Touching Audio Messages From Grampa + ‘9-1-1’ Returns + More

Some news items I thought worth your time:

• PEOPLE: Jazz singer Richard Cortez (above) has rediscovered and shared touching audio messages sent to him years ago by his late grandfather after Richard came out as gay. One of the cassette recordings has reached 3.5 million views, touching people around the world. Listen below.

@richardcortezmusic

grandpa abe and his cassette tape recordings are heard on ii. summer. #jazz #lgbt #gaytiktok #jazzsinger #crooner

♬ original sound – richardcortezmusic

• OUT: Ricky Cornish shares his experience aboard the brand new queer voyage RU5H, the first sex-progressive gay cruise featuring world-renowned DJ’s, and parties that went until sunrise.

• Kenneth-in-the-212: Check out this week’s round-up of LGBTQ (and adjacent) publications including Miguel Bernardeau and Guitarricadelafuente chatting with Variety about Netflix’s sexy gay period drama La Bola Negra.

• NBC News: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is (finally) sending a ‘disease detective’ to Pennsylvania help stop the nation’s worst measles outbreak in 30 years, with 1,222 confirmed cases, 225 hospitalizations, and at least six diagnosed with the disease dead.

• CNN: Newly-installed White House press secretary Katie Zacharia failed the California bar exam after earning her law degree at Pepperdine University. And yet, she shared at least 15 social media posts identifying her as an “attorney” over the past two years.

Katie Zacharia on why she failed the bar exam:

We knew we would be moving out to China. And I was distracted and overwhelmed with being married https://t.co/J01KsRpf3I

— FactPost (@factpostnews) October 15, 2026

• What To Watch: I discovered the Ryan Murphy hit drama series “9-1-1” about two years ago and have since binge-watched all nine seasons. Season 10 premieres tonight on ABC with my friend, Tony Award-winner Greg Jbara, joining the cast!

Yes, it can go “over-the-top” with some outrageous rescue situations, but I love the characters — especially Angela Bassett’s “Sergeant Athena Grant-Nash”) and Oliver Stark’s out bi firefighter “Buck.”