The enclave of Point Roberts, Wash., once thrived with a mix of Americans and Canadians. Now the border checks are a hassle, the community is isolated and businesses are withering.

German folklore tells the story of Faust (or Doctor Faustus), who agrees to relinquish his soul to the evil spirit, Mephistopheles, a representation of the Devil. For this surrender, Faust is promised knowledge and magical powers that give him enormous wealth and pleasures.When taking this bargain, though, Faust understood that making a deal with the Devil was inherently evil and amoral, but his greed and desire overrode reason, which finalized the exchange. Related America really hates Elon Musk right now One analyst called him political kryptonite. What is now known as the Faustian bargain has become a cautionary tale with tragic and self-defeating results for the bargainer because what is forfeited is far more valuable than what is acquired, whether they realize it or not. Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Rick Wilson, a veteran Republican Party political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project a political action committee holding elected officials accountable to their oaths to the Constitution must have had the story of Faust in mind in the writing of his two popular books on US politics:Everything Trump Touches Dies, andRunning against the DevilA Plot to Save America from Trump and Democrats from Themselves.In the Faustian story, Donald Trump represents the Devil. Anyone and everyone even thinking about making a deal with him becomes the Faust in the tale, who eventually gives up so much more than he could ever receive. Such is Trumps art of the deal.Apparently, Elon Musk learned this lesson the hard way, as so many others in Trumps orbit do.Elon Musk, technological wizard, owner of the social media platform X, and major stakeholder in Tesla and SpaceX, pumped an estimated $288 million into Trumps war chest during his 2024presidential campaign. Whether Elon Musk ever had a soul is up for debate. But for his enormous contribution to Trumps campaign, he received almost unlimited access to the candidate and then to the president. Trump assigned Musk to head a special government group, the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and also gave Musk assurances that his lucrative government contracts, loans, and tax credits would continue.All seemed to be going well for the richest man in the world until Satin turned on him, eventually sending him back to the underworld. Trump pushed for the ironically named One Big Beautiful Bill in Congress that, among other things, calls for cancelling the federal electric vehicle tax credit of $7,500 for new EVs and $4,000 for pre-owned.Musk made his displeasure about this clause in the bill known to the president. Though we do not know the precise reason, Musk also left his DOGE position and on bad terms with his former friend. Musk went to X to denounce Trump. In one post, without providing any evidence, he wrote: Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!Jeffrey Epstein had been accused of sex trafficking minors in 2019 before he committed suicide in prison.By sacrificing himself to the person who kills everything he touches, Musk is currently one of the most hated men in the country, if not the world. His Tesla brand is skidding toward Trumps border wall, his net worth has tumbled, and Trump hinted that he may rescind Musks government contracts.Musk is no longer respected as one of the tech bros. Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder, called out Musk for killing the worlds poorest children through his huge cuts to the U.S. foreign aid budget. Repeating historyWe need not go back very far to identify the dangers oligarchs place themselves in when cozying up to satanic autocrats, since history affords us plenty of examples.Another real-life Faust was German industrialist Fritz Thyssen. A devoted Catholic, political conservative, and staunch German nationalist, Thyssen held a prominent role in elite German society.He was the son of steel mogul August Thyssen, head of the largest steel manufacturing company in Germany. In 1926, Fritz took control of the family empire. Within only two years, his company dominated over 75% of German iron ore reserves while employing approximately 200,000 people. After being persuaded by retired general Erich Ludendorff to attend a 1923 Nazi rally in which Adolf Hitler was to give a speech, Thyssen became immediately mesmerized not only by the Nazi leaders stunning oratory, but also by his nationalist platform and disgust over the brutal terms inflicted upon Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.Soon thereafter, Thyssen contributed 100,000 gold marks through Ludendorff, which was his first of many indirect financial donations to the Nazi party. Thyssen was the initial industrialist to contribute to the Nazis, and he was responsible for bringing in others in assisting the Nazi party to take political control of Germany.Thyssen applauded the Nazi partys suppression of left-wing political organizations and trade unions, which had cut into his overall profit margins. Hitler appointed Thyssen in July 1933 to the Council of Stateof Prussia, the largest German state. He was elected to theReichstagin November 1933 and held that seat until the start of the Second World War.Thyssen agreed with Hitlers anti-Jewish policies and laws, and he fired all of his Jewish employees. He did, however, send a letter to Hitler protesting Nazi anti-Catholic policies.Thyssens suspicions of the party grew as Hitlers expanding plans of militarism became more intensive. The industrialist believed that another European war would amount to the final nail in the coffin of Germanys demise. Thyssens final break with the Nazis and their policies came when Hitler ordered his military invasion of Poland, sparking the beginning of another great war. Fritz and his wife escaped into exile first in Switzerland and then in France.In their rush, they left many of their belongings and papers behind, including a document Fritz had intended to send to the German press for publication. In it, he lodged a heated personal attack on Hitler and his policies, which concluded with the sentence, Your policy will terminate in afinis Germaniae.Though the document was never published, the Nazis confiscated and absorbed Thyssens companies and other properties. German officials issued an international arrest warrant against him. The charges included theft, embezzlement, fraud, non-payment in income and other taxes, and contravention of the German currency restrictions. Thyssen called the charges ridiculous when interviewed by the press. Actually, the Nazis found that the Thyssen family did have a sordid history of tax evasion dating back to World War I, when August Thyssen created several firms in the Netherlands, including a bank, for the purpose of safeguarding and funneling assets and avoiding taxes.After Germany defeated France in 1940, Thyssen took refuge in Vichy, France, ultimately intending to go to Argentina. But in August 1942,Vichy authoritiesturned him over to the Gestapo. Later, he was joined by his wife, and they were eventually imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp.Thyssen and his wife survived the war. They were taken with other important prisoners by the allies. He was interrogated as part of Camp Dustbin,a British-American camp serving as an interrogation and processing center for German scientists, technicians, and administrators incarcerated during the war. Explaining his financial contributions to the Nazi party, Thyssen told his interrogator Clifford Hynning: I did not want to give any money directly to the [Nazi] party, so I gave it to Ludendorff and he gave it to the party.Shortly thereafter, the Thyssens were released by American troops with a monetary fine equivalent to 15% (500,000Deutschmarks) of their estimated remaining assets. Thyssen was acquitted of all other charges.Apparently, Thyssen ultimately regretted supporting Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Though he denied employing slave labor, he accepted responsibility for his companies maltreatment of Jewish employees in the 1930s.While Musk has apologized to Trump for alleging the president was connected to Jeffrey Epsteins criminal operation, the Tesla mogul has never apologized to the people of the United States and people throughout the world for his mass firings of government workers, closing of essential government departments and services, and forcontributing to the deaths of an estimated 300,000 peopleworldwide by cutting funding for food and medicine for starving and sick people through USAID.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

German qualifier Tatjana Maria capped an incredible week in London as she defeated American No. 8 seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-4 to become the first woman to win a title at Queen's Club in over half a century.

Unfortunately, Americans of all stripes are coming to see violence as a legitimate means of expressing dissent.

A special primary election this week for seats on the states utility board will be a rare referendum on residential electric bills, at a time when they have risen sharply across the country.

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An empty shell for years, the mall in Lanesborough, Mass., shows how difficult it is to redevelop malls in smaller towns.

The Bengals and defensive end Trey Hendrickson have resumed communication on his contract and future with the team, sources told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

She was a proponent of natural childbirth when she joined the group that produced the candid guide to womens health. It became a cultural touchstone and a global best seller.

Federal regulations prohibit government employees from using their public office for private gain.

The Wyoming sorority sisters who sued to eject a trans member from the Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) sorority in 2023 are back in court.Emboldened by the Trump administrations crusade to erase trans people from American society, the cisgender sisters filed a new lawsuit in federal court last Monday. Related Department of Education renames June Title IX Month in attack on LGBTQ+ equality They also threatened to end funding for a state university for allowing a trans woman to join a sorority. The amended suit follows the Department of Educations announcement last week that its investigating the University of Wyoming for allowing the trans student originally sued by the sisters to join Kappa Kappa Gamma. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today A sorority that admits male students is no longer a sorority by definition and thus loses the Title IX statutory exemption for a sororitys single-sex membership practices, the Department of Education claimed in apress release.The sisters amended complaint reiterates the Trump administrations assertion, arguing that KKGs inclusion of trans women is inconsistent with its reliance on the exemptions for single-sex organizations under Title IX.Based on the sororitys bylaws reference to and reliance on the exemption in Title IX the notion of a single-gender organization, as the phrase is used in the bylaws, must be read as synonymous with single sex, the complaint states. The Wyoming sorority became a pet project for the Trump administration after the sorority sisters lawyer, May Mailman, became deputy assistant and senior policy strategist to Trump in January.Mailman has been creditedwith crafting Trumps Defending Women From Gender Ideology executive order alongside Stephen Miller, Trumps deputy chief of staff for policy.Title IX has been at the heart of Trumps strategy to investigate and deny federal funding to schools that are trans inclusive. Title IX bans discrimination on the basis of sex in education and has been used by both pro- and anti-LGBTQ+ rights advocates to argue for and against equal rights for queer people. On the left, progressives argue that discrimination against LGBTQ+ people is inherently a form of discrimination on the basis of sex, since it is impossible to discriminate against someones sexual orientation or transgender status without taking their sex assigned at birth into account.On the right, conservatives and the Trump administration argue that Title IX protects girls and women from discrimination in education and that rights for LGBTQ+ people take away from girls and womens rights, especially when it comes to trans female athletes participation in school sports.The sorority sisters amended complaint was filed by two of the original plaintiffs, who were joined by a new third Kappa Kappa Gamma member. The suit drops the original defendant, trans sorority sister Artemis Langford, who was needlessly stigmatized in the original filing, according to the judge in the case. Judge Alan B. Johnson pointed out that most of the paperwork submitted by the sisters in the original complaint was nothing more than personal smears.If Plaintiffs wish to amend their complaint, the Court advises Plaintiffs that they devote more than 6% of their complaint to their legal claims against Defendants, he advised in the ruling against the plaintiffs. The consistent misgendering and transphobic insinuations were so heinous, he noted, that he refused to recount themin the decision.As she has maintained all along, there was no reason for the plaintiffs to sue Ms. Langford or to add inflammatory allegations about her to their complaint, Rachel Berkness, Langfords attorney, told WyoFile in a statement. Now that the gravy train has run its course, the plaintiffs have apparently decided to move forward with the legal aspects of their claims, which have always been dubious, Berkness said. Ms. Langford, however, has graduated and is moving forward.The original complaint alleged leering, gawking, lurking, and intimidation by Langford while in the sorority house or aroundthe plaintiffsand the witnesses who joined their lawsuit, according toCowboy State Daily.Langford, while watching members enter the sorority house, had an erection visible through his leggings, the suit claimed. Other times, he has had a pillow in his lap. Plaintiffs are living the reality of Langfords biological, sex-based differences, read the response to the Kappa Kappa Gamma organizations motion to dismiss.When a 62 person who weighs 260 pounds and has benefited from male puberty sits in a sorority dining room staring and scowling at the young women who filed a complaint with this Court that moment is not just a disagreement among us girls. That angry glare is a threat, a threat made possible by that mans superior size and strength, the Wyoming KKG sorority sisters wrote.In the motion to dismiss, Langford and the national organization accusedthe six aggrieved sisters of slinging dehumanizing mud. They argued the sorority can dictate the terms of its membership under its constitutional right to free association. Kappa Kappa Gamma said it can evolve along with the definition of woman, which they said is a more inclusive description nowthanwhen the sorority was founded 150 years ago. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Follow along as we highlight the best action from Oakmont Country Club.

Angel Reese had 11 points, 11 assists and 13 rebounds for her first career triple-double in the Sky's 78-66 win over the Sun on Sunday

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Administration officials secured a deal that will give the president unusual influence over a private company, and could serve as a model for other deals.

The search is ongoing for suspect Vance Boelter, 57, who escaped on foot after a gunfire exchange with local officers.

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In Italy, Portugal and Spain, activists used water pistols and a noisy stroll of suitcases to draw attention to rising housing costs and the environmental toll of tourism.

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Bayern Munich began their Club World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion with a ruthless 10-0 demolition of Auckland City on Sunday, as Jamal Musiala marked his return from injury with a brilliant second-half hat trick in a commanding team display.

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He was best known for his success in business, notably the international beauty company he built with his mother, Este Lauder. But he was also an influential art patron.

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The case of a Korean spa in Washington state is raising as many questions as the justices answered when they ruled that the state had a right to enforce its anti-discrimination laws after the spa barred a transgender woman from receiving services there, where customers are segregated by sex and mingle freely in the nude.The Olympus Spa in Lynnwood sued Washington state after officials imposed changes on the business so it would comply with state anti-discrimination laws. The trans woman who inspired the enforcement, Haven Wilvich, complained to the states Human Rights Commission in 2020 that she was denied services among other female customers because she has a penis. The spa welcomes trans clients who have undergone gender-affirming surgery, the Seattle Times reports. Related Largest-ever survey of trans people reveals the real reason trans people detransition Conservatives say many trans people later regret their transitions. Thats untrue, but here are the facts Olympus Spa, which operates women-only spas in Lynnwood and Tacoma, had argued in a lawsuit against the state that its enforcement violated the spas rights to free speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today That claim was denied in May by a federal appeals court.None of those freedoms were applicable to this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled.We are not unmindful of the concerns and beliefs raised by the Spa, wrote Judge M. Margaret McKeown for the 21 majority. Indeed, the Spa may have other avenues to challenge the enforcement action. But whatever recourse it may have, that relief cannot come from the First Amendment.The spa said the state had violated its free speech rights when the Human Rights Commission forced it to change its policy on its website. The judges noted that compelled changes in conduct which might incidentally compel changes in speech are not reviewed as content-based speech restrictions.In one example, the order to remove a whites only sign by the government wouldnt be a First Amendment violation, because the speech restriction is a natural consequence of complying with the law. The spas freedom of association objection, the ruling said, doesnt apply because the business is neither an intimate nor an expressive association.That right protects both intimate association, that is, the choices to enter into and maintain certain intimate human relationships, and expressive association, which is a right to associate for the purpose of engaging in those activities protected by the First Amendmentspeech, assembly, petition for the redress of grievances, and the exercise of religion,' Judge McKeown wrote.Business enterprises serving the general public typically lack the qualities of an intimate association, she said, and thats why they are normally subject to antidiscrimination laws. To classify a nude spa as an expressive association, she claimed, would stretch the freedom of association beyond all existing bounds.As to infringing on its freedom of religion, by forcing the owners, in their words, to violate their Christian beliefs around modesty and allow nude clients with male genitalia to comingle with naked clients with female genitalia, the court said simply, Though we recognize that the Spas desire to perform acts that contravene WLADs [theWashington State Law Against Discrimination] mandate is motivated in part by religious belief, the HRCs action under WLAD does not prohibit the Spa from expressing its religious beliefs.In a derisive dissent from Korean-born Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, the judge maintained the spas entry policy had been in place for over twenty years without complaint.But when one person complained about the policy in early 2020, the government pounced.He characterized the Human Rights Commissions ruling as political. The HRC, he wrote, wielded its power to advance its own political agenda.Lee also suggested that the law discriminated against Asian Americans, a group that he claimed has historically lacked political clout in Washington State.Olympus Spa is represented by Pacific Justice Institute, a Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate group. The legal defense group based in California backed the states Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage for several years, and has worked to repeal California laws banning conversion therapy and others protecting trans students.Pacific Justice said they plan to refile the case for review by the full Court of Appeals.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

USMNT faces Trinidad and Tobago to begin quest for eighth Gold Cup title

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle on Sunday defended referee Scott Foster, who has come under fire for his officiating in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

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Lando Norris said he made a fool of himself after crashing into the back of teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri at the end of the Canadian Grand Prix.

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Shane van Gisbergen once again mastered a new track to win NASCAR's first Cup Series points-paying race outside the United States in the modern era.

The San Francisco Giants are acquiring All-Star slugger Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox, sources confirmed to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Bayern Munich clobbered an amateur team in the Club World Cup, setting a new all-time record in FIFA competitions.

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Zion Rose's two-run single gave Louisville its first lead during a six-run eighth as the Cardinals ousted Arizona from the Men's College World Series.

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Malik Tillman scored twice as the United States built a three-goal, first-half lead and ended a four-game losing streak by routing Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 on Sunday in a Concacaf God Cup opener.