News: Matthew Mitcham, Ghana, Menudo, Fort Worth, Shakira

Steve Jobs introduces new iPhone. Video.

Thousands of cyclists in AIDS/Lifecycle ride headed from SF to LA...

Confidential with Chace Crawford...

VIDEO: Woman goes on bottle-busting rampage in San Francisco liquor store.

Gay-friendly Atlanta restaurant F.R.O.G.S. Cantina hit by smash-and-grab robbery.

Man charged in anti-gay attack in Brooklyn: "Police say Luis Newman, 43, threatened two men with a knife and made anti-gay comments as they were walking down Utica Avenue between Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue in Weeksville. The victims were able to flag down police, who then arrested Newman."

Second member of Menudo comes out of the closet.

Anti-gay protest held in Ghana: "Thousands of angry youth in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolis have staged a massive demonstration against recent reports of gay and lesbian parties in the oil city. The demonstration on Friday June 4, is the first ever anti-gay protests in Ghana. The over a thousand protesters defied a downpour to register their displeasure as they went through the principal streets of the metropolis wielding placards. The demonstration was organised by the Muslim community in Takoradi with support from other religious groups and concerned citizens."

Robert Pattinson attracting attention on the set of Water for Elephants.

He knows his shirt's not on. You needn't keep reminding him.

The NY Daily News celebrates the city's first official fake gay wedding. "It wasn't a marriage, but Elizabeth Rivera and Gelixa Ortiz Friday became among the first domestic partner couples to get a wedding-like ceremony in the city."

Ever wonder how she could afford that onyx mansion? She can't. Real New Jersey Housewife Teresa Giudice and her husband are $11 million in debt.

Male model fix: Cory Bond.

Fort Worth LGBT police department liaison, lesbian officer Sara Straten, praised for making progress.

Will the Palin-heads propel Sarah to a presidential run?

TAB: Crystal Bowersox has a secret gay past. "Crystal was a free spirit. She wasn't slutty, but if she found someone attractive, whether male or female, she'd give them a chance with her."

WATCH: Shakira's new video for "Waka Waka".

Matthew Mitcham scores gold in China: "Mitcham was fourth after the first two dives but stormed home with a flawless new dive - an armstand-back double with a two-and-a-half twist - that earned perfect 10s from the judges."

FIFA to ban distribution of condoms at the World Cup.

NOM spending $200,000 on phone banks for California candidates.

Whoops. Letter from David Blankenhorn to NY Times: "In a letter published on May 25 ('Testimony on Gay Marriage'), I incorrectly stated that I have never read anything written by the conservative minister George Rekers. In fact, in preparing for my report and deposition in the California Proposition 8 trial, I read one report to the court on a previous California marriage case written by Mr. Rekers, as well as a report to the same court taking a position opposed to Mr. Rekers’s."

Australian UFO likely the U.S. Falcon 9 rocket.

Polar Bear shot and killed as American hunters cheer.

Rich Juzwiak at FourFour reviews the MTV Movie Awards: "It's amazing how this year's MTV Movie Awards managed to be simultaneously of its time and out of touch. You would think that something could either be one or the other, but there it was, vacillating like a fan and blowing different flavors of shit everywhere."

Polar 'Ice Bear' Melts in Trafalgar Square

Sculptor Mark Coreth recently carved one of his Ice Bears in Copenhagen (below) to draw attention to climate change. As the sculptures melt, they reveal the skeleton of the bears.

Said Stephen Fry of the project: "Polar bears and their habitat should be meltingly beautiful, not melting away. A forlorn bear on a shrinking iceberg may seem like an exaggeration of a complex problem but actually it stands as a symbol of how habitats are shrinking the world over and none more urgently than the beautiful and fragile arctic. Join me in supporting the Ice Bear Project and helping raise the temperature of the debate"

Today, Coreth sculpted one of the bears in London's Trafalgar Square. You can watch a feed of the London bear melting, AFTER THE JUMP...

(top image via twitter)

News: World AIDS Day, Lou Sheldon, Sweden, Jack Mackenroth,

Obama releases World AIDS Day proclamation.

"Most wanted" celebs get portrait treatment.

I personally believe: Guess who's joining the next season of The Amazing Race?

Sweden to partially lift ban on gay blood donors: "Sweden will lift its ban on gay blood donors as of March 1, 2010, but will restrict donations to gay men who have not had sex with a man for a year, national health authorities said Tuesday. 'Men who have had sex with men will no longer be permanently barred from donating blood,' the National Board of Health and Welfare said in a statement released on World AIDS Day."

Adam Lambert caught flirting with Twitter follower.

Meryl Streep continues to be a goddess.

Serena Williams fined $175,000 for outburst at judge: "...if she does not commit another major offense in the next two years, she will have her fine reduced to $82,500. Even at that level, it would be the largest fine levied against a player for misbehavior at a Grand Slam."

Lou Sheldon, leader of hate group Traditional Values Coalition, signs the Manhattan Declaration.

Demonstrators to rally in front of Vallejo, California City Hall on Tuesday night in reaction to Mayor Osby Davis' homophobic remarks. Said Davis about gays: “They’re committing sin and that sin will keep them out of heaven. But you don’t hate the person. You hate the sin that they commit.”

Vodka in a pill?

Jack Mackenroth for Living Positive by Design.

Charles Durning to star in marriage equality courtroom drama: "Tony Award winner Charles Durning will star in the feature film An Affirmative Act, written and produced by Kenneth Del Vecchio. Jana Mattioli is set to direct, and the movie will premiere at the Hoboken International Film Festival in June 2010. The film is billed as the first-ever courtroom drama about the legalization of Gay Marriage. It will also feature Blanch Baker, Robert Clohessy, Justin Deas, Randy Jones, Costas Mandylor, Jackie Martling, and Tom Waites.

Meet Coldilocks.

Gay activist to run for senate in Phillippines: "Danton Remoto, chairman of gay group Ang Ladlad, is eyeing the senatorial post as he filed his certificate of candidacy Tuesday. Ang Ladlad is an organization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT). Remoto is running as an independent candidate but said he is open to alliances. He added that the group will urge gay parlors and some educational institutions to vote for him. 'If you don't vote for me, you will get ugly,' joked the gay activist." 

Mr. Big gets smaller.

D.C. Officials: student vouchers underwrite discrimination. "Two top elected officials in Ward 6 have written to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill) opposing reauthorization of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCSOP), asserting that some students who receive the federally-funded vouchers attend 'seriously deficient' private schools or religious schools with discriminatory employment practices."

News: Tiger Woods, ENDA, Catholic Church, Jake Gyllenhaal, Burj

Human Rights Campaign refuses to comment on ENDA delay, accuses journalist Rex Wocker of being "out of touch" with group's efforts.

Opera's "barihunks" get some attention.

Jake Gyllenhaal may or may not be a single man.

L.A. Times condemns Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox signers of the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration. "They need to be reminded that this is a nation of laws, not of men -- even holy men." The Village Voice chats with one of the signers.

Chelsea Clinton engaged to Marc Mezvinsky: "We’re sorry for the mass e-mail but we wanted to wish everyone a belated Happy Thanksgiving! We also wanted to share that we are engaged! We didn’t get married this past summer despite the stories to the contrary, but we are looking toward next summer and hope you all will be there to celebrate with us."

Tiger Woods asks for privacy following weekend car accident/domestic argument.

Catholic Church in Ireland covered up thousands of child sexual abuse cases. Here's the video report on CNN.

AP: civil union vs marriage debate is back. "Dan Hawes, the head organizer for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, agrees that it makes sense to seek even limited legal protections in states where gay people have none, but disagrees that fighting for marriage has detracted from that work. 'It's not that these fights are mutually exclusive of each other, so that's why we don't think it makes sense to negotiate against ourselves,' Hawes said."

Salt Lake Tribune profiles transgender cop in Bountiful, Utah: "Although some employees have trouble remembering to use masculine pronouns, Bountiful Police Chief Tom Ross says, 'everyone's done a great job of accepting Kerry and staying focused on why we're here in the first place.'"

Mark boyfriend David Blue in talks to return to Ugly Betty.

T Magazine profiles Madrid-based Candy publisher Luis Venegas.

Scientists develop rainbow trap.

Soup Cans talks to newscaster Jane Velez-Mitchell: "My coming out as gay has not only NOT negatively impacted my career, it’s actually been a plus! People love it when you reveal yourself for who you really are. The fact is most people are pretty much obsessed with themselves so they don’t really care who you fall in love with. All the fear I had about coming out was self-generated. The sky didn’t fall down. The sun came up the next morning. Eureka!"

Melting: Polar Bear habitat shrinking as ice thins.

First nightclub for Bears opens in Tel Aviv.

A look inside the Burj Dubai.

Colin Farrell on look-out for paparazzi in Mexico.

Transcript: Northwest pilots who overshot were "distracted" by "company issues" in the cockpit.

New worry for gay men with HIV? "A rare parasitic disease, which normally only is transmitted by contaminated water, has been shown to be transmitted by gay sex between hiv-positive men. In the industrial world the disease is virtually absent, but from now on that could change."

The NYT profiles Madonna squeeze Jesus Luz.

Mormon leadership not signed on to anti-gay Manhattan Declaration: "So where are the Mormon representatives on this illustrious list? Are they truly backing off their longstanding opposition to gay civil rights?"

Bionic eye: Blind man sees for first time in 30 years. "The images I see move and that takes a bit of getting used to, but I can see cars - they look like cotton wool. It's exciting to be part of the trial."

News: Germany, Belmont Rocks, Rent, Dot Gay, Uganda, Polar Bears

Website devoted to raid on Atlanta Eagle bar launches.

Health care: Pelosi publicly whipping on robust public option?

SPACE: A giant hole found in the Moon, the youngest and most distant galaxy cluster ever recorded, and a stunning map of exploration of our solar system.

News anchor finds himself in a remake of The Birds.

Boston gays to protest Obama this weekend.

PFOX urges libraries to carry books about the "ex-gay" movement.

Jack Mackenroth slams Oprah over HIV show.

Utah Catholic high school defends production of Rent: "Sister Catherine Kamphaus, superintendent of schools in the Salt Lake City diocese, said she read the script at the request of Bishop John Wester, and she watched a dress rehearsal Tuesday. 'There is absolutely nothing that would be offensive,' Kamphaus said Thursday. 'It wasn't condoning the gay and lesbian lifestyle.' Rather, she said, the play shows friends forming a loving and caring community while facing AIDS and other challenges."

Homophobic Daily Mail writer Jan Moir was thrilled to be in spotlight over Gately death.

San Diego gay man says attack in Hillcrest area was hate crime.

Producers shaft the hot dude on Melrose Place.

Time capsule: Chicago's Belmont Rocks.

Tom Cruise: American Psycho.

Report: International transgender community at higher risk in counterterrorism operations. "The report, by noted International Law Professor Martin Sheinin, concludes that because security personnel regularly seek out men 'dressed as women' as potential terrorists, soldiers often target all men in female clothing — including those who do so as part of their gender identity. This is particularly the case in Middle Eastern/Islamic nations — or against Middle Eastern/Islamic people.' Enhanced immigration controls that focus attention on male bombers who may be dressing as females to avoid scrutiny make transgender persons susceptible to increased harassment and suspicion,' the report says."

Coalition releases statement condemning anti-gay bill in Uganda.

UK's first gay tourism office opens in London's Soho district.

Obama administration sets aside 200,000 acres in Alaska for Polar Bears.

Model Paul Sculfor shoots gay scene in Madrid.

The Dot Gay Alliance has competition from a straight German man in Riga, Latvia: "While both groups have left open the possibility of cooperating, they haven’t yet joined forces. Both groups say they plan on starting the application process with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, to create top-level domains, akin to .com, .edu, .org and .net."

German high court backs pensions for gay married couples: "A failure to give gay partners the same benefits infringes the basic right to equal treatment, the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said. The decision nullified an earlier ruling from the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) regarding a Hamburg man who has been a public servant since 1991 with a supplementary pension. The public-sector pension company VBL – the largest such company in the nation – refused to give the man married status, despite the fact that he’d been living in a registered civil union for eight years. This meant that his retirement benefits would be €74 less each month, and his partner would receive no surviving dependants’ pension in the event of his death."

Polar Bear Cub Goes Bear-Back

This is apparently the first photographic evidence of a phenomenon — baby Polar Bears riding on their mother's backs — that was heretofore undocumented.

It's also damn cute.

The Telegraph reports: "Now in a paper in the journal Polar Biology Dr Aars has explained why the cubs might ride on the back of the mother. He said that although young bears can swim they have not yet built up much insulating fat and may be at risk of getting too cold. 'This could be potentially important because it means that the cubs get exposed to less water. If they are in the water they would have to swim and very small cubs are very badly insulated in water,' he said."