Joe.My.God. LGBT News

NBC News reports: A heavy cold kept Queen Elizabeth II from attending the traditional Christmas morning church service near her Sandringham estate in rural Norfolk, England. It is extremely rare for Elizabeth to miss the service, which is a cornerstone of the royal family’s Christmas celebrations and brings the monarch into contact with local residents who gather outside for a …

Salon reports: Following a social media uproar and a name change, A&E announced that it is no longer moving forward with “Escaping the KKK.” In a statement released on Saturday, the cable channel explained that it learned from the documentary series’ third-party producers that certain participants received cash payments, characterized as “nominal,” in order to facilitate access. “While we stand …

Hemant Mehta writes at the Friendly Atheist: While big-name singers are evidently saying no to performing at Donald Trump‘s inauguration, one of the only well-known acts to say yes has been the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They’re on a slate filled with Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, and an apparently divided group of Rockettes. The Church made clear that this isn’t a …

Variety recaps: Ridley Scott’s trademark disturbing monsters dominate Fox’s first trailer for “Alien: Covenant” — including one bursting out of a body and another slithering into a shower while a couple makes love. Fox released the trailer late Saturday night as an apparent Christmas present to “Alien” fans. “Alien Covenant” is the sixth film in the franchise. Michael Fassbender, Noomi …

NBC News reports: President Barack Obama and the first lady shared a bittersweet goodbye — and a few laughs — in their final Christmas video message to the country released Saturday. There was even a throwback when Michelle Obama introduced a clip of their first Christmas address in 2009, when the president — with hair that was noticeably less gray …

CNN reports: President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday he will dissolve the Trump Foundation, the charitable foundation in his name, as part of efforts to untangle himself of conflicts of interest in the weeks before he is sworn into office. Trump said in a statement he was dismantling the foundation “to avoid even the appearance of any conflict with my role …

If all you wanted for Christmas was the first Trump team sex scandal, unwrap this from the New York Daily News: Donald Trump’s inner circle was thrown into turmoil Saturday when his newly-named White House communications director resigned after a transition team staffer posted cryptic tweets suggesting he’s a philanderer. Jason Miller announced that he won’t be joining the Trump …

This story makes its thirteenth annual appearance on JMG… Grand Central Terminal functions as the mechanical heart of midtown New York City, pumping out several thousand workers and tourists on one beat, then sucking in several thousand more on the next. The rhythms of the terminal are fascinating. Beat. Four thousand, inbound from New Haven. Beat. Three thousand, outbound to …

Via Business Insider: When John Tereska’s Trump-voting family members open their gifts from him on Christmas Day, they will get a shock. Inside pretty boxes they’ll find notes thanking them for making donations to organizations like Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club that support causes expected to come under attack from the new administration. “With my oldest brother, who I …

Politico reports:  The United States on Friday abstained as the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution — vigorously opposed by President-elect Donald Trump and the government of Israel — that criticizes Israeli settlement construction in land claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. The measure, though largely symbolic, was the first the Security Council has adopted on Israel …