News: Nevada, Sarah Palin, Donuts, National Parks, Tammy Baldwin

Nevada issues first domestic partnership certificates.

Jeffrey S. Crowley, the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy: Website to accept public input through November 13 on National HIV/AIDS Strategy

Harper Collins out gay marketer Jonathan Burnham hired virulent homophobe Lynn Vincent to ghost write Sarah Palin's new book: "The Palin book, moreover, is clearly being styled as a work of polemic, appealing to the Christianist base, thereby fanning homophobia, and empowering those who would like nothing more than to push gay people back into the closet, out of marriage, out of the military, and out of the workplace. Burnham is now directly party to this effort."

Tom Cruise will do his own stunts.

Chair of the Iowa chapter of Marriage Equality USA arrested for embezzlement; Phyllis Stevens and partner donated money to progressive and LGBT causes.

Man arrested at Apple store after threatening to shoot his iPhone with a gun.

McCain strategist Steve Schmidt on Palin 2012: "I think that she has talents, but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012, and in fact, were she to be the nominee, we would have a catastrophic election result."

First look: George Takei and Brad Altman on The Newlywed Game.

Bet you never thought you could play Ohio like a piano. Instrument.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS launches new website.

AfterElton interviews Sam and Dan McMillen from The Amazing Race.

Revisiting Mark Salling's shirtlessness on Glee.

Homophobic donut shop owner in Pittsburgh airs his views: "This crowd will not rest until Homosexuality is mainstream; until the Second Amendment is done away with; until abortion on demand is as common and accepted as going to the dentist; until sexual images and strip clubs line our streets and suburbs; until government education is started in the womb; until disagreement with their political party is “hate speech” and becomes a crime..".

Mariah Carey hits Rockefeller Center for the Today show.

This land is your land: The National Parks go interactive.

Dear Abby: Out gay man runs into his closeted straight past on Facebook.

Helen Thomas digs in.

Record crowd expected for Fort Worth Pride this weekend in wake of Rainbow Lounge raid.

Catholic Bishop on the lam over child porn charges is arrested by Canadian border guards.

Are anti-gay forces in Washington state waiting until the last minute for a well-funded media barrage on Referendum 71?

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduces new AIDS legislation: "Baldwin's new legislation, 'The Ryan White Grantee Payment Equity Act' (H.R. 3665), would authorize increased Medicaid funding to health care providers. The HIV/AIDS population would benefit from a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate. A higher rate would enable clinics to expand operations and care for the growing number of people living with the disease."

Unusual 'Abduction' at the G20 Summit Captured on Video

Is this kind of arrest/kidnapping normal protocol at events like the G20 Summit? You know when they pull up in an unmarked car, surround you, shove you in, and drive away, it can't be good.

Video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Sportrait: Sidney Crosby Sleeping with the Stanley Cup

No doubt some of you wouldn't mind being the Stanley Cup, particularly after recalling this juicy spread of the Pittsburgh captain.

Recent Sportraits...
Sportrait: Mark Sanchez [tr]
Sportrait: Janko Tipsarevic [tr]
Sportrait Joe and Nate Montana [tr]
Sportrait: Joe Cole [tr]
Sportrait: Matthew Mitcham [tr]
Sportrait: Alexandre Despatie [tr]

(image via deadspin

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Gets a Trailer

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon's 1988 novel which explores both gay and straight love/lust in the context of a bisexual love triangle and a post-college summer, is finally coming to the big screen after premiering at Sundance in January. It gets a limited release at the end of March. The trailer (Peter Sarsgaard pictured above) was released today. Anybody seen an advance?

Watch the trailer, AFTER THE JUMP...

Man's Death in Gay Pittsburgh Sauna Puts Focus on Mayor, Owners

A 31-year-old man was found dead at Club Pittsburgh, a gay sauna, on Sunday. Investigators are awaiting toxicology results on the death.

Local media has turned its attention to the club's owners, the city's zoning committees, and Pittsburgh's mayor:

"Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said political contributions by the owners of Club Pittsburgh were not behind the way the city resolved a zoning cease and desist order against alleged sex-related activity at the club. "Every contributor that has ever given money to me is not given preferential treatment and the story line that continues is unfortunate," said Ravenstahl. Club Pittsburgh's Web site refers to nudity and private booths for its male-only clientele. Ravenstahl's administration said meetings with the owners and the mayor's chief of staff brought assurances that the club would stop selling sex paraphernalia and hosting go-go dancers. The city didn't hold follow-up inspections because no further complaints were filed. 'Nothing here was done inappropriately. As I said before, and I'll say it again, it's unfortunate that in this case it was once again suggested that it had something to do with the actions that were taken,' said Ravenstahl."

The Post-Gazette, which Wednesday asked if the city looked the other way after complaints about sexual activity at the club, today profiled the club's owners, who reportedly have held many political fundraisers including one for Ravenstahl:

"In a posting on www.pghlesbian.com, Mr. Karlovich defended himself and his partner, saying the city's complaints about his club were based on factual errors and minor violations that were later corrected. 'We have done nothing wrong. We love this city and our community,' he wrote. 'We will continue to do what we can to improve this city as a whole and our gay community in particular.' Mr. Karlovich also expressed sorrow for the death of Cleophus Pettway, 31, of Youngstown, Ohio, whose body was found in a private room at Club Pittsburgh. He said the club's Web site, www.clubpittsburgh.com, would provide information about helping Mr. Pettway's family raise money for funeral expenses. The Allegheny County medical examiner's office was waiting for the results of toxicology tests and had not determined a cause of death."

The Club's website has posted a note of condolence for the man's family and friends.

Club Pittsburgh's owners often open their home for philanthropic events [post-gazette]
City Officials Voice Concerns After Man's Death [wpxi]
Ravenstahl Addresses Club Pittsburgh, Political Contributions From Owners [msnbc]
Did city look the other way on racy Strip District club? [post-gazette]
Club Pittsburgh [site]

News: Michael Jackson, Presbyterians, Michelle Obama, Unicorn,

How gay is your Shul? "In June, Jewish Mosaic and their partners will start surveying nearly every congregation in the U.S. on their policies and practices of inclusion—for example, whether they offer same-sex spousal benefits, follow a written nondiscrimination policy regarding sexual orientation, or use nonexclusive language on membership forms. When the survey concludes later this summer, Jewish Mosaic will use its findings to create a "resource guide to best practices" on LGBT inclusion for synagogue leaders, who have few places to turn for help with questions on sexuality and gender."

Unicorn discovered in Italy!

Gee, thanks: Bakersfield, California police say they won't arrest couples getting married outside the county clerk's office. "The Rev. Byrd Tetzlaff, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Kern County, told The Chronicle on Tuesday that the police would not allow them to conduct the ceremonies there. On Wednesday, Tetzlaff said it had been a misunderstanding."

Two men punched to pub floor in homophobic UK assault. Police seek witnesses.

Michael Jackson designing clothing line.

The impossible divorce: Rhode Island Superior Court judge refuses to hear case of lesbian couple "but questioned whether the law that barred the women from ending their marriage unconstitutionally denied them a right enjoyed by heterosexual Rhode Islanders."

Police chief in Budapest, Hungary bans gay pride: "Budapest police chief Dr. Gábor Tóth has banned the Gay Pride March, it emerged last night. The march, which Dr. Tóth said would disrupt traffic in the city, was scheduled to take place on Saturday July 5 on Andrássy, one of Budapest’s main streets."

Presbyterian church of Wales in harassment and discrimination lawsuit: "Giving evidence on Tuesday, Mr Price, who is openly gay, said he worked alongside Ms Jones at the church's 250-year-old Trefeca centre, a 37-bed retreat near Brecon, Powys, visited by church groups from around Britain. He told the hearing he was forced to quit as the assistant manager because of Ms Jones's ceaseless comments about sex, which included calling him a 'stupid poof'."

Pittsburgh Presbyterian minister remains under fire for conducting same-sex union ceremonies: " A Presbyterian minister from Pittsburgh still faces two charges that she conducted a prohibited gay wedding ceremony. But the Rev. Janet Edwards will not face charges for performing the ceremony improperly when her church trial resumes in October. Church officials have dropped charges alleging Edwards committed errors when she omitted Bible readings and references to Christian traditions in the ceremony. Edwards made the changes because one of the lesbians she married in 2005 is Buddhist."

Oprah tops Forbes' richest celebrities list — again.

High School Musical stage production outs character that was "coded gay" in the films. Playwright: "I wanted to present Ryan as something from my own past, a version of me, I guess — though he's a lot better dancer than I ever was! In the movie, the character has a gay tint. But in the stage version, I wanted to more fully articulate that tint and say, hey, this kid is who he is. Yes, I consider him a young gay guy without ever having to say it. I’d rather say it with behavior and action. And we do." Film role was played by Milk's Lucas Grabeel.

Matt Damon to play rugby captain in new film.

FOX calls Michelle Obama "Obama's Baby Mama".

TIME: California's Gay Marriage Rush. "A report released by the Williams Institute at UCLA law school says fully half of the state's 102,000 gay couples could wed in the next three years. UCLA law professor Brad Sears told TIME that the number is in keeping with experience in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is also legal, and Vermont, which permits civil unions. Another 67,000 or so are expected to arrive from other states, says Sears, the report's co-author."