MARIIA BUTINA. Russian woman who tried to broker meetings between Trump and Putin during campaign arrested and charged with carrying out a secret Russian effort to influence American politics. ‘The Justice Department said in court documents that the woman, Mariia Butina, worked to establish “back channel” lines of communication with American politicians.’

PAUL RYAN. On Trump’s Putin summit: “There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence. The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally. There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”

ROYAL SNUB. Princes William and Harry declined meeting with Donald Trump.

$239 MILLION. What George Clooney earned last year.

RIP. Portland gay rights pioneer Jerry Weller: ‘Gerald “Jerry” Weller, cofounder of early local and national gay-rights organizations, died in Portland at age 69. Weller was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. and began his civil rights work in California. It was in Berkeley, Calif. that he met Beverly Stein, former chair of Multnomah County, in the 1970s. “He was one of the seminal leaders of the beginning of the gay rights movement of our time,” she said.

SAN FRANCISCO. Police union gets openly gay leader: “The road was long for Tony Montoya, who became the police union’s first openly gay president this May — exactly 42 years after it declared gay people unfit to serve.”

PHILADELPHIA. Federal judge sides with city over anti-gay adoption agency: “A federal judge has ruled against Catholic Social Services (CSS), which sued the city of Philadelphia over its purported right to refuse service to same-sex couples. The judge found that the agency had no inherent right to a government contract, particularly given it was operating in violation of the contract it had.”

RIP. Tom Gallagher, first foreign service officer to come out as gay: “After coming out — he is widely recognized as the first Foreign Service officer to do so publicly — Mr. Gallagher left the service in 1976. But he lived to see and benefit from a transformation that not only allowed him to resume his government career, but also saw him celebrated in State Department publications and singled out by Hillary Rodham Clinton, then secretary of state, at a 2012 event.”

TRAILER OF THE DAY. Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On The Basis of Sex.

MADONNA. How she opened the door to gay culture: “People forget the role Madonna played in opening up gay culture to the mainstream. She wasn’t gay herself, but from the beginning she talked about how gay people were part of her life: her gay mentor, her dance teacher, Christopher Flynn; the artists and photographers she hung around with like Keith Haring and Herb Ritts; the gay dancers she paraded around so proudly in the film In Bed With Madonna. You cannot imagine what it was like to witness her doing that when you were being mercilessly bullied about your sexuality at school, as I was. This was when George Michael, Freddie Mercury and the Pet Shop Boys didn’t dare to come out.”

JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK. Another $1.4 million to install Brett Kavanaugh. “The group’s ad buy this week will bring its total spending to $3.8 million, according to an official familiar with the efforts. The latest batch of ads will target four Democratic senators from conservative states on national cable and broadcast networks in their home markets: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Doug Jones of Alabama.”

ZIMBABWE. Gay clinics to open throughout country. “The health centres will be in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare and Kwekwe. NAC Monitoring and Evaluation director, Amon Mpofu said the clinics will be called Men Health Centres so that even other men who will also want to seek medical services could be assisted.”

THAI CAVE RESCUER. Elon Musk’s participation was a PR stunt.

TEASER OF THE DAY. Stranger Things Season 3.

IDIOT AMERICANS OF THE DAY. Can’t name a country on a map.

MONDAY MUSCLE. Ryan Weaver.

The post Stranger Things, Mariia Butina, Felicity Jones, Brett Kavanaugh, Madonna, George Clooney, Philadelphia: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad Gay News.