Katy B Covers One Direction's 'Story of My Life': VIDEO

British singer-songwriter Katy B covered the One Direction hit "Story of My Life" in a recent session for UK radio show 'In:Demand'.

Enjoy, AFTER THE JUMP...

Senator Marco Rubio Succeeds in Blocking Gay Black Judge's Nomination to Federal Bench

Earlier this year we reported that Senator Marco Rubio was holding up the confirmation of Judge William Thomas to the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Thomas serves on the Miami Dade Circuit and was nominated more than a year ago.

In September, Rubio withdrew his support for the nomination. Rubio said he withdrew his support because of Thomas's actions in two criminal cases, and without Rubio's support the nomination was dead. Florida's other Senator, Bill Nelson, had given his full approval. Supporters of Thomas believed Rubioblocked the nomination for political reasons.

Yesterday, news came that Rubio had succeeded in thwarting Thomas's nomination.

A White House official confirmed for the Washington Blade that Thomas wasn’t resubmitted.

“The nomination of Judge William Thomas was returned by the Senate and Sen. Rubio has made his objection clear, so the president chose not to renominate him,” the official said.

Had Thomas been confirmed by the Senate, he would have been the first openly gay black male to sit on the federal bench. (Deborah Batts, confirmed to the federal bench in 1994 and the first-ever out person to sit on the federal judiciary, is also black.)

VA Gov. Terry McAuliffe Bans Discrimination Against LGBT Employees in First Executive Order

Shortly after being sworn in, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order banning discrimination against LGBT state employees. It was McAuliffe's first official act as governor.

Said McAuliffe:

“My administration is committed to keeping Virginia open and welcoming to all who call our Commonwealth home. Executive Order Number 1 sets the tone for an administration that will not accept discrimination in any form, and one that will work tirelessly to ensure all Virginians have equal opportunity in the workplace, no matter their backgrounds, race, religion, or whom they love.”

The order "prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political affiliation, or against otherwise qualified persons with disabilities in Virginia state government."

Watch McAuliffe's swearing in, AFTER THE JUMP...

'Hand of God' Photo Captured by NASA Telescope

BY SARAH WOLFE / GlobalPost

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array released an image of a dead star Friday nicknamed the "Hand of God," renewing debate about religion and astronomy.

It may look like an X-ray from the doctor's office.

But it's actually an enormous cloud of material ejected from a star that exploded an estimated 17,000 light years away.

"We don't know if the hand shape is an optical illusion," McGill University's Hongjun An said in a statement from the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission.

The object is known as a pulsar wind nebula.

Dubbed PSR B1509-58 (B1509 for short), it measures about 12 miles in diameter and spins around at a brisk seven times per second.

As the dead star spins, it spews particles "upheaved during the star's violent death," according to NuSTAR.

One of the big mysteries is whether the pulsar particles are interacting with material ejected from the star in a specific way to make it look like a hand, or if the material is in fact shaped like a hand, NASA said in a statement.

Launched in June 2012, the NuSTAR space telescope is tasked with observing black holes, dead and exploded stars and "other extreme objects," according to NuSTAR.

Karma Bites Christie In The Ass!

BY DAVID MIXNER

Over my personal history I have seen overconfident politicians known for being tough, bullies or just plain mean. Initially those tough guy qualities endeared them to the voters. Ironically, the very machismo that made them popular, without fail, ended up being their downfall.

President Nixon, who instructed Vice President Agnew to blistered anti-war dissenters with name after name ('effete crops of impudent snobs') and created the 'silent majority' to run rampant over the rights of Americans, ended up being a criminal who had to proclaim "I am not a crook.". The President had to resign.

President George W. Bush made his career after 9/11 of being literally the only one who could protect Americans. Out of fear of another horrific event Americans embraced his strong tactics against terrorism, domestic spying and the Iraq War. That is until Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. No one can forget the President putting his arm around his FEMA Director and saying "Brownie, you are doing a heck of a job" . Bush's popularity plummeted after Americans realized that not only could he not protect us from terrorism,  he couldn't even get bottled water into New Orleans.

Now one more politician is finding that karma is a bitch.

Governor Chris Christie has proclaimed for the entire world, "I am not a bully'.

Really, Governor, really?

Joining those in history who have created personas that endear them to the voters, no matter how inappropriate, Christie is feeling the inevitable backlash of his bullying, anger management issues. It was only a matter of time before his 'hot under the collar' approach to governing came back to haunt him.

Allow me to borrow a line from Nixon. "Make no mistake about it," the only issue here is Governor Chris Christie. It is not the horrific toll it took on the lives of Fort Lee citizens nor the lower officials who stepped over the line. They were simply following the style, the leadership, and political parameters established by their own Governor.

The public is not just now discovering Christie is a bully.

We have seen him with ice cream cone in hand chasing a teacher down a boardwalk bellowing at him for daring to question his judgement. New Jersey citizens have witnessed people publicly being banished for daring to challenge the tough Governor. His own staff has filled YouTube space with his bullying and seething anger.

In this year's must read election book Double Down you will see example after example of Christie raging against one person or another. The Governor literally threatened Romney staff that they would 'never work in this town' again.

The Week Reports on 'Double Down' and Christie:

In Double Down, the best-selling behind-the-scenes tome of the 2012 campaign, the authors delve into New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's interaction with the top of the Republican ticket. The portrait wasn't very flattering. Double Down's Christie was megalomaniacal, self-possessed, and obsessed with reciprocity: You do well by him, and he'll do well by you. You fundraise without his permission in New Jersey, and he'll cut the donors off. Loyalty trumped all. If Christie perceived you as disloyal, you were out of his inner circle. That's in passive voice because Christie would leave it to his lieutenants to enforce this code of honor.

What does this all mean?

Simply that Governor Christie's bullying, anger issues and personal style makes him unfit to be the President of the United States.

Instead of studying the Constitution of the United States, the Governor needs to be attending anger management classes with other hot-headed people whose tempers and bullying have hurt so many others.

Scary Bigots Demand a Vote on Your Equality in New Indiana Ad Campaign: VIDEO

Earlier this week we reported that the Indiana House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing on Monday, the first on a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in the state.

And this week, the fundie Christian group Advance America bought air time on stations in Fort Wayne and Indianapolis to begin running a set of ads intended to convince voters to oppose same-sex marriage in the state, Right Wing Watch reports:

The two ads, which the Indiana-based group Advance America says it is paying “several thousand dollars” to air, play ominous music over a picture of the state capitol in front of cloudy skies. One shows the members of state committee considering the ballot measure. In the other, the words “freedom” and “right to vote” float across the screen as actors say “let me vote.”

Watch one of the spots, AFTER THE JUMP...