PHOTOS: 16 Of The Hottest International Footballers Are About To Arrive In The U.S.

For the first time in its hundred-year history, the Copa America soccer tournament will be played in the United States, traveling to 10 cities throughout the country in June. This year’s tournament will also be the inaugural year for team U.S.A’s participation in the event.

That means a crop of arguably some of the finest athletes on the planet will soon decend upon the States — brace for impact.

To celebrate Copa’s centennial (as if we needed an excuse), Ticketbis gathered a list of the hottest men from each team participating in the upcoming games.

Scroll down to meet the boys:

1. Argentina

A photo posted by Sergio Leonel Agüero (@aguerosergiokun16) on Dec 11, 2015 at 5:00am PST

Sergio Aguero

2. Bolivia

A photo posted by Sebastian Gamarra Ruiz (@sebastiangamarraruiz) on Aug 17, 2015 at 1:34am PDT

Sebastián Gamarra

3. Brazil

A photo posted by Thiago Silva (@thiagosilva_33) on Apr 15, 2016 at 2:53pm PDT

Tiago Silva

4. Chile

A photo posted by Mark Gonzalez (@markgonzalez11) on Jan 19, 2016 at 4:33pm PST

Mark González  

5. Columbia

A photo posted by James Rodríguez (@jamesrodriguez10) on Dec 22, 2015 at 12:42am PST

James Rodríguez

6. Costa Rica

A photo posted by feliciobrownforbes (@feliciobrownforbes) on Feb 15, 2016 at 12:35pm PST

Felicio Brown Forbes

7. Ecuador 

A photo posted by Gabriel Achilier (@gabrielachilier) on Jan 15, 2016 at 5:20am PST

Gabriel Achilier

8. Haiti

A photo posted by Sebastien Thuriere (@se_babas15) on Apr 26, 2016 at 6:50pm PDT

Sébastien Thurière

9. Jamaica

A photo posted by Michael Hector (@michaelhector) on Oct 21, 2015 at 4:50pm PDT

Michael Hector

10. Mexico

A photo posted by Jonathan Dos Santos (@jona2santos) on Sep 27, 2015 at 11:09am PDT

Jonathan dos Santos

11. Panama

A photo posted by Carlos Small (@caliche_58) on Nov 30, 2014 at 9:59am PST

Carlos Small

12. Paraguay

Siempre y todo para Dios? pic.twitter.com/0utQrmfSqB

— Cecilio Dominguez (@11_dominguez94) October 18, 2015

Cecilio Domínguez

13. Peru

A photo posted by Carlos Ascues ?? (@carlos.ascues) on Jan 4, 2016 at 12:29am PST

Carlos Ascues

14. Uruguay

A photo posted by Edinson Cavani (@cavaniofficial21) on Aug 1, 2015 at 2:55pm PDT

Edinson Cavani

15. USA

A photo posted by Mix Diskerud (@mixdiskerud) on Sep 7, 2015 at 12:53pm PDT

Mix Diskerud

16. Venezuela

A photo posted by Rolf Feltscher (@rolffeltscher) on Mar 31, 2016 at 4:44pm PDT

Rolf Feltscher 

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Celine Dion Made Everyone an Emotional Mess in Powerful, Heartbreaking BBMA Appearance: WATCH

Celine Dion received the Icon Award at last night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas after delivering a powerful performance of her new single, the Queen classic “The Show Must Go On” which took on special poignancy following the deaths of her husband Rene Angelil and brother in January this year.

Dion’s son Rene Charles was a surprise presenter of the award which gave the moment an added emotional heft.

Watch the performance and acceptance speech:

The incredible @CelineDion accepts the Icon Award. Congrats, Celine! #BBMAs #IconCeline t.co/V34aBdCDJX

— BillboardMusicAwards (@BBMAs) May 23, 2016

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Police Say Ex-Husband Set Fire That Killed Gay Utah Restaurateur, LGBT Rights Pioneer

Salt Lake City restaurateur and LGBT rights pioneer John Williams (above) died in a house fire early Sunday, and police believe his ex-husband set the blaze.

Williams, 72, who played a major role in establishing the city’s downtown dining scene, was found dead in his Capitol Hill home by firefighters who responded to a 911 call from neighbors shortly after 1 a.m.

Police later arrested 47-year-old Craig Crawford (right) on suspicion of aggravated murder and aggravated arson in connection with Williams’ death.

After filing for a divorce on May 4, Williams twice sought restraining orders against Crawford, but was denied, KSL.com reports. Crawford still lived with Williams and was seen walking toward the house while it was engulfed in flames, but didn’t report the fire to authorities. Williams could be heard screaming from an upper floor of the home but could not be revived by the time firefighters reached him.

Williams was a retired partner in Gastronomy Inc., which owns Market Street Grill, Market Street Oyster Bar and the New Yorker restaurant. Openly gay state Sen. Jim Dabakis, who was good friends with Williams, called his death “devastating.”

“The restaurants he and his partners opened raised the standards of dining for Utah, and the quiet bridges John built between the emerging LGBT community and the Utah business world made this a better place for all of us to live,” Dabakis said.

Scot Beck, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake, told Good4Utah.com: “I don’t think we would have the restaurant culture we have today if it wasn’t for John Williams. His original vision to open up the New Yorker with his then friend Tom really started this entire thing that we have today. Just the people he’s trained, the chefs that have come through Gastronomy, the restaurant managers he’s trained. We would not have this incredible restaurant culture if it was not for John Williams and his vision.”

Watch reports on Williams’ death below.

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Gay Student Secretly Took His Boyfriend to Prom Behind Backs of Homophobic Parents

A gay high school couple’s secret prom adventure has gone viral on Twitter after one of them posted an adorable set of photos with the announcement:

“My parents told me I couldn’t go to prom because I wanted to go with my boyfriend so I had to go behind their backs”

The tweet, from a Twitter user named Myren, who goes by @myrenthapimp, has been retweeted more than 18,000 times as of this posting.

Myren told Buzzfeed: “I was surprised when I noticed that people were proud of me and that they respected the decision I had made. The negative comments were the typical ‘this is disgusting’ or, iIf I was your dad I would beat your ass.’”

My parents told me I couldn’t go to prom because I wanted to go with my boyfriend so I had to go behind their backs😅 pic.twitter.com/XnnI0Pk0Vd

— ☥A Spiritual Pimp☥ (@myrenthapimp) May 21, 2016

Myren said his parents have never approved of his relationship but they went anyway and he told his parents there was a party after school.

Added the student, who hails from Maryland: “My parents wont let me see him. It’s like I’m already living on punishment, so what do I have to lose by going to prom? Everyone’s mom was standing there taking pictures of their kids talking about how beautiful they looked and how they were so proud of them. I imagined what my mom would have looked like taking pictures of me in my suit. Everyone at the send off was a stranger to me except my boyfriend. None of his family came to his send off either…When we were dancing together I teared up some because there were times where I never thought we would go to prom, but there we were.”

LGBT youth still need us. We can’t forget that.

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American Men Are Still Being Arrested for Sodomy

Thirteen years after the Supreme Court struck down antisodomy laws, some Southern officials plead ignorance of the ruling.

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/5/23/american-men-are-still-being-arrested-sodomy

Transgender Woman Ambushed and Beaten By Group of Men in Brooklyn: VIDEO

A transgender woman suffered a facial fracture after she was attacked by a group of men in Brooklyn on Friday, May 13.

The 32-year-old victim was set upon by the group as she was walking along 9th Street near 7th Avenue in the Park Slope neighborhood at about 11:30 p.m.

She told NBC 4 New York she had just gotten off the subway when she was surrounded by the men. When one of the attackers yelled a derogatory slur, the woman tried to walk away.

RELATED: Security Guard Arrested For Assaulting Transgender Woman in Bathroom Faces Hate Crime Charges – VIDEO

“Next thing you know,” she said, “I got my hair pulled and was just getting hit in multiple directions, fists at the same time.”

She is said to be in good spirits following the attack but is worried “these individuals seem like they would do it to the next person, would brutally beat up somebody.”

NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the attack. No arrests have been reported, but police think the suspects are in their late teens or early 20s.

Police have released photos of three men wanted for questioning, the NY Daily News reports:

“What are you looking at, you white f—-t?” one of the men yelled, according to cops. One member of the group punched the victim in the face, breaking the victim’s nose and eye socket, cops said…

…

Cops described the three suspects as black men, one wearing a gray Nike shirt with red sleeves, the second wearing colored jacket with a royal blue Adidas Tee Shirt, and the third with a bald head, wearing blue jean jacket and eyeglasses.

Cops are asking anyone with information about the case to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Watch the NBC 4 report on the attack below.

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San Diego Padres Fire Contractor Responsible for Humiliating Gay Chorus Incident

Late Sunday night, the San Diego Padres apologized for the incident that took place on Saturday night at Petco Park and said they had ended their relationship with the contractor hired for handling it. They also took action against an employee responsible for the mishap.

As you may have read yesterday, The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus was at the center of a disturbing incident that happened at Petco Park on Saturday night. Called upon to sing the Star-Spangled Banner, their singing was replaced by a recording of a woman (reportedly the anthem singer from the night before), nobody stopped it, and they were led off the field afterward while being taunted with “you sing like a girl” taunts from fans in the stands.

Said the Padres in their Sunday night statement:

“After a thorough examination of the events that occurred during last night’s National Anthem we have concluded our internal investigation and have found no evidence of malicious intent on the part of any individuals involved.

Based both on the unintentional mistake that was made, as well as the failure to immediately intervene and correct the situation by those who had oversight, we have terminated our relationship with the third-party contractor who was responsible for the error, and taken disciplinary action against our employee who was responsible for the game production on Saturday.

We once again sincerely apologize to members of the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus, their families and those who came out to support their pride night performance. The Padres organization is proud of our longstanding commitment to inclusion – within both our sport and our community.

We deeply regret that a mistake on our part has called this into question, but accept full responsibility.” 

Statement from the #Padres regarding last night’s National Anthem: pic.twitter.com/xBlT6WdPa1

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 23, 2016

The Padres have also said they invited the Chorus back to perform.

Last night MLB Ambassador for inclusion Billy Bean also released a statement:

Yesterday in SD. @Padres @SDGayMensChorus pic.twitter.com/n5jmCSLPEc

— Billy Bean (@billybeanball) May 22, 2016

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Demi Lovato Makes Statement in Support of Transgender Community at Billboard Music Awards

Demi Lovato made a statement in support of the transgender community during last night’s performance of “Cool for the Summer” at the Billboard Music Awards. Her sparkly mesh top was emblazoned with the familiar symbol signifying gender neutral facilities.

Lovato and her tourmate Nick Jonas canceled their concerts in North Carolina recently as a sign of opposition to anti-LGBT HB 2, which forces trans people to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological sex at birth.

RELATED: Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato Cancel North Carolina Shows Over HB 2

Lovato has proven herself a consistent ally to the LGBT community over the course of her career. She released videos in support of marriage equality in July 2014. Said Lovato in the video:

“I believe that love comes in all different shapes, sizes and colors. So whether you’re LGBT or straight, your love is valid, beautiful and an incredible gift. So let’s protect love and strengthen the institution of marriage by allowing loving, caring and committed same-sex couples to legally marry.”

She also revealed her late grandfather was gay at a Logo Trailblazers event in June 2014:

“I’ve never spoken about this before, but my grandfather himself was a trailblazer. He was brave enough to come out in the 1960s, and I feel a lot of my spirit has come from him,” she said. “He passed away a few years later and I only wish he could have been able to see all the progress that has been made.”

Last September she explained to UK talk show host Alan Carr that “Cool for the Summer” was about experimenting with the same-sex, suggesting to Carr that she might be bisexual herself.

Lovato also played a lesbian on the popular television series Glee.

Watch a clip from the Billboard Music Awards:

Demi Lovato performing “Cool for the Summer” at the 2016 Billboard Music Awardst.co/BybXRyjcJk

— ♔ (@dopelectric) May 23, 2016

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Chicago's AIDS Angel on the Disease's Darkest Days

Lori Cannon was recently recognized with the Fifth Third Bank’s 2016 Community Leaders Award for her unrelenting HIV activism. She tells us how she was drawn to helping people and why her work is still so important.
 

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/5/23/chicagos-aids-angel-diseases-darkest-days

11 Pics of Blatino Oasis, the Un-White Party

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2016/5/23/11-pics-blatino-oasis-un-white-party