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Duran Duran has released ‘Anniversary’, one of a few singles off the album dropping on Friday called ‘Future Past‘. According to the publicity, [This post contains video, click to play] How many of the celebrity look-alikes can catch on your second or third play. I think that was Greta Thunberg. Duran Duran had it hen Most importantly it’s a Duran Duran song. It’s their sound. You can dance to it. And there are the dark undertones, the Smiths notes for moody teens pondering a closet. We filled out your play list with more hits than you remember they had and a few contemporaries that fit. Among them: Tears for Fears, Bronski Beat, Soft Cell, Dazz Band, English Beat, Yaz, early Wham, The Fixx, Inxs, Pet Shop Boys, And Some very New Erasure. Billboard’s Larry Flick Livestream Tomorrow Oct 21 Tomorrow, on October 21 at NOON PT/3PM ET, a special livestream event via Dreamstage will include an exclusive, live Q&A with the band and renowned Billboard editor, Larry Flick, as they reveal untold stories about their time together. Documentary: They will be joined by Alison Jackson for the global premiere of ‘Double Take’–a half-hour documentary film by award-winning directors Gerry Fox and Una Burnand, that gives viewers an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the artistry and hard work that went into making the band’s sensational music video for their latest single, ‘ANNIVERSARY’. The performance will replay at 8pm ET/5pm PT, followed by a 72 hour VOD period. The livestream will be the first event to be broadcast from the Now Arcade at the Outernet in Soho, London, prior to the venue’s opening later this year. Tickets are available HERE. Earlier this year, Duran Duran captivated American audiences with their spellbinding performance at the Billboard Music Awards, where they debuted their single ‘INVISIBLE’ as well as classics, ‘Notorious’ and ‘Hungry Like The Wolf,’ (WATCH). They also appearedon NBC’s The Today Show (WATCH), The Tonight Show (WATCH), and paid a visit to Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live! With Andy Cohen. FUTURE PAST will be available on all digital platforms, as well as in a variety of physical formats: standard CD, cassette, a limited edition deluxe hardback book CD featuring three additional tracks, and colored vinyl. Duran Duran on Towleroad Over 20 ‘exit’ gaming giant in Activision Blizzard Management Shake-Up After Harassment Accusations, Sued By State of California More U.S. Senate Republicans Voting Rights Position is Clear. Filibuster. Poised to stop Democrats’ bill More Sara Gilbert And Linda Perry’s Divorce Is Negotiated and Finished; Share Custody; Neither To Pay Support More It’s Always A Dancer… JoJo Siwa Splits With ‘Best Girlfriend in The World’ Just 9 Months After She ‘Changed My Life Forever’. Why? Her ‘DWTS’ Partner. More Iowa Democratic Party leader says he was target of racist threats, some Explicitly violent More Court Rejects Trump-Affiliated Lawyer’s Appeal of Decision That It Was Legal For Pasadena Venue To Cancel Event Based On Anti-LGBTQ Positions More Romantic Partners Who Watch Porn Together Have Higher Relationship Quality; Contradicting Claims It Causes Them to Fall Apart, Study Finds More ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS More Trump attacks Colin Powell, A Day After His Death, No Doubt For Saying Trump Should Resign After Instigating An Insurrection More Lovers While Filming 1983’s ‘The Hunger’, The Sarandon Bowie Connection Before He Died Let Them Say, ‘What Needed To be Said’ More U.S. Senate set to hold test vote Wednesday on election reforms More Load More View the full article

Published by AFP Activision Blizzard promised change with a management shakeup following the long-running allegations of following accusations of harassment and discrimination against women Washington (AFP) – More than 20 employees of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard have “exited” the gaming giant, the company said in a staff email, following accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination against women. In August, the California-based videogame maker had promised a review of its practices following employee walks out over management’s initial dismissal of a state lawsuit that described a “pervasive frat boy workplace culture”. In an email sent to staff Tuesday, the company’s chief compliance officer Fran Townsend said “more than 20 individuals have exited Activision Blizzard and more than 20 individuals faced other types of disciplinary action” over concerns reported both recently and a few years ago. The Financial Times reported Tuesday that more than 20 employees had been fired, including game developers and a few supervisors. Activision also said it would expand its compliance team as it fields an increasing number of complaints and aims “to build a more accountable workplace and culture”. Reports could be filed anonymously, the company said in the staff email, adding it would “not hesitate to terminate or discipline” anyone found violating its policies. Activision’s latest shakeup comes amid growing complaints about the treatment of women in the gaming industry in recent years. According to the ongoing lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, women make up only about 20 percent of Activision’s staff and “very few women ever reach top roles at the company”. In addition to reviewing workplace conditions, Activision has pledged to examine its depiction of women in its popular games. The US Securities and Exchange Commission launched a separate, federal investigation last month into whether the company had properly disclosed harassment and discrimination claims to investors. That same month, Activision and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reached an agreement over settling claims, with the company to pay $18 million into a compensation fund. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Democrats on Wednesday will try for the third time this year to advance a voting rights bill aimed at thwarting new balloting restrictions passed in Republican-led states, fueled by Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. The chamber’s 50 Republicans are expected to block the measure from advancing, a move that could bring new pressure on Democrats to change the Senate’s “filibuster” rule that requires a supermajority of 60 votes to pass most legislation. Senator Angus King, an independent who aligns with Democrats, told reporters that if Republicans again block the bill, “we would either have to figure out a rule change or we have to try to have discussions toward a compromise solution.” Many Democrats have been calling for a scaling back or elimination of the filibuster to make it easier to pass President Joe Biden’s agenda over the objections of top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell. Biden, himself a veteran of the Senate, has voiced objections to doing so – although he suggested he was open to considering it during the recent showdown over hiking the debt ceiling. There are several reform ideas percolating that could stop short of a full ban on legislative filibusters. Those could include carving out an exemption just for the voting rights bill or limiting the number of filibusters against a bill. But with no sign of Republicans willing to compromise, King told reporters on Tuesday that Democrats’ deliberations on next steps “cannot go on for months and months … it’s got to happen in this calendar year” so that states have enough time to prepare for any election law changes before the November 2022 congressional elections. Moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have voiced objections to ending the filibuster. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer enlisted Manchin to seek a deal with Republicans on the voting rights bill. It was unclear whether a failure would persuade Manchin to support a rules change. SLEW OF STATE LAWS At least 18 states have enacted 30 laws restricting voting access this year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, following false claims by Trump, the Republican former president, that he lost the 2020 election to Biden because of widespread voting fraud. Democrats and voting rights advocates denounce the measures as partisan power grabs that will make it harder for Black and Hispanic voters – important voting blocs for Democrats – to cast ballots. “No honest observer can look at the way the states have changed election laws this year and pretend that there’s nothing malicious afoot,” Schumer said in a Tuesday floor speech. McConnell predicted that none of the senators in his caucus would support opening a debate on the Democrats’ voting rights bill. “What our Democratic friends have been wanting to do forever is to have the federal government take over how elections are conducted all over America. There’s no basis for that whatsoever,” McConnell told reporters on Tuesday. Since leaving office, Trump has continued to repeat his baseless election fraud allegations. Multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump’s own administration rejected his claims. The vote on Wednesday will be for a bill scaled back from the prior version blocked by Republicans. It would set broad standards for how states conduct elections, including ensuring all qualified voters can request mail-in ballots. It also aims to expand voter turnout by making Election Day a federal holiday and would outlaw partisan drawing of congressional districts, known as “gerrymandering,” that both parties have engaged in for decades. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Although the couple split up nearly two years ago, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry’s divorce was only finalized this week. According to court documents obtained by People, a judge signed off on the couple’s settlement on October 15. This comes two years after Gilbert first filed for divorce from Perry in 2019. The court documents make it clear that the two will share joint legal custody of their son, Rhodes Emilio Gilbert Perry, who is only 6-years-old. In the docs, Gilbert and Perry were “ordered to regularly confer and share information concerning Rhodes’s care, wellbeing, physical and mental health, education and welfare.” The documents also make it clear that it will be “the responsibility of the party in whose home Rhodes is then residing” to basic decisions regarding their son. Neither Gilbert nor Perry will receive or have to pay alimony, according to the outlet. The newly divorced couple reportedly first started dating in 2011 and then made the decision to get married a few years later in 2014. Rhodes was born in 2015. Although Rhodes was the first child shared by the couple, Gilbert was already a mother-of-two, sharing her son Levi Hank and her daughter Sawyer Jane with her ex-partner Ali Adler. The outlet also confirmed and reported in December of 2019 that Gilbert was the one who filed for divorce from Perry. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for divorce. mega When the couple officially separated in August of 2019, they had been married for almost 6 years. “Everything happens for a reason,” Perry reportedly told the publication a few weeks after the divorce filing was made available to the public. “All I can do is continue my journey.” mega “I’m still on an incredible adventure with Sara. I love her. I adore her,” Perry also reportedly said last year. “We have a beautiful child together. So that journey has not ended, it’s evolved into something else.” Neither Gilbert nor Perry have made any new statements or comments about the divorce settlement. mega View the full article

Shaken. Stirred. Shook. Jojo Siwa Splits with Kylie Prew. It was only months ago that we carried the news of Jojo Siwa, “You’ve changed my life for forever. I love you more and more every day. Thank you for being the best girlfriend in the world.” At 18 years old it was brave, impetuous and exactly what you all should be doing when you announced it to the world. You are in good company. All good news here. Love some more is the message to all lovers scorned, on the move, or acquired: Love some more. Published by OK Magazine After fans speculated JoJo Siwa and girlfriend Kylie Prew were having trouble in their relationship, a source squealed the duo have called it quits. The reason may be surprising, as an insider alluded Siwa’s relationship with her Dancing with the Stars partner Jenna Johnson could be partly to blame. MEGA “They split,” a source spilled to The Sun, adding: “Kylie became jealous of the relationship JoJo has fostered with Jenna. JoJo is a mess.” IS JOJO SIWA HOLLYWOOD’S LATEST WILD CHILD? YOUTUBER’S SECRETS AND SCANDALS REVEALED The insider claimed JoJo’s “busy” schedule also led to their demise, noting “JoJo has always been a workhorse” and has had trouble putting her relationship first over her career. Siwa made history when she joined season 30 ofDWTS. In a series first, the 18-year-old singer — who recently came out as pansexual — was chosen to dance alongside a female professional partner. ABC/Christopher Willard On Monday’s episode, the Nickelodeon star and Johnson danced a flawless foxtrot. Set to “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)” from the 1978 cult classic Grease, the duo earned a perfect score from the judges. The bubbly blonde took to social media to gush over the amazing feat. “WOW!!!!! I have literally no words!!!!I am on cloud 528183629 right now!! Tonight @jennajohnson and I got the FIRST perfect score of the season on @dancingabc !! 4 10’s!!!,” she wrote via Instagram on October 18. JOJO SIWA TAKES ANOTHER SHOT AT NICKELODEON FOR NOT LETTING HER PERFORM NEW MUSIC ON TOUR: ‘I’M A HUMAN, NOT JUST A BRAND’ The Nebraska native continued: “I’ve cried and smiled SO much tonight. The amount of respect that I have for all 4 judges @derekhough @carrieanninaba @brunotonioliofficial @lengoodmanmbe is massive so to get a perfect 10 from all 4 of them tonight means SO much to me!!!” ABC/Christopher Willard The Dance Moms alum began to drop hints regarding her sexuality at the start of the year when she lip-synced along to Lady Gaga‘s “Born This Way” on TikTok and then donned a t-shirt that read “Best Gay Cousin Ever.” Jojo Siwa Splits on Towleroad Over 20 ‘exit’ gaming giant in Activision Blizzard Management Shake Up After Harassment Accusations And Sued By California More U.S. Senate Republicans poised to stop Democrats’ voting rights bill More Sara Gilbert And Linda Perry’s Divorce Is Negotiated and Finished; Share Custody; Neither To Pay Support More Iowa Democratic Party leader says he was target of racist threats, some Explicitly violent More Court Rejects Trump-Affiliated Lawyer’s Appeal of Decision That It Was Legal For Pasadena Venue To Cancel Event Based On Anti-LGBTQ Positions More Romantic Partners Who Watch Porn Together Have Higher Relationship Quality; Contradicting Claims It Causes Them to Fall Apart, Study Finds More ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS More Trump attacks Colin Powell, A Day After His Death, No Doubt For Saying Trump Should Resign After Instigating An Insurrection More Lovers While Filming 1983’s ‘The Hunger’, The Sarandon Bowie Connection Before He Died Let Them Say, ‘What Needed To be Said’ More U.S. Senate set to hold test vote Wednesday on election reforms More Trump questioned under oath in lawsuit over alleged Trump Tower assault More Load More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – The chair of the Iowa Democratic Party said on Tuesday he received racist messages and emails, including a threat of lynching, after writing an opinion piece critical of Republican former President Donald Trump. Ross Wilburn, who is Black and sits in the state legislature, told reporters that after his piece ran in the Des Moines Register on Oct. 9, the same weekend Trump was in town for a rally, he received two phone messages and an email that used racial epithets and, in one case, threatened him with violence. “Unfortunately, these kinds of threats are not uncommon for myself or other people of color serving in public roles,” Wilburn said. The incident, which he said is being investigated by Ames, Iowa, police, is the latest example of threats and harassment against public officials in the highly polarized U.S. political environment. On Monday, the National Association of County and City Health Officials asked the U.S. Department of Justice for help protecting public health officers targeted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by opponents of measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus, including stay-at-home orders, mask-wearing and vaccines. The organization said at least 300 public health department leaders had left their positions since the pandemic began, many because of threats and verbal abuse. Educators are also coming under fire, amid protests and violent rhetoric over claims fueled by right-wing media that schools are teaching critical race theory, an academic model for describing systemic racism that is little used in public schools but that opponents say makes white children feel bad about themselves. Educators have also been threatened over public health measures, including mask-wearing at school. In Iowa, the threats and harassment against Wilburn were condemned by state Republican leaders. “This type of hate must never be tolerated,” Republican Governor Kim Reynolds wrote on Twitter. “Whoever is responsible should be held accountable. Racism of any kind is unacceptable and not who we are as Iowans.” Iowa Republican Party Chair Jeff Kaufmann said he is pleased that authorities are investigating the threats. “I strongly condemn the racist threats made toward Chair Wilburn,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “We can have a spirited debate on issues and candidates without threats of violence.” (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Peter Cooney) View the full article

Court Rejects: John Eastman is Chairman of NOW (National Organization for Marriage) the leading organization against marriage equality. He took over for the notorious Maggie Gallagher and has continued to take audacious moves against LGBTQ rights and played a key role in Trump’s Insurrection and attempt to overturn the election. In fact he’s the author of the notorious memo that concluded Mike Pence could and should just refuse to certify. (As a bonus he also pushed the entirely fabricated ‘Kamala Harris’ birther hoax in the last election cycle that led to a massive Newsweek mea culpa. Eastman’s appeal was another effort to make the right wing out as the victims of the libs. He claimed that it was a first amendement violation for the non-profit leasing a City of Pasadena venue to cancel his events based on his positions against marriage equality and expanding LGBTQ rights. Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear a California Republican club’s challenge to a private organization’s cancellation of a 2017 event at a city-owned property in Pasadena that was to have featured a conservative lawyer later aligned with former President Donald Trump. justices turned away the Pasadena Republican Club’s appeal of a lower court ruling that found that the cancellation of attorney John Eastman’s planned appearance did not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, which bars government discrimination on free speech or religious grounds. Eastman played a role in Trump’s failed bid to overturn his 2020 re-election loss based on false claims of widespread voting fraud. The property at issue, the Maxwell House, is owned by the city of Pasadena, which leased it to the Western Justice Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on conflict resolution. Space in the Maxwell House is made available for rent for events including weddings. The Pasadena Republican Club had wanted to rent space there so Eastman could appear as a guest speaker, but the Western Justice Center canceled the event because his opposition to same-sex marriage and other expansions of LGBT rights ran counter to the group’s values. Eastman was a professor at Chapman University School of Law at the time. Eastman is the chairman of the board of the National Organization for Marriage, which was active in the fight against legalizing gay marriage. In the Republican club’s 2018 lawsuit, its lawyers said the First Amendment applied because the Western Justice Center was effectively an arm of the government based on its lease of city property. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in February ruled against the Republican group. Eastman achieved a higher profile with his affiliation with Trump. He spoke at a rally where Trump addressed his supporters before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Eastman also wrote a memo outlining how, in his view, then-Vice President Mike Pence could thwart the formal congressional certification of Trump’s 2020 re-election loss. Pence ultimately declined to follow Eastman’s advice. Eastman left his post at Chapman University days after the riot amid criticism of his actions. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) Court Rejects on Towleroad Romantic Partners Who Watch Porn Together Have Higher Relationship Quality; Contradicting Claims It Causes Them to Fall Apart, Study Finds More ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS More Trump attacks Colin Powell, A Day After His Death, No Doubt For Saying Trump Should Resign After Instigating An Insurrection More Lovers While Filming 1983’s ‘The Hunger’, The Sarandon Bowie Connection Before He Died Let Them Say, ‘What Needed To be Said’ More U.S. Senate set to hold test vote Wednesday on election reforms More Trump questioned under oath in lawsuit over alleged Trump Tower assault More New York city hall to remove Jefferson statue over slave-ownership More Trump aide Steve Bannon faces U.S. House committee contempt vote More Tom Holland: Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like ‘end of a franchise’ More Boy George Harry Styles; Old Star Says Young Star ‘Too Scared’ To Be Him In Biopic and ‘Ran’; Yungblud in talks. More Lance Bass Twins Photo is First of Alexander and Violet. ‘Covered in Ick but I’ve Never Been So Happy’ More Load More View the full article

Gif from NoTORIous for illustration purposes only. Indicates nothing about relationship status or energy. Published by PsyPost New research indicates that shared pornography use in adult relationships is associated with greater relationship functioning. In other words, couples who frequently watch pornography together tend to be more satisfied with their romantic relationship and their sex life. The findings, published in Frontiers in Psychology, call into question claims that pornography use inevitably causes relationships to deteriorate. The new research represents “the culmination of several lines of thinking that my colleagues and I have been developing over the years,” said study author Taylor Kohut, a lecturer a… Read More Watch Porn on Towleroad ‘Mayor Pete’ Trailer; Papa Pete Pwns Tucker; 4-Stars for Dr. Rachel Levine; JoJo Siwa’s Perfect 10s; Lynda Carter’s 8 Wonder-full Words: GOOD NEWS More Trump attacks Colin Powell, A Day After His Death, No Doubt For Saying Trump Should Resign After Instigating An Insurrection More Lovers While Filming 1983’s ‘The Hunger’, The Sarandon Bowie Connection Before He Died Let Them Say, ‘What Needed To be Said’ More U.S. Senate set to hold test vote Wednesday on election reforms More Trump questioned under oath in lawsuit over alleged Trump Tower assault More New York city hall to remove Jefferson statue over slave-ownership More Trump aide Steve Bannon faces U.S. House committee contempt vote More Tom Holland: Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like ‘end of a franchise’ More Boy George Harry Styles; Old Star Says Young Star ‘Too Scared’ To Be Him In Biopic and ‘Ran’; Yungblud in talks. More Lance Bass Twins Photo is First of Alexander and Violet. ‘Covered in Ick but I’ve Never Been So Happy’ More Covid Memorials Also Spreading; London’s Mural, Italian Trees, Sculptures in Syria and Spain, And A 1918 Flu Monument Drafted For Double Duty More Load More View the full article

Good Vibes Below Four-Star Admiral Dr. Rachel LevineButtigieg Doc “Mayor Pete” TrailerHappy Birthday, DivineChic Full Gay: A response to Chick-fil-ALynda Carter Ends Discussion on TransIndia Updates LGBTQ Medical TextbooksJoJo Siwa Hits Perfection Four-Star Admiral Dr. Rachel Levine Dr. Rachel LevineAssistant Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, the first out trans Senate-confirmed official, was sworn in as Four Star Admiral in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. the first out trans four-star officer in U.S. history. That’s a lot of titles and firsts to juggle. Protocol in the US is to default to the Secretary title, but this additional honorific makes her not only the highest ranking official in the U.S. Public Health Service, it also makes her the first woman to get four-stars in the service. The Public Health Service is a federal uniformed service charged with protecting and advancing public health and safety “I am humbled to serve as the first female four-star officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and first openly transgender four-star officer across any of the 8 uniformed services,” Levine said. “This is a momentous occasion and I am pleased to take this role for the impact I can make, and for the historic nature of what it symbolizes. May this appointment be the first of many like it as we create a more inclusive future.” Levine’s boss, Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, lauded her accomplishment as well. “Admiral Levine’s historic appointment as the first openly transgender four-star officer is a giant step forward towards equality as a nation,” he said. ” This is a proud moment for us at HHS.” “Wow!!!!! I have literally no words!!!!,” Siwa exclaimed on Instagram after the scores were revealed. “I am on cloud 528183629 right now!! … I’ve cried and smiled so much tonight.” She added, “This dance and this moment is something that I will cherish forever and ever!!!!!!!” Mayor Pete: Previously on Towleroad ‘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 Tom Hardy on ‘Venom’ As LGBTQ Icon; Takei Rips Dean Cain’s Super Bi-Panic: Co-CEO Repeats At Netflix Trans Lives Don’t Matter As Much As Ratings; Brian Bell October 16, 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 ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is The Gay Coming-Of-Age Tale For Everyone With an Inner (and Outer) Drag Queen Brian Bell August 25, 2021 Read More Elliot Page Awarded for Prejudice-busting Work and Life On And Off Screen; Sheds Light on Dark Prejudices; Shares Unseen Prides and Joys Brian Bell August 11, 2021 Read More View the full article

Published by AFP The national flag at half mast on top of the White House after the death of former secretary of state Colin Powell Washington (AFP) – As much of the world remembered Colin Powell with respect and affection, Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked the late US statesman, calling him a disloyal Republican who made the case for war in Iraq. Powell, who died aged 84 on Monday, was a frequent critic of Trump and called on him to resign after the January 6 Capitol insurrection that the then-president instigated. “Wonderful to see Colin Powell, who made big mistakes on Iraq and famously, so-called weapons of mass destruction, be treated in death so beautifully by the Fake News Media. Hope that happens to me someday,” Trump said sarcastically in a statement. Powell, who was the United States’ first Black secretary of state, died of complications from Covid-19 after suffering cancer. He was widely hailed a national war hero, global diplomat and trail-blazing African-American leader. Trump branded Powell a “classic RINO” — Republican In Name Only — and added “he made plenty of mistakes, but anyway, may he rest in peace!” Powell found it hard to live down his February 2003 speech to the UN Security Council about the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq — evidence which was later proven to be false. Trump rarely holds back from attacking former enemies even immediately after their death. After Senator John McCain died in 2018, Trump repeatedly disparaged the much-admired Arizona Republican who was also among his fiercest detractors. “I have to be honest: I’ve never liked him much,” Trump said about McCain in one address in Ohio that was nominally about a rise in manufacturing jobs. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Susan Sarandon spoke to David Bowie just a week before he died – but she can’t remember the conversation. The ‘Thelma & Louise’ actress rekindled her friendship with her former lover – who she had a relationship with while filming ‘The Hunger’ in 1983 – in the months before he died of liver cancer in January 2016 but she admitted it is “frustrating” that she’s got no knowledge of the final words they exchanged because she was taking strong medication at the time while on the Greek island of Lesbos. She said: “I wasn’t sleeping so I took a pretty strong sleep aid. And I had this dream that David had called me and that we’d had this conversation. Then later I thought, ‘Did he actually call me?’ “And I went to my phone and he had. But I have no recollection of what that conversation was. “He died a week later. It’s all so frustrating.” But the 75-year-old actress – who last saw the ‘Heroes’ singer at the premiere of his musical ‘Lazarus’ in New York in December 2015 – feels “so fortunate” that she was able to reconnect with her old flame and “said some things that needed to be said” in the months before he passed away. She told the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine: “I was fortunate enough to be closer to him right before he died, the last couple of months. He did find me again. We talked to each other and said some things that needed to be said. “I was so fortunate to be able to see him when he told me what was going on with him.” Even after David passed away, Susan has stayed in touch with his widow Iman. She said: “I love his wife Iman, someone who was so equal in stature to him. “That was clearly who he was destined to be with. And I’ve kept in touch with her.” Sarandon Bowie on Towleroad Trump attacks Colin Powell, a day after his death More U.S. Senate set to hold test vote Wednesday on election reforms More Trump questioned under oath in lawsuit over alleged Trump Tower assault More New York city hall to remove Jefferson statue over slave-ownership More Trump aide Steve Bannon faces U.S. House committee contempt vote More Tom Holland: Spider-Man: No Way Home feels like ‘end of a franchise’ More Boy George Harry Styles; Old Star Says Young Star ‘Too Scared’ To Be Him In Biopic and ‘Ran’; Yungblud in talks. More Lance Bass Twins Photo is First of Alexander and Violet. ‘Covered in Ick but I’ve Never Been So Happy’ More Covid Memorials Also Spreading; London’s Mural, Italian Trees, Sculptures in Syria and Spain, And A 1918 Flu Monument Drafted For Double Duty More Facebook plans to hire 10,000 in EU to build ‘metaverse’ More Amsterdam Airbnb Drops 80 Percent With Overtourism Measures; Also Ban Tourists From Drugs At Coffee Shops, Limit ‘Red Light’ Tours More Load More View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate is likely to take a procedural vote on Wednesday on whether to debate an overhaul of federal election law, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday as he urged Republicans not to block the measure. “If there’s anything worthy of debate in this chamber, it should be protecting and strengthening our democracy,” Schumer, a Democrat, said of the bill to expand voters’ access to mail-in ballots and other steps. If Republicans prevent debate on the bill, some Democrats are likely to urge Schumer to find a way around the Senate’s filibuster procedure that requires at least 60 votes in the evenly split, 100-member chamber for most legislation to advance. Such ideas include exempting the measure from the filibuster. Others include requiring that senators stay in the chamber and talk until the filibuster is abandoned – the way it used to be done. The bill is in response to voting restrictions passed in Republican-led states following former President Donald Trump’s repeated false claims he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden because of widespread electoral fraud. His claims were rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and Trump’s own Justice Department. Since late last year, a number of Republican-controlled states have enacted or advanced bills to tighten access to the polls and make it easier to challenge election results. Democrats and voting rights advocates have denounced the measures as partisan power grabs that will make it harder for Black and Hispanic voters – important voting blocs for Democrats – to cast ballots. Election experts have said voting fraud is rare in the United States. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Leslie Adler and Peter Cooney) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Jan Wolfe (Reuters) -Former President Donald Trump testified under oath on Monday as part of a civil lawsuit brought by protesters who allege they were assaulted by his security guards in New York in 2015, a lawyer for the protesters told a news conference. Trump sat for a videotaped deposition on Monday morning at Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan, said Benjamin Dictor, a lawyer who sought Trump’s testimony in the long-running dispute. “The president was exactly how you would expect him to be, he answered questions the way you would expect Mr. Trump to answer questions, and conducted himself in a manner that you would expect Mr. Trump to conduct himself,” Dictor said. New York Supreme Court Justice Doris Gonzalez last week ordered Trump to sit for the videotaped deposition. In New York state, a trial-level court is called a Supreme Court. Trump said in a statement he was pleased to have provided testimony in the case. “After years of litigation, I was pleased to have had the opportunity to tell my side of this ridiculous story—Just one more example of baseless harassment of your favorite President,” Trump said. A group of protesters brought the lawsuit in 2015, alleging that Trump’s security guards attacked them while they were demonstrating outside Trump Tower in September of that year over the then-presidential candidate’s comments that Mexican immigrants were criminals and rapists. “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists,” Trump said during the June 16 speech announcing his candidacy. Trump faces several civil lawsuits over conduct from before and during his 2017-2021 presidency. Earlier this month, a New York state judge gave Trump a Dec. 23 deadline to undergo questioning in a defamation lawsuit filed by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on “The Apprentice.” During the 2016 presidential campaign, Zervos had accused Trump of subjecting her to unwanted kissing and groping when she sought career advice in 2007, two years after her appearance on his reality television show. Zervos had sued Trump in January 2017, but the case remains unresolved in part because Trump argued while in the White House that a sitting president could not be sued. That issue became moot after Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, which made Trump a private citizen, New York’s highest court ruled in March. Trump’s lawyer in that case, Alina Habba, has denied Zervos’ allegations, calling the lawsuit frivolous. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe in Washington; Editing by Peter Cooney and Jonathan Oatis) View the full article

Published by AFP A statue of Thomas Jefferson in the US Capitol in Washington is cleaned on August 4, 2021 New York (AFP) – New York City lawmakers have voted to remove a statue of Thomas Jefferson, one of the United States’ founding fathers, from the council chambers because of his slave-owning past. Latino and Black council members have for years demanded the removal, which comes amid fierce debate in the United States over what to do with statues deemed offensive to minority groups. Their push was given impetus by last year’s nationwide racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis. City officials on Monday voted unanimously to remove the statue from council chambers, but delayed a decision on where to put it. The statue is expected to be put in the New York Historical Society museum. Jefferson held more than 600 slaves on his plantation in Virginia and fathered six children with one of them. The third US president “embodies some of the most shameful parts of our country’s history,” councilwoman Adrienne Adams told the hearing, the New York Times reported. In September, a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee that became a focal point of racial justice protests was removed from Richmond, the Virginia city that served as the capital of the pro-slavery South during the American Civil War. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Patricia Zengerle and Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers probing the deadly Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack by supporters of Donald Trump will move on Tuesday toward bringing contempt of Congress charges against his longtime aide Steve Bannon over his refusal to cooperate. The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives Select Committee is expected to approve a report backing contempt charges against Bannon at a meeting Tuesday evening. That vote will pave the way for the entire House to vote on whether to recommend contempt charges, which could lead to criminal prosecution against Bannon. Trump has urged Bannon and other former aides subpoenaed by the committee to reject its requests, claiming executive privilege. He filed a lawsuit on Monday, alleging the committee made an illegal, unfounded and overly broad request for his White House records. The White House has argued that Trump has no legitimate privilege claim. “The former president’s actions represented a unique – and existential – threat to our democracy that can’t be swept under the rug,” said spokesman Michael Gwin. “The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the Constitution itself.” Legal experts also say Trump, as the former president, cannot lawfully use executive privilege to block subpoenas issued by the House committee. The committee in a report made public on Monday argued that Bannon’s testimony and document production are crucial to the investigation, saying that Bannon made statements suggesting he knew ahead of time about “extreme events” on Jan. 6, when the U.S. Congress was scheduled to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election. Bannon, according to the report, said, “All hell is going to break loose tomorrow,” the day before thousands of Trump supporters descended on the Capitol building, attacking police and raiding congressional offices, in an attempt to overturn Trump’s election defeat, which Trump falsely claimed was the result of widespread fraud. The Select Committee’s nine members will take the preliminary step of voting on the contempt report in a public meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT) on Tuesday. The committee’s vote could be followed quickly by a full vote in the House, congressional aides said. The committee, was created by House Democrats against the wishes of most Republicans. Just two of the committee’s nine members: Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, are Trump’s fellow Republicans. Both have criticized the former president, which prompted Republican House members to remove Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, from her leadership position. After Trump asked aides not to cooperate with the investigation, Bannon argued that he was shielded from the select committee’s subpoenas by executive privilege, a legal principle that protects many White House communications. However, legal experts – and the committee – dispute that argument. “Mr. Bannon has now willfully failed to both produce a single document and to appear for his scheduled deposition. The Select Committee believes that this willful refusal to comply with the Subpoena constitutes a violation of federal law,” the committee’s chairman, Bennie Thompson, said in a letter to Bannon’s attorney. Bannon’s attorney, Robert Costello, did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. Biden has also said the Justice Department should prosecute people who defy subpoenas. There have been at least 600 arrests in connection with the assault, and the select committee has issued more than a dozen subpoenas. Multiple courts, state election officials and members of Trump’s own administration have rejected Trump’s claims of election fraud as false. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Additional reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Scott Malone, Matthew Lewis, Leslie Adler and Giles Elgood) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Tom Holland has described ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ as “the end of a franchise”. The 25-year-old actor – who first played Peter Parker and his web-slinging alter ego in 2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War’ – has opened up on the future of the superhero in the upcoming ‘Spider-Man’ sequel, which follows ‘Homecoming’ and ‘Far From Home’. He told Entertainment Weekly: “”We were all treating [No Way Home] as the end of a franchise, let’s say. “I think if we were lucky enough to dive into these characters again, you’d be seeing a very different version. It would no longer be the ‘Homecoming’ trilogy. “We would give it some time and try to build something different and tonally change the films. “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. But we were definitely treating [No Way Home] like it was coming to an end, and it felt like it.” He remembered getting emotional during one of his final days on set as he shot a scene with Zendaya and Jacob Batalon, who played MJ and Ned Leeds respectively. He explained: “We’ve been making these films for five years now. We’ve had such an amazing relationship, the three of us. “We’ve been with each other every step of the way. We’ve done every single film, every single press tour. “So this one scene, [we didn’t know] if this would be the last time [we were all working together.] [It] was heartbreaking but also really exciting because we’re all moving into the next chapter of our careers. “So sharing that moment with them was maybe the best day I’ve ever had on set. I don’t think I’ve cried like that ever.” Holland – who also played Spider-Man in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – previously revealed the upcoming third film is the last movie he has under his Marvel contract, but he’d return “in a heartbeat” if the opportunity came up. He said: “[‘Spider-Man 3’] would be my last one [under contract] so I’ve always said to them if they want me back I’ll be there in a heartbeat. I’ve loved every minute of being a part of this amazing world. It’s changed my life for the better, I’m so lucky to be here. If they want me back I’ll be there, if they don’t I will walk off into the sunset a very, very happy person because it’s been an amazing journey.” View the full article

Boy George Harry Styles. Two singers across generations with non-binary styles and pop magic with the younger teen set that translates to adults. With Billy Porter attacking Vogue for featuring Styles first in a dress, accusing of some kind of appropriation and proper credit, and under discussions and advocacy for queer actors in queer roles, is it surprising that Styles who is straight might not run to play George? Yungblood is Published by BANG Showbiz English Boy George has accused Harry Styles of being “too scared” to play him in a Culture Club biopic. The 60-year-old singer /songwriter claims Harry was in talks to portray him in a new movie but alleges the former One Direction singer “ran” and Yungblud is in talks to take on the leading role. He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “They are looking at a kid called Yungblud. He is a big English sensation. He is quite young and he has been auditioning. There was talk of Harry Styles, but I think he ran. He was too scared.” ‘Karma Chameleon’ – named after Culture Club’s 1983 hit song – will document Boy George’s rise to fame. It had been due to start filming this year but the COVID-19 pandemic and casting issues have delayed it. Boy George said: “I don’t want it to be like a fantasy of somebody else. I feel like it should be honest and truthful as I am hilarious. I say tell the truth as the truth is far more interesting than things that are made up, you know.” Boy George has lived an eventful life and his four-month prison sentence in 2009 – for falsely imprisoning a male escort – is likely to feature in the biopic. Speaking about it previously, he said: “I always maintained that jail would finish me off, but it didn’t. “You somehow find the strength. It was a life-changing experience and I feel I came out of that situation with some wisdom and knowledge. “I really don’t view that period in my life as negative… But I wouldn’t want to go back.” The star admitted his “troubles” – which also included being sentenced to community service in 2006 after police in New York found cocaine in his home – were a valuable life lesson, but they also reminded him he hasn’t fully shaken off the “nihilistic attitude” of his youth, which he wants to hold on to. He said: “I have always had a mistake in me, but that’s OK. As far as the troubles I had back in 2006 and 2009, of course they are things I’m not proud of. “Yet at the same time they remind me that I hadn’t shaken off that nihilistic attitude of the past, nor would I ever want to. “And every mistake is a positive life lesson … It really is.” Boy George Harry Styles on Towleroad Lance Bass Twins Photo is First of Alexander and Violet. ‘Covered in Ick but I’ve Never Been So Happy’ More Covid Memorials Also Spreading; London’s Mural, Italian Trees, Sculptures in Syria and Spain, And A 1918 Flu Monument Drafted For Double Duty More Facebook plans to hire 10,000 in EU to build ‘metaverse’ More Amsterdam Airbnb Drops 80 Percent With Overtourism Measures; Also Ban Tourists From Drugs At Coffee Shops, Limit ‘Red Light’ Tours More U.S. Supreme Court again protects police accused of excessive force More Jury selection to start in trial over killing of Black jogger in Georgia More Billy Porter Vogue Slam Is About Who Did It First. Harry Styles In A Dress On The Cover? ‘All He Has To Do Is Be White And Straight’ More Biden administration asks U.S. Supreme Court to block Texas abortion law More Colin Powell, U.S. military leader and first Black secretary of state, dies 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 More Jussie Smollett’s criminal case to proceed to trial More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lance Bass and Michael Turchin have shared the first photos of their newborn twins. The former NSync star, 42, and his artist husband welcomed Violet and Alexander into the world last week via surrogate and took to Instagram over the weekend to show fans the newborn duo. Lance captioned the post: “Haven’t slept much in 5 days and I’m covered in ick but I’ve never been so happy! Now there are four of us in this house that wear diapers (hint: it’s not me or @michaelturchinart)(sic)” Michael was also quick to share his own selection of photos of the twins on his Instagram account. His post read: “New babies, who dis?? #Alexander #Violet.” At the time of their birth, Lance also took to Instagram to share his delight, posting a photo of each birth certificate. The post read: “The baby dragons have arrived!! I can not express how much love I feel right now. Thank you for all the kind wishes. It meant a lot. Now, how do you change a diaper??! Ahhhhhhhh!” The certificates showed that Alexander was born one minute earlier than Violet, and that the boy was slightly bigger, weighing in at 4lbs 14oz compared to his sister’s 4lbs 11oz weight. For Halloween fanatics Lance and Michael, the timing of the arrival couldn’t be better. Lance previously said: “”They have no choice but to love Halloween because I’m obsessed and they’re going to be obsessed!” The happy news for the couple – who have been married since 2004 – comes after several bouts of heartache following failed IVF attempts and a tragic miscarriage in 2020. At the time, Lance said: “You try to trick yourself into not getting excited because you know anything can happen at any time, especially in those first few weeks when there’s a huge possibility that the (embryos) won’t stick.” View the full article

Published by DPA Mario Draghi (r), Italy’s prime minister, takes part in remembrance for those whose lives were lost to Covid-19. Matteo Zandardi/Stadt Bergamo/dpa The coronavirus pandemic has caused unimaginable grief around the globe, as countless people have lost loved ones, family members, friends and colleagues. As the global death toll from Covid-19 passes 4.5 million, many countries are planning memorials to honour those lost. These range from monuments to memorial forests, sculptures and websites to help people come to terms with their loss, individually and collectively. London’s memorial may be the best known so far. Located in Westminster, the National Covid Memorial Wall is a public mural made up of red hearts and extending several hundred metres along the banks of the Thames. Families and friends of those who have died have painted the hearts to remember their lost ones. Visitors can walk the length of the wall and listen to audio recordings of their stories. Many MPs are now calling for the wall to be preserved as a permanent memorial. There are also plans to create a memorial wall in the Philippines honouring the health workers who died during the pandemic. The design has already been approved and the organizers hope to complete the structure, at the National Heroes’ Cemetery in Metro Manila, by December. The memorial will “tell a story about what happened and about the heroism of our doctors and nurses and our personnel,” says Carlito Galvez Jr. of the national task force against Covid-19, adding that he thought the budget was nevertheless a “small amount” to spend honouring the heroism of frontline workers. In the US, more than 600,000 white flags fluttered temporarily in the breeze on Washington’s National Mall. The art installation “In America: Remember,” designed by Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, saw relatives invited to dedicate a flag to the person they lost. In Italy, one of the places worst affected when the coronavirus first emerged in early 2020, a memorial forest has been planted in the city of Bergamo. So many people died there that the city soon ran out of space for the dead, and images of military convoys leaving the city carrying coffins shocked the world. The country had not seen so many deaths since World War II. For its part Cape Town has created memorial gardens, with trees with plaques planted in six city parks and cemeteries to symbolize the cycle of life. “The trees that we planted today… are living memorials to the many loved ones we’ve lost. We remember them not only today, but as these trees grow and thrive it will be a testimony to their lives,” says mayor Dan Plato. Residents tie green ribbons around the trees in memory of a loved one. Viewed from the air, these form a circle. Plans are under way to create several large monuments in Latin America. In Uruguay, architect Martin Gomez Platero has designed a memorial for the waterfront in Montevideo, with a footbridge connecting a 40-metre-wide platform in the sea to the shore. In the middle is a hole through which visitors can look down into the water. “The memorial is intended to create a collective consciousness and remind us that humans are not the centre of the ecosystem … as we will always be subordinate to nature,” the project description says. In Brazil, Rio de Janeiro’s In-finito memorial, designed by architect Crisa Santos, aims to address the pain of many relatives who were unable to say a proper goodbye to their loved ones due to the pandemic. “The family no longer sees the body of the loved one who has come to the hospital. They only see a coffin or an urn,” the architect says, according to Gazeta do Povo newspaper. The sculpture, which is made up of six parts and extends some 26 metres, bears the victims’ engraved names on it and is intended to close this gap in the mourning process, Santos said. In Sao Paulo, a time capsule sculpture has been created so people can share their condolences or personal memories. These are sealed in the base of the monument as a message for future generations. In some countries, governments are adapting monuments that have already been built, such as in the Indian city of Goa, where a monument originally built to memorialize Spanish flu victims in 1918 has become a memorial for those lost to Covid-19. The memorial had fallen into disrepair and there had even been at one point plans to pull it down to make way for a highway, according to the Hindustan Times. But as people began to pray for their loved ones there in summer 2020, the memorial was restored. Also in Goa, a baroque column commemorating Vienna’s 17th century plague briefly became a site where people prayed, lit candles and left messages. In Austria’s Styria, however, a modern sculpture is planned. Three memorial sculptures are to be erected in Graz and Leibnitz by the end of the year, with concrete walls representing the need for social distancing, a sinking sphere symbolizing the invading virus and a light and steel sculpture. Madrid also plans to build three monuments. One is to be created downtown, with an eternal flame burning in a steel sculpture in front of the Cibeles Palace, with the dedication: “In our heart your flame will never go out.” The Dutch have built a bronze sculpture to commemorate the hard work of caregivers as well as those who lost their lives to Covid-19. The statue by artist Kees Verkade depicts a man and a woman releasing birds into the sky. Placed in a park in the Dutch town of Isterwijk, it was inaugurated by Princess Margriet and is supposed to symbolize the dawn of a new future. Memorials to help those who have lost people in the pandemic. Kristin Palitza/dpa A design for the memorial to health workers who died in the pandemic, in the Philippines. dpa A woman painst a heart on the memorial located in Westminster to remember those who died in the pandemic. Victoria Jones/PA Wire/dpa View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Facebook Inc plans to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union over the next five years, the social media giant said on Monday, to help build the so-called metaverse – an online world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has been talking up metaverse since July and the buzzy word, first coined in a dystopian novel three decades earlier, has been referenced by other tech firms such as Microsoft. “No one company will own and operate the metaverse,” Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, wrote in a blog post. “Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers.” Using technologies such as virtual and augmented reality Facebook plans to create a greater sense of “virtual presence”, which will mimic the experience of interacting in person. The coronavirus pandemic has shifted much of the office meetings online, leading to the rise of conferencing apps such as Zoom, and big tech companies are looking to capitalize on this shift. Facebook, which has invested heavily in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), including buying companies like Oculus, intends to connect its nearly three billion users through several devices and apps. Zuckerberg believes the metaverse would be accessible across VR, AR, PC, mobile devices and game consoles. It has already committed $50 million for building the metaverse, and testing a new remote work app where users of Oculus Quest 2 headsets could hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves. While Facebook did not say what roles it would hire for and where they would be based, the company has been facing antitrust probes in the region, and is often criticised over online safety and hate speech on its platform. “We look forward to working with governments across the EU to find the right people and the right markets to take this forward, as part of an upcoming recruitment drive across the region,” Clegg wrote. (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Maju Samuel) View the full article

Published by DPA As part of a number of measures to solve its overtourism problem, Amsterdam has made it more difficult for landlords to rent out properties in central parts of the city on platforms like Airbnb. Oliver Berg/dpa Amsterdam, a city that wants to claim back its picturesque canals, coffee shops and collection of Rembrandt artworks from tourists, has been cracking down on overtourism in recent months, with new laws already hitting Airbnb listings. As part of a number of measures to slow tourist numbers, the city has banned landlords from renting out properties in central parts of the city on platforms like Airbnb. After the introduction of stricter rules regulating the renting out of private rooms and apartments in Amsterdam, the city has now seen an 80-per-cent drop in the number of listings for the city on Airbnb, a spokesperson for the city authorities has said. The measure comes as part of a broader effort to limit the numbers of tourists arriving in the city and make it more liveable for residents. In 2019 more than 20 million people visited the city, which has only around 800,000 inhabitants. While tourists can still find Airbnb listings in Amsterdam, finding a suitable date inside the city is now expected to be significantly more difficult. However, the platform expects that more tourists will now simply look for accommodation outside the city proper, where the new rules do not apply. Since the start of October, anyone wanting to rent out a flat to tourists has to register it with the city beforehand. As a result, the number of accommodation listings found for the city online has dropped drastically across all online portals, with market leader Airbnb dropping from over 16,200 accommodation listings in the spring to around 2,900 now. Amsterdam has already tried several times before to curb private room rentals, mainly to counter the housing shortage in the city and to reduce mass tourism. From October, landlords have had to include a registration number in their online listing, making it far easier for the authorities to track down unregistered properties. Airbnb has been co-operating with the Amsterdam authorities and has so far removed all ads posted without a valid registration number. The city’s measures against overtourism don’t stop with Airbnb listings: Amsterdam has also previously announced plans to cut tourists off from one of the city’s biggest draws: drugs in an effort to stop drug tourism. In the Netherlands, soft drugs like hash and marijuana are legal to buy in coffee shops for personal consumption. In principle, only residents of the country are allowed to buy drugs in the coffee shops, but Amsterdam has an exemption. For this, however, the city had to greatly reduce the number of outlets. But drug tourism, especially from Britain, increased sharply. Studies have shown that mass tourism will strongly decrease with a ban on access to coffee shops. Amsterdam has also cracked down on other tourist attractions, such as group tours through the red-light district. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Andrew Chung (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday signaled that it is not retreating from its inclination to grant a legal protection called “qualified immunity” to police accused in lawsuits of using excessive force, ruling in favor of officers on Monday in separate cases from California and Oklahoma. The justices overturned a lower court’s decision allowing a trial in a lawsuit against officers Josh Girdner and Brandon Vick over the 2016 fatal shooting of a hammer-wielding man in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. They also overturned a lower court’s decision to deny a request by police officer Daniel Rivas-Villegas for qualified immunity in a lawsuit accusing him of using excessive force in 2016 while handcuffing a suspect in Union City, California. The brief rulings were unsigned, with no public dissents among the justices in the cases, both decided without oral arguments. The qualified immunity defense protects police and other government officials from civil litigation in certain circumstances, permitting lawsuits only when an individual’s “clearly established” statutory or constitutional rights have been violated. The rulings indicated that the justices think lower courts still are denying qualified immunity too frequently in police excessive force cases, having previously chided appeals courts on that issue in recent years. “These are not the actions of a court that is likely to end or seriously reform qualified immunity,” Chris Kemmitt, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund civil rights group, wrote on Twitter. A 2020 Reuters investigation revealed how qualified immunity, with the Supreme Court’s continual refinements, has made it easier for police officers to kill or injure civilians with impunity. In the Oklahoma case, police responded to a complaint by the former wife of the slain man, Dominic Rollice, that he was inebriated and in her garage. Officers told Rollice they were not there to arrest him, but rather to give him a “ride out of there,” according to court papers, but he refused to go with them. A lower court found that the officers then advanced on Rollice, prompting him to back up and grab a hammer that he held above his head and refused to drop. When Rollice appeared to raise the hammer further, Girdner and Vick fired multiple times, killing him. A third officer had decided that the situation called for him to “go less lethal” by putting his firearm in his holster and using his stun gun instead. Rollice’s estate sued Girdner and Vick, accusing them of using excessive force in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. The police said they used force because they feared Rollice would charge at them or throw the hammer. The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020 denied the officers qualified immunity, finding that they may have unjustifiably escalated the situation. The Supreme Court on Monday declined to decide “whether recklessly creating a situation that requires deadly force can itself violate the Fourth Amendment,” instead saying that no prior case had “clearly established” that the officers’ actions were illegal. In the California case, the justices ruled in favor of Rivas-Villegas for the same reason. That case involved the arrest of a man named Ramon Cortesluna at his home. Rivas-Villegas used his foot to push Cortesluna down, and then pressed his knee into the man’s back while another officer handcuffed him. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled that Cortesluna’s excessive force claim could go to trial, noting that the suspect had been prone and not resisting. Congressional Democrats have sought to rein in qualified immunity as part of legislation to reform police practices. The House of Representatives passed a Democratic-backed bill that would eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement, but Senate talks between Democrats and Republicans on police reform collapsed last month. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Rich McKay and Jonathan Allen (Reuters) – The judge overseeing the trial of three white men charged with murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a Black jogger, in Glynn County in coastal Georgia said potential jurors could be questioned about their views on race when selection began Monday afternoon. Gregory McMichael, 65, his son Travis McMichael, 35, and William “Roddie” Bryan, 52, face charges of murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment in the killing the killing of 25-year-old Arbery on Feb. 23, 2020. The three men appeared in court on Monday as their lawyers negotiated with Judge Timothy Walmsley over what questions they could put to potential jurors, including whether they could ask jurors’ views about the Black Lives Matter anti-racism movement. All have pleaded not guilty, saying they chased and confronted Arbery on a road running through Satilla Shores, a mostly white neighborhood in Glynn County, in order to make a citizen’s arrest and that Travis McMichael killed him with a shotgun in self defense. They face life in prison if convicted. Bryan recorded the confrontation on his cellphone, and the video of Arbery’s killing sparked outrage across the United States. A local prosecutor, whose office had previously employed Gregory McMichael, had refused to charge the three white men. More than two months passed after the killing before the McMichaels and Bryan were charged. Judge Walmsley said he would permit some of the questions proposed by defense lawyers about potential jurors’ views on race but wanted to limit the amount of time spent on the topic. “Black Lives Matter is not a party in this case, it’s not part of this criminal prosecution,” he said. Arbery’s family and their supporters say he was targeted because he was Black. Defense lawyers say the McMichaels and Bryan were suspicious of Arbery because he went inside a nearby house that was under construction. The owner of the property has said he believed that Arbery had entered the building site for a drink of water and that nothing was stolen. The three defendants were also charged by U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors in April with federal hate crimes and attempted kidnapping. The federal trial is due to begin next February. The state trial is unfolding in a brick courthouse in the 19th-century historic district of Brunswick, a port city home now to about 16,000 people. Dozens of Arbery’s supporters chanted on the lawn outside, carrying signs that said “Justice for Arbery.” Members of the clergy prayed for justice. It could takes days or even weeks to find 12 jurors and four alternates. About 1,000 citizens in Glynn County, which is about 69% white and 27% black, have received jury summons. In the pre-trial motions hearing on Monday, Linda Dunikoski, the lead prosecutor in the case, objected to some questions defense lawyers wanted to ask potential viewers about their views on race and politics. “Black Lives Matter has absolutely nothing to with this particular case,” she said. Franklin Hogue, a lawyer for Gregory McMichael, said it was important to find out if potential jurors might have biases against the white defendants. “We do know that race is an issue in this case,” he told the court. (Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and Jonathan Allen in New York; Additional reporting by Octavio Jones in Brunswick, Georgia; Editing by Nick Zieminski) View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Not everyone was impressed with Harry Styles’ iconic Vogue cover. Billy Porter is speaking out against the publication’s December 2020 Issue, which famously featured the One Direction alum breaking down gender norms while pictured in a long flowy gown. During an interview with The Sunday Times, Porter voiced his frustration with Vogue for giving Styles’ unconventional fashion choices all of the attention when he himself had been doing it long before. MEGA The Broadway star claimed that he was the one who got the ball rolling with non-binary fashion, and he insisted that the magazine only chose to feature Styles because he is a “straight white man.” BILLY PORTER REVEALS HE IS HIV-POSITIVE, HID DIAGNOSIS FOR 14 YEARS IN FEAR OF DISCRIMINATION IN HOLLYWOOD “I changed the whole game,” the 52-year-old Emmy-winner told the outlet on Sunday, October 17. “I. Personally. Changed. The. Whole Game. And that is not ego, that is just fact. I was the first one doing it and now everybody is doing it.” “I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to. I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why,” he continued. “I created the conversation and yet, Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight, white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time.” @voguemagazine/Instagram Porter explained that while he wasn’t trying to “drag” the “Watermelon Sugar” singer, he was confused with the publication’s choice to give Styles the spread, asking, “He is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation?” “He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do,” the actor boldly asserted. “This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned now. All he has to do is be white and straight.” While Porter insisted that he believes the “Sign of the Times” singer is straight, Styles has previously dropped hints about his ambiguous sexuality. Back in 2019, he was asked during an interview for The Guardianwhether or not he identifies as heterosexual, which the singer refused to directly answer. MEGA Styles responded by asking the interviewer why he was asked about his sexuality, wondering “Who cares?” whether or not he is straight. OLIVIA WILDE FLAUNTS TONED TORSO AFTER HITTING THE GYM IN L.A. AS BEAU HARRY STYLES CONTINUES ‘LOVE ON TOUR’: PHOTOS “Am I sprinkling in nuggets of sexual ambiguity to try and be more interesting? No,” he said at the time. “In terms of how I wanna dress and what the album sleeve’s gonna be, I tend to make decisions in terms of collaborators I want to work with. I want things to look a certain way. Not because it makes me look gay, or it makes me look straight, or it makes me look bisexual, but because I think it looks cool. And more than that, I don’t know, I just think sexuality’s something that’s fun. Honestly? I can’t say I’ve given it any more thought than that.” Despite conversations regarding his ambiguous sexual identity, Styles has since reportedly started up a relationship with bigtime actress Olivia Wilde. View the full article