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Published by AlterNet The Daily Wire host Candace Owens used a portion of her show Wednesday to spew anti-trans rhetoric in response to the conservative-led backlash Target is currently facing for selling transgender-inclusive items. Media Matters for America shared a clip of the right-wing pundit’s rant, which began with Owens saying, “Just in case you think that conservatives are wrong or are joking when we say this stuff is satanic, Target actually hired a satanic designer. I’m not kidding. This designer identifies as a Satanist.” She continued, “And what I can appreciate, at the very least, about someone like E… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Brad Brooks and Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Organizers of some LGBT Pride events in Florida are limiting access by minors and increasing security in the face of a slate of new state laws they say unfairly target their community. But the organizers say the laws are rekindling a defiant energy they hope will help push back against Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who announced his candidacy for the U.S. presidency on Wednesday, and other conservative leaders. “The most important message of this year’s Pride is that we all show unity and family and togetherness,” said Jeff Sterling, organizer of Stonewall Pride in Wilton Manors, which is asking performers and parade goers to avoid nudity or risqué behavior. Florida is at the center of an American war of words and legislation over values and beliefs. DeSantis this month signed a package of bills he says is aimed at protecting children. They include laws banning gender-changing surgeries for minors, imposing fines on businesses that allow children into “explicit” drag shows, and prohibiting the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity through 8th grade. In response to a request for comment for this article, DeSantis’ office emailed that it would not respond to any “baseless accusations” linking laws to hostility and violence toward the LGBT community. It added that the governor “will continue to do what is right and protect the innocence of children.” Critics say the law on drag shows was unneeded, arguing that the state already had laws against exposing children to lewd entertainment. They argue that it was specifically built to target Pride, by banning local governments from issuing permits to any event that might expose children to a lewd “adult live performance.” “We are telling people not to run, not to hide. That’s what the bigots want,” said Carlos Guillermo Smith, with the LGBT advocacy group Equality Florida and a former Democratic state representative who is running for state senate. Kristina Bozanich said she was forced to cancel a small Pride event she was organizing just outside of Orlando after drag show performers meant to headline her festival backed out, citing fears over the new state laws. She also did not have the funds to pay for the increased security she felt was necessary. But Tiffany Freisberg, head of the St. Pete Pride board that organizes Florida’s biggest Pride parade and other events all through June in St. Petersburg, said canceling was never considered. No event or performance either this year or in the past, she argued, would violate any lewdness laws. “The new laws have a very real ripple effect of fear on our communities,” she said. “But that’s why events like ours are more important than ever.” Joseph Clark, CEO of Gay Days in Orlando, which leads participants through Disney World tours and hosts drag performances, pool parties and other events, said his plans were unchanged and he hoped LGBT people from outside Florida would make a special point to attend Pride events in the state this year. “When people come to Pride events, that unity and coming together creates a layer of security for our community and it shows that we’re here and we’re not going anywhere,” Clark said. (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas, and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Donna Bryson and Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by Mac World Macworld Apple on Thursday announced that its Artist Fitness series on Apple Fitness+ will feature Madonna. The company will also celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month in June with a new series of workouts and meditations. On June 5, workouts featuring Madonna’s music will be available. Madonna had a style impact on pop culture as well as in music, so the trainers in each workout are taking the Madonna theme one step further by dressing in one of Madonna’s looks. For example, trainer Tyrell Désean is “rocking a white lace wedding dress” inspired by Madonna’s hit song “Like a Virgin.” Trainer Anja Garci… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story Editor’s note: Judge Amit Mehta today sentenced Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes to 18 years in federal prison following Rhodes’ conviction last year of seditious conspiracy and other charges in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. This commentary, written by Rhodes’ son, Dakota Adams, originally appeared in Raw Story on July 12, 2022. My name is Dakota Adams. Unfortunately, I am Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes’ son. And unfortunately for both of us, I may be relevant to you. It is now undeniable that radicalization and the draw of right-wing extremist thought is a signific… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet CNN announced on Thursday that it will hold a Republican Presidential Town Hall featuring former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday, June 7th at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. “Looking forward to hosting Former Vice President @Mike_Pence in a @CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall from Iowa,” tweeted CNN chief political correspondent and scheduled moderator Dana Bash. This marks the third time in less than a month that the network has donated free air time to a campaign of a GOP White House candidate, except in this case, Pence has not formally entered the race. READ MORE: ‘Der… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News Joaquin Phoenix is set to star in a period gay romance, director Todd Haynes revealed at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this week. Haynes, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker known for “Carol” and “Far From Heaven,” discussed several of his upcoming projects during a conversation with IndieWire’s Eric Kohn at the American Pavilion on Monday night. One of them, his next feature film, will be an original script he co-developed with Phoenix “based on some thoughts and ideas he brought to me.” Without revealing much of the plot, Haynes summarized the upcoming project as “a gay love story … Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Danni Button As worldwide Pride celebrations are ramping up, anti-trans and LGBTQ+ sentiment has grown increasingly vocal. Whether it’s state legislatures, classrooms, or local Target stores, the controversy surrounding gender and sexuality has been growing — and companies are starting to feel the heat. V.F. Corporation (VFC) – Get Free Report subsidiary North Face is the latest company to come under criticism for a promotional event co-hosted by environmental activist Wyn Wiley, better known as drag queen Pattie Gonia. Through Pattie, Wiley has led a charge to make outdoor spaces more acc… Read More View the full article

Published by OK Magazine Rosie O’Donnell reflected on her famous talk show The Rosie O’Donnell Show! A news outlet recently spoke to the comedian about the work environment of her former talk show amid controversy about toxic employment at other daytime sets in promotion of her new Paramount+ documentary, Rosie’s Theater Kids. mega “We had a really wonderful working environment,” O’Donnell said about her series that ran from 1996 to 2002. “But, you know, we were the first of that kind of show… [and] because we were the first one, and we had done it, and we had gotten so much acclaim in such a short time, you know everybody was happy.” “I made sure that the staff was off in the summers when we had vacation, and that was unheard of,” she added. “I made sure there was a nursery on staff, we had a very content, happy staff.” “In fact, they keep throwing reunion parties every five years, and everybody comes. But it was a different time, I think, and fame was different,” The View alum continued. The actress then quoted the musical Taboo, saying, “‘Fame is the impending, glittering disaster,’ right? And you never know how people are gonna do under the glare of fame. And for some people, it takes its toll.” mega “I also think it depends on what else you have going on in your life,” she explained. “[What] you have to focus on and to ground you. It’s hard to stay grounded in the showbiz world.” “You got to talk to everybody… You got to treat people with respect and honor their dedication,” she concluded, giving advice for current and upcoming talk show hosts. Rosie O’Donnell Recalls Madonna Cursing Out Haters in the ’90s, Admits She ‘Never Had a Problem Standing Up for Herself’ Rosie O’Donnell Reveals Her & Whoopi Goldberg ‘Clashed’ On ‘The View’ Over Discussion Of Bill Cosby Rosie O’Donnell Reveals If She’s Ready to Spark New Romance After Aimee Hauer Split O’Donnell’s comments came after news recently broke that staffers on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show were unhappy while working on the program. Former employees claimed their employment was “traumatizing to their mental health.” mega One person even shared, “I remember going up on the roof of the stage to cry, being like, ‘Oh, my gosh, what am I doing? Why am I putting myself through this?'” However, the former staffers never blamed the American Idol winner for their negative experience on set. 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! “Kelly is fantastic. She is a person who never treats anyone with anything but dignity and is incredibly appreciative,” an ex-employee said. Although they did hold producer Alex Duda responsible for their treatment. “I think Alex Duda’s a monster,” they declared. “I have a friend who’s an executive producer who warned me about taking this job, because apparently she has done this on every show she’s worked on.” ET reported on O’Donnell’s comments. View the full article

Published by Knewz More people than ever may be doubting their sexuality, based on a new analysis of web searches. The Cultural Currents Institute analyzed Google searches since 2004 for questions about alternative lifestyles. “Am I gay?” searches were counted, along with “Am I lesbian?” “How to come out” and two other terms. The results released last week show searches for those kinds of questions have jumped by 1,300% in almost 20 years. The growth came in a period when homosexual rights expanded sharply across the U.S. One landmark moment was a Supreme Court decision in 2015 legalizing same-sex marriages. “Th… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Luc Olinga Apple is a brand in its own right. The largest company in the world in terms of market value embraces discretion. This is its strength. But the Cupertino, Calif.-based giant also knows how to be vocal and how to pick the right time to make a statement. The goal is to ensure that the message will be well received. In recent years, the brand, which is worth $2.8 trillion in market capitalization, has taken a position on various social issues, breaking with the neutrality required of multinationals. Last year, Apple was one of the companies which announced its intention to remedy th… Read More View the full article

Published by Knewz After months of little attention, concern is rising again about a possible spread of mpox across the U.S. A cluster of 24 new mpox cases was confirmed in the Chicago area in the last month. Two other cases are listed as “probable.” Many of the cases developed in men who already had been vaccinated against it. “We don’t know why people in this cluster of cases have gotten mpox after vaccination,” the Centers for Disease Control website admits. It could be that the two-dose vaccine wears off over time. Or the patients’ immunity somehow may have decreased. “The threat of mpox is not over,” Illino… Read More View the full article

Published by Knewz California Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed department store chain Target for removing LGBTQ+ merchandise after backlash from some customers. Target has been removing or moving such merchandise planned for a Pride Month (June) display after some customers gave it backlash. And Target appears to be making changes in order to avoid suffering big sales declines like Bud Light did when Anheuser-Busch’s company partnered up with transgender champion Dylan Mulvaney in a marketing campaign. The fact Target is either removing LGBTQ+ items or moving them to the back of the store drew ire from progressive Demo… Read More View the full article

Published by Euronews (English) US retailer Target – known for its accessibly-priced clothing and home goods – has announced it will remove some items with LGBTQ+ themes from its in-store Pride collection, following intense backlash from conservative customers. “We’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work,” Target said in a statement on Tuesday. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the centre of the most significant confrontational behavior.” The retailer, which has nearly 2,000 stores acr… Read More View the full article

Published by AFP Poet Amanda Gorman speaks during the inauguration of President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021 — her poem has been moved out of one library section for young children Miami (AFP) – A celebrated poem by a Black writer who read it at President Joe Biden’s inauguration has been banned for young students at a school in Miami, a group fighting such restrictions said Wednesday. The school called the Bob Graham Education Center acted after the mother of two students complained about Amanda Gorman’s poem entitled “The Hill We Climb.” Under Governor Ron DeSantis, an arch conservative set to run for president in the 2024 election, Florida has been a battleground for clashes over cultural and social issues in the United States. Scores of books have been removed from the state’s school library shelves in recent months, deemed inappropriate for children by conservative parents and school boards. In this new case, a woman asked in late March that five works in the Bob Graham library be removed on grounds they served to indoctrinate children, according to documents obtained by the Florida Freedom to Read Project, and shared with AFP. One of those works is “The Hill We Climb” which Gorman, then 22, read at Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. The poem was a call for unity and hope in politically polarized America, and Gorman became an overnight star after reading it on the steps of the US Capitol. It has now been removed from the Bob Graham library used by first graders and placed in a section reserved for kids over age 11. A school material review committee did not explain the reasons for its action. Gorman, the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate, said she was devastated. “I wrote ‘The Hill We Climb’ so that all young people could see themselves in a historical moment,” she wrote on Twitter. “Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech.” The school review committee said the poem did have “educational value because of its historical significance.” Gorman was the youngest poet ever to perform at a US presidential inauguration. News of the library restrictions came a week after publisher Penguin Random House and writers’ group PEN America filed a lawsuit against a Florida school district over the removal of books from public school libraries that address race and LGBTQ issues. View the full article

Published by AlterNet Despite a jury’s decision that ordered him to pay E. Jean Carroll $5 million, despite her having a separate defamation lawsuit pending, Donald Trump once again on Wednesday is publicly going after the 79-year old journalist whose case, should she win, could add another $10 million or more to her coffers. Wednesday morning Trump resurfaced what appears to be an 11-year old Facebook post from Carroll, which has been making its way around far-right wing blogs, and ordinarily would have served to stoke his ego. He posted a screenshot of it to his Truth Social account. The first part of Carroll’s p… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, whose impassioned battles over pandemic lockdowns and divisive cultural issues have endeared him to conservatives, will announce on Wednesday he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, placing him on a collision course with former President Donald Trump. DeSantis will make the announcement on Twitter during a discussion with Twitter CEO Elon Musk, DeSantis’ political team confirmed. His campaign on Wednesday filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission declaring his candidacy. Musk confirmed his appearance on a webcast during a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal, saying he was not endorsing DeSantis. “I’m not at this time planning to endorse any particular candidate, but I am interested in Twitter being somewhat of a town square,” Musk said. DeSantis was re-elected handily to a second term in November. His rising profile among Republicans and fundraising prowess likely make him the biggest threat to Trump’s hopes of becoming the Republican nominee for the White House again. The two men were close allies during Trump’s four years in the White House – Trump endorsed him during his first campaign for governor – but DeSantis has since forged his own political identity. At 44 he may represent the future of the party more than does the 76-year-old Trump. “Announcing on Twitter is perfect for Ron DeSantis. This way he doesn’t have to interact with people and the media can’t ask him any questions,” said a Trump adviser who asked not to be identified. DeSantis will convene a meeting in Miami of his top donors, who will immediately launch his presidential fundraising efforts. During the coronavirus pandemic, DeSantis became the national face of resistance to mask and vaccine mandates and has been a virulent critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who headed the government’s COVID-19 response in both the Trump and Biden administrations. In stump speeches, he has argued his policies made possible Florida’s economic recovery from the pandemic, turning the state into a magnet for hundreds of thousands of new residents. Florida has consistently outpaced the country in job growth over the last two years. “His pandemic response effectively made him the governor of Red State America,” said Justin Sayfie, a Florida lobbyist and a former aide to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In the months leading up to his presidential bid, DeSantis has toured the country, visiting states like Iowa and New Hampshire that will hold early presidential nominating contests next year and talking up his accomplishments in Florida. But his decision to wait until now to join the fray has allowed Trump to batter DeSantis with a fusillade of attacks, costing him standing in national polls. AGGRESSIVE AGENDA DeSantis has rebuffed critics, pushed his priorities through the legislature and punished his enemies. His Democratic opponent in his 2022 re-election campaign, Charlie Crist, called DeSantis a “wannabe dictator.” When Walt Disney Co, one of Florida’s biggest employers, opposed the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law that limited discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools, DeSantis moved to strip the company of its self-governing status. Disney has since filed a federal lawsuit against the governor, accusing him of weaponizing state government to retaliate against the company. When an elected Democratic state attorney said he would not prosecute anyone for defying DeSantis-backed limits on abortion, DeSantis removed him from his position. He has made crusading against what Republicans call “woke” education policies a centerpiece of his politics while supporting conservative candidates for local school boards. He backed a legislative measure that prohibits the teaching of “Critical Race Theory” – an academic doctrine that views U.S. history through the lens of oppression – in state public schools despite little evidence it was being taught. Republican lawmakers in Florida handed DeSantis a bevy of conservative victories in its recent session: They expanded the state’s school voucher program, prohibited the use of public money in sustainable investing, scrapped diversity programs at public universities, allowed for permitless carry of concealed weapons and, perhaps most notably, banned almost all abortions in the state. The widespread abortion ban may help DeSantis appeal to the party’s evangelicals, but may damage him significantly in the November 2024 general election should he make it that far. Pro-business Republicans have also been critical of his feud with Disney, arguing that it is at odds with the party’s traditional hands-off approach to regulation. Republicans nationwide have taken notice of his aggressive approach to governing. DeSantis and his affiliated political action committee raised more than $200 million in support of his gubernatorial re-election bid. Also watching has been Trump, who has taken to deriding his one-time protégé at rallies, nicknaming him “DeSanctimonious” and claiming credit for making DeSantis the political rising star he is today. On the stump, DeSantis has a wholly different style than the bombastic Trump: low-key, buttoned-down and prone to favoring policy over personal attacks. His campaign speeches can sometimes feel like PowerPoint presentations. A key question going forward will be how DeSantis responds to what will certainly be a nearly endless stream of insults and insinuations from Trump. So far, he has attempted to dismiss them as “noise” and said he is focused on “delivering results.” It may not be in DeSantis’ interest to fire back. He needs to win over some portion of Trump’s supporters. Instead, he likely will try to walk a careful line between not denigrating Trump while making clear he favors many of the same policies with perhaps a steadier hand on the tiller. Prior to his election as governor in 2018, DeSantis served as a U.S congressman for three terms. His wife, Casey DeSantis, is considered his closest political adviser. The couple has three children. (Reporting by James Oliphant, additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer, Jasper Ward and Ben Klayman; Editing by Ross Colvin, Alistair Bell and Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Mike Davidson (Reuters) – Tina Turner, the American-born singer who left a hardscrabble farming community and abusive relationship to become one of the top recording artists of all time, died on Wednesday at the age of 83. She died peacefully after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, her representative said. Turner began her career in the 1950s during the early years of rock and roll and evolved into an MTV phenomenon. In the video for her chart-topping song “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” in which she called love a “second-hand emotion,” Turner epitomized 1980s style as she strutted through New York City streets with her spiky blond hair, wearing a cropped jean jacket, mini skirt, and stiletto heels. With her taste for musical experimentation and bluntly-worded ballads, Turner gelled perfectly with a 1980s pop landscape in which music fans valued electronically-produced sounds and scorned hippie-era idealism. Sometimes nicknamed the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Turner won six of her eight Grammy Awards in the 1980s. The decade saw her land a dozen songs on the Top 40, including “Typical Male,” “The Best,” “Private Dancer” and “Better Be Good to Me.” Her 1988 show in Rio de Janeiro drew 180,000 people, which remains one of the largest concert audiences for any single performer. By then, Turner had been free from her marriage to guitarist Ike Turner for a decade. The superstar was forthcoming about the abuse she suffered from her former husband during their marital and musical partnership in the 1960s and 1970s. She described bruised eyes, busted lips, a broken jaw and other injuries that repeatedly sent her to the emergency room. “Tina’s story is not one of victimhood but one of incredible triumph,” singer Janet Jackson wrote about Turner, in a Rolling Stone issue that placed Turner at No. 63 on a list of the top 100 artists of all time. “She’s transformed herself into an international sensation – an elegant powerhouse,” Jackson said. In 1985, Turner gave a fictional turn to her reputation as a survivor. She played the ruthless leader of an outpost in a nuclear wasteland, acting opposite Mel Gibson in the third instalment in the Mad Max franchise, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Most of Turner’s hit songs were written by others, but she enlivened them with a voice that New York Times music critic Jon Pareles called “one of the more peculiar instruments in pop.” “It’s three-tiered, with a nasal low register, a yowling, cutting middle range and a high register so startlingly clear it sounds like a falsetto,” Pareles wrote in a 1987 concert review. ‘ONE-HORSE TOWN’ She was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in the rural Tennessee community of Nutbush, which she described in her 1973 song “Nutbush City Limits” as a “quiet little old community, a one-horse town.” Her father worked as an overseer on a farm and her mother left the family when the singer was 11 years old, according to the singer’s 2018 memoir “My Love Story.” As a teenager, she moved to St. Louis to rejoin her mom. Ike Turner, whose 1951 song “Rocket 88” has often been called the first rock and roll record, discovered her at age 17 when she grabbed the mic to sing at his club show in St. Louis in 1957. The band leader later recorded a hit song, “A Fool In Love,” with his protégé and gave her the stage name Tina Turner, before the two married in Tijuana, Mexico. Tina employed her strong voice and strenuously rehearsed dance routines as lead vocalist in an ensemble called the Ike and Tina Turner Revue. She collaborated with members of rock royalty, including The Who and Phil Spector, in the 1960s and 1970s and appeared on the cover of issue two of Rolling Stone magazine in 1967. Ike and Tina Turner bounced between record labels, owing much of their commercial success to a relentless touring schedule. Their biggest hit was a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary.” Turner left her husband one night in 1976 on a tour stop in Dallas, after he pummelled her during a car ride and she struck back, according to her memoir. Their divorce was finalized in 1978. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted Ike and Tina Turner in 1991, calling them “one of the most formidable live acts in history.” Ike Turner died in 2007. EUROPE BOUND After leaving her husband, Turner spent years struggling to regain the limelight, releasing solo albums and singles that flopped and gigging at corporate conferences. In 1980, she met new manager Roger Davies, an Australian music executive who went on to manage her for three decades. That led to a solo no.1 – “What’s Love Got to Do With It” – and then in 1984 her album “Private Dancer” landed her at the top of the charts. “Private Dancer” went on to become Turner’s biggest album, the capstone of a career that saw her sell more than 200 million records in total. In 1985 Turner met German music executive Erwin Bach who became her long-term partner and in 1988 she moved to London, beginning a decades-long residency in Europe. She released two studio albums in the 1990s that sold well, especially in Europe, recorded the theme song for 1995 Bond movie “GoldenEye,” and staged a successful world tour in 2008 and 2009. After that, she retired from show business. She married Bach, relinquishing her U.S. citizenship and becoming a citizen of Switzerland. She battled a number of health problems after retiring and in 2018 she faced a family tragedy, when her oldest son, Craig, took his life at age 59 in Los Angeles. Her younger son Ronnie died in December 2022. Her name continues to draw audiences years after her retirement. Musical stage show “TINA: The Tina Turner Musical,” with Adrienne Warren initially acting and singing the star’s life story, was a hit first in London’s West End in 2018, and later on Broadway, and is still running. And in 2021 HBO released a documentary about her life, “Tina.” She is survived by Bach and two sons of Ike’s that she adopted. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Mike Davidson; editing by Diane Craft, Andrew Heavens and Rosalba O’Brien) View the full article

Published by Chicago Tribune Since 2020, actors Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes have co-hosted a podcast together called “SmartLess.” Last year they took the show out on a short national tour, and that adventure is documented in the six-part Max docuseries “SmartLess: On the Road,” which follows the celebrity friends and co-workers to stops on the East Coast, Midwest and then back to Los Angeles. Perhaps the decision to shoot in black-and-white was meant to undercut some of the pampered Hollywood trappings of the trip. But director Sam Jones (whose credits include the Wilco film “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”… Read More View the full article

Published by The Street By Danni Button Target Corp. (TGT) – Get Free Report is the most recent company to be dragged into the supposed “woke war,” currently rampaging across social media. Against the backdrop of a trans-friendly Bud Light promotion and Disney’s ongoing battle with right-wing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the recent rally against Target’s selection of LGBTQ+ merchandise could have the company worried. But the CEO of Target, Brian Cornell, isn’t concerned. In a recent appearance on Fortune’s “LeadershipNext” podcast, Cornell essentially said that the company’s attitude toward diversity and inclusion is … Read More View the full article

Published by Miami Herald Two top South Florida tourism leaders — David Whitaker, CEO of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, and Stacy Ritter, CEO of Visit Lauderdale — shared thoughts on the potential effects of the NAACP recently advising people of color to expect hostile treatment if they travel to Florida. The NAACP issued a travel advisory Saturday in response to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attempts to ban books about race and LGBTQ+ identities, reject a new Advanced Placement African American Studies course and bar diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida colleges. The advisory was proposed to … Read More View the full article

Published by AFP HIV/AIDS awareness bracelets and buttons sit in a basket to be given away at a Whitman-Walker Health mobile testing vehicle in Washington Washington (AFP) – New HIV infections in the United States fell by 12 percent in 2021 compared to 2017, continuing a decline driven by fewer cases in younger people, especially gay and bisexual men, official estimates showed Tuesday. Infections fell from some 36,500 to 32,100, with the starkest decrease — 34 percent — among 13-to-24-year-olds, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. Men who have sex with men account for an estimated 80 percent of infections in this age group. “Our nation’s HIV prevention efforts continue to move in the right direction,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. Nevertheless, these gains were unequal among different racial groups, with new infections among young white people dropping most, followed by Hispanic and then Black Americans. One of the greatest indicators of improvement was the rise in access to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), pills or shots taken to prevent HIV infection from sex or injection drug use. In 2021, 30 percent of the estimated 1.2 million people who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it, compared to just 13 percent in 2017. But the disparities in access were stark when broken down by race. Just 11 percent of the Black population who could benefit from PrEP were prescribed it, compared to 78 percent of the white population. “Efforts must be accelerated and strengthened for progress to reach all groups faster and equitably,” said Walensky. Annual HIV incidence in the US increased from 20,000 infections in 1981, when the virus was first discovered, to a peak of 130,400 in 1984 and 1985. The rate stabilized between 1991 to 2007, with approximately 50,000–58,000 infections annually, and then decreased in recent years to 34,800 infections in 2019. View the full article

Published by OK Magazine mega;@claudiamconway/instagram Within mere months of becoming an adult, Claudia Conway has already entered an adult-only industry. The daughter of former Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway and her ex-husband, George Conway, officially made her debut as a Playboy Bunny, the lifestyle and entertainment magazine revealed on Tuesday, May 23. @claudiamconway/instagram “Introducing your newest Bunny: @claudiamconway,” Playboy’s Instagram account stated alongside a seductive photo of Claudia. “See her exclusive content, only on @PlayboyCenterfold,” the message noted regarding how to find Claudia’s footage, which currently features 11 racy photos of the blonde beauty — all of which can currently be accessed for free. Even more alluring images of Claudia can be purchased for as little as $5, while the most expensive option is available for $99. Playboy, founded by Hugh Hefner, additionally released a statement about their surprising addition to their family, stating: “Claudia Conway is one of many women who have found freedom, autonomy, and major financial success on our creator platform.” @claudiamconway/instagram Kellyanne Conway’s 17-Year-Old Daughter Comes Out As Gay, Introduces Girlfriend In TikTok Video Troll Attacks Kellyanne Conway’s Daughter Following Her Critical Donald Trump Comments: She Needs ‘Help’ Claudia Conway Offers Rare Update On Where She & Kellyanne Stand After Enduring ‘Emotional Abuse’ From Mom “We welcome her and support her choices,” the announcement concluded. Social media users were thrown off by the teenager’s career path, as it drastically differs from her mother’s prominent status in politics. 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! “This is so gross… she’s BARELY 18,” one critic commented, as another hater added, “Lmao this is f****** nonsense.” Others were excited for Claudia’s newest endeavor, as one admirer expressed, “Brb cancelling my impact membership so i can subscribe @claudiamconway.” mega Claudia’s role at Playboy comes just two months after her parents’ shockingly ended their 22-year marriage. Claudia recently expressed her anger with people interested in her mom and dad’s divorce via a Twitter statement on Monday, May 1. “What is with you guys and your obscure fascination with other people’s marriages?” she asked. “My parents’ business is not a political talking point fyi.” “I love both of my parents equally fyi and think that their business should be handled offline and in the privacy of their own homes. There is no need for people to spin stories and twist words for exploitation and attention. That’s all. Peace and love always!! Sending everyone healing energy today,” Claudia concluded at the time. View the full article