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News Round-Up: September 24, 2019

Michael and I visiting a church Portofino
Some news items you might have missed: • Throwback Thursday: Remembering that time Michael and I visited Portofino in 2018 and stopped by a beautiful little church (above). We were happily surprised when Michael didn’t spontaneously combust 🙂 • Tuscon.com: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says he’s “against discrimination in all its forms” but won’t support extending state laws to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ people. He does support the recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that allows Christian owners of a calligraphy firm to refuse to prepare wedding invitations for same-sex couples. • Sacramento Bee: The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled that a Sacramento-area transgender man can sue Mercy San Juan Medical Center over the last-minute cancellation of his hysterectomy, overturning a lower-court ruling that dismissed the case. The patient contends his surgery was canceled due to anti-transgender bias. • Politico: White House hopeful Elizabeth Warren has announced a $10 million ad buy in early voting states. • HuffPost: Focus Features’ Downton Abbey ruled over the box office competition in North America this past weekend. The big-screen continuation of the popular British TV show beat expectations with $31 million when it debuted in 3,079 theaters, setting a new opening weekend record for the studio. • Washington Post: A new study shows 78 percent of the most influential jobs in Donald Trump’s White House have turned over during his tenure, a figure higher than those for the entire first terms of the previous four administrations. • National Voter Registration Day: President Barack Obama (and I) want to encourage you to not only register to vote, but VOTE! Check to see if you’re registered by clicking over to IWillVote.com OR text VOTER to 26797 to make sure you are registered to vote and get alerts for all your elections.

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Pelosi Announces Official Impeachment Inquiry Of Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces launch of formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces launch of formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced today that Democrats were moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” said Pelosi in a statement. “Therefore, today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.” Trump responded on Twitter saying Pelosi’s actions ‘ruined’ his great day at the UN.

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Senate Unanimously Calls For Release Of Whistleblower Complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allowed (both pictured above), a voice vote in the U.S. Senate calling for the release of the whistleblower complaint received on August 12 that began the current Ukraine/Trump scandal. The non-binding resolution was approved unanimously.

Meanwhile, Trump tweeted that he’s already ordered the release of the “complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript” of his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

‘Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…’

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Pelosi To Announce Formal Impeachment Inquiry Today

CNN is reporting that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi plans to put a resolution on the House floor today to address the current Donald Trump/Ukraine scandal.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to put a resolution on the House floor tomorrow to address the Ukraine issue amid growing calls to start the impeachment process, sources said.

What that resolution will specifically say is still being worked out. In fact, a Democratic leadership aide said key committees are working on the language now.

A source adds Pelosi wants to do this before Thursday when Joseph McGuire, the acting director of National Intelligence, comes to the House Intelligence Committee in hopes of pressuring him to reveal the details of the whistleblower complaint.

Separately, CNN is told that Pelosi is telling members she thinks this issue is understandable for the American public, and they get it. (This is critical since her whole thing has been public support.)

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Which Presidential Candidates Recognized Bi-Visibility Day?

Since 1999, September 23 has been recognized as Bi Visibility Day which highlights the history and achievements of the bisexual community as well as the challenges of biphobia and bisexual erasure. According to the Williams Institute, studies indicate that approximately 50 percent of people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual, identify as bisexual, making the bisexual population the single largest group within the LGBTQ community. But bisexual people are often excluded from LGBTQ spaces and are invisible to each other which can make the journey of living authentically incredibly daunting. Several Democratic presidential candidates took to social media throughout the day to affirm the bisexual community and acknowledge some of the challenges they face. Check out the messages from former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro and businessman Tom Steyer.

Interestingly, Sen. Bernie Sanders and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who both skipped the GLAAD-sponsored LGBTQ Forum in Iowa last week due to ‘scheduling conflicts,’ did not seem to acknowledge Bi-Visibility Day in their social media. More ‘scheduling conflicts?’ For more information about bisexuality, visit the Human Rights Campaign’s website here.  

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Trump Admits He Froze $400 Million In Promised Aid To Ukraine

NBC News reports Donald Trump has admitted to freezing nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.

And in doing so, has come up with a new rationale for pressing the country to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed reports that his administration froze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. But he gave a new reason for doing so: He said he wanted European countries to contribute money, too, and did not want the U.S. to do so alone.

The freeze came before a July phone call in which he reportedly pressured the Eastern European nation’s leader to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden.

“As far as withholding funds, those funds were paid,” Trump said. “They were fully paid. But my complaint has always been — and I’d withhold again, and I’ll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine because they’re not doing it.”

“Very important, I want other countries to put up money,” he added. “I think it’s unfair that we put up the money. Then other people call me. They said, ‘Oh, let it go.’ And I let it go. But we paid the money, the money was paid.”

Trump was responding to reporting by the Washington Post that Trump instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to withhold nearly $400 million in promised military aid a week before the Donald spoke to the Ukrainian president.

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2019 Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction Raises Over $870K

The cast of Hadestown offered the chance to pose with a ‘Best Musical’ Tony Award.
From theatrical treasures to selfies with stars, from exclusive auction experiences to coveted signed show posters and Playbills, there was something special for every Broadway fan at the 33rd annual edition of the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction on September 22, 2019. The biggest day for Broadway fans, produced by and benefiting Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, raised $870,167.

The day featured 56 tables, 62 of Broadway’s brightest stars and 219 live and silent auction items. Fans and collectors hunted for unique theatrical treasures from tables representing Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, theatre owners and producing organizations, unions, guilds, marketing groups, ticket agencies, concessionaires and fan clubs. This year’s grand total will help to provide lifesaving medication, healthy meals, emergency assistance, and social service support to those most in need in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. The 33 editions of the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction have collectively raised $15.4 million. The day concluded in Shubert Alley with the live auction, which raised $310,950.
I’m told they even auctioned off an autographed show poster from the 1995 Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly! which featured yours truly – my debut on the Great White Way. My friend Lawrence Pfeil Jr., from TheOUTfront.com (all photos thanks to him), says the show poster fetched $800. In our email exchanges, Lawrence kept referring to the show poster as ‘my autograph’ LOL Check out some of the action at the Broadway Flea Market below. For more info about Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, click here.

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News Round-Up: September 23, 2019

Tom Welling will resprise his role as Clark Kent in upcoming 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' crossover on 4 Arrowverse series Some news items you might have missed: • Deadline: Hunky Tom Welling (above – image via FB) will reprise his Smallville role of Clark Kent for the upcoming mega-crossover ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths’ on The CW. Two more former Supermen, Tyler Hoechlin and Brandon Routh, will also take part in the 5-part story arc which will unite the entire Arrowverse series franchise – Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. • The Advocate: A federal judge has ruled that an anti-LGBTQ church, D. James Kennedy Ministries based in Florida, can be labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a matter of free speech. SPLC lists the church as a hate group “because it maligns the entire LGBT community, portraying it as perverted and a threat to the nation.” • Twitter: Two of my favorite tweets today come from Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden. In the first, he congratulates Billy Porter on his historic win last night at the Emmy Awards. In the second, Joe gets his message across in a single sentence.

• Bloomberg Business: At $28 billion so far, the farm rescue is more than twice as expensive as the 2009 bailout of Detroit’s Big Three automakers, which cost taxpayers $12 billion. Plus, an August survey by Purdue University and the CME Group, 58% said farmers anticipate another round of trade aid next year. • Billboard: Streaming music continues to grow in popularity. According to Nielsen Music, there have been 505.5 billion on-demand audio streams in 2019 so far. That’s up 23% compared to the same time a year ago: 409.6 billion year-to-date through the week ending Sept. 13, 2018. • Capitol Weekly: Tracking poll in California shows Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) leading the current pack of Democrats in the Golden State with 29% support; Sen. Bernie Sanders is at 21% support and former Vice President Joe Biden lands in 3rd with 18% support.

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DNC Increases Debate Requirements Again

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris with former Vice President Joe Biden

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris with former Vice President Joe Biden The Democratic National Committee has upped the requirements to qualify for the November primary debates, but the jump this time isn’t as steep as the last increase. According to the New York Times candidates will need to have received donations from at least 165,000 individual donors (up from 130,000) and must meet one of two polling requirements. They must either receive 3 percent support (up from 2 percent) in four national or early-state polls conducted by qualifying pollsters, or 5 percent support in two polls in the four early states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Eligible polls must be released between September 13 and midnight seven days before the debate.

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Why Hunky Mac Came Out On ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’

Rob McElhenney and Kylie Shea in 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'

Rob McElhenney and Kylie Shea in 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' With the FXX series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia set to premiere its 14th season this week, show creator and star Rob McElhenney shared the gay evolution of his character, “Mac,” in a new Rolling Stone interview. It seems Mac’s coming out in Season 11 was never really meant to be the character becoming full-on gay. Explaining that the writing approach on the show is to “take whatever viewpoint any character has to the extreme,” McElhenney said the writers came up with the gay angle because Mac “is such an arch-arch Catholic conservative when it suits him, and when it doesn’t, he drops that.” Noting that many Christian conservatives are homophobic, the creators began bouncing ideas on how to take that to the next level and satirize that. “And that’s when I thought, ‘Let’s make him gay,’” says McElhenney. Looking back over past seasons, the writers felt some of Mac’s subtext played into that storyline. So in Season 11, Mac came out during an episode involving a gay couple on a Christian cruise.

McElhenney tells Rolling Stone the intent wasn’t to create a “gay character for comedic effect, that was there just to be gay and to be funny because he was gay.” The point was to poke fun at the ‘hypocrisy’ of an arch-conservative coming out. At the end of the episode, however, Mac went back in the closet in a plot twist. But the positive outpouring from fans about Mac’s coming out made McElhenney and his team realize “we screwed it up.” So, in Season 12, Mac came out again and stayed out. “It felt good that we were recognizing a part of our audience in a way that was not pandering, that wasn’t offensive or upsetting or a caricature,” says McElhenney. And that led to the finale of last season when Mac performed a shirtless, interpretive modern dance as a way to finally come out to his father, who has spent most of Mac’s life in prison.
The dance sequence, which has become one of the critical high points of the series, was born out of “always trying to surprise people and do something different.” Explaining the show tends to stay away from “tapping into emotional resonance,” the 42-year-old actor shared that the creative team wanted to stretch and do something different. And since McElhenney had no dance experience whatsoever, the intricately choreographed dance would definitely be ‘a stretch.’ After four months of intense training and rehearsals, the challenging segment closed the season in spectacularly unexpected style. When Season 14 debuts, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia will tie the 1950s family comedy The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for the most seasons by a live-action sitcom. Tune in to see what’s next for Mac and his irreverent bunch of misfits this Wednesday, September 25, at 10 pm on FXX.

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This industry has been so good to me. I have absolutely nothing to complain about with regards to awards. That train left the station a long time ago. But if there is anyone who deserves some Emmy recognition it’s the team of @alison_faulk @leomoctezuma and @kyliesheaxo. They took an uncoordinated buffoon and created something really special. I truly can’t dance for shit but they worked tirelessly to make it look like I could. I will be forever grateful for an incredible experience. Their patience and support and dedication will be remembered always. I don’t know much about choreography awards but if they don’t get one there’s something seriously fucked up over at the @televisionacad . #dance #emmys

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