It’s Friday! We are barreling through April already!

I was hoping the return of rain would give me a break from the hay fever, but no such luck!

Anyway, welcome to the Friday Five. This week I bring you: the top five (IMHO) stories of the week, the top five queer stories of the week, five stories about deplorable people, and five videos (plus notable obituaries and things I wrote).

Stories of the Week:

Joe Nguyen Is an AOC of the Washington Senate.

The backlash against Pete Buttigieg has exposed some sad facts about evangelical Christianity. um…. DUH!

IRS, Congress Struggle to Shed Light on Opportunity Zones’ Impact.

TRUMP PURGING ANYONE IN DHS WHO REFUSES TO BREAK LAW FOR HIM.

Bonnie Haim murder trial starts against husband Michael Haim after skull discovered in yard.

This Week in Science:

Evidence Found Of Previously Unknown Human Species.

The first picture of a black hole opens a new era of astrophysics.

Mystery surrounds humpback whale found dead in depths of Brazil’s Amazon jungle.

National Geographic: Giant purple squirrels do exist—and they have an odd behavior.

New species of ancient human unearthed in the Philippines.

Queer stories of the Week:

GOP Gov. Doug Ducey Signs Repeal Of “No Promo Homo” Ban On LGBT-Inclusive Sex Education.

San Jose city council votes to make their airport Chick-fil-A the ‘gayest’ in America.

Oklahoma City’s first openly gay city councilman takes office.

Dear Alabama: Sen. Doug Jones’ Gay Son Has a Message for His State.

Chelsea Manning misgendered by NBC reporter – PinkNews.

Awful, Deplorable People:

Devin Nunes said the quiet part out loud about his defamation lawsuit targeting journalists “I am absolutely sure that they do not want this to get to discovery so that we find out who their sources are.”.

Illinois Senate Approves Bill Mandating Release Of Five Years Of Taxes In Order To Appear On Presidential Ballot.

Conservative Columnist Bashes AG Bill Barr With 7 Brutal Reasons Why No One Should Trust Him.

Suspect in Louisiana black church fires is son of sheriff’s deputy, officials say.

Julian Assange Charged by U.S. With Conspiracy to Hack a Government Computer Background: Ecuador’s president says Assange breached terms of London embassy asylum | Reuters.

In Memoriam:

A Small Town in South Carolina Mourns the Prom Night Death of Trinity Harrison.

Mystery as missing Mouseketeer Dennis Day, 76, is found dead at home, EIGHT MONTHS after he vanished as it emerges his disappearance initially went unreported because the star’s husband has dementia. Correction to headline: disappearance WAS reported, but police didn’t take it seriously because of the husband’s health…

Background: Body found at home of missing original Disney Mouseketeer Dennis Day.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 4/7/2019: Sword-wielding hate crime suspect arrested.

Not to be cliched, but I don’t like Mondays….

Filling up the gaps, or, why An Archive Of Our Own deserves that Hugo nomination.

Julian Assange finally dragged from the Ecuadorian embassy.

Who is the actual monster? Or, more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Lucifer | Season 4 Teaser [HD] | Netflix:

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Tales of the City | Teaser [HD] | Netflix:

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Assange Arrest Puts WikiLeaks Tie To Donald Trump Camp Back In Spotlight | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC:

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Seth Meyers Destroys the Dumbest GOP Congressman on the House Oversight Committee: A Closer Look:

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Kevin McHale – Help Me Now (Lyric Video):

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