Joe.My.God. LGBT News

People Magazine reports: For decades Barry Manilow gave the world timeless hits, while keeping his own world a total secret. Now at 73 years old, the music legend is opening up about his life, struggles and, for the first time, his sexuality. Fiercely private, the pop icon recently welcomed PEOPLE into his Palm Springs home for an exclusive interview and …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Josh Raffel, the top public relations executive for Hollywood producer Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions, is departing to work for President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner. Raffel, who has been with Blumhouse since 2015, will run communications for the White House Office of American Innovation, a new group charged with reforming the federal government …

The Moscow Times reports: Russia has banned an image showing Vladimir Putin in heavy makeup. In the photograph, Putin has red lips and painted eyelashes, and a suggestive caption reads, “They say there are many of them, but there aren’t any among the people I know.” Last week, the Justice Ministry formally added the image described above to its ever-expanding …

Until yesterday, no openly gay person had ever been elected to any public office anywhere in Alaska. Today they have two. Alaska Commons reports: In 2009, the Anchorage Assembly passed an ordinance banning workplace and employment discrimination against LGBTQ residents of the municipality. Then-Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed the measure. In 2012, in an election fraught with voting issues, voters overwhelmingly …

Via Mediaite: Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois condemned the United States government’s lack of action in response to the Syrian government’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Near the end of the interview, anchor Alisyn Camerota played a clip from 7-year-old Syrian refugee Bana Alabed, who called for an end to the war so, “the children of Syria [can] play and …

From the Hollywood Reporter: The marketing execs at Pepsi and the agency it hired to create its new protest themed campaign centered around that well-known rabble-rouser Kendall Jenner were probably thinking of that old Oscar Wilde adage that “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” But judging …

What took them so long? Via email: Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s is re-steering its marketing to focus on food — a u-turn from its racy and offensive ads. Praise the Lord! Our voice has been heard. It is about time! 1MM was consistent and our diligence has paid off. Conservative families have avoided their restaurants for years primarily because of …

Reuters reports: North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, ahead of a summit between U.S. and Chinese leaders who are set to discuss Pyongyang’s increasingly defiant arms programme. The missile flew about 60 km (40 miles) from its launch site at Sinpo, a port city on North Korea’s …

The Hill reports: Ivanka Trump on Wednesday dismissed the suggestion she would seek public office after President Trump’s possible second term. “Should voters get their Ivanka 2024 campaign signs out?” “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King asked the president’s eldest daughter. “No,” Ivanka Trump responded as King noted, “the speculation has already started.” “Politics is a tough business. Politics is …

HUGE. The Associated Press reports: A federal appeals court in Chicago on Tuesday ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act also protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination, the first time a federal appellate court has come to that conclusion. The decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after it threw out a July finding by three of …