Category: Round-Up

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News Round-Up: February 19, 2020

(image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: For Wise Wednesday, hunky Dan Tai reminds: “Don’t forget you are the lighthouse in someone’s storm.” Follow him on Instagram here. • USA Today: Bernie Sanders said Tuesday night that he is not planning to release any additional medical records. Sanders, 78, suffered a heart attack in October during a campaign event. He had a blockage in one artery and two stents were inserted, his campaign said at the time. • NY Times: Donald Trump is expected to name Richard Grenell, the American ambassador to Germany, to be the acting director of national intelligence. A vocal Trump loyalist, he would be the first openly gay cabinet member. • Washington Blade: Actor Haaz Sleimann, who is openly gay, was speaking to LGBTQ media outlet NewNowNext for a profile story when he revealed that he will be portraying the husband of a gay superhero in the upcoming Marvel film, The Eternals, slated for a November 2020 release. Sleimann, 43, has recently garnered attention for his role as a gay Syrian refugee in Apple+ TV’s anthology series “Little America.” • NBC News: Don’t forget the Democratic debate tonight from Las Vegas where former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg will take to the debate stage for the first time in the 2020 primary cycle. The debate will start at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET). You can watch the debate on NBC, MSNBC, and Universo. You can also stream it on NBCNews.com and MSNBC.com, as well as their Facebook pages – or the video window below.

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News Round-Up: February 17, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness trainer Diego Lozano (above) couldn’t resist working out on South Beach in Miami although he does note, “A little shade wouldn’t go wrong with this gym.” Follow him on Instagram here. • Washington Blade: The Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill that would prohibit health care providers from engaging in so-called conversion therapy for minors. The Virginia House of Delegates on Feb. 3 passed its version of the bill. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign it into law. • Pink News: An activist group called Queers Against Pete tried to shout down Pete Buttigieg for ‘not representing’ the community while he was talking about his husband. The activists list a string of policy disagreements and grievances with the “out of touch” Buttigieg but are not targeting any of the heterosexual candidates in the race who hold similar policy positions – only Buttigieg. • DListed: Social media users roasted music legend Chaka Khan for her rendition of the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game this weekend. I render no verdict – take a listen.

• NewNowNext: When RuPaul swung by Live With Kelly and Ryan Monday to dish about hosting SNL, he and Kelly Ripa, who hosted SNL back in 2003, shared stories about what it’s like being caught up in the chaotic live taping of the show—particularly between sketches. • Las Vegas Caucus: 8NewsNow in Las Vegas reports that as of 9 a.m. Monday, Nevada Democrats said that more than 26,000 Nevadans participated in the first two days of the early voting process. Of the more than 18,000 voters that participated in the first day, NV Dems says 56 percent of them were first-time caucus-goers. • Campaign Ads: I will give Mike Bloomberg’s campaign team this, they can come up with some devastating ad spots. Check out these two – a President’s Day spot that contrasts the dignity and uplift of previous presidents to the current occupant of the Oval office. The second highlights the overly-aggressive trolling by so-called ‘Bernie Bros’ who routinely attack anyone who doesn’t support their guy.

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News Round-Up: February 13, 2020

Steve and Tobi (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: We’re just a day before Valentine’s Day when we celebrate all kinds of important relationships in our lives. Woofy Steve_in_LA (above) poses with his “#1” Tobi – now those are some handsome faces, amiright? Follow Steve on Instagram here. • We Got This Covered: Sony is reportedly interested in developing a live-action Spider-Verse movie that would unite former Spidermen Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. An idea being considered is to portray Garfield’s version of the hero as bisexual and give him a boyfriend in the film. • Queerty: A man says his dead husband’s healthy organs were refused by a hospital’s organ donation program because of his sexual orientation. “Sean did not have HIV, or any other STD’s for that matter. But because he was a gay man living in America in 2020 he was not allowed one of his final wishes of donating his organs to help save another person’s life.” • The Hill: The Pentagon is moving $3.8 billion from various weapons programs such as the F-35 fighter jet to pay for President Trump’s southern border wall, according to a notice sent to Congress on Thursday. • Advocate: A new study shows gay and bisexual men have higher rates of skin cancer compared to heterosexual men. • US News: Donald Trump has proposed a 25 percent cut to the signature military fund designed to offset Russian aggression in Eastern Europe, according to the Defense Department’s budget documents unveiled this week. So, he wants more money for defense EXCEPT when it comes to Russia??? • Gay Star News: San Francisco city Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation this week that could remove restrictive regulations on bathhouses introduced at the height of the AIDS epidemic. The city’s gay saunas closed when the established new rules in 1984. They insisted owners tore down individual cubicles and video rooms so people couldn’t have unsafe sex in private. • New Music: Check out the latest from popster Anne-Marie – “Birthday” is an empowering pop bop that exudes the artist’s mischievous personality and powerful vocals. The official video – a modern-day nod to Cinderella – is a playful visual, following Anne-Marie celebrating her birthday like a princess, complete with a lavish, show-stealing ball gown and dancing in a huge, opulent drawing-room. But at the stroke of midnight, she finds herself back in more modest surroundings at home, celebrating with her friends. Fun and upbeat. I like.

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Podcast: Pete Buttigieg’s Historic Night, Switzerland Approves LGBTQ Protections, VINCINT’s New Single ‘Save Myself’

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' In this week’s podcast: • Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a historic night at the Iowa Caucuses • Voters in Switzerland overwhelmingly approved protections for LGBTQ people • Virginia becomes the first state in the South to approve statewide LGBTQ protections • A beloved morning talk show host in the UK came out as gay • A star of the Netflix docuseries ‘Cheer’ is getting ready to climb to the top of the human pyramid All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report Hit the play button below to listen, and if you enjoy catching up on LGBTQ news in a quick podcast, please share this with your friends 🙂

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News Round-Up: February 7, 2020

Anthony Varrechia (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Like a LOT of folks, I find designer Anthony Varrecchia (above) to be sooo sexy. I’ve been meaning to point out, by the way, that I try to feature a wide range of InstaHunks – younger, older, muscular, beefy, bear-y, all races…Someone made a remark to me a few months ago on my ‘lack of diversity’ in the choices of eye-candy and I was like…whaaaat? • NY Times: Just hours after Donald Trump had Lt. Colonel Alex Vindman escorted from the White House, Trump has fired Gordon D. Sondland, the ambassador to the European Union. Both testified in the House impeachment inquiry into Trump’s alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine. • New Hampshire: Two new polls show Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg leading the pack in the upcoming New Hampshire primary. A new NBC News/Marist poll finds Sanders gets support from 25 percent of likely Democratic primary voters in the Granite State, while Buttigieg gets support from 21 percent. The Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll puts the two even closer with Sanders at 24 percent and Buttigieg at 23 percent. • Courthouse News: At a record 20.4 million voters, California officials announced Thursday over 80% of the state’s eligible voters are registered to vote in next month’s Super Tuesday primary – the highest rate for a presidential primary since 1952. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla says there are currently over 3 million more registered voters compared to a similar point in the 2016 presidential election. • Washington Post: Just days after the earth saw its warmest January on record, Antarctica has broken its warmest temperature ever recorded. A reading of 65 degrees was taken at Esperanza Base along Antarctica’s Trinity Peninsula on Thursday, making it the ordinarily frigid continent’s highest measured temperature in history. • ABC News: In a rare dissent within party ranks, Republican Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont said during a news conference that he believes Donald Trump abused his power and shouldn’t be in office. He added the U.S. Senate should have been allowed to hear more from witnesses who could have provided evidence about the charges against Trump. • KIT212: Kenneth rounds up the what’s what in local gay rags across the country, like Ben McLaughlin and Lee Gonzalez on the cover of Chicago’s GRAB Magazine.

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News Round-Up: February 6, 2020

Shania Twain and her boys (photo: Denise Truscello)
Some news items you might have missed: • Las Vegas: Shania Twain (above), the top-selling female country artist of all time, has announced additional dates for her Las Vegas residency show, “Let’s Go!” at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Bonus – there are shirtless boys in the production as well 🙂 • Advocate: Pose star Billy Porter has clapped back at the homophobes who launched a petition against Sesame Street after it was announced the openly gay actor will be appearing on the long-running children’s show.  “If you don’t like it, don’t watch it,” Porter said, according to Page Six. “Like, what about me singing with a penguin has anything to do with what I’m doing in my bedroom?” • Newsweek: New poll results from Morning Consult released Monday showed all five of the leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination (Biden, Sanders, Buttigieg, Bloomberg, Warren) defeating President Donald Trump in hypothetical match-ups. • SNL: Don’t forget it’s RuPaul Week on Saturday Night Live! Check out the teaser video for Ru’s hosting gig this Saturday.

• Charisma News: Virulently anti-LGBTQ activist Franklin Graham is taking legal action against the 7 venues in the UK that canceled his booked appearances after public outcry over his hate speech. • Politico: Andrew Yang’s campaign fired dozens of staffers this week after an abysmal finish in the Iowa caucuses, according to four former staffers who were let go. Yang finished sixth in Iowa, receiving just 1 percent of delegates, according to the most recent count. • Houston Chronicle: The Log Cabin Republicans, a conservative LGBT group, will not have a booth at the Texas GOP Convention yet again. At a recent meeting, the State Republican Executive Committee moved to deny the group the booth. The group has applied for a spot at the event for at least 20 years without success. • World Of Wonder: In his upcoming book Name Drop, Ross Mathews shares a ‘Mean Girls’ moment from 2007 when The View host Barbara Walters gestured to Mathews backstage at the gabfest and barked, “Who is he and why is he here?” • The Informant: Jan Peter Meister, a 52-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested after telling federal authorities he drunkenly left a threatening voicemail at Congressman Adam Schiff’s Washington, D.C. office after watching Fox News and googling the congressman’s phone number: “I’m gonna fucking blow your brains out you fucking piece of shit.” Doesn’t he sound nice?

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News Round-Up: February 5, 2020

(image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: It is #BeefDip Bear week in Puerto Vallarta (above) and our favorite PV spot, Mantamar Beach Club, is where the action’s at. • Advocate: Chicago man arrested for robbing Grindr dates armed with a taser. • Epoch Times: Cute deaf dog adopts cute deaf guy #DogsRule

• The Wrap: The ratings for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night were not boffo, down 26% from his first two SOTU addresses. • Instinct Magazine: The man behind the March on Washington, who helped organized multiple bus boycotts, and served as a mentor/advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. has been posthumously pardoned of his anti-gay arrest charge. • ABC News: Iowa caucus update – with 86% of precincts reporting, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg had 27% of the vote and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had 25%. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren had 18%, former Vice President Joe Biden had 16% and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar had 12% of the vote.

(graphic via ABC News)

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News Round-Up: January 30, 2020

Ryan Worley (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ryan Worley (above), of the world-famous Chippendales, is totes adorbs watching this kitten’s fascination with a string of lights. Follow him on Instagram here. • Advocate: The South Dakota House of Representatives Wednesday approved a bill that would make it a crime for doctors to give gender-transition treatment to minors. Doctors could receive up to a year in prison and a fine of $2,000. • Super Bowl: RuPaul took to social media to remind folks that he was the first drag queen to star in a Super Bowl commercial back in 2000. Here’s some #TBT action for you:

• AP: A bill proposed by a group of Republican lawmakers on Wednesday that would have amended the Iowa Civil Rights Act by removing protections against discrimination for transgender people is dead. • ABC News: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Donald Trump would “definitely” encourage primary challengers to run against any GOP Senators who vote against him in the ongoing impeachment trial. “You could very well see the president encouraging or creating primaries against senators that are up this year if they went and voted the other way,” • Sesame Street: The long-running children’s television show announced on Facebook today that Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award winner Billy Porter will be “bringing those fierce vibes to Sesame Street” in an upcoming episode. The post showed Porter posing in his iconic tuxedo dress from the Oscars.

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News Round-Up: January 29, 2020

Daniel Sheehan (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: I totally agree with designer Daniel Sheehan (above) on the issue of less: “As I get older I am understanding the notion of Less, that less can in fact be MORE. Better quality life, stronger relationships, and focus on what is really important to me as an individual and as a member of society.” Follow the wise and woofy Sheehan on Instagram here. • The Gaily Grind: Lee Brobson, 30, had to be hospitalized after he was brutally beaten up by two men during a night out after he bravely stood up for two of his gay best friends who were being subjected to a homophobic attack for holding hands. • BBC News: A number of gay men say they are going to extreme lengths to change their bodies – including using steroids and having plastic surgery – just to become “accepted” by others in the LGBT community. • NBC News: Donald Trump’s impeachment lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, argued today that a quid pro quo involving a president’s political benefit was fine because all presidents believe their elections are in the public’s interest. Essentially, if Trump withheld nearly $400 million in aid to pressure Ukraine into announcing investigations of Democrats to help his campaign, that’s fine because Trump thinks his election is to the country’s benefit. • Advocate: Nine Republican lawmakers in Iowa have introduced a bill that would remove gender identity from the state’s nondiscrimination law — and if the bill passes, it would mark the first time an entire category was removed from such a law in any state. • MLive: Supporters of a ballot initiative to protect LGBT Michigan residents from discrimination say they’ll begin collecting signatures as soon as this weekend following initial approval from a state board. The group has until May 27 to collect 340,047 valid petition signatures in order to be eligible for statewide ballot in fall 2020. • Twitter: When Donald Trump Jr. tried to appropriate Billy Porter’s Grammy Awards lewk in an attempt to troll Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, Porter clapped back on Twitter throwing classic shade complete with closing curtains.

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News Round-Up: January 28, 2020

Jeff Ferreira (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Jeff Ferreira (above), standing in Times Square, “Kiss me, use me! Today I will be all yours!” #HoldMyBeer You can follow Jeff on Instagram here. • MetroWeekly: A pastor and right-wing broadcaster who was recently granted press credentials by the White House has claimed that the coronavirus was sent by God to “purge” LGBTQ people. • Advocate: Thanks to public outcry by queer Los Angelenos, the L.A. LGBT Center will not be losing its funding to offer free tests for HIV, syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. On Monday, the center was informed its resources were scheduled to be cut – but queens will rise up. • Super Bowl: Rupaul’s Drag Race alums Kim Chi and Miz Cracker are featured in a new commercial for Sabra hummus scheduled for the big game on February 2.

• Instinct Magazine: Porn star Armond Rizzo took to his social media after being approached by an adult studio that reportedly pays performers in the bottom bunk less than their co-stars. Armond was not having it: “It’s just unjust you pay bottoms less, and for that I decline working for you!” • Washington Blade: The Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday voted 63-34 to repeal the state’s statutory same-sex marriage ban. House Bill 1490, introduced by state Del. Nancy Guy (D-Virginia Beach), would officially repeal Virginia’s prohibition the U.S. Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional in its 2015 ruling in the Obergefell case. • LA Times: Sen. Bernie Sanders has taken a significant lead – 6 points over Sen. Elizabeth Warren in number two spot – in the Democratic primary race in California. Under state Democratic Party’s rules, delegates go to candidates who get at least 15% of the vote statewide or in a congressional district.