Posts

Posted on

Stock Market Bounces Back As Dow Regains Over 1,000 Points

Stock market rebounds after four-day losing streak

Via The Washington Post:

Stocks on Wednesday climbed back from their epic Christmas Eve plunge as all three indexes posted big gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average roared more than 1,050 points in late afternoon — the biggest point gain in history — as stocks snapped a four-day losing streak that had placed the 10-year bull market on the edge of death on Monday.

Wednesday’s preliminary 4.96 percent climb in the S&P is the best Dec. 26 on record, replacing the 3.06 percent gain record set in 1973.

It was the largest daily percentage gain for market since March 2009.

In that the markets prefer stability versus uncertainty, many noted the rebound occurred on a day Donald Trump had not tweeted.

Posted on

Tennis Legend Martina Navratilova Tweets & Deletes Regarding Trans Athletes

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova (image via Twitter)

For almost 40 years, tennis legend Martina Navratilova has been a vocal champion for human rights and the LGBTQ community.

But recently, the 18-time Grand Slam champ made a rare misstep as she took to Twitter to complain about transgender athletes in sports.

“You can’t just proclaim yourself a female and be able to compete against women,” Navratilova tweeted. “There must be some standards, and having a penis and competing as a woman would not fit that standard.”

Navratilova’s remarks drew quick condemnation from trans activists, and the tennis icon quickly deleted her tweet.

Even after the deletion, though, the criticism continued. Dr Rachel McKinnon, who won a women’s event at the UCI Masters track world championships, wasn’t satisfied.

A Canadian cyclist and transgender activist, McKinnon was identified as male before transitioning in her 20s. Her win at the Los Angeles event this past October sparked controversy.

On Twitter, McKinnon denounced Navratilova’s “pro-trans’ tweet and added, “Genitals do not play sports.”

As Cyd Zeigler at Outsports notes, several sporting organizations have addressed the issue of trans-inclusion to give trans women the opportunity to compete as women without having gender-reassignment surgery. The International Olympic Committee made that shift three years ago, and he NCAA has had such a policy since 2011.

Navratilova eventually stepped back after Renee Richards, a pioneer in transgender athletes, weighed in.

“Ok – I take it back,” wrote Navratilova. “Clearly I don’t know what u [sic] am talking about. So once again – I will defer to Renee Richards as she certainly knows what she is talking about. I will find that tweet and delete it. All I want is fairness. Thank you.”

There’s no doubt in my mind Navratilova had zero bad intentions when she shared that tweet. I do think it’s telling of a champion that she publicly admitted to stepping back and committed to educating herself on the issue.

But Navratilova and McKinnon each took one last swipe back at each other:

(h/t Outsports)

Posted on

Billy Porter Claps Back At Kevin Hart & Homophobic Language

Billy Porter (photo: Lizzy Sullivan)

Tony Award winner and Golden Globe nominee for the acclaimed FX series Pose, Billy Porter, slammed comedian Kevin Hart over past homophobic language in a new interview with Consequence of Sound.

Hart recently had to step down from hosting the upcoming Oscars after past tweets using homophobic slurs came to light.

Porter wasn’t having it.

“People think that words don’t matter. I’m going to get into this Kevin Hart thing for just a second. Because it’s not about you having a joke. That’s not what it’s about…

“I say to Kevin Hart, and I say to D.L. Hughley, I say to those people who think that they don’t need to apologize for shit and dig their heels in their toxic masculinity: But you want your rights! You want people to stop shooting your children in the back? But yet still, you turn around and oppress other people the same way you’re being oppressed.

“Fuck that. Fuck you. We’re done.”

Posted on

Trump Skips Troop Visit On Christmas

Donald Trump skips visiting military this Christmas

Donald Trump broke with tradition this year as he became the first president since 2002 to not visit military service members on Christmas.

While the Trumpster did place calls to troops serving around the world, he did not make any visits to wounded warriors or active military on Christmas Day.

More from NBC News:

Based on a check of NBC logs, President Barack Obama visited troops at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, in Kaneohe Bay, every Christmas he was in office, from 2009 to 2016.

Before him, according to a check of news releases, President George W. Bush visited wounded warriors at Walter Reed from 2003 to 2008. He did not visit troops at Christmas in 2002, in the run-up to the Iraq War, or in 2001.

In recent months, Trump has taken heat from critics for not visiting troops in an active combat zone, after canceling a trip to an American military burial ground outside of Paris last month due to weather and skipping the traditional Veterans Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery just two days later.

In related news, The New York Times reports that Trump’s infamous bone spurs diagnosis, which kept him from being drafted during the Vietnam War, may have been a favor by a podiatrist who rented office space from Trump’s dad at the time.

The doctor’s daughter, Dr. Elysa Braunstein, told the Times, “I know it was a favor.”

“What he got was access to Fred Trump,” Elysa Braunstein said. “If there was anything wrong in the building, my dad would call and Trump would take care of it immediately. That was the small favor that he got.”

All of this continues to cloud Trump’s relationship with the US military.

In addition to the lack of troop visits and the draft dodging rumors, Trump has also insulted Gold Star families as well as Sen. John McCain for being captured during the Vietnam War.

The news did not go unnoticed:

Posted on

Mariah Carey Breaks All-Time Single Day Streaming Record

Mariah Carey ruled Christmas Eve on Spotify as her now-iconic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” broke the all-time record for the most streams in a single day.

Mariah Carey ruled Christmas Eve on Spotify as her now-iconic holiday hit, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” broke the all-time record for the most streams in a single day.

Chart Data broke the news that Mimi’s blockbuster single was streamed more than 10.8 times on December 24.

The previous record was 10.4 streams of XXXTentacion’s “Sad!” on June 19, one day after he was shot and killed in South Florida.

“All I Want For Christmas Is You,” released in November of 1994, is now eligible for 5x Platinum status in the US.

The highest charting holiday-themed single in six decades, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” currently ranks 7th on the Billboard Hot 100.

Carey herself seemed to be surprised by the record-breaking news:

Just imagine work you did 24 years ago could still be earning big bucks.

We all know that artists make money, depending on their recording contracts, every time someone purchases their music.

Additionally, since Carey co-wrote “All I Want For Christmas Is You” with producer Walter Afanasieff, she makes bank every time it’s played on the radio, used in a movie or commercial or streamed.

And that can add up.

Business Insider reports the Grammy Award-winner has made over $60 million from the holiday hit alone since its release.

Some songs can become so associated with a certain time of year, they become perennial money makers.

For instance, each spring as warm, sunny weather emerges from winter, “Walking On Sunshine,” by Katrina and the Waves, returns to the airwaves with the 1985 track earning an estimated $1 million each year.

Posted on

Study Shows Alcohol & Coffee Leads To Longer Life

According to a new study, I’m going to live forever.

Well, almost.

According to ABC7 in Chicago, a new University of California-Irvine study indicates that “consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol and coffee is linked to living a longer life.”

The caveat here is that one little word, “moderate.

“The 90+ Study,” begun in 2003, looked into the habits and lifestyles of 1,700 nonagenarians -referred to as “the oldest-old” age group – to determine “what is key to living to your 90th birthday and beyond.”

Posted on

Trump To 7-Year-Old: “Are You Still A Believer In Santa?”

(image via Twitter/FLOTUS)

As Donald and Melania Trump fielded a few NORAD Santa tracker calls on Christmas Eve, the Donald said to a 7-year-old named Coleman: “Are you still a believer in Santa Claus? Cause at 7 it’s marginal, right?”

America, I give you your president.

Merry Christmas!

Posted on

News Round-Up: December 24, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Here’s hoping Santa shows up looking half as hot as this ‘Santa Daddy.’ He sure isn’t your parents’ calendar Santa… 😉

• The Stonewall Inn announced that Madonna has been named a Stonewall Ambassador for the upcoming 50th anniversary Stonewall celebrations in June 2019.

• Don’t miss the 41st Annual Kennedy Center Honors set to air Wednesday at 8 p.m Eastern on CBS. Cyndi Lauper is scheduled to sing a tribute honoring Cher; Kelly Clarkson performs in honor of country superstar Reba McEntire; plus honors for Philip Glass, Wayne Shorter and the creators of Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire).

• A new poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden would beat Donald Trump by 6 points – 42% to 36% – in a hypothetical head-to-head run for the presidency in 2020.

• The Advocate has compiled a list of the Top 10 Homophobes and Transphobes of 2018.

• The ‘Old Gays’ at Into were sat down and asked to identify several modern famous gays.

A few of the queer celebs the gentlemen nail immediately (Gus Kenworthy and Troye Sivan are clearly popular in the elder gay set), but others were met with big ole question marks (“These are people I’ve never heard of;” “I just don’t watch current television”).

Watch below. Pretty cute.

Posted on

InstaHunk Round-Up: Christmas Eve Edition

A round-up of some of my favorite InstaHunks on Christmas Eve
InstaHunks Tom Ernsting and Andrew Serkin

The big day is almost here, so I thought I’d check in on what some of my favorite InstaHunks are doing this Christmas Eve.

Above, woofy couple Andrew Serkin and Tom Ernsting look totes comfy in their long johns.

Another hunky duo, Brett Miles and Alex Abramov are feeling cuddly as the holiday approaches:

UK athlete Dan Tai shares that he’s finished all of his wrapping (except, fortunately, himself):

The Chippendales really want to know what YOU want this Christmas under the tree (or on a throne?):

Broadway actor and star of the Daddyhunt web series, Jim Newman, has been running a whole series of “Day of Christmas” featuring him nude but with strategically placed holiday items:

Adult performer Austin Wolf is way happy about eating “pie.”

A post shared by Austin Wolf (@austinwolfff) on Dec 23, 2018 at 8:16pm PST

Griffy, half of the sexy/crazy Rick and the Griffopotamus Instagram account, has a naughty but nice approach to the Mistletoe:

Woofy Gus Kenworthy is giving out skiing lessons in his hometown of Telluride:

Here’s how they ‘Santa’ down in Rio de Janeiro:

And you can always count on an InstaHunk to find a beach for the holidays. Say ‘hey’ to personal trainer Nik Ripley down in Fiji: