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Published by AFP Two lions at the Washington zoo on July 24, 2020 Washington (AFP) – Six lions and three tigers at the National Zoo in Washington have tested positive for Covid-19 and are undergoing treatment after falling unwell, the zoo said Friday. “Last weekend, animal keepers observed decreased appetites, coughing, sneezing and lethargy” in six African lions, a Sumatran tiger and two tigers from Siberia, who all tested positive for Covid in preliminary tests, the zoo said in a statement. Results of tests to confirm the diagnosis are expected in a few days. The sick cats are being treated with anti-inflammatories and anti-nausea medication, as well as antibiotics to ward off pneumonia. People who visit the zoo are not at risk because of the distance between them and the felines, and no other animals have shown signs of infection, the zoo said. The bout of sickness comes as several US zoos including the one in Washington announced Tuesday the launch of a vaccination campaign for animals susceptible to Covid-19. Primates in several zoos have become infected. Several gorillas at the zoo in Atlanta tested positive last week. To protect them from Covid, animals at the Washington zoo will be injected with a product developed by Zoetis, a drug company that makes vaccines and medicine for pets and livestock. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – A North Carolina court on Friday struck down a voter photo identification law passed by Republicans in 2018, finding it intentionally discriminated against Black voters likely to vote Democratic. The ruling marks the second consecutive Republican-backed voting law from North Carolina to be overturned by the courts. A U.S. appeals court in 2016 found a previous law targeted African Americans “with almost surgical precision.” In Friday’s ruling, a 2-1 majority of the Wake County Superior Court wrote that the 2018 law “was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional intent to target African American voters.” Other states with Republican majority legislatures have passed similar laws in recent years, some with renewed purpose after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely claimed the election was stolen for President Joe Biden. Georgia and Texas passed voter laws this year that triggered a national backlash from civil rights advocates. The North Carolina ruling did not find that supporters of Senate Bill 824 were racist, but that targeting Black voters because of their propensity to vote for Democrats was discriminatory. The ruling quoted from the 2016 federal appeals court ruling that overturned the previous law, known as House Bill 589. “We do not find that any member of the General Assembly who voted in favor of S.B. 824 harbors any racial animus or hatred towards African American voters, but rather …that the Republican majority ‘target(ed) voters who, based on race, were unlikely to vote for the majority party. Even if done for partisan ends, that constitute(s) racial discrimination,'” the majority said. That Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stood after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a North Carolina-based civil rights group that helped bring the suit, applauded the decision and vowed to fight any appeal. “(We) hope it sends a strong message that racial discrimination will not be tolerated,” Allison Riggs, the coalition’s chief counsel for voting rights, said in a statement. Sam Hayes, a lawyer the Republican North Carolina House speaker Tim Moore, declared, “This fight is far from over.” He referred to the November 2018 election, when voters approved a ballot measure supporting a constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote. “Once again, liberal judges have defied the will of North Carolinians on election integrity,” Hayes said. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Julia Harte and Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – Surges in coronavirus cases in several U.S. states this week, along with staffing and equipment shortages, are exacting a mounting toll on hospitals and their workers even as the number of new admissions nationwide ebbs, leading to warnings at some facilities that care would be rationed. Montana, Alaska, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kentucky experienced the biggest rises in new COVID-19 hospitalizations during the week ending Sept. 10 compared with the previous week, with Montana’s new hospitalizations rising by 26%, according to the latest report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sept. 14. In Alaska, the influx is so heavy that the state’s largest hospital is no longer able to provide life-saving care to every patient who needs it due to the influx of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to an open letter from the medical executive committee of Providence Alaska Medical Center this week. “If you or your loved one need specialty care at Providence, such as a cardiologist, trauma surgeon, or a neurosurgeon, we sadly may not have room now,” the letter read. “There are no more staffed beds left.” Some hospital workers have become so overwhelmed by the fresh wave of COVID-19 cases — a year and half after the pandemic first reached the United States — that they have left for jobs at retailing and other non-medical fields, Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety the American Hospital Association, told Reuters. At the same time, distribution and other issues are leaving some hospitals short of oxygen supplies desperately needed to help patients struggling to breathe, Foster said. On Friday, the hospital association held a webinar for its members on how to conserve oxygen, an effort to address a 200% jump in demand at many hospitals, she said. “There is a shortage of drivers with the qualifications to transport oxygen, and a shortage of the tanks needed to transport it,” Foster added. While there are some breakthrough cases among the vaccinated, Foster said most of the hospitalizations were among the unvaccinated. A SURGE ‘LIKE NEVER BEFORE’ On Sept. 16, 1,855 Americans died of COVID-19 and 144,844 new cases were reported, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data. Both trendlines have been increasing in the United States overall since hitting their lows this summer in July and June, respectively. New hospital admissions are still surging in several mostly rural and Midwestern states, even as the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals daily in the entire United States slipped to about 10,685 on Sept. 14 after cresting around 13,028 in late August, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. “Despite our hospital being ground zero in Kentucky for the onset of the pandemic 18 months ago, this week we are being hit with a COVID surge like never before since the onset of the pandemic,” said Dr. Stephen Toadvine, chief executive officer at Harrison Memorial Hospital, in a statement posted on the Kentucky state website. He added that patients seeking emergency care in Kentucky hospitals and being treated for COVID-19 are at an all-time highs. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said on Thursday that the commonwealth would soon run out of a key treatment for COVID-19 – the use of monoclonal antibodies – and the federal government also recently announced a national shortage. Since May, the number of COVID-19 cases at hospitals run by the University of Wisconsin’s UW Health system has quadrupled, Dr. Jeff Pothof said in an interview. Emergency rooms are so full that doctors are having to seek rooms for their patients in other facilities, he said, a trend seen in other states, including Florida. “For the first time in my career we’re at the point where not every patient in need will get the care we might wish we could give,” Dr Shelly Harkins, chief medical officer and president of St. Peter’s Health in Helena, Montana said in a video announcement Thursday. In West Virginia, COVID-19 hospitalizations this week have far outstripped their previous peak of 815, rising from 852 on Monday to 922 on Friday, said Jim Kaufman, the president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association. The state’s hospitals are also facing severe staffing shortages, resulting in fewer patients treated and delays in non-emergency care. Smaller hospitals are sending patients to larger ones that can accommodate them, Kaufman said. In Oklahoma, new hospitalizations declined by 11% during the week ending Sept. 10 compared with the previous week, but 35% of hospitals in the state report staffing shortages, according to the CDC. (Reporting by Julia Harte in New York, Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif., Maria Caspani in New York and Deena Beasley in Los Angeles. Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New Jersey and Anurag Maan in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) -A California jury on Friday found multimillionaire real estate heir Robert Durst guilty of murdering his best friend Susan Berman in 2000, the first homicide conviction for a man suspected of killing three people in three states over the past 39 years. Durst, 78 and frail, will likely die in prison as the jury also found him guilty of the special circumstances of lying in wait and killing a witness, which carry a mandatory life sentence. Superior Court Judge Mark Windham, who oversaw the trial, set a sentencing hearing for Oct. 18. The trial came six years after Durst’s apparent confession was aired in the HBO television documentary series “The Jinx,” in which Durst was caught on a hot microphone in the bathroom saying to himself, “What the hell did I do? … Killed them all, of course.” The nine-woman, three-man jury had deliberated for seven and a half hours over three days. Durst, who has been in jail for the duration of the trial, was not present for the reading of the verdict because he was in isolation after having been exposed to somebody with COVID-19. Windham decided to have the verdict read in Durst’s absence. Speaking to attorneys for both sides later, he called the case “the most extraordinary trial that I’ve ever seen or even heard about.” Lead prosecutor John Lewin, who had pursued Durst for years, credited “The Jinx” filmmakers Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling for their revealing interviews with Durst, telling reporters after the verdict: “Without them having conducted the interviews, we wouldn’t be where we are.” In closing arguments, Lewin called Durst a “narcissistic psychopath” who killed Berman in an attempt to cover up the disappearance of his wife, Kathleen McCormack Durst, in New York in 1982. Durst was only on trial for killing Berman in California, but prosecutors argued he murdered three people: his missing wife, Berman and a neighbor in Texas who discovered his identity when Durst was hiding from the law. Despite long being a suspect in the disappearance of his wife, a 29-year-old medical student, Durst was never charged. Prosecutors said he killed her, then decided to kill Berman 18 years later because she had told others that she helped Durst cover up the crime. Berman, 55, was shot in the back of her head inside her Beverly Hills home. Shortly after the verdict, the McCormack family issued a statement urging prosecutors in Westchester County, New York, to prosecute Durst. “The justice system in Los Angeles has finally served the Berman family. It is now time for Westchester to do the same for the McCormack family,” the statement said. Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah reopened the case in May, shortly after taking office. Her office issued a statement on Friday commending those involved in securing the conviction, but a spokesperson said the Westchester investigation “remains ongoing and we will have no further comment at this time.” Defense lawyers portrayed Durst, a cancer survivor who testified from a wheelchair wearing a baggy jail uniform, as a “sick old man.” But he withstood 15 days as a witness, nine of them under cross examination. During a 58-day trial spread over a year and a half, including a one-year delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, Durst testified that he discovered Berman’s murdered body when he went to visit her but did not call police. The prosecution also delved into the 2001 death and dismemberment of Morris Black, who was Durst’s neighbor in Galveston, Texas. A Galveston jury acquitted Durst of murder, even though Durst admitted he chopped up Black’s body and dumped it in Galveston Bay. Durst said Black pulled a gun on him and was shot accidentally when the two men wrestled over the firearm. Black’s death marked the second time Durst had a dead body at his feet, according to his own testimony. In both cases, Durst said he at first tried to call the 911 emergency number but later decided against it, fearing nobody would believe he was not guilty. Besides “The Jinx” audio, two other pieces of evidence appeared to damage Durst’s defense. One was the recorded 2017 testimony of Nick Chavin, a mutual friend who said Durst admitted to him in 2014 that he had killed Berman. “It was her or me. I had no choice,” Chavin recounted Durst telling him. Durst also admitted he authored a handwritten letter to Beverly Hills police with the word “cadaver” and Berman’s address, directing them to her undiscovered body. Durst had denied writing the note for 20 years. Durst is the grandson of the founder of The Durst Organization, one of New York City’s premier real estate companies. He long ago left the company, now run by his estranged brother Douglas Durst, who testified at trial and said of his sibling: “He’d like to murder me.” (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Sonya Hepinstall) View the full article

Published by DPA Visitors take pictures of the wrapped Arc de Triomph, while workers are busy in arranging the wrapper hanging on the triomph. Arc de triomphe was wrapped on 12th September to pay tribute to the late Artist Christo, who wished to wrap the arc in a wrap before his death. Abhijeet Gurjar/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa After two months of work, the wrapping of Paris’ iconic Arc de Triomphe is now complete, thus fulfilling a life-long dream of late Bulgarian-French conceptual artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Until October 3, the historic monument will be adorned with 25,000 square metres of silvery-blue fabric and 3,000 metres of red rope. The long-awaited project of the duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude – neither of whom lived to see its completion – the adornment of the famous arch in 25,000 square metres of silvery-blue fabric and 3,000 metres of red rope, can be seen until October 3. Jeanne-Claude died in 2009, and Christo died in 2020, after a long career in which the couple wrapped iconic buildings around the world including the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf in Paris. Before his death, Christo had already completed the plans for the Arc de Triomphe, which was originally scheduled to take place in the autumn of 2020. But following the artist’s death at the age of 84 and due to the coronavirus pandemic, the project had to be postponed. The costs for the wrapping, around 14 million euros (16.4 milion dollars), were financed by Christo himself – among other things through the sale of sketches, collages and plans. More than 1,000 workers, engineers and climbers worked on the project, the idea for which dates back to the 1960s. A general view of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, which was wrapped in silver-blue fabric based on a design by the late artist Christo. The 50-meter-high Arc de Triomphe was wrapped on 12th September to pay tribute to the late Artist Christo, who wished to wrap the arc in a wrap before his death. -/AFP/dpa View the full article

Published by AFP The red carpet area is readied for the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles Los Angeles (AFP) – The Emmys honoring the best in television return Sunday for the first in-person ceremony since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the return of a (small, socially distanced) audience, there are plenty of potential records and historic firsts to look out for: Posthumous win? Michael K. Williams, forever remembered as Baltimore stick-up man Omar Little in seminal HBO crime drama “The Wire,” died earlier this month. His tragic passing will not influence voting — the suspected drug overdose in New York occurred after Emmys voting had closed. But Williams is the favorite to win the award for best supporting actor in a drama for supernatural horror series “Lovecraft Country.” He was nominated four times in the past but never won a statuette. Many viewers will hope for a victory for Williams, which would make him part of an elite group of posthumous acting winners at the Emmys — one that includes Ingrid Bergman. Transgender first? FX’s “Pose” — about New York’s 1980s underground ballroom culture — has already done much to advance LGBTQ representation. Two years ago, its star Billy Porter became the first openly gay black man to win the best drama actor prize. On Sunday, another cast member has a chance to make history. “Mj Rodriguez has a shot at being the first trans winner in lead actress,” Los Angeles Times journalist Michael Ordona told AFP. “But she’s got a tough row to hoe, because I think there’s a lot of goodwill toward Emma Corrin for her portrayal of Princess Diana,” in “The Crown,” he added. Biggest loser? “The Handmaid’s Tale” was the first ever streaming show to win best drama at the Emmys. Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel strongly resonated with voters back in 2017. Since then, the Elisabeth Moss-starring series offering a bleak portrait of an authoritarian America has seen diminishing returns — in terms of both critical response and awards tallies. Still nominated for a whopping 21 statuettes this year, it has won zero in the technical categories handed out so far — meaning it will become the “biggest loser” in a single year of Emmys history if it fails to convert at all on Sunday. Netflix record? Netflix needs 10 wins Sunday to tie the all-time record for most Emmys wins in a year — 44, set by CBS network way back in 1974 when shows like “MAS*H” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” ruled the airwaves. Such an impressive haul is not necessarily beyond the streamer. Chess-themed “The Queen’s Gambit” has already bagged nine awards in fields from costumes to cinematography, and should contend for more awards Sunday including best limited series, directing, and actress for Anya Taylor-Joy. British royals drama “The Crown” is tipped for the night’s top prize — best drama — and has frontrunners across the acting categories including Emma Corrin, Josh O’Connor and Gillian Anderson as Princess Diana, Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher, respectively. ‘Short straw’ After last year’s pandemic-mandated virtual event, the nominees are to be welcomed back in-person at the Emmys — but only a lucky few of them. Each nomination will earn a maximum three invitations to the socially distanced 500-person outdoor venue (the ceremony typically has an audience of 4,000-6,000). This has caused a scramble among those up for best drama, best comedy and best limited series, as each show usually has a large number of producers listed as nominees and eligible to attend. “Can you imagine the defining moment in your career — you’re nominated for an Emmy, and you just drew the short straw and you can’t go to the ceremony?” said Variety awards editor Clayton Davis. “That’s going to happen to a lot of people.” View the full article

Howard BragmanHollywood’s Coming Out PR Go-To Establishes University Coming Out Fund Public relations giant Howard Bragman, known widely for helping LGBTQ Hollywood stars and athletes embrace their identities publicly, is giving back to a major university in his home state of Michigan. Bragman and the University of Michigan announced the creation of a $1 million Coming Out Fund last week. The fund will aid the university’s LGBTQ center, known as the Spectrum Center, with providing emergency financial assistance to students in multiple fashions, including health services, mental health care, housing and tuition. Bragman, who grew up in Flint, MI and attended the Ann Arbor-based university, sees the fund as an important support structure for students on their respective LGBTQ journeys. “Coming out is this most personal of journeys and it’s a challenging journey,” Bragman said. “It’s so important for students to know they are not alone and that the Spectrum Center is there for them. I want to assure that other people get that same access that I had; life-changing, life-saving access. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t had the resources that the university had provided.” The fund’s establishment comes as the Spectrum Center, the first known LGBTQ resource center established on a university campus, celebrates it’s 50th anniversary. Bragman’s list of stars he helped guide through the coming out process includes former football player Michael Sam, former NBA veteran John Amaechi and actress Meredeth Baxter. “Pose” Star Indya Moore Calls Out “Cognitive Dissonance” At Met Gala While much of the public celebrated the looks following this year’s Met Gala, “Pose” star Indya Moore indicated that 2021 is likely the last year she attends the event. In an Instagram post Wednesday, Moore highlighted the “cognitive dissonance” of the event, highlighting the protests and treatment of protestors by the NYPD that occurred outside of the event earlier this week. “Nickelodeon told me today that I’m not allowed to perform/ad any of the songs from the film into my show. These are my songs, my voice, my wirting. Does this seem fair,” Siwa said. “There is no reason that this music should not be included. Working for a company as a real human being treated as only a brand is fun until it’s not. Siwa has worked with the network since 2017, becoming a very popular figure for LGBTQ youth in the process. Nickelodeon hasn’t commented publicly regarding Siwa’s complaints. LGBTQ Hollywood: Previously on Towleroad 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 Billy Eichner ‘s ‘Big, Gay Divorce Comedy’ ‘Ex-Husbands’ Headed To Amazon; ‘It’s the Gay ‘War Of The Roses’ You’ve Been Waiting For!’ Brian Bell August 4, 2021 Read More Hollywood Skin Doc–and Home Flipper–Alex Khadavi Threatens to Kill Gay Couple In Homophobic Screed Caught on A Lobby Cam; Acquired by TMZ: WATCH Brian Bell July 22, 2021 Read More A ‘Pose’ Is Not Enough. Hollywood Writers Guild’s LGBTQ Group Calls Out Discrimination On and Off Screen In Open Letter Brian Bell June 14, 2021 Read More Kevin Spacey News: Judge Ruled Accuser Had To Go Public For Sexual Assault Case To Proceed. He Refused; Case Likely to be Dismissed. Towleroad May 15, 2021 Read More Reese Reveals Secret Hollywood Power Play Led By Shonda Rhimes; Tells Where Elle Woods Would Be Today; And Contrasts her image to Britney’s Towleroad April 29, 2021 Read More Photos courtesy of DVSROSS/Creative Commons and La Brea Media View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Max Harwood had limited experience of drag before starring in ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’. The 24-year-old actor plays the lead role in the film adaptation of the hit stage musical of the same name as teenager Jamie New, who becomes the drag queen Mimi Me, and was excited about being transformed into a drag artist. Asked if he had attempted to drag before taking on the part, Max said: “Not really. I dressed up as a kid; my sister and I would perform ‘Grease’ for the family, and I would swap roles so I could play Rizzo. “But I’m a huge fan of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’. I was incredibly excited to have a makeup artist put me in drag.” Max revealed that he studied YouTube videos so he can perfect his costume for the movie, which also features Richard E. Grant and Sharon Horgan. He told Variety: “I followed YouTube videos when you learn things like how to glue down your eyebrows. Honestly, some of the things I put on my face were really questionable and awful. But I’ve gotten better. I can actually do an OK drag face for myself, so I’m super proud of that.” Max explained that it was very difficult to learn how to walk in high heels and how the technique required hours spent practicing with a coach. He said: “It was really hard! And I’d done ballet, so my feet were quite strong. I worked with an amazing heels coach named Shawn Niles, and we spent hours in the dance studio just walking around, playing Whitney Houston, learning about hip placement and strengthening ankles and things like that.” View the full article

Published by AFP Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, who had been one of the hosts of Washington (AFP) – Creators of a new reality show pitting activists promoting charitable causes against each other were forced to change course following a massive backlash, with a top star apologizing Thursday for her participation. “The Activist,” whose launch was announced this week, was to be broadcast on American network CBS in October and co-produced by non-governmental organization Global Citizen, with celebrity hosts such as the singer Usher, actress Priyanka Chopra and dancer Julianne Hough. But no sooner had they unveiled plans for the “groundbreaking” programming they insisted would inspire real change, the producers announced they were dramatically reformatting the show, jettisoning the competitive activism-themed contests and switching to a one-time documentary rather than a multi-episode series. “We got it wrong,” Global Citizen said in an online apology. “Global activism centers on collaboration and cooperation, not competition.” CBS had said the audience of the original show would follow the adventures of “six activists from around the world working to bring meaningful change to one of three urgent universal causes: health, education and the environment.” The finale was to take place at the Group of 20 summit of world leaders in Rome in late October. But CBS said they recognized that format “distracts from the vital work these incredible activists do in their communities every day,” and that the concept would be reimagined into a non-competitive prime-time special. “I have been moved by the power of your voices over the past week,” Chopra told her 27 million Twitter followers Thursday. “The show got it wrong, and I’m sorry that my participation in it disappointed many of you.” Hough, posting on Instagram, said she recognized that for some the show idea “felt like the Oppression Olympics” and disrespected activists who have faced abuse — or even have been killed — fighting for their causes. “The judging aspect of the show missed the mark,” she said. View the full article

Published by AFP The giant sequoias of California are some of the biggest trees in the world, and a popular draw for tourists Los Angeles (AFP) – The world’s biggest trees were being wrapped in fire-proof blankets Thursday in an effort to protect them from huge blazes tearing through the drought-stricken western United States. A grove of ancient sequoias, including the 275-foot (83-meter) General Sherman Tree — the largest in the world — were getting aluminum cladding to fend off the flames. Firefighters were also clearing brush and pre-positioning engines among the 2,000 ancient trees in California’s Sequoia National Park, incident commanders said. “They are taking extraordinary measures to protect these trees,” said park resource manager Christy Brigham, according to The Mercury News. “We just really want to do everything we can to protect these 2,000- and 3,000-year-old trees.” Millions of acres (hundreds of thousands of hectares) of California’s forests have burned in this year’s ferocious fire season. Scientists say man-made global warming is behind the yearslong drought and rising temperatures that have left the region highly vulnerable to wildfires. On Thursday, two fires were looming down on the park’s Giant Forest, home to five of the world’s largest trees, including the General Sherman. Around 500 personnel were engaged in battling the Paradise Fire and the Colony Fire, which together have already consumed 9,365 acres of woodland since they erupted from lightning strikes on September 10. The enormous trees of the Giant Forest are a huge tourist draw, with visitors travelling from all over the world to marvel at their imposing height and extraordinary girth. While not the tallest trees — California redwoods can grow to more than 300 feet — the giant sequoias are the largest by volume. Smaller fires generally do not harm the sequoias, which are protected by a thick bark, and actually help them to reproduce; the heat they generate opens cones to release seeds. But the larger, hotter blazes that are laying waste to the western United States are dangerous to them because they climb higher up the trunks and into the canopy. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Margaryta Chornokondratenko KYIV (Reuters) – Viktor Pylypenko has become a role model for dozens of LGBT+ Ukrainian war veterans and their supporters since he organised their participation two years ago in Kyiv’s largest ever gay pride march. Pylypenko, 34, spent almost two years from 2014 to 2016 on the frontline fighting with Kyiv’s forces against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has claimed at least 14,000 lives. He came out as gay in 2018. “(LGBT activism) became a continuation of my personal war against the enslavement of a human being’s freedom,” Pylypenko told Reuters ahead of Kyiv’s annual pride march on Sunday. And he makes a direct link between his sexual orientation and the cause for which he says he was fighting – a free and sovereign Ukraine in which all enjoy equal rights. “I volunteered to go to the frontline because I understood that they (the separatists) want to deprive us of freedom, they want to deprive the whole country of freedom. As a gay man, I was very sensitive to this,” he said. Pylypenko, who has set up a non-governmental organisation to support LGBT+ people in the military, said he received support from other members of his batallion, adding that they were more interested in his military record and commitment than in his sexual orientation. CHANGING ATTITUDES He believes having more LGBT+ people serving in the military, a respected institution in Ukraine, can help overcome prejudice towards sexual minorities in the ex-Soviet republic. “The military can change society’s attitudes, they have the reputation, they have trust, they have defended peace in Ukraine,” said Pylypenko, who comes from a military family that he says has accepted his sexuality. Ukraine’s Western-backed government has increased support for LGBT+ rights in recent years. Parliament outlawed workplace discrimination in 2015, though homophobic attitudes remain fairly widespread. Gay pride marches regularly attract counter-protests by far-right and religious activists. After Kyiv’s 2015 pride march was disrupted by violent attacks, city authorities deploy a large police presence to maintain order and protect participants. Pylypenko said his dream was for armed forces divisions to take part in gay pride marches “as allies and to enjoy the fact that they live in a developed country with human rights equality where they are not ashamed of the topic of homosexuality but support it and openly raise rainbow flags”. (Editing by Gareth Jones) View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – Colorado Governor Jared Polis, the nation’s first openly gay man to be elected governor, has tied the knot with his partner of 18 years Marlon Reis in a traditional Jewish ceremony attended by close family and friends. The marriage between Polis, a Democrat, and first gentleman Reis, a writer and animal advocate, marks the first same-sex wedding of a sitting governor. “The greatest lesson we have learned over the past 18 months is that life as we know it can change in an instant,” Polis wrote in a Twitter post. “We are thankful for the opportunity to celebrate our life together as a married couple.” Polis and Reis both contracted COVID-19 last year and Reis was briefly hospitalized https://www.colorado.gov/governor/news/3706-update-first-gentleman-marlon-reis in December. The couple, who got engaged late last year, are parents to two children age 7 and 9, according to a statement from Polis’ office. A 2015 landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. While LGBTQ people remain “severely” underrepresented, the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials in the United States has increased by 17% between June 2020 and June 2021, according to a report https://victoryinstitute.org/out-for-america-2021 by the LGBTQ Victory Institute. Earlier this year, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and presidential candidate, became the first openly gay https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-transportation/pete-buttigieg-becomes-first-openly-gay-cabinet-secretary-confirmed-by-u-s-senate-idUSKBN2A22IQ U.S. Cabinet secretary confirmed by lawmakers. (Reporting by Maria Caspani, Editing by Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by Radar Online Prince Andrew reportedly wants to remarry his ex-wife Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson even though he is in the middle of a sex abuse scandal. According to The Post, the divorced couple reportedly renewed their relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic and even began living with each other again. MEGA “It has rekindled something, and I can see a second wedding happening if it all goes Andrew’s way,” a source reportedly told media outlets. This latest development between Andrew and Fergie comes amid a sex abuse lawsuit against the prince brought on by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Giuffre alleges she was forced against her will to have sex with Andrew three times, and the earliest incident allegedly occurred when she was only 17 years old. After the accusations first came out, Andrew was relieved of his royal duties. Although Andrew is in the middle of this royal scandal, Ferguson has reportedly continued to defend her ex-husband against the allegations. Andrew also adamantly denies the alleged incidents ever took place. “I keep my commitment, no matter what,” Andrew’s ex-wife reportedly said. The couple divorced in 1996 after ten years of marriage together. MEGA This news regarding Andrew and Ferguson reportedly getting back together comes only days after Radar reported how the Duke of York has hired the high-profile and celebrity lawyer Blair Berk in an attempt to get the sex abuse lawsuit by Giuffre tossed out of court. Berk is known for representing other high-profile celebrities and figures such as Mel Gibson, Harvey Weinstein, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan. “The Prince’s United Kingdom team has slowly but surely been putting together a team of highly-skilled, big-name lawyers to fight on his behalf in the United States,” a source has reportedly claimed. “People will be surprised by the names of those who will be defending him. It’s a dream team of some of the sharpest minds in the business. There is a great deal of confidence among everyone. Andrew included, that the civil suit will be thrown out before it ever comes to court.” If Prince Andrew and his ex-wife do get remarried, it is unclear whether they will wait until the lawsuit against him is either thrown out of court or until the trial comes to a definitive end. MEGA View the full article

Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton are quite a duo even if one were not the others Godparent. Published by BANG Showbiz English Miley Cyrus idolises Dolly Parton because of her “steadfast morals and values”. The ‘Wrecking Ball’ hitmaker has praised her godmother for both her “incomparable career” and her humanitarian work and insisted it’s easy to understand why she is a role model for so many people. Writing in praise of Dolly for Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people, she said: “Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t love Dolly Parton? I never have. “Dolly is not only my idol because of her incomparable career—she’s also my role model because of her steadfast morals and values. At her core, she is the definition of a humanitarian. She’s also the world’s most impeccably purposeful walking contradiction, having developed her iconic look after being inspired by the town tramp. Now she’s known as a saintly, even godlike, figure… “But though she created an identity that she downplays as being built on wigs, lots of gingham and silicone, the foundation for this empire is actually her honesty, truth and her faith. People look to Dolly for guidance, and she knows that. “She wears that responsibility with the same grace and pride she rocks a two-piece Nudie suit. She recognizes how impactful her choices will be as one of the most iconic and powerful voices in country music, and she leaves no one behind. Dolly has diligently celebrated the queer community and her Imagination Library provides millions of books for kids. (The only thing Dolly loves more than glitter is children.)” The 28-year-old singer went on to praise the ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker’s donation to coronavirus vaccine research and how important that has been for the music industry. She wrote: “Last year, she donated $1 million to COVID-19 vaccine research, which helped in critical early stages. There’s a multitude of reasons why vaccination is important to protect other people. But it’s also to get the show back on the road and bring live music to our audiences again.” And Miley admitted she wished everyone was able to meet her “fairy godmother”. She concluded: “There’s a theory that you shouldn’t meet your heroes, but I wish everyone had the chance to meet Dolly Parton, because she’s even better than your sparkliest dreams. She may be my fairy godmother, but I think she’s that to everyone else too. I am happy to share her with the world.” Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton on Towleroad Pregnant man among new emojis More White House plans new system for international travel, contact tracing rules More Simone Biles condemns U.S. Olympic Committee, FBI for sex-abuse crisis More U.S. court upholds dismissal of lawsuit against NSA on ‘state secrets’ grounds More What Does “Peg the Patriarchy” Even Mean? More Lil Nas X feared he’d die More Ed Sheeran Gifts Another Monumental (6-foot) Marble D to Sam Smith– Very Much Like One He Sent to Elton More Fashion Statements: The AOC Met Gala Dress Recalls 5 Times Fashion Helped Make Change. ‘I Really DO Care Don’t You?’ More Dan Levy Brings Met Gala 2021 Queer Love, in An Inspired Loewe, @cartier and Wojnarovicz Collab For the Fashion Benefit More New York begins work on LGBTQ museum set for 2024 opening More Many Relationships Won’t Make It Through The Pandemic Conflicts? Couples Boil Over OR Reconnect More Load More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English A pregnant man is among the new emojis released by the Unicode Consortium. The draft list of the newest emojis was unveiled earlier this year by the non-profit company and aims to promote more diversity in gender. Another new emoji is a handshake featuring two different skin tones in response to a year of action surrounding racial inequality. More new emojis include hands making a heart shape and somebody biting their lip, as well as faces melting, saluting, holding back tears and peeking out between their fingers. The list contains 37 new emojis and takes the total amount up to 3,633. The new additions will be rolled out on devices over the coming months. A large majority of the new emojis will be presented as a man, a woman and gender-neutral – for example, a crown emoji has now been added alongside the prince and princess emoji. The Unicode Consortium revealed last year that it was releasing a new batch of emojis in 2021 to reflect on the crazy events of 2020, such as the coronavirus pandemic. The new additions include a heart with a bandage wrapped around it, a heart on fire, a face exhaling, a face in the clouds, and a shocked face with spiral eyes. A small number of new emojis were released last year after being hit by a delay due to COVID-19. Unicode tweeted: “With #Unicode14 delayed due to COVID-19, this is a minor #emoji release. It is also a bit of a change from recent years where announcements have been made between January and March, and landing on platforms by September/October.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is developing a “new system for international travel” that will include contact tracing for when it eventually lifts travel restrictions that bar much of the world’s population from entering the country, a senior White House official said on Wednesday. White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients told the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board the administration does not plan to immediately relax any travel restrictions citing COVID-19 Delta variant cases in the United States and around the world. Reuters first reported early in August that the White House was developing vaccine entry requirements that could cover nearly all foreign visitors. The White House previously confirmed it was considering mandating vaccines for foreign international visitors. “The American people need to trust that the new system for international travel is safer even as we – I mean at that point – we’ll be letting in more travelers,” Zients said on Wednesday, adding it will eventually replace existing restrictions. “We are exploring considering vaccination requirements for foreign nationals traveling to the United States,” Zients said. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at the same meeting that the spike in COVID-19 cases is preventing lifting international travel restrictions. “We want to move to a metrics-based system,” Raimondo said. “Before we can do that, we have to get a better handle on the domestic situation, which requires us to get everyone vaccinated.” Zients said the new plan would replace the current restrictions and would be “safer, stronger and sustainable.” He did not lay out specific metrics for when the administration might relax restrictions. “Vaccination rates matter here at home and other countries,” Zients said, urging travel companies like airlines to quickly mandate employee vaccines. Some industry officials fear the Biden administration may not lift travel restrictions for months or potentially until 2022. The extraordinary U.S. travel restrictions were first imposed on China in January 2020 to address the spread of COVID-19. Numerous other countries have been added, most recently India, in May. The administration wanted to lift travel restrictions “as soon as we can,” Zients said. CONTACT TRACING Zients said the new system will include collecting contact tracing data from passengers traveling into the United States to enable the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to contact travelers if exposed to COVID-19. The Trump administration in 2020 blocked an effort to require airlines to collect contact tracing information from U.S.-bound international passengers after some senior administration officials cited privacy concerns. Zients said they want the new system to be “ready to press go on” when it is safe to lift restrictions. “We get the importance of this,” Zients said. The United States currently bars most non-U.S. citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland, China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil. The United States separately bars non-essential travel by most non-U.S. citizens at U.S. land borders with Mexico and Canada. Critics say restrictions no longer make sense because some countries with high rates of COVID-19 infections are not on the restricted list while some countries on the list have the pandemic under control. (This story refiles to correct spelling error in the headline) (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Bernadette Baum and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Olympic gymnast Simone Biles held back tears on Wednesday, as she told lawmakers how the FBI and U.S. gymnastic and Olympic officials failed to stop the sexual abuse that she and hundreds of other athletes suffered from former doctor Larry Nassar. “To be clear, I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse,” she said before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee alongside fellow gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Maggie Nichols. Biles added that USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee failed to act while the FBI “turned a blind eye.” The emotional hearing painted a damning picture of FBI, which botched the Nassar investigation so badly that he was able to continue abusing more victims for over a year before he was finally arrested. FBI Director Chris Wray made no excuses and said the bureau had fired one of the agents who had falsified the details of Maroney’s 2015 interview about the abuse. “On no planet is what happened in this case acceptable,” he said, later adding that the conduct of the agents who botched the case “was beyond the pale.” With anger in her voice, Maroney recalled how in 2015 she spent three hours on the phone telling the FBI the details of her story that her own mother had not even heard, including accounts of sexual abuse she endured during the Olympic games in London by Nassar, whom she described as “more of a pedophile than he was a doctor.” Nassar, who is also a former employee of Michigan State University, has been found guilty in three separate cases, with one of the prison sentences running up to 175 years. It was not until July of this year, however, that she said the Justice Department inspector general revealed in a scathing report https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/21-093.pdf what the FBI actually did with the information she provided. It failed to document it for a year and a half, and misrepresented what she told them about her experiences. “Not only did the FBI not report my abuse, but when they eventually documented my report 17 months later, they made entirely false claims about what I said,” Maroney said. Wednesday’s hearing comes after the Justice Department’s Inspector General Michael Horowitz in July issued a scathing report https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/reports/21-093.pdf which blasted the FBI for botching its investigation https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-watchdog-release-report-into-fbi-probe-ex-usa-gymnastics-doctor-2021-07-14 in a series of errors that allowed the abuse to continue for months. Several of the gymnasts said they were furious that the FBI failed to immediately interview them about the abuse after they had reported it. Once the FBI finally did contact them, they said the agents tried to downplay the severity of the abuse. “I remember sitting with the FBI agent and him trying to convince me that it wasn’t that bad,” Raisman said. “It’s taken me years of therapy to realize that my abuse was bad, that it does matter.” Horowitz, who also testified, said that the now-fired agent who falsified Maroney’s statement “could have actually jeopardized the criminal investigation by providing false information that could have bolstered Nassar’s defense.” The FBI declined to name the fired agent, but Senator Richard Blumenthal identified him as Michael Langeman. Langeman served as a supervisory special agent in Indianapolis, where he led a task force that investigated child sexual exploitation, according to an interview he gave to a local podcast in 2018. Reuters could not immediately reach Langeman for comment. The FBI’s investigation into Nassar started in July 2015, after USA Gymnastics President and CEO Stephen Penny reported the allegations to the FBI’s Indianapolis field office. That office, then led by Special Agent in Charge W. Jay Abbott, did not formally open an investigation. The FBI only interviewed one witness – Maroney – several months later, in September 2015. It failed to formally document that interview in an official report known as a “302” until February 2017 – well after the FBI had arrested Nassar on charges of possessing sexually explicit images of children in December 2016. Abbott, who retired from the FBI in 2018, also violated the FBI’s conflict of interest policy by discussing a possible job with the U.S. Olympic Committee while he was involved with the Nassar investigation. As the FBI delayed its probe, Nassar went on to abuse more victims. At one point in Wednesday’s hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal asked all four athletes whether they knew of victims who were abused after the July 2015 disclosure to the FBI. “Yes,” all four of them said. Neither Abbott nor Langeman were prosecuted. Wray said the case was presented twice for possible prosecution and declined, but he deferred to federal prosecutors to explain their reasoning. “We have been failed and we deserve answers,” Biles said. Raisman, meanwhile, expressed frustrations that more has not been done to investigate USA Gymnastics or the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee for covering up Nassar’s abuse for years. “Why did none of these organizations warn anyone? USAG and USOPC have a long history of enabling abuse by turning a blind eye. Both organizations knew of Nassar’s abuse, long before it became public,” she said. In a statement, the USOPC said it remains “completely dedicated to the safety and well-being” of its athletes, and it has implemented reforms after hiring a law firm to conduct an independent investigation. USA Gymnastics did not immediately reply to requests for comment. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Shumaker) View the full article