Software companies that audit expense reports are adding a new arsenal of capabilities to try to detect receipts that have been created using A.I. chatbots.

A 12-day war in June upended the shadow war rivalry between Israel and Iran. Some Iranians want to strike back, others want to move on.

Eric Adams would not be the first to leave Gracie Mansion for an embassy. William ODwyer did it decades ago.

A trio of technicians must rush to the aid of players whose wheelchairs break during the tournament. They have just 15 minutes.

President Donald Trump listens as first lady Melania Trump repeats a question for him during a dinner in the State Dinning Room of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-09-06T12:40:14Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump, once a casino owner and always a man in search of his next deal, is fond of a poker analogy when sizing up partners and adversaries. We have much bigger and better cards than they do, he said of China last month. Compared with Canada, he said in June, we have all the cards. We have every single one. And most famously, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in their Oval Office confrontation earlier this year: You dont have the cards.The phrase offers a window into the world view of Trump, who has spent his second stint in the White House amassing cards to deploy in pursuit of his interests.Seven months into his second term, hes accumulated presidential power that hes used against universities, media companies, law firms and individuals he dislikes. A man who ran for president as an angry victim of a weaponized deep state is, in some ways, supercharging government power and training it on his opponents. And the supporters who responded to his complaints about overzealous Democrats arent recoiling. Theyre egging him on. Weaponizing the state to win the culture war has been essential to their agenda, said David N. Smith, a University of Kansas sociologist who has extensively researched the motivations of Trump voters. They didnt like it when the state was mobilized to restrain Trump, but theyre happy to see the state acting to fight the culture war on their behalf. How Trump has weaponized the governmentTrump began putting the federal government to work for him within hours of taking office in January, and hes been collecting and using power in novel ways ever since. Its a high-velocity push to carry out his political agendas and grudges. This past month, hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops fanned out across Washington after Trump drew on a never-used law that allows him to take control of law enforcement in the nations capital. Hes threatened similar deployments in other cities run by Democrats, including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and New Orleans. He also fired a Federal Reserve governor, pointing to unproven claims of mortgage fraud. Trump, his aides and allies throughout the executive branch have trained the government, or threatened to, on a dizzying array of targets: He threatened to block a stadium plan for the Washington Commanders football team unless it readopted the racial slur it used as a moniker until 2020.He revoked security clearances and tried to block access to government facilities for attorneys at law firms he disfavors. He revoked billions of dollars in federal research funds and sought to block international students from elite universities. Under pressure, Columbia University agreed to a $220 million settlement, the University of Pennsylvania revoked records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas and presidents resigned from the University of Virginia and Northwestern University. He has fired or reassigned federal employees targeted for their work, including prosecutors who worked on cases involving him. He dropped corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams to gain cooperation in his crackdown on immigrants living in the country illegally. He secured multimillion-dollar settlements against media organizations in lawsuits that were widely regarded as weak cases.Attorney General Pam Bondi is pursuing a grand jury review of the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and appointed a special prosecutor to scrutinize New York Attorney General Letitia James and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff.Thats not weaponizing government, says White House spokesperson Harrison Fields; its wielding power.What the nation is witnessing today is the execution of the most consequential administration in American history, Fields said, one that is embracing common sense, putting America first, and fulfilling the mandate of the American people. Trump has a sixth sense for powerTheres a push and a pull to power. It is both given and taken. And through executive orders, personnel moves, the bully pulpit and sheer brazenness, Trump has claimed powers that none of his modern predecessors came close to claiming.He has also been handed power by many around him. By a fiercely loyal base that rides with him through thick and thin. By a Congress and Supreme Court that so far have ceded power to the executive branch. By universities, law firms, media organizations and other institutions that have negotiated or settled with him. The U.S. government is powerful, but its not inherently omnipotent. As Trump learned to his frustration in his first term, the president is penned in by the Constitution, laws, court rulings, bureaucracy, traditions and norms. Yet in his second term, Trump has managed to eliminate, steamroll, ignore or otherwise neutralize many of those guardrails.Leaders can exert their wills through fear and intimidation, by determining the topics that are getting discussed and by shaping peoples preferences, Steven Lukes argued in a seminal 1974 book, Power: A Radical View. Lukes, a professor emeritus at New York University, said Trump exemplifies all three dimensions of power. Trumps innovation, Lukes said, is epistemic liberation a willingness to make up facts without evidence. This idea that you can just say things that arent true, and then it doesnt matter to your followers and to a lot of other people ... that seems to me a new thing, at least in liberal democracies, Lukes said. Trump uses memes and jokes more than argument and advocacy to signal his preferences, he said. Trump ran against government weaponizationCentral to Trumps 2024 campaign was his contention that he was the victim of a vicious persecution perpetrated by the Biden administrations weaponized Department of Injustice. Facing four criminal cases in New York, Washington and Florida, Trump said in 2023 that he yearned not to end the government weaponization, but to harness it. IF YOU GO AFTER ME, IM COMING AFTER YOU! Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug. 4, 2023.If I happen to be president and I see somebody whos doing well and beating me very badly, I say, Go down and indict them, he said in a Univision interview on Nov. 9, 2023. And given a chance by a friendly Fox News interviewer to assure Americans that he would use power responsibly, he responded in December that year that he would not be a dictator except on day one. He largely backed off those threats as the election got closer, even as he continued to campaign against government weaponization. When he won, he declared an end to it.Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents something I know something about, Trump said in his second inaugural address.A month later: I ended Joe Bidens weaponization soon as I got in, Trump said in a Feb. 22 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington. And 10 days after that: Weve ended weaponized government, where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me. Two days later, on March 6, Trump signed a sweeping order targeting a prominent law firm that represents Democrats. And on April 9, he issued presidential memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two officials from his first administration, Chris Krebs and Miles Taylor.With that, the weaponization has come full circle. Trump is no longer surrounded by tradition-bound lawyers and government officials, and his instinct to play his hand aggressively faces few restraints. JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper is a national politics reporter based in Phoenix. He previously covered news and politics in Arizona, California and Oregon. mailto

Former President Joe Biden speaks during the National Bar Association's 100th Annual Awards Gala in Chicago, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2025-09-06T12:13:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) Former President Joe Biden has decided to build his presidential library in Delaware and has tapped a group of former aides, friends and political allies to begin the heavy lift of fundraising and finding a site for the museum and archive.The Joe and Jill Biden Foundation this past week approved a 13-person governance board that is charged with steering the project. The board includes former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, longtime adviser Steve Ricchetti, prolific Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford and others with deep ties to the one-term president and his wife.Bidens library team has the daunting task of raising money for the 46th presidents legacy project at a moment when his party has become fragmented about the way ahead and many big Democratic donors have stopped writing checks.It also remains to be seen whether corporations and institutional donors that have historically donated to presidential library projects regardless of the party of the former president will be more hesitant to contribute, with President Donald Trumpmaligning Biden on a daily basis and savaging groups he deems left-leaning. The political climate has changedTheres certainly folks folks who may have been not thinking about those kinds of issues who are starting to think about them, Gifford, who was named chairman of the library board, told The Associated Press. That being said ... were not going to create a budget, were not going to set a goal for ourselves that we dont believe we can hit.The cost of presidential libraries has soared over the decades. The George H.W. Bush librarys construction cost came in at about $43 million when it opened in 1997. Bill Clintons cost about $165 million. George W. Bushs team met its $500 million fundraising goal before the library was dedicated.The Obama Foundation has set a whopping $1.6 billion fundraising goal for construction, sustaining global programming and seeding an endowment for the Chicago presidential center that is slated to open next year. Bidens library team is still in the early stages of planning, but Gifford predicted that the cost of the project would probably end up somewhere in the middle of the Obama Presidential Center and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.Biden advisers have met with officials operating 12 of the 13 presidential libraries with a bricks and mortar presence that the National Archives and Records Administration manages. (They skipped the Herbert Hoover library in Iowa, which is closed for renovations). Theyve also met Obama library officials to discuss programming and location considerations and have begun talks with Delaware leaders to assess potential partnerships. Private money builds themConstruction and support for programming for the libraries are paid for with private funds donated to the nonprofit organizations established by the former president. The initial vision is for the Biden library to include an immersive museum detailing Bidens four years in office. The Bidens also want it to be a hub for leadership, service and civic engagement that will include educational and event space to host policy gatherings.Biden, who ended his bid for a second White House term 107 days before last years election, has been relatively slow to move on presidential library planning compared with most of his recent predecessors.Clinton announced Little Rock, Arkansas, would host his library weeks into his second term. Barack Obama selected Jackson Park on Chicagos South Side as the site for his presidential center before he left office, and George W. Bush selected Southern Methodist University in Dallas before finishing his second term. One-termer George H.W. Bush announced in 1991, more than a year before he would lose his reelection bid, that he would establish his presidential library at Texas A&M University after he left office. Trump taps legal settlements for hisTrump was mostly quiet about plans for a presidential library after losing to Biden in 2020 and has remained so since his return to the White House this year. But the Republican has won millions of dollars in lawsuits against Paramount Global, ABC News, Meta and X in which parts of those settlements are directed for a future Trump library. Trump has also accepted a free Air Force One replacement from the Qatar government. He says the $400 million plane would be donated to his future presidential library, similar to how the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and put on display as a museum piece, once he leaves office.Others named to Bidens library board are former senior White House aides Elizabeth Alexander, Julissa Reynoso Pantalen and Cedric Richmond; David Cohen, a former ambassador to Canada and telecom executive; Tatiana Brandt Copeland, a Delaware philanthropist; Jeff Peck, Biden Foundation treasurer and former Senate aide; Fred C. Sears II, Bidens longtime friend; former Labor Secretary Marty Walsh; former Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young; and former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. Biden has deep ties to Pennsylvania but ultimately settled on Delaware, the state that was the launching pad for his political career. He was first elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970 and spent 36 years representing Delaware in the Senate before serving as Obamas vice president. The president was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he lived until age 10. He left when his father, struggling to make ends meet, moved the family to Delaware after landing a job there selling cars. Working-class Scranton became a touchstone in Bidens political narrative during his long political career. He also served as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania after his vice presidency, leading a center on diplomacy and global engagement at the school named after him. Gifford said ultimately the Bidens felt that Delaware was where the library should be because the state has propelled his entire political career.Elected officials in Delaware are cheering Bidens move.To Delaware, he will always be our favorite son, Gov. Matt Meyer said. The new presidential library here in Delaware will give future generations the chance to see his story of resilience, family, and never forgetting your roots. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Welcome back to the Abstract! Here are the studies this week that transgressed the rules, explored extraterrestrial vistas, and went with the flow.First, ants are doing really strange things again. I dont even want to spoil ityoull just have to read on! Then, plan your trip to the latest hot exoplanet destination (literally, in the case of the lava planets), and check out Saturns new bling on the way. Lastly, all aboard on a trip to the riverboats of the past.Same mama, different speciesY. Juv, C. Lutrat, A. Ha, et al. One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants. Nature.Scientists have discovered a gnarly reproductive strategy that is unlike anything ever documented in nature: Ant queens that produce offspring from two entirely different species by cloning the alien genome of males from another lineage. This unique behavior has been dubbed xenoparity, according to a new study.Researchers were first tipped off to this bizarre adaptation after they kept finding builder harvester ants (Messor structor) in the colonies of Iberian harvester ants (Messor ibericus). Field and laboratory observations revealed that, in addition to mating with males of their own species, M. ibericus queens mate with M structor. The queens store and clone this sperm to produce hybrids with M. structor genomes and M. ibericus mitochondria. Even though these two ant species diverged five million years ago and dont share the exact same range, the queens rely on M. structor males exclusively for its worker caste, suggesting a domestication-like process, the study reports.Living organisms are assumed to produce same-species offspring, said researchers co-led by Y. Juv, C. Lutrat, and A. Ha of the University of Montpellier. Here, we report that this rule has been transgressed by Messor ibericus ants, with females producing individuals from two different species.M. ibericus queens strictly depend on males of M. structor, which is a well-differentiated, non-sister species, the team added. To our knowledge, females needing to clone members of another species have not previously been observed.Iberian harvester queens only produce females when they mate within their own species, which may have prompted this cross-species adaptation. By producing cloned M. structor males, the queens ensure the continuation of a worker caste as well as a supply of male mates for later generations of queens.At the intraspecific level, several cases of ants cloning males from their own species sperm have been observed, the researchers noted. Here, our results imply that this phenomenon has crossed species barriers.Taken together, these results further support the idea that clonal males should be characterized as a domesticated lineage of M. structor, they continued. Although matching all criteria of domestication, the relationship we describe is both more intimate and integrated than the most remarkable examples known so far.Whats next, dogs giving birth to whales? Probably not, but still, these transgressive queens have rewritten the reproductive rulebook in a truly astonishing way.In other newsVacationing really far abroadDovey, Ceridwen. Imagining exoplanets as destinations: a case study of artist-scientist collaborations on NASA's iconic Exoplanet Travel Bureau posters. Journal of Science Communication.In 2015, NASA released a bunch of splashy retro posters that imagined exoplanets as travel destinations, as part of a collaborative project between scientists and artists. A new study dissects the huge success of that campaign, which engaged the public in the burgeoning field of exoplanet research and helped scientists visualize their distant observational targets.Exoplanet posters. Image: NASAThe Exoplanet Travel Bureau posters were not images designed to be understood by the public as objectively real or scientific, yet they were still scientifically informed, said author Ceridwen Dovey of Macquarie University. As tourism posters proposing travel to extremely distant exoplanets, they were not pretending to be direct images of astronomical objects, yet they were also not pure speculation or fantasy. They sat very comfortablyand alluringlysomewhere in between.Theres always a fine line to tread when depicting alien exoplanets, given how little we know about what it is really like on these distant worlds. But since interstellar travel does not seem to be coming anytime soon, the NASA posters served as a powerful imaginative stopgap for thinking about these new worldseven if their amenities remain unknown.Saturn has strange dark arms and beads to match its ringsStallard, Tom S. et al. JWST/NIRSpec Detection of Complex Structures in Saturn's Sub-Auroral Ionosphere and Stratosphere. Geophysical Research Letters.The James Webb Space Telescope is most famous for peering farther back in space and time than ever before, revealing amazing insights about the early universe. But JWST is also shedding light on planets right in our own backyard, as evidenced by a new study about dark beads and strange dark arms that showed up in its observations of Saturn.These features arise from Saturn's stratosphere and ionosphere, which were captured in "unprecedented detail by JWSTs near-infrared instruments. The arms are methane-gas structures that extend down from the poles toward the equator while the beads emerge in a variety of sizes and shapes on one side of the ionosphere.This stratospheric structure is again unlike anything previously observed at other planets, said researchers led by Tom Stallard of Northumbria University. While we do not understand how or why these dark arms are generated, it is perhaps noteworthy that they occur in a region where the underlying atmosphere is also disturbed, suggesting this stratospheric layer might be influenced from below.Given its famous rings and now its beads, my prediction is that they will discover a bedazzled bangle on Saturn next.Up historys creek without a paddleFilet, Clara et al. As the water flows: A method for assessing river navigability in the past. Journal of Archaeological Science.Rivers are often employed as metaphors for the passage of time into the future, but a new study is paddling upstream into the past. The goal was to reconstruct the navigability of rivers in ancient times, which is important information for understanding past trade networks, migrations, and social connections. However, it is difficult to pinpoint how ancient peoples traversed these waterways using only archeological sites and historical documents.The very notion of a navigable river seems problematic, as the possibilities for navigation on a river are highly dependent on the section considered, the type of boat, the climate and seasonal cycles, said researchers led by Clara Filet of the Bordeaux Montaigne University.To address this gap, the researchers developed an algorithm that searched for flat and calm stretches of a river, called plain sections. They tested out their approach on dozens of rivers used by cultures in ancient Gaul and Roman and concluded that it provides a good approximation of navigable sections.Applying this method offers a new perspective on navigable areas in the Roman world, providing a reasonable first guess that could guide future empirical research into the navigability of ancient rivers, the team concluded.Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Pippin testifying in favor of book bans at a school board meeting in 2023 (screenshot / YouTube).Subscribe nowJennifer Pippin has repeatedly claimed to be an operating room nurse. USA TODAY, the New York Times, TC Palm and other publications have cited her as such. In 2020, Pippin argued that wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 was unnecessary, citing her professional expertise.As a registered nurse, Ive learned a bit. Ive learned a whole lot more though that they wont tell you in nursing school, she wrote in a 2020 Facebook post. Not wearing a mask is NOT A RISK. Not to me and not to anyone else.Pippin, now the chair of one of Moms for Libertys (M4L) first chapters in Indian River County, Florida, has also mentioned having medical licenses while speaking about the groups accomplishments at a school board meeting. And in an email chain with Floridas Department of Education, she wrote that she couldnt make it to a meeting because she was operating on a doctors wife.(Screenshot received from The Florida Fruit Loop, highlight added).However, allegations have surfaced that these statements might not be true, and the community is growing frustrated. On Facebook, one user decried the utter misinformation that has spewed out of [Pippins] mouth any time shes shared her thoughts about public health issues. Another sarcastically wrote that they were shocked to find out Jenny is a liar!!We reported this years ago, but because [M4L] were so powerful politically here in Florida with Ron DeSantis, we had no voice, nobody cared, Cindy Gibbs, a local parent and former school board candidate, told Uncloseted Media.Subscribe for LGBTQ focused, accountability journalism.Is She Really a Nurse?Despite Pippins claims of being a nurse, there is a stack of evidence suggesting otherwise. One individual shared screenshots of emails they received from a Florida Department of Health (DOH) official in 2024 after they filed a complaint against Pippin when they noticed her license wasnt turning up in database searches. In one email, the DOH official states that Pippin had been under investigation since April 1, 2024, for potentially misrepresenting herself as a nurse and that no license had been found.Uncloseted Media also filed a public records request with the DOH for the license. In an email, they said they were unable to find anyone licensed by the department matching the information provided. The department did not respond to a request for further comment.In addition, Uncloseted Media was unable to find any license associated with Pippin in the Florida Department of Healths medical license database or the NURSYS database, which records multi-state licensees. We also checked the certification database for the Competency and Credentialing Institute, which certifies certain specialized nurses including operating room specialists, and found nothing.While records do exist for Jennifer Hughes Pippin, a nutritionist and dietician at Florida State College in Jacksonville, her listed address and social media profiles do not match the Pippin from Indian River County.The Florida Nurses Association also did not find any record of Pippins membership.Multiple sources and news articles say Pippin was formerly employed by the Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital. Despite this, Uncloseted Media was unable to confirm she held a position there. The hospital declined to comment on the status of current or former employees as a matter of policy.The only employment information we found listed for Pippin later than 2021 was in a Sebastian City Council meeting agenda from 2023, where she says she is self employed working for Organize Me!, a gig-based home cleaning service.Why It MattersFalsely presenting as a nurse is a phenomenon that has been on the rise since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.Pippins case, though, is of particular interest because she is often cited as an influential figure in Florida politics. In her role with M4L, Pippin has filed hundreds of requests to ban booksmany of which include LGBTQ or racial justice themesfrom school libraries. Some of the books shes requested to ban include a graphic novel adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank and All Boys Arent Blue, a memoir about growing up Black and queer.In 2022, Pippin was also appointed by the Florida Department of Education to a workgroup of parents tasked with developing a training for state educators to comply with the classroom censorship laws signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, who has spoken at a M4L summit. One of these laws is the notorious Dont Say Gay law, which prohibits educators from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity.And earlier this summer, she filed a complaint against a Vero Beach wine bar for hosting an all-ages drag event, which she alleges contained performances with sexual themes. The bars owner, who is also a city official, denies the allegations.This is not M4Ls first brush with controversy. The groups co-founder, Bridget Ziegler, allegedly assisted her husband in sexually assaulting another woman. An Indiana chapter came under fire for quoting Adolf Hitler in a 2023 newsletter. And the group has hosted speakers whove spread medical misinformation on multiple occasions, claiming that doctors are sterilizing and mutilating [trans] children and that gender-affirming health care is snake oil.Subscribe nowPippins ResponseWhen presented with these allegations, Pippin did not provide any evidence of a nursing license. In an email, she told Uncloseted Media that she was surprised to see these allegations being raised again especially considering they were addressed over a year ago. She pointed to a prior case involving stalking and said the answers about whether she is a licensed nurse can be found via that case. However, the case and its associated documents are not available online.Pippin testifying before the Indian River County School Board (screenshot/YouTube).Pippin has previously stated that the reason her license is not publicly accessible is because she was ordered to hide [it] from the public for five years after filing a fraud suit in 2020 against someone who she says had used her license to file for unemployment. In emails with Uncloseted Media, she reaffirmed this story.While Uncloseted Media was unable to verify the existence of this fraud case, experts say that such a decision from the court would be unusual.We have fought to make nurses licenses private and have been unable to do so even in at-risk areas, says Willa Fuller, executive director of the Florida Nurses Association.Multiple people in Indian River County say that Pippins questionable nursing status has been an open secret for years, but the issue didnt start attracting wider attention until it was covered by The Florida Fruit Loop, a local Facebook page that promises to provide a daily dose of MAGA butthurt. Last weekend, Pippin left a note in the pages comments titled CEASE AND DESIST LETTER, where she called multiple statements made by the page defamatory. However, the notice does not mention or dispute any allegations made about her nursing license.The intro to Pippins comment (screenshot received from The Florida Fruit Loop).The ImplicationsFalsely presenting as a nurse is a crime in Florida under certain circumstances, with one woman being arrested in the state for this just last month. However, in emails reviewed by Uncloseted Media, a DOH official cautioned that the laws only apply in specific cases.For those statutes where an unlicensed person is allegedly holding themselves out as a licensed healthcare provider to apply, the Subject would need to hold themselves out / lead the public to believe they are a current and active licensee, the official wrote.While the full results of Pippins investigation have not yet been released, the individual who corresponded with the DOH says the department later informed them that their complaint lacked a criminal finding.The DOH official did note, though, that the video of Pippins testimony before the school district could be considered a violation. Pippin has also publicly used the formal title registered nurse on multiple occasions, including in a rant against masking posted to the Republican Club of Indian Rivers Facebook page in 2020; in a Department of Education report; and in Vero News.She has been out here presenting herself as an authority on things in the world of health care and education, says Cindy Gibbs. And the groups of people that she associates herself with just keep generating and regenerating the same stuff: oh, Jennifer knows things because shes a registered nurse.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Here are this weeks most popular positive stories, with some fun social media posts tossed in too. Like seeing uplifting content like this?Sign up for our Good News email.Even during the hottest summer days, theres a lot of cool news to go around. This time, theres a celebrity lesbian wedding, some very clever (and musical) protestors, and also a blessing from the new Pope wow! Related They tried to kick out their trans sorority sister, but she fought back and won Oh, and before we get into the good news, check out these 10 must-know facts about transgender history that you didnt learn in school, listen in on these trans men who share the intimacy, intimidation, & insights theyve faced in gay bathhouses, and wed love to hear from our older readers about how things have changed for LGBTQ+ people in your lifetime.Do you like Pride cupcakes?? Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today View this post on Instagram A post shared by Irvingh Bolaos (@irvingh_bolanos)Pete Buttigieg shares sweet story of his & Chastens first date on couples 10th anniversaryThe couple has long melted hearts with their adorable love and clear commitment to remaining a visible beacon of whats possible for LGBTQ+ people. Kazoo counterprotestors drown out anti-LGBTQ+ preachers rallyThe joyful counterprotest brought out around 200 people theres even video! Chlo Grace Moretz & Kate Harrison marry in glamorous private ceremonyThe actress and models beautiful wedding gowns were designed by Nicolas Ghesquire and Louis Vuitton.Some classic Wuthering Heights from Kate Bush View this post on Instagram A post shared by @postpunk_80 European advocate general recommends requiring member states to recognize trans peoples gendersBy failing to recognize the gender identity of a transgender person, prevents that person from enjoying a right guaranteed by EU law, he wrote. A gay couple became foster parents as a temporary way to do good. Instead, it reshaped their lives.Parenthood can take many shapes sometimes temporary, sometimes permanent, but always powerful.Meet Kuina: a stunning example of positive trans representation on televisionKuinas story in Alice in Borderland is a refreshing celebration of a transgender woman as a complex and empowered human being. Lets boogie at the legendary gay dance Club LeRay! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Archive Queen (@there_is_no_planet_earth) Pope meets with LGBTQ+ Catholic advocate: It was wonderful. It was very consoling & encouraging.The Jesuit priest said Leo will continue Pope Francis Todos, todos, todos message of inclusion.Protestors across Florida rally against rainbow crosswalk removals: We will not be erasedIt feels like they were trying to scrounge up the next thing to make us feel like nothing, and I think today shows that they failed. Now more than ever: Community is what sustains usOut & Equal will advance LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion through learning, networking, and shared action this October. And before you leave some good luck from our magic cats! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Big Heart Rising Crystals (@bigheartrising)From our sibling sites:OUTSPORTS: Kate Scott will be 1st woman to call NFL game for Westwood OneINTO: Heres how to support transgender youth, according to trans teensQUEERTY: This 40s singer had a secret gay past thats now coming to lightGAYCITIES: Burning Man, a retrospective in pictures

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After suffering a hamstring injury early against LSU, Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams is not expected to play against Troy, sources told ESPN.

Following a 12-day war with Israel in July, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 civilians and many of Irans top nuclear scientists and officials, a New York Times team was granted access to Tehran. Declan Walsh, a Times international correspondent, explains how the conflict has created a widespread sense of uncertainty and flux in the Iranian capital.

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In this imaged released by the Martin County, Fla., Sheriff's Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump,Sept. 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)2025-09-06T14:02:47Z FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) A federal trial is scheduled to begin Monday for a man charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump as he played golf in Florida in September 2024.Jury selection is expected to take three days, with attorneys questioning three sets of 60 prospective jurors. Theyre trying to find 12 jurors and four alternates. Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday, and prosecutors will begin their case immediately after that. The court has blocked off four weeks for the trial, but attorneys are expecting theyll need less time.Heres what to know about the case. The judge lets Routh represent himself U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signed off in July on Ryan Rouths request to represent himself during his trial, but said court-appointed attorneys need to remain as standby counsel. The judge told Routh she believes its a bad idea for Routh to represent himself, but he wouldnt be dissuaded. Routh, who has described the extent of his education as two years of college after earning his GED certificate, told Cannon that he understood the potential challenges and would be ready.Cannon confirmed during a hearing earlier this week that Routh would be dressed in professional business attire for the trial. She also explained to Routh that he would be allowed to use a podium while speaking to the jury or questioning witnesses, but he would not have free rein of the courtroom.If you make any sudden movements, marshals will take decisive and quick action to respond, Cannon said. Routh is a self-styled mercenary leaderThe 59-year-old Routh was a North Carolina construction worker who in recent years had moved to Hawaii. A self-styled mercenary leader, Routh spoke out to anyone who would listen about his dangerous, sometimes violent plans to insert himself into conflicts around the world, witnesses have told The Associated Press. In the early days of the war in Ukraine, Routh tried to recruit soldiers from Afghanistan, Moldova and Taiwan to fight the Russians. In his native Greensboro, North Carolina, he had a 2002 arrest for eluding a traffic stop and barricading himself from officers with a fully automatic machine gun and a weapon of mass destruction, which turned out to be an explosive with a 10-inch-long fuse. In 2010, police searched a warehouse Routh owned and found more than 100 stolen items, from power tools and building supplies to kayaks and spa tubs. In both felony cases, judges gave Routh either probation or a suspended sentence. Routh is charged with attempted assassinationAuthorities said Routh tried to assassinate Trump, the Republican nominee for presidential, while he played golf at his golf club in West Palm Beach. Routh is facing five felony counts in federal court in Fort Pierce. They include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate; possessing a firearm to carry out a violent crime; assaulting a federal officer; felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition; and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.In addition to the federal charges, Routh also has pleaded not guilty to state charges of terrorism and attempted murder. Same judge presided over Trump caseCannon is the same judge who presided over another high-profile case involving Trump the classified documents case. Last year, Cannon sided with Trumps lawyers who said the special counsel who filed the charges was illegally appointed by the U.S. Justice Department. Cannons ruling halted a criminal case that at the time it was filed was widely regarded as the most perilous of all the legal threats the president faced before he returned to office last January.Cannon was a former federal prosecutor who was nominated to the bench by Trump in 2020.Trump was not hurt by RouthTrump was uninjured, and theres no evidence that Routh fired his weapon at the golf course. U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing golf noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away. An agent fired, and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera. He was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county. Last Septembers alleged assassination attempt took place just nine weeks after Trump survived another attempt on his life in Pennsylvania.

Charlie Sheen, the co-star of the sitcom Two and a Half Men is known more for his off-screen bad-boy behavior than his film and television chops. Now, in a new memoir out this month, he has revealed that hes had sex with men.I flipped the menu over, he says in The Book of Sheen and an accompanying Netflix documentary entitled, aka Charlie Sheen. Related Charlie Sheen reveals he contemplated suicide after HIV diagnosis The 60-year-old says talking publicly about having sex with guys is liberating.Its f**king liberating [to] just talk about stuff. Its like a train didnt come through the side of the restaurant. A f**king piano didnt fall out of the sky. No one ran into the room and shot me. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Sheen says the menu flipped when he was addicted to crack cocaine.Thats what started it, he told Good Morning America. Thats where it was born, or sparked. And in whatever chunks of time that I was off the pipe, trying to navigate that, trying to come to terms with it Where did that come from? Why did that happen? and then just finally being like, So what? So what? Some of it was weird. A lot of it was f**king fun, and life goes on.During the eighth and final season of Two and a Half Men, Sheen was the highest-paid actor on television, earning $1.8 million an episode. But as his addictions overcame him, production shut down on the show, and Sheen went into consecutive stints in rehab. Soon after, his erratic behavior went into overdrive, with him making infamous claims that he had tiger blood running through his veins, Adonis DNA, and was generally winning at life.It was during those drug-fueled years that Sheen contracted HIV. He came out with his positive diagnosis in 2015 on the Today show, claiming he was getting ahead of threats of blackmail.I do know for a fact that I never passed it on, he says now of the virus.Im not going to run from my past, or let it own me, Sheen told People in a cover story this week.The father of four says he just wanted to tell his full truth and own his stories with his new book and documentary and he didnt want to censor anything.The stories I can remember anyway, he jokes. Rumors of Sheens same-sex exploits have been around for years. In 2015, not long after Sheen went public with his HIV diagnosis, a sex tape with the actor luring another man to serve his prurient desires allegedly surfaced, with Sheen said to pay millions to make it disappear. In 2017, a fellow actor and friend of late teen heartthrob Corey Haim accused Sheen of raping the 13-year-old while they were shooting the 1986 movie Lucas. Sheen denied the charge absolutely. (Haim died in 2010 at 38.)The sometime member of the infamous 1980s Brat Pack along with his older brother Emilio Estevez says hes spent the past eight years making amends to the people he hurt while he was spiraling, but doesnt want to play the victim.It takes two to tango, he says.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams is still working through the concussion protocol and is not expected to play against Louisiana-Monroe, sources told ESPN.

The Browns and rookie running back Quinshon Judkins have reached an agreement on a four-year, $11.4 million deal, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

A plan to buy warships shows how Europe is bolstering defenses amid worries about Russian aggression and President Trumps isolationist policies, analysts say.

A group of nine former directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention came together to condemn Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for his unacceptable tenure that should alarm every American.The former directors began by listing what they view as Kennedys most egregious moves. Related Childhood illness plagued my community growing up. We must never return to the pre-vaccine era. Mr. Kennedy has fired thousands of federal health workers andseverely weakenedprograms designed to protect Americans from cancer, heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury, violence and more, they wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the United States in a generation, hesfocused onunproven treatments while downplaying vaccines.Hecanceledinvestments in promising medical research that will leave us ill-prepared for future health emergencies. Hereplacedexperts on federal health advisory committees with unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views. He announced the end of U.S. support for global vaccination programs that protect millions of children and keep Americans safe,citingflawed research and making inaccurate statements. And hechampionedfederal legislation that will cause millions of people with health insurance through Medicaid tolosetheir coverage. 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 They said all of this culminated in the firing of CDC director Dr. Susan Monarez, which adds considerable fuel to this raging fire.Firing Dr. Monarez which led to the resignations of top CDC officials adds considerable fuel to this raging fire. Monarez was fired after less than a month on the job for refusing to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives from Kennedy, according to her lawyers. Her dismissal led to a series of resignations by other top CDC officials, including out top official for Immunization and Respiratory DiseasesDr. Demetre Daskalakis.The former directors expressed deep fears over the consequences of Kennedys actions. Residents of rural communities and people with disabilities will have even more limited access to health care, they wrote. Families with low incomes who rely most heavily on community health clinics and support from state and local health departments will have fewer resources available to them. Children risk losing access to lifesaving vaccines because of the cost. They detailed how they collectively have more than 100 years of experience working at the CDC and have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, from the Jimmy Carter administration to the present day.When the CDC was created in 1946, the average life expectancy in the United States was around66 years. Today it ismore than 78 years, the directors wrote. While medical advances have helped, it is public health that has played thebiggest rolein improving both the length and the quality of life in our nation.The CDC has led efforts toeradicatesmallpox, increase access tolifesaving vaccinations,andsignificantly reducesmoking rates. The agency is also on the front lines in communities across the country, delivering crucial but often less visible wins such ascontainingan outbreak of HIV cases in Scott County, Ind., andprotectingresidents in East Palestine, Ohio, from toxic chemical exposure. They added that Dr. Monarezs departure will make it far more difficult for the CDC to do what it has done for about 80 years: work around the clock to protect Americans from threats to their lives and health.They urged the American people and our representatives to rally to protect the countrys health. Congress must exercise its oversight authority over Health and Human Services. State and local governments must fill funding gaps where they can. Philanthropy and the private sector must step up their community investments. Medical groups must continue to stand up for science and truth. Physicians must continue to support their patients with sound guidance and empathy. The directors Richard Besser,Mandy K. Cohen,William Foege,Tom Frieden,Jeffrey Koplan,William Roper,David Satcher,Anne Schuchat, andRochelle P. Walensky also noted that even under the current presidents first administration, a belief in science and data-driven results still prevailed. That belief, they said, led to Operation Warp Speeds creation of effective and safe COVID-19 vaccines.Kennedy a conspiracy theorist who has no background in medical science has been a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement, which is based on pseudoscience and uses misinformation to spread the belief that vaccines dont prevent disease. He formerly chaired the Childrens Health Defense, an anti-vaccine organization that claims that vaccines cause autism, ADHD, food allergies, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.Kennedy has also been spearheading the elimination of HIV and AIDS related programs; believes autism destroys children and families; anddid nothing to stopthe end of a federal crisis hotline for LGBTQ+ youth. Nevertheless, he has positioned himself as a staunch defender of childrens health. In May, Kennedy sent out a letter to health care providers and medical boards urging them to update treatment protocols for children with gender dysphoria and warning them not to rely on scientific evidence. He has made several wild and unsubstantiated claims since assuming his role, such as that one of the consequences of food dyes is an American teenager [today] has less testosterone than a 68-year-old man.He also recently claimed he knew American kids are struggling because he assesses them at airports and can tell they have mitochondrial challenges, a nonsensical phrase. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

What we learned from Chelsea, Arsenal's opening WSL games

Davey Johnson, the manager of the 1986 world champion New York Mets, has died. He was 82.

Before his triumph in the 1986 World Series, he had a long playing career and established himself as one of baseballs brainier and more self-assured characters.

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Washington National manager Davey Johnson laughs before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)2025-09-06T15:23:34Z NEW YORK (AP) Davey Johnson, an All-Star second baseman who won the World Series twice with the Baltimore Orioles as a player and managed the New York Mets to the title in 1986, has died. He was 82.Longtime Mets public relations representative Jay Horwitz said Johnsons wife, Susan, informed him of his death after a long illness. Johnson was at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida, when he died Friday, Horwitz said.Johnson played 13 major league seasons with Baltimore, the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from 1965-78 and won the Gold Glove three times while being voted an All-Star four times. He managed the Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals during a span from 1984-2013.Former Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo called it a tough day.Davey was a good man, close friend and a mentor, Rizzo said in a text message. A Hall of Fame caliber manager with a baseball mind ahead of his time. Darryl Strawberry, a member of the 86 Mets, on social media called Johnson a remarkable leader who transformed the franchise into a winning organization. His ability to empower players to express themselves while maintaining a strong commitment to excellence was truly inspiring, Strawberry posted on Instagram with a photo of him, Johnson and Dwight Doc Gooden. Daveys legacy will forever be etched in the hearts of fans and players alike. My heartfelt condolences go out to Susan Johnson and the entire Johnson family during this difficult time. He will be missed but remembered for his incredible impact on the game and the lives he touched.___AP National Writer Howard Fendrich contributed to this report.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, international hockey, NFL and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook

The Titans and safety Amani Hooker have agreed on a three-year contract extension worth $48.6 million that includes $29 million in guarantees, Hooker's agent told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Emiliano Martnez's Aston Villa future remains uncertain after his failed move to Manchester United. Transfer Talk has the latest news, gossip and rumors.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia joins supporters in a protest rally outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, Aug. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)2025-09-06T17:10:39Z Attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a Friday letter that they intend to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the African nation of Eswatini after he expressed a fear of deportation to Uganda. The letter from ICE to Abrego Garcias attorneys was earlier reported by Fox News. It states that his fear of persecution or torture in Uganda is hard to take seriously, especially given that you have claimed (through your attorneys) that you fear persecution or torture in at least 22 different countries. ...Nonetheless, we hereby notify you that your new country of removal is Eswatini. Eswatinis government spokesperson told The Associated Press on Saturday that it had no received no communication regarding Abrego Garcias transfer there. The Salvadoran man lived in Maryland for more than a decade before he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador earlier this year. That set off a series of contentious court battles that have turned his case into a test of the limits of President Donald Trumps hardline immigration policies. Although Abrego Garcia immigrated to the U.S. illegally around the year 2011, when he was a teenager, he has an American wife and child. A 2019 immigration court order barred his deportation to his native El Salvador, finding he had a credible fear of threats from gangs there. He was deported anyway in March in what a government attorney said was an administrative error and held in the countrys notorious Terrorism Confinement Center. Facing a court order, the Trump administration returned him to the U.S. in June only to charge him with human smuggling based on a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. While that court case is ongoing, ICE now seeks to deport him again. For his part, Abrego Garcia is requesting asylum in the United States. He was denied asylum in 2019 because his request came more than a year after he arrived in the U.S., his attorney Simon Sandoval-Mosenberg has said. Since he was deported and has now re-entered the U.S., the attorney said he is now eligible for asylum. If Mr. Abrego Garcia is allowed a fair trial in immigration court, theres no way hes not going to prevail on his claim, he said in an emailed statement.As part of his asylum claim, Abrego Garcia expressed a fear of deportation to Uganda and nearly two dozen other countries, according an ICE court filing in opposition to reopening his asylum case. That Thursday filing also states that if the case is reopened, the 2019 order barring his deportation to El Salvador would become void and the government would pursue his removal to that country.

The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is seen on March 26, 2025, in Ellabell, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)2025-09-06T04:01:17Z Hundreds of federal agents descended on a sprawling site where Hyundai manufactures electric vehicles in Georgia and detained 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals.This is the latest in a long line of workplace raids conducted as part of the Trump administrations mass deportation agenda. But the one on Thursday is especially distinct because of its large size and the fact that it targeted a manufacturing site state officials have long called Georgias largest economic development project.The detainment of South Korean nationals also sets it apart, as they are rarely caught up in immigration enforcement compared to other nationalities. Here are some things to know about the raid and the people impacted: The workers detainedSouth Koreas Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Saturday that more than 300 South Koreans were among the 475 people detained. Some of them worked for the battery plant operated by HL-GA Battery Co., a joint venture by Hyundai and LG Energy Solution that is slated to open next year, while others were employed by contractors and subcontractors at the construction site, according to Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations. He said that some of the detained workers had illegally crossed the U.S. border, while others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on a visa waiver that prohibited them from working. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. But an immigration attorney representing two of the detained workers said his clients arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver program that enables them to travel for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa. Attorney Charles Kuck said one of his clients has been in the U.S. for a couple of weeks, while the other has been in the country for about 45 days, adding that they had been planning to return home soon.The detainees also included a lawful permanent resident who was kept in custody for having a prior record involving firearm and drug offenses, since committing a crime of moral turpitude can put their status in jeopardy, Lindsay Williams, a public affairs officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Saturday. Williams denied reports that U.S. citizens had been detained at the site since once citizens have identified themselves, we have no authority.Hyundai Motor Company said in a statement Friday that none of its employees had been detained as far as it knew and that it is reviewing its practices to make sure suppliers and subcontractors follow U.S. employment laws. LG told The Associated Press that it couldnt immediately confirm how many of its employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.The South Korean government expressed concern and regret over the operation targeting its citizens and is sending diplomats to the site.The business activities of our investors and the rights of our nationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement, South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jaewoong said in a televised statement from Seoul.Most of the people detained have been taken to an immigration detention center in Folkston, Georgia, near the Florida state line. None of them have been charged with any crimes yet, Schrank said, but the investigation is ongoing. Raid is the result of a monthslong investigation The raid was the result of a monthslong investigation into allegations of illegal hiring at the site, Schrank said.In a search warrant and related affidavits, agents sought everything from employment records for current and former workers and timecards to video and photos of workers.Court records filed this week indicated that prosecutors do not know who hired what it called hundreds of illegal aliens. The identity of the actual company or contractor hiring the illegal aliens is currently unknown, the U.S. Attorneys Office wrote in a Thursday court filing. The sprawling manufacturing siteThe raid targeted a manufacturing site widely considered one of Georgias largest and most high profile.Hyundai Motor Group started manufacturing EVs at the $7.6 billion plant a year ago. Today, the site employs about 1,200 people in a largely rural area about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Savannah.Agents specifically honed in on an adjacent plant that is still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries that power EVs. The Hyundai site is in Bryan County, which saw its population increase by more than a quarter in the early 2020s and stood at almost 47,000 residents in 2023, the most recent year data is available. The countys Asian population went from 1.5% in 2018 to 2.2% in 2023, and the growth was primarily among people of Indian descent, according to Census Bureau figures. Raid was the largest single site enforcement operationFrom farms and construction sites to restaurants and auto repair shops, there have been a wide array of workplace raids undertaken in this administration. But most have been smaller, including a raid the same day as the Georgia one in which federal officers took away dozens of workers from a snack-bar manufacturer in Cato, New York.Other recent high-profile raids have included one in July targeting a legal marijuana farm northwest of Los Angeles. More than 360 people were arrested in one of the largest raids since Trump took office in January. Another one took place at an Omaha. Nebraska, meat production plant and involved dozens of workers being taken away.Schrank described the one in Georgia as the largest single site enforcement operation in the agencys two-decade history.The majority of the people detained are Koreans. During the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, 2024, only 46 Koreans were deported during out of more than 270,000 removals for all nationalities, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Community members and advocates have mixed reactions Kemp and other Georgia Republican officials, who had courted Hyundai and celebrated the EV plants opening, issued statements Friday saying all employers in the state were expected to follow the law.The nonprofit legal advocacy organization Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta described the raid in a joint statement as unacceptable.Our communities know the workers targeted at Hyundai are everyday people who are trying to feed their families, build stronger communities, and work toward a better future, the statement said.Sammie Rentz opened the Viet Huong Supermarket less than 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the Hyundai site six months ago and said he worries business may not bounce back after falling off sharply since the raid. Im concerned. Koreans are very proud people, and I bet theyre not appreciating what just happened. Im worried about them cutting and running, or starting an exit strategy, he said.Ellabell resident Tanya Cox, who lives less than a mile from the Hyundai site, said she had no ill feelings toward Korean nationals or other immigrant workers at the site. But few neighbors were employed there, and she felt like more construction jobs at the battery plant should have gone to local residents.I dont see how its brought a lot of jobs to our community or nearby communities, Cox said. ___AP reporter Mike Schneider in Orlando, Florida contributed to this report.

People play mahjong at an event organized by the YLL Mahjong Club on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)2025-09-06T04:10:02Z San Francisco (AP) When Ryan Lee first played mahjong two years ago, he got hooked. He dug out sets of the classic Chinese tile game from his parents house and brought them to San Francisco, where he started hosting mahjong nights in his apartment.The gatherings became so popular that the 25-year-old Chinese American began hosting pop-up mahjong parties in restaurants, bars and nightclubs around San Francisco.Mahjong, invented in 19th century China, is gaining popularity with a new generation of players looking to get off their phones and socialize in the real world. Lees Youth Luck Leisure (YLL) Mahjong Club now hosts bimonthly parties with up to 30 tables and 200 guests. They attract a diverse, young crowd drawn to the festive atmosphere, live DJs, custom cocktails and chance to meet new friends. Instructors are on hand to teach novices. A lot of people are just really intrigued even though they dont really know how to play, Lee said. Theres a cultural component theyre trying to connect with. Its kind of like a cultural nostalgia.Eventbrite reports there was a 179% increase in U.S. mahjong events on its platform from 2023 to 2024. Theres been a 179% increase in mahjong events in the U.S. from 2023 to 2024, according to Eventbrite, a popular ticketing app. The event platform says Gen Z is also showing a growing interest in other grannycore activities such as baking workshops and needlework circles that happen offline. In mahjong, four players draw and discard tiles with different suits, numbers and Chinese characters. The object is to build a winning hand of four sets of three and one pair.Its a really tactile game, and its really a social game. It really easily builds community among people, said Nicole Wong, a writer and audio producer in Oakland. Its a good way to unplug and not just be on your phone. Wong learned how to play when she visited her Chinese grandparents in New Zealand in 2009. Several years ago she found her parents mahjong table and game sets, and started hosting mahjong nights with her friends.In 2019, she launched The Mahjong Project, an instructional guide and oral history project inspired by her familys love of the game. That led her to publish Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora, an illustrated book that explores the games history, strategies, traditions and styles of play. For the Asian American community, I think theres interest in connecting to your heritage and your culture in a way that was not the case when I was growing up, Wong said.YLL Mahjong Club has held nearly 20 events in San Francisco since it started last year. Lee said its an opportunity to introduce people to the game as well as bring business to local restaurants, bars and food vendors. Lees sister started hosting similar events in Los Angeles. There are plans to expand to other U.S. cities.The demand is rising, said Lee, a management consultant in business school. Its not just an interest to learn how to play mahjong, but to find a third space or another community to do things with. Joyce Yam, YLL Mahjong Clubs sponsorship manager, helps manage the San Francisco events, which sell out fast and have long waiting lists.We welcome people who have no experience at mahjong at all, and we have TAs who teach the people how to play the game. And they love it so much that they keep coming back, Yam said.Ethan Vuong, a Florida native who lives in San Francisco, started playing with friends a couple years ago. He saw it as a way to connect with his Chinese heritage and make new friends. Hes a regular at Oaklands Baba House and YLL Mahjong Club events, where he volunteers to teach newcomers.Its not just a skill or mechanics-based game, its an expression of your personality, Vuong said. I just keep playing because I have this goal that Im going to beat my grandma one day.

The Right says the Left wants to take away your guns. Well, I dont know about the Left, but I want to take away your guns! REPEAL THE 2ND AMENDMENT!!There. I uttered the unutterable, the ultimate taboo in U.S. political discourse. Related We must end the insanity of easy gun access in this land of the terrified and home of the fearful I posted my thought onto social media one day after the tragic shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On August 27, a shooter scattered bullets at a terrifyingly high velocity through the stained-glass windows, killing two young students aged 8 and 10 and injuring another 15 students and 3 adults before taking their own life.While some of the participants who responded to my plea on social media supported the idea of repeal, the vast majority not only disagreed, but more tellingly, attacked me as the messenger. I list a small representative sample of the 200+ responses written by what appeared to have all been white cisgender males according to the picture profiles accompanying their responses: Dive deeper every day Join our newsletter for thought-provoking commentary that goes beyond the surface of LGBTQ+ issues Subscribe to our Newsletter today Dont call the police and leave the country if you dont like it.Hey, Warren, just try coming and taking my guns!You pedophile communist fascist.Hey Jew. Dont you remember what they did to 6 million of your people? You should love the second amendment.Youre totally mental, but I like your dogs [in your profile picture].Who are you to talk? You kill babies with your so-called reproductive freedom crap.You are a treasonous Benedict Arnold, and you know what they do to traitors!God gave us the right to own guns, and you dont have the right to take them away.You better write your will and testimony [testament] and get your affairs in order.Youre hiding behind the bodies of dead children to promote your agenda.Toxic forms of hypermasculinity require the promotion and use of firearms to keep at bay the intensive psychosocial fear of penetration from bullets, homosexuals, trans people in bathrooms, immigrants, and the female gaze, since patriarchy promises males the right to the aggressive outward intrusive gaze and the mandate to penetrate others.For many members of the firearms movement yes, it is a movement their guns are not simply a commodity, a product, or a thing they own and use. Guns are an integral and essential element of their identities. When anyone challenges the Second Amendment, they take it as a challenge to their very being. I love my life, and I love the people of my country far more than I value the freedom to bear arms. I dont know if any reforms will really solve the problems of gun-related violence in the United States, though I still hold out hope.And though impossible, in all actuality, I believe wemustrepeal the Second Amendment while granting some accommodation to licensed hunters and people who can document that their lives are at heightened risk of violence.As the horse once served as a primary means of transportation in earlier times, it now grazes and prances peacefully on open pastures. Possibly during former moments in our history, we may have had reason to enact and enforce the Second Amendment of our great Constitution, but those bygone days have long since passed. Now we must put the Second Amendment out to pasture. I believe that even our brilliant, well-meaning, but flawed founders did not want unlimited and unrestricted firearm ownership. This is why they began the Second Amendment with the phrase, A well regulated Militia, before they continued with, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.They could never have imagined how the Second Amendment would menace the lives of our people and impose an existential threat to our nation.Even if our early leaders had advocated for unrestricted gun ownership, these same men enslaved Africans, committed genocide against native peoples, withheld enfranchisement from women, and killed one another in duels. Since those early times, legislation, judicial actions, and constitutional amendments have at least attempted to redress some of those past tragedies. Though we can never bring back the tens of thousands of victims mowed down by gun-related violence each year, by gutting the Second Amendment, we can give our residents a greater chance of life.I often travel, and increasingly, people abroad express to me their admiration for the remarkable achievements of the United States. Yet, because of the perennial gun-related violence, they vow never to step foot on this land.These same people believe they have more freedom in their countries with severe firearms restrictions than we could ever have under our Second Amendment. And because of their well-founded hesitations to visit our country, they will never experience our gleaming cities, our open plains, our lush grasslands, our majestic mountains and national parks, and yes, our seemingly endless quantity of shops (and lets not forget our peanut butter and M&Ms). In the end, the realities of gun-related violence in the U.S. hurt everyone everywhere, with the possible exception of firearms manufacturers, their lobbyists, and the politicians to whom they funnel funds. This violence also benefits our enemies, who desire to see us defeated from within.Rather than working to reduce the supply of firearms on our streets and in our homes, gun sales and ownership steadily increase. The United States ranks number 1 of 178 countries with the highest rate of firearms: 120.5 per 100 people.What will it take for us to cease fighting insanity with insanity? How many more of our precious people of all ages will have their lives cut short under the banner of freedom to bear arms? What will it take for us to reverse the unholy alliance betweencorporate America and powerful pressure groups controlling politicians in the service of firearms manufacturers? When is enough, enough?Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

With a title that demands attention and music that refuses to apologize, queer punk provocateur Dagger Polyester has officially entered the arena. Their debut album, Perversion for Profit, released August 1, is a genre-fluid firestorm of rebellion, performance, and raw political commentary, all tracked at L.A.s legendary Sunset Sound and produced by none other than Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes.In conversation with Gayety, Polyester unpacked the making of Perversion for Profit.Q: Perversion for Profit is such a bold title for a debut LP. What does that phrase mean to you, and how does it tie together the themes across the album?Perversion for Profit was a phrase Chris [Robinson] stumbled upon in some documentary, scrawled on a protest sign at an anti-pornography rally. In 1963, Eastmancolor made the propaganda film by the same name, financed by an organization called the Citizens for Decent Literature. Currently we are unfortunately still combating the same small-mindedness, censorship and misinformation. However, culturally we have almost no restraint, having given over entirely to aestheticism and Dionysian pleasure-seeking. The dichotomy of these ideas encapsulated in one phrase is as severe as the tracks are disparate from one another. Im not sure if the title ties the record together in any literal sense, but it does set a mood by introducing themes of scandal, oppression and suppression.Q: Your single She Kissed The Gun takes on the tragic story of Lana Clarkson. What drew you to that moment in pop culture, and how did you approach capturing its complexity through sound and visuals?I remember hearing Phil Spector use the phrase she kissed the gun in his defense during his trial. It stuck with me for years until a song formed around it.To grow up in Los Angeles is to be imbued with its curses. This story feels as close to me as if it happened in my own family, and the song and visuals possessed me all at once. These are real lives and tragedies that could stand to be handled more delicately, sure, but the way Im approaching the story is more as a fable, representative of the threat this industry poses to those who aspire to fame.Q: What was the experience like recording at Sunset Sound, surrounded by the legacy of artists like Prince, The Doors, and Janis Joplin? Did the space itself influence how you approached the sessions?It made me fucking nervous! But that was for the best. I felt I had a lot to live up to. I wanted to sing full takes all the way through as much as possible. I even picked out my outfit the night before, ironed them and shined my shoes before going in each day. Its good to feel a seriousness about your practice, an urgency and severity. I was so grateful to be there, I didnt want to waste a single second.Q: Your music blends angular post-punk with disco, glam rock, and new wave all with a ferocious and theatrical twist. How do you strike that balance between chaos and control?I dont tend to strike balances very successfully. If it were up to me, the record would have probably been almost pure chaos. But thats what we have producers for, to tell us No one is going to listen to that art school bullshit. In a much kinder way, of course.Q: Youve said that drag queens, Dada art, and the Fluxus movement have all inspired your live shows. What can someone expect when they walk into a Dagger Polyester performance for the first time?Though the set tends to change frequently, I will give the audience absolutely everything, every time. Ill be reduced to a puddle of sweat and tears afterwards.Q: I heard about the infamous show where you brought a roasted duck on stage and screamed, WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY?! Do you see your live performances as part concert, part performance art?Yes! I love music, but performance is the most important element of what I do. I will expend all my energy every single show, trying to make each one unique. On no budget! And shitty health insurance. But its worth it, its what I live for.Perversion for Profit is available now on all streaming platforms, with vinyl and CDs available for purchase. Polyester will announce fall tour dates soon.Album Tracklist:We Stand On The Shoulders Of GiantsConversion TherapyFather PanikSpinAffectionShe Kissed The GunCheapThe TowerWillSource

Before his triumph in the 1986 World Series, he had a long playing career and established himself as one of baseballs brainier and more self-assured characters.

The unraveling of relations between the United States and India has convinced many Indian officials that the country should return to its difficult balancing act of nonalignment.

Mr. Sanders will host the Democratic front-runner for mayor of New York City at a town hall in Brooklyn on Saturday night. The two marched in a Labor Day parade that morning in Manhattan.

Weather patterns channeling moisture into the state have led to an abundance of lightning strikes that have ignited hundreds of wildfires.

For the vast majority of people, the stream of promised retirement checks is worth more than anything else, our columnist says.

Sinner and Alcaraz will face off yet again in the US Open final Sunday. Our experts weigh in on how each can win.

Alyssa Thomas has taken back the WNBA single-season assist record, topping Caitlin Clark's mark of 337 set last season.

Early Pritchard, the father of Florida State linebacker Ethan Pritchard, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to his head, was in attendance for Saturday's game in Tallahassee as the Seminoles honored his son with various tributes.

Charles Leclerc doubts he can replicate his emotional Italian Grand Prix win from 12 months ago.

The demonstrators oppose the British governments decision to designate Palestine Action as a terrorist organization.

Leo XIV did not meet with pilgrims, but he has indicated that he is supportive of an open, welcoming church.

The remains of people killed and left in mass graves in the waning days of the war are being given dignified burials.

The immigration crackdown is expected to last several weeks, sources with knowledge of the operation said.

Both singles champions will win $5 million. But the envelope they receive during the trophy presentation is a symbolic gesture.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears before the Senate Finance Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-09-06T18:21:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s family are calling for him to step down as health secretary following a contentious congressional hearing this past week, during which the Trump Cabinet official faced bipartisan questioning about his tumultuous leadership of federal health agencies. Kennedys sister, Kerry Kennedy, and his nephew, Joseph P. Kennedy III, issued scathing statements Friday, calling for him to resign as head of the Health and Human Services Department. The calls from the prominent Democratic family came a day after Kennedy had to defend his recent efforts to pull back COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and fire high-level officials at the Centers for Disease Control at a three-hour Senate hearing. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a threat to the health and wellbeing of every American, Joseph P. Kennedy III said in a post on X. The former congressman added: None of us will be spared the pain he is inflicting. His aunt echoed those claims, saying medical decisions belong in the hands of trained and licensed professionals, not incompetent and misguided leadership. This is not the first time Kennedy has been the subject of his familys ire. Several of his relatives had objected to his presidential run in the last campaign, while others wrote to senators earlier this year, calling for them to reject his nomination to be Trumps health secretary due to views they considered disqualifying on life-saving vaccines. Kennedy, a longtime leader in the anti-vaccine movement, has spent the last seven months implementing his once-niche, grassroots movement to the highest level of Americas public health system. The sweeping changes to the agencies tasked with public health policy and scientific research have resulted in thousands of layoffs and the remaking of vaccine guidelines. The moves some of which contradict assurances he made during his confirmation hearings have rattled medical groups and officials in several Democratic-led states, which have responded with their own vaccine advice.

Out Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis is leaving the U.S. for Panama, he shared last weekend. He sold three of his five Olympic diving medals to help finance the move.I told the truth; I needed the money, Louganis posted to Facebook Friday, after the three medals a silver from Montreal, a gold from Los Angeles, and another gold from Seoul earned a whopping $430,865 at auction in July, far above estimates. Related Olympic diver wouldnt be here if not for his gay dad Louganis is widely considered the best American diver in history. He came out in 1994 and revealed he was HIV positive in 1995.While many people may have built businesses and sold them for a profit, I had my medals, which I am grateful for, Louganis said in the post detailing his move abroad. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today If I had proper management, I might not have been in that position, but what is done is done; live and learn, he said..@greglouganis didn't consider himself a competitor. He was a performer. How he honed that mindset all the way to the pic.twitter.com/24teqip4U2 cllct (@cllctMedia) July 16, 2025Louganis described the relocation as an opportunity for me to start anew, with an open heart and an open door. Opening up to possibilities.He did not specify a reason for the change, but noted the resilience of victims of this years Los Angeles wildfires for helping him grapple with his own feelings about relocating.I know I am choosing to do this, but their resilience is an inspiration, he said.Several well-known gay Los Angeles-area residents decided to leave the country following the presidents reelection in November, including Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi, and the presidents nemesis Rosie ODonnell. Star Wars icon Mark Hamill and Jimmy Kimmel both reportedly considered following suit.The medal sale will help me to get more secure footing on my new adventure, Louganis told cllct magazine. I have learned a part of growth is letting go the past, and letting go of all attachments is true freedom.I hope they bring joy to whom ever got them, he added of the silver and gold medals. Louganis and husband of eight years, JohnnyChaillot, divorced in 2021. I realized I often close myself off, shut myself down, and play small for the comfort of others, Louganis said in the heartfelt post. I dont think I have realized or given myself credit for what I might be able to accomplish.Now I get to discover who is Greg Louganis? Without the distraction and noise from outside, the diver wrote. At least this is my goal, and hey, I may not find that.I think I may find it at times, in moments, my goal is to live it! Discover, allow, and nurture that human spirit through the experiences of life, he said.Namaste, the gay Olympian signed off, before adding, Will be checking in from Panama!Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.

Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell sacked Utah State quarterback Bryson Barnes on three consecutive plays in the second quarter of Saturday's game in College Station.