News: The Arctic, Washington D.C., Smurfs, Rwanda, Ochocinco

D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to hear arguments today regarding Bishop Harry Jackson's referendum against recognition of same-sex marriage and whether or not it can go forward. Hundreds watch hearing...

The Arctic?

3,000 students dress up as Smurfs to break world record.

A gay soldier's husband speaks from the shadows.

NYT advice on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "President Obama should see if there is indeed any action he could take on his own while awaiting the military’s assessment. In the end, it will be up to Congress to root out 'don’t ask, don’t tell' by overturning the law that brought it about."

Some upset over Obama shoe photo.

Barbara Bush finds a hot piece.

Pregnant man Thomas Beatie gives birth again.

Charlie Rose talks about the federal challenge to Proposition 8 with David Boies.

Is your phone spying on you? "This new generation of -user-friendly spy-phone software has become widely available in the last year—and it confers stunning powers. The latest programs can silently turn on handset microphones even when no call is being made, allowing a spy to listen to voices in a room halfway around the world. Targets are none the wiser: neither call logs nor phone bills show records of the secretly transmitted data."

Oraine Barrett is the first Black model to appear on the cover of Brazil's DOM magazine.

Adam Lambert to appear on 20/20 this Friday.

Catholic group compares San Francisco Board of Supervisors to Nazis for "denouncing a Vatican order to Catholic Charities not to place adoptive children with same-sex couples."

Cyndi Lauper holds summer auction for True Colors Fund.

Mormon fringe ponders 'chemical castration' for gays: "[I]s chemical castration an option for LDS gays? I mean, if you're faithful LDS & accept that for whatever reason the Lord has put you on Earth as a "eunuch" (best case, if you can stay strong), why should you have to struggle with incessant thoughts that are not just inappropriate now, but will be inappropriate in the next life, too, only serve to pervert any desires to have children in a celestial relationship in the next life."

Stars show up for True Blood premiere.

Not coming back: Satellite images show decimation of 99 percent of rainforest in Rwanda.

Israel to hold first public same-sex wedding ceremony.

Limited hunting of humpback whales considered.

Fabien Baron returning to Interview magazine as Glenn O'Brien exits.

NFL players Chad Ochocinco and Carson Palmer have "Brokeback Mountain" relationship.

News: Mumbai, Pilot Whales, Britney Spears, Scuba, Pregnant Man

A grim first look inside the Taj Hotel following the weekend's deadly terrorist siege in Mumbai. The owner of the Taj said the hotel had temporarily increased security following a warning they received. The Big Picture offers some powerful and troubling photos. Hostages says he wishes he had a gun rather than a camera. This video allegedly shows the final living terrorist beaten and arrested. Condoleezza Rice heads to India.

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire wins big at British independent film awards (Bifas): "...the story of a Mumbai teenage boy who astounds all around him by doing well on the Indian Who Wants To Be a Millionaire quiz show, won best film, best director and best newcomer for its British lead."

Pregnant man Thomas Beatie and family go international.

Scottish women targeted in homophobic gravel attack: "Police say the happened at around 2am yesterday morning as the pair made their way along Duke Street towards Lochend Road following a night out. The women, aged 34 and 35 were then subjected homophobic abuse by two men who were walking in the opposite direction. The men then picked up gravel from the ground and threw it. One of the women had gravel thrown directly in her face before both men ran off towards Leith Links."

Britney Spears goes on the record, brings Circus to X-Factor.

Scientists: Blueberries can improve memory.

Nature/nurture argument for homosexuality to be informed by forthcoming study of twins.

Scuba dive in the middle of the Utah desert.

Judge rules murder of gay man in Australia not homophobic: "The court had heard Fleming, 35, and the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sharing a beer at a Narrabeen toilet block while sheltering from a storm. Fleming, a 'gentle, childlike man' with Asperger’s Syndrome later approached the youth with his trousers down and attempted to hug him. NSW Supreme Court justice David Kirby said the killing was the result of a failure of communication. 'He feared that he may be raped or sexually assaulted,' Kirby told the court as he handed down the sentence. 'He says, and I accept, he is not homophobic.'"

Gay penguins segregated at China zoo after urge to father children leads them to steal eggs. No doubt the wingnuts will be all over this story.

Tampa, Florida area sees shift in attitudes toward gay people: "The gay and lesbian community that left Ybor City in the early 1990s is returning to play a key role in its resurrection. A local salsa instructor is satisfying a growing interest in a class for gay and lesbian dancers. And in Palmetto, the nation's first gay and lesbian retirement community is appealing to people nationwide seeking a slice of Florida paradise. Perhaps no sign of support is clearer than the election of Kevin Beckner, the county's first openly gay commissioner. He defeated Brian Blair, a supporter of the county's ban on recognizing gay pride."

British rugby league adopts stance against homophobia: "League officials say posters and logos carrying the message, 'Some people are gay. Get over it!' will be displayed at rugby league grounds, in programs and fan areas, as a bid to promote LGBT integration in the sport.

Ben Affleck shaves his head.

More than 150 pilot whales die in mass stranding in Tasmania.

Gay Catholic's book ruffles frocks at Boston church.

Secret behind Tina Fey's scar revealed.

Norman Mailer writer's colony to launch in May in Provincetown: "Still in its planning stages, the center, to be funded entirely through private donations, is scheduled to host at least seven weeklong seminars next summer, as well as monthlong fellowships and other events. And that's just the first season, Schiller said. Colony organizers include an ad­visory board of noted authors, among them Günter Grass, Joan Didion and Doris Kearns Goodwin. They are still planning the curriculum for the fall and winter seasons...The summer seminars, which will begin in May and end in August, will range in theme from first-person journalism to documentary filmmaking."

Huffington Post raises $25 million in new capital from OAk Investment Partners.

Warrant out for Polish man suspected in homophobic UK attack.

Towleroad Guide to the Tube #394

BARACK OBAMA: His message to the Global Climate Summit: "The science is beyond dispute and the facts are clear."

PREGNANT MAN: Pregnant man Thomas Beatie, pregnant again, appeared on Larry King.

ONCE UPON A WISH: Piano prodigy sings for Ellen.

PIMP MY RIDE: Cat on a Roomba.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

News: Brian Paddick, Senegal, Thomas Beatie, Commercial Closet

Patrick Sammon steps down as president of Log Cabin Republicans.

London's gay former top cop Brian Paddick joins cast of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, reveals George Michael used to ask him for drugs: [Paddick] famously championed a lenient approach to drug possession during his tenure. He said today: 'Every time I met up with George Michael, the first thing he’d always ask was: 'Have you got a spliff?'...'The joke wears off after a while, but he said it again and again.'" Also on board the show, believe it or not, are George Takei and Martina Navratilova.

Pregnant man Thomas Beatie has another bun in the oven: "Thomas Beatie, who is in his first trimester, tells Walters he did not go back on the male hormone testosterone after Susan's birth so he could have another baby. 'I feel good,' he said. 'I had my checkups with my hormone level, as far as the HCG. And everything is right on track.' He says the baby is due June 12."

Showtime and Stan Lee collaborating on gay superhero project based upon Perry Moore's novel Hero. Moore is writing the script.

Oregon woman beaten with a rock after telling man that she's gay: "Washington County sheriff's deputies said the woman was walking along a street in Aloha on Tuesday when a young man asked for a cigarette. The woman said the man asked whether she was gay and became angry when she told him that she was. Deputies said the two struggled, she fell, he beat her with a rock and his fists, and then she escaped. The suspect was described as white, 16 to 22 years old, about 6 feet tall and slender with very large ears."

Top Chef: New York gays form "Team Rainbow".

Gael Garcia Bernal gets pensive for Flaunt.

European Parliament asks Bulgaria to recognize same-sex couples in its domestic partner legislation: " The all-party ‘intergroup’ for gay and lesbian rights has written to the Bulgarian Prime Minister, Sergei Stanishev, and members of the National Assembly expressing concerns that same-sex couples are not included in the draft legislation. 'Unions between opposite-sex and same-sex couples are based on the same ground,' says the letter, signed by MEPs Michael Cashman, Lissy Gräner, Raúl Romeva and Sophie In´t Veld."

Brody Jenner without his bros, or clothes.

Following the 'witchhunt' it experienced last year, Senegal's gay community is now regrouping with the aid of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: "IGLHRC had stepped in to respond to the arrests and condemn the violence already last year, but now hopes to be able to turn from emergency aid to the development of a forceful Senegalese movement fighting for less discrimination of sexual minorities and increased legal rights."

What's the point of having Cam Gigandet in Men's Health if he's not going to show off his assets.

Sleepless kids become fat adults. Sleepless adults become fatter.

The story behind Commercial Closet founder Michael Wilke's departure from the organization in the wake of its GLAAD merger: " Negotiations for a January, 2009 merger had been all but finalized and, in June, Wilke and his editorial director had moved into GLAAD’s New York offices. On Monday, days after learning from his board of directors that the merger had gone through two months ahead of schedule, Wilke says he found out from an article on Ad Age’s Website that he would no longer be with the organization he’d founded seven years ago. 'There wasn’t supposed to be a shutdown,' Wilke told Advocate.com. 'That was never planned. I know the board was very concerned about being in the black at the end of the year, so their solution was to cancel our big fundraiser and to let me go.'"

Christina Aguilera not sure if Lady Gaga is a man or a woman.

News: Facebook, Barry Scott, Hail, Bahamas, Adoption, Batman

Unhealthy. Nearly 40% of gay men do not disclose their sexual orientation to their doctors: "The survey found a striking distinction: While 78 percent of the men who had sex with men and identified themselves as homosexual said they had discussed their sexuality with their doctors, none of the men who had sex with men but identified themselves as bisexual had told their doctors."

Tricia Walsh-Smith: making a name for marriage.

Drive to ban gays as adoptive or foster parents falls short of signatures, gets 30 day extension of deadline: "Supporters need 61,794 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels' office certified that 57,888 of the signatures the group submitted in were valid and came from registered voters. Cox said about 4.5 percent of the signatures the group turned in were disqualified because of errors by notaries. Of the remaining signatures, 91.3 percent were valid, he said."

Trans man Thomas Beatie sold his baby photos to People for $300,000.

Bahamas: Could teen charged with murder be linked to gay serial killings?

Tribute: Lifetime to air 10-hour Estelle Getty marathon.

Michigan to consider expanded hate crimes law: "Michigan’s hate crime law would expand to include intimidation of gays and lesbians and people with disabilities, and would make hanging a noose or burning a cross on someone else’s property specific crimes, under changes urged by civil rights groups today. Those changes will be put on a fast track in the House next month, said Rep. Paul Condino, D-Southfield, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He said he would introduce a bill today to strengthen the state’s ethnic intimidation law."

Cape Cod Jury rules against Boston DJ Barry Scott in Provincetown police excessive force case: "Scott was arrested July 14 after police broke up a private birthday party he was DJ-ing after alleged noise complaints. In the process, Scott claims that officers smashed him against the side of a house and repeatedly kicked him. In the subsequent months, he and his supporters have been vocal critics of the actions of the Provincetown police department. Prior to today’s ruling, he has appeared in court 15 times on the charges." Scott plans to appeal.

Indian Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil to be guest of honor at Stockholm Pride: "I am honoured to be invited as one of the opening speakers for StockholmPride. Especially since I live in a country where LGBT issues continue to be ridiculously taboo, no matter how universally practiced."

Christopher Ciccone to the New York Observer on the publication of his Madonna tell-all: "...it was like a giant fucking orgasm. Therapy I already had; this was pure sex."

Hailstones blast man off toilet in Austria.

A look at Batman's gay past...

Pump up the volume: Brangelina twins conceived in vitro.

As session end looms, Massachusetts House has yet to take up repeal of 1913 marriage law.

Hartlepool: Police appeal for witnesses after UK gay bash.

Josh Brolin makes first appearance after bar brawl: "[I'm] sorry. I'm kind of in a bad predicament right now."

British man awarded £22,000 in damages over Facebook profile that suggested he was gay: "Grant Raphael created a false profile of his former schoolfriend Matthew Firscht on the social networking site with his name and date of birth. He wrongly stated that Mr Firscht was signed up to gay groups, had lied to avoid paying loans and was 'looking for whatever I can get' in his relationship profile. Mr Raphael, a freelance cameraman, had said the entry had been created by party gate-crashers at his flat. Awarding Mr Firscht and his company £22,000 in damages, a High Court judge yesterday ruled that the defence had been 'built on lies'. It is believed to be the first successful defamation and privacy law case involving Facebook in the UK. Judge Richard Parkes QC said that Mr Raphael was liable for the internet entries and had lied about the posts."

Pregnant Trans Man Thomas Beatie's Baby Photos Revealed

This morning on Good Morning America, photos of pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie's three-week-old daughter Susan Juliette were revealed.

I've screencapped a few of the photos here and clipped the segment, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
Pregnant Trans Man Thomas Beatie to Give Birth Shortly [tr]
FOX Red Eye Hosts Trash Pregnant Trans Man Thomas Beatie [tr]
Morning Joe Hosts Disgusted by 'Pregnant Dude' Thomas Beatie [tr]