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Rally calls for removal of Long Island officials over Pride flag – Yahoo News

Kim Martel
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Rally calls for removal of Long Island officials over Pride flag – Yahoo News

The Daily Beast

Trump Has Blown Off Rudy Giuliani’s Pleas for Help as Feds Circle

Drew Angerer/GettyIn the weeks since the feds raided Rudy Giuliani’s apartment and office in late April, close allies have tried to ferry a slew of emergency requests to former President Donald Trump and his advisers.But according to three people familiar with the matter, Trump, as well as several of his legal advisers and longtime confidants, have been hesitant about swooping in to help the embattled Giuliani, who for years worked as Trump’s personal lawyer, a political adviser, and attack dog. Giuliani also served as a major player in the Trump-Ukraine scandal and as a key driver in the former president’s efforts to nullify Joe Biden’s clear victory in the 2020 election.Team Trump’s reluctance to intervene comes at a time when federal investigators have ramped up their probe into whether Giuliani’s Ukraine-related work during the Trump era amounted to an unregistered and illegal lobbying operation on behalf of foreign figures. So far, no charges have been brought against the former New York City mayor as a result of this investigation, which began in 2019. Trump’s silence has led to simmering frustrations among members of Giuliani’s inner orbit, who privately allege that the ex-president’s team is working to convince him to hang Giuliani out to dry in his hour of need.“It’s a question now of whether or not [the former president and his team] want to leave Rudy to fend for himself or if they’re going to take a stand against this,” one person close to Giuliani said last week. “Right now, we don’t know.”Among Giuliani allies’ pleas, the three sources said, have been for Trump to issue a strong verbal or written statement saying Giuliani’s work during the Trump-Ukraine saga was done on behalf of then-President Trump—and therefore not part of an illegal foreign lobbying effort. In other words, Trump’s corroboration would be more than good public relations for Giuliani, it would back up a key pillar of Giuliani’s legal argument that he wasn’t lobbying and is innocent of the allegations.Other asks have included having the ex-president sign on to a legal motion to have federal investigators throw out any seized communications that Giuliani and his lawyers argue are covered by attorney-client privilege. Further, there have been repeated requests that Trump and his team financially aid Giuliani’s ballooning legal defense and help cover the mounting, sizable expenses.Two people close to Trump say they have urged the former president to lay low on the matter and to refrain from making too many statements or commitments on Giuliani and the federal probe. These people have told Trump that it’s unclear what the feds have and that any statement could backfire both on him and on Giuliani. Moreover, various people in Trump’s social and political orbits have been trying to convince the former president for years that Giuliani has been too great a liability for him, and they have suggested that he cut the lawyer loose.Even Parts of Trumpworld Are Like: Rudy, WTF Are You Doing?Many of them still blame Giuliani and his Ukraine shenanigans for getting Trump impeached the first time, and the attorney helped lead the Trumpworld and GOP charge in falsely claiming that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from the 45th U.S. president. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, both Trump and Giuliani have been slammed with lawsuit after lawsuit over their roles in firing up the mob that committed the anti-democratic assault.In recent weeks, Trump himself has argued behind closed doors that he wouldn’t want to say Giuliani was doing all of the Ukraine work—which included a trans-Atlantic dirt-digging expedition on the Biden family that led to Trump’s first impeachment—on Trump’s behalf, according to one of the people close to the former president. Trump’s reasoning, this source relayed, is based in the ex-president’s insistence that he didn’t always know what Giuliani was doing during the Ukraine effort or concocting with his Ukrainian pals, several of whom Trump has privately dinged as “idiots.”It is also unclear when or if Trump will ultimately sign on to the desired legal motion, with allies to Giuliani expressing consternation over how the ex-president and his lawyers have not jumped at the opportunity.On Sunday, Robert Costello, Giuliani’s longtime attorney, said, “We do not know what, if anything, President Trump will do,” when asked by The Daily Beast whether Trump’s legal team would intervene in the effort to scuttle the search warrant. Costello said Giuliani’s attorneys have not formally asked Trump’s legal team to do so. “They can make up their own minds,” he said.He added that neither he nor his client has asked Trump to make a statement since federal agents seized Giuliani’s electronic devices.Alan Dershowitz, a celebrity lawyer who served on Trump’s legal team during the first impeachment trial, is now actively counseling Giuliani and his attorneys. “I’ve said to them that it would be very good to get people [including Trump] whose materials might have been seized to… become part of the [motion],” Dershowitz said in a brief interview.The two sources close to the former president each said Trump has repeatedly expressed sympathy for Giuliani’s ongoing woes but has not committed to overtly assisting his personal lawyer yet. Another person familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that Giuliani has said he remains convinced that Trump won’t abandon him and will step up when the time is right.Over the decades and during his presidency, however, Trump has cemented a reputation for regularly turning his back on close allies and one-time loyalists, including when legal or political pressures became too hot for him. Chief among these former allies is one of Giuliani’s bitter rivals, Michael Cohen, another former personal lawyer and fixer of Trump’s. Cohen turned on his former boss after he felt abandoned by Trump following a 2018 federal raid and has since become an enthusiastic witness for federal investigators who’ve been looking into Trump and his business empire.‘Dead to Each Other’: Team Trump Prepares to ‘Bury’ Michael Cohen, ‘Weakling’ and ‘Traitor’When federal agents executed a search warrant on Cohen’s office in 2018, Trump intervened in the case and hired attorneys who argued that they should be allowed to review seized materials for privileged attorney-client materials before prosecutors could. Whether Trump will intervene similarly in a case involving the warrant against Giuliani remains to be seen.Trump did jump in to help some advisers after the authorities came knocking, including Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort, all of whom received presidential pardons within the final month of Trump’s term in the White House. In December, The New York Times reported that the then-president had discussed with people close to him the prospect of issuing a pre-emptive pardon to Giuliani and “talked with Mr. Giuliani about pardoning him as recently as [late November].” Ultimately, Giuliani did not receive a pre-emptive pardon, and he has denied that he had a conversation with Trump about the possibility.Giuliani has repeatedly argued that his efforts to oust Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch as U.S. envoy to Ukraine were carried out solely on behalf of his client, President Trump. A statement from Trump would help buttress Giuliani’s public case, but it wouldn’t necessarily help him in court.“Nothing Donald Trump may say publicly to help Giuliani is likely to get into evidence,” David H. Laufman, a partner at Wiggin and Dana and a former chief of the Justice Department’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, which oversees FARA prosecutions, told The Daily Beast. “Giuliani’s attorney will be able to cross-examine the government’s witnesses if he’s charged, and Giuliani always has the option of testifying in his own defense. But any press statements by Donald Trump to the effect of ‘Hey, he was just working for me’ almost certainly aren’t coming into evidence.”“In the highly improbable scenario that Trump testified for Giuliani, the notion of Giuliani trying to use the attorney-client privilege as a shield would go out the window. The privilege is held by Trump, not by Giuliani,” Laufman continued.Long before the search of Giuliani’s apartment, Trump appeared hesitant to say outright that his attorney’s work in Ukraine was conducted solely on the president’s behalf. During the peak of the impeachment inquiry in the fall of 2019, former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly asked Trump what Giuliani was up to in Ukraine.“I knew he was going to go to Ukraine and I think he canceled the trip. But you know, Rudy has other clients other than me. I’m one person that he represents,” Trump said.Asked if he’d told Giuliani to travel to Ukraine, Trump said: “No.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

Queer residential safe space at Bucknell University attacked by frat boys – Los Angeles Blade

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Queer residential safe space at Bucknell University attacked by frat boys – Los Angeles Blade

LEWISBURG, PA. – LGBTQ students at the gender-neutral student residence Fran’s House were studying and relaxing last Thursday evening as finals week approached for Bucknell University. The peaceful evening was shattered when a group of about 20 former Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members attempted to break in to the house.

Fran’s House is an LGBTQ affinity residential space for the LGBTQ students at the school, which is located in a small Central Pennsylvania township about 60 miles North of Harrisburg the state capital.

University officials have now opened an investigation after Tyler Luong, the Fran’s House residential adviser, (RA) wrote a letter to Bucknell University’s president, John Bravman describing what took place;

“[…] the residents of Fran’s House were locking our windows and securing our doors from nearly 20 former Tau Kappa Epsilon members from breaking into our home, he wrote.

As the residential advisor of the affinity house and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I want you to imagine what it felt like to be studying one minute, and then locking down all possible entrances the next. […]”

In the letter Luong says that the nearly 20 former Tau Kappa Epsilon members banged against the windows and doors, “swinging a metal bar at our flag pole that displays our pride flag, and urinating on our front porch. They FLASHED one of my residents.” All the while he says shouting “Let us in!”, “This isn’t your home!”, “This is our home!”

The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was suspended and later revoked by the university for ritual hazing incidents and under age consumption of alcohol. The hazing incidents were described as brutal and in 2019, charges were filed unrelated to the fraternity’s suspension, in a rape case that occurred at the fraternity.

Adding to the controversy, in his letter Luong says that the campus Public Safety officers did not respond to the scene in a timely manner. According to Luong the tardiness of the officers was then exacerbated by what appeared to be studied indifference to the severity of the situation and what appeared to be sympathy for the fraternity members involved.

“When Public Safety arrived, they laughed at the situation. President Bravman, the officers bonded with our offenders, reminiscing their college days and calling them handsome young men. President Bravman, the two officers didn’t even speak to me. Neither of the two officers came up to us Fran’s House residents to ask if we were okay. AND THEN THEY PROMISED TO TALK TO THE CHIEF OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO GET THEM ACCESS TO OUR HOUSE WHEN FINALS WEEK WAS OVER, SHAKING EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEIR HANDS,” Luong wrote.

“President Bravman, the officer offered them their business card. I had to ask TWICE to get one because the officer was too busy laughing with our offenders. Is it within the policy for Public Safety to completely ignore the ones who reported the crime?” He added.

Last Friday the University responded issuing a public statement from the University’s President John Bravman, its Provost Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak and Nikki Young, the Associate Provost for Equity & Inclusive Excellence.

“We write to acknowledge and condemn a horrific incident that occurred last night at Tower House, the Fran’s House affinity residence and center of student life for our LGBTQ student community, and to state our unequivocal support for all LGBTQ Bucknellians. We are both outraged and sorrowful that the residents endured this violation of the space that is so critically important to them as a community. These actions will not be tolerated,” the officials wrote.

Addressing Luong anger over the actions of the campus security officers, the statement read: “Additionally, we will implement additional educational and professional development for Public Safety officers to foster a better sense of safety and belonging for all members of the Bucknell community.”

The University promised to make appropriate changes writing, “We cannot erase the ugliness and subsequent trauma of last night’s transgression against the students of Fran’s House and, implicitly, many others, but we can commit to addressing it in a way that protects LGBTQ Bucknellians and better ensures their safety in the future. Please join us in supporting them now, and please look for announcements of community events and educational opportunities when we reconvene on campus this fall.”

Bill McCoy the Director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources and awareness at Bucknell University also issued a statement in support of Fran’s House residents,

While it should never have been tested in this way, the Fran’s House community has and continues to show courage and support for one another. Past, present and future, they are a source of PRIDE for our campus. Thank you to all who have and will reach out. Knowing the breadth of support, I hope, will hasten the return of safety for the residents of Fran’s House – but time to heal and feel safe in their home will be needed.

The students of Fran’s House in an open letter published on social media and other platforms thanked the community at large for the support.

First and foremost, thank you to those who have been showing their support to the Fran’s House and LGBTQ+ community at large. When this incident first occurred, our residents simply wanted to spread awareness of the incident. We are astounded by the amount of advocacy and kindness we have received as a result of this from the LGBTQ+ individuals and allies in the Bucknell student body, faculty, staff, alumni network, parents, and more.

The statement also added, “Furthermore, the Public Safety officers and the individuals involved in the incident need to be held accountable for their actions. What happened to this house is abhorrent. Appropriate actions must be taken by the Bucknell Administration to ensure nothing like this will ever happen again. Fran’s House residents will provide full compliance to the independent investigation occurring, and hope we will be adequately represented when the university makes decisions based on this outcome. As students, we must also recognize the importance of holding each other accountable and the unequal opportunities that exist for affinity houses to influence Bucknell’s social culture, so that feelings of discrimination and hate are not enabled within our student body.

For those looking for ways to support our community at this time, we ask that you share this statement and previous statements of house residents to those affiliated with Bucknell and beyond.

Three years ago a study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that three-fourths (77%) of the total reported on-campus hate crimes in 2017 were motivated by race, religion, or sexual orientation.

Race was the motivating bias in 43% of reported hate crimes (413 incidents); religion was the motivating bias in 18% of reported hate crimes (172 incidents); and sexual orientation was the motivating bias in 16% of reported hate crimes (154 incidents) in 2017.

Spurs close regular season with exciting but meaningless loss to resting Suns – Pounding The Rock

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Spurs close regular season with exciting but meaningless loss to resting Suns – Pounding The Rock

Against a Phoenix Suns squad that prioritized rest over chasing the West’s 1st seed, the near full strength Spurs failed to seize control of the game early. Despite heavy first half minutes from the team’s starters, with DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl each playing 20 minutes in the first two quarters, the Spurs still found themselves down midway through the third quarter. With a playin game that actually matters looming in just two days, the Spurs relied on their bench the rest of the way, and though a late run made it interesting, they eventually fell 123-121.

Of course, in a game of no consequence to the Spurs, leaving the court with no serious injuries is the most important result, although they didn’t quite escape injury free. Drew Eubanks took an inadvertent elbow to the face in a rebounding scrum in the first half and didn’t return until the 4th quarter.

As for the actual basketball, the Spurs got off to a rough start. Whether it was the game’s lack of relevance or seeing Chris Paul and Devin Booker on the bench, the team wasn’t competitive on defense and struggled to attack on offense. The Suns, even missing their two best players, were clearly too good for the now 33-39 Spurs to take lightly, and took an early 11 to 5 lead. The Spurs’ struggled to make shots, but managed to stay close, finishing the quarter down just 4, 27-23, thanks to a Frank Kaminsky three pointer that didn’t quite get out of his hands before the buzzer.

The second quarter began with more of the same, as the Silver and Black just couldn’t get the Suns’ defense out of position. For the first few minutes, their drives always seem to run into help defenders and their passes arrived a half a moment too late to take advantage of rotations. But then Tre Jones got loose for a fast break layup that seemed to bring the Spurs to life. Keldon Johnson followed up with buckets on a pair full back dives that left Dario Saric on the baseline both times, once after trying to absorb the contact and once voluntarily after having learned his lesson.

Then Rudy Gay happened. He started off with a pair of three pointers, then jumped a passing lane and managed to hold off rookie Jalen Smith long enough to throw down a left-handed fastbreak dunk. He then closed out the Suns next possession with a rebound and brought the ball up the court, smiling the entire way, before finding Jakob with a nice over the top entry for a layup. His one-man 10-2 run took the Spurs from down 3 to up 5. Fortunately, he left his mojo on the floor when he subbed out less than a minute later and the Spurs continued the run, stretching their lead out to 12 at one point and ending the half up 61-52.

They were unable to carry that momentum into the 3rd quarter, though. The Suns opened the stanza with a 9-2 run of their own to get the game back to a 2 point margin after just over 2 minutes of play, and would eventually take the lead 70-69. After a little back and forth, the visitors began to open up their advantage, a process that was helped along by the Spurs decision to begin pulling their starters midway through the period.

As the game approached what might typically be called garbage time, it actually got more interesting. The Spurs reserves fell behind by double digits midway through the fourth, but then fought their way all the way back to take a 1 point lead with 10.1 seconds to go. Tre Jones had drawn a shooting foul and made his first freebie to draw within 1, but missed his second. Keita Bates-Diop tipped in the rebound, giving the Spurs the lead and a real shot at sneaking out of the gym with a victory. It wasn’t to be. E’twaun Moore hit a contested three from the top of the key with 2 seconds to go and the Spurs last second response was blocked.

Game Notes

  • Jakob did a great job of exploiting his advantages over the Suns’ big men in this game. He finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, but his influence on the boards and at the rim was even greater than what those numbers capture. The Suns made several difficult shots in the lane over the big Austrian, but his ability to contest without fouling consistently turned open layups and floaters into difficult attempts that just happened to fall.
  • Only Patty Mills missed today’s game due to rest, but none of the Spurs played over 30 minutes. With a contest that actually matters in three days, it’s a little surprising the key starters played as much as they did, but after the marathon end to this season, less than 30 minutes of playing time with days off on both sides probably feels like a vacation.
  • Early in the broadcast, it was mentioned that DeMar was just outside the top 10 in the NBA in assists and had a chance to sneak onto the list if he racked up a good number in this game. Of course, that meant the Spurs bricked just about everything he set up. His first assist didn’t come until 8 seconds were left in the 1st quarter, when he was given a very generous helper on a Rudy Gay drive and pull up jumper. He finished the contest with 4 assists to go with his team high 23 points, which sadly won’t be enough to earn that particular meaningless honor.
  • Both teams relied on a significant amount of zone defense, and both were helped by equally significant amount of bad zone offense by their opponents. Missing their two superstar guards, the Suns obviously have a good reason for their struggles. Still, the Spurs zone defense did have a couple of solid stretches, most notably in the 2nd quarter when they took to trapping the ball handler on the wings in certain cases. One of those traps led to Rudy’s steal and slam.

Next game: Tuesday night against the winner of today’s Grizzlies/Warriors contest

As I write this, the Warriors lead the Grizzlies by double-digits as the 3rd quarter closes. If they hold on, the Spurs will travel to San Francisco for what will hopefully be just their first playin game on Wednesday. If the Grizzlies can come back for the win, the Spurs will travel to Memphis instead.

2021 PGA Championship odds: Surprising PGA picks, predictions from same model that called six golf majors – CBS Sports

Kim Martel
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Recent tournaments have seen the returns of familiar names atop PGA Tour leaderboard, as four-time major winner Rory McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship, while three-time major winner Jordan Spieth won the Valero Texas Open. It was McIlroy’s first PGA Tour victory in 18 months, while Spieth had gone nearly four years without a win. Both are trending upward as the 2021 PGA Championship approaches on Thursday. McIlroy can become the sixth golfer to win the tournament at least three times and Spieth would complete the career grand slam by winning the PGA Championship 2021.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort will play host to the 2021 PGA Championship field. McIlroy’s recent win has made him the 11-1 favorite in the latest 2021 PGA Championship odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm are close behind at 14-1. Before locking in your 2021 PGA Championship picks, be sure to see the 2021 PGA Championship predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

SportsLine’s prediction model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, has been on fire since the return of the PGA Tour in June. In fact, it’s up over $10,000 on its best bets since the restart, nailing tournament after tournament.

At the 2021 Masters, McClure nailed Jon Rahm’s (+250) top-five finish, as well as Corey Conners’ (+550) top-10 showing. All told, McClure’s best bets netted over $450 at the Masters.

In addition, McClure was all over Daniel Berger’s win at +1400 in his best bets at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February. McClure also nailed Viktor Hovland’s (+2500) victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in December. That was one of many huge calls he’s made in the past few months.

After nailing Sergio Garcia (+5500) finishing on top of the leaderboard at the Sanderson Farms Championship, McClure finished up over $6,200 yet again on his best bets in that tournament. The model had him in the top five from the start and McClure’s best bets included Garcia winning outright. He also finished profitable at the U.S. Open, nailing two of his best bets, including a +1100 top-five bet on Matthew Wolff.

This same model has also nailed a whopping six majors entering the weekend. Anyone who has followed its golf picks has seen massive returns.

Now that the 2021 PGA Championship field is taking shape, SportsLine simulated the event 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard.

The model’s top 2021 PGA Championship predictions 

One major surprise the model is calling for at the PGA Championship 2021: Bryson DeChambeau, the defending U.S. Open champion and one of the top favorites, struggles and barely cracks the top 10. DeChambeau has been one of the hottest players on tour this season, finishing on top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The eight-time PGA Tour champion has been sensational off the tee this season, ranking first in driving distance, strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained off the tee. DeChambeau’s length off the tee also has him ranked inside the top 12 in both scoring average and birdie average.

However, DeChambeau is hitting fewer than 60 percent of fairways off the tee, which can cause plenty of trouble at Kiawah Island. His inability to find the fairway off the tee has resulted in DeChambeau finishing outside the top 40 in his last two starts on the PGA Tour, which includes a 46th finish at the Masters. He’s not a strong pick to win it all and there are far better values in the PGA Championship 2021 field.

Another surprise: Collin Morikawa, a 30-1 long shot, makes a strong run at the title. He has a much better chance to win it all than his odds imply, so he’s a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 24-year-old won the 2020 PGA Championship from TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, which came just one year after he graduated across the bay at UC Berkeley. That win vaulted him from 12th in Official World Golf Ranking to fifth, and he’s stayed among the top seven since then.

A major part of Morikawa’s success has been his work when approaching the green. He’s gained 1.311 strokes in that department, which ranks first on tour, and owns a birdie average of 4.64 per round, ranking third. He also ranks second in greens in regulation percentage (72.85) and sixth in driving accuracy percentage (70.45), both of which are paramount given the windy conditions of the Ocean Course. Morikawa’s game is well-suited for the conditions he’s likely to face, thus giving him plenty of value for your 2021 PGA Championship bets, according to the model.

How to make 2021 PGA Championship picks

The model is targeting five other golfers with PGA Championship odds 2021 higher than 20-1 to make a strong run at the Wanamaker Trophy, including an epic underdog. Anyone who backs these underdogs could hit it big. You can only see them here.

So who will win the 2021 PGA Championship? And which long shots stun the golfing world? Check out the odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected 2021 PGA Championship leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed six golf majors and is up over $10,000 since the restart.

2021 PGA Championship odds

Rory McIlroy 11-1
Justin Thomas 14-1
Jon Rahm 14-1
Jordan Spieth 16-1
Bryson DeChambeau 16-1
Dustin Johnson 18-1
Xander Schauffele 22-1
Viktor Hovland 25-1
Daniel Berger 30-1
Collin Morikawa 30-1
Brooks Koepka 33-1
Hideki Matsuyama 33-1
Patrick Cantlay 35-1
Webb Simpson 35-1
Cameron Smith 35-1
Patrick Reed 35-1
Tony Finau 35-1
Scottie Scheffler 40-1
Sam Burns 40-1
Tyrrell Hatton 45-1
Will Zalatoris 50-1
Tommy Fleetwood 50-1
Paul Casey 50-1
Abraham Ancer 50-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 55-1
Sung-Jae Im 60-1
Joaquin Niemann 60-1
Louis Oosthuizen 60-1
Marc Leishman 60-1
Justin Rose 66-1
Shane Lowry 66-1
Sergio Garcia 66-1
Corey Conners 66-1
Adam Scott 70-1
Keegan Bradley 70-1
Brian Harman 80-1
Gary Woodland 80-1
Max Homa 80-1
Matt Wallace 80-1
Garrick Higgo 80-1
Jason Day 80-1
Si-Woo Kim 80-1
Charl Schwarzel 90-1
Bubba Watson 90-1
Robert Macintyre 100-1
Jason Kokrak 100-1
Lee Westwood 100-1
Harris English 100-1
Matt Kuchar 100-1
Billy Horschel 125-1
Rickie Fowler 125-1
Cameron Tringale 125-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 125-1
Cameron Champ 125-1
Charley Hoffman 150-1
Branden Grace 150-1
Russell Henley 150-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 150-1
Kevin Na 150-1
Alex Noren 150-1
Matt Jones 150-1
Stewart Cink 150-1
Ian Poulter 150-1
Emiliano Grillo 150-1
Aaron Wise 150-1
Ryan Palmer 175-1
Chris Kirk 175-1
Francesco Molinari 200-1
Kevin Kisner 200-1
Cameron Davis 200-1
Martin Kaymer 200-1
Sebastian Munoz 200-1
Thomas Pieters 200-1
Harold Varner 200-1
Kevin Streelman 200-1
Victor Perez 200-1
Zach Johnson 200-1
Brendon Todd 200-1
Phil Mickelson 200-1
Carlos Ortiz 200-1
Joel Dahmen 250-1
Dylan Frittelli 250-1
Bernd Wiesberger 250-1
Brendan Steele 250-1
Henrik Stenson 250-1
John Catlin 250-1
Danny Willett 250-1
Talor Gooch 250-1
Sam Horsfield 250-1
Dean Burmester 250-1
Erik Van Rooyen 250-1
Lanto Griffin 250-1
Denny McCarthy 300-1
Harry Higgs 300-1
Thomas Detry 300-1
Antoine Rozner 300-1
Maverick McNealy 300-1
Martin Laird 300-1
Steve Stricker 300-1
Andy Sullivan 300-1
Tom Lewis 300-1
Tom Hoge 300-1
Mackenzie Hughes 300-1
Byeong Hun An 300-1
Adam Hadwin 300-1
Rasmus Hojgaard 300-1
Jazz Janewattananond 350-1
Jim Herman 400-1
Kalle Samooja 400-1
J.T. Poston 400-1
Brandon Stone 400-1
Padraig Harrington 400-1
George Coetzee 400-1
Sami Valimaki 400-1
Kurt Kitayama 400-1
Aaron Rai 400-1
Jimmy Walker 500-1
Rikuya Hoshino 500-1
Peter Malnati 500-1
Robert Streb 500-1
Brian Gay 500-1
Adam Long 500-1
Chan Kim 500-1
Hudson Swafford 500-1
Daniel Van Tonder 500-1
Richy Werenski 500-1
Takumi Kanaya 500-1
Jason Scrivener 500-1
Chez Reavie 500-1
Lucas Herbert 500-1
Brett Walker 500-1
Jason Dufner 500-1
Vijay Singh 1000-1
Y.E. Yang 1000-1
John Daly 1000-1
Brad Marek 2000-1
Sonny Skinner 2000-1
Peter Ballo 2000-1
Patrick Rada 2000-1
Greg Koch 2000-1
Alex Beach 2000-1
Stuart Smith 2000-1
Danny Balin 2000-1
Rich Beem 2000-1
Mark Geddes 2000-1
Rob Labritz 2000-1
Frank Bensel 2000-1
Omar Uresti 2000-1
Ben Polland 2000-1
Larkin Gross 2000-1
Derek Holmes 2000-1
Ben Cook 2000-1
Tim Pearce 2000-1
Joe Summerhays 2000-1
Shaun Micheel 2000-1
Tyler Collet 2000-1

Teens receives short prison sentence after conviction for “heinous” anti-gay assault – LGBTQ Nation

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Teens receives short prison sentence after conviction for “heinous” anti-gay assault – LGBTQ Nation

An 18-year-old man was sentenced on May 12 on a conviction he received for a hate crime and first-degree assault.  The judge gave him a 15-year prison sentence, with 11 years of the sentence suspended and credit for the 15 months he’s already served behind bars, meaning he will spend about short of three years of his term in prison.

His co-defendant received six months for a second-degree assault conviction, meaning the duo will serve under five years combined.

Related: Man stabs another while yelling homophobic slurs because he moved away from him on train

On the night of February 15, 2020, Corey Robert Welch, who was then 17, and Martin Potomac Gieser, then 17 or 18, attacked a 23-year-old man at a house party in New Market, Maryland.

Prosecutors told the court that the victim was a “perfect stranger” to Welch and Gieser. He hadn’t known them or interacted with them prior to their attack in the small town just miles from Washington, D.C.

Frederick County Assistant State Attorney Laura Corbett Wilt told the court that Welch began harassing the victim based solely on his assumption that the victim was gay. The victim began leaving and even called a ride-sharing service when Welch turned his tirade into a physical attack.

“After [the victim] the left the residence, he was attacked from behind viciously by this defendant [Welch]. He was put in headlock, strangled, [and] the victim lost consciousness three times,” said Frederick County State Attorney’s Office spokesperson Will Cockey.

The victim “was repeatedly struck in the head by this defendant. It was a brutal attack,” Cockey added.

Welch did this while Gieser held him down and even standing on his legs. The victim offered to relinquish his belongings to his attackers, even “begging” for them to take them and leave him alone — but they refused to stop, according to the prosecution.

Welch and Gieser even reportedly telling the ride-share driver that they needed to continue the assaults for “a few more minutes,” reported WMAR-2. Welch repeatedly used anti-gay slurs while continuing to assault the victim.

After the “heinous attack,” as the victim recalled it, Welch and Gieser took his belongings anyway. They were arrested later that night.

Addressing the court with family support at the sentencing hearing, the unnamed victim told the court, “every morning, I wake up with panic and anxiety. I know I will never be the person I was before the attack.” His father and cousin addressed the court as well.

He was left with a raspy voice, red marks on his neck, a concussion, and a leg injury, in addition to his mental and psychological wounds.

Welch pled guilty in April, but defense attorney Mary Drawbaugh argued that he was “under the throes of addiction” at the time and regrets his actions. Welch’s grandmother, calling Welch’s actions “irresponsible,” requested leniency from Judge Theresa M. Adams.

Wilt recommended to the court that Welch receive a sentence similar to the “guidance” for first-time first degree assault convictions, which is reportedly in the three to eight-year incarceration range.

Judge Adams followed their recommendation, recognizing that Welch will be “a young man” when his sentence ends. He will have five years on supervised probation after his prison term ends.

Adams told Welch while handing down the judgement, “Is this going to be life on the installment plan… or are you going to turn it around?”

Welch was initially bought before juvenile court, but prosecutors bought it to criminal court and charged Welch with a hate crime stipulation because his attack was motivated by anti-gay sentiments. The defense unsuccessfully tried to reverse that decision for the 18-year-old.

“The State’s Attorney’s Office worked hard to make sure that the defendant was charged as an adult in this case,” said Cockey.

The Frederick News-Post have reported that online records indicate Gieser, now 19, pled guilty to second-degree assault and received six months behind bars in October 2020, apparently with four-and-a-half years suspended.

Calling Welch’s sentence “appropriate,” in a statement, the State Attorney’s Office said “targeting a person because of their perceived sexual orientation is completely unacceptable” in Frederick County.

They added that “the victim and his family are satisfied that justice has been served, and this marks a moment of closure in this terrible ordeal.”

LGBT Network rallies to support restaurant that was ordered to move Pride flag – Newsday

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LGBT Network rallies to support restaurant that was ordered to move Pride flag – Newsday

Riptides 11561, a food stand on the Long Beach boardwalk, was recently ordered by the city’s police commisioner to remove a Pride flag from public property. On Sunday, the LGBT Network held a rally on the boardwalk to protest the move. Credit: Newsday / Raychel Brightman

NYC Pride parade bans police; Gay officers ‘disheartened’ | News, Sports, Jobs – Altoona Mirror

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NYC Pride parade bans police; Gay officers ‘disheartened’ | News, Sports, Jobs – Altoona Mirror

FILE – In this Sunday, June 29, 2014 file photo, NYPD police officers march along Fifth Avenue during the gay pride parade in New York. Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday, May 15, 2021 they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history. (AP Photo/Julia Weeks, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history.

In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”

“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the group said.

It will also increase the event’s security budget to boost the presence of community-based security and first responders while reducing the police department’s presence.

Police will provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the group said, adding it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from event perimeter areas where possible.

Word of the ban came out Friday when the Gay Officers Action League said in a release it was disheartened by the decision.

The group called the ban an “abrupt about-face” and said the decision “to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.”

The parade is scheduled for June after the coronavirus prevented many Pride events worldwide last year, including in New York which instead hosted virtual performances in front of masked participants and honored front-line workers in the pandemic crisis.

The disruptions frustrated activists who had hoped to collectively mark the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride parades and marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in 1970.

Those marches came a year after the 1969 uprising outside Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in response to a police raid. The uprising is largely credited with fueling the modern LGBTQ rights movement.

Pride season occurs this year amid activism inspired by the response to racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death last year at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Pride NYC’s announcement Saturday follows a division among organizers in recent years in planning for celebrations of LGBTQ pride in New York City.

In 2019, there were two marches in Manhattan after some in the community concluded that the annual parade had become too commercialized. The Queer Liberation March aimed for a protest vibe, saying the main Pride march was too heavily policed by the same department that raided Stonewall a half century earlier.

The New York Police Department commissioner apologized for the raid during a briefing in 2019, calling it “wrong, plain and simple.”

Detective Sophia Mason, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department, said on Saturday the department’s “annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants.”

She added: “The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance. That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”

Phoenix 123, San Antonio 121 | Sports | titusvilleherald.com – Titusville Herald

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Phoenix 123, San Antonio 121 | Sports | titusvilleherald.com – Titusville Herald

FG FT Reb
PHOENIX Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Bridges 5:23 3-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 7
Smith 40:58 5-11 0-0 0-10 2 3 11
Saric 26:52 6-12 0-0 2-4 4 1 13
Carter 42:32 9-22 0-0 3-10 9 0 19
Payne 27:28 7-14 2-2 0-4 6 1 19
Craig 29:39 5-11 0-0 2-6 4 5 11
Galloway 26:22 4-12 0-0 1-1 1 0 10
Moore 20:32 9-10 2-2 1-2 2 0 22
Kaminsky 20:14 5-9 0-0 1-10 7 2 11
Totals 240:00 53-104 4-4 10-48 36 13 123

Percentages: FG .510, FT 1.000.

3-Point Goals: 13-35, .371 (Payne 3-6, Moore 2-2, Galloway 2-8, Bridges 1-1, Kaminsky 1-1, Saric 1-3, Craig 1-4, Smith 1-4, Carter 1-6).

Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 5 (Smith 2, Craig, Kaminsky, Moore).

Turnovers: 8 (Carter 2, Moore 2, Payne 2, Kaminsky, Saric).

Steals: 7 (Carter 3, Saric 2, Craig, Payne).

Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb
SAN ANTONIO Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
DeRozan 25:24 8-14 6-7 1-3 4 1 23
K.Johnson 21:31 4-8 1-2 1-4 4 1 9
Poeltl 29:52 8-14 1-3 3-10 0 0 17
Murray 29:52 3-10 0-0 1-7 4 0 6
Walker IV 27:05 4-8 0-0 0-2 2 2 9
Vassell 26:01 2-9 0-0 0-2 2 1 5
Gay 19:59 4-9 2-2 0-6 3 0 12
Jones 18:08 3-5 3-4 0-0 7 1 9
Bates-Diop 12:00 4-6 1-1 2-5 0 0 9
Weatherspoon 12:00 5-6 0-0 1-1 2 1 11
Dieng 9:29 3-5 0-0 1-3 2 1 7
Eubanks 8:39 2-4 0-0 1-3 0 0 4
Totals 240:00 50-98 14-19 11-46 30 8 121

Percentages: FG .510, FT .737.

3-Point Goals: 7-24, .292 (Gay 2-5, DeRozan 1-1, Weatherspoon 1-1, Dieng 1-2, Vassell 1-5, Walker IV 1-5, Jones 0-1, K.Johnson 0-2, Murray 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 5 (Poeltl 3, Gay, Vassell).

Turnovers: 10 (Walker IV 3, DeRozan 2, Vassell 2, Eubanks, K.Johnson, Murray).

Steals: 5 (Gay, Jones, K.Johnson, Murray, Weatherspoon).

Technical Fouls: None.

Phoenix 27 25 37 34 — 123
San Antonio 23 38 24 36 — 121

A_4,738 (18,581). T_1:59.

Rudy Gay with a deep 3 vs the Phoenix Suns – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Rudy Gay with a deep 3 vs the Phoenix Suns – Yahoo Canada Sports

The Canadian Press

Lakers and Warriors set for 7-8 play-in clash in LA

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — LeBron James scored 25 points before he appeared to mildly aggravate a right ankle injury and the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the regular season with a 110-98 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. While the victory was the Lakers’ fifth straight, it was not enough to pull them high enough in the Western Conference standings to skip the NBA’s new play-in format involving the seventh through 10th seeds. No. 7 Los Angeles will host No. 8 Golden State on night in the Western Conference play-in with the winner taking the seventh seed and a spot against Phoenix and the loser having to play another game to determine the eighth seed. Willie Hernangomez had 19 points and 13 rebounds for New Orleans. WARRIORS 113, GRIZZLIES 101 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry became the oldest scoring champion since Michael Jordan at age 35 in 1998, finishing with 46 points as Golden State held off Memphis in a regular-season finale that determined the play-in tournament’s eighth and ninth spots. The Warriors wrapped up the No. 8 seed and will play Wednesday at the Los Angeles Lakers, while Memphis finished ninth and will host San Antonio on Wednesday. At 33, Curry and Jordan are the only scoring champions age 33 or older. Curry also joins Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players with multiple scoring titles, MVPs and championships. Two-time MVP Curry locked up his first scoring title since 2015-16 with his second basket of the game late in the first quarter. He made 9 of 22 3s and also contributed nine assists and seven rebounds in Golden State’s sixth straight win. Curry averaged 32 points during his second 2,000-point season. Jonas Valanciunas led Memphis with 29 points and 16 rebounds. NETS 123, CAVALIERS 109 NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant had 23 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds and Brooklyn beat Cleveland to take the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Kyrie Irving added 17 points for the Nets, who will open the playoffs next weekend against either Boston or Washington. The Celtics and Wizards will meet Tuesday in the play-in tournament to determine the No. 7 seed. Durant made his first eight shots, one of them a dunk to finish one of the highlight plays of the season, to bounce back nicely from a 4-for-17 outing Saturday. It was a strong finale to his first season back after missing 2019-20 while recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Cleveland’s Collin Sexton scored 16 points but was ejected midway through the third quarter for a flagrant foul against Durant. JAZZ 121, KINGS 99 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 33 points, Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 16 rebounds and Utah beat Sacramento to take the the No. 1 spot in the NBA playoffs. Utah (52-20) won its final two to edge Western Conference-rival Phoenix for the top spot. It’s the first time in franchise history that the Jazz have finished with sole possession of the best record in the NBA. Utah awaits one of the surviving teams from the play-in games that begin Tuesday and end Friday. Terence Davis had 20 points for Sacramento. SUNS 123, SPURS 121 SAN ANTONIO (AP) — E’Twaun Moore scored 22 points and made a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining to lift Phoenix past San Antonio. The Suns finished second overall in the NBA, a game behind behind West-rival Utah when the Jazz beat Sacramento later Sunday. Playing without Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton, the Suns were bailed out late by Moore. He also made a 3 with 1:08 remaining to stop a 9-0 run by San Antonio and finished 9 of 10 from the field. Jevon Carter has 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Cameron Payne also had 19 points. DeMar DeRozan had 23 points for San Antonio. KNICKS 96, CELTICS 92 NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle capped his All-Star season with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists New York beat Boston to take the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. RJ Barrett scored 22 points for the Knicks. They won their third straight to finish 41-31 and set up a first-round series with the Atlanta Hawks. The Knicks are headed to the playoffs for the first time since winning the Atlantic Division title in 2012-13. Jabari Parker scored 18 points for Boston. The Celtics were already locked into the play-in tournament at the No. 7 spot and rested all their top players. They will face Washington. WIZARDS 115, HORNETS 110 WASHINGTON (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Washington rallied to beat Charlotte to finish eighth in the Eastern Conference. The Wizards will play at Boston in a play-in game. The Hornets closed the regular season on a five-game losing streak to drop to the 10th spot in the East and will play at Indiana in the play-in round. Russell Westbrook had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for Washington for his 184th career triple-double — three more than Oscar Robertson’s previous NBA record — and 38th this season alone. HAWKS 124, ROCKETS 95 ATLANTA (AP) — Rookie Onyeka Okongwu set career highs with 21 points and 14 rebounds and Atlanta beat Houston. The Hawks went with a makeshift lineup after their Eastern Conference playoff spot was locked in before taking the court. New York clinched the fourth seed and home-court advantage in the first round against the fifth-seeded Hawks with a 96-92 victory over Boston. Atlanta raced away from Houston in the second quarter and led 72-54 at halftime as Collins scored 15 points, De’Andre Hunter added 13 and Young 10. Houston finished 17-55, the worst record in the league and its most dismal season since a 14-68 campaign in 1982-83. D.J. Augustin and Armoni Brooks each scored 18 points to lead the injury-ravaged Rockets. PACERS 125, RAPTORS 113 TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Oshae Brissett scored a career-best 31 points, Domantas Sabonis added 25 points, 16 rebounds and three steals and Indiana beat Toronto to lock up the Eastern Conference’s ninth seed. Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak and secured home-court advantage for a play-in game against Charlotte. Malachi Flynn scored a career-best 27 points for Toronto. 76ERS 128, MAGIC 117 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyrese Maxey had 30 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia beat Orlando in a meaningless regular-season finale. Philadelphia didn’t play any of its usual starters after clinching the top spot in the East with Friday’s victory over the Magic. Joel Embiid (illness), Ben Simmons (back), Tobias Harris (right knee), Seth Curry (right hip) and Danny Green (left hip) were all sidelined. Cole Anthony scored a career-high 37 points for the injury-plagued Magic. TRAIL BLAZERS 132, NUGGETS 116 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 22 points and 10 assists and Portland beat Denver to secure their eighth straight playoff berth, the longest active streak in the NBA. The Blazers secured the sixth seed, which means they’ll face the Nuggets in the opening round. Denver wound up with the third seed in a crazy night that saw the West’s teams in a scramble for playoff position. Denver was assured of the No. 3 seed when the Clippers fell to the Thunder. CJ McCollum added 24 points for the Blazers. Denver’s Nikola Jokic had 21 points in the opening half then sat for the rest of the game. HEAT 120, PISTONS 107 DETROIT (AP) — Nemanja Bjelica scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and Miami routed Detroit despite holding out several key players in a relatively meaningless game. Precious Achiuwa scored a career-high 23 points and Max Strus added 20 for the Heat. Miami, locked into the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, played without Bam Adebayo (rest), Trevor Ariza (rest), Jimmy Butler (lower back), Goran Dragic (lower back, right knee), Andre Iguodala (left hip) and Kendrick Nunn (left calf). Saddiq Bey led the Pistons with 22 points. TIMBERWOLVES 136, MAVERICKS 121 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 30 points in his final audition for NBA Rookie of the Year, leading Minnesota past Dallas. Luka Doncic had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 21 minutes for the Mavericks, who were unharmed by the meaningless defeat. They get the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, pitted against the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers in a first-round series beginning next weekend. BULLS 118, BUCKS 112 CHICAGO (AP) — Thaddeus Young scored 20 points, Coby White added 19 and Chicago beat Milwaukee with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks’ starters missing the regular-season finale. Milwaukee finished third in the East and will face Miami in the first round. Bucks rookie Jordan Nwora set career highs with 34 points and 14 rebounds. THUNDER 117, CLIPPERS 112 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski scored a career-high 29 points and Oklahoma City beat Los Angeles. to snap a nine-game losing streak Terance Mann scored 19 points for the Clippers, who ended up with the No 4 seed in the Western Conference. Los Angeles sat stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George for the second straight game. The Associated Press

Rainbow flags mark start of LGBTI+ awareness week across Cork City – Irish Examiner

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Rainbow flags mark start of LGBTI+ awareness week across Cork City – Irish Examiner

Progressive rainbow flags were flown from Cork’s City Hall, from Shandon steeple, and from San Francisco’s City Hall today in a joint ceremony to mark the start of LGBTI+ awareness week.

The progressive rainbow flag, known as the intersectional rainbow flag, includes black and brown stripes to represent marginalised LGBT communities of colour, as well as pink, light blue and white stripes to represent the transgender community.

The flag being flown in San Francisco was gifted by the people of Cork as a thank-you for the donation in 2013 of a rainbow flag by the late San Francisco mayor Ed Lee.

That flag was raised over Cork’s City Hall in 2014 as Cork became the first city in Ireland to formally fly a rainbow flag from a civic or public building.

Pictured are, Rev. Paul Robinson and Stephen Spillane, St. Anne's Church Warden, with the Intersectional Rainbow Flag, at the St. Anne's Church, Shandon, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
Pictured are, Rev. Paul Robinson and Stephen Spillane, St. Anne’s Church Warden, with the Intersectional Rainbow Flag, at the St. Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

Siobhán O’Dowd, who chairs the city’s LGBT Inter-Agency Group, said she was delighted both cities worked together to mark the start of the week.

“When we agreed to become part of the Rainbow Cities Network: Share the Rainbow initiative there isn’t any other city that Cork would rather share a rainbow with, and I suppose there’s a lovely symbolism in that the gift of a Rainbow Flag from Mayor Lee in 2013, raised in 2014 helped us create a little bit of history here in Ireland so we are returning that lovely gesture,” she said.

Lord Mayor, Cllr Joe Kavanagh, said raising the progressive intersectional flag today signifies the city’s desire to be inclusive of the many diversities within the LGBTI+ community.

“I’m especially pleased that our friends in our sister city San Francisco are gathered right now at City Hall to also raise this flag – together we are ushering in IDAHOBIT Day (the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia) and committing ourselves to challenge prejudice and discrimination around sexual orientation, gender identity and all forms of intolerance and hatred,” he said.

“Today, as we gather at City Hall, Cork we are proud to be part of a global response to homophobia and transphobia because we are collaborating with San Francisco and also with all the cities of the Rainbow Cities Network.

“The past pandemic year has divided us from one another as in every community, city and country we’ve had to cocoon, social distance and work and live at home.

“It is heartening that right across the world we can join together, in safe fashion, to raise our voices and our flags to promote inclusion.” 

The flaf set to be hosited next week for LGBTI+ awareness week. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
The flaf set to be hosited next week for LGBTI+ awareness week. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

The rainbow flag will be raised above County Hall by County Mayor Cllr Mary Linehan Foley, and over the Haulbowline naval base on Monday.

A range of conferences and seminars will take place online during the week, while a Notes to Cork billboard campaign is also running on billboards citywide highlighting diversity.

A European rainbow flag gifted to Cork by another sister-city, Cologne, was also raised over City Hall today.

Details on all the events taking place during the city’s LGBTQI+ Awareness Week events can be found on Facebook @CorkCityLGBTInter-AgencyGroup and on Twitter via @CorkLGBTWeek.

Gay police group blasts NYC Pride for banning officers from events – USA TODAY

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Gay police group blasts NYC Pride for banning officers from events – USA TODAY

A gay officers group says it was disheartened after a “shameful” decision by organizers of certain Pride gatherings in New York City to ban police from their events.

NYC Pride says its new policy banning “corrections and law enforcement exhibitors” through at least 2025 will improve safety at a time when violence against marginalized groups, specifically BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, people of color – and trans communities, has continued to escalate.

“NYPD is not required to lead first response and security at NYC Pride events,” the group said. “All aspects of first response and security that can be reallocated to trained private security, community leaders and volunteers will be reviewed.”

The Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) said NYC Pride has long been a valued partner.

“The abrupt about-face in order to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful,” GOAL said.

A gay man was threatened for wanting to paint his home like a rainbow. He did it anyway.

The first Gay Pride parades and marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in 1970 came a year after a 1969 uprising outside Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, following a police raid.

Plans for marches in 2020, marking 50 years since those first marches, were ruined by the pandemic. In 2019, there were two marches in Manhattan amid concerns that the annual parade had become too commercialized. Some participants in the alternative Queer Liberation March claimed the Pride march was too heavily policed by the department responsible for the Stonewall raid.

June is Pride Month, and the annual Pride parade is set to return this year on June 27. The theme is “The Fight Continues,” reflecting the “multitude of battles” the city and country are facing, NYC Pride says. The group cites the coronavirus pandemic, police brutality, the alarming murder rate for trans people of color, economic hardship, climate disasters, violent efforts to disenfranchise voters and “our rights as a community being questioned.”

GOAL President Brian Downey said NYC Pride is aware that the city will not allow a large scale event to occur without police presence.

“So their response to activist pressure is to take the low road by preventing their fellow community members from celebrating their identities and honoring the shared legacy,” Downey said. “It is demoralizing that (NYC Pride) didn’t have the courage to refer to GOAL by name in its announcement, referring to us only as ‘law enforcement exhibitors.’ The label is not only offensive but dehumanizing for our members.”

NYC Pride said it will increase its budget for security and first response so it can independently build an emergency plan using private security and trained volunteers. NYPD will provide first response and security only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials, NYC Pride said.

‘Travelers are ready to explore’: LGBTQ travelers leading the way to tourism recovery

The group said it was unwilling to “contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community.” 

“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” NYC PRIDE said. “The steps being taken by the organization challenge law enforcement to acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”

People participate in the NYC Pride March on June 30, 2019 in New York City.

An out politician recounts how he saved his gay neighbor’s life by donating his kidney – LGBTQ Nation

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An out politician recounts how he saved his gay neighbor’s life by donating his kidney – LGBTQ Nation

Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Sims (D) was out and about in Philadelphia recently when he ran into a familiar face.

Sims, who is currently running for Lieutenant Governor of Philadelphia, said he did a “double take” when he realized what he saw: “A perfectly normal, healthy, happy couple sitting in the sun enjoying each other’s company.” The couple was John and his husband Alan, who received a kidney that Sims donated.

Related: A bisexual man was banned from donating blood. So he donated a kidney instead.

Sims said he stopped to speak with Alan and John and “we all held back tears and just tried to enjoy the ‘normalcy’ of days that are truly a gift.”

A month after that encounter, as Sims would share on social media on May 13: “last night my parents came into town for the first time since my surgery last January and we had dinner with the recipient of my kidney and his husband.”

“Families come in all shapes and sizes,” Sims added. “Ours is pretty special.”

Sims revealed he was a living organ donor last year, when his colleagues ignited a COVID-19 scare when Republican members kept one of their peers’ positive result for the virus to themselves and put the lives of his peers at risk by continuing to be present at the Capitol instead of quarantining.

After posting a expletive-laden video on Facebook demanding resignations and investigations, Sims took to Twitter to explain how his life was at risk due to his peers’ reckless decisions.

“In late January I secretly donated a kidney to a person who lives about 10 blocks from me in the City,” Sims said. “He was dying of renal failure and I turned out to be a near perfect match. I spent several days in the hospital and several days with… a friend before returning home.”

Sims explained that he didn’t want to share his kidney donation as to avoid looking like he was taking advantage of it for political points. “None of this was ever supposed to be public. People are cynical, especially about politics. And so I decided to share the donation with only my friends, staff, and family,” he tweeted.

Since revealing his giving, though, Sims has added organ donation to the list of topics he’s unabashedly outspoken about. In January for Pennsylvania Donor Day, he post a video on Twitter encouraging his supporters to consider giving.

Other issues he’s known to talk about include protecting trans rights, reproductive freedom, and mental health. He hopes to bring them to the upper chamber in 2023 by winning the election for Lt. Governor, held next year.

“After 10 years in the State House, I’ve taken the lessons that my parents taught me and reinforced them in my work as a legislator: to take responsibility, commit to service, be courageous, and push for fairness,” he said while announcing his run.

As of this February, over 107,000 people are waiting to receive an organ at any given moment, the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) reports. 39,000 people, including Sims, donated in 2020.

Over 80 percent of people waiting for an organ are waiting for a kidney, more than any other organ or tissue in demand.

Sims, responding to our sister site Queerty‘s reporting of his donation story, Sims once again used the opportunity of his latest update to stress the importance of organ donation. Despite the pandemic, he notes that “donation has never been safer or more needed.”

As the HRSA also pointed out, “one person donating can save up to 8 lives & living donors have a special opportunity to extend the lives of their loved ones and neighbors!”

Out athlete and writer Ryan K. Russell tweeted, “every time I feel overcome by the darkness of the world people like
[Sims] show me there’s just as much, if not more, light.”

Sims also touched on the importance of discussing how organ donation is possible despite the FDA and other organizations having previously banned or limited donation of blood from LGBTQ people, especially men who have sex with men.

Organ donations generally do not have such rules in place, because the FDA does not regulate that area. “A person’s sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression does NOT prevent that person from becoming an organ donor (deceased or living),” the non-profit Donate Life America reports in response to frequency asked questions on its website for LGBTQ people who may consider donating. (Some of the FDA’s rules relating to eye and tissue donation are in force with some organ procurement organizations they regulate, however.)

“It’s also critically important for other gay people to learn that we’re able to donate,” Sims tweeted.

Thanks to the 2013 Hope Act signed by President Barack Obama, “in some cases” people living with HIV can donate to others living with HIV.

NYC Pride parade bans police; Gay officers ‘disheartened’ | News, Sports, Jobs – Maui News

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NYC Pride parade bans police; Gay officers ‘disheartened’ | News, Sports, Jobs – Maui News

FILE – In this Sunday, June 29, 2014 file photo, NYPD police officers march along Fifth Avenue during the gay pride parade in New York. Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday, May 15, 2021 they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history. (AP Photo/Julia Weeks, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Organizers of New York City’s Pride events said Saturday they are banning police and other law enforcement from marching in their huge annual parade until at least 2025 and will also seek to keep on-duty officers a block away from the celebration of LGBTQ people and history.

In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”

“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the group said.

It will also increase the event’s security budget to boost the presence of community-based security and first responders while reducing the police department’s presence.

Police will provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” the group said, adding it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from event perimeter areas where possible.

Word of the ban came out Friday when the Gay Officers Action League said in a release it was disheartened by the decision.

The group called the ban an “abrupt about-face” and said the decision “to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful.”

The parade is scheduled for June after the coronavirus prevented many Pride events worldwide last year, including in New York which instead hosted virtual performances in front of masked participants and honored front-line workers in the pandemic crisis.

The disruptions frustrated activists who had hoped to collectively mark the 50th anniversary of the first Gay Pride parades and marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in 1970.

Those marches came a year after the 1969 uprising outside Manhattan’s Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in response to a police raid. The uprising is largely credited with fueling the modern LGBTQ rights movement.

Pride season occurs this year amid activism inspired by the response to racial injustice and police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death last year at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

Pride NYC’s announcement Saturday follows a division among organizers in recent years in planning for celebrations of LGBTQ pride in New York City.

In 2019, there were two marches in Manhattan after some in the community concluded that the annual parade had become too commercialized. The Queer Liberation March aimed for a protest vibe, saying the main Pride march was too heavily policed by the same department that raided Stonewall a half century earlier.

The New York Police Department commissioner apologized for the raid during a briefing in 2019, calling it “wrong, plain and simple.”

Detective Sophia Mason, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department, said on Saturday the department’s “annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants.”

She added: “The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance. That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”

Federal probe into former backer of Prop 8 in ‘pay or play’ scheme – Los Angeles Blade

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Federal probe into former backer of Prop 8 in ‘pay or play’ scheme – Los Angeles Blade
Todd Gloria takes the office of office, Thursday, December 10, 2020. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Office of the Mayor of the City of San Diego)

SAN DIEGO – In a pandemic zoom-style virtual inauguration ceremony presided over by the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate, Toni Gayle Atkins, former Democratic State Assemblyman Todd Gloria was sworn in as the 37th mayor of the City of San Diego on Thursday, December 10 before the San Diego City Council.

San Diego’s new mayor made history across a spectrum of significant firsts as in addition to being the first openly gay person to lead the city, Gloria, “the son of a hotel maid and a gardener” is also the first person of color in the Mayor’s chair. Gloria is a third-generation San Diegan of Filipino, Native American, Puerto Rican, and Dutch descent.

In a March 2019 interview with journalist Karen Ocamb, Gloria told the Blade that he officially came out to his parents at 18, though he jokingly says he was never “in” the closet since he and apparently everyone at school knew he was gay. But he survived those difficult times to go on and graduate summa cum laude from the University of San Diego, having majored in history and political science.

In his inauguration address after he took the oath of office, Gloria thanked his parents, Linda and Phil, and his brother and his family. Gloria also thanked his partner, Adam. He paid tribute to his political mentors and then the people who helped get him elected. He then addressed his city as the duly-elected Mayor for the first time;

“My fellow San Diegans, it is with pride that I stand before you today as the 37th mayor of our city. I’m humbled by your support; I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve; I’m hopeful about the future of our city,” Gloria said. “Today is the day that we start building a San Diego that is truly for all of us.”

“As a kid who grew up in Clairemont, I didn’t see people who looked like me leading practically anything — let alone the 8th largest city in the United States,” Gloria said at his inauguration Thursday. “But today, I stand before you as the first person of color and LGBTQ person to ascend to our city’s highest office.”

“This is a testament to what we all know: San Diego is a unique place, with incredible people, where anything is possible,” he continued. “It is the birthplace of California and a bridge between two nations. It’s the home of artistic creativity, groundbreaking innovation and research that changes the world. It is the place where the son of a hotel maid and a gardener, a Native American, Puerto Rican, Dutch gay guy has just become your mayor.”

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria gives his inauguration address during a virtual ceremony.
(Courtesy of the Office of San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria)

As Gloria outlined his plans for his first 100 days in office, he stressed that his greatest priority is the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We will be rolling out an aggressive strategy to address the worsening public health crisis in COVID-19,” he said. “The economic crisis that is impacting San Diego’s families, small businesses, and our city budget. The housing and homelessness crisis that has become even more dire.”

“My team and I are moving swiftly and decisively to protect our most vulnerable. And we’ll do it with a long-term goal of building a more resilient city in the process,” Gloria added. “It’s not enough to get things back to normal. Normal wasn’t and won’t be good enough.”

The Mayor then promised San Diegans that he and his team would build a coalition effort to work across all sectors of the city to accomplish the goals he was outlining.

“If we dream big, work together and believe in San Diego, we can accomplish anything. We will change the narrative — not just for the privileged few, but for everyone — especially those who have traditionally felt unheard,” he said.

“It’s the dawn of a new era. We will recover and build back better and stronger from COVID-19,” the mayor continued. “We will stand up for workers and create good-paying, local jobs that bring neighborhood improvement to all corners of our city.”

Gloria addressed the issues of racial equality and the Black Lives Matters movement.

“We will center racial justice and equity not just in public safety but in everything we do recognizing that Black Lives Matter,” he said.

He then vowed to “fully and faithfully” implement San Diego’s climate action plan “to ensure that the city that we love is here for generations to come.”

“I believe in us, San Diego,” the mayor said. “I know who we are and who we can be. I am so proud to be the mayor of this great city but I’m even more excited about what we can accomplish together. Because together, I know we will build a San Diego for all of us.”

“If we dream big, work together and believe in San Diego, we can accomplish anything.”

In the March 2019 interview, addressing the LGBTQ community in his city, Gloria told the Blade, “We had a recent report where there’s 40,000 San Diego young people in their late teens and early 20s who are completely disconnected from the worlds of education and the world of work. Those are young people who are going un-utilized in our economy and that’s a missed potential towards the vision I have of a great city.”

Gloria says he wants to “keep that ladder of opportunity in place. I want to rebuild it where it may have been broken. I believe it because I’ve experienced it and I want others to have that same experience. And right now I think there’s good reason to doubt that that ladder exists. But my goal, my ambition, my vision is to rebuild it – not just for queer kids of color like me but really for every person who is going to work hard in San Diego.”

It’s a power of compassion, strength and responsibility that Gloria told the Blade that he hopes to bring home to San Diego. “I often talk on the campaign trail about this being a mayoral campaign and a hopeful administration that is focused on real people and on real problems,” Gloria says, adding that he carries the voices of LGBT history with him. “Hopefully, I can make our community proud.”

As one commentator reflected, now that he’s mayor, he has that chance.

Additional reporting by Karen Ocamb

Former ‘Bachelor’ star says he was ‘blackmailed’ before coming out as gay – ABC7 News

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Former ‘Bachelor’ star says he was ‘blackmailed’ before coming out as gay – ABC7 News

ABC News — About a month after Colton Underwood publicly came out as gay, he said he did so, in part, because he was blackmailed.

In an interview with Variety, the “Bachelor” alum said his coming out was prompted out of fear.

“I’ll just say it. I, at one point, during my rock bottom and spiral, was getting blackmailed,” he said. “Nobody knows I was blackmailed.”

Underwood said he got an anonymous email from someone claiming to have nude photos of him at a Los Angeles spa known for its gay clientele, which he had recently visited. The blackmailer allegedly threatened to leak the photo to the press.

The former football star said he never saw the photos, but said the experience made him realize he needed to publicly address his sexuality.

“I’ve ran from myself for a long time. I’ve hated myself for a long time,” Underwood said last month, discussing his sexuality publicly for the first time.

“And I’m gay,” he continued. “And I came to terms with that earlier this year and have been processing it. And the next step in all of this was sort of letting people know. I’m still nervous, but yeah. It’s been a journey for sure.”

After coming out, Underwood received a slew of support from Bachelor Nation and other celebrities.

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