Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09008-9Dopaminergic action prediction error signals are used by mice as a value-free teaching signal to reinforce stable soundaction associations in the tail of the striatum.

Crystal Palace shocked Man City to win the FA Cup, Barcelona celebrated their LaLiga success and Serie A's title race is going down to the final day between Napoli and Inter: Gab Marcotti recaps the weekend.

The Mystics might be better than projected. The Fever defense is better, period. Here's what we learned as the WNBA season opened.

Six women have now filed lawsuits against eXp Realty, with similar claims that they were drugged and then attacked while attending an event for the brokerage.

In an effort to compete with the popularity of ChatGPT, Meta has launched its very own standalone AI app. Here is a selection of the best features available on Meta AI.Convenient voice-activated data leaksRevenge porn editorMakes phone real hotWhen paired with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, allows user to seamlessly observe stuff they already sawAn AI audience that loves your AI contentIs sweet to youNew kind of lonelinessRegisters minute changes in voice to ensure you are shown the content that will make you angriestEasy to delete as any other appThe post Features Of Metas New AI App appeared first on The Onion.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill banning the use of certain additives in public water systems, making Florida the second state, after Utah, to ban fluoride from drinking water. What do you think?Teeth are mostly vestigial anyway.Kimberly Stearn, Lumber CuratorGood, I wouldnt want any harmful chemicals getting into my meth pipe.Joe Lepo, Padlock MarketerThey dont fluoridate swamp water, and I dont see the gators complaining.Victor Lopez, UnemployedThe post Florida Bans Fluoride In Public Drinking Water appeared first on The Onion.

It defined my childhood and is a coveted feature of my next home.READ MORE...

Empty shopping carts are collected from the parking lot at Walmart store in Burbank, Calif., on Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)2025-05-19T10:00:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) For months, American consumers and businesses have been hearing that President Trumps massive import taxes tariffs would drive up prices and hurt the U.S. economy. But the latest economic reports dont match the doom and gloom: Inflation actually eased last month, and hiring was solid in April.For now, the disconnect has businesses and consumers struggling to reconcile what they were told to expect, what the numbers say and what they are seeing on the ground. Trump and his supporters are quick to point out that the trade wars of his first term didnt translate into higher overall inflation across the economy.So is it time to breathe easy? Not yet, economists say. Trumps tariffs are still huge the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Theyre unpredictable: The president frequently announces tariffs only to suspend them days later and to conjure up new ones. And they are still working their way through the system. We had a good jobs report. We had a cool inflation report, and thats great, said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at Yale Universitys Budget Lab. But that should not give us comfort about what next month will be, particularly on inflation. Walmart, for example, warned its customers last week that prices will be going up for everything from clothing to car seats. Prices for some items like bananas have already increased. True, the truce with China last Monday dramatically reduced the risks to the U.S. economy, and U.S. and global stock markets rallied last week in relief. The United States dropped the import tax that Trump angrily imposed on China Americas third-biggest source of imports from an eye-watering 145% to 30%; Beijing cut its retaliatory tariffs from 125% to 10%. Economists at JPMorgan Chase, who had forecast last month that the China tariffs made a recession likely, dont expect one now. Trumps tariffs are the highest since the Great DepressionBut even with the lower levies on China, the Yale Budget Lab reported that the cost of Trumps trade war will be high. Climbing prices will reduce the purchasing power of the average household by $2,800. Shoe prices will rise 15% and clothing 14%. The tariffs will shave 0.7 percentage points off U.S. economic growth this year and increase the unemployment rate now a low 4.2% by nearly 0.4 percentage points.Trump has plastered 10% taxes on imports from almost every country on earth. Hes also imposed 25% duties on cars, aluminum, steel, and many imports from Canada and Mexico.The Yale Budget Lab estimates that Trump policies will push the average U.S. tariff rate to 17.8%, highest since 1934 and up from around 2.5% when Trump took office. (Other economists put his tariff rate at 14% to 15%.) During Trumps first term, the average tariff rose just 1 percentage point despite all the headlines generated by trade policies. Now, according to the budget lab, they are rising 15 percentage points.And the tariffs have only begun to bite. In April, the import tax revenues collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection came to a tariff rate of just 4.5%, a fraction of whats coming, Tedeschi said. Thats partly because of delays in rolling out the tariffs, including technical glitches that prevented customs agents from collecting them for a couple of weeks. The full impact has also been delayed because companies beat the clock by bringing in foreign goods before Trumps tariffs took effect. Retailers and importers had also largely halted shipments of shoes, clothes, toys, and other items due to new tariffs, but many are resuming imports from China. Tedeschi, who was chief economist at President Joe Bidens Council of Economic Advisers, also notes that it just takes time for tariffs to translate into higher prices. During Trumps first term, his January 2018 levies on foreign washing machines didnt yield more expensive appliances until April that year. Still, a Federal Reserve study this month found that duties Trump imposed in 2018 and 2019 meant higher prices as soon as two months later, suggesting consumers could start paying more in June. Consumers are less willing to accept higher pricesThings have changed from the first time Trump was in the White House, when companies essentially passed along the entire cost of his tariffs. Now American consumers, still scarred by the burst of inflation that followed the COVID-19 pandemic, may be more reluctant to accept higher prices.Consumers werent inflation exhausted in 2018 the way that they are now, Tedeschi said. Surveys by Federal Reserve banks in Atlanta and Dallas have found that most companies would eat at least some of the tariff costs this time around. And one reason that the Labor Departments producer price index fell in April was that retailers and wholesalers reported lower profit margins, a sign that they may have been absorbing some of the tariff cost.Trump, who has long insisted that foreign countries and not U.S. companies or consumers pay his tariffs, on Saturday lashed out at Walmart for saying it would raise prices. On social media, he demanded that the giant retailer EAT THE TARIFFS, and do not charge valued customers anything. Ill be watching, and so will your customers!!! The economic damage doesnt just come from the cost of tariffs, but from the erratic way the president imposes them. For instance, the 145% China tariffs were just suspended for 90 days. Likewise, Trump has paused high taxes he slapped last month on imports from countries with which the United States runs trade deficits. Could those levies come back?Consumers are clearly fearful that the duties will boost prices, as consumer confidence surveys have plummeted since Trump began ramping up his tariff threats in February. The Conference Boards consumer confidence index has fallen for five straight months to its lowest level since the depths of the pandemic in May 2020. Costlier coffee and Christmas wreathes are comingSnowy Owl Coffee Roasters in Sandwich, Massachusetts, which imports beans from Brazil, Nicaragua, Burundi and other countries, is only now planning to raise its prices this week to cover the cost of the 10% tariffs. It plans to add 25 cents to 35 cents to the price for each cup.Tariffs are increasing costs and theyre adding to a lot of uncertainty around the potential for a downturn, said Shayna Ferullo, 44, co-owner of Snowy Owl. We are looking closely at the year ahead with the goal of consolidating and operating really, really tightly. Ferullo will also have to pay much more than she budgeted to renovate her shop in Brewster, Massachusetts -- one of her three retail locations -- because the contractor has raised his estimate, partly due to tariffs on building supplies. She has already elected to not fill one job after an employee left and is looking at ways automation could help reduce her labor costs, though she hasnt laid off any of her 35 employees.Jared Hendricks, CEO of Village Lighting Co., last month halted shipments of supplies he gets from China holiday storage bags, wreathes, holiday lights and garlands. Now that the U.S. and China have reached a truce, hes trying to get the products to the United States in time for the holidays.He estimates that it will take 10 to 20 days from China to the West Coast ports via ship and another 20 days to 40 days for the goods to go through U.S. Customs, then travel via Union Pacific Railways to his company in Utah. Given all the expected delays, Hendricks said hes worried that his holiday dcor wont arrive by Sept. 1 when it should start appearing in stores.Meanwhile, hes figuring out how to foot a $1 million bill for the tariffs. Hes hoping he can cover the cost by raising prices 10% to 15%. In the meantime, hes trying to secure a loan against his house to pay for the levies. We are moving forward, he said, but at great cost, personal risk, and weariness.____DInnocenzio reported from New York. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto ANNE DINNOCENZIO DInnocenzio writes about retail, trends, the consumer economy and hourly workers for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Incumbent Prime Minister and leader of the center-right Social Democratic Party Luis Montenegro reacts with his supporters, following Portugal's general election, in Lisbon, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)2025-05-19T09:21:55Z LISBON, Portugal (AP) Portugals president convened the countrys political parties for consultations Monday, after a general election delivered another minority government as well as an unprecedented showing by populist party Chega (Enough) that added momentum to Europes shift to the far-right.The center-right Democratic Alliance, led by the Social Democratic Party, captured 89 seats in the 230-seat National Assembly to win Sundays ballot. The outcome leaves it without a parliamentary majority, however, and vulnerable to opposition parties that ousted it two months ago in a confidence vote after less than a year in power.Portugals third general election in three years provided little hope for ending the worst spell of political instability for decades in the European Union country of 10.6 million people.The Portuguese dont want any more early elections, Luis Montenegro, the Democratic Alliance leader and incoming prime minister, said late Sunday in an appeal for opposition parties to let him serve a full four-year term. We all have to be able to speak to each other and put the national interest first, he said.Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has no executive power, was consulting with parties before inviting the election winner to form a government, in line with the constitution. Chega upsets Portugals power dynamicsChegas result shook up the traditional balance of power in a trend already witnessed elsewhere in Europe with parties such as Frances National Rally, the Brothers of Italy, and Alternative for Germany, which are now in the political mainstream.Chega leader Andre Ventura has appeared at events with the leaders of those parties in recent years.For the past 50 years, the Social Democrats and the center-left Socialist Party have alternated in power in Portugal.Chega collected the same number of seats as the Socialists 58 and could yet claim second place when four remaining seats decided by voters abroad are attributed in coming days. The two-party system is over, Ventura, a lawyer and former soccer pundit, said.Chega competed in its first election just six years ago, when it won one seat, and has fed off disaffection with the more moderate traditional parties. Campaigning under the slogan Save Portugal, it describes itself as a nationalist party and has focused on curbing immigration and cracking down on corruption.On the streets of Lisbon, 42-year-old bank employee Marta Costa said she felt disappointment and sadness at Chegas showing.We are losing the world and not building something decent for our children, she said. I think we are not placing enough value on freedom.Emilia Gordo, 55, said voters expressed a desire for change. They (Chega) are trying everything to bring about a change, the country feels a need for change.The Socialists, meanwhile, are without a leader after Pedro Nuno Santos said he was standing down after the partys worst result since 1987.The Democratic Alliance, which also includes the smaller Popular Party, lost a confidence vote in parliament in March as opposition lawmakers teamed up against it. That triggered an early election, which had been due in 2028. The confidence vote was sparked by a political storm around potential conflicts of interest in the business dealings of Prime Minister Lus Montenegros family law firm. Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing.Corruption scandals have dogged Portuguese politics in recent years, helping fuel the rise of Chega. But the party has recently fallen foul of its own lawmakers alleged wrongdoing. One is suspected of stealing suitcases from the Lisbon airport and selling the contents online, and another allegedly faked the signature of a dead woman. Both resigned. Immigration and housing concern votersChega owes much of its success to its demands for a tighter immigration policy that have resonated with voters.Portugal has witnessed a steep rise in immigration. In 2018, there were fewer than a half-million legal immigrants in the country, according to government statistics. By early this year, there were more than 1.5 million, many of them Brazilians and Asians working in tourism and farming.Thousands more lack the proper documents to be in Portugal. The Democratic Alliance government announced two weeks before the election that it was expelling about 18,000 foreigners living in the country without authorization. Though such a step is routine, the timing drew accusations that it was trying to capture votes from Chega.A housing crisis has also fired up debate. House prices and rents have been soaring for the past 10 years, due in part to an influx of white-collar foreigners who have driven up prices.House prices jumped another 9% last year, said the National Statistics Institute, a government body. Rents in and around the capital Lisbon, where around 1.5 million people live, last year saw the steepest rise in 30 years, climbing more than 7%, the institute said. The problem is compounded by Portugal being one of Western Europes poorest countries.The average monthly salary last year was around 1,200 euros ($1,340) before tax, according to the statistics agency. The government-set minimum wage this year is 870 euros ($974) a month before tax.

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08928-wCurrent trends imply that we will transgress most of the planetary boundaries by 2050; however, ambitious, urgent and universal action to ameliorate climate change and increase resource efficiency can effectively reduce the degree of transgression.

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09001-2Neurons in the rodent dorsomedial prefrontal cortex encode a flexible internal model of emotion by linking directly experienced and inferred associations with aversive experiences.

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08994-0Radiotherapy induces expression of the EGFR ligand amphiregulin, which promotes metastasis growth at remote sites in mouse models and human patients by shifting myeloid cells towards an immunosuppressive state.

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01468-3With organoids, assembloids and a growing toolkit of bioengineering tricks, scientists are stitching together models of the developing human brain and pushing the limits of realism and control.

Nature, Published online: 14 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09018-7The taurinetaurine transporter axis is a critical dependency of aggressive myeloid leukaemias.

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Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, second from right, is taken in handcuffs to a waiting aircraft as he is extradited to the United States, at an Air Force base in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Elmer Martinez, File)2025-11-28T21:34:18Z WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (AP) President Donald Trump said Friday that he will be pardoning former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was convicted for drug trafficking and weapons charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison.The president explained his decision on social media by posting that according to many people that I greatly respect, Hernandez was treated very harshly and unfairly.In March of last year, Hernandez was convicted in U.S. court of conspiring to import cocaine into the U.S.A. He had served served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people.The post was part of a broader message by Trump backing Tito Asfura for Honduras presidency, with Trump saying the U.S. would be supportive of the country if he wins. But if Asfura loses the election this Sunday, Trump posted that the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is. Outgoing Honduran President Xiomara Castro has leaned into a leftist stance, but she has kept a pragmatic and even cooperative attitude in dealing with the U.S. administration and she has received visits from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Army Gen. Laura Richardson, when she was the commander of U.S. Southern Command. The president has even backed off his threats to end Honduras extradition treaty and military cooperation with the U.S.Under Castro, Honduras has also received its citizens deported from the U.S. and acted as a bridge for deported Venezuelans who were then picked up by Venezuela in Honduras. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Soldiers patrol as people queue to try to enter the Louvre museum, although it remains closed for the day after Sunday's jewels robbery, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva, File)2025-11-28T14:55:21Z PARIS (AP) A man arrested by French police earlier this week is thought to be the fourth member of the team that stole Frances crown jewels in a brazen heist from the Louvre Museum, the Paris prosecutor said Friday, meaning that the entire gang is now believed to be in custody.Prosecutor Laure Beccuau, whose office is heading the investigation, said the 39-year-old man has a criminal record, with six previous convictions.He has now been handed preliminary charges of robbery by an organized gang, punishable by 15 years imprisonment, and criminal conspiracy, which can carry a 10-year sentence if he is convicted for his suspected role in the stunning Oct. 19 theft at the worlds most-visited museum. The robbery gangs haul of loot was worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) a monetary value that didnt include their huge historical value to France. The prosecutors statement didnt say what role, exactly, the man is thought to have played in the daylight heist, carried out with angle grinders, a freight lift and subterfuge, with robbers dressed as workers in bright vests. The robbery is believed to have been the work of a four-person team with two people breaking into the museums Apollo Gallery where the jewels were displayed and then being whisked away on motorbikes by two associates who waited outside. The haul hasnt been recovered. It includes a diamond-and-emerald necklace Napoleon gave to Empress Marie-Louise, jewels tied to 19th-century Queens Marie-Amlie and Hortense, and Empress Eugnies pearl-and-diamond tiara. The robbery has focused attention on security at the Louvre, the worlds most-visited museum.The thieves took less than eight minutes to force their way into the museum and leave, using a freight lift to reach the buildings window. Footage from museum cameras showed that the two who broke into the ornate Apollo Gallery used grinders to cut into jewelry display cases.The emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon IIIs wife, Empress Eugnie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photo taken from video provided by TGB Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Bissau's new junta leader Gen. Horta Inta-A, takes an oath of office in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (TGB Guinea-Bissau via AP)2025-11-28T11:19:02Z BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau (AP) Soldiers in Guinea-Bissau on Friday appointed a close ally of the deposed president as prime minister, after seizing power following disputed national elections earlier this week. The countrys new military leader, Gen. Horta Inta-a, announced the appointment of finance minister Ildio Vieira T as prime minister in a decree.Vieira T is a close ally of the deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embal, having served as his partys campaign director during the legislative election on Sunday. Soldiers seized power on Wednesday, three days after the closely contested presidential election. The opposition claimed that Embal had fabricated the coup to avoid an election defeat in Sundays vote. The military takeover and the reported arrest of Embal were manufactured to disrupt election results, according to his rival Fernando Dias, who, like Embal, claimed to have won the vote. Guinea-Bissau, one of the worlds poorest countries, has been dogged by coups and attempted coups since its independence from Portugal more than 50 years ago, including a coup attempt in October. The country of 2.2 million people is known as a hub for drug trafficking between Latin America and Europe, a trend that experts say has fueled its political crises. Calm returns in capital, deposed president leaves the countryThe High Military Command on Friday lifted the curfew it imposed during its military takeover and authorized the movement of people and public transportation across all neighborhoods of the capital, Bissau.Calm has returned to the capital, with people and vehicles circulating through the citys streets after army checkpoints were lifted. The main stock exchange and markets in outlying districts, as well as commercial banks, have also reopened.Embal, meanwhile, arrived in neighboring Senegal on Thursday with a flight chartered by the Senegalese government, which has been in direct communication with all concerned Guinea-Bissau actors, Senegals Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The country promised to work with partners to restore democracy in Guinea-Bissau. Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko on Friday described the military takeover in Guinea-Bissau as a scheme, echoing claims that the coup was manufactured to disrupt election results. He called for the release of arrested opposition members.The democratic process must be carried through to the end and the results announced, Sonko said during a parliamentary session.Regional bloc suspends Guinea-Bissau Late Thursday, the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS said it is suspending Guinea-Bissau from its decision-making bodies until the restoration of full and effective constitutional order in the country.ECOWAS said it also reserves the right to use all options allowed under its rules, including sanctions on all entities deemed culpable of disrupting the electoral and democratic process.The regional bloc said a mediation team, led by the bodys chair and including the presidents of Togo, Cabo Verde and Senegal, will travel to Bissau to engage the leaders of the coup with a view to ensuring the full restoration of constitutional order. Widely seen as West Africas leading political and regional authority, the 15-nation ECOWAS was formed in 1975 to promote economic integration in member states. The bloc often collaborates with members governments to solve domestic challenges on various fronts from politics to economics and security.It has struggled in recent years to reverse coups in the region where citizens have complained of not benefiting from rich natural resources.Sanctions against junta-led Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and threats of military intervention in Niger to reverse the coup eventually led to the three countries withdrawal from the bloc earlier this year.Bakary Sambe, who heads the Senegal-based Timbuktu Institute for Peace Studies, said the situation in Guinea-Bissau is still unclear, and any immediate decision by ECOWAS regarding sanctions would seem rushed and counterproductive.We are in a state of total uncertainty, caught between an unfinished electoral process and a disruption of constitutional order caused by a coup, which has led to contradictory interpretations and various questions, he said. The regional organization appears to have learned from the mistakes made in Niger and is trying as much as possible to temper its inclination to impose sanctions, Sambe added.Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal. MARK BANCHEREAU Banchereau covers 22 countries across West and Central Africa for The Associated Press. He is based in Dakar, Senegal. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photo taken from video provided by TGB Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Bissau's new junta leader Gen. Horta Inta-A, takes an oath of office in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (TGB Guinea-Bissau via AP)2025-11-28T15:48:47Z The Russian authorities Friday outlawed Human Rights Watch as an undesirable organization, a label that under a 2015 law makes involvement with such organizations a criminal offense.The designation means the international human rights group must stop all work in Russia, and opens those who cooperate with or support the organization to prosecution.The decision by the Russian prosecutor generals office is the latest move in an unrelenting crackdown on Kremlin critics, journalists and activists, which has intensified to unprecedented levels since Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.In a separate statement on Friday, the office said it was opening a case against Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot that would designate the group as an extremist organization.Meanwhile, on Thursday, Russias Supreme Court designated the Anti-Corruption Foundation set up by the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny as a terrorist group. The ruling targeted the foundations U.S.-registered entity, which became the focal point for the group when the original Anti-Corruption Foundation was designated an undesirable organization by the Russian government in 2021. There is no doubt that other organizations will soon be designated as terrorists independent media, human rights projects, and local initiatives, the foundation said in a statement. This is a political strategy used by the Russian authorities: to declare anyone who interferes with their theft and endless war an enemy of the state. Russias list of undesirable organizations currently covers more than 275 entities, including prominent independent news outlets and rights groups. Among those are prominent news organizations like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, think tanks like Chatham House, anti-corruption group Transparency International, and environmental advocacy organization WWF. Founded in 1978, Human Rights Watch monitors and researches human rights violations in countries across the world. It has been outspoken in its opposition to Russias invasion of Ukraine and recently published an investigation into Russian forces using drones to deliberately chase, injure and kill civilians living in Ukraines Kherson region.

The D.C. Armory, where National Guard units are based, is seen a day after two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)2025-11-28T15:24:40Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his administration WASHINGTON (AP) The charges against the man who authorities say shot two National Guard members have been upgraded to first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia announced Friday.Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were hospitalized in critical condition after Wednesday afternoons shooting in the nations capital. President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that Beckstrom had died.U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirros office said the charges Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, now faces include one count of first-degree murder, three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence and two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.Pirro said Lakanwal drove across the country to launch an ambush-style attack with a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver but said that its too soon to say what the motives were. People who knew the suspect say he served in a CIA-backed Afghan Army unit before immigrating to the United States. Lakanwal worked in one of the special Zero Units in the southern province of Kandahar, according to a resident of the eastern Afghan province of Khost who identified himself as Lakanwals cousin. He said Lakanwal was originally from the province and that his brother had worked in the unit as well. The cousin spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said Lakanwal had started out working as a security guard for the unit in 2012 and was later promoted to become a team leader and a GPS specialist. A former official from the unit, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Lakanwals brother was a platoon leader. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden administration program that evacuated and resettled tens of thousands of Afghans after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, officials said. Lakanwal applied for asylum during the Biden administration, but his asylum was approved under the Trump administration, #AfghanEvac said in a statement. Lakanwal has been living in Bellingham, Washington, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Seattle, with his wife and five children, said his former landlord, Kristina Widman. In his address to the troops Thursday, Trump said that Lakanwal went cuckoo. I mean, he went nuts. The president called Beckstrom an incredible person, outstanding in every single way. The White House said he spoke to her parents after his remarks.Beckstrom had enlisted in 2023, the same year she graduated high school, and served with distinction as a military police officer with the 863rd Military Police Company, the West Virginia National Guard said in a statement. She exemplified leadership, dedication, and professionalism, the statement said, adding that Beckstrom volunteered to serve as part of Operation D.C. Safe and Beautiful, helping to ensure the safety and security of our nations capital. Trump used the announcement to say the shooting was a terrorist attack and criticized the Biden administration for enabling Afghans who worked with U.S. forces during the Afghanistan War to enter the U.S. The initiative brought roughly 76,000 people to the country, many of whom had worked alongside U.S. troops and diplomats as interpreters and translators. It has since faced intense scrutiny from Trump and others over allegations of gaps in the vetting process, even as advocates say there was extensive vetting and the program offered a lifeline to people at risk of Taliban reprisals.On Wednesday night, Trump called for the reinvestigation of all Afghan refugees who had entered under the Biden administration. The director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow said in a statement that the agency would take additional steps to screen people from 19 high-risk countries to the maximum degree possible.Edlow didnt name the countries. But in June, the administration banned travel to the U.S. by citizens of 12 countries and restricted access from seven others, citing national security concerns.___AP writer Sarah Brumfield contributed to this report. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto

Something very strange is happening to the Apple Podcasts app. Over the last several months, Ive found both the iOS and Mac versions of the Podcasts app will open religion, spirituality, and education podcasts with no apparent rhyme or reason. Sometimes, I unlock my machine and the podcast app has launched itself and presented one of the bizarre podcasts to me. On top of that, at least one of the podcast pages in the app includes a link to a potentially malicious website. Here are the titles of some of the very odd podcasts Ive had thrust upon me recently (Ive trimmed some and defanged some links so you dont accidentally click one):5../XEWE2'""&#x22"onclicfree will, free willhttp://www[.]sermonaudio[.]com/rss_search.asp?keyword=free%will on SermonAudioLeonel Pimentahttps://play[.]google[.]com/store/apps/detaihttps://open[.]spotify[.]com/playlist/53TA8e97shGyQ6iMk6TDjc?...There was another with a title in Arabic that loosely translates to Words of Life and includes someones Gmail address. Sometimes the podcasts do have actual audio (one was a religious sermon); others are completely silent. The podcasts are often years old, but for some reason are being shown to me now.Ill be honest: I dont really know what exactly is going on here. And neither did an expert I spoke to. But its clear someone, somewhere, is trying to mess with Apple Podcasts and its users.The most concerning behavior is that the app can be launched automatically with a podcast of an attackers choosing, Patrick Wardle, a macOS security expert and the creator of Mac-focused cybersecurity organization Objective-See, said. I have replicated similar behavior, albeit via a website: simply visiting a website is enough to trigger Podcasts to open (and a load a podcast of the attackers choosing), and unlike other external app launches on macOS (e.g. Zoom), no prompt or user approval is required.Do you know anything else about these weird podcasts? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.To caveat straight away: this isnt that alarming. This is not the biggest hack or issue in the world. But its still very weird behavior and Apple has not responded to any of my requests for comment for months. Of course, very much worth stressing, on its own this is not an attack, Wardle continued. But it does create a very effective delivery mechanism if (and yes, big if) a vulnerability exists in the Podcasts app.That said, someone has tried to deliver something a bit more malicious through the Podcasts app. Its the first podcast I mentioned, with the title 5../XEWE2'""&#x22"onclic. Maybe some readers have already picked up on this, but the podcast is trying to direct listeners to a site that attempts to perform a cross-site scripting, or XSS, attack. XSS is basically when a hacker injects their own malicious code into a website that otherwise looks legit. Its definitely a low-hanging fruit kind of attack, at least today. I remember it being way, way more common 10 years ago, and it was ultimately what led to the infamous MySpace worm.The weird link is included in the Show Website section of the podcasts page. Visiting that redirects to another site, test[.]ddv[.]in[.]ua. A pop-up then says XSS. Domain: test[.]ddv[.]in[.]ua.Im seemingly not the only one who has seen this. A review left in the Podcasts app just a few weeks ago says Scam. How does Apple allow this attempted XSS attack? The person gave the podcast one star. That podcast itself dates from around 2019.Whether any of those attempts have worked remains unclear, but the level of probing shows that adversaries are actively evaluating the Podcasts app as a potential target, Wardle said.Overall, the whole thing gives a similar vibe to Google Calendar spam, where someone will sneakily add an event to your calendar and include whatever info or link theyre trying to spread around. I remember that being a pretty big issue a few years ago.Apple did not acknowledge or respond to five emails requesting comment. The company did respond to other emails for different articles I was working on across that time.

Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week. An astronomer has reported a possible new signature of dark matter, a mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe, according to a study published on Tuesday in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics.Dark matter accounts for 85 percent of all matter in the universe, but its existence has so far been inferred only from its indirect effects on the familiar baryonic matter that makes up stars, planets, and life.Tomonori Totani, a professor of astronomy at the University of Tokyo and the author of the study, believes he has spotted novel indirect traces of dark matter particles in the halo surrounding the center of our galaxy using new observations from NASAs Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. When these speculative particles collidea process called dark matter annihilationthe crash is predicted to emit bright gamma rays, which is the light that Totani thinks he has identified.The discovery was made possible by focusing on the halo region (excluding the galactic center), which had received little attention, and by utilizing data accumulated over 15 years from the Fermi satellite, Totani told 404 Media in an email. After carefully removing all components other than dark matter, a signal resembling dark matter appeared.It was like playing the lottery, and at first I was skeptical, he added. But after checking meticulously and thinking it seemed correct, I got goosebumps!If the detection is corroborated by follow-up studies, it could confirm a leading hypothesis that dark matter is made of a hypothetical class of weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPspotentially exposing the identity of this mysterious substance for the first time. But that potential breakthrough is still a ways off, according to other researchers in the field.Any new structure in the gamma-ray sky is interesting, but the dark matter interpretation here strikes me as quite preliminary, said Danielle Norcini, an experimental particle physicist andassistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, in an email to 404 Media.Gamma-ray intensity map excluding components other than the halo, spanning approximately 100 degrees in the direction of the Galactic center. The horizontal gray bar in the central region corresponds to the Galactic plane area, which was excluded from the analysis to avoid strong astrophysical radiation. Image: Tomonori Totani, The University of TokyoDark matter has flummoxed scientists for almost a century. In the 1930s, astronomer Fritz Zwicky observed that the motions of galaxies hinted that they are much more massive than expected based solely on visible baryonic matter. Since then, astronomers have confirmed that dark matter, which accumulates into dense halos at the centers of galaxies, acts like a gravitational glue that holds structures together. Dark matter is also the basis of a vast cosmic web of gaseous threads that links galaxy clusters across billions of light years.But while dark matter is ubiquitous, it does not interact with the electromagnetic force, which means it does not absorb, reflect, or emit light. This property makes it difficult to spot with traditional astronomy, a challenge that has inspired the development of novel instruments designed to directly detect dark matter such as the subterranean LUX-ZEPLIN in South Dakota and the forthcoming DAMIC-M in France.For years, scientists have been probing possible emission from dark matter annihilation at the center of the Milky Way, which is surrounded by a halo of densely-clustered dark matter. Those previous studies focus on an excess emission pattern of about 2 gigaelectronvolts (GeV). Tontanis study spotlights a new and different pattern with extremely energetic gamma rays at 20 GeV.A part of the Fermi data showed a peculiar excess that our model couldn't explain, leading me to suspect it might be due to radiation originating from dark matter, he said. The most difficult part is removing gamma-ray emissions of origins other than dark matter, such as those from cosmic rays and celestial objects.This tentative report may finally fill in a major missing piece of our understanding of the universe by exposing the true nature of dark matter and confirming the existence of WIMPs. But given that similar claims have been made in the past, more research is needed to assess the significance of the results.For any potential indirect signal, the key next steps are independent checks: analyses using different background models, different assumptions about the Milky Way halo, and ideally complementary data sets, Norcini said.Gamma-ray structures in the halo can have many astrophysical origins, so ruling those out requires careful modeling and cross-comparison, she continued. At this point the result seems too new for that scrutiny to have played out, and it will take multiple groups looking at the same data before a dark matter interpretation could be considered robust.Though Totani is confident in his interpretation of his discovery, he also looks forward to the input of other dark matter researchers around the world.First, I would like other researchers to independently verify my analysis, he said. Next, for everyone to be convinced that this is truly dark matter, the decisive factor will be the detection of gamma rays with the same spectrum from other regions, such as dwarf galaxies. The accumulation of further data from the Fermi satellite and large ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, such as the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) will be crucial.Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting and mind-boggling science news and studies of the week.

Its hard to believe its only been a few years since generative AI tools started flooding the internet with low quality content-slop. Just over a year ago, youd have to peruse certain corners of Facebook or spend time wading through the cultural cesspool of Elon Musks X to find people posting bizarre and repulsive synthetic media. Now, AI slop feels inescapable whether youre watching TV, reading the news, or trying to find a new apartment.That is, unless youre using Slop Evader, a new browser tool that filters your web searches to only include results from before November 30, 2022 the day that ChatGPT was released to the public.The tool is available for Firefox and Chrome, and has one simple function: Showing you the web as it was before the deluge of AI-generated garbage. It uses Google search functions to index popular websites and filter results based on publication date, a scorched earth approach that virtually guarantees your searches will be slop-free.Slop Evader was created by artist and researcher Tega Brain, who says she was motivated by the growing dismay over the tech industrys unrelenting, aggressive rollout of so-called generative AIdespite widespread criticism and the wider publics distaste for it.Slop Evader in action. Via Tega BrainThis sowing of mistrust in our relationship with media is a huge thing, a huge effect of this synthetic media moment were in, Brain told 404 Media, describing how tools like Sora 2 have short-circuited our ability to determine reality within a sea of artificial online junk. Ive been thinking about ways to refuse it, and the simplest, dumbest way to do that is to only search before 2022.One under-discussed impact of AI slop and synthetic media, says Brain, is how it increases our cognitive load when viewing anything online. When we can no longer immediately assume any of the media we encounter was made by a human, the act of using social media or browsing the web is transformed into a never-ending procession of existential double-takes.This cognitive dissonance extends to everyday tasks that require us to use the internetwhich is practically everything nowadays. Looking for a house or apartment? Companies are using genAI tools to generate pictures of houses and rental properties, as well as the ads themselves. Trying to sell your old junk on Facebook Marketplace? Metas embrace of generative AI means you may have to compete with bots, fake photos, and AI-generated listings. And when we shop for beauty products or view ads, synthetic media tools are taking our filtered and impossibly-idealized beauty standards to absurd and disturbing new places.In all of these cases, generative AI tools further thumb the scales of powersaving companies money while placing a higher cognitive burden on regular people to determine whats real and whats not.I open up Pinterest and suddenly notice that half of my feed are these incredibly idealized faces of women that are clearly not real people, said Brain. Its shoved into your face and into your feed, whether you searched for it or not.Currently, Slop Evader can be used to search pre-GPT archives of seven different sites where slop has become commonplace, including YouTube, Reddit, Stack Exchange, and the parenting site MumsNet. The obvious downside to this, from a user perspective, is that you wont be able to find anything time-sensitive or currentincluding this very website, which did not exist in 2022. The experience is simultaneously refreshing and harrowing, allowing you to browse freely without having to constantly question reality, but always knowing that this freedom will be forever locked in timenostalgia for a human-centric world wide web that no longer exists.Of course, the tools limitations are part of its provocation. Brain says she has plans to add support for more sites, and release a new version that uses DuckDuckGos search indexing instead of Googles. But the real goal, she says, is prompting people to question how they can collectively refuse the dystopian, inhuman version of the internet that Silicon Valleys AI-pushers have forced on us.I dont think browser add-ons are gonna save us, said Brain. For me, the purpose of doing this work is mostly to act as a provocation and give people examples of how you can refuse this stuff, to furnish ones imaginary for what a politics of refusal could look like.With enough cultural pushback, Brain suggests, we could start to see alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo adding options to filter out search results suspected of having synthetic content (DuckDuckGo added the ability to filter out AI images in search earlier this year). Theres also been a growing movement pushing back against the new AI data centers threatening to pollute communities and raise residents electricity bills. But no matter what form AI slop-refusal takes, it will need to be a group effort.Its like with the climate debate, were not going to get out of this shitshow with individual actions alone, she added. I think thats the million dollar question, is what is the relationship between this kind of individual empowerment work and collective pushback.

We start this week with Sam's piece about a massive leak of an AI chatbot, and how it showed that people were taking ordinary womens yearbook photos and using them to make AI porn. After the break, Jason explains how a recent change on X exposed a bunch of grifters all around the world. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about how our reporting contributed to the shut down of a warrantless surveillance program.Listen to the weekly podcast onApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism.If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. 1:23 - Intro -Please, please do our reader survey3:57 - Story 1 -Massive Leak Shows Erotic Chatbot Users Turned Womens Yearbook Pictures Into AI Porn30:05 - Story 2 -Americas Polarization Has Become the World's Side Hustle49:39 - Story 3 -Airlines Will Shut Down Program That Sold Your Flights Records to Government

A new website is holding Arc Raiders players accountable when they betray their fellow players. Speranza Watchlistnamed for the games social hubbills itself as your friendly Raider shaming board, a place where people can report other people for what they see as anti-social behavior in the game.In Arc Raiders, players land on a map full of NPC robots and around 20 other humans. The goal is to fill your inventory with loot and escape the map unharmed. The robots are deadly, but theyre easy to deal with once you know what youre doing. The real challenge is navigating other players and that challenge is the reason Arc Raiders is a mega-hit. People are far more dangerous and unpredictable than any NPC.Arc Raiders comes with a proximity chat system so its easy to communicate with anyone you might run into in the field. Some people are nice and will help their fellow raider take down large robots and split loot. But just as often, fellow players will shoot you in the head and take all your stuff.In the days after the game launched, many people opened any encounter with another human by coming on the mic, saying they were friendly, and asking not to shoot. Things are more chaotic now. Everyone has been shot at and hurt people hurt people. But some hurts feel worse than others.Speranza Watchlist is a place to collect reports of anti-social behavior in Arc Raiders. Its creation of a web developer who goes by DougJudy online. 404 Media reached out to him and he agreed to talk provided we grant him anonymity. He said he intended the site as a joke and some people havent taken it well and have accused him of doxxing.I asked DougJudy who hurt him so badly in Arc Raiders that he felt the need to catalog the sins of the community. There wasnt a specific incident, but I keep seeing a lot (A LOT) of clips of people complaining when other players play dirty (like camping extracts, betraying teammates, etc.)He thought this was stupid. For him, betrayal is the juice of Arc Raiders. Sure, people can be bad in the game, but the game intentionally includes that social layer, he said. Its like complaining that your friend lied to you in a game of Werewolf. It just doesnt make sense.Image via DougJudy.That doesnt mean the betrayals didnt hurt. I have to admit that sometimes I also felt the urge to vent somewhere when someone betrayed me, when I got killed by someone I thought was an ally, DougJudy said. At first, I would just say something like, Ill find you again, the only thing that doesnt cross paths are mountains, and Id note their username. But then I got the idea to make a sort of leaderboard of the least trustworthy playersand that eventually turned into this website.As the weeks go on and more players join the Arc Raiders, its community is developing its own mores around acceptable behavior. PVP combat is a given but there are actions some Raiders engage in that, while technically allowed, feel like bad sportsmanship. Speranza Watchlist wants to list the bad sports.Take extract camping. In order to end the map and score the loot a player has collected during the match, they have to leave the map via a number of static exits. Some players will place explosive traps on these exits and wait for another player to leave. When the traps go off, the camper pops up from their hiding spot and takes shots at their vulnerable fellow raider. When it works, its an easy kill and fresh loot from a person who was just trying to leave.Betrayal is another sore spot in the community. Sometimes you meet a nice Raider out in the wasteland and team up to take down robots and loot an area only to have them shoot you in the back. There are a lot of videos of this online and many players complaining about it on Reddit.www.speranza-watchlist.com screenshot.Enter Speranza Watchlist. Youve been wronged, an explanation on the site says. When someone plays dirty topsidebetraying trust, camping your path, or pulling a Rust-Belt rate moveyou dont have to let it slide.When someone starts up Arc Raiders for the first time, they have to create a unique Embark ID thats tied to their account. When you interact with another player in the game, no matter how small the moment, you can see their Embark ID and easily copy it to your clipboard if youre playing on PC.Players can plug Embark IDs into Speranza Watchlist and see if the person has been reported for extract camping or betrayal before. They can also submit their own reports. DougJudy said that, as of this writing, around 200 players had submitted reports.Right now, the site is down for maintenance. Im trying to rework the website to make the fun/ satire part more obvious, DougJudy said. He also plans to add rate limits so one person cant mass submit reports.He doesnt see the Speranza Watchlist as doxxing. No one's real identity is being listed. Its just a collection of observed behaviors. Its a social credit score for Arc Raiders. I get why some people dont like the idea, reporting a player who didnt ask for it isnt really cool, DougJudy said. And yeah, some people could maybe use it to harass others. Ill try my best to make sure the site doesnt become like that, and that people understand its not serious at all. But if most people still dont like it, then Ill just drop the idea.

Video directed by: Kenny WassusDonate to Uncloseted MediaHappy Thanksgiving, everyone! Todays newsletter is short and sweet. Mostly because I hope youll watch the video above. In the piece, youll learn more about my background, meet some of the Uncloseted team, and learn about why our mission of investigating anti-LGBTQ hate and elevating the voices of everyday heroes is urgent and critical. Alongside Uncloseted journalists Sam Donndelinger and Hope Pisoni, I explain why nowmore than everAmerica needs a go-to source for investigative, accountability-focused LGBTQ journalism thats built on a nonprofit model.Please watch and share.I hope you have a wonderful day alongside your loved ones.US States Sue To Block Trump Administrations Homelessness-Funding Cuts (Reuters)A coalition of 20 states and D.C. is suing to stop major federal cuts that would reshape homelessness programs, including services for trans communities.Gay Former FBI Employee Sues Over Pride-Flag Firing (Them)David Maltinsky says he was dismissed for displaying a Pride flag, calling the firing a modern-day Lavender Scare.White House Uses Wicked Song In ICE Video, Queer Community Pushes Back (Them)The administration was criticized for pairing Defying Gravity with a deportation-themed ICE video.EU Court Rules Same-Sex Marriages Must Be Recognized Across Bloc (Washington Post)The EUs top court ruled that all member states must recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting: From Alabama to Alberta: In our first official Canadian investigation, Emma Paidra uncovers how the countrys most conservative provincial government has used Americas playbook to muscle through a swath of anti-trans laws. Over the last six months, Hope Pisoni spoke with five trans women incarcerated in various state prisons. This investigation offers a rare look inside a system quietly stripping trans prisoners of safety, dignity, and human rights.Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas! Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief spencer@unclosetedmedia.comIf objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Design by Sophie Holland. Photo courtesy of Herman. Photos via Canva.Subscribe nowThis story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ focused investigative news outlet, and Gay Times Magazine.On a Sunday evening in Midtown, Manhattan, a group of around 20 lesbians met at The Grisly Pear to mix, mingle and maybe spark a romantic connection.In addition to being gay, these women shared another key similarity.Attendees of this meet-upwhich was organized by the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), Americas oldest LGBT organization for conservativesrepresent the small minority of gay Republican women.While many people may find a conservative lesbian to be counterintuitive, roughly 13% of LGBTQ voters cast their ballot for Trump in the 2024 Presidential election.As the evening kicked off, Rachel Herman, a 40-year-old LCR New York board member, welcomed attendees. With an LCR pin fastened to her grey blazer, she sat on a barstool near the pubs entrance, introducing herself as people trickled in. For Herman, the need to get involved in LGBTQ Republican circles came after she was kicked out of her gay billiards league when her team found out she was conservative.Conservative lesbians Rachel Herman (left) and her girlfriend Nicole (right) outside of the Republican lesbian meet-up in Midtown Manhattan. Photo by Emma Paidra[LGBTQ Democrats] that portray themselves as tolerant and accepting [have not been] for all the parts of the LGBT community, she told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES. If I dare to present myself as a Republican, it means all the wrong things to them.These negative feelings from queer Democrats likely stem from ongoing attacks by the GOP to limit LGBTQ rights. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking more than 600 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S., almost all of which were introduced by Republicans. For example, Oklahomas Republican Senator Dusty Deevers introduced a bill this year banning drag performance for children, calling them sexual. The goal of the legislation was to restore moral sanity to Oklahoma.Herman says it was Donald Trumps run in the 2016 Republican primaries that first sparked her interest in conservative politics. The first thing he said was that he was ready to eliminate ISIS, to secure the border, and support the state of Israel. These three major issues really impact my life, says Herman, who is Israeli.Like Herman, many women at the event have faced retaliation for voting conservative. They shared stories of being doxxed and expressed concern about having their names or photos published.This retaliation may be in part because most queer Americansand especially womencant reconcile how a lesbian could be a Republican.How Can a Lesbian Be a Conservative?Queer rights are under attack by right-wing groups; Republican support for marriage equality is at its lowest in 10 years, and President Trump has passed a litany of anti-LGBTQ policies, including the cancellation of the LGBTQ youth crisis hotline option. And a 2024 GLAAD poll found that 94% of LGBTQ voters think that Republicans should stop focusing on restricting womens rights and banning medical care for transgender youth and instead focus on addressing inflation, job creation, and healthcare costs.Despite this, the women attending the event felt that the notion that these factors would automatically make them leftists is reductive.Our sexual identity is not all we are. Instead of demonizing us immediately, just be open-minded and listen, Geri Brodsky, a born-and-raised New Yorker, told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES.Brodsky says she doesnt want her political views to be boiled down to her sexual orientation or her gender. For her, the tragedy of 9/11, not wanting to get the COVID-19 vaccine, concerns of national security, and her fiscally conservative views pushed her more to the right. I started listening to [Fox Newss] Sean Hannity, and I agreed with everything he said. I dont think I was brainwashed; I was validated, she says. A long time ago, I would say that I was socially liberal and fiscally conservative. And these days, I dont really fit into socially liberal anymore.Coming Out as a Republican LesbianBrodsky has lost friends due to her political affiliations. I gotta be in the closet, she says, referring not to her sexual orientation but to her political identity when in LGBTQ spaces.She says that her dating life has taken a hit since she became more of a conservative lesbian.I wont get past the first date at this point, because if somebody asked me about if Im gonna go get a COVID-19 booster, that becomes a conversation, she says. Brodsky recalls a date in 2021 that went south after the topic of vaccines came up. My medical decisions have not and never will be based upon politics. This woman didnt want to hear that. Her reply was So, youre MAGA.Subscribe nowAccording to a Pew Research Center poll from 2020, 45% of Democrats say they definitely would not date a Trump voter, compared to 19% of Republicans who would not date someone who voted for Hillary Clinton.For some left-leaning lesbians, these deal-breaking dating preferences are fueled by what they see as an insurmountable gap in values. On a lesbian Reddit thread discussing whether liberals would consider dating conservative women, one user said her political beliefs are heavily based on morals and that she cant date someone who doesnt share the same fundamental values.Conservative Women and Trans IssuesA key factor driving Herman and other conservative lesbian women to vote red is their feelings towards transgender issues. A 2023 study found that 96% of young lesbian adults describe themselves as supportive or very supportive of trans people. However, 2025 data from the Pew Research Center found that 79% of Republicans support making it illegal for health care professionals to provide medical care for a gender transition for minors.While Brodsky says she has no problem with trans people, she believes medical transition should be delayed until adulthood and that trans women should not be able to participate in womens sports leagues.Laura, 54, feels like the LGBTQ movement has become too inclusive. All of a sudden the Pride flag started adding all these things, everything except for white straight people, I found that deeply offensive, says Laura, who asked to use her first name only out of fear of being doxxed for her political views, which she says has happened before. Lowering the age of consent for puberty blockers and medicalization towards becoming the opposite sex is dangerous, she says, adding that the solution to gender dysphoria is therapy and healthy exploration. Despite Lauras concerns, a 2022 study found that those who began hormone therapy in adolescence reported improved mental health. And another study that same year concluded that trans and non-binary youth receiving gender-affirming care experienced a decreased risk for depression and suicide over the course of 12 months.Conservative lesbian Laura wearing a necklace with queer iconography.Despite this, Laura says she is also very concerned with the fact that the trans community is pushing deeply internalized homophobic beliefs and inaccuracies on children. She believes many children are misdiagnosed with gender dysphoria when they are just confused and that they later realize they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. However, rates of regret amongst those who received gender-affirming care are extremely low.Though Laura is now a firm Republican, she was a Democrat until 2016. It was while campaigning for Hillary Clinton in Queens, New York, that she had a change of heart. I was often encountered by very aggressive, verbally violent Bernie [Sanders] fans. But I also ended up having incredible conversations with all the Trump supporters, she says. It was these conversations that prompted Laura to move rightward and become a conservative lesbian.At the LCR meet-up, the womens views varied along the conservative spectrum. Hermans partner, Nicole, doesnt think trans people should be cut off from the queer community. For me, growing up gay and knowing my whole life, I feel like I understand that as a transgender person, you know something and nobody can tell you otherwise that youre supposed to be one way or the other.Nicole, 35, says she is a conservative with moderate views and doesnt agree with Herman on everything. Still, she believes there should be more room for queer women to be conservative without facing judgment.[Other lesbians] assume that because of who I vote for, Im voting against myself and that Im a self-hating lesbian. You have to be open-minded and open to conversation, she told Uncloseted Media and GAY TIMES.Though Nicole says she supports trans people, politicians affiliated with her party do not. In May, the Department of Justice removed all mentions of gender identity from at least four federal surveys, and President Trumps ban on transgender people in the military went into effect. And in September, the Heritage Foundationa conservative think tank that penned Project 2025suggested that trans people should be considered domestic terrorists by designating trans activism as Trans Ideology-Inspired Violent Extremism.ShareUnafraid of Losing LGBTQ RightsA common thread shared by those attending the event was clear: In a time when LGBTQ rights are under attack, these lesbians are not afraid of losing their rights.Im not concerned. If [Obergefell] is overturned, nothing is forever. If we have to challenge this case again, we will do it. We will continue fighting, says Herman.Though Hermans political views have caused her to lose friends and be ostracized by many in the queer community, she says she is dedicated to rightwing politics. She feels that Republican lesbians are unfairly maligned by the left and urges Democrats to hear her out. But at a time when GOP politicians have referred to LGBTQ people as filth and maggots and have said that gay people are equivalent to what the cows leave behind, it may be understandable why some Democrats see dating a GOP woman as a nonstarter.Still, Herman remains frustrated and confused.It is so hard to be a Republican lesbian because the liberals are intolerant. And for the most part, I would say, also brainwashed, she says. If you are a free thinker, youll be open to listen. They just will not listen. They will just not talk to me.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Photo courtesy of Huelskamp. Photo by Autonomous One via Getty Images. Design by Sam DonndelingerSubscribe nowThis story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ focused investigative news outlet, and Gay Times Magazine.When Garth Huelskamp was on his Mormon mission at 19 years old, he journeyed through western Nevada, where he remembers meeting a lesbian couple.While he remained tight-lipped, his companions quickly jumped into a conversation with them, speaking about how Jesus can save them from all sins, including homosexuality.Garth Huelskamp on his mission trip. Photo courtesy of Huelskamp.[There was] always an elephant in the room, he says.Thats because at the time, Huelskamp knew he was gay. But like many queer religious people, he believed he could pray it away.Garth Huelskamp on his mission in western Nevada at a residents home while navigating what Jesus said about homosexuality. Photo courtesy of Huelskamp.I was hoping that Id come up from my mission and be attracted to women and be able to live, like this very quintessential Mormon dream, he told GAY TIMES and Uncloseted Media.But after knocking on thousands of doors over the course of two years, Huelskamp had zero revelations from God.After returning home to Utah, Huelskamp came out to his parents, both devout Mormons. Coming out to them wasnt easy and he still maintains a difficult relationship with his father.But that was just the beginning of the battle.After years of rumination, he couldnt bring himself to live as an openly gay man and be part of the Mormon Church. So he decided to leave.The processwhich took about five yearswas far more challenging than being open about his sexuality. It included hours of therapy, countless conversations with friends and family, years of turmoil and cut-off relationships from friends and relatives.I still held a lot of beliefs and values that the Mormon community still had, he says. I had to internally question all of that; I had to question a lot of the narratives that Ive been taught since I was literally a baby. I, quite literally, had to recreate myself from the ground up.Huelskamp, now 35 and working in human resources in Seattle, is not alone. In 2024, a Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) study of 5,600 American individuals found a growing trend of Americans deconstructing their religion due to the treatment of LGBTQ people.Forty-seven percent of adults deconstructed and left their faith due to these concerns, up from 29% who left in 2016. In addition, roughly 60% of people under 30 say they left religion for that reason.Despite this, some conservative Christian religions are digging their heels into anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Earlier this year, the Southern Baptist church endorsed a ban on gay marriage and called on the Supreme Court to repeal Obergefell v. Hodges.Meanwhile, queer worshippers are increasingly welcomed by more affirming churches and liberal denominations of Christianity, like the Episcopalian church, which allows gay members to become bishops.According to psychologist Darrel Ray, churches often bend the interpretation of religious text to remain relevant. Churches follow the culture, cultures dont follow churches, says Ray, the president and founder of Recovering from Religion, a nonprofit organization that aids people through the process of leaving their religion.The culture makes a change, and then the church has to adjust or it goes extinct.Subscribe nowU.S. Politics Are Driving People Away The PRRI study found that one-fifth of Americans who left their religion did so due to their faiths focus on politics.The trend seems to be substituting rigid fundamentalist beliefs for more liberal, spiritual ideas, David Teachout, a mental health therapist and a member of the Secular Therapy Project, told GAY TIMES and Uncloseted Media. This may be due to the association being made between those in fundamentalist groups having an outsized role in American politics, leading to policies that are seen as destructive.The line between church and state in the U.S. has grown increasingly blurred. In May, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a religious liberty commission and questioned the necessity of keeping religion out of government.Subscribe nowHomophobia and ReligionBeyond politics, many interpretations of religious texts carry homophobic implications. For example, the biblical verse Leviticus 18:22 says Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind; it is an abomination, and is interpreted by many Christians to mean that homosexuality is sinful.This narrative of immorality and sinfulness would be where the root of the tension might come from, Panagiotis Pentaris, an associate professor of social work at Goldsmiths, University of London, told GAY TIMES and Uncloseted Media.Thats the case for many in the Mormon church. In 2015, Elder D. Todd Christofferson, a member of the second-highest governing body in the church, stated that they regard gay marriage as a significant, serious kind of sin that requires Church discipline.Huelskamp recalls learning that homosexuality was a sin at age 8 during his one-on-one worthiness interview with a bishop, a required step before baptism. Part of that interview required Huelskamp to say he lived by the law of chastity, which includes no sexual activity outside of marriage to a woman, no porn and no masturbation.More than a decade later, while studying at Brigham Young University (BYU), a college sponsored by the Mormon church, Huelskamp was subject to the schools Church Educational Standards Honor Code, a set of rules that condemned homosexuality.The Same Sex Romantic Behavior section of the code states that living a chaste and virtuous life also includes abstaining from same-sex romantic behavior. In the sections FAQ, one question addresses whether or not LGBTQ students can be disciplined for dating, handholding and kissing, to which it answers that each situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis to help each student feel the love of the Savior.The last two years I was there, I was out to close friends and family and because of BYU and their rules, I was looking at losing my housing situation. I was looking at being expelled I was looking at losing my social standing in the community as well as my familys, Huelskamp says.All of these factors are compounded by more insidious, superficial instances where conservative denominations of Christianity appear open to LGBTQ people, but theyre not.Many religions will continuously share the statement that we are very inclusive, says Pentaris. But in reality, this is not true.Huelskamp remembers many of those on his mission using a non-confrontational approach to address homosexuality. Instead of saying, Hey, youre going to hell, theyre going to say, Hey, wed love to teach about the plan of salvation and how Jesus can cover all sins, including homosexuality.It was all of these factors that led him to officially leave the church in 2017.Garth Huelskamp (right) with his husband, Alex, at their wedding. Photo courtesy of Huelskamp.Other reasons people leave or go to affirming churchesIts not just the churchs stance on LGBTQ issues that are pushing Americans to exit31% of surveyed individuals say they departed their faith due to clergy sexual abuse scandals and 32% cited mental health issues. Subscribe nowAnd a 2024 study by the Survey Center on American Life found that young women are disaffiliating more so than young men, with nearly two-thirds of Gen Z women surveyed saying that churches do not treat men and women equally.Travis McKie-Voerste, director of the Secular Therapy Project, says he has encountered many young people fed up with faith due to low-cred behaviors, where adults and prominent religious figures fail to practice what they preach.If [someone has] parents that say, As Christians, its important to love everybody, and then they see very different behaviors acted out I think [they] start that questioning [and say] This doesnt feel right, he says.Social media and the internet have given easy access to those who are questioning their religious beliefs and want to explore leaving their faith.They might pop things into YouTube and [explore] whats the evidence that God exists? he says.McKie-Voerste has worked with individuals who have started to question their faith in their preteens or younger. Many at this age continue to participate out of habit or parental pressure, but possess no religious belief.He says that its more common for people in their 20s to leave their religion as thats when most leave their hometown and have the space to explore their identity.However, Ray says its also common to see individuals leave their faith later in life. We have had 80-year-old people [leave], he says. It happens often.Leaving Isnt EasyLeaving your religion behind often comes with mental anguish, broken relationships and years trying to overturn an ideology that was, at a young age, cemented into ones consciousness.I had to dig deep and really listen to my own personal voice and not the proverbial jargon that youre programmed to think and feel, says Huelskamp.The more fundamentalist the beliefs, the harder it is to leave, according to Ray. He says that those who were raised in a fundamentalist religion often develop a trauma response in their healing process, while those raised in a more liberal sect dont often experience that same response.When a person finally realizes whats happened to them in their childhood training and church and religion, they go through grief, says Ray. They were in a community that they thought was loving and supportive of them until they realize, they hate me as much as they used to say they love me.This was the case for Huelskamp. Breaking myself out of the Mormon mentality was excruciating, he says. It felt like I had the rug ripped out from underneath my feet.ShareGarth Huelskamp (left) with his husband, Alex, and their son. Photo Courtesy of Huelskamp.What pushed Huelskamp to formally leave the church was his love for his partner. He was engaged and didnt want to undergo disciplinary action from the church on his wedding day.I did not want our wedding day to be overshadowed by my excommunication from my childhood faith, he says.Officially leaving the faith requires removing ones records and information from the church. And so, he had a lawyer help him do exactly that.Huelskamp, now eight years removed from Mormonism and a father, says that the most prominent emotion he feels toward his former religion is anger.Imagine if you were going in a very intense long-term relationship with someone [and] had a really nasty divorce, and then you find yourself in a world where all of your family and friends, quite literally worship your ex, he says. And so [I feel] a lot of anger in that regard.Huelskamp says there were also periods where he felt isolation, which is common for folks who leave their religion as they are also losing a community and a belief system.Since leaving, he has cut off many close friends and family who remain in the church, as he believes their participation is an affront to his identity. Today, he only remains in contact with family and friends who have also left.Essentially, my Mormon social sphere went from 500-plus people over the course of my adolescence to about 20 to 30 people, he says.But for him, the quality of these relationships is invaluable. Having that support system and having friends thatessentially were [now] trauma bondedthey are some of the most beautiful people Ive ever met, Huelskamp says. Its a silver lining.Even for non-LGBTQ people who leave religion, Ray says the journey may take more than five years due to that feeling of loss and the separation from community.The goal of organizations like Recovering From Religion is to help those who have separated from their faith find a sense of belonging, whether that be with other unaffiliated folks or some other type of community, like student alliances at college.Huelskamp hopes that younger generations can pave a path forward for the church. At the same time, he recognizes the churchs rigid position on gay relationships and doesnt believe a change in leadership will extinguish homophobic beliefs.Dallin Oaks is the next in line to assume leadership of the Mormon church following the death of President Russell M. Nelson last month. Oaks, 93, has a history of anti-LGBTQ comments and activism, and he played a key role in the churchs 2015 gay exclusion policy.Garth Huelskamp (right) with his husband, Alex, and their son. Photo courtesy of Huelskamp.Huelskamp maintains a spiritual sense of self but has steered clear of organized religion. He thinks that unless something changes inside the church, Mormonism will become increasingly obsolete.If they cant acknowledge their own faults, theyre not going to be able to shape a future for their religion, Huelskamp said. Its got to be inclusive.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Subscribe nowOn Nov. 25, 2024, Bethany Hine was found dead in New York Citys West Village. Bethany, a trans woman who had been unhoused for over six years, was a personal friend.I met Bethany a few months after I moved to the city in 2021 at a mutual aid event in Washington Square Park (WSP). She was such a sweetheartnot in the performative, fake smiles and empty platitudes way. But in that rare, special way that shows warmth for the people around her. She was one of the only people I knew who would respond with sincerity to a how are you?, which made the little moments of joy all the sweeter. I met her first while I was still presenting male, and despite not being super close with her at the time, she was so supportive of me when I started my transition. She was one of the first people to call me pretty, to tell me I was beautifuland she made sure I didnt forget it whenever I saw her. I was, of course, deeply insecure, but coming from her, I couldnt help but believe it.Bethany had a knack for getting herself in strange, humorous situations. I remember helping her lug an audio system that had been thrown out by some wealthy Village resident in a stray shopping cart.She was also quite the luddite. In Dec. 2019, she was interviewed for the New York City Trans Oral History Project where she talked about being as unplugged as possible: no email, no social media, no phone calls when she could avoid it. She called technology the downfall of communication between people and society.She did love all types of musicexcept Christmas music, that is. She used to love going to concerts, and when she couldnt afford it, shed hang around WSP to enjoy the tunes of the famous piano man or the many jazz bands. She also made friends with the neighborhood dogs and when she was younger had studied to be a veterinarian.Bethany meant a lot to memore than I realized before she passed. The love and kindness she showed me, especially in the pivotal early months of my transition, have stuck with me.To me, she was a kind soul and a cornerstone of the community and hearing she had passed was a gut punch that still hasnt sunk in. But to countless New Yorkers, she was just part of the background.The West Village was the site of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, a pivotal moment in LGBTQ history spearheaded by poor and unhoused queer people. Today, homelessness remains a trans issue. A 2020 study found that 8.3% of trans adults in the U.S. had experienced homelessness in the past 12 months, and a 2021 study found that 38% of trans women and aged 18-25 have experienced some form of housing instability or homelessness.Today, the West Village is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. Most of its residents bear little resemblance to Bethany, who grew up in a poor and abusive household and was abandoned by most of her family over her gender identity, leaving her little safety net when she got addicted to painkillers that she was prescribed after a car accident. After ending up on the streets, she was routinely ignored, or worse, by the neighborhoods residents.In 2022, Brian Maloney, a member of a local block association, spoke with The Village Sun about hiring security officers to kick unhoused people out of their block. He told the Sun that he tried to use one instance where he walked past an unconscious Bethany as a teachable moment for his daughter. Elsewhere, he made transphobic comments about her:As for Bethany, the transgender, Maloney said she has been visibly sinking and, as a result, is losing her trans.The article infuriates me because it captures how trans people on the streets are seen by so many wealthy people, and how the end result of this disregard isin some casesstate efforts to make people like Bethany disappear.But Bethany wasnt afraid to push back. Last October, she became a plaintiff in a lawsuit that argues that the citys policy of homeless sweepswhich force unhoused New Yorkers to pack up and move their belongings or risk having them removed or destroyedviolates their constitutional rights.According to the ongoing lawsuit, Bethany was swept at least 29 times in one year. On one occasion, police gave her less than five minutes to pack up and move her belongings. On others, they swept her belongings in the pouring rain or while she wasnt even present. The city destroyed her clothes, jewelry, laptop, IDs, a deceased friends jacket and even her hormone medications.Police departments destroying gender-affirming medications and news organizations making invasive comments about a trans womans body should spark wide outcry. But because Bethany was unhoused, her personhood was disregarded.Many LGBTQ advocates often stay out of housing justice, but attacks on unhoused people are attacks on trans peopleand like other attacks on trans rights, they are on the rise.What truly amazes me is that, even as so many were so cruel to her, Bethany did everything she could to be kind. She was friendly to as many people as she could be, and whenever she could get her hands on extra food or blankets, like the leftovers from the nearby Dunkin Donuts, she would pass what she could along to others.I want Bethany to be remembered for who she was as a community member, an activist and a good soul. Most importantly, I want to ensure her story is not lost as so many others are.Ill leave you with the words she ended her interview with:Im trying to still be kind to people. Even when theyre nasty to me now, Ive started just praying for them, that something will change in them that will take away that hardness and that heaviness in their heart so that they can be kinder to somebody else. You dont need to give a homeless person money, just give them the time of day.Note: For Bethanys life story, I recommend listening to this interview to hear it in her own words.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism.Danielle Smiths notwithstanding clause triple play on trans youth rights (CBC)What changed since Alberta trans health, sport and school pronouns laws came in, besides a court injunction?Trump faces criticism for referring to female Bloomberg reporter as piggy (The Guardian)Critics accuse the US president of trying to shut women journalists up with demeaning language.LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be stopped, arrested, and falsely accused by police: report (The Advocate)LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be mistreated by police, and its impacting when theyll call for help.Gay teen & family sue high school for protecting football players that bullied him daily (LGBTQ Nation)The high school is facing three federal lawsuits all centered around how football players allegedly got away with violently tormenting their classmates.60,000 cisgender women write powerful open letter in support of trans community: We have had enough (PinkNews)Thousands of cisgender women have declared that they stand united against anti-trans rhetoric.Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting: A growing number of Americans are walking away from their faith not because they stopped believing in God, but because their churches wont stop attacking LGBTQ people. On Saturday, Jake Angelo follows one mans five-year struggle to deconstruct his his Mormon faith and unpacks new data showing a generational shift in how queer exclusion is pushing people out of religion for good. Anti-trans laws arent just an American problem. Alberta is importing U.S. rhetoric, witnesses, and legal tactics to justify sweeping attacks on LGBTQ rights. From Alabama-inspired bans to a reliance on discredited experts, Emma Paidra maps the cross-border pipeline.Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas! Hope Pisoni Investigative Reporter, Uncloseted MediaIf objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Photo by Dan Williams. Erica Deuso, the first openly transgender mayor of Pennsylvania.Subscribe nowOn Nov. 4, Erica Deuso made history when she became the first openly transgender mayor-elect of Pennsylvania, a milestone for inclusive political campaigns. Deuso won nearly 65% of the vote and was part of a great night for Democrats, with Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill all winning their races in New York City, Virginia and New Jersey, respectively.Three days after she was elected, Uncloseted Media spoke with Deuso about how her political campaign strategieswhich included focusing on good neighbor issues rather than on her gender identitypushed her to win big.Watch the full video above or read the transcript below.Spencer Macnaughton: Hi everyone, Im Spencer Macnaughton. I am joined today by Mayor-elect Erica Deuso. She is a scientist, advocate and community leader who was just elected as mayor of Downingtown, becoming the first openly transgender mayor in Pennsylvania. Mayor-elect, thank you so much for being here today.Erica Deuso: Thank you for having me.SM: So lets get right into it. You won and you made history in Pennsylvania. How are you feeling?ED: It was a very long day but we were very happy to see the results. It was a clean sweep here in Chester County. All of our statewide won, all of our countywide won, and very many of our local municipal offices won too. So were very pleased with that. As for me, Im feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I looked at this as being Im running for mayor. Im running to be the mayor of a small town in Pennsylvania, and I looked at this as I knew the history, but I didnt really know how big it was going to be. And then I took Wednesday off to sort of relax and recharge, and thats when I started getting all the requests for interviews and talking points, phone interviews, in-person interviews, Zoom interviews. I underestimated how big this would be. So, Im humbled by all the reactions and Im ready to get to work.SM: What do you mean you were surprised by how big this would be? What surprised you about the reaction?ED: Well, you know, Ive always looked at it like Im a scientist. Im a business woman. Im a sister, a daughter, a wife. You know, my gender identity, myself, I dont think about it. You know its been 16 years since I transitioned. So its not something thats really front of mind for me anymore. And so, I came in this thinking I was gonna run on local issues: traffic, housing affordability, flooding mitigation, public safety. And thats what I ran on. So coming into Tuesday, I knew the history, but I also knew that I didnt run on my gender identity. And I was hoping that people around Downingtown would feel very much the same way. That they care about the kitchen table issues that face small towns all around this country. And so to see the outpouring of love and respect and just people calling from all over the country, people calling from all over the world, its very, very humbling to me. And I say that with as much gratitude as I can.SM: Fantastic! And for those who dont know, since we have a national audience, Downingtown is a small, predominantly white town of roughly 8,000 people, located in Chester County, west of Philadelphia. It typically swings Democratic, and its historical roots are in industrial and mill, as an industrial mill town, and it has a higher average household income than the national average, and typically swings Democrat. But I wanna know, what does Downingtown mean [to] you? How would you describe this town that just elected you as their mayor-elect?ED: Well, very much like a lot of small towns, the town is defined by the people, you know? We have something very that were very proud of and thats this good neighbor spirit where everybody comes out and helps everybody else. So when theres a family in danger of poverty or housing issues, we come out as a community and support them. We had an individual who was abducted by ICE, and weve thrown rallies and raised money for the family, and were making sure that the family has what they need as far as money, food, housing, while the family patriarch is in ICE custody. When we had flooding, Hurricane Ida in 2021, historical flood, we started a program called Downingtown Strong. So we have this good neighbor spirit and that comes from the people, not the town itself. The town could be anywhere, but the people of Downingtown will always be what makes this town special.Photos by Mark Fiske, courtesy of Deuso. Erica Deuso, Pennsylvanias first trans mayor, pictured in Downingtown, PA.Subscribe nowThe Political Campaign Strategies Behind Deusos WinSM: And I hear you say multiple times, good neighbor, and I know that almost has been the slogan of your campaign, right? Tell me more about the political strategy behind the idea of branding your campaign as somebody who looks out for the good neighbor.ED: So when I first moved here in 2007, it was before I transitioned. It was back in the aughts and people were still being discriminated [against] probably more than today. It just wasnt news. And I was very scared. I was scared of what my neighbors would think, scared of what the town in general would think. The outpouring of love and support when I went through my transition was just amazing. So I look at this as giving back to the people who made me feel at home, made me feel welcome, even through the toughest part of my life. And I think when it comes to building my campaign, thats where it was centered, is that I was trying to give back. Trying to thank the town for being there for me by saying that Im going to be there for you.SM: Thats beautiful. And take me back to when you did come out publicly. Do you have any kind of concrete examples that you can point to of when you remember the community coming around for you?ED: So, I had a neighbor who lived across the street from me. I had just come out. She didnt know. She knew me, but she didnt know me well. So as Im starting to come out, my hairs getting longer, Im dressing differently, Im trying out new names and things like that. And it was winter time. She came out, we helped shovel out her car because she needed to get to work. And she asked me, Hey, you know, whats going on? Ive seen a bunch of changes, but I dont know whats going on. So I told her. And shes like, If you need anything, if you need me to stick up for you in town, if you need me to take you to a doctors appointment, if you need anything, just let me know. And it was maybe a week later, we were out together, we grabbed some coffee and somebody, when I went and gave them my name, they called out, they just said, Eric. My friend, my new friend, who had known me basically for a week, goes up to the counter and says, Its Erica, get the name right. And they turned, you know, they blushed. They said, Oh, were so sorry, we got the name wrong and everything. And Ive never had a problem with that coffee shop since. Its those sort of things where its just, if somebody misgenders you, if somebody dead names you, my community has my back.Subscribe nowPhoto by Phila Inquirer, courtesy of Deuso. Deuso says political campaign strategies such as humor and connection helped her win big.SM: Having those people who have your back and stand up for you, Downingtown community members, how does that make you feel on an emotional level? What does it do for your mental health?ED: It makes me feel at ease, you know. It makes me feel less tense, less anxiety. When youre first coming out, youre taking those first steps with trepidation. Youre wondering, Is today going to be the day that someones going to call me a man? Is today the day where somebodys going to call me out for using the bathroom at the McDonalds, or whos going to laugh at the way that Im dressed or my makeup or something? And to know that people have my back, to know I have friends and community members who are there to support and understand and learn and grow with me, that means everything because it made transition so much easier.SM: And, you know, obviously Downingtown sounds like theyve been an amazing support, most of the members. But Im sure not everyone is supportive. And Im sure youve met some people and interacted with people who maybe have never met a trans person before while you were campaigning. What did you find through your campaign worked the best in accessing people who may be misinformed about trans people, who may have never met a trans person and who could never imagine a trans person as their elected leader? What were the kind of tools that worked the best from a communication strategy point of view?ED: Humor. Humor always works the greatest. I remember going to somebodys door and a woman came to the door. She said, Oh, Im not voting for him. And Im like, Who are youtheres no hims around here. And she said, Oh, I thought you were a man. And Im like, Nope, no, I havent been a man for 16 years. You know? And even then thats questionable. And she started to laugh. And I said, Right now, Im just worried about our town. Im worried about the traffic on our street here. You know, we have this new development up the street, it empties right onto your street here. Whats going on with that? How has that affected you? And she said, Well, to be honest, its been a pain because I need to get to work right around the time that the kids are getting picked up from school. And its tough because now I have to wait for all the traffic and then the school buses. And just by using that little bit of humor at the beginning, it bridged that gap. It made me be able to have a conversation with this person who originally had just dismissed me out of hand.Photo by Mike Obert, courtesy of Deuso.SM: And it probably disarmed them and opened up a door for them to feel comfortable enough to ask you questions they might not be sure they can ask.ED: All too often you see trans people being labeled as angry or upset or youre going to trigger them by using a name or using a pronoun that they dont agree with. And, to me, I just look at it from a point of humor and be able to disarm people through a little bit of humor, a little bit of good nature, and not taking things so seriously. Because at the end of the day, were all in this together. And if I can use a little bit of humor to disarm a situation and do some education, thats far easier than coming at it from a place of anger or being upset.SM: Thats so interesting. Any other strategies that you found worked?ED: Just focusing on the issues has been the biggest thing. The other side of the aisle, people who want to bring hate and division into this town, came at me trying to make this campaign about my identity. They tried to find anything that I would post, like when I was endorsed by groups like Advocates for Trans Equality or the Victory Fund or LPAC. I would post things on social media saying, Hey, Im really proud to have been endorsed by these groups. And they would take that as, you know, Im trying to shove gender ideology on them. When in fact, its really just [that] we have a robust LGBTQ community in Chester County. And here in Pennsylvania, we have about 71,000 trans people. I want to make sure that theyre represented. And the rabble rousers, the people trying to push against me, tried to make this divisive about my gender. But it didnt really work when all Im talking about is public safety, traffic and flooding.Subscribe nowPhoto by John McDevitt, courtesy of Deuso. Erica Deuso engaging in political outreach on National Day of Action.What Political Outreach Means for DeusoSM: I think what you just said is kind of a micro representation of the strategies that worked in many other elections this week, right? Where you found, you know, Mayor-elect Mamdani of New York City focusing on affordability, but at the same time not ditching trans and queer people along the way. At the same time, we have the federal government winning from being hateful toward trans people. In my opinion, as somebody who looks at this all day, were reaching a precipice among the American populace where theyre starting to realize the BS of all of this misinformation and starting to recognize that I dont have to vote for a politician just because theyre against a group. I can actually care about the issues kind of thing. Does that track?ED: It does. I mean, if you look at the campaigns of Mayor-elect Mamdani, Governor-elect Spanberger, Governor-elect Sherrill in New Jersey, the anti-trans ads did nothing. I had somebody circulate a letter a couple days before the election saying that the flooding issues that I had were garbage, saying that I was misleading people with my gender identity. And they brought it around town through our local Turning Point Action group here in Chester County. They had middle schoolers running these letters and putting them on peoples doors and under placemats. The reaction to that was, This is awful to a person around town. I heard literally hundreds of people at the polls tell me, You know, I wasnt going to come out and vote today but getting that letter brought me out and not for what they thought it was going to do. Um, I think people are just starting to see LGBTQ people, immigrants, people of other races, ethnic backgrounds, that didnt scare people off the way that the opposition thought it was going to scare people off. Were moving to a place where if a person is the most qualified person, I think people want that. And it starts up at the top. People are seeing that maybe we didnt elect the most qualified person to be president right now. All these things that the current administration wants to do just to make some peoples lives harder is turning a lot of other people off. So if we focus on the things that really matter to the American people, to the people of Downingtown, the people of Pennsylvania, I think thats whats really gonna win people. If you compare somebodys health care premiums to whether or not someones transgender, I think theyre gonna be more worried about the health care premiums at this point.Pennsylvania Governor Election: The Bigger PictureSM: So fascinating, and I think all of that resonates. And I think a lot of Americans are ready to just care about the issues and tackle the issues specifically. With that said, you are making history, right? As Pennsylvanias first openly transgender mayor, what does that mean for you? How are you gonna balance focusing on the issues while also honoring this history that youve made?ED: So it means a lot to me, my own gender identity. Im so happy to be able to represent our community in this situation, but theres a lot to do. The mayor of Downingtowns major responsibility is working with the police, to make sure the police have what they need to do the job that they need to do. Working as mayor, Im gonna make myself accountable, Im going to make myself available. Weve never had office hours here for a mayor, so Im gonna set up office hours. I will be there to talk to you, listen to you, understand what the problems aresorry, theres a little bugunderstand where the problems are in town.SM: Obviously youre courageous, but are you afraid in any ways being in this elected position, given how much animus there is towards the trans community right now in America?ED: I was. At the very beginning of this, right after the primary, and it was a landslide. So that made a lot of people happy, but at the same time it really made some people unhappy. And there was some chatter, there were some potentials for violence. And we made sure that when we had some events this summer and this fall that we were doing our best to make sure we were protected. And we had two security people at a Fall Fest that we had here where people knew where I was going to be at every minute of the day, that day, and this was weeks after the Charlie Kirk assassination. And just because of the use of firearms, it was such an open place, I did invest personally in some protective armor underneath my clothes for that. Thankfully, we didnt need it. So, we were safe with that. But still, we kept security in mind. Thankfully, there was no violence to speak of. Just a lot of people speaking out of a place of ignorance and misunderstanding.SM: Youre saying armor, you wore a bulletproof vest?ED: Yes.SM: Wow, and Im guessing you wouldnt have done that and you wouldnt have hired security if you werent transgender, is that fair?ED: That is fair. This town leans Democratic. Im not worried about a lot of the majority of the people of this town. And really the people of this town who could vote in the borough were not the problem. It was people from the outlying areas of this town, the townships that surround us. Thats where a lot of the divisiveness and people trying to force this campaign to be about my gender. Thats where they came from. We couldnt really control them very well. So we just need to prepare for every eventuality.SM: Obviously, theres been transphobic comments on social media as there always are. Sometimes youve been responding and sometimes you havent. Whats kind of behind the decisions of when to engage and when to leave it?ED: So I think when some of these comments come from a place of ignorance, theres an opportunity for education. I remember one comment where somebody said, You wanna just chop off your genitals and things like that. And I said, Look, if you follow the WPATH guidelines, everything starts with mental health, and they came back and said, I had no clue that there was this much involved with it. To know that, yeah, they may disagree with it still, but at least they have a better understanding of the process and it isnt just, somebody wakes up tomorrow and decides that they wanna go have surgery. It doesnt work that way. And for other reasons, I dont want a kid [or] another trans person to see my posts, see all the hate, and then not see me push back against it, you know? I dont want them to think that Im just gonna sit back and take it when other people in power are telling me, You cant use this bathroom, or You have to change your passport or your drivers license or something that you have to change it back. No, Im not going to just stay silent because that trans kid is looking at me. Theyre looking at me for leadership. And if I just stay silent on those sort of things, that persons thinking, Well, theres no one standing up for me.SM: You must feel like you have a duty to engage.ED: Exactly, thats how I feel about it, is that, you know, when theres something, you have to push back against it because theres always people watching.PA Governor Election and National Political TrendsSM: What would you say to politicians at the highest level of government in America right now who are stoking this fire of transphobia and anti-trans animus?ED: Lets have a conversation. I think if we can find 5% of an issue where we can agree on, I think we can build on that. Lets bring the temperature down on LGBTQ issues. Lets stop worrying about whether or not someone can change the letter on their passport. And lets have a conversation about how best we can treat everybody as Americans. And as equals.SM: And you would sit down with the Donald Trumps and the other people to talk about that? You would be open to that?ED: If there was somebody who was willing to have an actual conversation where we could find common ground and build on it, I would sit down with anybody. That said, if I know that its not turning into a good-faith argument, that conversation is going to be over, and well find somebody else who will have a good-faith conversation.Photo by Mark Fiske, courtesy of Deuso. Erica Deuso connecting with families of Downingtown during her political campaign.What It Means to Be a Trans Politician in Todays ClimateSM: I want to go back to little Erica. At what age do you think you realized you were trans, and tell me a little bit about those early realizations.ED: So, I believe I was 4. It was very early on, but that was 1984, at a time when people didnt know anything about this. My parents obviously didnt know anything about it. I lived with that for six years, knowing that I didnt have the language, I didnt have the verbiage, I didnt understand what was going on. It was a time when kids didnt go to therapists. And so I waited until I was 10 to tell my parents. And, obviously, it was 1990, and things didnt go over well at that point. It wasnt something they knew anything about and they came at it from a place of fear, not understanding. So I sort of shoved it down a little bit, and then college came around and I tried to do something about it again in college when I was 19. And I met my ex on the way to therapy. So put it on the shelf again. And it wasnt until I was 29 that I realized, Hey, I dont wanna turn 30 and not know who I really am. So I went to a therapist who specializes in gender identity and gender dysphoria here in the area. And by the end of the first session, she said, I dont think Ive met another person who fits as many criteria for this as you do. So we started on the path. I did get amicably divorced from my ex. Still friendly. Im very happy for her. She has a very cute little girl, happily married again. Im happily married now again. And life is good. And very, very happy with the way things happen. And everything happens for a reason. And I firmly believe that Im living this life for a reason. Maybe its to be the mayor. Maybe its for something greater. Who knows? But right now Im focused on being the best mayor Downingtown has ever had.SM: What would your message to young kids be who might have dreams of being mayor or other, you know, amazing career paths, but arent sure if they can be out and proud and do these and achieve these ambitions?ED: You will surprise yourself with what youre capable of once you say that Im going to just be myself, no matter what anybody else says. There will always be people who push you to be different, whether youre trans or not, but you have to persevere and say, This is who I am. This is what Im going to do with my life, and just keep pushing because you only have one life, and you need to live it in the way thats going to bring you the most joy and the most happiness and be the best for yourself.SM: What are you most excited [about] when it comes to getting to work?ED: Well, I want everybody to know, who voted me in, that Im eternally grateful for the responsibility that you have given me. Im not gonna let you down.SM: Fabulous. Well Mayor-elect Deuso, I think you should be very proud. Youre a role model overnight, kind of, which might have even surprised you. And I wish you the best of luck as Mayor of Downingtown. Thank you so much for speaking with me and Uncloseted Media today.ED: Thank you so much for having me, and my doors always open.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

The holidays are coming fast, and its a great time to show some love to the LGBTQ owned businesses that keep our community vibrant all year. These makers pour real heart into what they do, often while juggling tight budgets and a tough market. (All gifts listed below are under $150, with most coming in under $30.) If youre looking for gifts that feel personal and support our wider queer ecosystem, here are some standout brands to keep on your list this Black Friday.Beauty and personal careNOTO BotanicsA queer founded beauty line known for clean, multi use products and a minimalist look. This gender-inclusive line is made with vegan and cruelty-free ingredients and biodegradable packaging. NOTO also donates a percentage of profits from its Agender Oil to nonprofits like The Okra Project, The Transgender Freedom Fund and Black Mamas Matter.Gift pick: The Ultimate Skin Kit, featuring The Wash, Resurface Scrub, Moisture Riser Cream, and Deep Serum in a Tyvek Recycled Carry-all Bag. Retails for $120.Freck BeautyIf you spend any time on BeautyTok, then youd know that freckles are all the rage. Freck is a vegan, queer-founded makeup brand with bold color and playful identity, encouraging all to stop covering up their freckles and instead, celebrate them. (Even those without freckles!)Gift pick: Freck OG, the original faux freckle pen. Retails for $22.Meow Meow TweetFounded in 2009 by Jeff Kurosaki and Tara Pelletier, Meow Meow Tweet is a small batch queer owned skincare line with compostable packaging and bright style. All of MMTs products are gender neutral, small batch and low waste by design.Gift pick: Grapefruit Baking Soda Free Deodorant Cream, perfect for sensitive pits and skin. Retails for $16.Bearded OregonHandmade beard and grooming products created by a queer founder in Oregon, with scents inspired by Oregon cities like Bend, Eugene and Sisters.Gift pick: Portland Beard Oil, a jojoba-based oil with a rich Vanilla Rose Chai scent. Retails for $18.Home and lifestyleGood Judy CandlesThis Black and queer owned candle and home care brand company offers cheeky scents like the zesty citrus-based Tongue Pop and the juicy and spicy Sweet Heat. All candles and room sprays are made with rich scents in small batches.Gift pick: Whats Tea candle with notes of mint, eucalyptus, ginger and clove. Retails for $25.HausWitch Home + HealingA Salem, Mass. based queer owned shop offering home goods, ritual tools and thoughtful gift sets.Gift pick: HausMagick Astral Linen Spray, with cedarwood, fennel and lavender scents for sweet dreaming. Retails for $35.Chouette DesignsThe French word chouette is often used to describe something great or cool, and this queer and women owned jewelry brand with size inclusive rings and custom pieces fits the bill.Gift pick: Twist Necklace in Gold, a simple piece that makes a statement. Retails for $135.Food, drink and treatsLagustas LusciousThis popular queer-owned vegan chocolate shop is making small batch, ethically sourced sweets in New Yorks Hudson Valley. To snag these sweets, you have to be quick because they sell out fast. Sign up for their newsletter for release dates, special offers and more.Gift pick: Rosemary Sea Salt Caramel Box, a holiday classic. Retails for $26.Euphoria CoffeeA queer owned small batch roastery with smooth everyday blends with coffee beans from all over the world.Gift pick: Guatemala De Leon, a light roast coffee with hints of almond marzipan and vanilla. Retails for $19.City SauceryThis queer owned food brand used upcycled produce, like overripe or ugly tomatoes from local farms, to create bold pantry staples. And yes, theres even a Nona in the kitchen.Gift pick: Tomato Nduja, their spicy plant based signature condiment. Retails for $11.99.The post Thoughtful gifts from LGBTQ+ makers for everyone on your list appeared first on News Is Out.

Tello Films Network, the longest running LGBTQ+ streaming platform with the biggest library of sapphic holiday films available, has a new present for movie fans this season. Tellos latest queer holiday romance, The Christmas Writer, is currently hitting theaters for a limited release and will be available on VOD starting November 18. The latest film follows a tradition started by Tello in 2019 with its first holiday-focused film, Season of Love, and followed by films like I Hate New Years, A Holiday I Do, and Christmas at the Ranch.The film is directed byTello Filmsfounder & CEOChristin Baker and written by BakerandKatie I. Williams.In The Christmas Writer, holiday lesbian romance author Noel (Shelby Allison Brown) returns to her hometown of Pinewood, shortly after the death of her mother, to reluctantly promote her latest holiday release. When she returns to her big city life, she finds herself on the other end of a breakup and a serious case of writers block. 10 months later, at the persistent urging of her agent Jillian (Stacey Lee Powell), Noel heads back to Pinewood to try and capture the Christmas spirit. Along the way shes encouraged by her best friend Erin (Kendahl Landreth), beloved Grandmother Robbins (Karen M. Chan) and the new owner of the towns bookstore, single lesbian mom Callie (Callie Bussell).Noel and Callie click right away, but both have to work through their own issues to find a way forward.Noel (Shelby Allison Brown) & Callie (Callie Bussell) Photo: Tello FilmsThe Christmas Writer delivers small-town holiday charms, plenty of cheer, strong chemistry between the leads and a happily-ever-after. While mainstream channels such as Hallmark and Lifetime have moved slowly on LGBTQ+ storylines, Tello has built a brand that centers them.Leads Brown and Bussell have a great slow-burn chemistry, giving us multidimensional characters and a romance we can root for. Landreth as the towns lesbian lothario and bestie to Noel is a stand out, bringing much of the charm shes known for as a comedian, content creator, and co-host of the Happy Wife Happy Life podcast. Landreths real life partner Jordan Myrick also has a role in the film as agent Jillians over-eager assistant, Paulette.Longtime BFFs Erin (Kendahl Landreth) & Noel (Shelby Allison Brown). Photo: Tello FilmsThis reporter has seen all of Tellos holiday films. The Christmas Writer ranks near the top for its cast, chemistry and well-placed holiday spirit.Beginning on Nov. 18, you can rent The Christmas Writer for $6.99 (14 days) or purchase the film for $14.99. Tello is currently offering a special 30 day deal for $14.99 that includes access to its other seven holiday films and dozens of other titles.The post Love, loss and lesbian lit Tello Films The Christmas Writer hits just in time for the holidays appeared first on News Is Out.

In November 2024, actor Chlo Grace Moretz came out as gay in a social media post about the presidential electionaround six years after she played a gay teenager sent to conversion therapy camp in the 2018 movie The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Moretzs 2024 post stated, in part, I believe in the need for legal protections that protects the LGBTQ+ community as a gay woman.Though much more social and legal progress still needs to be made, film and TV representation of LGBTQ+ individuals has helped set the stage for change in the real world. From veteran performers like Ellen DeGeneres to younger actors like Noah Schnapp, many celebrities have publicly come out after playing an LGBTQ+ character on screen, marking an important milestone in the entertainment industry.Whereas LGBTQ+ creatives like Dan Levy and Sean Hayes once concealed their sexuality for fear of discrimination, many actors today have come out without facing damage to their careers or personal lives. Several celebrities have gone on to play additional LGBTQ+ roles after coming out, providing further representation of the community both on- and off-screen.To recognize these actors and their impact, Stacker compiled a list of 25 celebrities who have come out after playing an LGBTQ+ character, using interviews from such publications as Variety and Out Magazine and IMDb data to confirm these actors filmography.This is by no means an exhaustive list. Many more performers, like Aubrey Plaza, Maulik Pancholy, and Wayne Brady, have come out after playing LGBTQ+ roles.Rodin Eckenroth // Getty ImagesRonen RubinsteinRonen Rubinstein won over countless 9-1-1: Lone Star viewers in his role as T.K. Strand, an openly gay paramedic in a relationship with police officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael L. Silva). T.K. provided an opportunity for Rubinstein to embrace his own sexuality, and the actor publicly came out as bisexual in April 2021. In an interview with Variety, he explained that fans positive reactions to Tarlos encouraged him to come out.Kevin Winter // Getty ImagesNoah SchnappNoah Schnapp shot to fame after playing Will Byers on Netflixs 80s-set supernatural series Stranger Things. Though fans had long speculated on Byers sexuality, noting the dynamics between him and other characters, Schnapp confirmed in July 2022 that Byers is gay but still closeted. Schnapp himself publicly came out as gay a few months later; to see whether Byers will do the same, well have to keep an eye out for the fifth season of Stranger Things.Bryan Bedder // Getty Images for GlamourSamira WileySamira Wiley played the lesbian character Poussey Washington on Orange Is the New Black and came out publicly as a lesbian in 2014. Unfortunately, it wasnt by choice: Wiley revealed in 2018 that an unnamed castmate from the series accidentally outed her in an interview, leading her to come out sooner than shed initially planned.Lionel Hahn // Getty ImagesBella RamseySeven years after making their professional acting debut on Game of Thrones, nonbinary actor Bella Ramsey became a household name for starring on another hit HBO series, The Last of Us. Based on the popular video game series of the same name, The Last of Us takes place in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a mind-controlling fungus, following survivors Ellie (Ramsey) and Joel (Pedro Pascal) on a quest across the former United States.But The Last of Us isnt just about zombies and fighting for survivalin the shows first season, Ellie shared a poignant on-screen kiss with friend Riley (Storm Reid). A few months after that episode premiered, Ramsey described their own sexuality as not 100 per cent straight in an interview with British Vogue.Lia Toby // Getty Images for BFIKit ConnorAn adaptation of Alice Osemans graphic novel series, teen drama Heartstopper quickly became one of the most popular Netflix series when it premiered in 2022. But all that fame came at a cost for Kit Connor, who plays the bisexual character Nick Nelson on the show. Connor came out as bisexual on Twitter (now called X) in November 2022 after revealing hed been forced to come out to field accusations of queerbaiting.Noam Galai // Getty ImagesMae WhitmanAfter voicing lesbian witch Amity Blight on Disneys animated series The Owl House, which premiered in 2020, Mae Whitman came out as pansexual in 2021. Just taking a moment to say I am SO proud to be even a small part of a show like The Owl House,' Whitman wrote on X. Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and [bisexual character] Luz in my life when I was growing up.Kevin Winter // Getty Images for NetflixChris ColferChris Colfer is perhaps best known for playing Kurt Hummel, an openly gay character on Glee. Though Kurt came out as gay during the shows first season, Colfer himself wasnt yet out of the closet at the time and spent much of those early shoots terrified as a result. Colfer eventually came out as gay after the series debuted in 2009. Still, he has since compared his coming-out experience to that of Kit Connor, saying he felt similarly pushed to go public with his sexuality before he was ready.John Lamparski/WireImage // Getty ImagesRenee RappUntil she departed from the series in 2023, Broadway actor Rene Rapp starred on The Sex Lives of College Girls as Leighton Murray, a closeted lesbian who comes out publicly during the shows second season. While Murray struggled with her sexuality throughout the series first season, Rapp was going through some struggles of her own, saying in later interviews that she felt insecure as a bisexual woman playing a lesbian character. Despite saying she hated the first year of filming as a result, Rapp has described the series as her coming-out experience.She has since confirmed in a February 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she identifies as a lesbian rather than bisexual.Mark Von Holden/Variety via Getty ImagesJake BorelliGreys Anatomy star Jake Borelli came out on Instagram at the same time his character, Dr. Levi Schmitt, came out on screen. When the episode in which Schmitt kisses fellow doctor Nico Kim (Alex Landi) aired in 2018, Borelli posted a photo with the caption, As a gay guy myself, tonights episode was so special to me. The episode was also special for Greys Anatomy, marking the start of the first gay male romance on the long-running medical show.Jamie McCarthy/WireImage // Getty ImagesSara RamirezJake Borelli isnt the only Greys Anatomy star to come out after playing an LGBTQ+ character on the show. Mexican American actor Sara Ramrez played bisexual surgeon Callie Torres on Greys from 2006 to 2016. Seven years after Torres came out on screen in 2009, Ramirez came out publicly as bisexual. They later came out as nonbinary in 2020 and portrayed the nonbinary character Che Diaz on HBOs And Just Like That from 2021 to 2023.James Devaney/GC Images // Getty ImagesEllen DeGeneresAs shes now one of the most famous openly gay celebrities in the entertainment industry, its hard to remember a time when Ellen DeGeneres wasnt out. DeGeneres came out as lesbian in 1997, during the same time her on-screen character, Ellen Morgan, came out on the fourth season of the comedians ABC sitcom Ellen. The decision made Morgan the first gay or lesbian lead character on any U.S. network television show. Though DeGeneres decision to come out received some pushback from the public, it also marked a significant step forward for LGBTQ+ representation in TV.Leon Bennett/WireImage // Getty ImagesSean HayesSean Hayes starred as the openly gay character Jack McFarland on Will & Grace, but Hayes waited several years after the series first concluded in 2006 to come out as gay himself. He began to speak publicly about his sexuality in 2010, though hes said he regrets not coming out during the shows initial run. Hayes later returned to the screen as Jack, reprising his role for the 2017 reboot that concluded in 2020.George Pimentel/WireImage // Getty ImagesAdamo RuggieroThough Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation has come under fire in recent years for its, shall we say, somewhat problematic plot points, theres no denying the show provided groundbreaking LGBTQ+ representation when it aired in the early 2000s. That representation included Adamo Ruggieros character, Marco Del Rossi, who initially struggled to accept his sexuality before eventually coming out as gay. Ruggiero came out as gay in 2008, saying in later interviews that he strongly resonated with his character.Carlos Alvarez // Getty ImagesOmar AyusoBetween murder plots and other nefarious schemes, theres a lot competing for viewers attention on Netflixs Spanish series lite. But Omar Ayusos role as Omar Shanaa, a closeted Muslim teen, easily stands out amid the series high-stakes drama. Ayuso himself made waves on the internet in 2020 when he made his relationship with artist boyfriend Alonso Daz Instagram-official.Rich Fury // Getty ImagesKate MoennigFrom 2004 to 2009, Kate Moennig played one of the few lesbian TV characters in the early aughts on The L Word. While her character, Shane McCutcheon, was busy breaking hearts and taking names on screen, Moennig was figuring out her own sexuality. Now married to musician Ana Rezende, Moennig credits her time shooting The L Word as helping her embrace her attraction to women.Amy Sussman // Getty ImagesDan LevyThough most fans know Dan Levy for playing the openly pansexual character David Rose on the hit comedy Schitts Creek, he hasnt always been so public about his sexuality. He stated in a past interview that he kept quiet about being gay when he first began working in the entertainment industry, fearing a hit to his career. The actor-comedian officially came out in 2020 on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.Sebastian Reuter/Getty ImagesKristen StewartKristen Stewarts romantic life has been subject to public scrutiny since the early days of her Twilight stardom, and her role as Valentine in the 2014 film Clouds of Sils Maria only further fueled the rumor mill. But the actor confirmed those rumors in 2017 by calling out Donald Trump in an opening monologue for Saturday Night Live, saying that the president wouldnt like her because Im, like, so gay, dude. Stewart has since come out as bisexual and has played several more LGBTQ+ film roles, including starring opposite Mackenzie Davis in the lesbian holiday rom-com Happiest Season. In April 2025, Stewart tied the knot with screenwriter Dylan Meyer.Jeremy Chan/Getty ImagesVictor GarberVictor Garber starred on Will & Grace as the openly gay character Peter Bovington, who appeared on a 2004 episode of the beloved sitcom. Garber earned an Emmy nomination for the role and came out publicly as gay in 2013, saying, I dont really talk about it, but everyone knows. Hes since appeared on many hugely successful shows, including And Just Like That and Schitts Creek.Vivien Killilea // Getty Images for SCAD aTVfest 2020Kaylee KaneshiroAfter starring as the pansexual character Josie Saltzman on Legacies, a spinoff of the CW series The Vampire Diaries, Kaylee Kaneshiro had a statement of her own to make. The then-23-year-old actor took to Instagram for Pride Month 2021, posting a photo of herself with a rainbow flag and the caption, My name is Kaylee, and Im queer!John Nacion/FilmMagic // Getty ImagesZachary QuintoZachary Quinto played the bisexual character Sasan on Tori Spellings VH1 series So Notorious, which had one season in 2006. Five years later, Quinto came out as gay in 2011 following the suicide of gay teen Jamey Rodemeyer. In a statement posted to his website, Quinto wrote: In light of Jameys death, it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality.The 32nd Annual GLAAD Media Awards/Getty Images for GLAADDominique Provost-ChalkleyWhen it premiered in 2016, the supernatural Western series Wynonna Earp quickly garnered a massive fanbase among the LGBTQ+ community due to the shows three-dimensional LGBTQ+ characters, like Waverly Earp (Dominique Provost-Chalkley), who is bisexual. So fans were quick to express support when Provost-Chalkley came out as queer via blog post in early 2020. The actor has since also come out as nonbinary and genderfluid.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic // Getty ImagesTyler PoseyTyler Posey is famous for playing the lovable (straight) werewolf Scott McCall on MTVs Teen Wolf series, but hes taken on multiple LGBTQ+ roles since his days of howling at the moon. In Seasons 3 and 4 of Jane the Virgin, he appeared as Adam Alvaro, a bisexual musician and comic book artist. Posey also acted opposite Avan Jogia in the sci-fi series Now Apocalypse in 2019. In 2020, Posey came out as queer and has described his sexuality as fluid.Emma McIntyre // Getty Images for The Recording AcademyDemi LovatoGrammy-nominated singer and actor Demi Lovato came out in 2021, more than five years after her brief stint on Glee playing Dani, Santanas (Naya Rivera) girlfriend. Lovato has opened up about being queer in recent years but has since clarified they are pansexual and nonbinary.Lia Toby // Getty Images for Warner Bros.Ncuti GatwaRwandan Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa starred on the hit Netflix series Sex Education as Eric Effiong, a proudly gay teen in small-town England, from 2019 to 2023. Shortly before the shows final season premiered, Gatwa officially came out as queer during an August 2023 interview with Elle UK. The Doctor Who and Barbie actor acknowledged that while hes avoided discussing his sexuality in the past, his role as Eric taught me the importance of representation: its so powerful and necessary.Jamie McCarthy // Getty ImagesClea DuVallIn 1999, actor and filmmaker Clea DuVall starred opposite Natasha Lyonne in a movie that would quickly become a cult classic, especially in the LGBTQ+ community: But Im a Cheerleader. The comedy follows DuVall and Lyonnes characters through their time at a conversion therapy camp, where the two meet and eventually become romantically involved. DuVall came out in 2016 and went on to direct the 2020 holiday rom-com Happiest Season, starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and Dan Levy.Story editing by Carren Jao. Copy editing by Paris Close.The post 25 actors whove come out after playing an LGBTQ+ character appeared first on News Is Out.

GLAAD released its latest annual Where We Are on TV report today, and while there was a 4% increase in LGBTQ+ characters in 2024-25, 201 characters, or 41% of all LGBTQ+ characters, wont be returning in 2026 due to cancellations, show endings, characters leaving or dying, or the conclusion of a limited series. That leaves a potentially massive decrease in LGBTQ+ characters if not replaced by new series.This year marks the 20th edition of the WWAT report, which chronicles not only the number of LGBTQ+ characters on television but how television studios fare in representation, and the kinds of representation exhibited. Since the late 1990s, television has played a significant role in shifting attitudes about the LGBTQ+ community, with research showing that nearly a third of non-LGBTQ American adults say that LGBTQ-inclusive media has changed their perception of our community.At a time when diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are being rolled back across the country from academia to corporate America, GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis shares that the idea that diverse representation will alienate audiences is a myth.Its a costly business miscalculation fueled by loud, fringe voices when inclusive stories are valued by all audiences, said Ellis, in her annual report introduction. A majority of both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ U.S. adults say representation is important to them in the TV shows they watch. In fact, over half of LGBTQ Americans and 3 in 10 non-LGBTQ people, thats 84 million Americans combined, say they are actually more likely to watch a TV show if at least one of the characters is LGBTQ.Here are some of the key takeaways from this years report.Gay men made up the largest share of LGBTQ+ characters this year, with 193 (39%), followed by lesbians at 132 (27%), bisexual characters at 98 (20%), queer-identified characters at 32 (7%), and asexual characters at 2 (0.4%).LGBTQ+ characters were overwhelmingly white, with 221 (45%) identified as white, followed by 85 Black characters (17%), 58 Asian Pacific Islander (12%), 53 Latine (11%), and 40 multiracial (8%). Middle Eastern and North African characters, along with Indigenous characters, each accounted for just 1% of representation.While transgender representation increased in 2024-2025, 61% (20 characters) will not be returning in 2026.Despite being the largest percentage of the LGBTQ+ community, 51% according to Gallup, the report marks the third year in a row with a decrease in bisexual representation.Netflix led streaming platforms with 177 LGBTQ+ characters, far ahead of Amazons 82 and Hulus 34. Peacock and Disney+ trailed with just nine each.For a full breakdown, check out GLAADs Where We Are on TV 2024-25 here.The post 41% of LGBTQ+ TV characters not returning in 2026, according to GLAADs latest Where We Are on TV report appeared first on News Is Out.

Menopause is seldom discussed in our society. There are no renowned movies, bestselling books, celebrated conferences, posh coaches, or well-known classes that focus on this life change, despite the fact that approximately 2 million Americans experience it every year.For people with ovaries, menopause is a natural process that officially starts after a person has gone 12 months without their period. This usually takes place around the age of 51, though age varies widely among those who experience it. Symptoms often start years before menopause occurs, in a phase known as perimenopause. During this time, people may experience hot flashes, brain fog, joint and muscle pain, vaginal dryness, decreased libido, trouble sleeping, and increased irritability.For those within the LGBTQ+ community, this change can come with added difficulties. Menopause is caused by a natural drop in estrogen, a change that impacts many nonbinary folks, cisgender women, and trans men. Across the vast spectrum of gender expression and sexuality, menopause will affect everyone differently. Surgeries and hormone use ultimately determine how each person experiencesor bypassesmenopause. For example, trans men and nonbinary folks with ovaries who take higher doses of testosterone are less likely to experience menopause.On the flip side, trans women dont naturally experience menopause, as there is no end of menses. However, those using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may experience similar symptoms to menopause when adjusting estrogen levels or pausing HRT for any reason.With so many different manifestations of menopause, finding a trusted health care provider is key to knowing what to expect in ones own body. Unfortunately, fear of discrimination stops many LGBTQ+ folks from seeking care. According to research, one in six LGBTQ+ adults report that the possibility of discrimination kept them from pursuing the health care they need. For trans folks, that number jumps to one in four.Even when that barrier is conquered, receiving adequate and informed care remains a struggle. The sensitive nature of menopause symptoms can make it difficult to broach the topic with health care providers. Take the most intimate of symptomsvaginal drynessas an example. Providers may be accustomed to asking about and treating this symptom in their cisgender heterosexual patients, but often neglect to ask cisgender patients with female partners how this symptom impacts them. Iris Romero, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chicago says, Best practices with menopausal women is to ask how sex is going, but most lesbians, I suspect, arent even asked that question.The myth of lesbian bed death may be more from a lack of treatment than a lack of desire. Patti Geler, LCSW explains that both depression and a lack of libido can contribute to a decrease in sexual activity between partners. These are common symptoms of menopause, and in relationships where both partners experience this life change, these symptoms can impact intimacy for years. Infuriatingly, because menopause is so rarely discussed, many in the LGBTQ+ community have no idea that lesbian bed death may have physical causes that can easily be treated.For trans and nonbinary folks, intimate dryness can lead to additional challenges. Heightened sensitivity can increase awareness of genitalia, triggering gender and body dysmorphia. In support groups and online forums, some masc-of-center folks report struggling with weight gain that affects hips and breastsfeatures often considered more feminine.The prevailing treatment for menopause symptoms is HRT: estrogen and progesterone. Choosing this method of treatment, and managing the physical feminization that often accompanies it, is a personal decision best made with the input of a trusted health care provider. The possible impact of this treatment on gender expression and, therefore, mental health cant be understated. Finding affirming mental health care during this time is critical.In recent years, LGBTQ+ folks and the providers who serve them have begun creating new resources to meet the unique needs of LGBTQ+ people experiencing menopause. FOLX Health is a digital health care company designed by and for the LGBTQ+ community. Through their services, patients can secure HRT for menopause, join a virtual community, and seek mental health care. In London, therapist Tania Gayle and the Queer Menopause Collective maintain Queer Menopause, a site dedicated to providing resources to LGBTQ+ folks facing menopause. For providers, the deputy chief executive for Womens Health Tasmania, Lucinda Shannon, launched Speaking of Health, a podcast to help health care providers be more inclusive.These resources raise awareness of menopause and the specific ways in which it impacts members of the LGBTQ+ community. As this awareness grows, the hope is that care will improve, and that those experiencing menopause will have the knowledge necessary to feel confident in advocating for their health.The post Menopause in the LGBTQ+ community: the health care gap few discuss appeared first on News Is Out.

For the fourth year running, Florida representatives have introduced bills hoping to ban Pride flags from government buildings and schools. Despite previous bills failing every year before ever receiving a floor vote in the past, Florida politicians are once again pushing anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the hopes that this time it will be different.This bill is a direct attack on LGBTQ visibility and a textbook example of government overreach and censorship, said the Senior Political Director of Equality Florida, Joe Saunders, in a statement. The Pride flag is a symbol of safety, inclusion, and community for millions of Floridians. [] These bills prevent local cities and counties from using flags to recognize their own communities or make them welcoming to residents and tourists. Related Florida town defiantly flies Pride Flag after mayor warns against it Floridians deserve leaders focused on solving real problems, not weaponizing government to erase LGBTQ people from public life, Saunders added. Weve defeated this bill before, and we will defeat it again.The Florida Pride flag ban is a pre-file for the 2026 legislative session, making it one of the first anti-LGBTQ+ bills for next year. Identical copies of the bill were submitted to both the Florida House (H.B. 347, introduced by State Rep. David Borrero) and Senate (S.B. 426, introduced by State Sen. Clay Yarborough). Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today If passed, the bill would prevent the Pride flag from being flown in or around government buildings, including schools.The specific text of the bill precludes displaying flags which represent political partisanship, political ideology, race, gender, or sexual orientation. That means that Black Lives Matter flags would also be banned.However, allowances are made for flying a flag of historical significance to the government of the United States or this state. While that might allow for the display of older versions of the U.S. flag, it has been noted that it would also allow government buildings and schools to fly the Confederate flag.Introducing another Pride flag ban is on brand for Florida, outside of their three years of failing to pass such a ban. After Trump and his Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy pushed for the removal of rainbow crosswalks across the country earlier this year, Florida was one of the only states to enact their demand. They did so in a shocking fashion, removing the rainbow crosswalk memorial from the site of the Pulse nightclub shooting, and responding to protestors restoring it by painting over it again and installing police officers to watch the road.Theres a sad precedent for a state banning Pride flags, established in Utah back in March, when legislators voted in such a ban, and the governor refused to veto it. Despite being the first state in the U.S. to ban Pride flags, municipal officials in the states capital of Salt Lake City found a workaround by designating variations of LGBTQ+ Pride flags as official city flags so that they could still be flown on local government buildings.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

In a partnership with filmmaker Brooke Sebold, LGBTQ+ advocacy organization PFLAG has launched a five-episode video series called I Changed My Mind. Each short documentary film focuses on a single story that examines understandings of LGBTQ+ identities and the space needed for someones opinions to evolve over time.Stories have the power to challenge assumptions, build bridges, and inspire change, said Sebold. This series brings to life the deeply personal transformations that can happen when people are willing to listen, reflect, and open themselves up to love. Related Hes a real boy: Heres what parents wish folks knew about their trans kids Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Through the real stories told in the I Changed My Mind series, PFLAG hopes it can help people embrace empathy and step into authenticity. While political discourse is massively divisive and anti-trans rhetoric is tied to political identity, the series seeks to bridge divides and looks at how people can grow, unlearn, and make space for new ways of seeing.The first video, released on September 15, was Rias Story. When Kane, Rias son, came out as trans, her first reaction was to reject the idea and insist that she knew her childs gender identity better than he did. This came as a surprise to her, as she had studied gender roles in college and had never felt girly herself. But then she had what she calls her ahhh moment, where she asked herself, Wait, what am I doing? That process helped her to reexamine and embrace her own sexuality as well. Ultimately, she says, Not everything is just black and white. Theres different ways of seeing things, that changing your mind is essential for you to grow. On October 7, PFLAG released Sues Story. Sue explains that she was a life-long Republican who homeschooled her kids to protect them from indoctrination, and once protested against Pride parades. When her youngest child came out as gay and then trans, she enrolled them in so-called conversion therapy, a practice that is widely discredited by major medical associations. The only effect of the therapy, she said, was that it gave her child anxiety and depression. Eventually, Sue realized that she was wrong, but admitting that meant leaving behind her church and broader community and crafting a new identity for herself. Deedees Story focuses on a single mom and her struggle to fully accept her trans son. When he came out, she did everything right on the outside, from affirming his identity to using his pronouns. But she knew she was secretly hoping this was just a phase and that he wasnt really trans. It took her a long time to realize her error and change her mind on the whole thing. I could feel how I had failed my child. I had the ability to really support, truly affirm and support him, and I wasnt taking the opportunity to do that. And I knew thats not the type of parent I was supposed to be. When he told me that he knew that too, it was my bitter pill to swallow. The latest episode is Eltons Story. Raised on the Navajo Nation, Elton found his way into HIV activism after his brother passed from it. Now, as the executive director of the Two Spirit and Native LGBTQ+ Center for Equality, he is pushing for the dream he shared with his brother to end the false narrative surrounding HIV/AIDS today.The final installment of PFLAGs I Changed My Mind series will release on December 9.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Stories of anti-trans vitriol dominate the media, which makes it easy to forget just how many folks out there give endless love and support to the trans people in their lives.Every day, hundreds of thousands of parents across the country fight with all their might to provide their trans kids with love, hope, and a community of support. They fight to shield their kids from pain and to make them feel proud of who they are. Related Youll love these 8 childrens books with transgender & nonbinary main characters TheNovember IssueofLGBTQ Nationcelebrates the incredible parents uplifting their trans children at one of the most challenging times in history for the community. It highlights the passionate, furious, and exhausting behind-the-scenes work these unsung heroes do to give their kids the lives they deserve.LGBTQ Nationasked these parents a simple question:What do you wish the world knew or understood about your trans child?We received dozens of responses, andhave publishedsome ofour favoritesevery Friday this month. Today is our final installment. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In every single message, one thing became clear: These parents want nothing more than for the world to see the humanity in their kids, to see past thepronounsand body parts and understand that they are so much more than their genders.Here is what 10 of these parents, who we have allowed to remain anonymous, had to say. He is rocking his beard That the concerned expression and condolences are not what we want in response to learning that my young man is trans.That we could not be prouder that Me 2.0 (with self-confidence patch) navigates autism, SSDI benefits, and community college in a distant state.That our son is funny, snarky, creative, fiercely compassionate, and so much more.And that he is rocking his beard. It looks terrific!Shes a teenager & she is a sageShe is awe inspiring. Instead of being scared by this rhetoric and the governments attempt to erase her identity, she is resolved. They can take my name. They can take my pronouns. But they can never take my community. Shes a teenager and she is a sage. She is a blessing and if anyone loves their child, they should first imagine what they would feel like as a parent if the world was against their kid for being who they are. When she was young shed rescue spidersMy daughter is the most gentle, caring and lovely person, She always has been. When she was young she would rescue spiders I was about to vacuum up. She is loved by our extended family and friends. She is also very clever and has been in demand in her employment area. She contributes so much to society and to the economy as well. Yet she lives a life of fear and has attempted suicide four times which has caused me unimaginable grief 4 times. | Shutterstock We are making slime together My greatest desire is to create a safe and nurturing space for my child. He is having a blast exploring karate and practicing all the moves. Learning piano involved years of lessons and practice, some with a lot of frustration, but you should see him create beautiful melodies of his own as a 12 year old. Yesterday he was biking around town with his friends. Today we are making slime together. Tomorrow he and his friend are buying Christmas gifts for a family in need. Hes a wonderful human and I want him to have safe space to explore the world and be true to himself. It doesnt matter to them if they win or loseI wish the world understood that my trans identical twins are, first and foremost, kids. They want to play sports to be with their friends and build community, not to get some kind of imaginary competitive advantage or take something away from someone else. It doesnt matter to them if they win or lose, they just want to feel like they are a part of something meaningful and that they belong. Isnt that what every kid wants?She loves Nerf gun battles & nail painting partiesShes writing her own path. My daughter is proud of her identity and challenges the people in her life to examine their ideas of what gender *really* means. For her it means pierced ears and bob haircuts, sweatpants and gamer tees, video games and nerf gun battles and nail painting parties with her older sister. The wisdom she has shared in the process of self-knowing has inspired me to be more authentic in my own skin, and fully embrace being queer and non-binary without the pressure of performing my queerness to validate someone elses idea of what an NB mom should look like. | Shutterstock They are the most loving person I know The intense journey of self discovery they have been on though their formative teenage years has resulted in them being the most tolerant and loving person I know. She is fierce & loving & brilliant & beautiful & paralyzed with fearI wish the world understood that my trans daughter (18) is not asking for anything other than basic human rights. She is not trying to [tar]get anyone else. She is fierce and loving and brilliant and beautiful and paralyzed with fear terrified of a world where people hate her just for existing. I wish the parents with hate in their hearts could leave room for a sliver of compassion for another parents child, and the possibility that they would fight for anything their own child needed to have in order to live a healthy, happy life even if it meant supporting trans rights.She is powerfulIts not a choice! Josie knew something was different inside her head and body. It took her 20 plus years to understand what it was, she was trans. She doesnt want anything special, just to be the powerful young woman she is. As a parent its been a journey for sure, but we know she is being the best version of herself now as a female not male. Wake up everyone, this small segment of population has existed for centuries! Its not something woke, we are talking about human lives. I only wish others could meet and talk with our unbelievable daughter before they judge her. | Shutterstock Their life could have started sooner if the world was differentThat even in a loving and open and understanding home environment its still sometimes difficult to come out because society sucks. My child was in their late twenties when they told me. They knew Id be fine with it, just not the rest of the world they felt. They are just starting their journey and their life could have started so much sooner if the world was different. It breaks my heart.If this story affected you, just know you are not alone. TheTrans Lifeline Hotlineoffers support to trans/nonbinary people struggling with mental health from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. PST Monday-Friday. Call (877) 565-8860 to be connected to a trans/nonbinary peer operator and receive full anonymity and confidentiality. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth ages 24 and younger, can be reached at (866) 488-7386.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The grim consequences for transgender students in Texas are coming into focus three months after the states sweeping new Dont Say Gay legislation went into effect in September.Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed the so-called Bill of Parental Rights in June, a draconian right-wing wishlist of MAGA priorities banning discussion of LGBTQ+ identity and race in classrooms, shutting down gay-straight student alliances (GSAs) on school campuses, and explicitly prohibiting school staff from supporting trans students, alongside other restrictive measures. Related Texas students sue over unsafe & unjust Dont Say Gay law that bans GSAs The prohibitions around social transition mean kids known to their classmates and teachers by their preferred name and identity for years are now being deadnamed and forced to assume an identity theyd abandoned long ago.Ethan Brignac, a trans student at Wylie East High School northeast of Dallas, has been known by his chosen name since seventh grade. With the new legislation in effect, the high school senior lobbied teachers to continue using it. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In the first week of school, when I was kind of trying to convince my teachers to call me Ethan, I was like, Hey, look, its still on my ID.Then one of my teachers this year said, Okay, theyre gonna fix that soon.Three weeks later, school administrators called him to the library and gave him a new ID. Ethan was now officially identified by his deadname.He says some teachers seem to make a point of working his legal name into every interaction, he told the Texas Tribune, outing him to peers and rekindling the dread he felt in his time before Ethan.It was definitely a big change having my deadname kind of sprawled everywhere, he said, It was like, wow, okay, that wasnt just a social media post I saw, this is real life.A school spokesperson confirmed the change was to ensure full compliance with state law, including Senate Bill 12.In the Leander school district north of Austin, faculty may continue to call students by their preferred name, if it was done prior to SB 12s implementation. But for new students, the use of their chosen names and pronouns is banned. Parents can request a name change, but those updates are only allowed if theyre unrelated to social transitioning, said Conner Carlow, a classroom support specialist in the district. Carlow grappled with his own sexuality as a middle schooler and recalled how hard it was.I wasnt telling my parents what was going on, so I imagine these kids arent either, Carlow said. The fact theyre willing to tell us before even the parents is a big deal, and now the fact that we have to just not accept them, I mean, its awful.The school board in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston, was among the first in Texas to bar teachers from using gender-affirming names and pronouns.At Woodlands High School in the district, junior Cassie Hilborn had planned to come out as trans, but the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation stripped her of her confidence, she says. It feels like every day I look at the news and then the headline just reads, Sorry, more things youve lost.Cassie takes refuge at the schools Dungeons & Dragons club, where classmates and a faculty adviser call her by her chosen name. She lodges a small protest against SB 12 by hiding the deadname on her school ID under blue masking tape.But Cassie remains discouraged, she said.Now, even teachers that might have respected my identity have been told that they unequivocally are not allowed to do so, Cassie said. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) appears to have thought she was celebrating the Supreme Court rejecting protections for transgender students when the Court was actually rejecting protections for pregnant and parenting students.Great victory for girls and women!! she wrote on X about the ruling against protections primarily for cis girls and women. Related Marjorie Taylor Greene drowned out by hecklers at off the rails prison press conference At issue is last Fridays Supreme Court ruling to reject an appeal from the Biden administration to keep the non-LGBTQ+ parts of new Title IX rules issued this year in place while lawsuits about the LGBTQ+ parts work their way through the court system. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today That is, the entire story could be summarized as an example of how transphobia and homophobia backfired to hurt straight and cisgender people.The new Title IX rules issued by the Department of Education in April expanded the anti-discrimination protections from the original law to include anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in schools, as well as discrimination against parenting and pregnant students. The regulations include new rules for how to handle gender-based sexual harassment and assault claims and require schools to promptly respond to all complaints of sex-based discrimination with a fair, transparent, and reliable process. The new rules also include measures to fight retaliation against students and employees who exercise their Title IX rights. Two provisions in the rules require that school officials refer to trans students with the appropriate names and pronouns and allow them to use the facilities of their gender. States sued, arguing that the Biden administration didnt have the authority to make the rules regarding trans students, and several federal judges blocked the rules from going into effect in 26 states.The Biden administration appealed to the Supreme Court, not to keep all the new regulations in place, but just to limit the injunctions to the LGBTQ+ parts of the new regulations and allow all the rest the pregnant and parenting student protections, the new procedures to deal with sex-based harassment and assault, the anti-retaliation measures to go into effect. Solicitor GeneralElizabeth Prelogar argued that the injunctions were too broad when they could have been issued to just block the LGBTQ+ provisions that the states were suing over. The Supreme Court this past Friday rejected Prelogars argument in a 5-4 decision, keeping the new regulations completely blocked in those 26 states.Today a majority of this Court leaves in place preliminary injunctions that bar the Government from enforcing the entire ruleincluding provisions that bear no apparent relationship to respondents alleged injuries, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. Those injunctions are overbroad.Hate influencer Chaya Raichik whos behind the wildly anti-LGBTQ+ Libs of TikTok account posted on X about the Supreme Court decision but explained it incorrectly: Supreme Court just ruled against Biden admin request to implement their changes to Title IX which would allow men to completely invade womens spaces. HUGE WIN FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS! she wrote, and then shared a headline from The Hill about the ruling that includes the word partially. That article in The Hill correctly explained that the Biden administration just wanted the Court to narrow the lower courts injunctions, not overturn them, but perhaps Raichik didnt read the article she shared.Greene, a sitting congresswoman, shared Raichiks post and added her own message saying that the Court rejecting those protections that were mostly for cis girls and women is a Great victory for girls and women!! I still cant believe this is even an issue! she added.Great victory for girls and women!!I still cant believe this is even an issue! https://t.co/jUaG0QW13k Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) August 16, 2024

The greatest gift of a singles holiday weekend is freedom. You get to define your own traditions, your own family, and your own schedule. The sheer size and diversity of Southern Californias LGBTQ+ community mean that no matter your interestwhether its quiet contemplation, a raucous circuit party, or a warm, community-focused mealthere is a place []The post The Singles Guide to Thanksgiving Weekend appeared first on GEDmagazine.