Anderson & Andy Do Their Thing + Pink Celebrates NYE From Hospital + More

Happy New Year! Some news stories for you as we shrug off last night’s festivities.

• TMZ: International pop star Pink shared a selfie from a hospital bed on New Year’s Eve, revealing she’s undergoing surgery to get two new discs in her neck. Sounds sad, but the singer was upbeat in her Instagram message adding, “Rock ‘n’ roll is a contact sport.”

• OUT: Even CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live telecast couldn’t avoid the cultural power of HBO’s “Heated Rivalry,” as the show came up at least four times between hosting besties Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper. During one segment, Cohen asked country artist Brandi Carlile, “Do lesbians care about ‘Heated Rivalry?” as Cooper giggled uncontrollably.

Anderson Cooper can’t stop laughing whenever Heated Rivarly is brought up

Anderson went on a 25 second nonstop laugh out of nowhere 😅😅😅 #CNNNYE #NewYearsEve #heatedrivalry pic.twitter.com/0MiPTg9ZUq

— Dustin Cone (@Dustin_Cone) January 1, 2026

• AP News: A group of government employees have filed a legal complaint over a new policy going into effect today that eliminates coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs. The complaint argues that denying coverage of gender-affirming care is sex-based discrimination.

• JoeMyGod: Several Florida news outlets asked the state Department of Transportation why the memorial rainbow crosswalk in front of the Pulse Nightclub was removed without any notice earlier this year. After months of silence, the Orlando Sentinel is now suing for the records leading up to its removal.

Editorial: We shouldn’t have to fight for crosswalk records, but we will https://t.co/80iVf8uTkM pic.twitter.com/3Q7e1Cilz8

— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) December 28, 2025

• LGBTQ Nation: Elon Musk is giving legal help to a far-right Republican activist in Texas who posted a photo on social media of a trans woman in a bathroom. In Texas, it’s a felony to transmit “a visual image of another in a bathroom” or promote such a transmission if the action is done without consent of the other person.

• The Advocate: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is seeing more and more artists cancelling on the center and ticket sales plummeting ever since Trump took over.

• New York Times: New Yorkers celebrate a new mayor today as Zohran Mamdani was inaugurated outside City Hall. Some 40,000 people attended an “inauguration block party” along Broadway celebrating the historic event. Hit the link for updates of Mamdani’s first day in office.