News: Brooklyn, Jim Carrey, Asteroid, Jodi Rell, Subway Drama

This is how an American soldier is made.

Brooklyn's oldest gay bar, The Starlite Lounge, in danger of closing: "The Starlite Lounge has been a Crown Heights fixture since the 1960s, serving gays and non-gays. In recent years, the venue has become a destination for neighborhood folks looking for a casual daytime hangout, as well as revelers who frequent the dance parties and karaoke nights, according to Leviticus."

WATCH: Drunk Boston woman almost gets run over by subway.

Jim Carrey's new website is pretty fantastic.

Gay man running for Toronto mayor.

Rhode Island domestic partners bill awaits anti-gay governor Carcieri's signature: "An opponent of gay marriage, Carcieri has not yet stated whether, he will sign, veto or allow to become law without his signature a bill to provide domestic partners with the right to make funeral arrangements for their partners."

How same-sex marriage has worked in The Netherlands.

Excellent chart on same-sex marriage and age.

Gays are not welcome at Vatican City, but what about all the gays who are already there?

Madonna is in Brazil to meet Jesus Luz's mother, who is 14 years her junior.

Andy Warhol's "jock" Polaroids are on display in NYC.

A previously-undiscovered asteroid came within 14,000 km of Earth last week and it was only noticed 15 hours before its closest approach: "This is the third-closest known non-impacting Earth approach on record for a cataloged (sic) asteroid."

David Beckham got a post-Halloween buzz.

Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says she's not running for reelection: "Rell choked up while listing her favorite memories while in office, including meeting those affected by the passage of public health insurance for the poor, updates to mass transit, and improvements to the state's education system. She cited a gay couple who hugged her at Stafford Motor Speedway after she signed the nation's first voluntarily passed civil union bill."

Westboro Baptist Church protests outside of Sasha and Malia Obama's school in D.C..

James Franco's General Hospital role: graffiti artist?

Paris Hilton threatening to sue for being made the spokesmodel for vacant space - literally.

New York Army specialist in Baghdad being discharged under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "Nathanael Bodon of Marlboro is a specialist in the Army Reserve stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. He has been in the reserves for about a year-and-a-half and in Iraq for some four months. The Army found out about Bodon when a fellow soldier found his blog with a picture of him kissing a former boyfriend and tipped off the Army brass."

Sally Kern's husband to join religious groups for Monday rally in D.C. against marriage equality.

Brazilian model Miro Moreira lowers his rate.

N.Y. Posts' Andrea Peyser defends cabbie who kicked out gays for hugging: " Mohamed faces the indignity of having his cab license yanked by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He's already lost his job. But Medhat Mohamed is no bigot, and he's not a disgrace. He's also not a prude, a gay basher, a homophobe or the more colorful invective that's been lobbed in his direction by a chorus of yuppies with a large bone to pick."

Canadian Lesbian Who Was Attacked in Front of School, Kids, Testifies

You may remember last year I posted about Anji Dimitriou and Jane Currie, who were attacked by a man outside a school in front of kids while picking up their six-year-old son. 

Dimitriou told a court yesterday that Mark Scott, another student's father, punched her until her face "burst open." Scott has pleaded not guilty.

The Leader Post reports:

"Anji Dimitriou said Scott called her and Jane Currie 'dyke bitches' and asked, 'Which one of you f—— 'men' talked to my kid?' Dimitriou, 31, said he spat on her face and punched her twice, once near her left eye and again on the left side of her head. He also punched Currie so hard her face 'burst open' and she started bleeding, Dimitriou said. Dimitriou and Currie admitted to swearing at Scott but denied ever physically attacking him. But defence lawyer Mark Jacula said Dimitriou anticipated a confrontation and waited for Scott outside her car, telling the court she punched Scott in the jaw, broke his glasses and gave him a mark on his forehead. Currie, 38, wept during her testimony when she told the court of her six-year-old son witnessing the attack. 'I remember hearing (him) crying,' she said. 'I've never heard a scream like that.'"

Dimitriou and Currie received an outpouring of support from the local community following the attack.

1,000 Turn Out to Vigil for Gay Man Killed in Toronto Hit-and-Run

A crowd estimated at around 1,000 turned out for a vigil in honor of Christopher Skinner, a 27-year-old gay man in Toronto who was beaten by a group of people in an SUV and then run over and killed while walking home from a birthday party last week.

Late last week, authorities held a press conference at which they released images of the SUV they believed killed Skinner. Authorities are not sure what the motivation behind the murder was, but they have some theories they are floating. Based on a security camera video, police say Skinner may have accidentally touched the SUV while hailing a cab, inspiring the violent attack which took his life.

It's also entirely possible that a group of kids, emboldened by alcohol, saw a vulnerable looking guy they perceived to be gay trying to hail a cab on the street, stopped, beat the crap out of him because of hatred for gays, and then ran him over.

Watch scenes from the vigil and interviews with Skinner's friends, AFTER THE JUMP...

Police Release Image of SUV Involved in Murder of Gay Toronto Man

Police have released images and video of an SUV they believe was involved in the murder of gay Torontonian Chris Skinner. 

Skinner was killed after being beaten and driven over by the SUV at 3 am on Sunday at Victoria and Adelaide Streets in the eastern part of downtown Toronto after a birthday celebration for his sister. He later died in the hospital. Skinner was gay. Earlier in the week, Toronto authorities' hesitation to  investigate that his murder may have been a result of his sexual orientation, had some of Skinner's friends concerned.

At the recent press conference on Thursday, Detective Stacy Gallant said they were being cautious about the motive of the crime.

Watch Detective Stacy Gallant's press conference, AFTER THE JUMP...

Was Torontonian Chris Skinner Murdered Because He Was Gay?

Chris Skinner was killed after being beaten and driven over by an SUV at 3 am on Sunday at Victoria and Adelaide Streets in the eastern part of downtown Toronto after a birthday celebration for his sister. He later died in the hospital. Skinner was gay. Toronto authorities are apparently not investigating if his murder may have been a result of his sexual orientation, and that has some of his friends concerned:

"'It was unfathomable that it happened the way it did,' Robert Moorhouse told ctvtoronto.ca Tuesday, adding that one of the Toronto Police Service homicide detectives has said it is pure speculation to think Skinner's sexual orientation played a role. ... 'He has no history of violence. I've known him six or seven years, and I've never known him to pick a fight,' he said. 'If there were some verbal taunt directed towards him, Chris may have responded in kind,' Moorhouse said. 'What has caused me sleepless nights is just trying to visualize what happened at the end,' he said. Fights happen, but 'the fact is they actually left him on the street and then drove over him,' he said. 'To actually get into an SUV and deliberately run somebody open, to extinguish their life, that has no justification...Either [police] know more than they are saying and they are just trying to dampen down speculation, or they are just being wilfully blind to the fact that gays and lesbians suffer violence on our downtown streets on a regular basis."

Xtra reports: "The number of attackers has not been confirmed, but it is believed there were at least two and possibly three or four. The make and model of the SUV and its licence plate number were not yet known, but police will be combing over surveillance video from the area to see if it can be determined...Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Stacy Gallant at 416−808−7410 and Detective Doug Dunstan at 416−808−7406, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416−222−8477 or online at www.222tips.com."

News: R-71, Gordon Brown, D.C., David Hockney, Will Young, Toronto

Justice Kennedy refers R-71 names case to full Supreme Court?

Excitement over Thai AIDS vaccine fades: "Now, two other analyses of the trial data suggests that the results could have been due to pure chance, and therefore the vaccine may not have conferred protection to people after all. The additional data are published today in the New England Journal of Medicine and will be more fully discussed today by researchers attending an AIDS meeting in Paris."

Twins wreak havoc on X-Factor with their cover of "Oops, I Did It Again".

Toronto chosen for World Pride 2014.

Man pleads guilty to 2008 gay bashing in Springville, New York.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown backs opening Parliament to gay weddings: "The Prime Minister will insist that it is unfair only heterosexual couples can marry inside the Palace of Westminster. Mr Brown will be speaking at a Parliamentary inquiry into how to increase the representation of gay people, ethnic minorities, women and the disabled at Westminster."

Joss Whedon to direct Glee.

Daniel Radcliffe purchases third NYC residence.

Threats on President's life up 400%: "The Boston Globe reports that a new internal Congressional Research Service report and government sources say there are an unprecedented number of death threats against President Obama -- and that the Secret Service is insufficiently funded and staffed to deal with them."

Astronomers find 32 planets outside our solar system.

Transgender woman found strangled to death in her flat in Brighton, UK by firefighters responding to a blaze. Police have arrested a 42-year-old man: "The body of Andrea Waddell, 29, who had a masters degree and worked as a prostitute, was found just before midnight on Thursday by firefighters. The man in custody, from Brighton, was held on Saturday night, police said."

Big Brother 9 winner Adam Jasinski used his $500,000 prize to fuel his oxycodone drug-dealing business.

Elvis hair: it sells for $15,000.

John Mayer releases augmented reality music video.

More of Lance Bass in the boxing ring.

Character on Law and Order: SVU to come out of the closet.

Inside David Hockney's iPhone obsession.

D.C. activists oppose phase-out of domestic partnerships, fearing that failure of same-sex marriage law would leave gays and lesbians with nothing.

Singer Will Young guest edits Attitude magazine: "Explaining why he took on the job, Will says: 'The first time I bought Attitude I was 15 and Chris O'Donnell was dressed as Robin on the front cover. I didn't know it was a gay magazine at the time. It is never easy adjusting to being different but things have changed so quickly over the last 10 years. I dedicate this issue to the people who were at the forefront of that change by being brave enough to be themselves."

Adam Lambert album to be called For Your Entertainment.

Fashion chat: Paul Smith blabs with Simon Doonan.

Lesbian couple attacked in Brighton, UK: " The couple, who are aged 18 and 22, were walking hand in hand at about 3am on October 7. When they turned towards the three men shouting homophobic insults at them, two of the men attacked them, punching them both in the head. Even when the young women begged the third man, who had a large brown dog, to stop his friends, he did not intervene."