News: Dylan Farrow, Oklahoma, Figure Skating, Chattanooga

Chris Christie to speak at CPAC next month.

Dylan Farrow releases open letter about Woody Allen sexual abuse.

Janet Yellen sworn in: first woman to lead the Federal Reserve in history.

Hate on Ice: Newsweek reports on professional figure skating's ugly closet. As does Buzzfeed.

And the breakout star of the Super Bowl was...

Thousands protest gay marriage in France in renewed push by Manif Pour Tous campaign: "Ahead of the protests, Interior Minister Manuel Valls vowed that any violence against police would be dealt with severely. Some 1,500 police officers were deployed in Paris and 600 in the central city of Lyon."

French conservatives: 'Jews, get out of France!'.

Lady Gaga poses with somebody she says is Britney Spears who looks nothing like her...

David Beckham strips down for Super Bowl H&M commercial.

Male model fix: Geoffroy Jonckeere.

Kenneth in the 212 blogger Kenneth Walsh has a new memoir on Amazon. Congrats!

Madonna to introduce Pussy Riot at Brooklyn Amnesty benefit: "I am honored to introduce my fellow freedom fighters Masha and Nadya from Pussy Riot," said Madonna in a statement. "I have admired their courage and have long supported their commitment and the sacrifices they have made in the name of freedom of expression and human rights."

David Beckham and Jimmy Fallon played a game of egg roulette.

Protesters egg home of UKIP Councillor David Silvester, who blamed floods on gay marriage. "Police are investigating an incident where eggs were thrown at his home. A rainbow banner was also attached to the wall of Mr Silvester’s house in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire."

Former Mr. Gay UK locked up for 21 months on assault conviction.

It's the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Scissor Sisters debut album turns 10.

Gay Chattanooga, TN City Councilman Chris Anderson faces recall for supporting domestic partner benefits. More here. Victory Fund petition.

The U.S. hypocrisy over Russia's anti-gay laws. "Putin’s inability to justify this law puts a spotlight on the inability of Utah, Texas, Arizona and other states to justify their gay-stigmatizing statutes. They should be repealed or challenged in court. Just as judges led the way against compulsory sterilization and racial-segregation laws, so they should subject anti-gay laws to critical scrutiny."

Maine's highest court says transgender student's rights were violated when she was required to use a unisex restroom: "The ruling is the first in which a state supreme court has affirmed a transgender person’s right to equal access to restrooms in places of public accommodation."

Here are the 13 couples seeking the freedom to marry in Oklahoma: "Hundreds of couples celebrated Judge Kern's ruling - these anti-marriage laws that he declared unconstitutional impact real people with real lives and real families, and it's important to be reminded of that. These couples are diverse and unique - some have married out of state, some are waiting to marry in Oklahoma, some have kids, others are waiting to have children until they can ensure their family will be respected in their home state. But these couples all have two key things in common: They love each other, and they need the freedom to marry in Oklahoma."

Canadian Snowboarder Draws Attention to Bizarre Bathroom Rules at Sochi

A tweet from Canadian snowboarder Sebastien Toutant is drawing attention to some bizarre rules posted for the bathrooms at Sochi.

Tweeted Toutant: "Well that's interesting... Sochi rules in the bathrooms!! #haha #olympics" 

Writes The Independent:

In one, a stick man can clearly be seen fishing, with a rod, in the toilet. The reasoning behind this remains unclear – with fishing not included as a sport at the winter games, athletes are unlikely to have brought equipment along with them.

It seems equally unlikely that the architects of the $51 billion (£300 billion) games would have cut costs by building toilets over frozen fishing lakes.

While it is a little more understandable, the sign instructing athletes not to do drugs in the toilets also seems a little gratuitous, given the games’ strict anti-doping policies and structures.

Of course, it's not the first weird news we've received about the bathrooms at Sochi.

'Let Her Down Easy', the First Single from George Michael's New 'Symphonica' Album: AUDIO

"Let Her Down Easy" is the first single from George Michael's new Symphonica album and was originally recorded by Terence Trent D'Arby in 1993.

Enjoy, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via idolator)

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Wisconsin's Ban on Gay Marriage

Add another state to the list.

The Washington Blade reports:

Same-sex couples in Wisconsin joined others throughout the country on Monday in filing a lawsuit seeking same-sex marriage, but efforts there are unique because of the penalties for marrying in another jurisdiction.

The litigation seeks not only to overturn the state’s 2006 constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage, but also to enjoin state official from enforcing a “marriage evasion law” prohibiting couples — gay and straight — from going elsewhere to marry.

The penalties of violating the marriage evasion law in Wisconsin, which is the only state to have such a statute, include up to $10,000 in fines and nine months in prison.

The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of Wisconsin and Mayer Brown LLP before th U.S. Disctrict Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Marie Carlson and Charvonne Kemp of Milwaukee (pictured); Virginia Wolf and Carol Schumacher of Eau Claire, Wis.; Roy Badger and Garth Wangemann of Milwaukee; and Judith “Judi” Trampf and Katharina “Katy” Heyning of Madison are named as plaintiffs. Read their stories here.

The ACLU adds:

Among the plaintiff couples, Schumacher and Wolf were legally married in another state, raising the possibility of prosecution back at home. The lawsuit challenges the overall ban as well as the application of this criminal law to same-sex couples who are forced to choose between being denied federal protections and the risk of criminal prosecution.

“These families simply want the security and recognition that only marriage provides,” said Larry Dupuis, legal director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. “They have built their lives and raised children here. It is wrong for the state to treat these loving and committed couples as second-class citizens, and it is cruel to place them in a catch-22 where they can’t even travel elsewhere to obtain federal protections without their marriage being labeled a crime.”

Read the complaint HERE.

Minnesota Lawmakers Who Took Risks to Support Marriage Equality 'Hauled in Cash' Last Year

Minnesota lawmakers who took risks and voted in favor of marriage equality made bank last year, the Star Tribune reports:

The House members whose 2013 votes were contrary to most in their party or their districts brought in double, triple or even quadruple the cash they raised in 2011, according to a Star Tribune analysis.

While many members of the House brought in more cash in 2013 than they did in 2011, the legislators who are expected to be targeted this year because of their same-sex marriage support stand out.

The hefty campaign coffers may prove particularly helpful if they face strong challengers or voter backlash.

The paper adds:

Thirteen legislators who voted for same-sex marriage in districts where the voters did not approve it, or in Republican districts, brought in 2  ½ times as much in 2013 as they did in 2011. When comparing all House members’ 2011 hauls with their 2013 hauls, those numbers merely doubled.

Rep. Pat Garofalo (pictured), a Farmington Republican who voted to legalize same-sex marriage, took in nearly $54,000 last year, among the most in the GOP caucus and four times what he raised in 2011.

A Pleasant Discovery in the Men's Room: VIDEO

Well, I guess this is one way to advertise a Fractal Design app.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via jmg)