News Round-Up: March 10, 2017

Some news items you may have missed:

• Don't forget to turn your clocks forward early Sunday morning. Of course, I have my own thoughts on the subject above.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger is trolling President Trump with rumors of a possible run for U.S. Senate in 2018.

• The Washington Blade, which the New York Times rightfully calls the “newspaper of record for the LGBT community,” is set to launch a west coast sister publication, the Los Angeles Blade.

• The Office of Government Ethics isn't happy with the White House deciding to let Kellyanne Conway off with just a slap on the wrist after promoting Ivanka Trump's merchandise line at Nordstroms.

• With a shortage of Catholic priests, the Pope signals he may be open to allowing married men be priests.

• Out singer/songwriter Wrabel follows up his hit "11 Blocks" with new single, "Bloodstain:" "I’m used to wearing my heart on my sleeve but this time it's bleeding. I would rather love and bleed than never feel love at all." Watch the lyric video below.

Trump Trash Tweets Schwarzenegger Over APPRENTICE Ratings

With nothing to do in his early morning hours (but get ready to become leader of the free world), President-elect Trump chose to take some "me time" to poke at Arnold Schwarzenegger for the low ratings on the premiere of The Apprentice, which Arnold now stars in.

Of course, what the Trumpster left out of his classy call-out is that his own ratings had slid mightily from season 1 (18.5 million) when reality TV was still new, to his last season with a much lower viewership  on it's season premiere (6.5 million).

Obviously, ego trumps money in The Donald's world, since he's still an executive producer for the show and making money off the series. So, mocking his own star is pretty much cutting off his nose to spite his orange face.

But not to worry, Arnold took the high road and gave a class in "class:"

Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Replace Donald Trump On CELEBRITY APPRENTICE

According to the Hollywood Reporter, action movie star and former governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger will replace Donald Trump as the host of the NBC reality show Celebrity Apprentice.

NBC severed all ties with Trump in July after he made what NBC deemed to be "derogatory statements" about Mexican immigrants. In a June 16 speech, he referred to Mexican immigrants as "rapists" and as people bringing drugs and crime into the U.S. in a speech announcing his presidential campaign.

Schwarzenegger joins Celebrity Apprentice for the upcoming 15th season of the franchise. "I have always been a huge fan of The Celebrity Apprentice and the way it showcases the challenges and triumphs of business and teamwork," he said in a statement. "I am thrilled to bring my experience to the boardroom and to continue to raise millions for charity. Let's get started!"

Since leaving office in 2011, Schwarzenegger has recently appeared in Terminator Genisys and The Expendables films. On the small screen, his credits include the series finale of Two and a Half Men and the Showtime docuseries Years of Living Dangerously, which he produced. Additionally, Schwarzenegger was one of the early investors in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain.

“After leaving the show to run for political office, Donald made it clear that he wanted The Celebrity Apprentice to be able to continue to raise millions of dollars annually for worthy causes, and now NBC and I have found an amazing new leader to do just that,” said executive producer Mark Burnett in a statement. “Gov. Schwarzenegger will use his vast and highly successful business, political and media experience to drive this hit franchise to new heights.”

The Donald tweeted his congratulations soon after the announcement:

Congrats to my friend @Schwarzenegger who is doing next season’s Celebrity Apprentice. He'll be great & will raise lots of $ for charity.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2015

Arnold Schwarzenegger Weighs In On Cecil The Lion Killing Scandal

#5forBigCats

A photo posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger (@schwarzenegger) on Jul 30, 2015 at 12:21pm PDT

Viral Video Of The Day: Arnold Schwarzenegger Pranks Hollywood

Over 10,000,000 views in one day.

Out of public office and back on the screen, Arnold Schwarzenegger pranks what seem like all of Hollywood as he takes on his Terminator persona and surprises fans.

The 67-year-old star walked the streets of Hollywood in character, posed as himself at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and took part in an "I'll Be Back" showdown with a "Terminator" impersonator.

The endeavor was to raise money for the charity After-School All-Stars through Omaze.com, which offers 87,377 low-income, at-risk youth after-school programs in 15 major cities across the country — from New York to Hawaii.

I'll add that while Schwarzenegger has kept clear of politics for the most part, he did write an op-ed this April condemning the GOP’s support for a “religious freedom” law in Indiana, which could potentially be used to discriminate against the LGBT community.

“As an American, I’m incredibly concerned about what happened in Indiana this week and the threat of similar laws being passed in other states. As a Republican, I’m furious,” Schwarzenegger wrote.

The latest installment of THE TERMINATOR opens in theaters July 1st.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Expresses Concern And Fury Over Anti-Gay Religious Freedom Laws

In a Washington Post op-ed published Friday morning, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) expressed his fury towards his fellow Republicans over anti-gay religious freedom laws such as the one recently passed in Indiana.

"As an American, I’m incredibly concerned about what happened in Indiana this week and the threat of similar laws being passed in other states. As a Republican, I’m furious."

"Distracting, divisive laws like the one Indiana passed aren’t just bad for the country, they’re also bad for our party."

Regarding corporations like Walmart that took a stand against the divisive legislation: "Those businesses are doing the right thing, but they have also done the math. As a party, we need to take a similarly realistic look," he said.

"Terminator" Saga Gets Reboot

Arnold Schwarzenegger returns to the Terminator series in a reboot set to premiere July 1, 2015.

Some change ups here, but the original premise still in play: robots set to wipe out humanity.

And yes, we get the iconic "I'll be back" from Arnold :)

(h/t JMG)