1. In an effort to stop foreign musicians and entertainers from preaching equality in its homophobic borders, the Russian government has enacted stricter visa controls for artists hoping to perform there. It's those laws that may have led to the cancellation of singer
Selena Gomez's
planned appearances in the former Soviet Union. Just as LGBT activists were requesting she use the stage as a platform for equality, Russia rejected her visa.
2. Floyd Corkins II, the man who
shot a security guard
during what would have been a mass shooting at the Family Research Council's DC headquarters, has been sentenced to
25 years in prison
.
3. Despite a little thing called
reality
,
Vladimir Putin
still claims there's "no infringement" on gay rights in Russia.
4. Former
Tonight Show
intern
Ross Mathews
will soon have his own talk show, and describes his set as "Palm Springs chic."
5. Minnesota parents are having a
hissy fit
over a local school's decision to stock Rainbow Rowell's first young adult novel,
Eleanor & Park
.
6.
Solange
makes good use of Houston's depressed strip malls in the new video for her song "Lovers In the Parking Lot."
(Selena Gomez image via
Getty Images
)