Obama Chooses Dr. Regina Benjamin as Next Surgeon General

It's being reported that President Obama has chosen Alabama family physician Dr. Regina Benjamin to be the next Surgeon General.

The AP reports: "Benjamin was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant.' But she made headlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with her determination to rebuild her rural health clinic Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere."

Obama is set to make the announcement later today.

News: Connecticut, Milky Way, Cheeto, Edmund White, The Killers

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signs marriage equality bill: "Rell this afternoon signed Senate Bill 899, which incorporates the findings of the Kerrigan case into Connecticut statutes. That ruling, handed down by the state Supreme Court in October, paved the way for same-sex marriage. Both the House and the Senate spent hours yesterday debating Senate Bill 899, which passed only after an amendment was added that provides an exemption to groups who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds.

The giant dust cloud at the heart of the Milky Way tastes vaguely like raspberries, smells like rum, scientists think.

Gizmodo blogger eats world's largest Cheeto - WATCH.

Alabama House passes resolution in support of Miss California: "The House approved the resolution Thursday by Republican Rep. Jay Love of Montgomery on a voice vote...Love said Prejean stuck to her convictions even if it meant losing the pageant."

Gays vs gays on Jamaica boycott: "J-FLAG Programs Manager Jason McFarlane took particular exception to the boycott of Red Stripe beer, saying the brewer has 'unequivocally distanced itself from the hostility and violence typical of Jamaican music towards members of the LGBT community.'"

Momentum in Utah for same-sex marriage, or just optimism?

Jesus Luz and Madonna back together.

The new video from Green Day.

Activists gather strength in Mumbai to pressure politicians to decriminalize homosexuality: "At a 'People's Panchayat' in the capital on resisting stigma and homophobia, the activists said political parties, which have mindset dating back to years, need to wake up to the existence of sexual minorities or face electoral boycott from the estimated four crore population."

Modeling: Waifs out, muscles in.

Lesbian assaulted at Nairobi bar. Kenyan gays demand protection.

Anti-gay forces storm parliament in Uganda.

How Lorenzo Martone proposed to Marc Jacobs.

Stonewall Library and Archive celebrates grand opening in Fort Lauderdale: "In decades past, when gay residents wanted to find books about their community they had to borrow from friends or from a closet where some were stored at a gay-friendly church. The new location is a sign of how mainstream the gay community has become in Broward: the gay library shares a building with a county library and ArtServe and is situated on the edge of a city park where children play ball and seniors gather for tennis lessons. Jack Rutland, library executive director, lauded the city and county for entering a partnership to make the library possible. 'Imagine me saying that 20 years ago,' Rutland said."

Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Kimmel have a golf cuddle.

The Killers planning release of live DVD and cover album?

Julia Allison blabs about a "screaming match" between Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli.

Edmund White on Amazon: "I don't think it was a glitch. It's shocking that someone in that organization has the power to [get rid of] gay books. All my own books were [also] affected. I wrote in my name [on Amazon] last week and A Boy's Own Story wasn't there! Only four of my 22 books were there. It was astonishing. Frankly, if one of the custodians of Western culture is a corporation like Amazon, perhaps they should be regulated like the financial world. We need regulation in the cultural world too so that they don't restrict anything, like Amazon did."

Can D.C. clergy stop same-sex marriage vote?

U R GAY: Hamline Univeristy in St. Paul, Minnesota sees anti-gay graffiti.

Pedro Almodovar developing Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown into a TV series: "Fox TV Studios is developing the English-language hourlong project and has tapped Mimi Schmir to pen the pilot script. Almodovar and Schmir are exec producing...Almodovar will be very involved in "Women," which will be developed with an eye for the international market."

Photographer David LaChapelle lists Hollywood Hills home for $1.65 million.

News: Susan Boyle, Iraq, Michael Phelps, Carrie Prejean, Sun

Sun dimmest it's been for 100 years...

Confirmed: Miss California Carrie Prejean dating Michael Phelps.

Boyle banishes bushy brows.

More on the executions of gay Iraqis: "According to [Congressman Jared] Polis, the 'egregious human rights violations' are 'being carried out by Iraqi government officials from the Ministry of the Interior.' ...'While I do not know if these executions are being sanctioned at the highest levels of the Iraqi government, it is nonetheless disturbing that government officials and state-funded security forces are involved in the torturing and execution of LGBT Iraqis,' Polis wrote to Patricia Butenis, the chargé d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq."

Just Jared interviews Rosie O'Donnell. On her 2004 marriage to Kelli: "I wanted to be included in the list of people that raised their hands. I didn’t want it to be something that I had an opportunity to participate in but was afraid to, so we went and did that. We don’t actually celebrate that as our anniversary, and that marriage was annulled, because the first few were, but people did write us to say 'Happy Anniversary!' which is how we remember, but our anniversary is in December…for sort of when we knew that we would be together…forever."

Project Runway date announced...

Male rocker Marilyn opens up about relationship with Gavin Rossdale.

Dallas company pulls homophobic prom ad.

Victory Fund announces 12 new endorsements, largely in municipal races across the country.

Former Miss Delaware sides with Carrie Prejean.

Arizona student can wear rainbow wristband, after demands from ACLU: "Eighth grader Chris Quintanilla wore a rainbow wristband with the words "Rainbows are gay" to Parkridge Elementary School in March. Natali Quintanilla, the boy's mother, said the principal called her and told her he would not allow Chris to wear the wristband.Quintanilla contacted the ACLU following the incident; the union wrote a letter to the district demanding it rescind its ban on the wristband, saying the ban was a First Amendment violation."

Alabama lawmaker Jay Love drafts resolution in support of Miss California: "Love said there are those 'tell­ing people what they can believe and what they can say,' which he said is wrong. He said she is being punished for saying marriage is between a man and a woman. 'I don't believe that's right,' Love said."

Delhi teach fired for being gay, teaching students about homophobia.

ABC News: Silence deafening in culture wars. "While social conservatives remain a major part of the GOP, they are losing influence inside and outside the party, said Rich Galen, a Republican strategist."

Worst Catholic logo ever?

Jesus Luz: new post-Madonna photos.

Gay couple attacked by curry vendor at Sydney Royal Easter Show: "Richard said that when the couple went to try one of the sauces offered for public taste testing, they were told by a female worker at the stall: 'No, it’s only for mums and dads. It’s only for people who have families.' When the couple asked why they were being discriminated against, the worker replied: 'I can discriminate against who I want – it’s my product. Now get lost.' The couple were subsequently offered the product by another employee at the stall, but after trying it, the employee who had ordered them to leave threw a pot of curry at them, narrowly missing Richard. She then went to throw a glass jar at the couple before they retreated."

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #448

BARNEY FRANK: Frank discusses the AIG bonuses with Rachel Maddow.

RACHEL MADDOW: Her appearance last night on Letterman. More on AIG.

BUBBLES: The dolphins at Sea World Orlando show off a special trick.

THE POPE AND CONDOMS: The CNN take on an earlier post.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.

Sacha Baron Cohen Dupes Ron Paul, Alabama National Guard

Just as the first snippets of Bruno were being screened to preview audiences at Austin's SXSW festival, it was reported that Sacha Baron Cohen had targeted two more entities for his Borat-style comedy about a gay Austrian news reporter.

Baron Cohen tricked the Alabama National Guard into allowing him to embed with them for a short while:

"The ruse, which included comedian Sacha Baron Cohen exposing his thong underwear while changing clothes, was going well until a young cadet recognized Cohen and notified older officers who weren't familiar with the actor. 'It's an embarrassment to the Alabama National Guard,' Staff Sgt. Katrina Timmons said Monday. 'Since then we have put in protocols to make sure this doesn't happen again.' A film crew pulled the stunt Feb. 13 at the Alabama Military Academy, which trains officer candidates from across the nation. The school is located at the Army's old Fort McClellan in Anniston, about 65 miles east of Birmingham."

"Bruno" also punked former presidential candidate Ron Paul, Slate reports: "In a five-minute scene, comedian Cohen tries—and fails—to seduce the Texas congressman and former Republican presidential candidate in a Washington hotel room. A spokeswoman for Paul confirmed the appearance but declined to discuss details, which were provided by two people who attended a test screening last week."

TheBrunoMovie.com talked to critics outside the screening in Austin. Watch it,
AFTER THE JUMP...

We Are All Americans

Here are a couple more photos I've pulled from our galleries, which keep growing. Tonight I added photos from Montana, North Dakota, and Mississippi. We now have photos from 41 states. If you have a few photos you want to share, instructions are here on where and how to send them. Web-size is best. Thanks for the photos.

The top photo was taken in L.A. by Naomi Zipperman. The bottom photo was the protest in Montgomery, Alabama, sent in by Farrell Johnson. And if you missed Jack from Fort Myers earlier today, here he is.

Check out our Marriage Equality protest gallery HERE.