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News Round-Up: March 9, 2020

L-R Michael Caprio, Barry Manilow, me
Some news items you might have missed: • Las Vegas: Hubby Michael and I were invited to an industry night at the Westgate Hotel here in Las Vegas where pop music legend Barry Manilow is still thrilling audiences. In a fast-paced 90 minute show, Barry belts out hit after hit, inspiring standing ovation after standing ovation. If you’re heading to Sin City, I highly recommend you check out this truly authentic star who continues to knock it out of the park. • NY Times: A year after the “London Patient” was introduced to the world as only the second person to be cured of H.I.V., he is stepping out of the shadows to reveal his identity: He is Adam Castillejo. “This is a unique position to be in, a unique and very humbling position,” he said. “I want to be an ambassador of hope.” • CTV News: Legislation has been introduced in Canada that would make it illegal to cause a minor to undergo conversion therapy; to remove a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy in another country; cause a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will; profit from providing conversion therapy; or advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy. • Spokesman-Review: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a bill that prohibits defendants from using a “panic defense” in court to justify violence against a member of the LGBTQ community. Washington is now the 10th state to ban so-called “gay panic” or “trans panic” defenses. • The Hill: Former 2020 Democratic contender Michael Bloomberg gave $2 million to a nonprofit working to Collective Future, a nonprofit working to registering black voters ahead of November’s general election. The group is working to register 500,000 black voters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. • Passing: Openly gay playwright Mart Crowley, author of the groundbreaking play The Boys in the Band, about a group of gay and bi friends in New York City, has died at age 84. The play, a hit off-Broadway in 1968, went on to become a feature film directed by William Friedkin in 1970. Crowley finally received a Tony Award for his opus when an all-star cast brought the play to Broadway in 2018. Hollywood super-producer Ryan Murphy is now bringing that production to Netflix in the foreseeable future. RIP Mart Crowley.

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Dow Drops 2,014 Points – Biggest Plunge Since 2008

(graphic via NY Times)
The Dow closed down more than 2,000 points today marking the worst point decline ever, and the worst percentage decline since December 2008. So. Much. Winning. From the Washington Post:

The stock markets suffered stunning declines Monday — with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 2014 points — as the threat of a coronavirus-fueled oil war and ongoing panic about the spreading disease grew and triggered a rare forced halt to trading early in the session.

The Dow Jones industrial average cratered 7.8 percent to close at 23,851. The S&P 500, a broader measure of stocks, shed 7.6 percent by the close and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 7.3 percent.

The New York Stock Exchange tripped the so-called “circuit breaker” at a time of relentless volatility for global markets, which have been battered for weeks as the coronavirus outbreak continues to unfold. The forced 15-minute break initially appeared to have a stabilizing effect, but selling resumed before the end of the regular trading.

The oil industry had a terrible day as ten oil producers were the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 thanks, in part, to the ongoing price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Oil prices fell 30 percent marking the biggest slide since 1991. By the way, remember: there’s a tweet for everything: Donald Trump, who has taken ALL the credit for the stock market’s performance for the past three years, was predictably defensive on Twitter. Live by the market, die by the market.

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Cory Booker Endorses Joe Biden For President

L-R Sen. Cory Booker, former Vice President Joe Biden (via Instagram)
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has officially endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president adding to the growing support of Democratic lawmakers for Biden. From the New York Times:

Mr. Booker’s endorsement comes one day after Senator Kamala Harris of California endorsed Mr. Biden, and the two senators will appear with him at a rally in Detroit on Monday night. Mr. Booker will also campaign alongside Mr. Biden in Flint, Mich., earlier in the day and attend a fund-raiser with him.

Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris were two of the most prominent black candidates to run for president, and their endorsements come as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont scrambles to make up ground among black voters in Michigan, where they make up a sizable part of the electorate.

“African-American voters in the South, African-American voters here in Detroit, they have played a pivotal role in my entire lifetime in choosing the Democratic nominee,” Mr. Booker said. He pointed to Mr. Biden’s deep connections with black voters and what Mr. Booker saw as “understanding the issues of race and frankly racial reconciliation and racial justice, and even saying things now about choosing a black woman on the Supreme Court.”

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Italy Expands Travel Restrictions To Entire Country Due To Coronavirus

St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in Rome
ABC News reports:

Officials in Italy have expanded emergency anti-coronavirus restrictions to apply to the whole country. The Italian government is directing all residents to remain at home and not to travel unless required by their work.

All public gatherings in open air or public places are being banned. Schools in the entire country are to remain closed until April 3.

The decree, which affects all 60 million people living in Italy, will go into effect tomorrow, according to Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

As of Monday, Italy had 9,172 coronavirus cases and 463 deaths, according to health officials.

Also, from Reuters: “Pope Francis has canceled his regular appearances in public to stop crowds gathering to see him and will stream them on the internet from inside the Vatican because of the coronavirus outbreak in Italy.”

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Rugby’s Joe Marler Faces Punishment For Grabbing Player’s Junk

England’s Joe Marler grabs Alun Wyn Jones during tussle (screen capture)
A crotch-grabbing incident during England’s narrow 33-30 Six Nations win over Wales on Saturday could land England rugby player Joe Marler in some serious trouble. The Independent reports that Marler has been cited for grabbing Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones’ junk during a heated tussle during the match that involved several players. In the brief clip below, you can see Marler grab and hold Jones’ junk for several seconds before letting go and walking away with a smirk.

Video of the grab immediately went viral and seemed to polarize fans online. Some saw the moment as a light-hearted way for Marler to get in Jones’ head, while others saw it as pure and simple sexual misconduct. At a press conference after the match, Jones was calm but called on the powers that be to weigh in on the episode.

On Sunday, Marler responded to the backlash with a short tweet that read, “Bollocks. Complete bollocks.”

Coming across this Instagram post by Marler last spring (in support of a mental health campaign) seems rather ironic considering the past weekend’s shenanigans.

A statement from Six Nations on Monday confirmed the citing referencing an alleged infringement of Law 9.27 which prohibits “anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship.” The rule includes “grabbing, twisting or squeezing the genitals.” At a scheduled disciplinary hearing on March 12, Marler could face a suspension of between 12 weeks and four years for committing the offense. Related: Naked Soccer Players Get ‘Ballsy’ Welsh rugby legend and Gareth Thomas found himself swept up in the incident for making light of the moment, according to Metro. Thomas, who came out in 2009, said on-air during the ITV television network’s halftime review: “It would never have happened in my day and I’m really upset about that – because if it had I would have never retired!” The remark drew uneasy laughs from Thomas’s fellow analysts. Several people took Thomas to task on Twitter, including ex-England international Andy Goode who tweeted: “Imagine if someone touched another man or woman up in the workplace and then someone joked about it on TV.”

Thomas apologized via Twitter saying he “tried to find humour in a situation – that doesn’t mean I condone it, it means I wanted it to not be an issue. So don’t change the narrative to justify how you feel. Be kind.”

(source: The Independent)

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Michigan: Biden Leads Sanders By 15 Points In Final Poll

In the final statewide poll before Michigan voters head to the Democratic primary polls tomorrow, Joe Biden holds a lead over Bernie Sanders in the crucial primary contest according to the Monmouth University Poll.

Among Michigan voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic primary tomorrow, support currently stands at 51% for Biden and 36% for Sanders.

Another 1% back Tulsi Gabbard, 6% say they will vote for a slate of uncommitted delegates, and 2% are undecided.

Biden leads Sanders among both white voters (50% to 36%) and voters of other races (53% to 36%). Biden is winning voters age 50 and over (62% to 24% for Sanders) by a larger margin than Sanders is winning those under 50 years old (49% to 38% for Biden). Women prefer Biden to Sanders (53% to 33%), while men prefer Sanders (49% to 39% for Biden).

There are 147 delegates up for grabs in Tuesday’s Michigan primary. The survey also shows both Democratic White House hopefuls would best Trump today in head-to-head hypothetical match-ups. Biden has a 48% to 41% lead over Trump, while Sanders has a slightly smaller 46% to 41% margin. It’s worth remembering that Trump won Michigan by a scant 10,704 votes four years ago.

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Pete Buttigieg To Guest Host ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ This Week

Mayor Pete Buttigieg on The Today Show (screen capture)
In his first sit-down interview since ending his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mayor Pete Buttigieg shared with The TODAY Show’s Craig Melvin what his immediate plans are now and responded to comments by Sen. Bernie Sanders that he was ‘forced out’ of the Democratic race. Speaking to George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Sunday, Sanders said, “One of the things I was kind of not surprised by was the power of the establishment to force Amy Klobuchar, who had worked so hard, Pete Buttigieg who had really worked extremely hard as well out of the race.” Melvin asked the former South Bend, Indiana mayor what kind of ‘pressure’ he might have felt from ‘the establishment?’
L-R Craig Melvin, Pete Buttigieg
“I felt the pressure of voters making a decision,” replied Buttigieg. “We ran four contests and I’m proud of the campaign we ran but by the time we ran our fourth race, it was clear that the numbers weren’t there.” “You know, getting into this race was never just about becoming president,” he continued. “For us, it was about working to unify the party and the country and it was about making sure we defeat Donald Trump and there came a point where I realized that the best thing I could do in the service of those goals was to step aside and support vice president Biden.” Putting a point on Buttigieg’s response, Melvin inquired one more time if he’d felt any pressures from ‘the powers that be’ about leaving the race? “The kind of people who run for president of the United States are the kind of people who make their own decisions,” said the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. “It was my decision.”

With the presidential race now in the rearview mirror, other than possibly campaigning for Joe Biden, Melvin asked what was next on the agenda for Buttigieg? “In the immediate term, we’re going to be traveling a little bit, thanking supporters and then Chasten and I are looking forward to some time away,” Mayor Pete told Melvin. “Then I’ll come back and make myself useful in new ways, but we’re going to have some fun now.” “On Thursday, I’m going to be guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live,” he continued, clearly excited about the hosting gig. “We’re lining up a great slate of guests; Sir Patrick Stewart is coming on, we’re very excited about that.” Asked if he’ll be doing a monologue at the top of the show, Mayor Pete replied, “Hopefully some funnier minds than mine will be doing some writing for that.” While in New York City over the weekend, Mayor Pete and husband Chasten took in the acclaimed gay-themed Broadway play “The Inheritance” where they received a standing ovation before the play began.

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Trump Junior On His Dad’s Hiring & Firing: ‘He’s Getting There’

In an interview for Axios on HBO, Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei asks Donald Trump Jr. about his father’s hiring and firing of high-level cabinet members and then making derogatory remarks about them later. Some of those comments include: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: “Dumb as a rock.” Secretary of Defense James Mattis: “World’s most overrated general” Attorney General Jeff Sessions: “Weak… scared stiff… mixed up and confused.” Steve Bannon: “Sloppy man who cried like a little dog.” Junior says his dad is “getting there.” “You have a guy that functioned as a businessman for a long time. It’s an entirely new world. I think now he’s figuring that out.”

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Sunday Showtunes: Liz Callaway ‘On & Off Broadway’

Liz Callaway (image via official website)
So, a few months ago, hubby Michael and I caught Broadway/cabaret performers Liz Callaway and sister Ann Hampton Callaway in concert here in Las Vegas and I was reminded how much I love their awesome talents. We’ve known the two artists for over 20 years going back to the time Michael handled publicity duties for Liz’s album The Story Goes On – Liz Callaway On & Off-Broadway.
L-R me, Alex Rybeck, Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Michael Caprio
A few days later, I fell into a YouTube hole listening to that entire album. I can’t recall the last time I listened to an entire album in one sitting. So, I wanted to share some of the tracks from the collection that have been playing in my head constantly for weeks now. But first, a little bit about the luminous Liz:

Liz Callaway is a Tony nominee and Emmy Award-winning actress, singer and recording artist. She made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Baby, and for five years, won acclaim as Grizabella in Cats. She has also starred in the original casts of Miss Saigon, The Three Musketeers, and The Look of Love.

Off-Broadway she received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in The Spitfire Grill (Playwrights Horizons), and also appeared in Brownstone (Roundabout), No Way to Treat a Lady, Marry Me a Little, and Godspell. Other New York appearances include the legendary Follies in Concert at Lincoln Center, A Stephen Sondheim Evening, Fiorello!(Encores!), and Hair in Concert.

If you’re a musical theater fan, you probably know many of the songs I’m about to share, but even if you don’t – these are songs that are easy to digest on their own. First, the winsome “You There in the Back Row” from the Cy Coleman musical 13 Days to Broadway, which was heard about in gossip circles for years, but unfortunately never made it to the Great White Way. The show told the backstage story of a musical in trouble on the road to Broadway. Truly a loss to theater audiences if the score was full of songs like this.

Next up, “Since You Stayed Here” from the 1986 off-Broadway musical Brownstone, a musical by Josh Rubins (book and lyrics), Andrew Cadiff (book) and Peter Larson (music). The productions focused on a group of five people living in a brownstone apartment in New York City. A member of the original cast, Liz played Claudia, a young woman getting over a breakup.

As you might have guessed by now, Liz thrives in her story-telling. And this is one of the great story songs of the musical theater canon, “The Meadowlark” from Stephen Schwartz’s 1976 musical, The Baker’s Wife, which closed out of town before making it to Broadway. Talk about a song that capitalizes on all of Liz’s gifts…just hit play. Trust me. I also want to give a tip of the hat to Liz’s long-time music director and arranger, Alex Rybeck, who is one of the VERY BEST in the business.

Just one more (then go listen to the whole album): “The Story Goes On” from the 1983 Broadway musical Baby wherein Liz played the youngest of three expectant mothers. This song closed Act One, most probably because the audience needed time to pull themselves together. In the bridge, Liz’s character feels her baby kick for the first time which provides the dramatic device to send her soaring into the finale of the song. Just check out the sweep of those strings underneath her at the 3:31 mark. “All that was is part of me / As I am part of what’s to be / And thus it is / Our story goes on…”

If you like, click here to listen to a YouTube playlist where the full album is curated and will play in order for your listening pleasure. You can find more about Liz and her concert dates at her official website – what else? – LizCallaway.com. And I always encourage folks to actually BUY the great music I share with you. You can check out most of Liz’s music on Amazon here. And no, I didn’t leave sister Ann out. I plan a post in the near future on her solo music as well 🙂 Happy Sunday everyone!

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Kamala Harris Endorses Joe Biden For President

L-R Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president. Via press release, the California senator issued this statement:

“When I started my run for president, I said America needs a president who reflects the decency and dignity of the American people; a president who speaks the truth; and a president who fights for those whose voices are too often overlooked or ignored. I still believe that to this day. That is why I am proud to announce I am endorsing my friend, Vice President Joe Biden, for President of the United States.”

Harris also tweeted out a video clip from Alabama where she is preparing to take part in the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. In the video message she says, “I wanted you to know that, with great enthusiasm, I am going to endorse Joe Biden for president of the United States.” She continued: “I believe in Joe. I really believe in him and I have known him for a long time. One of the things that we need right now is we need who really does care about the people and who can, therefore, unify the people. And I believe Joe can do that.” “I am supporting Joe because I believe that he is a man who has lived his life with great dignity. He is a public servant who has always worked for the best of who we are as a nation, and we need that right now.” Biden thanked Harris three minutes later retweeting her endorsement. I’ll go ahead and say this: I think Kamala Harris should be Biden’s running mate, and I think Biden should announce that soon. I believe that is the strongest ticket for Democrats to rally around and support.