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Mickey the merchandiser has gone loud and proud, in a subtle sort of way. Walt Disney World will be the gathering spot for thousands of gays, their friends and families this weekend, as the 23rd annual Gay Day takes place Saturday at the Magic Kingdom. Now a weeklong event, Gay Days began in 1991 as a single day on which the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was encouraged to "Wear Red and Be Seen" while visiting the world's most-popular theme park. Though Walt Disney World has always maintained a neutral stance on the annual event, neither endorsing nor discouraging...

France's first same-sex marriage has taken place amid tight security. There were protests outside the ceremony after months of opposition that saw tens of thousands take to the streets. Europe correspondent Philip Williams reports. PHILIP WILLIAMS, REPORTER: In the southern city of Montpellier, wedding nerves are accentuated by the live broadcast across France and beyond. 150 of the world's media were there to witness the first of many gay marriages to come. Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau said their vows before the Mayor of Montpellier. With the law allowing all of this to happen just a day old, this was...

The case of a same-sex Connecticut couple accused of repeatedly raping and abusing two of their nine adopted boys is headed for trial. Married couple George Harasz and Douglas Wirth of Glastonbury were supposed to be sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court under a plea deal, but instead withdrew from their agreement with prosecutors. The men had already pleaded no contest in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor — a reduction from even more serious charges related to sexual assault. But in a surprise turn, the couple’s attorneys pulled them out of...

Jenna Wolfe, NBC's "Today" weekend anchor, came out as a lesbian on the air this morning. She also announced she is pregnant: Today" weekend anchor Jenna Wolfe revealed some major news on Wednesday's program. "I'm actually pregnant," she said. "I'm quite pregnant, actually." Wolfe is expecting a baby with her longtime partner Stephanie Gosk, an NBC News correspondent. … The Wednesday announcement coincides with a People magazine spread with more details. "I don’t want to bring my daughter into a world where I’m not comfortable telling everyone who I am and who her mother is," Wolfe told People. Wolfe will...

A southeast Oak Cliff charter school teacher faces sexual assault charges involving two male students at school in multiple incidents last year, according to Dallas police documents. Geogery Lynn Shelton, who taught at Children First Academy, was being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center on Friday. His bail was set at $75,000 after his arrest this week on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child under the age of 14 and a charge of continuous sexual assault of a child, police records said. [Snip] The crimes for which Shelton faces charges date to at least May and...

An atheist organization claims Indiana’s marriage statute is unconstitutional because it doesn't allow nonbelievers to be married by their own leaders, but state officials say the group is divorced from reality. The New York-based Center for Inquiry claims in a federal lawsuit that Indiana Code 31-11-6-1 violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment since it sets clear preference for religious individuals over those devoted to the “pursuit of ethical alternatives to religion.” The group says it filed suit on behalf of members John Kiel and Michelle Landrum, who plan to wed in the next six months. “You can have...

The thousands of men expelled from the Irving-based Boy Scouts of America on suspicion of molesting children came from all walks of life — teachers and plumbers, doctors and bus drivers, politicians and police officers. They ranged in age from teenagers to senior citizens and came from troops in every state. As the Scouts have long said, the files suggest no single profile of a predator. But a close look at nearly 1,900 confidential files opened between 1970 and 1991 revealed a pattern: Many suspected molesters engaged in what psychologists today call “grooming behavior,” a gradual seduction in which predators...

A once-secret Boy Scout list of child sex abuse suspects includes several cases in Hawaii. The allegations are from decades ago, released under court order. The men are not still involved with scouting, and Boy Scout policies are now considered highly vigilant in abuse prevention. A database being referred to as the Boy Scouts of America's internal "perversion files" lists four Hawaii names, two with troop-specific allegations of molestation but no apparent arrests or convictions in Hawaii. A group that had formed to help Catholic clergy molestation victims says it hears from now-adult Boy Scout victims too and explains a...

After appealing to the good will and fairness of the Boy Scouts of America to lift its ban on gays, LGBT advocates have a new tactic: Go after the organization’s major funders, from Fortune 500 companies to the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. And so far, the new strategy seems to be working. The group Scouts for Equality, founded by former Eagle Scout Zach Wahls, recently convinced Intel, the Boys Scouts’ largest corporate funder, to cut off support for Scout councils that don’t have LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies. And this week, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign told Dallas Voice...

Ryan Andresen has spent a decade completing the requirements for the coveted Eagle Scout award, and now that he is just about turn 18 -- the cut-off date for attaining the highest honor -- his Boy Scout troop won't approve it because he is gay. His project, a "tolerance wall," was inspired by the years of hazing he endured in middle school in Moraga, Calif., and later at Boy Scout summer camp, where his nicknames were "Tinkerbell" and "faggot." "I had I had no idea what gay was at that point," said Andresen, who described hazing that included, among...

What would you do if your son liked wearing dresses? One dad in Germany decided to put on a skirt of his own in support his little dress-loving fellow. When Nils Pikert's now 5-year-old son started wearing dresses, it turned a few heads but was generally not a big deal in their cosmopolitan hometown of Berlin. But when the family picked up and moved to the smaller South German village, all that changed, reports Gawker. Even though he loved wearing dresses, Pickert's son was too shy to put one on in public for fear of being laughed at, especially...

Joe Paterno had to be prodded by his family to read the grand jury report regarding Jerry Sandusky and did not understand some of its graphic terminology, according to a new book. The book, Paterno by Joe Posnanski, was purchased Friday by the Associated Press in advance of its release next week. In the book, Posnanski describes a scene at Paterno's home, two days after Sandusky had been charged with child sex abuse last November. Paterno's family and a close adviser were trying to explain to the Penn State coach that there was a growing sentiment Paterno must have known...

Duluth, MN (Northlands NewsCenter) -- Minnesota district 7B Representative Kerry Gauthier is at the center of a criminal investigation by Duluth police. This is a particularly sensitive situation right now as incumbent lawmaker Gauthier will face Republican challenger Travis Silvers in November. Police will only confirm that Representative Gauthier involved in an incident the Thompson Hill rest stop last month. [Snip] Police spokespeople say they are conducting a criminal investigation but they refuse to say why Gauthier was arrested. However well placed sources today told the Northland's NewsCenter, the incident involved a 17 year old boy with whom Gauthier...

An accrediting organization has told Penn State that its status is "in jeopardy" based on recent developments in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. [Snip] The commission said in an Aug. 8 notice that Penn State remains accredited while "on warning" but it wants a monitoring report submitted by the end of next month detailing steps taken to ensure full compliance with governmental requirements, that the university's mission is being carried out, that the commission will be fully informed and that Penn State is complying with standards on leadership and governance as well as integrity. The commission also wants...

It's the best that she's ever looked! Note: Better put down your drink before you look at this thread

Midlanders who didn’t think Chick-fil-A could become anymore crowded than it already is were proved wrong today. Supporters from around the Permian Basin showed up in droves at both the Chick-fil-A on Loop 250 and the restaurant in Midland Park Mall. Some waited in the drive-thru line for more than an hour, while others stood in a line* that stretched outside and around a portion of the building so they could place an order. “I’d stay here for four hours if I had to,” said Maryann Harless, who had been sitting in the drive-thru for about an hour. “I...

College sports' governing body today suspended Penn State's football team from postseason bowl play for four years and fined the university $60 million for its handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The team also must vacate all wins from 1998 through 2011. "The career record of former head football coach Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records," the NCAA said in a statement. "Penn State must also reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period. In addition, the NCAA reserves the right to impose additional sanctions on involved individuals at the conclusion...

The NCAA will fine Penn State at least $30 million and perhaps as much as $60 million for its involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal, industry sources told CBSSports.com's Brett McMurphy. The record fine will go toward an endowment for children's causes, sources said. "This is a fine like no fine before," an industry source told CBSSports.com. CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd has reported Penn State will face "significant penalties that could severely damage the football program's ability to compete" when the NCAA announces sanctions against the football program at a 9 a.m. news conference Monday. To put the fine in perspective,...

NCAA president Mark Emmert has decided to punish Penn State with severe penalties likely to include a significant loss of scholarships and loss of multiple bowls, a source close to the decision told ESPN's Joe Schad on Sunday morning. But Penn State will not receive the so-called "death penalty" that would have suspended the program for at least one year, the source said. The penalties, however, are considered to be so harsh that the death penalty may have been preferable, the source said. The NCAA will announce "corrective and punitive measures" for Penn State on Monday morning, it said in...

Tech. Sgt. Erwynn Umali, 34, and civilian Will Behrens, 35, held their wedding at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in N.J. in June When Tech. Sgt. Erwynn Umali and civilian Will Behrens wanted to seal their commitment in a civil union in New Jersey, they chose a venue that nine months ago would have been unthinkable: a military base. The grooms said their vows on June 23 before 150 guests at the chapel at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst — the first time a civil union or gay wedding has been held in such a facility in the United States. While the...