And 5 Other Things You Need To Know Today.
July 17 2013 6:00 PM EST
February 05 2015 9:27 PM EST
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1. Pro-equality pop singers Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (read our profile story here), whose track "Same Love" became an international sensation and helped launch their career, tied old pro Justin Timberlake for the most MTV Video Award nominations: six. The men are also leading in terms of mid-year sales.
2. GLSEN is holding a fundraising event on Fire Island this Saturday July 20th. Get tickets here for the event, Coaching Respect, which benefits the education-minded group's Sports Project to combat homophobia in school sports.
3. The U.S. State Department issued a statement this week condemning the murder of gay Cameroonian activist Eric Ohena Lembembe. "We deplore the brutal murder of Eric Ohena Lembembe, who was found tortured to death in his home in Yaounde yesterday," the State Department said in a letter. "We condemn this terrible act in the strongest terms and urge the Cameroonian authorities to thoroughly and promptly investigate and prosecute those responsible for his death." No word on whether the United States will make good on past threats to withhold aid to countries with anti-gay laws.
4. Conservative homophobes like Rush Limbaugh are really hoping to turn LGBT people against Rachel Jeantel after Jeantel, the friend who was on the phone with Trayvon Martin before George Zimmerman shot him, told Piers Morgan she told Martin that Zimmerman may have been a "gay rapist." Jeantel of course has become a target for right wing hate for her inelegant performance on the witness stand during the trial.
5. Rolling Stone is defending itself from criticism of its latest cover, which features accused Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
6. Here's the trailer for The Fifth Estate, the Wikileaks biopic in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays Julian Assange.