The Advocatereports there were fewer new diagnoses of HIV among New Yorkers in 2018 (less than 2,000) marking the lowest recorded level since reporting began in 2001.
The 2018 HIV Surveillance Annual Report released this week showed that 1,917 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in New York City in 2018. That marks an 11 percent drop from 2017 and a two-thirds decrease since 2001 when 5,859 new cases were reported.
New HIV diagnoses were down among men and women; among Black, Latino, white, Native, and Asian New Yorkers; and in all five boroughs. The drops were particularly steep in men who have sex with men, people between the ages of 20 and 29, and those with a history of using injection drugs.
However, rates had increased among transgender people and men who report both having sex with men and injection drug use.
Nearly half of the people newly diagnosed with HIV were Black; 36 percent were Latino, and about 10 percent were white.
So, Rep. Devin Nunes – Donald Trump’s attack dog on the House Intelligence Committee might have been involved in digging up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden in Ukraine, too???
The attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, represents Lev Parnas, the recently indicted Soviet-born American who worked with Giuliani to push claims of Democratic corruption in Ukraine. Bondy said that Parnas was told directly by the former Ukrainian official that he met last year in Vienna with Rep. Devin Nunes.
“Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December,” said Bondy.
Shokin was ousted from his position in 2016 after pressure from Western leaders, including then-vice president Biden, over concerns that Shokin was not pursuing corruption cases.
Nunes denies the allegations calling the report “demonstrably false.”
To sum up: Trump used his office, his administration and GOP members of Congress to pressure Ukrainian government officials to investigate Joe Biden all in an effort to help Trump's 2020 campaign#DevinNunesGotCaught
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunk: Paleontologist Dr. Francesc Gascó (above) is also a bit CrossFit fan. This totally says TGIF to me. • KIT212: Kenneth has the low-down on what’s what in gay rags across the country. • Agence France-Presse: Several government ministries in Indonesia are banning LGBT job hunters in favor of what one called “normal” applicants, the Ombudsman said Friday. Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of some 260 million, has seen a jump in discrimination against gay and transgender people in recent years. •ABC News: Florida officers encounter a strange scene – a car circling in reverse with the owner’s dog Max inside. The dog’s owner had made a wrong turn, pulled over and got out of the car leaving the dog inside, who somehow hit the gear shift putting the car in reverse.
DRIVING DOG: Florida officers encounter a strange scene: a car circling in reverse—with the owner’s dog Max inside.
• Politico: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has begun booking a huge quantity of TV ad time in media markets across the country, to the tune of possibly $10 million for only one week. As of 10:30 a.m. Friday, Advertising Analytics tracked buys in 100 local markets across the country. • Instinct: A 21-year-old man was attacked early Friday morning on a NYC subway platform. An assailant hit the man with a hammer, yelled homophobic slurs and threw him onto the subway tracks in the path of an oncoming train. • NY Times: A report by the Justice Department’s inspector general is expected to absolve those at the top of the FBI in regard to abusing their authority out of bias against President Trump, according to people briefed on a draft. • CUT: A gay man’s parents are asking to decipher the people he has slept with from a lineup of 8 potential partners (including one woman).
The oh-so-brilliant Emmy Award nominee Randy Rainbow sends us into the weekend with this satirical take on the current House impeachment inquiry via a send-up of “Cain’t Say No” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Oklahoma! You know, even Ado Annie knew right from wrong… The lyrics are so on point as is the video. By the way, Randy has a new holiday album and you can check it out here.
In an interview with Paper Magazine, SNL’s Pete Davidson (he who almost became Mr. Ariana Grande) was asked about what it feels like be a sex symbol and realize you are someone’s “sexual awakening.” In response, Davidson reveals a surprising tidbit from his past. “Well, I used to jerk off to Leonardo DiCaprio,” said the funny man before clarifying, “Uhh, like his acting.” “I used to have a HUGE crush on Leonardo DiCaprio,” he continued. “I had this huge poster of him from The Beach in my room, and there used to be, like, ‘Leo love books’… Do you remember? Like, right when Titanic came out [when I was] in like third or fourth grade, he was just like, ‘teen milk.’ There were love books and I had all of them. He was the coolest.” Davidson has since met the Academy Award & Golden Globe winner, but kept the encounters brief. “I’ve met him twice and I’ve just shaken hands and run away fast.” Now, we all know it’s possible to crush on an artist for his talent, so let’s leave it at that.
Davidson is also asked about having lots of gay friends and being an LGBTQ ally, and he gushes in his response. “Well, nothing’s cooler to me than seeing my friends crush it,” says the 26-year-old comic. “I also have the most talented friends ever. And I think my friends are a good reflection of me… anybody that I fuck with is sweet and morally sound, you know?” I find it super weird that it’s weird that a straight dude has gay friends,” he adds. “Like, some straight dudes do have gay friends, but like they make like a big show of it as opposed to them genuinely being a friend.” Davidson has also noticed how some pop stars seem to “use gay men as props,” and he has an opinion about that. “If you really listen to any of the songs that they’re doing, or any of the things that they’re doing, it’s to promote them[selves]. It’s rarely for the LGBT community. It’s to make them look good. Like, how cool they are that they’re hanging out with gay people.” You can read more of Davidson’s candid interview over at PaperMag.com.
A little #FlashbackFriday action here as we fondly remember this Hefty ad from 2017 featuring hunky John Cena and his powerful pecs. “Hefty, Hefty, Hef-ty!” Do it again! Do it again!
L-R Sam Perwin, Kyle Motsinger (photo: Tyler William Milliron) Raised in Illinois, out singer/songwriter Kyle Motsinger picked up and moved to the big, bad city – New York – to follow his dreams as soon as he could. But in his latest single, “Parallel Universe,” Motsinger considers what his path would have been like had he stayed in his hometown:
In a parallel universe I stayed / After college I moved back to town / No other plans were made / Got a job, got a dog right by my side / Settling for a slower life / Completely satisfied / Wouldn’t know any better, any worse, In that parallel universe
Then there’s the other side of the ‘what if’ coin – what if Motsinger’s hometown beau moved with him to the big city?
Opportunities I couldn’t find here / In a town not ruled by courage but by fear / In another universe you moved with me / We rented an apartment in the heart of NYC / We’d explore the city side-by-side / End our days making love completely satisfied
“I wrote ‘Parallel Universe’ after an encounter with a former lover while visiting family for the holidays in Illinois,” says the handsome artist. “I started imagining different scenarios in which we could be together. It felt like each scenario was a different parallel universe. What if there were multiple versions of us out there that were living these scenarios? I do love a good science fiction story!” L-R Sam Perwin, Kyle Motsinger (screen capture) On first listen, I felt like the song had a sense of theatrical story-telling to it, in a similar vein as some classic Billy Joel songs. And it seems that it wasn’t my imagination. “I was also more than a little bit inspired by the play/movie, Rabbit Hole, written by David Lindsay-Abaire,” shares Motsinger. “I wrote it as a pop/rock ballad and worked with fellow singer/songwriter Corey Tut to get the sound right in the studio. Chris Bonner recorded bass and Adam Stoler recorded guitars while on the road with the Broadway musical, Come From Away. So, yes, there is a pedigree of theatrical roots to the track. Motsinger says he hopes “this song makes you think about how choices can lead to many different outcomes.” I previously showcased Motsinger’s disco-tastic “Love On Each Other” featuring big dance beats and slinky 1970s strings. “Parallel Universe” is now available on iTunes,Spotify, and other digital music platforms.
Things went a bit awry at the unveiling of Telsa’s futuristic Cybertruck in Los Angeles on Thursday. In an attempt to show the assembled crowd at the event how ‘bulletproof’ the windows on Tesla’s first pickup truck are, CEO Elon Musk asked his chief designer Franz Holzhausen to throw a metal ball at the driver’s side window. Unfortunately, the glass was smashed. Holzhausen tried again with the same cracked result. “Oh my fucking God, maybe that was a little too hard,” exclaimed Musk before adding, “It didn’t go through, it didn’t go through.” Production is expected to begin in late 2021.
In this week’s podcast: • Sen. Kamala Harris calls Mayor Pete Buttigieg “naive” for relating his experience as a gay man to other marginalized communities. • A homophobic photographer in Kentucky has filed a lawsuit to block Louisville’s Fairness Ordinance just in case a gay couple were to ask her to shoot their wedding. • Three federal judges have blocked a new rule announced by the Health and Human Services Department that would allow healthcare professionals to deny service to LGBTQs. • The Straight Pride event in Dallas was the biggest fail yet. • Netflix releases teaser video for RuPaul’s upcoming scripted comedy series AJ and The Queen. • Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss’s new album explores new emotional Territories. All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report.
(photo: Tibo Norman) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Joel Green (above), photographed by Tibo Norman, is definitely giving off some super-hero vibes a la The CW. • The Hill: A new poll shows that 66% of Republicans believe adoption groups should not be able to turn away LGBTQ parents, compared to 75% of Democrats and 73% of independents. Overall, 72% say adoption agencies should not be allowed to deny service to members of the LGBTQ community, while 29 percent disagreed. • NBC News: A Florida jury has awarded a gay man more than $157 million in a wrongful death lawsuit after his husband died from lung cancer caused by smoking cigarettes, in what an attorney said is the first such case involving a same-sex married couple. • Raw Story: The Republican National Committee admits to buying nearly $100,000 worth of Donald Trump Jr.’s new book just days before it was released. When the tome landed on the NY Times Bestseller list, it received a connotation that ‘bulk purchases’ were involved in the sales numbers. NY Times reporter Nick Confessore confirmed the bulk purchase today with the RNC today.
New FEC disclosures show a single large RNC payment of $94,800 to Books-a-Million in October, a few days before “Triggered” was released. An RNC spokesman confirmed that the expenditure was connected to their promotion of Don Trump Jr.’s book. pic.twitter.com/vsmmsgrYCp
• CNN: Democrats are anticipating a busy December that will be filed with proceedings before the House Judiciary Committee, including public hearings and a markup, and a likely vote to impeach Trump on the House floor by Christmas Day, according to multiple Democratic sources. • HuffPost: Donald Trump traveled to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday to tour a manufacturing plant with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, touting the opening of a “new” facility that would bring high-paying jobs back to America. Except – the plant has been making Apple computers since 2013, long before Trump was elected. • Billboard: Randy Report favorite Randy Rainbow debuted at #1 this week on the Billboard Comedy chart with his new release, Hey Gurl, It’s Christmas!
The Advocate reports there were fewer new diagnoses of HIV among New Yorkers in 2018 (less than 2,000) marking the lowest recorded level since reporting began in 2001. 
Some news items you might have missed: • 
