Apple CEO Tim Cook, Ellen DeGeneres, Peter Thiel, Ryan Murphy, and Rachel Maddow are top 5 - Anderson Cooper #6

Out.com unveiled its annual Power 50 list of LGBT individuals on Thursday (26 April) and placed Apple CEO Tom Cook at the very top of it.

Cook was followed on the list by talk show host and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. Rounding out the top five are venture capitalist and hedge find manager Peter Thiel, Glee creator and executive producer Ryan Murphy and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.

Those who made the list were selected because they are 'exemplary individuals manage to influence the way others live -- either through their public personas, politics, or wealth -- and affect cultural and social attitudes.'

Even though Anderson Cooper has never publicly acknowledged being gay, Out placed him at number six and has regularly placed him on the list in the past...

Linda Sanchez says 'No American should ever be treated differently by the country they love because of who they love'

A California congresswoman on Thursday (26 April) introduced a bill aimed at ending a Social Security Administration policy that denies benefits to same-sex couples.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, who represents her state's 39th congressional district, was flanked at a Capitol Hill press conference by LGBT advocates from across the country including actor George Takei.

She said the Social Security Equality Act of 2012 would eliminate the Social Security Administration’s policy preventing same-sex couples from receiving the same spousal, survivor and death benefits of their heterosexual counterparts. It would require those benefits be provided to same sex couples in relationships that have been recognized by the state where they live...

Oscar winning screenwriter says if Obama's 'evolution' falls short,' LGBT community must abandon their support

Dustin Lance Black, the Oscar winning screenwriter and LGBT activist, is taking President Barack Obama and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to task for their positions on gay marriage.

Obama, who famously said he is still 'evolving' on the issue, gets credit from Black for his Justice Department's progress on LGBT issues. But Black points out that many are 'frustrated with Obama's sluggish, self-described 'evolution.''

'On paper, it's often tough to discern how Obama's views on marriage differ from, say, GOP superstar Gov. Chris Christie, who believes separate-but-equal civil unions are just fine,' Black writes in a special political issue of The Hollywood Reporter. 'And that actually puts the president behind the national polls, Dick Cheney, Laura Bush, Cindy McCain and many Republicans in the New York, New Hampshire and Maryland legislatures who support marriage equality.'...

GLAAD unearths video from presumptive Republican nominee's more moderate days to help current debate

After winning five state primaries this week, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney gave a speech that focused on the economy and did not touch on social issues.

Earlier in the race, the candidate has spoken out against gay marriage and made statements that retiring US Congressman Barney Frank this week called 'despicable.'

But with the nomination in the bag, Romney is not likely to engage in the same level of anti-gay rhetoric or weigh in on such issues such as the current debate over Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio mom removed as den leader of her son's scout troop because she is a lesbian.

So the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation unearthed video of comments Romney made about the Boy Scouts of America during his 1994 US Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy...

Says 'it would be infinitely better for the community' if Anderson Cooper, Kevin Spacey and Jodie Foster were out

CNN newsman and daytime talk show host Anderson Cooper has never discussed his sexuality publicly and blogger Perez Hilton thinks it's time he should.

'Look at someone like Anderson Cooper who even Out Magazine has reported as being gay,' Hilton says in an interview with BigThink.com that surfaced on YouTube this week. 'Has Anderson Cooper come out? No. That's his choice. He's going to remain in the closet even though everybody knows he's gay. And that's okay because it's his story to tell if and when he's ready.'

Until then, Hilton indicates that Cooper's private life is fair game...

Femexfut, the Mexican football association, criticized footage of two soccer players sharing a celebratory kiss

Federación Mexicana de Futbol (Femexfut), the Mexican football association, may take action against two soccer players who shared a gay kiss.

During a match between Puebla and América last Sunday (22 April), in the Cuauhtémoc stadium in Puebla, América football players Christian Benítez, from Ecuador, and Matías Vuoso, from Argentina, celebrated a successful penalty with a gay kiss.

Femexfut president Alfonso Sabater said: ‘A gay kiss is not a good example for children and vulnerable people. We must censor this behaviour.’

Another official from Femexfut added that a gay kiss in a stadium ‘is like flipping off to someone else.’ The Veracruz newspaper El Golfo reports that some official sanctions are expected, though it is not yet clear what form these might take...

Tovey, the werewolf from Being Human, will star in new sitcom set in job center

Gay British actor Russell Tovey, best known for ripping his clothes off to become a werewolf, is to star in a new sitcom.

ITV has given the go to six episodes of the 30 minute long comedy The Job Lot about life, love and long-term unemployment.

The new show will star Russell Tovey who made his name as a werewolf in Being Human, has featured in sci-fi drama Doctor Who and recently starred in another sitcom – Him & Her.

He’ll be starring with Sarah Hadland, famous for the comedy Miranda, in the show based in a busy unemployment bureau in the West Midlands...

Gay Star News interviews celebrities about O'Reilly's view that portrayals of transgenders and gays on Glee could lead to 'experimentation'

It's not known if Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly will be watching tonight's Whitney Houston-themed episode of Glee or if he thinks kids who watch it might be influenced into trying cocaine, a drug that contributed to the singer's death.

But O'Reilly did watch last week's episode of the musical dramedy when it featured a transgender student. O'Reilly went on to say that the episode and the show's other LGBT characters might lead some of the kids watching to experiment with their gender identity or sexuality.

'When I was a teenager and I saw James Dean smoking, it made me want to smoke,' he said last Thursday (19 April) on The O'Reilly Factor. 'A lot of these dopey kids are confused about who they are. They’re confused.'...

US Secretary of State says in parts of Africa and Asia, gay rights is 'just a totally foreign concept'

Hillary Clinton has faced many challenges during her time as US Secretary of State and one of the biggest has been trying to promote LGBT equality around the world.

Clinton said during an appearance at Syracuse University this week that gay rights is 'just a totally foreign concept' in parts of Africa and Asia.

'I mean, the first response is, 'We don't have any of those here,'' she said, to laughter. 'Second response is, 'If we did, we would not want to have them and would want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. And it's your problem, United States of America, that you have so many of those people. So don't come here and tell us to protect the rights of people we don't have or that we don't want.''...

'Our mission does not include teaching young people about sex or sexual orientation'

The Boys Scouts of America on Tuesday (24 April) reaffirmed its ban on gay and lesbian leaders by refusing to meet with Jennifer Tyrrell, the Ohio mom removed as den leader of her son's scout troop because she is a lesbian.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation reached out to the Boy Scouts this week with an offer to facilitate meeting between BSA and Tyrrell but the organization refused.

'Our focus is on delivering the nation's foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training,' the BSA said in a statement to CNN. 'Our mission does not include teaching young people about sex or sexual orientation, and we do not believe it is Scouting's role to introduce this topic in our youth development program.'...