Category: News

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News Round-Up: March 13, 2020

Matt Moran in ‘Stranger Hearts’ now streaming on Dekkoo
Some news items you might have missed: • Dekkoo: Matt Moran (above) stars as Billy, a smooth-talking media mogul by day/leather bar aficionado by night, who finds his life turned upside down when he’s faced with an unexpected health crisis in the new drama Stranger Hearts now streaming on the gay-centric platform. Read my review of the series here. • Axios: Louisiana is the first state to delay its primary in response to the novel coronavirus. The contest has been moved from April 4 to June 20. Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio have announced their March 17 primaries will go on as scheduled. • KIT212: Don’t miss Kenneth’s weekly round-up of gay rags in the U.S. and abroad including Connor Jessup covering Attitude Magazine (below). • The Hill: Democratic Senate candidate Mark Kelly (D) has a 12-point lead over Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) in the Arizona Senate race, according to a Univision poll released Friday. Kelly garnered 48 percent support versus McSally’s 36 percent. • Snopes: At today’s press conference regarding the coronavirus, PBS Newshour’s Yamiche Alcindor asked Donald Trump about closing the National Security Council’s pandemics team in 2018. That group would have been on the ready to coordinate responses to any possible pandemics. Today, Trump denied knowing anything about the team’s dismissal.

• Buzzfeed News: Donald Trump’s announcement that the US will suspend all travel from Europe to the US for 30 days sent Americans traveling in Europe into hysteria trying to get home when he failed to mention the ban wouldn’t affect U.S. citizens. • Washington Post: Donald Trump tried to blame the current coronavirus threat on former President Barack Obama. Folks weren’t having it.

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Miami Beach: Andrew Gillum Involved In Crystal-Meth Incident

L-R Andrew Gillum (photo via campaign site), Travis Dyson (photo via Facebook)
When police responded to a cardiac-arrest distress call at a Miami Beach hotel early Friday morning, they found Andrew Gillum, former mayor of Tallahassee and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, in an inebriated state in the hotel room. According to the Miami New Times, paramedics were treating another male, identified as Travis Dyson, for possible drug overdose when the police arrived. From the Miami New Times:

The officers stated that the third man involved in the incident, Aldo Mejias, had lent Dyson his credit-card information to rent a hotel room yesterday afternoon and that the two were supposed to meet later that day. Mejias told the officers that he arrived at the hotel room around 11 p.m. and that Dyson opened the door and then immediately collapsed on a bed and began vomiting. Mejias said he began giving Dyson CPR and called 911.

Mejias told police Gillum was inside the hotel room “under the influence of an unknown substance.” Mejias said that while he was performing CPR on Dyson, Gillum was vomiting in a bathroom. Officers said that they tried to speak with Gillum but that he was “unable to communicate due to his inebriated state.”

Miami Beach Fire-Rescue said it responded to the hotel a second time for a “welfare check” on Gillum, at which time he was in a stable condition.

The officers said they found three small baggies of “suspected crystal meth” on “both the bed and floor of the hotel room.” Officers said Gillum left the hotel room “without incident” that night and went home.

No criminal charges have been filed at this time. Miami Herald reporter David Smiley shared via Twitter a statement from Gillum saying he has “never used methamphetamines.”

New Times attempted to contact Mejias but received no return call. The newspaper reached Dyson by phone Friday afternoon but he seemed confused about anyone attending a wedding. “I personally was not celebrating a wedding,” said Dyson. “I don’t know if [Gillum] was in town for a wedding. He did not mention that.” Additionally, Dyson shared that he’s known Gillum “for a while.” The New Times reports that Dyson, when pressed further about his friendship with Gillum, went silent and hung up. He didn’t answer subsequent calls. Since the story broke, several people on social media have shared that Dyson is a well-known male escort in the Miami area.

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Palm Springs White Party, LA Pride Postponed Due To Coronavirus Concerns

(image via White Party/Facebook)
Add Pride celebrations to the long list of events now being postponed thanks to concerns about the coronavirus threat. Organizers for Los Angeles Pride announced today that “all events related to the 50th Anniversary of LA Pride that were scheduled for June 2020” have been postponed.

On Thursday, organizers for the first-ever Pride of the Americas in Fort Lauderdale announced the event would be moved to later in the year. Miami Pride has been canceled with no replacement date announced. The White Party in Palm Springs has been rescheduled to October 30 – November 2, 2020.

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Report: The Need To Flatter Trump Impeded Coronavirus Response

(image via public domain)
Politico reporter Dan Diamond told NPR’s Terry Gross during an episode of “Fresh Air” that infighting at the Department of Health and Human Services and the need to flatter Donald Trump impeded the response to the coronavirus. Via NPR:

In the case of [Health and Human Services Secretary] Alex Azar, he did go to the president in January. He did push past resistance from the president’s political aides to warn the president the new coronavirus could be a major problem. There were aides around Trump – Kellyanne Conway had some skepticism at times that this was something that needed to be a presidential priority.

But at the same time, Secretary Azar has not always given the president the worst-case scenario of what could happen. My understanding is he did not push to do aggressive additional testing in recent weeks, and that’s partly because more testing might have led to more cases being discovered of coronavirus outbreak, and the president had made clear – the lower the numbers on coronavirus, the better for the president, the better for his potential reelection this fall.

You can listen to the chat via NPR below. Diamond’s remarks referenced above happen around the 29:20 mark.

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News Round-Up: March 12, 2020

Kumail Nanjiani (images via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • Men’s Variety: After getting into incredible shape for the upcoming Marvel film The Eternals, Kumail Nanjiani (above) says his new fitness led him to develop a subtle form of body dysmorphia. “I’d look in the mirror and I’d see my abs—and when I looked again, they would fade. I would just see the flaws.” • Sun-Sentinel: The inaugural LGBTQ+ Pride of the Americas, which would have been something of an international Pride event, has been postponed until the fall. The weeklong schedule of concerts, parties, street festivals, conferences, symposiums as well as a parade, fashion show, awards banquet and 5K run was to take place at various venues throughout Broward County. • NBC News: Former Vice President Joe Biden delivered a speech on combating the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the country. Biden drops this badass line at the 5:33 mark – “President Trump is welcome to adopt all of it today.”

• LGBTQNation: People who booked an Atlantis cruise for next week are getting angry that the company hasn’t canceled the cruise and won’t refund them if they don’t go, even though other major cruise lines are canceling due to coronavirus. • Twitter: You don’t get any more badass than Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) as she adds up the costs for a battery of coronavirus tests, then reads the federal regulations that gives the CDC director the authority to authorize paying for these tests for all Americans. And then gets him to commit to doing so. Watch below.

• Reuters: Gay dating apps like Grindr and Scruff are warning users to take precautions to avoid contracting coronavirus but are expecting an uptick in traffic as millions of people move online to talk rather than meet face-to-face in bars and clubs. • TalkingPointsMemo: Speaking at the White House today, Donald Trump falsely claimed that all people returning from Europe are being tested for Coronavirus and being quarantined if they are positive.

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Dow Jones Drops 2,353 On Worst Trading Day Since 1987 Crash

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

Trump walks past reporters with no comment
Donald Trump (image via public domain/White House)
The U.S. stock markets had their worst day since the 1987 crash as the Dow Jones dropped more than 2,300+ points. From the New York Times:

Stocks continued their plunge on Thursday, as President Trump’s latest effort to address the coronavirus outbreak — a ban on the entry from most European countries to the United States — disappointed investors who have been waiting for Washington to take steps to bolster the economy.

The S&P 500 closed down about 9.5 percent, its biggest daily drop since the stock market crashed in 1987, on what came to be known as Black Monday. The decline has left stocks in the United States firmly in a bear market — a term that signifies a decline of 20 percent from the most recent highs.

For the Dow Jones industrial average, the drop of 10 percent was also its worst since the 1987 stock market crash.

Before he was president, Donald Trump had strong opinions about who should be held accountable when the markets had huge drops. #TheresAlwaysATweet  

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Rugby Player Suspended 10 Weeks For Grabbing Player’s Junk

England’s Joe Marler grabs (screen capture)
An independent commissioner handed English rugby player Joe Marler a 10-week suspension for grabbing an opposing player’s genitals during Saturday’s Six Nations win over Wales. The decision was made at a disciplinary hearing in Dublin reports the BBC. The shortest ban under World Rugby rules for “grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals” is 12 weeks, though the commission reduced that by three weeks to take account of mitigating factors, including good character and remorse. However, they also increased the ban by one week after taking into account Marler’s recent disciplinary record.

Marler’s teammate Danny Care told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast he doesn’t believe there was any malicious intent in the grab. “If you know Joe and you’ve played with him or spent a lot of time with him, you know he hasn’t done it in a malicious way,” said Care. “You know he hasn’t gone out there to annoy anyone or anger anyone or disrespect anyone. He’s done it in Joe’s way of being Joe.” “When I saw it, I just thought it was two lads messing around who were good mates but I can completely understand the massively split reaction,” he added. “Out of the context of sport and as a bit of banter, it obviously isn’t funny. You put that in any other place of work and there’s going to be some serious repercussions from it.” “I think anyone involved in rugby, things like that are seen as a joke,” Care concluded. “It’s seen as a bit of banter. I don’t see an awful lot wrong with it.”

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Health Officials Warn Of Specific Vulnerabilities Of LGBTQs To Coronavirus

An open letter signed by over 100 LGBTQ or LGBTQ supportive organizations asks media outlets and health care providers to be aware that LGBTQ people have particular vulnerabilities in regard to the coronavirus. The list of original signers to the open letter include the National LGBT Cancer Network, LGBTQ seniors advocacy group SAGE, New York Transgender Advocacy Group, National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality and Whitman-Walker Health. “As the spread of the novel coronavirus a.k.a. COVID-19 increases, many LGBTQ+ people are understandably concerned about how this virus may affect us and our communities,” begins the letter. “The undersigned want to remind all parties handling COVID-19 surveillance, response, treatment, and media coverage that LGBTQ+ communities are among those who are particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects of this virus.” The group points to three specific factors that can lead to increased vulnerability for LGBTQ people: • The LGBTQ+ population uses tobacco at rates that are 50% higher than the general population. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that has proven particularly harmful to smokers. • The LGBTQ+ population has higher rates of HIV and cancer, which means a greater number of us may have compromised immune systems, leaving us more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections. • LGBTQ+ people continue to experience discrimination, unwelcoming attitudes, and lack of understanding from providers and staff in many health care settings, and as a result, many are reluctant to seek medical care except in situations that feel urgent – and perhaps not even then. The letter also notes that there are more than 3 million LGBTQ seniors in the U.S. Studies have shown queer elders are less likely than heterosexual counterparts to reach out for aid from health and aging providers due to fear of discrimination. In that COVID-19 has a much higher impact on people over 60, this dynamic becomes heightened during the current coronavirus threat. The group encourages LGBTQ people to find welcoming health providers if they are experiencing symptoms like fever or coughing. If you don’t have a medical provider you feel comfortable with, GLMA provides a directory for welcoming providers here. Additionally, the Human Rights Campaign has a list of LGBTQ-friendly medical centers and hospitals here. You can read the full letter at cancer-network.org/coronavirus. The Centers for Disease Control lists several steps to help prevent coronavirus infection here.

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Trump Met With Brazilian Official Now Diagnosed With Coronavirus

(image via Instagram/FabioWajngarten)
The Washington Post is reporting a Brazilian official who attended meetings with Donald Trump and Mike Pence at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday has tested positive for coronavirus. Fabio Wajngarten, a spokesman for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for covid-19, Brazilian officials said. Wajngarten posted a photo to his Instagram account where he is standing directly on Trump’s left side.

Bolsonaro has reportedly canceled his official agenda on Thursday and remains at the presidential palace. He is under medical observation, according to two people close to him who requested anonymity because the information isn’t public. Trump said he “isn’t concerned” about the development, according to a White House pool report.

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NBA Suspends Season After Player Tests Positive For Coronavirus

After a player for the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus, the NBA announced the rest of the season would be suspended until further notice. More on CNN here.