political terrain with potential legal liability at stake. “Today’s Scotus (Supreme Court of the United States) ruling puts women’s health in jeopardy, denies them their human rights, and threatens to dismantle the progress we’ve made toward gender equality in the workplace since Roe,” said Yelp Chief Executive Jeremy Stoppelman on Twitter. “Business leaders must speak out now and call on Congress to codify Roe into law.” But few other CEOs of large US companies joined Stoppelman Friday in condemning the decision. More common were statements from companies announcing or reiterating intention to reimburse employees if they need to travel for an abortion. Friday’s ruling overturned the landmark 1973 “Roe v. Wade” decision enshrining a woman’s right to an abortion, saying individual states can restrict or ban the procedure themselves. The decision is expected to result in patchwork legal rights across the United States, with abortion legal in progressive states like California and New York and barred in more conservative states like Texas. Yelp and Airbnb were among the companies to announce such benefits last September following a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks, or before many women know they are pregnant. Others, including Citigroup, Tesla and Amazon, had also announced the benefit in following months. More companies came forward after a draft version of Friday’s abortion ruling was published in a press leak in May; this group included Starbucks, Levi Strauss and JPMorgan Chase. On Friday, Disney added its name to the list, assuring employees of access to reproductive care benefits “no matter where they live,” according to a memo reported by CNBC. But many other large companies have avoided publicly discussing the topic, a dynamic that Wharton business school professor Maurice Schweitzer considers unsurprising. Cautionary tale “I think we’ll see more companies statements. But companies are facing a challenge. On the one hand, they want to be active, be involved, make a statement, lead on this issue, because particularly for some companies, their employees value this,” Schweitzer said. “But it’s a complicated issue, because the legal landscape will change,” opening companies up to possible litigation, he added. Schweitzer pointed to Disney’s recent difficulties in Florida as a cautionary tale. The entertainment giant found itself between a rock and a hard place as Florida’s legislature advanced what critics have called the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which bans lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools. After initially staying quiet on the proposal, Disney finally spoke out on the measure, enraging far right Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who ultimately signed a second law specifically punishing Disney over the row by eliminating the company’s special status surrounding its Orlando theme park. Disney “ended up frustrating employees by not speaking out early enough, but also incurring costs from a political fights.” Schweitzer noted that more companies have spoken out in recent years, such as Apple CEO Tim Cook on gay rights and Dick’s Sporting Goods on gun control, which on Friday announced that it will provide up to $4,000 for employees, their spouses or their dependents who have to travel for an abortion. But the procedure is “more fraught” than many issues, Schweitzer said. “It’s easier for companies to try to be silent than to wade into it,” he said. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) – The deadly rampage by a gunman at a gay bar and another venue in central Oslo on Saturday will not put an end to the fight for the rights of all individuals to live a free and safe life, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Sunday. Police on Sunday also questioned the suspect, a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, the second time they did so since his arrest. The man, whom police have described as a radicalised Islamist with a history of mental illness, is accused of killing two and injuring 21 early on Saturday, when Oslo was due to hold its Pride parade. Speaking at a special service held at Oslo’s cathedral, Stoere said the attack may have put an end to the official Pride parade, which was called off after the attack, but it did not stop the fight “against discrimination, prejudices and hate”. The premier, dressed in black, talked about the thousands of people that spontaneously demonstrated on Saturday in the streets of Oslo, waving rainbow flags and laying flowers at the crime scene to honour the victims. “During the day, the city was full of people who wanted to speak out, about sorrow and anger, but also about support and solidarity and the will to continue on fighting, for the right of every individual to live a free life, a safe life,” he said. “These misdeeds remind us of this. This fight is not over. It is not safe from dangers. But we are going to win it, together,” he told the audience – which included mourners, Crown Princess Mette-Marit, ministers and Church of Norway leaders – in the cathedral which was decorated with rainbow flags. Authorities have said they had been aware of the suspect since 2015 and that he had been part of a network of Islamist extremists in Norway. The suspect’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters. He told broadcaster TV2 it was not possible to draw any conclusions about the motives or reasons for the attack. “It is far too early to do so,” he said. The suspect is accused of murder, attempted murder and terrorism. It is not known what he says of the accusations. He will be subjected to a psychiatric evaluation in the coming days as part of the investigation, police said. The questionings on Saturday and Sunday came to a quick end, his lawyer said. “He did not want any recording of the questioning, neither by video nor by sound, because he thought the police would manipulate it,” Elden told TV2 on Saturday. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche in Oslo; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) View the full article

Lil Nas X“Late To Da Party” The Lil Nas X BET conflict is now in musical form. The out hip-hop artist Lil Nas X and TV network BET were already on the outs after he received exactly zero nominations for the 2022 BET Awards despite the success and popularity of his album, “Montero.” And he hasn’t been shy about his feelings toward BET in the weeks since, posting a video of him teasing new music by saying “Fuck BET” on social media. Early Friday morning, just days before the BET Awards take place on June 26, Lil Nas X turned that mantra into a musical statement against the network, releasing his new single “Late To Da Party (F*CK BET)” and its accompanying music video. The video opens with Lil Nas X constructing an image of a BET award being urinated on in a toilet as the “Fuck BET” refrain plays before he and NBA Youngboy rap over stock photos and hilariously poor animations. [This post contains video, click to play] The video closes with Lil Nas X crashing a mockup of the BET Awards and reciting the refrain again while dancing with bundles of cash and wearing the LGBTQ Pride flag as a cape. It Isn’t About Awards, It’s About “Homophobia” “Late To Da Party” is the latest statement on the subject which began earlier this month when BET announced the nominees for its annual awards show. After receiving no nominations, Lil Nas X responded in a series of now-deleted tweets criticizing the network. “Thank you BET Awards. An outstanding zero nominations again,” he tweeted. He continued, explaining that his issue wasn’t specifically with the award snub but more about “the bigger problem of homophobia in the Black community.” “Y’all can sit and pretend all u want but imma risk it all for us,” Lil Nas X said. “How can I get acknowledged by the most acclaimed award show in the world and then not even just 1 nomination from my own people? Is that not crazy? Am I really tripping,” he added, referencing his 2020 Grammy win. While the artist didn’t receive any BET Award nominations last year, his sharing a same-sex kiss with a male dancer at the close of his performance at the ceremony became a significant moment in both the show’s and mainstream hip-hop’s history. BET celebrated the moment, sharing it prominently on social media. [This post contains video, click to play] Lil Nas X references that moment in the teaser for the video released Thursday on his official YouTube channel. “The Brutal Empire of Terror (BET) has betrayed Lil Nas X, turning their back on him after using him for clout,” read a text crawl straight out of “Star Wars” before the “Fuck BET” refrain from the song comes in. BET’s Response In a statement to Deadline released shortly after Lil Nas X’s comments earlier this month, the network said, “We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a Best New Artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: he performed “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus at ‘BET Awards’ 2019 and his ‘BET Awards’ 2021 performance was a highlight of our show. No one cheered louder that night than BET. Unfortunately, this year, he was not nominated by BET’s Voting Academy, which is comprised of an esteemed group of nearly 500 entertainment professionals in the fields of music, television, film, digital marketing, sports journalism, public relations, influencers, and creative arts. No one from BET serves as a member of the Voting Academy. At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.” Lil Nas X BET: Previously on Towleroad ‘F*ck BET:’ Lil Nas X BET Conflict Gets New Volley With Release Of New Single And Video ‘Late To Da Party’ Brian Bell June 25, 2022 Read More Lil Nas X Industry Cred Rises: 5 VMA Nominations for ‘Montero’ including ‘Best Video’; 100 Million Streams tops DaBaby Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More AIDS Groups Release Open Letter to DaBaby; Denver Cancels Festival He Was to Headline; IHeartRadio, Austin City Limits Also Drop; WednesDababy Update Brian Bell August 4, 2021 Read More Grounded by Festivals, DaBaby Apologizes; Blames Victims For Not Just Taking His Abuse While He Explained How Much Harder It is Being DaBaby Brian Bell August 2, 2021 Read More DaBaby Homophobia Week Spirals : Madonna, Questlove, Lovato Call Out Rapper. U.K. Festival Removes Him From Lineup Brian Bell July 30, 2021 Read More Elton, Dua, Usher, GLAAD Try to Set Da Baby Straight; Rapper Claims Hateful Comments are Living his ‘Truth’ Just as Queers Come Out to Live Theirs. Brian Bell July 29, 2021 Read More Image via YouTube View the full article

Published by Al-Araby Christian extremists have torn down a flower monument depicting the rainbow flag in east Beirut, as Lebanon experiences a wave of homophobic and transphobic incidents. In a video published by “Soldiers of God” on facebook, one individual shouts to the camera “This neighbourhood has churches in it, and you dare put up the gay flag? You have the devil inside you.” The flower flag was designed by members of the community who, according to the video, were given permission by the city’s authorities to construct the flag in solidarity with the LGBT community in Beirut. “There will be no Satan in Ach… Read More View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Daniel Chavkin The 29-year-old publicly came out on Saturday. View the original article to see embedded media. Suns vice president of strategy and evaluation Ryan Resch publicly came out as gay, becoming the first openly gay executive on the basketball operations side of an organization. Besides wanting to live his life without hiding who he is, Resch is hoping he can help other people in a similar situation become more comfortable with coming out in the NBA. “Ultimately my goal is to normalize for people in and out of the league the existence of gay men and women on the basketball side,” R… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeffrey Dastin PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) – The technology industry is bracing for the uncomfortable possibility of having to hand over pregnancy-related data to law enforcement, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Friday to overturn the Roe v. Wade precedent that for decades guaranteed a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. As state laws limiting abortion kick in after the ruling, technology trade representatives told Reuters they fear police will obtain warrants for customers’ search history, geolocation and other information indicating plans to terminate a pregnancy. Prosecutors could access the same via a subpoena, too. The concern reflects how the data collection practices of companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc and Amazon.com Inc have the potential to incriminate abortion-seekers for state laws that many in Silicon Valley oppose. “It is very likely that there’s going to be requests made to those tech companies for information related to search histories, to websites visited,” said Cynthia Conti-Cook, a technology fellow at the Ford Foundation. Google declined to comment. Representatives for Amazon and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Technology has long gathered – and at times revealed – sensitive pregnancy-related information about consumers. In 2015, abortion opponents targeted ads https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-reaches-settlement-with-advertising-company-prohibiting-geofencing-around-massachusetts-healthcare-facilities saying “Pregnancy Help” and “You Have Choices” to individuals entering reproductive health clinics, using so-called geofencing technology to identify smartphones in the area. More recently, Mississippi prosecutors charged a mother with second-degree murder after her smartphone showed she had searched for abortion medication in her third trimester, local media reported https://www.starkvilledailynews.com/infant-death-case-heading-back-to-grand-jury/article_cf99bcb0-71cc-11e9-963a-eb5dc5052c92.html. Conti-Cook said, “I can’t even imagine the depth of information that my phone has on my life.” While suspects unwittingly can hand over their phones and volunteer information used to prosecute them, investigators may well turn to tech companies in the absence of strong leads or evidence. In United States v. Chatrie, for example, police obtained a warrant https://www.nacdl.org/Content/United-States-v-Chatrie,-No-3-19-cr-130-(E-D-Va-) for Google location data that led them to Okello Chatrie in an investigation of a 2019 bank robbery. Amazon, for instance, complied at least partially with 75% of search warrants, subpoenas and other court orders demanding data on U.S. customers, the company disclosed for the three years ending in June 2020. It complied fully with 38%. Amazon has said it must comply with “valid and binding orders,” but its goal is to provide “the minimum” that the law requires. Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said on Twitter on Friday, “The difference between now and the last time that abortion was illegal in the United States is that we live in an era of unprecedented digital surveillance.” (Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Katie Paul in Palo Alto, Calif., Paresh Dave in Oakland, Calif., and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis) View the full article