After three years behind the scenes at the Oscars, gay producing duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are calling it quits.

 Friends and family remember Greig Friday, a 29-year-old engineer who died in the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps. “Victorian Aids Council chief executive Simon Ruth said Mr Friday made a positive impact in his role as a volunteer, which started in 2007. Colleagues said he played a key part in a program which provided assistance and guidance to young people to overcome homophobia and celebrate their sexual identity. ‘It’s fundamental in terms of being able to come to grips with their sexuality, being able to come out to their parents, being able to deal with homophobia, and Greig was absolutely fundamental in being part of that course and helping a whole lot of other young gay men who were facing those issues,’ he said.”

 Via POLITICO: “Ted Cruz is the first Republican presidential candidate out of the starting gate, but GOP insiders in Iowa and New Hampshire are overwhelmingly skeptical of the first-term Texas senator’s chances of being the eventual nominee or succeeding in the general election.”

 Will Star Wars’ first LGBT character make an appearance in 2016’s Star Wars: Rogue One? 

 Harry Reid endorses Chuck Schumer to take his place as Senate Democratic leader, but liberal groups are already pushing for Elizabeth Warren. 

 Mariah Carey does carpool karaoke on The Late Late Show. 

 Singer Josh Groban knows people speculate about his sexuality, and doesn’t really care. “Honestly, if I were gay, I would have had no problem saying it from day one. It’s such a thing when people speculate. I would have nothing to hide if that were the case. People have speculated, have wanted to speculate – whatever, fine. I’m not gay, but if I were, I don’t view it as a bad thing. If I were, I’d say, “OK, fine, speculate all you want and let’s talk about it.”

 Ryan Reynolds unveils Burt Reynolds-inspired first look at his Deadpool costume. 

 Dark matter just got darker. 

 Mr. Affleck heads to Washington.

 11 bad habits that are killing LGBT people. 

 Katy Perry teases that she’s a mom. 

 Via Bloomberg: “Members of the University of Oklahoma’s now disbanded Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter learned the racist chants they were filmed singing from a national leadership conference sponsored by the national SAE fraternity, according to OU President David Boren.”

 Researchers discover mysterious 18th “square” form of ice.

 Right-wing pastor Rick Scarborough engages in some good old fashioned hate-mongering on gay marriage. “Now the high court is threatening to unleash the spirit of hell on the nation, if they deny what nature clearly teaches on this subject of gender and marriage. The time has come for pastors and leaders to stand up and declare what innately we all know to be true – that this idea is morally unacceptable and we will not allow it proceed without our objection. There can be no compromise on this issue.” 

 Apparently adult coloring books are a big thing now. 

 Flight attendants unions blast U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow for supporting anti-women and anti-LGBT Persian Gulf airlines. “Employees of these airlines aren’t granted fundamental human rights that are enjoyed by most workers in today’s world. Mr. Dow is standing up for companies that demand female employees obtain permission before getting married or pregnant. And he is defending companies that bar lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from employment.”

 Loony Louie Gohmert (R-TX) mulls a presidential bid. 

 Are Taylor Swift and workout enthusiast Calvin Harris an item?

The ASAPScience guys have finally weighed in on the popular topic of bee extinction in their new video and what it means for us and the rest of the world should they go extinct. Scientists have claimed the extinction of bees spells catastrophic consequences; the ASAPScience guys calmly clarify exactly what would and it’s still not pretty. Up to 70 percent of the world’s fruit, vegetables and nuts would vanish, an estimated $200 billion loss in agriculture revenue along with a drastic effect on the food chain.

Watch ASAP Science thoroughly explain bee extinction, along with the potential processes that are leading to their deaths, AFTER THE JUMP…

While the list of corporations, politicians and celebrities boycotting Indiana grows, the CEO of Yelp is taking preemptive action to ensure other states understand the economic consequences of choosing to move forward with discriminatory “religious liberty” bills.

In an open letter penned on the Yelp official blog, CEO Jeremy Stoppelman warns that his company “will make every effort to expand its corporate presence only in states that do not have these laws allowing for discrimination on the books.”

Stoppelman writes:

A little over one year ago I wrote an open letter to then-Arizona Governor Jan Brewer requesting that she veto SB 1062, a bill that would have allowed businesses in the state to discriminate against consumers. Thankfully she did the right thing and vetoed that legislation, thus maintaining Arizona’s status as a hospitable place for Yelp’s employees to live and for our company to do business.

Since that time, however, legislators in other states have sought to pass, or have enacted, laws that would allow for businesses to discriminate against consumers based on certain traits including sexual orientation. While Indiana is the most recent state to enact a law allowing for this kind of discrimination by businesses, unfortunately measures are being debated in other states across the country that would follow Indiana’s example. These laws set a terrible precedent that will likely harm the broader economic health of the states where they have been adopted, the businesses currently operating in those states and, most importantly, the consumers who could be victimized under these laws.

Just as I said in my letter to Governor Brewer, it is unconscionable to imagine that Yelp would create, maintain, or expand a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination by businesses against our employees, or consumers at large. I encourage states that are considering passing laws like the one rejected by Arizona or adopted by Indiana to reconsider and abandon these discriminatory actions. (We’re looking at you, Arkansas.)

I hope that in the future the legislatures in the nineteen states that have these laws on the books will reconsider their actions. In the mean time, Yelp will make every effort to expand its corporate presence only in states that do not have these laws allowing for discrimination on the books.

I also hope that other companies will draw a similar line in the sand for equality on behalf of their employees and the greater public to persuade legislators to do the right thing and stop or rescind these harmful laws.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Stoppelman

CEO, Yelp

In related news, civil rights leader and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond has released a statement blasting Arkansas’s proposed bill, saying:

H.B. 1228 in Arkansas opens the door to a hateful past that some had thought this country had left behind. This legislation cloaks discrimination in the guise of religion–and it will mark people of color, LGBT Arkansans, religious minorities and women as second class citizens. Governor Hutchinson has a duty and a moral obligation to veto this legislation or the ghosts of the past will haunt his legacy.”

Earlier today, we told you about the campaign to prevent a similar “license to discriminate” bill from becoming law in Georgia.