"I want, very simply, to encourage the Church to continue to grow in confidence in the Gospel, to speak of the love that we find in Jesus Christ and for it to shape our actions, and I look forward to sharing this journey of faith with the millions of people serving God and their communities in parishes all over the country and across the global Anglican Communion," she said of her appointment.
I [want] to express my sincere regret for having performed under a government that continues to violate fundamental human rights. I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.
He didn't say it in that way, of course. People would have noticed that. Instead, he couched his self-serving philosophy in legal jargon that will fly under the radar of most people, including journalists. Here's what he said: "At some point we need to think about what we're doing with stare decisis.... [I]t's not some sort of talismanic deal where you can just say 'stare decisis' and not think, turn off the brain, right?"
"No, it's that the original version featured a gay couple getting married. But in the film's Chinese release, someone digitally altered it - quite possibly using AI - and replaced one of the men with a woman, Bloomberg reports, and the homophobic and censorious implications are irking audiences across the globe. "What's happening outside the film is even more terrifying than what's shown in it," wrote a user on the Chinese social network Weibo, as spotted by The Guardian."
➡️ Things took a weird and annoying turn in today's top stories, starting with Log Cabin Republicans attending a Kennedy Center concert just to heckle a musician who criticizes Trump. Pete Buttigieg had an appropriate response to Tucker Carlson claiming he's not really gay, and a Moms for Liberty chair stripped down to her underwear at a school board meeting to make LGBTQ+ people look bad (somehow).
➡️ Kamala Harris appeared on Rachel Maddow's show last night, where they had a searching conversation about why Harris didn't feel that Pete Buttigieg would be a good pick as a running mate. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed the anti-trans bathroom bill passed by the legislature earlier this month, and protesters in Florida who were attacked outside the Pulse memorial site are demanding an arrest. In more encouraging news, a court has sided with queer artists and the ACLU over federal funding restrictions.
In Washington, D.C., more than 100 young activists came together for Advocates for Youth's annual Youth Activist Institute (YAI) - a five-day gathering that has become a cornerstone of youth advocacy and leadership development. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Institute, underscoring decades of commitment to equipping young people with the tools to fight for sexual health, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ+ rights.
The bill, which would have granted only limited rights to same-sex couples living in the country if they were married overseas, was met with opposition by 71 member of the Legislative Councils. It has 89 members. In 2023, Hong Kong's top court ordered the government to legally recognise same-sex relationships and gave them two years to enact legislation. However, an appeal with regard to bringing forward full marriage equality and recognition of same-sex marriages performed abroad was unanimously dismissed.
Or, come in late August like me, and you might just stumble upon the local Pride march, one of the world's only Pride events to take place above the Arctic Circle. If you're used to Pride in London or Brighton Pride, Senja Pride will come as a culture shock. There's no Mariah Carey performance or gaggle of corporate sponsors, but there is a sweet community spirit, and a heartwarming reminder of why Pride is needed everywhere, but more crucially in small, rural areas.
Secretary of war Pete Hegseth has fired a navy trans healthcare specialist, Janelle Marra, after being "tipped off" by Libs of TikTok. The right-wing social media account, run by founder Chaya Raichik, has regularly attacked the LGBTQ+ community over the years. Their latest target was commander Janelle Marra whose Defence Health Agency bio revealed that she "began her naval service through a health professions scholarship programme in 2004".
For the performance of her latest single, Carpenter emerged from a manhole, surrounded by RuPaul's Drag Race stars Willam (season four), Symone (season 13) and Denali (season 13 and All Stars 10) as she kicked off the number. Carpenter, who held a whopping nine nominations at this year's VMAs, was also joined by Beyonc é collaborator Honey Balenciaga, a legendary ballroom performer who has appeared on Queen B's most recent two tours.
Frustrated that Mexico's soccer federation has failed to stop a anti-gay chant heard during national team matches, LGBTQ+ activists are appealing directly to local fans to end the offensive habit before next summer's World Cup.
"I think people would want to see that for their neighbours," "They would want to see that for members of their community. People would want to see people they don't know live with peace and safety and security. They wouldn't want to see their neighbours live in fear of hatred or racism. They wouldn't want to see their Jewish friends live in fear of antisemitism, and Muslim brothers and sisters live in fear of Islamophobia."
The move followed Walters's false claim that the Trump administration had approved his plan to eliminate statewide end-of-year testing. On a right-wing outlet earlier this month, Walters bragged, "We went to the Trump administration and they said they were all for it," Notus reports. That wasn't true. McMahon publicly corrected him, telling reporters the waiver "has not gone through all the different steps that it needs to be." Asked whether she'd meet Walters during her visit, she shot back: "I don't believe that's on my schedule today."
"Many people simply don't realize how powerful school boards are. These elected officials decide what students learn, what books they can access, whether LGBTQ+ students are protected or targeted, and how safe and inclusive a school environment is."