Category Archives: Gay

2025.03.11

Nightlife
Wisconsin’s oldest gay bar, co-owned by Trixie Mattel, has now closed
“It would’ve been irresponsible of us to think that throwing more money at the problem would fix it,” This Is It! co-owner George Schneider wrote.
Bernardo Sim
https://www.out.com/nightlife/trixie-mattel-owned-gay-bar-this-is-it-shutdown#rebelltitem1

‘Stolen off a donkey’: why is The White Lotus so obsessed with graphic penis footage?
From Jason Isaacs’ shocking flash to Theo James wearing a prosthetic he described as ‘ginormous’, the luxury resort drama is packed with male nudity. Why are so many men going full frontal?
Michael Hogan
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/11/the-white-lotus-graphic-penis-male-nudity

Male blue-lined octopuses inject females with venom during sex to avoid being eaten, study shows
Tetrodotoxin immobilises the female – who is about two to five times bigger than the male – so mating can occur, researchers observed
Donna Lu Science writer
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/11/blue-lined-octopus-sex-venom-tetrodotoxin

USDA cuts more than $1bn in local food purchases for schools, food banks
Millions of children could lose free school meals as food costs rise, warns School Nutrition Association president
Michael Sainato
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/usda-cuts-food-banks-schools

If only they actually cared and provided things like medical care, childcare, and support:
Pronatalists are ascendant on the right. Can they agree on how to make Americans have more babies?
The movement unites ‘family values’ conservatives and tech bro rightwingers. Will this incoherent coalition hold?
Carter Sherman
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/11/what-is-pronatalism-right-wing-republican

Only seven countries worldwide meet WHO dirty air guidelines, study shows
Annual survey by IQAir based on toxic PM2.5 particles reveals some progress in pollution levels in India and China
Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/11/only-seven-countries-worldwide-meet-who-dirty-air-guidelines-study-shows

Don’t need that science shit no more:
Nasa announces shuttering of two departments and office of chief scientist
Office of technology, policy and strategy and one covering DEI initiatives were eliminated in line with ‘efficiency’ cuts
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/10/nasa-cuts-firing-chief-scientist

Music flows as Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill lead tributes at Roberta Flack memorial
Grammy winner, who died last month at 88, remembered at New York service with series of star performers
Diana Ramirez-Simon and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/10/roberta-flack-memorial-stevie-wonder-lauryn-hill

K-pop singer Wheesung found dead at home aged 43
Tributes have been paid to singer who had a string of hits in South Korea including a cover of Craig David’s Insomnia
Sian Cain and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/11/k-pop-singer-wheesung-found-dead-at-home-aged-43-autopsy-cause

Kevin Drum died March 7, 2025
https://jabberwocking.com/health-update-100/

2025.03.09

I suspect Harris growing a penis and turning white would have helped more:
Tim Walz says he and Harris were too ‘safe’ during 2024 presidential campaign
Former vice-presidential candidate claims pair should have held more in-person events around the US
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/tim-walz-2024-presidential-campaign

Northern lights sightings expected in Scotland over weekend
Met Office says aurora borealis may be visible across north of country and possibly even further south
Donna Ferguson
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/08/northern-lights-sightings-expected-in-scotland-over-weekend

Wales on a plate: 10 of the best restaurants, hotels, pubs and food hubs
From market fare to fine dining – your gastronomic guide to the most delicious destinations around the country
Annabelle Thorpe
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/mar/09/wales-finest-food-10-best-restaurants-inns-hotels-and-gastro-hubs

Go outside, ditch the phone, get humble: my top 10 Scandi life lessons after a decade in Denmark
After 12 years, we’ve said goodbye to one of the happiest countries on Earth. From friluftsliv (the joy of the open air) to janteloven (realising you’re no better than others) here’s what I’ve learned
Helen Russell
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/top-10-scandi-life-lessons-after-decade-in-denmark

Mass blackouts in storm-hit eastern Australia
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8y3xgkpw9o

Deadly floods engulf Argentine city after fierce storm
Robert Plummer and Henri Astier
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g07dqep0ko

A very camp environment’: why Alan Turing fatefully told police he was gay
Ubiquity of then-illegal relations at King’s College, Cambridge, explains puzzling 1952 admission, says scholar
Donna Ferguson
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/08/a-very-camp-environment-why-alan-turing-fatefully-told-police-he-was-gay

Can you solve these time puzzles from the ancient world?
Martha Henriques
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240228-leap-year-can-you-solve-these-time-riddles

Sole portrait of England’s ‘nine-day queen’ thought to have been identified by researchers
‘Compelling evidence’ suggests figure is Lady Jane Grey, making it only known depiction made before 1554 execution
Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/07/sole-portrait-of-england-nine-day-queen-lady-jane-grey-thought-to-have-been-identified-by-researchers

Shamelessly stolen from Andrew Ducker:
Game-Changing Vaccine Offers Long-Lasting Protection Against COVID-19 & Flu
https://scitechdaily.com/game-changing-vaccine-offers-long-lasting-protection-against-covid-19-flu/

2025.03.08

Dustin Nelson at Bring Me the News reports the Twin Cities Book Festival is saying farewell to the State Fairgrounds. The Rain Taxi-run event will host its 25th fest at St. Paul’s Union Depot, organizers announced on Thursday. Via MinnPost

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz bring Black art ‘Giants’ to the Minneapolis Institute of Art
Also this weekend: Digital art by a Japanese trans artist at FKM Gallery; art and poetry exploring the immigrant experience at Indigenous Roots, and a performance festival spotlighting composers of color at MacPhail Center for Music.
by Myah Goff
https://sahanjournal.com/arts/twin-cities-weekend-arts-events/

Texas cities run short of MMR vaccine as measles outbreak drives demand
Pharmacies are struggling with supplies as fatal outbreak expands and health secretary sows disinformation
Melody Schreiber
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/texas-mmr-vaccine-measles-outbreak

Mormon church rocked by child sexual abuse allegations in California
Look-back window results in nearly 100 allegations against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-allegations-california

‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by the right wing after supreme court USAid ruling
Conservative justice who frequently votes with the far-right side of the supreme court faces backlash for recent ruling
Adam Gabbatt
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/amy-coney-barrett-under-attack-by-right-wing

‘Etched in my mind’: witness to South Carolina firing squad execution describes killing
Brad Sigmon was executed on Friday for the murders of his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 2001
Guardian staff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/south-carolina-firing-squad

‘I’m on the side of the workers’: the Minnesota senator calling out Trump and Musk
Tina Smith is leaving at the end of her term, and says she would call Musk a dick even if she had to face re-election
Rachel Leingang
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/08/tina-smith-minnesota-senator-interview

Anora is nothing new – Hollywood has always been obsessed with sex workers
Anne Billson
Mikey Madison is the latest in a line of actors dating back to Janet Gaynor to win Oscars depicting the sex trade. Why this is, and whether it lessens the stigma of such work, is an open question
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/07/hollywood-obsessed-with-sex-workers-anora-mikey-madison

Athena spacecraft declared dead after toppling over on moon
Robotic private spacecraft touched down about 250 meters from its intended landing site on Thursday
Richard Luscombe
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/07/athena-spacecraft-mission-dead

‘We’re fairly different’: life in New Zealand’s remote self-declared ‘republic’
The tiny town of Whangamōmona on the North Island maintains some eccentric traditions – past ‘presidents’ have included a goat and a poodle
Anna Rankin in Whangamōmona
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/08/whangamomona-new-zealand-self-declared-republic-feature

This is how we do it: ‘After mutual cancer diagnoses we didn’t have sex for five years. Then we discovered toys …’
Jill and Bob became more like housemates than lovers during an illness-enforced break, but a delivery of sex toys brought back the fun
As told to Olivia Ladanyi
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/mar/08/this-is-how-we-do-it-mutual-cancer-diagnoses-sex-toys

2025.03.07

O! O! O! They haz sadz! MAGA loyalists seethe after ‘Hamilton’ cancels shows over Trump by Alix Breeden https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/6/2308425/-MAGA-loyalists-seethe-after-Hamilton-cancels-shows-over-Trump?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_9&pm_medium=web

The Wiggles on singing with Dolly Parton in their starry country era: ‘We are friends of Dorothy!’ From collaborating with Parton and Orville Peck to viral TikToks and, of course, the Tree of Wisdom: for their 63rd album (yes really), the Wiggles mean big business
Katie Cunningham https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/08/the-wiggles-wiggle-up-giddy-up-dolly-parton-interview

Patients with long Covid regain sense of smell and taste with pioneering surgery
Surgeons believe the technique called functional septorhinoplasty (fSRP) ‘kickstarts’ smell recovery in patients
Andrew Gregory Health editor
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/07/long-covid-patients-regain-sense-smell-taste-functional-septorhinoplasty-surgery

Adult infected with measles dies in New Mexico, health officials say
Person from Lea county had been unvaccinated and did not seek care but virus not yet confirmed as cause of death
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/measles-death-new-mexico

The grannies who saved Albanian cuisine
Tristan Rutherford
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250305-the-grannies-who-saved-albanian-cuisine

Gene-edited non-browning banana could cut food waste, scientists say
Fruit variety developed in Norwich remains fresh for up to 12 hours after being peeled
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/mar/07/gene-edited-non-browning-banana-cut-food-waste-tropic-norwich

MN’s Korean Adoptees, ‘More Confused Than Ever,’ Look for Answers Plus the end of the ‘All Are Welcome Here’ sign, an Ann Kim x Target collab, and a list of local orgs losing federal funding in today’s Flyover news roundup. By Em Cassel and Jessica Armbruster https://racketmn.com/mns-korean-adoptees-more-confused-than-ever-look-for-answers

The sweet smell of grift in the morning: White House to overhaul $42.5bn Biden-era internet plan – likely to Elon Musk’s advantage Billionaire cost-cutter’s Starlink service the likely beneficiary of Trump plan to alter rural internet program Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/trump-musk-rural-internet-starlink

Packed Pacs: how billionaires in the US are bankrolling Republicans at the state level Republicans are relying on ‘nameless’ donors who want to push a rightwing agenda and gain long-term hegemony David Smith in Washington https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/05/billionaires-funding-republicans

Interview Peter Wolf on Faye Dunaway, David Lynch and Bob Dylan: ‘My mission was to be an observer’
Jim Farber
The frontman of the J Geils Band has had an extraordinary life, living and working with celebrities along the way, detailed in a fascinating new book
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/mar/05/peter-wolf-j-geils-waiting-on-the-moon

Give Edinburgh fringe the same status as Olympics, departing head urges Shona McCarthy says public authorities have routinely ignored needs of world’s largest arts festival Severin Carrell Scotland editor https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/05/edinburgh-festival-fringe-olympics-shona-mccarthy-chief-executive

Gordon and Jim after coming out to Gordon’s mum: Sage Sohier’s best photograph ‘They had been together for 21 years. They’re telling Margot, Gordon’s mum, that they’re about to appear in a Valentine’s Day issue of the local newspaper’ Interview by Lydia Figes https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/mar/05/sage-sohiers-best-photograph-valentines-day

World’s biggest iceberg runs aground after long journey from Antarctica Scientists are studying whether the grounded A23a iceberg might help stir nutrients and make food more available for penguins and seals
Agence France-Presse https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/05/a23a-iceberg-runs-aground-south-georgia-climate

2025.03.02

Tim Walz regrets getting ‘sucked in’ to addressing Trump’s pet-eating lies
Harris running mate discussed campaign missteps after saying he’ll run for third term as Minnesota governor
Ramon Antonio Vargas
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/02/tim-walz-election-immigration

And the winner is … the rising generation of older female actors
With this year’s Oscars about to be handed out, Hollywood women of a certain age have never been more bankable or in demand. What’s behind the cultural shift?
Barbara Ellen
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/02/older-female-actors-hollywood-women-age-cultural-shift

Private spacecraft Blue Ghost lands on Moon
George Sandeman
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9208qv1kzo

First, catch your (CGI) dragon: hope that visual effects breakthrough can reanimate UK film industry
Pioneering startup technology allows camera operators to see on-screen graphics while filming in real world, rather just imagining them
James Tapper
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/02/cgi-visual-effects-uk-film-industry-on-screen-graphics

A look at Minneapolis’ plan to redevelop Lake Street Kmart, reconnecting Nicollet Avenue
The plan includes a park, housing, a grocery store, and space for small businesses.
Dustin Nelson
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-lifestyle/minneapolis-unveils-plan-for-redeveloping-lake-street-kmart-reconnecting-nicollet-avenue

What is chemsex? Here’s what you need to know
Alexander Cheves Nikki Aye
https://www.out.com/health/what-is-chemsex#toggle-gdpr

2025.03.01

Future of George Floyd Square divides community, city leaders five years after murder
Some community members want the intersection turned into a pedestrian plaza, others want it to remain open to car traffic to help support nearby businesses.
by Katrina Pross
https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/george-floyd-square-development-minneapolis-city-council/

Kennedy Jr backtracks and says US measles outbreak is now a ‘top priority’ for health department
Health secretary earlier said outbreak was ‘not unusual’ but with first US measles death in decade steps up response
Guardian staff and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-health-department

Email shows that Musk ally is moving to close office behind free tax filing program at IRS
Program is apparently being closed according to email from former Tesla engineer installed in GSA
Nick Robins-Early
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/musk-close-irs-free-filing-system

Tortured death of trans man in western New York echoes notorious 90s killing
Seven people have been arrested over ‘horrific’ death of Sam Nordquist, 24. A similar case in Wyoming once helped fuel the LGBTQ+ rights movement
Edward Helmore
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/sam-nordquist-killing-matthew-shepard

‘I was in shock’: DC gallery pulls exhibits of Black and LGBTQ+ artists amid Trump DEI crackdown
Art Museum of the Americas’ abrupt cancellation after anti-diversity order is ‘how fascism unfolds’, curator says
David Smith in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/art-museum-of-americas-exhibit-trump-dei

Holidays at a one-time Communist luxury beach haven? Yugoslav resort built for Tito to rise from ruins
Revolutionary leader’s derelict Adriatic getaway is on verge of a new life after starring in Kate Winslet film and hit Mr Beast YouTube video
Kim Willsher in Kupari
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/communist-tito-yugoslav-adriatic-luxury-beach-resort

‘I don’t know whether I’d describe it as fun’: Aimee Lou Wood on the intensity of making The White Lotus
She is the Sex Education star now stealing the show in Mike White’s hit series and about to appear in a gritty new Netflix drama. It’s all she ever wanted – but somehow, this ‘sad and shy’ actor finds folding the washing more rewarding than fame
Zoe Williams
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/mar/01/i-dont-know-whether-id-describe-it-as-fun-aimee-lou-wood-on-the-intensity-of-making-the-white-lotus

From Unforgiven to The Firm: Guardian writers pick their favourite Gene Hackman movies
After the death of the esteemed actor, writers highlight their favourite movies from a long and varied career
‘He let us hate him’: Gene Hackman had a rare power – he didn’t need to be liked
Radheyan Simonpillai, Andrew Pulver, Benjamin Lee, Charles Bramesco, Andrew Lawrence, Pamela Hutchinson, Scott Tobias and Jesse Hassenger
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/01/from-unforgiven-to-the-firm-guardian-writers-pick-their-favourite-gene-hackman-movies

Melek Erdal’s recipes for börek cake and yoghurt soup
Greek and Turkish flavours flourish in a spinach and feta filo pie and yoghurt and spinach soup with fried bulgur dumplings
Melek Erdal
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/mar/01/borek-cake-and-yoghurt-soup-recipes-melek-erdal

Tickled pink: rhubarb growers see explosion in demand for Yorkshire crop
Despite wet weather hitting yields, supermarkets are reporting a doubling in rhubarb sales compared to last year
Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/mar/01/tickled-pink-rhubarb-growers-see-explosion-in-demand-for-yorkshire-crop

Sydney Mardi Gras parade 2025 – in pictures
All the colour, costume and camp of the 47th edition of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
Jim Powell
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/gallery/2025/mar/01/sydney-mardi-gras-parade-2025-in-pictures

2025.02.28

For one Minnesotan, a new heat pump brings comfort and savings Even in one of the coldest cities in the U.S., Kathy Palmer’s heat pump helps displace gas heating, lowers heating bills, and makes her home more comfortable.
by Alison F. Takemura
https://www.minnpost.com/other-nonprofit-media/2025/02/for-one-minnesotan-a-new-heat-pump-brings-comfort-and-savings/

‘Come back strong’: 19 Bar reopens in Minneapolis nearly a year after major fire
Nicole Ki
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/02/27/19-bar-reopens-in-minneapolis-after-major-fire

St. Patrick’s Day parade returns to Minneapolis after 5-year hiatus
Nick Halter
https://www.axios.com/local/twin-cities/2025/02/27/st-patricks-parade-returns-minneapolis-columbia-heights

Senate GOP demands Walz apology for ‘fascists and Nazis’ comment; Walz says he was talking about actual neo-Nazis
Gov. Walz said his comments, which Senate Republicans posted to social media, were not about President Trump or Republican voters.
Author: Danny Spewak
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/politics/senate-gop-demands-walz-apology-for-fascists-and-nazis-comment/89-9a40b189-5c5f-4977-b3b9-c59de7bea4b5?ref=exit-recirc

Preserving your family’s immigration journey: Where to start
Last week, Sahan Journal and MPR News hosted a live community conversation, titled “My family immigration story — and yours” — about how artists, historians and community leaders record and preserve their community history.
by Katelyn Vue
https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/minnesota-family-immigration-history/

‘They’ve lost my trust’: consumers shun companies as bosses kowtow to Trump
Americans are using their wallet to hurt where it matters – including during Friday’s planned ‘economic blackout’
Lauren Aratani in New York and Guardian community team
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/28/trump-consumer-protests-companies

Disney’s Snow White to Mickey 17: 10 of the best films to watch this March
Nicholas Barber
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250227-10-of-the-best-films-to-watch-this-march

‘I was born to be an actor’: Twice-knighted Derek Jacobi on nearly 70 years on the stage and screen
Christopher Luu
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250226-derek-jacobi-influential-interview-katty-kay

Is there no such thing as Italian cuisine?
Thomas Fabbri
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250227-is-there-no-such-thing-as-italian-cuisine

Jim Gaffigan, Italian Flicks, Queer Soup Night: This Week’s Best Events
Plus fiber arts, art books, and A Bar of Their Own turns one.
By Racket Staff
https://racketmn.com/jim-gaffigan-italian-flicks-queer-soup-night-this-weeks-best-events

2025.02.27

The quiet Massachusetts towns that sparked a revolution
Annika S Hipple
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250225-the-quiet-massachusetts-towns-that-sparked-a-revolution

Edward II: Did a gay love affair spark a 14th-Century royal crisis?
Nick Levine
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250226-edward-ii-did-a-gay-love-affair-spark-a-14th-century-royal-crisis

Stonehenge-like circle unearthed in Denmark may have links to UK
Archaeologists suggest ‘woodhenge’ was built between 2600 and 1600BC on similar axis to English stone circle
Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/26/stonehenge-circle-unearthed-denmark-woodhenge

‘It’s been a lifesaver’: millions risk going hungry as Republicans propose slashing food stamps
Snap helps more than 42 million people, and is considered the country’s most effective tool to fight hunger
Victoria Namkung
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/27/snap-foodstamps-republicans-propose-cuts

Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’
Researchers believe personal stories are more persuasive than facts alone in addressing vaccine skepticism
Adrienne Matei
https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/feb/27/how-anti-vax-parents-changed-their-minds

Jeff Bezos is muzzling the Washington Post’s opinion section. That’s a death knell Margaret Sullivan https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/26/jeff-bezos-washington-post-opinion

Trump administration memo orders Pentagon to identify and fire transgender members of US military
Memo says ‘service by these individuals is not in the best interests of the military’ in Trump’s latest attack on trans rights
Chris Stein and agencies
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/27/transgender-us-military-personnel-pentagon-memo-stood-down-trump-administration

Gene Hackman and wife’s deaths ‘suspicious enough’ for investigation, warrant says
Warrant raises questions about scattered pills, after Betsy Arakawa’s body had ‘mummification in hands’
Ed Pilkington
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/27/gene-hackman-cause-of-death-investigation

Obituary
Gene Hackman obituary
Prolific Hollywood character actor who won Oscars for The French Connection and Unforgiven
Brian Baxter
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/27/gene-hackman-obituary

Michelle Trachtenberg, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl actor, dies aged 39
The actor was found at a New York apartment on Wednesday, with the cause of death unknown but not being treated as suspicious
Benjamin Lee
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/feb/26/michelle-trachtenberg-dead

2025.02.18

A quarter of US shoppers have dumped favorite stores over political stances A new poll also found that four in 10 Americans have shifted spending to align with moral views in recent months Lauren Aratani in New York https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/shoppers-political-boycotts-spending-patterns-poll

No evidence of hate crime in killing of US transgender man, authorities say Five people charged with murder in Sam Nordquist’s death in upstate New York also identified as LGBTQ+, say officials “A felony complaint obtained by 13WHAM provides gut-wrenching details of Nordquist’s brutal killing. Authorities say he was tortured and sexually assaulted using a table leg and broomsticks.

He was also reportedly subjected to repeated, prolonged beatings which included being punched, kicked and struck with various objects such as sticks, belts, ropes, dog toys and canes, ultimately leading to his death.'” Anna Betts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/sam-nordquist-killing-hate-crime

‘He targeted me’: Guy Pearce says he ‘sobbed’ over Kevin Spacey encounters The Oscar-nominated actor has said he is attempting to be more candid about his former co-star’s alleged behaviour Catherine Shoard https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/18/guy-pearce-kevin-spacey

Republican proposes making Trump’s birthday a public holiday Claudia Tenney’s bill combining Flag Day with Trump’s birthday could face steep odds of success in Congress Ramon Antonio Vargas https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/trump-birthday-holiday-republican-bill

Acting social security head who denied access to Musk team leaves agency Michelle King opts to retire after 30 years rather than grant request by ‘department of government efficiency’ Jessica Glenza https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/18/musk-social-security-administration-michelle-king

Why did a plane crash in Toronto, and how did everyone survive? James FitzGerald https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2dnnvvjkeo

Passenger films his escape from upside down crashed plane
A passenger has filmed his escape from an upside down plane after it skidded along a runway during a failed landing.
Video from inside the crashed plane at Toronto airport shows passengers clambering over belongings and seats to exit the aircraft. Crew on board the flight can be heard telling people to leave everything behind as they are helped through a plane door. All passengers survived when the plane skidded and overturned when it came into land. Footage on social media shows the aircraft in flames as it careered along the runway. https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c0lzl2ekrk5o

Authorities to give update after plane crashes and flips in Toronto https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c0q080y02xgt

Larry's Blatherings

D'oh