(Map: Michelle McGhee and Andrew Witherspoon/Axios)Axios has created an interactive map showing where the pandemic has been deadliest in the US. Via Axios:
In New Jersey, which has the highest death rate in the nation, 1 out of every 406 residents has died from the virus. In neighboring New York, 1 out of every 437 people has died.
In Mississippi, 1 out of every 477 people has died. And in South Dakota, which was slammed in the fall, 1 of every 489 people has died.States in the middle of the pack have seen a death rate of around 1 in 800 dead.
California, which has generally suffered severe regional outbreaks that don’t span the entire state, has a death rate of 1 in 899.Vermont had the lowest death rate, at 1 of every 3,436 residents.
Russell Tovey (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • Out: Actor Russell Tovey (above) says his dad wanted him to get ‘hormone treatment’ after he came out as a means to ‘cure’ Tovey of being gay. • The Advocate: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has selected Arlando Teller, a gay member of the Navajo Nation, man to serve as deputy assistant secretary for tribal affairs. Teller, who was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2018, resigned his seat last week to take the post at the Department of Transportation. • Pink News: Soccer legend David Beckham has signed a £10m deal to become face of Qatar, one of the most dangerous places in the world to be gay. • Revry: The queer streaming network has a whole schedule of programming to celebrate Black History Month. The six-part drama Single Record follows a talented and arrogant rapper whose record label could drop him if his next song isn’t a hit. His desperation to save his career will force him to confront his identity, sexuality and bring him to new lows that could cost him everything.
• Jerusalem Post: An Iranian cleric warned followers not to go near people vaccinated for COVID-19, claiming the vaccine turned them gay. Ayatollah Abbas Tabrizian wrote on his Telegram social-media platform: “Don’t go near those who have had the COVID vaccine. They have become homosexuals.” • Reuters: Hackers broke into the computer system of a facility that treats water for about 15,000 people near Tampa, Florida and sought to add a dangerous level of lye to the water supply. “The guy was sitting there monitoring the computer as he’s supposed to and all of a sudden he sees a window pop up that the computer has been accessed,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said. “The next thing you know someone is dragging the mouse and clicking around and opening programs and manipulating the system.” • CNN: Senate leaders reached an agreement Monday giving House impeachment managers and Donald Trump’s lawyers up to 16 hours each to present their cases and creating the option for a debate and vote to call witnesses — if the House impeachment managers seek it.
New: McConnell and Schumer close to a deal on trial rules. Some of the details below, per person familiar pic.twitter.com/FbnwKQgltz
President Joe Biden speaks with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News In a his first sit-down interview since taking office, President Biden shared with Norah O’Donnell of CBS News that his administration was disappointed to learn that the Trump administration had far fewer doses of COVID-19 vaccine available than previously thought. “One of the disappointments was, when we came office, is the circumstance relating to how the [previous] administration was handling COVID – it was even more dire than we thought,” said the president. “They indicated there was a lot more vaccine available and it didn’t turn out to be the case.” The president went on to say he has ordered vaccine makers to ramp up production, and he’s received the ok from National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell to use all NFL stadiums as mass vaccination sites.
L-R Stormy Daniels, Michael Cohen For the first time, Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen speaks with porn star Stormy Daniels in an hourlong chat on Cohen’s podcast, Mea Culpa. Via HuffPost:
Seeking to bury the hatchet, Cohen interviews Daniels in the latest episode of his podcast, “Mea Culpa,” in which the two commiserate over life-altering experiences with Trump and his recent departure from office.
Cohen, in keeping with the title of his program, apologizes for “the needless pain” he put Daniels through when he arranged a $130,000 payment during the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her quiet about an alleged dalliance with Trump a decade earlier. Trump has denied the affair.
“Both of our stories will be forever linked with Donald Trump, but also with one another,” Cohen tells her. “Thanks for giving me a second chance.”
Also in the podcast chat, Daniels refers to the 2008 sexual encounter with Trump “the worst 90 seconds of my life, for sure, because it just made me hate myself.” She shares that she hadn’t planned on having sex with the Donald. At one point in the tryst she apparently pondered how to escape the room, thinking “I could definitely outrun him.” Cohen has been recording the podcast from his living room in Manhattan since being released from prison last summer. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and health concerns in crowded prisons, he’s being allowed to serve out the rest of his sentence at home.
Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic in ‘Welcome To Chechnya’ Two gay men who escaped from the deadly gay purge in Chechnya in April 2020 were discovered in Russia, detained by Russian police and are being returned to their country. From Pink News:
Salek Magamadov and Ismail Isayev escaped homophobic Chechnya, the site of deadly so-called gay purges, in June 2020. The Russian LGBT Network helped them relocate to Nizhny Novogorod, a city around 400 kilometres east of Moscow.
According to their lawyer Alexander Nemov, Magamadov and Novogorod had been arrested in April 2020 and tortured by the Chechen special police for running an opposition Telegram channel.
On Thursday (4 February), the Russian LGBT Network reported that the pair had gone missing.
The network’s assistance coordinator had received a call from one of the men that day around 3pm and heard screaming in the background. Nemov arrived at their apartment 30 minutes later and described seeing evidence of a scuffle.
Upon submitting a missing persons report, the lawyer found out that the two men had been handed over to the Chechen police. They are now being forcefully returned to their hometown, Gudermes.
Sadly, Novogorod and Magamadov were found to be missing on the same day that President Biden called for LGBTQ rights to be promoted and respected around the world. Since 2017, there have been hundreds of reports of the deadly gay purge in Chechnya consisting of abductions, detentions, and torture (sometimes resulting in death) perpetrated against those in the LGBTQ community.. Ramzan Kadryov, the leader of Chechnya, has casually denied such reports while denying the very existence of any LGBTQ people in his country. In 2017, the United States placed sanctions against Kadyrov due to the hideous atrocities.
‼️ Saleh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev were detained by the police in their apartment. Russian LGBT Network helped Saleh and Ismail leave Chechnya and move to Nizhny Novgorod. Now they are being taken by car back to Chechnya. Read on ➡ https://t.co/v3Bb1SFnPtpic.twitter.com/g8YS4UNxLS
Remember him? (via 2016 Super Bowl) Some news items you might have missed: • Super Bowl: So, I grew up watching tons of football because my dad was a sports writer. And I still enjoy it, so you can be sure I’ll be watching the big SportsBall game on Sunday for moments like the one above – remember the attention this ref (rightfully) received during the big game in 2016? • Out: Florida Democrat and one-time candidate for governor Andrew Gillum has opened up with more details of that fateful night in Miami when he was found in a hotel room passed out with a male prostitute. “At this point I’m like, ‘This is set up.'” • Kenneth-in-the-212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s weekly round-up of LGBTQ publications like Valentine’s hotties Franco & Roberto covering Hot Spots Magazine (below). (cover image via Hot Spots Magazine) • The Advocate: A group of 185 actors came out in Germany to demand more LGBTQ+ diversity in film, television, and theater through a manifesto in a national newspaper. Among the issues raised is the fear of losing the opportunity to portray straight people due to biases in casting. “We are actors. We don’t have to be what we play. We act as though we were — that is our job.” • LA Times: Fox News Media has canceled “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” the program hosted by one of Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters. The cancellation comes a day after voting software company Smartmatic filed a $2.7 billion defamation suit against Fox News and three of its hosts — Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. • AP News: Johnson & Johnson asked U.S. regulators Thursday to clear the world’s first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine, an easier-to-use option that could boost scarce supplies. The vaccine was 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19, according to early findings from a study of 44,000 people, but it was 85% protective against the most serious symptoms. • Deadline: Christopher Plummer, who starred in The Sound of Music, won an Oscar for Beginners and was nominated for All the Money in the World and The Last Station, died peacefully today at his home in Connecticut, his family confirmed. Along with becoming the oldest person to win an Oscar, Plummer also won a pair of Emmys and two Tonys during a nearly 70-year career.
BREAKING: Actor Christopher Plummer has died aged 91.
Vice President Kamala Harris (screen capture) After a long night in the U.S. Senate, which ended with Vice President Kamala Harris using her tie-breaking power for the first time, lawmakers in the House have quickly followed up approving the blueprint for President Biden’s proposed coronavirus stimulus bill. From the New York Times:
The House gave final approval on Friday to a budget blueprint that included President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, advancing it over unanimous Republican opposition as Democrats pressed forward with plans to begin drafting the aid package next week and speed it through the House by the end of the month.
Senate leaders could begin working on their own bill in hopes of delivering a final package to Mr. Biden’s desk before supplemental unemployment benefits are set to expire in mid-March.
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, cited poll numbers showing bipartisan support among American voters for the plan, brushing aside criticism the White House was sacrificing bipartisan solidarity for partisan celerity.
“He didn’t run on a promise to unite the Democratic and Republican Party into one party in Washington,” she said in her Friday briefing at the White House.
While the budget reconciliation approach will allow Democrats to pass the legislation without Republican votes, Biden has signaled he is open to some adjustments to the legislation including targeting direct payments of $1,400 to lower income and middle income Americans. The Senate also agreed to a proposal prohibiting an increase in the minimum wage during the pandemic. Biden’s plan hoped to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.
After an all-night session, Vice President Kamala Harris breaks a tie at 5:30 a.m., approving the Senate budget resolution by a 51-50 vote and paving the way for Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to pass without Republican votes next month.pic.twitter.com/9dGoaYZD9a
Out singer/songwriter John Duff (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: For the first time in history, three of the national legacy LGBTQ equality organizations (National LGBTQ Task Force, Human Rights Campaign, and National Center for Lesbian Rights) will be led by Black executive directors. • Back2Stonewall: Former Vice President Mike Pence has been hired by the virulently anti-LGBTQ hate group, The Heritage Foundation, which spends significant energy to extremist policy recommendations to deny access to abortion and birth control and to harm LGBTQ people. • Boy Culture: Joe Manganiello made waves with his retro-punk new look, and now he is immortalizing it on several covers of L’Officiel Fashion Book Hommes Australia (below), all shot by out photographer Mike Ruiz. Joe Manganiello covers L’Official Fashion Book Hommes Australia (photo: Mike Ruiz) • Pink News: A long-awaited study of patients at the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) has confirmed the majority of transgender teenagers who take puberty blockers to treat severe gender dysphoria feel happier. • NBC News: Fox News is being sued by Smartmatic for $2.7 billion for repeating false rigged election claims. The suit names Fox News, as well as network personalities Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro, and Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell. • Out Music: Hottie John Duff (top image) gives us something to bop about with his new single and music video, “Do It,” an empowering self-love anthem for anyone out there hoping to follow their dreams.In the new music video, Duff dances in his home paying homage to the likes of Risky Business, Richard Simmons, and even a few of his favorite pop divas. Fun song.
French police were called last Friday after neighbors complained about noise that seemed to come from a late night party.
Around 9 pm, the officers arrived at a warehouse in Collegien, around 20 miles from the centre of Paris. They found about 11 people hanging out in the car park.
At 11 pm, after gaining legal entry into the warehouse, police officers discovered a rave/orgy with 81 participants complete with sound and lighting equipment.
The Independentreports the participants were each fined 135 Euros ($161 US) for being in breach of the current coronavirus curfew in effect. France currently restricts outside movement from 6 pm to 6 am.
Police reports also indicated there were “problems with masks and social distancing” as well. Some party-goers were also detained for questioning.
This is just the latest example of folks growing fatigued of COVID lockdown rules as the pandemic enters its second year.
Last December, Belgian police were called to a house party near a COVID clinic where a 52-person orgy was in full swing.
In a bipartisan vote of 230-199, QAnon-related Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has been removed from her committee assignments by the House of Representatives. Eleven Republicans voted for her removal. From the New York Times:
The House on Thursday took the extraordinary step of ousting a lawmaker from two congressional committees, exiling Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia for endorsing the executions of Democrats and spreading dangerous and bigoted misinformation even as her fellow Republicans rallied around her.
In a move without precedent in the modern Congress, the House voted 230 to 199— over near-unanimous Republican opposition — to remove Ms. Greene from the Education and Budget Committees.
The move effectively stripped Ms. Greene of her influence in Congress by banishing her from committees critical to advancing legislation and conducting oversight.
Greene’s past statements include saying the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings “false flag” staged events, calling 9/11 an inside job, claiming the California wildfires were started by Jewish lasers shot from space, and showing support for executing Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in social media posts. It’s worth noting that the Republican caucus met last night and could have chosen to handle the issue within their own party, but instead did nothing. That cowardice left the matter in the hands of the full House.
House votes 230-199 to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments.
11 Republicans vote yes:
Carlos Gimenez Mark Jacobs John Katko Young Kim Adam Kinzinger Nicole Malliotakis Maria Elvira Salazar Mario Diaz-Balart Chris Smith Fred Upton Brian Fitzpatrick pic.twitter.com/GWb64PTmPh
