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Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives was expected to vote Friday on a sweeping, $1.75 trillion social-policy and climate package that accounts for much of Democratic President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda. The package has been scaled back and modified extensively during months of negotiations, and is likely to be modified further in the Senate. Here is what the latest version contains, according to the White House: FAMILY BENEFITS – Free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds – Support for child care costs: Families that earn less than $300,000 per year would pay no more than 7% of their income on child care – Tax credits worth up to $300 per child per month – Bolsters coverage of home-care costs for the elderly and disabled through the Medicaid health program – Expands free school meals and provides $65 per month in grocery money during summer months for 29 million low-income children who are eligible for free lunches at school CLIMATE – Rebates and credits to cut the cost of rooftop solar systems by 30% and American-made, union-made electric vehicles by $12,500 – Incentives to encourage U.S. manufacturing of clean energy technology and shift other industries to reduce carbon emissions – Creates 300,000-strong Civilian Climate Corps to work on environmental and climate projects – Creates a Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator to invest in climate-related projects, with at least 40% serving disadvantaged communities – New spending on coastal restoration, forest management and soil conservation HEALTHCARE – Enables the Medicare health plan for seniors to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs that have been on the market for at least nine years – Penalizes drug companies that increase prices faster than inflation – Caps out-of-pocket prescription drug prices at $2,000 per year and lowers insulin prices to $35 per month – Expands Medicare to cover hearing aids – Reduces Affordable Care Act premiums by an average of $600 per person per year – Expands Medicaid coverage to low-income people in the 12 states that have opted not to expand the program on their own HOUSING – Expands affordable housing, public housing and rental assistance programs – Broadens down-payment assistance to bolster home ownership – Expands lead-paint removal efforts – Supports community-led redevelopment in low-income neighborhoods – Encourages local governments to ease zoning restrictions that limit housing density EDUCATION – Increases Pell Grants for college costs – More aid for historically Black colleges and other minority-serving schools – Boosts the Labor Department’s job-training programs by 50% IMMIGRATION – $100 billion in “immigration reform,” which is additional funding beyond the $1.75 trillion – Efforts to reduce backlogs, expand legal services and improve border processing and asylum programs OTHER PROGRAMS – Expands a tax credit for low-income workers to cover those who do not have children – More money for rural projects – Supports community violence intervention TAXES – 15% minimum tax on corporate profits for companies with more than $1 billion in profits – 1% surcharge on stock buybacks – 15% minimum tax on foreign profits of U.S. corporations – 5% surtax on personal income above $10 million – additional 3% surtax on income above $25 million – close loophole to prevent wealthy from avoiding 3.8% Medicare tax – bolster the Internal Revenue Service to improve customer service and focus enforcement on wealthy tax evaders – expands a deduction for state and local taxes that primarily benefits upper-income households in high-tax states. Republicans had reduced that benefit in their 2017 tax-cut package (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

= Buck SlipWith ‘Eternals’ Disney/Marvel Chooses Intersectional Future And Defends Against Censoring LGBTQ Bits Reviews and quotes from NYTimes, WSJ, Variety, and more – Choosing intersectional over one-dimensional, Disney refuses (possibly for the first time ever) to cut Eternals LGBTQ content for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. They will not show Eternals. – Neighboring countries with similar laws will show as planned. – Marvel bros troll and review bomb the Eternals release on IMDb, Reddit, Rotten Tomatoes and elsewhere, messaging “liberal elite brainwashing” and an overly ‘woke’ story. – Legitimate reviews are mixed. (Round up of quotes) Feels weird to not be able to ignore the whole studio, if not the genre. All good things, insights on humanity, attributed to Oscar Winner Chloé Zhao -editor “Eternals”Phastos… Marvel’s First LGBTQ Superhero … and family Marvel Studios’ upcoming film “Eternals” hits American theaters broadly today, but the latest MCU installment has already drawn ire, trolling and praise for its focus on characters and the diversity of the group: three are asian, two black, and a Latina. Of them, one is gay, one non binary and another is deaf. Phastos, portrayed by “Atlanta” star Brian Tyree Henry, is the first out LGBTQ superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe’s (MCU) decade-plus lineage. The character arrives on the big screen as one of comics-icon Jack Kirby’s somewhat niche collection of celestial immortals. But wait, there’s more. He lands with husband Ben, portrayed by Haaz Sleiman, and child, notching another first for the series with a portrayal of an LGBTQ family. Excitement from LGBTQ fans when announced earlier in the year was initially muted in light of of how Disney companies have delivered on previous promises of out characters. Targeted announcements touting ‘firsts’ ended up tangential, morsel-sized moments, easily removed for audiences in nations skittish about LGBTQ people and identities. So far, indication are that “Eternals” depiction of LGBTQ relationships carry through the film, delivering a lot more, with a character essential to the progression of the story, while going so far as to include a passionate kiss between Phastos and Ben. Disney seems in step with the film’s director, Oscar Winner Chloé Zhao who told Variety she addressed the issues with Marvel Studios executives about not altering the film, including producing cuts that diminished Phastos’ identity while describing the character as “an integral part of Marvel Studios’ conception of the character” from the very beginning of development. Brian Tyree Henry as PhastosDisney/Marvel Support Integrity of Storyline, Film Zhao’s Not only is the character difficult to take out while preserving the story, but according to sources consulted by The Hollywood Reporter, “Eternals” has been banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar because Disney refused to make requested edits, likely including the depiction of same-sex relationships. The company itself has been mum on the topic and hasn’t claimed credit for defending the film as created in public. If all true, the media conglomerate’s refusal to meet the demands of these governments, all three of which criminalize homosexuality, punishing same-sex acts with death, physical punishments or imprisonment, represents one of the few times (if not the first) the company has taken a stance to preserve LGBTQ-inclusive content in international cuts of its films when asked to edit or eliminate them.. It was only a few years back that the company drew heavy criticism for promoting LGBTQ inclusion in 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” and “Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker” that in the end were seconds-long bits that could be easily edited and, in fact, were for viewers in a number of countries. According to now-deleted reviews compiled by The Direct, much of the criticism centered on the perceived “wokeness” of the film, bashing the film for ticking “all the Hollywood woke boxes” with little critique of the story and film. The wave of negative comments got so large that IMDB removed a collection of reviews from the film’s page. It will not surprise that most reviews posted prior to the purge were authored by young men 18-44 years old (IMDb’s user review data). The film currently shows a 6.5/10 stars aggregated rating. It’s often hard to divine where ratings are coming form, but with reviews now mostly in it seems Eternals has a much bigger problem with professional reviewers that with trolls posing as regular users, now that the film is getting seen and no doubt, these systems have their own measures against review bombing. Both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic are showing similar rolled up scores for their panels of professional reviewers as well as a similar, quite large separating them from the much higher ratings iof the User/Audience scores to the tune of 25-30 points higher. Rottom Tomatoes . METACRITIC Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics at 51% while their Audience Reviews are up at 86%. So while it’s the first Marvel film to get a “Rotten” rating , it would seem like the audience isn’t having such a bad time at all. IMDB is holding at 6.5 stars; Metacritic tells effectively the same story as the Rotten Tomatoes with their roll up of pro reviewers averaging in at 53% but users rating it 7.7 out of 10. Google reviewers are similar to the User scores and as of now are at 74% Reviewers Amazed By Marvel’s Changes On Return from Semester Abroad Overall, the professional reviewers are not saying that it’s a failure of liberal brainwashed “wokeness”. Not at all. In fact many more credit to the film for its light touch in radically remaking the diversity mix on screen, with many saying some version of the matter-of-fact portrayal is how things should be in the world. Sadly, most of the pros just don’t love Eternals. The movie’s structure , including tons of flashbacks and the length of two hours are both mentioned many times as the reasons viewers lost in interest, lost the thread of the story, lost track of why they should care. But there’s not a good way to get around. some layers of introduction and exposition when introducing 10 new main characters and ton of others. …not to mention the origins of their crew, why they didn’t lift a finger during the big Avenger fight to save the world and much more. Almost every reviewer credits Zhao for building complex characters, a plot that isn’t two dimensional, and for an attention to detail that makes the film a great beauty. Most say she’s done an OK . But most have a hard time going beyond the realm of “OK” to “Pretty good”. It is interesting to see the big reviewers of the Entertainment industrial Complex wrestling with Eternals after basically ignoring the whole universe of 25 or so films over the last decade +. But this is clearly something different. They need to acknowledge it now and most are not quite comfortable with it yet. NPR Takes on the Elephant in the Room Among those gate keepers taking notice, NPR goes straight at film and jilted bros who didn’t see it coming. They go for the jugular devoting most of a review to the easily navigated listicle: “How Eternals engages with the top 10 go-to MCU complaints. ” unpacking why these guys feel so threatened by a new cast that operates differently. The list will be familiar whether you’ve seen all or none of the films. You will have either argued, argued against or presumed to address the ramifications of these films taking over and that they are — or are not — ugly, formulaic, childish, and both predictable and unintelligible by boring story. If only to weigh in on these questions we should see it. The reviewer presents Zhao’s take and worthy execution. Read it yourself, Bottom line, no Avengers movie could ever be described with this loving complexity. And the NYTimes? WSJ, Variety? Meanwhile, the New York Times says “A pleasing cast and the director Chloé Zhao, who won a best picture Oscar for “Nomadland,” give Marvel’s latest a steady heartbeat…works as a war movie, a romance, a family comedy and a family drama…It’s best categorized, though, as a getting-the-band-back-together flick.” The Wall Street Journal acknowledges “Eternals” is a terrible mess structurally, and hasn’t reconciled its conventional sci-fi action with its philosophical speculations about life on Earth and the gods who govern the universe.” But the review is not a pan, telling viewers “Ms. Zhao and her writer colleagues— Patrick Burleigh, Ryan Firpo and Kaz Firpo —draw strength for their production from excellent actors playing an assortment of intriguing eccentrics with widely varying commitments to Homo sapiens, or to themselves.” USA Today lays out the challenge problem Variety devoted an entire post to “How ‘Eternals’ Brought Sex to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: ‘It’s Very Tasteful’” When it was pointed out to Zhao that ‘Eternals’ is the “first Marvel Studios movie to feature two characters having sex on screen,” she showed some pride, “the director broke into a wide grin. “We win!” she said.” Variety’s regular review directly responds to the aforementioned trolls: Audiences will be able to make up their own minds about the film when it releases in theaters on Friday, Nov. 5 Eternals: Previously on Towleroad Wonder Woman’s 1st Trans Amazon; ‘Battlefield’s 1st Non-Binary Specialist; ‘Superman’ Colorist Quits Offended By New Motto. Brian Bell October 26, 2021 Read More Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane? No, It’s The First Bisexual Superman Towleroad October 11, 2021 Read More World of Batman Now Even More Queer; Longtime Robin Comes Out as Questioning in DC Comics Anthology Series Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More Pride Month Gay Comics Roundup: DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Many Others Celebrate Their LGBTQ Characters, Creators Brian Bell June 16, 2021 Read More Brazil’s Largest Newspaper Publishes Massive ‘Avengers’ Gay Kiss in Defiance of Rio Mayor Andy Towle September 9, 2019 Read More Rio De Janeiro Authorities Ban ‘Avengers’ Comic Book Series Over Gay Kiss Andy Towle September 7, 2019 Read More Screenshot via YouTube View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English The #MeToo movement has been “distorted” by Hollywood, according to its founder Tarana Burke. The activist explained how the movement had been founded in 2006 to empower women from black communities who had endured sexual assault before developing into a hashtag used in response to accusations of abuse in Hollywood and the rest of the world. Burke regrets that people have failed to understand the true purpose of the movement. Speaking to ‘Small Axe’ director Sir Steve McQueen at a Guardian Live event, Tarana said: “I’ve seen what Hollywood does, I’ve seen what white people do quite frankly, when they get a hold of black work or work by people of colour.” Tarana, 48, sympathised with the Hollywood stars who came forward but was annoyed that the victims had been forgotten. She said: “I don’t think the woman that came forward necessarily had … malicious intent. “It’s really about survivors and surviving.” Burke was unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight after actress Alyssa Milano encouraged social media followers to tweet #MeToo to signal past sexual harassment or assault when the sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein came to light in 2017 and admits that she could never imagine the movement going global. She said: “I could never envision when this all began that a global movement would happen. “That people would take to the streets. I didn’t think people cared enough.” Tarana – who was a victim of sexual assault as a child – admits that it is vital that the “narrative” of the movement does not change. She said: “It’s important that we don’t let other people affect the narrative, or co-opt the movement.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mark Hosenball WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. law enforcement and security agencies believe domestic extremists, notably white supremacists, pose a violent threat in the United States similar to that of Islamic State militants, top U.S. security officials told Congress on Wednesday. Concern about racially motivated domestic extremists had prompted the FBI to elevate the threat to a level equal with that posed by the Islamist militants, said Timothy Langan, the assistant director who heads the counterintelligence division. Langan told a House Intelligence subcommittee the Federal Bureau of Investigation had detected a significant increase in the threat of violence from domestic extremists over the last 18 months. He said the bureau was conducting around 2,700 investigations related to domestic violent extremism, and there had been 18 lethal attacks targeting U.S. religious institutions in which 70 people had died in recent years. The FBI has engaged with tech companies regarding their role in fueling extremism, has successfully disrupted planned acts of violence and will continue to “try to close the gap” on its inability to legally decode encryptions on mobile phones. John Cohen, acting undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis in the Department of Homeland Security, told the subcommittee that racial superiority and “hatred of immigrants” were major threat concerns. He said his department believes the biggest domestic threat is posed by lone offenders and small groups indoctrinated in extremist ideology. The threat is fueled by a blend of extremist beliefs and personal grievances, he said. Cohen noted that domestic extremists conduct so much discussion openly on social media that covert collection of intelligence on the threats they pose may often not be necessary to spot the threats. Some Republican members of the House subcommittee suggested U.S. spy agencies should not be collecting information on U.S. political activity unless there is a connection to foreign actors. (Reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe and Helen Coster WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) -Voting technology company Smartmatic on Wednesday sued right-wing U.S. television networks One America News and Newsmax, saying they must be held accountable for spreading conspiracy theories about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In separate lawsuits, Smartmatic accused OAN and Newsmax of knowingly spreading false claims that the voting technology company rigged the election against then-President Donald Trump. Smartmatic says the networks doubled down on the false claims as part of an effort to win over Trump supporters dissatisfied with Fox News Network’s election coverage. The privately owned company sued San Diego-based OAN in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case against Newsmax, which is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida, was filed in state court in Delaware. A Newsmax spokesperson said in a statement: “While Newsmax has yet to receive or review the Smartmatic filing, Newsmax reported accurately on allegations made by well-known public figures, including the President, his advisors and members of Congress, as well as reporting on Smartmatic’s claims in its defense. Smartmatic’s action against Newsmax today is a clear attempt to squelch the rights of a free press.” An OAN representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Smartmatic did not say how much money it is demanding from Newsmax and OAN, but said election conspiracy theories have erased $2 billion in value from the company. Damages owed by each of the defendants will be determined at trial, it said. Smartmatic, whose U.S. headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida, in February sued New York-based Fox News, its parent Fox Corp and several Fox hosts in a New York state court, alleging they falsely accused the company of helping rig the U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. In that case, Smartmatic also sued two lawyers aligned with Trump’s Republican re-election campaign, Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, who pushed the election-rigging conspiracy theory. Smartmatic’s lawsuit in that case stated the defendants should pay a combined $2.7 billion in monetary damages. Fox News and its co-defendants have asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing their commentary on Smartmatic was free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Powell and Giuliani also face defamation claims https://www.reuters.com/world/us/dominion-sues-newsmax-one-america-news-network-others-over-election-claims-wsj-2021-08-10 brought by Dominion Voting Systems, another privately owned voting technology company that found itself at the center of false conspiracy theories in the weeks after the November 2020 election. Like Smartmatic, Denver-based Dominion is seeking billions of dollars in damages. Dominion has sued other individuals as well, including My Pillow Inc founder Mike Lindell https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-dominion/voting-machine-company-sues-my-pillow-and-its-pro-trump-chief-over-election-claims-idUSKBN2AM1LT. Dominion scored an early victory in August when a judge allowed its defamation claims against Powell, Giuliani, and Lindell to advance toward trial. Fox News has asked a judge to dismiss Dominion’s claims, arguing Dominion’s lawsuit “threatens to stifle the media’s free-speech right to inform the public about newsworthy allegations of paramount public concern.” (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington and Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Stephen Coates) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -A lawyer for the armorer who oversaw weapons used on the “Rust” movie set suggested on Wednesday that someone deliberately put a live round into the gun used by Alec Baldwin when he accidentally shot dead a cinematographer. Jason Bowles said his client, Hannah Gutierrez, had pulled ammunition from a box that she believed contained only dummy rounds that were incapable of firing. He said he thought it was possible that someone purposely placed real bullets, which look similar to dummies, in the box. “We’re afraid that could have been what happened here, that somebody intended to sabotage this set with a live round intentionally placed in a box of dummies,” Bowles said on ABC television’s “Good Morning America.” “We’re not saying anybody had any intent there was going to be a tragedy of homicide,” he added, “but they wanted to do something to cause a safety incident on set. That’s what we believe happened.” A spokeswoman for producers Rust Movie Productions had no comment on Bowles’ remarks. The company has said it is investigating the incident and had received no official complaints about safety on the set in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Authorities are investigating the matter and no charges have been filed against anyone involved. “Never in a million years did Hannah think that live rounds could have been in the ‘dummy’ round box,” Bowles said in a statement later on Wednesday. Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on Oct. 21 when a gun Baldwin was holding released a live bullet, police said. Baldwin had been told by assistant director Dave Halls that the gun was “cold”, an industry term meaning it is safe to use. Bowles said Gutierrez had checked the gun before giving it to Halls. She spun the cylinder and showed Halls each of the rounds, which she believed were six dummy rounds, he said. Halls then took the gun into the church where Baldwin was rehearsing a scene. He said that Gutierrez took her job seriously, had given Baldwin and other actors on the film firearms training, and “did everything in her power to ensure a safe set.” Before the shooting, camera operators had quit the film to protest against what they said were long hours and other objectionable working conditions, authorities in Santa Fe have said. Asked who would intentionally place live ammunition with dummy rounds, Bowles said on NBC’s “Today” show that he believed it could be a person who wanted “to prove a point, to say that they’re disgruntled, they’re unhappy”. “And we know that people had already walked off the set the day before,” he said. Baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, has said he is heartbroken and is cooperating with authorities https://www.reuters.com/world/us/alec-baldwin-calls-movie-shooting-death-one-trillion-episode-2021-10-30. On Tuesday, he shared a message on social media https://www.reuters.com/article/us-film-rust-shooting/alec-baldwin-posts-crew-member-comments-disputing-chaotic-movie-set-idUSKBN2HO01F from a crew member who disputed reports of chaos and a lax attitude toward safety on the set. An attorney for Halls did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Mark Heinrich, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. judge is set to hear arguments by Donald Trump’s lawyers on Thursday that hundreds of pages of his White House records should be withheld from a House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by a mob of his supporters. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is due to consider the Republican former president’s arguments that phone call records, visitor logs and other materials requested by the Democratic-led committee should be kept confidential. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET (1500 GMT). Trump on Oct. 18 sued the nine-member select committee, arguing that the requested materials are covered by a legal doctrine known as executive privilege https://www.reuters.com/world/us/can-trump-use-executive-privilege-block-jan-6-attack-probe-2021-09-09 that protects the confidentiality of some White House communications. Trump left office on Jan. 20. “The Committee’s requests are unprecedented in their breadth and scope and are untethered from any legitimate legislative purpose,” Trump’s lawyer Jesse Binnall wrote in the lawsuit. The committee requested the materials from the U.S. National Archives, which holds the records. Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee’s chairman, and Republican Representative Liz Cheney, its vice chair, said in a statement after the filing of the lawsuit that Trump is seeking to “delay and obstruct” the investigation. “It’s hard to imagine a more compelling public interest than trying to get answers about an attack on our democracy and an attempt to overturn the results of an election,” Cheney and Thompson said. Trump gave an incendiary speech before the deadly riot repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud and urging his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to “top the steal.” His supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to prevent Congress from formally certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory. The committee has said it needs the requested materials to understand the role that Trump may have played in fomenting the riot. It has said the requests are within its powers and driven by the clear legislative purpose of understanding the facts and causes surrounding the riot and developing legislation to guard against a similar assault in the future. About 700 people face criminal charges stemming from the riot. The House on Oct. 21 voted to hold Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the investigation. Bannon has refused to comply with committee subpoenas seeking documents and his testimony, citing Trump’s insistence – disputed by some legal scholars – that his communications are protected by executive privilege. The Justice Department must now decide whether to bring criminal charges against Bannon. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) View the full article

Published by AFP Actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (L) said he will no longer allow real guns to be used on his movie sets, following the October, 2021 on-set accidental shooting death of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin Los Angeles (AFP) – Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pledged to never again use real guns in his films after friend and fellow actor Alec Baldwin accidentally shot and killed a cinematographer on a set last month. Johnson said he was “heartbroken” to learn of the death of Halyna Hutchins on Baldwin’s film “Rust,” and that the tragedy made him reassess the use of firearms during the making of films through his company Seven Bucks Productions. “We lost a life,” the popular 49-year-old actor said late Wednesday at the premier of his new Netflix film, the comedy caper “Red Notice,” according to Variety magazine. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can tell you, without an absence of clarity here, that any movie that we have moving forward with Seven Bucks Productions — any movie, any television show, or anything we do or produce — we won’t use real guns at all,” Johnson added. His production company will switch over to rubber guns and add all necessary firearm effects in post-production. “We won’t worry about what it costs,” he said. Hutchins died last month on a New Mexico movie set when the prop gun Baldwin was handling went off, striking her and director Joel Souza, who was hospitalized and released. Baldwin was handed a firearm marked “cold gun,” industry speak for a prop that was deemed cleared and safe to use. Johnson, a long-time Baldwin friend, said he believed it was time for changes in the industry. “As we move forward, I think that there are new protocols and new safety measures that we should take, especially in the wake of what happened,” he said. “It just sucks that it had to happen like this for us… to wake up.” View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Jojo Siwais opening up about her recent breakup. The 18-year-old had been gushing over her former girlfriend Kylie Prew, also 18, since she introduced her to the world, shortly after coming out earlier this year. However, the young couple’s whirlwind romance came to an abrupt end last month, which the Dance Moms alum confirmed earlier this week. Now, Siwa is divulging some more details about what went wrong in her relationship, and how she has been holding up since the split. MEGA According to Us Weekly, Siwa revealed she and Prew called things off on October 11, the same day she performed in Dancing With the Stars’ “Disney Week.” JOJO SIWA CALLS ‘DWTS’ A ‘ROLLERCOASTER’ AFTER LANDING IN THE BOTTOM TWO FOLLOWING SPLIT FROM KYLIE PREW “We officially broke up the morning that I did the Prince Charming number on Dancing With the Stars,” she told the outlet. “It’s been a few weeks and it’s been tough, but we’re getting through it.” “I would have handled it so much differently [if I wasn’t on DWTS],” she admitted, noting the show kept her so busy that she barely had time to wallow and “be sad” about the breakup. MEGA “And then I got that [time to be sad] and I was like, ‘I’ve been very lucky that I don’t have much of that right now,’” the blonde babe continued, per the outlet. The J-Team actress explained she and her former flame are still on good terms, and working towards being friends in the future. “I realized what was making me sad is I felt like I couldn’t be friends with Ky anymore,” she reportedly confessed. “And then I was like, ‘This is dumb.’ We started being friends by Snapchatting every day. We’re going to go back to being friends.” “It really makes my heart happy though to say that we are still best friends,” she told the outlet. “I was literally just watching videos earlier today, just from the early months of our relationship and just feeling happy.” Siwa also insisted Prew still has her back, recalling a particular “rough night” she had recently, where her ex-girlfriend answered her call at “2:00 a.m. her time” to offer the popstar support, according to the outlet. MEGA “But it just wasn’t right to be in a relationship anymore,” she said without giving any further details about what went down between the young pair. “And that’s OK. We’re both so young, it’s OK to live life and that’s OK ‘for right person, wrong time’ to be a real thing.” JOJO SIWA JUMPS FOR JOY AS SHE’S REUNITED WITH ‘DWTS’ PARTNER JENNA JOHNSON FOLLOWING SPLIT FROM KYLIE PREW: PHOTOS “Life has a way of working out,” she reportedly continued, adding that she wasn’t ruling out a possible reconciliation with Prew in the future. “[If] we grow up and realize like ‘You are the one for me,’ then great. I’m not opposed to it at all.” Siwa explained she’s simply “sitting back” and enjoying the ride of life, whatever it may bring. “I’m literally strapped into a roller-coaster and I’m like, ‘Jesus, take the wheel. You got it, buddy. Let’s go,” she quipped. For now, the “Boomerang” singer is focusing all her energy into her new Peacock series Siwa’s Dance Pop Revolution competition show, which she is working on with her mom Jessalynn Siwa. Siwa also recently revealed she’s been leaning on her DWTS partner Jenna Johnson for support through the difficult time. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jeffrey Dastin and Julia Love (Reuters) – Earlier this year, Amazon.com Inc handily defeated a historic union drive at a warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. But with the prospect of another vote looming, the online retailer is leaving nothing to chance. Over the past few weeks, Amazon has ramped up its campaign at the warehouse, forcing thousands of employees to attend meetings, posting signs critical of labor groups in bathrooms, and flying in staff from the West Coast, according to interviews and documents seen by Reuters. It is an indication that Amazon is sticking to its aggressive playbook. In August, a U.S. National Labor Relations Board hearing officer said the company’s conduct around the previous vote interfered with the Bessemer union election. An NLRB regional director’s decision on whether to order a new vote is forthcoming. Amazon has denied wrongdoing and said it wanted employees’ voices to be heard. Still, the moves to discourage unionization ahead of any second election, previously unreported, show how Amazon is fighting representation at its U.S. worksites. An uptick in labor activity since workers in April rejected joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), including organizing drives in New York and Canada, has pushed Amazon to react. Other prominent unions like the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are also vowing to organize Amazon. The risk: unions could alter how Amazon manages its vast, finely tuned operation and drive up costs at a time when a labor shortage is taking a toll on its profit. Wilma Liebman, a former NLRB chair, said the stakes are high. “They really, really fear any toe in the door to unionization,” Liebman said. “There’s nothing like a win, and a win can be contagious.” In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said a union “will impact everyone at the site so it’s important all employees understand what that means for them and their day-to-day life working at Amazon.” In the new campaign, Amazon has dedicated a week of mandatory meetings to warn staff that unions will force them to strike and forgo pay, a nod to the recent stoppages roiling workplaces across the country. And like last time, Amazon has said unions are a business taking workers’ money and told staff to consider what it can guarantee and what unions cannot – now in panels in bathroom stalls and above urinals. The panels carry information unrelated to unions as well. “Unions can make a lot of promises, but cannot guarantee you will receive better wages, benefits, or working conditions,” read a photo shared with Reuters. UNION SUPPORTERS PUSH BACK Some staff have challenged Amazon’s claims and posted their own pro-union signs in warehouse bathrooms, according to worker accounts. The RWDSU, meanwhile, has flown in personnel to Bessemer, facilitated nightly chats at a burger joint, and ramped up door-knocking. Home visits are a crucial part of organizing drives because unions have no guaranteed worksite access under U.S. law, said John Logan, a professor at San Francisco State University. Stuart Appelbaum, the RWDSU’s president, said the union has heard from employees who now would change their vote to join. He said he believes door-knocking gives the union a new edge. “We have a greater opportunity to engage with people every day than during the height of the pandemic,” said Appelbaum. Organizers did not conduct home visits last time because of COVID-19 fears. He added that the RWDSU’s effort is about more than Amazon. “It’s about the future of work.” A Teamsters spokeswoman said the union has attended strategy meetings on Amazon with other unions coordinated by the biggest U.S. labor federation, the AFL-CIO. Tim Schlittner of the AFL-CIO said the federation is “bringing the resources of the labor movement” to support Amazon workers. Roadblocks abound, not least that the RWDSU has to reach new staff joining the company without knowing their names until an official election is ordered. Appelbaum estimated that Amazon was hiring 200 people a week in Bessemer. Amazon had no comment on turnover. The warehouse headcount numbers more than 5,800. SCARE TACTIC On Oct. 10, just when Amazon raised hourly wages by 25 cents for more veteran staff, the company re-started mandatory weekly meetings in Bessemer to highlight different messages about unions. Amazon said the pay increase was unrelated to the meetings. For Darryl Richardson, an outspoken union supporter at the facility, strikes were a bigger focus of Amazon’s new campaign. “They’re trying to scare you more now,” Richardson said. “You don’t get paid going on a strike.” According to Richardson, Amazon falsely said a union would force workers to walk off the job and fine them if they crossed a picket line. The 52-year-old said Amazon has treated him differently as well: he was denied transfer requests, and an official walking through the warehouse to ask workers how they felt about unions had little to say after scanning Richardson’s badge … “‘You’re Darryl,’ she said. ‘Your mind is made up.'” Amazon had no comment on Richardson’s remarks. Though the company told employees they can turn away organizers showing up at their doorsteps, Richardson said he and peers have kept knocking, while Amazon is making its case on home turf. In one table-top sign Amazon put up at the warehouse, the company exhorted workers to “FOLLOW THE MONEY,” claiming the RWDSU gave Appelbaum a “$30,000 raise paid for by union dues” and last year spent nearly $100,000 on cars for its officials. Asked for comment, Appelbaum said he has no union car and that transportation is for field representatives whose jobs require travel to workplaces. Amazon is “misrepresenting the information,” he said. (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin and Julia Love in San Francisco; Editing by Anna Driver and Bernard Orr) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Krisztina Than and Nikolaj Skydsgaard BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Coronavirus infections are hitting record levels in many countries across Europe as winter takes hold, prompting a call for action from the World Health Organization which described the new wave as a “grave concern”. Soaring numbers of cases, especially in Eastern Europe, have prompted debate on whether to reintroduce curbs on movement before the Christmas holiday season and on how to persuade more people to get vaccinated. That conversation comes as some countries in Asia, with the notable exception of China, reopen their tourism sectors to the rest of the world. “The current pace of transmission across the 53 countries of the European Region is of grave concern,” regional WHO head Hans Kluge said, adding that the spread was exacerbated by the more transmissible Delta variant. The virus spreads faster in the winter months when people gather indoors. Kluge warned earlier that if Europe followed its current trajectory, there could be 500,000 COVID-related deaths in the region by February. “We must change our tactics, from reacting to surges of COVID-19, to preventing them from happening in the first place,” he said. The region saw a 6% increase in new cases last week, with nearly 1.8 million new cases, compared to the week before. The number of deaths rose 12% in the same period. Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, reported 33,949 new infections, the highest daily increase since the start of the pandemic last year. Cases in Russia and Ukraine are soaring. Austria’s daily new coronavirus infections surged towards a record set a year ago, making a lockdown for the unvaccinated ever more likely. COVID-19 prevalence in England rose to its highest level on record in October, Imperial College London said, led by a high numbers of cases in children and a surge in the southwest. Slovakia reported 6,713 new cases, also a record, while daily new cases in Hungary more than doubled from last week to 6,268. Poland, Eastern Europe’s biggest economy, reported 15,515 daily cases on Thursday, the highest figure since April. Croatia and Slovenia on Thursday both reported record daily infections. CHINA ON ALERT AHEAD OF OLYMPICS China is also on high alert at ports of entry to reduce the risk of COVID-19 cases entering from abroad, and has stepped up restrictions amid a growing outbreak less than 100 days before the Beijing Winter Olympics. Authorities have also tightened curbs in the capital ahead of a major gathering of the top members of the Communist Party next week. Since mid-October, over 700 locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms have been reported in China. While the number is tiny compared with other countries, it has led to a growing wave of restrictions under Beijing’s zero-tolerance policy. In Central Europe, Hungary has trimmed its 2021 GDP growth projection to 6.8% from 7.0-7.5% due to a rise in inflation, energy prices, and the risks stemming from COVID-19, the finance minister said, flagging the possibility of some new restrictions in a country where there are currently hardly any curbs in place. Slovakia’s Finance Ministry cut its forecasts for 2021 and 2022 growth in September, saying a new wave of COVID-19 cases will hit consumer demand and the labour market at the end of the year although the impact will not be as strong as earlier in the pandemic. Poland’s central bank left its projections unchanged. FRESH CURBS The Hungarian government has urged people to take up vaccines and last week announced mandatory vaccinations at state institutions, also empowering private companies to make jabs mandatory for employees if they believe that is necessary. Romania – where hospitals cannot cope with a surge in COVID-19 patients – the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland have all tightened rules on mask wearing and introduced measures to curb infections. The Czech Republic has introduced a requirement for restaurant customers to show proof of vaccination or a test. It also has tough mask regulations and some children are again being tested in schools in areas where cases are higher. In Poland, mask wearing is mandatory in enclosed public spaces while cinemas, theatres and hotels have a 75% capacity limit. The Hungarian government has not replied to Reuters questions on potential measures. (Reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest and Nicolaj Skydsgaard in Copenhagen; Additional reporting by Jason Hovet, Alan Charlish and bureaux worldwide; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Frances Kerry) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Britney Spears has a lot to look forward to. A court date is set for November 12 to determine if her 13-year conservatorship should end. “Britney is beside herself and broke down in tears of joy because she now knows with no hesitation that she is getting her life back,” an insider told HollywoodLife. “She will be able to do all of the things she has always wanted to do and with Sam [Asghari] by her side, she feels safe. He won’t let anything ever happen to her and her friends trust him more than anything,” the source explained. MEGA STRONGER THAN YESTERDAY! A DEFINITIVE TIMELINE OF EVENTS THAT LED TO BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONTROVERSIAL CONSERVATORSHIP: PHOTOS As previously reported by OK!, insiders revealed that the singer and her fiancé are holding off on making wedding plans and buying a home together until her future is determined. “Britney has been locked in hell for 13 years and she is not ready to let her dad off the hook just because he is ready to give up,” the HollywoodLife source said. “But at this point, she knows that she is free and that is all she’s wanted and prayed for for over a decade.” Jamie Spears was suspended from the conservatorship in September. “Her friends are all celebrating this and are really emotional too because everyone around her knows what a toll this has taken on her and no one who knows and loves her has ever approved of what was going on,” the source added. NETFLIX DROPS ‘BRITNEY VS SPEARS’ DOCUMENTARY TRAILER ABOUT POP STAR’S BOMBSHELL CONSERVATORSHIP CASE WITH NEW DETAILS — WATCH MEGA “Britney isn’t really doing anything to prepare for her upcoming court date,” another insider told HollywoodLife. “She’s just relaxing, spending time with Sam. She’s praying a lot.” According to the insider, the “Lucky” singer is hoping her conservatorship ends before the year is over so she can have a fresh start in 2022. “She’s feeling as hopeful as she ever has,” the source shared. “She’s excited for the future and she has no real plans if it does come to an end,” the source added. “She continues reading every single comment from her fans and they are really what have gotten her through this hell she’s endured.” ‘I JUST WANT TO HELP’: CHRISTIAN SIRIANO, SARAH JESSICA PARKER, BETTE MIDLER REACT TO BRITNEY SPEARS’ CONSERVATORSHIP AFTER DOCUMENTARY MAKES WAVES MEGA Whether Spears will continue her music career is unclear. The insider said the blonde beauty has told her friends she is “fine” if she doesn’t work again “but she has gone back and forth on that.” “She’s just going to see where life takes her,” the source explained. “She will probably celebrate on a vacation with Sam somewhere to start and spend time with her boys [Sean and Jayden Federline].” View the full article

Published by DPA Pope Francis leads the Mass for Bishops and Cardinals who died in 2021, at St. Peter's Basilica. Us Vatican Media/ANSA via ZUMA Press/dpa Pope Francis has for the first time appointed a woman to a high office in the state administration of Vatican City. Sister Raffaella Petrini was named secretary-general of the governorate of Vatican City, the Holy See announced on Thursday. She is the first woman to hold the second-highest office in governorate, which oversees the Vatican Museums and other Vatican State services such as the mint and stamp office and the motor pool. Previously, the 52-year-old from Rome was with the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, which carries out missionary work. Francis has focused on women in his personnel decisions in recent months. Earlier in the year he made theologian Nathalie Becquart the first woman in the history of the Catholic Church to serve as an under-secretary in the Synod of Bishops. Then, in August, Francis named Sister Alessandra Smerilli as interim Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, which focusses on migration and poverty issues. She was also named as a delegate of the Vatican Covid-19 Commission. View the full article

Thu NguyenNonbinary Candidates Make History Tuesday’s elections produced multiple victories for LGBTQ candidates in local elections across the nation, including historic wins for nonbinary election candidates. Thu Nguyen became the first nonbinary person ever elected to office in the state of Massachusetts. They claimed a seat on the Worchester City Council with a fourth place finish, garnering 10% of the vote. According to the Washington Blade, Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee, is best known for their work with the Southeast Asian Coalition, which aids communities through small business support, advocacy and addressing food insecurity. “After 38 years of lawmakers ignoring us, we set out to collect and leverage citizen signatures to compel lawmakers to finally come to the table and negotiate – and for that we succeeded,” said Trevor Thomas, Fair and Equal Michigan co-chair. Despite the defeat, there is another case set for arguments at the Michigan Supreme Court where Attorney General Dana Nessel will argue for civil rights protections based on sexual orientation. “While we are disappointed that the court won’t act to recognize legally-valid signatures thrown out by the state, it’s clear the best opportunity to achieve LGBTQ equal rights in Michigan is to place full focus on Attorney General Dana Nessel’s historic case currently before the Michigan Supreme Court,” said Thomas. Nonbinary Election: Previously on Towleroad Two Firsts Among Nonbinary Election Wins; Texas Religious Businesses Step Closer to Legal Discrimination; Michigan Effort Fails To Extend LGBTQ Rights Brian Bell November 3, 2021 Read More Trump Hitler Connections. Report that Trump told Chief of Staff that Hitler ‘did a lot of good things,’ Is One Of Too Many. Towleroad July 13, 2021 Read More 117 LGBTQ Candidates in Mexico Mid-term Elections– 2 Percent of All Running; Gay and Trans Candidates in Key Race Michael Goff June 3, 2021 Read More New California Site Offers Legit Line Skipping For A Few Hours Work At Your Local Vaccine Spot; Schools And Baseball To Open Faster as Newsom Recall Gets Real Michael Goff March 9, 2021 Read More For First Time, SCOTUS Seems Receptive to Imposing Some Limits on Partisan Gerrymanders Towleroad October 3, 2017 Read More Hackers Breach U.S. Voting Machines in 90 Minutes Towleroad July 30, 2017 Read More View the full article

Kristen StewartKristen Stewart Heading Down The Aisle Actress Kristen Stewart announced Tuesday that she and her partner, screenwriter Dylan Meyer, are getting married after Meyer proposed to the “Spencer” star. Stewart dropped the news during an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show,” explaining that’s Meyer’s proposal was “really cute” and everything she dreamed it would be. “I wanted to be proposed to, so I think I very distinctly carved out what I wanted and she nailed it,” Stewart said. The two have been a couple since 2019 and Stewart has long hinted at her desire to get married, shunning gender roles associated with marriage and engagements along the way. “I wasn’t specific at all. It’s not a given that I would be the one,” Stewart added. “With two girls, you never know like who’s going to fulfill what fucking gender role thing. We don’t do that or think about it in those terms. She just grabbed that bowl and made it happen. It was so fucking cute.” Superman Artists Get Police Protection The revelation of Jon Kent’s bisexuality in the upcoming “Superman: Son of Kal-El” has proven to be a lightning rod moment for LGBTQ comic readers, but it has also engendered a hateful blowback from bigoted members of the fandom as well. The worst of this reactive class resulted in DC Comics and the artists working on the new series receiving death threats simply for the book’s existence. According to TMZ, the threats became so real that DC Comics asked the Los Angeles Police Department to offer protection for its staff and its Los Angeles studio. Police patrolled outside staffers’ homes and the office. The patrols have since stopped for now after the threats weren’t acted upon, but the fact that the LAPD had to be contacted at all speaks to the level of fear the company and its workers felt due to the negative response to the progressive move. Kal Penn Opens Up On Coming Out Actor and former Obama staffer Kal Penn’s coming out announcement ahead of his memoir’s, “You Can’t Be Serious,” release has garnered praise in the last few days. Even Penn’s former boss offered him congratulations. Penn told TMZ that Barack and Michelle Obama reached out to him to congratulate him and his fiance, Josh, on their engagement and having the strength to come out publicly. Penn also detailed that many of his Hollywood friends have offered similar sentiments since he publicly came out as gay over the weekend. The “Designated Survivor” star also spoke to why he felt now was the right time to speak candidly about his life, including his sexuality. “I wanted to write a book for the 20-year-old me … for the person who, like me, was told anything you want to do is crazy,” Penn said. “Just do that thing.” Dan Levy’s “Big Brunch” With “Schitt’s Creek” in the books, Dan Levy is now set to take his fans to brunch in his new cooking competition show “The Big Brunch.” The project will debut on HBO Max in 2022 with Levy hosting a battle between undiscovered culinary artists that also celebrates the universality of cooking within culture. Contestants will compete for a “life-altering prize.” Everybody has a friend, a family member or a co-worker that is extraordinary at what they do, they just need a leg up so that their talents can be appreciated on a larger scale,” Levy, who also created the show, told Variety. “Thanks to an almost obsessive love of food, I’ve been lucky to come across many of those people in the culinary world … special humans who create communities around their cooking, hoping to take their skills to the next level. I created this show for them.” “What we love about this special show is that it serves more than mouth-watering culinary delicacies; it’s about heart, a love of cooking and spotlighting talent whose unique skills elevate the beloved brunch menu,” added HBO Max head of original content Sarah Aubrey. Kristen Stewart: Previously on Towleroad Alec Baldwin’s Daughter Ireland Rips ‘Cancerous’ Candace Owens As ‘Disgusting, Hateful’ Human Being After Shooting Remarks Towleroad October 27, 2021 Read More Alec Baldwin’s Prop Gun That Killed A Cinematographer Allegedly Used For ‘Target Practice’ With Real Bullets By Crew Members Off Set Towleroad October 24, 2021 Read More ‘Chucky’ is Back… This Time With Young Gay Protagonist, Jake; It’s a Horror Cult-Classic Meets Burgeoning Gay Love on USA/SYFY TV Series Brian Bell October 17, 2021 Read More Action Roundup: Gay James Bond Character; Venom’s ‘Coming Out Party;’ ‘Queer Family’ of ‘Marvel’s Eternals’ Brian Bell October 1, 2021 Read More Cassandra Peterson, Horror Icon Elvira, Comes Out, Reveals 19-Year Relationship in New Memoir Brian Bell September 22, 2021 Read More LGBTQ Hollywood Roundup: Bragman Establishes Coming Out Fund; Indya Moore Calls Out Met Gala; Dan Levy Signs Netflix Deal; JoJo Siwa Frustrated With Nickelodeon Brian Bell September 17, 2021 Read More Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Cattrall could still star in the second season of ‘And Just Like That…’. The 65-year-old actress played Samantha Jones in ‘Sex and the City’, and the writers are keen to entice Kim to return for the sequel series. A source told DailyMail.com: “We’ll announce eventually that the show will have a second season. This isn’t a one off, this will be a series. “It will be quite a while between the first and second series as Sarah Jessica Parker has a busy schedule and we have a lot of work to do to get Kim Cattrall back. “We all miss Kim and we hope she comes back for the second season – the door will never close on her, she is an important part of the franchise.” The first season of ‘And Just Like That…’ is currently in the “very final stages” of filming. But the enthusiasm of fans in New York has made life challenging for the makers of the show. The insider explained: “We’ve been delighted with the fan response, but it does make filming in New York City difficult because so many people show up on the street to catch a glimpse of the women as they are filming.” Kim previously claimed that she was never friends with her ‘Sex and the City’ co-stars. The actress appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon in the hit TV series – but she was never close friends with any of them. She said in 2017: “We’ve never been friends. We’ve been colleagues and in some ways it’s a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your personal.” View the full article

Wednesday morning count of LGBTQ election winsIt was a hard night for Democrats Tuesday, as candidates for governor in two heavily Democratic states lost enormous support—and at least one of the two seats—to Republicans. But LGBT candidates scored some milestones. LGBTQ Election Wins Deliver Milestones The first openly LGBT Muslim won election in Georgia, winning a seat on the Atlanta City Council. The first black LGBT person won election in the state of Montana, winning a seat on the Bozeman city commission. The first transgender candidate won election in Ohio, to a local school board. And, the first openly LGBT woman won election to the Detroit City Council. The LGBTQ Victory Fund, a national group which promotes and supports campaigns of openly LGBTQ candidates, said it was tracking at least 242 openly LGBT candidates on the November 2 ballot. Although not all the races it was tracking had reported in by Wednesday morning, it reported that, so far, 59 had won, 50 had lost, and 22 had advanced to run-offs. There were more than 80 openly LGBT candidates for city and town council seats Tuesday night, plus 11 openly LGBT candidates for mayor. Only nine LGBT candidates ran for state house seats and only one for state senate. There were also at least seven LGBT candidates for various local court seats, at leave five other races for miscellaneous posts, such as town auditor, and at least 10 LGBT candidates running for school board seats. Big fights in little races Local school boards have in recent weeks become the focus of much attention. They appear to have become part of a political strategy favored by conservative Republicans to stir up controversies over LGBT books, abortions, and anti-racism curricula. Republican candidates in larger races then use those controversies to pull in moderate voters. “Glen Youngkin…was able to play on stories circulating of alleged gay pornography books in public school libraries and alleged sexual assaults by a transgender student” Virginia’s Republican gubernatorial contender, first-time candidate Glenn Youngkin, laser-focused in on “parents” in the final weeks of his successful campaign. He was able to play on stories circulating in the more Democratic northern parts of the state—stories of alleged gay pornography books in public school libraries and alleged sexual assaults by a transgender student. He promised parents he would make sure they were part of the decision-making process for local school curricula. As of This Morning The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, was drawn into the transgender assault report when, during a September debate, a moderator noted that McAuliffe had had expressed agreement with the state’s policies in support of transgender students and the right of local governments to make their own policies. McAuliffe tried to walk a careful line, saying he likes allowing local governments to have input but that “the state will always issue guidance as we do from the Department of Education.” Youngkin, who was widely praised for running a campaign that kept former President Trump at a studied distance, also walked a narrow political line when asked about the transgender story. He said “we are called on to love everyone” and that not only should local districts make such decisions, but parents should be included in dialogue about such policies, including what books are included in libraries. The bottom line of that controversy and similar ones, noted one commentator Wednesday morning on CNN, was that “it reminds voters that Democrats are too liberal.” McAuliffe has a strong record of supporting equal rights for LGBT people and released a “Bold Plan to Advance LGBTQ+ Rights.” In his first term as governor, McAuliffe, in 2017, vetoed a bill seeking to give state-funded charities the right to refuse services to LGBT people. Youngkin, a first-time candidate, said on the campaign trail that he does not personally support same-sex marriage but that, as governor, he would support the fact that same-sex marriage is “acceptable in Virginia.” The Human Rights Campaign endorsed McAuliffe; the Log Cabin Republican group endorsed Youngkin. Log Cabin issued a statement saying Youngkin has “has demonstrated his desire to listen to and work with the LGBT community.” New Jersey Governor Still Close. LGBTQ Used as Wedge In New Jersey, incumbent Democratic Governor Phil Murray, who earned the endorsement of Garden State Equality, faced Republican State Assemblymember Jack Ciattarelli, who has alienated many with hostile remarks about LGBT people. Like the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Virginia, Ciattarelli sought to stoke controversy over LGBT issues in public schools, saying “we’re not teaching sodomy in sixth grade.” Specifically, he vowed to undo efforts to make public school curricula more inclusive of LGBT history. And we’re going to roll back the LGBTQ curriculum.” At deadline, that race was considered too close to call. LGBT race highlights Among the highlights of Tuesday’s races involving openly LGBT candidates were: First Win for Transgender Candidate in Ohio: While the results of the 10 school board races were mostly still unreported at deadline, in a small district in the middle of Ohio, candidate Dion Manley scored the first victory for a transgender candidate for office in the Buckeye State. “Dion shattered a lavender ceiling in Ohio,” said Victory Fund President Annise Parker. She said Manley’s victory “especially significant given efforts by anti-trans activists across the nation to target trans students at school board meetings.”In Virginia, transgender State House Delegate Danica Roem, who made history in 2017 as the first out transgender person to win and serve in a state legislature and the only out transgender state legislator in the U.S., won re-election to a third term. But Roem, who represents part of northern Virginia, defeated her Republican opponent by less than two points, a much smaller margin than in 2019.First Out LGBT Muslim Win in Georgia: Liliana Bakhtiari became the first openly LGBT Muslim to win election in Georgia, succeeding in her second bid to serve on the Atlanta City Council. Although two other openly LGBT candidates lost their bids for the Council, voters elected openly gay Alex Wan to return a seat he previously held.6 Out LGBTQ Winners on NYC City Council; 2 of Them The First Out Black Women: All six openly LGBT candidates for the New York City Council won, including Crystal Hudson and Kristin Richardson Jordan, the first two black LGBT women to be elected to the 50-member body. Two of the six had uncontested general election races, but all six were first-time candidates for their seats.Minneapolis Mayor: In Minneapolis, Sheila Nezhad, a former policy analyst for the Williams Institute, was still in the top two in her bid to become Minneapolis mayor. The city does ranked-choice voting and results were not yet complete at deadlineLoss in Buffalo, New York, India Walton, who identifies as queer, was not able to parlay her stunning primary win of the Democratic nomination into victory in the general election. The incumbent Democratic mayor mounted an aggressive write-in campaign that overwhelmed Walton, a first-time candidate. Local news analysts suggested Walton was “the most progressive of the progressives.”In Atlanta, with a field of more than a dozen candidates for mayor, current openly gay city council member Antonio Brown came in fifth, with only two percent of the vote. The Atlanta Journal Constitution noted that Brown had been saddled with an indictment, charging that he had engaged in bank fraud. He denies the charges but is scheduled for trial next year. Brown was the only openly LGBT mayoral candidate not to earn Victory Fund support in Tuesday’s election.And in Bozeman, Montana, Christopher Coburn won election to the City Commission, becoming the first openly LGBT black person to be elected in the state.© 2021 Keen News Service. All rights reserved. LGBTQ Election Wins on Towleroad COVID-19 Rages, Is Not Contained In Some States Rejecting Federal Funds; Idaho 5th Highest Rate, Say No To Test or Treatment $$ More Ghislaine Maxwell Reportedly Attended Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 1990 Wedding To Kerry Kennedy, New Book Claims More Minneapolis votes ‘no’ on replacing police department after Floyd death More NRA sued for allegedly violating campaign finance laws More Mena Suvari Reflects On Unusual Encounter With Kevin Spacey On ‘American Beauty’ Set, Reveals She Had ‘Been So Used To That Scenario’ More Republicans jolt Biden with win in Virginia, close race in New Jersey More QAnon followers gather in Dallas for JFK Jr ‘reveal’ More Republican candidate in Virginia governor’s race, Glenn Youngkin, opposes marriage equality More Facebook Halting Facial Recognition System Over Privacy Fears; Says will Delete A Billion Faceprints More UK Broadcaster Faults Corruption, Lack of Gay Legal Protections With 2022 World Cup in Qatar; Hopes Cavallo Inspires Others To Come Out More Lourdes Leon Madonna Halloween Cease-fire. Both Feature Sexy Costumes, Even As Kids Leak Concern For Mom’s Legacy More Load More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andy Sullivan (Reuters) – As the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic burns through the rural U.S. state of Idaho, health officials say they don’t have enough tests to track the disease’s spread or sufficient medical workers to help the sick. It’s not for want of funding. The state’s Republican-led legislature this year voted down $40 million in federal aid available for COVID-19 testing in schools. Another $1.8 billion in pandemic-related federal assistance is sitting idle in the state treasury, waiting for lawmakers to deploy it. Some Idaho legislators have accused Washington of overreach and reckless spending. Others see testing as disruptive and unnecessary, particularly in schools, since relatively few children have died from the disease. “If you want your kids in school, you can’t be testing,” said state Representative Ben Adams, a Republican who represents Nampa, a city of about 100,000 people in southwestern Idaho. Meanwhile, the state is reporting the fifth-highest infection rate in the United States, at 369 confirmed cases per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Schools in at least 14 of Idaho’s 115 districts, including Nampa, have had to close temporarily due to COVID-19 outbreaks since the start of the year, according to Burbio, a digital platform that tracks U.S. school activity. Idaho’s experience illustrates how political ideology and polarization around the COVID-19 epidemic have played a role in the decision of mostly conservative states to reject some federal funding meant to help locals officials battle the virus and its economic fallout. For example, Idaho was one of 26 Republican-led states that ended enhanced federally funded unemployment benefits before they were due to expire in September. Gov. Brad Little claimed that money was discouraging the jobless from returning to work. At least six studies have found that the extra benefits have had little to no impact on the U.S. labor market. Idaho has also rebuffed $6 million for early-childhood education, as some Republicans in the state said mothers should be the primary caretakers of their children. The state also did not apply for $6 million that would have bolstered two safety-net programs that aid mothers of young children and working families. Little’s administration said it had enough money already for those programs. Idaho has accepted some federal COVID-19 help. In fact, the rejected funds are just a small portion of the nearly $2 billion in federal relief Idaho has spent since March 2020 to fight the virus and shore up businesses and families, state figures show. But hundreds of millions more remain untouched. Idaho has deployed just $780 million, or 30%, of the $2.6 billion it received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March. Neighboring Washington state, by contrast, has parceled out nearly three-quarters of the $7.8 billion it received under that legislation. Washington has recorded roughly 60% as many cases per capita as Idaho since the start of the pandemic, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some in Idaho are exasperated that a state of just 1.8 million people would turn down a dime of assistance when it’s struggling to tame the pandemic. With no testing in place, nurses in Nampa schools rely mainly on parents to let them know when a child is infected, the district’s top nurse, Rebekah Burley, told the school board in September. She said she needed three or four more staffers to track existing cases and attempt to keep people quarantined. “We’re tired, we are stressed, and something needs to change,” she said. REJECTING FEDERAL MONEY The refusal by red states to accept some types of federal aid that would benefit their constituents isn’t new. For example, a dozen Republican-controlled states have rejected billions of dollars available through the landmark 2010 Affordable Health Care Act to cover more people under the Medicaid health program for the poor, which is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. Lawmakers from these places contended their states couldn’t afford to pay their share of an expansion. (Idaho initially was among them, but its voters opted in to the Medicaid expansion through a 2018 ballot referendum, bypassing state leaders.) That same dynamic has played out during the coronavirus crisis. Since March 2020, Congress has approved six aid packages totaling $4.7 trillion under Republican and Democratic administrations, including the bipartisan CARES Act in March 2020 and the Democratic-backed American Rescue Plan Act this year. Florida and Mississippi didn’t apply for benefits that would give more money to low-income mothers of young children. Four states, including Idaho, North Dakota and Oklahoma, opted not to extend a program that provided grocery money to low-income families with school-age kids in summer months. Iowa, like Idaho, turned down federal money for COVID-19 testing in schools. New Hampshire rejected money for vaccinations. Republican lawmakers in Idaho, like those elsewhere, cite concerns about local control, restrictive terms attached to some of the aid, and the skyrocketing national debt. “We are chaining future generations to a lifetime of financial slavery,” said Adams, the Idaho legislator. Yet even before the pandemic, Idaho long relied on Washington for much of its budget. Federal funds account for 36% of state spending in Idaho, according to the National Association of State Budget Officers, above the national average of 32%. State officials say they have enough money to handle the COVID-19 crisis for now. Critics say Idaho’s reluctance to use more federal aid is a symptom of its hands-off approach to COVID-19 safety. Few public schools require masks, and local leaders have refused to impose mask mandates, limits on indoor gatherings and other steps to contain the virus. “There’s a lot of people in our legislature and some local officials who really have not taken this seriously,” said David Pate, the former head of St. Luke’s Health System, the state’s largest hospital network. Idaho has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, with only 55% of adults and teens fully immunized, compared to 67% nationally. HOSPITALS FULL COVID-19 is pummeling Idaho even as cases have plunged in much of the nation. Intensive-care units statewide are full, forcing hospitals to turn away non-COVID patients. At least 627 residents died of the disease in October, well above the previous monthly death toll of last winter, records show. Idaho received $18 million through the American Rescue Plan to hire more public-health workers, but lawmakers did nothing with that money this year. Some local public health departments say they do not have enough staff to track the virus. “We have a lot of people doing two or three jobs right now,” said Brianna Bodily, a spokesperson for the public-health agency serving Twin Falls, a southern Idaho city of 50,000. The department is working with a 12% smaller budget than last year. Such staff shortages have contributed to a backlog of test results statewide, which the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says is hurting its ability to provide an up-to-date picture of the disease’s prevalence. With funding bottled up in the state capitol, Little, the governor, announced in August that he would steer $30 million from a previous round of COVID-19 aid to school testing. The Nampa school district has requested some of that money but has yet to set up a testing program, spokeswoman Kathleen Tuck said. Roughly 20% of the district’s students were not attending class regularly in the first weeks of the school year due to outbreaks, according to superintendent Paula Kellerer. Nampa resident Jaci Johnson, a mother of two children, ages 10 and 13, said she and other parents have been torn over whether to send their children to class, due to the potential risk. “Do we feed our kids to the lions, or do we keep them home and make them miserable?” Johnson said. (Corrects spelling of Nampa schools spokeswoman, percentage of students absent) (Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Marla Dickerson) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Ghislaine Maxwellreportedly attended Andrew Cuomo’s wedding in 1990. According to author Christina Oxenberg, Maxwell was present at the nuptials which took place in Washington D.C, per reports from The Sun. MEGA Oxenberg writes in the pages of her book Trash: Encounters with Ghislaine Maxwell that she ran into her for the first time when Cuomo was tying the knot with Kerry Kennedy. “The ceremony took place in a cathedral in Washington DC and was attended by scores of invited guests, the front door near-impenetrable because of the swarm of media and a mob of Kennedy fans,” the book reads. FORMER GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO HIT WITH CRIMINAL CHARGE FOR ALLEGED MISCONDUCT: REPORT “Following the church nuptials, a trimmed-down group was invited to a reception held on the rolling green grounds surrounding the elegant home of Ethel Kennedy, aka Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, at Hickory Hill, in McLean, Virginia.” MEGA Oxenberg described the “even-more-private” lunch as “attended by only family and some tag-alongs,” as the place where she had her first conversation with Maxwell. “I was standing with my then-husband, Damian Elwes, a British painter when Ghislaine sauntered over. She and Damian burst with enthusiastic greetings,” Oxenberg writes. Oxenberg described her conversation with Maxwell as short and sweet. She also claimed that Jeffrey Epstein‘s alleged accomplice was most likely invited by Kennedy, not Cuomo. MEGA She noted that while Cuomo was always “extremely unfriendly” at the events Oxenberg attended, she was still surprised to hear about the sexual assault allegations against him because she had never seen him act inappropriately. ANDREW CUOMO HASN’T BEEN SEEN SINCE HE RESIGNED, SPECULATION CIRCULATES ON WHERE THE FORMER GOVERNOR IS CURRENTLY LIVING “[I’m] always supportive of any victims of a case involving sexual misconduct,” she said. “I don’t know the specifics but I hope justice prevails.” Cuomo resigned from office as the Governor of New York earlier this year after multiple complaints of sexual misconduct were filed against him. In August, he announced in a press conference that he would be stepping down from his duties as Governor in light of the scandal. At the time, he issued a half-hearted apology while still maintaining that he had never acted in a predatory manner. Last week, reports began circulating that the ex-governor had been officially hit with more than one criminal charge more than two months after his resignation. View the full article

Published by AFP A mural of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which is voting on whether to replace the police force with a Department of Public Safety Minneapolis (AFP) – Voters in Minneapolis, where the murder of George Floyd last year sparked worldwide protests, on Tuesday rejected the idea of replacing the city’s troubled police force. Over 56 percent voted against amending the Minneapolis City Charter to create the new department, which would provide “public safety functions through a comprehensive public health approach,” according to official election results. Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey, running for a second term, was looking at a tough second round after leading Tuesday’s vote with some 43 percent of the vote, but failing to secure more than 50 percent to win straight away. Frey had opposed the police reform and he welcomed the results of the vote. “We need deep, structural change to policing in America,” Frey told supporters, according to the Washington Post. “At the same time, we need police officers to make sure that they are working directly with the community to keep us safe.” The May 2020 murder of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, by a white police officer sparked protests against police brutality in Minneapolis and other US cities and calls in some progressive Democratic quarters to “defund the police.” The former police officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder and manslaughter for Floyd’s death and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. If the Minneapolis ballot measure had passed, the functions of the Department of Public Safety would be determined by the mayor and the city council and there would be a greater emphasis on hiring mental health experts and social workers. The new department could have included “licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety,” according to the ballot measure. The American Civil Liberties Union, which had campaigned in favor of disbanding the Minneapolis police force, thanked activists and supporters and said that change was still possible. “Across the country, we see the momentum to significantly reduce the excessive resources and responsibilities given to law enforcement and reinvest in communities they have harmed,” the group said. “The ACLU is committed to continuing to support the Black- and Brown grassroots groups spearheading this work.” The US Justice Department announced in April following Chauvin’s conviction that it was conducting an investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis police department systematically uses excessive force and “engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – Gun control advocacy group Giffords sued the National Rifle Association on Tuesday for allegedly violating campaign finance laws since 2014. The powerful gun lobby made as much as $35 million in “unlawful” and “unreported in-kind campaign contributions” to seven federal candidates, including candidates for U.S. Senate in 2014, 2016, and 2018, and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to the allegations. The lawsuit seeks several forms of relief, including an order preventing the NRA from violating the Federal Election Campaign Act in future, and a penalty equal to the amount of money allegedly spent unlawfully, which the NRA would pay to the U.S. treasury – potentially as much as $35 million. The lawsuit was filed by campaign finance watchdog Campaign Legal Center on behalf of Giffords in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The NRA said the lawsuit was “as misguided as it is transparent”. “Another premeditated abuse of the public by our adversaries — who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of their anti-freedom agenda,” the NRA said in a statement. “Suffice to say, the NRA has full confidence in its political activities and remains eager to set the record straight”. New York’s attorney general said in August that the NRA had failed to root out rampant internal corruption. The association had sought to use Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to reincorporate in Republican-dominated Texas and escape what it called a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York, where it was founded in 1871. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Mena Suvari is not holding back! The actress appeared on Tamron Hall on Tuesday, November 2, and discussed her new memoir The Great Peace. The 42-year-old got candid about an experience she said she had with Kevin Spacey while filming American Beauty. “In retrospect, it was shocking to me that that was such a comfortable scenario for me,” theAmerican Pie actress said. “You know, this book was never about a blame game or pointing fingers and even towards my family. It was really me just trying to express my point of view along the way.” MEGA COMING CLEAN! LUCY HALE, BRAD PITT & MORE STARS OPEN UP ABOUT LIVING BOOZE-FREE Suvari previously told PEOPLE that the veteran actor pulled her into a separate room on set and asked that they “lay on the bed very close to one another,” to prepare for a scene together. “He was sort of gently holding me. It was very peaceful but weird and unusual,” she said at the time. “I shared that moment on American Beauty because it really was just that. It was really me, you know, like my personal life on camera. I had been so used to that scenario, you know, that dynamic of an older man,” Suvari toldHall. “I had been so used to that, I talked about a moment coming out to Los Angeles and being at The Oakwood and, you know, it was always somebody who was like nine or 10 years older than me. I always end up in that kind of situation.” “What I was fascinated by with American Beauty was that it was okay with me…I mean, with Kevin [Spacey] by then, I was of age. I was 18,” she continued. “But when you talk about those moments that I did experience as well as a younger girl at 13, I think that was really the point that I was trying to make, is that by the time that I experienced that moment with Kevin, that wasn’t something that I questioned. It was understood.” MEGA WOMEN REVEAL INSTANCES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT WITH #METOO HASHTAG “You know, it was somebody who wanted something from me or maybe needed something from me in an emotional sense. I didn’t know, I still don’t know because I haven’t been really asked that question or gotten the answer,” the Boy Meets World alum said. The blonde beauty said she was trying to point out in the book how women can find themselves in situations like that. “It’s not black and white,” she said. “To me, it was fascinating that I had become so conditioned to feeling comfortable in a situation like that, where an older man technically wanted to lay down next to me and I gave of myself.” “To me, it’s more interesting how we end up in those situations, than my experience with that particular person on that film. I shared that because it all goes together with how we can end up in these situations and sort of come out of that and wonder, you know, ‘did I approve of that? Like, was that okay? You know, am I comfortable? Am I not comfortable?'” she explained. KEVIN SPACEY SHARES DISTURBING VIDEO AS HE’S HIT WITH NEW SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES MEGA Spacey has been accused of sexual misconduct by several men. The actor denied the allegations. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Joseph Ax, Gabriella Borter and Jason Lange FAIRFAX, Va. (Reuters) – Republicans pushed Democrats out of the Virginia governorship and were running even in heavily Democratic New Jersey on Wednesday, signaling trouble for President Joe Biden’s party heading into next year’s congressional elections. Republican Glenn Youngkin, a former private equity executive, claimed victory over Democratic former Governor Terry McAuliffe in Tuesday’s vote after distancing himself just enough from former President Donald Trump to win back moderates who had supported Biden just a year ago. In New Jersey, Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli and incumbent Democrat Phil Murphy were locked in a virtual draw, even though registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans there by more than 1 million. Still, Democrats clung to hope because more votes were due to be counted in their strongholds. Both saw strong gains in the suburbs from independent voters who had been turned off by Trump’s style of politics. The results in states that Biden won easily in 2020 suggested that Democrats’ razor-thin majorities Congress were highly vulnerable in the 2022 elections. Republican control of both, or even one, chamber of Congress would give the party the ability to block Biden’s legislative agenda during the final two years of his current term in office. The results could also further complicate Biden’s hopes of passing twin bills worth a combined $2.75 trillion to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges, as well as bolster the social safety net and fight climate change. They have already been held up by months of infighting between Democrats’ progressive and moderate wings and the election defeat could leave some moderates less willing to back the big-ticket bills. REPUBLICAN ROADMAP Youngkin, 54, declared victory after a campaign in which he focused on parents’ anger over schools’ handling of COVID-19, as well as teaching on race and gender issues. He walked a fine line on Trump, taking care to not alienate the former president’s hardcore base without offering a full-throated endorsement of his false claims about widespread election fraud. McAuliffe’s efforts to paint his rival, a former chief executive of the Carlyle Group Inc, as a Trump acolyte fell flat with voters at a time when Biden’s approval ratings are at the lowest level of his presidency, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos national poll, conducted last Wednesday and Thursday. “Together, we will change the trajectory of this commonwealth,” Youngkin told a rally in Chantilly, Virginia, early on Wednesday. Republican congressional campaigns may follow Youngkin’s model of focusing on culture wars and promising to give parents more control over public schools. Youngkin leaned into the Republican Party’s expressions of outrage over the discussion of systemic racism in schools. He vowed to ban the teaching of “critical race theory,” a legal framework that examines how racism shapes U.S. laws and policies, while ignoring the fact that Virginia school officials say the subject is not taught in classrooms. He drew sharp criticism from Democrats when he initially hesitated to denounce Trump’s insistence that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, false claims that have continued to rile Trump’s supporters and led to a mob of them attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Youngkin said later that Biden had won legitimately, but then called for an audit of Virginia’s voting machines, prompting Democrats to accuse him of validating Trump’s election conspiracy theories. The Republicans also appeared to erase the Democrats’ 10-seat lead in Virginia’s House of Delegates, appearing to gain a 50-50 split or perhaps a one-seat advantage. The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor and state attorney general were also leading their races in Virginia. Virginia Republicans picked Youngkin in an unusual convention format in May, rather than by a statewide primary. That format was designed to pick a more moderate candidate, rather than one more closely allied with Trump. Even so, Trump sought to claim credit, thanking “my BASE” in a statement for putting Youngkin over the top. NEW JERSEY WOBBLES The New Jersey race remained too close to call as dawn approached on Wednesday. But a loss for Democrat Murphy would send even more chills through the Democratic Party, which has been unable to pass Biden’s signature legislation nationally despite razor-thin majorities in both houses of the U.S. Congress. Murphy, 64, ran as unabashed liberal, seeking to become the first Democratic governor to win re-election in New Jersey in four decades. Ciattarelli had faced an uphill battle in New Jersey, where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans. Ciattarelli, 59, is a former state legislator and business owner who has criticized Murphy for requiring masks in schools and day-care facilities. He campaigned on cutting taxes and supporting law enforcement, but does not support banning abortion — an unusual position for a Republican. According to local media, Ciatterelli appeared with Trump at a “Stop the Steal” rally in November 2020 in which the then-president falsely claimed to have won the election. Ciatterelli has since said that Biden won the election fairly. (Reporting by Joseph Ax, Gabriella Borter and Jason Lange, additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Kanishka Singh and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Scott Malone and Kim Coghill) View the full article

Published by AFP The late John F. Kennedy Jr and his wife Caroline Bessette at the White House Correspondent Association’s annual dinner in Washington in May 1999 Washington (AFP) – Hundreds of followers of QAnon conspiracy theories gathered in downtown Dallas on Tuesday in the belief that John F. Kennedy Jr, who died in a 1999 plane crash, would reappear. He did not. The Dallas Morning News said several hundred QAnon followers converged on Dealey Plaza, where JFK Jr’s father, president John F. Kennedy, was assassinated on November 22, 1963. According to QAnon postings cited by media outlets, JFK Jr would emerge from hiding at 12:29 pm on Tuesday and this would lead — somehow — to the reinstatement of QAnon favorite Donald Trump as president. The appointed time came and went with no sighting of the late president’s son. JFK Jr died on July 16, 1999 at the age of 38 along with his wife and sister-in-law while flying them in a private plane to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The far-right QAnon is a shadowy online movement with an anonymous leader. Some of its supporters believe it is JFK Jr and that he faked his own death. Some QAnon followers were among the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in a bid to stop the certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump. View the full article