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Published by Reuters UK By Horaci Garcia KYIV (Reuters) – As volunteer fighters Oleksandr Zhuhan and Antonina Romanova pack for a return to active duty, they contemplate the unicorn insignia that gives their uniform a rare distinction – a symbol of their status as an LGBTQ couple who are Ukrainian soldiers. Members of Ukraine’s LGBTQ community who sign up for the war have taken to sewing the image of the mythical beast into their standard-issue epaulettes just below the national flag. The practice harks back to the 2014 conflict when Russia invaded then annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, “when lots of people… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA A London cyclists wearing a frame shaped like a car to demonstrate how much space car are taking up on the roads. Dott/PA Media/dpa Cyclists wearing frames shaped like cars are taking to the streets of London to demonstrate that vehicles are “hogging” roads. Micromobility firm Dott is carrying out the stunt in Hammersmith, west London, this week. It estimated that reducing the number of cars used in the capital by 20,000 – equivalent to less than 1% – would free up 55 miles (88km) of roads and create enough space for 80,000 bikes. Dott has been one of three operators involved in a trial of rental e-scooters in London since June 2021. It began offering rental e-bikes in the city in March. Dott co-founder and chief executive Henri Moissinac said: “Our latest project highlights the absurdity of single drivers hogging the capital’s roads, when other forms of transport are openly available and so much better for both the individual and the community. “It’s time we reimagined how we travel across our cities, which is why we’re here to unlock London with clean rides for everyone.” View the full article

Published by The Charlotte Observer CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Wake County teacher has resigned amid the controversy over the use of LGBTQ themed flash cards in her preschool classroom. The preschool teacher, who was not immediately identified by the Wake County school system, resigned from Ballentine Elementary School in Fuquay-Varina on Friday, according to Lisa Luten, a district spokeswoman. Some critics on social media had demanded that the teacher be fired, but a parent in that special-needs preschool class praised the teacher as being a caring educator. “She is an amazing teacher who has worked tirelessly in an unpredictable scho… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Simu Liu has been waxing his body for the new ‘Barbie’ movie. The 33-year-old actor appears alongside Margot Robbie in the much-anticipated new film, and Simu admits that getting his body waxed has been a “painful” experience. He shared: “Waxing has been an education to say the least. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I have such a newfound admiration for the incredibly brave women who go through this on a monthly basis.” The ‘Barbie’ movie has become a source of much speculation over recent months, and Simu likes that so little is still known about the project and how it’s been approached. He told The Independent: “Honestly, the discourse online is giving me life. With every casting announcement or bit of news, they’re like: ‘What is this?’ And that’s perfect – the less you know about it the better.” Meanwhile, Simu previously revealed he was happy to accept any roles at the start of his career. The ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ star initially pursued a career in accountancy, before he followed his real ambitions in the movie business. He said: “I felt like I was making up for lost time. My perception was that everybody was further ahead than me, so if I stood any chance, I had to catch up.” Simu also discovered that opportunities were limited for actors with an Asian background. He noted that Hollywood wasn’t “having those political conversations” at the time. He said: “In the beginning, if I was a stunt guy who got beaten up by one of the white male characters, I was over the moon. “Survival mode. Figure out a way to get on sets, figure out a way to work, that was it.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega So You Think You Can Dance made headlines after Matthew Morrison revealed he got booted as a judge for “violating production protocols.” Radar has obtained the contract that dancers are forced to sign which lays out the ground rules for the competition series as speculation continues to grow around Morrison’s shocking exit. “Having the opportunity to be a judge on ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ was an incredible honor for me,” Morrison said in a statement on Friday. “Therefore, it is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show. After filming the audition rounds for the show and completing the selection of the 12 finalists, I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the competition fairly.” He added, “I cannot apologize enough to all involved and I will be watching alongside you all on what I know will be one of the best seasons yet.” Mega In the contract obtained by Radaronline.com, dancers are given clear instructions on what could get them axed from the hit show. We’re told SYTYCD judges are required to sign similar documents. Contestants must abide by all rules of conduct. “I will not harass, intimidate or threaten anyone with whom I am in contact in connection with my participation” on the show, the documents state. The contract outlines that it’s a federal offense “to rig or attempt to rig in whole or in part a quiz show, game show, or contest.” By signing the documents, dancers also agree they will not “give, shall agree to give, have given or have agreed to give anything of value to any member of the production staff, anyone associated in any manner with the television series.” Fox’s policy prohibits payments “or the giving of anything of value to arrange personal appearances on the Program.” Mega Dancers are also forced to acknowledge that it is a federal offense “to accept or agree to accept anything of value to promote any product, service, or venture on the air,” as well as receiving payments “or the giving of anything of value to arrange personal appearances on the Program.” They agree not to “engage in any activity, publicity, speech, social media commentary, blogging, and/or vlogging and/or any other commentary in any and all media and/or any behavior that may be deemed grossly offensive.” This includes “blatant expressions of bigotry, prejudice, homophobia, racism, sexism, harassment and/or any other activity Producer, in its sole discretion, finds to be vulgar, indecent, disrespectful, offensive, hate speech and/or otherwise objectionable.” Mega If any of the contestants violate the contract policies, the documents read the “Producer shall be entitled to take any action that Producer deems appropriate, including, without limitation and as applicable, removing me from consideration as a contestant on the Program.” Fox did not disclose what production policies Morrison violated that caused him to get fired. Radaronline.com was told that Morrison’s violation most likely did not include a dancing pro or contestant. An industry insider told us the pros have not been revealed and will find out if they made the show when America does. If Morrison’s violation involved a contestant, they would have also been fired, which we’ve learned hasn’t happened. Fox is currently scrambling for a replacement judge, who will join JoJo Siwa, 19, and Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, 39, during the next round of the competition series when it airs on June 15. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Howie Mandel has learned to “agree to disagree” with the ‘America’s Got Talent’ judges. The 66-year-old comedian sits on the show’s judging panel alongside Heidi Klum, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell, and although they don’t always agree with each other, Howie still loves filming the programme. He shared: “What’s great is, I think we disagree but we agree to disagree. We respect the disagreement. “We don’t have the same taste and that’s what we love about everybody there. That’s what I love about Heidi, Sofia, and Simon.” Howie has particularly enjoyed working with Simon once again, after the outspoken star broke his back when he fell off his electric bike in 2020. Speaking to ‘Entertainment Tonight’, Howie – who joined the show in 2010 – quipped: “Simon, I’m just glad to have him, [because] he keeps falling off his bike.” Meanwhile, Howie recently revealed he went “insane” when he had to quarantine after contracting COVID-19. The ‘America’s Got Talent’ judge – who has previously spoken openly about his struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety – admitted the “mental pain” of being isolated away from his loved ones was far worse than the physical symptoms of the virus. He shared: “I got locked away for 10 days. I’m vaxxed, and I’m boosted, so my symptoms weren’t terrible. But … the mental pain of me being locked in a room for 10 days, not going near anybody … I went insane. “I still feel like I’m recovering from that, the insanity. And I’m not joking. I got incredibly depressed, incredibly neurotic. “My only panacea to my physical health and my mental health is distracting myself. You can’t distract yourself for 10 days alone in a room.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA A Russian official on state TV made an ominous threat to the U.S. when he claimed that four nuclear weapons could take out the entirety of both coasts, according to reports. The East Coast — from Florida to Maine — has a population of about 188 million, more than half of the U.S. The West Coast has a population of about 54 million. Alexei Zhuravlev, a member of the Russian parliament, said there would be “nothing left” of the coasts if Russia uses its new nuclear weapon, according to The Daily Mail. “I will competently tell you, that to destroy the entire East Coast of the US, two Sarmat missiles are necessary and two missiles for the West Coast,” he said. “Four missiles, and there will be nothing left. They think the mushroom cloud will be taller than a high rise. That mushroom cloud will be visible from Mexico.” MEGA The comments are the latest in a line of nuclear talk by Russian TV and propagandists. While Moscow has downplayed the use of nuclear weapons in connection to the invasion of Ukraine, it’s a conversation that keeps coming up. Russia is one of the nuclear superpowers and the threat of the weapon has led some pundits to believe that is why western countries have been reluctant to get directly involved in protecting Ukraine. MEGA The Ukraine-Russia conflict is now in its third month, lasting longer than many experts predicted. Russian forces have made progress in Eastern Ukraine, taking control of land and cities. Zhuravlev also spoke about Ukraine and estimated that 2 million citizens will have to be de-Nazified,” according to the report. He then added that meant they would have to be “destroyed.” MEGA It’s not the first time Russian officials have talked about de-nazifying Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin made the comments in his justification for the invasion. But it has also led some to decry war crimes. Officials in Ukraine, the U.S. and the European Union have said they are gathering evidence of war crimes during the conflict for possible future prosecutions. View the full article

Published by AFP University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas reacts after her team wins the 400 yard freestyle relay during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships on February 19, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Washington (AFP) – Swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender athlete to win a top-tier US university title, insisted Tuesday that trans athletes don’t transition to gain an edge in sports and voiced ambitions to compete in the Olympics. “It’s been a goal of mine to swim at Olympic trials for a very long time, and I would love to see that through,” Thomas said on the ABC program “Good Morning America.” Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle at the US collegiate championships in March. She competes for the University of Pennsylvania, and was on the men’s team for three years before switching to the women’s squad this season. Controversy has shrouded Thomas throughout the year, with critics and some fellow swimmers saying she should not have been allowed to compete and has an unfair physiological advantage. Others say she should be allowed to compete freely as a woman. In the ABC interview she said, “Trans people don’t transition for athletics.” “We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves. Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions,” said Thomas. “Trans women are not a threat to women’s sports,” she added. US Olympic swimming trials for the Summer Games of 2024 in Paris begin in June in Indianapolis, Indiana. After a weightlifter in the Tokyo games last year became the first trans athlete to compete in the Olympics, transgender issues have roiled the world of sports. In November the International Olympic Committee essentially left it up to each sport, saying there was no scientific consensus on the role of testosterone on performance in sports. The controversy has political overtones, too, in the United States. Several states run by conservatives have recently barred trans girls from competing in school sports. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Following two months of frustration, despair and economic loss, Shanghai’s draconian COVID-19 lockdown ended at midnight on Wednesday morning, prompting celebrations tempered with fear that an outbreak could return. Most of Shanghai’s 25 million residents can now freely leave home, return to work, use public transport and drive their cars – a moment that for many in China’s largest and most cosmopolitan city felt like it would never arrive. At midnight, small groups gathered in the city’s former French Concession neighbourhood whistled, shouted “ban lifted” and clinked glasses of champagne. Earlier, streets were lively as residents picnicked on grassy patches and children rode bikes down carless roads. Dancing retirees, a common evening sight in Chinese cities, strutted their stuff for the first time in months in open air plazas and along the Huangpu river. Shanghai Disneyland, which has yet to announce a reopening date, livestreamed a lightshow to “celebrate the lifting of Shanghai’s lockdown”. They used a Chinese expression that also means “ban” that city officials have avoided. Under streetlamps, barbers gave haircuts to residents who had grown shaggy under lockdown. On the WeChat social media platform, shops announced their reopening plans. “I walked the dog and the dog is pretty excited, because it has been a really long time for it to come outside,” said Melody Dong, who was looking forward to eating hot pot and barbecue – foods that are difficult to make at home. Shanghai’s ordeal has come to symbolise what critics say is the unsustainability of China’s adherence to a zero-COVID policy that aims to cut off every infection chain, at any cost, even as much of the world tries to return to normal despite ongoing infections. The lack of a roadmap to exit from an approach that is increasingly challenged by the highly contagious Omicron variant has rattled investors and frustrated businesses. COVID curbs in Shanghai and numerous other Chinese cities have battered the world’s second-largest economy and tangled global supply chains, although case numbers have improved and curbs have eased from the depths of April’s lockdowns. China says its approach, a signature policy of President Xi Jinping, is needed to save lives and prevent its healthcare system from being swamped. The uncertainty and discontent caused by China’s COVID management has created unwanted turbulence in a sensitive political year, with Xi poised to secure a third leadership term in the autumn. “The mood tonight is a bit like high school days. On the eve of the school year I was full of expectations for the new semester but I feel a little uneasy in my heart,” wrote one user of the Twitter-like Weibo. A CITY SCARRED During two months, numerous residents of the country’s most important financial and economic hub struggled to get enough food or medical care. Families were separated and hundreds of thousands were forced into centralised quarantine facilities. At the factories and offices that remained open – including those of Shanghai government officials – workers lived on-site in “closed-loops”, bunking on makeshift beds, with many of them only now able to return home. Curbs were lifted for about 22.5 million people in low-risk areas. Residents must still wear masks in public and avoid gatherings. Restaurant dining remains banned. Shops can operate at 75% capacity. Gyms will reopen later. Residents will have to test every 72 hours to take public transport and enter public venues, heralding what may become a “new normal” in many Chinese cities. Those testing positive, and their close contacts, face onerous quarantines. During lockdown, Shanghai residents staged rare protests, banging on pots and pans from their windows and evading censors to vent on China’s heavily policed social media. Frustrations stemmed from the lockdown itself as well as heavy-handed and often uneven enforcement and unclear communication. “The Shanghai government needs to make a public apology in order to obtain the understanding and support of the people of Shanghai and repair the damaged relationship between the government and the people,” Qu Weiguo, a professor at Fudan University’s school of foreign languages, posted on WeChat. On Tuesday, the city’s largest quarantine facility – a 50,000-bed section of the National Exhibition & Convention Center – discharged the last two of the 174,308 COVID-postive cases who had been housed there. It declared itself shut. (Reporting by Brenda Goh and the Shanghai bureau, Writing by Tony Munroe, Editing by Angus MacSwan) View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA As Monica Lewinsky explains in a fascinating Vanity Fair op-ed, she was a late comer to the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard trial proceedings. It was only after retweeting a May 23 thread from writer Ella Dawson that she fully dove into public discourse of the high-profile defamation case. Much of the tone, she says, was familiar. “I wasn’t surprised that the memes about Amber Heard far outnumbered those about Johnny Depp,” Lewinsky writes. “I wasn’t surprised that the cruel and vitriolic discourse was predominantly aimed at the woman.” MEGA “And I shouldn’t have been surprised (but I was) that shortly after my search, I began to be served suggested posts on the trial,” she continued. “But they were less about Depp and Heard; more seemed to idolize Camille Vasquez (Depp’s lawyer) for her ‘performance’ cross-examining Heard. (Oh, you thought we wouldn’t have any girl-on-girl action in this trial? That’s on msogyny’s greatest-hits album.)” Lewinsky’s own scandal, fueled by The Drudge Report, happened 24 years ago. The one nobody forgets that led to the impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton. MEGA In such matters today, there is a big new layer of scrutiny, leading many in her opinion to become “social-media-mongrelized.” Her principal question is whether a personal opinion about something is entitling people today to take things too far on social media. Cruelty and misogyny are often the norm, she notes, and cheap shots at the expense of individuals already suffering amounts to an amoral way for individuals to gain traction and media outlets clicks. MEGA Lewinsky cites the movie “The Matrix” and also, more chillingly, Aldous Huxley’s landmark dystopian novel “Brave New World,” published in 1932. Prophetically, the fake feel-good drug the author had his protagonists hooked on, soma, sounds almost like a hip abbreviation of social media. The Vanity Fair piece is a vivid reminder of the education Lewinsky pursued after her own 1998 scandal. The thesis that helped her graduate with a Master of Science degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics was titled: “In Search of the Impartial Juror: An Exploration of the Third-Person Effect and Pre-Trial Publicity.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Supreme Court officials are intensifying their efforts to find the person who leaked a draft opinion setting off an abortion-debate firestorm, according to reports. The effort comes as Republicans in Congress introduce a new bill to make leaking Supreme Court information a crime. According to CNN, the Supreme Court is making law clerks provide cell phone records and sign affidavits in connection to the investigation. MEGA Some outside the court said the move has raised concerns about the intrusiveness on the clerk’s personal lives, according to the report. It has also led some to question whether they need lawyers. “That’s what similarly situated individuals would do in virtually any other government investigation,” an unnamed appellate lawyer told the oulet. “It would be hypocritical for the Supreme Court to prevent its own employees from taking advantage of that fundamental legal protection.” MEGA Clerks are often young lawyers who provide help and guidance to judges as they work on opinions and cases. The clerks are being targeted as the Supreme Court tries to determine who leaked a draft opinion that showed the court nearing a move to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guarantees federal election protections. The leak has set off a political firestorm with both sides taking to the proverbial soapbox to speak about the decision. MEGA So far, the Supreme Court has not released its final decision. But experts say that could happen within days. The investigation also comes as Republicans in Congress on Tuesday introduced a bill to make leaking Supreme Court information a crime, as Knewz reported. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) introduced the bill that would make leaking a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine. The bill hasn’t gone anywhere in Congress, though numerous Republicans have previously backed making leaking a crime. “The unauthorized leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health constitutes a grave breach of judicial ethics and a deliberate attack on the independence of the Supreme Court,” Johnson said. “This legislation is now, unfortunately, a necessary step to discourage future such attempts to intimidate justices during their deliberative process and restore independence to the Court so that it can ensure the American people are afforded equal and impartial justice under the law. The institution of the Court has been damaged and we must do what we can to try to repair it.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he planned to meet with lawmakers in Congress about guns after the Texas elementary school shooting last week in which 19 children and two teachers were killed. “There’s an awful lot of suffering,” Biden said during a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in the Oval Office. Biden, who visited with families of the shooting victims in Uvalde, Texas, on Sunday, said he thought he had been to more mass shooting aftermaths than any other U.S. president. “Much of it is preventable, and the devastation … is amazing,” he said. “I will meet with the Congress on guns. I promise you,” he said to reporters as he exited the room. Ardern expressed condolences for victims of the shootings in Texas and a May 14 racist shooting in Buffalo that killed 10 people. “It’s been devastating to see the impact on those communities,” she said. Ardern said she would be glad to share anything about New Zealand’s experience dealing with guns if it could be valuable. Biden called what the country was doing with technology companies “important.” After a 2019 massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which a lone gunman killed 51 Muslims, Ardern delivered a ban on semiautomatic firearms and other gun curbs, a stark contrast to the United States, where lawmakers and activists have struggled to address gun violence despite numerous mass shootings. In the United States, U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly failed to tighten gun laws after similar massacres over the past decade. Biden’s fellow Democrats are open to new gun restrictions while Republicans have an expansive vision of gun rights. U.S. lawmakers from both parties are working on potential legislative action, despite previous attempts having failed. The White House said on Tuesday that Biden did not support a ban on all handguns and reiterated that it is studying potential executive actions on gun violence protection. The White House is urging Congress to act on the issue and Biden has, for the moment, sought to give lawmakers space to find compromises that could pass. “We’re going to let that process go,” spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has repeatedly said in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting last week that gun regulations are not the solution. (Reporting by Jeff Mason;Additional reporting by David BrunnstromWriting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alistair Bell and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – Two Black Minneapolis residents on Tuesday filed federal civil rights lawsuits against Derek Chauvin, the white former police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, alleging he had dealt with them similarly in the past. John Pope Jr and Zoya Code claimed racism and civil rights violations in the lawsuits, lawyers representing them told reporters. The lawsuits stem from incidents that go back to 2017. Floyd, a Black man suspected of passing a counterfeit bill, was killed in May 2020 when Chauvin knelt on his neck as three other officers watched. The incident triggered a wave of protests over racial injustice across the world. Chauvin was sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison last year after his conviction on murder charges. He pleaded guilty in federal court to charges he violated Floyd’s civil rights. Pope was 14 years old in 2017 when officers were called to his home for a reported domestic disturbance. Chauvin was one of the officers who responded, and he entered Pope’s bedroom, where Pope was on his cell phone and lying face down on the floor, the lawyers said on Tuesday. “Chauvin rushed Pope and struck him multiple times on the head with a large flashlight” and “pinned Pope to the floor with his knee, the same tactic he used on George Floyd,” they said. In the case of Code, attorneys alleged Chauvin also used excessive force, adding he slammed her head on the ground and put his knee on the back of her neck. Chauvin’s attorneys were not immediately available for comment. Criminal charges against both Pope and Code were eventually dropped. Joining their lawyers in Tuesday’s press briefing, the plaintiffs said they were left traumatized after Chauvin’s actions. Their lawsuits also name the city of Minneapolis as a defendant. “The incidents involving John Pope and Zoya Code are disturbing. We intend to move forward in negotiations with the Plaintiffs on these two matters and hope we can reach a reasonable settlement,” the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office said. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by AFP A Supreme Court ruling leaves it to a federal district court in Texas is to figure out whether a freshly inked Texas law barring social media platforms from filtering content based on viewpoints, no matter how vile, is constituionally flawed. Washington (AFP) – The US Supreme Court on Tuesday put back on hold a controversial Texas law barring social media platforms from “censoring” posts based on viewpoints. The law threatens to essentially make it a crime for social media platforms to curb hate speech or bigoted tirades, or even point out when posts are demonstrably false. Political conservatives have accused Facebook, Twitter and other social media giants of stifling their voices, providing no evidence to support the claims. Social media platforms have consistently defended themselves against such accusations, saying content moderation decisions are based on factors such as risk of real-world harm. Former US president Donald Trump was booted from Facebook and Twitter after a group of his supporters attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in an attempt to prevent his rightly elected successor Joe Biden from taking office. People died during the attack, and there were concerns Trump would use social media to incite further violence. The Texas law bars social media platforms with more than 50 million users from banning people based on their political viewpoints. NetChoice trade association, whose members include Amazon, Facebook and Google, challenged the law and convinced a federal court in Texas to stop it from being enforced until it was resolved whether it runs afoul of the US Constitution’s First Amendment. An appeals court later sided with Texas, saying the state could go ahead with the law, prompting the matter being taken to the Supreme Court. The top court in the United States on Tuesday backed the original decision to put Texas law HB 20 on hold while the question of whether it should be tossed out completely is resolved. “Texas’s HB 20 is a constitutional trainwreck — or, as the district court put it, an example of ‘burning the house to roast the pig,'” NetChoice counsel Chris Marchese said in a release. “Despite Texas’s best efforts to run roughshod over the First Amendment, it came up short in the Supreme Court.” NetChoice welcomed the decision, which sends the case back to a district court in Texas to hear arguments regarding the law’s constitutionality. In its original decision about the stay, the district court said social media platforms have a right to moderate content disseminated on their platforms, and that a provision against putting warning labels on misinformation even risked violating the free speech rights of internet firms. “Texas’s law violates the First Amendment because it compels social media companies to publish speech they don’t want to publish, and because it prevents them from responding to speech they disagree with,” said attorney Scott Wilkens at Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute. “In addition, the theory of the First Amendment that Texas is advancing in this case would give government broad power to censor and distort public discourse.” View the full article

Published by AFP New Georgia Project canvassers Kayla McCall and Mardie Hill go door-to-door to inform residents about the upcoming primary election on May 23, 2022, in East Point, Georgia Atlanta (AFP) – Under slate gray skies in an African American neighborhood in the southwestern outskirts of Atlanta, Mardie Hill knocks on doors, her easy charm an antidote to an unusually frigid late spring afternoon. The 64-year-old grandmother has been going door-to-door for more than 15 years to encourage residents who may otherwise slip through the net to exercise their hard-won right to vote. The Deep South state of Georgia is poised to become ground zero for both parties in November’s midterm elections, with broad implications for Joe Biden’s presidency and the US Congress. But casting ballots has been getting more difficult, says Hill, amid an unprecedented barrage of restrictions that have made the already confusing voting landscape even harder to navigate. “One year you will have one set of rules, the next year you have lines drawn where it wasn’t drawn before,” she told AFP during a recent “get out the vote” drive for civic engagement group the New Georgia Project in the bungalow-lined streets of East Point. “And we have to ask our politicians: ‘Why are you doing that?’ We’ve got to hold them accountable. ‘Why do you have to keep changing things?'” Like Republican-run states across America, Georgia has spent Biden’s term leveraging his defeated opponent Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election to introduce restrictive laws that opponents say are an assault on democracy. After three presidential ballot counts and the collapse of multiple lawsuits brought by Trump’s campaign, no evidence of significant voter fraud ever surfaced in the key battleground. Nevertheless the Republican-controlled legislature passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, a law so far out of the mainstream that is now a crime in Georgia to hand out water to voters waiting in line if you are not a poll worker. The controversial package also contains numerous provisions limiting voting access, including narrowing the window for requesting absentee ballots and tough new ID requirements. Racial discrimination Drop boxes have been also been severely curtailed and mobile voting centers are all but outlawed. Long voting lines and spotty access to government issued ID tend to be a bigger issue in Black areas, leading to complaints of racial discrimination. Defenders of the tough new rules accuse Democrats of exaggerating fears of voter suppression as a way of juicing fundraising among their base. They say record early turnout numbers in this year’s primaries — three times higher than in the 2018 midterm cycle — prove that the fuss around the law is bogus. Voting rights groups and Democrats respond that the big numbers are down to a shift in tactics to mobilize voters under the new rules. “In fact, what we’re seeing is that Georgians (are) turning out in historic numbers, in spite of their shenanigans and their attempts to make it more difficult to vote,” Nse Ufot, chief executive of the New Georgia Project, told AFP. “That… is much more a credit to the organizing that is being done.” The get-out-the-vote efforts of civic engagement groups like the non-partisan NGP helped Biden become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in nearly three decades. Victory for two Democrats in runoff elections in January 2021 also gave control of the US Senate to Democrats. One of them, Raphael Warnock, is running again in November and defeat could hand the chamber back. Biden’s victory margin in Georgia was just 11,779 votes out of nearly five million cast, meaning a small chipping away at turnout around the edges is all it would take to reverse the outcome next time. ‘Apple pie and baseball’ “What we like to say here at NGP, is that it’s death by 1,000 cuts,” Jada Richard, 23, who works in communications for the group, told AFP. “So if they can get just 12,000 people, 5000 people, to stop voting or to feel that it’s too difficult, that’s enough at this point to decide an election.” Asked to characterize the voting landscape in Georgia, local civil rights leader Jamal Bryant says the state is “somewhere between Jim Crow’s Dixie and South Africa’s apartheid.” “I think that the ‘1,000 cuts’ is much too passive. I would say it’s not ‘1,000 cuts,’ it’s ‘100 bullets,'” the senior pastor of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church tells AFP. Voting rights groups see increasing turnout as their best weapon to ensure that the November’s election can be a fair reflection of the will of every Georgian. In the case of the New Georgia Project, the goal is to register 55,000 new voters by the end of the year, preferably highly-motivated “super-voters” who will participate in every election. Meanwhile Bryant’s 9,000 seat megachurch in the city of Stonecrest, in Atlanta’s southeastern suburbs, is working with a network of faith leaders on education, registration and getting out the vote. “Whether you are wealthy or welfare, you have the same vote and you have the same voice,” Bryant tells AFP at his trophy-lined office behind his arena-sized sanctuary. “It is — excuse the cliche — as American as apple pie and baseball.” View the full article

Published by AFP Dinesh D'Souza, director of the new movie '2000 mules,' at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania in May 2022 Washington (AFP) – A new movie that pushes dubious and widely debunked conspiracy theories to bolster Donald Trump’s claim that he was robbed of a second term as president has become a surprise hit at the US box office. Despite warnings by experts, “2000 Mules,” a film by Dinesh D’Souza — who was convicted of violating campaign finance laws before being pardoned by the former president — has garnered more than $1.2 million at the box office since its release in late May. With large buckets of popcorn in hand, a group of elder moviegoers crowd into a matinee screening in a cinema in a commercial district in Virginia. Passing by theaters showing the adventures of “Doctor Strange” or the latest “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie, the senior citizens settle down in front of the documentary promising to “expose widespread, coordinated voter fraud in the 2020 election, sufficient to change the overall outcome.” ‘Lifeblood of democracy’ The film opens with footage of anonymous voters enthusiastically slipping their ballots into boxes stamped with the American flag, while D’Souza tells the audience that “elections are the lifeblood of our democracy.” But, he says as the background darkens, the 2020 election “haunts the American mind.” Like millions of Americans, including former president Trump, D’Souza voices the debunked belief that the Democrats rigged the result of the last presidential election, relying on the widespread use of mail-in ballots during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We can’t move on unless we know the truth,” the director says in his voiceover. In an attempt to prove his theory, which has been rejected by all relevant US authorities, D’Souza shows himself, leaning on a kitchen counter and phoning a group based in Texas called True the Vote, which claims to “support election integrity.” A meeting is arranged. ‘A cartel’ In a kind of hangar packed with computer servers, two members of the group claim to have proof of the existence of a well-planned operation which, “like a cartel,” hired “mules” to stuff ballot boxes in a series of states that were key to Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. To validate their hypothesis, they rely on vast troves of anonymous location data from smartphone apps, which they claim show the comings and goings of these “mules” between the headquarters of various NGOs and ballot boxes. It’s a “heist” and “a crime,” says the outraged D’Souza. In the theater in Virginia, the audience is sold. “It’s like a nuclear bomb,” says one man. The theories pushed in the movie have been seriously questioned by multiple disinformation experts. They say that a delivery man, a taxi driver, or a postman working in the neighborhood could easily have given the mistaken for people making such nefarious trips. But for Trump and his supporters, this is the ultimate proof of the fraud they have been decrying for a year and a half. “They rigged and stole the 2020 election, we cannot be okay with this, we cannot simply move on,” says D’Souza as the film ends. And as the first notes of the American national anthem play, he issues a call to action: “The America we love needs us now more than ever.” View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Johnny Depp‘s fans showed their support, giving the actor a standing ovation during his performance on Monday hours before the jury continued their deliberation in his defamation trial against Amber Heard. The 58-year-old escaped the Fairfax County, Virginia, courtroom on Friday, where he’s been battling his ex-wife for weeks, and headed across the pond to the United Kingdom. Performing for the second night in a row alongside fellow singer and friend Jeff Beck, the two rocked out to a packed crowd at Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday. After covering hits like John Lennon’sIsolation and Marvin Gay’s What’s Going On, Depp was greeted with a standing ovation from his adoring fans. Mega The Pirates of the Caribbean star’s loyal “Deppheads” took to social media to praise the actor-turned-musician. “Johnny is an absolute mad man… leaves court Friday. playing a gig in Sheffield UK Sunday with Jeff Beck mind blown,” one fan posted to Twitter following his Sunday show. “What a creative and courageous man,” someone else replied. Depp’s followers have continued to show loyalty throughout his agonizing trial against Heard, with many showing up at the courthouse over several weeks. Holding posters and chanting their support, the crowd has often been greeted with appreciation from Depp and his legal counsel. Mega; Law & Crime During the trial, Heard’s friend claimed Depp would often get drunk and insult his fans behind their backs. “Alcohol would bring out a very ugly side of him,” iO Tillett Wright stated in the recorded deposition. “He would call [his fans] ‘remoras,'” he continued, explaining, “A fish that attaches itself to the hull of the ship and puts holes in it and sinks it.” Depp sued Heard for $50 million over an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post, in which she claimed she was a survivor of domestic violence. During the trial, she painted her ex-husband as an abusive drunk and claimed he often got violent with her. Heard also testified that Depp sexually assaulted her with a vodka bottle. Mega He has denied getting violent with Heard, claiming she was the abuser throughout their relationship. Heard countersued Depp for $100 million, alleging he was attempting to tarnish her reputation by calling her accusations against him “false.” After several weeks of testimony, the jury began deliberating on Friday following closing arguments. Depp’s team declined to comment when asked by Page Six if he will be present in the Virginia courtroom when the verdict is read. View the full article

Published by NJ.com The gay Pride flag seems to be hanging everywhere at the front of Passaic Preparatory Academy – everywhere except the flagpole out front. Students at the Passaic school hoisted the LGBTQ+ banner up the flagpole without a hitch last year, when there was no school board policy that covered ceremonial flag displays. This year, there is a policy. It only allows the American flag, the New Jersey state flag or a school flag to flown. A student group, the Gay Straight Alliance, says the policy is discriminatory and staged a demonstration in March. But the Board of Education says the policy applies to… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Jurors considering opposing lawsuits brought by Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are set to meet Tuesday to continue deliberating on whether either actor was defamed and deserves millions of dollars in damages. Depp, the 58-year-old “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, sued ex-wife Heard in Virginia for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse” in a newspaper opinion piece. Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a “hoax.” The seven-person jury deliberated for about two hours Friday before adjourning for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend. Depp has denied hitting Heard or any woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship. At the center of the legal case is the December 2018 opinion piece by Heard in the Washington Post, in which she made the statement about domestic abuse. The article did not mention Depp by name, but his lawyer told jurors it was clear that Heard was referring to him. Heard’s attorneys argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered as free speech under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. Depp and Heard met in 2011 while filming “The Rum Diary” and wed in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later. Over six weeks of proceedings, jurors listened to recordings of the couple’s fights and saw graphic photos of Depp’s bloody finger. He said the top of the finger was severed when Heard threw a vodka bottle at him in 2015. Heard denied injuring Depp’s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she struck him only to defend herself or her sister. Testimony was livestreamed widely on social media, drawing large audiences to hear details about the couple’s troubled relationship. Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s allegations cost him “everything.” A new “Pirates” movie was put on hold, and Depp was replaced in the “Fantastic Beasts” film franchise, a “Harry Potter” spinoff. Depp lost a libel case less than two years ago against the Sun, a British tabloid that labeled him a “wife beater.” A London High Court judge ruled that he had repeatedly assaulted Heard. Depp’s lawyers filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Virginia, because the Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Daniel Wallis) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kevin Spacey is “confident” he will clear his name after being charged with four counts of sexual assault. The former ‘House of Cards’ star was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service in the UK over a number of incidents, which were alleged to have taken place between March 2005 and August 2008 in London, and in April 2013 in Gloucestershire, and following claims he was set to be formally extradited from the US to face the charges, the 62-year-old actor has now insisted he will “voluntarily” fly to England to appear in court. He said in a statement released to ‘Good Morning America’: “I very much appreciate the Crown Prosecution Service’s statement in which they carefully reminded the media and the public that I am entitled to a fair trial, and innocent until proven otherwise. “While I am disappointed with their decision to move forward, I will voluntarily appear in the U.K. as soon as can be arranged and defend myself against these charges, which I am confident will prove my innocence.” It was announced last week Kevin would face charges of four counts of sexual assault against three men, and an additional charge of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent – is facing the allegations following a review of evidence collected by the Metropolitian Police. The alleged incidents took place between March 2005 and August 2008 in London, and in April 2013 in Gloucestershire. Rosemary Ainslie – head of the CPS Special Crime Division – said in a statement: “The CPS has authorised criminal charges against Kevin Spacey, 62, for four counts of sexual assault against three men. “He has also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. “The charges follow a review of the evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police in its investigation. “The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against Mr Spacey are active and that he has the right to a fair trial.” The ‘American Beauty’ actor has denied all allegations against him. The charges come after a series of legal battles for the actor after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were first made public in 2017 by actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged the star assaulted him when he was just 14 years old, after inviting him to his apartment for a party. In the lawsuit, he claimed Spacey grabbed his backside without permission and then lifted him onto a bed, before climbing on top of him and said he still suffers from extreme emotional distress as a result. In a statement in March, Spacey said: “I met [Rapp] several decades ago. I never had a sexual encounter with Mr. Rapp. Nor did I harbour any sexual interest or desire in Mr. Rapp at that time or any time.” The lawsuit is set to go trial on October 4. View the full article

Published by Reuters BERLIN (Reuters) – It is not clear yet whether the spread of monkeypox can be contained completely, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday, adding that its goal was to contain the outbreak by stopping human-to-human transmission to the maximum extent possible. “Tools to manage it – including readily available diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics – are not likely to be immediately or widely accessible to countries,” it said in a statement. Over 20 countries where monkeypox is not endemic have reported outbreaks of the viral disease, with more than 300 confirmed or suspected infections mostly in Europe. (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Madeline Chambers) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Ellen DeGeneres is on vacation in Morocco with her wife Portia DeRossi just days after ending her talk show. The 64-year-old comedienne – who has been married to the 49-year-old actress since 2008 – completed the last episode of her eponymous ABC talk show last Thursday (26.05.22) after 19 years on the air and was spotted with her wife in the city of Marrakech. in the new photos obtained by ETOnline, Ellen can be seen wearing khaki pants and a white linen shirt instead of the blazer and shirt TV audiences would recognise her in, while Portia opted for a blue and white striped dress complemented with a patterned scarf. When the veteran TV host played out her final show – which saw the return of very first guest and former ‘Friends’ star Jennifer Aniston on the special episode as Portia was seated in the audience – she explained that almost two decades ago, it was a struggle to sell the concept because she was “different” and reflected on everything that has changed culturally since the show debuted. She said: “20 years ago when we tried to sell this show, no one thought this would work. Not because it was a different kind of show — it was because I was different. Very few stations wanted to buy the show and here we are 20 years later, celebrating this amazing journey together. When we started this show I couldn’t say ‘gay’ on the show. … I couldn’t say ‘we,’ because that implied that I was with someone. Sure couldn’t say ‘wife,’ that’s because it wasn’t legal for gay people to get married. And now I say ‘wife’ all the time!” “Thank you so much for this platform. I hope that what I’ve been able to do in the last 19 years has made you happy. … And I hope I’ve been able to inspire you to make other people happy and do good in the world. To feel like you’ve had a purpose.” Meanwhile, a source explained that while Ellen was indeed “emotional” to be moving on, she is eager to move on to the next “chapter” in her life. A source said: “Ellen’s last show was emotional for her. It feels like an end of an era, but she is ready for the next chapter of her life. It feels bittersweet.” View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Renee Maltezou and Deborah Kyvrikosaios ATHENS (Reuters) – Raised in rural Greece, queer artist and author Sam Albatros recalls how their mother tried to console them about the bullying at school. “My mom said: ‘Don’t worry, when you grow up you are going to marry a woman, you are going to have kids and you will show them’… The worst thing is that she said this to actually comfort me,” Albatros said. Last year, Albatros (their artistic name) published ‘Faulty Boy’, a book describing the challenges that gender queer children face in Greece, a largely conservative country where the influent… Read More View the full article

Published by PsyPost Individuals who are more sensitive to disgust are more likely to hold negative attitudes towards gay men and lesbian women, according to new cross-cultural research published in the journal Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. The findings provide evidence that antigay prejudice is related in part to pathogen avoidance. “I became interested in prejudice towards gay men and lesbian women a couple of years after I became familiar with evolutionary psychology, maybe around 2010,” explained study author Florian van Leeuwen, an assistant professor at Tilburg University. “I could understand expla… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kevin Spacey is facing being extradited to Britain over four sexual assault charges. British authorities are reportedly seeking the return of the ‘House of Cards’ actor from the US to the UK after he was charged with the alleged sex offences last week. The incidents involve three men, now in their thirties and forties, and allegedly took place in London between March 2005 and August 2008, and in Gloucestershire in April 2013. Spacey, 62, as also been charged with causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent, the Crown Prosecution Service said. Nick Vamos, former head of extradition at the CPS, said US Department of Justice officials would study papers sent from the UK. They would have to be satisfied there was “probable cause” the offences may have been committed and if so police officers would be instructed to locate and detain Spacey. Vamos told The Guardian: “They will be under an obligation to arrest him. The US Department of Justice will task US marshals to find Mr Spacey and take him to a federal court. He always had the option of surrendering and not contesting extradition.” He added Spacey could be extradited in weeks if he does not contest the move – and months if he does resist. A special unit of the Home Office, the international criminality directorate, would act on behalf of police authorities and prosecutors. Spacey cannot be formally be charged until he returns to Britain. The charges follows a review of evidence gathered by the Metropolitan Police from its previous investigation into sexual assault claims against ‘The Usual Suspects’ actor, which started in 2017. The actor has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime division, said the service had “authorised criminal charges” against the Hollywood veteran, who was artistic director of the Old Vic theatre in London from 2004 to 2015. The actor’s new film ‘Peter Five Eight’ is his first leading role in five years and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this month. Producers of the drama have defended the actor against the charges when they were announced on Thursday (26.05.22.) They told The Hollywood Reporter: “While it’s unfortunate that increased negative press is timed with Kevin returning to work, it’s also to be expected. “There are those who wish for him not to act, but they are outnumbered by fans worldwide who await an artist they have enjoyed for decades returning to the screen. “The production has no knowledge or comment on the various swirling allegations, and believe it’s a matter for the courts to determine validity if it exists. ‘Peter Five Eight’ is a film for fans who care more for the art than the scandal.” View the full article