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NEWS: Maryland, Wisconsin, HIV, Diana Ross, Baptiste Giabiconi

Marriage equality bill SB 116 introduced in Maryland Senate.

Baltimore NAACP wants hearing on voter discrepancies. 

Diana Ross to perform and be interviewed on Oprah.

Wisconsin Capitol blocks pro-union site.

DONATE: Union supporters low on water.

REPORT: "Nearly every GOP politician in WI is in the pockets of the billionaire Koch Bros."

Palin uses fake Facebook page to praise real Facebook page.

Clarence Thomas celebrates five years of silence during SCOTUS oral arguments.

PHB QUIZ: Do you know your Black Gay History?

TORONTO: Lecture series on Canadian Black gay history.  

Son of Baldwin posts eye-catching adverts by Wells Fargo. R20 first reported  the  rare niche ad  campaign HERE.

Connecticut to eliminate AIDS Drug Assistance Program? 

House agrees to additional $42M for ADAP.

Most detailed 3D model of HIV ever made.

CALIFORNIA: GOP lawmaker introduces bill requiring state to defend all voter-approved ballot measures. 

Israel appoints first openly gay judge.

Tyra at Harvard.

Thune won't run for president in 2012. 

Baptiste Giabiconi spotted stripping in laundromat.

Kansas drops proposed hate bill that would have allowed "individuals to discriminate against members of protected classes not included in the state statute, so long as the individual can claim that such discrimination is a protected religious belief."

Faith Evans to Play The Supremes' Florence Ballard in Biopic?

R&B star Faith Evans has reportedly been selected to star as Florence Ballard in a new biopic about the tragic life of the fallen Supreme. The film is reportedly based on the book The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard.

The Detroit native was once the lead vocalist of The Supremes before being shifted to the background in favor of Diana Ross. Ballard fought weight issues, alcoholism and depression and was later dismissed from the group in 1967. Ballard was replaced by former Bluebelle Cindy Birdsong.

After spending the next six or seven years in near poverty while suing Motown executives and former attorneys, Ballard later regained control of her faculties, sought treatment for her alcoholism and received a sizable legal settlement. Ballard started to perform again in 1975 and died of cardiac arrest at the age of 32 in 1976. Ballard's story was the inspiration for the now-iconic role of Effie White in Dreamgirls.

BET.com's Clay Cane says he's withholding judgment on the casting. "I always give the side-eye when singers who have little experience acting play biopics.  Ballard is a meaty, complex character. Nonetheless, Evans might surprise us—she certainly has the soul in her vocals."

Kelly Rowland: Elle, Singapore, FIFA, "Everywhere You Go" Video

Outtakes from the July 2010 Kelly Rowland editorial in ELLE. The "Commander' diva is photographed at New York's W Hotel by Kelly Stuart in Fendi, Hervé Léger, and Jean Paul Gaultier. "I like to see what I have first, see what everyone else is doing, and then I put my own shake on stuff so it’s my own,” she explains.

More images AFTER THE JUMP ...

Rowland and Diana Ross are in Singapore today and  headline the grand opening of the Marina Bay Sands.

The "Commander" video dropped yesterday to rave reviews. The David Guettta-produced anthem officially debuts next week and is expected to hit the #1 position on the U.S club charts. Popwrap at the NY Post: "In addition to 'Commander,' two other songs will be simultaneously assaulting radio next week -- the urban radio track 'Grown Woman' and the pop/mainstream hopeful hit 'Rose Colored Glasses.' A trifecta of tracks that are bound to resonate in the radio ozone for a long time."

Cover art for the new singles HERE. 

How did Kelly Rowland meet French super-producer Guetta? "'He was DJing in the place I was performing,'" Rowland explains in an extensive new interview with The Scotsman. "'He played the instrumental of When Love Takes Over and I heard it and lost my mind so much I cried. I had to sing on that track.' ... After working on the track with writers [and] rehearsing in a studio, she caught the attention of Sylvia Rhone, president of Universal Motown Records, who was next door working with Nelly. 'God puts us in the right place at the right time. That's definitely what he did that day.' When Rhone discovered she didn't have a label she signed her on the spot. 'And we've made a fantastic record.'"

The official music video for Kelly Rowland's FIFA World Cup theme song "Everywhere You Go" debuts. The track features artists from across the continent—such as Samini, Chameleone and Krotal and—who sing with Rowland and also appear in the Andrew Wessels-directed video. Unfortunately: The track is not included in the Listen Up! The Official 2010 FIFA World Cup Album compilation available on iTunes.

More images and watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

Diana Ross Announces Tour

The iconic Diana Ross announces she will return to the concert circuit with a nationwide, summer tour of 17 cities. The "More Today than Yesterday" tour will kick off in Boston on May 15 and conclude in Saratoga, California on June 12.

The legendary singer last toured the United States in 2007. That was also the same year of her most recent album "I Love You." The 15-track collection featured her renditions of well-known standards and was her first album in seven years.

There are a lot of things you could say about Diana Ross but this comes to mind first: No one can pack a dance floor at 5 am like Diana Ross' 7 minute version of "Love Hangover" or the extended release of "The Boss". I am so there. The tour schedule and via Rod 2.0 reader Byron watch Miss Ross perform "Love Hangover" on television in 1976 AFTER THE JUMP...

Jackson's Will Leaves Diana Ross Guardian of Children if Mother Dies

Michael Jackson's recently unearthed will is filed today in Los Angeles with some dramatic revelations.

The Daily News reports: "The will says Jackson left his entire estate—estimated at more than $500 million—to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, leaving nothing for ex-wife Debbie Rowe."I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife, Deborah Jean Rowe Jackson," the will, drafted in July 2002, states. Jackson named his mother, Katherine Jackson, beneficiary of the trust and guardian of his three children in the 5-page document. In a stunning revelation, singer Diana Ross is named to succeed Jacko's mother as guardian, if necessary."

Jackson's net worth at the time the will was executed in 2002 was more than $500 million. Jackson had a net worth of "more than $236 million as of March 2007" according to documents obtained by the AP..

In related news: A hearing is scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court on guardianship for the children and Katherine' Jackson's petition to administer the estate. Katherine was awarded temporary guardianship of the three children on Monday. At this time a public memorial has not been announced.

Is anyone surprised Joe Jackson was not named co-guardian?

UPDATE: This urgent bulletin moved on Twitter by @BreakingNews: "Los Angeles Superior Court spokeswoman tells BNO News that an emergency hearing on Michael Jackson's case has begun.The reason for the emergency hearing on Michael Jackson's case was not immediately known."

Evan Ross on Kerry Washington's Transgender Role in "Cracktown"

Evan Ross continues to impress. In a new interview with BET.com's Clay Cane, the actor and Hollywood "it" boy talks about his new role in the intense addiction drama Life is Hot in Cracktown. The film is based on Buddy Giovinazzo's collection of short stories by the same name and its directed by the author. Ross tells Cane: "I was taken aback by the script in general. I was surprised they were able to make something like this. It’s hard to get films made that are that dark."

Much of the film's buzz has been around Kerry Washington who plays a drug-addicted pre-op transgender prostitute. Ross says hers is the best role in the film: "Kerry Washington’s character and just her in general in the film .... I was so taken aback by her mannerisms and different things she was doing. You can tell she wasn’t thinking about it at all, it was so precise and amazing."

The actor later adds: "People can gain understanding of reality [from the film]. No matter where they are in life, no matter how much money they have and where they are coming from. We’re all trying to find out who we are. "

Evan Ross has chosen a number of edgy roles that have landed him on the critical radar. In 2007 the actor, who is the son of the iconic Diana Ross, played a self-destructive gay, HIV positive teenager in HBO's Life Support. Many critics said this was his best work so far.

AFTER THE JUMP, watch Evan Ross and Kerry Washington in the trailer for Life in Cracktown. There are two versions of the trailer. Enjoy.

Rare Live, 1967 Recording of The Supremes at the Copacabana

A rare live recording of The Supremes at New York City's famous Copacabana nightclub. Excellent liner notes from iSupreme: "This was recorded on the night of the 20th of May, 1967 only a few months before founding member and soprano of the group Florence Ballard was fired. This performance features very entertaining and funny interaction between the members of the group to the great delight of the audience. This performance also includes the infamous little part where Diana Ross boasts ...Thin is in!' and Florence Ballard replies '...and honey, fat is where it's at!' "

Those who know the history of The Supremes and the ultimate fate of Ballard, as well as readers of the recent The Lost Supreme: The Life of Dreamgirl Florence Ballard, should appreciate the significance of Diane's "joke."

Mary Wilson Talks to "Gay Times" About Dresses and "Dreamgirls"

Last week, Rod 2.0 previewed The Story of The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, a retrospective which showcases dozens of the beautiful and elegant performance costumes of The Supremes, as well as sketches of the original gowns and archival video. The fabulous Mary Wilson, one of the original members of The Supremes who remained with the group into the 1970s, is interviewed in the current issue of Gay Times (PDF) and dishes supreme fashion and "Dreamgirls."

On comfort and the weight of the gowns:
Once you put them, they weren't as heavy as when you held them. And some were like 35 pounds!

On keeping track of the original gowns:
Quite a few were stolen in different places. Many of them are gown, but many have shown up on eBay, which I've been able to buy back. ... Very shocking. But it's been really great because the fans, in a couple of cases, have helped me buy them back You know, you have to get them immediately, and so the fans jumped in there and helped me out tremendously. ... Once our bus was broken into and gowns went missing there. We had a fire in a nightclub in Mexico, and some were burned there. And THEN some were stolen from our dressing room in San Francisco.

On the Dreamgirls screen adaptation:
I absolutely thought it was wonderful as a movie, and speaking about that time period, but it wasn't the story of The Supremes. ... The gentlemen who wrote the original Broadway play were probably inspired by The Supremes, and I think as much as they could use our storyline, they did, but then they created their own story around that. But I do think in the beginning that it was based on The Supremes. That was unauthorized!

Oh, and on several occasions, Mary Wilson refers to Miss Ross as "Diane." Ouch.

Some Background ...
The Fashion of The Supremes at the Victoria and Albert Museum [R20]

The Fashion of The Supremes at the Victoria and Albert Museum

Motown aficionados and fans of Mary Wilson and Diana Ross may want to take note: The beautiful and elegant performance costumes of The Supremes, one of the recording industry's most successful groups, are now on exhibit at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

The Story of The Supremes from the Mary Wilson Collection is based on the collection of Mary Wilson. "On show are over fifty outfits that chart the changing image of the group, from their dresses in the early days as The Primettes, to the glamorous Hollywood designs worn at the height of their fame."

"It examines how the group was carefully styled by Berry Gordy and his Motown associates to appeal to the widest possible audience. ... The lavish outfits with beading and thousands of sequins could cost between one and two thousand dollars each in the 1960s, $13-26,000 at 2007 prices."

For those of us not lucky enough to be in London, there are some interactive extras online, including a section on styling The Supremes, designing your own Supremes album cover, and, a rich history of Detroit, Motown and the civil rights movement.

The costumes cover all The Supremes, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, as well as Cindy Birdsong, Jean Terrell, Lynda Lawrence, Scherrie Payne and Susaye Green. All of these women were trend setters and divas in their own right.

Exhibition: The Story of The Supremes [V&A]

Hudson and Holliday Kick Off the BET Awards, Diana Ross Tribute

Although the BET Awards recognized some of the entertainment industry's most celebrated performers last night, it was the programs tributes to living legends and recently departed giants that provided the most emotion.

Setting the pace was the stunning show opener, an incredible duet between Jennifer Hudson and Jennifer Holliday of the anthemic "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls. Hudson won the best supporting actress Academy Award this year for her role as Effie in the movie adaptation of the musical, but, as we all know, it was Holliday who originated the role on Broadway almost three decades ago and made the song one of the most stirring performances in music.

The two Jennifers united to sing what has now become both women's signature song in an historic performance: Hudson has only performed the song live once (?) and Holliday's complaints about being ignored for her contributions to Dreamgirls have been legendary. You Tube of last night's performance here.

50 Cent took the stage to perform his new hit, "Amusement Park," which was bleeped several times. No surprise there.

Perhaps with that performance in mind, Lifetime achievement winner Diana Ross took the stage and urged younger performers to "keep it classy" and refrain from foul behavior.

"I have tried to keep the standards high," she said. "We do not have to say the F-word, we do not have to pump and grind, we do not have to some of these things to have longevity in our career."

The legendary performer was feted with a multi-song tribute. Erykah Badu got it started with her cover of "Love Hangover", whose bassline and chorus has now become legendary to generations of gay men across the world. Others paying tribute to Ross included fellow Motown legend Stevie Wonder and R&B queen Chaka Khan, and her five children, including actors Tracee Ellis Ross and young, fabulous and gay-friendly Evan Ross.