News: Spain, Ryan Reynolds, Google Wave, Fort Worth, Bangladesh

Richard Hatch freed from prison.

Why is the investigation of the police raid on Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge taking so long?

Marc Jacobs glams it up for Nars.

Get ready to see Ryan Reynolds in drag.

Pew poll on civil unions and same-sex marriage shows uptick in support for the former, but numbers virtually unchanged for the latter.

NYT hetero-normalizes David Hockney.

Senator Udall wants Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal plan from Pentagon within 30 days. Lieberman "committed".

Spanish court orders new trial in brutal murder of gay couple following protests and outrage over acquittal: "Yesterday, mincing no words, the Tribunal called the lower court ruling "defective, absurd, illogical and arbitrary"and ordered a new trial, according to El Pais. The Tribunal also dismissed petitions to reduce the sentence for setting the apartment on fire. The verdict is a win for efforts by Triviño's mother, Marta Pérez Triviño, to bring her son to justice. She will still have to withstand what must be the unbearable pain of seeing her son's murder go to trial a second time."

John Mayer on online outreach: "I would rather tell the world to eat my a**hole before I would delete my Twitter account."

Police: Attack on Jake Raynard not a hate crime.

Queer as Folk's Randy Harrison set to play Andy Warhol in Pop at Yale Repertory Theater.

Two gay Bangladesh refugees say they'll have sex to prove they are gay on their fourth attempt to get protection Visas in Australia: "A Federal Court judge recently criticised the Refugee Review Tribunal for its treatment of the pair, who first applied for asylum in 1999, finding it was deliberately biased against them. In a scathing summation, Justice Spender found three previous tribunals had unreasonably twisted facts to deny the men were homosexual, using unsubstantiated claims they were brothers who had been married to women."

Gallup: Hillary Clinton now more popular than Obama.

Kris Allen wants to hit you baby, one more time.

Ryan Gosling had a yummy show in NY last night.

Butt Magazine to publish 54-week 2010 pin-up calendar.

George Michael and Kenny Goss step out in London.

Arjan presents a guilt-free download of the Magistrates remix of Mika's new single "Rain".

Coalition of 17 international human rights groups strike out at Uganda: "Over the course of the last year, there’s been an increasing pattern of homophobic discourse at play in Uganda, including a conference that occurred several months ago, in which a number of US evangelical leaders came to Uganda to promote reparative therapy and other types of human rights violations against Ugandan LGBT people…and our feeling is that the bill is targeting not just LGBT people, but freedom of expression and a broad level of political discourse in general."

Google Wave acts out Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg again changes promises on what votes he can provide from  Senate Republicans on marriage equality: "Less than a month after defending his support for Republican state senators, saying he could get their votes for gay marriage, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said conservatives in that body will not support what the mayor termed 'our number one priority' at a recent campaign event with gay supporters. 'Those will not be the Republican votes that I will get, but they will be there for other things that are important to the city,' Bloomberg said in an hour-long interview with Gay City News and its sister papers, The Villager, Downtown Express, and Chelsea Now.

News: Caster Semenya, Lockerbie, Ted Kennedy, Shark, Marc Jacobs

Lockerbie bomber freed...

Terminally-ill Ted Kennedy wants his replacement chosen swiftly. Deval Patrick: "It’s typical of Ted Kennedy to be thinking ahead and about the people of Massachusetts, when the rest of us are thinking about him."

New 800m World Champion Caster Semenya asked to take gender test: "The South African athletics federation insist it is "completely sure" that the 18-year-old Semenya is a female. 'We would not have entered her in the female competition if we had any doubts,' said a statement. Semenya won World Championship gold in impressive fashion on Wednesday."

Revolutionary pair of pants makes your ass wink.

Domestic partner registry in Nevada to begin next week.

Tom Ford's A Single Man vies with 13 other films for Queer Lion prize at Venice Film Festival.

Gay and lesbian residents of NYC apartment building file discrimination lawsuit: "Tensions boiled over when a flyer Uhrin had distributed in January 2004 about the repairs was taped to his door with the word 'fags' written on it, Uhrin said. 'It's like being raped,' said Uhrin, who claims he's been called homophobic slurs by former board members and heard his floor referred to as the 'AIDS floor.'"

First look at Madonna's "celebration" promo.

Oprah to kick off 24th season with Whitney Houston.

Fired Miami newsman Charles Perez wins two-year restraining order against ex-partner believed to have leaked an email which was intended to hurt him professionally.

TIME: Why does Obama keep flip-flopping on gay marriage?

Ryan Gosling out and about but refuses to show off the guns.

Great White Shark attack on seal observed by kayakers off Chatham, Cape Cod.

Police promise to uphold order during Belgrade Pride parade in September: "In this country, no one is allowed to threaten or bother anyone."

Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone to wed this weekend in Provincetown.

Justin Timberlake refused to be on the D List.

Swimmers to take on 3 1/2 mile bay between Sayville and Fire Island Pines for Stonewall Foundation benefit.

New app: Browse the photos on your home computer from your iPhone.

The latest on gay One Life to Live cop Scott Evans.

Michael Moore to the Hollywood Reporter: "I'm still in a stupor of stunned ecstasy that Obama won. And I approve of most everything he's done, from apologizing to the Iranians for America overthrowing their democratically elected president in 1953 to appointing Kumar to a White House position. He is doing the best he can with the mess he inherited, and I and millions of others are counting on him never to forget that he came from the working class and that his people need him now more than ever. As for the congressional Democrats, what a bunch of losers -- weak, scared, stupid. They had better get a clue pretty quick or the Dark Forces will return."

Marc Jacobs T-Shirts Demand Gay Rights for Taxes

They're available in limited editions of 200, for $24, at the Marc Jacobs Accessories store on Bleecker Street in NYC.

News: Moon, Amy Winehouse, Basking Shark, India, Jim McGreevey

New coalition of EVIL: Far-right and anti-gay groups joining forces.

NASA to release new images of Moon landing found on lost tapes?

Man creates life-size Lego replica of...Amy Winehouse.

Three charged in Monday night homophobic attack on Long Island woman.

REPORT: Michael Jackson's children aren't his biologically, nor are they Debbie Rowe's. Father is Jackson's dermatologist Arnie Klein.

5-year-old rescued after Airbus 310 from Yemen crashes into Indian Ocean while attempting landing with 153 on board.

Lt. Dan Choi's hearing over discharge is today.

Trevor Donovan: 90210 gets some beefcake.

Meghan McCain: I speak for GOP on gay issues. "The reason why I became so vocal about it is because it is so important to me and I didn’t see any politicians, even President Obama, doing anything. At this point, I don’t care what leader, what party, comes out and supports marriage equality, as long as somebody starts doing it. I hope that will be President Obama, I hope that will be my father, I hope it will be lots of people. I think it’s the type of thing that’s really coming to a fever pitch. People are really angry. People really want response. I hope President Obama can do that,

Inside the apartment Bernie Madoff will never live in again: "It's bye-bye forever to the $35,000 Lavar Kerman Persian carpet and the $20,000 Chippendale-style tea table in his art-filled four-bedroom duplex on the upper East Side."

An interview with the hottest gay Dungeons & Dragons geeks in D.C.

T.R. Knight to headline Broadway revival of Lend Me a Tenor.

One Life to Live actress Patricia Mauceri fired over refusal to participate in gay-positive character storyline: "Reportedly the soap opera wanted to go against stereotype and show Carlotta as a gay friendly Latina mother. The actress allegedly vehemently protested that story decision, resulting in show brass replacing her."

Basking Shark spotted cruising Long Island beaches.

Rescheduled: Marc Jacobs pushes wedding date to August.

Indian government ready to de-criminalize homosexuality? "The new Government that took power in May after the Congress Party’s surprise election victory has indicated that it is ready to change the law, which is at present being challenged in the Delhi High Court, according to Indian media reports."

More Madonna Louis Vuitton campaign images.

Chace Crawford slicks it back.

Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern working on getting state to approve a proclamation blaming gays for the recession.

Jim McGreevey's new mission: "McGreevey volunteers at Exodus Ministries at the Church of Living Hope in East Harlem, New  York, which tries to help newly-released prisoners learn life skills and handle the significant challenges that ex-convicts face. It’s not just job-hunting.One of the photographs below shows Jim helping one young man figure out how to set up a free e-mail account on Yahoo. With limited access to computers, the guy had no idea how to do this. This is not atypical. We take this kind of knowledge for granted, assuming everyone knows how to set up free e-mail. They don’t. The gifts that McGreevey brings to these formerly-incarcerated men and women are vast."

Ptown: Cape Tip Speculates on Marc Jacobs Wedding Date

 WWD reports on the imminent (or not) marriage of designer Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone:

"Since reports surfaced that Marc Jacobs and his fiancé Lorenzo Martone planned to tie the knot in Provincetown, Mass., where Jacobs’ business partner Robert Duffy owns a seaside home, the little Cape Cod town has been awash in speculation. When will it happen? Have they come and gone in total secrecy? Will Madonna show up? One Provincetown caterer said he thought the ceremony took place this past weekend. A local airport employee said the couple wedded in neighboring Truro last Thursday in a ceremony attended by Sarah Jessica Parker and Cyndi Lauper. Locals were sure the reception went down at The Red Inn, a high-end restaurant close to Duffy’s house, last weekend. All false, said a source close to the couple. Jacobs and Martone still plan to marry at the end of the Cape but are keeping the date quiet."

News: Iraq, Lorenzo Martone, Bottoms, Real Housewives, T.R. Knight

61 Episcopal clergy ousted over alignment with anti-gay bishop.

ABC News on executions of gay Iraqis: "The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs believes as many as 30 people have been killed during the last three months because they were -- or were perceived to be -- gay."

Inside Marc Jacobs' 30th birthday party for Lorenzo Martone at not-yet-opened NYC club Avenue.

Real Housewives of New Jersey's Danielle has a criminal record and a mugshot.

Biggest cities for bottoms: Houston, Miami, San Francisco, L.A..

Tennessee hate crimes bill pushed to 2010: "Opposition to the bill came forward with false claims that it would criminalize religious speech. This claim ignores the reality that not a single case has ever been filed against a minister under current statue for promoting intolerance or denying understanding of the transgendered community."

T.R. Knight and Mark Cornelsen still a hot item.

Britain's Got Talent judge defends Susan Boyle, explains meltdown: "Susan is finding it very, very difficult to cope, and to stay calm. She has been in tears many times during the last few days, and even, fleetingly, felt like quitting the show altogether at one point and fleeing all the attention. I am calling today for everyone to give her a break."

Boston gay basher Fabio Brandao gets off easy: "Brandao today admitted kicking and hitting the men while using homophobic slurs during the beating last August. Three other attackers have never been identified. The 29-year-old Brandao received a two-year suspended sentence and won’t spend time in prison if he follows terms set by a Boston Municipal Court judge, including alcohol counseling and paying the victims’ medical bills."

Seann William Scott and Adam Brody are a couple of dicks.

George Clooney on Prop 8: "At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black."

Forty people who staged a sit-in at the County Administration Center in San Diego over Prop 8 left peacefully: "The demonstrators had sat for hours in the waiting area in the county clerk's marriage license office to show their support for same-sex marriage. Three same-sex couples asked for marriage licenses and were denied. The event was organized in response to the state Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to uphold the state's gay marriage ban. Just before closing time at 5 p.m., about five hours after the first protesters had arrived, seven or eight sheriff's deputies came in and told everyone it was time to go." 

Chace Crawford talks about his upcoming Footloose gig.

Filipino man Philip Belarmino granted asylum by U.S. immigration judge: "His asylum application was based on his persecution in his homeland for being a homosexual. Expert immigration lawyers are generally of the opinion that cases involving applications for asylum based on gender are impossible to win. Another hurdle that Belarmino had to overcome was the one year statutory bar for the filing of asylum applications from the time of entry in the United States. Belarmino filed his application more than one year after his arrival."

Shirley Tan invited to testify at hearings for Uniting American Families Act: "When I spoke to  Jay today, she said that the family is very honored and extremely excited to go to D.C.  for this historic hearing.  They are looking forward to a visit to their representatives offices, Rep Jackie Speier and Senator Feinstein, especially to thank all the staffers who worked so hard to help them."

Russell Tovey 20-something werewolf series coming to BBC America.

Prop 8 setbacks a "big gay shrug.": "...these setbacks are not insurmountable roadblocks. They are merely obnoxious speed bumps on what social conservatives see as our nation's ungodly highway to hell. They only slow us down a little."