Category: News

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News Round-Up: October 5, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have opened the court’s term by calling for the overturning of its 2015 marriage equality decision. The Obergefell v. Hodges decision threatens religious liberty, Alito wrote in a statement in which Thomas concurred. • The Gaily Grind: Nearly a week after President Trump instructed the far-right extremist Proud Boys group to “stand back and stand by” during 2020’s first presidential debate after being asked to condemn them, internet users have reclaimed the #ProudBoys hashtag by flooding Twitter and Reddit with photos of gay men in love and expressing physical affection.

• Pink News: Nursing student Michelle Ramos Vargas has become the 30th known trans person to be killed in the United States so far this year, and the sixth killed in Puerto Rico in the same period. Vargas’ body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in San Germán, Puerto Rico in the early hours of September 30. • NowThis News: A super-cut of the times Donald Trump, who now has COVID-19, has mocked face masks. ‘A lot of people don’t want to wear masks.’

• Wall Street Journal: The IRS is investigating longtime National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal taxes. According to public filings, his total reported pay from 2014 to 2018 was $11.2 million. In August, he was charged in a civil suit by New York Attorney GeneralLetitia James with taking millions of dollars of allegedly undisclosed compensation in the form of free yacht trips, private jet flights for his family, exotic safaris and other benefits. • BBC: Facing a rising rate of coronavirus infections in France which began to grow exponentially in late August, officials in Paris will shut all bars completely from Tuesday after the French government raised the city’s coronavirus alert to maximum following a period of high infection rates. On Saturday, the country reported nearly 17,000 infections marking the highest rate since the country started widespread testing. • Star-Telegram: Trump supporter Jason Lata was arrested on suspicion of assault causing bodily injury after he punched a man in a video clip that went viral. Video of the incident shows Lata in a hat yelling profanities at the victim and screaming “Turn it off!” as an anti-Donald Trump rap song by YG appeared to be playing in the background. Lata, who was standing with other men who were wearing Trump T-shirts, then punched the victim in the face.

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WH Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Tests Positive For Coronavirus

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany (photo via White House/public domain)
Add White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to the list of Trump administration officials who have now tested positive for the coronavirus. On Sunday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped Donald Trump with debate prep prior to last Tuesday’s presidential debate, also announced he’s tested positive. USA Today is keeping a running update on the Trump administration officials and guests who have tested positive for the virus in the past week. The list as of Monday morning: • President Donald Trump • First lady Melania Trump • Hope Hicks, senior adviser to the president • Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager • Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary • Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel • Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah • Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina • Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin • Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor who helped Trump with debate prep • Nicholas Luna, assistant and “body man” to the president • Three White House reporters • One White House staffer • Kellyanne Conway, former White House senior adviser • The Rev. John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame University (Jenkins was at the White House Saturday, when Trump introduced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee) Meanwhile, the New York Times reports Trump is growing more and more concerned his hospitalization due to COVID-19 is making him ‘appear weak.’ The Donald apparently wanted to be discharged from the hospital yesterday, but the doctors disagreed with that plan. So, instead, he jumped in an SUV with Secret Service members (putting them at risk in such closed, air-tight quarters), and took a loop around Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to wave at followers. #selfish
Donald Trump leaves the hospital to wave to followers (photo: public domain)
The Times also reports that the fact that Trump was given a medication usually prescribed to seriously ill COVID-19 patients raised more questions about the severity of his condition.

Mr. Trump’s camera-friendly, morale-boosting “surprise visit,” however, may have masked the reality of his condition, and his seeming energy may have reflected the fact that he was given the steroid dexamethasone, according to medical experts.

Dexamethasone has been shown to help patients who are severely ill with Covid-19, but it is typically not used in mild or moderate cases of the disease.

Moreover, some medical experts said Mr. Trump’s trip out of the hospital was reckless, unnecessarily putting both hospital staff members and Secret Service agents at risk for a stunt. Others questioned the president’s statement in his video that he had met soldiers while at Walter Reed.

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Medical Team Admits To ‘Overly Rosy’ Description Of Trump’s Condition

Dr. Sean Conley at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (screen capture)

On Sunday, Donald Trump’s medical team admitted they had given ‘an overly rosy description’ of Trump’s COVID-19 medical status on Saturday.

But there are still questions regarding when the president’s diagnosis occured, when he first developed symptoms, how severe those symptoms were and if he had been given oxygen at any point.

From the New York Times:

“I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction, and in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true,” Dr. Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, said in a briefing with reporters Sunday.

The doctors said that Mr. Trump had a “high fever” on Friday, and that there had been two incidents when his oxygen levels dropped — one on Friday and one on Saturday. They said Mr. Trump received oxygen at the White House on Friday; they were not clear about whether it was administered again on Saturday.

Medical experts said that despite the relatively upbeat tone of the news conference Sunday, the details of his treatment and the fact that his oxygen levels have been dropping showed that the illness has progressed beyond a mild case of Covid-19.

Follow the continuous updates at the New York Times here.

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News Round-Up: October 2, 2020

Happy World Smile Day from Snoopy
Some news items you might have missed: • World Smile Day: Talk about ‘who can turn the world on with his smile?’ Snoopy (above) sends TGIF greetings to all. #HandsomeDog #DogsRule • The Advocate: A man was dancing with a female friend recording a TikTok video in Lower Manhattan on Saturday when an unknown assailant called him a homophobic slur and punched him repeatedly in the head. The assailant fled on foot, and the New York Police Department’s hate-crimes unit is investigating the incident as a bias crime. • Pink News: In a letter to USA Today’s political reporter Susan Page, who will serve as moderator for the upcoming vice presidential debate, 13 LGBT+ rights groups asked her to address queer rights, as it would “do our nation and community a disservice to exclude these issues as a part of the conversation.” • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s lastest round-up of LGBTQ publications including DNA Magazine’s latest issue (below) featuring Ian Utterback on the cover.
Ian Utterback covers DNA Magazine (photo: James Franklin)
• USA Today: Newly revealed secretly recorded conversations with Melania Trump show the first lady expressing dismay at her role in decorating and promoting the White House during Christmas time, while she was being criticized for not doing more meaningful work. “I’m working my a– off with the Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f— about Christmas stuff and decorations but I need to do it, right?” Trump is heard saying. • Washington Post: Amazon said Thursday that nearly 20,000 of its U.S. employees had tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began. The retailer has faced harsh criticism as hundreds of workers and critics have said it hasn’t done enough to keep employees safe as they work in its warehouses amid a surge in demand to send items to shoppers across the country. • Twitter: File this clip of Donald Trump mocking Joe Biden for wearing a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic under “Didn’t age well.”

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Report: Kimberly Guilfoyle Left Fox News After Asst Accused Her Of Sexual Harassment

Kimberly Guilfoyle (screen capture)
According to The New Yorker, Kimberly Guilfoyle, girlfriend to Donald Trump Jr., didn’t leave Fox News Channel in July 2018 under what you might call “good circumstances.” In fact, the New Yorker is reporting tonight that a former assistant to Guilfoyle sent company executives “a 42-page draft complaint that accused Guilfoyle of repeated sexual harassment, and demanded monetary relief.”

The woman was hired in 2015, just out of college, to work as an assistant for Guilfoyle and another former Fox host, Eric Bolling.

According to a dozen well-informed sources familiar with her complaints, the assistant alleged that Guilfoyle, her direct supervisor, subjected her frequently to degrading, abusive, and sexually inappropriate behavior; among other things, she said that she was frequently required to work at Guilfoyle’s New York apartment while the Fox host displayed herself naked, and was shown photographs of the genitalia of men with whom Guilfoyle had had sexual relations.

The draft complaint also alleged that Guilfoyle spoke incessantly and luridly about her sex life, and on one occasion demanded a massage of her bare thighs; other times, she said, Guilfoyle told her to submit to a Fox employee’s demands for sexual favors, encouraged her to sleep with wealthy and powerful men, asked her to critique her naked body, demanded that she share a room with her on business trips, required her to sleep over at her apartment, and exposed herself to her, making her feel deeply uncomfortable.

Apparently, the accusations are tied into the departure of Guilfoyle’s former co-host at Fox News, Eric Bolling, who left the cable news channel due to allegations of sexual misconduct against him. Good grief. Multiple sources tell the New Yorker  the female assistant agreed to a $4 million settlement. Guilfoyle denied the accusations through her lawyer. The rumors that Guilfoyle was forced out of her position at Fox News years before her contract ended were first reported by HuffPost in 2018.

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The State Of Battleground State Polls: October 1, 2020

The New York Times updates its average of polls (national and battleground states) every day. The latest data shows Joe Biden leading nationally by 7 points, but national polls can be vague. The important thing to watch are the polls in battleground states. Knowing Donald Trump won the presidency by flipping usually true-blue states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on that trio. As of today, the NYTimes average of polls in those states puts Biden ahead by 7 points in all three. If Biden flips all three back to his column, he wins. The other state I’m keeping my eye on is Arizona which Trump won in 2016 by 3.5 points. Today’s polling average shows Biden leading by 4 points. Also worth noting that Democratic Senate candidate Mark Kelly is leading the incumbent Sen. Martha McSally in the Real Clear Politics average of polls by 5.2 points, which also bodes well for Biden. The Times also explores various outcomes based on the state of today’s polling. For instance, if you were to assign electoral votes based on the states where a candidate is currently leading by 3 points or more, Biden would be projected to win with 291 electoral votes. If you translated the polls directly into electoral votes (won’t happen) Biden would win with 359 electoral votes. And IF we assumed the polls are as wrong as they were in 2016, Biden would still squeak by with 280 electoral votes. It’s all hypothetical until the votes are counted, but it’s interesting to keep up.

(graphic via NY Times)

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News Round-Up: September 30, 2020

Greg Bloomer and Bisquit (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Woof Wednesday: Chicago InstaHunk Greg Bloomer and his handsome pooch Bisquit (above) make Hump Day just that much better 🙂 • CNBC: U.S. presidential nominee Joe Biden’s campaign broke its single-hour fundraising record as the Democrat’s debate with President Donald Trump wrapped up on Tuesday, pulling in $3.8 million, a campaign official said. • VoteVets: Air Force veteran and fighter jet pilot Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger endorses former Vice President Joe Biden for president. “Leadership isn’t just about sitting in the pilot seat. It’s about knowing what you’re doing and taking responsibility.”

* Celebitchy: Coronavirus depression nearly caused designer Tom Ford to skip his next collection. “I was irritated when I had a Zoom meeting because it meant washing my hair and perhaps trimming my beard. At the time, the thought of designing a collection seemed frivolous when so many important and disturbing things were happening in our world.” • Reuters: Results from an early study of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine showed that it produced virus-neutralizing antibodies in older adults at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, with side effects roughly on par with high-dose flu shots, according to researchers. • Twitter: After telling the violent group Proud Boys to “stand by” at last night’s presidential debate debacle and refusing to denounce white supremacy, Trump told reporters today he doesn’t know who the Proud Boys are but “Antifa is the real problem.”

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News Round-Up: September 28, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • Outsports: Major League Baseball ended its regular season on Sunday after a COVID-shortened 60 games and for the first time since the 2016 season, there were no players involved in any recorded, on-field anti-gay controversies. Granted, we still have the playoffs to go, but the only notable incident involved Cincinnati Reds announcer Thom Brennaman. • NY Daily News: A Bronx man is accused of hacking to death with a machete a man he met on Grindr — and his roommate walked in on the bloody aftermath. Juan Alonso, 50, was charged Monday with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. Cops are still trying to identify his victim. • Insider: Two New Jersey police officers pleaded guilty last week to smashing windows and slashing tires on cars owned by a man who had complained about them. As a part of the plea agreement, neither men will be able to work public service in the state. • Politico: A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found that just 20 percent of voters said that they believed the winner of the presidential election will be called on election night, while 66 percent said they expect it to happen sometime later, 19 percent believe it will be the next day, and 26 percent believe it will be between two and seven days after the polls close. •  The Hill: A new New York Times/Siena College poll shows Joe Biden leading Donald Trump in the vital battleground state of Pennsylvania by 9 points (49-40). The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows Biden with a 5.3 percentage point lead in the Keystone State. • Netflix: Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, an organization near and dear to my heart, invites you to “Grab a drink (or two) with the spectacular cast of Netflix’s The Boys in the Band during #SipInWithTheBoys!” The livestream at 8 pm Eastern on October 2 benefits Broadway Cares and The Actors Fund.

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Joe Biden Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

Former Vice President Joe Biden (image via Instagram)
Former Vice President Joe Biden has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by British Labour MP Chris Bryant. From Sky News:

Mr Bryant, a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and chair of the Standards and Privileges Committee, said Mr Biden deserved to be nominated for his dedication to argument and political debate during a turbulent time in American politics.

He added: “When American cities have been in flames and citizen has been pitched against citizen, Joe has been a calming influence to bear.

“When others have resorted to violent solutions, he has argued that the best force is the force of argument because guns can stop a heart but well-placed words can change many hearts and many hearts can change the world.”

Peace prize nominations can be made by members of governments and international courts of law, university chancellors, professors of social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs.

The honor, decided by a committee, will be announced on October 9. Expect Donald Trump’s head to explode in 3, 2, 1…

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50+ Ambassadors To Poland: ‘Human Rights Are Universal – Including LGBTI People’

Poland lawmakers continue to work on a bill that would ban Pride events in the European country

A sticker promoting ‘LGBT free’ zones in Poland
An open letter signed by ambassadors from 50 countries calls out Poland for hostility towards LGBTQ people and denouncing towns that declare themselves free of ‘LGBT ideology.’ The letter, which was coordinated by Belgium’s embassy in Warsaw according to the BBC, expresses the group’s support for “the efforts to raise public awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community and other communities in Poland facing similar challenges.” Among the many diplomats who signed the letter are representatives from the U.S., Australia, India, Israel, Sweden, Finland, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., New Zealand and Japan. Noting that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls for affirming “the inherent dignity of each individual,” the open letter urges Poland to respect and protect its LGBTQ community which has faced backlash from the country’s right-wing government. “Respect for these fundamental rights…obliges governments to protect all citizens from violence and discrimination and to ensure they enjoy equal opportunities,” writes the group of diplomats. “Human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTI persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment,” the letter reads in closing before adding, “This is something that everyone should support.” The BBC reports that nearly 100 towns across Poland have approved local ordinances denouncing “LGBT ideology.” The resolutions carry no penalties but they serve to further divide the country amid the country’s culture wars. Georgett Mosbacher, U.S. Ambassador to Poland, tweeted a link to the open letter with the message, “Human Rights are not an ideology – they are universal. 50 Ambassadors and Representatives agree.”

But Polish leaders clapped back saying LGBT people in his country are not “deprived” of respect. “To the dear ambassadors, I can only say that tolerance belongs to Polish DNA,” announced Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at a press conference. “Nobody needs to teach us tolerance, because we are a nation that has learned such tolerance for centuries and we have given many testimonies to the history of such tolerance.” That said, the Associated Press reports that conservative leaders in the predominantly Catholic nation see the modern fight for LGBTQ civil rights as “a threat to traditional families.” And ILGA Europe has ranked Poland as the worst country in the European Union for LGBTQ people.
(image via Vice News)
President Andrzej Duda won his second term in office after campaigning against equality for queer people and calling “LGBT rights an ‘ideology’ more dangerous than communism.” Poland has no legal recognition of same-sex marriage or civil unions, and same-sex couples have no legal right to adopt children. During the campaign this summer, Duda called for banning all adoptions by same-sex couples. VICE News did an in-depth report into the scare tactics and challenges LGBTQ people face in Poland this summer.