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Florida: Gunman Attacks Yoga Studio Killing Two, Wounding 4 More

Another insane shooting occurred Friday evening, this time in Tallahassee, Florida.

Via CNN:

A gunman on Friday shot six people, two fatally, at a hot yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida, police said.

The two people killed were identified as Nancy Van Vessem, 61, and Maura Binkley, 21, according to Tallahassee Chief of Police Michael DeLeo.

The suspect, Scott Paul Beierle, 40, of Deltona, Florida, died of a possible self-inflicted gunshot wound, DeLeo said.

One other person was pistol-whipped.

DeLeo said police were unable immediately to draw a connection between the suspect and the victims of the shooting.

Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, police responded to a call about a shooting at Hot Yoga Tallahassee.

There were indications people fought the gunman and some tried to save others, the chief said.

Responding officers arrived in about three minutes and found the gunman already dead.

The six gunshot victims were taken to hospitals. Vessem and Binkley died at the hospital and the other four are in critical condition, DeLeo said.

All indications are that the shooting was the act of a single person, the chief said.

Heavy.com reports that Beierle was a member of two Facebook groups – FSU College Republicans and We Are Conservatives.

Also, Leon County records show Beierle had a police record of grabbing and slapping women’s butts. USA Today reports he had two arrests, one in 2012 and one in 2016 for such behavior.

Tallehasse Mayor (and current Democratic gubernatorial candidate) Andrew Gillum has suspended his campaign to return to the state capital.

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News Round-Up: November 2, 2018

From the 2019 Red Hot American Boys Calendar

Some news items you might have missed:

• The 2019 Red Hot American Boys Calendar is out! Photographer Thomas Knights says he created the project because growing up he had no red-headed, strong male role models. He says “ginger guys were portrayed in TV and film as ugly and weak.” Well, he’s remedied that.

The project raises money for Athlete Ally, an organization committed to equal access to sports participation regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

• Marc Sophos, who created the OutCasting public radio & podcast programs, will be honored at the AARP Purpose Prize Awards in December. OutCasting gives LGBTQ teens a space to speak freely and hear about topics of interest specific to their world.

Congratulations and thanks to Marc for his commitment to creating safe airways for LGBTQ youth!

• Donald Trump acknowledged today that Republicans could very well lose the House of Representatives in the midterm elections. He says,”I’ll figure it out.”

• An Iowa library has received hundred of books and thousands of dollars after a hater checked out LGBT-themed books and publicly burned them.

• Gay billionaire Peter Thiel says he’ll continue to support Donald Trump in 2020, and explains that Trump’s lies are just “exaggerations of the truth.” Uh-huh, right.

• New from Randy Report favorite Clean Bandit, “Baby” features Marina and the oh-so-sexy Luis Fonsi in this Cuban-influenced dance floor-filler complete with same-sex storyline of lost love. The new single is the latest from Clean Bandit’s new album, What Is Love?

You can check out my many posts covering Clean Bandit here, and check out the sexy new video below.

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Donald Trump Blames Media For Creating Violence By Asking Questions

Donald Trump

Donald Trump walked back his controversial remarks from yesterday when he told warned the refugee caravan that if they throw rocks at American soldiers, he would want them to shoot them with rifles.

“Anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to Mexico and the Mexican military, Mexican police, where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico, we will consider that a firearm,” Trump said. “Because there’s not much difference — when you get hit in the face with a rock, which as you know, that was very violent a few days ago. Very, very violent.”

Today, he reversed course on that plan saying he never said for soldiers to shoot.

The Trumpster also placed blame on the media when asked if his heated rhetoric might be responsible for increasing politically-related violence.

Pointing to Karen Travers of ABC News, he said, “You’re creating violence by your question…A lot of the reporters are creating violence by not writing the truth.”

As Travers points out, earlier this week White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that Trump isn’t placing blame on others.

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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Actor Comes Out Moments After His Character’s First Same-Sex Kiss

Grey's Anatomy actor Jake Borelli came out on social media moments after his character had his first same-sex kiss
Alex Landi & Jake Borelli in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

I’ve been loving the new season of Grey’s Anatomy, especially with the arrival of Alex Landi as the show’s first openly gay surgeon, “Dr. Nico Kim.”

As previously noted, in it’s 15 seasons on the air, the series has featured multiple LGBTQ characters. This includes bisexual Dr. Callie Torres, openly lesbian Dr. Arizona Robbins, and transgender intern Dr. Casey Parker.

The first few episodes of this season have introduced a flirtatious storyline between Kim and nerdy-but-totes-adorable “Dr. Levi ‘Glasses’ Schmitt,” played by Jake Borelli, who joined the cast last season.

Schmitt, who hasn’t identified as anything but straight before now, gasped the first time he saw Kim. And in an operating room scene, he almost fainted when Kim winked at him.

After weeks of awkward chats and missed connections, this all came to a head during last night’s episode as Kim made his move and kissed Schmitt in an elevator.

The kiss, and the moment after, are very touching. Check out this recap of the ‘Kim/Glasses’ TV relationship so far below.

The moment was so impactful, in fact, that Borelli took to his Instagram shortly after the episode aired and came out as gay.

“As a gay guy myself, tonight’s episode was so special to me,” he began. “This is exactly the kind of story I craved as a young gay kid growing up in Ohio, and it blows my mind that I’m able to bring life to Dr. Levi Schmitt as he begins to grapple with his own sexuality this season on Grey’s Anatomy.”

“His vulnerability and courage inspire me every day, and I hope he can do the same for you,” he continued. “To all of you who feel like little Levis out there, know that I do too, that you are seen, and that we’re all in this together. And to everyone who has supported me over the years, I can’t thank you enough, and I love you more than all the stars…”

Showrunner Krista Vernoff told Entertainment Weekly that the inspiration for Borelli’s character and budding romance was a friend in college “who was sort of a clumsy, fumfering type who would trip over his own feet and would stutter, and then he came out toward the end of our freshman year and emerged as a completely different human being because he was living in his truth. Living in his truth seemed to set something free in him where he was no longer tripping over his own feet.”

“I wanted to tell that story with Jake because it felt like a really beautiful way to evolve his character,” she added. “Then we realized we’d never done it! It was a hugely exciting thing.”

I don’t know about you, but we’re totally smitten with Mr. Borelli.

If you haven’t followed Grey’s Anatomy in a while, this is a great time to check back with the folks at Seattle’s Grace Mercy West Hospital.

While we’re here, let’s peruse some of Borelli’s Instagram, shall we?

A post shared by Jake Borelli (@jake.borelli) on Oct 5, 2018 at 11:38am PDT

A post shared by Jake Borelli (@jake.borelli) on Sep 16, 2018 at 4:25am PDT

A post shared by Jake Borelli (@jake.borelli) on Sep 7, 2018 at 3:51pm PDT

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Documentary: ‘The Last Mile’ Explores Impact Of 1993’s ‘Philadelphia’ On Stigma Of AIDS

In advance of this year’s World AIDS Day (December 1) and as a long-standing supporter of HIV/AIDS awareness and research, Coca-Cola is partnering with (RED) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the groundbreaking film, Philadelphia, with a new documentary titled, The Last Mile.

Inspired by the progress made in HIV/AIDS since the 1993 release of Philadelphia, The Last Mile features cast members Tom Hanks, Mary Steenburgen and Denzel Washington along with writer, Ron Nyswaner, discussing director Jonathan Demme’s sensitive vision for the film.

The illustrious group also discusses how the film changed perceptions about HIV/AIDS from fear to compassion, from stigma to empathy.

“It’s hard for people now to realize how intense that moment in time was,’ Steenburgen says in the newly-released trailer. “There was a tremendous amount of fear and a lack of knowledge.”

“I remember the different scarred faces – people with scars on their faces. I remember the sadness,” says Washington.

“Going in and out of New York City, you ended up seeing it all over the place ― men were pushing other men around in wheelchairs,” adds Hanks, who would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his powerful performance of a Philadelphia lawyer diagnosed with AIDS.

Tom Hanks

The documentary short is produced by Coca-Cola as part of the beverage giant’s social initiative Project Last Mile, which works to improve availability of life-saving medications to more and more regions of Africa.

The film shares the work of dedicated healthcare workers in Africa who are changing the face of the AIDS epidemic.

“The strides, they’re extraordinary,” says Hanks of the work being done there. “But, there is still a massive amount of need for attention that something like the pandemic of AIDS is going to require.”

“We have come a long way,” adds Steenburgen. “I think it’s time to continue to be inspired.”

Health worker in Africa delivering HIV medications

In terms of progress, there are nearly 22 million people living with HIV who now have access to treatment. But in 2017, nearly 1 million people around the world died from AIDS – a disease that is both preventable and treatable.

The new documentary hopes to help empower those on the front lines of the epidemic by reinforcing continued awareness and support.

The Last Mile will be available on November 15 at red.org/cocacola.

Watch the trailer below.

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Early Voting In Some States Has Exceeded Total Voting In 2014 Midterm Elections

The New York Times is reporting that absentee and early voting in 18 states and Washington, D.C. for this year’s midterm elections have already surpassed the total votes cast in the 2014 midterms.

Midterm elections tend to attract lower turnout than presidential contests; in 2016, more than 47 million votes were cast early, compared to 27 million in 2014. Yet this year’s advance vote count — which measures both absentee ballots and in-person early voting — has already exceeded the count from four years ago.

Thirty-seven states and Washington permit some form of early voting, with policies and deadlines varying by state. Most of these states also allow absentee voting.

In some cases, the voting is getting close to the levels of the 2016 presidential election.

Have you voted yet?

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Trump Lament’s Loss Of Midterm ‘Momentum’ After Pipe Bombs & Synagogue Shooting

Campaign trail last night, Donald Trump complained that the recent pipe bomb scare and the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue slowed momentum for the Republicans which he described as "incredible."
Donald Trump laments loss of midterm momentum after 11 people were killed

On the campaign trail last night, Donald Trump complained that the recent pipe bomb scare and the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue slowed momentum for the Republicans which he described as “incredible.”

From The Washington Post:

President Trump complained, once again, on Thursday that the recent mail bomb scare and Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting had “stopped a tremendous momentum” for Republicans ahead of next week’s midterms.

Speaking to an energized crowd in an airplane hangar decorated with American flags in Columbia, Mo., the president took time at the end of his speech to brag about the “tremendous numbers” of Republicans going to vote. Yet, he said that the weeks leading up to the “very important election” haven’t exactly gone smoothly.

“Now, we did have two maniacs stop a momentum that was incredible, because for seven days nobody talked about the elections,” Trump said. “It stopped a tremendous momentum.”

After two former presidents were threatened with bombs and 11 people lost their lives, the Trumpster’s concern is Republican momentum?

It really says it all, doesn’t it?

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Barbra Streisand Joins In ‘Carpool Karaoke’ With James Corden

Music and film legend Barbra Streisand joined in the Carpool Karaoke fun with The Late Late Show's James Corden last night as she releases her latest album, Walls.
James Corden and Barbra Streisand

Music and film legend Barbra Streisand joined in the ‘Carpool Karaoke’ fun with The Late Late Show’s James Corden last night as she releases her latest album, Walls.

With his own car jackbooted, he calls on the EGOT winner for a lift.

Immediately reaching for some music, La Streisand initially isn’t too hip to the idea, “I just finished making an album and I don’t usually put the radio on when I’m driving.”

Corden’s sad face saves the day, fortunately for us.

Along the ride we’re treated to “Enough Is Enough,” “Evergreen,” “Imagine,” “What A Wonderful World,” “Don’t Lie To Me” and “Don’t Rain On My Parade.”

Plus, Barbra shares how she really isn’t a great driver (she failed her driving test three times recently),  that performing live still makes her uncomfortable, and how she called up Tim Cook (CEO of Apple) to get Siri’s pronunciation of her name corrected.

And she talks on the theme of her new album inspired by the current political turmoil.

You can get Walls here on iTunes and you can watch the one and only Babs below.

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Accused Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Pleads ‘Not Guilty’ In Court

Robert Bowers

Robert Bowers, accused of barging into a Pittsburgh synagogue and killing 11 people last Saturday, appeared in court today to plead not guilty.

How he can be ‘not guilty’ when he was caught redhanded is hard to imagine, but….

Yesterday, a grand jury indicted Bowers on 44 counts of murder, hate crime, obstruction of religious practice, and more.

Bowers allegedly entered the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and opened fire. Eleven people were killed and six additional victims were injured.

According to prosecutors, the 46-year-old had several firearms, including Glock .357-caliber handguns and a Colt AR-15 rifle.

According to reports, when he was apprehended by police, he told them he “wanted all Jews to die.”

This was the deadliest attack on Jewish people in the U.S. in the history of the country.

The shooting took place during a gay couple’s bris for their newly-adopted twins.

Additionally, one of the victims was a well-known HIV physician in Pittsburgh.

In his court appearance today, Bowers requested a trial by jury which legal experts say could take 3-4 weeks.

If Bowers is found guilty, he faces a possible death sentence for 32 of the 44 indictments. Or, he could face life in prison without parole, or a sentence of up to 535 years in prison.