Category: News

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Pelosi Appoints 2nd GOP Rep To Capitol Invasion Investigation

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told host George Stephanopoulos it was her “plan” to appoint Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) to the House select committee investigating the deadly January 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol building. Continue reading “Pelosi Appoints 2nd GOP Rep To Capitol Invasion Investigation”

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Podcast: Pro Hockey Player Comes Out, Provincetown & COVID, And More

The Randy Report podcast

In this week’s episode of The Randy Report podcast: • Luke Prokop, of the Nashville Predators, came out as gay becoming the first active player in the National Hockey League • The U.S. Senate Thursday confirmed two groundbreaking LGBTQ appointees to the Department of Defense by unanimous consent Continue reading “Podcast: Pro Hockey Player Comes Out, Provincetown & COVID, And More”

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News Round-Up: July 23, 2021

Josue de la Vegas

Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: RuPaul’s Drag Race is returning to Las Vegas, bringing six sexy Pit Crew members with it. And for the most part, it’ll be a totally new cast of sexy men (above). Check them out at the link. • Out Music: Belgian pop superstar Max Colombie, (aka Oscar and the Wolf) unveils his brand-new single and music video “Oliver.” The sultry single serves up a tropical beat and shimmering synths as Colombie’s sensual voice draws us further into his poolside dreamworld.

• Washington Blade:  Louisiana lawmakers failed to override Gov. John Bel Edwards’ (D) veto last month of a bill that would have barred trans girls and women from participating on athletic teams or in sporting events designated for girls or women at elementary, secondary and postsecondary schools. • Family Equality: This short two-minute video, released in advance of Parents Day on Sunday, offers a lighthearted but thorough explanation of the discrimination, bias, and disproportionate financial outlays same-sex couples can face on their journey to parenthood.

• Outsports: The Olympics always drive huge LGBTQ viewership. Here are 8 events at the Tokyo Olympics likely to be popular with LGBTQ viewers. • Deadline: Billy Porter’s directorial debut for Orion Pictures – What If? – will star Black transgender actress Eva Reign in the upcoming high school rom-com. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRhoOsyH2vf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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‘QAnon Shaman’ Could Cut A Plea Deal On Capitol Riot Charges

Jacob Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the Jan 6 Capitol Building invasion

Jake Angeli, aka the 'QAnon Shaman'
Jake Angeli aka ‘QAnon Shaman’ (screen capture)
The infamous “QAnon Shaman,” probably the most recognizable figure to take part in the violent riots at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, is apparently in negotiations for a plea deal after psychologists diagnosed him with multiple mental illnesses. From KFGO:

In an interview, defense lawyer Albert Watkins said that officials at the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, have diagnosed his client Jacob Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

The BOP’s findings, which have not yet been made public, suggest Chansley’s mental condition deteriorated due to the stress of being held in solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia, Watkins said.

“As he spent more time in solitary confinement … the decline in his acuity was noticeable, even to an untrained eye,” Watkins said in an interview on Thursday.

Chansley, of Arizona, was photographed inside the Capitol wearing a horned headdress, shirtless and heavily tattooed. He is a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory that casts Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist pedophiles and cannibals.

Jake Angeli - the QAnon Shaman Chansley currently faces charges of civil disorder and obstructing an official proceeding. He’s garnered headlines since he was arrested for demanding an organic diet while in prison. He’s also said he is now “deeply disappointed” in Donald Trump.

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Shirtless Tongan Pita Taufatofua Is Back At The Olympic Games

Pita

Pita
3-time Olympic athlete Pita Taufatofua of Tonga (screen capture)
Pita Taufatofua, the shirtless Olympic athlete from Tonga, is back at the Olympic Games. You’ll recall he became an overnight sensation at the 2016 Rio Games when he appeared in the opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations in a traditional (shirtless) Tongan costume. Even though he lost his first taekwondo match, he was one of the most memorable athletes to emerge from the games. Two years later, he competed at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He was the only member of Team Tonga at the event where he competed in cross-country skiing. He is only the second Tongan to ever compete in a Winter Olympics. Luger Bruno Banani was the first in 2014. Taufatofua will compete in his original sport of taekwondo at his 3rd Olympic Games in Tokyo. His worldwide acclaim has led him to become a motivational speaker and a UNICEF ambassador working with homeless charities. The Twitterverse was thrilled to see the handsome athlete return.

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Alabama Governor: ‘Time To Start Blaming The Unvaccinated Folks’

Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL)

Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expressed her frustration with the low level of COVID-19 vaccinations in her state even as cases are surging. From NBC News:

“Folks are supposed to have common sense,” Ivey told a reporter in response to a question about what it’s going to take for people to get vaccinated.

“But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” she continued.

Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the country with only 38 percent of the state’s population receiving at least one vaccine dose. According to state statistics, 31 percent were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new coronavirus cases in the state was up by 694 or 573 percent.

“Almost 100 percent of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks,” Ivey said. “And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain.”

She told reporters that she’s done her best to fight the virus but “can’t make you take care of yourself.”

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News Round-Up: July 22, 2021

(image via Provincetown Bears)
Some news items you might have missed: • WCVB: Massachusetts health officials now say 256 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been linked to a Fourth of July holiday cluster in Provincetown. Many of those who tested positive had been vaccinated, but the good news is…(see next item) • The Hill: Two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are 88 percent effective against the delta variant, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. • OUT: Just ahead of the release of his latest single “Industry Baby,” Lil Nas X took to social media to post an emotional letter he wrote to his young, 20-year-old self, and his words of love and affirmation really hit home to anyone who has ever felt stuck in their lives.

• Edge Media: Federal judges have temporarily blocked an Arkansas law banning gender confirming treatments for transgender youth and a West Virginia ban on trans athletes in women’s sports, two major victories for LGBTQ advocates against a wave of restrictions approved by Republican legislators. • Washington Blade: The U.S. Senate has confirmed two Biden nominees — one lesbian, another transgender — for high-profile positions at the Defense Department by unanimous consent. Gina Ortiz Jones, a lesbian former Air Force pilot, was confirmed as under secretary of the Air Force, and Shawn Skelly, a transgender 20-year U.S. Navy veteran, was confirmed as assistant secretary of defense for readiness. • HuffPost: Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) on Thursday tried to shame Democrats for not saying whether they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 ― except every Democratic lawmaker is vaccinated and has confirmed as much, unlike a huge portion of Republicans who either aren’t vaccinated or won’t say.

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Audio: Trump Claims Police Were ‘Hugging And Kissing’ Capitol Rioters

Donald Trump has asked a federal court to force Twitter to reinstate his account

Donald Trump (image public domain/White House)
Take a listen to this audio recording of Donald Trump rambling in an interview with reporters Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker – the two authors of the new book, I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year. Anderson Cooper played a full uninterrupted five minutes of the recording on his CNN show. At one point, Leonig asked ‘the former guy’ what it was he expected when he urged his followers to march up to the U.S. Capitol building on January 6 which became an unruly, violent riot. From Alternet:

“We want to understand what did you want when you said ‘go up there’?” Leonnig says in the recording, referring to Trump saying that he was going to march with the crowd to the Capitol.

“I would have said that you will show — not to go in, although they were ushered in by the police. I mean, in all fairness, the Capitol Police were ushering people in. The Capitol Police were very friendly, hugging and kissing — you don’t see that, but there’s plenty of tape on that too, the Capitol Police, that’s the way it is. I wanted — personally, what I wanted is what they wanted. They showed up. Just to show support. Because I happen to believe the election was rigged. At a level like nothing has ever been rigged before. There’s tremendous proof. There’s tremendous proof. Statistically, it wasn’t even possible that he won. I mean, things such as in Ohio, Iowa, there’s never been a loss.”

“Did you need better lawyers because they took it to court—?” asked Rucker.

“I needed better judges. The Supreme Court was afraid to take it, don’t forget,” said Trump.

Read more at Alternet.

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News Round-Up: July 21, 2021

Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: The Department of Labor and the Department of Treasury have released new guidance that mandates almost all insurance companies within the U.S. must make PrEP, the HIV prevention pill otherwise known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, free with no cost-sharing. • The Advocate: A federal judge in West Virginia issued an injunction Wednesday against the state’s law barring transgender athletes from competing on school sports teams for their gender identity. “At this point, I have been provided with scant evidence that this law addresses any problem at all, let alone an important problem,” the judge wrote. • YouTube: Texas real estate agent Kelci Cashman and her children were removed from a plane in Orlando heading to Dallas when she went on a homophobic rant and refused to wear her mask. The crowd cheered when she finally left the plane.

• Reuters: Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban stepped up a culture war with the European Union today by announcing a referendum on legislation that bans the use of materials seen as promoting homosexuality and gender change at schools. • PBS: COVID-19 cases tripled in the U.S. over two weeks amid an onslaught of vaccine misinformation that is straining hospitals, exhausting doctors and pushing clergy into the fray. The seven-day rolling average for daily new COVID-19 cases rose over the past two weeks to more than 37,000 on Tuesday, up from less than 13,700 on July 6. • NPR: A couple whose gender reveal ceremony sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter last year were charged with involuntary manslaughter on Monday. The charges included one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, along with other felony and misdemeanor counts related to the fire.