New today from our pal Matt Baume: On an early-70s episode of Maude, Bea Arthur is eager for everyone to see that she has a new gay best friend. But despite the friendship, she might harbor some bigotry that she wasn’t even aware of — just like the rest of the country, which was at the time just starting to …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: President Trump declared Friday on Twitter that he will launch his 2020 run for president run at a campaign rally in Orlando on June 18. The move highlights the critical importance of the I-4 Corridor and Florida, which is expected to be a key battleground state as Trump seeks a second term. The campaign inked a …

British tabloid The Sun reports: The US President spoke glowingly of the ex-Foreign Secretary in a world exclusive interview with The Sun ahead of his three-day state visit to London, starting on Monday. His bombshell intervention into the Conservatives’ contest — just a few days before MPs start voting — is a major breach of protocol. It risks sparking a …

The Virginian-Pilot reports: Multiple people were injured by a shooter who has been apprehended at the city’s Municipal Center on Friday afternoon, police said. Master Police Officer Allen Perry confirmed there was a shooter in building 2, which is next door to City Hall. At 4:50 p.m., the Virginia Beach Police Department tweeted that one shooter has been taken into …

The Guardian reports: Elton John has said he is ashamed of the UK over its voting for and handling of Brexit. While performing on Wednesday in Verona on his last ever world tour, Farewell Yellow Brick Road, he said: “I’m ashamed of my country for what it has done. It’s torn people apart. I am sick to death of politicians, …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Friday recognized LGBTQ Pride Month — something he didn’t do during the first two years of his presidency. Trump pointed to his administration’s efforts to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide that are being led by the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, who is gay. But when Trump was asked about that effort shortly after …

Mediaite reports: Fox News’ Melissa Francis shot back at GOP critics of President Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs on Mexico over immigration, saying Republicans who don’t support the tariffs “should go jump off a cliff.” Francis was speaking on Outnumbered Friday, which devolved into a back-and-forth over Trump’s recently announced plan to impose increasing tariffs on Mexico unless the …

CNN reports: Fox News on Friday afternoon stood by Laura Ingraham after she defended a white supremacist and several other fringe people who have been banned or disciplined by large social media companies. During the segment, Ingraham displayed a graphic showing images of people she characterized as “prominent voices censored on social media.” The graphic included Paul Nehlen, a white …

CBS News Dallas reports: A federal grand jury charged a pair of Dallas men with conspiracy to commit hate crimes, kidnapping and carjacking. Daniel Jenkins, 20, and Daryl Henry, 22, were also charged with hate crimes and kidnapping. Jenkins was also charged with carjacking and brandishing a firearm during crimes of violence. “Criminals are using apps like Grindr to single …

From an op-ed in the Pensacola News Journal: In less than 30 seconds of audio from his recent meeting with a Pensacola-based group called Women for Responsible Legislation, Florida Rep. Mike Hill proved why he is both an unfit legislator and an unfit Christian. A citizen comments: “In 1 Corinthians, it says that a man who has an affair with …

The Hill reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden has a commanding lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, according to a new national poll released exclusively to The Hill that finds him ahead of his closest competitor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), by nearly 20 points. Thirty-six percent of Democratic respondents said that Biden is most likely to get …

ABC News reports: An investigation was underway Thursday after 136 dogs were found living in reportedly deplorable conditions in a multi million-dollar home in Orange County, California. Officers were called to the home in the 3800 block of East Woodbine Avenue around 2:20 p.m. They found dogs living in filthy conditions and began removing them one-by-one from the home, some …

Bloomberg reports: The automotive industry is bearing the brunt of trade-war crossfire again as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to slap tariffs of as much as 25% on goods from Mexico, a key production hub for carmakers from Mazda Motor Corp. to General Motors Co. Mexico is the largest source of U.S. vehicle and auto-parts imports, meaning tariffs would increase …

The Denver Post reports: For years a group of Colorado lawmakers have tried and failed to pass two laws they say would improve the lives of LGBTQ Coloradans. One bans mental health professionals from trying to change a minor’s sexual orientation or “sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same-sex,” and it would make advertising conversion therapy …

Charisma News, the site best known here for its anti-witchcraft tutorials, its claim that the lifespan of gays is shortened by 20 years, its warning that burning breakfast eggs can summon demons, and its declaration that yoga is white witchcraft, today has a suggested prayer for Sunday’s national day of prayer against Trump’s enemies. An excerpt: Heavenly Father, We come …

NBC News reports: Julian Assange has been left in a state of “extreme stress, chronic anxiety” and “constant panic” after spending seven years holed up in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy, a leading United Nations expert who visited the WikiLeaks co-founder in prison said Thursday. Nils Melzer, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, told NBC News he blames the United States, United …

Law & Crime reports: A former West Virginia county official who made headlines in 2016 for her racist online post about then-First Lady Michelle Obama was sentenced to prison Thursday for the embezzlement of disaster relief funds. Pamela Ramsey Taylor, 57, the former director at the Clay County Development Corporation, a West Virginia-based elderly non-profit group, was sentenced to 10 …

The Christian Post reports: Leading evangelist Franklin Graham has responded to critics of his “special day of prayer” on Sunday, a time when he’s urged Christians worldwide to ask God to protect President Trump as his political “enemies” seek impeachment. Since making the announcement last Sunday, Graham has faced backlash from fellow Christian leaders who argue that Graham’s call to …

The Hill reports: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called on Friday for Congress to pass a law clarifying that the president can be indicted for alleged crimes. She also vowed that if she is elected president, she will appoint Justice Department officials who would roll back a policy holding that a sitting presidents cannot be charged with a crime. Warren’s comments, …

Vanity Fair reports: On Sunday, May 19, New York Times finance editor David Enrich got a request from a producer at MSNBC to appear on Rachel Maddow’s show the following night. Enrich had a red-hot front-page story for Monday’s paper, about anti-money-laundering specialists at Deutsche Bank flagging suspicious transactions involving Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, and Maddow wanted to bring …