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Published by Reuters By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The former leader of the right-wing group the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, and four associates were charged with seditious conspiracy on Monday for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters. Federal prosecutors accused the five men of plotting the attack in advance and encouraging other Trump supporters to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 election defeat by Democrat Joe Biden. Thousands of Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol that day after a fiery speech in which he repeated his false claims that his loss was result of widespread fraud, an allegation repeatedly rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump’s own administration. Eleven members of another right-wing group, the Oath Keepers, were charged in January with seditious conspiracy for allegedly playing a similar leadership role in the deadly attack. Federal prosecutors rarely use the seditious conspiracy charge, defined as attempting “to overthrow, put down or to destroy by force the government of the United States.” It carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Federal prosecutors investigating the attack filed the new charges against Tarrio, Dominic Pezzola, Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs and Zachary Rehl, according to court papers. All five have pleaded not guilty to other criminal charges related to the attack. The new indictment accuses them of encouraging other Proud Boys to come to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021; raising money to buy bulletproof vests and other tactical gear; and directing crowd members into the Capitol and assaulting police once the attack was underway. It said Tarrio received a document titled “1776 returns” that laid out plans to occupy buildings in the Capitol complex three days before the attack. Members of the group sought to erase those messages when Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4 for burning a church’s “Black Lives Matter” banner the prior month, prosecutors said. Tarrio was ordered to stay out of Washington as a condition of his release, but prosecutors say he still played a leading role in the attack. The indictment says he returned to the city on Jan. 5 and met with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes in an underground parking garage. Rhodes and other Oath Keepers have pleaded not guilty to the seditious conspiracy charges and are due to stand trial later this year. Three other members of the group have pleaded guilty. About 800 people have been charged with taking part in the Capitol riot, with about 250 guilty pleas so far. The new charges come days before the U.S. House of Representatives plans to hold its first prime-time hearing that will attempt to reverse Republican efforts to downplay or deny the violence of the day. There are five months until Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. [L1N2XT157] The Justice Department has previously obtained seditious conspiracy convictions against Puerto Rican nationalists and alleged Islamist militants including Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, the radical Islamic clergyman known as the “Blind Sheikh.” Seditious conspiracy charges featured prominently in a case federal authorities brought in 1987 against leaders and members of a neo-Nazi group known as The Order. Fourteen alleged members or supporters were indicted, with 10 facing seditious conspiracy counts. After a two-month trial, a jury acquitted all defendants. (Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Timothy Ahmann; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler, Alistair Bell and David Gregorio) View the full article

Ivan Gonzyk (Credit Ivan Gonzyk / Instagram). Used with permission. LGBTQ soldiers are gaining acceptance in the Ukrainian military LGBTQ soldiers representatives within the Ukrainian army are rarely portrayed. In 2018, Viktor Pylypenko, an openly gay veteran of the Donbas Volunteer Battalion, decided to change that by forming LGBT Military, a union of military, veterans, and volunteers fighting for equal rights. This piece explores how his idea came about, alongside the stories of two other soldiers from the LGBTQ+ community that the union has helped to support. ‘We were here’ Around 330,000 Ukrainians have taken part in the Ukraine government’s military operation against Russia-led militants in the east of the country since 2014, but there is no public information about how many of them are members of the LGBT military community. This is what motivated We Were Here, a Kyiv-born photography project featuring members of the Ukraine forces of diverse gender and sexual orientations. The pictures were taken by Anton Shebetko, a Ukrainian artist and photographer who lives in Amsterdam. “The ‘We Were Here’ project aims to shine a light on the people who are on the one hand modern-day heroes of Ukrainian society and on the other, are being ignored by most of their compatriots,” Shebetko said. These videos are not dubbed nor so they seem subtitled. Look for bits of English and even without, there are some great opportunities to see about about LGBTQ life in Ukraine over the last few years and then since the Russians started attacking. –ED [This post contains video, click to play] Most of the people in the photographs have their faces covered. One of the soldiers, Viktor Pylypenko, came out during the exhibition, becoming the first openly gay person in Ukraine who was known to take part in the Russian–Ukrainian war. That moment also marked the beginning of the creation of LGBT Military, as it inspired Pylypenko to set up the association. The union has been sharing stories of LGBTQ+ soldiers on its Instagram page to raise awareness of the community and the profiles of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and other diverse identities within the armed forces. These are the stories of two people featured on the page. (continues after instagram profiles via LGBT Military) The LGBTQ+ community is still marginalized in Ukrainian society Though sexual diversity in Ukraine is not outlawed (it’s legal since independence in 1991), the LGBTQ+ community have long faced stigma and marginalization. In the past month alone, Ukrainians have witnessed hate speech towards the LGBTQ+ community from at least two public figures. Earlier this month, singer and Ukrainian jury member of Eurovision Irina Fedishin said that there were many members of the LGBTQ+ community among the Eurovision participants, so it was difficult for her to watch the show, calling LGBTQ+ representatives “sinners.” The other case occurred earlier with the mayor of the Ukrainian city Ivano-Frankivsk. Speaking at the March for Life and Family Values at the beginning of May, Ruslan Martsinkiv said that “a gay man cannot be a patriot, only a Christian can be a patriot.” Both figures have been criticized publicly for their words. Zi Fáamelu, a trans musician who has been forced to relocate from Ukraine to Germany said in an Instagram post, “although my story is known all over the world, from Italy to Japan, from Turkey to Brazil, I don’t want to be remembered as a victim of a hate crime. I am Zi Fáamelu, a human being, a daughter, an artist, and I’m ready for the next chapter of my journey. I choose joy,” she said on Instagram. This article by journalist Maryna Bakyeva was first published in Geneva Solutions. An edited version is republished here through Global Voices. More on Ukraine on Towleroad View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — L Morgan Lee isn’t your typical overnight success story. The performer, who became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for a Tony Award for her supporting performance in “A Strange Loop,” has been working at her goal for 20 years. Her standout role as “Thought 1″ in Michael R. Jackson’s ribald and irreverent Pulitzer Prize-winning musical will pit the actress against “Mr. Saturday Night’s” Shoshana Bean, “The Music Man’s” Jayne Houdyshell, “Girl From the North Country’s” Jeannette Bayardelle and “Company’s” Patti LuPone and Jennifer Simard at the Tonys ceremony on J… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jennifer Lopez broke down in tears as she was honoured with the Generation Award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards. The ‘Marry Me’ star – whose soundtrack to the rom-com, ‘On My Way’, also nabbed Best Song – got emotional collecting the special award at Sunday night’s (05.06.22) ceremony at Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar. At the Vanessa Hudgens-hosted bash, the 52-year-old singer-and-actress thanked both those who were huge supporters and skeptical of her talents. The ‘On The Floor’ hitmaker also thanked her fiance Ben Affleck, 49, and her 14-year-old twins Emme and Max – whom she has with ex-husband Marc Anthony. She began: “I want to thank the people who gave me joy and the ones who broke my heart. The ones who were true and the ones who lied to me. I want to thank true love and I want to thank the way I lied to myself—because that’s how I knew I could grow. “I want to thank disappointment and failure for teaching me to be strong and my children for teaching me to love.” She continued: “I want to thank all the people who told me, to my face or when I wasn’t in the room, that I couldn’t do this. I really don’t think I could have done it without you.” Jennifer added: “It is an honour to be able to connect with audiences and you guys, and because of you I will continue to do justice to that honour as long as I am around.” The ‘Second Act’ star quipped: “Thank you so much. And to Ben and everyone at home, waiting for me to have dinner. I will be home by 7!” The Generation Award is given to “beloved actors whose diverse contributions to both film and television have turned them into household names.” View the full article

Published by AFP Los Angeles (AFP) – Zendaya dominated the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Sunday as her teen drama “Euphoria” and big-screen superhero blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home” were voted best show and best movie respectively. The light-hearted awards, taking place at the start of the summer blockbuster season, are voted for online by the public, and underscored the huge popularity of the 25-year-old former Disney child star. Zendaya won best performance in a show for “Euphoria,” HBO’s often bleak and hard-hitting look at modern teen life, which also won offbeat awards for “best fight” and a new award for the best on-screen “hookup.” The MTV awards have long bestowed tongue-in-cheek “golden popcorn” statuettes for categories ranging from “best kiss” to “most frightened performance.” With obsessive fans encouraged to vote multiple times for their favorites, the awards tend to recognize mainstream and commercial hits with large and devoted social media followings. It was little surprise therefore that “Spider-Man: No Way Home” — by far the biggest box office hit since the pandemic — won best movie. The film has earned almost $1.9 billion worldwide, and is the third-biggest hit for domestic theaters ever. It also won best performance in a movie for Zendaya’s on-screen and real-life boyfriend Tom Holland, who plays the latest incarnation of the web slinging superhero — although neither attended the ceremony in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles, in person. Lending some A-list stardust to the room, Jennifer Lopez was presented a non-competitive “Generation Award.” She thanked “true love” before telling her fiance Ben Affleck “and everybody at home” that she was on her way back for dinner. Lopez also won best song, for “On My Way (Marry Me),” while 19-year-old multiple Grammy winner Olivia Rodrigo won best music documentary “Olivia Rodrigo: driving home 2 u.” Jack Black was also honored by MTV for his career on Sunday. The 52-year-old attempted an energetic entrance, somersaulting on stage to youthful cheers from the audience, before breathlessly calling for “a little blast of oxygen.” Daniel Radcliffe, who won best villain for adventure comedy “The Lost City,” joked that his British accent had made his evil turn a breeze. “This is a universally recognized accent of pure evil,” he said. “This is a voice that would kick a puppy or not give Oliver Twist more food. “I really should thank my parents most for just having the foresight, all those years ago, to have me be British, so that I could grow up sounding naturally evil enough to one day win this award.” View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by The Boot Cameron Hawthorn uses country music to tell queer stories — full stop. If country music is three chords and the truth, then Hawthorn uses the storied genre to tell his own story, one that has only recently been reflected in country music. The Kansas native first came out using the music video for “Dancing in the Living Room” as a clever visual aid. While the gentle ballad could be about anyone in its audio form, Hawthorn uses it as an extension of the song’s meaning. His follow-up single, “To Break Hers,” co-written with Lena Stone, details the particular regret of breaking up with a sweethear… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Chris Rock is ignoring Jada Pinkett Smith’s plea for him to reconcile with Will Smith. The ‘Top 5’ star was slapped by the ‘King Richard’ actor on stage at the 2022 Oscars after he made a joke about the ‘Red Table Talk’ host’s shaved head, and though the ‘Girls Trip’ actress recently made a public call for them to put their differences behind them, Chris is reportedly “not concerned” about the drama with the couple at the moment and is focused on his own career. A source told ‘Entertainment Tonight’ that Chris is the “most genuine person ever” and he is “not caught up in the Hollywood scene”. They added: “He’s not concerned with the Smiths at the moment. He’s touring and he’s preparing for a comedy special.” Last week, Jada admitted she hoped Will and Chris would “talk out” the situation and ultimately “reconcile”. During the latest episode of ‘Red Table Talk’, she said: “Now, about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile. “The state of the world today, we need them both, and we all actually need one another more than ever. “Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together.” Jada suffers from alopecia – a condition that causes hair loss – and the actress revealed that “thousands” of people have contacted her since the Oscars ceremony, when Chris made a joke about her appearance. She said: “Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories.” Will – who has been married to Jada since 1997 – previously described his behaviour at the Oscars as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”. As a result of his actions, the ‘Men in Black’ actor resigned from the Academy after issuing an apology. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the actor would be banned from attending any of their events, both virtually and in person, for 10 years. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Natalia Zinets KYIV (Reuters) – Oleg Averyanov’s factory produced fire trucks and employed 600 people until it was forced to halt operations and close its doors as a Russian invasion force poured over the border into his region in northeastern Ukraine on Feb. 24. Months later, the 44-year-old is gearing up to restart some of the plant’s operations 700 km (435 miles) away in the western city of Lviv, where he has moved some staff and 20 rail cars of equipment and production lines that weighed hundreds of tonnes. “No one believed this could happen. But the war began and we decided to diversify the risks, move part of the production line to western Ukraine,” he told Reuters by phone. Averyanov is part of a wave of businesspeople taking up a government programme to relocate businesses westwards from war-ravaged areas to protect manufacturers and shield them from further damage to an economy facing its greatest ever crisis. The economy is projected to contract 35-45% this year as the war severs export routes for Ukrainian grains and metals, jacks up inflation and unemployment, and devastates heavy industry in the south and east where fighting has been fiercest. Now it is transforming the geography of industry too. More than 600 enterprises have already relocated to Ukraine’s western regions, and 390 of them had already resumed work by early June, according to Economy Ministry data. Some 150 of those companies have moved to the Lviv region that borders Poland and has been relatively unscathed by the war, the regional administration said. “The large-scale relocation of business to safe areas will help Ukraine maintain production, jobs and meet the demand of the army and civilian population for a number of goods and services that are necessary to defeat the enemy,” Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook on March 29. TWO FACTORIES Averyanov plans to retain some of his business’s operations at his original plant in Chernihiv region that was overrun by Russian troops in the first phase of the war before Moscow withdrew its forces there. “The war will finish and we’ll have two factories – one in western Ukraine and one in Chernihiv region,” Averyanov said. His company, Ukraine’s only producer of fire engines and fire equipment that are vital to the war effort, hopes to start operating in Lviv region by the end of June. He plans to recruit and train about 100 local residents or internally displaced people this summer. Though grateful for the support, he now wants the government to provide enterprises like his with procurement orders and criticised the preference shown to imported goods. “We have retained our manufacturing capabilities… and our team of employees. But if the state does not think about how to provide orders to enterprises like ours that are moving to western Ukraine, then we will not survive,” Averyanov said. His message was echoed by Central Bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko who has urged the government to scrap tax breaks for imports and to impose additional taxes on non-vital imported goods. “The incentives created for imports in the form of the abolition of import duties and value-added tax deprive Ukrainian producers of an advantage,” he wrote in a column on the ZN.UA news website. RUINED INDUSTRY Ukraine has lost 200 large factories during the war, said Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office. In the east, the war has brought operations to a standstill at the Azovstal and Illich metallurgical plants in the city of Mariupol, the chemical Coke and Chemical Plant in Avdiivka and the Azot chemical plant in Sievierodonetsk. “The government is doing a good job helping to evacuate businesses, it would be much worse without it,” said Mykhailo Kolisnyk, a professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. But with their share of gross domestic product at no more than 1-2%, the number of relocated enterprises is not enough to noticeably improve the economy, he said. A few large agricultural and metallurgical enterprises make up a sizeable chunk of Ukrainian gross domestic product but their production facilities cannot be relocated, he said. “There is a number of such conglomerate enterprises in the east, and most of them have stopped making their contribution to GDP,” Kolisnyk said. “Russia, the invaders, are deliberately destroying these enterprises and taking away their products.” (Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Gareth Jones and Edmund Blair) View the full article

Published by AFP Tesla Chief Exeuctive Elon Musk threatened to withdraw his bid for Twitter if the company does not provided requested information on fake accounts New York (AFP) – Elon Musk threatened Monday to withdraw his bid to buy Twitter, accusing it of failing to provide data on fake accounts, in the latest twist in the Tesla billionaire’s push to acquire the social network. Twitter has committed “a clear material breach” of its “obligations under the merger agreement and Mr. Musk reserves … his right not to consummate the transaction,” according to a document filed with securities regulators. The filing marks an escalation of Musk’s prior statements that have highlighted fake accounts as a threat to his proposed $44 billion deal to take over Twitter. Musk has said that the real number of bots may be four times higher than Twitter estimates. Bots can be used on social media to spread false news or create a distorted impression of how widely information is being consumed and shared. Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal has said that fewer than five percent of accounts active on any given day at Twitter are bots, but that analysis cannot be replicated externally due to the need to keep user data private. Musk has been dismissive of Twitter’s responses and reiterated that stance in Monday’s filing. To execute the deal, Musk “must have a complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter’s business model — its active user base,” said the filing. “Mr. Musk believes Twitter is transparently refusing to comply with its obligations under the merger agreement, which is causing further suspicion that the company is withholding the requested data due to concern for what Mr. Musk’s own analysis of that data will uncover.” Shares of Twitter fell 3.6 percent to $38.70 in early trading. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress’s probe of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump supporters trying to overturn his election defeat enters a new phase this week with hearings meant to refocus attention on the violence and those who planned it. The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Jan. 6 will attempt to reverse Republican efforts to downplay or deny the violence of the day, with five months to go until Nov. 8 midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the next two years. “This was a coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress in order to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” Representative Jamie Raskin, one of the Democratic members of the nine-member committee, said in a recent interview. “We’re going to tell the whole story of everything that happened. There was a violent insurrection and an attempted coup and we were saved by (then-Vice President) Mike Pence’s refusal to go along with that plan,” Raskin said. The panel of seven Democrats and two Republicans has spent much of the past year investigating the events preceding and driving the attack by thousands of Trump loyalists, who stormed the building in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. The committee has not yet said what witnesses it will call at its Thursday 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT June 10) hearing, a prime time spot intended to capture the attention of as many Americans as possible. ABC and CBS News programming schedules showed that the networks planned to carry Thursday’s hearing live. Five more hearings are expected in the next two weeks. The committee said in a statement the hearings would “provide the American people a summary of its findings about the coordinated, multi-step effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and prevent the transfer of power.” “It will be a combination of exhibits, staff testimony, outside witnesses,” the committee’s chairperson, Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, recently told reporters. Prospects for success are not clear, in a deeply divided country. A Washington Post-ABC News poll last month found that only 40% of Americans believe the committee is conducting a “fair and impartial” investigation of the attack, while 40% say it is not. Many Americans are simply not paying attention, more worried about inflation, a spate of mass shootings and summer vacations than an attack 18 months ago. CLOSED DOORS, SHIFTING NARRATIVE The panel and its dozens of investigators have conducted more than 1,000 depositions and interviews and collected more than 140,000 documents. The investigation has focused on efforts by Trump and associates to promote his false election claims, with committee members contending that the fate of American democracy is at stake. “People are going to be absolutely surprised how much was known,” Denver Riggleman, a Republican former congressman who worked as an adviser to the committee said on CNN on Sunday. “When you look at the totality of the evidence, it’s pretty apparent that at some point President Trump knew what was going on.” Some congressional Republicans condemned Trump in the first days after the attack, but since then almost all of shifted their tone. Members of Congress have refused to cooperate and disputed accounts of the riot, despite thousands of photographs and videos. Republican Representative Andrew Clyde, who helped barricade the doors of the House chamber against the mob, said the Trump supporters who stormed the building behaved “in an orderly fashion.” The Republican National Committee called the assault “legitimate political discourse.” Four people died the day of the attack, one fatally shot by police and the others of natural causes. More than 100 police officers were injured, and one died the next day. Four officers later died by suicide. The Capitol sustained millions of dollars in damage. Trump, who is publicly flirting with another White House run in 2024, has denied wrongdoing and accused the committee of engaging in a political attack. He has leveled harsh criticism particularly at Representative Liz Cheney, the panel’s Republican vice chairperson, as she runs for re-election. Representative Adam Kinzinger, the panel’s other Republican member, is retiring from Congress. Every Republican House leader voted to overturn 2020 election results in the hours after the riot. Cheney – the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney – was removed from Republican leadership for criticizing Trump. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who refused to comply with a committee subpoena, called the committee invalid, for reasons including having too few members and lacking a formal Republican “ranking member.” The June sessions will not be the committee’s first public hearings. The panel held one last July, at which police officers described being beaten, threatened and taunted with racial insults as they faced the worst attack on the seat of the U.S. government in more than two centuries. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by DPA Handshakes are back. The risk of a coronavirus infection through the ritual is actually much lower than many believe – at least compared with the risk via airborne respiratory droplets. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa/dpa-mag Sometimes they’re firm and other times rather limp, but mainly – after more than two years of the Covid-19 pandemic – they now feel oddly antiquated. In any case, handshakes are gradually making a comeback these days. Many people are hesitant to resume the traditional greeting ritual though, worried it can put them at risk of infection with the novel coronavirus or other pathogens. Infectiologist Dr Peter Walger, from the German Society of Hospital Hygiene (DGKH), has answered some questions addressing such concerns. How much of a health risk are handshakes? Peter Walger: Infection with the coronavirus or other pathogens causing respiratory illness isn’t possible via your hands alone. But handshaking can contaminate them with secretions containing the viruses, and if the secretions are transmitted by your hands to mucous membranes in your mouth or nose, for example, you can become infected. Your risk of infection via handshaking naturally depends on whether the other person has touched highly infectious secretions. This is the case, for example, if he or she was near someone ill and touched secretions expelled by that person’s coughs or sneezes. So the risk of infection isn’t nil, but it’s low – at least compared with the risk via airborne respiratory droplets. This is particularly true in the warm months of summer, when fewer respiratory illnesses are transmitted. Does handshaking bolster our immune system by exposing us to various germs? Walger: All our lives we’re confronted with potential pathogens in our environment, so handshaking shouldn’t be overstated. Many pathogens on our skin cause illness only when they enter the body in some way: via an injury, during an operation, or when we inhale them. Some viruses get into our nose and throat region via mucous membranes, where they lead to an infection. The most advisable “training programme” for the immune system is a vaccination. Recovery from an infection contracted naturally would be the best protection, but at the price of illness. The handshake is now returning in many places. How can we practice it as safely as possible, both for ourselves and others? Walger: You should regularly wash your hands, of course. This is a general rule, irrespective of a specific pathogen. Not everyone follows it though, as can be seen in any public lavatory. But handwashing is important, particularly after “critical situations” – for instance after touching a damp handkerchief or a railing that’s been touched by a lot of other people. If you don’t have an opportunity to wash your hands, it will do to use hand sanitizer you carry around in a small bottle. But washing your hands is preferable to disinfecting them. And you shouldn’t touch your face with your hands. This is easier said than done, but you can train yourself to avoid it. During the Covid pandemic, many people switched to elbow and fist bumps as greeting rituals to minimize the risk of a coronavirus infection. Zacharie Scheurer/dpa View the full article

Published by AFP Boosting renewable capacity and combating climate change are a priority for President Joe Biden whose green ambitions have met with mixed success Washington (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Monday will suspend tariffs for two years on solar panel imports from four countries and invoke a key power to compel domestic manufacture of clean energy technology, the White House said. The moves are aimed at boosting renewable capacity and combating climate change, a priority for the president whose green ambitions have met with mixed success. “Today’s clean energy technologies are a critical part of the arsenal we must harness to lower energy costs for families, reduce risks to our power grid, and tackle the urgent crisis of a changing climate,” the White House said in a fact sheet. It added that, compared to when Biden took office, the United States was on track to triple domestic solar manufacturing capacity by 2024, from 7.5 gigawatts to 22.5 gigawatts, enough to enable 3.3 million homes to switch to solar each year. Duties will be lifted on certain solar parts from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam — but not China — as a “bridge” to ensure the United States has access to sufficient parts to meet electricity needs while domestic capacity scales up. China is excluded as the Commerce Department investigates whether some Chinese companies are circumventing US customs duties by assembling parts in the four countries. At the same time, Biden’s administration will invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to accelerate production, and use the federal government’s purchasing power to increase demand. Solar panel parts, building insulation and efficient heat pumps are all targeted under the DPA. Former president Donald Trump used the same powers during the Covid pandemic to increase production of medicines and equipment, and it was also invoked during World War II. Most recently, Biden used the act to help baby formula makers to overcome a production shortfall. The administration will also look to permit more clean energy projects on public lands, including both solar and wind. “The fact is with a stronger clean energy arsenal, the United States can also be a stronger power partner to our allies all around the world, especially in the face of Putin’s war in Ukraine,” a senior administration official told reporters. “The stakes are high and the president is taking action.” Biden has succeeded in getting Congress to pass a bipartisan infrastructure law, a pillar in his climate policy, but has failed to pass a second proposed law, the Build Back Better act. At the same time he has been criticized by environmental groups for plans to resume oil and gas drilling on public lands, reneging on a campaign promise. View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing mild symptoms. “I plan to work remotely while isolating according to CDC guidelines, and look forward to when I can safely return to the office and the road,” Buttigieg said on Twitter. A number of U.S. cabinet secretaries have tested positive for COVID-19. (Reporting by David Shepardson) View the full article

[This post contains video, click to play] Published by BANG Showbiz English Andrew Ridgeley is working with Netflix on a new Wham! documentary. The 59-year-old singer starred alongside George Michael in the 1980s, and he’s now joined forces with the streaming giant to help to make a new documentary. A source shared: “The Netflix team jumped at the chance to make this film. The Wham! story is an incredible one and who better to offer insight than Andrew? It is a really exciting project and they are putting a lot of resources into it. “Andrew is also very keen for the opportunity to look back over his years with George in the band – though it will, of course, be bittersweet for him.” The Netflix documentary promises to give fans a behind-the-scenes look at their ups and downs as a pop duo. The insider explained: “It is a welcome chance to celebrate what they achieved together and will give fans a unique look behind the scenes.” The new documentary is being billed as an intimate look at Andrew and George’s chart success. And Netflix hopes that it’ll be similarly successful to Taylor Swift’s ‘Miss Americana’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Five Foot Two’. A second source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “The bosses are confident this will be just as much of a hit, if not more.” George passed away on Christmas Day in 2016, aged 53. But prior to his death, the ‘Faith’ hitmaker revealed he wanted to be remembered as someone “with integrity”. The pop icon had been working on a documentary film called ‘George Michael Freedom Uncut’ in the months before his death. And in a clip from the planned project, he said: “I want to leave songs … that will mean something to later generations. I want to be remembered as someone who had some kind of integrity.” View the full article

Published by Sports Illustrated By Jon Wertheim His hilariously timed home runs have become the stuff of internet legend. What are the odds?! We found out. Never mind the honeyed delivery, the wit or the accumulated baseball wisdom. For all his various and sundry broadcasting gifts, Vin Scully was blessed, above all, with exquisite timing. “He may have called baseball games all those years, but he would have been a wonderful conductor or musician,” says Al Michaels, a Scully protégé dating back to his Brooklyn boyhood. “He just has this intuition for the rhythm of a game.” The running joke was that baseball waited for Scully… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Jiraporn Kuhakan BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thousands of members of Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community raised rainbow flags in the country’s first official pride parade on Sunday evening to celebrate pride month and support gender equality. Also waving blue, pink, and white transgender flags, marchers made their way through the main streets of Bangkok. Some chanted and called for same-sex marriages to be legalised and for sex workers’ rights. Designer Cpeeranat, 24, who made his costume with a long rainbow flag, said the parade had given him goosebumps. The relatively big parade was supported by the loca… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican U.S. Representative Liz Cheney warned that the nation’s democratic system is threatened by ongoing efforts to deny the legitimacy of Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss. “People must pay attention. People must watch, and they must understand how easily our democratic system can unravel if we don’t defend it,” Cheney said during an interview broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning, days before Congress’ official probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol begins public hearings. Cheney, a vocal critic of Trump who voted to impeach him, is one of two Republicans serving on the committee. She warned that Trump continues to damage trust in American democracy by repeating his false claims that his loss was the result of widespread fraud. Those claims have been repeatedly debunked by courts, state and local election officials and members of Trump’s own administration. “It’s an ongoing threat,” Cheney said of the efforts to undercut confidence in elections. “It is extremely broad. It’s extremely well organized. It’s really chilling.” The House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the attacks will hold a prime time hearing at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT June 10) on Thursday, the committee announced. It will be the first of six public hearings, set for June 13, 15, 16, 21 and June 23, according to media reports. With seven Democrats and two Republicans, the panel has spent much of the past year investigating the events preceding and driving the attack by thousands of Trump supporters, who stormed the building in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying his 2020 election loss to now-President Joe Biden. Cheney was once the third most powerful Republican in Washington. She was ousted from leadership after repudiating Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen. Trump has endorsed a challenger to Cheney in Wyoming’s August primary. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Richard Chang) View the full article

Published by PopCrush The 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards winners will be revealed shortly! The awards show will air on Sunday (June 5), at 8 PM ET with winners being awarded the coveted golden popcorn trophy. This year, Vanessa Hudgens will host the telecast while Jack Black will be honored with the Comedic Genius Award in addition to Jennifer Lopez being awarded the Generation Award. The event will take place in Los Angeles at the Barker Hangar. In addition to the awards show, MTV will also air the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Unscripted special which will begin at 10 PM ET. Competition and reality television series will be… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah Wu and Jessie Pang TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hundreds of people gathered in Taipei on Saturday to commemorate China’s bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square 33 years ago. Chinese-run Hong Kong deployed heavy security to prevent any sign of protest there. Saturday is the anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire to end the student-led unrest in and around the square in central Beijing. China has never provided a full death toll from the events of June 4, 1989, but rights groups and witnesses say the figure could run into the thousands. China bans any public commemoration of the event on the mainland, and Hong Kong authorities have clamped down too, making democratic Taiwan the only part of the Chinese-speaking world where it can be remembered openly. “It’s a symbol of how democracy is precious and fragile at the same time, and how people who care about democracy need to stand up for it or else authoritarians everywhere will think people don’t care,” said author Jeremy Chiang, 27, attending the event at Taipei’s Liberty Square. Activists assembled a new version of the “Pillar of Shame” – a statue commemorating Tiananmen protesters that a leading Hong Kong university removed in December from its campus, where it had stood for more than two decades. Shouts in support of Hong Kong rang out after the statue was put up. Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, said this week that any events to commemorate those killed in the 1989 crackdown would be subject to national security laws. In the Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, where people had come together for an annual vigil before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, authorities blocked off main parts of the venue and warned residents against illegal gatherings. Hundreds of police, some with sniffer dogs, patrolled the park area and conducted stop-and-search checks. As night fell, floodlights lit up an empty expanse of football pitches. The last time the vigil was held in Hong Kong, in 2019, more than 180,000 people attended, according to organiser estimates, filling six football fields. “Everyone is remaining silent because they are terrified of getting arrested,” Hong Kong resident Victor, 57, who asked to be identified only by his first name, said inside the park. China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 punishing acts of subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. Beijing said the law was necessary to restore stability after anti-government protests in 2019. ‘TO REMEMBER IS TO RESIST’ Since the legislation was imposed, people or organisations affiliated with the sensitive June 4 date and events to mark it have been targeted by Hong Kong authorities. Hong Kong has banned the annual vigil since 2020, citing coronavirus restrictions. Some democracy campaigners accuse authorities of using those rules to suppress activism, a claim that officials reject. Last year, police blocked off the Hong Kong park to prevent people gathering to commemorate the anniversary and arrested the planned vigil’s organiser. “To remember is to resist,” prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Teng Biao told Reuters from the United States. “If nobody remembers, the suffering of the people will never stop and the perpetrators will continue their crimes with impunity.” In Chinese-claimed Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen decried the “collective memory of June 4 being systematically erased in Hong Kong”. “But we believe that such brute force cannot erase people’s memories,” she posted on her Facebook and Instagram pages. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the Tiananmen crackdown “a brutal assault”, adding in a statement: “The efforts of these brave individuals will not be forgotten”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, at a routine news conference on Thursday, reiterated Beijing’s line on the events. “The Chinese government has long ago come to a clear conclusion about the political incident that happened in late 1980s,” he said. (Reporting by Sarah Wu and Jessie PangAdditional reporting by James Pomfret, Phoebe Law, Joyce Zhou and Anne Marie RoantreeWriting by Ben BlanchardEditing by Stephen Coates, William Mallard and Frances Kerry) View the full article