News: Prop 8, Howard Bragman, Fin Whale, Heath Ledger, Earth

Dozens of amicus briefs (Google, California Council of Churches, California NAACP, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and California Rural Legal Assistance) submitted in massive push against Proposition 8.

Massive Fin Whale perishes on Irish beach.

Some stunning shots of our beautiful planet.

Mom unhappy after finding Butt at American Apparel: "Trina Campbell told CBC News on Tuesday she and her 13-year-old daughter saw the magazine sticking out of a backpack on display inside the American Apparel outlet at the Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver. 'I pulled it out and I went to open it and it flipped open to a double-page spread of two men having full-on sexual activity, not just suggestive,' Campbell said. 'I don't think this is something that the average person wants to see unless they're ready or going out of the way to see it.'" Although she apparently left the store with her own copy.

John McCain kills Cindy's Dancing with the Stars dream.

DNC settles lawsuit with gay outreach director Donald Hitchcock: "Hitchcock, former director of the Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council, filed suit on April 17, 2007 in Washington DC Superior Court after his termination, which he charged was in retaliation for criticism of the party by his partner, party activist Paul Yandura, in April 2006. Yandura's open letter criticized the matter in which donations from gay Democrats were being used, particularly how he felt that the party's interest in the LGBT community was limited to their financial contributions."

Inside the Chateau Marmont party for PR guru Howard Bragman's new book Where's My Fifteen Minutes?

Gossip Girl spin-off to feature younger versions of the show's older characters, set in the 80's.

Gay Fort Lauderdale mayoral candidate Earl Rynerson, who is running on a 'bloated budget' platform, under magnifying glass over his past personal expenses.

STUDY: Coffee reduces Alzheimer's risk.

Showtime confirms spin-off to The L Word. SPOILER: Will follow character Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) in prison. "Famke Janssen ('Nip/Tuck') guest stars in the first episode, along with Melissa Leo ('Frozen River') and Laurie Metcalf ('Roseanne') who appear as prison guards. 'It's not all lesbians like 'The L Word,'' Greenblatt says. 'It is more of a sort of mixed group of female characters, some of whom are lesbians. It is not as dark as 'Oz.' There have been a lot of female prison shows over the years that have been campy. This is not campy.' The working title is 'The Farm,' he says. "

Was the winner of The Bachelor revealed in the show's preview?

David Beckham hitches on to the droopy drawers trend.

Ledger's last days.

New "superdrug" in the works to combat HIV/AIDS.

NBC's Southland series to include gay cop.

iTunes offering two free Sundance LGBT short films.

Could the lead in Gus van Sant's adaptation of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test be Jack Black: "'Unfortunately, Heath Ledger was a pretty obvious choice, and he’s gone,' Van Sant told MTV News in an exclusive interview. But who else could play zany philosopher-king and 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest' author Kesey? 'There’s the opportunity that it could be Jack Black,' says Van Sant, hinting the film might possibly take on a more comedic feel. At the moment, though, the 'Milk' director is awaiting the initial draft of the screenplay, which is being penned by 'Milk' scriptwriter Dustin Lance Black. 'He’s cracking the nut,' Van Sant tells us. 'I’m not sitting with him every day. I probably should think about doing that, but I haven’t seen the first draft yet. I hope he cracks it. There are many ways to crack it.'"

News: Lake Michigan, NASA, Richard Gere, Broadway, Steve Jobs

D.C. Mayor Fenty to meet with Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) over increase in anti-gay bias crimes on January 16th.

Is there an ancient Stonehenge at the bottom of Lake Michigan?

Richard Gere frolics in the surf.

Toronto-area man shot after homophobic altercation at massage parlor.

Three men in custody following drunken air rage flight from Manchester UK to the Dominican Republic: "The trio were allegedly drunk, violent and abusive and the captain was so concerned about fighting on board that he had to divert and land in Bermuda. A 35-year-old man from Burnley, Lancashire, was arrested at Gatwick airport after being returned from Bermuda. He was arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft and is currently in custody at Crawley police station. The two other men are still in custody in Bermuda and are due to be flown back to the UK in the next few days. Police said the men would all be questioned about alleged homophobic public order offences, affray and smoking on board the plane."

Obama to tear down wall between NASA and Pentagon in face of Chinese space race?

Michael Phelps putting himself in a hairy situation.

Athletic new street artist covers New York.

UK MP and shadow justice secretary Nick Herbert in civil partnership with longtime boyfriend Jason Eades.

Clive Davis plays a very brief clip of a demo of Kelly Clarkson's next single, "My Life Would Suck Without You."

PR Maven Howard Bragman warns Caroline Kennedy to dig deep before tearing down that wall of privacy she's built her whole life: "I don't like to be too simplistic but you either love life in the public eye or you don't. I don't believe she does. One celebrity once said that privacy is like your health--you take it for granted until you no longer have it. She is putting something she worked hard to create at great risk. Once her wall between public and private comes down, there's no turning back."

University of Texas-Austin students working on legitimizing second gay fraternity in Texas: "They will become an official fraternity chapter after initiating three pledge classes. They inducted their first class in November."

Broadway bloodbath: Nine shows shutter due to recession.

Milo Ventimiglia bares it in Bora Bora.

Rare sea creatures come ashore on north Oregon coast.

Croatian woman sent to "ex-gay" therapy treatment center for five years: "Parents sent Rijeka-born Ana Dragicevic (21) to a mental institution in Lopac when she was 16, stating heroin addiction as the reason. Because she spent five years in hospital, she did not gradate and still has nightmares as a consequence...Ana was bound, she put on straight jackets, she was given injections, pills. The girl was in the same ward as schizophrenic patients, whom she was afraid due to their aggression."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs announces he's losing weight due to a hormone imbalance.

Courtney Love is desperately seeking something.

Lesbian gang rape in Richmond highlights anti-gay violence and the need for victims to report it: "'The only way we know about (the Richmond) case is because of the bravery of the survivor coming out,' Virago said. 'Hatred and bias are a routine occurrence for many LGBT people.' That may partly be due to the psychology behind hate crimes, particularly those involving sexual orientation, said a psychology professor at St. Mary's College in Moraga. 'What you get is this kind of immature desire to display power,' said Jose Feito. 'And so they go looking for easy victims, or suitable victims.' In the Richmond case, Feito said, 'suitable' meant someone the attackers could marginalize in their minds. Sexual orientation can serve as a hate crime's 'trigger,' as he called it. But it is often that factor combined with a perception of gender nonconformity that leads to violence, he said."

Howard Bragman on Al Reynolds' 'I'm Not Gay' Moment

It's odd to discuss a PR agent's marriage to his male partner and the dissolution of his client's (who continually denies that he's gay) marriage in the same post, but the two came together yesterday in an MSNBC interview.

Howard Bragman, who represents Al Reynolds, talked to MSNBC about the reasons behind the decision to post three interviews on YouTube yesterday in which Reynolds denies he is a 'homosexual' and discusses his marriage to Star Jones and his life passions.

Said Bragman of the decision to post the videos interview-style with a journalist: "It wasn't a hypothetical worry. It was a genuine worry. because so much of what has been written and covered by the mainstream media has been inaccurate and sensational that we wanted to tone it down while at the same time respecting journalism and asking the tough questions, so I think we reached a very good balance there."

In other marriage news, Bragman wed his longtime partner Chuck O'Donnell on Monday in a private ceremony officiated by West Hollywood mayor Jeffrey Prang. At the end of his MSNBC interview, he urged voters to vote against Proposition 8, the November ballot measure that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Congrats to Bragman and O'Donnell!

One another note via Outsports is that Bragman's client Isaiah Washington made a contribution to the fight against Prop. 8 in lieu of a wedding gift to his PR agent, which was a specific request Bragman made to all those who wished to offer their gifts and/or wishes.

I've clipped the entire MSNBC interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

Showbiz Tonight Covers 'Ellen's Marriage Mania'

CNN's Showbiz Tonight covers "Ellen's Marriage Mania" and Wendy Wright of the Concerned Women for America and gay PR man Howard Bragman, who announced that he's marrying his partner, face off.

"Why do you care so much about what other people do in their bedrooms?"

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Breaking: Isaiah Washington Fired from Grey's Anatomy

TV Guide's Michael Ausiello broke the story a few hours ago on the website,  "An ABC Studios spokesperson confirms that the actor's
contract option has not been picked up, but declined further comment."

His sources said it was, "likely due only in part to the T.R. Knight homophobic slur scandal and the subsequent fallout. "There was a pattern of problematic behavior going back before he used the F-word," says my spy. "I imagine [his dismissal] was the result of all of that.

Washington's spokesperson Howard Bragman further confirmed it later this  evening.

Somewhat inappropriately, Washington's only comment has been  to quote the movie Network, saying, "I'm mad as hell and am not going to take it any more." And while I didn't hear him speak, it seems to fit with his inauthentic renditions a quick demi-apology and a psa with GLAAD last week.

Andy's traveling and is in a later time zone, but i'm sure will have more in the morning.

News: Paula Abdul, Apes, Wiimbledon, Lost, Cristiano Ronaldo

Algerian AIDS crisis hampered by ignorance, misunderstanding: "In Algeria, where
AIDS spreads mainly through sexual contact, 10 million free condoms are waiting in warehouses of the national pharmacy but there are no takers."

Cristiano Ronaldo does a little thumb-sucking on holiday.

USA Today's Pop Candy blog has compiled the 20 most interesting comments/theories they received about Lost on their forums.

Nine U.S. tennis players, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Vince Spadea, Justin Gimelstob, Amer Delic, Robert Kendrick, Sam Querrey Michael Russell, and Robby Ginepri, wiped out in first round at French Open: "It's the first time at any Grand Slam tournament since the 1973 Australian Open that no man representing the United States will play in the second round of singles -- and it's worth noting that no Americans entered that Australian Open."

Paula Abdul whines about her former publicist, gay PR guru Howard Bragman: "I do a call-in every week for OK! Magazine on 'American Idol.' Because of my brilliant job, they want to do a cover on me. I'm being told by Howard Bragman that I'm too old and no one will ever want to do a cover." Bragman responds: "I'm not going into it. I'll stand by my reputation if she'll stand by hers."

Researchers converse with the apes: "The research we conduct here powerfully informs people about the nature of great ape intelligence. We know that humans and great apes share far more than they differ. I think we have to recognize that. If that does not compel us to preserve great apes in the wild, I don't know what can."

Tom Ford doesn't want you to fit into his suits.

Live Journal deletes hundreds of sex-themed discussion groups: "Some deleted LiveJournal communities went by names like childlove and little_children (a community permits multiple LiveJournal users to post entries, while an individual account is limited to one user). Others, however, broadly fall into the category of science fiction, fantasy or user-written 'fandom' stories--and it is those that have sparked the outcry."

Wii tennis pros alert! The first 'Wiimbledon' tennis tournament will soon be taking place in Brooklyn.

Call him sir: David Beckham to be knighted?

Swiss politicians condemn homophobic posters.

Former View host Debbie Matenopoulos weighs in on the Rosie/Elizabeth feud: "The kind of discussions that occurred between Elisabeth and Rosie are real discussions that happen in this country. The View was the only place on TV where open, heated debate happened. By airing debates like that, regardless of who gets offended, it helps the country move forward. It forced people to question their own beliefs and, perhaps, open their eyes to other possibilities. Being polite and complacent doesn't create change. No one is discussing the fact that the fight was less about politics and the war and more about Elisabeth not having Rosie's back, as a friend. Politics aside, by not defending Rosie, Elisabeth was basically saying 'I don't repect you or our relationship. That had to hurt. That was someone feeling betrayed by someone she considered a friend."