Charlie Hunnam, Debbie Lesko, Press Freedom, Peter Thiel, Joy Reid, Mark Zuckerberg: HOT LINKS

BAD LIP READING. Mark Zuckerberg, masterfully done.

PRESS FREEDOM. U.S. drops to #45 in ranking of 180 countries around the world. “The United States, the country of the First Amendment, has fallen again in the Index under Donald Trump, this time two places to 45th. A media-bashing enthusiast, Trump has referred to reporters ‘enemies of the people,’ the term once used by Joseph Stalin.”

UNCONTROLLABLE AND ERRATIC. What Kanye West is, according to those close to him.

MSNBC. Joy Reid to stay on air during police probe of allegedly fabricated posts.

SETTLED. Peter Thiel reaches agreement to not buy Gawker. “The agreement was reached between Thiel’s firm and a neutral adviser in charge of liquidating Gawker’s assets following a successful lawsuit that bankrupted the company. Thiel will not pursue the site further and will provide the eventual buyer a legal release for articles in Gawker’s archive, according to an agreement, obtained by the Journal, filed Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.”

ARIZONA. Republican Debbie Lesko holds GOP House seat in special election: “Tipirneni conceded the race Wednesday after initially saying the outstanding votes made it too close to call. Lesko has a 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent lead over Tiperneni, or 91,390 votes to 82,316 — an Republican advantage of 9,072 votes, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Arizona secretary of state’s office.”

NEW YORK. Democrats flip longtime GOP New York Assembly seat: “Stern, an attorney and former Suffolk County legislator, won AD-10 with 59-41 percent (as of press time). While no Democrat has represented this district in the state Assembly for over three decades, Hillary Clinton won this Suffolk-area seat 52-45 and Barack Obama carried it 51-48 in 2012; tonight’s flip indicates this seat’s shift toward Democrats is progressing.”

HARDING UNIVERSITY. LGBTQ publication launched at Christian college: “The Harding University students unveiled the website, HU Queer Press 2.0, Friday, and passed out copies of the print publication, available as a PDF online.”

INDIA. Top hotelier takes fight for decriminalization of gay sex to High Court: “Keshav Suri, executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, filed a petition with the supreme court on April 23 challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises a consensual relationship between consenting adults of the same sex. The court has agreed to hear his plea and has sought a response from the government.”

OVERRULED. Madonna loses legal battle to stop sale of hair, underwear, and Tupac breakup letter: ‘The singer won a temporary block of the auction of 22 pieces in July 2016, telling a New York City court that her celebrity status “does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items”.’

AY CARAMBA. The very undressed star of Mexico’s version of Jersey Shore (wk-unfriendly).

HUNNAM HUNNAM. Here’s Charlie Hunnam stretching at the beach.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. “Lydia” by The Magic Lantern.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. Kev.

The post Charlie Hunnam, Debbie Lesko, Press Freedom, Peter Thiel, Joy Reid, Mark Zuckerberg: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Charlie Hunnam, Debbie Lesko, Press Freedom, Peter Thiel, Joy Reid, Mark Zuckerberg: HOT LINKS

Gay Twitter is gagging over this necklace RuPaul wore to the TIME 100 gala
Miss…Vannnnnjie

www.queerty.com/gay-twitter-gagging-necklace-rupaul-wore-time-100-gala-20180425?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump Offered to Fly Thomas Roberts and Husband Home from Moscow on ‘Pee Tape’ Weekend

Former NBC anchor Thomas Roberts provides more proof that Trump lied to fired former FBI Director James Comey about not spending the night in Moscow on the weekend, according to the infamous Steele dossier, he allegedly watched sex workers pee on each other at the Moscow Ritz.

Trump had told Comey that he didn’t even spend a night in Moscow. That statement has already been contradicted by his bodyguard Keith Schiller and by recently revealed flight records.

Said Roberts to The Daily Beast: “The first time I met Donald Trump it was in Moscow on November 8th, 2013. I taped a sit-down interview with Trump the next day on November 9th. That was also the date for the Miss Universe broadcast. During the after-party for the Miss Universe event, Mr. Trump offered to fly me and my husband back to New York. He said he would be leaving directly from the party. We were unable to accept the invitation. That was the early morning hours of November 10th.”

Roberts would not say if he had spoken with special counsel Robert Mueller’s team about the timeline.

The post Trump Offered to Fly Thomas Roberts and Husband Home from Moscow on ‘Pee Tape’ Weekend appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Offered to Fly Thomas Roberts and Husband Home from Moscow on ‘Pee Tape’ Weekend

Amazon’s ‘After Forever’ takes an intimate look at older gay men-and death do us part
Is there life after true love?

www.queerty.com/amazons-forever-takes-intimate-look-older-gay-men-death-us-part-20180425?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29

Trump VA Pick Ronny Jackson Drunkenly Banged on Hotel Door of Female Employee During Overseas Trip: REPORT

White House physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, drunkenly banged on the hotel door of a female employee during an overseas trip with President Obama in 2015, CNN reports:

The incident became so noisy, one source familiar with the allegation told CNN, that the Secret Service stopped him out of concern that he would wake then-President Barack Obama.

Two sources who previously worked in the White House Medical Unit described the same incident, with one former staffer telling CNN that it was “definitely inappropriate, in the middle of the night,” and that it made the woman uncomfortable.

At the time, the incident was reported up the chain of command, and it is one of multiple drunken episodes involving Jackson on overseas trips, according to a source familiar.

Jackson’s confirmation hearing was postponed this week when allegations of excessive drinking on the job, and improper dispensing of medications emerged.

The post Trump VA Pick Ronny Jackson Drunkenly Banged on Hotel Door of Female Employee During Overseas Trip: REPORT appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump VA Pick Ronny Jackson Drunkenly Banged on Hotel Door of Female Employee During Overseas Trip: REPORT

#AM_Equality Tipsheet: April 25, 2018

#NoMuslimBanEver — TRUMP’S MUSLIM TRAVEL BAN TO BE ARGUED AT SCOTUS TODAY: The Trump-Pence travel ban poses a serious threat to individuals trying to get to the U.S. to claim asylum — including LGBTQ Muslims and immigrants seeking to escape violence and persecution. The Trump-Pence administration is recklessly putting lives in jeopardy by blocking them from reaching safety in the U.S. HRC will continue to stand up against all forms of Islamophobia and call out the danger this travel ban creates for LGBTQ people abroad.

• Meanwhile, Politico’s Josh Gerstein (@joshgerstein) reports that a third federal judge has ruled against the Trump-Pence “arbitrary and capricious” effort to end DACA. Read more at the New York Times and Politico.

BREAKING: U.S. District Court Judge John Bates (chosen by Republicans) called @realDonaldTrump termination of DACA “arbitrary and capricious” (AKA irrational, impulsive & erratic) in his decision to kill DACA. #CleanDreamAct #HereToStay t.co/idyxNneyqg

— Greisa Martínez Rosas (@Grei_sa) April 25, 2018

AND THE AIR FORCE MAKES FOUR — TOP LEADERS FROM ALL BRANCHES OF MILITARY HAVE NOW SAID NO CONCERNS WITH TRANS SERVICE MEMBERS: During a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing yesterday, Air Force Chief of Staff David Goldfein said he was unaware of “any specific issues of unit cohesion, disciplinary problems or issues with morale resulting from open transgender service members in the Air Force.” He joins Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, Chief of Staff of Army Gen. Mark Milley, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey who in the past two weeks also reported zero issues with morale or unit cohesion with trans troops. More from Rebecca Kheel (@Rebecca_H_K) at The Hill.

HRC RESPONDS TO SENATE’S CONFIRMATION OF ANTI-LGBTQ EXTREMIST KYLE DUNCAN: Kyle Duncan’s nomination was put forward by the Trump-Pence Administration to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. “In a string of anti-equality nominees from the Trump-Pence administration, Kyle Duncan stands out for his long career fighting to limit the legal protections for LGBTQ Americans,” said David Stacy, HRC Government Affairs Director. “Americans deserve judges we can trust to apply our laws faithfully and administer equal justice under those laws. Kyle Duncan fails that test. It is unconscionable that the Senate has rubber stamped  yet another unfit and extreme nominee to a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.” More from HRC.

ANTI-EQUALITY LAWMAKERS TARGETING LGBTQ PROSPECTIVE FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS IN OKLAHOMA, KANSAS AND COLORADO: Reports Samantha Allen (@SLAwrites) in the Daily Beast, “In the three years since the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, anti-LGBT groups have been desperately looking for state-level victories wherever they can get them. And this year, they’re going after foster children. Yes, foster children.” The attack on qualified prospective LGBTQ foster and adoptive parents is especially cruel, given that research consistently shows that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the foster care system because of family rejection and their LGBTQ status, and are especially vulnerable to discrimination and mistreatment while in foster care. These discriminatory bills will only exacerbate the challenges faced by LGBTQ young people. More from Samantha Allen (@SLAwrites) at The Daily Beast.

• HRC’s report, Disregarding the Best Interest of the Child: License to Discriminate In Child Welfare Services, details the harms of efforts to write anti-LGBTQ discrimination by child welfare agencies into law.

Opponents of LGBTQ equality are growing increasingly desperate and cruel. These bills harm kids in need and discriminate against loving families who want to open their hearts and homes. @HRC is on the ground fighting to ensure they never become law. t.co/njhfXNq87J

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) April 24, 2018

AS PENCE CAMPAIGNS FOR WALKER, HERE’S WHAT THEIR ANTI-LGBTQ AGENDA MEANS FOR WISCONSIN: “Mike Pence and Scott Walker are two anti-equality peas in a pod whose extremist, discriminatory records pose a threat to Wisconsin and the nation,” said HRC Wisconsin State Manager Wendy Strout. “From their opposition to marriage equality to their support for a ban on qualified transgender people serving our nation in the military, they do not represent Wisconsin values. As they campaign together to push their extreme agendas, HRC continues to mobilize its hundreds of thousands of members and supporters in Wisconsin to reject the politics of hate and turn out for equality come November.” More from HRC. More on Pence’s record from Wisconsin Gazette.

• Meanwhile, Pence announced he will address the NRA’s annual meeting in May. More from Politico.

With our nation reeling from one mass shooting to the next, @mike_pence is kowtowing to the NRA instead of pushing for common sense gun safety reform. Beyond shameful for a sitting vice president. t.co/yIccwvv5nm

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) April 24, 2018

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WEDNESDAY: Transgender Nevadan Callie Lou-Bee Haywood is still recovering from being shot two months ago by a man who targeted the Las Vegas LGBTQ bar she — and many other transgender community members — frequented and where she performed. While doctors say she will not be able to walk unaided for at least six months, Haywood is determined to perform again on the bar’s stage. More from KTNV.

PRO-EQUALITY CANDIDATES ELECTED TO NEW YORK STATE SENATE:

Congratulations to pro-equality candidates Shelley Mayer (@Shelley4Senate) and @LuisSepulvedaNY on your elections to the New York State Senate! We know you’ll continue fighting for fairness and equality for the people of New York. ������

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) April 25, 2018

SINGER KEHLANI (@KEHLANI) COMES OUT AS QUEER ON TWITTER: The artist has been open about being LGBTQ, but shared that she is queer. More from NewNowNext.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

A FIRST IN ITALY — THREE SAME-SEX COUPLES ABLE TO LEGALLY REGISTER THEIR CHILDREN TO BOTH PARENTS: More from The Local it.

INNOVADOR GLOBAL DE HRC LUCHA POR LA IGUALDAD LGBTQ EN ECUADOR: El defensor de derechos LGBTQ, Danilo Manzano (@danomanzano) comparte su historia de salir del clóset y posterior activismo en TEDxTalks.

HRC GLOBAL INNOVATOR FIGHTING FOR LGBTQ EQUALITY IN ECUADOR: Ecuadorian LGBTQ advocate Danilo Manzano (@danomanzano) shares his story of coming out and subsequent activism in a new TEDxTalk.

READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

WKSU highlights a new photo series focusing on transgender and nonbinary people in Akron, Ohio; NewNowNext lists nine Caribbean countries with bans on same-sex sexual relationships; Out Magazine interviews LGBTQ youth homelessness expert Dr. Richard Johnson

www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tipsheet-april-25-2018?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

The Women of Gilead Rise Up in The Handmaid’s Tale’s Second Season

Samira Wiley and Alexis Bledel speak with The Advocate about solidarity, sisterhood, and taking on the patriarchy. 

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/2018/4/25/women-gilead-rise-handmaids-tales-second-season