News Round-Up: August 18, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Germany's Olympic javelin team (above) offers us a good reason to talk about the country without having to mention "nazis." Check out this one minute video from the hunky gentlemen from Germany.

• Two lawsuits in Northern Ireland challenging the current ban on marriage equality have been dismissed. The judge in both cases ruled the ban does not violate LGBT couples' rights.

• Apple is donating $2 million to anti-hate groups, the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We’ve seen the terror of white supremacy & racist violence before. It's a moral issue - an affront to America. We must all stand against it

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) August 14, 2017

• On the same day, both the American Cancer Society and the Cleveland Clinic have canceled their planned gala events at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago venue. A local Chamber of Commerce official told the press, “The glitter, the shine has gone from the club and I can’t help but think there will be more fallout from it.”

• Openly gay former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken laments his past defense of Donald Trump:

Remember all those times I defended @realDonaldTrump and believed he was not actually racist? Well... I am a f*****g dumbass. #imsorry

— Clay Aiken (@clayaiken) August 15, 2017

• The Wrap is reporting Glenn Close is in advanced talks to star in a film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Sunset Boulevard. Close won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in 1994 and recently ended an enormously successful revival run on Broadway.

• Australian song bird Dannii Minogue dropped her new dance tune last week, "Holding On," and the title/lyrics couldn't be more appropriate for the times. Listen below: