Celebrity fitness trainer Craig Ramsay With so many people doing the stay at home thing, we’ve seen a lot of YouTube and Instagram guys offering home workouts to keep us fit both mentally and physically. But one of the things we’ve noticed is they can get to be a little boring after a while, and we need a new twist on things. Woofy fitness guru and Bravo star Craig Ramsay is pairing his passion for exercise and online social gaming together to break up the monotony and bring some fun to home fitness. Well-known as the co-host of Bravo’s “Thintervention” with Jackie Warner, Ramsay was also half of the fan-favorite gay couple on Bravo’s “Newlyweds The First Year.” SciPlay, one of the world’s leading social gaming companies, reached out to Ramsay to help launch the Fitness & Slots YouTube channel. A fan of SciPlay games for years, Ramsay has developed exercise programs that match-up with the games. For example, if you get a bonus on the game, you get a bonus exercise as well.
“Exercising is always important, but recent events and restrictions have made our society even more stressed than before, and people all around the world have difficulty maintaining a normal daily routine that includes movement,” says Ramsay. “That stress has a negative effect on us, and physical movement has the power to make us feel de-stressed and calm.” Ramsay says the combination of exercises and gaming has helped motivate clients to move their bodies, feel physically and mentally great, and positively impact their health and wellness while walking, stretching, performing bodyweight exercises, and more. The YouTube channel features workouts based on SciPlay’s gaming hits. Viewers will learn all about Ramsay’s fitness philosophy, participate in weekly challenges, and get inspired to ‘gamify’ their workouts.
Ramsay also mixes it up by doing Instagram Live sessions focusing on stretching with a nice pour of wine called “Stretch – A Reason to Wine.” Check out some of his recent Instagram posts from Palm Springs where he’s currently sheltering in place.
L-R Roy Horn, Siegfried Fichbacher Roy Uwe Ludwig Horn, whose collaboration with Siegfried Fischbacher created the world-renowned duo Siegfried & Roy, died of complications from COVID-19 today in a Las Vegas hospital. He was 75. Together, Siegfried & Roy redefined live magic by combining remarkable stagecraft with rare and endangered animals. In doing so, the duo created the modern era for Las Vegas entertainment. “Today, the world has lost one of the greats of magic, but I have lost my best friend,” said Siegfried. “From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried.” “Roy was a fighter his whole life including during these final days. I give my heartfelt appreciation to the team of doctors, nurses and staff at Mountain View Hospital who worked heroically against this insidious virus that ultimately took Roy’s life.” The duo never defined their relationship for the public but over time they became known as “former lovers and lifelong friends.” Born October 3, 1944 in Germany, Roy developed a connectivity to animals from an early age, beginning with his beloved wolfdog Hexe and his pet cheetah, Chico, which he adopted from the Bremen Zoo. While working as a steward on a cruise ship, Roy assisted in a performance of Siegfried’s magic act. After the show, Roy asked the question that changed both of their lives: “Siegfried, disappearing rabbits are ordinary, but can you make a cheetah disappear?” After a pause, Siegfried said, “In magic, anything is possible.” Unbeknownst to him – and the ship’s captain – Roy had smuggled his pet cheetah aboard the cruise. So began a 50-year entertainment odyssey that took Siegfried & Roy around the world, breaking box office records from Japan to Radio City Music Hall. But it was their four-decade-long run in Las Vegas that established them as global superstars. Siegfried & Roy started in 1967 as a featured act in notable Las Vegas revues “Follies Bergère,” “Hallelujah Hollywood” and “Lido de Paris.” They grew to headliners in “Beyond Belief” at the New Frontier in 1981. (promotional photo) But the duo became a Las Vegas “destination” of international renown with their precedent-setting, 14-year run at The Mirage that began in 1989. The $30-million production – unheard of at the time – sold out the then-largest theater in Las Vegas history nightly. The expectations for live entertainment, especially on all the stages of the Las Vegas Strip, were forever changed the moment the show opened. In their good vs. evil spectacle of lights, sound, and never-before-seen spectacular magic, the duo introduced the world to their extensive animal family – more than 55 white tigers, white lions, leopards, jaguars — even an elephant – that appeared and vanished with mesmerizing speed and panache. Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage became a must-see for all Las Vegas visitors and hundreds of notable personalities including Presidents, royalty, Hollywood and sports stars, and dignitaries from all walks of life. Their creative vision ultimately grew to include film, television and books, and Siegfried & Roy continue to share their magical world with millions of visitors at the Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy at The Mirage. On October 3, 2003, Roy’s performance career ended when one of his white tigers, Mantecore, reacted to what Roy believed was a stroke and dragged him off the stage. Roy mystified all medical experts by surviving the incident, and its complications, to live a full and rewarding life after the show ended. He traveled the world, visited his animals daily and could be seen attending shows and philanthropic events in Las Vegas. From that night on, Roy referred to Mantecore as “my lifesaver.” “Roy’s whole life was about defying the odds,” added Siegfried. “He grew up with very little and became famous throughout the world for his showmanship, flair and his life-long commitment to animal conservation. He had a strength and will unlike anyone I have ever known.” Roy is survived by his brother Werner Horn, his animal family, and of course, Siegfried. (via press release)
(image by Tom of Finland) Some news items you might have missed: • Gay Star News: Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Tom of Finland – the illustrator who defined an idealistic gay body for a generation of men. Check out GSN’s quick guide to Touko Valio Laaksonen – better known as Tom of Finland. • Human Rights Campaign: Helle Jae O’Regan, a 20-year-old transgender woman, was killed in San Antonio, Texas, on May 6. Her death is believed to be the at least 11th violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person this year in the U.S., and the sixth known violent death in just over five weeks. • Instinct: Ruh-roh – apparently guys can now access the gay dating app Grindr from their laptops. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in gay publications across the country like Gloss Magazine’s ‘Social Distancing Issue’ below. (image via GlossMagazine.net) • San Diego Tribune: Souplantation, the popular buffet-style dining brand founded 42 years ago, is closing all 97 of its restaurants permanently, a casualty of the coronavirus pandemic that is likely to be the death knell for all self-serve eateries. The announcement was made by Garden Fresh Restaurants which owns both Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes. • CNBC: California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Friday allowing all registered voters in the state to receive a mail-in ballot this November. Newsom also clarified that California will still provide an opportunity for people to vote in person at a polling center. • Out Music: It’s a love song gone wrong for singer/songwriter and multi-talented artist Joshua Sade James and his new single, “All Fall Down.” The song’s bittersweet inspiration was related to a relationship and breakup he’d had while in college. “It allowed me to do a lot of self-reflection,” shares James. “I wrote the song after the second time we broke up, and just got to think about how truly toxic we were towards each other.” The award-winning artist adds, “It was interesting to shoot this video with a current love interest when it’s actually about a previous one.”
(image via MSNBC) The U.S. economy lost a mind-blowing 20.5 million jobs in April, a number ten times the previous record and by far the highest seen since the Great Depression. From NBC News:
The unemployment rate soared to 14.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent in March after months at a half-century low, according to the monthly employment report, released Friday by the Department of Labor.
In just over a month, the coronavirus has wiped out all job gains since the Great Recession and brought the country’s decade-long record economic growth streak to an abrupt halt.
April’s staggering jobless total is more than 10 times that of the previous unemployment record of 1.96 million, set in September 1945, when American soldiers returned home after World War II. The new unemployment rate is the worst since the height of the Great Depression, when it hit 24.9 percent.
Applications for unemployment benefits last week totaled 3.17 million bringing the 7-week running tally to 33.5 million
WATCH: Unemployment rate spikes to 14.7% in April as number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise. #MTPDaily@ChuckTodd: “Fighting this virus has caused an historical spike in layoffs … U.S. lost more than 20 million jobs just in the month of April.” pic.twitter.com/fz8uoz6Ru1
A new medical study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug often touted by Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19, is not effective in treating patients with the disease. From CNBC:
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by researchers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, looked at 1,376 consecutive patients who showed up at the emergency room with symptoms of coronavirus.
Nearly 60%, or 811 of the patients, received the drug within 48 hours and were found, on average, to be more severely ill than those who didn’t receive the drug, the researchers said. They said the study’s findings didn’t find any potential benefit or harm from the drug, adding a rigorous, randomized clinical trial is needed.
The new findings come two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers against chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 outside a hospital or formal clinical trial setting.
Researchers in multiple studies looking at the drug have noted serious heart rhythm issues in those treated with the medication. Two weeks ago a study conducted at Veterans Administration hospitals found patients on the drug fared worse than those who received just standard care. And, a study in Brazil ended abruptly after COVID-19 patients being given chloroquine, a medication used to create hydroxychloroquine, developed unusual heart rhythms, which led to death in some patients. As I recently reported, Gilead Sciences’ experimental drug remdesivir seems to be the front-runner in terms of a drug that may actually help COVID-19 patients.
Katie Miller, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence (image via Twitter) Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus. From CNN:
President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Miller is now the second White House staff member known to have tested positive for the coronavirus this week, after one of Trump’s personal valets tested positive on Thursday.
“She’s a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive,” Trump said during a meeting with Republican members of Congress at the White House.
The President said that Miller has not come into contact with him but noted that she has been in contact with Pence.
Miller was frequently in contact with members of the press, and the White House is now making more coronavirus testing available to journalists, a White House official told CNN’s Jim Acosta.
Katie Miller is married to Stephen Miller, a top domestic adviser to Trump who writes many of his speeches and is credited as one of the architects of the administration’s anti-immigrant policies. In the report by CNN’s Jim Acosta below, he notes that the White House press corps has not seen many staffers at the White House wearing face masks. As Acosta says, “It appears they haven’t gotten ‘the memo.'”
BREAKING NEWS: CNN reports that Pence’s press secretary @VPPressSec, wife of Stephen Miller, has tested positive for the coronavirus. Photo source: Twitter. pic.twitter.com/wNSwSJPC5I
President Trump confirmed that Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, is the staffer who tested positive for coronavirus. She is married to Stephen Miller, one of President Trump’s top advisers. https://t.co/BGojifGem8pic.twitter.com/317Ak37j7R
There’s nothing funny about Mike Pence’s press sec Katie Miller, wife of top Trump staffer Stephen Miller, testing positive for Coronavirus. But irony abounds, considering these folks think the rest of us should sacrifice our lives for the economy.
Fitness guru Craig Ramsay (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunk: Fitness guru and Bravo star Craig Ramsay (above) is giving you serious legs in Palm Springs. He’s been promoting his fitness routines “Stretch – a reason to wine.” • OutRight Action International: The German Bundestag (Parliament) passed a bill today banning the harmful practice of “conversion therapy” on minors. With its passage, Germany joins Malta, Ecuador, Brazil, and Taiwan to become only the 5th country in the world to ban “conversion therapy.” • Military Times: The Defense Department has issued new guidance that says a past COVID-19 diagnosis is “permanently disqualifying” for those trying to join the U.S. military. • Pink News: Oscar winner Kevin Spacey has broken his silence for the first time since a rash of sexual assault allegations brought a halt to his acting career. Speaking via video as part of a three-day business conference he reportedly compared his “emotional struggles” after being accused are comparable to those of people affected by coronavirus. • New Music: Trans pop-star Kim Petras has released her brand new single “Malibu,” a glittering, summery pop-bop. “‘Malibu’ is a return to color, the feeling of being in love, and the escapism pop that I love the most,” says Kim.
• Towleroad: A gay couple in Tulsa is speaking out after a “Christian” neighbor put up horrific anti-LGBT signs, including a rainbow flag with a black “X” in his yard, directly across the street from their house. • Media Matters: Fox News has devoted seven and a half times as much coverage to Shelley Luther, a Dallas, Texas, salon owner, jailed for reopening her business in violation of the state’s stay-at-home order than the network has given to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man in Georgia who was out for a jog and was killed by two white men with ties to local law enforcement. • Vox: For folks who might be conflicted about Tara Reade’s allegations aimed at former Vice President Joe Biden, I encourage you to read this detailed account from a journalist who interviewed Reade several times. Reporter Laura McGann notes that as a supporter of the Me Too movement, she writes, “I wanted to believe Reade when she first came to me, and I worked hard to find the evidence to make certain others would believe her, too. I couldn’t find it.” • HuffPost: Donald Trump has regularly cast blame on those in the White House before him, saying falsely that he was left with “empty cupboards” when he replaced then-President Barack Obama. When asked by ABC News what HE had done to restock those cupboards over the past three years, Trump replied, “Well, uh, I have a lot of things going on.”
ABC: You’re three years into your term. What did you do when you became president to restock those cupboards that you say are bare?
A Georgia father and son were arrested and charged with murder Thursday evening in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery amid intensifying pressure from across the political spectrum.
Footage of the young black man who was fatally shot by a white man in Georgia ignited outrage across the political spectrum, with former vice president Joe Biden comparing it to a lynching and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) calling the shooting “absolutely horrific.”
President Trump, speaking at an event in the Oval Office on Thursday, said he expects to get a “full report” on the incident and called the death “a very sad thing.”
Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, spoke passionately about the incident during a virtual campaign roundtable focused on African American issues Thursday, telling participants that watching 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery “shot down in cold blood” was like seeing him “lynched before our very eyes.”
Arbery was killed in February while jogging in a residential neighborhood in Brunswick, Ga. Video of his brief interaction with at least two men who confronted him, seconds before the gunshots, was released on social media this week.
Gregory McMichael, 64, a retired police detective, and his son, Travis McMichael, 34, saw Arbery jogging and told police they believed he looked like a suspect in a series of neighborhood burglaries (although local journalists found just one burglary reported to police between Jan. 1 and Feb. 23). The two men grabbed a handgun and shotgun and began chasing Arbery in a truck, according to a police report. Gregory McMichael said he shouted to Arbery, “Stop, stop, we want to talk to you,” before pulling up in their truck. Approaching him with their guns, a physical altercation ensued that left Arbery dead. You can see the video below as well as a Twitter thread from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the only black Republican in the Senate.
So if this video hadn’t emerged of Travis McMichael killing Ahmad Arbery the D.A would have never brought this to the grand jury? So a black man can now add jogging to the “Things you can’t do while black” list. #AhmadArbery#JusticeForAhmaudArberypic.twitter.com/VzyA4Y8yTz
— 🌊Sunny Baudelaire🌊 💅🏽💁🏽♀️ (@AquilaThomas09) May 6, 2020
THREAD: Every.single.time. The excuses pour in – “he looked suspicious”… “we thought he was committing a crime”…The fact remains, #AhmaudArbery was hunted down from a pickup truck and murdered in cold blood. My heart breaks for his family, and justice must be served.
#IRunWithAhmaud, just as every person of color should be able to go for a jog or out to the store without fear. Congress can do our part – starting with finally fully passing anti-lynching legislation. However, as a nation, we have to admit some hard truths.
#AhmaudArbery is far from the first person of color to meet this fate. But his life, or James Byrd’s, or Emmett Till’s, can’t be forgotten. The only way we can stop this is together, as one American family. It’s too late for Ahmaud; let’s ensure his memory powers a better future.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced Nevada will begin the process of opening on Saturday, May 9, which is sooner than the anticipated date of May 15th. Sisolak announced an overall decreasing trend since April 21 of COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU hospitalizations. “Our cumulative test positivity rate reached 12.2 percent on April 24 and has since decreased to 11.2 percent as of yesterday,” tweeted Sisolak. “When it comes to confirmed COVID hospitalizations, we’ve seen an overall decreasing trend since April 21, a total of more than 14 days.” Allowed in Phase 1 of Reopening:
-Restaurants can open for dine-in, but employees must wear face coverings. Reservations must be required, spacing must be 6 feet apart, and bar areas will remain closed. People waiting to be seated must wait outside.
-Barbershops may open by appointment only with chairs 6 feet apart. Only one customer per stylist and partitions in between chairs are encouraged. Employees must wear face coverings.
-Retail stores may reopen but can only allow 50% capacity. Open-air malls may reopen, but indoor malls must remain closed although curbside pickup at indoor mall stores is allowed.
-Auto dealers can open, appointments encouraged. Showrooms can be open but only allow 50% capacity.
Our cumulative test positivity rate reached 12.2 percent on April 24 and has since decreased to 11.2 percent as of yesterday. When it comes to confirmed COVID hospitalizations, we’ve seen an overall decreasing trend since April 21, a total of more than 14 days. pic.twitter.com/iiSNrRHXyP
Now I’d like to go through what Nevada’s Phase 1 of our Roadmap to Recovery will look like. First off: businesses that will be reopening with strict social distancing requirements…
RESTAURANTS cont…Reservations should be required. Tables/booths must be spaced 6 ft apart. Bar tops/bar areas within restaurants remain CLOSED. If waiting to be seated, patron must wait outside.
BARBER SHOPS, HAIR SALONS & NAIL SALONS: – Partitions/walls between each work station are strongly encouraged. If not, must only use every other chair or ensure they are 6 ft apart. – Services must be provided through appointment ONLY. No walk-ins. – Face coverings required
RETAIL: Retail businesses are strongly encouraged to promote & continue online or call-in ordering, curbside, delivery, and/or pickup operations, but they may now reopen under strict social distancing requirements.
Open air malls may open in accordance with the retail business standards I just mentioned. Indoor malls remain closed to the public, but may establish an outdoor curbside or pick-up operation to the extent practicable, following strict social distancing requirements
Michael Flynn (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr) The Department of Justice is reportedly planning to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. I guess this saves Donald Trump from issuing a pardon… From the Washington Post:
The Justice Department moved to drop charges against former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his Russian contacts during the presidential transition.
The unraveling of Flynn’s guilty plea marked a stunning reversal by the Justice Department in the case of the former three-star Army general who was convicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Flynn was one of the first and highest-ranking Trump aides to cooperate and be convicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements about his Russian contacts during the Trump presidential transition.
Having been a senior foreign policy aide for Trump during the 2016 campaign, Flynn served 24 days as national security adviser before being fired from the White House in 2017 for “misstating the nature of his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak to Vice President Pence, senior White House aides, federal investigators and the news media.” I feel the need to reiterate – Flynn pleaded guilty.
William Barr’s Justice Department (but not the prosecutors on the case) told a federal judge it doesn’t believe it can prove a charge that Mike Flynn HAS ADMITTED TO IN OPEN COURT.
Just blatant corruption. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to get a deal to shield him and his son's crimes as unregistered Turkish foreign agents. He's lucky he didn't get a FARA charge.
This should not be covered as normal. The Justice Department went full-on banana republic. https://t.co/y3jDcS7sk4
