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Published by SI Swim By Cara O’Bleness The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. If you’re looking for a fun way to wear your pride on your sleeve, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community or a strong ally, there’s no better time than Pride Month to colorfully accent your wardrobe accordingly. The SI Swimsuit team has selected 15 must-have accessories for Pride Month, which you can find on our Amazon Storefront here, that are cute enough to rock all year long. Below, find a sh… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan on Friday passed a much-contested bill to promote understanding of the LGBT community amid criticism that the legislation provides no human rights guarantees and may tacitly encourage some forms of discrimination. Japan, the only Group of Seven (G7) nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions, had originally pledged to pass the law before hosting the G7 leaders’ summit from May 19 to 21. However, wrangling over the bill and its wording meant it was only submitted to parliament for consideration the day before the summit began. It passed the more powerful lower house on Tuesday even after some lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party broke rank with party directives and either were absent altogether or left while the voting took place. The initial draft stipulated that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity should “not be tolerated” but was changed to “there should be no unfair discrimination”, wording critics say tacitly allows bigotry. “Though the original bill was not especially meaningful, I thought it was better than nothing,” said Takeharu Kato, a lawyer and member of “Marriage for all Japan,” an activist group, prior to the bill’s passage. “But now I’ve begun to think it might be better to have nothing at all.” Japan has come under pressure from other G7 nations, especially the United States, to allow same-sex marriage. Economic leaders have said they fear Japan will not be able to remain internationally competitive without greater diversity, including representation for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Opinion polls show a vast majority of Japanese approve of same-sex marriage. Roughly 70% of the country now allows same-sex partnership agreements, although the partnership rights fall short of those guaranteed by marriage. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Lincoln Feast.) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Hugh Hefner’s son Marston Hefner is doing OnlyFans – against his wife’s wishes. The 33-year-old heir to the Playboy fortune is expecting his first child with spouse Anna Lambropoulos, and he has started flogging subscriptions to his racy content on the adult site as extra “financial security” for his family – and to fund his Pokémon card obsession. His content includes “undressing myself slowly” and engaging in “butt plug play”, but most of it is Pokemon-themed. He told The New York Post’s Page Six column: “It is a long-term avenue for further financial security.” His late father – who passed away at the age of 91 on September 27, 2017 – made his millions from the X-rated Playboy magazine and brand and his mother, Kimberley Conrad, was a Playboy model. Marston – who is bisexual – said: “I believe that there’s nothing wrong with nudity or sexuality. “If people have sex and they make money from it, cool. If I end up doing it, cool.” Marston even insisted he wouldn’t mind if his wife wanted to have an open relationship or start her own OnlyFans account, though he claims she’s not “crazy” about him selling his kinky content. He added: “If she wanted to do an open relationship, we’ll talk about it. “If she wanted to do anything sexual, that’s a conversation that we have no matter what, and we are always having it.” Hef – who was married three times – was also survived by grown-up children Christie, 70, David, 67, and 31-year-old Cooper. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Rosie O’Donnell has a “weird relationship” with Ellen DeGeneres. The 61-year-old star fronted her own daytime chat show from 1996 until 2002 and – following a brief period where she was replaced by ‘Sabrina, the Teenage Witch’ actress Caroline Rhea – her slot was ultimately taken by fellow comedienne Ellen, 65, who fronted ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ between 2003 and 2022 but Rosie has recalled feeling as if there was no room to have two lesbian comics on screen at the time. She told The Hollywood Reporter: “It was a good relationship. We were friends. We supported each other. Which is why when she came on my show, I said, “Let me not have you standing there by yourself. Let’s get a joke in there.” And we sat down and came up with that, ‘Oh my God, I love Casey Kasem. Maybe I’m Lebanese.’ It became a big thing. “Then the episode aired, Time ran its ‘Yep, I’m Gay’ cover and everybody was asking me, “What do you think about Ellen?” It became a strange, ‘There can’t be two lesbians in this town,’ kind of a thing. “Then we each had success and went our separate ways.” Rosie went on to add that even though Ellen infamously said on TV that the pair of them were “not friends”, they are actually still in touch and Ellen has even apologised for her remarks. “She texted me a few weeks ago checking in, seeing how I’m doing, and I asked her how she’s surviving not being on TV. It’s a big transition. But we’ve had our weirdness in our relationship. I don’t know if it’s jealousy, competition or the fact that she said a mean thing about me once that really hurt my feelings. “She wrote, ‘I’m really sorry and I don’t remember that.’ I guess she saw me talk about it on Andy Cohen’s show. I remembered it so well, I had T-shirts printed and I gave them to my staff that said “I don’t know Rosie. We’re not friends.” I have a picture of her holding [my then-infant son] Parker. I know her mother. I could identify her brother without her in the room. I knew her for so many years. It just felt like I don’t trust this person to be in my world.” View the full article

Published by AlterNet On the far right, “woke” has become one of the most weaponized terms of 2023. The term has come to have an extremely negative connotation among MAGA Republicans and right-wing media elite — so negative that, according to Axios’ Javier E. David, anti-“wokeness” has collectively caused Target, Anheuser Busch and Kohl’s to suffer a “$28.7 billion loss in market value since the beginning of April.” “Woke” is not a new expression. The term emerged in the Black community as far back as the 1940s, and for decades, it had a very positive connotation — essentially meaning enlightened, well-informed and… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Two purported Ku Klux Klan members allegedly terrorized a pro-LGBTQ rally in Kentucky, and one pulled a handgun on protesters — but law enforcement officers on the scene did not arrest them, according to local police documents obtained by Raw Story through an open records request. One of the men who pulled a KKK card from his wallet, identified in the police report as 44-year-old Kenneth W. Hutton, had recently worked for the city government in Corbin, Ky., a local official confirmed Thursday. “He quit about a month ago,” Corbin City Manager Marlon Sams told Raw Story on Thursday. The new info… Read More View the full article

Published by DPA After the death of one of one the most celebrated Western novelists, Cormac McCarthy, AI now appears set to usher in a new literary era. Scientists are heralding a “transformation of creativity” with AI tools that could upend how books, music and art is created. Jan Woitas/dpa The jury is out on whether artificial intelligence (AI) could make people extinct, and while some academics reckon it at least should not kill off art or writing or music, they do believe it may “fundamentally transform” human creativity. AI tools are capable of “high-quality artistic media for visual arts, concept art, music and literature, as well as for video and animation,” according to US academics writing in the journal Science. However tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney, already being used to write passages of novels and create realistic photos, are not likely to be “the harbinger of art’s demise.” Bot-generated books, paintings and songs would not mean an end to art, said Ziv Epstein of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Washington’s Aaron Hertzmann, but instead would be a “new medium with its own distinct affordances.” And while machine-learned art might sound like an oxymoron, it could end up “ultimately enabling new models of creative labour and reconfiguring the media ecosystem,” they believe. “The generative capabilities of these tools will fundamentally transform creative processes: how creators formulate ideas and put those ideas into production,” the researchers said. In turn this “transformation of creativity” would “disrupt many sectors of society” and would, as many industry analysts have predicted, result in people being laid off or even left without work. “As a suite of tools used by human creators, generative AI is positioned to upend many sectors of the creative industry and beyond—threatening existing jobs and labour models in the short term,” they said. Their journal article was published on June 15, two days after the death of Cormac McCarthy, author of “The Road” and “No Country For Old Men”, as well as “Blood Meridian”, which, though published in 1985, has in recent years been touted as the best US novel ever written. On June 13, the day McCarthy died, Paul McCartney said that AI tools were used to prise the late John Lennon’s voice out of demo tapes from the 1970s for inclusion in what would be a final Beatles single to be released in 2023. But could ChatGPT and similar tools go beyond the kind of work done with the late Lennon’s voice? Could they emulate McCarthy’s story-telling, his seamless and singular weaving of exhilarating lyricism and sublime menace? It seems unlikely, going by recent accounts – in publications from The Washington Post to Business Insider – of what the bots churn out when asked to come up with fiction. There was obvious lifting from real books, a concern previously raised by analysts reviewing how the bots come up with scientific or medical output. Meanwhile, reviewers listed “weak endings”, a “lack of a distinctive voice” and “inconsistencies” as among the defects of the AI-generated ‘literature’. It sounds like a long way off one of the late McCarthy’s more celebrated passages – the ‘coin toss’ scene in “No Country For Old Men”, the watch-through-your-fingers cinema version of which has been doing the rounds on the internet since the 89-year-old’s death. In words that could be used regarding some chatbot output, Anton Chigurh, the book’s nerveless, psychotic hit-man, sneers ominously at a hapless gas station operator, telling him: “You don’t know what you’re talking about, do you?” After the death of one of one the most celebrated Western novelists, Cormac McCarthy, AI now appears set to usher in a new literary era. Scientists are heralding a “transformation of creativity” with AI tools that could upend how books, music and art is created. Beowulf Sheehan/Penguin Random House/dpa View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Donald Trump Jr. was recently embroiled in a legal battle to keep his name out of court documents that reportedly contained offensive and racist emails, RadarOnline.com has learned. The court case reportedly involved Gentry Beach, a former classmate of Don Jr.’s at the University of Pennsylvania, who first sued his former employer, Touradji Capital Management, nearly 15 years ago. Mega According to the Wall Street Journal, the alleged emails between Don Jr. and Beach recently resurfaced after Beach’s years-long case against his former employer went to a retrial this year. Also startling was the outlet’s report that a number of the emails between Don Jr. and Beach allegedly contained offensive and racist remarks regarding the Jewish and Mexican communities. Mega “Tomorrow night we’re having Jews for dinner,” Beach wrote to the former first son in one alleged email. “That’s kosher, right?” “I hear the theme song of the Jeffersons playing in the background,” Don Jr. wrote in another email after referring to Upper Manhattan, where Beach had just moved at the time, to Harlem. Other emails from between 2005 and 2008 allegedly saw both Don Jr. and Beach complaining about immigrants coming over the border into the United States from Mexico. “Encourage the Mexicans to come to the US and give them another excuse to not learn English,” Donald Trump’s son wrote at the time. “When I have to speak to my grandchildren in Spanish, at least I know I will have you to thank.” Mega “We’re going to stop this wetback issue dead in its tracks,” Beach responded before suggesting he might send his son to the border with firearms to “take care” of the “immigration problem.” Touradji Capital Management, Beach’s former employer, reportedly used the alleged emails as part of their legal defense. Mega The capital management company argued that the emails showed evidence of Beach’s disloyalty to his former employer and that Beach exposed the company to reputational harm. “Many of these investors, such as pension funds and publicly traded corporations, are rigorously focused on the integrity of the investment professionals that manage their assets,” lawyers for Beach’s former employer wrote in January. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. Meanwhile, Beach’s lawyers sought to have Don Jr.’s name redacted from the court records. Beach’s lawyers reportedly suggested that the mention of Don Jr. in the documents only served to prejudice the jury pool for the retrial and increased the risk of reputational harm to plaintiffs to create settlement leverage. “The only legitimate purpose for peppering the record with references to the public figure’s name is to prejudice the jury pool for the retrial and to increase risk of reputational harm to Plaintiffs, perhaps to generate settlement leverage,” Beach’s lawyers wrote in a May filing. View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel Just four days after a federal judge ruled a Tennessee law restricting drag shows was unconstitutional, attorney Brice Timmons was in an Orlando, Florida, courtroom describing how a new Florida law was causing Hamburger Mary’s to censure its drag shows. Timmons, a civil rights attorney with Memphis-based Donati Law, represented the Friends of George’s theater company in the Tennessee case, fighting a law that prohibited “adult cabaret” from taking place on public property or where children could see it. U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled June 2 the Te… Read More View the full article

Published by Al-Araby The United Arab Emirates and several other Arab nations will not screen Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”, Vox Cinemas said on Thursday without explanation, amid debate online and among regional movie fans about the animated film’s treatment of transgender themes. The film, a sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, was released on June 2 in the United States and was set for a June 22 release in the Gulf region. However, Vox, a subsidiary of retail conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim, said in response to a query via Facebook Messenger that the movie would not be… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story The city of Hamtramck in Michigan has banned Pride flags on public property after a contentious municipal meeting, Fox 2 reported. Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury said the decision was made in order to “respect the religious rights of our citizens.” As Fox News points out, almost the entirety of the Hamtramck City Council is Muslim, and approximately 40% of the city’s residents were born in foreign countries. The meeting took a turn when a woman wearing a clown nose took the podium to make a sarcastic speech. “Sure, many Hamtramck residents have fled countries where being gay is a death sentenc… Read More View the full article

Published by PsyPost Same-sex performativity, or public performances of sexuality between heterosexual women, is especially common in college settings, but why? A study published in Personal Relationships explores the motivations for engaging in this behavior. If you have ever been in a college setting, you have probably witnessed or heard about straight women kissing at parties or in bars. It is estimated that 20% to 33% of college women who identify as heterosexual have kissed another woman at a party. There are a myriad of factors that are thought to contribute to these instances, including hookup culture and t… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) – A Montana man was sentenced on Wednesday to 18 years in prison for firing an assault rifle into a woman’s home and trying to rid a town of LGBTQ residents. John Howald, 46, of Basin, Montana, was convicted of the hate crime by a federal jury in February, the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the sentence handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. After firing at the residence, he walked through Basin – a community of about 200 people – intending to target others he perceived as LGBTQ, it said. The town is about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Butte, Montana. Residents, who heard about Howald’s self-described anti-LGBTQ mission, were able to restrain him until law enforcement officers arrested him, the department said. “Howald set out to rid the town of all LGBTQI+ members by killing them,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s civil rights division. Howald was armed with two assault rifles, a hunting rifle, two pistols and multiple high-capacity magazines that were taped together to speed reloading, the statement said. Howald’s lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. Earlier this month, the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the United States, declared its first national state of emergency, citing the proliferation of anti-LGBTQ legislation in statehouses across the country. President Joe Biden has also warned about “ugly” attacks from “hysterical” people who are targeting LGBTQ Americans. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) View the full article

Published by Tribune News Service Dear Anna, I´m a queer/bisexual woman from the Deep South (aka Bible Belt), and I am finally accepting my sexuality and letting go of those feelings of shame/fear/denial/etc. In an effort to live honestly and avoid any problems (or so I thought), I have told my last two partners from Day 1 (literally) that I’m open to dating people of multiple genders. In the first scenario, I was dating a lesbian and I told her that I’m also attracted to and have dated men. She didn’t say much, but continued pursuing me and I noticed that she seemed interested in convincing me that I’m a truly a lesbian who w… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet Earlier this month a Burlington, Massachusetts middle school students’ group organized an approved LGBTQ+ pride celebration, but some students protested by tearing down pro-LGBTQ posters, wearing red, white and blue clothing and painting their faces, while some chanted, “my pronouns are USA.” “According to a letter to parents from Marshall Simonds Middle School Principal Cari Perchase, the incident took place during a school-approved spirit day celebrating Pride month on Friday, June 2. The spirit day was requested and sponsored by Spectrum Club — a student group for LGBTQ+ students and allies… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Magali Druscovich and Sheila Dang (Reuters) – To make sense of the unprecedented events of Jan. 6, 2021, Vitus “V” Spehar did what no traditional journalist would do – crawl under a desk and begin recording a video for TikTok. Like others who watched on TV as the storming of the U.S. Capitol unfolded, Spehar, who uses the pronoun they, felt the need to talk about it. However, “I didn’t want to make people think that I was an expert,” said Spehar, who filmed the TikTok video from their home in Rochester, New York. “So I thought, where’s a safe place to have a conversation?” Two years later, the “Under the Desk News” TikTok account attracts nearly 3 million followers, who appreciate Spehar’s gentler take on the news of the day. The show avoids true crime, while focusing on subjects in which people can take action. Spehar tries to end each video on a lighter note. Since the surge in popularity of the short-form video app at the start of the pandemic, people like Spehar have flocked to the platform to discuss, document and share what’s happening in the world. Many call themselves creators or influencers. They do not aspire to be traditional journalists. What unites these news creators is a desire to talk about their world in an authentic way. That has resonated with millions of young followers, the elusive but highly sought-after next generation of media consumers who are unlikely to watch cable news or read a newspaper. By shunning convention, these news creators are attempting to craft a new narrative for journalism at a time of blistering decline for a business in dire need of reinvention. Rather than regurgitate a rundown of daily headlines, some choose to connect with their audience directly in the comment section of videos, and others wear their viewpoints like a badge. Josh Helfgott, a TikTok user with 5.5 million followers, posts a recurring series of videos called “Gay News” discussing current events relevant to LGBTQ viewers. His inspiration for his account is his 13-year-old self, who felt isolated growing up as gay teen. “I want to inspire people or just make anyone feel less alone,” Helfgott said. His news videos, which routinely receive upward of 1 million views, have covered everything from U.S. President Joe Biden hosting a Pride celebration at the White House to the Human Rights Campaign declaring a state of emergency for LGBTQ Americans. “There are very few stories centered around LGBTQ issues that are heard by general society,” Helfgott said. Fighting feelings of helplessness and isolation has inspired other channels. Kristy Drutman launched climate change-focused “Brown Girl Green” and said she began posting on TikTok and Instagram because people of color are rarely represented in discussions about the environment. “I try to keep up with climate news and news that can give people hope,” she said. “I think about solutions.” One of Drutman’s TikTok videos explained how people can take advantage of tax credits to make energy-efficient updates to their homes, while another pointed to an international climate change report that showed it was not too late for nations to take steps to combat a heating planet. WHERE’S THE MONEY? Traditional news media are in deep crisis. For every exception, like the New York Times’ surging revenue for digital subscriptions, there are more horror stories of stagnating traffic and declining readers and viewers. So far this year, more than 1,900 jobs have been cut in the U.S. news industry, already surpassing the 1,808 jobs cut in all of 2022, according to a report from job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The one-time darlings of news in the social media age, like BuzzFeed News and Vice, have died or on life support. Meanwhile, TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform for news, according to a report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published on Tuesday. Twenty percent of 18-to-24-year-olds use TikTok to learn about current events, up 5 percentage points from last year, the report said. Lisa Remillard, a 20-year veteran of broadcast journalism who has been a TV anchor in Tallahassee, Florida, and San Diego, California, hopes to parlay this growth into a new business model that could help independent journalists earn a living on TikTok and other social media platforms. Remillard founded BEONDTV, a lifestyle and entertainment digital media company. Since 2020, she has also functioned as a one-person newsroom, filming videos to walk her 2.5 million TikTok followers through the biggest national news each day, such as the U.S. debt ceiling deal and the possibility of a TikTok ban in the United States due to the platform’s Chinese ownership. “In my deepest, darkest hopes and dreams, I wish that could be the result of all this hard work,” Remillard said, expressing her hope for a new business model for independent journalists. As Spehar’s “Under the Desk News” began to take off, the Los Angeles Times hired them for six months last year to be the face of the news organization’s TikTok account. The benefit was mutual: Spehar learned how journalism is produced, while the publisher benefited from Spehar’s TikTok skills. Spehar’s advice to journalists: build a following on TikTok that will pay for their reporting on subscription platforms like Substack, where some writers have carved out lucrative careers. “Pick the world that you want to show people and tell them exactly what stories you cover,” Spehar said. (Reporting and photography by Magali Druscovich; Writing by Sheila Dang; Editing by Kenneth Li and Matthew Lewis) View the full article

Published by The Seattle Times The billboards feature a menacing iceberg, sinking ship and an all-caps message: GONORRHEA ALERT! What do an iceberg and sinking ship have to do with a sexually transmitted disease? It’s not immediately clear, but the billboards on Boren Avenue and near the Space Needle likely caught your eye. And that’s the point. “There is a sense of desensitization when it comes to STIs (sexually transmitted infections), and billboards go a long way toward someone Googling something or scheduling something with a provider,” said Marcelino Alcorta, of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “There’s also value in as… Read More View the full article

Published by City AM By Elena Siniscalco British politics comes with its quirks and oddities, and one of them is the spat about the “Never kissed a Tory” motto. For some, it’s tribal politics; for others, it’s a fun joke. For Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, it is probably the second option. When he decided to post a picture wearing a “Never kissed a Tory” badge to mark Pride, he likely didn’t think it was going to offend anyone. But it quickly backfired, with the Tory Shadow Minister for Equalities Altaf Hussain asking him to apologise. The motto is more than a decade old, and it was Labour (obviously… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Ian Krietzberg The controversy around the LGBTQ+ support offered up by some major businesses, namely Bud Light (BUDFF) and Target (TGT) – Get Free Report, has sparked national attention in recent weeks, setting off boycotts, sales dips and inciting a national conversation on whether businesses ought to take stances on cultural and political issues. Earlier in June, “Shark Tank” investor Mark Cuban, speaking at a conference, said that diversity is good business. In a June 11 interview with the Post Gazette, Cuban reiterated his stance on the issue, saying: “There is a reason almost all the t… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Daniel Kline Most companies avoid taking overt political stands. Many businesses donate money to politicians on both sides of the aisle while others work hard to stay neutral. Some companies, like Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby, embrace the politics of the people who own them. In those two cases, both brands have openly embraced the religious faith of their founder/owners. DON’T MISS: Garth Brooks Answers Bud Light Fallout With ‘Woke’ Message Both those companies also have run into issues where their ownership’s stand on LGBTQ+ issues have led to a left-wing backlash. The left, however, has ra… Read More View the full article

Cheap crash pad to luxury suite, Miami has it all, no matter how you slice it: American Heritage or world tour; lazy beach restoration to healthy and scheduled; zen, decadent and much more. The next few weeks we’re posting some of the big thematic ways to think about and plan a great visit that authentically taps more of what Miami and Miami Beach offer LGBTQ travellers in addition to genuinely open arms. Today we have Miami for the art and culture lover. In coming posts we feature best bets for Foodies in Miami; Miami for the active traveler; How to connect with the proud LGBTQ businesses and community; and how to find the very best Miami has to offer for a luxe time that hits all the iconic spots. Of course, the best trips will likely pick from a few lists. (If we miss your favorite or you’ve heard of something great, please comment and help us build each post into a great resource.) Creative Stays W HOTEL Hom e to an expensive, extensive art collection – valued at $100 million, including Warhol, Basquiat & Schnabel. The recent rethink, reboot of the hotel has been well received. The MARLIN HOTEL has a rotating art program, and is right in Miami’s cultural center with many museums and galleries. THE STANDARD SPA Funky culture and design are part of the brand, and the hotel shop is off the charts. Plus there’s currently a Mini Martini Happy Hour. How gay is that? The Betsy Hotel South Beach offers its Writer’s Room, a library, typewriters, and literary events. The Setai, Miami Beach showcases a remarkable collection of Asian art and features a relaxing serene courtyard for relaxation. Luxurious and artistic, the Faena Hotel’s many unique design elements include a gold-covered woolly mammoth skeleton. Go out in Miami THE BAR (VERSACE) Located in the (former) Versace Mansion. With a top shelf array of hand-crated cocktails, including a 24 karat Golden Margarita, this before- or after-dinner stop samples and suggests the gilded life and legacy of Gianni Versace’s South Beach BASEMENT Bowl & Skate & DANCE with international DJs at the Edition hotel LGBTQ friendly all the time. Eat Steak omakaseCOTE MIAMI Chic design & Korean steakhouse in the Design District with 1 Michelin Star https://www.cotemiami.com/ CAFÉ LA TROVA Live music & retro Cuba atmosphere (& a James Beard award-winning chef, Michelle Bernstein) THREE WYNWOOD Local artists on the walls, and a weekly changing menu. Shop Miami MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT A hub for fashion, art, design, architecture, wellness & dining… Galleries including Opera Gallery, David Castillo Opera Gallery Major Art Gallery (16 galleries worldwide) David Castillo MarjoArt Gallery (Miami only) Included as one of “10 things to do in 24 hours” in Miami, by Time magazine. Acne Studios Stockholm-based fashion house Off-White High street fashion and activewear, founded by Virgil Abloh Kith Upscale clothing; lifestyle brand and progressive retail concept that’s celebrated globally https://www.kith.com Luminaire Lab Upscale, modern designer furniture, lighting & accessories founded by Nasir Kassamali THE STANDARD SHOP Features local designers and craftsman. BOOK & BOOKS A great independent bookstore heavy on diversity, and hosting frequent author events. Sights to See WOLFSONIAN-FIU MUSEUM A museum dedicated to the decorative and propoganda arts, often offering insights into LGBTQ+ history and culture. MARGULIES COLLECTIONS AT THE WAREHOUSE 50,000 sqft warehouse in the Wynwood Arts District – exhibitions & education, open October through April. Established and upcoming contemporary artists – sculpture, painting, photography, multimedia – including Anselm Kiefer, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Noguchi, Tony Smith, Frank Stella, Richard Serra,… PEREZ ART MUSEUM PAMM – an outstanding collection of contemporary, 20th and 21th century, art. Yoyoi Kusam’s exhibit “Love Is Calling” runs through 2/11/24. MID-CENTURY MODERN LIFEGUARD STATIONS Built post-Hurricane Andrew in the mid-90s, when many original beach structures were lost, these high-on-design technicolor landmarks in South Beach. Art Events MIAMI ART WEEK Contemporary art fair. Second biggest in the world. December 6-10 2023 ART GAYSEL At the Gaythering Hotel December 1-3, 2023 photoMIAMI New this year online – going live in 2024, part of Miami Art Week UNITITLED ART FAIR + OTHER ART WEEK SATELLITES Contemporary art, a program of curated special projects, installations, performances, podcast conversations and more… (December 5-10 2023) EVENTS ART BASEL Major international art fair also held in Basel, Hong Kong & Paris (now in Miami June 15-June 23) Get Outside Walk the WYNWOOD WALLS. Street art on the streets Shepard Fairey, Invader, Kenny Scharf, Okuda San Miguel, Retna, Kobra… STILTSVILLE Within Biscayne National Park, and accessible only by water, Stitsville dates to early last century, a haven for illegal alcohol and gambling during Prohibition, the ghosts of that era are preserved and protected. and some stray eclectic last ideas…. The pastel, iconic buildings of Art Deco Historic District; Famous drag bar, The Palace, for brunch or nightly shows; Lummus Park Beach —not specifically LGBTQ — for people-watching. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a hilarious reaction when CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond asked if President Joe Biden “would consider pardoning” ex-President Donald Trump. “OK And then, last question. I wonder, as it relates to the case that — that President — the former President Trump is facing: Is there any world in which President Biden would consider pardoning the former President?” he asked. “I’m just not going to speak to that. No comment,” she said before Trump was arrested and arraigned on Tuesday, June 13, in Miami after he was indicted on 37 counts for violating the Espionage Act. Trump pled not guilty through his attorney. mega As OK! previously reported, Trump spoke out about the ordeal and gave an interesting reason why he had boxes all over his bathroom in his Mar-a-Lago home. “Because the sham indictment put forward by the Biden administration included staged photographs of boxes at Mar-a-Lago, many people have asked me why I had these boxes,” Trump, 77, said in a speech at Bedminster, N.J., on Tuesday, June 13. POTUS War: Donald Trump Labels Joe Biden the ‘Most Corrupt President’ After He ‘Tried to Destroy American Democracy’ Donald Trump Appears Unbothered Playing DJ Set at His New Jersey Golf Club Following Arrest Donald Trump Is ‘Scared’ of the Legal Danger He Faces Amid Documents Scandal, Former White House Chief of Staff Claims “The answer, in addition to having every right under the Presidential Records Act, is that these boxes were containing all types of personal belongings. Many, many things. Shirts and shoes and everything. As can be seen in the picture, where someone — not me, I wonder who it might have been — dumped one of the very neatly arranged boxes all over the floor, they were full of newspapers, press clippings, thousands of pictures, thousands and thousands of White House pictures. The White House photographers — some are with us today — they took so many pictures and we saved all of them and they were in those boxes. Clothing, memorabilia, and much, much more,” he continued. Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for! mega Though Trump seems cool and collected, Trump’s former White House chief of staff John Kelly believes it’s all an act. “He’s scared s*******,” he told The Washington Post. “This is the way he compensates for that. He gives people the appearance he doesn’t care by doing this. For the first time in his life, it looks like he’s being held accountable. Up until this point in his life, it’s like, I’m not going to pay you, take me to court. He’s never been held accountable before.” View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -Target’s move to pull some LGBTQ-themed merchandise from stores following customer backlash “is wrong,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a tweet on Tuesday and urged the retailer to reverse its decision. At least 14 New York officials have signed a letter regarding Target’s decision, according to James’s tweet. Target last month said it was making certain “adjustments” to its LGBTQ-themed products linked to Pride Month, citing increased confrontations between shoppers and employees and incidents of products being thrown on the floor. The company has sold LGBTQ-related goods tied to Pride month for years but has faced growing criticism for carrying those products, including from conservative news outlets and Republican politicians, who have claimed certain items at its stores were marketed to children. Target did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Pooja Desai) View the full article

Published by DPA Brain scans show that LSD and other mind-altering drugs impact similar parts of the brain as schizophrenia and depression, raising hopes that they can be used in the developments of treatments. Silas Stein/dpa Mind-altering drugs such as LSD and ketamine are potential narcotic landmarks on a “roadmap” to develop treatments for neurological disorders. According to research published in Science Advances, the effects of such drugs, including ayahuasca and MDMA, show up on brain scans in similar locations to conditions such as schizophrenia and depression, meaning the drugs could prove a help with research into treatments. The research team, led by Andrea Luppi of The Alan Turing Institute at the University of Cambridge, analysed neuroimaging data for over 1,400 people and found that brain activity patterns affected by such drugs to be “associated with brain regions affected by certain psychiatric and neurological disorders.” The team looked at 10 drugs – not just well known substances such as ketamine and LSD – but also so-called cognitive enhancers such as modafinil and methylphenidate and the anaesthetics sevoflurane and propofol. Using what they said were “maps of cortical thickness abnormalities for disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, and autism spectrum disorder,” the scientists found parts of the brain “that were similarly altered by different drugs” were also “often similarly affected by various disorders.” “These drugs alter consciousness by activating specific neurotransmitter receptors – but different drugs can produce similar effects through distinct pathways, making it difficult to disentangle the systems responsible for effects on brain function,” they said. But the research at the same time could “provide a first step to bridge molecular mechanisms and their effects on subjective experience, cognition, and behaviour via their effects on the brain’s functional architecture,” the team suggested. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jenna Jameson has hinted she’s planning to launch a page on OnlyFans. The former porn star gave her Twitter followers a huge clue when she tweeted a message to the saucy adult website declaring she was trying to set up an account but was having technical troubles writing: “Hey @OnlyFans I’m trying to start an account and I need help!” The tweet sent her fans into meltdown and Jenna was bombarded with nasty messages from trolls – but she hit back at the haters by replying with pithy comments. One troll told her:”Maybe in her prime… not the current version” and Jenna replied writing: “Yet, you follow me,” and when another tweeted: “No one wants to see your beat up p****,” Jenna responded by quipping: “Your mom does”. Another of Jenna’s followers acknowledged the fall out, writing: “Omg I’m just here for the comments” and the 49-year-old star said she was aware her tweet would cause some carnage, writing: “I knew it would rattle a few chains.” News of Jenna’s latest project comes just weeks after she settled down with her girlfriend Jessi Lawless. The couple tied the knot in Las Vegas on May 23 after less than six months of dating. Jenna told People after the ceremony: “I found the person that I truly should have always been with.” The couple met via TikTok and started dating in January before getting engaged three months later. Jenna also revealed to People the chapel where they got hitched was the same one her parents used to tie the knot. She walked down the aisle to Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ and wore a white mini dress with a veil and pink platform heels, with pink dyed hair, while Jessi was dressed in a black suit. Their wedding was officiated by a Johnny Cash impersonator and the pair rented a neon green Lamborghini for the day. Jenna said: “I try and go over in my mind why I ever dated or married men, and it’s selfish and bad to say, but I think my driving force were children. “And now that I’ve really found myself, I’m just accepting of everything that I feel inside and don’t shove everything done.” Jenna is mum to twin sons Jesse Jameson and Journey Jette, 14, with ex-partner Tito Ortiz, and daughter Batel Lu, six, with ex-fiancé Lior Bitton. View the full article