Obama Addresses Racism, Climate Change on New York Visit

Barack Obama appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman last night, on the eve of his address to the United Nations on climate change.

Said Obama of allegations of racism from the right-wing: "First of all I think it's important to realize that I was actually Black before the election."

This morning, Obama talked to the UN General Assembly about taking action on climate change:

"We also cannot allow the old divisions that have characterized the climate debate for so many years to block our progress. Yes, the developed nations that caused much of the damage to our climate over the last century still have a responsibility to lead. And we will continue to do so – by investing in renewable energy, promoting greater efficiency, and slashing our emissions to reach the targets we set for 2020 and our long-term goal for 2050. But those rapidly-growing developing nations that will produce nearly all the growth in global carbon emissions in the decades ahead must do their part as well. Some of these nations have already made great strides with the development and deployment of clean energy. Still, they will need to commit to strong measures at home and agree to stand behind those commitments just as the developed nations must stand behind their own. We cannot meet this challenge unless all the largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution act together. There is no other way."

Highlights from the Letterman appearance and the UN speech, AFTER THE JUMP...

We're Screwed: Fake New York Post Hits the Streets

A fake New York Post intended to raise awareness about the United Nations climate change summit (at which Barack Obama will reassure international leaders of the U.S. commitment to action on global warming) hit the streets today. It also came with a website.

The paper was created by The Yes Men, who created a video about the paper's release. Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Glaciers Weep as the Arctic Warms

In a bit of environmental pareidolia, a glacier on a Norwegian ice cap was photographed because it appears to be crying.

It may have good reason:

"The Arctic climate has been warmer over the past decade than during any 10-year period in 2,000 years, according to a study by an international research team that adds powerful new evidence that human-generated greenhouse gases have speeded the pace of the planet's recent warming. The report from an international team of climate scientists concludes that climate change in the Arctic has accelerated since the Industrial Revolution, abruptly reversing a long-term worldwide cooling trend.

Watch a report from NASA on the planet's cryosphere, AFTER THE JUMP...

Greenland Tourists Get Front Row Seat to Global Warming

I don't know what they're standing on but if it's a boat I'd be a bit concerned about the approaching wave. Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Don Hewitt, Central Park, Kylie Minogue, E. Lynn Harris

TV visionary Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes, dies. Newsmen remember...

True Blood's Ryan Kwanten shows off his favorite outfit for GQ.

WATCH: Britney Spears launches presidential campaign on Letterman.

Gay Iraqi tells Guardian about attack by militia: "Four men came into the shop. They pulled out guns. They were the Mahdi army. The place they took me to was very close to a mosque or actually in the courtyard – I could hear the call to prayer very clearly. When they hauled me out of the car, they beat me unconscious. Late the next day, they came to me and said, 'We know you are gay.' They pulled out a list of names and started reading them ... I knew four who were still alive. One they had already killed. They interrogated me for three hours that night. They demanded I give them names of other gays. At night they got a broomstick. They used it to rape me."

Does Demetri Martin tailor his discomfort over playing gay to specific audiences?

West Hollywood International Film Festival descends into complete chaos.

Imogen Heap is back with a new album and video.

Kylie Minogue talks to Instinct a month before her first-ever North American tour: "There is still a certain amount of disbelief because it’s really happening. I’ve spoken about this for so long and I was sure the fans in the States had given up, hadn’t you?"

Elton John and David Furnish live the good life in Saint Tropez.

European Committee of Social Rights: Croatia's sex-ed curriculum is discriminatory. "The committee said parts of the curriculum 'stigmatize homosexuals and are based upon negative, distorted, reprehensible and degrading stereotypes.'"

Warming: More methane seen rising from Arctic sea bed.

Andy Warhol Michael Jackson portrait sells: "The auction, which closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, was conducted online, by phone and at the gallery. The seller is a private collector. Gallery co-owner Janet Lehr would not disclose the final bid price, but did say it was more than a million dollars."

Gay romantic comedy Bear City looking for extras in NYC.

The thunderstorm that ripped through Manhattan last night caused more destruction in Central Park than has been seen in 30 years.

Q-SINY: New gay nightclub opens on Staten Island.

Winnipeg prostitute faces deportation to the Philippines.

Mario Lopez bicep rival Nick Adams makes solo debut at Birdland.

E. Lynn Harris' aunt Jesse Phillips talks about the late author: "Every time he wrote a book I'd go and buy 10 to 12 of them to support him I knew that he was gay before he told me because I could tell by his mannerisms but it didn't make me love him any less. When he was about 14 or 15, he confided in me that he was gay and it was just between the two of us. I kept his secret. I don't think he ever sat down with my sister and told her the way he did with me, but she accepted him just the same. He told me, 'I thought I could pray everything away even my sexuality but I can't.' Then he said that he knew I didn't' like the idea of him being gay but the fact was if he never had sex again in his life, he'd still be gay."

It's Earth Day

It's Earth Day today. One billion people are expected to participate.

NASA: "The Apollo 16 crew captured this Earthrise with a handheld Hasselblad camera during the second revolution of the moon. Identifiable craters seen on the moon include Saha, Wyld and Saenger. Much of the terrain seen here is never visible from the Earth, as the command module was passing onto what is known as the 'dark side' of the moon. Apollo 16 launched on April 16, 1972 and landed on the moon on April 20. The mission was commanded by John Young; Thomas K. Mattingly II was the command module pilot and Charles M. Duke, Jr. served as the lunar module pilot."

Are we alone?
Astronomers discover Earth-like planet.
Obama pushes ambitious climate agenda...
Shoot the planet!
Six environmentally-friendly faces who have some explaining to do.
Globes: the literal interpretation.

Some gorgeous views of Earth from the International Space Station, a tour of the Cryosphere, and a video of two space shuttles on two launch pads for the final time, AFTER THE JUMP...