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In Denmarks Bay of Aarhus, archaeologists have discovered an 8,500-year-old Stone Age settlement that has been preserved like a time capsule underwater. What do you think?Enjoy it now. Itll all be condos and Citibanks by next year.Vivian Rentfro, Cart PusherMakes you wonder what else waters trying to hide.Esteban Gallardo, Van DetailerIf they need a wet/dry vac vendor, my brother-in-law can cut them a deal.Garth Hamer, Trinket AppraiserThe post 8,500-Year-Old Settlement Lost To Rising Sea Discovered Off Denmarks Coast appeared first on The Onion.

Cracker Barrel announced it was reverting to its old logo after a new, more streamlined design generated intense customer backlash and criticism from President Trump. What do you think?I have many treasured memories of seeing the old logo on my way to Dennys.Federico Littera, Tiara JewelerYou had me at Cracker Barrel scraps.Joshua Mirabal, Lock TesterIts good to know America can still whip up a big, furious mob in the face of any and all change.Jackie Brotherton, Cookie CrumblerThe post Cracker Barrel Scraps Logo Redesign appeared first on The Onion.

This old-school trick is so helpful. READ MORE...

The Chow's Gymnastics & Dance Institute is seen Aug. 4, 2025, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Scott McFetridge)2025-08-29T14:32:51Z WHY THIS MATTERS: Former gymnastics coach Sean Gardners rise and the sports inability to root him out came even as news of Larry Nassars decades-long sexual abuse of athletes was in the headlines and gyms were implementing safeguards to better protect athletes. The 38-year-old has been jailed pending federal court proceedings in Mississippi. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Long before his banishment from gymnastics and arrest after accusations he abused girls he coached, warning signs about Sean Gardner were coming from several directions his former boss, his gymnasts and their parents.The former boss says she brought her concerns about Gardners grooming behavior to USA Gymnastics, the sports national governing body. The parents and girls described telling coaches of inappropriate behavior at Gardners new job, an academy that produced Olympians and is owned by renowned coach Liang Chow Qiao.Yet Qiao not only kept Gardner on the job he promoted him.Associated Press interviews with four parents whose daughters trained under Gardner and a letter obtained by the AP from Gardners former employer to clients at her gym revealed that concerns about the coach were reported to gymnastics authorities as far back as 2018 four years before he was kicked out of the sport. One girl told Qiao during a meeting in 2020 that she had been touched inappropriately by Gardner during training but Qiao said any such contact was inadvertent and intended to save athletes from injury, a parent told AP. She felt totally invalidated, the parent said of the response from Qiao, who built his reputation coaching Olympic gold medalists Shawn Johnson and Gabby Douglas and Chinas womens national team. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. The watchdog responsible for investigating wrongdoing in Olympic sports confirmed to AP that Qiao and several other coaches were privately sanctioned for failing to report sexual misconduct allegations against Gardner after learning about them. Qiao did not return AP emails and phone messages seeking comment. Gardner, 38, has been jailed since his Aug. 14 arrest pending federal court proceedings in Mississippi. He hasnt entered a plea, and court records dont indicate if he has a lawyer. He did not return AP messages seeking comment before his arrest. Concerns at Chows Gymnastics were first raised in 2019One parent recalled attending a 2019 meeting with the parents of two other girls with Qiao to discuss their daughters concerns, including that Gardner was making them uncomfortable in the way he touched them while spotting and by talking about inappropriate subjects. The parent, like the others, spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to protect their daughters. The AP generally does not identify sexual abuse victims. The meeting came more than a year after Gardners former employer at a gym in Purvis, Mississippi, Candi Workman, said she discussed concerns with a USA Gymnastics attorney about troubling behavior involving Gardners coaching and grooming behavior.Gardner was removed from the sport in July 2022 after the U.S. Center for SafeSport received a sexual abuse complaint and issued a temporary ban a move it called the only reason Gardner was barred from coaching young athletes until his arrest. The center forwarded that information to Iowa police, and it was another three years before the FBI arrested Gardner on charges of child sexual exploitation. Among the most damning evidence were allegations that he installed a hidden camera in the bathroom of the Mississippi gym to record girls as young as 6 undressing. Gardners rise and the sports inability to root him out came even as news of Larry Nassars decades-long sexual abuse of gymnasts was in the headlines and gyms were implementing safeguards to better protect athletes. It was the inability of USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee to police predators, along with inaction by the FBI after learning of the abuse, that led to SafeSports founding in 2017.This is the same type of behavior where girls arent believed. They are cast aside. They are tamped down, said Megan Bonanni, a lawyer who helped secure a $138.7 million settlement for Nassars victims over the FBIs failures.What were seeing with Gardner, its multiple institutions failing to act with the urgency that child safety demands. ... Local police, SafeSport, USA Gymnastics and this gym. All of them. Former boss says she reported troubling behavior in 2018In her first comments on the case, Workman, the Mississippi gym owner, told gymnasts and their parents in a letter that she reported troubling behavior by Gardner to then-USA Gymnastics lawyer Mark Busby in January 2018. Workman wrote that her concerns were related to grooming, which USA Gymnastics defines as a process where a person builds trust and emotional connections with a child for the purpose of sexually abusing them.Workman did not elaborate on what she reported and hasnt returned messages from AP seeking comment. Busby, whose job at the time related to athlete safety and is now in private practice, declined to comment when reached by AP.The SafeSport center said it was notified by USA Gymnastics in January 2018 that one of its affiliated gyms had resolved a report involving Gardner. But the center said it didnt investigate further because the report was not related to sexual misconduct and it did not receive detailed information. Despite that, Gardner was able to leave Mississippi for a better job in another USA Gymnastics-affiliated facility Chows Gymnastics and Dance Institute, the West Des Moines, Iowa, gym that had become a mecca for top gymnasts. Despite concerns at Chows, Gardner was promotedChows Gymnastics said Gardner passed a standard USA Gymnastics background check when he was hired in 2018.Concerns about his behavior in the gym began soon after, yet Gardner was consistently given more responsibility. Girls in one training group pushed for other adults to intervene, which resulted in the 2019 meeting between parents and Qiao.But not long after that meeting, Chows Gymnastics promoted Gardner in January 2020 to head coach of a key girls team, telling parents in an email obtained by AP: He has demonstrated the leadership and put good effort to do his job well. Gardner was also director of the Chows Winter Classic, a meet that draws hundreds of gymnasts to Iowa every year.Chows Gymnastics kept Gardner on the payroll after he was arrested in August 2021 for second-offense drunken driving, a crash in which he ran another car off the road and his blood alcohol content recorded more than three times the legal limit for driving. Gardner was sentenced to a week in jail and two years of probation.In a statement, Chows Gymnastics said it acted promptly, responsibly and in full compliance after it received notice in April 2022 that Gardner was to be barred from one-on-one or unsupervised contact with athletes while SafeSport investigated unspecified misconduct.Chows Gymnastics said that it enforced those measures and removed Gardner as head coach. The gym said it fired Gardner in July 2022 after SafeSport strengthened Gardners restrictions to a temporary suspension from coaching and all contact with athletes.Although there had been no finding of misconduct at that time, Chows Gymnastics chose to err on the side of protecting its athletes, the statement said.SafeSport said the sanctions in 2022 against Qiao and the other coaches who failed to report sexual misconduct allegations included warnings, required education, probation, and suspension in one case. The center does not normally comment about specific cases but said in a statement to AP that it has the ability to correct the record in light of the recent public letter issued by Chows Gymnastics and Dance Institute. Gyms claim of prompt response infuriates parentsThe gyms statement infuriated some parents and former Chows pupils who said concerns about Gardner had been widely known. Several of Gardners students left the gym beginning in 2019 in what parents called a mass exodus.The parents of one gymnast recalled witnessing Gardner touch another girls buttocks while standing behind her during practice. Gardner told the parents that his hand slipped by accident, and the father recalled warning Gardner that there would be no accidents with my daughter.When that girl eventually quit the gym due in part to Gardners conduct, the father recalled restraining himself when Gardner came out to the parking lot to say he was sorry.Bonanni, the attorney for survivors of Nassars abuse, said she is troubled by the slow response in the Gardner case and expects more victims to come forward.The damage caused by this kind of abuse is permanent, and its really long-lasting, she said. It changes the trajectory of a young persons life. ___Pells reported from Denver. RYAN J. FOLEY Foley covers national news for The Associated Press and is based in Iowa City, Iowa. A 21-year AP veteran, he was part of the AP team honored as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for the 2024 series, Lethal Restraint. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-08-29T13:52:46Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump has told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he wont be spending $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid, effectively cutting the budget without going through the legislative branch.Trump, who sent a letter to Johnson, R-La., on Thursday, is using whats known as a pocket rescission when a president submits a request to Congress to not spend approved funds toward the end of the fiscal year, so that Congress cannot act on the request in the 45-day timeframe and the money goes unspent as a result. Its the first time in nearly 50 years a president has used one. The fiscal year draws to a close at the end of September.The letter was posted Friday morning on the X account of the White House Office of Management and Budget. It said the funding would be cut from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, an early target of Trumps efforts to cut foreign aid. The last pocket rescission was in 1977 by then-President Jimmy Carter, and the Trump administration argues that its a legally permissible tool. But such a move, if standardized by the White House, could effectively bypass Congress on key spending choices and potentially wrest some control over spending from the House and the Senate. The 1974 Impoundment Control Act gives the president the authority to propose canceling funds approved by Congress. Congress can vote on pulling back the funds or sustaining them, but by proposing the rescission so close to Sept. 30 the White House ensures that the money wont be spent and the funding lapses. Trump had previously sought to get congressional backing for rescissions and succeeded in doing so in July when the House and the Senate approved $9 billion worth of cuts. Those rescissions clawed back funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid. The Trump administration has made deep reductions to foreign aid one of its hallmark policies, despite the relatively meager savings relative to the deficit and possible damage to Americas reputation abroad as foreign populations lose access to food supplies and development programs.In February, the administration said it would eliminate almost all of USAIDs foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance abroad. USAID has since been dismantled, and its few remaining programs have been placed under State Department control.The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed to the Supreme Court to stop lower court decisions that have preserved foreign aid, including for global health and HIV and AIDS programs, that Trump has tried to freeze.The New York Post first reported the pocket rescission. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

Pansexual nonbinary drag and theatre performer Jinkx Monsoonrecently explained why she thinks political discussions around transgender medical care are short-sighted and dishonest.Speaking with comedian Gianmarco Soresi during a recent episode of his podcast, The Downside, Monsoon said she thought that she might be an undiagnosed intersex person. Intersex people are individuals born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesnt fit the typical definitions of female or male. Related J.K. Rowling savagely mocked for using initials to appear more masculine to readers Monsoon said that her mother admitted to her that she was intersex, revealing that doctors had found that she had an underdeveloped testicle that they thought was a tumorous cyst.My big philosophy right now is we cant have an accurate conversation about trans identity, because we have not even had the conversation about how many [intersex people] there are, Monsoon said. 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 There are 78 variations of intersex that we know of, and we dont test for it at all, Monsoon continued, noting that many intersex varieties are chromosomal without necessarily altering a persons external appearance.The only time that we diagnose intersex is if you show external signs, if you have genitalia that gives an impression [of being intersexually between male and female], she explained. And then, do you know what they do? The parents and the doctor choose the babys gender, and they perform genital reassignment surgery on the baby. That sounds like what [we transgender people are] being blamed for doing, she said, referencing the oft-repeated claim that trans activists want to perform irreversible genital surgeries on children. Bottom surgery is not performed on trans minors in the U.S. and any form of gender-affirming surgery is very rare for minors.Actually, yet again, the number one culprit is actually straight white men, she added.In response, Soresi joked, Well, theres some doctors that are women, too, and Monsoon laughed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gianmarco Soresi (@gianmarcosoresi) To root out transgender athletes from secretly competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Summer Games, the president has said he plans on requiring female athletes to undergo gender confirmation tests. Experts have said that such tests may potentially out numerous cisgender female athletes as intersex.Intersex activists have long sought legal protections to stop medical providers from inflicting irreversible surgeries on the genitals of intersex children.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Nature, Published online: 29 August 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-02725-1Average expected lifespan is still increasing in high-income countries, but the rate of increase is slowing.

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Frontline healthcare workers hold a demonstration on Labor Day outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Hollywood in Los Angeles, Sep. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)2025-08-29T03:30:42Z DALLAS (AP) From barbecues to getaways to shopping the sales, many people across the U.S. mark Labor Day the federal holiday celebrating the American worker by finding ways to relax.The holiday with activist roots is celebrated on the first Monday of September, creating a three-day weekend that marks the unofficial end of summer.Over 17 million passengers and crew were expected to be screened for air travel from Thursday through Wednesday, according to the Transportation Security Administration, with Friday being the day with the most travelers. AAA said that according to its booking data, top destinations for the weekend include Seattle, New York and Orlando, Florida.Heres what to know about Labor Day:Labor Days origins date to the Gilded Age Activists first sought to establish a day to pay tribute to workers in the late 1800s.The first Labor Day celebration in the U.S. took place in New York City on Sept. 5, 1882, when some 10,000 workers marched in a parade organized by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor. Workers quality of life was declining as they transitioned from artisan to factory jobs, while factory owners quality of life was just skyrocketing, said Todd Vachon, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. In the years that followed, a handful of cities and states adopted laws recognizing Labor Day. President Grover Cleveland signed a congressional act in 1894 making it a federal holiday. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. That was the same year that workers for the Pullman Palace Car Company went on strike after the railcar-maker cut wages without reducing rent in the company-owned town where workers lived near Chicago, Vachon said. Over 12 workers were killed after Cleveland sent federal troops to crush the strike, he said. Clevelands move to establish Labor Day as a federal holiday is seen by some historians as a way for him to make peace with the working class, Vachon said. Labor Day has become the unofficial end of summerTravelers crowd airports and highways for end-of-summer escapes, and backyard chefs prepare cookouts for family and friends.Barbecuing has been a part of Labor Day celebrations from the start, said Robert F. Moss, food writer, culinary historian and author of Barbecue: The History of an American Institution. He said it was already such an entrenched tradition in the U.S. that when the labor movements developed in the late 19th century, it was natural to way to celebrate as large groups gathered. In the 20th century, the holidays barbecues moved more toward gatherings of friends and family in backyards, he said.It still has a lot of that same communal sense, gathering around the grill, eating together, he said.How the labor movement has evolved over the decadesWhen Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894, unions in the U.S. were largely contested and courts would often rule strikes illegal, leading to violent disputes, Vachon said. It wasnt until the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 that private sector employees were granted the right to join unions. Later into the 20th century, states also began passing legislation to allow unionization in the public sector. But even today, not all states allow collective bargaining for public workers.In recent years, Vachon said, theres been a resurgence in labor organizing, activism, interest and support. The connection between fashion and Labor DayThe adage that one shouldnt wear white after Labor Day is a rule thats broken with fashionable results, but where did it originate?Fashion experts say it likely goes back to the Gilded Age the same period that spawned Labor Day. The cool, white frocks worn by wealthy New Yorkers summering in places such as Newport, Rhode Island, would be packed away upon their return to the city with its dirt-packed streets. Christy Crutsinger, a professor in merchandising and digital retailing at University of North Texas, heard the adage from generations of women in her family. But the fashion worlds not working that way anymore, she added.People think it, say it, but dont abide by it, she said.Still, fashion is on the mind of many around Labor Day, thanks to back-to-school shopping and a switch by many business people from a more relaxed summer dress code, said Daniel James Cole, adjunct assistant professor in fashion history at the Fashion Institute of Technology and co-author of The History of Modern Fashion. The holiday, he said, is kind of this hinge between summertime dress and fun to going back to more serious pursuits.___Associated Press journalist Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed to this report.

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss our top games, dense street imagery," and first-person experiences with apps.JOSEPH: This week we published Flock Wants to Partner With Consumer Dashcam Company That Takes Trillions of Images a Month. This story, naturally, started with a tip that Flock was going to partner with this dashcam company. We then verified it with another source, and Flock confirmed it was exploring a relationship with Nexar. Pretty straightforward all in all. There are still many, many questions about what the integration will look like exactly, but my understanding is that it is what it looks like: Flock wants to use images taken from Nexar dashcams, and Nexar sells those cameras for use in their private vehicles.Theres another element that made its way into a couple of paragraphs but which should be really stressed. Nexar publishes a livemap that anyone can access and explore. It shows photos ripped from its users dashcams (with license plates, people, and car interiors blurred). Nexar has then applied AI or machine learning to these which identify roadside hazards, signs, etc. The idea is to give agencies, companies, researchers, etc a free sample of their data which they might want to obtain later.

Add LEGO to the list of hobbies that Trump has made more expensive and worse with his tariff policy. Thanks to Americas ever shifting trade policies, LEGO has stopped shipping more than 2,500 pieces from its Pick a Brick program to both the United States and Canada.Pick a Brick allows LEGO fans to buy individual bricks, which is important in the fandom because certain pieces are hard to come by or are crucial to build specific types of creations. LEGO, a Danish company, says that program will no longer be available to Americans and Canadians.LEGO fansite New Elementary first noticed the change on August 25, four days ahead of the August 29 elimination of the de minimis trade exemption in the US. Many of the individual LEGO bricks in the Pick a Brick collection cost less than a dollar and its likely that the the elimination of the de minimis rule, which waived import fees on goods valued less than $800, made the Pick a Brick program untenable.Some LEGO sets are simple boxes of a few pieces and others are vast and complicated reconstructions of pop culture icons that use thousands of individual bricks. The LEGO Millenium Falcon, for example, uses more than 7,000 individual pieces. When a specific piece goes missing it can be hard to replace. To service that need, third party services like BrickLink sell allow people to purchase individual pieces. LEGOs in-house version of this is its Pick a Brick store, a place where enthusiasts could choose from thousands of different individual LEGOs and buy them piece by piece, usually for less than a dollar each.A small subset of the Pick a Brick pieces, around 1,500 of them the store calls its bestsellers, are shipped to the United States from a warehouse in America. But the standard collection of less popular pieces ship from Denmark, where LEGO is headquartered. Those pieces, more than 2,000 of them according to fans, are no longer available in the United States and Canada.The Pick a Brick website called this a service pause. In the US & Canada, Standard pieces are temporarily unavailable. You can still shop our Bestseller range which includes thousands of the most popular bricks and pieces ready to order, said a message at the top of the site.LEGO fans online said that they saw their shopping carts emptied in the middle of building projects. This is annoying. I just set up a big PAB order and then saved it. I just looked and 18 of my items are no longer available, a comment in the r/LEGO community said.My whole Standard cart was wiped out... regret not ordering now. Had a lot of dual molded legs in there for Star Wars figure boot upgrades, looks like they're all gone now, said another.Others were upset that Canada was lumped in with the United States. Why are we being caught up in Trumps tariff shitstorm??? Ship the [Pick a Brick] orders straight to Toronto or something! Were practically neighbours. We even share a land border with Denmark now, one commenter said.This is inherently unfair to Canadian buyers like myself. I primarily stick to lego trains, so now if I want to do any more custom builds, I need to search harder to get what I used to on PAB. Glad I got my last order in before this happened, it sucks that there's no Canadian warehouses, said another.Do you know anything else about this story? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +1 347 762-9212 or send me an email at matthew@404media.co.The de minimis rule officially ended Friday, and were only just beginning to understand the ripple effects that change will have on the American economy. The only thing that is certain is that everything is getting more expensive and complicated. Some national mail carriers have stopped shipping to the U.S. entirely. Companies that move electronics, board games, and other small items on eBay are worried about the future.The de minimis rule waived fees on more than 4 million packages every year, some of those were small amounts of plastic LEGO pieces. For now, LEGO fans in the US will have to find workarounds.LEGO did not respond to 404 Medias request for comment.

At 35, Lieutenant Rae Timberlake has spent just over half their life in the United States Navy. Now theyre wrapping up their career due to the presidents second transgender military ban. When Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gleefully cheerleaded the ejection of trans servicemembers, he characterized it as no more dudes in dresses.After giving 18 years of their life and defining a part of their identity through service to their country, Timberlake is now being forced out by an administration that doesnt even acknowledge their identity in its hateful speeches. Related Ive seen political tension between trans men & feminist lesbians change over the last 5 decades Timberlake, who is the Communications Director for the non-profit SPARTA Pride, is obviously angry about the bans effect on all trans people who serve. But the effect on the rarely-mentioned trans masc servicemembers is a particular point of frustration.I honestly think its weird because the military is one of the safest places for women that are masc or want to present more masc because its a very masculine environment. So I think if you are masc-presenting or trans-masculine, people are generally more accepting of that. 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 While trans people have become a hot political topic, not every identity is discussed in equal measure. We hear concerns about trans women in bathrooms and uproar over trans girls playing sports, but the presence of trans men in the conversation is often only notable by its absence.Harper Seldin, a Staff Attorney at the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project, explained how the discussion of trans rights often carefully attacks trans femme identities while ignoring trans men and boys. With the way that the anti-trans coalition frames the issue of medical care for transgender minors, even that framing truly erases trans men.This absence is clear on both sides of the aisle. While were eager to talk about how a trans woman threw the first brick at Stonewall and expound on the forgotten history of trans women in the early 1900s, trans men tend to be less discussed.Jamison Green has been living openly as a trans man since the 1980s. Along with his extensive activism over the last forty years, Green wrote Becoming a Visible Man in 2004, which explores masculinity and overlooked stories of trans men. This year, he co-edited A History of Transgender Medicine in the United States. Green recalls that when he was doing public speaking and trainings in the 90s, people had a very set idea of what a trans person might be, and it wasnt a trans man. Theyd be disappointed because they were expecting a transsexual, who they think is a man in a dress, he said.Green has seen the effects of this way of thinking over and over, whether it comes in the form of people being blown away that someone who was assigned female at birth could look like him, or by the way that some people see all trans men as interchangeable and regularly mistake him for his contemporaries, such as Stephen Whittle or Loren Cameron.Why anti-trans groups ignore trans menTrans people have become a political punching bag for much the same reason that immigrants have: Were easy targets. As Timberlake points out, Its still more socially acceptable to paint [trans people] as other or bad, whereas conventional racism and colorism is less palatable in the mainstream. Its clearly a winning issue.While thats proven to be a winning strategy overall, it relies on a focus on trans women. Green, Seldin, and Timberlake all agree that theres a root cause behind both the attacks and the erasure: misogyny.If theres nothing particularly biologically innate about being a man, theres nothing particularly supreme about being a man Trans men reveal sort of the artifice behind this idea of male supremacy.Harper Seldin, Staff Attorney at the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV ProjectHowever, in each of their theories, that misogyny takes a different form. For Timberlake, its about how fragile masculinity makes trans women a simpler target. The worst insult to a man is that hes not a man, muses Timberlake. So its really easy to identify trans women as a bad thing, or a boogeyman. I think its all rooted in misogyny, and trans men, trans masculine people dont fit that narrative.For Green, misogyny fuels dismissal: Of course women want to be men. Because who cares what women do? Theyll never be real men anyway, so theres no threat.Seldin goes a step further, seeing the anti-trans movements response to trans women vs trans men as representative of trying to uphold the patriarchy. Trans women can be seen as challenging the patriarchy because theyre perceived as giving up manhood, which doesnt make sense in a framework of male supremacy. To avoid acknowledging that idea, trans women are demonized as predators, deviants, and a threat to women. But for trans men, the idea of becoming men would be desirable under a patriarchal model, but Seldin points out the ability to do so would weaken that very framework: If theres nothing particularly biologically innate about being a man, theres nothing particularly supreme about being a man Trans men reveal sort of the artifice behind this idea of male supremacy.The only way to combat that issue is to either lean into Greens point that the patriarchy doesnt see trans men as real men, or to try to ignore their existence. The anti-trans lobby is very keen to keep the conversation on trans women, where they can stoke outrage rather than acknowledging trans men and face difficult questions about a societal system built on the idea of male supremacy.Seldin points out that we know this is, at least in part, a deliberate choice. Theres documentation in Project 2025 promoting a focus specifically on trans women in bathrooms and sports to push fear and anger, and weve seen that procedural shift from politicians after marriage equality was passed. Why trans advocates ignore trans menPart of what makes the erasure of trans men from these political conversations possible is how plainly some of the arguments made against trans women would fall apart if applied to trans men. This is particularly true with the trans military ban. The administration suggested that trans people affect military readiness by not being fit for duty, taking excessive medical leave, forcing people to think about pronouns, and costing taxpayers a significantly larger amount than other service members because of their medical bills.None of these arguments withstands any real scrutiny. The cost is relatively low for gender-affirming care compared to other medical needs service members might have. Medical leave for gender-affirming surgeries can be planned and is comparable to many other surgeries. All service members are required to pass regular fitness tests to remain in service. And pronouns are just part of the English language. Related Masculinity is crippling society. Could trans men be the key to changing that? But the idea that someone would become a worse soldier because they were trans masc and taking hormones is bizarre, and if that was brought up more often, the public would probably see through it.Timberlake explains: As somebody whos been on T for like four years now, my run times are better. My physical performance is better I just dont think that theres a valid argument that being on testosterone makes me less capable. But despite that, there are arguments for why politicians who are generally trans allies might not raise the topic of trans men.For Seldin, it comes down to the fact that the issue with anti-trans hate isnt its lack of comprehensive attacks across the board. Rather, it is the fact that it comes from an uninformed or bigoted place to begin with.The existence of trans men is not a rejoinder to any particular anti-trans narrative. The true rejoinder to the anti-trans narrative is that gender is complicated and life is a rich tapestry and that gender expression doesnt take anything away from anybody else. And that in seeking to make trans peoples lives smaller and shackled to sex assigned to birth, it actually makes everyones life smaller because of what it means about reifying gender roles in a way thats tied specifically to biology. Green, on the other hand, suggests that it comes down to a lack of visibility and understanding for who trans men are. Related Conservatives want to separate trans & reproductive rights. Trans men are uniting the movements. I think there are lots of trans men who are trying to be visible, and I think people dont give a sh*t I think probably part of it is that the politicians dont really understand trans people They dont know how to make an argument about the medical necessity of our healthcare. I just dont think they have a grasp on what kinds of discrimination we actually face and what kinds of institutionalized systematic oppression we have endured for forever. Why it is critical to talk about trans men moreBoth Seldin and Green noted that there are some benefits to the lack of attention, particularly for those who have passing privilege. One of the few times that trans men come up in more mainstream discourse is in memes of muscly bearded trans men in restrooms, highlighting the absurdity of them being told to use the womens room.Green recounted anecdotes of regularly going to public meetings in San Francisco and people questioning why no trans men were attending. All of that shows how trans men can fly under the radar at times, and, combined with anti-trans groups painting a smaller target on them, it is a small plus. I just dont think they have a grasp on what kinds of discrimination we actually face and what kinds of institutionalized systematic oppression we have endured for forever.Jamison Green, writer and activistBut Green is quick to point out that its not as simple as that: We are often very invisible. And thats a double-edged sword. Its a blessing and a curse. Our needs go unaddressed. Trans men are often particularly lonely. There are advantages to being able to just move through society, but to be invisible [means] that no one knows how to meet our needs.Seldin pointed to evidence that while theres the benefit of not being directly attacked as often, trans men are still affected by legislation and sentiments built by anti-trans rhetoric. Rules driven by those demonizing trans women prevent all trans people from accessing services. Trans boys and men are still losing access to healthcare, school sports, and more.Beyond that, Seldin worries about the lack of attention given to healthcare for trans men: Less visibility means less pressure to provide better resources.Healthcare for trans men is under-researched and under-invested in. As trans men, it can be difficult to access the kind of healthcare that we need because spaces that cater to people with uteruses may not be particularly welcoming. So that can also be difficult, to connect trans men with appropriate healthcare resources, not just in the context of reproductive healthcare, but any kind of healthcare.Worrying about healthcare access is part of what moved Green to be so vocal in his activism. He recounts the story of Billy Tipton, a trans man and jazz singer who kept his gender identity a secret from his family for his entire life. Tipton eventually became ill and avoided going to a doctor for fear that this secret would be revealed. He passed away from a treatable illness. If people dont know who we are, were never going to be safe. They will never know how to take care of our needs when we are elderly, infirm, vulnerable in any way.These thoughts drove Green to work to make trans men more visible, but his peers feared the other edge of that sword. They asked him not to do that work, saying, If they find out about us, theyll take everything away from us.But Green has remained resolute: I think if people understand our bodies and who we are, well be safer in the world.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

US Open organizers insist the conditions are the same as last year. But players disagree. The catch: They can't decide if they're faster or slower.

Deep within obscure footnotes, the Trump administration is claiming more of Congresss constitutional power of the purse by threatening to block funding.

After a bruising political fight, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a new congressional map. But the Republican-led Legislature, newly emboldened, has not stopped there.

The White House notified Congress that it plans to use a legally untested maneuver to circumvent lawmakers and claw back more money for foreign aid programs.

Patrick Braxton won the first mayoral election in a half century in the small town of Newbern, five years after its leaders put up roadblocks to his assuming office.

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This late 1980s photo provided by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research shows computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton in Toronto. (CIFAR via AP)2025-08-29T11:54:37Z TORONTO (AP) At 77 years old, Geoffrey Hinton has a new calling in life. Like a modern-day prophet, the Nobel Prize winner is raising alarms about the dangers of uncontrolled and unregulated artificial intelligence.Frequently dubbed the Godfather of AI, Hinton is known for his pioneering work on deep learning and neural networks which helped lay the foundation for the AI technology often used today. Feeling somewhat responsible, he began speaking publicly about his concerns in 2023 after he left his job at Google, where he worked for more than a decade.As the technology and investment dollars powering AI have advanced in recent years, so too have the stakes behind it. It really is godlike, Hinton said.Hinton is among a growing number of prominent tech figures who speak of AI using language once reserved for the divine. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has referred to his companys technology as a magic intelligence in the sky, while Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, has even argued that AI could help bring about the Antichrist. Will AI bring condemnation or salvation?There are plenty of skeptics who doubt the technology merits this kind of fear, including Dylan Baker, a former Google employee and lead research engineer at the Distributed AI Research Institute, which studies the harmful impacts of AI.I think oftentimes theyre operating from magical fantastical thinking informed by a lot of sci-fi that presumably they got in their formative years, Baker said. Theyre really detached from reality.Although chatbots like ChatGPT only recently penetrated the zeitgeist, certain Silicon Valley circles have prophesied of AIs power for decades.Were trying to wake people up, Hinton said. To get the public to understand the risks so that the public pressures politicians to do something about it.While researchers like Hinton are warning about the existential threat they believe AI poses to humanity, there are CEOs and theorists on the other side of the spectrum who argue we are approaching a kind of technological apocalypse that will usher in a new age of human evolution. In an essay published last year titled Machines of Loving Grace: How AI Could Transform the World for the Better, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei lays out his vision for a future if everything goes right with AI.The AI entrepreneur predicts the defeat of most diseases, the growth in biological and cognitive freedom, the lifting of billions of people out of poverty to share in the new technologies, a renaissance of liberal democracy and human rights. While Amodei opts for the phrase powerful AI, others use terms like the singularity or artificial general intelligence (AGI). Though proponents of these concepts dont often agree on how to define them, they refer broadly to a hypothetical future point at which AI will surpass human-level intelligence, potentially triggering rapid, irreversible changes to society. Computer scientist and author Ray Kurzweil has been predicting since the 1990s that humans will one day merge with technology, a concept often called transhumanism. Were not going to actually tell what comes from our own brain versus what comes from AI. Its all going to be embedded within ourselves. And its going to make ourselves more intelligent, Kurzweil said. In his latest book, The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI, Kurzweil doubles down on his earlier predictions. He believes that by 2045 we will have multiplied our own intelligence a millionfold.Yes, he eventually conceded when asked if he considers AI to be his religion. It informs his sense of purpose. My thoughts about the future and the future of technology and how quickly its coming definitely affects my attitudes towards being here and what Im doing and how I can influence other people, he said. Visions of the apocalypse bubble upDespite Thiels explicit invocation of language from the Book of Revelation, the positive visions of an AI future are more apocalyptic in the historical sense of the word.In the ancient world, apocalyptic is not negative, explains Domenico Agostini, a professor at the University of Naples LOrientale who studies ancient apocalyptic literature. Weve completely changed the semantics of this word.The term apocalypse comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, meaning revelation. Although often associated today with the end of the world, apocalypses in ancient Jewish and Christian thought were a source of encouragement in times of hardship or persecution.God is promising a new world, said Professor Robert Geraci, who studies religion and technology at Knox College. In order to occupy that new world, you have to have a glorious new body that triumphs over the evil we all experience.Geraci first noticed apocalyptic language being used to describe AIs potential in the early 2000s. Kurzweil and other theorists eventually inspired him to write his 2010 book, Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality. The language reminded him of early Christianity. Only were gonna slide out God and slide in your pick of cosmic science laws that supposedly do this and then we were going to have the same kind of glorious future to come, he said.Geraci argues this kind of language hasnt changed much since he began studying it. What surprises him is how pervasive it has become. What was once very weird is kind of everywhere, he said.Has Silicon Valley finally found its God?One factor in the growing cult of AI is profitability.Twenty years ago, that fantasy, true or not, wasnt really generating a lot of money, Geraci said. Now, though, theres a financial incentive to Sam Altman saying AGI is right around the corner.But Geraci, who argues ChatGPT isnt even remotely, vaguely, plausibly conscious, believes there may be more driving this phenomenon.Historically, the tech world has been notoriously devoid of religion. Its secular reputation had so preceded it that one episode of the satirical HBO comedy series, Silicon Valley, revolves around outing a co-worker as Christian.Rather than viewing the skeptical tech worlds veneration of AI as ironic, Geraci believes theyre causally linked.We human beings are deeply, profoundly, inherently religious, he said, adding that the impressive technologies behind AI might appeal to people in Silicon Valley who have already pushed aside ordinary approaches to transcendence and meaning.No religion is without skepticsNot every Silicon Valley CEO has been converted even if they want in on the tech. When people in the tech industry talk about building this one true AI, its almost as if they think theyre creating God or something, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a podcast last year as he promoted his companys own venture into AI. Although transhumanist theories like Kurzweils have become more widespread, they are still not ubiquitous within Silicon Valley. The scientific case for that is in no way stronger than the case for a religious afterlife, argues Max Tegmark, a physicist and machine learning researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Like Hinton, Tegmark has been outspoken about the potential risks of unregulated AI. In 2023, as president of the Future of Life Institute, Tegmark helped spearhead an open letter calling for powerful AI labs to immediately pause the training of their systems.The letter collected more than 33,000 signatures, including from Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Tegmark considers the letter to have been successful because it helped mainstream the conversation about AI safety, but believes his work is far from over. With regulations and safeguards, Tegmark thinks AI can be used as a tool to do things like cure diseases and increase human productivity. But it is imperative, he argues, to stay away from the quite fringe race that some companies are running the pseudoreligious pursuit to try to build an alternative God.There are a lot of stories, both in religious texts and in, for example, ancient Greek mythology, about how when we humans start playing gods, it ends badly, he said. And I feel theres a lot of hubris in San Francisco right now. ___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. KRYSTA FAURIA Fauria covers religion and culture for The Associated Press. She is based in Los Angeles. instagram mailto

Out gay Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) compared civil rights abuses that immigrant detainees face under the current presidential administration to the more than 125,000 Japanese-Americans forcibly relocated to internment camps during WWII. His parents and grandparents were among them.In a column for The Rafu Shimpo, a California-based Japanese-American English-language newspaper, Takano specifically wrote about Alligator Alcatraz, a recently-shuttered immigrant detainment facility in the Florida Everglades where inmates have reported overcrowding, beatings, and gropings from guards, worms in food, backed up toilets that do not flush, a lack of natural light or clocks, floors flooded with wastewater, limited showers, constant mosquitoes, and tents with relentless heat. Related Out Rep. Mark Takano sounds alarm over officials deeply disturbing comment on Holocaust deniers Although U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams recently ordered Florida and the current presidential administration to close the facility by the end of October, Takano says the facility was hastily set up to quickly and efficiently move people far from urban centers to a facility where order would be simple to impose.I have seen that logic before, Takano wrote. When the government imprisoned my family in camps, officials wrapped the policy in the language of necessity and security. They cited military zones and expedience, and they used banal words to mask a violation of the Constitution. 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 There are distinctions between Japanese American incarceration of WWII and Alligator Alcatraz. But at its heart, there is not a wide gap between the two, he wrote, adding that both groups were forcibly removed and placed in mass confinement despite having done nothing wrong and without any due process.While state officials denied wrongdoing at the Florida detainment facility, he said, detainees were held without charges while being barred from meeting with lawyers and advocates for routine meetings. In both instances, the government claimed that violation of human rights en masse was and is justified because of emergency circumstances, he added. In both cases, there was and is no vetting, due process, or writ of habeas corpus. The government is so concerned with making it appear that they are executing on wild campaign promises that no human rights, no Constitution, and no court orders can stand in its way.This administration, which has leaned heavily into the optics of the prison and celebrated its cruelty, treats people as cattle to be processed rather than human beings with rights. Trumps ever-growing state apparatus makes sloppy, careless, and rushed arrests, Takano wrote, which is precisely why independent oversight and real access are not optional luxuries but basic safeguards.He then noted that historians have concluded that the WWII internment camps happened due to racial prejudice, wartime hysteria, and a failure of political leadership. He then called for greater transparency into the government officials overseeing the current human rights violations in detention facilities, the provision of detainees meaningful access to legal counsel, and improved access for independent observers (including members of Congress and credible journalists) who wish to witness the facilities conditions.None of this is radical. It is the bare minimum in a democracy that claims to respect the rule of law, he wrote, adding, The last time our nation failed this test, my family paid the price. I will not be quiet while others are made to pay it again.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Born with an elongated pure golden spoon gyrating in and out of his oral cavity, Donald John Trump suffers from a mental disorder that does not appear currently in the psychiatric nomenclature. Possibly following his presidency, however, it might be listed in the next incarnation of TheDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.Professional clinical psychiatrists and psychologists diagnosed Donald Trump with mental conditions in their 2017bookThe Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President. Additionally, his niece, trained psychologist Mary Trump, said he shows clear signs of narcissistic and sociopathic personality disorders. But we can also add another mental ailment to the list. Related Is President Trump really a humanitarian with a big heart? Lets take a look. Entitlement, though one of the conditions of narcissism, in the case of Donald Trump, has extended to what I term Grand Entitlement Disorder. Its a condition in which the individual truly believes they were born with special privileges and abilities far beyond those of mere mortals.In royal spheres, this is called the Divine Right of Kings, the idea that God had chosen certain individuals and their lineage to sit upon the thrones of kingdoms to rule as they please, and even to plunder and pillage while amassing the spoils for their own personal gain. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Recontextualized in the realm of a president within a constitutional democratic republic, like the United States, this belief was clearly articulated by the 37thU.S. President, Richard Milhous Nixon, when he told British reporter David Frost in a 1977 televised interview, If the president does it, its not illegal.The difference, though, between the attitudes, actions, and political philosophies of Nixon and Trump, is that the former president understood and respected his nations founding documents, and especially the Constitution, whereas, the latter president neither understands nor respects any document other than those he asks others to compose for him, most specifically, his hastily written and often contradictory executive orders. While Nixon attempted to hide or cover up his extra-constitutional misdeeds, Trump openly and publicly acts out his disdain for the rule of law.Trump has been aided and abetted by the Republican Party-led Congress. Individual Republicans have supported his policies no matter how extreme or out of bounds because they understand that standing up to Trump would probably end with the loss of their seats in the next election cycle.The highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision inTrump v. United Stateson July 1, 2024, virtually validated this presidents divine rights by providing broad presidential immunity. The court declared that a president is immune from prosecution when exercising the core powers of the presidency. Immunity means that a personcannotbe prosecuted. Although the majority of justices did not outline precisely what these core powers were nor what would be considered outside of them as an unofficial act, there is no higher or stronger an example of a core power than whats outlined in Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution stating that the President shall be the Commander in Chief.During arguments on this case in front of the Supreme Court, Justices asked Trumps lawyers whether a President could dispatch a Navy SEAL Team to kill his political enemies. The courts ruling seemed to have answered its own question in the affirmative.If a president, acting in accordance with their official capacity, orders the military to kill other Americans judges, elected officials, reporters, your neighbor they can do so, and that president would be immune from accountability under criminal law. The Supreme Court, composed of three Trump-nominated justices, practically elevated the presidency to a virtual monarchy as a chief executive officer above the law. Now that many of the constitutional guardrails have been obliterated, Donald Trumps Grand Entitlement Disorder runs rampant:No more following the Constitutions anti-corruption emoluments clause.No more restraints under thePosse Comitatus Actthat had prohibited federal armed forces from acting as civilian law enforcement officers in the U.S. to execute laws. No more need for due process under the law.No more reluctance to construct inhumane prison gulags in the United States and to deport undocumented immigrants to similar facilities in other countries for detainment and severe punishment.No more worrying about siding with our enemies or standing with our allies. No more concern about using the office of the presidency for financial enrichment.No more requirement that the president have even a basic understanding of economic policy before singularly imposing obsessive and random tariffs.No more need to refrain from politicizing the Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, the Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Weather Service, or any and all government departments. No more concern about the federal government taking over and influencing private companies and educational institutions.No more concern about harassing the free press or attempting to close media outlets.No more requirements to conduct free and fair elections but instead, permission to fraudulently flaunt Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to determine elections through gerrymandering by race, thereby inflicting federal control over state elections. No more restraint against prosecuting the prosecutors and law firms who investigated and prosecuted the president during his first term.No more hesitancy to downplay and whitewash U.S. history as represented in federal museums.No more hesitancy over harassing leaders of other countries into relinquishing their territories to the United States or other invading countries. No more concern over the physical health of the U.S. public.No more worries about acting on and speaking out against insider trading on Wall Street.No more need to understand the fine art of diplomacy when attempting to make deals with international leaders. No more requirement for the president or any administration spokesperson to tell the truth or show transparency on any topic or action.No more apprehensions about advancing policies that further pollute the environment with abandonment.No more need to hire experts in specialized subject fields for administration jobs, including cabinet secretaries and federal judges. No more worries about using and misusing people and being as mean and nasty as possible to foes and former friends alike.No more attempts to engage in civil and respectful political debates.No more trepidation about openly supporting and advocating for an overarching patriarchal, heteronationalist, Christian, white supremacist power structure. No more requirement for the chief executive to understand anything about anything!The nations founders, in their desire to break away from a monarchical and tyrannical system, established a government for the people and by the people. In so doing, they established three co-equal branches of government with each branch accountable to the others.Unfortunately, they did not foresee the breakdown of this system of government that they developed, nor could they have envisaged in tandem the ascendency of a Donald John Trump and his imperial presidency. Trump truly believes that he is entitled to any and all titles he deems appropriate: from His Majesty the King to Nobel Laureate and Doctor of Economics, and from Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to God Almighty.But as the old proverb reminds us, The higher they fly, the harder they fall.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

All week the whole internet has been abuzz about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting engaged, but the celebration is tainted by another darker celebration underneath the surface one cheering on the death of "Gaylorism."Over the years, more and more fans have wondered whether Swift might be queer. There are endless blogs and social media accounts dedicated to queer interpretations of her lyrics, speculation about her relationships with certain gal pals, and communal discussion of potential queer flagging.As those numbers have grown, so have the number of people who are not just incredulous, but actively furious, at the idea that anyone might think this way, let alone dare to voice it out loud. And with the announcement of Swift's engagement, some of those anti-Gaylor fans (often dubbed Hetlors for their refusal to consider anything outside of a heteronormative lens) have declared any discussion on the matter over and done."GAYLORS ARE OFFICIALLY DEAD," one X account dramatically proclaimed. The comment has racked up over 37,000 likes, and it's hardly the only one of its ilk. Since Swift and Kelce announced their engagement, celebrations of the news have walked side-by-side with celebrations of a more sinister type ones mocking fans who found solace and community in queer readings of Swift's lyrics and who, in some instances, have now turned to their peers and friends to wonder whether they were wrong. Even publications have latched onto the opportunity to mine Gaylor reactions for content, focusing on the popular subreddit going private after other Swifties circulated screenshots in a derogatory fashion.It's not the first time this has happened. Hetlors have declared their counterparts dead time and time again, like when she's gotten into a new relationship or when she's dropped a song explicitly referencing a man. In addition to being wildly dismissive of the existence of bisexuality, there's something almost comically villainous about a cackling celebratory dance on the metaphorical grave of a whole group of people over the triumph of heteronormativity.Hetlors will line up with a thousand reasons as to why this is perfectly acceptable behavior, actually. They will claim speculating about celebrities' sexualities and their love lives is intrusive behavior (only when the speculation is queer, of course). They will disparage Gaylors for wild conspiracy theories and looking for hidden clues in her music and videos (nevermind that being a Taylor Swift fan has always revolved heavily around Easter eggs and secret messages)."We don't love & support Tay because of her sexuality. We love her music, personality & kindness," one anti-Gaylor account said earlier this month. Meanwhile, her sexuality becomes all-important when it gives Hetlors a chance to curb stomp fans who have the audacity to interpret anything she does through a queer lens.First of all, let's be clear on one thing Gaylors are doing just fine. Yes, it's true some weren't thrilled with the news. But combing through any Gaylor space over the last few days has mostly provided jokes and memes and "Bejeweled"-themed conspiracy theories. Because, again, this ultimately isn't new. For now, Gaylors are thriving. Because for the majority of them, it isn't about whether a singer marries a football player. It's about community, goofy theories (no matter how seriously they're taken), and finding things in Swift's music that resonate with their own experience. In other words, it's not that different from being any other kind of Swifty. (@) But for those who are experiencing a certain level of grief, well, there's plenty for queer Swift fans to mourn in this Travis Kelce-centric era. It wasn't that long ago that Swift was hanging out with and promoting queer artists, and declaring her intention to be more vocal about her politics and social justice. Those things have disappeared. Now, her world is made up of MAGA WAGs and public silence unless the family a friend of mine likes to call "the wannabe Kardashians of the midwest" have something that needs a little publicity boost.It's been a disappointing shift, and one a number of fans have struggled to reckon with. To continue having to do so while the rest of the world is having a celebration so big that it seems to eclipse the impact of everything else she's accomplished over the years could certainly add a layer of frustration. Not just because it's the antithesis of everything Swift herself has become, but also because of the broader context of what's been happening in queer pop music lately.Despite some people's insistence that Gaylors don't engage with "actual" queer music, the reality is that many, if not most, of them do. And the last few months have been an obnoxious whirlwind of events. As JoJo Siwa and Fletcher have announced their relationships with men, queer fans have had to watch endless streams of comments telling them how much happier and freer they both seem. Siwa insisted she was pressured into calling herself a lesbian and rebranded her tour into something notably less gay. Fletcher has been extremely measured and thoughtful with her fans, but anyone who expressed disappointment at possibly losing sapphic songs was branded biphobic by other fans. Then you've got Betty Who jumping into the fray to suggest Rene Rapp, a lesbian who has declared she will never date a man, could fall in love with a dude some day, which Who said was the best thing that ever happened to her, personally.It's just been a full mess of a summer. And one where sapphic fans have repeatedly been sent the same message hetero-presenting relationships are the pinnacle of achievement. They warrant celebration that sapphic relationships never could. It is only in the joining of man and woman that true happiness can be found.Obviously, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce getting engaged is not a slight against queer fans. But there's a culmination here. Swift has struggled with public validation her entire career. She didn't find it until her queer friends and brief foray into political outspokenness were replaced by a football player and the hope of a ring. Throw that into the mix of everything previously stated, the ongoing decline of queer representation in media, and the current administration threatening LGBTQ+ rights at every turn, and it's just been a really bleak landscape as of late.And that's why fans and publications gleefully mocking Gaylors and pronouncing them "dead" is so unequivocally fucked up. On the surface, it's just fandom drama. But underneath, the subtext is that queer fans should be put in their place, that queer readings of media are deserving of mockery, and that this is all, somehow, a battle to be acted out until heteronormativity triumphs in the end.People will balk at this conclusion, but you simply cannot divorce something happening within a singular fandom from the greater societal context, and the current context is that LGBTQ+ acceptance and visibility is on the precipice of regression, if not arguably already there. We can sit here and debate whether or not it's appropriate to speculate about celebrities' sexualities until Swift has dropped another 1300 vinyl variants, but that doesn't change the fact that this is about a much bigger picture than one singer's personal life."i became a gaylor because of taylor's homophobic fans," one person tweeted earlier this year, "and every time i want to distance myself from gaylorism i remember that gaylortwit is the safest place on the internet i've ever been."That some Swifties certainly no fewer than 37,000 of them seem to find joy in trampling a safe queer space just because people within it are debating whether songs might be about Dianna or Karlie rather than Joe or Matty is seriously dark.I've personally gone on at length about how damaging it is to actual queer people to insist that queerness must be loudly proclaimed in order to be seen as valid, so I won't do that again here, just like I won't spend as much time as I would like to harping on the double standards at play, as relevant as they are. But what I will do is point out that there's a difference between disagreeing with the way some people engage with fandom or celebrity and acting as if cheering on the destruction of a place within fandom where queerness is normalized is somehow morally commendable.If people want to pretend that all of this isn't rooted in homophobia, so be it. But for anyone on the fence, or wondering why they might feel uncomfortable with how this is playing out without fully grasping why, it's be worth remembering that there are always people watching. And right now, the narrative playing out is one that says queer community only deserves to exist on terms that heteronormative society is comfortable with. We've seen that film before and we didn't let it end that way for a reason.

Its never too late to learn something new! Whether it's expanding your intellectual horizons, picking up a new life skill, or honing your technique for sucking face, theres really no end to the opportunities for growth. And while the other two are certainly important, its the latter thats the most funand what were here doing today.Now, maybe right now youre thinking: How could my kissing skills get any better? Well, thats why we turned to the experts for their advice and best practices when it comes to making out.PRIDE reached out to sexologists and pleasure specialists: Stella Harris, certified intimacy educator and author of Tongue Tied: Untangling Communication in Sex, Kink, and Relationships, and The Ultimate Guide to Threesomes; Sofie Roos, a bisexual licensed sexologist, relationship therapist and author at relationship magazine Passionerad and Tara Jones, LGBTQ+ sex educator Founder, executive director at The Youth Sexpert Program along with adult entertainers Michael Boston, Guy Spencer, Max Lorde, and Jkab Ethan Dale for their biggest dos and donts when it comes to locking lips.Heres what they had to say.Consent is always sexy The number one thing you can do to be a better kisser is to get consent! You might think that asking ruins the mood, but if thats the case the mood was already ruined. Asking, May I kiss you? in a sexy voice is a flirtatious turn on when its welcome. Stella HarrisBig bold moves like abruptly shoving your tongue in someone's mouth, slamming your face into theirs, or biting down hard on their lip, can be a real turn-off if your partner doesnt enjoy lots of spit or pain. Its always best to ask first. Tara JonesUnless its discussed as something they enjoy, never ever suck on someones tongue! Ive had guys try to slurp mine down their throat and its incredibly painful. Guy Spencer, adult performerMaster Tongue TechniqueThe tongue is a powerful tool use it wisely. When you start to make out, gently test the waters with it. Slide it into the other persons mouth just enough to make contact with their tongue. After a little while, you can ramp up the tongue action, but always be mindful of how much they use their tongue, and try to match that. Guy SpencerDont overdue the tongue. Tongue is sexy, but there is a line. Jkab Ethan DalePlay nicely with your partners tongue. Its not a competition to see who can knock out the other. Guy SpencerThe top things to avoid while kissing someone is having a hard stabby tongue or doing your own thing in someone elses mouth. Michael BostonSo many people, especially beginners to kissing, are using way too much tongue while going for the wet kisses, where they stick it in their partners mouth, whisks around and almost suffocates them, something that for ten out of ten people is a turn off. Sofie RoosDo not lick the other persons teeth. You dont know whats happening behind those pearly whites you might find a snaggletooth, or a retainer wire. Also, its weird. Guy SpencerPerfect that puckerTry to relax your lips and your tongue, it. that makes the kisses hotter and feel more natural and soft - perfect if you want to give slow, passionate and romantic kisses! Sofie RoosMoisturize! Make sure lips are soft and smooth. Jkab Ethan DaleI really enjoy lightly biting/gripping my partners bottom lip but do it gently to start and see where it goes. Guy SpencerDont tense your lips or be too passive. Relax, and enjoy each other. Jkab Ethan DaleRhythm is a (tongue) dancerBe attentive as possible. It's human nature that our minds wander, but as much as you can be in the moment, it will keep you from being overly sloppy, increases your own enjoyment, helps you consider what you want to do next, and allows you to gauge whether the intensity of your kissing should slow down or speed up. Tara JonesTheres a time and place for intense, passionate kisses. But early on, try slowing down. Dont use too much pressure, tongue, or saliva! Leave the other person wanting more. Start with soft, dry kisses. Wait for the other person to lean in, press their body against yours, and ask for more.Slowing down also gives you a chance to learn the other persons style. Are they opening their mouth? Using tongue? Using teeth? Like dancing, if youre always in the lead, you might miss information from the other persons body language. Stella HarrisTry to match the rhythm of your lips to your partners. There is nothing more awkward than one person going faster with their mouth than the other. Try to keep their face dry. You dont want to have someone have to wipe off their face like they were bobbing for apples. Guy SpencerRhythm and staying present. Start slow, with soft, gentle kisses, working up to adding tongue feel the other person, then go at it! Jkab Ethan DaleI would say the top three things that would make someone a better kisser would be passion, to not overthink it, and that it takes two to tango. When you kiss, its like a dance. Find the rhythm. Max Lorde, adult performerTry to listen to what your partner is doing and let things flow. Michael BostonDont go too hard too fast. Work up to it! Jkab Ethan DaleHygiene is EVERYTHING No one wants to kiss dry lips, so make sure you keep them soft by using a lip balm when needed, especially during the winter! Sofie RoosAim for clean teeth and fresh breath when youre putting the moves on someone. But dont go overboard. You dont want your minty freshness so strong that their eyes water. Stella HarrisDon't skip floss. Hygiene is generally of the utmost importance when it comes to being a good kisser, but flossing is the step folks are more likely to forget. If youve ever gone days without flossing and noticed a smell on your floss when you finally get around to it, you know that plaque between your teeth can be subtle but strong. Clearing it out not only makes you more pleasant to kiss but also boosts your confidence. Tara JonesFresh breath. Make sure your breath is something Id want to taste. Jkab Ethan DaleBeyond the puckerVariety matters. If youve been focused on their bottom lip, move to the top; if you havent used your tongue yet, add it in; break things up by kissing their neck or nibbling their ears. Tara JonesA kiss not only happens between your lips - it should be a full body experience, where you involve all of the body! So hug your partner, touch them gently, for example on their neck and cheeks, hold them around the hips or caress their thighs or back. Sofie RoosKiss their neck, and move up to their ear. Lick along the outside of their ear to make it slightly wet. Then slowly inhale air just above their skin and watch them go wild. (Works every time!) Guy SpencerPlease, dont Avoid trying too hard. Remember you and the other person are meeting halfway, so it should be invigorating. Also, dont be cocky! Just because you think youre a great kisser doesnt mean everyone does. Be humble! Lastly, dont rush it. Art takes time to perfect! Max LordeAvoid making the assumption that kissing means your partner is necessarily looking to do anything more. The only thing you can be sure of is what theyve actually communicated. And honestly, it seems to me like these days we've lost the simple joy of a good makeout sesh. Tara Jones

The US Open isnt just about blistering serves and nail-biting tie-breaks, its also where some of the worlds most handsome athletes take the court. From seasoned pros to rising stars, these players know how to make tennis look good.Here are the hottest men of the ATP Tour youll want to keep your eyes on, whether for their skills, their charm, or both.Matteo BerrettiniItaly strikes again with Matteo Berrettini, whose power game and heartthrob reputation go hand in hand. Known for his booming serve and Wimbledon final run, Berrettini has the physique of a model and the smirk of someone who knows it. Hes a perennial favorite, both on grass and in fan fantasies.Tommy PaulNew Jerseys own Tommy Paul is serving more than just clean backhands. At 28, hes reached a career-high ranking of World No. 8 and holds an Olympic bronze medal alongside Taylor Fritz. With his easygoing smile and athletic build, Paul is proving himself one of Americas most watchable players, on and off the court.Lorenzo MusettiIf tennis had a poster boy for brooding charm, it would be Italys Lorenzo Musetti. At just 23, hes already cracked the Top 10 and snagged his first title by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in Hamburg. Known for his fluid one-handed backhand, Musetti is as graceful as he is handsome, a combination that makes him impossible to ignore.Grigor DimitrovDubbed Baby Fed early in his career, Grigor Dimitrov has matured into one of tenniss most enduring heartthrobs. With a career spanning over a decade, he still has the physique, elegance, and charm that keep him in the spotlight. Dimitrovs court style is all class, and so is he.Flix Auger-AliassimeMontreals Flix Auger-Aliassime is one of the ATPs brightest stars and smoothest talkers. With a career-high ranking of No. 6, hes made a name as one of Canadas top exports. Tall, stylish, and soft-spoken, Flix has that quiet confidence that makes him equally magnetic at press conferences and on center court.Photo: Instagram (@felixaliassime)Frances TiafoeFrances Tiafoe brings personality to every match. The Maryland native is known for his electric energy, fearless fashion, and charisma that fills an arena. Tiafoe reached the semifinals of the 2022 US Open and a career-high No. 10 ranking, but hes also captured fans hearts with his big smile and bigger presence.Taylor FritzCalifornias Taylor Fritz has made a name as Americas top-ranked player, climbing as high as No. 4 in the world. With his piercing eyes and surfer-dude hair, Fritz blends West Coast cool with serious talent. His title wins, including the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, are matched by his growing status as a fan favorite.Carlos AlcarazSpanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz isnt just rewriting tennis history, hes doing it with a swagger that feels like the future of the sport. The youngest-ever mens World No. 1, Alcaraz combines explosive power with movie-star charm. At just 22, hes already a global superstar, and fans cant get enough.Alexander ZverevGermanys Alexander Zverev is no stranger to big stages. A former Olympic gold medalist and two-time ATP Finals champ, hes reached multiple Grand Slam finals. At 6-foot-6 with piercing eyes and sharp style, Zverev is as commanding in front of the camera as he is on the baseline.Casper RuudCasper Ruud may be Norways pride, but hes quickly becoming everyones crush. Ranked as high as No. 2, Ruud has reached three Grand Slam finals and has 13 ATP titles under his belt. With his boy-next-door looks and calm demeanor, hes the type of player you cant help but root for.Stefanos TsitsipasNo list is complete without Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greeces golden boy with the flowing locks. Ranked among the sports best, Tsitsipas is known for his flashy one-handed backhand, fearless play, and equally bold social media presence. Hes a dream mix of philosopher, playboy, and power player.The Final SetThe US Open has no shortage of talent, but these players give fans a little extra reason to tune in. Whether youre cheering their athletic brilliance or simply enjoying the view, tennis has never looked hotter.Source

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Texas state Rep. Marc LaHood looks over a map as lawmakers prepare to debate a redrawn U.S. congressional map in Texas during a special, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)2025-08-06T00:01:49Z A battle between Texas Republicans and California Democrats to bolster their partys advantage in the U.S. House has led politicians in other states to consider ways they, too, could leverage partisan power to rack up more victories in the 2026 congressional elections. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new U.S. House map sought by President Donald Trump that could help Republicans in their quest to keep control of the chamber. But California Democrats already have launched a counteroffensive, asking voters to approve revised House districts designed to boost Democrats prospects. Redistricting typically occurs once a decade, immediately after a census. But in some states, there is no prohibition on a mid-cycle map makeover. The U.S. Supreme Court also has said there is no federal prohibition on political gerrymandering, in which districts are intentionally drawn to one partys advantage. The redistricting efforts could play a role in determining control of the U.S. House and, with it, the prospects for Trumps policy goals in the latter half of his term. Here is a rundown of what states are doing. Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, speaks in a crowd of other Democratic state lawmakers outside the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham) Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat, speaks in a crowd of other Democratic state lawmakers outside the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 in Boston. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Texas Democrats walked out, but Republicans prevailedDemocratic state House members left Texas for two weeks to scuttle a special session on redistricting by preventing a quorum needed to do business. But after that session ended, Abbott quickly called another one and Democrats returned, satisfied that they had made their point and that California was proceeding with a counter plan. Republicans currently hold 25 of the 38 congressional seats in Texas. A revised map passed Aug. 23 is intended to give Republicans a shot at picking up five additional seats in next years elections. Abbotts signature made the map final. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. California Democrats seek to counter Texas California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Democrats already hold 43 of the 52 congressional seats in California. But similar to Texas, a revised map passed Aug. 21 by the state Legislature is aimed at giving Democrats a chance to gain five additional seats in the 2026 elections. Unlike Texas, California has an independent citizens commission that handles redistricting after the census, so any changes to the commissions map would need to win approval from voters. A referendum on the revised map is scheduled for Nov. 4. Indiana Republicans meet with Trump about redistrictingIndianas Republican legislative leaders met privately with Trump to discuss redistricting while in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 26. Some also met with Vice President JD Vance. Several Indiana state legislators came out in support of a mid-cycle map change following the meetings. But others have expressed hesitation about joining Trumps push to remake districts in Republicans favor. It remains unclear if Indiana will hold a legislative session on redistricting. Republicans hold a 7-2 edge over Democrats in Indianas congressional delegation. All incumbent GOP congressional representatives have said they support redistricting. Missouri Republicans take steps toward redistrictingTrump is also pushing Missouri Republicans to redraw the states U.S. House seats. A document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate has received a $46,000 invoice for software licenses and staff training for redistricting.While Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe hasnt officially announced a special session, Republican House Majority Leader Alex Riley told the AP it is pretty likely to happen. Riley added that he has had discussions with White House staff about it.Republicans hold six of Missouris eight congressional seats. The party could target a Democratic-held district in Kansas City to pick up another seat. Louisiana Republicans looking at times for a special sessionLouisiana lawmakers are being told to keep their calendars open between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Oct. 15 over a challenge to the states congressional map.Republican state Rep. Gerald Beau Beaullieu, who chairs a House committee that oversees redistricting, told the AP that the idea is to have lawmakers available to come back to work in case the Supreme Court issues a ruling quickly.Republicans currently hold four of Louisianas six congressional seats. Ohio must redraw its maps before the 2026 midtermsBecause of the way its current districts were enacted, the state constitution requires Republican-led Ohio to adopt new House maps before the 2026 elections. Ohio Democrats are bracing for Republicans to try to expand their 10-5 congressional majority when they meet later this year to redraw maps. Democrats dont have much power to stop it. But we will fight, we will organize, we will make noise at every step of the process, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Clyde said. New York Democrats try to change state lawNew York, similar to California, has an independent commission that redraws districts after every census. But state Democrats have introduced legislation to allow mid-decade redistricting. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul had said that if Texas proceeded, we must do the same. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference, Feb. 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a news conference, Feb. 20, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More But the soonest new maps could be in place would be for the 2028 elections. That is because the proposal would require an amendment to the state constitution, a change that would have to pass the Legislature twice and be approved by voters. Maryland Democrats planning a response to TexasDemocratic state Sen. Clarence Lam already has announced he is filing redistricting legislation for consideration during the 2026 session. Democratic House Majority Leader David Moon also has said he will sponsor legislation triggering redistricting in Maryland if Texas or any other state conducts mid-decade redistricting. Democrats already control seven of Marylands eight congressional seats. Sen Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, speaks at a rally protesting redistricting at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) Sen Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington, speaks at a rally protesting redistricting at the Statehouse in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Floridas governor pledges support for redistrictingFlorida Republican state House Speaker Daniel Perez said his chamber will take up redistricting this year through a special committee. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has reiterated his support for the state to join the redistricting fray, calling on the federal government to conduct a new Census count and claiming that the Trump administration should award the state another congressional seat.Florida has 28 U.S. House seats, 18 of them currently occupied by Republicans.Kansas Republicans havent ruled out redistrictingRepublican state Senate President Ty Masterson didnt rule out trying to redraw the states four congressional districts, one of which is held by the states sole Democratic House representative. The Legislatures GOP supermajority could do so early next year, which would put the new lines in place before the June 1 candidate filing deadline. Empty chairs belonging to House Democrats remain empty during a session convocation in the State Capitol, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) Empty chairs belonging to House Democrats remain empty during a session convocation in the State Capitol, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A court orders Utah to redraw its districtsUtah Republicans hold all four of the states U.S. House seats under a map the GOP-led Legislature approved after the 2020 census. But a judge ruled Aug. 25 that the map was unlawful because the Legislature had circumvented an independent redistricting commission established by voters to ensure districts dont deliberately favor one party.The judge gave lawmakers until Sept. 24 to adopt a map that complies with voter-approved standards. A new map could increase Democrats chances of winning a seat.____Associated Press writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Anthony Izaguirre in Albany, New York; Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City; Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan; and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report. DAVID A. LIEB Lieb covers issues and trends in state governments across the U.S. Hes reported about government and politics for The Associated Press for 30 years. twitter mailto JESSE BEDAYN Bedayn is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press based in Denver. He is a Report for America corps member. mailto

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to the media following a bill signing as Texas senators debate a bill on a redrawn U.S. congressional map during a special session in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)2025-08-29T16:31:44Z AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday signed into law a new congressional voting map designed to help Republicans gain more seats in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a win for President Donald Trump and his desire to hold onto a slim GOP majority in the U.S. House.The Texas map drafted in rare mid-decade redistricting prompted fierce protests from Democrats and sparked a gerrymandering tug-of-war for voters in states across the country. Texas is now more red in the United States Congress, Abbott said in a video he posted on X of him signing the legislation.Before Texas lawmakers passed their new map, California passed a bill asking voters to approve new Democratic-leaning districts to counter any Republican gains in Texas.The incumbent presidents party usually loses congressional seats in the midterm election. On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing districts puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. Texas Democrats have vowed to challenge the new map in court. They delayed a vote by two weeks by leaving Texas on Aug. 3 in protest and to rally support nationally. Upon their return, they were assigned round-the-clock police monitoring to ensure they showed up for debate. But the large Republican majority in the Texas Legislature made its ultimate passage all but inevitable. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. The head of Texas Democratic Party criticized Abbott, saying he and Republicans effectively surrendered Texas to Washington with the new map. They love to boast about how Texas Tough they are, but when Donald Trump made one call, they bent over backwards to prioritize his politics over Texans, state Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder said in a statement. Honestly, its pathetic.Because the Supreme Court has blessed purely partisan gerrymandering, the only way opponents can stop the new Texas map would be by arguing in court that it violates the Voting Rights Act requirement to keep minority communities together so they can select representatives of their choice. Republican leaders have denied the map is racially discriminatory and contend the new map creates more new majority-minority seats than the previous one. They have also been explicit in their desire to draw a new map for a goal of electing more Republicans.___This version corrects when Democrats left Texas to Aug. 3 instead of July.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington, as from left, Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, look on. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-08-29T17:15:56Z WASHINGTON (AP) Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the visas of a number of Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization officials ahead of next months annual high-level meeting of the U.N. General Assembly, where the groups previously have been represented.The State Department said in a statement Friday that Rubio also had ordered some new visa applications from Palestinian officials be denied. The move is the latest in a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to target Palestinians with visa restrictions and comes as the Israeli military declared Gazas largest city a combat zone. The State Department also suspended a program that had allowed injured Palestinian children from Gaza to come to the U.S. for medical treatment after a social media outcry by some conservatives. The State Department didnt specify how many visas had been revoked or how many applications had been denied. The department did not immediately respond to a request for more specifics. It wasnt immediately clear if Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would be affected. The agencys statement did say that representatives assigned to the Palestinian Authority mission at the United Nations would be granted waivers under the U.S. host country agreement with the U.N. so they can continue their New York-based operations. It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace, the statement said. Before the PLO and PA can be considered partners for peace, they must consistently repudiate terrorism including the October 7 massacre and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by U.S. law and as promised by the PLO. The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., Riyad Mansour, told reporters Friday that he had just learned of Rubios decision and was assessing its impact. We will see exactly what it means and how it applies to any of our delegation, and we will respond accordingly, he said.Mansour said Abbas was leading the delegation to next months U.N. meetings and was expected to address the General Assembly as he has done for many years. He also was expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on Sept. 22 about a two-state solution, which calls for Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine.___Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-08-29T16:42:24Z SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A federal appeals court on Friday blocked the Trump administrations plans to end protections for 600,000 people from Venezuela who have had permission to live and work in the United States. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that maintained temporary protected status for Venezuelans while the case proceeded through court.An email to the Department of Homeland Security for comment was not immediately returned.The 9th Circuit panel found that plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the department had no authority to vacate or set aside a prior TPS extension because the governing statute written by Congress does not permit for it.In enacting the TPS statute, Congress designed a system of temporary status that was predictable, dependable, and insulated from electoral politics, the court wrote. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco found in March that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on their claim that the administration overstepped its authority in terminating the protections and were motivated by racial animus in doing so. Chen ordered a freeze on the terminations, but the Supreme Court reversed him without explanation, which is common in emergency appeals. It is unclear what effect Fridays ruling will have on the estimated 350,000 Venezuelans whose protections expired in April. Protections for another group of 250,000 Venezuelans are set to expire Sept. 10. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Congress authorized Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to grant legal immigration status to people fleeing countries experiencing civil strife, environmental disaster or other extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent a safe return to that home country. In ending the protections, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that conditions in both Haiti and Venezuela had improved and that it was not in the national interest to allow migrants from the two countries to stay on for what is a temporary program. Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger. The country is mired in a prolonged crisis brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and and an ineffectual government. JANIE HAR Har covers general news out of San Francisco. That includes homelessness and housing, courts, urban affairs and San Francisco politics. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site