Watch: Ohio State Rep. Who Just Introduced a ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Runs Away From Reporters

Van Halen during a game last week.The Athletic Band paid tribute to Van Halen during their annual half time show at Ohio Stadium in Columba on Saturday (April 16).Van Halen died from throat cancer on October 6, 2020. Tributes from members of AC/DC, KISS, Muse and Pearl Jam among many others, poured in following news of his passing.The band played a medley of Van Halen songs over eight minutes that included ‘Runnin’ With The Devil,’ ‘Dreams,’ ‘Panama,’ and ‘Jump.’The group moved in formation to spell out the band’s name as they performed, as well as the titles of some songs.An audience of 60,000 were in attendance, with the game resulting in a 34-26 victory by the Ohio State Scarlet over the Ohio State Gray.Watch the moment here:Last week, former Metallica guitarist Jason Newsted has said he was approached six months ago to take part in a potential Van Halen tribute tour.He went on to reveal that acclaimed guitarist Joe Satriani was also approached to take part.Speaking to The Palm Beach Post, Newsted said he went to California for a jam session, but didn’t go ahead with the project when thinking about the weight of Van Halen’s legacy.“How could you?” Newsted said to the publication.

It’s Okay to Be a Unicorn! after a parent accused the book of trying to “recruit kids to become gay.”Jason Tharp, 45, says he wrote the book to promote inclusion among children, and was planning to read the book aloud to a group of students at an elementary school north of Columbus, Ohio, on April 6.But the day before the reading, Tharp said he received a call from the principal saying that officials with the Buckeye Valley Local School District did not approve of the book and believed it could have a “gay agenda.”“I just said, did somebody think I made a gay book? And [the principal is] like, ‘Yeah,’ and I’m like, ‘Because why? Rainbows and unicorns?'” Tharp told USA TODAY, noting hat the principal confirmed that as the reasoning behind the censorship.Tharp says he remains confused about the cancellation, since the school had booked him more than two years ago, and administrators had previously ordered over 500 of his books to be distributed to students six weeks prior to his visit.Tharp later told USA Today that a parent had complained about the book after going through his social media accounts and seeing LGBTQ-supportive posts.“What it turns out was that it was one parent that came in and said that apparently, I was coming in with an agenda to recruit kids to be gay,” he said. “…It’s the craziest thing, and never in a million years would have thought that I’d be defending a unicorn because people thought I was trying to recruit kids.”He noted that he offered to read another of his books, It’s Okay to Smell Good!, which tells the story of a skunk who enjoys good-smelling things, unlike other skunks.

on her Instagram.The international pop star posted a photo of a pink tea cup next to a tea spoon surrounded by pink carnations when she announced her pregnancy on Monday. Fans were ecstatic to hear the news — especially after Spears, 40, made the shocking revelation that she was forced to have an IUD birth control inserted in her body during her 13-year long conservatorship, despite her desire to have more children.

Cedric McMillan, a bodybuilder who reached the greatest heights of the sport, reportedly died on Tuesday.

Speaking out. Molly Shannon accused the late Gary Coleman of sexually harassing her during a meeting when she was younger.

EXCLUSIVE: NBCU Academy and NBC News’ documentary division, NBC News Studios, have set Damon Davis (Chain of Rocks), Stephanie Wang-Breal (Florence from Ohio), Eric Juhola (The Queer Beat), Set Hernandez Rongkilyo (unseen), Brett Story and Stephen Maing (Untitled Labor Union Documentary), and Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler (Untitled Muscogee Nation Documentary) as the participants for their second annual Original Voices fellowship.

The Hot Zone: Anthrax star Daniel Dae Kim said that filming the National Geographic drama during the pandemic “was one of the hardest on-location experiences I’ve ever had in my career.” However, he said that quarantine and closed restaurants helped him and co-star Tony Goldwyn tap into the paranoia and caution of the post-9/11 anthrax attacks in 2001.

Dwayne Haskins has sadly died at the age of 24.

The Columbus Dispatch.The bill also bans teachers from broaching other “divisive concepts” such as the 1619 Project, so-called “critical race theory,” intersectional theory, inherited racial guilt, diversity, equity, and inclusion learning outcomes, or “any other concept that the state board of education defines as divisive or inherently racist,” such as lessons or materials that portray America as an inherently racist nation or that are critical of the country’s past. ‘”The classroom is a place that seeks answers for our children without political activism,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Parents deserve and should be provided a say in what is taught to their children in schools.”But Ohio State Board of Education Member Christina Collins said some of the bill’s provisions are highly ambiguous, and ignore the fact that school districts already have policies in place around the teaching of controversial issues. While Schmidt and Loychik have avoided interviews with the press, Collins believes that Ohio’s decision to target “instructional materials” as well as classroom discussions, is likely to result in removing books with LGBTQ characters or content from elementary school libraries.The Ohio Education Association and the Ohio Federation of Teachers both oppose the legislation. “It’s rally going to put both teachers and parents in a really tough spot,” OEA President Scott DiMauro said of the bill.

The Walt Disney Co. initially took heat for not taking a public position on Florida’s so-called “don’t say gay” bill — and now they are under fire for doing just that.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterBill Lawrence’s upcoming Apple series “Bad Monkey” has found three new cast members, Variety has learned exclusively.L. Scott Caldwell, Ronald Peet, and Charlotte Lawrence will all appear in the series, joining a cast that includes Vince Vaughn, Michelle Monaghan, Jodie Turner-Smith, Meredith Hagner, Rob Delaney, Arturo Luis Soria, and Natalie Martinez.The series, based on the Carl Hiaasen novel of the same name, tells the story of Andrew Yancy, (Vaughn) a one-time detective demoted to restaurant inspector in Southern Florida.

finally denounced the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law earlier this week.After weeks of controversy surrounding Disney’s silence on the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and subsequent walkouts by Disney employees, CEO Bob Chapek apologized and announced a pause in political donations in Florida. On Monday, Disney reacted to the law’s passage by stating that Florida HB 1557 “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” and adding that the company would be working with other organizations to get it repealed.Since then, DeSantis has taken aim at the company several times, including on Thursday when he told reporters that the state government may be re-evaluating Disney’s “special privileges” in Florida. “Someone said, ‘Hey, Disney has all these special perks.

Hillbilly Elegy, and Josh Mandel, the former Ohio state treasurer and two-time U.S. Senate candidate who is back for his third run,  blames Democrats and President Biden for NCAA rules that allow transgender females to compete on women’s sports teams in her most recent campaign commercial, reports The Hill..Given Vance and Mandel’s previous appeals to social conservatives by attacking the transgender and two-spirit communities, Timken, the third of three frontrunners in the GOP field — who heretofore was viewed as the more “establishment” figure — is hoping the ad gains traction and allows her to consolidate Republican primary voters behind her campaign.Thomas, who previously competed for UPenn’s men’s swimming team during her first three years in college, has particularly become a favorite target of conservatives, who balk at the idea that she was allowed to compete in women’s swimming after having received hormone therapy for two-and-a-half years (under NCAA rules, trans women are able to compete after finishing a year of hormone therapy).

expected to sign the dangerous and possibly unconstitutional “Don’t Say Gay” bill at a hushed-up event early Monday afternoon. The Governor is also deviating from his usual media notification efforts, some thnk in an effort to quelch expected protests.WFLA’s political anchor and reporter Evan Donovan says no email has been received about the event, just a phone call:RIGHT NOW: Governor’s office called @wfla to notify us DeSantis will appear at Classical Preparatory in Spring Hill at 12:30pm.Typically there’s an email (like below), but so far none.Lots of rumors this is to sign HB 1557 Parental Rights in Education / ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

Oscar hosts Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall opened the 94th Oscars telecast on Sunday by taking digs at Senator Mitch McConnell and Florida’s ‘Don’t’ Say Gay” Bill.“This year we saw frightening display oh how toxic masculinity turns into cruelty towards women and children,” Regina Hall said. “Damn that Mitch McConnell,” responded Wanda Sykes.Hall added: “I know but I was actually talking about ‘The Power of the Dog.'”“I watched that movie three times and I am halfway through it,” Sykes rebounded with the punchline about Jane Campion’s Netflix Western drama.The joke received a huge laugh from the audience as the three hosts then pivoted towards Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill controversy.“Well, we’re gonna have a great night tonight and for you people in Florida, we’re gonna have a gay night,” Sykes said.The audience roared as the three hosts chanted “GAY GAY GAY.”Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, officially called the Parental Rights in Education bill, is designed to prohibit Florida schools from teaching students between kindergarten and third grade about topics of sexual orientation or gender identity.The bill passed in the Florida Senate, and Republican Gov.