Towleroad Talking Points: New Reasons to Drink Diet

PHOTO OF THE DAY: There is a new Diet Coke hottie. 

BY SAM GREISMAN

A look back at the top stories from today

GAY ISSUES

A variety of stories involving good news for LGBT rights today. It seems that the Boy Scouts of America might have at last, sort of, seen the light as they are reportedly considering ending their ban on gay scouts. According to the leader of Campus Pride, anti-gay bigot Dan Cathy has also had something of a come-to-Jesus moment. I'll believe that when I see it. Also a former Romney adviser is apparently ready to come out in support of marriage equality. 

Mixed news out of Wyoming where a House panel has rejected a marriage equality bill but did pass a proposed domestic partnership bill. Ahead of Obama's announcement of his new immigration proposals, a combined force of LGBT groups is calling for more LGBT inclusive immigration reforms. And a whole bunch of major U.S. businesses have thrown their support behind the repeal of DOMA. 

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ENTERTAINMENT

Adam Levine hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend and along with the group from "The Lonely Island" told us all what "YOLO" really means. It's not 2003, but Dido has a new single out. And by assaulting Frank Ocean over a parking spot, Chris Brown has secured his place as music's biggest douche. 

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VIDEO OF THE DAY

Adorable overload! Save the date for Andrew and Rob's August wedding! Also if you are planning on visiting Australia, look out for things emerging from the foam. 

Meet the World's Most Optically Powerful Surveillance Plane: VIDEO

Holy big brother eyes.

1.8 billion pixels. It's the equivalent of having 100 predator spy drones look at a medium-sized city at once. At 17,500 feet, it can see objects as small as six inches across in detail. Argus streams live to the ground and stores everything, up to a million TB of video a day.

Check out the mind-blowing video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Former NFL Player Kwame Harris Charged with Attacking Ex-Boyfriend

Kwame Harris, a former offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders, was scheduled to appear in court today on charges he attacked his ex-boyfriend in a dispute over soy sauce and underwear, the Daily Journal reports:

Harris, 30, is charged with felony counts of domestic violence causing great bodily injury and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury in the Aug. 21, 2012 incident. He has pleaded not guilty but was held to answer after a preliminary hearing last fall. He is due back in court today for a pretrial conference to either settle the case or confirm a jury trial hearing.

The man, Dimitri Geier, is also suing Harris civilly for assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Harris and Geier were no longer involved when the fight took place, according to Harris' attorney:

Harris was to drive Geier to San Francisco International Airport but instead became upset when he poured soy sauce on a plate of rice, according to the suit filed in San Mateo County Superior Court. The men argued for approximately seven minutes and Harris said he would no longer take Geier to the airport, the suit states.

As the men left to remove Geier’s belongings from Harris’ car so that he could instead take a cab, Harris tried pulling the other man’s pants down and accused him of stealing his underwear, according to the suit.  Geier unsuccessfully tried pushing Harris away but the bigger man shook him violently and punched him in the arms, the suit states.

Harris was arrested at his home following the fight, which sent Geier to the ER.

Harris' attorney says his client was acting in self-defense and claims Geier's suit is an attempt at extortion.

Harris has never publicly said he is gay.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #1294

JENNIFER LAWRENCE: At the SAG Awards, she thanked MTV for kickstarting her acting career. Here's the promo she appeared in to get her SAG card.

MARRIAGE EQUALITY: British activist Peter Tatchell debates Catholic Union head James Bogle.

LEA T: Benetton's trans model interviewed.

FRENCHIE DAVIS: Former Idol star sings for NGLTF's Creating Change conference.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Wyoming House Panel Rejects Marriage Equality Bill in 5-4 Vote, but Advances Domestic Partnership Bill

The Wyoming House Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee rejected HB169, a marriage equality bill, in a 5-4 vote, before advancing HB 168, a domestic partnership bill, to the full House in a 7-2 vote this afternoon.

An update from Wyoming Equality:

The law, which was authored by Representative Cathy Connolly, would provide essential protections to LGBT families. The Domestic Partnerships Rights and Responsibilities Act (HB168) would ensure that both opposite-sex and same-sex couples have basic legal protections, such as the ability to make emergency medical decisions for each other and to make joint decisions about their children’s health and wellbeing.

"This is a historic day for equality," said Jeran Artery, the Chair of Wyoming Equality. "Today marks the first time a bill has moved forward in the Wyoming legislature which would provide essential protections for LGBT families."

Mr. Artery provided testimony to the committee, explaining that the laws would not only protect his partner and his teenage daughter, but all families across the state. "We know that there are LGBT people living in nearly every county across the state, and many of those people are raising families. All families deserve to live safely and securely without fear that basic decisions about their loved ones will not be honored. We know there is still a lot of work to do, but we applaud the actions of this committee and are committed to working with our lawmakers to ensure that legal protections are extended to all families throughout Wyoming."

HB168 will now move to the full House of Representatives as early as tomorrow.

Here's the bill.

News: Skylar Fein, Morrissey, Pepe Julian Onziema, Prince Harry

Barbara Walters has the chicken pox.

Secret Service dog falls to death from six-story New Orleans building.

Harry's hidden talents.

Morrissey hospitalized in Michigan: "According to a rep for the singer, he was admitted to the William Beaumont hospital, 'where he is undergoing tests for a suspected bladder infection.'"

Tina Fey is working on Mean Girls: The Musical.

Tina Turner giving up U.S. passport, becoming Swiss citizen. "I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here. ... I cannot imagine a better place to live."

Yes, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway (or the SAG awards writers) stole a meme review of Les Miserables.

2012 Recipient of the Clinton Global Citizen Award and Advocacy Officer of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) Pepe Julian Onziema writes for CNN about living out and proud in Uganda: "Existing out in the open is ordinary for most people, but visibility is magical for those of us who once roamed the land like ghosts. 'There are no homosexuals in Uganda,' our leaders said not too long ago. They cannot say that now. They say I am evil. They say my love is illegal. But in 2013, they can no longer say I am not here."

Chris and Liam Hemsworth: Bros surf together.

Two men cheered by topless Femen activists at the pro-gay marriage rally in Paris over the weekend.

VIDEO: Florida pastor Terry Jones burns Obama, Clinton in effigy.

AfterElton talks to Carrie Bradshaw's eighties-era gay BFF Brendan Dooling. "Some people are privy to it. As I said, he’s not flamboyant, he’s not very effeminate, he does have that edge to him, but he can also carry himself like a young man and be attractive to young women. But I think everybody is going to know before him."

Obama and Clinton do 60 Minutes.

UK Roman Catholic church distributes a million postcards opposing Government's plan for marriage equality: "The issue to due to come up for a vote in the Commons as early as February 5. It would open the way for the first same-sex weddings to take place as early as the beginning of next year."

UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond links incest with same-sex marriage: "When the students asked why the MP believed the government should retain a ban on same-sex marriages, he responded by likening the current ban on equal marriage to incest, where it is illegal for two siblings to enter into wedlock. Mr Hammond also said existing civil partnership legislation had removed discrimination."

Wanted: Fort Wayne mayor for equality.

Celebrating Eddie Redmayne.

Male model fix: Anthony Gastelier.

New Orleans Museum of Art acquires Skylar Fein's massive installation "Remember the Upstairs Lounge" which recalls the tragic 1973 fire in the crowded French Quarter gay bar. "Fein said that he sees the museum acquisition as an indication of how far society has come since the deliberately set fire, which remains an unsolved case. At the time, he said, the city had trouble acknowledging the existence of gay gathering spots."

It is now a crime to unlock your smartphone.

Obama cites 'DADT' repeal as example of why he's restrained on executive orders: "There were advocates in the LGBT community who were furious at me, saying, 'Why don't you just sign with a pen ordering the Pentagon to do this?' And my argument was that we could build a coalition to get this done, that having the Pentagon on our side and having them work through that process so that they felt confident they could continue to carry out their missions effectively would make it last and make it work for the brave men and women, gays and lesbians, who were serving not just now but in the future."