Towleroad Talking Points: Poodles, Broncos and Runaway Trains

 PHOTO OF THE DAY: Sebastian Stan's chest is a revelation in his new play. 

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at today's top stories

ENTERTAINMENT

Honey Boo Boo's uncle Poodle announced recently that he is HIV positive and that for it he pressed charges against his boyfriend. While we are speaking about the South, country music star Carrie Underwood reiterated her support of gay marriage in this month's Allure Magazine. 

Late night talk show banter can be pretty formulaic, so that explains why Ellen brought a stock photo of her would-be child so she could have something to talk to Jimmy Kimmel about. Funny or Die translates the true meaning of Jodie Foster's Golden Globes speech. Also check out this short film which shows us just how hard it is to be gay in Hong Kong. 

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POLITICS

Potential good news in Wyoming where a marriage equality bill apparently has support from both sides of the aisle. Bad news from members of the House GOP who have found a way to secretly increase their DOMA defense budget. 

In a watershed moment, today the New York State Senate passed a gun control bill that would ban assault weapons. Will a federal bill be next? And Jon Stewart has a response for those who are complaining about the amount of white guys in Obama's Cabinet. 

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VIDEOS OF THE DAY

Here is a piece of advice, never trust your Swedish cleaning lady with your unattended train. If they make a facewash that makes you look like this guy, then I am totally sold. 

The NFL Gets the Bad Lip Reading Treatment: VIDEO

Always wonder what they're talking about on the sidelines? Wonder no more.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sexy Beards: VIDEO

Canada's Fab magazine goes behind the scenes of its "sexy beards" issue,
AFTER THE JUMP...

Carrie Underwood Speaks Out Again for Gay Marriage, as a Christian: 'I'm in Favor of Acceptance'

Carrie Underwood covers this month's Allure magazine. They asked her about statements she made back in June which caused a conservative uproar:

In June, Underwood came out in favor of gay marriage. "As a married person myself, I don't know what it's like to be told I can't marry somebody I love," she told a British newspaper.

She elaborates: "I'm in favor of acceptance," she says flatly. "And I am a Christian person, and I do love the Lord, and I feel no matter who you are, what you believe, how you live your life, it's not my place to judge. I don't have that power. I don't want that power. It's my place to love and to show God's love to other people, even if they don't live a life like I live. So that's where I'm coming from."

Underwood was hammered by conservative fans for her remarks, and was blasted by World Net Daily's founder Joseph Farah, who said:

"God did warn us not to profane His holy name. I don’t think that just means misusing His name as a curse word. I think we do that when we represent ourselves as followers of God but betray His Word. That’s blasphemy – and there’s just too much of it coming from people claiming to be Christians."

What Jodie Foster Was Thinking: VIDEO

Funny or Die translates Jodie Foster's much-discussed Golden Globes speech.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

What Jodie Foster Was Thinking - watch more funny videos

House GOP Secretly Raises DOMA Defense Budget to $3 Million

John Boehner and House Republicans secretly increased their budget for the legal defense of DOMA to $3 million from its original limit of $500,000, inspiring a blistering letter from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, who did not find out about the budget increase until after it was finalized, Think Progress reports.

Write Pelosi and Hoyer in the letter:

This is not the first time that House Republicans have made a unilateral decision to raise the ceiling on expenditures for this wasteful litigation that supports a discriminatory statute, without any public discussion or advance notice to Democratic members of the BLAG, Members of the House, or the public. This clandestine commitment of taxpayer funds is highly irregular and objectionable, and it must end now.

Let us be clear: these steps do not reflect the will of the House or the consensus of the BLAG.  Democrats do not support any decisions to invest taxpayer funds in defense of an indefensible law.  We remain united in our opposition to any effort to preserve, protect, and defend discrimination in our country.

From the start, the Republican-led campaign to defend DOMA has been a practice in futility and a waste of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.  The Republican-appointed, taxpayer-funded legal team has lost in every case.  Courts across the nation have stood on the side of justice and equality for all Americans.  DOMA is on its way into the dustbin of history.

It would be bad enough if Republicans were losing in court and accepting the result.  Yet it is the height of hypocrisy for House Republicans to waste public funds in one breath then claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility in the next.  With Republicans willing to take our economy and our country to the brink of default in the name of deficit reduction, there is simply no excuse for any Member of Congress to commit taxpayer dollars to an unnecessary – and futile – legal battle.

Via Buzzfeed, Pelosi and Hoyer's letter, AFTER THE JUMP...

Pelosi and Hoyer DOMA Cap Letter by