News: Rhino Poachers, Bin Laden, North Korea, Brett Ratner

Son-in-law of Osama bin Laden in custody in New York City, will face charges.

Rhino poachers shot dead in India.

Video: Leonardo DiCaprio can do amazing things with his eyebrows.

Ricky Martin took his sons to a zoo in Sydney Australia, and they are getting very big.

The Weather Channel's plans to take over the world: “We could soon be seeing the merger of the local into the national,” says Kevin Selle, the chief meteorologist for Texas Cable News in Dallas and the host of Weather Brains, a popular weather-related podcast. “A lot of these local broadcasters are going to be blindsided by it.”

Mitt Romney has a job.

Obama dines with Republicans: "The dinner Wednesday, which came at Obama's request and included some of his most vocal critics, lasted a little over two hours. Emerging afterwards, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, gave a thumbs-up and said the meal went 'just fine.' Another GOP senator, who asked not to be named because it was a private event, described it as a 'very positive meeting' that focused on the debt and deficit. The senator also used the words 'interactive,' 'respectful,' and 'sober' to describe the gathering, adding that it was even jovial at times."

Yikes.

Jake Gyllenhaal has a new significant other.

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians becomes third tribal nation to pass a marriage equality statute.

Family Research Council group threatens to sue Lincoln, Nebraska City Council to put the LGBT non-discrimination ordinance on the ballot.

An interview with former Michigan congressional candidate Trevor Thomas.

Poll: Catholic Church out of touch with Catholics. "Seven out of 10 say Pope Benedict XVI and the Vatican have done a poor job of handling sexual abuse, a significant rise from three years ago. A majority said that the issue had led them to question the Vatican’s authority. The sexual abuse of children by priests is the largest problem facing the church, Catholics in the poll said. Three-fourths of those polled said they thought it was a good idea for Benedict to resign."

Colin Farrell dons some red, er, underwear for Ellen.

Four-story NYC penthouse has an 80-foot slide.

Brett Ratner jokes about getting rejected as Oscar producer for 'Rehearsals for fags' joke.

Singapore's Pink Dot festival scheduled for June 29. "Singapore's only pro-LGBT rally will mark its fifth year on Jun 29 at Speaker's Corner at Hong Lim Park, the only venue in the city-state where demonstrations of any kind can be held. Like the 2012 event, the rally this year will be held at night as the park will once again be 'turned into a sea of bright, shimmering, pink lights', says the announcement by organisers today."

Lincoln Jesser's "In My Dreams".

North Korea warns of preemptive nuclear attack: "On Thursday, it ratcheted up its hostile language by talking about pre-emptive nuclear strikes for the first time, citing  the ongoing joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises as a proof that the Americans and their allies themselves were preparing for 'a nuclear war aimed to mount a pre-emptive strike' on North Korea."

Chicago Sports Legends Ernie Banks and Richard Dent Sign Letter Urging Illinois House to Pass Marriage Equality

As the marriage equality bill awaits consideration by the Illinois House, it's getting support from a couple of Chicago sports legends — Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and Bears Hall of Famer Richard Dent (below), as well as Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and former Bears and current Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Reads the letter:

“As professional athletes, we always played for the love of the game. The competition on the field - whether it was the football field or the baseball diamond - strengthened us and continues to do so. But for that competition to take place, there have to be rules and a code of behavior. Above all, players have to treat each other with fairness and with respect. Doing so doesn’t detract from the competition. It makes it better.

“We come from a variety of backgrounds, and we have played different sports for different teams. But one thing that binds us together is our belief in the importance of fairness and respect - in all aspects of life.

“In Illinois today, gay and lesbian couples who are in lifetime committed relationships do not have the freedom to marry. This violates our sense of fairness and respect. It also goes against the Golden Rule of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself.

“In sports, any time a player is not treated with fairness and respect, the game is diminished. Similarly, treating any group of people as second-class citizens hurts us all, because discrimination is wrong no matter whom the target is.

“For this reason, we believe that the Illinois General Assembly should act now and give same-sex couples the freedom to marry. It’s the right thing for Illinois; it’s the right thing to do, period.”

Sincerely,
Ernie Banks, Shortstop, Chicago Cubs (retired)
Richard Dent, Defensive End, Chicago Bears (retired)
Hunter Hillenmeyer, Linebacker, Chicago Bears (retired)
Brendon Ayanbadejo, Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens (formerly with the Chicago Bears)"

Why Are We Programmed to Die? - VIDEO

The science behind aging and why we aren't, like the flatworm, going to live forever, and what your parents have to do with it.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Gay Wedding Video of the Day: David and TreDarrius

Gay teens David and TreDarrius' were married in D.C. and while this is technically a slide-show, there may be video soon.

A blogger at The Scoop writes:

Live video will be coming soon from "My Teenage Wedding" whom found the guys story and put it on their show.

My Teenage Wedding is a show on Canada's Slice network. Here's their synopsis of the show:

David and Tre’Darrius, both 19, are young, black, and gay, and getting married in not-so-progressive Memphis. But the odds are stacked against them. Once very popular, David’s friends ostracized him after he came out in high school. Neither mother is responding to the wedding invite. And their only adult supporter, Tre’s uncle Theo, thinks they’re too young to marry. When flaky groomsman Rico says he might have to work on the wedding day, the couple is crushed. The biggest obstacle, though, is making the marriage legal. That means going to Washington, DC, but Tre must first get over his fear of flying!

For now, check out their photos, AFTER THE JUMP...

And if you missed out Valentine's round-up of our favorite gay wedding videos, check it out HERE.

Don't miss our other recent Gay Wedding videos...
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Patrick and Sébastien [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Randy and Allen [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Jason and Tony at the Plaza [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Clinton and Callum [tlrd]
Gay Wedding Video of the Day: Bloomington, Indiana Mayor and 13 Same-Sex Couples [tlrd]

Rand Paul's 12-Hour Filibuster of John Brennan in 120 Seconds: VIDEO

As you may know, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) engaged in a more-than-12-hour filibuster yesterday of John Brennan's nomination to director of the CIA, much of which was about drone surveillance and warfare.

In case you missed it, Politisphere has polished down the marathon session to a spare two minutes:

Paul's filibuster, which lasted more than 12 hours and was joined at times by several other senators, focused on the government's use of drone strikes. Paul specifically expressed his extreme disapproval of Attorney General Eric Holder's refusal to rule out using drone strikes against American citizens on American soil, which Holder said in a recent letter to Paul could be ordered in "extreme circumstances."

Paul ended the filibuster after making a joke that nature was calling.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

The end:

Stephen Amell Knows His Co-Stars' Abs: VIDEO

TV Guide knows what is important to the viewers of the CW's show Arrow.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via ed kennedy at afterelton)