Scripps Spelling Bee, Rachel Maddow, Kim Jong Un, Debbie Harry, Eagle Creek Saloon, Yvie Oddly, Billy Porter: HOT LINKS<\/b><\/p>\n
48 AND COUNTING<\/strong>. Democrats calling for impeachment<\/a>.<\/p>\n CHICAGO<\/strong>. Police have begun to release Jussie Smollett\u2019s case files<\/a>.<\/p>\n POORLY CONCEIVED<\/strong>. NYT bans journalists from \u201cpartisan\u201d shows<\/a>: \u2018It\u2019s not just Maddow. The\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0has come to \u201cprefer,\u201d as sources put it, that its reporters steer clear of any cable-news shows that the masthead perceives as too partisan, and managers have lately been advising people not to go on what they see as highly opinionated programs. It\u2019s not clear how many shows fall under that umbrella in the eyes of\u00a0Times <\/em>brass, but two others that definitely do are\u00a0Lawrence O\u2019Donnell\u2019s and\u00a0Don Lemon\u2019s, according to people familiar with management\u2019s thinking. Hannity\u2019s or\u00a0Tucker Carlson\u2019s shows would likewise make the cut, but it\u2019s not like\u00a0Times<\/em> reporters ever do those anyway. \u2018<\/p>\n RIP<\/strong>. Gay Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina remembered<\/a>: \u201cHow I would like people to remember Binyavanga? I think would be encapsulated by just a very brief thought \u2013 Ken\u2019s life was a seed and he planted that seed not for himself but for others, just listening to the number of artists who found their voice because Ken believed in them, gave them a platform, to speak in many different fields, be it musically and other types of artistic impressions, and that\u2019s how I would like him to be remembered, and that is what life is about.\u201d<\/p>\n PROGRESS BAR<\/strong>. Chicago gay bar faces backlash after announcing rap music is banned<\/a>. \u201cThis is f\u2014ing racist as f\u2014,\u201d one person wrote on Twitter. \u201cProgress is frequented by [people of color] and banning rap is basically saying \u2018f\u2014 you\u2019 to these patrons.\u201d<\/p>\n NORTH KOREA<\/strong>. Diplomat reportedly executed after failure of summit between Kim Jong Un and Trump<\/a>. \u201cKim Hyok-chol was investigated and executed at Mirim airport with four foreign ministry officials in March,\u201d an unnamed North Korea source said, according to the newspaper, adding that they were charged with spying for the US.<\/p>\n SCRIPPS<\/strong>. National Spelling Bee ends in historic 8-way tie<\/a>. \u2018Texas seventh-grader Rohan Raja became the eighth and final winner of the National Spelling Bee\u2019s 92nd annual competition on Thursday after a correct recital of the word \u201codylic\u201d, earning a wild round of applause from the audience.<\/p>\n EAGLE CREEK SALOON<\/strong>. Art piece remembers San Francisco\u2019s first black-owned gay<\/a> bar: \u2018The original Eagle Creek Saloon didn\u2019t look anything like the new one. When Barnette took over the bar, he knocked down a good chunk of the front wall and replaced it with a big picture window to let the light in. The bar itself was made of dark wood and so were the floors. The ceilings were high. There was a neon sign there, too \u2014 \u201cEagle Creek Saloon\u201d \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t pink like the one his daughter had installed in this art exhibit.\u2019<\/p>\n Don’t miss our final events at The New Eagle Creek Saloon! Friday, May 17 and Saturday, June 1st t.co\/fznSu6ynVT<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/A34qhW1Q36<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Lab (@TheLabSF) May 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n JERUSALEM<\/strong>. First openly gay Orthodox rabbi ordained<\/a>: \u201cDaniel Landes, a prominent American-Israeli rabbi, granted semichah, Hebrew for ordination, to Daniel Atwood alongside a mixed group of men<\/a> and women<\/a> at the Jerusalem Theater on Sunday evening during a ceremony attended by more than 200 guests. Atwood was informed earlier this year<\/a> that he would not be ordained after completing his studies at New York\u2019s Yeshivat Chovevei Torah despite the school previously saying it would ordain him.\u201d<\/p>\n FACE IT<\/strong>. Debbie Harry has a new autobiography coming out<\/a>.<\/p>\n ON THE RAG<\/strong>. This week on the gay magazines<\/a>.<\/p>\n NEW YORK<\/strong>. State weighs ban on gay and trans panic defenses<\/a>: \u2018New York could become\u00a0just the fifth state in the union<\/a> to ban gay<\/a> and trans<\/a> panic defenses in court if legislation in Albany becomes law by the end of June. But as so often occurs, what would seem like legislation set to sail to easy passage in a state like New York may be undone by the typical bickering and dysfunction that define the Albany process.\u2019<\/p>\n EUROPE<\/strong>. Where it stands on gay marriage and civil unions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n