MILITARY PARADE. It has a $30 million price tag, according to Mick Mulvaney.

MESSY DIVORCE. Dakota Meyer files for divorce from Bristol Palin.

TREY GOWDY. Chair of House Oversight Committee says investigation of Rob Porter has begun: “Gowdy sent a letter on Wednesday to the White House demanding to know how Rob Porter was allowed to work without an interim security clearance, despite being accused of domestic violence. Gowdy also sent a letter on Wednesday to FBI Director Christopher Wray seeking clarity on how the bureau investigates and issues interim security clearances. Gowdy also asked when the FBI notified the White House of any underlying issues with Porter’s background check, which has become a source of controversy.”

Chairman Trey Gowdy says the House Oversight Committee is "directing inquiries" to the FBI about Rob Porter https://t.co/0xN6S6UOoF

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 14, 2018

GEORGIA MCBRIDE. Jim Parsons to star in adaptation of the stage play The Legend of Georgia McBride. “The Matthew Lopez-penned play, which enjoyed a run at the Geffen Playhouse, follows Casey, an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small-town Florida bar who is broke and has a baby on the way. When the bar owner brings in a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey finds that he has a lot to learn about show business and himself. Parsons will play Miss Tracy Mills, a veteran drag queen who coaches Casey in the art of performing, helping him transform from a washed-up Elvis impersonator to a show-stopping drag queen. Lopez will adapt his play for the screen.”

BACK IN MEXICO. The story of a gay HIV-positive asylum seeker: “When Carlos Alberto Bringas-Rodriguez went in for his routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Kansas City on December 20, he expected to be in and out, as on previous visits. A 27-year-old gay asylum seeker from Mexico, Bringas had been in the United States for 13 years, and was living “a calm life” with his husband in a suburb of Kansas City. Together, he and his husband were raising Bringas’s 12-year-old cousin, whom Bringas referred to as his daughter. Bringas was “by the book,” as his husband put it, about complying with government demands. But at his December check-in, something went wrong, and Bringas was taken into custody.”

JULIE CHEN. Omarosa “played up” her asthma attack.

ILLINOIS. City of Aurora plans first Gay Pride parade this June: “embers of the Aurora City Council’s Government Operations committee voted Tuesday to allow the parade. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reports that city procedures specify that the committee makes the final determination on parade permits. The parade will be 1 p.m. June 17.”

CHRIS MAZDZER. “Don’t be stupid” like Ryan Lochte.

NEW HAIR-DO OF THE DAY. Zac Efron.

.@ZacEfron in Harmony Korine's stoner comedy The Beach Bum – I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS! pic.twitter.com/lSc4d2hxGD

— Angie (@nyefrongirls) February 10, 2018

SCARIEST FLIGHT. Engine comes apart on United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco. “United flight 1175 traveling to Honolulu from San Francisco landed safely after the pilots called for an emergency landing because of a loss of the engine cowling (the covering of the engine). Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally.”

that looks bad, plane and simple #ua1175 pic.twitter.com/EKXUxDBw9q

— Erik Haddad (@erikhaddad) February 13, 2018

LIT OBJECT OF THE DAY. A ball made of 42,000 matches.

INVISIBLE DOG SHOW OF THE DAY. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, without dogs.

HUMP DAY HOTTIE. U.S. Olympic bobsledder Chris Kinney.

The post Jim Parsons, Trey Gowdy, 42,000 Matches, Dakota Meyer, Zac Efron, Chris Mazdzer, Julie Chen: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.