By Agence France-PresseThursday, May 23, 2013 13:35 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweetExplicit gay sex has hit the big screen at the Cannes film festival in movies targeting mainstream audiences that stir controversy and spare the viewer nothing. Critics described the non-simulated sex in “Blue is the Warmest Colour”, which has its premiere Thursday, as “show-stopping” and “the most explosively graphic lesbian sex in recent memory”. Numerous sex scenes in the homoerotic “Stranger at the Lake” have been terme...

By Agence France-PresseThursday, May 23, 2013 13:38 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweetA small Ecuadoran satellite collided in orbit with the remains of a Russian rocket, but it is too soon to know how much damage it might have sustained, Quito’s space agency said Thursday. Ecuador’s space agency EXA had warned on Wednesday that a space fender-bender was likely between its “Pegaso” (Pegasus) nanosatellite and the remains of the Soviet rocket S14 launched into space nearly three decades ago. The agency’s direc...

  Like Raw Story on FacebookTweetWatch lives as President Obama discusses everything from drone policy to Guantanamo Bay in a speech at the National Defense University, courtesy of NBC News:         ...

By David EdwardsThursday, May 23, 2013 13:58 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweet The Texas Legislature on Thursday sent a bill to Gov. Rick Perry’s (R) desk that could mean some teachers will be trained as marshals and sent into classrooms with guns. State Rep. Jason Villalba (R) told KRIV that the bill was created in response to last year’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. “We’ve created a new class of law enforcement officers here in Texas to protect our kids in a moment of crisis...

By Agence France-PresseThursday, May 23, 2013 14:56 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweetA Ukrainian court on Thursday banned gay rights activists from holding their first gay pride march through central Kiev, citing fears of violence. Kiev’s district administrative court ruled that no events could be staged in the capital on Saturday because of City Day celebrations, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported. Activists had planned to hold Kiev’s inaugural “Equality March” that day calling for an end to rampant...

By David EdwardsThursday, May 23, 2013 15:05 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweet During a Thursday House floor speech about the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) practice of scrutinizing conservative groups, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) connected the so-called scandal to the idea that owls could mate on Kmart signs. As he was going through a list of tea party groups that were targeted by the IRS, Gohmert noted that some “left-wing drone organization” — like Raw Story — had published his assertion last week that ...

By Stephen C. WebsterThursday, May 23, 2013 15:05 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweet Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) held a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice on Thuesday to consider a bill that would institute a 20-week abortion ban in Washington, D.C., just days after a federal appeals court declared that a similar law in Arizona is unconstitutional. Hearing or none, even if the House passes Franks’ D.C. abortion ban it does not stand a chance in the Senate. Frank...

By Agence France-PresseThursday, May 23, 2013 15:20 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweetGoogle has followed in the footsteps of Charles Darwin to gather images of the beauty and biological diversity of the Galapagos Islands for the Internet titan’s online maps. A Google Maps team toting 360-degree cameras sticking from backpacks hiked trails, hills, and even into a live volcano to take Street View pictures of the precious environment where Darwin gleaned insights for his theory of evolution. “We were in a boat...

By David EdwardsThursday, May 23, 2013 15:26 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweet A protester from the group Code Pink repeatedly interrupted President Barack Obama on Thursday as he gave a speech on the U.S. policy on the use of drones and the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. More than 30 minutes into the president’s speech in Washington, a woman who was thought to be Medea Benjamin of Code Pink began shouting about the detainees on hunger strike at Guantanamo. “It’s very important!” she yelled. “It’s no...

By Stephen C. WebsterThursday, May 23, 2013 16:05 EDT   Like Raw Story on FacebookTweet Los Angeles police dug up a yard on Thursday reportedly searching for clues in the disappearance of Wendy Byron, who vanished in 1978 when she was just 24-years-old. CBS Los Angeles reported Wednesday, when police first converged on the house, that a forensic team was on the site with high tech equipment that can search for human remains underneath the ground, along with the tools needed for excavation if anything was foun...

Photo via the APThe Bangladesh government released results of its investigation into the factory collapse that killed 1,127 and concluded that “extremely” poor quality materials and violations of regulations were to blame, the Associated Press reports: The report found that building owner Sohel Rana had permission to build a six-story structure and added two floors illegally so he could rent them out to garment factories. Past statements from authorities said the owner had permission for a five-story structure and added three floors illegally. The report also said the building was not built for industrial use and the weight of the heavy garment factory machinery and their vibrations contributed to the building collapse. Those factors had previously been cited. The ground on which the build...

Whether Obama and the Democrats can fill vacancies in the Federal Appeals Court in Washington D.C. could decide the fate of the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of power plant emissions. [NY Mag] The biggest piece of President Obama’s second-term agenda is his widely expected plan for the Environmental Protection Agency to issue new carbon regulations for power plants, a move that could bring the United States in line with the greenhouse-gas-reduction goals it agreed to in Copenhagen and open the way for an international treaty to control climate change. If the administration unveils such a plan, conservatives will undoubtedly challenge its legality. The legal challenge won’t take place for two years, but the two sides are preparing for war already. The field of battle will be ...

Abdulrahman al-Awlaki (Credit: Emptywheel.net)The Pentagon’s former top lawyer said on Wednesday that the death of a 16-year old American in a drone strike in Yemen was effectively an accident, the first time any current or former Obama administration official has made such an admission. On Wednesday afternoon, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to members of Congress for the first time publicly acknowledging that U.S. drones had killed four American citizens. One of those citizens was Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, the 16 year-old son of radical Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who on Wednesday the government also for the first time admitted was killed in a U.S. drone strike for his role in al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula and alleged participation in attempted terror attacks on the United St...

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday morning, panelist John Heilemann got into a heated argument with GOP Chairman Reince Priebus over President Obama’s role in the targeting of conservative groups applying for 501(c)4 status. Priebus offered a series of comments trying to tie Obama to the scandal — which Republicans have attempted to frame the IRS scandal as Obama’s ‘Watergate’ moment — leading Heilemann to shout “that’s an assertion that’s not actually borne out by any of the facts”: HEILEMANN: Okay. You used two phrases just now saying we have to wait for the facts but I’m entitled to my opinion and before we have the facts just wait. You then said it’s lawlessness and guerrilla warfare and Obama is in the middle of. You say we need to have all of the facts before we can determine whether ...

Douglas Holtz-Eakin In an open letter released by the American Action Forum (AAF) on Thursday, 111 conservative economists signed a pro-immigration reform letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). In an effort to garner conservative support to the immigration reform debate, the letter cited the economic benefits of passing an immigration legislation that would help to reduce the deficit. The letter does not aim to win over Republicans like Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) who staunchly oppose legalization, but it will help Republican leaders on the sideline whose allegiance relies on the signing power of prominent conservative-leaning,...

Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) is not happy about the pressure on the Boy Scouts of America to allow gay Scouts, a decision being weighed today by Scout leaders from across the country. Earlier this week, he spent some time on the House floor decrying the “intolerant Left” because of how it “bullies and browbeats” the BSA into abandoning values of right and wrong: BRIDENSTINE: I rise today as an Eagle Scout and one who has a stake in the future of our Scouting programs. Some of us in America still believe in the concept of sexual morality, that sex is intended for one man and one woman within the institution of marriage. Organizations that hold this philosophy and promote it among our youth should be commended, or at least you would think, tolerated. Unfortunately, the intolerant Left bullies...

(Credit: AP) Last November, Florida voters endured massive lines and chaotic polling places largely thanks to a barrage of election law changes pushed by Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) and other GOP lawmakers. Republicans slashed the number of early voting days in half, changed ballot length restrictions to add lengthy and frivolous constitutional amendments to 12-page ballots, restricted voter registration, and tried to purge mostly minority voters from the voting rolls. On Wednesday, Scott signed a bill to reverse his own election laws by restoring early voting days and ballot limits, among other measures. Though Scott initially insisted he “did the right thing” by implementing these laws, vehement backlash and plummeting approval ratings prompted the governor to embrace election reforms: The ne...

As the House Agriculture Committee convened earlier this week to discuss whether or not to cut as much as $4.1 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), the conversation between lawmakers devolved into an exchange that was equal parts bad policy and bad theology. As House members discussed slashing the budget for the Farm Bill, which funds SNAP, Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) took issue with some Democrats who cited Jesus Christ’s call to care for “the least of these” when describing the government’s need to assist the hungry. Instead, Fincher explained that his support for the proposed cuts by quoting a very different Bible verse – 2 Thessalonians 3:10: “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work ...

Oklahoma residents are still recovering from this past week’s devastating tornadoes, which killed over 20 people and likely incurred billions of dollars in damages in Moore and Shawnee. But their elected officials are currently focusing on some other priorities that fall outside of disaster relief. On Wednesday, Oklahoma state senators approved a bill that would strip funding from the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics. As the Huffington Post reports, Senate Bill 900 doesn’t actually specifically mention the name of the national women’s health organization. But, since the legislation would reallocate the state’s family planning funds to public providers and hospitals, Planned Parenthood — which is a private organization — would effectively lose the funding that used to go toward those serv...

I’m glad we’ve got the first trailer for Don Jon, the directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, because it gives me an opportunity to talk about something I’ve been thinking about since I saw it at SXSW this year. As romantic comedies have hit a financial and creative rough spot, one of the best responses to that lacuna has been a crop of movies about failed relationships and the things we learn from them that could be termed unromantic comedies: The unromantic comedy isn’t precisely new territory for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who starred in one of the most resonant examples of the genre, Marc Webb’s 2009 hit (500) Days of Summer in which Tom (Gordon-Levitt) pursued Summer (Zooey Deschanel), falling in love with her in defiance of her repeatedly stated lack of seriousness about him. When the...

A coalition of people who live and work near the drilling rigs that have allowed the U.S. to see incredible booms in oil and gas production is in Washington, D.C. this week demanding that both government and industry be held accountable when drilling causes health and environmental problems. Members of the “Stop the Frack Attack” coalition held a forum today because, as their website states: Impacted communities [are] “experts” schooled in the curriculum of hard knocks doled out by the oil and gas industry. In total, 16 people spoke at the forum representing eight different states. They included ranchers, mothers, librarians, nurses, and former industry employees. They came from various political backgrounds — in fact, one speaker held up the Constitution, the Bible, and his badge from the...

Military and civilian lawyers representing terror suspect detainees at Guantanamo Bay are sent a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urging him to improve conditions as authorities there crack down on detainees engaging in a hunger strike. “While the hunger strike continues to increase in scope and severity, there is much you can do, right now, to improve the quality of life for all the prisoners,” the lawyers said in their letter to Hagel, Reuters reports. Conditions at the camp have reportedly deteriorated since detainees started their hunger strike in February. Now, the military says 103 detainees are refusing food and 31 are being force-fed. Gitmo authorities have restricted communal living and taken away amenities in a effort to break the hunger strike. “[I]t’s very clear that ...

Earlier this week, Liberty Counsel’s Matt Barber revealed a brochure that was distributed at the Department of Justice called, ““LGBT Inclusion at Work: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Managers.” Developed by the DOJ Pride, the department’s LGBT and allies employee group, it outlines several simple suggestions for making sure the workplace is a safe and inclusive space. Barber claimed it was an “attack on freedom… riddled with directives that grossly violate – prima facie –employees’ First Amendment liberties.” Tony Perkins echoed this ominous sentiment in the Family Research Council’s Washington Update Wednesday: When the Justice Department is done violating journalists’ First Amendment rights, it looks like they’ll move on to employees’. In a chilling memo to DOJ staff, the Obama admini...

At a May 16 televised forum on the recovery from Superstorm Sandy, a former top military infrastructure official called on Americans to “stop ignoring” climate change and “realize it’s the new reality.” At the Sandy town hall organized by public television stations NJTV and WNET, John Boulé, the former commander of the New York District, Army Corps of Engineers, warned New Yorkers to stop ignoring climate change and start preparing for higher sea level rise and more frequent and more powerful storms: First of all, we’ve got to realize it’s the new reality. Climate change is real. It’s more than sea level rise that’s going to happen over the course of the next 100 years. It’s greater storm intensities, it’s greater storm frequencies. We’ve got to stop ignoring it and start planning and bui...

Most people are aware of the ongoing conflict between federal and state laws on marijuana. While marijuana remains flatly prohibited and subject to criminal punishment under federal law, 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, and two have legalized recreational marijuana. The most pressing and well-known issue for medical marijuana dispensaries and the customers who rely upon them for medical relief is threats of prosecution and asset forfeiture from federal officials. Many dispensaries, facing jail time, eviction, or seizure of real estate, have opted to shut down entirely. But what is less known is that even those dispensaries that haven’t been targeted for federal prosecution or have thus far survived it are subject to fundamental legal obstacles to ope...

Most U.S. states saw a dramatic drop in their teen birth rates between 2007 and 2011, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control. The national rate of teen births declined by 25 percent, and some individual states saw their rates drop by 30 percent or more: Every single state except for West Virginia and North Dakota showed some kind of decline in the number of teenagers giving birth. But significant regional disparities remain. The CDC found that the lowest rates of teen births are in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont — which each have rates under 17 births per 1,000 teen girls — while Arkansas and Mississippi have the highest rates at about 50 per 1,000. Overall, the highest rates of teen births continue to be concentrated in the South. The CDC’s res...

In his writing here about the dearth of openly gay players on the active rosters of professional sports teams, Travis Waldron’s discussed a range of issues that have factored into the perception that athletics are a largely heterosexual pursuit. There’s the theory that the locker room is an unfriendly environment that’s been partially dispelled by straight allies like Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo. The persistent use of homophobic insults by fans suggests that the problem might be more in the stands than in players-only areas. And there’s the question of how being publicly out of the closet might affect a player’s negotiating power or sponsorship deals. But this week’s given us a different kind of story about homophobia in sports, that of Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt. Raised in a co...

Former Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO)Former Congressman Tom Tancredo (R), who finished second in the 2010 Colorado gubernatorial race as an American Constitution Party candidate, said Wednesday that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor in the 2014 election. The unsuccessful 2008 presidential hopeful said the “last straw” driving him into the race was Gov. John Hickenlooper’s (D) decision to grant a temporary reprieve to an inmate on Death Row. Over his five terms in Congress, his single-issue anti-immigrant White House bid, and various other political campaigns, Tancredo has earned a reputation as one of America’s most extreme nativist politicians. Among his career highlights: 1. Proposed that the U.S. bomb Mecca. In 2007, Tancredo suggested that as a “deterent” to terrorism, “If ...

By Daniel J. Weiss, Guest Blogger and Jackie Weidman, Guest Blogger on May 23, 2013 at 12:30 pm Washington, D.C. — As AAA estimates that nearly 35 million Americans are preparing to travel 50 miles or more this weekend, with nearly 90 percent of travelers filling up their tanks with expensive gasoline or diesel fuel to drive to their destination, the Center for American Progress released an analysis of Memorial Day driving by the numbers. Gasoline prices averaged $3.66 per gallon nationwide on May 21, 2013, which is 2 cents per gallon lower than they were a year ago when the price per gallon was $3.69. But experts predict that prices will plateau or increase throughout the summer, providing little relief at the pump for American families during this vacation season. These high prices en...

Intermission | ThinkProgress   Original linkOriginal author: Alyssa Rosenberg