• Instinct Magazine: Kane Evans (above) is making history as just the second male player to publicly come out as gay in professional Australian rugby league.
• Cincinnati Enquirer: Gov. Mike DeWine (R) decided that state lawmakers went too far in the culture war against LGBTQ Ohioans and vetoed 3 provisions that would have: defunded homeless shelters that support trans kids, hid LGBTQ books from school students, and banned Pride flags.
A new once-a-month pill for PrEP is proving to be ‘extremely potent’ in testing Some news items you might have missed: • Metro Weekly: Pharmaceutical company Merck has released data from the second phase of trials into its antiretroviral drug islatravir, a once-a-month pill to protect against HIV infection, which has proven to be “extremely potent.” • Billboard: Of the eight Grammy nominees for best new artist, three — CHIKA, Kaytranada and Phoebe Bridgers — openly identify as LGBTQ. • New York Daily News: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Monday that she’s “excited” to sign a bill banning transgender girls and women from participating in sports teams that correspond to their gender identity. South Dakota is the second U.S. state this year, after Mississippi, to pass legislation targeting transgender sports athletes. • Amazon Prime: “Love The One You’re With” (2021) is a dramatic comedy from award winning comedian and filmmaker Sampson McCormick that follows a couple, Miles and Avery as they navigate the possible ending of a long term relationship. The story offers surprise twists, lots of laughter and a mind stirring story line.
• The Independent: The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was able to combat a new variant that was rapidly circulating in Brazil, a new study has found. • Des Moines Register: Four months after Iowans voted in record numbers, Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed legislation cutting the state’s early voting period and closing the polls an hour earlier on Election Day. Every Republican present for debate in the House and Senate voted for the legislation. Every Democrat voted against it. #AndSoItBegins • Palm Beach Post: Despite his false claims about mail voting during the 2020 election cycle, Donald Trump requested a mail ballot on Friday for the third time in his Palm Beach County voter history. • Law and Crime: In their bid to get him out of the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, attorneys for an 18-year-old defendant in the U.S. Capitol siege said another inmate attacked him. They also said their client caught COVID-19 while behind bars. He allegedly assaulted a police officer and was armed with a baton.
Teen Who Allegedly Wanted to ‘FIGHT’ for Trump at Capitol Was Attacked in Jail, Also Caught COVID: Defensehttps://t.co/RAzvTaMEGe
He got smacked in the face for mouthing off to another “tenant” who was using the phone. Pretty standard jail stuff in the US. Not as bad as the movies show, but it is annoying, irritating and full of lessons like this one.
Gee, that’s too bad. — Michael (@thekodadog) March 9, 2021
Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) Another loss for Team Trump as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed an election challenge led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who attempted to argue that universal mail-in voting violated the state constitution. From NBC News:
Kelly, along with several other Pennsylvania Republicans, sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes, which could have ceded a key state won by President-Elect Joe Biden to President Donald Trump.
The ruling said, “Petitioners sought to invalidate the ballots of the millions of Pennsylvania voters who utilized the mail-in voting procedures. … Alternatively, Petitioners advocated the extraordinary proposition that the court disenfranchise all 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted in the General Election and instead ‘direct the General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors.'”
The high court ruled no on all counts and said, “All other outstanding motions are dismissed as moot.” It said the claim could have resulted in the “disenfranchisement” of millions of voters.
The court also criticized Kelly and company for filing their lawsuit more than a year after the law establishing universal mail-in voting was passed by the state legislature. Today’s ruling wipes out a lower court order that had blocked officials from certifying the Keystone State’s election results. More than 26 election challenges filed by Team Trump have now been dismissed by courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. So. Much. Winning.
It’s very impressive that it only took ONE WEEK — from the filing of the original suit at the trial court level — for the PA Supreme Court to deal it a death blow.
The PA Supreme Court has just dismissed a case from PA Republicans that claimed mail in voting is unconstitutional (it is not), that those ballots should be thrown out (they will not be) & PA’s certification should be prohibited (it won’t be).
