'This program simply feels inappropriate': Mormon-owned Utah station won't air NBC show about gay couple

BY BRIAN SKOLOFF, ASSOCIATED PRESS

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Mormon church-owned NBC affiliate in Utah won't air an upcoming sitcom about a gay couple that invites a surrogate mother into their home as they try to have a baby because the station deems the content inappropriate for its audience.

"The New Normal" is set to debut Sept. 11 on NBC.

"After viewing the pilot episode of 'The New Normal,' we have made the decision to keep it off our fall schedule," Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL's parent company, Bonneville International, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told the Deseret News.

"For our brand, this program simply feels inappropriate on several dimensions, especially during family viewing time," Simpson told the newspaper, which also is owned by the Mormon church.

Simpson did not respond to a request for comment Monday from The Associated Press.

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San Francisco archbishop-elect, who vigorously opposed gay marriage in California, in DUI arrest

BY ELLIOT SPAGAT, ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO -- The Roman Catholic archbishop-elect of San Francisco was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, San Diego police said Monday.

The Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, a vigorous supporter of California's same-sex marriage ban, was taken into custody after being stopped early Saturday at a police checkpoint near the San Diego State University campus, said Detective Gary Hassen, a police spokesman. He declined to comment on whether Cordileone took a sobriety test or reveal his blood-alcohol content.

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Video | The Kinsey Sicks agree with Todd Akin: 'I Kill Sperm in My Vagina wiiiiiiiiiiiith My Mind'

On YouTube:

In yet another effort for public attention, America's Favorite Dragapella® Beautyshop Quartet takes a bold stance by agreeing with Todd Akin's statements about the female body. After all, they knew it all along!

Parody of James Taylor's "Carolina in My Mind"

www.kinseysicks.com

Rosie O'Donnell: I'm married, selling art on eBay

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES -- Rosie O'Donnell has announced that she married her fiancee, Michelle Rounds, in a private ceremony in June, just days before Rounds had surgery to treat desmoid tumors.

The 50-year-old TV personality also said Monday on her blog that she is selling original paintings on eBay to raise money for the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation.

A spokeswoman for O'Donnell confirmed the nuptials and fundraising efforts.

Rounds was diagnosed with desmoid tumors in June. She and O'Donnell wed in New York on June 9, and Rounds underwent surgery June 14. Desmoid tumors occur rarely and can affect almost any area of the body. The tumors can be fatal.

O'Donnell has had health issues of her own. She said Aug. 20 that she recently suffered a heart attack.

Comedienne Wanda Sykes to perform World AIDS Day concert to benefit Broward House on Dec. 2

Comedienne Wanda Sykes will be performing a World AIDS Day concert to benefit Broward House, the county's largest AIDS service agency. General admission tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Sept. 14.

Here are the details from the Broward Center for the Performing Arts website:

Date: Sunday, December 2, 2012
Time: 8:00 PM
Tickets: $45.00 - $75.00
VIP Tickets: $100.00*
Venue: Broward Center

Wanda Sykes is considered "one of the funniest stand up comics" by her peers and ranks among Entertainment Weekly's 25 Funniest People in America. Her smart-witted stand up has helped her career blossom in many different directions.

Sykes was previously seen on several television shows, including her own late night talk show on FOX, "The Wanda Sykes Show," her second HBO stand up special "I'ma Be Me" in October 2009, and in the CBS comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" as "Barb." Her first HBO comedy special "Wanda Sykes: Sick & Tired" debuted in October 2006 and was nominated for a 2007 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.

Sykes has also appeared in the feature films "Evan Almighty" co-starring Steve Carell, "Monster-In-Law" starring opposite Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda, the romantic comedy "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" with co-stars Luke Wilson and Uma Thurman, and the animated feature "Over The Hedge" for Dreamworks as well as "The Barnyard" for Paramount Pictures. Sykes also starred in and produced the Comedy Central show "Wanda Does It," where she tried various non-showbiz jobs. Her first book titled "Yeah, I Said It," a hilarious collection of essays touching on life, family and current events published by Simon and Schuster, hit bookstores in September 2004.

Sykes will make her only South Florida appearance in 2012-13 in this one-night only engagement during World AID Days weekend as a benefit for Broward House, Broward County's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS community service organization.

* VIP tickets include a post show meet-n-greet.

Mormon-owned Utah TV station refuses to air NBC's 'The New Normal' because of gay characters

From Buzz60:

KSLTV, a NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City, Utah, has decided not to air "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy's new sitcom "The New Normal" because of what it calls "offensive characterization." The show is about a woman who decides to become a surrogate for a gay couple. Patrick Jones has more on KSLTV's decision and what the Mormon Church has to do with it.

Video | Wrong Direction's 'Disclosure' - A Full Frontal Freedom production

On YouTube:

A parody based on One Direction's hit song, "What Makes You Beautiful".

Full Frontal Freedom is a coalition of independent artists and media folks using our creativity to promote civic engagement. Join the community, and check us out online.

LIKE us at http://www.Facebook.com/FullFrontalFreedom or on Twitter: @fullfrontalfree

Check out our website: http://www.fullfrontalfreedom.com, where you can donate to our next project.

Starring: Colby Melvin, Quinn C. Jaxon, David Brackett, Brandon R. Brown, Johnathan Myers
Written and Produced by Full Frontal Freedom (www.fullfrontalfreedom.com) - Conor Gaughan, Rob Conant, David Forest, James Fraenkel, Keelin Clark
Vocal Production by David Forest and Kyle Puccia
Director of Photography: Sam Haskell, Jr.
Editing by S.R.
Special Thanks: Hadi Halawani

Nadadores swim team to hold swimsuit fashion show fundraiser Sept. 22 in Miami's MiMo District

From the Nadadores swim team:

Mark Your Calendar!
12th Annual Noche Nadadores!

SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 22, 2012
8:00 PM
Open Bar!

KMP Furniture
6444 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami

Join the Nadadores Swim Team for our 12th Annual Noche Nadadores! Enjoy cocktails, comraderie, hors d'oeuvres, silent auction and our usual sexy Swimsuit Fashion Show!

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased from a team member or HERE.

'Trenches of this battle': U.S. heartland cities debating gay rights measures

BY ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Randy Doenning organizes a charity gala for gay teens and AIDS patients and isn't afraid to hold his male partner's hand in public in the Bible Belt city where he lives.

The small business owner also remembers when white supremacists bombed a gay church in Springfield, bomb-sniffing dogs and metal detectors were used at the local university for a play about a gay Jewish activist and the school's president refused to add sexual orientation to Southwest Missouri State University's nondiscrimination policy.

As the elected leaders in the city of 160,000 debate whether to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Doenning and other activists are optimistic. They also know legal protections are anything but assured in a city that's home to the national headquarters of the Assemblies of God Church and three Bible colleges.

Across the heartland, from regional economic hubs in southwest Missouri such as Springfield to the Kansas plains and Nebraska college towns, the battle for gay rights is playing out in city halls and town squares, often with opponents of expanded nondiscrimination laws trying to reverse decisions by government officials.

"Places like Springfield, Missouri, are the trenches of this battle right now," said Doenning.

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