Maine quashes anti-trans ballot initiative due to invalid signatures What the initiative did: Maine was one of several states to put a ban on trans sports participation on their 2026 midterms ballot, a move intended to bypass the state's Democratic elected officials. But a court review of the signat
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House Republicans feigned ignorance or just outright lied in an Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Tuesday as they pretended not to understand how a transgender man could get pregnant. One indignant representative, freshman Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), called the idea "insane." Related Inside t
The Trump administration ended the “Designated Placement Rule” yesterday. Created by his predecessor Joe Biden, the rule required federally-funded child welfare agencies to receive LGBTQ+ youth competency training; provide access to age-appropriate support services to queer youth; and to place them
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.The Pentagon is preparing to test service members for low testosterone and offer replacement therapy when military doctors recommend it, expanding access to the same class of hormone treatment the Trump administration has cited as an unnecessary expense
Foot fetishes are one of the most common — and stigmatized — sexual interests out there. While some might be tickled by the mere thought of having their toes sucked on, many others understand that feet, an extremely sensitive part of the body, actually carry immense potential for pleasure. There’s a
Out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared the design for a new dollar coin featuring the president's scowling face, making him the first living president to have his image imprinted on currency. Bessent said the coin will "honor the enduring legacy of liberty and a lasting symbol of patriotism" an
The mother of Daisy Davis (not her real name) says the story about her trans daughter masturbating in a stall next to a classmate in the girls' restroom at Boise High School is false, as well as “reckless and irresponsible.” And it refuses to die. Related Federal judge temporarily blocks Idaho law t
The Wall Street Journal editorial board says Donald Trump may have doomed his presidency by making it possible for Democrats to retake the Senate during the midterm elections. In an op-ed, the board said the situation is due to the president's "uncanny habit of handing his opponents a sword." Relate
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a video posted Wednesday afternoon that military doctors will now annually screen the testosterone levels of male service members over the age of 30 and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) as a way to keep military men on the “leading edge of lethality
Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in West Virginia v. B.P.J., which ruled that states can exclude trans people from school sports with out violating Title IX—Scott Yenor, a senior fellow of the Heritage Foundation, is calling for Title IX to be rewritten to remove requirements for equali
Nonbinary people and their supporters marched through Mexico City on Tuesday, July 14 in observation of International Nonbinary People’s Day, marking the fourth annual march of its kind after the first was held in 2023.“We demand our rights as citizens, like anyone else, and we mainly ask for respec
India's Supreme Court is expected to issue a closely watched constitutional ruling that could shape the future of LGBTQ rights litigation. The decision will determine whether courts can continue to rely on the doctrine of constitutional morality, a principle that has underpinned several landmark rig
A political attack ad claiming Arizona Democrat Amish Shah supported a law that would allow minors in the state to be subjected to so-called “conversion therapy” is misleading, according to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group that helped craft the legislation. The ad, funded by super PAC Pro-Choice Majority A
A 22-year-old gay man died from complications after donating a kidney to his homophobic father. Gabriel Barros of Pernambuco, Brazil, was kicked out of his home when he was 16 years old, according to Brazilian publication Area VIP. Despite remaining estranged from his father, Barros didn't hesitate
The breakout character of House of the Dragon’s third season isn’t any of the people the show spent all of last season hyping up. No, it’s a dragon who looks like he’s been through some stuff. Sheepstealer has a pronounced underbite, ragged wings, and plenty of other deformities. Despite his name, S
“The gays hate us,” said the young trans woman of color on the other end of the phone. She was calling to ask for help starting her own organization. Then she added, “They steal our words, our culture, but don’t want to help us when we’re literally fighting for our lives.” We at the Transgender Stra
Advocacy groups have joined the relief efforts in Venezuela after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated large swaths of the country on June 24. The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes caused widespread damage in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and elsewhere in the country. Officials in the South Am
Fox News anchor Jesse Watters blurted out on Fox News last night that he has not had a vasectomy, even though no one even asked him. He then insisted that getting a vasectomy makes someone "less of a man." On Fox's The Five, Watters ranted about how he opposes policies to make college tuition-free i
It’s long been a stereotype that lesbians report higher rates of orgasm from partnered sex and overall sexual satisfaction than straight people — and the science continues to back it up. A new study in the journal Psychology & Sexuality found that lesbian women masturbate alone less frequently than
Pride in Rehoboth Beach is kicking off this week on Friday, July 17, with events happening throughout the weekend. "Rehoboth Beach Pride is more than a festival — it is a vital space for community, healing, and connection," said David Mariner, director of Sussex Pride, which organizes many of the ev
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten shared surprising data showing that Democrats have an even greater chance of ousting incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) now that Graham Platner is out of the race. Enten showed that on July 2, about a week before Platner dropped out and also before the sexual assa
Aqua Bar & Grill in Rehoboth Beach will celebrate its 20th anniversary on Sunday, July 19 from 2-7 p.m. DJ Biff will entertain the crowd; there will be complimentary birthday cake and surprise guests. The event marks the culmination of Pride weekend in Rehoboth Beach, which runs all weekend with pan
In an interview with MS Now's Jen Psaki this week, Pete Buttigieg opened up about what he has referred to as the "darkest hours" of his life, when he was temporarily separated from his children after an anonymous false report alleging he was a danger to his young twins. Psaki asked Buttigieg what he
Seemingly unhappy with a group of women deciding to make rules for membership in their own organization, Virginia Republican Ben Cline has introduced legislation to force the Daughters of the American Revolution to ban transgender women. The bill comes less than a month after the historical society
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters in Iowa on Monday that he won't rule out a 2028 presidential bid. The exchange comes after months of signs that Buttigieg is planning to run for president again. Buttigieg was in Iowa this week to campaign on behalf of several Democratic
When longtime Maryland state Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County) announced she would retire, Christa Tichy immediately saw an opportunity. The queer Democrat advanced from the June primary and will appear on the November ballot, hoping to succeed one of Maryland's first openly LGBTQ legislato
Attorney General Pam Bondi responded with a deafening silence when asked about whether the FBI found compromising photos of Donald Trump in Jeffrey Epstein's safe. During an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bondi attempted to evade the question from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), b
A gay New York City couple who spent years handing out over 180,000 backpacks filled with essentials to houseless people both died near the end of June and start of July. Jayson Conner, age 48, died on June 28 from a heart attack at their Manhattan home. His partner, Jeffrey Newman, age 58, died on
Pro-Trump Italian artist Sergio Furnari announced that his statue of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk will appear in New York City's Times Square on September 10, one year after his murder. Instagram commenters on the artist's page say it'll be "destroyed and vandalized within seconds" of its display, R
Two men were turned in by their younger brother decades after they ambushed a man that they thought was gay and bragged about "queer bashing" him. The victim died alone late at night on May 1, 1984, in a deserted London alley after being struck twice in the head with a heavy object. "There is no evi
Lesbian MS NOW commentator Rachel Maddow blasted Donald Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers during her Monday broadcast for failing to secure as a crime scene the place where an ICE officer killed a 26-year-old Colombian man, identified as Sebastian Guerrero, in Biddeford, Mai
Amnesty International UK has apologized for a report it now says was published prematurely, which identified over a hundred organizations as "anti-rights," including a women's domestic abuse center founded by gender-critical activist and author JK Rowling. The Harry Potter creator founded the "women
Pete Buttigieg zoomed out on Saturday on the controversy surrounding Donald Trump's teardown of the East Wing of the White House, saying he's not as concerned about historic preservation as he is about Americans suffering the effects of historic price hikes for health insurance, all while Trump buil
Free speech organizations are sounding the alarm over a recent decision by Comraine, Michigan's District Library Board of Trustees to circumvent its own review process and move dozens of LGBTQ+ books from the children's section to the adult section without first assessing them. In 2025, a group of 1
Mexico’s first openly gay mayor was killed last week. Media reports indicate former Fresnillo Mayor Benjamín Medrano was shot to death on July 7 inside an ice cream store in Guadalajara, the country’s second-largest city that is located in Jalisco state. Fresnillo is a city in Zacatecas state. Medra
This story originally appeared on The Advocate.A flood of public opposition helped stop one of the Trump administration’s most extreme attempts to force hospitals nationwide to abandon gender-affirming care for transgender young people, offering a rare and instructive victory against a federal gover
At last, there is a novel about Katharine Hepburn. Hepburn’s director and friend, George Cukor, would hate it, as would Hepburn herself, who would despise it with her trademark imperious finality. Readers, especially gays and lesbians who love their Turner Film Classics, will savor it because it rin
West Miami police arrested 38-year-old Luis Alberto Negrin on June 28 for choking, beating, and holding his male partner at gunpoint after "a revolting act during a sexual encounter," WPLG reported. Police received a report of a man “crying and bleeding in the middle of the roadway.” When officers a
Out soccer star Megan Rapinoe slammed the movement to ban transgender girls from sports as a "witch hunt" and "manufactured issue" over which "women and girls will suffer the most." In an op-ed for Marie Claire, the longtime trans rights advocate shared that a brand fired her from participating in a
After months of refusing to cooperate with state officials in Minnesota, the U.S. Department of Justice finally began turning over key evidence regarding the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) earlier this month. Over the past two weeks, feder
“I think there were a lot of LGBTQ people who felt they didn't have a place with a religious identity. And so, when we came along, they felt naturally that this is what Satanism clearly can allow for, because, unfortunately, Christian nationalism has defined itself, at least partially, by its reject
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