News: YouTube Porn, Atlanta, Francis Bacon, Illinois, Cher

Illinois to pass civil unions next week?

Congressman Howard Berman, who said earlier this week that he expected action soon on LGBT issues within the State Department, suggests that more is to come from the White House in June: "I think the White House is preparing to make an announcement on a number of issues. I’m predicting here, not informing, that by the Stonewall anniversary we will have a very clear picture of what the administration is doing.

Tim Gunn makes leap to comic books.

Cher and Christina Aguilera to star in film together?

Openly gay activist and lobbyist Pat Steadman wins Colorado state senate race: "The special election was open only to members of the Colorado Democratic Party. The vacancy came after openly lesbian Senator Jennifer Veiga resigned the seat to move to Australia with her partner and her partner's family. Veiga was the first openly gay member elected to the Colorado General Assembly, and Steadman is now the first openly gay man to serve in the Colorado State Senate."

Tom Cruise and son appear in public together.

Bordeaux: short film features 15,000 still images of Zachary Quinto.

Prominent Canadian architect Arthur Erickson has died at 84. He came out in 2006 in this profile.

Dead finback whale washes ashore in Provincetown.

New Hampshire marriage equality all about compromise: "Rep. Jim Splaine, prime sponsor of the main gay marriage bill, said Thursday that advocates will use the next two weeks to educate lawmakers about the religious protections Lynch wants. 'The governor's made it clear he wants to stick to the core principles he's offered,' said Splaine, D-Portsmouth. 'We can do this.'"

Mariah Carey announces the name of her new album on Twitter.

Retrospective: If paintings had voices Francis Bacon's would shriek. "Bacon specialized in blur and atmosphere; he captured the tumult of homosexual sex in motion by borrowing from photographs, film stills or images of other art, conveying a sense of athleticism and sweat, violence and tenderness, furtiveness and shame. Homosexual sex was a criminal act in Britain, where he lived most of his life, well into the 1960s."

ABC News picks up story of Miss California Carrie Prejean's lesbian mom.

Gay rights group says Catholic Diocese of Maine is violating tax laws by funding anti-gay campaign.

YouTube hit by porn attack: "Video-sharing website YouTube has removed hundreds of pornographic videos which were uploaded in what is believed to be a planned attack. The material was uploaded under names of famous teenage celebrities such as Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers. Many started with footage of children's videos before groups of adults performing graphic sex acts appeared on screen. YouTube owner Google said it was aware and addressing the problem."

Former spokesman for Portland Mayor Sam Adams talks about why he left.

Disney World to feature animatronic Obama.

A lusty gallery of Kellan Lutz photos.

Zona Rosa: Gays find acceptance in Mexico City. "It's really hard to be gay in the smaller, more conservative states within Mexico. I moved to Zona Rosa not just for my career but also for a chance to finally try and be accepted within my community."

Picking up dog crap makes George W. Bush realize he's a real person again.

Atlanta mayoral candidates speak to LGBT voters: "The candidates gathered for a forum of about 150 people held at the Amsterdam Cafe in Midtown. Mayor Shirley Franklin, a two-term incumbent, is prohibited from running for a third consecutive term. Several candidates stressed their past achievements and support for the city’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. One out of every seven Atlantans is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, community advocates say. The community has become an influential force in city politics, particularly in neighborhoods near downtown."

News: Clueless, Bea Arthur, Minnesota, Gavin Newsom, Bullycide

Founder of Provincetown AIDS Support Group and early care provider Alice Foley dies: "In her isolated little town at the Cape's end, Foley, then Provincetown's director of public health, treated AIDS patients before the disease even had a name. Back in the early 1980s, representatives from the Centers for Disease Control would visit Provincetown and meet with Foley to try to identify the mysterious 'gay cancer,' said Foley's close friend Bill Dougal."

Episcopal priest to marry partner of 50 years in Connecticut.

Amber alert: Tom Cruise spawn tries to make a break for it.

Mary Beth Maxwell named to top post at Labor Department.

Marriage equality in Iowa stirs Minnesota.

Rights groups slam Burundi government for criminalizing homosexuality: "They called on President Pierre Nkurunziza to go back on his promulgation of the parliamentary bill, which was not officially announced though confirmed Saturday by an aide. The groups, including international heavyweights Human Rights Watch, said that under the new criminal code promulgated by Nkurunziza on April 22, 'same-sex sexual conduct becomes illegal for the first time in Burundi's history.' According to the law, 'whoever has sexual relations with a person of the same sex is punished by a prison sentence of three months to two years and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 (CFA) francs, or one of these penalties,' a joint statement said."

Betty White and Rue McClanahan remember Bea Arthur.

As if: Amy Heckerling and Alicia Silverstone planning sequel to Clueless?

Crowd rallies in Goshen, New York for marriage equality: "The rally at Goshen's Harriman Square park highlighted the evolution of gay-marriage proponents. The event was organized mostly by young, heterosexual advocates, but the crowd was comprised of older gay couples, many of whom had been together for more than a decade. Many of those couples said they used to be afraid to speak up."

Male model fix: Sam Way.

TIME: Church vs church on same-sex marriage?

Georgia DA exploring criminal charges against school in "bullycide" death of 11-year-old Jaheem Herrera: "Really what we're trying to get an understanding on what the law is and what the facts are, and see how the two merge and how any kind of criminal activity can be put together from the two -- and right now I can't answer that until we look into it a little bit more."

Jake Gyllenhaal has a business lunch, remains hot while doing so.

Trainspotting actor Carlyle says his character in the film, Begbie, was gay.

Casting complete for new Tony Kushner play.

Boston: Latin King gang member who killed his gay lover convicted of murder, sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Gavin Drop: Sacramento gay bar creates Gavin Newsom cocktail.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who last week announced he was running for governor of California, wants the U.S. Census to count same-sex couples who say they are married: "When we go out and do the Census, people are going to be asked if they are married and same-sex couples will say, 'Yes.' And when the Census people analyze the data and go back to their computers they'll say, 'No.' The gay and lesbian community will not be counted unless we also fight for that change."

News: Michael Phelps, Kiss Arrest, Richard Serra, Australia, Oral Sex

Houston judge and AIDS activist John Paul Barnich, the first openly gay man to become a city court judge in Texas, dies at 63. Gay historian and NYC activist Donn Teal dies at 76.

Google Earth helps scientists find wealth of new species in Mozambique, including pygmy chameleon.

Meet the sheriff who's out to get Michael Phelps!

Phelps makes first appearance.

Two women say they were arrested for kissing at a San Antonio mall: "Garcia said the officers — a Bexar County sheriff's deputy and an employee from a private security company — began harassing them Dec. 26 because her girlfriend gave her a kiss on the cheek while sitting inside the mall on a bench. Mall officials said the women, both 22, were acting inappropriately and were told to leave because they were not complying with the shopping center's code of conduct."

Tom Cruise shows off his bod in Brazil.

Gay Bishop Gene Robinson leads Maryland Senate prayer "[in which he asked God to bless the legislators with] anger at discrimination in all its forms."

Someone left Richard Serra out in the rain...

Federal judge: Gay porn website Cocodorm has right to run business out of Miami home: "Cocodorm.com features black and Hispanic men, known as 'dorm dudes,' who share a webcam-filled house together and have sex on schedule. For that they are paid at least $1,200 a month, plus free room and board. Miami has tried to shut the house down, arguing it constitutes an adult business illegally operating in a residential area. The city's Code Enforcement Board in 2007 agreed, but Cocodorm responded to the code enforcement proceedings by suing in federal court."

Google now wants to know where you are all the time.

Does oral sex help protect against HIV? "The study, published in the (expensive, subscription only) AIDS journal and helpfully summarised by Aidsmap suggests that men who give lots of blow jobs to their HIV-positive partners develop antibodies specific to that partner’s virus, protecting themselves against infection. The more virus their partner has kicking around in their semen, the higher the concentration of specific antibodies, and the protection seems to last for quite a while too."

L.A. Times: Penn's Milk an act of kindness.

Jason Mraz meditates on spirituality.

Jesus: Is Madonna pulling a power trip on A-Rod?

Iceland's Sigurdardottir wants nation to join EU: "Sigurdardottir touted EU membership at a joint news conference Tuesday with Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson, whose Left-Green Movement teamed up with the prime minister's Social Democratic Alliance to form the new two-party minority government. The Alliance party was until recently the only movement in Iceland's five-party parliament to push EU membership as a viable way to rescue Iceland's suffering economy."

In the green room: How Ang Lee discovered gay Woodstock figure Elliott Tiber's memoir about the music festival that is the subject of his forthcoming film.

Gay extortion suspect sought in Sydney: "Investigators are looking into the matter, which began when a 39-year-old man met another man at a hotel in Bourke Street, Darlinghurst on November 30 last year. The pair went back to the victim's Potts Point home where the items were stolen. 'Since then, the man has been subjected to ongoing threats of violence and forced to handover his bank account PIN numbers,' police said today." Police warn of AIDS cure scammer too!

News: Eartha Kitt, Holiday Inn, Kanye West, Swimming, Rocco Dispirito

Tennessee hotel employee David Hill says he was fired for being gay: "They literally said to me because of my orientation and my alternative lifestyle, that I was not a fit for the hotel. The owner (Tarun Surti) said, 'I don't give a damn. They can sue me. I will not have any of the gays in leadership roles in my hotel.' And that's a quote."

Karl Lagerfeld lets you see all the way through to Marlon Teixeira for Dior Homme.

The day Eartha (Kitt) stood still.

In case you were wondering what Rocco Dispirito's packing.

Lesbian couple invited on Inaugural Whistle Stop Tour: "Today the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the names of 16 families who will join President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden on their Whistle Stop Tour to D.C. the Saturday before the inauguration. Lesbian couple Lisa Hazirjian and her partner Michelle have been invited to join the Whistle Stop Tour and appear onstage with Obama and Biden during events. Hazirjian, who is from Ohio, serves as an at-large board member of Equality Ohio, as a member of the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats and as a volunteer for Cleveland Families Count, an organization formed to defend the new domestic partner registry in the city."

Four-yolk egg found.

UK Sun: Sacha Baron-Cohen sure to piss off religious groups with Bruno film. "The gay fashion correspondent from Austria, played by Sacha looks set to infuriate religious groups with one of the key characters a black model called Jesus who wears a loincloth and a crown of thorns. Test audiences in the US have seen an early edit and the more religious members at the screenings failed to see the funny side."

Kanye West is pretty sure he'll pose naked in the next two years.

A preview of Kelly Clarkson's new single "My Life Would Suck Without You." Here's the album cover art, BTW.

Police hunt gay basher near Manchester, UK: "Police are hunting a hompohobic thug who beat up a man outside a Preston takeaway. A man made anti-gay taunts towards the 19-year-old student in the Spice of Bengal in Friargate at 3am on January 6. He then repeatedly punched the teenager outside the takeaway, leaving him needing hospital treatment for cuts and bruises to his face. The offender, who fled in a taxi, is described as about 19, 5ft 8in, slim and blonde."

With a Z: Liza Minnelli to join Neil Patrick Harris on Saturday Night Live?

Obama bringing Wii to the White House.

The running Jake.

Charles Peyton (aka Jeff Stryker) at war with his neighbors: "Peyton’s complaints boil down to his allegation that the folk club generates Studio 54–type pandemonium normally associated with large late-night urban venues: noise, drugs, unruly patrons, vandalism, graffiti, public urination and parking headaches. And because, among other infractions, Kulak was cited several years ago for not having a sound wall or offsite parking plan, Peyton habitually describes himas a criminal operating an outlaw club. In the past, Peyton also has claimed that noise from the club interfered with his attempts to write an autobiography in his next-door office."

Scientologist Cruise on Jett Travolta death: "I just don't have the words for it."

16-year-old smashes decade-old Ian Thorpe swimming record: "Kenneth To took almost half a second off the Australian Age boys 16 years 200m individual medley record with a 2min 04.31sec swim on Wednesday night at Sydney Olympic Park. The record had stood at 2:04.58 since 1999 when a teenage Thorpe was obliterating his opposition."

News: A-Rod, Connecticut, Surfer Dude, Sweden, Barack Obama

Quinnipiac Poll: Connecticut voters back same-sex marriage. "Fifty-two percent say they support the ruling, while 39 percent oppose it. Nine percent are undecided. But voters strongly oppose amending Connecticut's constitution to ban same-sex marriage, 61 percent to 33 percent. The same poll of 1,445 registered voters gives Senators Joseph Lieberman and Christopher Dodd their lowest approval ratings in the survey's history."

Obama named 'TIME Person of the Year'.

Tom Cruise draws everyone's attention to his ass.

Reverend Irene Monroe: Gay is not the new Black. "How the marriage debate should have been framed -- in a way that speaks truth to various queer communities of color and classes -- has not been given considerable concern. And with no public language to adequately articulate the unique embodiment of queer communities of color and classes within the same-sex marriage debate, this has become contentious. The dominant white queer languaging of this debate, at best, muffles the voices of these communities, and, at worst, mutes them. In other words, in leaving out the voices of queer communities of color and classes, the same-sex marriage debate is hijacked by a white upper class queer universality that not only renders these marginalized queer communities invisible, but -- as it is presently framed -- also renders them speechless."

2008 ninth warmest year since 1880: "...all of the nine warmest years have occurred in the past 11 years, NASA reported on Tuesday."

Protecting Madonna's prized possession.

Magazines sacrificing websites to save print editions: "The operating policy now, particularly at Condé Nast, basically reads: Revenue first! Future later. And the printed page, the luxury object, is still where you find the money these days."

Shoe-throwing Iraqi journalist appears before judge: "The court decided to keep Muntazer al-Zaidi in custody, and after an investigation is carried out the judge may send him for trial under a clause in the Iraqi penal code that punishes anyone who attempts to murder Iraqi or foreign presidents. Such a crime could result in imprisonment of seven to 15 years. His brother claimed yesterday that the television reporter had been beaten in custody. Zaidi suffered a broken hand, broken ribs, internal bleeding and an eye injury, his older brother, Dargham, told the BBC."

The only part of Matthew McConaughey's Surfer Dude you ever need to see (NSFW).

New gay bar to open in Cathedral City near Palm Springs.

L.A. Times profiles Aliyah Bacchus: "There she is at 17, barely 90 pounds, smiling sourly on her wedding day in Queens, N.Y., dressed in hijab -- a pearl-toned princess bridal gown shimmering with beads, her slender hands dipped in sleek white gloves, a veil attached to a white qimar, or head scarf, fastened snugly around her face. The man her father chose for her stands behind Aliyah wearing a black bow tie, his hands resting on her bony shoulders. That was before. Before she walked out on the marriage. Before her Guyana-born Muslim family discovered she was gay. Before she fled."

Conservative attorneys protesting revision to Arizona Bar oath which adds sexual orientation to an anti-discrimination clause. It reads: "I will not permit considerations of gender, race, religion, age, nationality, sexual orientation, disability, or social standing to influence my duty of care."

Robert Pattinson, a pirate he will be.

Satellites observe largest-ever breach of Earth's magnetic field: "Scientists have long known that the Earth’s magnetic field, which guards against severe space weather, is similar to a drafty old house that sometimes lets in violent eruptions of charged particles from the sun. Such a breach can cause brilliant auroras or disrupt satellite and ground communications."

Scottish students mourn gay fellow classmate who died in accidental fall from balcony.

Swedish high court rejects same-sex marriage performed in Canada: "The court referred to the definition contained within Swedish legislation covering marriage, concluding that the term applies only to a union between a man and a woman while a union between two people of the same sex is designated as a partnership."

News: Caroline Kennedy, Iowa, Sean Avery, Phoenix, Scott Caan

Same-sex marriage battle brews in Maine.

Sioux City, Iowa considers resolution declaring opposition to same-sex marriage: "The motion, a mostly symbolic gesture, is on the council's agenda for Monday. Councilman Brent Hoffman, who supports the resolution, says it's important because it clarifies the council's position and directs city departments, boards and commissions to stay in line with that position. The resolution also asks for a statewide vote on whether gay marriage should be allowed."

Dallas Stars axe hockey star/Vogue intern Sean Avery for sexist trash-talking.

Madonna takes spill on rainy stage in Rio.

Phoenix city council to consider Domestic Partner Registry on Wednesday: "Just a month after Arizona voters passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage, the state's largest city is poised to create a program that would grant hospital-visitation rights to unmarried gay or straight couples who live together."

Wolverine in HD.

Grassroots lobbying effort for gay cabinet member launched by Boston group: "Equal Rep is urging supporters to call or e-mail Obama's transition office Dec. 17-19 on behalf of labor activist Mary Beth Maxwell, founder of American Rights at Work, who is reported to be under consideration for labor secretary."

Federal judge denies dismissal of Gay Pride lawsuit against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford: "The group, which sponsored the 20th Gay Pride Parade in Birmingham last summer, filed suit against Langford, saying he discriminated against them when he refused to allow city workers to hang Gay Pride Week banners on city property when other organizations, including sports events, cultural festivals and religious meetings, had banners displayed by city workers."

NYT: The Year in Ideas 2008.

Just who is the hottest Brazilian of 2008?

Greenwich, Connecticut the state's "epicenter" for same-sex weddings.

New York to allow both names of same-sex couples to appear on child's birth certificate: "The decision, which echoes similar provisions in states that allow gay marriages or civil unions, is one of many changes since Gov. David Paterson ordered state agencies in May to respect out-of-state gay marriages. The state Health Department said Friday it had agreed to the change, which came after a lesbian couple who are expecting a baby filed a lawsuit. The change would apply statewide outside New York City, which is considering revamping its own birth certificate forms to accommodate same-sex couples."

Burglar claims he was held captive by a ghost for three days after he broke into a home.

Gay 'Town Hall' held in Salt Lake City: "The forum was a rare opportunity for virtually every gay rights group, from Equality Utah and the Log Cabin Republicans to the Queer People of Color Network, to collaborate and solicit new ideas. The top priority: Equality Utah's Common Ground initiative, a collection of six bills aimed at the 2009 legislative session that would enhance legal protections offered to LGBT Utahns."

Actor Scott Caan shows off the goods (NSFW)

Caroline Kennedy to pursue Hillary Clinton's Senate seat: "The decision came after a series of deeply personal and political conversations, in which Ms. Kennedy, whom friends describe as unflashy but determined, wrestled with whether to give up what has been a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight. Ms. Kennedy will ask Gov. David A. Paterson of New York to consider her for the appointment, according to the person told of her decision. The governor was traveling to Utica today and could not immediately be reached for comment."

A new Survivor has been crowned.

Johnny Marr quashes latest Smiths reunion rumors: "The stories circulating about a Smiths reunion are, as usual, untrue."

South African man thrown off train by police officers who find him carrying a woman's handbag: "They asked me why (I was carrying it) and then said I was a woman without breasts. They also said I was a woman who shaves. They continued verbally abusing me, asking if they could 'buy' my services...When we reached Ellis Park station, the train stopped to pick up passengers. As it was pulling off, they opened the doors and pushed me out. I rolled three times, injuring my back."

Tom Cruise admits he was arrogant with Matt Lauer.