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VIDEO: Jennifer Hudson and Sandy Hook Students at Super Bowl

PHOTOS: GETTY

One of the most poignant moments of Super Bowl XLVII was the opening sequence of Jennifer Hudson performing "America The Beautiful" with the Sandy Hook Elementary School Chorus.

Twenty children and six administrators were gunned down on December 14 at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The incident was the second deadliest school shooting in United States history after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. Senseless, awful and tragic.

Classes resumed last month. Watch the performance AFTER THE JUMP ...

VIDEO: An Emotional President Obama Speaks in Newtown, CT

PHOTO: GETTY

"Words cannot match the depths of your sorrow. But whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide," said President Barack last night at the memorial service for the victim's of Friday's horrific school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

By far, the most emotional moments of the President's 17-minute speech were at the end when he read the names of the 20 children who were gunned down. Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Lesbian Veteran Sues Govt Over VA Benefits, Defense of Marriage Act

PHOTO: New York Times

In what has been described as the "first case of its kind", a disabled lesbian Navy veteran has filed suit to challenge the constitutionality of the federal law that defines marriage as between a man and woman. Carmen Cardona legally married her wife in Connecticut and says the Dept. of Veterans Affairs denied her benefits, reports the New York Times.

But when she applied for an increase in her monthly disability compensation because she was newly married, the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Hartford rejected her application, citing a federal statute that defines a spouse as “a person of the opposite sex.”

In a case to be filed before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, a special federal court in Washington that handles disputes over veterans benefits, [attorneys] will argue that the government’s definition violates her Fifth Amendment right to due process. The lawyers intend to file their notice to appeal on Thursday. The legal team ... says it will also challenge the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

Experts said this would be the first time a plaintiff had tried to use the veterans court of appeals to attack the law. ... Advocates for gay rights say they also anticipate lawsuits challenging the federal definition of marriage to be filed by active-duty troops in same-sex marriages who have been denied benefits granted to heterosexual married couples, like military health care [and] housing.

Cardona is being represented by Yale Law School's Veterans Legal Services Clinic.

The Obama Administration announced in February that it will NOT defend recent lawsuits challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition and benefits to same-sex couples. If the government chooses not to defend the case, there is still the possibility that counsel hired by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to defend DOMA's constitutionality will take the case.

"And even if no government lawyer defends the laws, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims could still rule against Ms. Cardona. The court consists mainly of judges—most of them former military officers — appointed by President George W. Bush."

Only two weeks ago, President Obama reiterated his opposition to DOMA, saying that he believed the courts will address the law "fairly soon" but couldn't predicting a ruling.

NEWS: Don Lemon, Louis Smith, Kye Allums, Blueprint, JLS, Tanzania

Judge: Eddie Long trial "maybe" in the fall?

AUDIO: Signorile's in-depth interview with Don Lemon.

SF voters to decide on circumcision ban.

Kirk Shannon Butts' critically-acclaimed love story "Blueprint" will be screened at the 2011 Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. Watch HERE.

Tanzania bans five films with "gay themes" and "indecent dresses".

Jury awards openly gay LAPD Sgt. Ronald Crump $1.6 million in discrimination case.

JLS: We want to represent Britain at Eurovision!

London 2012 Olympics torch will come to Peterborough—the hometown of  bronze medalist and pommel horse hotness Louis Smith. An 80-year-old resident who "carried the torch [in] the 1948 London Olympics" may pass it on to the gymnast.

Pharrell talks tech.

Software manufacturer to remove filters that block LGBT content "in thousands of public schools."

  Connecticut House approves transgender anti-discrimination bill 77-62.

Transgender basketball player Kye Allums will no longer play for the George Washington women's basketball team. "'I alone came to this conclusion,' Allums said in a statement released by the university, 'and I thank the athletic department for respecting my wishes.' ... He told the AP in March that he suffered a total of eight concussions, was having memory problems and was unsure whether he would be cleared medically to play his senior season."

WATCH: Openly Gay Latino Man to Become Mayor of Hartford, CT

Openly gay Hartford City Council President Pedro Pedro Segarra is expected to be soon be named the city's mayor. Mayor Eddie A. Perez was convicted on June 18 of bribery and extortion. Perez is expected to submit his resignation on Friday and by law the council president would assume office.

Segarra's journey has been described as a "Puerto Rican-American success story", reports News8.

"Segarra arrived here by bus thirty years ago as a teen aged runaway from New York. He lived at the YMCA and eventually went to law school. He's now faced with closing down the 25 year legal practice he built up himself. Segarra will also become the first openly gay mayor of the city. Pedro Segarra has been on the city council for about four years, but he is not new to city government. He served as Corporation Counsel, the city attorney, during the administrations of Mayor Carrie Saxon Perry and Mayor Mike Peters.  City Hall workers and residents need someone steady and everyone says Segarra will be the right person for the corner office on Main Street. 'It is a full time job and it should be a full time job, and I intend to make it a full time job,' Segarra stated. 'They can count on us to make sure that all the business is being taken care of.'"

The announcement is expected to be made Friday.

And tonight: Segarra and partner Charlie Ortiz are hosting a previously scheduled fundraiser for a local community theater and the special guest is Chita Rivera. "The party on the eve of Segarra's rise to City Hall's big office has taken on a little more prestige,' reports The Courant.

In his first formal news conference, City Council President Pedro Segarra attempted to calm residents' fears about the transition. Watch it WHEN YOU JUMP ...

"Details" Goes Behind the Scenes at a Gay Teen "Exorcism"

Details' Matt McAllester goes behind-the-scenes at the harmful and controversial practice of performing "exorcisms" of gay demons. These so-called "deliverances" are often performed in Pentecostal and evangelical churches on LGBT youth, such as 20-year-old Kevin Robinson.

"You need to be delivered from homosexuality," the prophet said into a microphone so that all the church could hear. Kevin was embarrassed, but he stayed put. This was no normal preacher—she spoke God's truth. According to church dogma, homosexuality is a sin foisted on humans by demons who take possession of their bodies and compel them to act against God's will. These evil spirits can be exorcised by those trained in spiritual warfare in a ritual known among Pentecostal Christians as deliverance. Perhaps, Kevin thought, this prophet could finally deliver him from his demons.

The prophet placed her hands on Kevin and began to pray over him. "Come out, come out!" she shouted. "In the name of Jesus, I command you to come out! You gonna free him right now!"

Kevin closed his eyes, thinking to himself, "There's something wrong with me; I need to change." A part of him believed this prophet could do what no one else had been able to do during previous deliverance attempts—make him heterosexual. But the prophet was loud and she looked at him with disgust and contempt as her chants became more and more belligerent. Even now Kevin can't bring himself to repeat the most hurtful things she said. He soon began to cry. And then, with the prophet still exhorting the demons in him to depart, he blacked out and collapsed. ... It was, by Kevin's count, at least the 10th time since he was 16 that he'd subjected himself to gay exorcism.

Kevin Robinson's church is not in the Bible Belt and is located in Massachusetts, where marriage equality is the law.

You may recall last June, a video of a black charismatic church performing an exorcism on a gay teenager in Bridgeport, Connecticut—another gay friendly state with marriage equality—appeared on YouTube. The Connecticut Department of Children and Families investigated Manifested Glory Ministries but no charges were brought. The 16-year-old later appeared on Tyra Banks and claims he has been "healed" by the exorcism and is no longer gay.

And a special note: Details interviews DL Foster, the black Atlanta-based so-called "ex-gay" minister who admits that he still has "homosexual desires." You can say that again, "DL".

News: Janelle Monáe, Saeed Jones, Emanuel Xavier, Lee Daniels

· Vanessa Williams heads to Wisteria Lane.

· Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid drops. ArjanWrites: "[It's] a culmination of hard work, her deep love for music and uncompromising ambition to bring enlightenment to the pop charts. The ArchAndroid is equally provoking, stirring and inspiring. This record will move you—it will make you think, it will make you dance."

· Critics: Is Monáe "suited" for mainstream success?

· GQ sells 365 copies of its first iPad edition.

· Facebook: Draft Laura Bush for Dallas Pride.

· Daniel Radcliffe wants Cristiano Ronaldo's abs.

· "It's A Man's World". 

· Saeed Jones' poem “Mississippi Drowning” makes the current issue of The Collagist.  The New Jersey-based poet and author will also present at the Lambda Literary Awards on May 27.

· Gay City News profiles Emanuel Xavier: "One of the most influential players in the spoken word genre and Neo-Nuyorican poetry movement. On June 20, as a testament to Xavier’s continuing influence in the LGBT Latino/a community, El Museo del Barrio will be presenting its first-ever New York City Gay Pride celebration event, "The Legendary Project," a modern dance performance based on Xavier’s spoken word/music collaboration."

· Alicia Banks on Polanski: "Bold. Serial. Pedophile. Rapist."

· Mysterious Skin director Gregg Araki premieres new sexual awakening film Kaboom in Cannes.

· GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco June 5th to honor Lee Daniels, Cybill Shepherd and newly out country singer Chely Wright.

· Report: BlackBerry to launch 8.9 inch tablet this year. "There are some big differences between BlackBerry’s tablet, the iPad and the now-confirmed Google tablet—most notably a lack of cellular networking. Instead, the device will utilize your existing BlackBerry’s connection, communicating with the device via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth."

· Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center joins growing economic boycott of Arizona: "The center will prohibit staff travel to Arizona for conferences or other professional activities and will take steps to end all relationships with businesses headquartered in Arizona."

Sen. Chris Dodd Will Retire

Later tonight, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd is expected to announce he will not run for re-election and will retire at the end of his term. TPM: "While usually a retirement by an incumbent is bad news for a party, in this case Dodd's retirement almost certainly improves Democratic chances for holding the seat with a stronger candidate.  Dodd himself had consistently been running badly in the polls against his Republican challengers, largely as a result of the controversial mortgage he received from Countrywide Financial."

CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has already announced that he will run. Public Policy Polling has just released a new poll that shows Blumenthal way ahead of Dodd and any Republican challenger.

Dodd's news comes on the same day fellow Democratic Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (ND) and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, also a Democrat, announced they would not seek reelection.

Teen in Exorcism Tells "Tyra Banks" He is "Healed" and Ex-Gay

There is a disturbing update to the case of the fundamentalist Connecticut church that became the focus of a child welfare investigation after it posted YouTube video which shows the pastors performing an exorcism of a black gay teen's "homosexual demons." The 16-year-old appeared on Tyra Banks on Wednesday and now claims he has been "healed" by the exorcism and no longer gay.

"Jeffrey" tells Tyra: "I am healed by the power and authority of the Holy Spirit that came into me that day .. and removed the unclean spirit from me. Because I do not want to live the homosexual lifestyle. I have nothing against them if they want to live that way but they have a choice to serve ... the Lord."

The teen says that he has been struggling" with his "sexuality since [he] was five years old" and adds that in his teens he began to "cross-dress" and wear women's clothing.  The teen also defends Patricia McKinney, the self-proclaimed "prophet" and pastor of Manifested Glory Ministries in Bridgeport, and explains the convulsions and vomiting seen on tape: "That is the unclean spirit moving ... out of our body. It tends to shake and move in ways that are not natural."

The boy appears unsure of himself and coached. He is also concealing his identity and wearing a "beard". (It probably won't be the last time, either.) Why did the parents allow the minor to appear on national television? The family is said to be "very happy" with his "healing." Sources told Rod 2.0 the teen left the church and found an LGBT "inclusive and affirming" ministry, only to return to Manifested Glory. The television segment with the teen is a disturbing window into the lives of the many black gay men who remain in anti-gay churches and hope to "pray the gay away."

Via Rod 2.0 reader Isis: Watch an 8-minute clip or the entire 37 minute show, AFTER THE JUMP.

Anti-Gay "Prophet" Appears on CNN, Defends Gay Teen Exorcism

More on the disturbing case of the charismatic Bridgeport church under investigation by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families after posting a YouTube video which shows the pastors performing an exorcism of a gay teen's "homosexual demons." A minister and trusted source of Rod 2.0 reports the 16-year-old boy no longer attends the church and has found an LGBT "inclusive and affirming" church.

The second update: Despite those reports, Pastor and "Prophet" McKinney of Manifested Glory Ministries appeared on CNN and claimed the gay teen's "homosexual spirit" has been cleansed. McKinney also claims he "asked" for their help. McKinney tells CNN's Ali Velshi: "On this particular Sunday we were just worshiping the Lord. This young man came to us and said he had a spirit he wanted cleansed ... and then he just fell on the floor." McKinney adds: "Manifested Glory Ministries is not against homosexuality. We don't hate them  .. we don't come against them .. we just don't believe in their lifestyle."

Thanks for clearing that up, prophet.

McKinney also describes homosexuality as a choice and a demonic spirit akin to drug addiction: "It's not just the homosexuality spirit. It could be the alcohol spirit, the crack cocaine spirit, the adultery spirit. Everything carries a spirit."

WHEN YOU JUMP, watch CNN's report featuring the self-described "prophet" who disputes the 20 minutes of video and claims the 16-year-old gay teen "just fell on the floor."  Is that like "just running into a knife"?