Federal agencies have recently issued a barrage of restrictions that could halt construction of solar and wind farms on public and private lands.

The merger catapults new power players to the top of Hollywood and ends a tortuous process that has lasted well over a year.

How political red tape and a drug companys thirst for profits limited the reach of a drug that experts believe could have reduced the opioid epidemics toll.

Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group known for its direct action, was banned as a terrorism group under British law. The decision followed a break-in by the group at Britains largest air base, causing a political scandal. Lizzie Dearden, a security reporter, explains how this has large stakes for the legacy of direct action in protest movements in Britain.

Desiree Grace was a casualty of the struggle between the White House and district judges over who would lead the U.S. attorneys office in New Jersey.

For her new unauthorized biography of Gwyneth Paltrow, journalist Amy Odell conducted more than 220 interviews, both on and off the record. Here are the biggest revelations from Gwyneth: The Biography:Became interested in health and nutrition after seeing a carrot for the first timeA method actor, Paltrow decapitated herself in 1995 to prepare for her role in SevenHas never had any plastic surgery this yearWhile giving birth to her daughter, Apple, she spent 70 hours in labor due to complications with the childs chakrasSheds skin every seven yearsTechnically was married to Coldplay, not Chris MartinHas been experiencing one uninterrupted bowel movement since 2006Her anti-aging secret is 350 vacation days a yearThe post Biggest Revelations From The New Gwyneth Paltrow Biography appeared first on The Onion.

The post Trump Readjusts Golf Tee In JD Vances Mouth appeared first on The Onion.

AUSTIN, TXArousing suspicion among the digital marketing firms employees with its warm and solicitous tone, an encouraging email sent from the account of Pulse of Tomorrow CEO Herb Enman was quickly flagged as a phishing attempt and deleted, sources reported Thursday. Ive never seen anything like this in my lifehe even spelled the name of our company correctly, said social media manager Esther Perez, who expressed concern when she noticed the emails tone bore little resemblance to the CEOs usual cold and hostile writing style. He told everybody to keep up the great work and complimented our creative and talented staff. There was no mention of restructurings or reducing costs or economic headwinds anywhere. I cant even imagine what kind of person would send an email like this. According to sources, the companys IT specialist sent out a memo reminding employees to report an email thread immediately if they ever received a reply from the CEOs account that said anything more than okay.The post Warm, Encouraging Email From CEO Quickly Identified As Phishing Attempt appeared first on The Onion.

CLEVELANDRevealing a vulnerable side while sharing the traumatic experience with a therapist, a 5-pound sack of flour confirmed Thursday that it was still processing the lasting emotional fallout of being raised by a single, teenage mother. My mother did her best, but lets be honest: She was a 13-year-old juggling pre-algebra, a clarinet recital, field hockey, and a chaotic personal life, and she had no business being a mom, said the sack of King Arthur unbleached bread flour, pointing out scars it still bore from being routinely dropped by a careless mother. A lot of my early days were spent just lying around my grandparents place waiting for my mom to come home from her extracurriculars. There was no stability. One day, Im at school with her; the next, Im forgotten for an entire weekend in her friends basement. And my dad? He was totally absent. He bailed, leaving all the work to a young girl completely ill-equipped to handle the responsibility of a flour sack with all the drama going on in her friend group. It took years to build up a sense of self-worth after my mother lost interest in me after just a week. The flour added that it did manage to take solace in turning its numerous hardships into sweet, tender biscuits.The post Flour Sack Still Dealing With Trauma Of Being Raised By Single Teenage Mother appeared first on The Onion.

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Proud transphobe Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said that she hopes Donald Trump will put her name on a womens bathroom in an unhinged press conference where she supported several bonkers conspiracy theories and raged multiple times at the existence of transgender people.Mace was discussing ABC Newss $15 million payout to Trumps presidential library as part of a settlement in his lawsuit against the channel at a town hall event in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. At issue in that lawsuit was ABC host George Stephanopoulos saying that Trump was found liable for rape of author E. Jean Carroll during an interview with Mace. Related Nancy Mace proudly shouts slur while praising Iowa for discriminating against trans people Mace has become the anti-trans face of the Republican party and has used the anti-trans slur as a way to perform her transphobia publicly. Trump was actually found liable for sexual abuse, not rape, in the Carroll case because the jury concluded that Trump had forcibly penetrated Carrolls vagina with his finger. Since it was his finger and not his penis, that is called sexual abuse under New York state law, not rape. So Trump sued for defamation since Stephanopoulos used the word rape.Stephanopoulos asked Mace about this because she has made her claimed support for womens rights central to her campaign messaging, but she is also an ardent Trump supporter. 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 At the Myrtle Beach town hall, Mace appeared proud to have played a role in Trumps settlement with ABC News. But in that $15 million interview, I call it, because George Stephanopoulos learned a $15 million lesson, Trump won that defamation suit, right? she ranted. And now Nancy Mace will not back down, and Nancy Mace will hold the line. I dont want a commission, OK?But I havent told the president this, but my one ask, I just want one ask, because the $15 million is supposed to be used to build his presidential library. I just want my name over a womens bathroom, she continued, standing in front of a book with the title My Daddy is a Hero. I just like, just like, give me, just give me a plaque, just give me a plaque with my name on it and say Only women here.' Mace on ABC settlement: I don't want a commission. It is supposed to help build his presidential library. I just want my name over a women's bathroom pic.twitter.com/QTrvcYipf8 Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2025Mace introduced two resolutions concerning bathroom issues last November, both to ban trans women from using the womens facilities. One of the resolutions was for the restrooms at the Capitol and was introduced in response to the election of Rep. Sarah McBride (D-DE), the first transgender person elected to Congress. In the months since McBrides win, Mace has posted several messages a day to her social media accounts opposing trans peoples rights, referred to McBride as it, used anti-trans slurs in committee hearings, and threatened to fight Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) for calling out her transphobia.When she announced her gubernatorial campaign, the only policy stance she took was opposition to trans rights. But at the town hall, Mace presented more about what she will do as governor if she wins. She promised to ban chemtrails and water fluoridation. Both of these have been staples of conspiracy theories for years, even though water fluoridation is safe and effective at helping maintain teeth, and what conspiracy theorists call chemtrails are really just the condensation of water that follows planes in the air. Mace: I would support any action to remove fluoride from the water. And ban also chemtrails Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-08-06T22:53:30.751ZEarlier in the rally, Mace discussed the Stephanopoulos interview, calling Stephanopoulos crazy.Crazy George Stephanopoulos, he tried to say the president was a rapist, and hes not! Hes never been convicted of rape! Mace said. And I, as a rape survivor, went to bat for the president, over and over and over again, because I know Real men and yall are packing heat and we appreciate it but real men protect women. Donald Trump has protected women from day one.In addition to a jury finding him liable for sexual abuse, Trump has been accused of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women, and he has admitted to sexually assaulting women and walking in on women in changing rooms. Mace: Real men protect women. Donald Trump has protected women from day one. pic.twitter.com/ub81AsuMu9 Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2025Mace also said that the fake news says she only does memes, when she is one of the most serious members of Congress.They dont like conservative women; they dont like it when women speak up. The left hate women. They want men in our bathrooms. Were gonna stop that in South Carolina because on day one, if you give me a bathroom bill, state legislature, I will sign it into law. Were gonna keep men out of womens spaces.South Carolina already has a bathroom law restricting restroom usage to the facilities associated with ones sex assigned at birth in schools, but the law doesnt apply to all government buildings. Mace: I'm one of the most serious members of congress. pic.twitter.com/sW2VIxUcQ5 Acyn (@Acyn) August 6, 2025Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Nature, Published online: 07 August 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02452-7The story of the discovery of these molecules 50 years ago shows how the free exchange of ideas can lead to life-changing treatments.

Nature, Published online: 07 August 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02512-yA portrait of Nobel prizewinner Luis Alvarez explores his scientific achievements without shying away from his contentious character.

Nature, Published online: 06 August 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02551-5Eighty years after the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, theres still lessons in the reflections of those that survived. Plus, an ancient plant tryst gave rise to modern potato tubers and how we can fix the peer-review crisis.

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The president posted talking points provided by one firm that donated millions, and his administration delayed a change that could have hurt the company and others like it.

The U.S. government intends to incinerate $9.7 million in already-purchased birth control in Belgium after U.S.A.I.D shut down. Destruction may have already started.

The senator said the federal agency had agreed to help locate Democratic state lawmakers who left the state to try to block a vote on new congressional district maps.

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A researcher has found that more than 130,000 conversations with AI chatbots including Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and others are discoverable on the Internet Archive, highlighting how peoples interactions with LLMs may be publicly archived if users are not careful with the sharing settings they may enable.The news follows earlier findings that Google was indexing ChatGPT conversations that users had set to share, despite potentially not understanding that these chats were now viewable by anyone, and not just those they intended to share the chats with. OpenAI had also not taken steps to ensure these conversations could be indexed by Google.I obtained URLs for: Grok, Mistral, Qwen, Claude, and Copilot, the researcher, who goes by the handle dead1nfluence, told 404 Media. They also found material related to ChatGPT, but said OpenAI has had the ChatGPT[.]com/share links removed it seems. Searching on the Internet Archive now for ChatGPT share links does not return any results, while Grok results, for example, are still available.Dead1nfluence wrote a blog post about some of their findings on Sunday and shared the list of more than 130,000 archived LLM chat links with 404 Media. They also shared some of the contents of those chats that they had scraped. Dead1nfluence wrote that they found API keys and other exposed information that could be useful to a hacker.While these providers do tell their users that the shared links are public to anyone, I think that most who have used this feature would not have expected that these links could be findable by anyone, and certainly not indexed and readily available for others to view, dead1nfluence wrote in their blog post. This could prove to be a very valuable data source for attackers and red teamers alike. With this, I can now search the dataset at any time for target companies to see if employees may have disclosed sensitive information by accident.404 Media verified some of dead1influences findings by discovering specific material they flagged in the dataset, then going to the still-public LLM link and checking the content.Do you know anything else about this? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at joseph.404 or send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Most of the companies whose AI tools are included in the dataset did not respond to a request for comment. Microsoft which owns Copilot acknowledged a request for comment but didn't provide a response in time for publication. A spokesperson for Anthrophic, which owns Claude, told 404 Media: We give people control over sharing their Claude conversations publicly, and in keeping with our privacy principles, we do not share chat directories or sitemaps with search engines like Google. These shareable links are not guessable or discoverable unless people choose to publicize them themselves. When someone shares a conversation, they are making that content publicly accessible, and like other public web content, it may be archived by third-party services. In our review of the sample archived conversations shared with us, these were either manually requested to be indexed by a person with access to the link or submitted by independent archivist organizations who discovered the URLs after they were published elsewhere across the internet first. 404 Media only shared a small sample of the Claude links with Anthrophic, not the entire list.Fast Company first reported that Google was indexing some ChatGPT conversations on July 30. This was because of a sharing feature ChatGPT had that allowed users to send a link to a ChatGPT conversation to someone else. OpenAI disabled the sharing feature in response. OpenAI CISO Dane Stuckey said in a previous statement sent to 404 Media: This was a short-lived experiment to help people discover useful conversations. This feature required users to opt-in, first by picking a chat to share, then by clicking a checkbox for it to be shared with search engines.A researcher who requested anonymity gave 404 Media access to a dataset of nearly 100,000 ChatGPT conversations indexed on Google. 404 Media found those included the alleged texts of non-disclosure agreements, discussions of confidential contracts, and people trying to use ChatGPT for relationship issues.Others also found that the Internet Archive contained archived LLM chats.

Nature, Published online: 07 August 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02293-4Anti-immigration sentiment is fuelling a drive to slash international student and worker numbers, but at what cost to researchers and countries leading the charge?

A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the 1983 NC State men's basketball team, shutting down the national championship winner's request for NIL compensation.

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Meyers said that if he saw Trump on his roof, hed assume the president was pulling a reverse Santa Claus. you know, going house to house taking toys away from kids.

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Some of the first reviews ever written for the original Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. have been digitized and published by the Video Game History Foundation. The reviews appeared in Computer Entertainer, an early video game magazine that ran from 1982 to 1990. The archivists at the Foundation tracked down the magazines entire run and have published it all online under a Creative Commons license.Computer Entertainer has a fascinating history. It was one of the only magazines to cover video games during the market crash of the mid 1980s. Simply put, there weren't other video game magazines in this era, at least in the United States, Phil Salvador, the Library Director at the VGHF, told 404 Media. In many cases, this is the only American coverage we have for this period.If we want to understand video game history, we need more than the games themselves. We need to understand how they were talked about and how they were made. Primary sources from the early years of the video game industry like Computer Entertainer are scarce. They give us insight into the story of video games that there's no way to reproduce, Salvador said.Image via VGHF.Computer Entertainer was the newsletter for the Video Take-Out, a company that sold video games through the mail. Because they were focused on retail products, they kept on top of the video game release calendar in a way that no other enthusiast magazine did in the 1980s, Salvador said. This magazine is one of the only reliable sources of American release dates for computer and console games during this era. Look up any console game from the 1980s on Wikipedia, and chances are, the American release date in the article comes from Computer Entertainer.Digging through the archives, I found the original Legend of Zelda review and read through a years worth of hype and handwringing leading up to its release. Computer Entertainer was on hand at CES to talk to the unproven Nintendo in February 1987. Zelda was already out in Japan, where it ran on the disk-based Famicom system.The CE write-up noted that the NES was a cartridge system and that Nintendo had to make unheard of adjustments to make the game work right. A Nintendo spokesperson told us that they have included a lithium battery with a 5-year life span in the cartridge to allow it to save information you need, so the disk drive is not needed, CE wrote.Image via VGHF.Convincing Americans to buy a Famicom-style disk drive after theyd already bought the NES was thought to be a hard sell. We do feel, however, that it is just a question of time before Nintendo introduces the disk drive in the U.S, CE said. Also, for the avid long-term gamer (count all our raiders in that category!), the 5-year battery could prove frustrating as, when the battery dies, so does all the character information that has been stored on the cartridge. CE neednt have worried. Many of those batteries are still working today, almost 40 years later, and theres a robust aftermarket in replacement parts when they fail.Legend of Zelda finally came out in August of 1987 and CE gave it a glowing review, rating it 3.5 out of 4 stars. In the same issue, it gave Leisure Suit Larry and the Land of the Lounge Lizards a perfect 4 out of 4 stars. Theres certainly no socially redeeming value to the game, which is what makes it so much fun, CE said of the adventure game that would have nowhere near the cultural or social impact of Link and Zelda.Image via VGHF.It's a totally different perspective to see someone trying to wrap their head around the original Super Mario Bros., or expressing skepticism about the idea of Nintendo selling a game console in the United States, Salvador said.The 1980s was a different era of games writing. [Computer Entertainer] covered video and computer games as a function of their retail business to help customers better understand the game market, Salvador said. Being able to look back on what retailers thought about the game business back in the 1980s is a huge historical boon, but today, there's understandably more questions about the role of game criticism. Does it still make sense to cover games the same way Computer Entertainer did 40 years ago?

Online game marketplaces itch.io and Valves Steam have recently delisted or completely removed more than 20,000 titles from their storefronts, after not-for-profit group Collective Shout pressured payment processors to change their rules.Although Collective Shout claims the move was about censoring games that depict rape and incest content, a number of LGBTQIA+ creators have been caught in the purge.I am a queer, trans woman and game designer who studies inclusivity. LGBTQIA+ creators have long made games to express our stories. Such expression often necessarily engages with bodies and sexuality.While content about us is seen by some as innately harmful and sexual, it is essential for wellbeing. Conservative groups have long aimed to censor our art, voices and games.What makes the recent removals unusual is that they were not driven by government (which may be a separate problem in Australia and the United Kingdom).Instead, they were driven by a supposed anti-porn group that frightened payment processors into undercutting online game storefronts own rules, resulting in itch.io reportedly delisting some 20,000 games, and Steam also removing hundreds.How games are made and distributedFrom AAA megastudios to small, independent teams, game developers produce thousands of games per year. The emergence of low-cost, accessible tools has removed barriers to making games.For many LGBTQIA+ people, making and sharing games is a way to unpack trauma, discover oneself and share experiences.One game still available on Itch.io is Secret Little Haven. Played through a simulated 90s computer, users can live out the experiences of a transgender woman. Screenshot by author.Online game storefronts such as itch.io and Steam offer a streamlined way for creators to share games. Both game stores also double as social hubs where people can discuss games.Itch.io is a thriving community that is free and simple to use. In its 12 years, it has earned the goodwill of the LGBTQIA+ community due to its openness and lack of restrictions.Steam, meanwhile, has become one of the worlds foremost sources for games. Most major games are released on Steam.Itch.io has substantially fewer resources, but hosts a similar amount of content to Steam.While Valve reportedly earned a revenue of US$5 billion in 2024 (about A$7.7 billion), itch.io is run by a much smaller team of mostly volunteers.A sudden mass censorshipGenerally, online storefronts will censor media at the behest of governments. Censorship can be used to manipulate how people think and act. One could expect (or hope) it is done carefully and for the public good (such as to prevent violence).Itch.io has maintained neutrality about what can be shared, relying on creators to tag their content which they do. Steam, on the other hand, reviews adult content before adding it to its storefront, and imposes strict guidelines on content. However, these guidelines have recently become less clear.In both cases, users decide what kind of content they want to be shown.What were seeing now is not government censorship, but private payment processing companies deciding what content is available. And as these companies are global, their policy changes can impact people worldwide.Australian non-profit Collective Shout spent years pressing Valve to remove games it found objectionable. When this proved ineffective, the group targeted payment processors including PayPal, Visa and Mastercard.The group published an open letter on July 11 decrying online game storefronts, alongside a coordinated email campaign.On July 16, Valve updated its policy to allow payment processors to set rules for allowed content. It then removed certain targeted games from its store.Itch.io followed: on July 23, the store hid all not safe for work (NSFW) titles from search. With a small team and massive library, itch.io had to act fast. The broad-stroke move disproportionately impacted LGBTQIA+ creators.LGBTQIA+ creators often develop games from lived experience, which often involves themes such as relationships, sex, and bodies (including genitals), all of which may be deemed NSFW. These creators did due diligence to mark their games as NSFW, to ensure that players are aware of potential triggers.Itch.io is now working to minimise damages and relist content that takes no payment. It is also trying to find new payment processors.A PayPal spokesperson told The Conversation:PayPal is committed to maintaining a safe platform for its customers and will take appropriate action when we identify activity that violates the law, our policies, or the policies of our partner banks and card networks.The dangers of LGBTQIA+ erasureThe social networks of online game storefronts offer community to LGBTQIA+ people. When these communities are taken away, we can experience a kind of digital death.One itch.io game caught in the purge is SABBAT (2013). This game involves assembling a monstrous body, with themes including changing bodies (including genitals) and violence.While these themes may not appeal to many, they would be relatable and therefore meaningful for many transgender players. SABBAT can still be directly accessed on itch.io, but it doesnt show up in the search results.SABBAT, by Ohnoproblems, is a game that explores feelings of liberation through (gender) transition and empowerment. Authors screenshot/itch.ioGrunge, the 2019 Melbourne Queer Games Festival Silver Award winner, was also delisted. This game is about queer love and navigating a new school. While the author warns the content is mature, including some sexual content, the game does not involve rape or incest.Grunge, an award-winning game by CrossXGames, addresses queer love. It was delisted. Authors screenshot.What comes next?Gamers are responding to Steam and itch.ios actions. One online petition calling on payment processors to remove policies that lead to censorship has collected more than 200,000 signatures. We expect change.LGBTQIA+ people deserve community, self-discovery and the ability to survive and thrive in society. Censorship decisions that affect us cannot be made unilaterally. They are not the remit of payment processors, and they should not be in the hands of a single group.Moving forward, the gaming industry and player communities need more nuanced conversations about game (and media) access. And these conversations must include a diversity of people.The LGBTQIA+ community has come a long way towards gaining representation and visibility in the gaming world, and this has helped many of us. We will continue to make our art seen, our voices heard, and our games played.Valve, itch.io, Mastercard and Visa did not respond to The Conversations request for comment.Phoebe Toups Dugas, Associate Professor of Human-Centred Computing, Monash UniversityThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.The post Thousands of games have been censored from major platforms, with LGBTQIA+ creators caught in thecrossfire appeared first on News Is Out.

Jove Meyer remembers the exact moment he realized that he was working in a field that was hostile to queer people like him.Marriage equality wasnt legal and I was doing a wedding for a straight Jewish couple in New York. [While] they were doing their first dance I was in the corner sobbing, and I was very single. But it dawned on me that I was working in a field where I myself didnt have access to the same thing that my clients did, Meyer said. Related How gay couples are marrying tradition & modernity at their weddings It was an all too familiar feeling: Meyer came from a Christian conservative background, so he had grown up feeling the tension that queerness and religion could create. It led him to shifting his business in order to cater to queer couples, many of whom have difficulty navigating their faith or multicultural background with their identities as queer people.I find with queer couples, theyre already navigating between sort of a sensitivity. We [aqeer people] want everyone to feel comfortable, but we also want to be ourselves. And theres this holding on to where we come from and who we are, and reconciling the differencesJove Meyer Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today I just got so emotional about it, and I realized that theres an entire industry out there that didnt include us, that wasnt meant for us, but we still love each other, and we still have relationships without it, and there are queer people throughout history whove been together for decades.Kirsten Palladino, a writer and editor, had a similar realization as Meyer when she began planning her own wedding. I started researching all things wedding, Palladino shared. And then, wow! I was shocked to find that the resources for queer and trans couples planning weddings were minuscule. Perhaps even worse was the challenge of finding vendors who were even willing to work with us, let alone celebrate and affirm us. With her wifes career as a graphic designer and web developer, they decided to create Equally Wed, a wedding publication by and for LGBTQ+ couples, where she has worked as editor-in-chief for fifteen years. Palladino said that Equally Wed attempts to affirm and celebrate our community with real LGBTQ+ love stories from engagements to weddings to honeymoons and beyond, as well as a marketplace of LGBTQ+ inclusive and affirming wedding vendors and suppliers.After Meyers realization, he also pivoted from event planning to focus on queer weddings. He had been involved in wedding planning for a couple of years at that point, but hadnt fully grappled with working in an industry that was hostile to him. Meyers then changed his company motto to for those who dare to be themselves.The issue was especially sensitive for Meyers, who grew up in a very conservative, Christian environment. I spent most of my life denying who I was and hating who I was and trying to be someone else. And in the early years of my career, I did the same thing professionally, he said. And then I realized, actually, Im beautiful, Im not broken, Im not a sin, and weddings dont have to look and feel like they always have. Those arent made for us. We need to make them our own way.Despite the advances weve made with marriage equality, LGBTQ+ marriages are still not socially acceptable in many families, leading to absolute heartbreak for LGBTQ+ folks in love hoping for their families to attend their weddings or finding the courage to even get married in spite of their families wishes.Kirsten PalladinoMeyers own identity as a gay man, and coming from a religious and anti-gay background, makes him well-equipped to help the queer couples that come to him from multi-cultural or interfaith backgrounds.I find with queer couples, theyre already navigating between sort of a sensitivity. We [aqeer people] want everyone to feel comfortable, but we also want to be ourselves. And theres this holding on to where we come from and who we are, and reconciling the differences, he said.Religion and culture and history havent been kind to queer people, generally speaking, we have not been welcomed or celebrated. Maybe weve been tolerated if were quiet and we act straight and we dont love out loud or live out loud, Meyer added. This is something that Palladino relates to in her work as well, and incorporating tradition into queer wedding ceremonies is a privilege she noted not all couples experience, only fortunate ones who belong to accepting religious families. Some examples she has seen of how queer couples meld queerness, faith, and tradition in wedding ceremonies include henna designs in Indian weddings, which are typically applied to the brides hands and feet, but are instead applied to both marriers, regardless of their gender, or the use of a wedding lasso, which is a rosary or a garland draped around a couple typically in a Catholic Mexican or Filipino ceremony.At Equally Wed, weve seen everything from Jewish and Christian weddings with a chuppah, a ketubah, and readings from the bible all in one wedding to Jewish and Hindu couples who decided to have two wedding ceremonies, each following the traditions of their religions, Palladino said.There are commonalities in the struggles that queer couples face, the main one Palladino notes is that as queer people, we dont know who we can trust. Todays wedding vendors and venues are quick to slap a photo of a generic queer couple on their website from a marketing shoot, but theyll still have a bridal suite or use forms that have spaces for one bride and one groom to fill out. She notes that Despite the advances weve made with marriage equality, LGBTQ+ marriages are still not socially acceptable in many families, leading to absolute heartbreak for LGBTQ+ folks in love hoping for their families to attend their weddings or finding the courage to even get married in spite of their families wishes.In response, both tell their clients to rethink the boundaries of what weddings could be, and to celebrate what sets them apart.An example of this that Meyer saw was working with a lesbian couple where one partner was Jewish and the other was Muslim. The ceremony incorporated Jewish marriage traditions such as the breaking of a glass (which both brides did, as opposed to the husband, as tradition mandates), and having their friends read seven blessings out loud, which the couple co-wrote. They kind of took part of the Jewish faith and culture that they both felt welcomed and celebrated and didnt exclude others. And it was really beautiful, Meyer said about the experience. They didnt have any parts of the other brides religion because she is not religious herself. But those were the Jewish traditions that they decided to put in there.Palladino says she tells her queer interfaith or multicultural couples to see their differences as an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the parts of their heritage or faith that theyre proud of (and leave behind anything that doesnt feel true for them).Meyers mantra to clients is as long as you have food and drink, everything else is flexible. Because most queer weddings already come from a place of openness and subverting societal expectations, the interfaith or multicultural couples that Meyer works with are already prepared to blend tradition and their histories in a way that works for them.Meyers thinks that when couples interrogate what customs or traditions actually matter in their weddings and what theyve simply grown up with, they view them as important. He walks couples through what speaks to you, what makes you feel connected, what is authentically part of your life, or what are we doing for a family member, or for the community, or for the faith? Is that something we want to do, or is it something performative? Theres no right or wrong, but its really dissecting all the things that religion tells you to do at a weddinggoing through piece by piece, without judgment or without any sort of pressure.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

The White House is intervening to get rightwing commentator Candace Owens to stop spreading the conspiracy theory that French First Lady Brigitte Macron is transgender, Owens claimed in an interview with Tucker Carlson.Emmanuel Macron personally flew toD.C.and asked Trump to ask me to shut up, to just stop speaking about his wife, Owens said in an interview last Friday. I was messaged by the intermediary hours after Macron left, maybe even an hour after Macron had left, and said, We need to get on the phone with you. Related Candace Owens claims world leadersall seem to be homosexual in wild conspiracy theory She said that a staffer told her that someone close to Trump is asking me to ask you to stop talking about Brigittes penis.She claimed that the request came as part of negotiations for ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. 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 Thats how it was presented to me from a third-party person, she said. Owens statements, of course, should be taken with a grain of salt. She has been calling Brigitte Macron the mother of three children transgender for years now, saying that her real name is Jean-Michel Trogneux and that she raped her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron.The conspiracy theory has been spreading among the French far right for years now and can be traced to an antisemitic newsletter, Faits et Documents, from September 2020. Independent journalist Natacha Rey wrote a series of articles for the newsletter saying she had undertaken an investigation into the mystery of Brigitte Macron and talked to numerous experts. Her proof was that Brigitte Macron often covers her neck and that there arent many pictures online of Brigitte Macron from when she was young, before social media and before she was famous.Rey also said that Brigitte Macrons previous name was Jean-Michel Trogneux. Trogneux is Brigitte Macrons maiden name, and Rey said that Macrons brother, Jean-Michel, could not be contacted. Proof enough, apparently, that the brother never existed and was, in fact, Brigitte Macron herself.Rey elevated the rumor during a four-hour YouTube interview with anti-vaccine psychic Amandine Roy. Rey said that she has been researching Macron for three years now and that she had solid proof that Brigitte Macron is trans, stashed away in a sealed envelope, which was deposited with a lawyer with a well-known name.Brigitte Macron sued Rey and Roy in 2021. They were found liable and ordered to pay 8,000 (about $9,000) to Brigitte Macron and 5,000 (about $6,000) to her brother. Owens latched onto the French conspiracy theory and started spreading it on her podcast.I will say this until Im blue in the face, Owens said in 2024, Brigitte Macron is a man. He transitioned. His name used to be Jean-Michel Trogneux, and then he became Brigitte. And when Brigitte was 40 years oldand no one will counter this fact in the media. Instead, they just call it a conspiracy theory because thats what its alwaysjust call everybody names. Its a conspiracy theory.Earlier this year, Brigitte Macron sued Owens for defamation. The lawsuit claims that Owens obsession with their family has caused tremendous damage to the Macrons, causing global humiliation and turning their lives into fodder for profit-driven lies. Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,the lawsuit states,according toThe Independent.The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale, the suit adds. Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.The lawsuit has not caused Owens to back down from her bizarre claims. Earlier this week, she told Piers Morgan that Brigitte Macron was born a man and bet him $300,000 that it was true. Last time we discussed this onUncensored, I bet you $150,000 that you were wrong and that shes a woman. On X, when we discussed this further, I doubled it, this is for charity, to $300,000,Morgan said. You havent accepted that yet. So right now, $300,000 to charity, I say shes a woman. Are you prepared to take that bet?I am 1,000 percent prepared to take that bet, Owens replied. So we can totally accept that bet, I believe [Brigitte] Macron is a male and they will not be presenting any evidence on the contrary because they would have done it already.Its unclear how the bet will be enforced since, as a conspiracy theorist, Owens will likely invent reasons to dismiss any evidence she is presented with. The conspiracy theory is similar to one applied to Michelle Obama, where conservatives claimed that she was secretly transgender. Michelle Obama has never identified as LGBTQ+ and there is no reason to believe that she was assigned male at birth.Do I think [Michelle Obama] has a swinging you-know-what? rightwing commentator DeAnna Lorraine said on Infowars in 2020. Maybe. I think she might. I think she might, but itdoeslook suspicious.Both Emmanuel Macron and Barack Obama have both been the targets of far-right campaigns claiming that they are secretly gay.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Travis Hunter will make his two-way debut Saturday night when the Jacksonville Jaguars play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers in both teams' preseason opener.

The Mystics have traded Aaliyah Edwards to the Sun in exchange for Jacy Sheldon and the right to a first-round pick swap in 2026.

Manchester United have reached an agreement with RB Leipzig for striker Benjamin Sesko, sources have told ESPN.

These retired women in Texas have been through infertility, illness, layoffs, addiction and disappointing marriages. Now they are trying to create a utopia just for themselves.

The push comes as the president and his allies are pressing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps to benefit their party.

Right-wing commentators suggested there was widespread criticism of Ms. Sweeney over her new ad campaign. There wasnt, at least at first.

The Rationalists, a community focused on the risks of artificial intelligence, regularly gather with tech figures and other like-minded people in a complex that covers much of a city block.

BOISE, IDIn what is being hailed as a victory for advocates of the right to end ones life in total humiliation, the Idaho Legislature passed a new death with indignity law Thursday that will allow the terminally ill to be crushed by falling vending machines. Across our state, people dying of incurable diseases will now have the right to choose a slow, painful, and really embarrassing death, House Speaker Mike Moyle said of the bipartisan measure that is expected to be signed into law today, remarking that the option to die in the manner of a person who has rocked a vending machine back and forth, perhaps when it failed to dispense change or release a desired food item, had been legal in Switzerland for many decades. If theyre too sick to travel to an office break room, hotel hallway, or bowling alley, a vending machineassisted death can be carried out in a patients home, where they can be crushed to death while surrounded by deeply ashamed loved ones. At press time, a 33-year-old Pocatello man had become the first Idaho resident to die with his hands around a bag of Famous Amos cookies as two large male nurses pushed a snack machine over on top of him.The post New Death With Indignity Law Lets Terminally Ill Be Crushed By Falling Vending Machines appeared first on The Onion.

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Donald Trumps friend Tim Apple that is, gay Apple CEO Tim Cook presented the president with a gift made of glass and 24-karat gold Wednesday at the same White House press conference during which Trump announced that Cooks company would be exempt from a steep new tariff.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump announced that Apple had committed an additional $100 billion investment in American manufacturing and jobs, bringing the companys total investment in the U.S. over the next four years to $600 billion. As the Washington Post notes, Apples initial $500 billion commitment much of which would reportedly go toward paying employees and producing AppleTV+ shows came in February, following Trumps announcement of sweeping tariffs on goods imported from China as well as U.S. allies Mexico and Canada. According to the New York Times, only about $39 billion of that initial investment was money it had not already planned to spend in the U.S. Related Out Apple CEO Tim Cook joins big tech in making massive donation to Donald Trumps inauguration 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 Today, were proud to increase our investments across the United States to $600 billion over four years and launch our new American Manufacturing Program, Cook said in a Wednesday press release. This includes new and expanded work with 10 companies across America. They produce components that are used in Apple products sold all over the world, and were grateful to the President for his support.At the White House event, Trump touted Apples plan, as part of its American Manufacturing Program, to expand its existing partnership with U.S. supplier Corning to open a smartphone glass production line in Harrodsburg, Kentucky. The president then paused his speech to invite Cook to show off a little bit about the product that youre going to be doing in Kentucky. But rather than showing off one of Apples products, Cook approached the Resolute Desk to unbox a gift for Trump, consisting of a glass disk manufactured by Corning that fit into a 24-karat gold base. The disk was engraved with the presidents name, Cooks signature, and the words Made in USA 2025.Cook said the gift was a unique unit of one designed for Trump by a former U.S. Marine Corps corporal who now works for Apple.Later in the press conference, both the Post and the Times report, Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on U.S. companies that import chips used in semiconductors. But, he said, companies that commit to investing in the U.S., as Apple has done, would be exempt. Wednesdays press conference was in keeping with Cooks strategy, which began during Trumps first term in office, of cultivating a personal relationship with the president to benefit Apple. As the Post reported following the 2024 election, its a playbook many corporate leaders look to when dealing with Trump. Rather than sending lobbyists, Cook has maintained direct contact with Trump, who famously responds well to flattery, through personal phone calls and dinners. As a result, Trump referred to Cook as a friend of mine at a 2019 event while also referring to him as Tim Apple.At least one social media user noted in an X post that Cooks gift to Trump on Wednesday resembled an award. When the CEO presented it in the Oval Office, he shook Trumps hand, saying, Congratulations, Mr. President.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.