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Four Texas Men Plead Guilty To Hate Crimes After Targeting Gay Men For Home Invasions Via Grindr

Chancler Encalade

Four Texas men have pleaded guilty to federal hate crime charges after using Grindr to target gay men for home invasions.

From the Dallas NBC affiliate:

A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges that he targeted gay men through a dating app in a series of Collin and Denton County home invasions earlier this year.

Chancler Encalade, along with three other men, used Grindr, a dating app for gay men, to arrange meetings with victims at their homes in Frisco, Plano and Aubrey, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The four men restrained their victims with tape, assaulted them, made derogatory statement about their sexual orientation and stole various property, according to the Justice Department. The crimes took place in January and February.

The other men involved, Nigel Garrett, Anthony Shelton and Cameron Ajiduah, have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Encalade faces a maximum life sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Additional info from the Department of Justice:

According to the plea agreement, Encalade admitted that he, Nigel Garrett, and Anthony Shelton used Grindr, a social media dating platform for gay men, to arrange to meet the victim at the victim’s home. Upon entering the victim’s home, the defendants restrained the victim with tape, physically assaulted the victim, and made derogatory statements to the victim for being gay. The defendants brandished a firearm during the home invasion, and they stole the victim’s property, including his motor vehicle.

A federal grand jury previously had returned an eighteen-count superseding indictment, against Encalade and three other men, which included charges for hate crimes, kidnappings, carjackings, and the use of firearms to commit violent crimes. The indictment also charged the defendants with conspiring to cause bodily injury because of the victims’ sexual orientation

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Category 5 Hurricane Maria Heads Towards Puerto Rico & US Virgin Islands

Terrible news for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as Hurricane Maria heads their way after wrecking massive destruction on the Caribbean island of Dominica.

In just over a 24 hour period Maria intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane.

Forecasters say Maria should hit the Virgin Islands by Tuesday afternoon and Puerto Rico late Tuesday into early Wednesday.

Experts say Maria could prove to be even more destructive than Hurricane Irma.

President Trump has already approved emergency declarations for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and authorized federal assistance and disaster relief efforts. The governor of Puerto Rico is urging evacuations.

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Donald Trump To United Nations: “We Will Totally Destroy North Korea”

During his first address to the United Nations General Assembly this morning, Donald Trump warned Kim Jong Un of North Korea (who Trump has now nicknamed “Rocket Man”) that the United States will “totally destroy North Korea” should the rogue nation continues to threaten the U.S.

From the Washington Post:

The president warned of growing threats from North Korea and Iran, and he said, “The scourge of our planet is a group of rogue regimes.”

He praised the U.N. for enacting economic sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. But he emphasized that if Kim Jong Un’s regime continued to threaten the United States and to destabilize East Asia, his administration would be prepared to defend the country and its allies.

“We will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” Trump said, before calling Kim by a nickname he gave the dictator on Twitter over the weekend. “Rocket Man is on a suicide mission for himself.”

Please note that this is the president of the United States using a childish nickname to discuss avoiding a nuclear war with world leaders.

Trump also called the UN-backed Iran nuclear deal “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”

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First Look At “George Michael: Freedom”

Billboard writes:

George Michael: Freedom will cover the singer’s entire career, but will focus particularly on the tumultuous period leading up to and following the release of his sophomore album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.

Filmed before Michael’s untimely death on Dec. 25, 2016, the documentary features narration from the pop star and gives viewers a look into his personal life, including the death of his partner Anselmo Feleppa.

It also includes archival and private home footage from his reclusive period in the early 1990s, just a few years after becoming one of the biggest artists in the world.

The film includes interviews with his famous friends – Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Cindy Crawford, Ricky Gervais, and more.

Premieres Saturday, October 21st at 9pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

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Former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Wiretapped Due To Russian Ties

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort

A lot of bad news tonight for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

• Back in July when federal agents appeared at his home to search his home for evidence in connection to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, experts say he was “setting a tone” for the investigation.

That search was followed by a message from Mueller’s team: prosecutors planned to indict him.

According to the New York Times, Manafort is now “under investigation for possible violations of tax laws, money-laundering prohibitions and requirements to disclose foreign lobbying.”

• In 2014, Manafort became the subject of a legally authorized wiretap via Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant.

The warrant expired in mid-2016 but was renewed as part of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Such warrants require evidence showing suspicion that the subject of the warrant may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.

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News Round-Up: September 18, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Hottie Nick Jonas (above) raises the temperature as he journeys from desert to beach party in his sultry new music video, “Find You,” today.

• Tennis legend and newly revealed homophobe Margaret Court says the LGBT community wants to destroy marriage. “There will be no Mother’s Day, there will be no Father’s Day, there will be no Easter, there will be no Christmas.”

• Police in Tanzania arrested 20 “suspected homosexuals” this weekend in an effort to “intensify vigilance” against LGBTs. Conviction of a sexual act “against the order of nature” in Tanzania can lead to up to 30 years behind bars. The 8 men and 12 women were arrested at a hotel where they were attending an HIV/AIDS education training session.

• Clearly concerned about losing the ratings war to MSNBC of late, Fox News is shuffling it’s evening schedule to pit far-right pundit Sean Hannity directly opposite MSNBC’s ratings champ Rachel Maddow at 9PM.

• Pop star and LGBT ally Demi Lovato says even though magazines and TV seem to be trying “to break” what her sexuality is, she doesn’t intend on giving those folks their soundbite. She says watch her upcoming YouTube documentary “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated” on October 12 for some of those answers offered on her “own terms.”

• Always awesome Maroon 5 drops the lyric video and Slushii Remix for their latest single, “What Lovers Do” featuring SZA.

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Sean Spicer Regrets Lying About Trump Inauguration Size

Sean Spicer

In the aftermath of his surprise appearance at last night’s Emmy Awards, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer told the New York Times that he does have some regrets from his time behind the White House podium.

In an interview on Monday morning, Mr. Spicer said he now regrets one of his most infamous moments as press secretary: his decision to charge into the White House briefing room in January and criticize accurate news reports that Barack Obama’s inauguration crowd was bigger than President Donald J. Trump’s.

“Of course I do, absolutely,” Mr. Spicer said.

[snip]

As Mr. Spicer prepared to return to Washington, he was asked if he was worried about President Trump taking offense over the skit — which many viewers saw as lampooning the president’s preoccupation with the size of his inauguration crowd.

“I certainly hope not,” Mr. Spicer said after a brief pause. “This was an attempt to poke a little fun at myself and add a little bit of levity to the event.”

Spicer’s big moment came in the opening sequence as host Stephen Colbert mused aloud about how many people might be watching the Emmy Awards.

Spicer appeared onstage with a mockup of his former press briefing room podium and recited almost verbatim his now famous “inaugural crowd size” announcement. “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period — both in person and around the world,” he declared with a semi-straight face.

The Times piece also chronicles the lengths Emmy producers went to in order to keep Spicer’s appearance a secret including Spicer traveling from Washington to LA “in disguise.”

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UK Commercial Draws Fire For Including 2 Gay Dads In Ad Spot

A commercial spot for UK based McCain frozen potatoes has conservatives up in arms for including a momentary shot of two dads with their real-life 19-month-old son.

Seriously.

From the ad text:

“Or maybe it’s dad who tucks you up? Dad? Daddy? Two daddies?… Families come in all shapes and sizes, but it’s meal times that make a family.”

Sounds warm and fuzzy, no?

But angry comments were directed at the gay dads from the spot, Lee and Mat Samuels-Camozzi. The men were called pedophiles and accused of denying their child a mother.

Sharing that they’ve received dozens of hateful comments, Lee says, “We are shocked this kind of attitude exists in the 21st century. We’re proud of our little family and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Lee and Mat aren’t the only ones being attacked, though. There are apparently equal opportunity haters on the job here. The spot drew additional ire for including mixed-race families.

Watch the lovely and very inclusive ad below.

(tipped by TRR reader Chad)

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Trump Lawyer Overheard Discussing White House Infighting During D.C. Lunch

The New York Times is reporting there is disagreement among Donald Trump’s lawyers on how to handle turning over documents to Special Counsel Robert Mueller who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

White House counsel Donald McGahn is in favor of a more measured, cautious manner in terms of turning over documents, but Ty Cobb, an outside lawyer brought in to handle the White House response to the investigation, supports turning over every email and document Mueller requests (which is what they are supposed to do anyway, no?).

Making matters more complicated, Cobb was recently overheard talking about strategy and inhouse intrigue during a lunch at a popular D.C. steakhouse.

With a reporter from the New York Times sitting at the next table, no less.

The friction escalated in recent days after Mr. Cobb was overheard by a reporter for The New York Times discussing the dispute during a lunchtime conversation at a popular Washington steakhouse. Mr. Cobb was heard talking about a White House lawyer he deemed “a McGahn spy” and saying Mr. McGahn had “a couple documents locked in a safe” that he seemed to suggest he wanted access to. He also mentioned a colleague whom he blamed for “some of these earlier leaks,” and who he said “tried to push Jared out,” meaning Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, who has been a previous source of dispute for the legal team.

The Times goes on to say that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly “sharply reprimanded Mr. Cobb for his indiscretion.”

Even in entertainment, I learned long ago from my publicist superstar husband to always assume someone can hear you in public.

#amateurhour