Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Zac Efron (screen capture via Netflix)Some news items you might have missed:
• OK Magazine: After filming his latest film where he plays a dad, Zac Efron says he doesn’t think he’s quite ready to be a daddy. “I have a little bit more growing to do, probably,” he said. p.s. dude, we’ve got some news for you… Continue reading “Zac Efron Doesn’t Think He’s Daddy Material (Yet) + More News”
Some news items you might have missed:
• New York Times: Lawmakers in Chile have approved marriage equality legislation by a wide margin. The South American nation will become the 31st country in the world to legalize same-sex marriages. President Sebastián Piñera is expected to sign the bill into law soon.
There will be no spectators in the stands at the Summer Olympics after a surge of COVID-19 led Japan to declare a state of emergency.
Via Axios:
It’s another huge blow to the spectacle and finances of the delayed and scaled-back Olympics, just two weeks ahead of the opening ceremony.
Organizers had planned to allow venues to be filled up to 50% capacity, with a maximum of 10,000 Japanese spectators and no overseas fans. A surge in COVID-19 cases and the low rate of vaccinations forced them to reconsider.
Tokyo’s fourth coronavirus state of emergency will run from this Monday, July 12 until Aug. 22, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said. Bars and restaurants will be requested to suspend alcohol sales under the measures.
According to ESPN, Tokyo reported 920 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday – the highest total since 1,010 were reported on May 13.
The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo are schedueld to begin on July 23.
In a move not done since World War II, USA Today reports the 2020 Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Tokyo will be postponed.
Veteran International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound told USA TODAY Sports Monday afternoon that the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games are going to be postponed, likely to 2021, with the details to be worked out in the next four weeks.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound said in a phone interview. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
Pound, a Canadian who has been one of the most influential members of the IOC for decades, said he believes the IOC will announce its next steps soon. “It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”