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Rumors Flying That Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan Will Leave Congress In 2018

First, Politico reported this on Speaker of the House Paul Ryan’s eventual departure from Congress:

Despite several landmark legislative wins this year, and a better-than-expected relationship with President Donald Trump, Ryan has made it known to some of his closest confidants that this will be his final term as speaker. He consults a small crew of family, friends and staff for career advice, and is always cautious not to telegraph his political maneuvers. But the expectation of his impending departure has escaped the hushed confines of Ryan’s inner circle and permeated the upper-most echelons of the GOP. In recent interviews with three dozen people who know the speaker—fellow lawmakers, congressional and administration aides, conservative intellectuals and Republican lobbyists—not a single person believed Ryan will stay in Congress past 2018.

Then came this denial, via The Hill:

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says he’s not quitting Congress anytime soon. Asked at the end of his weekly press conference whether he was leaving Congress “soon,” Ryan chuckled and replied as he walked off the stage: “I’m not, no.”

Rumors have been swirling for weeks that Ryan — who this October marked his second year in the Speaker’s office — could resign from Congress shortly after passing his No. 1 legislative priority: tax reform.

The House and Senate are expected to pass a final version of their historic tax-cuts bill next week, with President Trump planning to sign it into law by Christmas Day.

Watch the reporting from CNN today below:

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News Round-Up: December 14, 2017

Ben Cohen

Some news items you might have missed:

• Some #ThrowBackThursday action as I’m reminded of my major man crush on rugby champ and anti-bullying advocate Ben Cohen (above). Check out his 2018 charity calendar here.

• Researchers say having older brothers could increase the likelihood of being gay.

•  Failed Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore threw more anti-LGBT shade even as he refuses to concede his race to Democrat Doug Jones. Moore says he lost due to “sodomy” sweeping the nation.

• Just six months after legalizing same-sex marriage, Bermuda’s lawmakers have reversed course and outlawed marriage equality.

• Gay porn star sentenced to life in prison for “brutal and vicious” murder of his millionaire boyfriend.

• Afterglow, the controversial off-Broadway hit one-act play, celebrates 200 performances tonight and has added a new block of tickets through March 2018.

Via press release: The play explores the emotional, intellectual, and physical connections between three men and the broader implications within their relationships.

 The Advocate called the play “compelling and raw” and “not to be missed.”

Huffington Post wrote, “It’s clear Afterglow will be a must-see among New York theatergoers.”

Afterglow (photo: Mati Gelman)
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FCC Votes To Repeal Net Neutrality Regulations

Further dismantling Obama-era regulations, the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 today to undo rules that stop broadband companies from charging more for access to certain websites or services like Netflix.

From The New York Times:

The Federal Communications Commission voted on Thursday to dismantle landmark rules regulating the businesses that connect consumers to the internet, granting broadband companies the power to potentially reshape Americans’ online experiences.

The agency scrapped the so-called net neutrality regulations that prohibited broadband providers from blocking websites or charging for higher-quality service or certain content. The federal government will also no longer regulate high-speed internet delivery as if it were a utility, like phone service.

The action reversed the agency’s 2015 decision, during the Obama administration, to better protect Americans as they have migrated to the internet for most communications. It will take a couple of weeks for the changes go into effect, but groups opposed to the action have already announced plans to sue the agency to restore the net neutrality regulations. Those suits could take many months to be resolved.

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Robin Roberts Throws Omarosa Shade – “Bye Felecia”

Omarosa Manigault Newman

Yesterday I reported on the firing of reality TV personality Omarosa Manigault Newman from her position in the Trump administration.

Today, Omarosa made the rounds of news shows denying the reports she was forcibly removed from the White House grounds. As usual with the former TV villainess, there’s more and more drama surrounding her even as she exits.

But the best part of the Omarosa departure was a short comment this morning on Good Morning America.

At the end of the segment wherein Omarosa tried to preface some future media attention saying she has “quite the story to tell,” Robin Roberts threw some serious shade with a subtle “Bye, Felecia.”

Delicious.

Watch below.

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Jurors Recommend Death Penalty For Man Who Killed 8-Year-Old He Suspected Was Gay

8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez

Jurors in the case of Isauro Aguirre, found guilty of first-degree murder of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, have recommended the death penalty for the 37-year-old man.

Aguirre was convicted of first-degree murder on November 15. According to prosecutors, Aguirre hated the boy because he suspected he was gay.

From the LA Times:

Jurors on Wednesday voted for the death penalty for a man convicted of fatally torturing his girlfriend’s young son — a savage slaying that led to sweeping reform within Los Angeles County’s child-welfare system.

The verdict ended a murder trial in which jurors heard and saw disturbing evidence about how 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez suffered repeated abuse at the hands of Isauro Aguirre, 37, who stared ahead expressionless as he heard the pronouncement.

When paramedics arrived at the boy’s Palmdale home on May 22, 2013, Gabriel was unconscious and had a cracked skull, broken ribs, burned and bruised skin, missing teeth and BB pellets lodged in his groin. He died two days later after being removed from life support.

During closing arguments in the penalty phase of Aguirre’s trial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Jonathan Hatami told jurors that in the months leading up to the boy’s death, the defendant had reveled in his brutalization, forcing Gabriel to eat cat feces and his own vomit. The boy slept in a small cabinet, the prosecutor said, with his ankles handcuffed, his hands bound and his mouth gagged with a sock.

Aguirre is scheduled to be sentenced on March 8.

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Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold Won’t Seek Re-Election In The Face Of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Rep. Blake Farenthold ((R)

U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold of Texas has announced he will not run for re-election in 2018.

Farenthold, currently in his fourth term in the House of Representatives, has been under fire since it was disclosed that he settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former aide with $84,000 in taxpayers’ money.

Via CNN:

A former senior aide to Rep. Blake Farenthold has approached the House Ethics Committee to share a damning account of working for the Texas Republican, with the intent of describing the congressman as verbally abusive and sexually demeaning — and his congressional office as an intensely hostile environment that drove the aide to physical and emotional distress.

Michael Rekola, who was Farenthold’s communications director in 2015, described in an interview with CNN new details of the congressman’s abusive behavior. It ranged from making sexually graphic jokes to berating aides — bullying that Rekola says led him to seek medical treatment and psychological counseling, and at one point, caused him to vomit daily.

One comment from the congressman was especially personal. Rekola was about to leave town to get married in July 2015, when, he said, Farenthold, standing within earshot of other staffers in his Capitol Hill office, said to the groom-to-be: “Better have your fiancée blow you before she walks down the aisle — it will be the last time.” He then proceeded to joke about whether Rekola’s now-wife could wear white on her wedding day — a clear reference, Rekola said, to whether she had had premarital sex.

In 2014, Rep. Blake Farenthold’s former communications director Lauren Greene sued alleging she’d been sexually harassed by the Congressman while working in his office.

Farenthold denies any sexual misconduct saying he only settled the lawsuit to put the matter to rest.

In the photo above, Farenthold (in the pajamas) posing with two women who were not his wife. You’ll note the woman on the left has an “M” on her hand which apparently meant she was underage and couldn’t legally drink at the event.

Rumors have swirled for years about Farenthold’s excessive drinking and inappropriate behavior.

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Joe Biden On Possible White House Run: “I May Very Well Do It”

It’s still a ways off, but it sounds more and more like Joe Biden really wants to run for prez again.

A lot of folks say they want a younger, fresher candidate for the Democrats, but you’ve got to admit folks like Joe.

And then there’s the fact that we’ve all learned the value of experience in the past 10 months…

Watch Joe on The View this morning where he teases a possible run.

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Hump Day Round-Up

(via Instagram)

As I leave Puerto Vallarta to head back to reality (and truth be told, I’m pretty content with my reality), here’s a moment of eye-candy to help get us all over Hump Day.

🇬🇧PREVIEW OF MY ROOM BOOK 001🇬🇧. . 💢LIMITED EDITION: 99 books only. Still 36 available💢. . 👉🏻About the book: Hard cover, format 8×10″, 66 pages, of which 10 uncensored photographs, personally named and numbered edition, signed by @pascalpprl and me. . ➕Each volume of this series features only one model, photographed in his very privacy, as if the reader could witness every aspect of twenty-four hours of the model’s life. The photos are exclusive to this book. . 📦To order it: click on the link in the @pascalpprl ‘s bio (http://pascalpprl.bigcartel.com/product/rooms-series). . 🇫🇷PREVIEW OF MY ROOM BOOK 001🇫🇷. . 💢ÉDITION LIMITÉE: 99 livres seulement. Encore 36 de disponibles💢. . 👉🏻À propos du livre: couverture rigide, format 20×25 cm, 66 pages, dont 10 photos non censurées, édition au nom de l’acquéreur, numérotée et signée par @pascalpprl et moi même. . ➕Chaque volume de cette série présente un seul modèle, photographié dans son intimité, comme si le lecteur pouvait assister à chaque instant de vingt-quatre heures de sa vie, exclusivement pour ce livre. . 📦Pour le commander: cliquez sur le lien dans la bio de @pascalpprl (http://pascalpprl.bigcartel.com/product/rooms-series). #room #sofa #fall #sleep #frenchmodel
A post shared by Le barbu musclé 🇫🇷 (@killian___) on Dec 13, 2017 at 3:04am PST

50 shades of Christian by @grmphotography 💀🎬A post shared by Christian Olivo (@instachristiano) on Dec 5, 2017 at 8:51am PST