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☆ Exploring Rock Hudson’s Legacy Through a New Lens
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( David Belcher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rock Hudson was the ultimate midcentury movie star, turning heads and breaking hearts as the camera lit his chiseled face and rugged frame. The double life he led as a gay man — and his death from AIDS-related causes at 59 in 1985 — have sealed him in Hollywood lore, but he is largely unknown to new generations of film fans. For Stephen Kijak, the director of the HBO documentary “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,” premiering Sunday at the Tribeca Festival (and streaming on Max on June 28), the actor was a fascinating figure to explore, both as a quintessential midcentury movie star and a gay icon. Mr. Kijak, who has directed several L.G.B.T.Q.-themed films, spoke recently from his Los Angeles home about the legacy of and enduring fascination with a movie star who lived a gay life almost out in the open and who, in a true act of openness as one of the first celebrities — if not the first — to go public about his illness, changed the course of how the world responded to the AIDS epidemic. The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Persons: Hudson, —, Stephen Kijak, Kijak Organizations: HBO, Tribeca, Max Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles

☆ A TEDx speaker shares his 10 best tips to nail a presentation and improve your public speaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Arian Adeli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In my high school years, I hosted several online and offline events that improved my public speaking skills. Shortly after moving to the Netherlands, I got a speaker slot at a TEDx event happening at the University of Groningen. It will make you appear more competent and comfortable, which makes it more likely for your audience to pay attention. If you come across as boring or arrogant, the audience will likely discard your talk immediately, even if it's actually good. Use strong statementsAs much as you hate to face the fact as a speaker, people have narrow attention spans.

Persons: Arian Adeli, —, I'm, it's Organizations: Service, University of Groningen, TED Locations: Netherlands

☆ I drove Kia's $63,000 electric SUV. It's quick and stylish — but falls short in range and cargo space.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I drove Kia's high-performance electric SUV: the 2023 EV6 GT. A super-sporty version of Kia's EV6 series, the 2023 EV6 GT is one of the coolest electric cars I've driven recently — but it isn't perfect. Pro: Impeccable styleThe 2023 Kia EV6 GT. Tim Levin/InsiderThe EV6's saving grace is it offers some of the quickest charging on the electric-car market. Tim Levin/InsiderThe EV6 GT comes loaded with impressive features that make driving it feel safe and convenient.

Persons: Kia, Tim Levin, Kia EV6, Red Bull, oomph, you'll Organizations: Kia, Morning, Tesla, Con, Ford, EV

☆ Queer people in history: Figures to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Leah Asmelash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

To commemorate the month, CNN is highlighting five major LGBTQ elders – some who have passed on, and some who haven’t – highlighting their achievements. From a drag king who fought discrimination on the streets of New York to a famous mathematician who stood up to adversity despite legal limitations, here are five LGBTQ figures to know. Miss Major Griffin-GracyMiss Major in the film "Major," a documentary about her life and campaigns. But a year after Stonewall, Miss Major was arrested for robbery, landing her with a five-year prison sentence. Decades after her release, Miss Major spent time as the executive director of the Transgender Gender Variant Intersex Justice Project.

Persons: Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr, Patrick A, Burns, Rustin wasn’t, Rustin, King, Sen, Strom Thurmond, Gavin Newsom, Larry Kramer Larry Kramer, Catherine McGann, Larry Kramer, “, ”, Kramer, Anthony Fauci, Miss Major Griffin, Major, Marsha P, Johnson, Miss Major, Mama, Michelle V, Stormé DeLarverie, DeLarverie, White, “ That’s, Alan Turing, Alan Turing’s, Turing, it’s Organizations: CNN, New York Times Co, Getty, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, California Gov, Village Voice, AIDS, Centers for Disease Control, ACT UP, AIDS Coalition, National Institute of Allergy, Miss, Stonewall, New York Times, Physical Laboratory Locations: New York, India, Montgomery, Washington, Chicago, Greenwich, New Orleans, England

☆ ‘Dykes to Watch Out For,’ Now Holding Forth in Your Headphones
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Maggie Lange | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In adapting the series — which Ms. George first read on the recommendation of a college boyfriend who thought she might like it — the playwright aimed to retain Ms. Bechdel’s dialogue over all else. After retaining the spirit of the characters, Ms. George went on a hunt for audio cues. “I think it’s a highlight of this series that we got actual audio footage,” Ms. George said. Ms. Diamond grew up hiding Ms. Bechdel’s comics inside other books while at Barnes & Noble with her family. She was unbothered about the jump from page to headphones, saying the comic’s “rich characters” would be able to sustain an audio series.

Persons: George, ”, Joan Jett, Cris Williamson, ” Ms, KD, Diamond, Barnes & Noble, Grace Burke, Burke, “, Alison Bechdel Organizations: Lesbian, Gay Rights, KD Diamond, Barnes &, Little, Washington , D.C, Amazon Locations: Washington, Los Angeles, Washington ,

☆ Museveni says Uganda won't be swayed after anti-LGBTQ law triggers aid cut threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law, triggering widespread Western criticism including threats by U.S. President Joe Biden and others to cut aid to Uganda and impose other sanctions. If you try to recruit people into a disorientation, then we go for you. And that one I totally support, and I will support.”The law also imposes a life sentence for same-sex intercourse and a 20-year sentence for promotion of homosexuality. Firms including media and non-governmental organisations that knowingly promote LGBTQ activity will also incur harsh fines, the law says. Homosexuality was already illegal in the conservative and highly religious East African country, and homosexuals faced ostracism and harassment by security forces.

Persons: Pres Museveni, Yoweri Museveni, Joe Biden, Museveni, George Obulutsa, Hugh Lawson Organizations: U.S, Resistance Movement, Thomson Locations: Uganda KAMPALA, Uganda

☆ Plague: Oldest known cases in Britain uncovered in mass burial
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A team of researchers excavating mass burial sites in England have detected the DNA of the bacteria that caused the plague in human skeletal remains — and they are the oldest known cases of the disease in Great Britain. The bacterial DNA is thousands of years more ancient than the oldest strain uncovered prior to this latest finding. When it comes to the disease, there is a lot that scientists still don’t know — including how it spread, Swali said. And science may never truly know the severity of the plague 4,000 years ago when it came to humans, Roberts said. And while there are historical records of plague outbreaks, ancient DNA could potentially give us a look even further back, Swali said.

Persons: CNN —, Pooja Swali, Francis Crick, Swali, ”, Benjamin Roberts, ” Swali, Lee Mordechai, pestis, Roberts, ” Roberts, paleogeneticists, Mordechai, ” Mordechai Organizations: CNN, Nature Communications, Francis, Francis Crick Institute, Durham University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Locations: England, Great Britain, Cambridgeshire, London, Somerset, Cumbria, Scotland, United Kingdom, Britain, Europe

☆ Honoring the Body Donors Who Are a Medical Student’s ‘First Patient’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( April Rubin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Similar scenes played out across the country this spring as medical, dental and physical therapy students assembled to offer tributes to whole-body donors and their families. At the ceremonies, students perform music, light candles, read letters and share art. Sometimes a tree designation or an offering of flowers to a donor’s family is included. Even with the introduction of elaborate 3-D visualization software, dissection remains a cornerstone of a medical education for most first-year students, as it has for centuries. Students spend months methodically studying the structures of the body, including organs, tendons, veins and tissue.

Persons: Bree Zhang, Diana Cervantes, Joy Balta, “ You’re, you’ve, ”, Balta Organizations: Columbia, The New York Times, American Association for, Anatomy Learning, Point Loma Nazarene University Locations: Columbia, United States, Point, San Diego

☆ Uganda enacts harsh anti-LGBTQ law including death penalty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes much further. It imposes capital punishment for some behaviour including transmitting a terminal illness like HIV/AIDS through gay sex, and stipulates a 20-year sentence for "promoting" homosexuality. Uganda receives billions of dollars in foreign aid each year and could now face another round of sanctions. The bill's sponsor Asuman Basalirwa told reporters that parliament speaker Anita Among's U.S. visa was cancelled after the law was signed. "Our data shows that this law runs counter to the interests of economic progress and prosperity of all people in Uganda," he said.

☆ Biden warns Uganda of possible sanctions due to anti-gay law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden condemned Uganda's new anti-gay law on Monday, and said the United States may impose sanctions and will evaluate the implications of the law "on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda." Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday signed one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," drawing Western condemnations and risking sanctions from aid donors. "This shameful act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda," Biden said in a statement. "And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption," said Biden. Same-sex relations were already illegal in Uganda, as in more than 30 African countries, but the new law goes further.

☆ Catching Up With Celebrities in Cannes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Alyson Krueger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The amfAR Gala in Cannes, France, may be the only social event to rival the Met Gala. Held at the sprawling Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc during the Cannes Film Festival, the event raises money for AIDS research. So many models and actors showed up that the red carpet (this one was actually blue) lasted for more than three hours. Orlando Bloom was spotted in the bathroom line (yes, even celebrities have to wait in line). Lucien Laviscount (Alfie in “Emily in Paris”) showed up at his table after starters, accompanied by the actor Aidan Walsh, a close friend .

☆ ‘Translators’ Help a Jewelry Designer to Keep Creating
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Rachel Garrahan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — On an upper floor in Romilly Saumarez Smith’s 18th-century house in the Stepney neighborhood of east London is a small closet that the Smiths understand was used to powder the wigs of the home’s original owners. Now the 30-square-foot space is packed with a jeweler’s bench and other equipment, racks full of tools, piles of notes and sketches, and the works-in-progress of her intricate, lyrical creations. But one recent afternoon, it was not Ms. Saumarez Smith but the jeweler Laura Ngyou, one of Ms. Saumarez Smith’s assistants, who was working at the bench. In 2002, Ms. Saumarez Smith, now 69, was diagnosed with a rare form of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis that has left her paralyzed from the neck down, although she can speak without aids and has retained some feeling. A difficult few years followed, but then in 2010 she realized collaborations could enable her to continue bringing her creative imaginings to life.

☆ Stars at Cannes take break from red carpet to support AIDS research
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CANNES, May 25 (Reuters) - Celebrities including Queen Latifah, Jeffrey Wright and Heidi Klum escaped the Cannes Film Festival's crowded Croisette Boulevard for a night to attend a fundraiser for AIDS research at a secluded luxury hotel in the nearby resort town of Antibes. In addition to Rexha, Gladys Knight, Adam Lambert and Halsey entertained the high-paying guests while Queen Latifah played host for the evening that included a fashion show and auction. The goal of the luxury evening was to raise money on behalf of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, which also supports HIV prevention, treatment education and advocacy. [1/5] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - The amfAR's Cinema Against AIDS 2023 charity gala - Antibes, France, May 25, 2023. Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols pose.

☆ Exclusive: Buzzy legal generative AI startup Casetext is in talks to be acquired
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI startup Casetext is in talks to be acquired, Insider has learned. This hypothesis may have found its first example in Casetext, a buzzy legal generative AI startup that is in talks to be acquired, according to people familiar with the situation. Casetext has raised $68 million in funding from VCs including Union Square Ventures, Canvas Ventures, Y Combinator, and Touchdown Ventures. Now, the technology powers Casetext's AI legal assistant CoCounsel, which aids lawyers with everything from legal research memo drafting to deposition preparation to document review. Have a tip on a startup funding round?

☆ 'Pharma bro' Martin Shkreli is out of jail and living with his sister in Queens, and now earns $2,500 a month as a law firm consultant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Martin Shkreli is out of jail and earning $2,500 a month working as a consultant at a law firm. Shkreli is also living in Queens with his sister, per a report by the US Probation Office. A year after getting out of jail, Martin Shkreli — also known as "Pharma Bro" — is earning $2,500 as a consultant for a law firm, and living with his sister in Queens, New York. However, Shkreli was released from jail early in May 2022, after which he was transferred to a halfway house, where he lived until September. Upon getting out of jail, he posted a selfie of himself on Facebook, saying: "Getting out of real prison is easier than getting out of Twitter prison."

☆ Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad on the future of medicine in Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Tom Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CEO Stephen Saad discussed the future of the pharmaceutical sector in Africa, and what lessons Aspen Pharmacare has learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, with CNN’s Eleni Giokos. During the pandemic, we’ve seen a spotlight on the inequalities that exist on the continent in the pharmaceutical sector. Aspen has had a very strong commercial presence across Africa and now you’re moving up the value chain. When Covid came and Africa needed vaccines, over 90% of the vaccines were supplied by India — and that wasn’t great. If it hadn’t been for Aspen, there would have been no vaccines made in Africa for the continent.

In midsized metros Metros with 250,000 to one million residents. An Emerging Divide Mobility has risen for college-educated workers, even as it has fallen for workers without a degree. College-educated workers leaving the most expensive parts of the country are also not spreading out equally everywhere — or even going to parts of the country that are struggling. Net migration among college graduates Loss Gain Among the 12 most expensive metros, net college migration has generally declined or turned negative. “Consumer cities,” as she puts it, are increasingly replacing “producer cities” as the places where college graduates want to live.

☆ Madonna's 'Sex' photos go to auction for the first time at Christie's
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Carlie Porterfield | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Prints of photographs from Madonna’s wildly popular 1992 coffee table book “Sex” will be available for purchase for the first time at Christie’s New York this fall, part of ongoing projects to mark the 30th anniversary of the controversial publication. In October, over 40 prints first published in “Sex” will go up for sale as part of a special standalone auction. “Thirty years on, ‘Sex’ is still somewhat controversial, but it still reads as a very body-positive, sex-positive book,” Himes said. “Sex” also featured Madonna’s then-boyfriend, rapper Vanilla Ice, and stars like supermodel Naomi Campbell and socialite Tatiana von Fürstenberg. The prints will go on display at Christie's galleries in London, Paris and New York before the October auction.

☆ How the Voyager probes keep going decades after launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Voyager 2’s priceless data is captured and returned to Earth through its five science instruments, while Voyager 1 still has four operational instruments after one failed earlier in the mission. Both Voyager probes rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators. Over time, the Voyager team has commanded the probes to turn off instrument heaters and other nonessential systems. The Voyager proof test model, seen here in 1976, has a platform showcasing several of the science instruments. “Picture it as an ocean of space with waves and turbulence and activity going on, and the Voyager instruments can measure what’s happening,” Spilker said.

☆ Fact Check-UN is not calling for decriminalization of sex with children
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

It does not advocate for adult sex with children or with other vulnerable individuals, independent legal experts told Reuters. “The 8 March Principles do not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor do they call for the abolition of a domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex,” the statement reads in part. The ICJ report “did not call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor did it call for the abolition of the age of consent,” Dujarric said. “The International Commission of Jurists report set out legal principles to guide the application of the international human rights law to criminal law across a range of issues. The report does not call for the overall decriminalization of sex with children, as claimed online.

☆ Opinion | If the Pandemic Is No Longer a Public Health Emergency, Then What Is It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( David Quammen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Is malaria an emergency? Is tuberculosis of international concern? I’m neither a public health expert nor a scientist, so I offer a citizen’s opinion: Yes, it’s time to cease calling Covid-19 a public health emergency of international concern. Therefore, Covid is still certainly a public health situation of international concern. We will need to keep improving laboratory techniques and manufacturing capacity for potentially ever-revised Covid vaccines.

☆ U.S. Loses Key Case on Rights to H.I.V.-Prevention Drugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Rebecca Robbins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal jury in Delaware on Tuesday found that the federal government did not have an ownership claim to lucrative drugs to prevent H.I.V. The Trump administration brought the lawsuit in 2019 in part because of concern over the high price Gilead was charging. The two versions of the drug — Truvada and the newer Descovy — have generated huge profits for Gilead. Lawyers for the federal government had argued that Gilead had violated three government patents that protected the concept of using Truvada to prevent H.I.V. The patents were granted to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for inventions stemming from experiments they conducted on monkeys in the mid-2000s.

☆ Hearing Aids Are Changing. Their Users Are, Too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Neelam Bohra | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ayla Wing’s middle school students don’t always know what to make of their 26-year-old teacher’s hearing aids. The most common response she hears: “Oh, my grandma has them, too.”But grandma’s hearing aids were never like this: Bluetooth-enabled and connected to her phone, they allow Ms. Wing to toggle with one touch between custom settings. Some of the new models, including Ms. Wing’s, are made by traditional prescription brands, which usually require a visit to a specialist. But the Food and Drug Administration opened up the market last year when it allowed the sale of hearing aids over the counter. In response, brand names like Sony and Jabra began releasing their own products, adding to the new wave of designs and features that appeal to young consumers.

☆ Fact Check-German judges in court cases did not rule on whether measles virus exists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Judges presiding over a German court case between 2013 and 2016 involving the measles virus settled a civil dispute about a promised payment and did not rule on the existence of the virus itself, contrary to social media posts falsely claiming the courts decided the virus does not exist. However, judges presiding over the case and subsequent appeals to which the articles refer did not rule on the existence of the measles virus, and expressly said this in court. Dr. David Bardens, a medical student, responded to Lanka’s measles virus challenge on Jan. 31, 2012. He submitted six studies (see citations in clause 21 here) which, Bardens said, provided Lanka with proof that the measles virus exists, and of its size. They did not rule on the existence or non-existence of the measles virus.

☆ Why E. Jean Carroll Will Always Tell You She Is ‘Fine, Fabulous’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Taking the witness stand, she recalled that Ms. Carroll had phoned her immediately after the alleged incident with Mr. Trump “breathless, hyperventilating, emotional,” but that the subject did not come up between them again for another quarter century. Carroll is a very up person; she is not a victim,” Ms. Birnbach said. In the mid-1990s, decades after the sexual revolution, nearing the declining days of the AIDS crisis and the heyday of elite media, New York seemed to belong to women like E. Jean Carroll. A pair of big media personalities — Ms. Carroll was a well-known advice columnist by then — meeting so unexpectedly to do something vaguely conspiratorial. At the outset, the story seemed so paradigmatically “New York,” Ms. Carroll explained in her testimony.

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