Category: News

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Kansas Cop Faked Story Of McDonald’s Coffee Labeled “F**king Pig”

A police officer in Kansas has admitted he fabricated the story of a McDonald’s employee writing “f**king pig” on his coffee cup. Via KTLA:

A Kansas police officer who initially claimed McDonald’s employees wrote “F—–g pig” on his cup has resigned, the city’s police chief said.

“In (our) investigation we have found that McDonald’s and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident, this was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer who is no longer employed with our agency,” Herington Police Department Chief Brian Hornaday said in a news conference Monday.

The incident, the chief said, has been an “obvious violation of … public trust.”

“Our job is solely to do this job with the utmost integrity because if you can’t trust the cops, who can you trust,” he said.

After McDonald’s conducted its own investigation, the owner and operator of the Junction City franchise said in a statement the fast-food chain was “glad that the evidence confirmed our evaluation that McDonald’s and our crew members were absolutely not involved.”

The now-fired police officer had been with the department for just two months. After the officer texted the photo of the coffee cup to Hornaday on Saturday, the police chief posted it on his personal Facebook account, which clearly became embarrassing after discovering the story was faked.

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Podcast: Celebrating LGBTQs In 2019 And The 20-Teens

The Randy Report podcast

The Randy Report podcast delivers the week's top stories in a quick, convenient podcast - 'the 60 Minutes of gay news - only shorter' As we head into the roaring 20s, I wanted to take a look back at 2019 and the 20-teens to acknowledge the accomplishments, visibility and fierceness that the LGBTQ community has achieved so far in terms of politics, television, movies and pop culture. Hit play as I acknowledge out athletes, representation in film and TV, and legislative achievements by the LGBTQ community.

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Hypocrisy: Homophobic WWE Wrestler Lars Sullivan Has A Gay Porn Past

WWE wrestler Lars Sullivan back in his RandyBlue days and today (images via Wikipedia)
It seems the year 2019 just wouldn’t end without one more example of homophobic hypocrisy. WWE wrestler Lars Sullivan (real name Dylan Miley) has had a heck of a year after a slew of sexist, racist and homophobic comments he made on Bodybuilding.com message boards some years ago came to light. In June, he suffered a knee injury taking him out of the ring for an estimated 6-9 months. And now, some sharp-eyed Reddit users have discovered Sullivan also used to do gay porn under the pseudonym ‘Mitch Bennett.’  A profile was found on RandyBlue.com for the performer listing two photos and two videos, and it certainly looks like Sullivan. This Twitter user found the introductory moments of “Mitch” in action.

There’s a bit more of where that scene led here (NSFW) that doesn’t get too down and dirty. It won’t surprise you that Sullivan’s Twitter account has since been deleted. All of this follows the wrestler’s very tumultuous months after his internet troll comments came back to haunt him. According to Sports Illustrated, several years ago Sullivan posted offensive comments under two usernames (“ElPerfecto” and “Disenfranchised”) but using a photo of himself. The comments, made between 2007 and 2013, included sexist remarks about WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, racist comments regarding another user, and homophobic insults about NFL quarterback Phillip Rivers.  Here’s just a sample of what the homophobic remarks were like: “Philip Rivers = Crybaby b*tch and is extremely gay. Most of California, especially sothern cal, is gay. Fits well. Hell ‘Philip’ is a gay name in itself!@” Turns out he had disparaging thoughts regarding Hispanics, Muslims and other wrestlers as well. He also once shared that “there is a grey area when it comes to the definition of rape.” Sullivan was fined $100,000 by the WWE based on breaking a morality clause in his contract, and issued an apology. “There is no excuse for the inappropriate remarks that I made years ago,” said Sullivan in a statement released by the WWE. “They do not reflect my personal beliefs nor who I am today, and I apologize to anyone I offended.” And now, his gay porn past comes back into focus. “The guilty dog barks the loudest.” Just to be clear – there’s nothing wrong with being gay; there’s nothing wrong with doing gay porn; but I do have a problem with folks making homophobic comments to sooth their own self-loathing when they’ve taken money earned from the gay community. (Source: Sports Illustrated, RingsideNews)

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News Round-Up: December 30, 2019

Steve_in_la (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: For some #ManCrushMonday action, I’m checking in with woofy Steve_in_la (above) who’s on the most fab European holiday trip. Check him out in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles. I don’t know who’s more gorgeous – Steve or the Palace… 🙂 • CBS News: Governor Jim Justice of West Virginia fired a group of recently graduated corrections officers Monday after they made a gesture resembling a Nazi salute in their class photo. Justice also fired a staffer at the state’s corrections officer academy and suspended four instructors without pay for failing to report the picture. In a statement, Justice said, “This kind of behavior will not be tolerated on my watch in any agency of State government.” • Washington Post: Over the course of his presidency, Trump has visited a Trump-owned or branded property on three out of every 10 days. Slightly more: Of the 1,075 days on which he has been president, he has visited Mar-a-Lago or a Trump Something-or-other on 331 of them, 31 percent of the time. Note – At a rally on Aug. 8, 2016, Trump assured the audience that, “because I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf.” • Politico: Peter Strzok, the former FBI agent who launched the bureau’s Russia probe in 2016 and was fired two years later for sending text messages critical of Donald Trump, has alleged in a new court filing challenging his dismissal that the FBI and Justice Department violated his rights to free speech and privacy. • Gallup: Barack Obama and Donald Trump tied this year as the most admired man. It is Obama’s 12th time in the top spot versus the first for Trump. Michelle Obama is the most admired woman for the second year in a row. • NewNowNext: After returning to the West End production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, drag star Bianca Del Rio was not having a woman in the audience who filmed the first act of the musical on her phone, which was noticed by the cast of the show, including Bianca. “Dear blonde bitch with glasses, Thanks for distracting the ENTIRE CAST and SEVERAL PEOPLE AROUND YOU as you filmed during all of ACT ONE with your phone in your hand. This is not a concert, theme park or even a cruise ship… it’s THE THEATRE! RESPECT IT!”

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Gay Man Robbed & Beaten To Death Christmas Day Over $1

A 60-year-old gay man was violently beaten to death on Christmas Eve defending his partner from a gang of robbers who left the scene of the crime having stolen a single dollar. Juan Fresnada and his 29-year-old partner Byron Caceres were leaving a McDonald’s restaurant in the Bronx near 1:30 a.m. when a man approached the couple demanding money. Friends of the couple told NBC New York, “The guys just told them ‘Give me the money, give me the money.’ He was like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’” The couple reportedly tried to avoid the conflict by heading into a nearby deli, but the perpetrator followed them, and things quickly escalated. “My husband tried to defend me,” Caceres told the New York Daily News. “The guy had his fist ready like he was ready to attack me. My husband said, ‘Don’t you get close to him.’” Two other men joined the first and began to beat the couple. Defen defending his partner, Fresnada told Caceres to run to safety. According to Caceres, the assault lasted between 10 and 15 minutes as the robbers beat Fresnada relentlessly before smashing a steel trash can on his head leaving him in the middle of East 165th Street with severe injuries to his legs and head.

When Caceres returned, he doesn’t own a cell phone and couldn’t call the police, his partner was bleeding and breathing heavily. The younger man attempted CPR but a bystander said that might not be a good idea since Fresnada was breathing so heavily. According to NBC New York, throughout the ordeal, no one stopped to help the couple. Eventually, an ambulance arrived to take the older man to a nearby hospital where he was treated for a fractured skull which led to swelling in his brain and blood pooling in the back of his skull. The younger man refused treatment and is expected to fully recover. Fresnada remained hooked up to a ventilator and unresponsive until he died from his extensive injuries on Friday, December 27. Caceres says he doesn’t believe the attack was a hate crime as he doesn’t remember hearing any homophobic slurs during the assault. The two men met in 2015 through a program for low-income gay men and have been inseparable since. The police have released this montage of surveillance footage of the men. Anyone with information should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

(source: NBC New York, New York Daily News)

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Civil Rights Icon Rep. John Lewis Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer

Rep. John Lewis (image via House.gov)
CNN reports Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta), a longtime congressman and civil rights icon, has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Lewis, 79, said he was diagnosed following a routine medical visit with subsequent tests that reconfirmed the diagnosis. The long-time Georgia congressman will undergo treatment for the cancer.

“I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now,” Lewis, who in March 1965 joined forces with Martin Luther King Jr. to lead a voting rights march out out Selma, Alabama, said in a statement.

He continued later: “While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.”

Pancreatic cancer was the third-leading cause of death from cancer in the United States in 2018, after lung and colorectal cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.

John Lewis stood up for civil rights by taking part in sit-ins when he was just 20. He was beaten during the Freedom Rides when he was 21. He was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington at 23, and had his skull fractured in Selma during Bloody Sunday at the age of 25. John Lewis doesn’t back down from a fight. #fuckcancer

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Report: Most Dangerous Countries For LGBTQ Travelers

After studying the 150 countries that had the most international tourists, travel bloggers at Asher & Lyric ranked the worst countries for LGBTQ travelers. Among the factors considered were laws regarding same-sex relations, propaganda/morality laws, worker protections & protections against discrimination and more. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa and 7th most populous in the world, has the dubious distinction of taking the top spot on the list. Here are the top five most dangerous countries for LGBTQ travelers:

5. Tanzania – homosexuality can be punished by 30 years to life in prison; ‘indecent behavior’ in regard to homosexuality can result in 5 years in prison

4. Saudi Arabia – homosexual acts can be punished by the death penalty, 100 lashes or banishment for a year; gender expression is illegal

3. Yemen – homosexuality among men can result in 100 lashes, a year in prison if unmarried or stoning to death if married; women caught in same-sex relations can receive 100 lashes and/or 3 years in prison

2. Qatar – homosexual acts can result in 1-3 years in prison, flogging and/or the death penalty

1. Nigeria – homosexuality receives up to 14 years in prison or the death penalty; the mere discussion of LGBTQ rights is illegal

The bloggers note that “certain cities, tourist areas or resorts can sometimes be LGBTQ+ friendly even when the laws of the country as a whole are very anti-LGBTQ+. In all cases, do your research.” Check out the full list here.

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Anti-Semitic Intruder Stabs Five During Hanukkah Celebration

A stranger burst into a rabbi’s home in New York state and stabbed five people as they were celebrating Hanukkah. From the New York Times:

An intruder with a large knife burst into the home of a Hasidic rabbi in a New York suburb on Saturday night, stabbing and wounding five people just as they were gathering to light candles for Hanukkah, officials and a witness said.

It was a terrifying scene, the officials and witness reported, saying that the violence occurred at about 10 p.m. as numerous people were celebrating Hanukkah at the home of the rabbi, Chaim Rottenberg, in Monsey, which is in an area with a large population of ultra-Orthodox Jews.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, visiting the rabbi’s home on Sunday morning, called the attack an “act of domestic terrorism.”

The New York Police Department said a suspect had been arrested in Harlem and was turned over to the authorities in Rockland County, which is northwest of New York City and where the attack took place.

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Trump Tells NY & CA He’ll Help With Homelessness If They Ask “Politely”

Donald Trump

Donald Trump took to Twitter today to rant about the issue of homelessness in America. Well, not exactly. The Trumpster tweeted specifically about the homelessness problem in two very blue states: California and New York. Trump wrote, “California and New York must do something about their TREMENDOUS Homeless problems. They are setting records! If their Governors can’t handle the situation, which they should be able to do very easily, they must call and ‘politely’ ask for help. Would be so easy with competence!” It’s worth noting, however, that a Rockefeller Institute of Government study this year found that New York’s residents and businesses consistently send more revenue to the Federal government than any other state, and the state continues to contribute more in taxes than the state receives back in federal spending. And residents of California pay one of the highest rates of federal taxes per capita in the country. As president, states shouldn’t have to beg or “politely” ask for help. That’s what the federal government is there for, and what they pay taxes for. And in the case of these two states, a LOT of taxes. Trump forgets that he’s not a king whose ring should be kissed. He’s an employee of the people of the United States. The Donald’s real issue here isn’t worrying about the homeless (which he’d rather just not see), but the fact that California and New York have governors who won’t bow down to him. Later in the day, Trump took another swipe at New York tweeting, “So sad to see that New York City and State are falling apart. All they want to do is investigate to make me hate them even more than I should. Governor Cuomo has lost control, and lost his mind. Very bad for the homeless and all!”

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More Mass Killings In 2019 Than Any Year Going Back To 1970s

The New York Times analyzed data from all mass shootings since Columbine and found four legislative measures that might have saved lives in some of the mass shootings

(photo: Maurício Mascaro/Pexels)
From Axios: A database compiled by AP, USA Today and Northeastern University finds more mass killings in 2019 than any year dating back to at least the 1970s, AP’s Lisa Marie Pane reports.

There were 41 mass killings — defined as four or more killed, excluding the perpetrator. (33 were shootings.)

James Densley, a criminologist and professor at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, believes it’s partially a byproduct of an “angry and frustrated time” that we are living in: “This seems to be the age of mass shootings.”

Most of the mass killings barely became national news, failing to resonate among the general public because they didn’t spill into public places like massacres in El Paso and Odessa, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Jersey City, New Jersey.

Research going back to the 1970s shows no other year with as many mass slayings. The second-most killings in a year prior to 2019 was 38 in 2006.

The 211 people killed in this year’s cases is eclipsed by the 224 victims killed in 2017 — when Vegas had the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.