Jim Newman (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Let’s hear it for Broadway’s Jim Newman (above) who definitely knows how to find his light. Follow him on Instagram here. • CNN: Donald Trump told an ally that he knows he lost, but that he is delaying the transition process and is aggressively trying to sow doubt about the election results in order to get back at Democrats for questioning the legitimacy of his own election in 2016, especially with the Russia investigation. • HBO Max: The original series EQUAL pays tribute to the epic origin stories of the LGBTQ+ movement. The four-part docu-series captures the true backstories of the leaders and unsung heroes, pre-Stonewall, who changed the course of American history through their tireless activism. Each hour-long episode in the series plays like a thriller, bringing to life the high stakes and hard deadlines of historical events that have not yet been given their due. In honor of Transgender Day of Awareness, I want to highlight Episode 2 which focuses on the courageous pioneers of the trans movement. Check out the trailer for the series below.
• Out: Two Trump-appointed judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit today overturned a lower court ruling and struck down local ordinances prohibiting licensed therapists from practicing the debunked “conversion therapy” on minors. • Bloomberg: Donald Trump’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week and is isolating. Junior recently downplayed the extent of the coronavirus outbreak that deaths are “almost nothing.” I guess this makes Junior “almost nothing.” • AP: Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger certified results reported by the state’s 159 counties that show Biden won the state by a margin of 12,670 votes.
Georgia’s top elections official has certified results showing Democrat Joe Biden won the presidential race in the state. https://t.co/hZ0eR6A7rx
Pedro Gonzalez and Andrew Serkin (image via Instagram) It’s my Halloween Edition of InstaHunk Round-Up. First up, Andrew Serkin and Pedro Gonzalez (above) decided on a ‘classic’ masked-up take for the holiday. The Rock was all set to become “the wisest king of all, Mufasa,” but unfortunately, the costume didn’t fit:
Jim Newman (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Jim Newman (above) can wear a flannel plaid onesie like no one. Totally giving us lumbersexual in the pic above. #amiright? • NowThisNews: Donald Trump continues to spread dangerous misinformation on COVID-19 to millions of Fox News viewers.
• Washington Blade: Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday signed three pro-LGBTQ measures into law ranging from ensuring transgender students are treated fairly, expanding the definition of a hate crime to include sexual orientation and gender identification, and allowing localities to ban discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, or education based on sexual orientation or gender identity. • KIT212: Kenneth’s weekly round-up of the what’s what in local LGBTQ publications like the latest issue of South Florida Hot Spots featuring Bar Mizrahi. • The Advocate: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit just upheld a preliminary injunction against the Air Force, which appealed the decision of a district court in order to continue the discharge of personnel simply because they are living with HIV. • Netflix: The streaming platform has canceled RuPaul’s scripted series, AJ and the Queen, after only one season.
Jim Newman (via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Jim Newman’s words of wisdom for the holidays – “Don’t blend in.” Follow the hunky singer on Instagram here. • Metro: A teenager who attacked a lesbian couple on a night bus because they refused to kiss was sentenced to an eight-month youth referral order (parole), 12 hours’ reparation and ordered to pay £220 in fines and prosecution costs. • NBC News: A Texas grand jury on Friday indicted a former Fort Worth police officer for murder after fatally shooting a young woman who had been babysitting her nephew at home. According to police and body camera footage, the officer didn’t identify himself before shooting and killing the victim through a window. • KIT212: Kenneth rounds up the what’s what in gay publications across the country. • FiveThirtyEight: The four candidates leading the polls nationally and in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — have qualified for the seventh Democratic debate in January, as well as Sen. Amy Klobuchar who has hit at least 5 percent in just enough polls and her campaign says she has the donors. • Instinct: A woofy bear in the front row of last night’s Democratic debate stole the show for many Twitter gays. • Washington Post: After meeting privately in July 2017 with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin at the G20 summit, Trump grew more insistent that Ukraine worked to defeat him, according to multiple former officials familiar with his assertions. The president’s intense resistance to the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia systematically interfered in the 2016 campaign led many of his advisers to think that Putin himself helped spur the idea of Ukraine’s culpability. • The Gaily Grind: A 14-year-old girl is in the hospital after an Iowa woman struck her with her SUV in a hit-and-run incident resulting in attempted murder charges after the woman behind the wheel said she did it because the teenager is “a Mexican.” • Lip-Sync This: Billy Porter has had quite the year after slaying on the red carpets throughout the awards season, picking up an Emmy, and now snagging a 2nd Golden Globe nomination for his work on the ground-breaking FX series, POSE. But he ain’t done yet! Check out this celebrity lip-sync of his #1 Billboard Dance Club hit, “Love Yourself.” The celebrity lip-sync features Porter’s POSE co-stars MJ Rodriguez, Ryan Jamal Swain, Dyllon Burnside, Jeremy McClain, and Jason A. Rodriguez; Kinky Boots cast and creatives Cyndi Lauper, Jerry Mitchell, Stark Sands, Annaleigh Ashford, Lena Hall, and the Ogunquit Playhouse cast of the smash hit musical; the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud; along with Kelly Ripa, Debra Messing, Lin Manuel Miranda, Patina Miller, Nathan Lee Graham, Miss J, Peppermint, and designer Christian Siriano.
Checking in on some of my favorite Instagram accounts this weekend starting with totally woofy Jeff Ferreira (above) who clearly finds the weather in Hollywood totes comfortable. Jim Newman is giving you all kinds of onesie goodness while trying to swindle folks out of Santa’s milk and cookies:
And finally, Tony Award winner and Broadway icon Betty Buckley took in some department store Christmas displays (a favorite pass time of mine during the holidays) in between rehearsals for her upcoming concerts with composer Jason Robert Brown:
Jim Newman (image via Instagram) Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Jim Newman (above) throws back to when he was touring with the legendary Village People as ‘the Cowboy’ (until a lawsuit had to go ruin it all…). • Gay City News: A gay man in Jackson Heights was returning home early in the morning on October 13 when he said a stranger exposed himself, punched him, stole his belongings, and dragged him on the ground — all because he wouldn’t perform oral sex on him. • The Advocate: Brianna Hill of Kansas City, Missouri, who was shot to death on Monday morning, is the 20th transgender woman of color to be murdered this year. • New York Times: The newspaper of note recaps the winners and losers of last night’s Democratic debate. Everyone pretty much felt Mayor Pete Buttigieg had a very good night. Here’s just a sample:
Amid a clash over Beto O’Rourke’s proposed mandatory buy-backs of assault-style rifles, Pete Buttigieg tells O’Rourke, “The problem isn’t the polls, the problem is the policy. And I don’t need lessons from you on courage, political or personal.” #DemDebatehttps://t.co/GnrM5echj6pic.twitter.com/7nNDPqISqp
• Politico: A former top adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told House impeachment investigators on Wednesday that he abruptly resigned last week because of President Donald Trump’s attacks on the ousted U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the State Department’s unwillingness to protect career diplomats from political pressure, according to two people familiar with the testimony. • People: Arrow star Colton Haynes, 31, and celebrity florist Jeff Leatham, 48, have quietly settled their divorce. In addition to waiving their rights to spousal support and the division of property, the exes have agreed to a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement. In other words, no ‘tell-all’ memoirs. • The WOW Report: Former The Apprentice staffer Noel Casler shares (among other things), “He’s a speed freak. He crushes up his Adderall and he sniffs it because he can’t read and he gets really nervous when he has to read cue cards. I’m not kidding. This is true.”
• InstaHunks: Broadway hottie Jim Newman (above) finds he has his Fire Island pool all to himself with no one to play with his beach ball. I’m sure he’d have no problem finding company… 🙂
• NewNowNext: A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Russian LGBTQ activist Elena Grigoryeva. Officials do not intend to pursue hate crime charges, claiming the murder was not motivated by her activist work, nor her bisexual identity.
• Instinct: In its series finale, Andi Mack served up Disney’s first gay couple.
• Gr8erDays: If you love entertainment/pop culture info from days gone by, follow this Instagram account for daily infograms about celebrity birthdays and more from TV, movies and more.
A post shared by Gr8erDays (@gr8erdays) on Jul 28, 2019 at 7:27pm PDT
• Politico: Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled a plan to achieve universal health care coverage by growing Medicare with the help of private insurers, an effort that splits the difference with her chief Democratic presidential rivals and equips the California senator with her own signature health care proposal ahead of this week’s debates.
• Roanoke Times: A small number of Republicans tried to have Rep. Denver Riggleman censured for having the nerve to officiate a same-sex wedding for two of his supporters. p.s. The attempt failed…
• Out Music: Kelechi drops his latest bop, “Forever Tonight,” with an upbeat 1980s vibe complete with fat beats and pop/soul roots. I’m hearing a little Human League groove in there perhaps…?
“I make romance pop music,” Kelechi recently told Out.com. “I want people to fall in love with the feeling they get when they listen.”
I have to say I like the simple approach to the video. Lately, I find overly-complicated music videos can get in the way of listening/enjoying the music.
• Oh no, I’m not jealous at all of InstaHunk Jim Newman and his Brazilian infinity pool afternoon. #HowNiceForHim #SeeWhatHardWorkGetsYou
• CNN reports that Donald Trump pressured White House staff to issue Ivanka Trump a security clearance against their recommendations. This comes just days after The New York Times reported that the Trumpster intervened to secure a high-level security clearance for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
• Jack Phillips, the owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado, has agreed to drop his lawsuit against the Colorado Civil Rights Commission in exchange for the commission giving up on its own administrative discrimination complaint against Phillips.
• NBC News reports North Korea started rebuilding a banned long range missile site 48 hours after Donald Trump’s failed Hanoi summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is reported to be scrambling to avoid embarrassing Donald Trump as possibly 15 Senate Republicans may join Democrats in a resolution denouncing the Donald’s use of ‘national emergency’ to get funds for his beloved wall.
• Madonna celebrated the 30th anniversary of the release of her mega-hit, “Like a Prayer,” yesterday. The actual date was Sunday, but apparently Madge was ‘blocked’ from posting then.
The Queen of Pop writes: “30 years ago today I released Like a Prayer and made a video that caused so much controversy because I kissed a black saint and danced in front of burning crosses! I also made a commercial with PEPSI that was banned because my video was seen as inappropriate. Happy Birthday to Me and Controversy! #likeaprayer meant to post this yesterday but was blocked! what a shocker!”
• Handsome InstaHunk Jim Newman (above) has been running a fabulous “Days of Christmas” campaign over on his Instagram taking daily pics au naturel with items in his home blocking just the barest of body parts. Well-worth clicking over to as this was the most tame I can post here 😉
• An amateur photographer from England received a 16-year jail sentence for drugging and raping male models. “I get a kick out of robbing a straight guy out of his masculinity,” he shared in a conversation.
• Donald Trump, who promised his infamous wall along the Mexican border would be paid for by Mexico, now says “The wall will pay for itself.”
“The wall will pay for itself on a monthly basis,” Trump said, contradicting his previous claim that Mexico would pay for the border wall and threatening a government shutdown if a spending bill doesn’t include his $5B demand for funding it https://t.co/QTj5qScUCnpic.twitter.com/NUNy53tGWX
• Even though the play opened to very good reviews, the Broadway revival of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song, starring out actor Michael Urie, has announced it will close January 6.
• The stock market moved into bear territory this week as the Dow fell another 417.11 points today, closing the week with a loss of 6.75% – its worst weekly decline since October 2008. #ThanksTrump
• In a year of ups and downs, the world searched for “good” more than ever before — according to Google Trends. From the epic headlines to the everyday moments, here’s to all the good that people discovered in 2018.
• Broadway hunk & ‘Daddyhunt’ star Jim Newman (above) demonstrates that even Santa’s elves have to do laundry some time…
• San Diego Pride is so successful, the organization has announced that it will be donating more than $170,000 to 59 different LGBTQ-serving charities and organizations around the world.
• Ann Coulter offered her description of the Democratic Party on Laura Ingraham’s show Tuesday night: “The Muslims and the Jews and the various exotic sexual groups and the black church ladies with the college queers”
On Ingraham’s Fox News show, Ann Coulter describes her version of the Dem party
“I mean you have the Muslims and the Jews and the various exotic sexual groups and the black church ladies with the college queers … you must hate white men. It’s the one thing they have in common” pic.twitter.com/xGWe0wH2uP
• Frankie Grande teams up with his sis, Ariana, for this take on the Act Two opener from RENT, “Seasons of Love,” as part of the #RentSingALong initiative celebrating the upcoming live presentation of the hit musical
RENT will air live on January 27 at 8/7c on FOX. Hit play below.
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