Category: News

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News Round-Up: July 9, 2021

(screen capture via NBC News)
Some news items you might have missed: • NBC News: Hospitalized unvaccinated patients are “shocked” that Covid-19 truly exists and that it can make people very sick and even kill them. “A comment they make all the time is that they wish that they knew they were going to end up in the hospital this sick and they would have made a different choice and got the vaccine.” • NJ.com: José Tobias Carranza Serrano, 18, confessed to assaulting and robbing a 37-year-old intellectually disabled man on June 23 because he believed the man to be gay. The assault has left the victim still clinging to life where he is still intubated. In his confession, Serrano reportedly showed no remorse. • ABC News: The Michigan elections bureau has determined that organizers of a ballot drive to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people failed to collect  the roughly 340,000 needed. But Fair and Equal Michigan, which spent $2.9 million on the effort, says the Bureau of Elections threw out thousands of signatures that are valid. The group plans to file a lawsuit.

• Washington Blade: A federal judge today blocked a new law in Tennessee that required businesses and other entities that allow transgender people to use the public restroom that matches their gender to post a government-prescribed warning sign. • Washington Post: President Biden on Friday fired Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul, a holdover from the Trump administration who had alienated crucial Democratic constituencies with policies designed to clamp down benefits and an uncompromising anti-union stance. • Next Shark: Out Filipino American influencer Bretman Rock (People’s Choice Awards Beauty Influencer of the Year in 2019) graced the cover of Teen Vogue’s July issue. The social media star has over 17 million followers on Instagram, 12.1 million followers on TikTok and 8.71 million subscribers on YouTube. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCVsqRlSHQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

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Zaila Avant-Garde Wins Nat’l Spelling Bee Becoming 1st African American Champ

Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Zaila Avant-garde wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee
Zaila Avant-garde (image via Scripps National Spelling Bee)
A jubilant Zaila Avant-garde won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, becoming the bee’s first African American champion in its 96-year history. The 14-year-old from New Orleans is also the first winner of the competition from Lousiana. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was in the house to cheer the finalists on.

From the Washington Post:

Avant-garde spelled “murraya” correctly to win the competition, after conquering words such as “retene,” “ancistroid” and “depreter” over multiple rounds. Upon her win, Avant-garde, who is also a talented basketball player with three Guinness World Records in dribbling, jumped up and down and let out an excited shout as confetti rained down on the stage.

The teen said Friday that “it felt really good to be a winner” after she had been practicing for two years. Avant-garde, who had finished tied for 370th place in the 2019 competition, credited the win to her tutors and “a bit of luck.” She told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she hopes her historic win will inspire other young Black people in the United States to excel at spelling.

Chaitra Thummala, a 12-year-old from San Francisco, and Bhavana Madini, a 13-year-old from New York City, came in second and third place, respectively. Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica, who won the bee in 1998, was the competition’s first Black champion.

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News Round-Up: July 8, 2021

Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Instinct Magazine: Swedish couple Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud (above) will be representing the Netherlands at the Olympics in dressage – a type of horse riding that tests the teamwork and power of a rider with their horse. Together they won a team bronze medal at the 2014 World Championships, and each have an Olympic medal: silver for Minderhoud in 2008 and bronze for Gal in 2012. • The Gaily Grind: Caitlyn Jenner, whose net worth is estimated to be roughly $100 million, wants to deal with California’s population of more than 60,000 homeless people by moving them to “big open fields.” • The Guardian: Organizers of the Miss Mexico 2021 pageant pushed ahead in spite of a Covid-19 outbreak that infected almost half the contestants. At least 15 of the 32 contestants in the pageant tested positive for coronavirus as well as a pageant staff member.

• Washington Post: Michael Avenatti — who made headlines representing an adult-film actress who claimed an affair with Donald Trump before he was president — was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Thursday, after being convicted for trying to extort Nike Inc. He faced up to 11 years in jail. • Pink News: A New Jersey appeal court has upheld a massive $3.5 million fine against a conversion therapy practice, which was shut down after former patients alleged widespread abuse. • CNN: Researchers estimate that there would have been about 279,000 additional deaths due to Covid-19 — about 46% more than there were — and as many as 1.25 million additional hospitalizations if there had been no vaccinations. • ABC News: Pfizer will seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine. Data from the company’s booster study suggests people’s antibody levels jump five- to 10-fold after a third dose.

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Legal Pundits On Trump Lawsuit: ‘The Trap He Created For Himself’

Donald Trump
On Wednesday, Donald Trump sued Twitter, Facebook and Google for banning him from certain websites, claiming they violated his First Amendment rights. According to the Washington Post, the suits allege “that the companies violated Trump’s First Amendment rights in suspending his accounts and argues that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, which is owned by Google, no longer should be considered private companies but ‘a state actor’ whose actions are constrained by First Amendment restrictions on government limitations on free speech.” Legal experts were quick to point out the U.S. Constitution is clear that the First Amendment constrains only government actions, not those of private companies. The First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Bolding is mine. You’ll also notice nowhere in the Constitution is it stated there is a constitutional right to Facebook. Or Twitter. Or YouTube. In an interview with Bill O’Reilly, Trump was told he would have to give a deposition for the legal action to which the Donald said he’d love to talk about the lawsuit, the election and any little thing. But legal pundits say the lawsuit lays its own trap for Trump as he would have to answer many, many, many questions under oath. Keith Olbermann tweeted, “This is the dumbest thing Trump has ever done. It’s wonderful. I remind you from personal experience that when you sue somebody you have to give a multi-day deposition on anything relevant to the topic…in this case, like your role inspiring the 1/6 Coup.”

Former White House counsel John Dean retweeted adding, “This should be a nationally televised deposition…. Please schedule it next week. Don’t move to dismiss, which would be the normal move. Make him deal with the trap he created for himself. He will lose on the merits!”

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Ohio Doctors Can Now Refuse To Treat LGBTQ Patients On ‘Religious’ Grounds

Stock image of a highway sign as you enter Ohio

Stock image of a highway sign as you enter Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) of Ohio has signed a bill that allows medical providers to refuse care to LGBTQ patients if they have an objection based on “religious” grounds. The new language was apparently buried in last-minute amendments to the state’s two-year budget bill, which DeWine signed into law on June 30. Governor DeWine had the opportunity to line-item veto the language while signing the rest of the budget into law and refused to do so. The new law allows any medical provider – from doctors and nurses to researchers, lab techs and insurance companies – “the freedom to decline to perform, participate in, or pay for any health care service which violates the practitioner’s, institution’s, or payer’s conscience as informed by the moral, ethical, or religious beliefs.” Local advocates warn this rule legalizes discrimination against LGBTQ patients as well as members of other marginalized groups like drug addicts or people living with HIV or sexually transmitted diseases.

Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David in a statement, “Today governor DeWine enshrined LGBTQ discrimination into law, threatening the medical well being of more than 380,000 LGBTQ people in Ohio, one of the largest LGBTQ populations anywhere in the country.” “Medical practitioners in Ohio can deny care or coverage for basic, medically-necessary, and potentially life-saving care to LGBTQ people simply because of who they are,” added David. DeWine insisted the conscience clause will change very little, and claimed that no one in Ohio will be discriminated against. “This simply puts in statute what the practice has been anyways,” he said. “Let’s say the doctor is against abortion, the doctor is not doing abortion. If there’s other things that maybe a doctor has a conscience problem with, it gets worked out, somebody else does those things.” Dr. Todd Kepler, southwest medical director of Equitas Health, a nonprofit health care system serving LGBTQ patients in the Midwest, told Cincinnati ABC News affiliate WCPO the ”widely broad” language in the new rule will exacerbate existing barriers to care for many marginalized groups, like drug addicts, people living with HIV, and the LGBT+ community. “Say I happen to be a gay patient and I wanted to see a provider in my town, and there weren’t really any other providers in town,” said Kepler. “But they find that morally unacceptable, they could turn me away.” “And the language is so broad that that could even be done at an institutional level. So, if you have a hospital that perhaps has an affiliation with a religious institution, and again, that happens to be the only institution in town, theoretically they could turn that patient away for health care.”

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Tokyo Olympics Cancels Spectators Amid COVID Surge

Logo for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo

Logo for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo There will be no spectators in the stands at the Summer Olympics after a surge of COVID-19 led Japan to declare a state of emergency. Via Axios:

It’s another huge blow to the spectacle and finances of the delayed and scaled-back Olympics, just two weeks ahead of the opening ceremony.

Organizers had planned to allow venues to be filled up to 50% capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 Japanese spectators and no overseas fans. A surge in COVID-19 cases and the low rate of vaccinations forced them to reconsider.

Tokyo’s fourth coronavirus state of emergency will run from this Monday, July 12 until Aug. 22, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said. Bars and restaurants will be requested to suspend alcohol sales under the measures.

According to ESPN, Tokyo reported 920 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday – the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13. The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo are schedueld to begin on July 23.

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Funny: Michael Henry Is Ready For A ‘HOT HOMO SUMMER’

Michael Henry is ready for a 'Hot Homo Summer'

Michael Henry is ready for a 'Hot Homo Summer'
Michael Henry is ready for a ‘HOT HOMO SUMMER’
Funny man Michael Henry has released the first episode of his new mini-series, “HOT HOMO SUMMER.” And yes, the all-caps is on purpose… Emerging from over a year of pandemic-mania, Henry is single and uber-ready to mingle armed with his COVID vaccination and a fresh trim of the body fur. Check out the six-minute Episode 1 below.

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News Round-Up: July 6, 2021

Burt Ward as Robin with Batman co-star Adam West (promo photo)
Some news items you might have missed: • New York Times: Sha’Carri Richardson, the American sprinter who lost her spot in the women’s 100 meters at the Olympics because she used marijuana days before her qualifying race, will miss the Tokyo Games entirely after coaches decided not to put her on a relay team, American track officials announced Tuesday. • The Advocate: HRC president Alphonso David wants folks to know his organization’s Corporate Equality Index is not a defense for corporate donations to anti-equality politicians. • Gr8erdays: The Hollywood nostalgia website celebrates Burt Ward, star of the iconic 1960s TV series “Batman,” as he turns 76 today. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ_MteAhgf_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link • Edge Media: Notoriously homophobic rugby player Israel Folau, who was embroiled in controversy after an anti-gay post on social media, has returned to rugby union after agreeing to sign for NTT Communications Shining Arcs. • Reuters: Britney Spears’ longtime manager Larry Rudolph has resigned saying the pop star plans to retire and no longer needs his services. Spears hasn’t performed in public since October 2018. • OUT: In a June 24 release, the FDA has issued a warning to consumers urging them to stop purchasing nitrite ‘poppers’ after an observed increase in reported death and hospitalizations linked to the recreational substance.

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Twitter Claps Back At QAnon Rep’s Latest COVID Claims

QAnon/GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (screen capture)
I just finished reading an in-depth profile of nurses in West Virginia who have worked to stay sane during the pandemic as they save lives even while the community arounds them continues to deny COVID-19 even exists. And then I come across QAnon Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest remarks about the virus that received a lot of well-deserved backlash on Monday. In a series of posts on Twitter, the Georgia Republican announced that “no one cares” about the more transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 that now makes up more than 25% of new cases “or any other variant.” Instead, according to the freshman Congresswoman, “All voters are over Covid.” Mind you, this is the same woman who has previously likened mask mandates to the Holocaust and praised people who refuse to get vaccinated against the virus. Greene signed the lengthy Twitter thread, “The American people.” Hey Miss Thing – you don’t speak for me. The Twitterverse clapped back: