In a live-streamed press conference held this afternoon, Kathy Griffin again apologized for her Trump photo stunt and declared that she feels like her career is over. Reuters reports: Griffin has lost sponsorships and jobs, including her role as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage with journalist Anderson Cooper, since a photograph and video from the shoot appeared on …

Three times today, under direct questioning, EPA head Scott Pruitt refused to say if Trump believes climate change is real. Heavy reports: The first question of the press conference was about whether President Trump believes climate change is real and is a threat to the United States. Pruitt would not answer, instead saying that he and the president have been …

Slate reports: On Wednesday, the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill prohibiting the “gay panic” defense, which allows alleged murderers to defend their actions in court by arguing that their victim’s sexual orientation “triggered” their crime. The bill also bars the “trans panic” defense, which alleged murderers may use to justify the killing of a trans person on …

History!!! The Independent reports: Leo Varadkar is the new leader of Fine Gael and on course to become Ireland’s first gay Taoiseach. The Social Protection Minister got the support of 51 TDs, senators and MEP to get over the line despite losing the popular vote. Massive cheers greeted Mr Varadkar as he arrived at the count centre in the Mansion …

AOL News reports: A day after President Trump announced the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris agreement, White House press secretary Sean Spicer is expected to be joined by EPA chief Scott Pruitt to address questions during Friday’s briefing. “We’re getting out,” Trump said speaking from the White House on Thursday. “And we will start to renegotiate and we’ll see …

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports: Gov. Matt Bevin said in a jam-packed meeting Thursday that his plan to confront Louisville’s growing violence is to have roaming prayer groups in the West End. Bevin urged faith leaders, public officials and residents to take a 10-block span, walk corner to corner, and pray with the community two to three times a week during …

The BBC reports: Tennis great Margaret Court believes there is a “conspiracy” from the “US gay lobby” to strip her name from one of the Australian Open stadiums. The 74-year-old has been criticised for her beliefs on same-sex marriage, with 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova calling for the Margaret Court Arena to be renamed. “They have a lot of …

CNBC reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday angrily denied allegations that Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, even comparing rhetoric about Russia to “anti-Semitism.” It’s like anti-Semitism,” he said, comparing Russia’s critics to people who would say things like “the Jews are to blame.” Through a live translation in the televised interview with NBC News’ Megyn Kelly, Putin …

In last night’s post about Ivanka Trump’s nod to LGBT Pride Month, I noted that during the Obama era we got proclamations from a myriad of federal agencies in addition to Obama’s annual message, but that those days are behind us. Well, shut my mouth. Via press release from the US Navy: The Navy joins the nation in recognizing Lesbian, …

Stand by for the usual ranting sadz. Via press release from the NBA: In celebration of LGBTQ Pride Month, we’re excited to announce a collaboration between the NBA & WNBA, GLSEN, and our retail partner, Fanatics, where fans can choose from an exclusive line of Pride T-shirts featuring any NBA or WNBA team logo, with a portion of the proceeds …

Raw Story reports: Appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway trashed former FBI director James Comey ahead of his Senate testimony saying morale at the agency he oversaw plummeted during his tenure. Asked by host George Stephanopoulos if the president would invoke executive privilege to stop Comey from speaking, Conway ranted that they would “be watching …

Variety reports: ABC will air Ariana Grande’s One Love benefit concert Sunday, one of a host of international broadcasters that have signed up to air the live event dedicated to helping victims of the Manchester attack. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, is coordinating the international effort and has placed the concert with broadcasters in 38 countries so …

Reuters reports: Chilean President Michelle Bachelet announced plans on Thursday for new infrastructure including an underground railway line and copper smelter, and said she would push forward on her promise to get a law passed that would allow for same-sex marriage. Her wide-ranging annual state-of-the-union speech to Congress in the port city of Valparaiso, which lasted over two hours, largely …

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court late Thursday to revive its revised ban that limits travelers visiting the United States from six mostly Muslim countries. The move sets the stage for a constitutional showdown over the president’s authority to make national security judgments in the name of protecting Americans from terrorism. Last week, a …

The HuffPost reports: Donald Trump made an unusual phone call for some heart-to-heart counsel from Fox News before his press conference announcing he was pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. The president sought a bit of hand-holding from a media organization not known for its science — nor for its concern about global warming. Kimberly Guilfoyle, co-host …

Today would be Gilbert Baker’s 66th birthday and Google celebrates with an animated doodle. They write: Today’s doodle is a little more colorful thanks to Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag, a symbol of pride and freedom for the LGBTQA+ community. Teaching himself to sew, Baker put his skills to work for the San Francisco gay community, making banners …

One year ago today President Obama issued his final LGBT Pride Month proclamation, a tradition Donald Trump, as well as all other federal agencies, evidently chose to discontinue. Tonight, however, Ivanka issued a pair of tweets in which she declares that she is “proud to celebrate and honor the LGBTQ community” and support her “LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans …

Trump is being trolled worldwide: Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered two New York City landmarks – the World Trade Center and the Kosciuszko Bridge – to be lit in green Thursday night to express the state’s support for the Paris accord. “The White House’s reckless decision to withdraw from the Paris Accord has devastating repercussions not only for the United States, …

Despite what you may have seen on countless Twitter memes, Todd Starnes totally does not drink his own pee. Here’s his latest for Fox News: I’m old school. Back when I was growing up we did not have climate change or global warming. We had something called weather. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. It’s an inconvenient truth, …

“The first time I ever sang for a paying audience was at a gay club, The Lion, in Greenwich Village. I was 18 years old and had never been in a nightclub before. The gay community supported me from the start, and I will always be grateful. Decades later, I remember sitting in a theater and watching Larry Kramer’s play, …