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Published by Radar Online mega Popular fast food franchise Chick-fil-A faced backlash from conservative customers after the restaurant’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy went viral online, RadarOnline.com has learned. Conservatives rallied against the restaurant’s slogan to “Eat Mor Chikin” and called for a boycott, making Chick-fil-A the next major brand to land on the culture war chopping block. mega Chick-fil-A joined Bud Light, Nike and Target, on the ever-growing list of companies that conservatives have found issue with. Bud Light and Nike were slammed for partnering with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a trans woman, on sponsored social media posts. Most recently, Target employees were being harassed by customers who were outraged over the retailer’s annual Pride collection, which celebrated the LGBTQ+ community during the month of June. Despite Chick-fil-A’s well-known dedication to its founder’s conservative Christian values, loyal consumers took to social media to condemn the fast food joint over a DEI employment policy. mega Gov. Gavin Newsom Considering Appointing Oprah Winfrey as Dianne Feinstein’s Senate Replacement: Report ‘What is She Doing Here?’ Dianne Feinstein, 89, Forgot the Role of Vice-President Kamala Harris in the Senate as New Details of Democrat’s Sad Decline Emerge Target Staffers Facing Angry ‘Threats’ Over Annual Pride Collection, Displays Moved Due to ‘Volatile Circumstances’ “Everything good must come to an end,” read a tweet from Citizens for Renewing America executive chairman Wade Miller. “Here @ChickfilA is stating it’s [sic] commitment to systemic racism, sexism, and discrimination. I cannot support such a thing.” Miller’s tweet included a link to Chick-fil-A’s website, where their DEI policy was listed. “One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together,” the fast food restaurant’s website stated. “When we combine our unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging, we can discover new ways to strengthen the quality of care we deliver: to customers, to the communities we serve and to the world.” mega While the restaurant’s statement did not specially call out “systematic racism,” Miller and his supporters suggested that a sinister message was there, if one read between the lines. When asked if he read Chick-fil-A’s full statement, Miller bizarrely responded, “It’s the sanitized version of DEI. To affirm DEI, whether reluctantly or not, is to affirm systemic racism, sexism, and discrimination.” mega Despite criticism, Miller’s post sparked a visceral reaction from supporters, who vowed to never eat the famous chicken sandwich again. “Ya, they are dead to me. You either stick to your principals or you conform. Guess we now know where they stand,” read one tweet in response to Miller’s post. Another chimed in that, “We don’t need fast-food anyway,” while others cried that Chick-fil-A had “caved to the woke mob.” View the full article

Published by The Mercury News SAN JOSE, Calif. — Margaret Cho isn’t the only comedy legend to hail from the Bay Area, but she might be the angriest. She grew up in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Francisco and began her comedy career doing sets at a local club across from the bookstore her family owned on Polk and California streets. After a few years in stand-up, Cho got her big break as the star of “All-American Girl,” a 1994 ABC sitcom based on her comedy routine. While the show was canceled after a short run, and some disruptions to her career ensued, Cho is a fighter who refuses to stay down for long. After 40 yea… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online MEGA Lil Nas X has demanded a lawsuit accusing him of throwing a massive party at a Los Angeles rental home without permission be thrown out of court — arguing he had received permission, RadarOnline.com has learned. According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Lil Nas X [real name Montero Hill] has asked a judge to dismiss all claims against him in the case brought by a man named Daniel Fitzgerald. MEGA In his complaint, filed back in February, Fitzgerald said he owned the home in question. He claimed to have leased out the pad with the rule the tenants could not throw a party. Fitzgerald sued Lil Nas X and musicianZedd, who also performed at a massive party with over 1,000 people. Fitzgerald claimed the musicians were paid $250k each for the show. The homeowner saidLil Nas X, Zedd, and the event organizers were all aware the “no party” rule but still went through with the April 2022 party. Fitzgerald said the party upset his neighbors and caused trouble with local officials — along with causing $25k in damage to his home. MEGA Little Nas X And Coldplay Cancel Performances For 2021 Jingle Ball Show After Team Members Test Positive For COVID-19 Boosie Makes Disgusting Homophobic Remarks Against Lil Nas X, Suggests He Should ‘Commit Suicide’ Landlord Demanding Lil Nas X Pay Him $1 Million Over Wild House Party Accused Of Attending Event He’s Suing Over & Taking Photos With Rapper He said the partygoers thrashed his chairs, sofas, walls and ceilings. The homeowner said he was unable to rent the property for one month due to repairs which cost him $40k. Fitzgerald’s lawsuit demanded $1 million in damages. MEGA As we first reported, one of the party promoters demanded the case be dismissed. The company claimed Fitzgerald consented to the acts he now complains about. In court documents, a rep for the company accused the landlord of attending the party and taking photos with Lil Nas X. “[Fitzgerald] assumed the risk that he would suffer damages by allowing the party at the home,” the response reads. MEGA Now, Lil Nas X filed his official response denying all allegations of wrongdoing. He said he had consent from the leaseholders or tenants of the property to hold a birthday party. The rapper argued the home was cleaned and repaired before they left. Lil Nas X said any damage was caused by third parties who he then countersued. His cross-complaint was filed against Mike Galem, Craig Franze, Giorgios Alexatos, George Anisimowg, Noah Mckinney and Chris Sauickie. He claimed they provided consent to use the property. The musician argued that [Fitzgerald] was aware his tenants had given consent to these answering Defendants to hold the birthday party at the property and that the property was professionally cleaned afterward, leaving the property in better condition than it was before the party.” Lil Nas X has demanded the entire case be thrown out immediately. View the full article

Published by Raw Story The leader of a gun-worshipping religious sect has joined the growing ranks of MAGA rappers under the name “King Bullethead.” Pastor Hyung-Jin “Sean” Moon, who heads the Rod of Iron Ministries, is turning his far-right sermons into rap videos to spread extremist messages about LGBTQ people and other topics, reported Vice News, although YouTube took down his channel when asked for comment. “Did you hear about this group called LGTBQ/You may have heard them in your school or even your church pew/They are telling our kids they can switch to any gender/Taking hormones slicing organs like they’re p… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Yvie Oddly claimed it took “over a year” to receive her $100k cash prize in a series of explosive tweets, RadarOnline.com has learned, revealing that while the show is known for its glitz and glamor, not all is glittering behind the scenes. “The drag artists are and have ALWAYS been the lifeblood of what makes this franchise great,” the season 11 contestant wrote via Twitter on Tuesday, praising what each star brings to the table including the viral “looks, catchphrases, and memes,” as well as top-tier reality drama. mega Oddly (real name: Jovan Jordan Bridges) said that while the showcasing of talented queer stars has helped the community, the show and its producers are “ignoring the irreparable damage they cause, and creating a chokehold monopoly on how drag artists can succeed.” “They f— with real people’s lives, career opportunities, and health. They drive themselves home in their luxury cars when their contestants are sleep-deprived, depressed, and DRASTICALLY underpaid for their contributions to the cultural phenomenon,” the TV sensation claimed. “The producers are often the greediest, most-calculating, capitalist culture thieves.” ‘Rock Bottom!’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star Admits Meth Relapse, Rehab Stint ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star Cherry Valentine’s Cause Of Death Revealed ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star Shangela Accused of Rape by ‘We’re Here’ Crew Member, Drag Queen Denies ‘Totally Untrue’ Allegations A bombshell report from Vice in 2021 said that contestants have to shell out a lot of dough when they appear on the show. Several former stars and the designers who dressed them said it’s normal for people to spend anywhere from $4,000 to $20,000 to stand out from the competition and wow the judges. “I did not spend a lot of money,” 2016 winner Bob the Drag Queen confessed at the time. “I realistically spent maybe, maybe $3,000 to go on Drag Race.” DragRace producer RuPaulmega It was noted she later spent an additional $3,000 on her two finale looks. “If I went back on Drag Race now, I’d probably be spending $20 – 40,000,” the former contestant said. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. mega The negatives unfortunately came with the territory, Oddly tweeted, making it clear that she is still “so thankful for Drag Race” and the positive impact it had on her life. RadarOnline.com has reached out to a show representative for comment. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega;@anthonyebass/instagram Jessie James Decker‘s brother-in-law is apologizing for his offensive social media posts. MLB star Anthony Bass was slammed by the public after sharing an anti-LGBTQ+ video on his Instagram Story on Monday, May 29, that called for boycotts of inclusive brands like Bud Light and Target — who have been honoring Pride month with their recent campaigns. mega On Tuesday, May 30, the Toronto Blue Jays player — who is married to the country star’s sister Sydney Rae Bass — issued an apology in front of reporters for his insensitive post. “I recognize yesterday I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine. I am truly sorry for that,” Bass stated. @anthonyebass/instagram Jessie James Decker Hits Back at Mommy Shamers With Sexy Bikini Snap After Being Told to ‘Cover Up’ Jessie James Decker Reveals Whether Or Not She & Husband Eric Want More Kids Jessie James Decker Admits She & Eric Decker Are Intimate ‘Multiple Times A Week’: ‘Super Healthy For Marriages’ “I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday,” he explained. “I apologized [to] them, and as of right now I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward. The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark. We want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say.” In a statement issued by the team, they made it clear that Bass’ stance has nothing to do with the organization. “The Blue Jays bring millions of fans together across Canada and are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming experience for all,” they stated, noting that “demonstrations of allyship all month long around the ballpark” for the month of June. mega 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! “We’re not going to pretend like this never happened,” the team manager, John Schneider, explained to reporters. “We’re not going to pretend like it’s the end and move on. There are definitely more steps that are going to follow.” Bass was drafted by the San Diego Padres and started in the MLB in 2008. In 2016, he wed Decker’s sibling, and the couple share three children together. The Toronto Star obtained the statement from the Toronto Blue Jays. View the full article

Published by AlterNet U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) exploded in a committee hearing on child care on Wednesday after he introduced a book designed to help children understand race, and declared he opposes socialism and wants schools to teach about Jesus Christ instead. Sen. Mullin, a former U.S. Congressman who once told a House Democrat to “shut up,”began by explaining how expensive it is for private companies to set up child care – the topic of the hearing – but quickly transformed the hearing into one on race, socialism, and religion. He wove a web that started with his concerns over “federalizing” educat… Read More View the full article

Published by The Spun By Andrew McCarty ESPN has found itself in the middle of a controversy as its employees argue about transgender athletes in sports. Former NFL Live host Sam Ponder made it clear she does not think transgender athletes belong in women’s sports. Sarah Spain then responded with an article from Nancy Armour suggesting Ponder is bigoted against transgender women. Ponder responded in a tweet suggesting she’s not bigoted, but clearly doesn’t support transgender athletes. “Biology is not bigotry. Loving people does not require the absence of boundaries,” Ponder wrote. While its employees duel outside … Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Fox’s White House correspondent Peter Doocy is known for causing a multitude of responses from President Joe Biden with questions. In Jan. 2023, the two clashed after classified documents were found in Biden’s garage. Doocy implied that his case was the same as Donald Trump, however, Biden ensured documents were immediately returned to the National Archives or other government agencies. Trump refused to turn his over until a subpoena was enforced by a search warrant. In another incident, Biden was caught on a hot microphone trashing Doocy for “stupid” questions. On Monday, Doocy probed Biden a… Read More View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Jesse Tyler Ferguson has encouraged Sarah Hyland to enjoy married life “for a few years” before having children. The 47-year-old actor – who has Beckett, two, and Sullivan, six months, with his husband Justin Mikita – has urged his former ‘Modern Family’ co-star to delay starting a family. He told Us Weekly: “I would say, ‘Just be married for a few years.’ That’s what Justin and I did. We said, ‘Let’s do, like, five years of just being married, just the two of us, and then we’ll talk about kids.’ Hopefully that’s what they’re doing. But if they wanna (get started), I’m here for advice.” Jesse also revealed that he doesn’t plan to have any more children. He shared: “It sort of just worked out that two boys were what made sense for us. I think we’re done. I think two is it for us.” Meanwhile, Sarah recently revealed that she’s loving married life. The actress told E! News: “He’s a wonderful, wonderful husband. “I think he has to compromise – and it has been our entire relationship – of my multiple alarms in the morning.” Sarah explained that their relationship hasn’t actually changed since they tied the knot. The actress – who married Wells Adams in 2022 – said: “We were together for so long and went through a pandemic. “We were engaged for a really long time before we were able to get married, so I think the greatest thing about our marriage is that nothing has changed – other than a woman at a bar seeing his ring.” Sarah and Wells tied the knot in an intimate ceremony at a California vineyard. The loved-up couple were joined on their big day by some of Sarah’s former ‘Modern Family’ co-stars, including Sofia Vergara and Jesse. Sofia, 50, even posted some behind-the-scenes photos from the wedding on her Instagram account. The actress captioned one of the images: “#sarahandwells wedding.” View the full article

Published by Reuters KAMPALA (Reuters) -Uganda on Tuesday condemned the Western response to the East African country’s new anti-LGBTQ law, considered one of the harshest in the world, and said sanctions threats from donors amounted to “blackmail”. The law signed by President Yoweri Museveni carries the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, an offence that includes transmitting HIV through gay sex. Its enactment, announced on Monday, drew immediate rebukes from Western governments and puts in jeopardy some of the billions of dollars in foreign aid the country receives each year. U.S. President Joe Biden threatened aid cuts and other sanctions, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the government would consider visa restrictions against Ugandan officials. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the law would impact Uganda’s ties with international partners. In the Ugandan government’s first detailed comments since Museveni signed the law, Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi rejected the condemnation. “We do not consider homosexuality as a constitutional right. It is just a sexual deviation which we do not promote as Ugandans and Africans,” he told Reuters. “While we appreciate the support we get from partners, they must be reminded that we are a sovereign country and we do not legislate for the Western world. We legislate for our own people here in Uganda. So that kind of blackmail is not acceptable.” Ugandan activists and lawyers filed a lawsuit on Monday against the law. They said it encourages discrimination and stimgmatisation and allege it was passed without meaningful public participation. In an interview, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told Reuters he expects the courts to agree. “I hope that the judiciary is going to look into it and I can tell you, if they look at human rights law, their own constitution, they will find it in violation of it,” Turk said, describing the law as “devastating”. He did not elaborate on which aspect of the constitution had been violated. Asked about alleged breaches of international law, a spokesperson later added: “a whole range”, saying these included the rights to equality, non-discrimination and to life. France’s TotalEnergies, which is developing a $3.5 billion oil pipeline between Uganda and Tanzania, told Reuters on Tuesday that its CEO had expressed the company’s views on the bill to Museveni before he signed it. “Respect for others is a core value at TotalEnergies,” a spokesperson said. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Alison Williams, Aaron Ross and Nick Macfie) View the full article

by Nicole Carr ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. An image of a shooting target — with two bullet holes to the head and five scattered around the chest — serves as a warning to visitors who climb the brick steps and pass the American flag to reach Eric Jensen’s front door. “If you can read this you’re in range,” the sign says. Another warning, posted near the doorbell, states: “No Solicitation. … This property charges $50 per minute to listen to any vaccine/medical advice.” He ordered that one in 2021, after mobile units offering COVID-19 vaccines began riding through his community outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina. For years, Jensen had been looking for a way to voice his many grievances, related not just to masks and vaccines but to “transgender bullshit” and library books “trying to convert kids to gay” and other perceived dangers he says his five younger children face in the public school system. (The 65-year-old retiree has four other children who are adults.) Then he found a place where he could finally be heard. “You gotta start from the bottom and work yourself up,” Jensen said, not long after he reluctantly opened his front door last November. “I mean, you can’t just go to your governors and try to make a difference. So you start at the bottom, and the bottom is school boards.” He had intended to wage a campaign against the school board to bring about change. Instead, his efforts got him arrested. At first he was hesitant to talk about what happened in the lead-up to the February 2022 incident. In the weeks after the arrest, he didn’t comment in any of the news stories that covered it. Then, as the months wore on and his charges were dropped, he realized that standing up to authorities wasn’t going to lead to any sort of punishment: “I thought, ‘Holy shit, I didn’t have to go through a whole lot of aggravation there.’” He said that, walking away from the ordeal, he felt emboldened. ProPublica identified 59 people arrested or charged over an 18-month period as a result of turmoil at school board meetings across the country. In the coming weeks, ProPublica will continue to publish stories about how that unrest has played out in various communities and upended once-staid school board meetings. In the dozens of incidents ProPublica examined, some of which involved threats and violence, only one person who disrupted a meeting was given a jail sentence: a college student protesting in support of transgender rights. By contrast, almost all of the other individuals, including Jensen, railed against the adoption of mask mandates, the teaching of “divisive concepts” concerning racial inequality and the availability of books with LGBTQ+ themes in school libraries. Also like Jensen, the vast majority of people arrested or charged faced few consequences. Jensen didn’t come up with the idea to target the school board on his own. He’d volunteered to help two women connected to the state chapter of a national group that was rapidly gaining followers through social media sites and YouTube channels promoting the convoluted QAnon conspiracy theory. Jensen, a solid, gray-haired man with piercing blue eyes, retired about five years ago, though his wife still works as a custodian at the elementary school. He’d been a project manager for a metal building manufacturer that transferred him to North Carolina from Ohio. Prior to that, he and his family owned a campground for three decades. He described how, several years ago, he made the decision to abandon mainstream media. He said it used to be that “I was always watching the news. But once I found out how much they lie, you have to get back into alternative media to find out the actual truth.” He said he has since become convinced that John F. Kennedy Jr. is alive, Hillary Clinton and Bill Gates are dead, and the COVID-19 vaccine is actually a “death shot.” Echoing a debunked claim, he explained his belief that the vaccine changes your DNA in a way that allows those who patented the modified genetic sequence to “own” you, which is part of an effort to kill people off and depopulate the planet. “I’ve seen it many times, where they’ve got plastic caskets lined up,” he said. “There must be a million of them sitting there in lots waiting for these people to die.” In January of 2022, shortly after he became interested in what he saw as threats posed by school boards, he logged onto the messaging service Telegram. “I started putting feelers out, trying to find, you know, groups that were involved with it and see what they were doing,” he said. A Telegram group called North Carolina Bonds for the Win seemed like the right fit. The national Bonds for the Win movement had been gaining steam, promoting its mission to force school districts to drop so-called unconstitutional practices including COVID-19 safety protocols and the distribution of alleged “obscene materials” to minors. To accomplish its goal, its followers would serve local school boards with reams of paperwork outlining an intent to sue their districts’ surety bond (or risk-management plan) providers. The movement, dubbed “paper terrorism” by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, aims to force school districts into “compliance” to avoid losing federal funding. The tactic was already being tested in North Carolina’s largest school district, where earlier that January a mother had crossed a security barrier to serve the Wake County school board with papers, warning, “You’ve violated your oath of office.” Another local report described how police turned off lights in an attempt to clear people out of an Iredell-Statesville school board meeting. The people yelled, “You’ve been served!” to the school board members and told police they wouldn’t leave unless they were arrested. “And that’s when I found these ladies.” Jensen said of the two women leading efforts in his school district for North Carolina Bonds for the Win. On Feb. 22, 2022, Jensen arrived at the lobby of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school board meeting and met the women, Deborah Tuttle and Regina Garner, face-to-face for the first time. They handed him a cardboard box of paperwork, which he understood to be “explanations about how they [district officials] were going to get sued against their bonds” for teaching critical race theory — an academic framework sometimes taught at the college level and above that examines U.S. history through the lens of racism — and allowing books containing “profanity” in schools. He also said the documents included proof that masks don’t work. Tuttle and Garner did not respond to numerous requests for comment. Just minutes into the meeting, the school board chairperson watched with curiosity and a dose of trepidation as a man with a huge box took a seat a few rows back. She texted the board members sitting next to her, alerting them to the man. They, too, wanted to know what was in the box. “He was just staring at us, and we were a little worried for our safety,” chairperson Deanna Kaplan recalled. Both Garner and Tuttle signed up to address the board during the public-comment period. Garner complained about the district’s failure to uphold the Constitution and accused school officials of practicing medicine without a license and violating child abuse laws. Then Tuttle stepped up. “There’s a lot more violations that she didn’t get to, but you can read those for yourself when we serve you your letters of intent,” she told the board. As the women spoke, Kaplan grew more uneasy about the man with the box. “Then,” she said, “he started charging at us.” As Jensen, clutching the box, neared the superintendent, school security officers grabbed him and pulled him out of the meeting room. In the adjacent hallway, he strained against the three men it took to hold him down. “You work for me!” Jensen repeatedly yelled as security guards tried to shackle his wrists and ankles. His deep voice echoed from the hallway into the meeting room, where some attendees began screaming and board members sat in disbelief as they watched the mounting chaos. As the board hastily called for an impromptu recess, one man yelled: “Commie cowards!” “Commie bitch!” yelled another. “If you walk out, you’re walking away from your job!” Tuttle yelled from the podium. “There was somebody in the audience that was yelling, ‘The patriots are coming.’ I mean, it was just like a zoo. It was crazy,” Kaplan recalled. “The board members were concerned for our safety.” Two months after his arrest, Jensen came to court prepared to represent himself on misdemeanor counts of trespass and resisting a public officer. He said he carried a folder with some notes he’d made and a printout of the Constitution. As the judge entered the courtroom, Jensen said, he proudly refused to comply with the order, “All rise.” “That puts that judge above you,” Jensen later explained. “And that judge is not above you. He’s below you. Or she’s below you.” Jensen said his refusal to stand angered the bailiff. He also said that before he could even open his folder of evidence, the judge dismissed his case. Court records show Jensen received a voluntary dismissal. Prosecutors have not responded to requests for comment. A court clerk said that the slew of misdemeanor dismissals that day may have resulted from the court’s attempt to clear a pandemic backlog. Regarding the judge and the courthouse staff, Jensen said: “I didn’t allow them to boss me around.” As for the security guards who arrested him, he said he’s now considering filing assault charges against one of them “because he grabbed me and threw me down for no reason.” He described how, overall, the experience left him feeling empowered, although he was disappointed that the movement that inspired his efforts had fizzled. “The ladies that I was with, they pretty much dropped it,” he said, adding that their decision “kind of threw me, because they weren’t going to fight for it.” Garner ended up running for a seat on the school board, but she was unsuccessful. Jensen did face one consequence: He said he was banned from school property for any purpose other than to pick up and drop off his children. “But that’s it,” he said. A spokesperson for the Winston-Salem Forsyth County school district confirmed the ban but declined to detail the terms of it, citing legal concerns. He said the bans typically last a year. “In general, the letters outline situations when principals can grant permission for the person to come on campus. They, however, must ask and be granted that permission by school administrators.” Jensen admitted during the conversation in November that he hasn’t exactly complied with the ban: When he showed up for his youngest daughter’s elementary school graduation last spring, a neighbor called school security on him. But, he said, school officials let him stay. (The district spokesperson said Jensen was allowed to attend the graduation “in an effort to reduce stress and embarrassment for his student and on the condition that he maintained appropriate behavior.”) Jensen also said he’s not that worried about what would happen if he violated the ban again. He’s since declined to speak further about his experiences or be photographed for this story. “One of these days, I’m tempted to just walk in and allow them to throw me out or arrest me or whatever, because they have no right to do it,” Jensen said, not long before closing his door. “So we’ll see what shakes out if I do.” AI aided illustrationView the full article

Published by OK Magazine Days Inn Ross Mathew‘s radiant energy has spread joy around the country for over two decades. The media personality used kindness and generosity as core principles throughout his professional journey, and his partnership with Days Inn is a reflection of that. The television host and the hotel chain launched the “complimentary” mirror, and guests will be able to hear Ross’ bubbly vocals giving them a pep talk as they get ready to start their day. Days Inn “I’m so thrilled about this partnership with Days Inn, and they know that I am all about making people smile, whether it’s on the Drew Barrymore Show, RuPaul’s Drag Race, my live tour going all over the country or my over 20 years on television,” Mathews exclusively tells OK!. “It’s really what it’s about is just making the world a better place.” “They came up with this idea to have this compliment mirror in some Days Inn across the country,” the author explains. “When you go in, you can press a little button and it’s my voice giving you a funny little compliment.” In the spirit of uplifting people, Mathews reflected on the cultural significance of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Shortly after the show finished filming, the state of Tennessee made public drag performances illegal, and the LGBTQ community continues to experience various inequalities. Despite the increase in legislation, Mathews is proud of the show’s impact and influence. “I think this season was one of our highest rated ever,” the Chelsea Lately alum said. “It was trending all over Twitter, and the stories we told I just think were so beautiful. These queens are extraordinary and they get to use the platform, which is ginormous. Even if you’re the first queen eliminated, you will have a career for the rest of your life touring because of the fan base.” “It’s really about putting something intensely good out into the world. And, you know, that’s sort of a through-line with everything I’m trying to do. You see it with the Drew Barrymore Show as well,” the red carpet correspondent admits. “Drew always says we’re a bright spot, not a blind spot. We know that there are difficulties out there in the world, but we are choosing to curate this emotion right now.” Gotta See It Grams of the Day: 20 Behind-the-Scenes Emmy Snapshots The 42 Cutest Celebrity Pets Of 2013 Ross Matthews & Boyfriend Break Up After 10 Years mega 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! Mathews stressed the importance of advocating and supporting LGBT issues on and off the camera. “These are my people, this is my heart, this is my soul, and I think the more they know us, the more they see us, the more they’ll love us,” he passionately says. “That is just what I think. Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas.” “Now is the time to just be who we are and show them how full we are as human beings and how much we are alike as opposed to how different we are,” the writer adds. As fans of Mathews continue to watch his various projects or use his specialty-looking glass, they can also see him live at one of his upcoming comedy shows. “My tour is called ‘I Got You, Girl,’ because I think now more than ever we need each other. We’ve learned that we got to take care of one another,” the podcaster says. “I think fun is what we need right now. I want to shut the door on the outside world and I want to have fun again!” View the full article

Published by Reuters WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday said his government would consider visa restrictions against Ugandan officials and others for the abuse of human rights following the implementation of one of the world’s toughest anti-gay laws. Blinken said he has instructed the State Department to update travel guidance to U.S. citizens and businesses over travel to Uganda. The measures follow President Joe Biden’s condemnation of the Ugandan legislation. Biden said the United States may impose sanctions and would evaluate the implications of the law “on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda.” Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed the anti-LGBTQ laws, which includes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” drawing Western condemnation and raising the risk of sanctions by aid donors. “This shameful act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda,” Biden said in a statement. He said he had directed the White House National Security Council to evaluate the implications of the law on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda, including the ability to safely deliver services under the Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other forms of assistance and investment. Biden said the U.S. government would consider the impact of the law as part of its review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides duty-free access to goods of designated sub-Saharan African countries. “And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption,” said Biden. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries but the new law goes further. (Reporting By Steve Holland; additional reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese court ruled on Tuesday that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, a decision activists welcomed as a step towards marriage equality in the only Group of Seven nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions. The ruling by the Nagoya District Court was the second to find a ban against same-sex marriage unconstitutional, out of four cases over the past two years, and is likely to add to pressure to change the law in a country in which the constitution says marriage is between a man and a woman. “This ruling has rescued us from the hurt of last year’s ruling that said there was nothing wrong with the ban, and the hurt of what the government keeps saying,” lead lawyer Yoko Mizutani told journalists and supporters outside the court. She was referring to a ruling in Osaka last year that the ban was not out of line with the constitution. A Tokyo court later upheld the ban on same-sex marriage but said a lack of legal protection for same-sex families violated their human rights. Tuesday’s ruling was greeted with cheers from the activists and supporters waving rainbow flags outside the court. Though opinion polls show some 70% of the public supports same-sex marriage, the conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opposes it. Kishida in February sacked an aide who sparked outrage by saying people would flee Japan if same-sex marriage was allowed, but the premier remains noncommittal about it and has said discussions must proceed “carefully”. Nevertheless, more than 300 Japanese municipalities covering some 65% of the population allow same-sex couples to enter partnership agreements. But the right is limited in scope. Partners can’t inherit each other’s assets or have parental rights to each other’s children. Hospital visits are not guaranteed. Mizutani said the court in its ruling had noted that such partnership agreements were not fully sufficient, which she took as an encouraging sign, adding that she felt the court recognised there was little difference between same-sex couples and other couples. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a press conference that the government did not believe the civil code and marriage laws were unconstitutional. “With regard to issues surrounding the introduction of same-sex marriage, we believe it is important to pay close attention to the opinions of all parts of the public,” he said. While in general the world’s third-largest economy is considered relatively liberal, the LGBT community has been largely invisible because of conservative attitudes. Taiwan became the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriages in 2019. A new law would have to be passed in Japan before same-sex marriages could actually take place. The government pledged to pass a law promoting “understanding” of LGBT people before hosting the G7 summit this month, but opposition from conservatives delayed it so much a watered-down version was only submitted to parliament the day before the summit began. The initial draft stipulated 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 that critics say tacitly allows bigotry. Japan has come under increasing pressure to change, both from other G7 members but also from economic lobbies, with businesses arguing that greater diversity is needed for international competitiveness. (Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Robert Birsel) View the full article

Published by Global Voices Image by Alexander Grey on Unsplash. Used under an Unsplash license. Officials in Russia now often discuss the lives of transgender people: for example, according to Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian Parliament, “a person gets up in the morning and decides for himself that he is no longer a man, but a woman; not a woman, but a man,” and on the Russia 1 TV channel they report: “A stamen will never become a pistil, and a pistil will never become a stamen.” In 2021 the Ministry of Health was preparing to adopt a law with advanced approaches to helping trans people, but, over the past yea… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters (Note: Strong language in paragraph 10) By Alexandra Ulmer and Anna Tong (Reuters) – “I actually like Ron DeSantis a lot,” Hillary Clinton reveals in a surprise online endorsement video. “He’s just the kind of guy this country needs, and I really mean that.” Joe Biden finally lets the mask slip, unleashing a cruel rant at a transgender person. “You will never be a real woman,” the president snarls. Welcome to America’s 2024 presidential race, where reality is up for grabs. The Clinton and Biden deepfakes – realistic yet fabricated videos created by AI algorithms trained on copious online footage – are among thousands surfacing on social media, blurring fact and fiction in the polarized world of U.S. politics. While such synthetic media has been around for several years, it’s been turbocharged over the past year by of a slew of new “generative AI” tools such as Midjourney that make it cheap and easy to create convincing deepfakes, according to Reuters interviews with about two dozen specialists in fields including AI, online misinformation and political activism. “It’s going to be very difficult for voters to distinguish the real from the fake. And you could just imagine how either Trump supporters or Biden supporters could use this technology to make the opponent look bad,” said Darrell West, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation. “There could be things that drop right before the election that nobody has a chance to take down.” Tools that can generate deepfakes are being released with few or imperfect guardrails to prevent harmful misinformation as the tech sector engages in an AI arms race, said Aza Raskin, co-founder of the Center for Human Technology, a nonprofit that studies technology’s impact on society. Former President Donald Trump, who will vie with DeSantis and others for the Republican nomination to face Biden, himself shared a doctored video of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper earlier this month on his social media platform Truth Social. “That was President Donald J. Trump ripping us a new asshole here on CNN’s live presidential townhall,” Cooper says in the footage, although the words don’t match his lip movement. CNN said the video was a deepfake. A representative for Trump didn’t respond to a request for comment on the clip, which was still on his son Donald Jr’s Twitter page this week. While major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have made efforts to prohibit and remove deepfakes, their effectiveness at policing such content varies. DEEPFAKE PENCE, NOT TRUMP There have been three times as many video deepfakes of all kinds and eight times as many voice deepfakes posted online this year compared to the same time period in 2022, according to DeepMedia, a company working on tools to detect synthetic media. In total, about 500,000 video and voice deepfakes will be shared on social media sites globally in 2023, DeepMedia estimates. Cloning a voice used to cost $10,000 in server and AI-training costs up until late last year, but now startups offer it for a few dollars, it says. No one is certain where the generative AI road leads or how to effectively guard against its power for mass misinformation, according to the people interviewed. Industry leader OpenAI, which has changed the game in recent months with its release of ChatGPT and the updated model GPT-4, is itself grappling with the issue. CEO Sam Altman told Congress this month that election integrity was a “significant area of concern” and urged rapid regulation of the sector. Unlike some smaller startups, OpenAI has taken steps to restrict use of its products in politics, according to a Reuters analysis of the terms of use of half a dozen leading companies offering generative-AI services. The guardrails have gaps, though. For example, OpenAI says it prohibits its image generator DALL-E from creating public figures – and indeed, when Reuters tried to create images of Trump and Biden, the request was blocked and a message appeared saying it “may not follow our content policy.” Yet Reuters was able to create images of at least a dozen other U.S. politicians, including former Vice-President Mike Pence, who is also weighing a White House run for 2024. OpenAI also restricts any “scaled” usage of its products for political purposes. That bans use of its AI to send out mass personalized emails to constituents, for example. The company, which is backed by Microsoft, explained its political policies to Reuters in an interview but didn’t respond to further requests for comment around enforcement gaps in its policies, such as blocking image creation of politicians. Several smaller startups have no explicit restrictions on political content. Midjourney, which launched last year, is the leading player in AI-generated images, with 16 million users on its official Discord server. The app, which ranges from free to $60 a month depending on factors such as picture quantity and speed, is a favorite of AI designers and artists due to its ability to generate hyper-realistic images of celebrities and politicians, according to four AI researchers and creators interviewed. Midjourney didn’t respond to a request for comment for this article. During an online chat on Discord last week, CEO David Holz said the company would likely make changes ahead of the election to combat misinformation. Midjourney wants to cooperate on an industry solution to enable traceability of AI-generated images with a digital equivalent of watermarking and would consider blocking images of political candidates, Holz added. REPUBLICAN AI-GENERATED AD Even as the industry wrestles with how to prevent misuse, some political players are themselves seeking to harness the power of generative AI to soup up campaigns. So far, the only high-profile AI-generated political ad in the U.S. was one published by the Republican National Committee in late April. The 30-second ad, which the RNC disclosed as being entirely generated by AI, used fake images to suggest a cataclysmic scenario should Biden be reelected, with China invading Taiwan and San Francisco being shut down by crime. The RNC didn’t respond to requests for comment on the ad or its wider use of AI. The Democratic National Committee declined to comment on its use of the technology. Reuters polled all the Republican presidential campaigns on their use of AI. Most did not reply, although Nikki Haley’s team said they were not using the technology and longshot candidate Perry Johnson’s campaign said it was using AI for “copy generation and iteration,” without giving further details. The potential for generative AI to produce campaign emails, posts and adverts is irresistible for some activists who feel the low-cost tech could level the playing field in elections. Even deep in rural Hillsdale, Michigan, machine intelligence is on the march. Jon Smith, Republican chair for Michigan’s 5th Congressional district, is holding several educational meetings so his allies can learn to use AI for social media and ad generation. “AI helps us play against the big cats,” he said. “I see the biggest upswing in the local races. Someone who is 65 years old, a farmer and county commissioner, he could easily be primaried by a younger cat using the technology.” Political consultancies are also seeking to harness AI, further muddying the line between real and unreal. Numinar Analytics, a political data company that focuses on Republican clients, has begun experimenting with AI content generation for audio and images, as well as voice-generation to potentially create personalized messaging in a candidate’s voice, founder Will Long said in an interview. Democratic polling and strategy group Honan Strategy Group is meanwhile trying to develop an AI survey bot. It hopes to unroll a female bot in time for the 2023 municipal elections, CEO Bradley Honan said, citing research that both men and women are more likely to speak to a female interviewer. (Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Anna Tong in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Christina Anagnostopoulos, Zeba Siddiqui and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Kenneth Li, Ross Colvin and Pravin Char) View the full article

Published by Raw Story Former Republican Gov. Robert Bentley and Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman came together to pen a warning in the Washington Post last week imploring change over the death penalty. With 167, the state has more people on death row than any other per capita. They called it “146 people too many.” “As former Alabama governors, we have come over time to see the flaws in our nation’s justice system and to view the state’s death penalty laws in particular as legally and morally troubling,” the governors wrote. “We both presided over executions while in office, but if we had known then what we know now ab… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online 1035486763209310960 View the full article

Published by The New Voice The materials emphasize the importance of reintegrating soldiers into intimate relationships as part of their transition to civilian life. Read also: How LGBTQ soldiers, doctors, and volunteers protect Ukraine Developed by Veteran Hub in collaboration with the creative agency Patsany Agency, the platform aims to be useful not only to soldiers who have suffered injuries but also to all military personnel and their partners, recognizing that changes in sex and intimacy during and after war are normal. Sex and sexuality remain taboo topics in Ukraine, especially when it comes to soldiers who have… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story The department store Kohl’s is facing calls for a boycott after some shoppers objected to Pride-themed children’s clothing found in the store’s selection, The New York Post reported. “In case you need clothes for your Gay or Trans 3 month old, Kohl’s has you covered,” Twitter userALX wrote alongside. “Yes this is real.” “Why is Kohl’s selling ‘Pride Merch’ for 3 month old babies?” tweeted TPUSA’s Benny Johnson. The calls for a boycott come in the wake of a similar campaign directed at Target, which lost$10 billion in market valuation over the last 10 days due to backlash over its own LGBTQ col… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Monday got pushback from some of his followers after he condemned a newly passed law in Uganda that makes homosexuality a crime that is punishable by death. Writing on Twitter, Cruz, who has long been an opponent of LGBTQ rights in the United States, argued that executing people simply for being gay was far too extreme. “This Uganda law is horrific and wrong,” he wrote. “Any law criminalizing homosexuality or imposing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ is grotesque and an abomination. ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human righ… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni signed one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”, drawing Western condemnation and risking sanctions from aid donors. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes further. It stipulates capital punishment for “serial offenders” against the law and transmission of a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex. It also decrees a 20-year sentence for “promoting” homosexuality. “The Ugandan president has today legal… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story The Nevada Independent reported Monday that the state Senate passed a veto override of Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV), who blocked a set of gun safety laws that would stop those convicted of a hate crime in the last ten years from getting a gun. There were three Democrat-proposed gun control measures, the report explained, and the GOP governor vetoed all of them. “I will not support legislation that infringes on the constitutional rights of Nevadans,” Lombardo said in a release Wednesday. “As I stated in my letters, much of the legislation I vetoed today is in direct conflict with legal precedent an… Read More View the full article

Published by Cerebral Overload Zero Zero Robotics, a leading robotics company, has launched its newest flagship product, the Hover Camera X1, a pocket-sized self-flying camera that is available today on Indiegogo. Like the rest of the Hover Camera product line, the X1 is focused on a user-centered flying experience, while featuring significant improvements in portability and usability. The Hover Camera X1 can be flown entirely hands-free, requiring neither a controller nor an app to operate. It leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to enable a more effortless and enjoyable flying experience. With folded … Read More View the full article