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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Orders (Almost) All Texans To Wear Face Masks In Public

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (screen capture)
For months, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) refused to require citizens of the Lone Star state to wear face masks when out in public. In fact, he banned local governments from doing so. But with new cases of the coronavirus hitting record numbers, Abbott has now issued a statewide mandate requiring Texans to wear masks in public in any county with 20 or more positive COVID-19 cases. From the Texas Tribune:

The order requires Texans living in counties more than 20 coronavirus cases to wear a face covering over the nose and mouth while in a business or other building open to the public, as well as outdoor public spaces, whenever social distancing is not possible.

But it provides several exceptions, including children who are younger than 10 years old, people who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, people who are eating or drinking and people who are exercising outdoors.

The mask order goes into effect at 12:01 p.m. Friday. It immediately applies to all Texas counties, but counties with 20 or fewer active cases can be exempted — if they opt out. County judges must submit an application to be exempted to the Texas Division of Emergency Management. TDEM will list the counties that have opted out on its website.

He also banned certain outdoor gatherings of over 10 people unless local officials approve. He had previously set the threshold at over 100 people.

Without naming names or pointing fingers, Abbott’s order specifically does NOT exempt one group: “any person attending a protest or demonstration” with over 10 people who cannot socially distance. Black Lives Matter movement – he’s talking to you. Hospitalizations for coronavirus hit 6,904 on Wednesday, the third straight day setting a new record.

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Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Promise In First Phase Testing

(image via JumpStory)
  The results of the phase one testing of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine are in and the results are promising. According to StatNews, 45 patients were divided into four groups: 12 were given a 10-microgram dose, another 12 were given a 30-microgram dose, another 12 received a 100-microgram dose, and the remaining 9 were given a placebo. The third group (100-microgram) triggered fevers in half of the patients in that group, and they did not receive follow-up doses. The first two groups (10-microgram and 30-microgram) were given a second injection three weeks after the initial dose. Fevers appeared in 8.3% of those in the 10-microgram group while 75% of those in the 30-microgram group developed fevers. None of the fevers were considered serious nor did they result in hospitalization. The vaccine was found to have generated antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Some of those antibodies appear to be ‘neutralizing,’ meaning they seem to prevent the virus from functioning. The levels of neutralizing antibodies were 1.8 to 2.8 times the level of those found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. But the results weren’t conclusive in proving if the higher levels of antibodies would lead to immunity from the virus. A trial phase involving a larger group of patients will be necessary to prove that people who have received the vaccine are at least 50% less likely to become infected. That next phase of testing is expected to take place this summer. While the results of this first phase have been made public, the data has not yet been peer-reviewed or published by a medical journal. StatNews reports there are 14 different coronavirus vaccines in various phases of testing at this time. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told ABC’s Good Morning America four vaccines have been given authorization to proceed with clinical trials.

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Video: Miami Police Officer Sucker-Punches Woman At Airport

(screen capture)
From the Miami Herald:

A Miami-Dade police officer was relieved of duty after body-camera footage surfaced Wednesday night of him hitting a woman who was yelling at him at Miami International Airport.

The video, obtained by the Miami Herald, shows a masked officer speaking to a Black woman in a terminal on Wednesday when she becomes irate and begins taunting him. “You acting like you white when you really Black…what you want to do?” the woman says.

The unmasked woman steps up to the man, putting her face right in his before he strikes her in the face. “She headbutted me,” he says as the officers rush in to handcuff her.

The officer has apparently been identified as Antonio Clemente Rodriguez, a Black officer of Puerto Rican heritage, who is currently assigned to the airport. The woman’s identity hasn’t been revealed to the public. Steadman Stahl, the president of the Miami-Dade Police Benevolent Association, told the Miami Herald the officer hit her with an “open-hand slap,” sometimes called a “diversionary strike.” I understand the woman got in the officer’s face but is sucker-punching her the answer? I thought he’s wearing a badge because he’s been trained to manage and de-escalate situations?

Miami-Dade Police Department Director Alfredo Ramirez III tweeted that he was “shocked and angered” by the video, and that in addition to relieving the officer of duty, he’s asked for an investigation into the incident.

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Robust News Cycle Leads To CNN’s Best Ratings In 40 Year History

Donald Trump
The Associated Press reports the recent stretch of news regarding the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the lives of the world’s citizens coupled with the racial upheaval triggered by George Floyd’s death has resulted in CNN garnering its biggest audience for any three-month period in the network’s 40-year history. According to the Nielsen ratings, CNN’s weekday prime-time audience of 1.95 million was up 120% over the same period last year. Fox News saw a 43% increase pulling in an average of 4.07 million viewers, while MSNBC’s audience of 2.47 million was up 13% from 2019. Donald Trump, who rarely acknowledges actual facts and figures, routinely refers to CNN as “failing.” Sure, Jan… Even the moderator for CNN’s Twitter account for Public Relations finds the Donald to be exhausting in his perpetual lies.

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News Round-Up: July 1, 2020

Craig Ramsay (photo: Nathan Cox)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Craig Ramsay (above) celebrates Canada Day in his own inimitable style as shot by Palm Springs photographer Nathan Cox. • Pink News: A gay club in Atlanta has finally decided to close its doors until further notice, after a club night last weekend led to several partygoers contracting coronavirus. A video of the party at popular gay club Heretic in Atlanta, Georgia, was circulated on social media, showing hundreds of men dancing close together without masks. The number of new cases of COVID-19 has skyrocketed in Georgia in recent weeks. • NYC Pride: ICYMI, check out the soulful performance by trans artist/producer D. Smith for NYC Pride Month. The continually creative Smith, who among other recent achievements includes writing and producing Billy Porter’s #1 Billboard Club track, “Love Yourself,” picked up the mic to soothe virtual viewers with her richly-layered take on “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” If you like, click here to check out her latest music video, “That’s Why I Love You.”

• Broadway: Want to watch a Broadway legend dazzle on stage for an incredible cause? On July 10, theater fans will be able to watch Bernadette Peters in a never-before-seen-online concert to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The 2009 performance, Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert. will be free to stream here at 8pm ET. Donations are encouraged but not required for viewing. • CBS News: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that indoor dining won’t be allowed to resume when New York City reaches Phase 3 of reopening next week. It will be delayed “until the facts change and it is prudent to open,” he said. • The Independent: After more than 48K new cases of coronavirus in the US were announced on Tuesday (the highest number since the pandemic began), Donald Trump repeated his belief that the coronavirus is going to “just disappear.” “I think we’re gonna be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to, sort of, just disappear — I hope,” Mr. Trump told Fox Business on Wednesday.

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Small Town Refused To Recognize Pride Month, So Folks Organized ‘Pride Ambush’

(all photos via Borderland Pride/Facebook)
This past May, the town council in Emo, Ontario – located near Canada’s border with Minnesota – voted down a resolution recognizing June as Pride Month in a 3-2 vote. Mayor Harold McQuaker and two of the town councilors voted against the resolution. The mayor explained that, in his opinion, it would be unfair to pass the resolution because – wait for it – there’s no “Straight Pride.” During the town council meeting discussing the resolution, McQuaker said: “We have one flagpole and there’s no flags being flown for the straight people.” The Northern Ontario Pride Network filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, saying that “homophobia was the only reason behind the decision to deny” the resolution. According to the complaint, the Pride resolution was approved in Emo in 2018. But in 2019, the town council removed “the resolution’s LGBTQ-supportive language and all references to LGBTQ people, and their inclusion and equality.” A statement in the complaint from the Northern Ontario Pride Network read in part, “In this day and age, it is unheard of for an Ontario municipality to defy the law and to refuse to recognize Pride in such a plainly discriminatory manner.”  BUT – here’s the good part: Even though the resolution recognizing Pride Month was voted down, LGBTQ activists – armed with rainbow flags, feather boas, and balloons – put together an “Emo ambush” Pride parade for the town this past Saturday. Douglas Judson, the co-chair of Borderland Pride, an umbrella organization that represents several Pride celebrations in towns near the Minnesota-Ontario border, worked out a secret plan between residents and businesses in the area to plan an “ambush event.” And so it was, over the weekend, that a 70-vehicle parade convoy carrying hundreds of supporters showed up in Emo.  Some of them lived nearby, others said they drove up to three hours to attend the event. Due to COVID-19, a traditional Pride march gave way to a COVID parade-style procession of decorated vehicles. Even with social distancing guidelines, the attendees set up booths, handed out Pride flags, and gave prizes for categories like “Emo Fair Queen 2020.” Judson told HuffPost Canada, “This was like something that brought joy to our community during a time when, frankly, we’re all kind of starving for a bit of human connection. That’s part of the exercise of Pride.” Judson, who grew up in Emo, added, “It exceeded our wildest expectations. It was really something to have people care that much about sending this message about the need for Pride in small communities.”

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He Put A Ring On It! Sweet Marriage Proposal Goes Viral

L-R Cody Boykin proposes to Brandon Moss (via Twitter)
You know what never fails to make me smile? Marriage proposals. And since we can use some smiles these days, check out the viral video below of Cody Boykin dropping to one knee and proposing to his boo, Brandon Moss. The couple met online in December of 2017, but not the way you think that sounds like. The two became friends from a random comment on an Instagram post. According to their page on The Knot, they can’t remember who sent the first message, but Brandon and Cody soon became Insta-Friends chatting on the social media platform. But, they didn’t actually meet face to face until March 2019. Brandon phoned at 4 am one Sunday morning and asked Cody if he would come to visit him in Lynchburg, Virginia. Cody wasn’t totally sure, but jumped in his car and off he went. According to the couple, Cody arrived at 7:30 am and it was love at first sight. Since then, they made the long-distance thing work, but five months later, standing at the edge of a lake, Cody realized what his future needed to look like. On bended knee, he asked Brandon to marry him. Amid the tears, a stunned Brandon said ‘yes.’ The nuptials will take place this fall in late October. After the wedding, the newlyweds will live in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Cody currently practices law. Tweeting a quick video clip of ‘the moment,’ Cody wrote, “The day I asked my best friend to marry me.” Congratulations to the happy couple!

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Another Firing At Fox News: Ed Henry Out For Sexual Misconduct

Former Fox News anchor Ed Henry (screen capture)
Fox News anchor Ed Henry, a veteran of the Washington political scene, has been terminated after a complaint from a former employee led to an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct from years ago. Via CNN:

“On Thursday, June 25, we received a complaint about Ed Henry from a former employee’s attorney involving willful sexual misconduct in the workplace years ago,” Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace wrote in an email to employees.

Scott and Wallace said that Henry was “suspended the same day and removed from his on-air responsibilities” while a third-party law firm investigated the matter.

“Based on investigative findings, Ed has been terminated,” they said.

Here’s the internal memo announcing Henry’s termination. Henry jumped over to Fox News in 2011 after a 7-year stint at CNN. He most recently was co-anchoring three morning hours of news coverage for the network. In the spring of 2016, tabloid stories began circulating that Henry was having an extra-marital affair. Then-Fox News CEO at the time, Roger Ailes (of all people), went so far as to publicly criticize Henry, saying “this raises serious questions about Ed’s lack of judgment, especially given his position as a journalist.” Ironically, Henry’s departure now follows that of Ailes and one-time Fox News star Bill O’Reilly.

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Out Music: Paul Middleton ‘When Love Takes Over’

Out singer/songwriter Paul Middleton
In the wake of Pride festivals and celebrations around the world being canceled during Pride month, out UK singer Paul Middleton lifts spirits with an all-new cover of the Kelly Rowland and David Guetta hit track, ‘When Love Takes Over’ with a Pride-themed music video to celebrate Pride Month. From Middleton:

With pride canceled and with the lockdown affecting everyone, I tried to capture what made people happy in their day to day lives and connect to the lyrics of the song.

From a mental health approach, we all have gone through tough times together. I wanted this video to show that by doing something positive and healthy for yourself it can have a great knock on effect.

From a pride perspective, I wanted to capture the colourful diversity and beauty in the scene. I am so grateful to these beautiful people that gave their time for this video. When love does take over – great things happen to you.

“When Love Takes Over” is now available to stream/download on all digital download sites.

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News Round-Up: June 30, 2020

Patricia and Mark McCloskey (screen capture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Bear World Magazine: During a time when the Black Lives Matter movement has rightfully taken up space on our news feeds, a conversation has opened up again in Bear spaces about the lack of diversity and inclusion, and the silence of White gays when it comes to the lives of Black people and People of Color. But, it’s a conversation that many White Bears still seem to not want to have. • Local10: In early April, openly gay Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy Shannon Bennett was the first South Florida first responder to be killed by COVID-19. His family was crushed by the loss. Now, they feel like they’ve been dealt another blow after the AIG insurance company denied their claim for accidental death in the line of duty. • NY Post: Mark and Patricia McCloskey (above), the St. Louis lawyers who brandished an AR-15-style rifle and a silver-colored handgun at protesters marching past their home on Sunday, are being investigated for possible criminal charges. The couple insists they were “victims” of threatening trespassers who entered a gated community. Nothing says ‘tough’ as much as a pink polo shirt tucked into a pair of khakis, no?

• AOL: Remembering back to 1993 when Mattel released ‘Earring Magic Ken,’ the accidentally gay version of Barbie’s bf that was just about every ’90s gay stereotype in a chiseled hunk of plastic. • Washington Blade: Amid concerns the iconic Stonewall Inn in New York City may close due the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Gill Foundation announced on Sunday it will match contributions of up to $250,000 to protect the business from closure. • Twitter: This Dallas-area ‘Karen’ threw a temper tantrum when she was told she had too many items for the Express lane. She also refused (surprise!) to wear the face mask she’s holding in her hand. #smh