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Michelle Obama’s Memoir Has November 18 Release Date

Former First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted the news today that her upcoming memoir, to be titled Becoming, will be released on November 13, 2018.

“Writing BECOMING been a deeply personal experience,” she wrote via Twitter. “It has allowed me, for the very first time, the space to honestly reflect on the unexpected trajectory of my life. In this book, I talk about my roots and how a little girl from the South Side of Chicago found her voice and developed the strength to use it to empower others. I hope my journey inspires readers to find the courage to become whoever they aspire to be. I can’t wait to share my story.”

It was announced last year that both Michelle and President Obama had signed a joint agreement with Penguin Random House for both of their proposed memoirs.

TIME reported that the dual memoir package could be worth in excess of $60 million.

Presidential memoirs have historically racked up big fees and book sales.

Former president Bill Clinton’s memoir “My Life” was reportedly sold for more than $10 million.

Former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s “Living History” drew an $8 million advance.

And when it comes to book sales, Barack Obama has a proven track record. His three previous books — “Dreams From My Father,” “The Audacity of Hope” and “Of Thee I Sing” — have sales in excess of four million copies.

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Mexican President Cancels White House Visit After “Testy” Phone Call Over Border Wall

Donald Trump (L) and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (R)

The tense relationship between Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto continues in “testy” territory as a tentative plan for Peña Nieto to visit the White House has been scrapped thanks to disagreement regarding Trump’s long-promised border wall.

From The Washington Post:

Peña Nieto was eyeing an official trip to Washington this month or in March, but both countries agreed to call off the plan after Trump would not agree to publicly affirm Mexico’s position that it would not fund construction of a border wall that the Mexican people widely consider offensive, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential conversation.

Speaking by phone on Tuesday, Peña Nieto and Trump devoted a considerable portion of their roughly 50 minute conversation to the wall, and neither man would compromise his position.

One Mexican official said Trump “lost his temper.” But U.S. officials described him instead as being frustrated and exasperated, saying Trump believed it was unreasonable for Peña Nieto to expect him to back off his crowd-pleasing campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.

During a phone call in January 2017, Trump admitted to Peña Nieto that they both were “in a little bit of a bind” over the promised border wall.

“The fact is, we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall,” Trump told Peña Nieto. “I have to. I have been talking about it for a two-year period. If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that.”

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Poll: 70% Of Americans Support Stricter Gun Laws

Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz

In the aftermath of the tragic gun massacre in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows increased support for stricter gun laws at its highest level in almost 25 years.

From the survey:

• 70% say they support stricter guns laws; only 27% oppose stricter laws

• The intensity of support is also deepened as 52% of those says they “strongly” support stricter gun laws

• 57% of those who in live in gun-owning households support stricter gun laws

• 57% say they are concerned they or a family member will be a victim of gun violence

• 87% support keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons or those with mental health issues

• 71% support preventing those under 21-years-old from buying any kind of gun

• 63% support a ban on the sale and possession of high-capacity ammunition magazines

• 46% have a favorable view of the National Rifle Association; 49% hold an unfavorable view – that’s the worst rating for the NRA since 1995

A recent poll by Quinnipiac shows similar results:

• 66% of American voters support stricter gun laws

• 97% support universal background checks for all gun buyers

• 67% support nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons

• 83% support a mandatory waiting period for all gun purchases

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Gus Kenworthy’s Sassy Sunday Twitter Feed

2018 Winter Olympians Adam Rippon (L) and Gus Kenworthy (R)

Out Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy is having a sassy time on the Twitter today as he enjoys the closing ceremonies in PyeongChang.

From sharing the news of Team Russia’s gold medal win in men’s hockey (“Russia’s biggest win since the 2016 Presidential election!”) to questioning Ivanka Trump’s “hard work” to get to the Olympics to teasing his new bestie Adam Rippon (“Please stop calling me. You’re honestly starting to get v clingy and I can’t anymore”).

More please.

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Podcast: Celebrating The 2018 Out Winter Olympians

Out U.S. Olympians (L-R) Adam Rippon, Brittany Bowe and Gus Kenworthy

As the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang come to a close, join me as I celebrate the awesome accomplishments of the openly gay, lesbian and bisexual Olympians at these games.

Of a record 15 out LGBTQ athletes (including out men for the first time at a Winter Olympics), four athletes won a combined seven medals.

The number of out Olympians at these Games is more than double the seven from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. In contrast, there were 56 out Olympians at the much larger Summer Olympics in 2016.

Listen as I recap the fantastic achievements of U.S. Olympians Adam Rippon, Gus Kenworthy and Brittany Bowe as well as Canada’s Eric Radford, the Netherlands’ Ireen Wust, Belgium’s Jorik Hendrickx, Belle Brockhoff and Barbara Jezeršek of Australia, Swiss snowboarder Simona Meiler and more.

Hit the play button below.

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Texas: Undefeated Trans High School Wrestler Looks To Repeat State Title

High school wrestler Mack Beggs

One year ago, undefeated high school wrestler Mack Beggs won a Texas state wrestling title in his weight division.

The story was noteworthy not just because of the athletic achievement, but because Beggs is a transgender male who, due to state rules and laws covering scholastic athletics, is forced to compete as the gender assigned him at birth.

This year, Beggs is again undefeated going into the finals of state competition and, again, he will have to compete in the girls’ division.

Beggs would like to wrestle boys, but state law denies him that opportunity.

Although Beggs is aware of female wrestling opponents and their parents looking for evidence of “body-building” drug enhancement they might deem unfair, the truth is Beggs’ weekly injection of .18 milliliters (36 milligrams) is medically prescribed and monitored for the primary purposes of stopping his menstrual cycles and allowing him to grow body and facial hair.

Compare that dosage with what male body builders typically inject – 500 to 1,000 milligrams of testosterone per week.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Beggs shared that he plans to have “top surgery” in the coming months and apparently has at least one offer to join a college wrestling team.

No matter what, Beggs is confident that other people’s bigotry will not hold him back in life.

“People don’t realize that what happened during state, that was really, honestly, nothing,” Beggs said. “That didn’t stop me from competing. That didn’t stop me from being who I was. It sure as hell didn’t stop me from doing what I wanted to do in the past, and it won’t stop me from what I want to do in the future.”

Watch Beggs’ interview below:

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Defense Secretary Delivers His Recommendation On Transgender Military Service To Trump

Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade is reporting that Defense Secretary James Mattis did indeed deliver his recommendation to Donald Trump regarding transgender military service members.

Hogan Gidley, a White House spokesperson, confirmed Mattis had delivered his recommendation to Trump, but wasn’t forthcoming about the next steps.

“The White House has received the Department of Defense’s recommendations on transgender personnel in the military,” Gidley said. “It is currently under review.”

Maj. David Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesperson, said late Friday the “secretary made his recommendation to the White House this morning.”

The recommendation was due Wednesday in correspondence with a directive Trump issued in August banning transgender military service. Mattis was initially scheduled to meet with Trump on Tuesday for lunch, but that was cancelled due to scheduling conflict. The recommendation had to wait until Friday.

Officials wouldn’t disclose the nature of Mattis’ recommendation to Trump. According to multiple media reports, Mattis was expected to advise Trump transgender people should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military.

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Hawaii Appeals Court Rules Against B&B For Turning Away “Detestable” Lesbian Couple

Good news from the Aloha State!

Hawaii’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling on Friday that found the owner of Aloha Bed & Breakfast discriminated against California couple Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford when the owner refused to rent them a room based on their sexual orientation.

Hawaii has a very clear public accommodation law which requires equal access to facilities and services regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

So, it probably didn’t help business owner Phyllis Young when she admitted the turned the women away because, in her view, homosexual relationships were “detestable” and “defiled the land.”

Way to lose a court case, Phyllis.

LGBT legal eagles Lambda Legal represented the couple in the lawsuit.

“This has never been a case about the money,” said Jennifer Pizer of Lambda Legal. “It’s really been about a civil rights law that needs to protect everyone, it needs to be real and it needs to be followed. When people come for a vacation or other reasons to visit in Hawaii, everyone should be treated equally.”

(source)

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More Businesses Severing Ties With NRA After High School Gun Massacre

In the aftermath of the tragic school shooting in Florida last week, several major businesses have severed ties with the National Rifle Association.

Among those are Hertz, Alamo, Symnatec, First National Bank of Omaha, LifeLock and many more.

Today, United Airlines and Delta Airlines both announced they would end discount agreements with the NRA, and both airlines asked that their information be removed from the NRA website.

Remember folks – in America we vote with every dollar we spend.

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Gus Kenworthy & Adam Rippon Reflect On Their Experiences As Out Olympians

Adam Rippon (L) and Gus Kenworthy (R)

As the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang are coming to a close, The Today Show sat down with American Olympians Adam Rippon and Gus Kenworthy to reflect on their journey through these Games as the first ever openly gay U.S. Winter Olympians.

Freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who came out in 2015 after he won a silver medal in Sochi, admitted that he didn’t know if the support he’d enjoyed would continue as an out athlete.

“I was very much in the closet and very much ashamed of who I was, and I actually didn’t get to appreciate the medal that I won because of that,” he said. “I didn’t know if the gay skier would be an image anyone wanted to get behind or support.”

In reality, Gus has enjoyed more endorsements than just about any other U.S. Olympian.

Figure skater Adam Rippon, who earned a bronze medal at these Games, said it was important to him to show up and be exactly who he is.

“I came here being authentically myself and sharing my story, and being gay is part of that,” Rippon told NBC’s Craig Melvin. “But I came here as an American athlete and I came here to help my team get a medal in that team event, and that was what I focused on.”

Adam found himself at the center of a political firestorm before the Games began with a comment about Vice President Mike Pence’s history of anti-LGBT policies. He also turned down an opportunity to speak with the Vice President.

But Adam handled the issue with aplomb: “I didn’t take the phone call [with Pence] because I needed to focus on the competition.”

Rippon says he would “totally” be open to chatting with the veep after the closing ceremonies in PyeongChang.

If that video disappears, watch the full interview here.