48 AND COUNTING. Democrats calling for impeachment.
CHICAGO. Police have begun to release Jussie Smollett's case files.
POORLY CONCEIVED. NYT bans journalists from “partisan” shows: ‘It's not just Maddow. The Times has come to “prefer,” as sources put it, that its reporters steer clear of any cable-news shows that the masthead perceives as too partisan, and managers have lately been advising people not to go on what they see as highly opinionated programs. It's not clear how many shows fall under that umbrella in the eyes of Times brass, but two others that definitely do are Lawrence O'Donnell's and Don Lemon's, according to people familiar with management's thinking. Hannity's or Tucker Carlson's shows would likewise make the cut, but it's not like Times reporters ever do those anyway. ‘
RIP. Gay Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina remembered: “How I would like people to remember Binyavanga? I think would be encapsulated by just a very brief thought – Ken's life was a seed and he planted that seed not for himself but for others, just listening to the number of artists who found their voice because Ken believed in them, gave them a platform, to speak in many different fields, be it musically and other types of artistic impressions, and that's how I would like him to be remembered, and that is what life is about.”
PROGRESS BAR. Chicago gay bar faces backlash after announcing rap music is banned. “This is f—ing racist as f—,” one person wrote on Twitter. “Progress is frequented by [people of color] and banning rap is basically saying ‘f— you' to these patrons.”
NORTH KOREA. Diplomat reportedly executed after failure of summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump. “Kim Hyok-chol was investigated and executed at Mirim airport with four foreign ministry officials in March,” an unnamed North Korea source said, according to the newspaper, adding that they were charged with spying for the US.
SCRIPPS. National Spelling Bee ends in historic 8-way tie. ‘Texas seventh-grader Rohan Raja became the eighth and final winner of the National Spelling Bee's 92nd annual competition on Thursday after a correct recital of the word “odylic”, earning a wild round of applause from the audience.
EAGLE CREEK SALOON. Art piece remembers San Francisco's first black-owned gay bar: ‘The original Eagle Creek Saloon didn't look anything like the new one. When Barnette took over the bar, he knocked down a good chunk of the front wall and replaced it with a big picture window to let the light in. The bar itself was made of dark wood and so were the floors. The ceilings were high. There was a neon sign there, too — “Eagle Creek Saloon” — but it wasn't pink like the one his daughter had installed in this art exhibit.'
JERUSALEM. First openly gay Orthodox rabbi ordained: “Daniel Landes, a prominent American-Israeli rabbi, granted semichah, Hebrew for ordination, to Daniel Atwood alongside a mixed group of men and women at the Jerusalem Theater on Sunday evening during a ceremony attended by more than 200 guests. Atwood was informed earlier this year that he would not be ordained after completing his studies at New York's Yeshivat Chovevei Torah despite the school previously saying it would ordain him.”
FACE IT. Debbie Harry has a new autobiography coming out.
ON THE RAG. This week on the gay magazines.
NEW YORK. State weighs ban on gay and trans panic defenses: ‘New York could become just the fifth state in the union to ban gay and trans panic defenses in court if legislation in Albany becomes law by the end of June. But as so often occurs, what would seem like legislation set to sail to easy passage in a state like New York may be undone by the typical bickering and dysfunction that define the Albany process.'
EUROPE. Where it stands on gay marriage and civil unions.
BILLY PORTER. Advice for his 16-year-old self. “Extract yourself from the people who don't know how to love you. Extract yourself from anything that's toxic. Change the narrative of, ‘I need the love of people, my mother, my father, my family to exist on the planet'. No! “
CHICAGO. City gets rainbow crosswalks.
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Yvie Oddly “Dolla Store”.
NEW TUNE OF THE DAY. Gucci Mane feat. Justin Bieber “Love Thru The Computer”.
TEASER OF THE DAY. Disney/Pixar's Onward.
LYRIC VIDEO OF THE DAY. Tove Lo “Glad He's Gone”.
FRIDAY FLASH. Will.
