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Protesters to march vs Monsanto in 250 cities via Rickey.org Protesters to ‘March Against Monsanto’ across US, around globe in collective anti-GMO rally LOS ANGELES (AP) — Marches and rallies against seed giant Monsanto were held across the U.S. and in dozens of other countries Saturday. “March Against Monsanto” protesters say they want to call attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the food giants that produce it. Marches are planned for more than 250 cities around the globe, according to organizers. Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment. Monsanto Co., based in St. Louis, said Saturday that it respects people’s rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy. The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe. The Food and Drug Administration does not require the labeling, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods. The Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods. The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a lobbying group that represents Monsanto, DuPont & Co. and other makers of genetically modified seeds, has said that it supports voluntary labeling for people who seek out such products. But it says that mandatory labeling would only mislead or confuse consumers into thinking the products aren’t safe, even though the FDA has said there’s no difference between GMO and organic, non-GMO foods. However, state legislatures in Vermont and Connecticut moved ahead this month with a vote to make food companies declare genetically modified ingredients on their packages. And supermarket retailer Whole Foods Markets Inc. has said that all products in its North American stores that contain genetically modified ingredients will be labeled as such by 2018. Whole Foods says there is growing demand for products that don’t use GMOs, with sales of products with a “Non-GMO” verification label spiking between 15 percent and 30 percent. __ Online: http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html http://www.monsanto.com Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. Users may not download or reproduce a substantial portion of the AP material found on this web site. AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. The Voice • American Idol • The X Factor

Judge: Ariz. sheriff’s office profiles Latinos via Rickey.org Judge finds Ariz. sheriff’s office racially profiles Latinos in immigration patrols PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the office of America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff systematically singled out Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols, marking the first finding by a court that the agency racially profiles people. The decision by U.S. District Judge Murray Snow in Phoenix backs up years of allegations from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s critics who say his officers violate the constitutional rights of Latinos in relying on race in their immigration enforcement. Snow, whose ruling Friday came more than eight months after a seven-day, non-jury trial, also ruled Arpaio’s deputies unreasonably prolonged the detentions of people who were pulled over. The ruling marks a thorough repudiation of the immigration patrols that made Arpaio a national political figure, and it represents a victory for those who pushed the lawsuit. “For too long the sheriff has been victimizing the people he’s meant to serve with his discriminatory policy,” said Cecillia D. Wang, director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Right Project. “Today we’re seeing justice for everyone in the county.” Monetary damages weren’t sought in the lawsuit but rather a declaration that Arpaio’s office engages in racial profiling and an order that requires it to make policy changes. Stanley Young, the lead lawyer who argued the case against Arpaio, said Snow set a hearing for June 14 where he will hear from the two sides on how to make sure the orders in the ruling are carried out. The sheriff, who has repeatedly denied the allegations, won’t face jail time as a result of Friday’s ruling. Tim Casey, Arapio’s lead attorney in the case, said an appeal was planned in the next 30 days. “In the meantime, we will meet with the court and comply with the letter and spirit of the order,” he said. A small group of Latinos alleged in their lawsuit that Arpaio’s deputies pulled over some vehicles only to make immigration status checks. The group asked Snow to issue injunctions barring the sheriff’s office from discriminatory policing and the judge ruled that more remedies could be ordered in the future. The group also accused the sheriff of ordering some immigration patrols not based on reports of crime but rather on letters and emails from Arizonans who complained about people with dark skin congregating in an area or speaking Spanish. The group’s attorneys noted Arpaio sent thank-you notes to some who wrote the complaints. The sheriff said his deputies only stop people when they think a crime has been committed and that he wasn’t the person who picked the location of the patrols. His lawyers said there was nothing wrong with the thank-you notes. Young, the group’s lawyer, said he was still reading the decision Friday but noted it contained “very detailed findings of discriminatory intent and effect.” Casey said that MCSO’s position “is that it has never used race and will never use race in its law-enforcement decisions.” He added the sheriff’s office relied on “bad training” from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A call to ICE officials in Phoenix for comment wasn’t immediately returned Friday evening. Arpaio, who turns 81 next month, was elected in November to his sixth consecutive term as sheriff in Arizona’s most populous county. Known for jailing inmates in tents and making prisoners wear pink underwear, Arpaio started doing immigration enforcement in 2006 amid Arizona voter frustration with the state’s role as the nation’s busiest illegal entryway. Snow wrote that “in the absence of further facts that would give rise to reasonable suspicion or probable cause that a violati

Gay soccer player Robbie Rogers joins LA Galaxy via Rickey.org ‘I don’t know what I was so afraid of’: Gay soccer player Robbie Rogers joins LA Galaxy LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robbie Rogers is joining the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer in another step by openly gay athletes in professional sports. He told The Associated Press his fears about returning to soccer were eased by the strong support he received from family, fans and players, including Galaxy star Landon Donovan. Now Rogers is ready to accept his role as the league’s first openly gay player. “I don’t know what I was so afraid of,” Rogers said Friday. “It’s been such a positive experience for me. The one thing I’ve learned from all of this is being gay is not that big of a deal to people.” “People are just really growing and accepting and loving,” he added. “Those other things are just not that important to them. I think as the younger get older and the generations come and go, I think times are just becoming more accepting.” The 26-year-old player had retired in February on the same day the former U.S. national team player publicly came out in a blog post. Last month, NBA veteran Jason Collins came out, and Rogers spoke with Collins on the day of the center’s announcement. “I would have thought more athletes would have taken that step, I guess,” Rogers said. “People have seen how accepting everyone has been of Jason’s and my story. I think it’s going to take just more time and more athletes coming out. It’s all about seeing that it’s not something to be afraid of. It’s not going to hurt your career.” U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe came out last year before the London Olympics and plays for Lyon in France. She’s expected to join the Seattle team of the new National Women’s Soccer League in mid-June. Brittney Griner, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury, and Seimone Augustus of the Minnesota Lynx are among that league’s openly gay players. Sheryl Swoopes, a retired WNBA All-Star, came out in 2005 during her playing days. The two-time defending champion Galaxy will announce a deal Saturday to acquire Rogers, who came out in February while simultaneously announcing his retirement. Rogers is an MLS veteran who spent the last two seasons in England. About a month ago, Rogers decided he wasn’t truly ready to give up soccer. He trained with the Galaxy in recent weeks and hoped to continue his career in his native Southern California. The Galaxy made it happen by giving up high-scoring midfielder Mike Magee in a trade with the Chicago Fire, who held Rogers’ MLS rights. “I want to get back to soccer, which is what I love,” Rogers said. “I get to do something I love, and I get to help people and be a positive role model. I’m really excited to set a great example for other kids that are going through the same thing I went through. It’s a perfect world for me, a perfect world.” Rogers isn’t likely to debut for Los Angeles immediately, although coach Bruce Arena thinks Rogers already is in decent shape despite 18 months with little match experience. Arena figures Rogers could be a strong contributor to the Galaxy by July. “Certainly the league, and I think the fans, are going to be receptive in a real positive way,” Arena told the AP. “But we’re not in this to pioneer social issues. We’re trying to win games as a team, and we’re trying to produce the best team we can. Robbie has shown us that he has the potential to still be a real good player in our league, and that’s what we’re hopeful of.” Rogers is mindful of the place he’ll take in the culture when he steps on the field this summer, but the skilled, speedy winger is even more excited to contend for MLS titles and another chan

Earlier this month, a 1991 painting of The Golden Girls star Bea Arthur, by artist John Currin, sold for $1.9 million at an auction. Why so much money, when she’s not even depicted wearing her Mos Eisley Cantina wardrobe from The Star Wars Holiday Special? Because Arthur’s wearing nothing at all, nothing at all, nothing at all. At first, the identity of the Mona Maude bidder was unknown, but yesterday, word broke that a certain late night host dropped nearly $2 million for something I see every night in my dreams for free. But which one was it? He’s a he, not a she, which stills leaves everyone. He’s white, which still leaves everyone. He’s not Carson Daly, which still leaves all the good ones and Jay Leno. He’s on a network show, which still leaves everyone except Daly, Stewart, and Colbert. His name begins with a J, which still leaves everyone except Daly, Stewart, Colbert, Conan, Craig, and Dave. Who’s left? Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon. Maybe this block quote will help. On Friday, the comedian confirmed on Twitter that he was the person who spent $1.9 million on a 1991 nude portrait of Arthur by artist John Currin, and that he has given the painting to fellow comedian Jeff Ross. [REDACTED] apparently bought the painting at a Christie’s auction in New York earlier this month. The auction of postwar and contemporary art brought it a record total of $495 million. Ross…tweeted a picture of himself on Friday holding the Currin painting: “Biggest surprise of my life. Thank you [REDACTED] – the most generous guy in the world!” (Via) Considering Jay Leno is more likely to star in Collision Course 2 than be friends with Jeffrey Ross, it ain’t him. As for Fallon, rumor has it he and Questlove are bigger Rue McClanahan fans, meaning Jimmy Kimmel bought THE nude painting of Bea Arthur and gave it to Jeffrey Ross, which is definitely a sentence I thought I’d write someday. It’s a shame Bea passed away in 2009 — she would have loved Obesity Epidemic. (Via LA Times)

ABC was number one in adults 18-49 while NBC was on top with total viewers.

The "After Earth" actor rapped and broke out dance moves with Alfonso Ribeiro on the program. read more

"Totally Biased" sent two correspondents, comedians Guy Branum and Aparna Nancherla, to Madison Square Garden to interview people protesting gay-bashing that recently occurred at Knicks games -- interview them about their fashion choices, of course.Check out the clip above to see what happens when a protest turns into a red carpet.

"Fast & Furious 6" put its pedal to the metal with a $38.1 million Friday that has the Memorial Day weekend box office on a blistering record pace. The latest entry in Universal's muscle-car movie franchise could hit $120 million for the four-day weekend, and the overall box office is on track to top $300 million, which would easily outstrip the $276 million rung up in 2011, when "Hangover II" led the way with $85 million. Related Articles: How an Extreme Movie Makeover Saved 'Fast & Furious' From Going Direct to DVD 'Fast & Furious 6' Review: Bypasses Logic and Drives Straight to the Pleasure Center 'Fast & Furious 6' Full Trailer Takes Action to 'a Whole New Level' - Of Ridiculous (Video) read more

And then there were two. As Saturday broke in Cannes, 18 of the 20 films in competition for the Palme d'Or had screened. Only Jim Jarmusch's vampire movie "Only Lovers Left Alive" and Roman Polanski's presumably kinky "Venus in Fur" remained. And with the Jarmusch taking the 8:30 a.m. slot on the heels of its Friday sale to Sony Pictures Classics, reactions quickly began coming in on the latest film from the man who'd been to Cannes with "Stranger Than Paradise" and "Mystery Train." Related Articles: 'Only God Forgives' Director Responds to Boos of His Ryan Gosling Thriller Good Morning, Cannes: Father Figures, Funny Men and Teen Lesbians read more

The first half of @FallingSkiesTNT S.3 heads off in some interesting directions. #FallingSkies returns Sunday, June 9th. # Checking out the #SuperFunNight "Pilot." http://t.co/iL2UoCyY4J #GetGlue @SuperFunNight # Checking out the #BackintheGame "Pilot." http://t.co/sD1XCRnygX #GetGlue @BackInTheGameTV # Checking out #TheGoldbergs "Pilot." http://t.co/qb43FpEDPv #GetGlue @TheGoldbergsABC # Checking out the #BrooklynNineNine "Pilot." http://t.co/6q7uWSasda #GetGlue @Brooklyn99FOX # Checking out the #AlmostHuman "Pilot." http://t.co/o5tbWBbdbh #GetGlue @AlmostHumanFOX # Checking out the #SleepyHollow "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/vp3vYrJhKr #GetGlue @SleepyHollowFOX # Checking out the #Rake "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/Gk6ol3q2dq #GetGlue @RAKEonFOX # Checking out the #Dads "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/uDy67O6Rha #GetGlue @DADSonFOX # Checking out the #Enlisted "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/XR8Pv9ouBC #GetGlue @ENLISTEDonFOX # Checking out #UsandThem "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/OkojAFF4XE #GetGlue @UsAndThemFOX # Checking out @SurvivingJack "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/k8TMY5s5as #GetGlue @SurvivingJack # Checking out #TrophyWife "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/sOxiiNAzQk #GetGlue @TrophyWifeABC # Checking out #Resurrection "Pilot." http://t.co/sf0LsuapTO #GetGlue @Resurrection # Checking out the #Betrayal "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/nxv1AvV193 #GetGlue @BetrayalABC # Checking out the #Lucky7 "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/2jyylOxxp3 #GetGlue @Lucky7ABC # Checking out the #GangRelated "Pilot" episode. http://t.co/NOnwpGJa0O #GetGlue @GangRelatedFOX # Had a great time talking recent cancellations and Fall 2013 TV on The TV Madness Podcast with @mekeishamadto. Will post a link once it… # FOX #Fall2013 Really liked #Enlisted Liked #AlmostHuman & #BrooklynNineNine Not sure what to make of #SleepyHollow #Dads was terrible. # FOX #Midseason2014 Really liked #UsandThem Liked #GangRelated & #Rake Neither liked nor disliked #SurvivingJack # ABC #Fall2013 Really liked #TrophyWife Liked #Betrayal #TheGoldbergs & #BackintheGame Didn't like #Lucky7 #SuperFunNight was terrible. # ABC #Midseason2014 Really liked #Resurrection # Great read. RT @AmyTVGal: Enter to win @sepinwall fantastic book-must read for any TV fan. And if you don't win bu… http://t.co/URzVw9lrAs # RT @soapwikijohn: Since I started listening to @TVtimesThree I have watched #Greek #HIMYM #HappyEndings & #TeenWolf TVx3 making me Abetter… # Checking out the #KingandMaxwell "Pilot" episode. Premieres Monday, June 10th on TNT. http://t.co/QCbUwvCMlP #GetGlue #kingandmaxwell # Checking out the S.2 premiere of #MajorCrimes which returns June 10th on TNT. http://t.co/8jBAqHDdLB #GetGlue @MajorCrimesTNT # Checking out the S.2 premiere of #Continuum which returns Friday, June 7th on Syfy. http://t.co/ZfCMzitQFb #GetGlue #Continuum # Listen to the latest @TVtimesThree #Podcast Ep.181: Cancellations and Upfronts and Mothers, Oh My! – http://t.co/K9JCpuzxzF # Checking out S.2 midseason premiere of #SwitchedatBirth which plays June 10th on ABC Family. http://t.co/IagyeSIEf5 #GetGlue @ABCFsab # Printable TV Schedule Downloads: Printable Summer 2013 TV Schedule v1.00 (PDF) - New as of 5.16.2013. Printable Summer 2013 Cable TV Schedule v1.00 (PDF) - New as of 5.16.2013. Printable Fall 2013 TV Schedule v1.00 (PDF) - New as of 5.17.2013.