News: Mars, Hunger Games, Magic Mike, Cameroon, Boeing 787

2013 BAFTA Awards announced: the full list.

Gay man reportedly stoned to death in Cameroon.

You can now apply to be a Mars colony pioneer. "The Netherlands-based nonprofit Mars One, which hopes to put the first boots on the Red Planet in 2023, released its basic astronaut requirements on Jan. 8, setting the stage for a televised global selection process that will begin later this year."

An extra on Magic Mike tried to finger Matthew McConaughey.

North Dakota's first openly gay state lawmaker, Democratic Rep. Joshua Boschee, profiled by AP: "I think it means a lot that Josh was judged by his constituents based on his ideas, based on his policies and his work ethic, rather than his sexual orientation," [Democrat Mac Schneider, the Senate minority leader] said. "I think most people even in North Dakota could (not) care less about how people spend their private moments. What they want is someone who is thoughtful, compassionate and effective at what they do here in Bismarck."

Lance Armstrong to appear on Oprah next week.

Guess how many people have been killed in the U.S. by gun violence since the Newtown shooting?

Garrett Hedlund peers out from the cover of Details.

Penn Gazette profiles gay student athlete leaders.

A new book about Scientology and Tom Cruise describes close relationship with David Miscavige: "This is the best part of it all: the Cruise-Miscavige subtext. Miscavige behaved like a man with a mega crush. Wright doesn’t come out and say it straight up but, ahem, the way he describes it, Tom and David act like life partners, apparently believing that they are the only two deserving of each other."

White House continues to decline comment on Prop 8 lawsuit before the Supreme Court: “For comment on specific Supreme Court cases, I would point you to the Department of Justice,” Carney said. “On the issue of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, the administration’s position on this is well known, and has been. And that’s the President has determined that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional and that his administration will no longer defend equal protection challenges against it in the courts, and the DOJ has participated in the DOMA cases consistent with that position and asked the Supreme Court to resolve the question. So that is the DOMA issue.”

EW offers first look at Finnick Odair in Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

The Hunger Games' Kato, Alexander Ludwig, is showing off his in-shape bod in Hawaii.

Family takes refuge under jetty to escape Australian wildfires.

MSNBC's Thomas Roberts confronts L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa about his relationship with Charlie Sheen: Villaraigosa laughed uncomfortably when confronted by Roberts about the picture. “I’ve said all I’m going to say about that,” Villaraigosa dodged. “The people watching your program don’t care about me or Charlie Sheen.”

Boeing 787 Dreamliner hit with more problems: "The plane had a new problem Wednesday, when the Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways canceled a domestic flight after a computer on board erroneously showed problems with the aircraft's brakes. A spokeswoman for the airline, Megumi Tezuka, said the computer glitch was similar to one that appeared when the carrier first started flying the Dreamliners in 2011."

Rosie O'Donnell Welcomes a New Daughter 'Dakota': PHOTO

Rosie O'Donnell and her wife Michelle Rounds have welcomed a new daughter, she announced via Instagram.

"we r thrilled to announce the arrival of r daughter Dakota," O'Donnell wrote.

Obama Inauguration Pastor Gave Anti-Gay Sermon, and His Father Created the Chick-fil-A Logo

Jeremy Hooper at Good as You dug up this tweet from August from Louie Giglio, the pastor giving the benediction at Obama's inauguration.

But that's the least of the problems. Think Progress has unearthed a rabidly anti-gay sermon that Giglio, pastor of the Georgia-based Passion City Church, delivered in the mid-90's.

They write:

The 54-minute sermon, entitled “In Search of a Standard – Christian Response to Homosexuality,” advocates for dangerous “ex-gay” therapy for gay and lesbian people, references a biblical passage often interpreted to require gay people be executed, and impels Christians to “firmly respond to the aggressive agenda” and prevent the “homosexual lifestyle” from becoming accepted in society.

These are among the gems:

Gay people are going to Hell:

(47:40) First Corinthians, Chapter 6. In verses nine and 10, it talks about the things that prevent people from entering the Kingdom of God. It talks about all kinds of immoral behavior. And right in the midst of that passage, right in the middle of that verse it says “and those who are homosexual.” It’s clear.

Gay people can become straight through Christianity:

(40:25) As the church of Jesus Christ, we cannot sit on the sidelines, we cannot sit back inside our churches, but we must reach out and we must aggressively move toward the homosexual community because we have a message and we’ve got something to say… our message is we know Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is powerful enough to do anything and to do everything. And the only way out of a homosexual lifestyle, the only way out of a relationship that has been engrained over years of time, is through the healing power of Jesus.
(43:16) We’ve got to say the homosexuals, the same thing that I say to you and that you would say to me… it’s not easy to change, but it is possible to change.

You can read more, and listen to the full sermon at Think Progress.

Here's Part of the First-Ever Video Shot of a Giant Squid: VIDEO

On Monday I posted still images from a video shot off the coast of Japan to be premiered later this month on the Discovery Channel featuring the first footage ever taken of a giant squid in its natural habitat.

Now, ABC News provides a glimpse of it.

Release the kraken, AFTER THE JUMP...

A Plan for Suffering AIDS Veterans?

John Voelcker writes in the Huffington Post about Spencer Cox, the AIDS activist who died last month at 44, and Cox's onetime proposal for an organization called Medius Institute for Gay Men's Health which would improve the "health, well-being and longevity of gay men in mid-life," specifically those who lived through the AIDS epidemic.

Writes Voelcker:

We hear a lot about "wounded warriors" with regard to American military battles overseas, and and justifiably so. It's devastating for young men and women to watch as trusted comrades are grievously hurt or killed at their side. It's equally devastating to return to a society that honors veterans for a day, then expects them to act "normal" and resume life as the same people they were before the war. While the life-long disabilities they suffer may be politely overlooked, it's clear that they're expected to shield the memories, losses and fears brought back from the battlefield.

But for military veterans, there's a $140-billion Veteran's Administration to thank them, care for them and minister to their needs. The veterans of our own war here at home aren't so lucky.

There are the hundreds of thousands of men and women who survived the worst of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980s and 1990s. They are the wounded warriors of our fight. And they have no such support -- especially those who've lived with HIV for 15 years or more. Whether HIV-positive or negative, many of them suffer what would likely be defined as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their rates of dysthymia and depression are higher, they may engage in unsafe sex, and a few of those with HIV inexplicably stop taking the lifesaving anti-retroviral medications that saved their lives 15 years ago. Men who know the rules of safe sex may test positive after staying negative for three decades.

Is it time to resurrect the idea of such an organization?

Voelcker's full piece here.

Rush Limbaugh Links Support for Gay Marriage with 'Movement to Normalize Pedophilia': AUDIO

Rush Limbaugh spent a large portion of his show on Monday suggesting there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilia in a discussion about an article in the UK Guardian newspaper.

Said Limbaugh:

There is an effort underway to normalize pedophilia. Yep. And it has two aspects to it. One is that sex with children doesn't hurt them. Kids like it, and so do adults, and there's nothing wrong with it. It is something... I want to take you back. I want you to remember the first time, wherever you were, that you heard about gay marriage, and I want you to try to recall your reaction -- your first gut reaction -- when you heard that some activists or somebody was trying to promote the notion of gay marriage. What was your initial reaction?

"Aw, come on. It'll never happen. That's silly. What are you talking about?"

There is a movement on to normalize pedophilia, and I guarantee you your reaction to that is probably much the same as your reaction when you first heard about gay marriage. What has happened to gay marriage? It's become normal -- and in fact, with certain people in certain demographics it's the most important issue in terms of who they vote for. So don't pooh-pooh. There's a movement to normalize pedophilia. Don't pooh-pooh it. The people behind it are serious, and you know the left as well as I do. They glom onto something and they don't let go.

Listen to Limbaugh's segment, AFTER THE JUMP...