It’s the third Friday in April.

My hay fever symptoms have been bad all week. This causes the daily panic of my reminding myself that I’m checking my temperature regularly and checking my symptoms against the list from the CDC. It so happened that also this week I was rubbing oil into the wooden veranda furniture as I do every spring and winter to keep the wood safe from the elements. So during my lunch break today I carefully rubbed off all the excess oil from the previous couple of days of work with a dry cloth. Then in the evening I went out to turn on the grill for our first grilled dinner of the year, and I noticed the wooden table looked odd. Between noon and five so much pollen had gathered on the table, I could write in it with my finger. No wonder I had the worst sinus headache in months Thursday!

Meanwhile, welcome to the Friday Five. This week I bring you: the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about the pandemic, five stories about the deplorable alleged president, and five videos (plus notable obituaries and some things I wrote).

Stories of the Week:

Dear right-wing protesters: your ‘liberty’ to swing your fist ends just where my nose begins.

That Time That Jerry Siegel Plundered the Funny Pages to Defeat Superman.

Florida panthers filmed fighting in the wild for the first time ever.

Detectives Recover Stolen Tsutakawa Memorial Gates.

The Oldest String Ever Found May Have Been Made By Neanderthals.

This Week in News for Queers and Allies:

Gay men still unable to donate blood and plasma despite new FDA guidelines. Here’s why.

Prides are getting canceled, so now organizers are coming together for an online, global Pride – For the first time, Pride will come to every country on Earth on the same day as cities and countries band together to ensure LGBTQ people can celebrate despite the pandemic.

Franklin Graham claims he is not homophobic. The paper and video trail exposes him as a liar.

IMPLICATIONS OF COVID-19 FOR LGBTQ YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION.

Virginia Governor Signs Sweeping LGBTQ Protections into Law.

This Week in the Pandemic:

Massachusetts Joins New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island’s Multi-State Council to Get People Back to Work and Restore the Economy.

Washington, Oregon and California to coordinate reopening of West Coast economies after coronavirus is contained.

Coronavirus could attack immune system like HIV by targeting protective cells, warn scientists.

COVID-19 spurs reckoning in crowded homeless shelters.

Biden: People are dying while Trump is ‘having temper tantrums’.

This Week in the Deplorable Thug Occupying the White House:

Editorial: Trump is playing a disgusting political game with our lives.

‘Crime against humanity’: Trump condemned for WHO funding freeze.

White House snubs Azar, installs Trump loyalist Michael Caputo as HHS spokesperson.

Trump claims it’s his call on when to ‘reopen’ the country. He’s wrong – Only the states can give shutdown orders, and only the states can lift them, legal scholars say. Many governors agree.

‘Not Enough Political Viagra in the World’ to Save Trump in Wisconsin.

In Memoriam:

Brian Dennehy, ‘Tommy Boy’ and ‘First Blood’ Star, Dies at 81.

The classic Doctor Who series writer Pip Baker has died at the age of 91.

Prof. John Horton Conway, one of the most renowned mathematicians of the past century, dead from COVID-19.

Time Bandits, Return of the Jedi actor Malcolm Dixon dies at 66.

Witchfinder General star Hilary Heath dies of coronavirus complications.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 4/11/2020: We have to look out for each other.

Chocolate bunnies for everyone!

A giant bee-killing hornet!

Predicting is hard… but we should still try!

A round up of Hugo round-ups.

“I’m not a lady, I’m a witch” — or, more of why I love sf/f.

Videos!

Trump Blames WHO and Rushes to “Open Up America Again”: A Closer Look:

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Give Donald Trump A Radio Show And Maybe He’ll Stop Holding These Marathon Coronavirus Briefings:

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The big lesson from South Korea’s coronavirus response:

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Jay MaQ No Love ft. Macc:

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ALMA – Stay All Night (Day 16: Quarantine Video):

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