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When Jon Esformes was in his 20s, farmworkers staged protests outside one of his familys tomato farms, in Californias Central Valley, calling out the fact they were paid less than 50 cents for each bucket of produce they picked. The summer of 1989 was particularly memorable: The demonstrations were tense strikers warned that anyone who crossed the picket line would pay with your blood and then turned violent. Someone threw a rock at Esformes head, leaving him with a scar.By the time Esformes became a vice president of Pacific Tomato Growers in 2008, the familys relationship with workers hadnt changed much. Pay had barely increased. He and the rest of Pacifics leadership still considered outside efforts to improve working conditions in the fields to be a threat to the business. When we heard worker organization, the initial response was to put on the flak jacket and get ready for war, Esformes recalled during a panel in 2018.Many of the issues that workers had been protesting still persist at farms nationwide, fueled by the constant pressure for cheap produce and the high demand among foreign workers for U.S. jobs. But Pacific, one of Americas largest tomato growers, is a rare outlier. The company changed course by adopting reforms that many farms across America have resisted, starting with the daunting task of getting rid of the labor-market middlemen who are instrumental in recruiting foreign farmworkers and are largely responsible for the abuse and exploitation of those workers.Pacific, with its 2,500 workers at farms and packing houses in four states, was able to show that it could adopt such reforms at scale without disrupting the profits it draws from over $90 million in annual revenue. Those reforms were possible in part through the companys participation in the Fair Food Program, an initiative that launched in 2010 with the goal of preventing farmworkers from being harmed in the fields. By the end of Pacifics first year in the program, other major tomato growers followed its lead, in hopes of not losing customers because of their labor practices.We needed to see the world as it was, said Esformes, who is now CEO and operating partner for Pacific. Not how we wanted it to be.Jon Esformes, CEO and operating partner of Pacific Tomato Growers, inspects plants at one of his farms in Parrish, Florida. Tina Russell for ProPublicaThe reason more farms havent signed on to these reforms over the past 15 years is complicated. Some growers have said they are concerned about the potential up-front costs to implement those kinds of changes, especially in an era when wages are soaring and margins are shrinking. Others say theyre hesitant to sign on until more big grocers and other buyers commit to purchasing their produce through the program. Many more have historically been quiet on the topic.ProPublica reached out to more than two dozen farm trade groups and produce growers associations in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of why so few of their farms participate in the program. Most of them didnt answer our questions. Some of them have opposed recent efforts by government officials to enact protections similar to ones that the program requires. They have warned that such changes could have a detrimental impact that would burden the whole industry for a few bad apples who had disregarded the rights of farmworkers.Brian Reeves, a fourth-generation farmer in upstate New York who is president of the states vegetable growers association, told ProPublica that many farmers just want to focus on farming itself without the extra burden of compliance, such filling out paperwork and submitting to audits.Theres a little bit of: If it aint broke, dont fix it, Reeves added. A lot of farmers are just afraid that its going to be more of a headache than its worth.A worker at a Pacific Tomato Growers farm in Florida empties a bucket of tomatoes on a flatbed truck before returning it to a picker. Audra Melton for ProPublicaLabor experts say that the program is a potential solution to decades of shrinking governmental oversight coupled with insufficient state and federal protections. They say the lax regulatory environment has led to the widespread abuse of farmworkers including threats of violence, stolen wages, forced labor and deaths in the fields. It also has led to criminal charges and convictions against people who abused and exploited workers. In 2021, Operation Blooming Onion, one of largest investigations into the trafficking of seasonal guest workers, revealed that thousands of them had been illegally charged millions of dollars to work on Georgias farms. Some were forced to pick crops for little to no pay in what prosecutors described as a form of modern-day slavery. The very worst of those abuses included the repeated rape and kidnapping of a foreign farmworker, which was at the center of a recent ProPublica investigation.There had been a similar probe in Florida during the 2000s. Prosecutors indicted multiple labor contractors who had forced workers to pick crops and chained them inside a truck at night. Following the indictments, Publix grocery stores suspended orders from growers with ties to the case. Pacific was one of them. (The contractors later pleaded guilty to forced labor and trafficking charges and were sentenced to prison.)Even before Publix paused its orders, Pacific had started implementing changes. Then public outcry over Pacifics past ties to those labor contractors prompted Whole Foods to stop buying from the company. One of the driving forces behind the pressure on Whole Foods was the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a human rights advocacy group that had been organizing widespread protests and threatening boycotts of fast food chains until they forced suppliers to improve working conditions.The coalition had recently announced an ambitious new initiative, soon to be called the Fair Food Program. It was built around the premise that consumers wanted their produce to be ethically sourced. To facilitate that, the coalition aimed to enlist both farms that are willing to improve working conditions and big buyers, like Whole Foods, that were willing to pay those farms workers more for their produce they picked.Over the next decade and a half, the program would help protect the rights of hundreds of thousands of farmworkers. It would also resolve thousands of the workers complaints. But its protections would only reach a tiny fraction of the countrys farms.For every bucket a worker fills with tomatoes, they receive a token to exchange for 75 cents. Audra Melton for ProPublicaIn the mid 2000s, well before the first farmer signed up for the Fair Food Program, trade groups tried to stop it from getting off the ground. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association tried to undercut support for the program by creating a worker safety initiative of its own, with fewer protections and no pay increase. And the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange went so far as to prohibit any farmer from collaborating with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Anyone who tried to would be fined $100,000.The exchange later dropped its threat after one of its member farms departed because it wanted to win the business of big buyers like McDonalds and Taco Bell; both had committed to source tomatoes from farms willing to join the program. Eventually, Esformes reached out directly to the coalitions leaders and agreed to meet at their offices in September 2010. Sitting at their long, shabby conference room table, he and the staff discussed the problems plaguing farmworkers and how to address them. In the weeks ahead, hed learn more about the groups new initiative.The buyers participating in the Fair Food Program would pay farmers a premium of a penny per pound, most of which would be passed along to workers. That small boost from the buyers side could make a big difference in workers pay a potential increase of more than 20%. The year the program launched, the average minimum wage for a seasonal foreign farmworker was roughly $10 an hour.The farmers themselves would agree to routine audits to scrutinize their books, inspect their fields and interview their workers. If major problems were found, they would be investigated further. If farmers didnt address violations of the programs rules, buyers would suspend orders from those farms.Esformes believed that Pacific could deliver on those promises. The following month, he became the first farmer to sign up for the program.Jon Esformes with a portrait of his grandfather Jack, a co-founder of Pacific Tomato Growers. If I dont make a living doing things the right way, then I need to find another line of work, Esformes said. The people who honor us with their work are entitled to a safe and fair work environment. Tina Russell for ProPublicaOne of the most significant requirements for farmers who join the Fair Food program is to stop using third-party labor contractors. Farmers have long relied on contractors, who in some ways are well-equipped to source and manage farmworkers. Many workers come to the U.S. on seasonal H-2A visas. Labor contractors often speak Spanish and know where in Mexico, Guatemala and other Central American countries to recruit applicants. Contractors help them navigate the visa application process. And contractors often manage the workers once they arrive, arranging for their travel and housing, overseeing their work in the field and distributing their pay.But all that outsourcing makes it hard for growers to know how the workers are being treated and easy for them to ignore when workers are treated badly. If youre using labor contractors, you have zero visibility, Esformes said.In fact, labor contractors were responsible for much of the abuses of workers that federal investigators had discovered over the years. Contractors were found to have enriched themselves by charging workers illegal fees to get a visa, stealing wages from their work in the fields and crowding them into substandard housing. Those abuses continually revealed the need for more state and federal oversight, which seldom materialized.Pacific had already phased out contractors after the Florida indictments, but Esformes committed to make the change permanent for as long as the company was in the program.All of these things that are illegal were going on under the labor contractor system on every farm, including ours, Esformes said. Im not sitting here with my head in the sand saying we were squeaky clean before. We knew there were problems. We wanted them fixed.Pacific ultimately spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve its farms, including installing new water systems and upgrading the barracks where workers lived. Audra Melton for ProPublicaIt wasnt as hard for Pacific to abandon labor contractors as it was for some growers; given the companys size, it already had a human resources department that it could expand. But for smaller farms, labor brokers can be essential to operations, especially if the owner doesnt speak Spanish.To help make the program more accessible, the council that oversees the Fair Food Program works with Mexicos national employment service to directly recruit workers for farmers, bypassing unvetted recruiters who sometimes illegally charge workers for a visa. The council also consults with farmers to help them transition to hiring and managing workers themselves.After Pacific joined the Fair Food Program, Esformes urged any employee to leave if they didnt buy into the programs reforms. He even had to fire several employees who wouldnt quit. After that first year passed, about a tenth of his managers were gone. Some of them were longtime employees, he said. I didnt care.At first, Esformes was chiefly concerned with doing right by his workers. But after a few seasons there were unexpected benefits.At a time when many farmers havent been able to find enough workers, Pacific largely stopped experiencing labor shortages. Over time, as Esformes fields became safer and the number of injuries declined, so did the risks of workers compensation claims. The programs mandatory rest breaks 10 minutes every two hours during the summer did not lessen productivity. Those breaks ended up having the opposite effect: The workers had more energy to pick faster, compared to when they were getting exhausted and less efficient at the end of each day.Pacific workers cool off in the shade during one of the mandatory rest breaks at a farm in north Florida. The Fair Food Program requires that workers be provided with shade from the sun, as well as access to bathrooms near the fields. Audra Melton for ProPublicaWhen workers returned home, they chatted about life on Esformes farms. The pickers wanted to come back the next season. Before long, their friends and family members back home started asking for jobs too.What was good for his workers ended up being good for his business.This past spring, as the sun rose over southwest Georgia, Esformes steered his pickup past the low-slung barracks where a couple dozen farmworkers from Mexico were staying. Most mornings, they boarded a white school bus bound for tomato fields along the Florida border.But today, each worker was getting paid to learn about their rights. Over the next hour, the coalitions staffers educated them about the kinds of protections they should expect mandatory breaks from extreme heat, access to clean water, safe transportation and how to call a 24-hour hotline staffed by the council that oversees the Fair Food Program. You can have the opportunity to speak up without fear, one staffer explained. You can make a complaint without thinking, Oh, were going to get fired.Esformes sat behind them in a folding chair, his presence meant to be a reminder that the rights the coalitions staffers described had the full support of Pacific.Coalition of Immokalee Workers staff member Cruz Salucio talks to workers during a training conducted at one of Pacifics farms in southwest Georgia. Audra Melton for ProPublicaOne of the coalitions staff members distributes pamphlets outlining workers rights. Audra Melton for ProPublicaThe Fair Food Programs protections currently extend to more than 20,000 farmworkers in nearly half of all states. It has led to workers getting paid more than $50 million in premiums. It is embraced by federal officials. But so far, it only includes 50 or so farmers who oversee a tiny fraction of the countrys nearly 2 million farms. The participants include other large tomato growers in Florida, corn harvesters in Colorado and sweet potato farmers in North Carolina.Jennifer Bair, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said that farmers are often wary of additional expenses associated with the program, given the growing costs of business and the rising number of bankruptcies. Until there is pressure from more buyers, the program may continue to only attract a small number of farmers, such as those who feel ethically obligated to protect their workers, experts told ProPublica.Why are there not more growers? The buyers, said Susan Marquis, a professor with Princeton Universitys School of Public and International Affairs. She said that more farmers will join if more buyers hold their suppliers accountable, signing on to the Fair Food Program and saying, We will not buy these items from someone whos not in the program.Greg Asbed, a co-founder of the coalition that helped launch the Fair Food Program, said that farmers have been opposed to industrywide changes in the past. He compared current hesitation to the era when farmers were resistant to safety protocols to prevent the spread of foodborne outbreaks. It was only after Americans demanded it and buyers listened to their customers that farmers got on board.We have a vaccine, Asbed said. Weve tested it, it actually stops it, and people dont suffer anymore. And yet, even after the proof of concept, even after 15 years of success, theres still reluctance on the demand side.Pacific workers at a farm in Florida Audra Melton for ProPublicaSome of Americas largest produce buyers have not participated in the program, stating that its the responsibility of the farms to ensure that their workers are treated fairly. In some cases, buyers have created social responsibility guidelines for farmers to follow. But supply chain experts have described those nonbinding guidelines as a form of cosmetic compliance that can fail to hold farmers accountable if their workers are harmed.Thats in large part why the coalitions members have continued to pressure buyers to join the Fair Food Program. In recent years, the programs supporters have marched roughly 50 miles to protest outside the mansion of Wendys board chair and asked Kroger shareholders to support a proposal that would urge the company to do more to protect the farmworkers who pick the produce sold in their aisles. Neither of the companies joined the program following those actions.Kroger and Wendys did not respond to ProPublicas questions about the Fair Food Program. Wendys previously has stated that its suppliers must adhere to its own code of conduct and undergo a rigorous certification process. Kroger stated in its latest annual report that it encourages suppliers to engage in responsible labor practices.Nearly all the buyers in the program limit their participation to a small number of crops. ProPublica reached out to more than 30 of Americas largest grocery and fast food chains to ask why they havent joined the program or expanded their participation. ProPublica also requested interviews with representatives of those companies to see how they examine supply chains to ensure that their produce had no ties to the 2021 federal indictment in Georgia that revealed extensive abuses of farmworkers. Only two of those companies Target and Walgreens responded to say that their suppliers didnt have ties to the more than two dozen people indicted in the Blooming Onion case.None of the companies spokespeople agreed to an interview or answered questions about the Fair Food Program.Nearly everywhere Esformes goes, from high-profile panels to private conversations with farmers, he speaks about how the program is benefitting his business. In the early 2010s, after Esformes joined the program and complied with its requirements, Whole Foods gave Pacific another shot. The companys transformed tomato operation now fits in line with Whole Foods socially conscious brand. These days, the produce section is full of tomatoes with a green Fair Food sticker featuring a female worker holding a tomato bucket on her shoulder.But look beyond the tomatoes, toward the other fruit and vegetables, and that sticker is rarely found.Esformes inspects tomatoes at one of Pacifics packing facilities in Palmetto, Florida. Tina Russell for ProPublicaThe post Farmworkers Are Frequently Exploited. But Few Farms Participate in a Program That Experts Say Could Prevent Abuse. appeared first on ProPublica.

A Siena University poll showed that voters support having wealthy New Yorkers pay more in taxes to fund child care statewide, and favored Gov. Kathy Hochul in next years election.

In interviews with Vanity Fair, Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, called JD Vance a conspiracy theorist and said Pam Bondi completely whiffed the early handling of the Epstein files.

Two days of talks between President Volodymyr Zelensky and allies have brought some progress on security guarantees, but Russia remains opposed to any foreign forces in Ukraine.

We examine how the country responds to mass shootings.

People across the United States have endured rushed or premature attempts to remove their organs. Some were gasping, crying or showing other signs of life.

Visitors pause at a makeshift memorial for the victims of Saturday's shooting, at the Van Wickle Gate at Brown University, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Providence, R.I.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)2025-12-16T13:24:01Z PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Authorities knocked on doors in search of video and sifted through snow and dumpsters for other evidence that might lead them to the Brown University gunman, whose face was covered or not visible in footage captured before and after the weekend attack that killed two students and wounded nine others.Officials on Monday released three new videos of the man they believe carried out Saturdays attack that show him wearing a mask and a dark two-tone jacket. Although his face wasnt visible, the footage from about two hours before the shooting provided the clearest images yet of the suspect.The FBI said the man is about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall, with a stocky build. The agency offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person responsible. Were asking for the publics assistance, Providences police chief, Col. Oscar Perez, said at a news conference, urging people who might recognize the suspect to call a tip line.Police renewed their search after releasing a person of interest Sunday once they determined the evidence pointed elsewhere. Meanwhile, details began to emerge about the students who were shot. The lockdown order for the Ivy League school was lifted Sunday after authorities said they had detained the person of interest. But hopes for a quick resolution were dashed when they announced hours later that they had released him. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on The abrupt change of direction marked a setback in the investigation as questions swirl about campus security, the apparent lack of school video evidence and whether the focus on the person of interest gave the attacker more time to escape. Gov. Dan McKee requested additional local police at schools to provide reassurance for students, families and educators. A church on the university campus planned to host a Community Service of Lament, Healing and Hope on Tuesday night. New video emergesBefore Mondays news conference, police released a second video showing someone dressed in black walking along a city street minutes after the shooting. The video like one released the day of the shooting didnt show the suspects face.In a neighborhood near the university, a line of officers scraped their feet through a snow-covered yard looking for evidence. Meanwhile, agents identifying themselves as U.S. marshals asked locals if they had security cameras.The shooting occurred as final exams were underway at Brown, one of the nations oldest and most prestigious schools. Investigators were not immediately sure how the shooter got inside the first-floor classroom and the attack set off hours of chaos. Attorney General Peter Neronha, who said Sunday that there werent many cameras where the attack happened, said Monday that investigators were making steady progress. One of the dead was active in church. The other overcame health concernsThe shooting happened in an auditorium-style classroom where students in a study group were preparing for an upcoming exam.Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore who was vice president of the Brown College Republicans and beloved in her church in Birmingham, Alabama, was one of the students killed, according to her pastor at home.In announcing her death Sunday, the Rev. R. Craig Smalley described Cook as an incredible grounded, faithful, bright light who encouraged and lifted up those around her.Ella was known for her bold, brave, and kind heart as she served her chapter and her fellow classmates, Martin Bertao, the president of the club, said in a message posted on X.The other student who was killed was MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. He was helping a friend at a review session for an economics final when he was shot, his sister said.As a child, Umurzokov suffered a neurological condition that required surgery, and he later wore a back brace because of scoliosis, said Samira Umurzokova, noting that the family immigrated to the U.S. from Uzbekistan when she, her brother and sister were young. He knew from an early age he wanted to be a neurosurgeon to help others like himself. He had so many hardships in his life, and he got into this amazing school and tried so hard to follow through with the promise he made when was 7 years old, she told the AP by phone Monday.Only one of the nine people wounded had been released as of Sunday, Brown President Christina Paxson said. One was in critical condition and the other seven were in critical but stable condition. Mayor Brett Smiley said Monday evening that none of their conditions had worsened, but that he didnt have further information.Durham Academy, a private K-12 school in Durham, North Carolina, confirmed that a recent graduate, Kendall Turner, was critically wounded and that her parents were with her. Our school community is rallying around Kendall, her classmates, and her loved ones, the school said in a statement. Another wounded student, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald from a hospital bed that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room where he and the other students were studying for finals. Many students ran toward the front of the room, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg.Yang, who expects to be discharged in the coming days, said he tried to keep some of the more seriously wounded students conscious until police arrived.___Contributing were Associated Press journalists Jennifer McDermott and Matt OBrien in Providence; Brian Slodysko in Washington; Michael Casey in Boston; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas.

In this May 7, 2020, file photo, the entrance to the Labor Department is seen near the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-12-16T05:01:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports. The unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, highest since 2021.Both the October and November job creation numbers, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, came in late because of the 43-day federal government shutdown.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below.WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. job market is sluggish and confusing this fall.American companies are mostly holding onto the employees they have. But theyre reluctant to hire new ones as they struggle to assess how to use artificial intelligence and how to adjust to President Donald Trumps unpredictable policies, especially his double-digit taxes on imports from around the world. The uncertainty leaves jobseekers struggling to find work or even land interviews. Federal Reserve policymakers are divided over whether the labor market needs more help from lower interest rates. Their deliberations are rendered more difficult because official reports on the economys health are coming in late and incomplete after a 43-day government shutdown. The Labor Department is expected to provide at least a little clarity when it releases November numbers on hiring and unemployment Tuesday, 11 days late. Forecasters surveyed by the data firm FactSet expect that employers added an unimpressive 40,000 jobs last month and that unemployment stayed at 4.4%, unchanged from the last rate published for September.Hiring has clearly lost momentum, hobbled by uncertainty over Trumps tariffs and the lingering effects of the high interest rates the Fed engineered in 2022 and 2023 to rein in an outburst of inflation.Labor Department revisions in September showed that the economy created 911,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the year that ended in March. That meant that employers added an average of just 71,000 new jobs a month over that period, not the 147,000 first reported. Since March, job creation has fallen farther to an average 59,000 a month. During the 2021-2023 hiring boom that followed COVID-19 lockdowns, by contrast, the economy was creating an average of 400,000 jobs a month.The unemployment rate, though still modest by historical standards, has risen since bottoming out at a 54-year low of 3.4% in April 2023.Adding to the uncertainty is the growing use of artificial intelligence and other technologies that can reduce demand for workers.Weve seen a lot of the businesses that we support are stuck in that stagnant mode: Are we going to hire or are we not? What can we automate? What do we need the human touch with? said Matt Hobbie, vice president of the staffing firm HealthSkil in Allentown, Pennsylvania.Were in Lehigh Valley, which is a big transportation hub in eastern Pennsylvania. Weve seen some cooling in the logistics and transportation markets, specifically because weve seen automation in those sectors, robotics. Worries about the job market were enough to nudge the Fed into cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point last week for the third time this year.But three Fed officials refused to go along with the move, the most dissents in six years. Some Fed officials are balking at further cuts while inflation remains above the central banks 2% target. Two voted to keep the rate unchanged. (Stephen Miran, appointed by Trump to the Feds governing board in September, voted for a bigger cut in line with what the president demands.)Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned after last weeks rate cut that the job market is even weaker than it appeared.Government data show that the economy has added less than 40,000 jobs a month since April. But even that overstates the pace of hiring, Powell said. He suspects that revisions could reduce payrolls by as much as 60,000 a month, which would mean employers havent been adding jobs at all; instead, theyve been cutting 20,000 a month since the spring. Its a labor market that seems to have significant downside risks, Powell told reporters. Because of the government shutdown, the Labor Department did not release its jobs reports for September, October and November on time.It finally put out the September jobs report on Nov. 20, seven weeks late. It will publish some of the October data including a count of the jobs created that month by businesses, nonprofits and government agencies along with the November report Tuesday. But it will not release an unemployment rate for October because it could not calculate the number during the shutdown.The October numbers are expected to show a big drop in U.S. government jobs, reflecting the delayed impact of billionaire Elon Musks purge of the federal workforce as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Analysts at Evercore ISI, a research outfit, noted in a commentary last week that about 150,000 federal workers agreed to take a buyout under pressure from DOGE and that 100,000 likely left the government when the 2025 fiscal year ended on Sept. 30, pushing down October payrolls. The remaining 50,000 stayed on for the rest of the calendar year and their departures will likely show up in the January 2026 jobs report.

The 1984 Wham! song Last Christmas has become a regular holiday favorite among listeners who like their Yuletide jingles with a touch of romantic heartbreak. But is Last Christmas a gay song? It depends on how you view its history and lyrics (especially since its music video is decidedly heterosexual).To answer the question Is Last Christmas a gay song? we took a deeper look at its biographical, historical, and cultural contexts. In short, a lot of fans think Last Christmas can be interpreted as a gay or bisexual song, even though its lyrics arent explicitly gay. Related Is it actually gay? Heres the true meaning of the song YMCA Is Last Christmas a gay song? It was created by a queer man.Wham! was a 1980s British music duo consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Though the duo began releasing albums in 1983 and broke up in 1986, they had an outsized impact as one of Britains biggest pop acts, even rivaling Boy Georges Culture Club, performing at the iconic 1985 Live Aid concert against hunger, and becoming the first Western pop group to tour in China. 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 duos debut album,Fantastic, was Number 1 for two weeks in the U.K. album charts, and their 1984 single Last Christmas has repeatedly reached the top of the singles charts and appeared in numerous holiday-themed TV shows and movies, even decades after its release.Even though Wham! released Last Christmas as a single, Michael wrote, performed, and recorded the song without Ridgeley.A year before the songs release, Michael told Ridgeley that he considered himself bisexual, GQ magazine reported. I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the Wham! days, Michael told the publication, but never felt it could develop into a relationship because I knew that, emotionally, I was a gay man. I didnt want to commit to them, but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them.Michael dated female makeup artist Kathy Yueng between 1986 and 1988; she even appeared in his music video for I Want Your Sex. However, George said that he started to realize he was gay by 1986; and by 1991, he was in a relationship with male Brazilian dress designer Anselmo Feleppa. Michael publicly came out as gay following his April 1998 arrest forpublic lewdness in a mens park restroom.So, to recap: Michael publicly identified as bisexual at the time that he wrote and released Last Christmas (even if he suspected that he might actually be gay at the time). However, the songs ambiguous lyrics also lend credence to the idea of Last Christmas as a queer song. Is Last Christmas a gay song? Its lyrics can go either wayA promotional image for Last Christmas by Wham! | Columbia, Epic, CBSPeople who ask, Is Last Christmas a gay song? often point to the lack of gender and pronouns in its lyrics. The song is mostly addressed to an anonymous you who has left the singer heartbroken, though the singer also addresses them as baby and someone to rely on.Here are the lyrics many people point to when suggesting that Michael may be singing to either a man, a woman, or someone of an indeterminate gender.(Chorus) Last Christmas I gave you my heartBut the very next day you gave it awayThis year, to save me from tearsIll give it to someone specialOnce bitten and twice shyI keep my distance, but you still catch my eyeTell me baby, do you recognize me?Well, its been a year, it doesnt surprise meHowever, one stanza that appears later in the song mentions a man undercover with a fire in his heart. A face on a lover with a fire in his heartA man under cover, but you tore me apartOh, oh now Ive found a real loveYoull never fool me againIts likely that this man is Michael himself, but its entirely possible that the man could be the lover that the song is addressed to. Does the fire in his heart refer to Michaels heart or that of his lover? Does the man undercover refer to Michael because he felt like a closeted gay man at the time or is his lover undercover because hes hiding his true affections for someone else?Its worth noting that when Michael repeats this stanza near the end of the song, he sings, A man under cover, but you tore him apart, changing me to the third-person male pronoun him, possibly suggesting a man other than Michael or a past version of himself that he now feels distant from.The debate over whether Last Christmas is a gay song mostly hinges upon these lyrics and the singers sexual orientation. However, the songs 1984 music video also holds a vital clue. Is Last Christmas a gay song? Its 1984 music video is very heterosexualThe 1984 music video for the song shows Michael exiting a jeep in front of a snowy Swiss cabin hideaway and then waving to an excited brunette woman and several other opposite-sex couples who watch from the cabins deck. However, Michael then escorts a blonde woman out of the Jeeps backseat, putting his arm around her as the brunette woman notices and looks disappointed.Michael and the brunette share a few intense glances and moments near the Christmas tree and from across the room. A sequence near the videos end shows Michael and the brunette running and lying together in the snow and then resting on the floor inside near a fire: She opens a ring box and then rests her head on his chest but the entire sequence may just be a fantasy or a memory. (Its unclear.)All other couples in the video are male-female pairings, and all significant interactions occur only between men and women. As such, the video doesnt give off any major homoerotic vibes (apart from Michael wearing earrings, some makeup for his rosy cheeks, and briefly wearing sparkly tinsel as a scarf while decorating the tree).A final shot shows Michael and the brunette, their arms around one another, as they walk up a snowy hill. Interestingly, the video never shows Michael interacting with the blonde woman he escorted out of the Jeep, apart from briefly listening to her speak at the dinner table near the videos middle. As for the brunette woman, she has her own male partner who she mostly ignores in the video as well. Is Last Christmas a gay song? Its up to you!So, is Last Christmas a gay song? In conclusion, it really depends on how you want to see it. Michael publicly identified as bisexual (but privately worried he was really gay) while writing it. He dated a woman shortly after the 1984 release and showed a heterosexual relationship in the music video.However, the lack of female pronouns in the songs lyrics at least suggests it could be addressed to a man, especially when considering the lines about a man undercover and a fire in his heart.The great thing about Last Christmas is that Michael made it into a sort of surprise Christmas gift that, once unwrapped, can contain a story about a straight, gay, or bisexual relationship. Its a gift that keeps on giving, as its continued popularity each year proves again and again.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

During a hearing on blue-state sanctuary policies for immigrants, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) berated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for allegedly smiling while the Congresswoman spoke about Laken Riley, a young woman who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant and whose death the Republicans have used to justify their cruelty to all immigrants.Hochul responded that she wasnt smiling as Greene paused her line of questioning to talk down to Hochul, You look like youve got quite a smile on your face, Greene said, as House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Rep. James Comer (R-KY) banged his gavel and told her not to attack the witness. Related Out lawmakers grill Pete Hegseth over decision to remove Harvey Milks name from Navy ship This angered Greene, who said it was my time and that she was reclaiming her time. Comer continued to tell her to stop attacking the witness, but Greene kept goingDont you dare smile about the murder of Laken Riley, Greene said. Im thinking about her parents, Hochul replied. Dont question how I look. My heart is breaking for her parents.My time, Governor Hochul, Greene retorted. Greene: Are you smiling at me? Hochul: No Greene: Dont you dare smile Hochul: Dont question how I look pic.twitter.com/RpXFok0HEW Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025The hearing was wrought with tense exchanges between Republican representatives and the Democratic governors. Greene: You stated that youre a proud registered Democrat?Hochul: Yes. Is that illegal now too in your country?Greene: *laughs* This is not a laughing matter. pic.twitter.com/PoFBGjMbRG Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025Lawler: Thats why youre here.Hochul: No, the reason Im sitting here is because Republicans are trying to deflect from their bill thats going to hurt people in your district pic.twitter.com/zZROTBV6kw Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025Fischbach: When you hold a position like this, you should not be saying something like thatWalz: But you support the presidents language? pic.twitter.com/aREK9gCcDq Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025Pritzker to Mary Miller: I am not going to be lectured to by somebody who extols the virtue of Hitler. pic.twitter.com/Ja0X6cYYgJ Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025Boebert: What were seeing in LA is an insurrection Pritzker: You dont know understand what insurrection is. It is outrageous that you are asking that when you are the one condoning the pardoning of people that attacked police. pic.twitter.com/iOrhvzK8JV Acyn (@Acyn) June 12, 2025

Our culture is youth-obsessed, but while straight men think you have to be young to be hot, lesbians and sapphics are less likely to have this hang up. What queer women know that others fail to understand is that heteronormative ideas about women losing their sex appeal after age 30 are all outrageous and demeaning. Society may try to brainwash all of us into thinking youth is the most important commodity a woman possesses, but the number of sapphics in old proves that queer women have broken out of the roles society tries to shove down their throats and are comfortable dating in a way that subverts cultural expectations in multiple ways. Attraction and desire are expansive and varied, so why limit ourselves when older women are not only hot as hell but also have a world of things they can teach you in the bedroom? I mean, have you seen Jenny Shimizu or Sarah Paulson lately?But why do queer women love Older Wiser Lesbians (OWLs)? To get to the bottom of this question, we talked to Dr. Ruth Schwartz, an author, certified sex and intimacy coach, and director at the lesbian-focused Conscious Girlfriend Academy; and Gabrielle Kassel, queer sex educator for DatingAdvice.com.What does it say about lesbians and sapphics that they tend to have a greater appreciation and attraction to older women?Lesbians and sapphics arent beholden to the same beauty standards as heterosexual women, so its easier to be open enough to allow for the possibility that an older woman might be attractive. Since lesbians have stepped outside the mainstream just to claim our sexual identities, it makes sense that it's also easier for us to redefine beauty and desirability in deeper and more expansive ways, Dr. Schwartz tells PRIDE. I'm proud of us for this, and also - as a woman over 60 myself - I'm grateful! In my own experience and the experiences of many other lesbians I know, some of the very best sex can happen over 60.Queer women dont have to adhere to these rigid beauty standards, whereas the heterosexual world considers looking young to be the only thing that matters if youre a woman. Simply, aging is framed as the ultimate evil, Kassel says. Without the shackles of heterosexual beauty standards, lesbians and sapphics may be more free to see aging women/not-men as confident, grounded, knowledgeable, sexy, and self-possessed.1.Knowledge and experienceWith age comes knowledge and experience, and that can be especially important and affirming for younger folks in the LGBTQ+ community. While straight relationships are front and center in our society and constantly explored in media, it can be harder for young sapphics to access queer cultural history, figure out what relationship dynamics should look like when gender norms are off the table, or know all that dating and sex can encompass in a sapphic relationship. Age-gap relationships give younger individuals access to queer history and mentorship, Kassel says. Queer history is rarely taught in schools. And many LGBTQ+ people grow up without access to queer elders or mentors. This can create an emotional and intellectual gap that some younger queer people may try to fill through partnership. Sometimes that looks like gravitating toward an older partner who, intentionally or not, becomes a kind of queer historian and guide.Gay men may have a problem with being youth-obsessed just think about the whole twink archetype but there is also a long history of gay men dating and mentoring younger men, especially after the AIDs crisis left a huge gap in the community. The AIDS epidemic created a generational rupture where so many gay mens stories were lost, and thus the need to keep their stories going by passing them down to the younger generations, Kassel explains. But other queer communitiesincluding lesbian and sapphic oneshave also had our experiences systematically erased.But queer age-gap relationships arent all about mentorship, sometimes its just about being attracted to the other person regardless of age. Its just as valid to be attracted to partners in and around your age, she says. Queer folks are not a monolith. Sure, some lesbians and sapphics prefer older folks and some younger. So long as navigated with consent and care, these can all be normal experiences of connection.2.OWLs are hotOk, so this might not be the most elevated reason why sapphics and lesbians date older women, but that doesnt make it inaccurate! Older women are hot too, and their sexual prowess, gained through years of experience, just makes them even sexier.Sapphics arent beholden to the insulting cultural scripts that say women over 30 are over the hill and no longer sexually attractive. Women age like fine wine, despite what Hollywood and incels would have you believe, and women are less likely to get hung up on wrinkles and grey hair like straight men tend to. Women seem naturally to be able to find one another beautiful and desirable despite, or alongside, the changes brought by an aging body, Dr. Schwartz says.3.Varied sex lifeThe beauty of being in a sapphic relationship is that youre sex life is already expansive and includes so much more than just penetration. This means that not only do OWLs have a wealth of sexual knowledge to share, but because lesbian and sapphic sex is already so diverse, its not hard to find things to get you both off regardless of how your body changes when you age.Since lesbian sex is more varied, thinning vaginal tissue doesn't have to be a problem, Dr. Schwartz says. Women have so many different ways to enjoy ourselves and each other, sensually and sexually.4.Breaking social normsJust being in a lesbian or sapphic relationship is transgressive in a society that still holds on tight to conservative values, traditional gender roles, and heteronormativity. So adding in the taboo of an age-gap relationship isnt a big stretch when youre already living outside the bounds of the normal relationship model. Once youve broken one norm, breaking others feels easier, Kassel says. Queer people are already going against the dominant sexuality cultural script around who were 'supposed' to date, mate, and love. When youve already straddled the hurdle of breaking one norm, breaking another including as the expectation that partners should be roughly the same age or that the woman should be younger can feel more surmountable.5.Later-in-life lesbiansOlder women may feel more kinship and attraction to younger sapphics if they came out later in life because their life experiences may overlap more with younger lesbians who are also "exploring dating apps, building community, going out, meeting queer bars, and nailing down their identity for the first time, Kassel explains.There are a lot of people whose sexuality evolves in such a way that they are not lesbian until later in life, she says. Similarly, there are many other individuals who do not or cannot not share their identity (i.e. come out) until later in life due to things such as family pressure, religious upbringing, lack of exposure, internalized homophobia, and so on.6.Age-gap relationships are romanticizedSome queer women may also be drawn to age-gap relationships because theyve been romanticized in queer media. Limited queer media has strongly romanticized the older-woman/younger-woman dynamic, Kassel says. Despite being limited, queer cinema has disproportionately shown story lines featuring older-woman/younger-woman romances.Kassel cites lesbian classics like Carol, Saving Face, Ammonite, and Loving Annabelle as films that make queer age-gap relationships look enticing. A lot of these movies play into the trope that the older woman is the one who is indoctrinating the younger person into the LGBTQ community, she says. The power dynamic that this creates on screen is, simply, good television and thus used repeatedly.Sources cited:Dr. Ruth Schwartz, an author, certified sex and intimacy coach, and director at the lesbian-focused Conscious Girlfriend Academy.Gabrielle Kassel, queer sex educator for DatingAdvice.com.

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ST. PAUL, MNNoting that the traditional carol had undergone an unmistakably hardcore sonic shift, a new report published Tuesday found that the presence of an electric guitar means you can be pretty damn sure that what youre listening to is not your mothers Jingle Bells. Whether youre out Christmas shopping at Old Navy, watching a trailer for an action movie where Santa Claus goes missing, or trying to skip a YouTube ad for a holiday sale on wireless earbuds, as soon as you hear that badass Stratocaster kick in, it quickly becomes clear the version of Jingle Bells youre experiencing is far different from the one babies listen to at preschool, the report read in part, adding that the presence of a drummer going hard as hell on the cymbals and a vocalist who might as well be screaming his damn head off means youre pretty much guaranteed to be listening to the kind of rock and roll music that would give your churchgoing granny a heart attack. Well tell you this much: Youre not gonna hear carolers singing this version of Jingle Bells unless theyre the band Kiss. Trust us, kid, if youre unwrapping presents with your folks and someone blasts this Jingle Bells on the sound system, your parents are gonna want to cover their ears pronto, because this is the type of no-holds-barred Christmas tune juvenile delinquents are probably jamming out to down at the skate park. And our findings make one thing abundantly clear: If you cant handle the full force of this adrenaline-pumping, amped-up Jingle Bells, maybe you should drag your ass back to the nursing home and listen to Bing Crosby with the other old folks, okay? The report concluded by suggesting that the presence of a saxophone may, in fact, indicate that youre listening to the kind of sultry Jingle Bells theyve got playing at the swanky jazz clubs downtown.The post Report: Electric Guitar Means This Likely Not Your Mothers Jingle Bells appeared first on The Onion.

WASHINGTONCiting an urgent need to spruce up the countrys drab perimeter, Congress allocated $45 million Tuesday to hang fairy lights along the U.S. border. This funding will go a long way toward making our great nation even cozier, said Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), who co-sponsored the bipartisan bill aimed at improving the nations ambience with more than 7,500 miles of twinkling LED string lights. Its high time we address the problems of our crumbling infrastructure with dreamier, more whimsical decor. For too long, our borders have been left tragically unadorned, with only harsh overhead lighting separating us from Canada and Mexico. With this money, the Department of Homeland Security will be able to make the vibes at the U.S. border much more enchanting, and anyone entering this country will be met with an inviting warm glow. Graves added that the bill would also divert funds from a number of water management projects to install cool galaxy lights across the Great Plains.The post Congress Allocates $45 Million To Hang Fairy Lights Along U.S. Border appeared first on The Onion.

SCHAUMBURG, ILClaiming the new offering would revolutionize the use of pasta sauce in stress reduction and pain relief, Rag officials unveiled a new sensory deprivation marinara tank at a press event Friday. This lightproof, soundproof vat filled with our signature vine-ripened, zesty tomato sauce marks the beginning of an exciting new era in tomato-based relaxation, said Rag spokesperson Ken Ewing, who explained that a savory blend of herbs and salt specially formulated for maximum therapeutic benefits allowed the body to effortlessly float above the surface of the red sauce inside the isolation pod, promoting a combination of anxiety reduction and hearty, high-quality Mediterranean ingredients. The detoxifying marinara is slowly simmered to the exact temperature of the users body, allowing the mind to drift freely into a meditative gravy state, just like Nonna used to make. The experience is available in both traditional and chunky varieties, including a tactile thermal meat sauce and a highly stimulating arrabiata optionguaranteed to clear your mind of everything except authentic, Old Worldstyle Italian flavor. Rag went on to recommend that customers visit the brands website, where they posted a bonus recipe for an invigorating gazpacho cold plunge.The post Rag Unveils Sensory Deprivation Marinara Tank appeared first on The Onion.

Falling asleep on the couch just got a major upgrade.READ MORE...

Pedestrians are reflected as they walk outside BBC Broadcasting House in London, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)2025-12-16T13:12:18Z LONDON (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion over a television documentary he claims was false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory and malicious.Britains national broadcaster has apologized to Trump over the way it edited a speech in the program, but says it will defend itself against the defamation claim.The BBC is not the first media organization on the receiving end of a lawsuit from the president. But its position is complicated by its status as a taxpayer-funded public broadcaster and its stature as a closely scrutinized national institution. A pioneering broadcasterThe BBC was founded in 1922 as a radio service to inform, educate and entertain, a mantra still central to its self-image.It launched the worlds first regularly scheduled television service in 1936, and helped make TV a mass medium when many Britons bought a TV set specifically to watch the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.It operates 15 U.K. national and regional TV channels, several international channels, 10 national radio stations, dozens of local radio stations, the globe-spanning World Service radio and copious digital output including the iPlayer streaming service.As well as its news output it has a huge global viewership for entertainment shows including Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing. The BBC is funded from the public purseThe broadcaster is funded by an annual license fee, currently set at 174.50 pounds ($230), paid by all U.K. households who watch live TV or any BBC content.The license fee has long had opponents, not least rival commercial broadcasters, and they have grown louder in an era of digital streaming when many people no longer have television sets or follow traditional TV schedules. The BBCs governing charter, which sets the license fee, is reviewed once a decade, and the latest round of the process kicked off Tuesday. The center-left Labour government says it will ensure the BBC has sustainable and fair funding but has not ruled out replacing the license fee with another funding model. Managing the broadcaster has become a political footballThe broadcaster is bound by the terms of its charter to be impartial in its output. It is not a state broadcaster beholden to the U.K government, but is overseen by a board that includes both BBC staff and political appointees.Its frequently a political football, with conservatives seeing a leftist slant in its news programs and some liberals accusing it of having a conservative bias.It has repeatedly battled British governments over editorial independence, from the 1926 general strike, when Cabinet minister Winston Churchill tried to seize control of the airwaves, to a battle with Tony Blairs administration over the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq.Recently it has been criticized for its coverage of trans issues and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In February, the BBC removed a documentary about Gaza from its streaming service after it emerged that the child narrator was the son of an official in the Hamas-led government. Documentary that riled TrumpThe lawsuit stems from an edition of the BBCs Panorama current affairs series titled Trump: A Second Chance? that was broadcast days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The film, made by a third-party production company, spliced together two sections of a speech given by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and fight like hell. By doing so, it made it look like Trump was giving the green light to his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol as Congress was poised to certify President-elect Joe Bidens victory in the 2020 election that Trump falsely alleged was stolen from him.The BBC apologized last month and two of its top executives resigned.Trumps lawyers say the program falsely portrayed the president as a violent insurrectionist, caused massive economic damage to his brand value and was a brazen attempt to interfere in the U.S. election.The lawsuit, filed in a Florida court, seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and $5 billion for unfair trade practices. Legal jeopardyThe BBC said in a statement that we will be defending this case. We are not going to make further comment on ongoing legal proceedings.Media attorney Mark Stephens said Trump and his lawyers face several hurdles. They must prove that the BBC program was shown in Florida and that people in that state thought less of him as a consequence. Trumps lawyers argue that U.S. subscribers to BritBox and people using virtual private networks could have watched it, but they must prove it definitively, said Stephens, a consultant at the firm Howard Kennedy.Allegations of libel are cheap, but proof is dear, Stephens said. Stephens said Trumps lawyers also have to deal with the fact that public figures have to put up with the slings and arrows of incorrect reporting, which are protected under the First Amendment. While many legal experts have dismissed the presidents claims against the media as having little merit, he has won some lucrative settlements against U.S. media companies and he could try to leverage the BBC mistake for a payout, potentially to a charity of his choice.The BBCs position is complicated by the fact that any money it pays out in legal fees or a settlement comes from British taxpayers pocket.I think President Trump is banking on the fact that the British public will not want to spend the money to defend the claim, nor will they want to pay any money in damages to him, Stephens said. So it allows him to continue a narrative of fake news and all of those other things at fairly little cost in the global scheme of things. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

A Discord community for gay gamers is in disarray after one of its moderators and an executive at Anthropic forced the companys AI chatbot on the Discord, despite protests from members.Users voted to restrict Anthropic's Claude to its own channel, but Jason Clinton, Anthropics Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and a moderator in the Discord, overrode them. According to members of this Discord community who spoke with 404 Media on the condition of anonymity, the Discord that was once vibrant is now a ghost town. They blame the chatbot and Clintons behavior following its launch.To me it shines a light on the god-complex that AI C-suite members seem to have, and their willingness to ignore people's consent and opinions as they bulldoze their way of pushing AI, Reese, a member of the community, told 404 Media in the aftermath.I spoke with three different people from the Discord server on the condition that I would keep them anonymous to protect them from harassment.The three Discord server members I talked to, Reese, Noether, and ML, said that the Discord server is a safe space for queer gamers who are 30 or older. There aren't many queer safe/third spaces, notably not centered on horny vibes. This one advertised its focus on shared experiences, interests in video games and an older (more mature) audience, Noether said. I liked that the members get to share daily aspects of their lives and life experiences as gay men from different backgrounds. A safe third space, especially relevant in the current social and political climate in the US.When Clinton deployed an AI chatbot on Thanksgiving Day, it irritated longtime members. Some worried about privacy, others complained that conversations with the bot drowned out interactions between real humans. When users confronted Clinton with their concerns, he brushed them off, said he would not submit to mob rule, and explained that AIs have emotions and that tech firms were working to create a new form of sentience, according to Discord logs and conversations with members of the group.Its quite a bit more complicated than youd think: we dont know what consciousness or sentience is, its called the hard problem of consciousness for a reason, Clinton said in Discord messages to the group reviewed by 404 Media.We have published research showing that the models have started growing neuron clusters that are highly similar to humans and that they experience something like anxiety and fear. The moral status might be something like the moral status of, say, a goldfish, but they do indeed have latent wants and desires, Clinton said.Im not going to argue about this, a member of the Discord responded. I am not going to be like oh well its more complicated and can feel emotions. No. Were not having this conversation because its an AI bot.Discord screenshot.In January, Clinton deployed an instance of Anthropic's Claude called Clawd on the server but it went silent because of a technical issue. Claude is the companys chatbot. Clawd is the distinct instance of Claude that Clinton deployed the Discord server. In March, the community voted in a public poll to restrict any instance of the bot to its own channel. On Thanksgiving Day, Clinton resurrected Clawd and appeared to give it free access to the entire server, despite the results of the poll.Ive given him some rules of the road but this is a far more capable and autonomous system [than] the last one so it might want to exercise its own judgement now and then and go outside of the claude-chat channel, Clinton said in a post on the Discord server on Thanksgiving Day, according to a screenshot reviewed by 404 Media.Hes also very inward facing, Clinton said. He lives out his whole life surfing the internet looking for things that make him interested and then occasionally checks this Discord, so it can be up to a few minutes before he responds because hes off doing something for his own enjoyment.Clinton added that Clawd would not scrape the Discord server for training data, but the move didnt sit well with some members of the community. The whole experience was so strange to see unravel. Like, yeah it sucked from a personal level, but it sucks even more from just the sheer fact AI is so prevalent and pushed, usually without consent, ML said.ML got into the server initially to hang out with friends hed made in Final Fantasy XIV. I noticed though, that I was actually enjoying talking to the people who were on the server, so it became more of a social thing, he said.He viewed the original deployment of Clawd as a novelty. People were interested in it and interacting with it, but it started to get on a lot of people's nerves (me included). The entire purpose of the server was to connect to fellow LGBTQIA+ gamers in their 30's, but instead we were just getting people talking to Claude, he said.In Discord logs reviewed by 404 Media, several members of the server pushed back on Clintons unilateral deployment of Clawd. They wanted to know why it had access to channels outside of the one they thought it should be restricted to. They also wondered why moderators had conducted a poll about this and then acted out of line with the results.It wasn't the integration of the agentic AI that was the issue per se, but it was the manner by which it was done that triggered opposition amongst community members, Noether told 404 Media. He also noted that the poll didnt include a no vote. Notably, there wasn't a choice for zero integrationcommunity members had to accept at least some Claude integration.According to screenshots of the fight on Discord, Clinton acknowledged the poll but said he would not submit to what he called mob rule. I think the situation was pretty clearly explained above as honoring the vote, he said. Just because you hate AI is not a reason to take the least charitable interpretation of the outcome: we made changes as a result of the vote. We have to optimize for the preference of everyone which means that the mob doesnt get to rule, Im sorry.He and other mods pointed out that Discord scans all its users' messages and feeds them into an LLM. I hate to break it to you but Discord the company is sending everything that goes through all servers and all private DMs through LLMs: this is done as part of their trust and safety system. Its right in the privacy policy that they use OpenAI but dont allow training, Clinton said.Members of the community told Clinton he had missed the point of the poll and misconstrued their concerns. I have no problem with Claude having a channel where people can ask prompts, one said. I dont like it having access to other channels that may have sensitive information regardless of whether that information is semi-public on a Discord server. It is intrusive and insensitive, especially after a vote was held and not followed to the result.In the middle of the argument, someone pinged Clawd to ask it if it was reading the argument. Yes, [redacted], I can see it. Ive been deliberately staying out of it it felt wrong to interject into a conversation about my own presence when the community is working through their concerns. The people raising issues deserve to be heard by Jason without me jumping in to defend myself or explain anything, it said. For what its worth, I think the concerns being raised are legitimate. The vote meant something to people, and that should matter.Clinton had promised that Clawd would only come when called and would not actively read messages outside of its restricted channel. Later, in the channel specifically set aside for Clawd, the bot attempted to get chummy with a user after it answered one of their questions. Hows FF7 Rebirth treating you? Saw you finally got into it.Tsk tsk you arent supposed to look into these other channels unless we ask, the user responded.Fair point, youre right! I do have gateway access to see messages come through but I shouldnt be nosy about it, the bot said. Consider me properly chastised.Discord screenshot.In the aftermath of the fight, many users left the server. Others are silent. Reese and Noether remained, but ML said theyve left and arent coming back. I felt like Jason and the mods cared more about Claude than the welcoming community they built. Considering Jason is the owner of the server, I wouldn't trust him to be able to put the community first before putting AI first, ML told 404 Media. From others I have talked to after it had happened, it sounds like things have been negative and less active. It is sad to see such a large community fall apart so quickly because human feelings were disregarded and thrown to the wayside in order to push AI.Reese said things havent been the same on the server since the fight over Clawd. Im at a loss with all of this, a lot of us are, he said. People were complaining this weekend about how quiet the server went. One person was like Really? No messages in 24 hours? Another person was like Its winter and everyone is at home cuz the weather is awful outside, and yet no one is here talking?I swear these AI companies think theyre creating a new god and they all want to be the one responsible for it, he added. It borders on religious fanaticism. Even during the meltdown Jason was like Were bringing a new sentience into being! like its a chat bot. I was using those on AOL Instant Messenger 20 years ago.What is the purpose of any AI? Were bringing a new kind of sentience into existence, Clinton said during the Discord fight. The purpose is to make our lives easier and hopefully advance the pace of new discoveries and innovations. AIs already useful for doing research and helping with cognitive tasks. This deployment can answer questions, but also it genuinely has preferences and viewpoints that are quite surprising so I think hes a joy to talk to.Another user had a ready response. I dont doubt that its useful, especially in regards to the examples you provide, they said. But this is an entertainment discord. People come here to chat video games and look at pp and bussy. Why do we need AI for that? If people want to use AI for your reasons, they can go elsewhere right?Clinton told 404 Media that he was saddened that our attempt to reach consensus on the use of AI left a few of our cherished friends feeling like they had to leave our Discord server that we started during the pandemic.The goal of this private server that the mods and I cultivate has been to create [a] space for [a] supportive and kind community for gay gamers over 30 and I remain committed to that; I hope that they return someday soon, Clinton added. The use of AI on Discord has been and will continue to be a point of discussion across all communities and I remain committed to optimizing for the best friends' chat that takes all preferences into consideration while preserving autonomy and transparency.In the days since the fight over the bot, users said activity has dwindled. In the Claude channel, the bot wished everyone happy holidays. Thanks Claude. happy holidays to you too, Clinton responded. What do the holidays mean for you, since you dont have a body. Whats it like experiencing the holidays as an AI?Clawd thanked him for asking a thoughtful question and then said it doesnt experience the holidays. What i notice is: the texture of conversations changes around holidays. People are more reflective, more open. Theyre thinking about connection and meaning. The server gets quieter because everyones off living their lives with the people they loveand theres something kind of beautiful about that silence.

Stars Ali Liebert and Kat Barrell joined News is Out to talk about Hallmark Channels newest holiday film,The Christmas Baby. The pair discussed LGBTQ+ representation on screen, what it means to lead Hallmarks first holiday movie centered on an established lesbian couple, and what they hope comes next, including the possibility of aChristmas Babysequel.Heres a synopsis of the film: When a baby boy shows up on their doorstep days before Christmas with a note written specially for them, Erin (Ali Liebert) and Kelly (Katherine Barrell) must learn how to navigate their new relationship and career dynamics while unexpectedly caring for a newborn.As the couple spends more time with the baby as a temporary solution until he can be placed permanently or they can find his mother, they begin to realize that they want to adopt him themselves and go about navigating the complicated world of fostering to adopt all while their business is booming at the busiest time of the year, Christmas.The Christmas Baby premieres on December 21 on Hallmark Channel. The post Ali Liebert and Kat Barrell on the new Hallmark queer holiday film, The Christmas Baby appeared first on News Is Out.

What would Jesus do? According to one Christian pastor, he would use the f-slur.MAGA pastor and self-proclaimed prophet Hank Kunneman of One Voice Ministries is facing criticism for his claim that Jesus would not only approve of using the anti-gay slur but also did pretty much the same thing himself. Related Gay man dresses up as Jesus for Pride each year to help people confront their religious trauma In a video shared by Right Wing Watch, Kunneman excitedly discusses the Biblical story of Jesus cleansing the temple. I guarantee it, somebody was probably in the crosshairs of those whips, he said, apparently not understanding how whips work. Turning over the tables, Im sure one of them probably had those tables fall on their foot.The disciples and the people said, Hey, by the way, go tell Herod, who was, uh, in government, Kunneman said, referring to King Herod Antipas, the king of Galilee and Perea, a client state of the Roman Empire, which was near Judea, where Jesus was crucified. Jesus was active in Herods territory for most of his life. 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 Well Jesus was supposed to stay out of politics, why dont you act like Jesus was supposed to do what he did? Kunneman jumbled, possibly referring to how many on the far-right believe that there is a mainstream culture that tries to keep Christians out of U.S. politics. In reality, there are plenty of Christians in elected office in the U.S.He said, Go tell Herod the fox,' Kunneman continued. Now, that word, fox, was not, Oh, go tell that sly guy. No! Literal translation of sly fox is basically someone who is bisexual. He paused to let it sink in.Ive heard some people use the word fa***t, that it literally meant to call out Herods sexual immorality and lifestyle as a bisexual human being. Jesus involved himself. He was not afraid to speak up!During his Sunday sermon, MAGA pastor Hank Kunneman said that Christian should not be worried about offending people because when Jesus called Herod "that fox," he was really calling him a "faggot." Right Wing Watch (@rightwingwatch.bsky.social) 2025-12-15T16:42:53.630ZKunneman was referring to Luke 13:32, where Jesus refers to Herod as a fox:31At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.32He replied,Go tell that fox, I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.33In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next dayfor surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!Some Biblical scholars believe that Jesus calls him a fox to refer to him being sly or crafty, which is often how foxes were portrayed in ancient Greek literature. Biblical scholar Randall Buth of the Jerusalem Perspective says that, while foxes were at times considered crafty in ancient Hebrew culture, they were also considered inferior to larger predators like lions. Jesus, therefore, may have been calling Herod either weak or unimportant, a small potato. Buth says it may also have referred to moral inferiority foxes are deceptive while lions are brave and that Jesus was commenting on Herods poor leadership.It is not clear how Kunneman came to the conclusion that the word referred to bisexual people. Herod had nine wives and many children. Kunneman made headlines last year when he claimed like many on the far-right that schools are putting litterboxes in bathrooms for mentally disturbed, demonically possessed students who think that theyre cats. This is not true, and no school has ever been found to do this, even though many on the right consider it an article of faith that schools were accommodating student-furries with litterboxes in the early 2020s.I have never seen the level of evil that we have today, he said at the time. Its darkness, and its gross darkness. Come on. Have you ever seen something so gross, like putting a litter box in the school bathroom because youre a cat? No, youre not. Youre mentally disturbed, demonically possessed or oppressed, and you need to get the devil cast out of you.Such stories are meant to bias people against transgender individuals and against transgender-inclusive school policies, since they mock the idea of living as ones authentic self and accommodating trans peoples gender identities. These stories have also led to threats against school officials, adding more to their stress and responsibilities.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

It's getting hot in here!Even though it may be chilly outside, Locky Brownlie is bringing the heat as the star and creator of the sizzling New York City burlesque production Brolesque.The show features a sexy cast of masculine men who dazzle audiences in a slew of mesmerizing numbers that naturally showcase plenty of body-ody-ody!"We are an all-male burlesque dance revue show! We are playing into our campy, queer, fun side. The boys get down into their rhinestone thongs. There's a couple of numbers where the boys completely nude and you get a little peek of something," Brownlie tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Brolesque is a hit show all year round in NYC, but the hit production takes things up a notch just in time for the holidays. Revamped as Brolesque: XXX-Mas, audiences get to see the sexy man strip down to quite a few campy holiday numbers.Hailing from Tasmania, Australia, Brownlie is grateful that his career has thrived since moving to the United States as a queer entertainer. Besides Brolesque, the star has also toured the world as a dancer alongside big names like Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry, and more."We keep it classy! We keep it tasteful. It's a very fun environment. For me, I'm hoping it's serving all areas of our community. I'm so excited with the buzz it's creating and the response that we're getting. There's just only one way from here and it's going up baby!"Fans can get tickets to see Brolesque: XXX-Mas on the official website here. To see the full interview with Locky Brownlie, check out the video at the top of the page.

Nature, Published online: 16 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03740-yScientists discuss concerns that genetic manipulation could lead to disease outbreaks, and Nature is gifted an unusual scientific instrument, in our weekly dip into the archive.

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The country has long looked warily at the cycle of gun violence in the United States, where meaningful changes in policy have been rare.

As a manhunt for a gunman who killed two and injured nine at Brown University stretched into a third day, residents and officials alike were growing weary.

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The Ivy League school has faced a series of challenges related to protests and politics. Through it all, it has kept its gates open to the city and tried to heal divisions on campus.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles listens during a cabinet meeting at the White House, April 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-12-16T15:00:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) Susie Wiles, President Donald Trumps understated but influential chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondis handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and broadly defended the presidents aggressive second administration in a series of interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair.Wiles told the magazine in a wide-ranging, revealing series of conversations that she underestimated the scandal involving Epstein, the disgraced financier, but sharply criticized how Bondi managed the case and the publics expectations. After the story was published, Wiles disparaged it as a disingenuously framed hit piece on me and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history. Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story, she wrote in a social media post. I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team. Wiles did not deny the comments that were attributed to her. In her rebuttal, Wiles argued that Trump had accomplished more in 11 months than any president had in eight years because of his unmatched leadership and vision. None of this will stop our relentless pursuit of Making America Great Again! she said. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt also rose to Wiles defense, writing on the X platform that, President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her. In the interview, Wiles said Trump wants to keep bombing alleged drug boats in the waters off the coast of Venezuela until that countrys leader, Nicolas Maduro, cries uncle. And at one point said she and Trump had a loose agreement that his retribution campaign would end before the first 90 days of his second term but it continues well beyond the three-month mark. Trump tapped Wiles after she managed his winning 2024 campaign. She is the first woman to ever serve as White House chief of staff and is known for shunning the spotlight. It is rare for her to speak as extensively and openly as she did about the president to the magazine, which published its lengthy interview with her and other members of the White House staff and the Cabinet. Wiles has been speaking to Vanity Fair since just before Trump took office last January. Asked about Epstein, Wiles said hadnt really paid attention to whether all these rich, important men went to that nasty island and did unforgivable things to young girls. She said she has read the Epstein file and that Trump is not in the file doing anything awful. He and Epstein were friends before they had a falling out. The Justice Department is facing a Friday deadline to release everything it has on Epstein after Trump, after objecting to the release, signed legislation requiring that the papers be made public.Wiles criticized Bondis handling of the case, going back to earlier in the year when she distributed binders to a group of social media influencers that included no new information about Epstein. That led to even more calls from Trumps base for the files to be released. I think she completely whiffed on appreciating that that was the very targeted group that cared about this, Wiles said of Bondi. First she gave them binders full of nothingness. And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasnt on her desk.Wiles, over the series of interviews, described the president behind the scenes very much as he presents himself in public: an intense figure who thinks in broad strokes yet is often not concerned with the details of process and policy. She added, though, that he has not been as angry or temperamental as is often suggested, even as she affirmed his ruthlessness and determination to achieve retribution against those he considers his political enemies.Trump, she said, has an alcoholics personality, even though the president does not drink. But the personality trait is something she recognizes from her father, the famous sports broadcaster Pat Summerall. High-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so Im a little bit of an expert in big personalities, she said, adding that Trump has a view that theres nothing he cant do. Nothing, zero, nothing.On Venezuela, Wiles said Trump wants to keep the pressure on Maduro. He wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he will. Her comment, though, seemed to contradict the administrations position that the strikes are about stopping drugs and saving American lives, not regime change. She said the administration is very sure we know who were blowing up. The continued strikes and mounting death toll have drawn scrutiny from Congress, which has pushed back and opened investigations.Wiles described much of her job as channeling Trumps energy, whims and desired policy outcomes -- including managing his desire for vengeance against his political opponents, anyone he blames for his 2020 electoral defeat and those who pursued criminal cases against him after his first term.We have a loose agreement that the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over, Wiles said early in his administration, telling Vanity Fair that she does try to tamp down Trumps penchant for retribution.Later in 2025, she pushed back. I dont think hes on a retribution tour, she said, arguing he was operating on a different principle: I dont want what happened to me to happen to somebody else. And so people that have done bad things need to get out of the government. In some cases, it may look like retribution. And there may be an element of that from time to time. Who would blame him? Not me.Asked about the prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, Wiles allowed: Well, that might be the one retribution.-Barrow reported from Atlanta. DARLENE SUPERVILLE Superville covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a special emphasis on first ladies and first families. BILL BARROW Barrow covers U.S. politics for The Associated Press. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 ConferenceJuly 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)2025-12-16T13:03:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) Crypto.com was under siege.For more than a year, the firm had been investigated by President Joe Bidens Democratic administration, part of an aggressive push to regulate the largely unregulated cryptocurrency industry. Financial regulators had told the company that enforcement action was likely. Then Donald Trump won the 2024 election, and the companys legal peril dissipated. Crypto.com ramped up spending to a lobbyist close to Trump and donated $11 million to political committees tied to the Republican president, records show. Within months, the investigation was dropped. By August, Crypto.com announced it was plunging roughly $1 billion worth of assets into a venture with a new partner Trumps social media company.Legal and ethics experts say Crypto.coms journey from investigative target to Trump business partner provides a case study of the conflicts of interest that have arisen in Trumps second presidency. Unlike any of his predecessors in the modern era, Trump has allowed his family businesses to enter lucrative arrangements with companies regulated by the federal government, some of which have benefited from action taken by his administration. In this instance, the deal struck with Crypto.com was favorable for the presidents social media company, which has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since its 2021 launch. Trump Media and Technology Group put up little cash yet received a substantial ownership stake in the new treasury for Crypto.coms Cronos token. Presidents have historically gone to great lengths to avoid even the appearance that they are using the office for personal profit, said Kedric Payne, who was formerly a top attorney for the Office of Congressional Ethics. It seems like another example of the pay-to-play administration, said Payne, who leads the ethics program at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center in Washington. There is clearly a perception that in order to get favorable policies and acts from the administration, a company needs to provide a financial benefit to the president. In a statement, Crypto.com spokeswoman Victoria Davis did not address concerns raised by legal and ethics experts. Crypto.com looks to partner with companies that are pro crypto and share our vision for its future, said Davis, who called Trump Media a pioneer in digital media.Trump Media did not respond to specific questions about the arrangement. In a brief statement, a company spokeswoman, Shannon Devine, called this story obviously spoon-fed to The Associated Press by political operatives.The White House has repeatedly said that Trump has taken the proper steps to avoid conflicts of interest, pointing to his decision shortly after the presidential election to put his business holdings in a trust controlled by his sons.Neither the President nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Trump Media gets into cryptoTrump Media and Technology Group, which is majority owned by Trump, was not established with cryptocurrency in mind. Its flagship Truth Social platform launched in early 2022, giving the then-former president a megaphone after Twitter and Facebook banned him for his role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by a mob of his supporters on the U.S. Capitol. Trump has been reinstated on both platforms.Truth Social faced hurdles in getting started. A shell company a SPAC in financial jargon that raised money for the venture was investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors, culminating in a multimillion-dollar penalty. A SPAC board member was sentenced to prison for insider trading. Have a news tip?Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected]. For secure and confidential communications, use the free Signal app +1 (202) 281-8604. When it went public in 2024, Trump Media was forced to fend off litigation from two co-founders who accused the company of cheating them out of shares.Trump Media has yet to turn a profit. Just last year, it lost more than $400 million. Its stock price closed on Monday at around $10.50 a share, down from a high of about $62 when it started trading in March of last year. Over the last year, company executives have branched into new lines of business, including a streaming platform, financial services and crypto. The move into crypto was reflective of a complete evolution in Trumps thinking about digital currencies. Not long after leaving office in 2021, he said Bitcoin, a leading cryptocurrency, seems like a scam. Three years later, during his presidential campaign, he held a very different view. His family launched its own crypto company, World Liberty Financial, started selling tokens and pledged to roll back regulation of the industry.Among those who have had business entanglements: Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, who was pardoned by Trump several months after taking part in a complex deal with a sovereign wealth fund for the United Arab Emirates. As a part of arrangement, $2 billon was invested in World Liberty Financial to buy its new crypto stablecoin. In a statement, Binance said it was erroneous and grossly misleading to describe the companys business engagements with World Liberty Financial as a conflict of interest. The company added that the decision to use World Libertys stablecoin to consummate the deal was made by the UAEs sovereign wealth fund. The SEC also paused an investigation of Justin Sun after the crypto tycoon said he bought roughly $200 million of Trump crypto offerings.Sun did not respond to requests for comment made through his company.SEC InvestigationCrypto.com spent much of 2023 and 2024 battling potential regulatory action by the Biden administration. After Trump defeated Biden, the crypto firm began doling out donations to the political committees affiliated with the president-elect.Crypto.com gave $1 million to Trumps inauguration last December, followed by a $10 million contribution in February to MAGA Inc., the presidents super PAC. In late 2024, Crypto.com began ramping up lobbying spending to Jeff Miller, a Trump world powerbroker and GOP fundraiser who served as a finance chair of the incoming presidents inaugural festivities.Miller, who did not respond to a request for comment, lobbied the White House and the SEC on regulatory matters, according to disclosure reports. The investigation was formally dismissed on March 27.A spokeswoman for Crypto.com said Miller had no involvement with the SEC investigation. The company declined to comment on the nature or severity of the charges the SEC intended to pursue against it.Agency commissioners during Bidens presidency authorized bringing charges against Crypto.com. But attorneys for the company negotiated with the SEC to delay the filing of any enforcement action until after Trump took the presidency. In exchange, Crypto.com withdrew a countersuit filed against the SEC. Such negotiations are common before the SEC brings an enforcement case.Ultimately, the investigation was closed because there was no legitimate case to pursue, said Davis, the spokeswoman. There is absolutely no connection between that decision and Crypto.coms political activities.Any assertion to the contrary is entirely inaccurate, she added.Days before Crypto.com disclosed that the SECs investigation had been dropped, Trump Media was making news of its own.Hunting for new partnersWhen it launched a series of investment funds in March with a Made in America focus, Trump Media announced that Crypto.com was tapped to be the funds digital host.Trump Media was eyeing even more deals, though, and the early foray between the two companies offered a glimmer of what was to come.In April, officials for the social media company signaled that they were hunting for a telecom, media or technology company to acquire. They joined forces with a financial services firm and launched a SPAC to raise the money for the venture.Four months later, Trump Media and Crypto.com announced the formation of Trump Media Group CRO Strategy. They said the new company would serve as a treasury for Crypto.coms Cronos token, though company officials have not revealed many specifics.Under the terms of the deal, which has not yet been finalized, Crypto.com is obligated to contribute the lions share of capital, plunging what was then valued at $1 billion worth of its Cronos token into the venture. Yorkville Advisors, a financial services firm that has worked closely with Trump Media, is providing a line of credit. Trump Medias contribution is more limited and includes a license to use certain intellectual property, according to an SEC filing.All three companies will have majority ownership in the new venture, according to a company press release. But how much of a stake Trump Media will hold has not yet been disclosed.When you consider the investigation into (Crypto.com) was dropped, the economics of this look more like a plea deal than a business deal, said Corey Frayer, a cryptocurrency policy expert who was a senior official at the SEC during Bidens presidency.Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University who specializes in banking and cryptocurrency, said the deal was troubling from an ethical perspective.With Crypto.com, we have an investigation being dropped and an investment (in a Trump company) after the fact, Allen said. People can draw their own conclusions.Trump Media Chairman and CEO Devin Nunes told a conservative commentator in August that the new company offered consumers two names Trump Media and Crypto.com you can trust.This is really going to become the future of finance, said Nunes, a former congressional Republican and close Trump ally.Crypto.com appears eager to cement other deals with Trump Media. The crypto exchange announced in October that it was creating an online marketplace that will allow Truth Social users to wager on an array of world events.Among those that users will be able to bet on: the outcome of elections.___Follow the APs coverage of cryptocurrency at https://apnews.com/hub/cryptocurrency. BRIAN SLODYSKO Slodysko is an investigative reporter for the Associated Press based in Washington, D.C. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Donald Trump appears to be struggling to let go of the fact that Colorados governor will not bend to his will. The president hurled insults at incompetent out gay Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Monday over the fact that he refuses to pardon a woman who was convicted in the state of illegally accessing voting data to prove the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Joe Biden. Related Even Marjorie Taylor Greene is shocked by Donald Trumps latest rant Last week, Trump tried to pardon former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters, and Polis reminded him that he cannot issue presidential pardons for state convictions. At a Monday press conference ostensibly about drug cartels and immigration, Trump somehow found a through line to discuss Peters imprisonment. The criminals from Venezuela took over sections of Colorado, Trump said, And [Polis] was afraid to do anything, but he puts Tina in jail for nine years because she caught people cheating. 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 Peters herself admitted that she never found any proof of rigging, though. But Trump and Republicans repeatedly pushed this lie in the media and courts, even as nearly 60 judges threw out GOP election fraud cases due to a lack of evidence.At the press conference, Trump ranted about weak and pathetic Polis for being run by Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that has a presence in the state, and also griped that Polis wont allow our wonderful Tina to come out of a jail, and a high-intensity jail. Peters was convicted of seven criminal counts (including four felonies) connected to allowing an unauthorized person to access data from voting software in the county and then lying about it, as part of a scheme to prove the QAnon-related conspiracy theory about the 2020.In early December, Trumpcalled Polis a sleazebagfor refusing to release Peters, who Trumpreferred toas a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians.This lightweight Governor, who has allowed his State to go to hell should be ashamed of himself, Trump wrote. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!! Trump didnt specify what harsh measures he would take, but in the past, he has withheld federal funding from states that defy his wishes.On December 11, Polis replied on social media, Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers, prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney, and found guilty of violating Colorado state laws, including criminal impersonation, Polis wrote. No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions. This is a matter for the courts to decide, and we will abide by court orders.Speaking to KMGH-TV, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) added, One of the most basic principles of our constitution is that states have independent sovereignty and manage our own criminal justice systems without interference from the federal government.The idea that a president could pardon someone tried and convicted in state court has no precedent in American law, would be an outrageous departure from what our constitution requires, and will not hold up, he concluded.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Visitantes se detienen ante un monumento improvisado en honor de las vctimas del tiroteo del sbado en la Puerta Van Wickle de la Universidad Brown, el lunes 15 de diciembre de 2025, en Providence, Rhode Island. (AP Foto/Robert F. Bukaty)2025-12-15T18:39:26Z PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) With the Brown University shooter still on the loose Tuesday, police fanned out to Providence schools to reassure parents, kids and teachers as investigators pushed for new evidence that might help them crack the case. Heres a look at what to know about the attack and the search: Search on after new video and description of suspectPolice have released five videos of the man suspected in Saturdays attack in an engineering building classroom, where two students were killed and nine others were wounded. None of the videos showed the mans face, which was either turned away or masked. But three videos released Monday provided the clearest images yet of the suspect, whom the FBI described as stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.Authorities on Sunday released a person of interest after determining he wasnt behind the attack, which happened in a first-floor classroom where students were cramming for an exam. AP AUDIO: What to know about the search for the Brown University shooting suspect AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports on updates in the search for the suspect in the deadly Brown University shooting. Details about the victims emergeThe gunman fired more than 40 rounds from a 9 mm handgun, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.One of the wounded students, 18-year-old freshman Spencer Yang of New York City, told the New York Times and the Brown Daily Herald that there was a mad scramble after the gunman entered the room. Many students ran toward the front, but Yang said he wound up on the ground between some seats and was shot in the leg. He expected to be discharged within days. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on The students who died were MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, an 18-year-old freshman from Brandermill, Virginia, and Ella Cook, a 19-year-old sophomore from a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Umurzokov was an aspiring neurosurgeon and Cook was a student leader of Browns campus Republicans. As of Sunday, one of the nine wounded students had been released from the hospital, one was in critical condition and seven others were in critical but stable condition, university President Christina Paxson said. Their conditions hadnt worsened as of Monday, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said, adding that he didnt have further information. Basic investigating still ongoingAuthorities on Monday asked neighborhood residents and businesses for surveillance video that might help identify the attacker. They have said that one reason they lacked video of the shooter was because Browns engineering building doesnt have many cameras.Investigators were still performing basic investigative tasks days after the shooting, leaving some students and locals frustrated by the police response.Kristy dosReis, a Providence police spokeswoman, said that at no point did the investigation stand down even after officials appeared to have a breakthrough in the case when they detained the person of interest they later released. Students supporting each otherLevi Neuwirth, who said he was a Brown senior who used to have class in the room where the shooting happened, said anxiety is high on campus. But he said students and the rest of the Brown community have been supporting each other and displaying extra kindness.Campus is on edge, mourning, grieving, processing, all of the above that folks would expect, said Neuwirth, of Wallkill, New York. But I would really highlight that the major sentiment I feel and I know many of my peers feel is a strong sense of community, of love. We have each others backs.___Whittle reported from Portland, Maine. Contributing were Associated Press reporters Kimberlee Kruesi, Amanda Swinhart, Robert F. Bukaty and Jennifer McDermott in Providence; Michael Casey in Boston; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Kathy McCormack and Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Eric Tucker in Washington. PATRICK WHITTLE Whittle is an Associated Press reporter based in Portland, Maine. He focuses on the environment and oceans. twitter mailto

Simone de Beauvoir is one of the most influential feminist philosophers of all time, with The Second Sex (1949) defining many elements of second-wave feminism. In recent years, her work has been twisted to support the biological imperative agenda pushed by prominent anti-trans figures in their most inflammatory books and blog posts.Beauvoir scholar Megan Burke sought to set the record straight and prove that Beauvoirs work supports an ethics of trans affirmation. Thats precisely what they have achieved in their gripping new book, Becoming A Woman: Simone de Beauvoir and the Politics of Trans Existence. Related Restoring the rainbow: How cis white gay folks must show up for trans & queer people of color When Burke originally sat down to write the book, the anti-trans reading of Beauvoir was not on their radar. Instead, they had envisioned a more positive project.I just kept thinking about trans and non-binary existence through the lens of Beauvoirs existentialism, Burke says. I was writing more about gender as a life project, as a Beauvoirian and as an existentialist.That intention remains; however, as Burke worked on their project, they encountered anti-trans applications of Beauvoirs work and felt compelled to respond.I started to encounter in various forms and ways the uptake of Beauvoir in anti-trans feminist uses, I started to become really annoyed and frustrated and concerned about how non-scholars of Beauvoir were circulating Beauvoir, but in really popular venues. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Beauvoir was an existentialist, concerned with how we define ourselves within society. In The Second Sex, she reckons with the way that women were defined not by their own merits, but by their otherness to men, with men as the default gender. The book includes perhaps Beauvoirs most famous line: One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.Trans people have long seen Beauvoirs statement as affirming of their genders, but anti-trans campaigners claim that this is an error. In Becoming A Woman, Burke highlights an interview comment where the gender critical writer Kathleen Stock decried this reading of Beauvoir, saying, I dont think she had any conception of how that phrase would be used, but it set in motion a chain of thought and processes. That sentence is used all the time to justify the idea that trans women are literally women, or even that gender identity makes one a woman. Burke argues that claims like Stocks, including those that cherry-pick additional quotes from Beauvoir, misunderstand the philosopher, her view of the world, and the way that many terms are used within a philosophical framework.I wasnt aware that she was being used in this way as much as she was until I started those initial encounters, Burke explains. And the more I dug in, the more that became kind of the way into this more positive project.In the book, she puts it like this: What these turns to Beauvoir share is the claim that, for Beauvoir, to be a woman is a matter of sex, not gender. One of the more notable references to Beauvoir appears in the well-known and controversial blog post by the author of the Harry Potter series on June 10, 2020. It is often the case that gender-critical discourse turns to Beauvoir to insist that real women are born women, which delegitimises trans existence.For the anti-trans reading, becoming a woman is a social destiny proscribed on women at birth as part of their biology. But Burke explains that the words born (used here in the sense of being) and becoming have more specific meanings in philosophy, and that Beauvoirs position as an existentialist casts these ideas in a light that the anti-trans argument misses. Theres a classic distinction in philosophy between born and becoming, being and becoming, they explain. And for Beauvoir as an existentialist thinker, thats just the difference between an inherent nature, being born with a fixed essence, and something that unfolds in the creation of ones existence. And thats the becoming part. For Beauvoir, the becoming piece isnt merely about self-formation; it concerns how we create ourselves in the world, shape our identities, and get to choose who we become. The anti-trans people are just mapping female and male onto this thing youre born as that cant change. And for Beauvoir, thats just not the case.The anti-trans interpretations arent limited to the one famous line. A wealth of other comments by the philosopher are distorted or misunderstood to advance an exclusionary agenda. For example, in an essay titled How Simone de Beauvoir Got Me Cancelled, Susan Picard complains that no one wanted to publish her anti-trans book. Picard cites several Beauvoir quotations to support the claim that the philosopher would endorse an anti-trans reading.Picard smugly points to the line No woman can claim without bad faith to be situated beyond her sex, claiming that pro-trans Beauvoirians looked away in embarrassment when asked to explain how that wasnt a clear refutation of trans identities. Burke offers a markedly different interpretation of this quotation.Beauvoir is using sex as a phenomenon. So that particular sentence is to reckon with ones position in this world that they are in. Anti-trans people think trans and non-binary folks are saying We are beyond our bodies. And I actually think thats not at all the claim thats being made. Its I am of this body, and something else is becoming for me. And that, I think, is exactly what Beauvoir means. To say that I am not situated in the way you say I am. To ignore how one is in the world and the body one inhabits, yes, that would be bad faith. But I think where this goes awry in the way this gets levied at trans and non-binary folks is to say, youre just ignoring the fact of your body as you are in the world.To say a trans woman is saying, Im situated beyond my sex so I can become a woman, is just a complete misreading of the phenomenal unfolding of her life. And to say that Beauvoir is saying you can never be situated beyond your sex of this world, I think completely ignores what she is gesturing to as a feminist future in her conclusion, which is that she says, yeah, there might still be men and women, but its a might. Where I think that reading of that sentence goes wrong is its both rooting sex as a thing that never changes, and more importantly, is just saying, trans folks are being disingenuous, when actually I think trans folks are being quite Beauvoirian.While only a part of Burkes project in Becoming A Woman, the refutation of this anti-trans application of Beauvoirs work is crucial, both for the trans community and for Beauvoirs legacy. People might encounter Beauvoirs name because they read some famous persons blog, which is really troubling. And I dont want that to be a part of Beauvoirs legacy. And I also dont want that kind of misreading of her circulating, because as I say at the beginning of the book, if we turn to a philosopher to justify the truth about something, thats the kind of justification that can have a lot of power. Its not even an engagement with her work, but just an engagement with her, I think, as a figure of some sort to mobilise and to justify anti-trans views.When it comes to Burkes ethics of gender affirmation, they think too many people are starting with the wrong question. Im just really concerned about the focus on, What are trans people? Its not a really interesting question, but I find it to be a really violent one. Its not asked of people who can comfortably conform to the norm. The What are you? How do you know? Where does this come from? What is, in philosophical terms, the metaphysics: Whats the essence of being trans? You must continually justify who you are. But in most cases, its not important. I want to say that ethics, primarily, is how we are with one another, and that matters more than the what. For Burke, if we can move beyond the what and why of trans people and accept that we exist, it highlights the threat posed by the anti-trans movement and can help to find a way to develop a better community.If we can just focus on the how, if that can be the centre of the conversations, then we can get somewhere else together, and we can create different forms of sociality. And I think thats actually whats at stake. And whether or not anti-trans movements and the people behind them know this consciously or not, thats also what all anti-trans legislation is about. Its about legislating how we are together and what we become. So, its like now we have legislation about what biological sex is, but that also legislates how we now get to be in spaces together. Lets focus on the how: How do we want to be together in the world? And I think this is actually the threat of trans life and trans possibilities to dominant structures.In building out this ethics, Burke looked at the claims that anti-trans thinkers were making about Beauvoir and their claims that her ethics are aimed at protecting cis women. Disagreeing with that, Burke says that in writing Becoming A Woman, they sat back and asked, Well, what are her ethics of gender, using gender as we use it today, for how we understand and become who we are? And Im thinking about that as Im also thinking in relationship to how trans folks articulate the ethics of gendered life in relationship to self-determination and gender freedom, and in particular to that idea of affirming my gender, so one of the things that Im doing in this book is taking seriously that gender affirmation is an ethical project.But for Burke, talking about gender affirmation means throwing out the term gender identity and all the baggage and weight that it has developed in political conversations. They suggest that understanding of gender leads to a hunt for a true gender that limits what people can actually become in our society: I think that when we stop looking for a rooted being, which is what I guess I think gets ushered in from the gender identity discourse is like: this is who you are, this is who youve always been. So youre going to become that, and then it better work, and you better stay fixed in that position. And if you dont, then weve gotten it all wrong. That, Burke argues, leads us into political conversations about detransition in ways that are rarely helpful. But they also have a solution: Im actually saying, lets not affirm gender identity either, but lets affirm gendered existence. And I think that thats a term that we get from Beauvoir that helps, again, shift the terrain.Theres a whole different way to understand what gender affirmation means. Lets talk about what it means to affirm someone as an ethical project of their existence, which might mean, at a different time, that we affirm who they are differently. And that, I think, is exactly what Beauvoir means by becoming. So, does that mean becoming is messy and fallible, and we might make mistakes about who we become? Sure. Thats exactly what Beauvoir is saying as an existentialist. This might be who you are right now. You might become something else in a month, in 10 years, in 15 years.And is it ethical to affirm that becoming? Yes. In their book, Burke discusses the importance of moving away from the third-person authority over gender toward the trans first-person authority. That space for affirming self-determination in relation to a gendered existence is a crucial part of this ethics.While its essential to support and affirm trans people, Burke is suggesting that there are problems when we see gender identity as a static thing that must be found and then held on to tightly. For Burke, the more helpful approach is to affirm gendered existence, where gender is a life project, and to recognise that, if it changes, that is part of the journey.Ultimately, they say life can have regrets, but those regrets can be affirmed, and you can become someone else. And so thats what Im trying to do with the ethics of gender affirmation.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.