Caroline Kennedy, once a challenger for one of New York’s U.S. Senate seats, has signed onto a national effort to support gay marriage as the cause is focusing on New York.
Kennedy is the 100,000th signer of a letter to President Obama to support legalizing gay marriage nationwide. She is one of several celebrities to sign. Others include actors ( Read more... )

Now it's time for what has become one of the Candy's most popular features, where we check out readers' cellphone photos.
Before we start, a word on submissions: Send them anytime to popcandy@usatoday.com with your name, city and a brief description of the pic. Huge attachments may not get through to me, so watch out for file sizes!
My top 10 of the ( Read more... )

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Good weather, good music, and the sweet smell of patchouli is in the air.
Yes, that’s right. It’s time for some summer music festivals.
Before we start to celebrate the warming climate with BBQs and outdoor showers, we must have a moment of silence for Lilith Fair. Though it was revived last year, 13 ( Read more... )

I know it's only been a week, but there's so much great music out now that I wanted to make another Pop Candy podcast of new tunes.
We've got some new bands, a few returning favorites ... it's definitely worth hearing from start to finish. Listen via the streaming/sharing link below, or download it for free on iTunes. Pass it on!

The full track list:
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This week I heard about a new documentary called Rejoice and Shout. It traces the history of African-American gospel music, and it looks like a must-see.
Several celebrities are interviewed in the flick, including Smokey Robinson, Mavis Staples and Willa Ward. It's directed by Don McGlynn, who has made films about Howlin' Wolf, Charles Mingus, ( Read more... )

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As a first step in a national campaign, the American Civil Liberties Union recently sent letters to schools in Michigan and Missouri that asked them to stop blocking educational websites about LGBT issues from its students. In the past, the ACLU successfully got Tennessee school districts in Knoxville and Nashville to stop using filtering software ( Read more... )

Every once in a while, a website moves me so much that I'm compelled to learn more about it. Ever since I came across the hilarious CelebriGum, I've had many questions, so I contacted its creator, Steve Young, to tell me more about it:
Me: First of all, what inspired you to create CelebriGum?

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Protesters have been rallying outside Target Corp. or its stores almost daily since the retailer angered gay rights supporters and progressives by giving money to help a conservative Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota. Liberal groups are pushing to make an example of the company, hoping its woes will deter other businesses from putting ( Read more... )

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