Category: News

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Texas: Governor Lifts Face Mask Mandate, Businesses Allowed To Operate At 100%

'Welcome to Texas' sign

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has lifted his state’s face mask requirement and given the green light for businesses to operate at 100% capacity. From the New York Times:

The wide-reaching announcement in Texas came as similar rules were being lifted elsewhere: Restaurants, schools, movie theaters and bars are reopening and shedding restrictions in some of the nation’s biggest cities and most populous states, prompting more Americans to emerge after months of isolation and bringing the country closer to a semblance of life before the coronavirus pandemic.

In Chicago, tens of thousands of children returned to public school this week, while snow-covered parks and playgrounds around the city that have been shuttered since last March were opened. Mississippi ended its mask mandate, too. Restaurants in Massachusetts were allowed to operate without capacity limits, and South Carolina erased its limits on large gatherings.

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FBI Director: Capitol Rioters Fell Into 2 Main Groups – Militia Groups & White Supremacists

FBI Director Christopher Wray

FBI Director Christopher Wray
FBI Director Christopher Wray (screen capture)
From NBC News:

FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday repeatedly shot down claims by Republican allies of former President Donald Trump and others that antifa activists participated in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol.

“We have not to date seen any evidence of anarchist violent extremists or people subscribing to antifa in connection with the 6th,” Wray said in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing to address concerns about the intelligence leading up to the riot and the domestic terrorism threat more broadly. “That doesn’t mean we’re not looking, and we’ll continue to look, but at the moment we have not seen that.”

Wray explained that those who participated in the breach of the Capitol fell into two main groups of violent extremists — those associated with militia groups, such as Oath Keepers, and those who advocate white supremacy.

For weeks, many allies of Donald Trump have tried to deflect blame for the violent invasion of the Capitol building from Trump to  “antifa activists.” The vast majority of the 300+ participants who have been arrested for taking part in the insurrection have social media accounts chock full of far-right content. Wray also said today the FBI is not aware of any widespread evidence of voter fraud that would have affected the outcome of the presidential election.

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When Chasten Buttigieg Was Outed At Work: ‘Is It True You’re A F**?’

Chasten Buttigieg
Chasten Buttigieg
Chasten Buttigieg (image via memoir website)

Chasten Buttigieg, husband of newly-confirmed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, recently shared a workplace incident when he was brazenly outed by a co-worker.

What we know of Chasten’s employment history to date is that he taught theatre classes in public schools in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. Chasten doesn’t specify where the incident mentioned took place other than a “break room.”

“I’ll never forget when an assistant manager found out I was gay in the break room, marched out onto the floor, came right up to my face and said ‘wait, is it true you’re a f**?’” Buttigieg tweeted. “Now imagine if my manager didn’t like that about me either.”

“At the time, it would have been legal in far too many places in America for them to simply show me the door,” he continued. “It is time to codify true equality for LGBTQ people and pass the #EqualityAct.”

Chasten followed that with a link to the Human Rights Campaign’s info page about the Equality Act.

The Equality Act, currently working its way through Congress, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. It would be the first time LGBTQ Americans would have nationwide protections against discrimination in areas of employment, housing and medical facilities. Currently, 21 states and 5 U.S. territories have no explicit prohibitions for discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in state law. The legislation passed in the House last week by a vote of 224-206. But the bill faces a steeper climb in the Senate as 10 Republican senators will have to vote with Democrats in order to overcome a possible filibuster. LGBTQ activists and advocates are unsure if the 10 GOP votes will be there when the time comes. President Joe Biden has been a vocal proponent of the Equality Act promising the sign the legislation if it reaches his desk. Chasten’s story inspired other LGBTQ people on Twitter to share their own experiences – closeted or not – in the workplace.

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Instagram Announces ‘Live Rooms’ With Up To 4 Participants

Up to four people can now take part in a public video chat on Instagram

Up to four people can now take part in a public video chat on Instagram
(image via Instagram)
Instagram is upping its IG Live function today by allowing users to invite up to three people to join a Live broadcast. Via Mashable:

Called Live Rooms, the feature ups the number of accounts that can join an IG Live from two to four. So it’s kind of like Zoom, but publicly viewable and restricted to four participants.

“We hope that doubling up on Live will open up more creative opportunities — start a talk show, host a jam session or co-create with other artists, host more engaging Q&As or tutorials with your following, or just hang out with more of your friends,” said Instagram in their blog post.

Starting a Live Room is much the same as starting a Live — simply swipe left, add a title, then tap the Rooms icons to add other users.

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InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition

Fitness guru Joel Green

Fitness guru Joel Green
Joel Green (via Instagram)
Checking in with some of my favorite InstaHunks this week: First up, fitness guru Joel Green (above) lays some truth on us: “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.” Continue reading “InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition”

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House Approves Biden’s COVID Stimulus Package

The House votes 219-212 in favor of President Biden's COVID stimulus package

The House votes 219-212 in favor of President Biden's COVID stimulus package
(screen capture)
Late Friday night, the House approved President Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief package by a vote of 219-212. Two Democrats — Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Kurt Schrader (Ore.) — joined Republicans in voting against the bill. The legislation provides: • Stimulus checks of up to $1,400 for a single taxpayer, or $2,800 for a married couple that files jointly, plus $1,400 per dependent. Individuals earning up to $75,000 would get the full amount as would married couples with incomes up to $150,000. The amount reduces for higher earners with a cut-off at $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for married couples. • $350 billion to state and local governments and tribal governments. • $130 billion in additional help to schools for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The money would be used to reduce class sizes and modify classrooms to enhance social distancing, install ventilation systems and purchase personal protective equipment. • Expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government would be extended, with an increase from $300 a week to $400 a week. • $46 billion to expand federal, state and local testing for COVID-19 and to enhance contact tracing capabilities. Also about $14 billion to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines across the country. House Democrats kept the minimum wage increase to $15 an hour in the legislation to make a point, but it’s not going to happen. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that falls outside of the process being used by Democrats to pass the bill with a simple majority. Democrats hope to see the fully-approved bill head to Biden’s desk by mid-March. More details at AP News.

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News Round-Up: February 26, 2021

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons

Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons
Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons (photo via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • KTNV: Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds (above) is donating his childhood home in Las Vegas to help LGBTQ youth. Reynolds’ home will serve as Nevada’s first-ever Encircle Resource Center which helps more than 70,000 kids and their families each year. • Instinct Magazine: Benjamin Davis has been charged with capital murder in the death of a man Harris County deputies said he targeted for robbery. His tool? The gay dating app Grindr. • Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out the weekly round-up of the what’s what in LGBTQ publications like Wilson Lai (below) covering DNA Magazine.
Cover of DNA Magazine
(image via DNA Magazine)
• Reuters: The U.S. Justice Department has charged more than 300 people with taking part in the deadly storming of the Capitol by former President Donald Trump’s supporters, and at least 280 have been arrested. • The Advocate: A worker at KFC was fired for screaming ‘f*cking queers’ at a gay couple picking up food via the drive-through window. • Stonewall Gazette: The short film, The Dirt Between My Fingers, follows an unlikely friendship when two boys meet under strange circumstances. A coming (out) of age short film about first love.

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Lawsuit Against Kathy Griffin By Covington Catholic Students Dismissed

Comedian Kathy Griffin

Comedian Kathy Griffin
Comedian Kathy Griffin
A lawsuit filed against comedian Kathy Griffin by a group of students from Covington Catholic in Kentucky has been dismissed (again) by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. I’m sure you remember the sad tale of the Covington students who were involved in a standoff with a group of Native Americans in Washington D.C. on January 18, 2019. Video footage of student Nick Sandmann, wearing a red MAGA hat standing face to face with Native American elder Nathan Phillips, went viral as the young student was viewed by many as being disrespectful to the Native American elder. Sandmann later said he was trying to “defuse” the situation by standing still and “remaining calm.” In the aftermath, Sandmann and his family sought to cash in on what they believed was his victimhood in the situation calling out media outlets for defaming and vilifying him. Sandmann sued and eventually settled with CNN and the Washington Post. The group of students in this case alleged harm by Griffin when she tweeted, “Names please, and stories from people who can identify them and vouch for their identity. Thank you.” “Maybe you should let this fine Catholic school know how you feel about their students (sic) behavior toward the Vietnam veteran, Native American #NathanPhillips,” she said in a follow-up tweet. But the Cincinnati Enquirer reports the 6th U.S. Circuit Court ruled on Tuesday that Covington Catholic students cannot bring harassment claims against Griffin.

U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman had granted a request from Griffin to dismiss the case but the students appealed that decision to the 6th Circuit. Bertelsman also dismissed the students’ defamation and harassment lawsuits against CNN, the Washington Post and NBC. A three-judge panel at the 6th Circuit upheld Bertelsman’s ruling saying the ‘Kentucky longarm statute’ being cited in the cases had no jurisdiction regarding Griffin since she hadn’t “committed any act ‘in [the] Commonwealth’ of Kentucky.” Circuit Judge Julia Gibbons wrote in the decision, “To satisfy that provision of the longarm statute, the ’cause of action must arise from defendant’s activities’ in Kentucky.” Additionally, the panel found, “there is no evidence that the defendants posted the tweets hoping to reach Kentucky specifically as opposed to their Twitter followers generally.” And….done. (h/t to TRR reader Rusty)

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Biden Nominates 3 To Postal Service Board Of Governors

USPS delivery truck

USPS delivery truck I don’t know about you, but my mail delivery is still sloooooooooow, and the amount of mail I get has dropped off by a lot. This has all happened under the guidance of the new-ish postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a longtime big-dollar donor to the Republican Party and Donald Trump. DeJoy has had a turbulent time in his position with cutting overtime for postal workers and promising slower delivery and higher prices. But that might change as President Biden moves to fill three empty seats on the Postal Service’s governing board. The board is the only mechanism with the power to replace DeJoy. From the Washington Post:

President Biden named two Democrats and a voting rights advocate to fill three of the four openings on the Postal Service’s governing board, according to three people briefed on the discussions and later confirmed by the White House: Ron Stroman, the Postal Service’s recently retired deputy postmaster general; Amber McReynolds, the chief executive of the National Vote at Home Institute; and Anton Hajjar, the former general counsel of the American Postal Workers Union.

If all three win Senate confirmation, the nine-member board would be made up of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans with McReynolds, whose organization is a darling of left-leaning groups, as the lone independent.

The new slate would create a Democratic advantage and potentially the votes to oust DeJoy, whose summer overhaul led to precipitous service declines that snarled up untold numbers of Americans’ bills, prescriptions and paychecks.

Postal workers have expressed concern during DeJoy’s tenure that he will cut jobs or out-source them to private companies. With that in mind, they have called for his removal. The USPS employs a high percentage of Black and female workers. Plus, a large number of military veterans find good jobs with the postal service.

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News Round-Up: February 25, 2021

Some news items you might have missed: • Throwback Thursday: Thinking about days of dachshunds filling the house (above) . Not sad, just glad it happened.  • Instinct Magazine: Heavily armed police attempted to arrest a gay couple for kissing on a public beach in Tulum, Mexico, until a crowd gathered shouting down the officers’ actions. • Buzzfeed: Seventeen straight guys shared their same-sex hook-up encounters which ran the gamut from meh to hilarious. • Paramount Plus: The Real World Homecoming: New York, a multi-episode docu-series starring all seven of the original housemates from the classic MTV show, will debut on March 4. Running for 25 years on MTV before moving to Facebook Watch in 2019, the series helped launch the reality show genre. Word is the new series is being shot in that same NYC loft apartment.

• Axios: 41% of Republicans say they don’t plan to get a coronavirus vaccination if it’s available to them while 70% of Democrats and a plurality of independents (47%) say they do plan to get vaccinated. • The Hill: As the second impeachment trial failed to convict Donald Trump, two House Democrats plan to introduce legislation that would reform the Former Presidents Act of 1958 by stripping past presidents convicted of a felony of their $219,200 annual pension, office space and a budget to pay for staff. • The Advocate: Rep. Marie Newman (D-IL) put up a transgender Pride flag in a show of support for her daughter. Her congressional ‘neighbor,’ the hideous Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene R-GA) then trolled her with a sign reading “There are only two genders: male and female. Trust the science.” Oddly, Facebook removed Newman’s post calling her pro-trans remarks ‘hate speech.’