Since the start of Donald Trumps second presidential term, Uncloseted Media has been checking in every 100 days to document each move in the administrations ongoing and relentless attack on the LGBTQ community. These last few months have continued the trend of each 100 days being worse than the last. Trump has weaponized the assassination of Charlie Kirk to put an even bigger target on trans Americans, and he has been testing out new rhetoric, claiming that Democrats want transgender for everybody, a line hes now used so many times that we couldnt include every reference. With that in mind, heres the administrations complete track record on LGBTQ issues from days 201-300.Aug. 9, 2025Trumpannouncesthat he isnominatingDepartment of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce as deputy ambassador to the United Nations. Bruce, an out lesbian, opposes transgender health care for minors and claims LGBTQ Pride commercials really do damage to the gay and lesbian community.Aug. 11, 2025During a public safety press conference, Trumporders the National Guardto deploy in Washington, D.C., claiming it will curb crime despite itbeing down. While doing so, he attacks the LGBTQ community,saying, Thats why [Democrats] want men playing in womens sports, thats why they want transgender for everybody. Everybody, transgender. 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 Aug. 12, 2025Trumporders a reviewof the Smithsonian Institution to determine whether it aligns with his administrations standards. Hetargets the museums exhibitson transgender athletes,ballroom dragand the evolution of LGBTQ identities, as well as a painting of a Black trans statue of Libertythat was later withdrawn by the artistin the National Portrait Library.The same day, the State Department releases a revised 2024 Human Rights Report thatomits referencesto LGBTQ people and erases mentions of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The report also removes critiques of governments for mistreating LGBTQ communities. For example, itremovesinformation about Hungarysanti-LGBTQ lawsthatencourage citizensto report their LGBTQ neighbors and thatban depictionsof homosexuality or gender transition in schools or the media. Aug. 14, 2025The Department of Education (DOE)launches an investigationinto four Kansas school districts, accusing them of violating Title IX as they permit students to participate in sports and access intimate facilities based on gender identity rather than biological sex. Aug. 15, 2025Budget cuts stemming from Trumps federal workforce reductionseliminate$600,000 in funding for the D.C. Office of LGBTQ Affairs for 2026.The same day, the administrationannounces planstoeliminate gender-affirming carefrom the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program starting in 2026, cutting coverage for over 8 million people. The policy would block access to hormones and surgeries for federal workers and their families. Aug. 20, 2025The media reports on court filings that reveal that the Department of Justice (DOJ)issued subpoenasto hospitals for private medical records of LGBTQ patients 18 and younger. The DOJ requests billing data, communication with drug manufacturers, Social Security numbers and recordings from providers who treat gender non-conforming minors. Doctors across the country report threats and fear government retaliation.The subpoena is a breathtakingly invasive government overreach. Its specifically and strategically designed to intimidate health care providers and health care institutions into abandoning their patients, says Jennifer L. Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD law, an LGBTQ legal group and civil rights organization.Aug. 21, 2025The White Housepublishes a listof 20 Smithsonian exhibits deemed objectionable, including many that highlight LGBTQ and non-white artists.Targeted worksinclude the American History Museums LGBTQ+ exhibit that explores queer and disabled identities, as well as a Title IX anniversary display featuring transgender athletes.The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)cuts $12 millionof federal funding for Californias Personal Responsibility Education Program, which provides sex education to teens. HHS officials cite thestates refusalto remove lessons on so-called radical gender ideology.The Supreme Court (SCOTUS)upholds an executive orderwhich directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to cut more than1,700 grants, nearly 200 of which provide funding for HIV/AIDS.The New York Times reportsthat the Trump administration will withhold more than half of the congressionally appropriated $6 billion for the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.Experts saythe cuts threaten HIV/AIDS services worldwide, as the Kenyan HIV/AIDs network NEPHAK announces layoffs and closures of health centers. Aug. 23, 2025ICEviolently detainsBrazilian trans woman Alice Correia Barbosa, later announcing plans to deport her. Aug. 26, 2025The administration warns U.S. states and territories that they willlose federal fundingfor sex education unless they remove all references to gender ideology. Forty-six states and D.C. receive letters ordering the purge of all gender ideology content within 60 days.Aug. 28, 2025The DOEordersDenver Public Schools to replace gender-neutral restrooms with sex-designated facilities within 10 days. If they dont comply, the DOE suggests they willlose federal funding.HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.tells Fox Newsthat the HHS is studying whether gender-transition medications or antidepressants cause violence, citing a church shooting in Minneapolis by a transgender woman. Research showsno such connection, andnearly allmass shootings are committed by cisgender men. Aug. 29, 2025In aninterviewwith the Daily Caller, a right-wing opinion website, Trump baselessly claims that banning transgender troops improves military readiness. He falsely links transgender identities to violence and repeats debunked claims about gender-affirming care. Sept. 2, 2025The Harvard Crimson posts Dean David J. Demings announcement that the university willno longer hostprogramming for specific races or identity groups, signaling deeper cuts to diversity efforts. The move follows Trumpsdemandsthat Harvard dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or lose billions in federal research funding. Since Trump took office, Harvard hasremovedDEI language, closed identity-based offices and folded LGBTQ, womens and minority programs into a single Harvard Foundation.On a podcast with former George W. Bush special assistant Scott Jennings, Trumpconflates crimewith support for transgender people, saying Democrats are fighting for criminals, just like they fought for transgender for everybody all these crazy things. Sept. 3, 2025After a settlement requiring the administration to restore health and science information to federal websites, HHS officials tell theAssociated Pressthat they remain committed to its mission of removing radical gender and DEI ideology from federal programs. The reversal follows an executive order meant to eliminate the term gender from policies and delete public health pages about pregnancy risks, opioid addiction and AIDS.During an Oval Office meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, Trump onceagainsays Democrats gave us things like men playing in womens sports, open borders for everybody, transgender for everybody.Sept. 4, 2025In response to the Minneapolis mass shooting, CNN reports that the DOJ isconsidering restrictingtransgender Americans Second Amendment rights by building off of Trumpstrans military banand using it as justification for a firearm bansomething that would only be possible bydeclaring themmentally defective. The proposal sparks backlash from the National Rifle Association, who says in a statement that they will not support sweeping gun bans that arbitrarily strip law-abiding citizens of their Second Amendment rights without due process.A Maine principals groupchallengesa subpoena from the DOJ that seeks athletic rosters statewide as part of the administrations effort to ban transgender students from sports. The group argues the request would expose private student information unrelated to the case.A federal appeals panelupholds an injunctionblocking the Trump administrations plan to deny accurate passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans. Judges rule the government failed to show how inclusive passports violate federal law. In its decision,the court writes:Based on the named plaintiffs affidavits and the expert declarations submitted by the plaintiffs, the district court made factual findings that the plaintiffs will suffer a variety of immediate and irreparable harms from the present enforcement of the challenged policy, including a greater risk of experiencing harassment and violence while traveling abroad. Sept. 5, 2025CNNuncovers yearsof homophobic and misogynisticpostsby E.J. Antoni, Trumps nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Antoni, an economist at theHeritage Foundation, contributor toProject 2025and a bystander on Jan. 6, has repeatedly mocked LGBTQ people and journalists andappears to have been running an X account wherehe posted that there is only one sexual orientation everything else is a disorientation. The administration would withdraw his nomination Sept. 30. Sept. 8, 2025Three military familiessuethe Department of Defense after the Trump administrations ban on transgender health care. This is a sweeping reversal of military health policy and a betrayal of military families who have sacrificed for our country, says Sarah Austin, staff attorney at GLAD Law.Speaking to theReligious Liberty Commission, Trump rambles, On day one of my administration, I signed an executive order to slash federal funding for any school that pushes transgender insanity on our youth. He goes on tofalsely claimthat some states can force children to transition without the parents knowing.Sept. 9, 2025A federal judgeblocksthe administrations attempt to subpoena medical records of transgender minors at Boston Childrens Hospital. The court finds that:The Administration has been explicit about its disapproval of the transgender community and its aim to end GAC [gender-affirming care]. It is abundantly clear that the true purpose of issuing the subpoena is to interfere with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts right to protect GAC within its borders, to harass and intimidate BCH to stop providing such care, and to dissuade patients from seeking such care. Sept. 11, 2025The Wall Street Journalpublishesa leaked Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives memo whichfalsely claimsthat shell casings found near the scene of Kirks murder were engravedwith expressions oftransgender and anti-fascist ideology. Sept. 12, 2025The DOJremoves a studyfrom its website showing that far-right extremists have killed more Americans than any other domestic terrorist group. Thearchived reportdisappears two days afteranti-LGBTQconservative Charlie Kirk is assassinated.Sept. 15, 2025In apress conference, Trump says he would have no problem removing Pride flags from Washington, D.C. streets after Brian Glenn, a far-right content creator, says that a lot of people are very threatened by this flag. Glenn attempts to paint the Progress Pride flag as the transtifa flag and suggests that if you can label them a domestic terrorist group, in all reality, you could take that flag down.Trump acknowledges legal limits under free speech law but adds, I think you probably could. Again, youll be sued, and its okay. Ive been sued before a couple of times. Sept. 16, 2025UCLA faculty and workers unionssuethe Trump administration for freezing $584 million in research grants, arguing it violates academic freedom and constitutional rights. The freeze follows a DOJ letter demanding UCLA end gender-affirming care for minors, ban transgender athletes and align policies with anti-DEI directives. Sept. 17, 2025The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issues new priorities that declare that biological sex is unchangeable and that pledge to protect children by deprioritizing programs offering transgender health care.Sept. 18, 2025Two national security officials tell independent journalist Ken Klippenstein that the FBI isweighingwhether to classify transgender people as a sub-category within its new domestic extremism threat model that was originally used toclassifyJan. 6 rioters. Sept. 19, 2025The Trump administrationpetitions SCOTUSto reinstate itspassport rulerequiring sex designations match birth certificates. A lower court hadblockedthe policy, allowing transgender and nonbinary Americans to use X markers or gender-aligned IDs.A federal judgeblocksthe administration from withholding the National Endowment for the Arts grants from arts organizations it deems to be promoting so-called gender ideology, ruling the policy unlawfully punishes artistic expression.It is reported that the DOEthreatens to withhold$15 million from New York City magnet schools unless they repeal trans-inclusive policies. Sept. 20, 2025The CDCremoves or restrictsnearly two dozen webpages, many related to LGBTQ health and equity. Deleted pages include About Shigella Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men, STI Information for Transgender and Gender Diverse Persons and others addressing asexuality, disabilities and race-based health inequities. Sept. 22, 2025White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claims the administration isinvestigatingwhy transgender people are turning to domestic terrorism, despite no evidence of this. She calls anyone denying the false link willfully ignorant. Transgender people arefour times more likelyto be victims of violent crime.Sept. 23, 2025Trumpcancels a budget meetingandblamesa potential government shutdown on Democrats support for trans-inclusive policies. Sept. 24, 2025The administrationwithholds$1.25 million in congressionally approved funds from 20 projects serving LGBTQ and underrepresented communities. The grants include efforts to document queer historic sites and to nominate the residence ofBayard Rustin, a gay civil rights advocate, socialist and adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., as a National Historic Landmark.Klippensteinreleasesexcerpts from recent federal threat assessment reports that deliberately exclude trans people, referring repeatedly to threats against the LGB+ Community. Sept. 25, 2025Trump signs a presidential memopledging to disrupt and dismantle entire networks of criminal activity, blaming extremism on migration, race, and gender and proclaiming there is hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality. The memo has no legal weight and does not alter First Amendment protections. Week of Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2025Canadaupdatesits U.S. travel advisory, warning citizens with X gender-marker passports that entry may be denied.While the Government of Canada issues passports with a X gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries.Oct. 1, 2025FBI Director Kash Patelfires a traineefor displaying a Pride flag on his desk, labeling it an improper political message. The dismissal follows reports that pro-Trump appointees are combing internal FBI files to identify LGBTQ employees. Oct. 3, 2025Education Secretary Linda McMahon sends a9-page proposaltonine universitiesthat demands they ban trans-inclusive facilities, define sex by reproductive function and limit race, gender, or identity factors in admissions. It alsoordersschools to revise their governance structures by abolishing institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas. Oct. 7, 2025DOJ attorney Hashim MooppansuggestsSCOTUS should overturn Colorados ban on conversion therapy for minors, saying, There is ongoing irreparable harm for a Colorado counselor who is challenging the ban. Conversion practices remain illegal in 27 states and arecondemnedby every major medical association.During an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carneywho has a nonbinary childTrumpmakes anti-trans remarkswhile discussing trade. We have strong borders. We have no men in womens sports. Were not going to take your child away and change the sex of your child.Oct. 10, 2025The White Houseannouncessweeping layoffsto the DOE, cutting roles that oversee civil rights, grants and disability services. LGBTQ youth,28% of whomhave faced housing insecurity, will lose key protections. A federal judge temporarilyblocksthe layoffs on Oct. 15.The White House alsolays offmore than 1,100 employees at the HHS. The Office of Population Affairs, which administered Title X family-planning networks, teen-pregnancy prevention and LGBTQ health initiatives, is eliminated entirely. Adrian Shanker, former deputy assistant secretary for health policy and senior adviser on LGBTQ health tells The Advocate, These are the programs that centered reproductive and queer health, and now theyre gone. [This] leaves us more vulnerable to health inequities and worsened health outcomes. Oct. 24, 2025The White House changes its Major Events Timeline to include that Joe Biden established Trans Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday in 2024, which isnot true. Oct. 25, 2025The United States Department of Agriculturepoststhe following notice:Senate Democrats have now voted 12 times to not fund the food stamp program, also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Bottom line, the well has run dry.At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. They can continue to hold out for healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive critical nutrition assistance.Oct. 30, 2025NPRsharesthe draft text of two proposed rules by HHS that would heavily restrict trans health care. One prohibits Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming care for people under 18 and another blocks all Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals that provide the care to minors. Nov. 2, 2025In aninterviewwith 60 Minutes Norah ODonnell, Trump repeatedly misgenders trans women and accuses Democrats of promoting transgender for everybody. Nov. 6, 2025SCOTUS grants the Trump administrations request toput a holdon federal rulings in Massachusetts. These rulings would have required the State Department to issue correct passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans. In her dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writes the majority once again paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification. Because I cannot acquiesce to this pointless but painful perversion of our equitable discretion, I respectfully dissent.Additional reporting by Hope PisoniSubscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Jesse Thorn, a prolific content creator and dad to a trans daughter, recently posted a heart-melting defense of trans kids during which he posed a question for all the cisgender haters standing in the way of their acceptance: What if we ask ourselves about ourselves, and we dont like the answer?About ten years ago, Thorns oldest kid told her mom and dad she was transgender. Thorns wife went on to write a picture book based on the revelation called It Feels Good to Be Yourself, Thorn shared. Related Hes a real boy: Heres what parents wish folks knew about their trans kids And I have this memory of my wife handing me a printout of the book, and I read it, and I was just pouring tears, he recalled. Youd think that would be because, like, this is a beautiful story of a trans kid, and its our kid. But actually, no. Actually, it was because it was about all of us. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The proud dad went on to explain how his daughters experience, and the book that inspired it, moved him to look at his own gender identity in the same way that trans people examine their own.Im cisgender. Everybody always assumed I was a man, and I actually am a man. And until my daughter came out, I never really had to think about my gender identity or even about anyone elses. It was like transparent to me. I never consciously checked in with myself. People just assumed something, and it happened that they were right, so it just sort of was'.And so when my kid came out, Thorn said, I had to really stretch my mind to imagine her experience. It was so different from my experience.I never chose my identity, and so my daughter must be choosing hers, and she must be rejecting my way of being in the world, is how it felt, he added.Thorn said that initial reaction mirrors the same kind of reflexive hostility that a lot of people feel about trans people.Theyre sort of caught on their back foot like, Wait, I didnt choose anything. These trans people must be choosing. Im neutral. Theyre different. They are rejecting me, and then people are taking that uncomfortable feeling and getting really nasty. The cis dad suggested people take a cue from his wifes book about their approach to gender identity.In my wifes book, there is no, This way is normal. This way is different. There is the expectation that we each will engage with our own identities, think about who we are, and we might come up with different answers, he said.Trans people had to look inward. Everybody was wrong about them. They had to figure themselves out. For cis people, we just never even tried.According to Thorn, It Feels Good to Be Yourself has been banned in countless libraries and classrooms, not because its about sex or about private parts. She doesnt mention those things at all, he said of his author wife. I dont even think its because it has trans kids in it.The problem people have with the book, Thorn thinks, is that it puts trans kids and cis kids on the same level. Its because it asks cis people to think about themselves.That reveals a vulnerability that makes people crazy, he said.Its scary. What if we ask ourselves about ourselves, and we dont like the answer?If youre uncomfortable with trans people, Thorn suggested, then ask yourself: Is it because theyre weird, or because you are being forced to deal with you?Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Republican Missouri secretary of state candidate Valentina Gomez is outraged that her brother lost his job for supporting her campaign with a $1250 check, but her brothers former boss is sharing text messages online to show why exactly the brother got fired.Valentina Gomez has built her campaign on homophobia, from burning LGBTQ+ books with a flamethrower to making Dont be weak and gay her campaign slogan to posting videos online using the word fa***t. In a party that generally does not support LGBTQ+ rights, Valentina Gomez stands out for how cartoonishly hateful her public statements are. Related Unhinged GOP candidate accuses Democrat of raising a groomer because her grandchild is trans Her brother, Jonathan Gomez Noriega, served until yesterday on the staff of Jersey City, New Jersey, Mayor Steve Fulop (D) and on the citys LGBTQ+ Task Forces outreach and public relations committee. The Jersey City Times reported that he donated $1250 to his sisters campaign. Your LGBTQ+ guide to Election 2024 Stay ahead of the 2024 Election with our newsletter that covers candidates, issues, and perspectives that matter. Subscribe to our Newsletter today People in the community where he works were outraged. Hudson Pride Center Executive Director Elizabeth Schedl announced that she was resigning from the LGBTQ+ Task Force in protest of Jonathan Gomez Noriega and would only join the task force again when he was removed. He has already announced that he is stepping down from the task force.This decision comes after careful consideration and is in response to the continued refusal of Jonathan Gomez-Noriega to condemn the hateful and divisive anti-LGBTQ rhetoric espoused by his sister, she said. Another local organization, the JC LGBTQ+ Alliance Against Hate, started a petition to have Jonathan Gomez Noriega removed from office.Valentina Gomez lashed out at the Hudson Pride Center, but she probably didnt make the situation any better for her brother because she told NJ.com that the LGBTQ+ organization was teaching children to chop off their body parts and that schools are turning kids gay. Family over everything! she said in a statement. Its very hypocritical that there is a task force for just 1% of the population. Where is the task force for our veterans that sacrificed their youth, their health and their careers to protect our nation?In regards to the useless Pride center, Id love to see the Hudson Pride Center closed its doors completely because our children should be learning mathematics, history and developing their people skills, not learning how to chop off their body parts and being turned gay.On her X account, Valentina Gomez was even more combative and threatened Mayor Fulop with a huge lawsuit. She also included a recording of a private phone call between her brother and his boss, the mayor. Steven, you should have chosen your words more carefully with my brother, because you do not sound like a Democratic mayor, you sound like a dictator, Valentina Gomez said.In the recording that she shared, Mayor Fulop tells Jonathan Gomez Noriega: If you think that is boldness, Im gonna fire you. Im gonna look in five minutes, if its not clear where you, then youre not with me, youre with her and you cant work with me. Period. OK? Like, thats it. No, just five minutes.Fulop responded to Valentina Gomez, saying that her brother was an at-will employee for the city and that he is no longer employed as of today.You can see how strongly I feel about the LGBTQ community and Ill share the text messages we exchanged so ppl know ill fight for them when people are watching and the same when they cant see what Im doing, Fulop wrote. The text messages he shared show him repeatedly telling Jonathan Gomez Noriega to put out a statement denouncing his sisters views. Jonathan Gomez Noriega repeatedly asks the mayor to review his statement before he publishes it, but the mayor insists that it must come from him and he will evaluate it once it has been published. Valentina first your brother WAS an at-will employee for the city as of tomorrow he no longer works there bc he doesnt reflect the values of the city. Second, You can see how strongly I feel about the LGBTQ community and Ill share the text messages we exchanged so ppl https://t.co/3j1gYf8ihw pic.twitter.com/a1LFiTfH6B Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) August 6, 2024In his statement, Jonathan Gomez Noriega didnt mention his sisters name and didnt say he disagreed with her on LGBTQ+ rights, instead saying that he wants to focus on a future where meritocracy and results matter most and that he may not agree with everything my sister says, but I love her.Let me be clear: I do not support any hateful remarks directed toward the LGBTQ+ community or any individual Political differences should not destroy families, he said in his statement.After the statement was published, Fulop announced that Jonathan Gomez Noriega was fired. Different beliefs shouldn't divide us. This issue touches dinner tables across America. I choose respect, peace, and the chance to embrace my loved ones, putting family above politics and any appointed position.I do not and will never discriminate against ANY human being. I am Jonathan Gomez (@Jonathan_Goomez) August 5, 2024This isnt the first time Valentina Gomez said her family has suffered consequences for her very public and hateful rhetoric. She claimed earlier this week that pedophiles, groomers, and corrupt politicians have tried to kill my father, poison my dogs, and destroy me. She didnt explain what she meant.Earlier this year,she lost her job with Purina dog food, saying that the company was trying to keep me quiet for speaking up against the pornographic materials in our childrens libraries.Valentina Gomezs primary election is today.

A super cute fashion show hit a Paris runway last week, featuring designs made exclusively from gay wool.Gay wool, you ask? Related Gay flamingo couple surprises caretakers by hatching a chick at zoo Yes, there is such a thing, when the wool youre working with comes from gay sheep.And there are lots of those. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today About one in 12 rams shows no interest in mating with ewes, and on farms dedicated to producing the wool that supplies the fashion industry, that means the male-oriented sheep are expendable and likely sent to the slaughterhouse.In other words, the sheep are killed for being gay, LA designer Michael Schmidt told The New York Times. So Schmidt got together with Rainbow Wool, a German nonprofit created by a farmer who rescues the non-mating sheep and cultivates them for their wool, and Grindr, the gay dating app, to produce a collection bringing attention to the gay sheeps plight and a show featuring some gay male archetypes to model it.The result: I Wool Survive, a fashion show that Tristan Pineiro, senior VP for brand marketing and comms at Grindr, calls a metaphor for how gay people are treated across the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Post Style (@poststyle)The gay sheep get discarded, get forgotten, are seen as not valuable, he said. But through them, two people who would never otherwise have met, a German sheep farmer and a Los Angeles designer, got connected and together created something beautiful.People tend to notice things that are sexy, said Schmidt, who counts Cher, Doja Cat, and Lady Gaga as clients. They gravitate toward that, especially if there is humor involved. So I thought, Well, thats a good way to draw the eyeball, which gets you to the story.The designer leaned in on gay clichs: the pool boy, the gym teacher, the cowboy, the Navy sailor. Schmidt and Suss Cousins, author of Hollywood Knits, knitted every piece from 30 boxes of thread provided by Rainbow Wool, including red, white, and blue Speedo briefs; a Bike jock; and a pair of pink Converse high tops. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Grindr (@grindr)But Schmidt calls the show more than fashion.I view it as an art project. Its selling an idea more than a collection of clothing, and the idea its selling is that homosexuality is not only part of the human condition, but of the animal world. That puts the lie to this concept that being gay is a choice. Its part of nature.Or as Grindrs Pineiro put it, You cant say the sheep were corrupted by woke culture.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

If youve been burned by organized religion a common experience in queer life but still have a desire to have spirituality in your life, then witchcraft may be for you. This is a major reason why witchcraft, tarot, and astrology are so popular in the LGBTQ+ community, but did you know that it can also be used to make changes in your dating life?For people who have been told they are wrong or sinful for who they love, leaning into witchcraft can be a healing practice, and it can also provide you a way to have some control over your relationships or give you an avenue to pursue healing after your heart has been broken.So to find out how you can use witchcraft in your everyday life, and why the practice can be so helpful in queer dating and relationships, we talked to Danny Santos, a gay astrologer, Shaman, and spiritual healer at Santos and the Crystal Visions; and Coby Michael, an occult herbalist, magical practitioner, operator of the shop The Poisoners Apothecary, and author of The Poison Path Herbal, The Poison Path Grimoire, and The Poison Path Oracle.How can witchcraft be helpful for queer dating and relationships?There are so many queer people who have experienced religious trauma or been shunned by a religious community, so turning to something like witchcraft makes a ton of sense. Witchcraft has been an incredible tool for myself and my queer clients because of the expansiveness, inclusivity, and open-minded approach that witchcraft and other queer spiritual practices offer, Santos tells PRIDE.When you consider that interest in witchcraft is usually frowned upon by organized religion, it makes even more sense that queer people would gravitate toward it. Using it to help you in your dating life or to end a relationship or save one is just a natural extension of this affinity for this specific kind of spirituality that is unconnected to a formal church. Witchcraft can be particularly helpful in queer relationships because it instantly brings more novelty to the relationship through shared activities, exploring new spiritual topics, or trying out new experiences, Santos explains. Whether its seeing a medium with your partner, doing a full-moon ritual and celebrating the solstice, or taking a Tarot class together, witchcraft adds a whole new level of connection and fun to any queer relationship, so long as both parties are open and interested.1.Cord-cuttingIf youre dealing with a bad breakup and just cant seem to move on on your own, a cord-cutting ritual may help you get the closure you need so that you can get on with your life and start dating again. Break-ups are never fun for anyone! I have been known to hex and ex or two, and while this can be an extremely cathartic way to channel your anger and heartbreak its also maybe not the most mindful and demure thing to do, Michael says.According to Michael, a cord-cutting ritual is used to break energetic attachments and emotional connections with a person and usually involves physically cutting a cord representing your connection to a specific person. The cord can be tied between two candles, or two objects, one belonging to you and one belonging to the person you are cutting ties with, or you can just tie both ends to yourself and imagine the ties that bind you to your ex.Cord-cutting is a simple ritual that can be performed to break energetic attachments and emotional connections with a person. It is a powerful technique for letting go and allowing yourself to move forward, he says.But before deciding to do a cord-cutting ritual, Santos says you should be really sure you want to sever ties with the person youre cutting out of your life because it can have a real impact. The most important thing I would like to emphasize with cord cutting is if youre going to make a cut, be absolutely sure that you want to do it and be very specific about the intention you have for cutting the cord, he says. Also be sure to add safety for yourself, the other person, and anyone else involved in the situation as part of your intention. Once youve created a clear intention and are ready to actually make the cut, the most important part of the practice is to exercise what is known as proper severity.2.Reconnecting ritualsSantos says that reconnecting with past relationships is tricky and he only recommends it if you are sure you want this person back in your life. Often, relationships dont work for a reason, and its the red flags in the beginning that always end up being the reason you break up in the end, he says. Ultimately, reconnecting rituals are best done during Mercury Retrograde or in periods where one or both people has done the work to ensure that they are spiritually attuned for the union to come together under more aligned circumstances.While Mercury is in Retrograde or when both people are in periods where one or both people has done the work to ensure that they are spiritually attuned for the union to come together under more aligned circumstances, is the best time to attempt one of these rituals.Some witchy rituals are more formal, but Santos says that doing a reconnection ritual can be much simpler and straightforward, like a meaningful phone call or meeting for lunch. A healing and loving conversation can truly be some of the most magical and restorative medicine for everyone involved, he says.3. Altars for shared goalsCreating an altar for a shared goal can be a great addition to witch queer relationships or a "fun and collaborative way to get you and your honey on the same page, Santos says. Its essentially a tangible way to visualize the future you want together and help you work toward shared goals and milestones. Whether its literally setting up a shared altar space with crystals, propped up Tarot cards, candles, and herbs or simply having a shared Pinterest board or vision board set up in the apartment, these are beautiful ways for the queer identity to express togetherness, he explains.Michael says that you should come together as partners to chose and place object that represent both of your personalities and goals. This could be a piece of jewelry from each of you, a photo of the two of you together or objects that represent your personality, and can also contain candles, incense, and crystals, he says. Your reasons for setting up an altar will also look different and could include things like strengthening your relationship, livening up your sex life, or honoring one another as spiritual beings that have chosen to walk together hand-in-hand, Michael recommends, "Altars can also be constructed for more mundane goals such as buying a house or protecting your existing home from unwanted influences. Your altar represents the combined energy and intention of the two of you, and will act as a focal point to direct your collective energies at a specific purpose.4.Cleansing after a fightCleansing after a fight with a friend, family member, or significant other is a practice Santos always recommends. This ritual can be simple, but it packs a wallop in terms of helping you move on and put an argument behind you.Anytime there is tension, an argument, or a fight, the best thing to do is literally clear the air, he says. Whether using something like palo santo, tobacco, your favorite lavender spritz, or showering, these are all quick ways to energetically clear your aura and reset the vibe. Drinking an herbal tea such as mint or eucalyptus can also add an extra layer of refreshment.Sources cited:Danny Santos, a gay astrologer, Shaman, and spiritual healer at Santos and the Crystal Visions.Coby Michael, an occult herbalist, magical practitioner, operator of the shop The Poisoners Apothecary, and author of The Poison Path Herbal, The Poison Path Grimoire, and The Poison Path Oracle.

Whether youre shopping for your partner, your family, or that one friend who somehow already owns everything, this holiday season is all about giving gifts that connect, literally and figuratively. From smart tech to sensory indulgence, these picks are designed to bring a little luxury, creativity, and human connection into every home.This year, weve teamed up with Verizon to spotlight gifts that bridge style, innovation, and meaning. Nothing says I care about you quite like something that makes their day-to-day brighter, their home cooler, or their digital life a little smoother.So grab some cocoa, open a few tabs, and get ready to shop smarter for your people, and maybe a little for yourself, too (we listen, we dont judge).1. Verizon Apple BundleOver-stuff their stockings (and maybe yours) with Santa-sized savings on Verizons exclusive Apple Bundle. Featuring the all-new iPhone 17, iPad, and Apple Watch Series 11, this trio is the ultimate tech flex for families to live life seamlessly synced. Whether theyre FaceTiming from the airport, tracking workouts, or streaming their latest obsession, this bundle keeps every part of their world connected in classic Apple style. Smart, sleek, and seriously giftable, its everything they didnt know they needed, all in one box.2. Xreal One Pro AR GlassesBring the future straight to their face in the chicest way possible. These augmented reality Xreal One Pro AR Glasses deliver crisp visuals, immersive streaming, and multitasking magic that feels straight out of a futuristic sci-fi flick. Whether theyre gaming, watching, or working from a coffee shop thats entirely a vibe, the Xreal One Pro turns every space into a personal cinema. Currently retailing for $649.3. Rick Martinezs CookbooksFor the foodie, the traveler, or the one who treats dinner like an art form, Rick Martinezs cookbooks (Mi Cocina and Salsa Daddy) serve up pure culinary joy. His storytelling is as flavorful as his recipes, blending queer identity, Mexican heritage, and gorgeous photography. Each dish feels like an invitation to the tablepreferably with a mezcal cocktail in hand. Books start at $32.4. Bokksu Snack BoxSnacking, but make it global. The Bokksu Snack Box delivers authentic Japanese treats sourced directly from small family businesses. Think yuzu gummies, mochi puffs, and matcha-coated everything. Its an edible postcard from Japan that hits all five senses and makes a perfect gift for anyone who loves surprises (or just loves snacks). Subscriptions start around $29.15 per month.5. Aura Digital FrameFor the sentimental type who still screenshots texts for the memories, the Aura Digital Frame is a sleek way to share lifes highlights. Upload photos instantly via the app and watch them come to life in stunning HD. Whether its vacation pics, pet selfies, or chosen-family candids, its a modern keepsake that keeps everyone connected with no printer required. Frames retail for $229.6. Oura RingWellness meets style in the Oura Ring, the sleek piece of smart jewelry that tracks sleep, readiness, and recovery with scientific precision. Its perfect for the health-obsessed or anyone curious about leveling up their self-care routine. Discreet enough for everyday wear, its the most fashionable way to say I take my REM cycles seriously. Prices start at $349.7. Retrolife Transparent Record PlayerFor the aesthete who insists vinyl just sounds better, the Retrolife Transparent Record Player brings nostalgia into the 21st century. The acrylic design is clear, cool, and irresistibly modern, turning their favorite records into both dcor and conversation. Its Bluetooth-enabled, too, so they can also stream playlists, proving analog and digital really can live in harmony. Currently priced at $399.8. Arcade1Up Infinity Game BoardForget Monopoly night. This Arcade1Up Infinity Game Board is where the real fun begins. Packed with over 100 digital board games and classics, its perfect for gatherings, game nights, or cozy nights in with your competitive partner. Touchscreen gameplay means no lost dice, no setup stress, and endless rounds of laughter. Currently retailing for $499.9. Flamingo Estate Seasonal Subscription BoxIf farm-to-table but make it sensual is their vibe, the Flamingo Estate Subscription Box is a botanical dream come true. Each season brings artisanal productsfrom olive oils and herbal honeys to garden-grown body care, candles, and soapsourced from regenerative farms. Its like gifting a wellness retreat in a box, complete with that signature Flamingo Estate scent that screams good taste. Seasonal boxes start at $275 quarterly.10. Brick Smart Alarm ClockMeet Brick, the sleek little device helping people take back control of their digital lives. By connecting your phone to the Brick, you can intentionally block out distractions, whether its during work hours, family time, or when you just need a break from the scroll. Its customizable modes make unplugging simple, tangible, and even a little satisfying: connect to lock, disconnect to unlock. Designed for balance, not restriction, Brick turns mindfulness into a daily habit youll actually keep. Currently retailing for $59.11. Gs Go-To Italian Gift BoxFrom Giada De Laurentiis Giadzy, the Go-To Italian Gift Box brings a taste of Italy straight to your kitchen. Think authentic tomato spread, hand-crafted pasta, and olive oil so good it could end arguments. Its the ideal present for your favorite foodie, carb lover, or anyone who knows the best love language is I made you dinner. Gift boxes start at $87.30 for members, $97 for non-members.From sleek tech to thoughtful indulgences, these gifts are all about connection to your people, your passions, and to the small luxuries that make everyday life shine a little brighter. However you celebrate this season, give something that sparks joy, starts a conversation, or simply says, You matter to me.

We think so, honey!After confirming his new romance with Below Deck star Fraser Olender at BravoCon 2025, Matt Rogers is now giving everyone an early holiday present with a steamy new photo on Instagram.This isn't the first time Rogers has shown skin on social media, but the comments were feral nonetheless. Check out the highlights below!See on Instagram

Miles Heizer has put in the work!The talented actor certainly has plenty of notable projects under his belt, including Parenthood, 13 Reasons Why, Nerve, Love, Simon, and more. However, his breakout role on the hit gay Netflix series Boots has critics and audiences raving.While attending this year's Out100 as an honoree as well as the cover star of The Advocate, Heizer opened up on all the love the show about a closeted teen Marine has been receiving since its release."I am honestly still so shocked by the response!... I know it's hard for gay shows to break through. The fact that this show has been able to do that has been so exciting for me and truly has blown my expectations out of the water! I'm just thrilled," Heizer tells Out. See on Instagram Boots made waves right after its successful premiere on Netflix. In fact, the Pentagon even slammed the gay series as being "woke garbage" once it gained momentum with mainstream audiences."I was surprised by that one!" Heizer says. "Especially this show, the message really is about community and people coming together. It has a very positive message. That response is not what I expected, but here we are."Beyond the emotional and relatable storylines, Boots became a hit within the gay community as plenty of steamy and sexy moments from the show went viral on social media. That was a surprise for Heizer, who had a less glamorous view of the show from a production perspective."We all felt so incredibly hideous! We're like bald, we're sweating, we're exercising.... We saw each other in the same three outfits for like two years. It's very funny to me that people are saying some of the boys are hot, just because our experience was very different!" See on Instagram It's safe to say that fans are patiently awaiting a series announcement from Netflix regarding the show's future. In the meantime, Heizer is literally campaigning boots on the ground for a second season. He even teases that he'd be down to film sexier scenes if Boots were to get renewed."Trust and believe I'm on your side. ... I'm very much manifesting Boots season 2. That's what I want and I won't stop until I get it! ... I'd be curious just to see what [sexy scenes] would be like, if they ask me to! The whole process... there's a lot of gay stuff going on, unbeknownst to them."Boots has created a safe space for LGBTQ+ people around the world, and Heizer encourages anyone struggling to rely on community to help keep up the good fight."My message for young queer people is to ... try and find even one person you can be yourself around who loves and accepts you. It's pretty shocking how much that will change your life and your world. I really hope people have the ability to find that."Fans can follow Heizer on Instagram here. To see the full interview from the Out100, check out the video at the top of the page. The Out100 is presented by Lexus.

Planes, trains, and very high heels.See on InstagramAll aboard Stop! That! Train!, the first-ever feature film with a theatrical release to be set within the legendary RuPaul's Drag Race universe.Starring RuPaul Charles as President Gagwell and directed by Adam Shankman, Stop! That! Train! has been scheduled to open in theaters on May 29, 2026 so fans are not too far off from seeing it.The updates keep on coming about this first Drag Race movie, which has a sickening cast of queens playing the main roles. Off-screen, this coproduction between World of Wonder, Bleecker Street, and Universal Pictures Content Group also has a very queer crew attached to the project.Adam Shankman (director)At the helm of this herstoric feature film is the legendary Adam Shankman best known for directing films such as 2007's Hairspray, 2005's The Pacifier, 2002's A Walk to Remember, 2012's Rock of Ages, and Disney's 2022 sequel Disenchanted starring Amy Adams.Otherwise, Drag Race superfans might recognize Shankman as the choreographer and special guest judge of Rusical challenges like "Joan: The Unauthorized Rusical!" (All Stars 8), "The Sound of Rusic" (season 16), and "Starrbooty: The Rebooty" (All Stars 10)."I've had the greatest time shooting Stop! That! Train! with some of the most hilarious and game people out there, and we can't wait to bring it to audiences nationwide next May," Shankman wrote in a statement. "I know I've needed to laugh now more than ever, and if you're not howling during this one, I'm pretty sure you're made of coal and possibly a descendant of the Grinch family!"RuPaulCall her President Gagwell!Pop culture staple, queer icon, and Emmy Award recordist RuPaul Charles will star in Stop! That Train! as the character of President Gagwell. A more specific description of the character hasn't yet been disclosed, but we do know that President Gagwell will join the other characters "to save the day in this wild ride of camp and comedy."Ginger Minj (Season 7; All Stars 2; All Stars 6; All Stars 10)Four-time Drag Race competitor recently crowned on All Stars 10 after slaying the first Tournament of All Stars in herstory Ginger Minj will play Tess, who's one of the two main characters in Stop! That! Train!.The upcoming feature centers Tess and her best friend, DeeDee, as two "train stewardesses who trade their dreary shifts on the Stank Rail for the glitzy Glamazonian Express."Ginger Minj on Instagram: @gingerminj.Jujubee (Season 2; All Stars 1; All Stars 5)And who plays DeeDee, you ask? Why, Jujubee, of course! Since her reality TV debut, Jujubee has also competed in the greater Drag Race universe four times (season 2, All Stars 1, All Stars 5, and RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs. the World season 1), was cast to play DeeDee in Stop! That! Train!.Ginger and Jujubee spent most of 2025 touring together on Hokus Pokus Live!, so the BFFs storyline will work fiercely for these two Drag Race icons.Jujubee on Instagram: @jujubeeonline.Symone (Season 13)A synopsis for Stop! That! Train! reads, "When a catastrophic 'Stormaganza' threatens to derail the high-speed train, the duo in coach [Tess and DeeDee] must join forces with the snobby first-class attendants."The only and only Symone, crowned champion of RuPaul's Drag Race season 13, will star in this Drag Race movie as one of those three "snobby first-class attendants."In case you didn't know, this isn't Symone's first time on the big screen. In 2022, the Drag Race winner starred as Marty in the Billy Eichner romantic-comedy Bros.Symone on Instagram: @the_symone.Brooke Lynn Hytes (Season 11)Brooke Lynn Hytes keeps leveling-up over the years And she's doing it again! In Stop! That! Train!, Brooke will play another "snobby first-class attendant."Beyond entering the Drag Race werk room as a former Miss Congeniality winner, she lived up to those expectations and finished season 11 as runner-up.In subsequent years, Brooke appeared as the host and main judge in every single season of Canada's Drag Race, played Kitty Myua in the VH1 movie The Bitch Who Stole Christmas, and even served as a "Queen Supreme" on RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race.Brooke Lynn Hytes on Instagram: @bhytes.Marcia Maria Marcia (Season 15)Drag Race fans are familiar with Marcia Marcia Marcia as a competitor in season 15 who gave us the most legendary lip sync "Boss Bitch," alongside Anetra of that entire season. Beyond having a roller-coaster career on Drag Race, though, this drag artist's career blossomed even more after the show.Known as Marty Lauter (they/them) out of drag, Lauter starred in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club a Broadway revival of Cabaret as an ensemble character named Victor. Lauter also understudied the character of the Emcee, which was played in this revival by Eddie Redmayne, Adam Lambert, Orville Peck, and Billy Porter.Marcia Marcia Marcia on Instagram: @marciax3nyc.Latrice Royale (Season 4; All Stars 1; All Stars 4)Not much has been revealed yet about Latrice Royale's role in Stop! That! Train!, but the season 4 Miss Congeniality winner has been officially announced as one of the cast members for the film.After competing one last time on All Stars 4, Latrice has been touring the globe, extending her legacy as a drag superstar, and cohosted We're Here season 4 on HBO with Sasha Velour, Priyanka, and Jaida Essence Hall.Latrice Royale on Instagram: @latriceroyale.Mont X Change (Season 10; All Stars 4; All Stars 7)Fans are also still waiting for more details regarding Mont X Change's role in Stop! That! Train!, but the Miss Congeniality winner of Drag Race season 10, winner (twinner!) of All Stars 4, and legendary legend runner-up of All Stars 7 continues to blow everyone way.Mont's list of credits is truly remarkable. This queen has starred on TV shows like Survival of the Thickest, Glamorous, Lovecraft Country, Showmance, Dimension 20, and Everybody Still Hates Chris and that's an abbreviated list, let's just say that!Mont X Change on Instagram: @monetxchange.All aboard the Glamazonian Express!See on InstagramThis first-ever movie set in the universe of Drag Race has been written by Connor Wright and Christina Friel with World of Wonder executives Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, and RuPaul Charles attached as producers.Stop! That! Train! opens in theaters on May 29, 2026.

Nature, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09774-6The sequential recruitment of a thalamocortical transcriptional cascade enables memory maintenance over long timescales.

Nature, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09767-5Parallel operation of two exchange-only qubits consisting of six quantum dots arranged linearly is shown to be achievable and maintains qubit control quality compared with sequential operation, with potential for use in scaled quantum computing.

Nature, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03811-0Soil produced by the gradual breakdown of rock forms the planets thin but crucial skin. Analyses of a tectonically active landscape along the San Andreas fault aim to address a long-standing question in geomorphology and landscape evolution: what sets the pace at which rock transforms to soil?

Nature, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09736-yThe SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover captured 55 triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars over two Martian years, providing implications for examining the planets surface chemistry, habitability and human exploration.

Nature, Published online: 26 November 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09790-6An entanglement-enhanced sensing strategy making use of entangled nitrogenvacancy pairs is described, demonstrating a 3.4-fold improvement in sensitivity and a 1.6-fold improvement in spatial resolution relative to single nitrogenvacancy centres under ambient conditions.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his team would welcome a potential SEC title game berth after the Bulldogs finished the regular season with a win over Georgia Tech.

Lane Kiffin said he'll decide Saturday whether he will return as Ole Miss' coach in 2026 or take another job, presumably at LSU.

What do an axe, skillet and a gold boot have in common? Meet the iconic rivalry trophies of college football.

This pivotal NFC showdown ended in close fashion with the Bears recording their fifth straight win.

The Browns and Shedeur Sanders hosting the Niners? Sam Darnold playing his old Vikings team? We have picks, predictions and stats for every Week 13 game.

Two key Senate Democrats have launched an inquiry after a ProPublica investigation revealed this week that a White House official had intervened on behalf of his former legal clients pro-Trump influencer Andrew Tate and his brother during a federal investigation.On Thursday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Gary Peters sent letters to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security asking for a full accounting of the officials activities, calling his actions a brazen interference with a federal investigation.ProPublica reported this week that the official, Paul Ingrassia, told senior DHS officials to return electronic devices seized from the Tate brothers when they arrived in the U.S. in February. Ingrassia made clear the request was coming from the White House, according to interviews and records that ProPublica reviewed.The Tates are facing sex trafficking accusations in three countries. Ingrassia, who has served as White House Liaison to DHS and to the Department of Justice, was part of a legal team that represented the pair before he joined the White House. Ingrassia had been President Donald Trumps nominee for the Office of Special Counsel, but the administration withdrew his name after Politico reported he had sent a series of racist text messages to other conservative activists. (His lawyer raised doubts about the authenticity of the texts but said even if the texts are authentic, they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor.) Ingrassia has since been offered a job at the General Services Administration.In their letters to the White House and DHS, Blumenthal and Peters wrote that Ingrassias behavior raises grave questions regarding the independence and impartiality of federal law enforcement operations and the White Houses potential meddling in such investigations. The letters, first reported by Politico, asked whether Ingrassias decision to intervene was made at the direction of other White House personnel, who at DHS knew of the intervention and what DHS did in response.Read MoreThe White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal InvestigationThe senators gave DHS a Dec. 4 deadline to produce records of all communications between Ingrassia and other officials discussing the Tates. They sent a separate letter to DHS inspector general calling on him to open an investigation. Blumenthal, of Connecticut, is the ranking member on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; Peters, of Michigan, is the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.Ingrassias intervention on behalf of Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, caused alarm among DHS officials that they could be interfering with a federal investigation if they followed through with the instruction, according to interviews and screenshots of contemporaneous communications between officials.The incident is the latest in a string of law enforcement matters where the Trump White House has inserted itself to help friends and target foes. Andrew Tate is one of the most prominent members of the so-called manosphere, a collection of influencers, podcasters and content creators who helped deliver young male voters to Trump.Its unclear why law enforcement wanted to examine the Tates electronic devices, what their analysis found or whether Ingrassias intervention hindered any investigation. The White House and DHS declined to answer questions about the incident.The Tate brothers lawyer, Joseph McBride, told ProPublica he didnt know what happened to the devices but that his clients have still not had them returned. His clients, he said, are innocent and there were no illicit materials on their electronics.Ingrassia worked at McBrides firm before joining the White House and was identified as a member of the firms legal team representing the Tates. In a brief interview with ProPublica, he denied trying to help the Tates, before hanging up. There was no intervention. Nothing happened, he said. There was nothing.Ingrassias lawyer, Edward Paltzik, said in a text message: Mr. Ingrassia never ordered that the Tate Brothers devices be returned to them, nor did he say and nor would he have ever said that such a directive came from the White House. This story is fiction, simply not true.When questioned about whether Ingrassia had asked, rather than ordered, authorities to return the devices, Paltzik declined to answer, explaining that the word ask is inappropriate because it is meaningless in this context. He either ordered something or he didnt. And as I said, he did NOT order anything.No criminal charges have been filed against the brothers in the United States. Romanian authorities have accused them of operating a criminal group that trafficked women, including some who alleged the brothers led them to believe they were interested in relationships but instead forced the women into filming online pornographic videos. Prosecutors also said they were investigating allegations that the Tates trafficked minors. Andrew Tate was charged with rape. The Tates have denied the allegations, and the initial charges were sent back to prosecutors by a court because of procedural issues.The Tates face similar allegations in Britain. Authorities there authorized a raft of charges against the brothers, including rape and human trafficking, based on allegations from three women. In 2024, arrest warrants were issued for the brothers, who have denied wrongdoing.A woman has also sued the Tates in Florida, accusing them of luring her to Romania to coerce her into sex work. The Tates have denied the allegations, and last month a judge dismissed most of her claims but allowed for her to refile.The post Senators Launch Inquiry After a White House Official Intervened on Behalf of Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation appeared first on ProPublica.

After years of struggling to find enough workers for some of the nations toughest lockups, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is facing a new challenge: Corrections officers are jumping ship for more lucrative jobs at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.This is one of the unintended consequences of the Trump administrations focus on mass deportations. For months, ICE has been on a recruiting blitz, offering $50,000 starting bonuses and tuition reimbursement at an agency that has long offered better pay than the federal prison system. For many corrections officers, its been an easy sell.Workers at detention centers and maximum-security prisons from Florida to Minnesota to California counted off the number of co-workers whod left for ICE or were in the process of doing so. Six at one lockup in Texas, eight at another. More than a dozen at one California facility, and over four dozen at a larger one. After retirements and other attrition, by the start of November the agency had lost at least 1,400 more staff this year than it had hired, according to internal prison data shared with ProPublica.Were broken and were being poached by ICE, one official with the prison workers union told ProPublica. Its unbelievable. People are leaving in droves.The exodus comes amid shortages of critical supplies, from food to personal hygiene items, and threatens to make the already grim conditions in federal prisons even worse. Fewer corrections officers means more lockdowns, less programming and fewer health care services for inmates, along with more risks to staff and more grueling hours of mandatory overtime. Prison teachers and medical staff are being forced to step in as corrections officers on a regular basis.And at some facilities, staff said the agency had even stopped providing basic hygiene items for officers, such as paper towels, soap and toilet paper.I have never seen it like this in all my 25 years, an officer in Texas told ProPublica. You have to literally go around carrying your own roll of toilet paper. No paper towels, you have to bring your own stuff. No soap. I even ordered little sheets that you put in an envelope and it turns to soap because there wasnt any soap.The prisons bureau did not answer a series of emailed questions. In a video posted Wednesday afternoon, Deputy Director Josh Smith said that the agency was left in shambles by the previous administration and would take years to repair. Staffing levels, he said, were catastrophic, which, along with crumbling infrastructure and corruption, had made the prisons less safe.Smith said that he and Director William Marshall III had been empowered by the Trump administration to confront these challenges head-on. Transparency and accountability are the cornerstones of our mission to make the BOP great again, and were going to expose the truth and hold those responsible accountable.ICE, meanwhile, responded to a request for comment by forwarding a press release that failed to answer specific questions but noted that the agency had made more than 18,000 total tentative job offers as of mid-September.The BOP has long faced challenges, from sex abuse scandals and contraband problems to crumbling infrastructure and poor medical care. It has repeatedly been deemed the worst federal workplace by one analysis of annual employee surveys, and in 2023 union officials said that some 40% of corrections officer jobs sat vacant.That dearth of officers helped land the prison system on a government list of high-risk agencies with serious vulnerabilities and attracted the eye of oversight officials, who blamed chronic understaffing for contributing to at least 30 prisoner deaths.The bureau tried tackling the problem with a long-term hiring push that included signing bonuses, retention pay and a fast-tracked hiring process. By the start of the year, that effort seemed to be working.Kathleen Toomey, then the bureaus associate deputy director, told members of Congress in February that the agency had just enjoyed its most successful hiring spree in a decade, increasing its ranks by more than 1,200 in 2024.Higher staffing levels make institutions safer, she told a House appropriations subcommittee.But the costly efforts to reel in more staff strained a stagnant budget that was already stretched thin. Toomey told Congress the bureau had not seen a funding increase since 2023, even as it absorbed millions in pay raises and retention incentives. As inflation and personnel costs rose, the bureau was forced to cut its operating budgets by 20%, Toomey said.And despite some improvement, the staffing problems persisted. In her February testimony, Toomey acknowledged there were still at least 4,000 vacant positions, leaving the agency with so few officers that prison teachers, nurses and electricians were regularly being ordered to abandon their normal duties and fill in as corrections officers.Then ICE rolled out its recruiting drive.At first it seemed like it was going to be no big deal, and then over the last week or so we already lost five, and then we have another 10 to 15 in various stages of waiting for a start date, an employee at one low-security facility told ProPublica in October. For us thats almost 20% of our custody staff.He, like most of the prison workers and union officials who spoke to ProPublica, asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation a concern that has grown since the agency canceled the unions contract in September following an executive order. Now union leaders say theyve been warned that without their union protections, they could be punished for speaking to the media.After the contracts cancellation, many of the current staff who had originally spoken on the record asked to have their names withheld. Those who still agreed to be identified asked ProPublica to note that their interviews took place before the agency revoked the union agreement.Earlier this year, Brandy Moore White, national president of the prison workers union, said its not unprecedented to see a string of prison staffers leaving the agency, often in response to changes that significantly impact their working conditions. Prior government shutdowns, changes in leadership and the pandemic all drove away workers but usually, she said, people leaving the agency en masse tended to be near the end of their careers. Now, thats not the case.This is, from what I can remember, the biggest exodus of younger staff, staff who are not retirement-eligible, she said. And thats super concerning to me.ICEs expansion has even thrown a wrench into BOPs usual training program for rookies. Normally, new officers have to take a three-week Introduction to Correctional Techniques course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers in Georgia within their first 60 days on the job, according to the prisons bureaus website. In August, FLETC announced that it would focus only on surge-related training, pausing programs for other law enforcement agencies until at least early 2026, according to an internal email obtained by ProPublica. Afterward, FLETC said in a press release that it was exploring temporary solutions to meet the needs of all partner agencies, though its not clear whether any of those solutions have since been implemented. The centers did not respond to emailed requests for comment.At the same time, the effects of the budget crunch were starting to show. In recent months, more than 40 staff and prisoners at facilities across the country have reported cutbacks even more severe than the usual prison scarcities.In September, Moore White told ProPublica some prisons had fallen behind on utility and trash bills. At one point, she said, the prison complex in Oakdale, Louisiana, was days away from running out of food for inmates before the union worried that hungry prisoners would be more apt to riot intervened, nudging agency higher-ups to address the problem, an account confirmed by two other prison workers. (Officials at the prison complex declined to comment.) Elsewhere, staff and prisoners reported shortages no eggs in a California facility and no beef in a Texas lockup where staff said they were doling out smaller portions at mealtimes.Earlier this year, a defense lawyer complained that the Los Angeles detention center ran out of pens for prisoners in solitary confinement, where people without phone or e-messaging privileges rely on snail mail to contact the outside world. One of his clients was rationing his ink to write letters to his family, the attorney said. The center didnt respond to requests for comment.Personal hygiene supplies have been running low, too. Several prisoners said their facilities had become stingier than usual with toilet paper, and women incarcerated in Carswell in Texas reported a shortage of tampons. I was told to use my socks, one said. The facility did not answer questions from ProPublica about conditions there.Fewer staff has meant in some cases that inmates have lost access to care. At the prison complex in Victorville, California, staff lodged written complaints accusing the warden of skimping on the number of officers assigned to inmate hospital visits in order to cut back on overtime. (The complex did not respond to a request for comment.) In some instances, the complaints alleged, that left so few officers at the hospital that ailing inmates missed the procedures that had landed them there in the first place.Chyann Bratcher, a prisoner at Carswell, a medical lockup in Texas, said she missed an appointment for rectal surgery something shed been waiting on for two years because there werent enough staff to take her there. She was able to have the procedure almost two months later, after another cancellation.Staffers say several facilities have started scheduling recurring blackout days, when officers are banned from working overtime in an effort to save money. Instead, prison officials turn to a practice known as augmentation, where they direct teachers, plumbers and medical staff to fill in as corrections officers.Thats why I left, said Tom Kamm, who retired in September from the federal prison in Pekin, Illinois, after 29 years with the bureau. My job was to try to settle EEO complaints, so if somebody alleged discrimination against the agency it was my job to look into it and try to resolve it.When he found out earlier this year that he would soon be required to work two shifts per week as a corrections officer, he decided to retire instead.I hadnt been an officer in a housing unit since like 2001 it had been like 24 years, he said. I had really no clue how to do that anymore.Augmentation isnt new, but staff and prisoners at some facilities say its being used more often than it once was. It also means fewer medical staff available to address inmates needs. Today we had a Physical Therapist as a unit officer so all of his PT appointments would have been cancelled, Brian Casper, an inmate at the federal medical prison in Missouri, wrote in an email earlier this year. Yesterday one of the other units had the head of Radiology for the unit officer so there would have been one less person doing x-rays and CT scans. The prison didnt respond to emailed questions.When the government shutdown hit in October, it only made the situation worse, exacerbating the shortages and increasing the allure of leaving the bureau. While ICE agents and corrections officers continued bringing home paychecks, thousands of prison teachers, plumbers and nurses did not.The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the domestic policy megabill that Trump signed into law on July 4, could offer some financial support for the agencys staffing woes, as it will route another $5 billion to the prisons bureau over four years $3 billion of which is specifically earmarked to improve retention, hiring and training. Yet exactly what the effects of that cash infusion will look like remains to be seen: Though the funding bill passed more than four months ago, in November the bureau declined to answer questions about when it will receive the money or how it will be spent.The post Were Broken: As Federal Prisons Run Low on Food and Toilet Paper, Corrections Officers Are Leaving in Droves for ICE appeared first on ProPublica.

A year ago, the federal Indian Health Service posted dozens of flyers on Facebook promoting flu and COVID-19 vaccine clinics across the Navajo Nation, where the pandemic had inflicted a staggering toll just a few years earlier.The notices, featuring photos of smiling families and elders in traditional clothing, tied immunization to tribal values like community responsibility and made a clear case for getting the shots. Vaccines are effective at preventing serious illness or hospitalization, one of them said.But this year, as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic, has put his stamp on federal immunization policy, IHS public messaging on vaccines has taken a stark turn.In internal emails obtained by ProPublica, IHS officials have flagged terms such as immunizations and vaccines for additional scrutiny, deeming them risky buzzwords that require approval from agency public information officers to be used in social media posts, pamphlets and presentations for patients.Through mid-October, IHS had published far fewer posts on Facebook promoting vaccine clinics this year than last, ProPublica found. And in those posts as well as other notices, it replaced language touting immunizations benefits with wording that frames both routine childhood vaccinations and annual flu and COVID-19 shots as a personal choice, advising patients to consult health care providers about their options regarding vaccines.Current and former IHS clinicians told ProPublica the changes threaten vaccine uptake in Navajo communities and have left medical practitioners who serve this population feeling censored.It seems to me that theyre trying to put up barriers, said Harry Brown, a physician and epidemiologist who left IHS in 2016 and now works for a tribally operated health facility in North Carolina. In a 26-year career with IHS, he said, he had never encountered an effort to stifle public health campaigns or restrict what medical providers said publicly about vaccines.Aside from Brown, the health care providers who spoke with ProPublica didnt want their names used, concerned it could endanger their jobs. One physician said the new IHS restrictions on vaccine-related speech factored into her decision to leave the agency this year.I cant keep people safe, she said in an interview just before she quit. I dont have any of the words anymore to say anything I need to say.Two Facebook posts from 2024 by the Indian Health Service in the Navajo area emphasize the importance of vaccination. Navajo Indian Health Service via FacebookA more recent post about COVID-19 vaccine availability by the Indian Health Service in the Navajo area uses more restrained language, no color and no inviting imagery. Navajo Indian Health Service via FacebookIHS shift in vaccine messaging has not been previously reported but aligns with widely publicized changes within the Department of Health and Human Services under Kennedys leadership. In the past 10 months, as measles cases have hit their highest levels in decades, Kennedy has been tepid in endorsing the vaccine to prevent the disease while taking several steps critics predict will undermine public confidence in immunization.Hes launched a federal probe into scientifically debunked links between immunizations and autism and canceled nearly $500 million in contracts and research grants for mRNA vaccines. This technology was central to the speedy development of the COVID-19 vaccine.In June, he removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy, replacing them with his own appointments, including several vaccine skeptics. Kennedy has also endorsed the founders of Idahos medical freedom movement, who helped persuade the state to ban vaccine mandates this year.At IHS, the only branch of HHS that operates its own network of hospitals and clinics, the altered federal landscape on vaccine policy has had a more direct effect on patient care, clinicians said.In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said the redrafting of IHS public messaging materials was designed to encourage shared decision-making between patients and their health care providers.The Indian Health Service continues to provide accurate, evidence-based information on vaccines and infectious-disease prevention, the statement said. Our focus remains ensuring Tribal communities have clear, trusted guidance and access to the care they choose.The statement didnt address questions about what prompted the revamped messaging or concerns raised by doctors about its potential effect.In a separate statement, Matthew Clark, the IHS deputy chief medical officer, insisted the agencys approach to immunizations has remained consistent, even if its messaging about them has changed.We continue to advocate that every patient at every encounter be offered every FDA-approved and ACIP-recommended vaccine, when appropriate, Clarks statement said.Its not clear yet what effect the changes are having. Data hasnt been released showing this seasons flu and COVID-19 vaccination rates for the Navajo Nation. Through September, the uptake rate for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, for 2-year-olds has held steady at around 95%, the level of herd immunity needed to prevent outbreaks, IHS data shows.Still, IHS clinicians said, the agencys lack of public messaging about vaccines was especially notable during the winter and spring, when a measles outbreak emerged in Texas and then neared the reservations borders in New Mexico.The outbreak had spurred alarm. Tribal health facilities, which operate independently from IHS, flooded Facebook with information about MMR shots at the end of February and urged residents to get themselves and their children vaccinated.Yet two IHS doctors said that at about the same time, the agency installed its new restrictions on vaccine-related speech.According to a March 13 email that Ryan Goldtooth, a public information officer at one Navajo Nation hospital, sent to colleagues, members of the group had been instructed to take down social media posts or flyers that contained the terms vaccines (namely Measles) and immunizations from the agencys Facebook pages. We cannot forward or post to the public, the email said.The email also said that the terms immunizations and vaccines had been reclassified from low to medium-risk. As a result, if clinicians used these words in public presentations and printed materials, they needed to be cleared by a public information officer first, Goldtooth wrote.The email listed several other topics or types of information that could no longer be freely shared or talked about publicly. Starting from the date President Donald Trump returned to office, any information shared from a state health department, for instance, had to be removed from Facebook, the email said, without providing a reason. Any posts about executive orders also had to come down.Goldtooth, who still works for IHS, did not respond to requests for comment about the email.Laura Hammitt, the director of infectious disease programs for the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has worked closely with IHS staffers on vaccination efforts. Limiting what they can say about vaccines could harm their ability to respond to future outbreaks, she said.People are really trying to be compliant with changes required by the administration but also have a responsibility to care for their patients, Hammitt said. Those two things can seem to be at odds.The Navajo Nation, the countrys largest tribal jurisdiction with around 170,000 residents, has long been a focal point and challenge for IHS. The reservation is served by four of the agencys 22 hospitals, but pockets within its 27,000 square miles of mountains and high desert have no cellphone service, internet access or electricity, creating hurdles for clinicians when it comes to communicating information and delivering care.These structural issues had a devastating effect at the start of the pandemic, when the reservations rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths were among the highest in the country. The virus claimed the lives of at least 2,300 Navajo citizens.In the previous decade, vaccination rates among Navajos, especially for MMR and the flu, had regularly exceeded figures for the nation overall. They also exceeded rates for tribal communities in other regions served by IHS, which typically lagged behind the national average, according to the agencys data. When the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in 2021, Native Americans uptake exceeded 60%, an effort bolstered by IHS public service messages and outreach.On the Navajo Nation, IHS hospitals posted messages on their Facebook pages and circulated flyers that pushed community members to get the shots. Protect yourself, protect your family, protect your elders, the flyers said. Tribal members responded, arriving at clinics in droves, lining up in their vehicles to get vaccinated at hospitals and clinics.For those who couldnt travel to larger towns on the reservation that had health care facilities, teams working for IHS, the tribe and Johns Hopkins set up mobile clinics and made home visits to especially remote communities.After the pandemic, IHS and tribal teams on the Navajo Nation sought to extend the COVID-19 shot success to routine vaccines. MMR immunization rates among 2-year-olds had dropped to 85%, but another coordinated effort restored communities on the reservation to prepandemic levels.IHS was the engine driving the campaign, said Hammitt, the Johns Hopkins doctor. Agency flyers and Facebook posts retooled appeals used to promote COVID-19 shots to endorse the MMR vaccine, adding a call to protect future generations.In the first few months of this year, however, the messaging began to morph again, with mentions of measles and COVID disappearing from IHS social media pages.The weeks leading up to flu season and the new school year typically usher in a robust vaccine campaign in IHS hospitals. But this year, doctors took note of how few notices went out, they said, as New Mexico continued to contend with the measles outbreak that began in Texas and the Navajo Nation encountered a late-summer surge in COVID-19 cases.One exception came in May, when IHS officials shared a New Mexico Department of Health alert on Facebook saying measles had reached Sandoval County, which overlaps with the eastern flank of the Navajo reservation. Another came that same month, when the IHS hospital in the town of Gallup, New Mexico, announced a clinic for people who wanted to get vaccinated for measles.The IHS hospital in Shiprock, New Mexico, was the only facility to post a public service announcement about a back-to-school vaccine clinic for children. It included language telling patients to talk to doctors about their options and didnt specifically mention measles, COVID-19 or any other infectious disease as such announcements had in the past.Another measles outbreak surfaced in the Southwest in mid-August, this time just to the west of the Navajo Nation along the Arizona-Utah border. In early November, it had grown to at least 200 confirmed cases, according to Arizona and Utah health officials. IHS didnt issue any advisories or notices on Facebook about this outbreak. The new approval processes for greenlighting public health alerts slowed down local administrators and hospitals response, the clinicians who spoke to ProPublica noted.Several clinicians said the restrictions on vaccine-related speech alter the relationship between IHS doctors and patients, even if they apply only to public communications and not to one-on-one consultations.This is what we do for a living, and the most important thing we do is explain whats going on to patients, one of the doctors said. If there is an external body interfering with that, as there is now, then that is shaping the fundamental trust between patients and the people trying to provide their care.The post The Indian Health Service Is Flagging Vaccine-Related Speech. Doctors Say Theyre Being Censored. appeared first on ProPublica.

On Nov. 13, a small team of advocates for people with disabilities stepped through White House security and into the narrow, bustling corridors of the West Wing, unsure what to expect. Theyd managed to get a short meeting with James Blair, who is one of President Donald Trumps deputy chiefs of staff, in the hopes of preventing a planned policy change. In recent weeks, ProPublica and The Washington Post had reported that officials at the Social Security Administration were working on a proposed regulation that could result in at least 830,000 mostly older blue-collar workers being denied disability benefits.The advocates, led by Jason Turkish, co-founder of the Social Security disability rights group Alliance for Americas Promise, had sent the White House team ProPublicas Oct. 31 article and other materials. The reporting showed that if the Trump administration enacted this regulation, the harm would disproportionately fall on some of the presidents most loyal supporters: 50- to 60-year-old coal miners, factory workers and other manual laborers, especially in West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama. The administrations logic for cutting these workers eligibility was that even if they have a severe physical disability, they should be able, in the modern economy, to find a more sedentary job at a computer or perhaps driving for Uber or DoorDash. Disability advocates countered that people whove worked in grueling fields for decades, some of whom dont have a high school education and who grew up before the digital age would face severe obstacles to such a career change, including age discrimination in the hiring process, the lack of desk jobs in rural areas and the difficulty of mastering unfamiliar skills at this point in their lives.A few doors down from the Oval Office, Turkish and his colleagues turned a corner into Blairs office. Sitting across from him was a second person, one the advocates hadnt expected to encounter: Russell Vought, the powerful White House budget director. He looked displeased.After several minutes of dialogue about the disability regulation, according to Turkish and another person present, Vought said, I know that this is being written about. But, he added, the rule change isnt going to be happening.It was a startling announcement from an often uncompromising senior official in an administration with little history of changing its mind in response to journalistic scrutiny and pressure from advocates for the vulnerable. But thats what Turkish and three other sources say has happened: The Trump administration has decided not to pursue the disability cuts that it has been working on all year and in fact since at least 2019, when officials during Trumps first term were close to finalizing a similar regulation.Turkish, who is also president and managing partner of one of the nations largest law firms that represents disability claimants and beneficiaries, said in an interview that Vought and Blair seemed to have absorbed the recent reporting on the issue. He said they acknowledged the anxiety that disabled workers were experiencing people like Christopher Tincher, a former coal miner who lost his leg on the job at a wastewater treatment facility in Arkansas and was featured in ProPublicas story. Both officials were unambiguous, Turkish and another person present confirmed, that the regulation would not proceed in any form.Turkishs takeaway is that in the West Wing, vulnerable Americans with disabilities like Tincher dont get talked about enough. To have his story read by senior White House staffers, to remember what this program is, to remember that Social Security disability is not partisan, was crucial, Turkish said.Afterward, they walked out together, back through the corridors, and Vought was walking in the same direction. He didnt say another word the whole way, according to one of the people present.Spokespeople for the Social Security Administration and the White House Office of Management and Budget did not respond to questions from ProPublica, including whether they would contest the advocates assertion that the planned regulation has been nixed. A top Social Security Administration official confirmed in a meeting yesterday that the regulation has indeed been called off, according to a person present. Its not clear why officials have said this in meetings, including with advocates, but havent made any public announcement.At the White House meeting, according to two participants, Blair told Turkish to go to Frank Bisignano, the commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and ask him point blank if the regulation is in fact no longer being pursued.On Tuesday, Turkish said, he did just that and met with Bisignano. Also present at this second meeting were the longtime lobbyist Andrew Woods as well as Mark Steffensen, the Social Security Administrations general counsel. Bisignano, according to both Turkish and Woods, asked them what the White House had said about the disability issue and he, too, decisively confirmed that the regulation would not proceed.The commissioner, they said, made clear that his focus is on modernizing the Social Security Administration, not cutting disability benefits. I take him at face value, Turkish said, adding that Bisignano may not have been actively involved in crafting or discussing the regulation and decided against pursuing it when it reached his level.Turkish and Woods say Bisignano told them to convey to the disability advocacy community that there is no daylight between this office and the White House with respect to us not moving forward with the regulation. On Monday, Bisignano should be able to tell them that himself: Hes considering participating in a town hall with advocates and people with disabilities.Turkish has told other advocates in a group email that his organization will remain vigilant to ensure these assurances are honored.The regulation that the Trump administration had been drafting which remains listed on a federal bulletin with a scheduled publication date in December would have made two major changes to the Social Security Administrations disability system, according to four officials from the agency who had knowledge of the plans. First, it wouldve modernized the job listings that Social Securitys disability adjudicators use to decide if theres work available in the U.S. economy that a manual laborer could still do despite physical impairments. This proposed change, which wouldve updated severely outdated jobs data, arose from a bipartisan effort thats been in the works since the Obama administration.The second provision was the controversial one. It wouldve almost entirely removed age as a criterion in these decisions, making a disabled 50-plus-year-old no more eligible for assistance than a 20-something. This would have had collateral effects: Losing eligibility for disability would block such workers access to Medicare, which theyre currently eligible for at an earlier age precisely because theyre disabled. And if workers were to be increasingly denied benefits in their 50s, many would be forced to draw down any savings they have, which could lead them to apply for Social Securitys retirement benefits early, in turn diminishing their and their spouses benefits until they die.New polling by a Trump-aligned firm has suggested that older Trump voters would overwhelmingly oppose such changes to disability eligibility. In the wake of Democrats strong showing in recent elections, two people with knowledge of the situation said that the administration may have been particularly sensitive to these views. As one lobbyist put it, its all about the elevation of an issue, and getting it on the right desks.The post How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers appeared first on ProPublica.

The girl pleaded not to go.She fought with her father on the drive over, screaming and crying in his truck until they arrived at the office building for Bruckelmyer Brothers, a home construction company on the outskirts of Duluth, Minnesota. She was just entering her first years of grade school.In the office, two men were waiting. One of them was Clint Massie, who the girl had recently told her parents had touched her genitals and groped her under her shirt. The other was Daryl Bruckelmyer, a preacher and leader of the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church down the road, where the girls family worshipped. Massie was a respected member of the congregation. Bruckelmyer had asked them all to the meeting, according to the girls account to police years later.In front of the girl, her father and Bruckelmyer, Massie asked her for forgiveness. Looming over her, the three men wept. Then the girls dad and preacher allowed the man who had been sexually abusing her since kindergarten to hug her.It was one of the worst things ever, she told police some 15 years later.In accordance with one of the core tenets of their church, the matter was resolved. It was forgiven. It should now be forgotten. If she spoke of it again, she would be guilty of having an unforgiving heart and the sins would become hers. But she could never forget. And neither could the other children.Over the course of about 20 years in two states, Massie had, according to court documents and by his own admission, sexually abused children within the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, or OALC, community. He touched girls under blankets when their parents were present, in the backseat of a car with other passengers even in the pews at church. His abuse was such an open secret among the tight-knit congregation that mothers warned their daughters to stay away from him.Some former victims, as adults, confronted preachers, including Bruckelmyer, about what Massie had done to them. Church leaders told Massie to stay away from the congregations children, and they sent him to a therapist who specialized in sex offender treatment.Clint Massie in a March booking photo. Over the course of about 20 years in two states, Massie had, according to court documents and by his own admission, sexually abused children within the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church community. St. Louis CountyBut they never reported Massies crimes to police, as required by the law. Instead, Bruckelmyer and other leaders in the church encouraged the victims to take part in forgiveness sessions which allowed Massie, now 50, to continue abusing children, according to an investigation by the Minnesota Star Tribune and ProPublica.Massie did not respond to requests for comment but has denied abuse allegations relating to some individual victims in pending lawsuits. In December 2024, he pleaded guilty to four counts of felony criminal sexual conduct with victims under the age of 13. In March, a judge sentenced him to 7 1/2 years in prison. Church officials, including Bruckelmyer, were not charged in connection with Massies crime, but prosecutors said they should have done more to stop him.It gives the appearance of a group of people who are not just trying to protect someone but something, Mike Ryan, the assistant St. Louis County attorney who prosecuted Massie, said at his sentencing. And they have enabled something awful here.Law enforcement there first became aware of the allegations against Massie in 2017. They said that the churchs lack of cooperation including pressuring potential witnesses and victims to stay quiet about the abuse and preachers failing to report it to authorities was a major factor in the delay in bringing charges.Bruckelmyer declined to comment or to answer a detailed list of questions. But in a 2023 interview with a St. Louis County detective, he acknowledged knowing about Massies sexual abuse and didnt dispute that he took part in forgiveness sessions involving Massie and his victims.He said it was up to the victims to report the crimes to police, a clear misreading of the law for mandated reporters doctors, teachers and others who are required to report crimes against children.We dont protect either one, Bruckelmyer said of sexual abusers and their victims.Bruckelmyer also told police his actions followed church protocol. An internal church document, obtained by the Star Tribune and ProPublica, suggests that, when appropriate, church leaders and others facilitate a conversation with both parties together an action that experts who work with abuse victims say can add to a victims trauma. While the document praises the police and the justice system, it doesnt mention mandatory reporting laws and gives preachers wide latitude on whether to involve police.An internal church document outlining guidelines for handling abuse includes bringing both parties together for a discussion. Obtained by the Star Tribune and ProPublica. Highlighted by ProPublica.Kimberly Lowe, a lawyer and crisis manager for the church, said its preachers are unpaid and therefore might not be legally required to report sexual abuse of children. Asked if she believes the preachers are mandated reporters under Minnesota law, Lowe would only say that the language of the statute is unclear.Bruckelmyers church, Woodland Park, is one of two OALC congregations north of Duluth, in the bluff region above Lake Superior. Some members live nearby, in a rural, forest-lined community. Members are not obviously identifiable by their clothing they dress modestly but modernly, in muted colors and long skirts. Women do not wear makeup, jewelry or open-toed shoes and they keep their hair up in a bun, giving rise to the nickname bunners. According to church literature, members are to live simple, modest lives like Jesus did; television, music and dancing are seen as sinful, according to former members.On a recent Sunday, the modern, unadorned sanctuary of the Woodland Park church, which seats 1,000, was full of families, parents soothing babbling and crying infants, older children clutching baggies of candy or toy cars.At the close of the sermon, the preacher asked the entire congregation for forgiveness, which kicked off movements a portion of the service when congregants embraced and begged one another for forgiveness for various sins, frequently in tears.OALC is a conservative Christian revival movement that came to the U.S. with 19th-century settlers from Norway, Finland and Sweden, and it is not affiliated with any mainstream Lutheran denominations. There is no official count, but one academic study estimated 31,000 members worldwide as of 2016, with most in the United States. The church is rapidly growing, experts say, and the member count today is likely much higher. OALCs emphasis on large families has created booms in places like Washington state and Duluth.There are 33 OALC churches in the U.S. and Canada. Only men hold leadership positions. The less formal nature of OALC structure a spokesperson said theres no headquarters in the U.S. means that, unlike sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church or Southern Baptist Convention, theres no central authority to hold accountable. Still, news of the criminal case against Massie spread widely in the insular OALC, inspiring more victims to come forward in Minnesota and other states.St. Louis County investigators say they have been contacted by current and former church members in South Dakota and Washington who allege they were victims of sexual abuse that was never reported to law enforcement. The Star Tribune and ProPublica have interviewed more than a dozen alleged victims of Massie and of other church members in Wyoming, Maryland and Michigan.By forgiving men like Massie, prosecutors and police said, preachers created a situation where the alleged victims had to worship next to their alleged abusers and allowed Massie to escape arrest and prosecution for years.He was so brazen about it and there was so little done about it that he thought it was permission, Ryan said.The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church is a conservative Christian revival movement that came to the U.S. with 19th-century settlers from Norway, Finland and Sweden, and it is not affiliated with any mainstream Lutheran denominations. Amanda Anderson/Star TribuneChurch KnowsFor the girl who said she was pressured to forgive Massie at Bruckelmyers office, the silence that followed only compounded her trauma. She reported struggling with debilitating anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder in her teens. She grew tense every time she walked into the church, especially when she saw Massie holding another little girl.I lived in darkness for so many years of my life because I couldnt talk about it, the girl said in a recorded interview with police. Multiple times in my life I wanted to die.When she was 16 and in counseling, she told her therapist how Massie had abused her. The therapist reported it to the police, which is how the St. Louis County Sheriffs Office in Duluth first learned about Massie in summer 2017.Sgt. Jessica LaBore was the investigator assigned to the case. In a recorded interview, the girl reluctantly told LaBore how she used to sit with Massie and his wife, Sarah, at church, just a few rows from the front. Massie would snake his hands up her skirt and touch her thighs and genitals. Another time, at a gathering at the home of her parents friends, she said, Massie told her to get a blanket and began touching her underneath it, with her mom and dad nearby.She told LaBore that shed reported the abuse to a preacher, Calvin Raisanen, and that her mother had spoken to Bruckelmyer about it, according to police documents and a recording of the interview obtained through a public records request. Raisanen did not respond to requests for comment. In her own conversation with LaBore, the girls mother confirmed that Massie had asked forgiveness from her husband and daughter years ago.Like some victims in the records from Massies case, she declined to speak to reporters for this story and is not being identified because the news organizations typically dont name victims of sex crimes without their consent.In an email to reporters, she wrote that she is still a member of the church and feels supported by its community: I truly believe Im in the right place.St. Louis Countys case against Massie cites victims descriptions of the churchs forgive and forget practice. Obtained by the Star Tribune and ProPublica. Highlighted and redacted by ProPublica.When LaBore interviewed Massie, he confirmed some important details about the allegations: Bruckelmyer was aware that several girls had accused Massie of sexual abuse. And he remembered asking for forgiveness at his preachers business office.LaBore did not respond to requests for comment, but police reports show that the girls family stopped cooperating with the investigation. The mother told her that preachers at the church had spoken to Massie and that hed learned his lesson, though the mother believed that Massie had continued to sexually assault children after this point, according to LaBores notes.LaBore referred the case for charges to Deputy St. Louis County Attorney Jon Holets. In a statement to the Star Tribune and ProPublica, Holets said he also spoke to the victims mother, who informed him that there had been therapeutic intervention, that they were good and that her daughter did not want anything more to be done. Without the girls cooperation, Holets said he decided he could not bring charges against Massie, an outcome he said gives him heartache to this day.5 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into How Leaders of a Minnesota Church Community Enabled a Child AbuserThree years later, Massie again came to the attention of the sheriffs office. Two crime-reporting hotlines received anonymous tips saying Massie had sexually assaulted little girls over the course of three decades. Church knows but no action, reads a police summary of one of the tips.This time, LaBore went to Bruckelmyer. According to her notes, Bruckelmyer said the church encourages abuse victims to go to police, but he told her he believed it was on them to do that.LaBore explained the states mandated reporting law to Bruckelmyer and told him that he and others at the church could be charged criminally if somebody that they already know about were to keep abusing children and they failed to report it.We are finding out from our investigations that these Mandated Reports are not being made, and instead, these incidents are being dealt with within the church, she wrote in a departmental memo to update other detectives. Sometimes the preachers are facilitating in the asking for forgiveness.For the second time, Holets decided not to bring charges, though this time it was about church preachers rather than Massie. In a statement to reporters, Holets said law enforcement decided to try to educate church leaders about their legal responsibility to report the sexual abuse of children.I believed it was more effective to work with existing leadership to influence practices and attitudes regarding child abuse reporting, rather than to pursue criminal enforcement at that stage, Holets wrote. That said, criminal charges for failure to report remain a possibility in such cases.When LaBore spoke to Bruckelmyer, she read him the entire mandated reporter law over the phone, line by line, then texted it to him.Haunted by SilenceIn 2023, a call to police breathed new life into the case.A woman told police that shed been sexually abused repeatedly as a kid. Her abuser was a relative: Clint Massie.The case landed on the desk of Sgt. Adam Kleffman of the St. Louis County Sheriffs Office. He interviewed the victim and listened to the different ways the woman said Massie sexually abused her: the nights when she slept over after helping tend to his horses, the day when she rode a tractor with him, or swam with him and other members of her family at the lake.Her mom had reported Massie to a preacher when she was a child, she told Kleffman. At the time, the preacher promised to handle it, she said, and told her mother never to speak of it again, not even to her husband. Later, she went through a session with Bruckelmyer, similar to the other girl, where she was pressured to forgive Massie and forget the abuse.As an adult, she was alarmed to see Massie in church, hugging and kissing children about the same age she was when the abuse began, which is why shed felt a duty to report it all these years later, she said.I went back to the same preacher, which is Daryl [Bruckelmyer], and said, Why is he still able to hold kids and whatever? she recalled to Kleffman in a recorded interview. And hes like: I dont know. Like, weve told him that hes not supposed to, but he still does.Kleffman picked up where LaBore left off and contacted the girl who spoke to their office in 2017. She was now in her early 20s, married, a new mom living in Washington state. In a recorded conversation, she told Kleffman that the trauma and in particular, the mandate that she remain silent about it still haunted her.Though the woman had tried to put time and distance between herself and Massie, Massies wife, Sarah, had asked for a meeting about a year earlier when the woman returned to Duluth for a visit. At a Starbucks, she said, Sarah Massie told her that the abuse was no big deal and she needed to forget about what happened. The conversation, the woman said, was horrible.Sarah Massie declined to comment for this story.The woman agreed to be part of the police investigation but told Kleffman that she had little faith it would go anywhere. It did not, after all, go anywhere last time.I can tell you, Kleffman said, you should have lots of faith in me.The investigator now had two victims. They gave him the names of others they suspected had also been abused by Massie. Kleffman tried to contact them, but some were reluctant to cooperate. One woman told Kleffman that Massie had asked for forgiveness. The sin, she said in the recorded call, was washed away in the blood of reconciliation.It is gone forever, she told Kleffman.So youre following what the church says to do, Kleffman replied.I am following what God says to do, the woman told him, before hanging up.Sgt. Adam Kleffman of the St. Louis County Sheriffs Office was the investigator on the Massie case.There Could Be HundredsOn Feb. 10, 2023, Massie sat opposite Kleffman and Investigator Tony McTavish in a beige, windowless room at the sheriffs office in Duluth. In a video of the interrogation, Massie downplayed the allegations as a series of accidents and misunderstandings. But as the 90-minute interrogation progressed, his demeanor shifted. He admitted hed felt a tinge of a sick, perverted thing when, he claimed, one very young girl had pulled his hand to her vagina before he realized what was happening.Im a lustful man, sure, he said, but he denied he touched girls on purpose. Strike me dead right now if Im lying to you. I was not trying to touch her sexually.I call bullshit on that, Kleffman said.Massie told Kleffman and McTavish that Bruckelmyer had spoken to him at least three times about inappropriate behavior with children. The investigators asked how many more girls might come forward with stories about him touching or kissing them.I mean, there could be hundreds, Massie said.Five days later, Bruckelmyer walked into the same interview room with Raisanen, another preacher at the church.Bruckelmyer, now 68, is described as a kind but domineering force in the church, a father of at least 12 who worked in construction.Unlike in other branches of Christianity, OALC preachers like Bruckelmyer do not attend traditional seminaries or receive formal training before assuming their leadership roles. Instead, according to a church spokesperson, they are selected by the congregation.Their advice is seen as coming directly from God, according to several former church members.In a video recording of the police interview, Bruckelmyer and Raisanen joked quietly with one another before Kleffman and Sgt. Eric Sathers, another investigator, entered the room.Do you know what the mandated reporting laws are in the state of Minnesota? Kleffman asked.We have looked at them some, but its hard for us to interpret everything, Bruckelmyer replied.Have you ever been told about them? the officer asked.No, Bruckelmyer said.Kleffman said he knew that wasnt true and brought up the 2020 call with LaBore. I just listened to the audio recording, and it was line-for-line. You said you understood what they were, Kleffman said.We felt, unless its changed, that as a part of the church that we keep silent, Bruckelmyer said.Investigators with the St. Louis County Sheriffs Office interview Daryl Bruckelmyer and Calvin Raisanen, preachers with the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church in Duluth. Video provided by St. Louis County Sheriffs OfficeKleffman and Sathers explained that if someone like Massie confessed to Bruckelmyer one-on-one, that would constitute a protected conversation with clergy. But hearing directly from the victims, from parents of victims or about abuse allegations in a group setting was another matter entirely.Bruckelmyer and Raisanen claimed ignorance of the legal distinction and thanked the officers for the clarification. Bruckelmyer asked what became of the 2017 investigation into Massie. I mean, it should have been taken care of then, you know? the preacher said. Its like, what happened?Kleffman reminded him that a decade before that, the girls parents had come forward to Bruckelmyer and was told to forgive Massie.Nothing was done by you, Kleffman said. So in that meantime, she is not being protected while Clint is still scot-free doing what hes been doing for 15 years.I see, Bruckelmyer said quietly.Youre just keeping a pedophile in your church, Kleffman said.Both Bruckelmyer and Raisanen confirmed theyd known about the girl from the 2017 report, and Bruckelmyer said he knew of two others as well. He expressed his eagerness to cooperate with law enforcement moving forward but denied knowledge of any other victims beyond the three.Bruckelmyer and Raisanen left the St. Louis County Sheriffs Department office without facing any consequences. John Hiivala, a spokesperson for the Woodland Park Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, said that the church has fully complied with the law in the referenced case, and its a matter of legal record. Hiivala declined to comment further.By the time prosecutors brought the case against Massie, the three-year statute of limitations had run out on charging Bruckelmyer with failure to report.Kyla Chamberlin flew in from North Dakota for Massies sentencing. Of the nine alleged victims prosecutors identified from the case, she was the only one to attend the sentencing in person.ReckoningOn the day of Massies sentencing in March 2025, Kleffman walked Kyla Chamberlin to the front row of the high-ceilinged courtroom. The opposite side of the courtroom quickly filled with at least a dozen Massie supporters, including his wife, Sarah.Chamberlin had flown in from North Dakota alone. Of the nine alleged victims prosecutors identified from the case, she was the only one to attend the sentencing in person. As she waited, she was shaking. She didnt want to look back, particularly at Sarah Massie, whom shed adored as a child. She said she could feel the eyes of her former church community on her, people shed once trusted and loved.A former EMT and mother of three, Chamberlin had grown up in the Black Hills of South Dakota in the 1990s. Clint and Sarah Massie lived nearby and opened their home to Chamberlin and her four siblings. Her parents sometimes asked Clint, starting in his late teens, to babysit.The sexual abuse began around the time Chamberlin was 7 years old, she told police. In interviews with Kleffman, she described a remarkably similar pattern of abuse as the two Duluth victims.After the Massies moved to Duluth in the early 2000s, Chamberlins parents say she went from meek and sweet to being filled with an inexplicable anger. She rebelled, she drank. The close-knit family began to fray. She and one of her older sisters, Kristi Bertolotto, stopped speaking to each other.Ive lost a lot of friendships, a lot of relationships, divorces, anger management didnt understand why I was so mad, Chamberlin said.Ive lost a lot of friendships, a lot of relationships, divorces, anger management didnt understand why I was so mad, Chamberlin said, speaking about the aftermath of her alleged sexual abuse.She stopped attending church in 2010 and, in response, her parents made it clear that she was no longer welcome at family and holiday functions, a painful and common experience described by several former church members.Its like you dont even think for yourself, Janie Williamson, Chamberlins mother, said in an interview. To turn against your own children because of some of those things is its awful.After St. Louis County announced charges against Massie, Kleffman began receiving calls from alleged victims all over the country. One of those was from Chamberlin. Months later, Kleffman realized that one of the other victims he interviewed was Chamberlins older sister, Bertolotto.Neither of them knew what had happened to the other. Neither knew the other sister had come forward. Both women agreed to be named in this story.Court filings listed nine alleged victims, but only three of the cases resulted in charges of felony sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 13. The statute of limitations under South Dakota law had run out for Bertolotto and Chamberlin. And the girl whod been pressured to forgive Massie in Bruckelmyers office hadnt had her case charged either; under Minnesota law, too much time had passed between her initial report in 2017 and the prosecution.Nevertheless, six of the alleged victims whose cases didnt result in charges were still part of the case, and some of the women traveled to Duluth in December 2024 to testify at Massies trial. Just after jury selection, Massie agreed to plead guilty to four felony counts. One charge was dropped.Four months later, at his sentencing, Massie looked pale and paunchy in an orange jumpsuit, his hands and feet shackled. His attorney, citing Massies lack of a criminal record, asked that he receive no prison time and be allowed to seek treatment and receive probation that he could serve at home. Massie apologized to his victims and their families.I beg for their forgiveness, for the damage and hurt that Ive caused them over the years, he said in a quavering voice. I feel responsible for the horrible acts to these children.But Judge Eric Hylden noted that since Massie had pleaded guilty, hed never tried to enroll in sex-offender treatment or written apology letters to his victims. Hylden also quoted aloud from one of 17 letters of support for Massie, many from OALC members, which he said demonstrated that some in Massies community still did not believe hed done anything wrong: I wish you find ones that have actually done these things and get them put away rather than putting your energy into lying and seeking evil where there is none to be found.The judge sentenced Massie to 7 1/2 years in prison.Afterward, in the witness room a floor higher in the courthouse, Chamberlin met Ryan, the assistant county attorney, and Kleffman the two men she credited with putting Massie in prison 30 years after hed abused her. The three exchanged hugs.I feel a sense of justice for the first time in 30 years, Chamberlin said.At the same time, none of them felt completely satisfied that the problem began and ended with Massie that church leaders had not been held accountable.Ryan said that hed struggled as he prepared to go to trial with keeping several of the women from succumbing to what he called a constant effort by members of the church to try to get these girls to either tone down their position on it or just to not cooperate. One alleged victim, he said, had dropped out weeks before trial.Chamberlin and her sister have retained the same lawyer who represented some of the victims in the Jeffrey Epstein case. He has filed lawsuits on their behalf against Massie, their church in South Dakota and the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church of America.In a letter written from prison that was filed in court, Massie denied both sisters allegations. The OALC, in a motion to dismiss both lawsuits, wrote that while OALC-America is mindful and sympathetic to Plaintiff for the abuse Plaintiff alleges occurred by Massie, such empathy does not take away from the plain fact that this Court does not have personal jurisdiction over OALC-America.Chamberlin and Bertolottos family has left the church. They are now navigating a delicate reconciliation, which Chamberlin credits to the abuse finally coming to light.Chamberlin said she hoped to have a role encouraging other victims to come forward before the secrecy consumes their lives the way it had consumed hers.Theres a lot more to be done, she said. Theres a lot of Clints out there.After Massies sentencing, Chamberlin said, I feel a sense of justice for the first time in 30 years.The post Young Girls Were Sexually Abused by a Church Member. They Were Told to Forgive and Forget. appeared first on ProPublica.

Red ribbons adorned one city, while blue ribbons hung in another town all to honor the National Guard members who were attacked in Washington this week.

The university will pay $75 million to regain its research funding and end investigations, the second highest payment by a school facing pressure from the administration.

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Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelenskys chief of staff and top peace negotiator, became the highest-ranking casualty of an investigation into a vast kickback scheme.

A midmonth stumble, driven by worries about the frenzy around artificial intelligence, was reversed as investors inched back into stocks this week.

LOW EARTH ORBITSaying the dreaded nightly ritual had quickly become his least favorite part of his mission, astronaut Dave Barron told reporters Wednesday that he absolutely hated the long, freezing spacewalk required to reach the International Space Stations outhouse. God, its such a pain. You have to put on the whole suit, depressurize, and then spend 25 minutes trudging through the dark, near-absolute-zero void just to take a piss, said Barron, adding that if, God forbid, he forgot to bring toilet paper, he had to spacewalk all the way back to the orbital station. And once you get to the outhouse, its even worse. Theres always human waste floating around and just an old copy of Popular Mechanics to read. They only gave the ISS one john for all seven of us, and the whole place reeks because they only send up maintenance from Earth every few months. You cant wash your hands in there, eitherthey just have a Purell dispenser thats always empty. Im telling you, if its the middle of the night, Ill just hold it until morning, cause theres no fucking way Im heading out there to be pelted with micrometeorites if I have to wake up in a few hours. Barron went on to complain about the ISSs outdoor shower, which he described as way too cold.The post Astronaut Hates Long Nightly Spacewalk To ISS Outhouse appeared first on The Onion.

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Photo by New York National Guard and Mamdani press kit.Subscribe nowThis years mayoral race in New York City is shaping up to be the most-watched and most consequential local election in the country. Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman and Democratic Socialist who cleanly won the Democratic primary earlier this year and maintains a double-digit lead in the polls, is facing off against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary.Analysts argue that this race could have significant implications for the future of the Democratic Party. If Mamdani wins, it will represent New Yorkers desire for a politician who leans further left than the partys traditional values.These implications extend to LGBTQ rights as well, as discourse surrounding trans people has permeated discussions of the partys future since last years presidential loss.With that in mind, here are both candidates track records on LGBTQ issues.Andrew Cuomo The Early Years1977Andrew Cuomo allegedly runs a whisper campaign during his father Marios run for New York City mayor against Ed Koch. He uses the slogan Vote for Cuomo, Not the Homo, referencing Kochs sexuality. Koch never publicly came out as gay and denied it until his death, but it was known in his personal circle that he was.Koch would go on to forgive the Cuomos and endorse Andrew for Governor in 2010.The signs said, VOTE FOR CUOMO, NOT THE HOMO. Andrew says he didnt do it, and I believe him.June 24, 2011Cuomo signs the Marriage Equality Act into law, legalizing same-sex marriage and making New York the sixth stateand the largest, at the timeto pass marriage equality. The passage of the law is considered a win for gay rights. In a press statement, Cuomo says:New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted. With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law.June 26, 2011Cuomo at Pride in 2011, two days after signing the Marriage Equality Act into law. Photo by Philip Robertson.Two days after signing the Marriage Equality Act, Cuomo marches in NYC Pride and is met with adoration and fanfare. He would continue to be a figure at NYC Pride for the next eight years, but since 2019 has no public record of attending.Dec. 11, 2014Cuomo announces regulatory guidelines to help trans people receive equal access to health insurance coverage. The new rules no longer allow insurance companies to deny medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria. The move comes before similar federal protections are introduced in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act, positioning New York ahead of national policy on trans health care.March 31, 2015Cuomo bans non-essential state-funded travel to Indiana after the state passes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The act enables anti-LGBTQ discrimination by saying that being forced to serve queer customers is a burden on their religious beliefs. Cuomo would lift the ban April 4, saying he believes changes made to the law will keep it from being used to discriminate against gay people. The next year, Cuomo would impose a similar travel ban for North Carolina because of their trans bathroom ban.Oct. 22, 2015Cuomo issues an executive order that expands discrimination protection regulations to include gender identity, transgender status and gender dysphoria. The move is praised by the American Civil Liberties Union:With this executive action, Gov. Cuomo has made it clear that his administration is committed to protecting transgender and gender nonconforming people in New York State. These clear legal protections go a long way toward allowing transgender New Yorkers to enjoy dignity, respect and access to opportunity in New York.Jan. 25, 2019Cuomo signs two pro-LGBTQ bills into law. The first bans conversion therapy for minors by licensed practitioners and bans insurers from covering the discredited practice. The second, known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA), amends the states Human Rights Law to ban anti-trans discrimination.The Supreme Court says you can discriminate against transgender in the military, Cuomo says in a statement. We say todayno you cant. You cannot discriminate against people by gender identity, period.June 30, 2019Cuomo signs a law banning the gay and trans panic legal defense in New York. The law eliminates a long-established loophole in hate crime trials that allowed lawyers to argue that a victims sexual orientation or gender identity could cause a suspect to fly into a sudden violent frenzy such that they hurt or kill the victim. New York is the eighth state to ban the defense.Enter MamdaniFeb. 2, 2021Zohran Mamdani on his first day as state assemblyman. Photo by @Zohrankmamdani/Instagram. In his first session as a House Representative for New Yorks 36th district, Zohran Mamdani backs the repeal of the Walking While Trans law, which was disproportionately used to target trans women of color under the guise of curbing sex work. In the 1970s, wearing a skirt, waving at a car and standing somewhere other than a bus stop or taxi stand were viewed under the law as probable cause for arrest.That same day, Cuomo signs the repeal of portions of the law and says:For too long trans people have been unfairly targeted and disproportionately policed for innocent, lawful conduct based solely on their appearance. Repealing the archaic walking while trans ban is a critical step toward reforming our policing system and reducing the harassment and criminalization transgender people face simply for being themselves. New York has always led the nation on LGBTQ rights, and we will continue that fight until we achieve true equality.Feb. 15, 2021The Child-Parent Security Act, which Cuomo signed into law in 2020, goes into effect. The law legalizes compensation for gestational surrogacy, opening new paths to parenthood for both LGBTQ and heterosexual couples alike.Feb. 17, 2021Mamdani co-sponsors the Gender Recognition Act, which would make it easier for trans and nonbinary folks to change their gender on official government documents. It would also give them the option to choose a gender-neutral marker of X instead of the male/female binary and options for gender-neutral parent language on birth certificates.Feb. 24, 2021Cuomo is announced as the recipient of the LGBT Bar of New Yorks Community Vision Award for his distinguished record of service to the LGBTQ community, including a sustained commitment to achieving equal rights for all members of our community. Just hours later, a former staffer publishes a story detailing Cuomos history of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.In reaction, Cuomo is stripped of his award and barred from attending the gala.Subscribe nowApril 13, 2021Cuomo, April 6, 2021. Photo by New York National Guard.In an investigation following allegations of sexual assault and workplace mistreatment by Cuomo, The New York Times reports that the governor allegedly told a male official in 2019: Youd be a good-looking tr*nny if you get a good set of tits.In response to the allegation, a member of Cuomos team says, He would never make a comment so vile.June 24, 2021Cuomo signs the Gender Recognition Actco-sponsored by Mamdaniinto law. This is one of Cuomos last legislative moves before his resignation Aug. 24, 2021.June 10, 2023Mamdani votes for New Yorks gender-affirming care shield law that protects providers, patients and medical records from hostile out-of-state actions. The bill is then signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. Mamdanis vote underscores his opposition to red-state crackdowns on trans health care.Oct. 23, 2024Mamdani writes an op-ed for the Queens Daily Eagle in support of Proposal 1, a state constitutional amendment which bans discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sexincluding sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment also introduces legal protections for housing discrimination against LGBTQ people. The following month, Prop 1 passes into law.Feb. 8, 2025Mamdani attends a rally for trans youth in New York Citys Union Square and says he is there to stand up for these children as attempts to ban gender-affirming care spread across the country.You need not even know a trans New Yorker to stand up for trans New Yorkers. This is a trial of all of us to see who we are willing to give up. And our answer is no one.March 11, 2025Gothamist reports that Cuomo hires anti-LGBTQ activist Kristofer Graham to be his campaign treasurer. Graham worked for the Coalition to Protect Kids, a group aimed at defeating Prop 1. Before that, he worked for the Save Our State PAC on Republican Lee Zeldins 2022 gubernatorial campaign, which also peddled homophobia and transphobia.The decision provokes backlash among former Cuomo allies. Tyler Hack, a trans rights activist and the executive director of the Christopher Street Project, says:Cuomo is signaling that trans rights are negotiable to him. The only takeaway we can make from that is that its not an accident.Cuomo marches in the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, September 2025. Photo by Marco.March 27, 2025Cuomo does not participate in a mayoral candidate forum hosted by four LGBTQ groups, including The Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, NYC Pride and Power, Equality New York and Lambda Independent Democrats. His absence further alienates him from New Yorks LGBTQ community.April 29, 2025Cuomo is snubbed by LGBTQ advocacy groups, including the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Club, Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn and the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, as they use the citys rank choice format to list Brad Lander, Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos. Several groups give Mamdani endorsements. All of them leave Cuomo off the list entirely. The head of Jim Owles credits Cuomo for his past but says he is unsuitable to be mayor.The gay community is smart. Were not going to support Cuomos baggage. Hes not progressive by any stretch of the imagination.Mamdani speaks at Caveat Comedy Festival, May 25, 2025. Photo by Bryan Berlin.May 22, 2025Mamdani announces a protection plan for LGBTQ New Yorkers that includes a $65 million investment for gender-affirming care. The plan also proposes the creation of an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs to expand and centralize the services, programs, and support LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers need across housing, employment and more. Mamdani says NYC will become a sanctuary city in an effort to strengthen and uphold the rights of queer and trans New Yorkers.June 1, 2025Cuomo posts a video celebrating Pride and his past achievements for LGBTQ people. Along with the video is the caption:Happy Pride Month! I am forever proud of the work my Administration did in the fight for LGBTQ equality. I will always stand with our LGBTQ community and fight for equality and fairness for every New Yorker.Despite this, Cuomo does not attend NYC Pride while Mamdani does.June 23, 2025Queer and Jewish influencer Matt Bernsteinknown online as mattxivendorses Mamdani. This is one of many endorsements Mamdani has received among Gen Z voters and influencers. In one Instagram post, Bernstein writes:We need democratic leaders who will tax billionaires, not sell their souls to them. We need democratic leaders who will stand up for the rights of immigrants and LGBTQ people, not throw us under the bus. We need Zohran.Other LGBTQ celebrity endorsements include Bowen Yang, Cole Escola, Hari Nef, Ben Platt, John Early and Cynthia Nixon.Oct. 5, 2025Mamdani at the Entebbe airport with Ugandan official Rebecca Kadaga.Cuomos campaign spotlights Mamdanis Ugandan dual citizenship and a photo he took with anti-LGBTQ Ugandan official Rebecca Kadaga amid the countrys spate of homophobic and transphobic laws. Mamdanis team maintains that he had no knowledge of who Kadaga was at that moment. Cuomos campaign insists Mamdani knew and that he should renounce his Ugandan citizenship.Why would you keep a citizenship in Uganda, which is a country that outlaws the LGBTQ community? Cuomo says in a news conference. You are a citizen of Uganda, running for mayor. Why wouldnt you say I am going to give up my citizenship because I will not be the citizen of a country that would kill gay people?A spokesperson for Mamdani says that had he known who she was, he would not have posed for the photo.Oct. 9, 2025Cuomo accepts an endorsement from Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr., a former city council member who does not support gay marriage and has a history of making homophobic remarks. Notably, Diaz stood by Cuomo in the aftermath of his resignation and the allegations made against him.Oct. 11, 2025Mamdani releases an ad telling the story of foundational trans activist Sylvia Rivera, where he promises further support for NYCs trans community if elected. The ad situates his campaign within New Yorks broader queer legacy and against Trump, drawing a symbolic throughline from Riveras community activism to Mamdanis agenda of municipal reform and resistance to the current administration. Talking directly to camera, Mamdani says:Since taking office, Donald Trump has waged a scorched earth campaign against trans people. The man with the most power has expended enormous energy targeting those with the least. New York will not sit idly by while trans people are attacked. Well deploy hundreds of lawyers to combat Trumps hate. We cant bring Sylvia back, but we can honor her memory by building a city where trans New Yorkers are cherished. In a time of darkness, New York must be the light.Oct. 18, 2025Cuomo attempts to tie Mamdani to Siraj Wahhaj, an imam with a history of making homophobic remarks. Cuomo says it was inappropriate for Mamdani to meet with Wahhaj and accept his endorsement.For Zohran to think that he should be mayor of New York, the capital of acceptance and tolerance and diversity, the city and the state where the gay rights movement was birthed, the place that made history in passing same-sex marriage, the disconnect is so disturbing.A spokeswoman for Mamdani responds by saying that Cuomo is more interested in talking about what people Zohran has taken photos with than explaining what he actually plans to do as mayor for the LGBTQ community.Subscribe nowOct. 22, 2025At the final mayoral debate, Cuomo attacks Mamdani as being divisive for taking a picture with Rebecca gay killer Kadaga and asks why he wont renounce his citizenship to Uganda and call for boycotts, divestments and sanctions against the country known for its anti-LGBTQ policies. In response, Mamdani says his politics are built on a belief in human rights and that extends to queer and trans New Yorkers and it extends to queer and trans Ugandans.Additional reporting by Hope PisoniIf 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 nowThis past weekend, my boyfriend wrote an essay for us about how he was subjected to corporal punishment, familial rejection and conversion therapy because of his sexual orientation.As someone who grew up in a not-very-religious Toronto household, the idea of being a sinner or disordered or ill because you are LGBTQ was always a foreign concept.But after I moved to the U.S. and started covering anti-LGBTQ movements, I realized that much of the most virulent hate and animus toward queer people comes from extreme Christian forces that are weaponizing religion and in turn inflicting countless Americans with decades of trauma and other mental health issues.While many major religions can be rife with homo/transphobia, Christianity is the most influential bad actor in the States because it permeates all sectors of American life: Christian legal groups defending anti-LGBTQ legislation; Christian therapists trying to re-legalize conversion therapy in their practices; Christian colleges forcing honor codes onto students that could lead them to be expelled for engaging in any form of queer relationship; and Trump being closely aligned with Project 2025, a blueprint for Christian nationalism in government.Ive always sensed Christian extremism was fueling the mental health epidemic among LGBTQ kids. But after the response to Seans story, that went from a feeling to a certainty. Seans DMs were flooded with gratitude messages from other survivors of Christian extremism and there were thousands of likes and dozens of comments on our Instagram post from people who shared his pain.There were messages from those still struggling:Susiforshey: What a beautiful testimony. I love the last phrase: I finally feel calm and free. I hope for that for myself one day. Greg.yan: Thank you so much for sharing, this is exactly what I needed to see today as I am about to write a letter to my parents whom I have not spoken to in over 2 yearsAnd others from folks who have finally found peace: Johnhuls83gogwood: its a tough road. Im 67 and the road was worth every tear, every single argument, every family member shunning and shaming me! I am free and visible and lovedTheliberatedporch: As someone who has called rural New York and Virginia home, thank you for sharing your story. While these experiences can be shared by so many, it can often feel like youre the only one or the few when these stories are quieted. Your lifes story shows to others that life gets so much better when uncloseted even though it can be difficult, especially in the beginning.We need a reckoning to stop the weaponization of a religion that is supposed to teach us how to love. For decades, we have heard one-off stories from survivors and watched movies about conversion therapy. But so many survivors of Christian extremism keep their trauma between their ears.What I really think we need is a movement akin to what #MeToo did in 2017 for the countless survivors of sexual violence. A survivor-centered, grassroots campaign where people band together in solidarity and go public with their trauma.We should take from the #MeToo playbook: when a critical mass comes together and uses social media to amplify their stories of survival, change can come. As we saw with #MeToo, this amplification can hold perpetrators to account and start a game-changing conversation about how time should be up for those who are using so-called religious freedom laws to commit physical, verbal and emotional abuse under the guise of Christian values.I have no clue how a movement like this starts. But for me, Seans essay cracked the door open.Subscribe nowHope Pisoni appeared on yesterdays episode of the This News Is So Gay Podcast - check it out here!Donald Trump Shares AI-Generated Video of Himself Dropping Feces on No Kings Protestors (The Wrap)The King Trump Truth Social clip also features progressive commentator Harry Sisson.Disgraced former congressman George Santos released from prison in New Jersey (The Guardian)Trump commuted Santoss seven-year sentence for fraud and identity theft after he had served less than three months.Drug bust mistaken for ICE raid in West Hollywoods Rainbow District (NBC Los Angeles)LASD said it did not work with federal agents during Fridays operation.Ohio pastor who protested LGBTQ book at school fair accused of child rape, sexual battery (The Cincinnati Enquirer)Silas Shelton, 52, who lives in Warren County and serves as a pastor at Blanchester Community Ministries in Clinton County, was arrested on Oct. 15. He faces charges including child rape and sexual battery after a detective said he abused a minor over a period of about six years.Pentagon Pete Goon Melts Down at Netflix After Releasing Gay Marine Show Boots (The Daily Beast)The Department of Defense blasted the streaming service as garbage.Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:As the consequential New York City mayoral election draws closer, Nico DiAlessandro digs into Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomos track records on LGBTQ issues.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

Photo by Sean Robinson.Subscribe nowHey hey, ho ho, Donald Trump has got to go, protestors chanted in the middle of Times Square, among a sea of signs that read love reigns not kings, gays against faux-king Trump, we stand with our trans family and the future is coming.On Saturday, independent analysts estimated that the No Kings March drew between 5 and 8 million people, and organizers say over 7 million people attended 2,700 events across all 50 states. The event, which was organized to push against the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S., was the largest single-day protest in America since 1970.Over 100,000 New Yorkers marched in all five boroughs in NYC on Saturday. Photo by Jelinda Montes.Among the crowd were countless LGBTQ people, fighting back against an administration that has introduced a litany of anti-LGBTQ executive orders and used vile rhetoric to denigrate queer people. This backsliding of LGBTQ rights, according to experts, has a deep connection to authoritarianism, with research showing that when governments weaken protections for queer and trans people, they often turn to broader democratic institutions next.Threats to democratic institutions and threats to LGBTQ rights are mutually reinforcing, generating a vicious cycle that strengthens authoritarian control, Ari Shaw, director of International Programs at the Williams Institute, told Uncloseted Media. Increased persecution of minority groups, including LGBTI people, is itself evidence of democratic backsliding by indicating the erosion of liberal democratic norms [meant to protect] minority rights.Legal Abuse of PowerOne of the ways the Trump administrations abuse of power has been most evident is through its legal actions.On Jan. 20, Trump signed 26 executive orders, the most signed by any president on their first day. Since then, hes penned hundreds of additional executive ordersmore than President Joe Biden signed during his entire four-year term. In many cases, he bypassed Congress in the process, leaving elected legislators on the sidelines. Many of these actions have been in an effort to roll back LGBTQ rights. Trump has used executive orders to ban transgender people from serving in the military, limit participation of transgender students in school sports and direct federal agencies to recognize only two sexes.Hes also slashed HIV funding at a staggering rate. Uncloseted Media estimates that the National Institutes of Health has terminated more than $1 billion worth of grants to HIV-related research, including 71% of all global HIV grants.Jeffrey Cipriano at the NYC No Kings protest Saturday. Photo by Jelinda Montes.It was these cuts that prompted Brooklynite Jeffrey Cipriano to turn out to protest. The specific reason that Im protesting is actually on the shirt Im wearing, says Cipriano.My best friend works for an organization called AIDS United. His job is to travel the country and help people get AIDS medication, specifically trans and unhoused community members. But his job is at risk, he says. The end outcome of his work is that people who have issues in their lives have the issues resolved and thats going away under the current administration.Executive orders are based on powers granted to the president by the U.S. Constitution or by Congressional statutes. The president cannot use an executive order to create new laws or spend money unless Congress has authorized it. They are meant to direct how existing laws are implemented. But Trump has ignored democratic norms, often filling agencies with loyal supporters, using orders to go after political opponents and pushing the limits of what the law allows.In some cases, he has moved illegally. The President is directing various executive branch officials to adopt policy that has either not yet been adopted by Congress or is in violation of existing statutory law, says Jodi Short, professor of law at UC Law San Francisco. The analogy to a king and what has troubled many about this presidency is the sheer consolidation of executive branch power in one individual.Shorts colleague, Dave Owen, agrees. Illegality has been rampant, he told Uncloseted Media in an email. People are often cynical about the government, and they might think what Trumps doing is nothing new. But most of the time, the executive branch takes the law seriously, and both legal constraints and norms of good governance matter, he wrote. He says that through history, theres been a lot more integrity and a lot less lawlessness than most people realize.This administration has broken with those traditions, he adds.Revolt Against Executive OrdersMany Americans have recognized this. A survey from April found that 85% of Americans agreed or strongly agreed that the president should obey federal court rulings even if he doesnt like them. In response to Trumps overreach, more than 460 legal challenges have been filed across the country challenging his executive actions. One of these is a federal lawsuit by Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation that challenges the constitutionality of the Trump administrations ban on military service by transgender people. Another lawsuit challenges Trumps order directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under 19.Zoe Boik and her father, Derik, protesting on Saturday. Photo by Sean Robinson.Both of those lawsuits are one reason 17-year-old Zoe Boik came out to protest with her friends and her dad. Obviously, Im disappointed and kind of helpless because theres nothing I can directly do to change or impact anything thats going on, says Boik, who identifies as pansexual and gender fluid and is not legally allowed to vote.Boikwho was seven years old when Trump announced his run for presidency in 2015says shes doing a research paper on Trumps trans military ban and is frustrated because she sees it as inexplicable discrimination. Theyre not letting trans people serve which doesnt make any sense.Zoe as a child with her dad, Derik. Photo courtesy of Boik.LGBTQ Rights and Democratic BackslidingThis type of blatant discrimination is often a key sign of a country moving closer to authoritarianism and away from democracy. According to a 2023 research paper by Shaw and his colleagues, anti-LGBTQ stigma may contribute to the erosion of democratic norms and institutions. The paper found that when a country with relatively high acceptance of LGBTQ rights introduces anti-LGBTQ legislation, it clashes with what most people believe and can weaken public trust in democracy, deepen political divides and make it easier for populist or extremist movements to gain power.The level of acceptance of LGBTQ people is closely associated with the strength of democracy in a country, Shaw says. In some cases, we even saw that rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric or policies preceded a broader decline in democracy.In Brazil, for example, early democratic gains coincided with rising LGBTQ acceptance, including legal recognition of same-sex unions and workplace protections. But as populist President Jair Bolsonaro came into power in 2019, he began questioningwithout evidencethe security of Brazils voting systems, saying he would only lose his re-election campaign if there were fraud. He was also accused of trying to intervene in operations held by the Federal Police about the alleged criminal conduct of his sons, and he told his ministers that he had the power and he would interferewithout exceptionin all cabinet ministries. At the same time, LGBTQ protections were rolled back, and schools and civil society faced censorship, suggesting that falling LGBTQ acceptance may have preceded Brazils democratic erosion, according to Shaws paper. In September of this year, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup.Another example is Polands democracy weakening since 2015 under the Law and Justice Party, which consolidated power by undermining the Constitutional Tribunal, installing loyal judges and restricting independent media. Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric became central to the partys nationalist platform, fueling the creation of nearly 100 LGBT ideology free zones, inciting violence against LGBTQ individuals and stymying legal recourse through politicized courts.When it comes to LGBTQ rights, Trump has mimicked the moves of these leaders even though most of his constituents dont want it: A 2022 survey from the Public Religion Research Institute found that 80% of Americans favor laws that would protect LGBTQ people against discrimination.The definition of an authoritarian system is a system where power is consolidated in one individual whose power is unchecked by any other institution. And I fear that in certain domains, thats the direction in which this administration is trying to move us, says Short. I think its incredibly dangerous.Subscribe nowAttacks on Higher EducationAnother common tool in the authoritarian playbook is attacking higher education.In the U.S., Trump has done just that by pressuring top universities to get rid of their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and inclusive policies for transgender athletes, which he has called ideological capture. If they dont obey, Trump has threatened to freeze millions of dollars in funding.While many universities are rejecting Trumps demands, others are experiencing a chilling effect, changing their policies before the administration tries to hold up funds.James Revson, Maddy Everlith and Shay Wingate holding their signs at the No Kings protest. Photo by Jelinda Montes.Im here because Im angry and I feel that we arent angry enough, Maddy Everlith, a sophomore gender studies major at Pace University, told Uncloseted Media as she marched with her friends. Being a woman of color in America and having so many intersectional identities is also what affects me. I want to stand up and advocate for other people.Everliths university responded to Trumps threats in September by renaming its DEI office to the Division of Opportunity and Institutional Excellence.I am beyond horrified how quickly our university was willing to bend the knee on this decision, Austin Chappelle, a senior at Pace, told the student newspaper. This change comes in the midst of uncertainty under the Trump administration, which has already caused many LGBTQ students to feel uneasy on campus.Subscribe nowScapegoating Transgender PeopleBeyond the laws and policies lies a vile rhetoric used to scapegoat trans Americans. During the 2024 federal election campaigns, Trump spent roughly $215 million on anti-trans ads, more than five times as much as he spent on ads focused on the economy. In addition, hes monstrified the community, saying, These people are sick. They are deranged. Hes also said Democrats are pushing the transgender cult on children and has aligned with groups trying to designate transgender Americans as terrorists.Its part of an electoral strategy to try to mobilize right-wing voters to distract from other sorts of political or economic scandals, Shaw says, adding that this tactic is another way to gain power.Lars Kindem protesting for his trans sister at the No Kings protest. Photo by Sean Robinson.The pain of this rhetoric has affected millions of trans Americans and allies alike, including Lars Kindem, a 64-year-old retired pilot from Minnesota who was marching to support his transgender sister. What Trump has done is hes taken people that havent done anything wrong and has turned them into scapegoats, he says, adding that Trumps language is hateful, petty, mean and hurtful.He says his sister and her partner are having issues getting the correct gender markers issued on their passports. Because of the Trump administrations treatment of the community, they are making plans to move to Denmark, where theres a lot more acceptance.Christian NationalismThis scapegoating has played into the hands of Trumps voter base of white evangelical Protestants, the only major Christian denomination in the U.S. in which a majority believes society has gone too far in accepting transgender people.Since 2020, Trump has increasingly embraced Christian nationalism in his rhetoric and imagery. Hes sold Bibles, created a federal task force on anti-Christian bias and been intrinsically linked to Project 2025, the 920-page plan calling for the establishment of a government imbued with biblical principles and run by a president who holds sweeping executive powers.Experts say that a strong authoritarian streak runs through conservative Christianity. A 2023 study found that supporters of Christian nationalism tend to support obedience to authority and the idea of authoritarian leaders who are willing to break the rules. Nearly half of Christian nationalists support the notion of an authoritarian leader.They are trying to use the language of Christianity, but they are abusing it and misusing it constantly, Rev. Chris Shelton, a gay pastor at the protest, told Uncloseted Media. Our faith is all about reaching out to the marginalized, reaching out to the people who are ostracized by society and embracing them and offering love and welcome and a sense of dignity and worth. And to see any human beings worth being denied is just a mockery of our faith.Rev. Chris Shelton marched in Saturdays NYC protest. Photo by Sean Robinson.Heidi Beirich, the vice president and co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, says that the LGBTQ community is the prime target of modern authoritarian regimes.For Christian nationalists, attacking LGBTQ rights is the first pillar in destroying civil rights for all. This has happened in countries like Hungary and Poland as authoritarianism consolidated and now its happening here, Beirich told Uncloseted Media.Moving ForwardAs the country bleeds toward authoritarianism, LGBTQ protestors are encouraging people to use their voice, something the queer community is familiar with doing: One 2012 survey found that queer folks are 20 times more likely to be active in liberal social movements than their straight, cis counterparts.It is imperative that people continue to pay attention, Short says. There is so much going on, a lot of it is disturbing and intense, and theres such a strong impulse to look away. But we have to engage in political action and resist inappropriate assertions of authority and continue to show up and vote for our democracy.Share17-year-old Zoe Boik is ready. She remembers being in second grade and crying the day after Trump won his first election in 2016. She couldnt believe how he could lead the country despite all the bad things he said.Boik cant wait until the midterm elections, when she will be 18 and finally able to vote. If we dont vote, then our voices wont be heard, she says.Despite this, shes also concerned about her freedom to exercise that right being jeopardized.My fears about Trump dont stem specifically from me being queer, but from his authoritarianism as a whole, she says. I am scared about how far he will move into dictatorship, [and] my biggest fear is that our right to vote will be compromised, leaving us no recourse.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 Sean.A guest essay by Sean Robinson Spencers boyfriend.Subscribe nowWhen I was around 10 years old, I remember horsing around in the grass with my oldest brother. I asked him the meaning of homosexuality, a word that I had heard from my parents and from the New Order Amish and Mennonite communities I was surrounded by growing up in upstate New York and rural Virginia.Sean and his dad Upstate New York. Photo courtesy of Sean. While I wasnt certain what the word meant, I knew it was bad and I was pretty sure it was me. So when my brother responded to my question by saying that homosexuality is demonic, I pushed those thoughts down.A few years later, my dad told me that once someone becomes a homosexual, they will want more and more and more and it will lead to a sexual desire for children, then animals, then blood.Sean and his dad through the years. Photos courtesy of Sean.Subscribe nowHearing these ideas persistently and consistently made me feel like there was this horrible thing inside of me that I just hated. I had learned that it was akin to being a pedophile, and thats how I felt about myself.These feelings created so much shame and fear but most of all a level of embarrassment that was so intense that I vowed to myself I would take my secret to the grave.Sean and his parents. Photo courtesy of Sean. Subscribe nowBut I didnt. When I met just one gay person at Danville Community College, I felt a small but significant rumbling of hope. This encounter gave me the courage to leave. So at 17, I told my parents I was moving to New York City to pursue the performing arts.While I was semi-interested in being on screen, I saw NYC as a symbol of a new life where I could be my authentic self. A few months after I moved, I came out to my mom over the phone, who later told methrough a puddle of tearsthat I might as well have died in a car accident.I had to dig to make a life for myself with few people in my corner. I utilized NYC social programs like SNAP benefits, free health care and low-income housing. These services gave me the bootstraps I needed to pull myself up.The years of familial and community rejection and efforts to change me through conversion therapy took more than two decades of treatment, medication and supportive friendships to help me find a formula where todayat 40 years oldI can manage my depression, anxiety, tics (that were at one point debilitating), no-contact relationship with my parents and low self-esteem.I am so grateful to the heroes who helped me through these years: Paul Warner, Jerry Meadors and countless others. You lifted me up, taught me the ropes, allowed me to couch surf and showered me with love.Sean in his teens. Photo courtesy of Sean.Fighting the demons of my past, including years of religious trauma and physical abuse disguised as corporal punishment, is something Id wish on nobody. When I read Uncloseted stories that discuss how nearly 40% of LGBTQ kids seriously considered suicide in the last year, my heart breaks because I know that could have been me if my path had veered a degree in a different direction.Sean with Spencer and his psychiatric service dog Carson. Photo by Phil OBrien/W42ST.nycFlash forward 20 years and Im sitting next to Spencer, whos helping shine a spotlight on the very thing I tried to suppress in the darkness of my mind. I am now a video editor at MTV, working on RuPauls Drag Race, the groundbreaking television show that has helped so many queer kids across America feel seen and feel safesomething every child deserves.Ive always been resilient and tough.But finally, I feel calm and free.Response from Seans Dad:In a text message to Uncloseted Media, Seans dad, Chris Robinson, wrote that he remembers saying that when the moral fabric of societies begin to decay it usually starts with the sin of not acknowledging Almighty God, the Giver and Sustainer of life. [If] that condition of man continues then more sin comes [including] adultery, fornication and general unfaithfulness. The next level is men allowing women and children to rule. This would have been the feminist movement of the 60s. Next comes homosexuality then bestiality and finishing up with child and adult sacrifice and much shedding of blood. This progression is recorded in Genesis and through the Chronicles and Kings in the Bible.In response to Seans references to corporal punishment, his dad wrote that he remembers being shocked at [Seans] fearless defiance to [his] authority as being the one responsible for order in the home and that he would punish himafter multiple verbal warnings for misbehaviorby giving him 4 or 5 good licks with the switch and [would then] give him a hug and prayer and hope he got the message. His dad added that he and Sean had many good times too and that he still shed[s] a tear at times in memory of [his] little Seany.Response from Seans Mom:In a text message to Uncloseted Media, Seans mom, Michelle Robinson, does not remember telling Sean after he came out that he might as well have died in a car accident. My mind is blank for anything specific, she wrote.In response to Seans reference to corporal punishment, his mom says that out of the hundred times where corporal punishment was administered correctly through biblical spanking done with love, there were a handful of times when his father admits he acted more in anger as [an] immediate reaction because of Seans behavior and he realizes he shouldve done that differently [and that his dad] always immediately apologized and they always had special time together and they worked through that.We believed in honoring God with our life. We were not perfect but our heart was to please God, she wrote, adding that Sean was treated with love as a child and through adulthood.Seans brother did not respond to Uncloseted Medias request for comment.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 nowLets do the fucking news, Bari Weiss declared on a CBS News editorial call last week, telling network stafferswho reportedly rolled their eyes and cringedthat she wants to win.The call occurred a day after it was announced that Weiss sold her right-leaning opinion news outlet, The Free Press, to Paramount for a whopping $150 million. To sweeten the deal, Weiss was named editor-in-chief of CBS News, becoming the first openly gay person to lead the network thats famous for news icons like Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather and for 60 Minutes, which has won 150 Emmys through its 58-season run.For many venerable journalists at my former place of work, Weiss new role is alarming in part because of her conservative ideological bent butmost importantlybecause of her background.Weiss has zero experience in broadcast news and has spent much of her career working as an associate editorial features editor for The Wall Street Journal and subsequently as an opinion editor at The New York Times, where she became notorious for casting doubt on allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape and for whining about her frustrations with cancel culture, social justice warriors and the PC police.Weiss has also spent much of her career telling Americans that the mainstream media sucks and has used that argument to convince them that The Free Press, which has received funding from billionaire investors and whose slogan is Honest. Independent. Fearless. was the answer. If youre someone that used to read the New York Times and listen to NPR in the morning, and now youre thinking to yourself, I dont know if I can trust what I hear or read there anymore, where do you go? Those people want a publication that will treat them like adults, with respect and transparency, and honesty. And thats what were going to try to do with The Free Press, Weiss said in a 2022 interview shortly after the launch of the media company.Beyond Weiss self-aggrandizing critiques of mainstream media lies a track record that is antithetical to CBS News reputation for bulletproof journalism. A notable example of this is in 2023 when The Free Press published a story called I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now Im Blowing the Whistle, where author Jamie Reed claimed that practitioners at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital had permanently harmed multiple children.The article had a profound impact. After it was published, the state of Missouri launched an investigation into the clinic, and Reed was called to testify in support of a bill passed later that year banning gender-affirming care for minors.The problem with the story was that it was sloppy: an internal investigation by Washington University found that Reeds claims were unsubstantiated, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch spoke with multiple parents whose experiences directly contradicted her account; and NBC News interviewed more than two dozen people associated with the clinic, none of whom corroborated her allegations. In addition, First Alert 4 KMOV interviewed the family of one trans kid mentioned in the article, where Reed claimed that their child had suffered liver damage due to botched treatment and that the family had considered suing. The family said neither claim was true.The New York Times was the only outlet able to find anyone who had received care from the clinic and shared Reeds criticisms. Their article still noted that Its clear the St. Louis clinic benefited many adolescents: Eighteen patients and parents said that their experiences there were overwhelmingly positive, and they refuted Ms. Reeds depiction of it.Despite this, Weiss claimed the article confirmed Reeds account.There are many other examples of missed fact-checks and weak journalism. The Free Press claimed that children in Gaza were starving because of preexisting health conditions in order to challenge reports of famine in the region, a claim that an expert called as callous as it is inaccurate. They published another story about how in the deep-blue city of Austin, Texas, crime had gone up under a progressive district attorney, even though it hadnt and was actually at the lowest in the past four years.Weiss has done a remarkable job at capitalizing on polarized Americans who have been convinced, in large part by the president, to believe mainstream media is untrustworthy. She fed a huge part of Americas right-of-center population information that would satiate their appetite for confirmation bias.But as she takes the reins at a news network known for journalistic integrity, rigorous fact-checking and straightforward news, will Weiss be able to help the company succeed while at the same time maintaining the journalistic standards of the newsroom?Probably not.Legendary transgender activist Miss Major dies at 78 (The 19th)Known as a surrogate mother of her community, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy leaves behind a legacy as a fierce advocate for trans and LGBTQ+ rights.I love Hitler: Young Republican leaders spout racist, anti-LGBTQ+ views in leaked chat (LGBTQ Nation)Slurs like fa**ot, ret**ded, and the n-word appeared more than 251 times in the chats.Zohran Mamdani honors trans activist Sylvia Rivera, says NYC will be a pro-trans sanctuary city (LGBTQ Nation)The New York City mayoral candidate gave his followers an important history lesson while pledging to fight the presidents transphobic attacks.Trump posthumously awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom (ABC News)Tuesday marks what would have been Kirks 32nd birthday.Two men injured in homophobic attack on Hells Kitchen street, cops say (AMNY)The NYPDs Hate Crime Task Force is searching for a man who allegedly assaulted two men while hurling homophobic slurs on a Hells Kitchen street early Sunday, police said.Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting: On Saturday, my boyfriend and best friend Sean Robinson opens up about surviving religious trauma, conversion therapy and years of shame after growing up being told to believe that being gay was demonic. From small New Order Amish and Mennonite communities to editing RuPauls Drag Race in New York City, Seans story is one of survival, resilience and the power of finding belonging. On Tuesday, Uncloseted takes to the streets to cover the No Kings protest, exploring how attacks on LGBTQ rights can often signal a more profound democratic decline.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

Public memory matters, and for LGBTQ+ communities, monuments have long lagged behind. But in recent decades, visible landmarks have begun to claim space in cities across the country. These sites do more than decorate: they insist our stories belong in public record and place. Below is a tour of notable LGBTQ+ monuments and memorials in the U.S.National recognitionStonewall National Monument, New York CityThis is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and history. It encompasses the Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, portions of Christopher Street, and nearby sidewalks.On June 28, 2024, on the 55th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, the first visitor center for the site opened, becoming the first LGBTQIA+ visitor center in the National Park System.Stonewalls importance is layered: its history as protest ground, its physical presence in Greenwich Village, and the ongoing tensions over whose narratives get center stage. In February 2025, the National Park Service drew controversy from advocates and allies when it removed references to transgender and queer from the monuments official website, narrowing its language to gay and lesbian and LGB.Memorials and monuments across citiesLegacy Walk, Chicago, ILThis outdoor walking museum along North Halsted Street between Belmont Avenue and Grace Street, features bronze plaques and rainbow pylons honoring LGBTQ+ luminaries from across history. Its billed as the worlds only outdoor museum walk dedicated to LGBTQ+ figures, which include Audre Lorde, Bayard Rustin, Alan Turing and many others.Legacy Walk map. Photo: Legacy WalkHarvey Milk Plaza (San Francisco, CA)At the intersection of Castro and Market, Harvey Milk Plaza has been a gathering spot and icon of queer visibility since 1980, two years after Milks assassination. A redesign and memorial project is underway to strengthen its role as a site of memory and civic engagement. The new plaza would include a tiered pedestal and plaque with the word hope illuminated.Pulse Interim Memorial, Orlando, FLThis evolving tribute to those killed in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting has been a collaboration between the city of Orlando and survivors and family members of the victims. While Pulse recently made headlines after its rainbow crosswalk was removed after a directive from the Florida Department of Transportation, there is good news for the memorial. On Sept. 30, Orange County commissioners unanimously approved $5 million in funding for the Pulse Memorial, joining Orlandos $7 million commitment toward the $12 million project set to begin design this fall and construction in 2026.Bayard Rustin Plaque, West Chester, PAA historical marker in West Chester, Pennsylvania honors Bayard Rustin (1912 1987), noting that he was born there and became a civil rights leader, pacifist, and key organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. He later led the A. Philip Randolph Institute from 1966 to 1979.The marker ties Rustins national legacy to his hometown, recognizing both his role in civil rights history and his significance as a gay Black man whose contributions were long overlooked.Dupont Circle, Washington, DCThough not a formal monument, Northwest DCs Dupont Circle has long been a gathering place for LGBTQ+ activism, community and queer-owned businesses. In the 1970s, the area became one of the countrys gayborhoods, welcoming LGBTQ+ people to live and work. Its now the home base of DCs Capital Pride and many queer-owned businesses, restaurants and bars.The Mattachine Steps in Silver Lake. Photo: Best Guide LAMattachine Steps, Los Angeles, CALocated in Los Angeles Silver Lake neighborhood, the Mattachine Steps is one of 52 historic public stairways in the city. The steps and sign on Cove Ave were dedicated to the Mattachine Society and co-founder Harry Hay in 2021. The Mattachine Society is one of the earliest gay rights organizations, beginning in 1950 and carrying out sit-ins, political and legal actions to challenge discriminatory practices and laws against LGBTQ+ people.Barbara Gittings residence marker, Philadelphia, PABarbara Gittings (19322007), often called the mother of the LGBT civil rights movement, is honored with a historic marker in Philadelphia where she lived with her partner, Kay Lahusen. She edited the first lesbian nationally distributed publication,The Ladder, co-led the Annual Reminder protests, fought the American Psychiatric Associations (APA) classification of homosexuality as an illness, and worked to expand queer literature in libraries. In 2012, the city also named 13th and Locust Barbara Gittings Way.Why these monuments matterMonuments make history visible. They mark place and memory, saying: this happened, this matters. For communities that have been erased or ignored, public markers push back against invisibility and remind people that queer lives and struggles are part of our shared story. The fight over what gets remembered isnt settled: Stonewalls recent website edits show how quickly institutions can narrow representation under pressure.The post U.S. monuments that tell LGBTQ+ history appeared first on News Is Out.

ChatGPT knows a lot about Jordan.It knows about her complicated history with her ex-boyfriend, the steps shes taken to achieve sobriety and the type of person she wants to be.But for Jordan, who requested to be identified with a pseudonym to freely share personal information, talking to a bot isnt a one-and-done solution to her problemsits a way to supplement the support she receives from her therapist throughout the week.During a period of time where I was in denial about my alcoholism, I asked ChatGPT to list out the ways that I met the criteria for alcoholism and it really helped me, Jordan said.I used it like a diary and I would ask it,based on everything you know about me, am I an alcoholic? Am I an addict?While little research has been done on the queer communitys relationship with AI-driven therapy platforms, progress toward addressing mental health barriers in the community through artificial intelligence hasnt slowed down.But no bot is perfect, and accessibility doesnt always lead to precise solutions. Heres how bots are changing the therapeutic scene, for better and worse.How AI is used in therapy programsUsing artificial intelligence as a supplementor, in some cases, a replacementfor therapy brings its own successes and challenges.Chatbots use natural language processing to assess user input and provide answers. Bots adapt to the mood and tone of the user, trying its best to provide answers and suggestions that best meet the needs of the given prompt.Though it helps people like Jordan work through issues, ChatGPT wasnt created as a therapy tool. Its a conversational platform that was designed with broad capabilities in mind. Thats where AI-driven therapy bots come inplatforms such asTheraBot,WysaandWoebotwere specifically designed to achieve mental health goals using tools and methods grounded in research.These AI platforms use methods championed by experts such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which helps individuals understand and evolve their negative thought patterns.As chatbots become more technologically advanced, some experts see them as a path forward in tackling health barriers for marginalized communities.Addressing mental health barriersComponents of chatbots, including their 24/7 availability, anonymity and their role as aresource navigator to evidence-based information, make them a useful tool for marginalized people seeking help, according toa 2023 study published by the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR)Leveraging chatbots and generative conversational AI can help address some of the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ community, providing a safer, supportive, informed, nonjudgmental, internet-based environment where individuals can connect, seek guidance and empower themselves, the study reads.While Jordan uses a chatbot not directly tailored toward the LGBTQ+ community, shes felt these positive effects firsthand.Jordan was drawn to the anonymous and nonjudgmental nature of ChatGPT after her relationship ended with her ex-boyfriend. She said she struggled with limerenceor obsessively thinking about someone romanticallyafter the breakup, and would talk about him toeveryone that would listen. Despite the good intentions of her friends and colleagues, Jordan said she began to feel like she needed another outlet to vent to.That caused a lot of conflict between me and the people that were close to me that were so tired of hearing about him, Jordan said.That was actually the thing that motivated me to start using ChatGPT.Once she worked her way through the breakup, Jordan said she used ChatGPT to assist with other aspects of her life, such as creating daily checklists that helped manage her ADHD.Jordan pays $20 per month for ChatGPT Plus, a premium subscription that lets her customize the tone of the bot (Jordan preferscheerful and adaptive) and allows the bot to retain previously discussed information to provide more personal answers.Above all, using ChatGPT hasnt impacted her relationship with her therapist. She said everything she talks to the bot about she brings to her therapist. Her therapist even recommended she use the bot to manage her symptoms in between sessions, and suggested she give it prompts that ask what healthy changes she could make in her life.Jordan has made therapeutic progress with ChatGPT, even though it isnt a direct therapeutic platform. The JMIR study noted that programming these conversational chatbots to provide results and advice tailored to the users needs can unlock meaningful conversations that could help someone in a time of need.Generative conversational AI can be programmed to provide accurate, evidence-based, culturally sensitive, tailored and relevant information based on usersunique identities and needs, the study reads.This ensures that the guidance and resources offered are applicable to the experiences and challenges of the LGBTQ community.The appeal is straightforward: address rising mental health demand by providing 24/7 support thats affordable and accessible using similar methods implemented by human therapists.The reality, however, is a bit more complex.Challenges in AI therapySince AI gathers information from human input, it can be prone to bias and provide support that isnt nuanced enough to fill the unique needs of marginalized people.AI algorithms can inadvertently perpetuate biases present in the data they are trained on, the study reads.If the training data contain biases, AI systems may reproduce discriminatory or harmful behaviors, exacerbating existing challenges faced by the LGBTQ community.While AI therapy platforms were created to address these issues, the JMIR study pointed out that theres still room for human error or algorithmic bias and misinterpretation in its responses.On the users end, developing a relationship with a chatbot could lead to over-reliance. The user may depend on the chatbot for support, and distance themselves from social and professional settings.Jordan said shes found herself over-relying on ChatGPT before, but is able to recognize when she takes it too far. Others, she said, might not be so lucky.It can be dangerous, because sometimes Ive gotten into spirals and its not going to tell me to stop. I can keep going as long as I want, Jordan said.So something that I think people need to be mindful of is how much time theyre spending on it, because it can just tell you what you want to hear, and it can be really seductive and addicting.Programming a better futureAI isnt going away anytime soon, which some experts say accelerates the need for meaningful change in their systems.As demand for mental health support rises,studies showits critical for AI systems to provide accurate and nuanced care for users.The solution extends beyond accuracy, however. Although AI-driven therapy platforms have become more financially accessible, the JMIR study warns that LGBTQ+ people with limited access to technology or digital literacymight be left behind in terms of benefiting from positive AI impacts.In order to create a more accessible and beneficial future for users of AI therapy programs, change needs to happen from the developers themselves, the JMIR study noted.Every single line and bit of code, every algorithm and every data set used in AI systems must be scrutinized for biases and prejudices, and developers and policy makers should strive for a standard of AI that champions fairness and equality, the study reads.The lived experiences and perspectives of members of the LGBTQ community are invaluable in ensuring that these technologies truly reflect their needs and aspirations.The post AI-driven therapy apps bring relief, concerns in addressing queer mental health appeared first on News Is Out.

For fans of queer horror, The Restoration at Grayson Manor is a welcome spooky season release. Directed and co-written by Glenn McQuaid (V/H/S), The Restoration at Grayson Manor stars Chris Colfer, marking his first film role in nearly a decade.Colfer, who rose to fame as Kurt Hummel in Glee, stars as Boyd Grayson, a spoiled but talented musician with major daddy (and mommy!) issues. Chaos ensues when his mother Jaqueline (Alice Krige) finds him in a compromising position with a one-night stand. Amid their arguing, a career ending tragedy strikes.Unable to care for himself, Jaqueline secludes Boyd away in Grayson Manor, a creaky Irish castle, with a team of medical professionals, all of them questionable. While Dr. Jefferey Tannock (Daniel Adegboyega) attempts a revolutionary but unproven treatment for Boyd, Boyd spars with his mother and nurse Claudia (Gabriela Garcia Vargas). Furious at the world for his accident, Boyd also forms an unlikely bond with medical assistant Lee (Declan Reynolds).However, at Grayson Manor, nothing is quite as it seems. Betrayal, violence and calamity wait around every corner of the aging manor, as Boyd tries to come to terms with his new normal.Colfer gets a chance to chew the scenery in this film, bringing a theatrical flair to everything Boyd does. The film is at times broad, but the melodrama of the film calls for something over the top. The love/hate relationship between mother and son anchors the film and gives Boyds tenuous emotional state real depth.Director McQuaid balances the campiness of Boyds situation with the increasingly life or death stakes solidly. Madness and manors go together like Texas and chainsaws, and the setting drops a gloomy haze over everyones intentions.The Restoration at Grayson Manor isnt just a body horror film, either. There are negative Oedipal undertones, hints of conversion therapy, the dark side of technology and the fear of losing oneself to despair.If you are looking for a biting horror comedy with entertaining performances, check out The Restoration at Grayson Manor when it comes to a film festival near you.The post Chris Colfer returns to the big screen in queer horror The Restoration at Grayson Manor appeared first on News Is Out.

An independent think tank, the Movement Advancement Project (MAP), released a report on the state of LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. and the impact of policy on their lives. In partnership with Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE), Advocates for Youth, Equality Federation, GLSEN, PFLAG National, and The Trevor Project, the report examines the rise of legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ youth, vast disparities for LGBTQ+ youth based on location and recommendations on creating a more supportive environment.According to the report, LGBTQ+ youth are reaching a critical point, with sharp rises in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and vastly uneven protections.Scope of the reportAn estimated 2 million U.S. youth ages 13 to 17, about 1 in 10, identify as LGBTQ+. According to the report, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation focused on queer and transgender youth has more than tripled since 2020 and has become the most common type of anti-LGBTQ+ bills and proposed legislation. This includes laws impacting education, health care, parental rights and sports participation.The report also examines how legislation can be wildly different based on geography. For example, LGBTQ+ youth living in the South are facing considerably more restrictions than their counterparts in the Northeast and West.Image from MAP report. Key findingsWhile 92% of proposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is ultimately defeated, significant legislation passed affecting LGBTQ+ youth. Leading the way are sports bans, with 29 states restricting transgender youth participation in sports through either legislation or policy changes.15 states have passed Dont Say LGBTQ curriculum bans, while 15 have passed legislation that requires teachers and staff to out transgender students to their parents or guardians.Healthcare restrictions for trans and gender-nonconforming youth have risen sharply in recent years, with 27 states and one territory passing bans or restricting best-practice medical care for transgender youth.The report finds that even if an anti-LGBTQ+ bill or policy is defeated, harm is still caused by publicly debating LGBTQ+ peoples rights and can have negative effects on LGBTQ+ youth. A 2024 Trevor Project survey noted that 90% of LGBTQ+ youth reported recent politics had negatively impacted their wellbeing.Regional disparitiesGrowing up as an LGBTQ+ youth in Portland, Oregon, can feel very different than growing up in Augusta, Georgia, for example. The Southern region of the U.S., where around 38% of LGBTQ+ youth reside, is the most restrictive region, with nearly all states having at least one anti-LGBTQ+ youth ban, law or policy.The Midwest was the most divided region, with some states like Minnesota and Illinois, scoring high on MAPs Youth Policy Score, while Ohio, Indiana and Iowa scored negatively.In the Northeast and West, state legislatures have passed stronger protections like anti-bullying, school nondiscrimination policies and LGBTQ+- inclusive curriculum.ConsequencesMAPs report explores the consequences of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies, including increased poor mental health for LGBTQ+ youth, and finds a link between hostile policy environments and heightened risk.Restrictions in many states prevent schools from providing safe, inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ youth.Healthcare bans across the country have forced doctors and families into impossible positions, prompting those who can to seek safer havens in the country, with 39% of families with LGBTQ+ young people ages 13-24, exploring moving to a different state.RecommendationsThe Movement Advancement Project (MAP) notes that LGBTQ+ youth face a patchwork of protections and restrictions depending on where they live. The report highlights existing model policies that can guide lawmakers and advocates, including GLSENs anti-bullying and inclusive curriculum standards, HRCs model legislation banning conversion therapy, and the Trevor Projects suicide prevention policies. MAP recommends both advancing supportive measures where possible and working to block or repeal harmful laws to create policy environments where LGBTQ youth can thrive.To read the full report and see where your state falls in terms of LGBTQ+ policy, visit Movement Advancement Project.The post Report warns restrictive laws are putting LGBTQ+ youth health and safety at risk appeared first on News Is Out.