Virginia Removes LGBTQ Youth Resources from State Website

generated lots of media coverage by making appearances before North Carolina school boards to rant about the supposedly “perverted” books that are available in school libraries. He’s so pleased with himself that he’s taking his bigotry-promoting show on the road.Amanchukwu is a pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is overseen by virulently anti-LGBTQ pastor Patrick Wooden, who also happens to be Amanchukwu’s father-in-law.

Jason Aldean's new music video appears to have received a subtle reedit. In the wake of controversy surrounding the country star's «Try That in a Small Town» visual, select imagery of Black Lives Matter protests has been removed.

Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are mourning the loss of a staff member they considered “a truly wonderful man.” Tafari Campbell, who worked as a White House sous chef and later became the Obamas‘ chef, died on Monday, July 24, in a paddle boarding accident near the Obamas’ Katama estate in Martha’s Vineyard. He was 45.The search started at 7:46 p.m. ET on Sunday when Martha’s Vineyard police and fire agencies responded to a 911 call for “a male paddle boarder who had gone into the water, appeared to briefly struggle to stay on the surface, and then submerged and did not resurface.”A post shared by Tafari Campbell (@thymeless_creations)Massachusetts State Police confirmed Campbell’s death to PEOPLE during a news release.

As conservatives continue to whip up fear of drag shows and all things LGBTQ+, with their accusations of “grooming,” the actual offenses continue to be perpetrated by… youth pastors.

Mississippi minors are being denied access to widely used e-book and audiobook platforms due to a new book-banning law.The law, which went into effect at the beginning of July, purportedly intends to protect minors from digital resources and databases that contain “sexually oriented” materials.The impact? Because OverDrive, Hoopla, and Mississippi state libraries lack age-based content restrictions, some public libraries are making their online databases –- including those entirely lacking in sexual content — entirely inaccessible to all young people under the age of 18, including disabled minors who may depend on audiobook or e-book access to read.“This move by the state ensures that those with the least privileges — those in unstable homes, those without regular internet access, and those without active parents or guardians in their lives — have even fewer opportunities to utilize public goods and services,” Kelly Jensen, the editor of Book Riot, the largest independent editorial book site, wrote in analyzing the ban.Given how existing Mississippi law defines “sexually oriented” materials, vendors could potentially be deemed to be violating the law by providing access to materials depicting sexual reproduction, nudity or displays of human anatomy, sexual health information, or depictions of LGBTQ identity. Depictions of any of these topics would be treated as equivalent to providing access to hardcore pornography.Violators of the law can face fines between $500 and $5,000, as well as possible prison time.

Tiffany Chen and Robert De Niro made her TV debut during her mother's  interview with Gayle King that aired on Friday. The baby made a brief appearance during the near-10-minute conversation, during which the world-champion martial artist opened up to King about the scary postpartum complication she endured after giving birth to the 79-year-old Oscar-winning actor's seventh child. When asked how her daughter has changed her life, Chen responds that the 3-month-old has «made it more fun» for her and her Oscar-winning partner. «Gia, what's your favorite Robert De Niro movie?» King jokingly asked the baby during her visit, to which Chen replied, «The one in the delivery room, where I'm the star!»WATCH: Robert De Niro’s baby Gia makes her TV debut alongside mom Tiffany Chen and @GayleKing on CBS Mornings.

Kevin Costner filed new divorce documents against Christine Baumgartner to insure "an orderly process" as she vacates their shared beachfront estate outside of Santa Barbara, California. In new documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Costner's legal team filed an ex parte application to "prevent Petitioner (Baumgartner) from removing Respondent’s (Costner) separate property from his home, and to insure an orderly process for the removal of her separate property (if any)." The "Yellowstone" actor argued in the application that "under the PMA (pre-marital agreement) there is no community property." Baumgartner was ordered by a judge last week to vacate the separate residence of their $145 million Carpinteria compound by July 31.  "Petitioner’s counsel has stated, in writing, that Petitioner 'plans' to remove many items which are not Petitioner’s separate property," documents stated.  "Petitioner refuses to sign a Stipulation that she will not do so unless and until there is a written agreement between the parties." Costner purchased the property before their marriage, and a pre-marital agreement allegedly stipulated that she would not only move out of the home within 30 days, but also no longer live in any of his properties if they divorced.  Her team argued that the Santa Barbara housing market made it difficult for her to find a new home adequate to suit the needs of her three children, but Judge Thomas Anderle denied Baumgartner's request to move out of the residence by Aug.

CNN anchor Kate Bolduan apologized Wednesday after a correspondent allegedly "misgendered" trans woman and biological male Dylan Mulvaney.  Multiple LGBTQ Twitter activists ripped a Tuesday segment on "CNN News Central" during which Ryan Young reported on the ongoing backlash against Bud Light for making the trans activist a brand spokesperson. After Young referred to Mulvaney as "he" twice, Bolduan took a moment on air the next day to say, "We apologize for that error." According to the 26-year-old activist’s social media pages, Mulvaney prefers to go by "she/they" pronouns.

Results of a new poll conducted by the D.C.-based Data for Progress released last week showed that 65 percent of voters believe businesses should not be allowed to turn away customers who are of a particular race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation because of the business owner’s personal beliefs.

Far-right conservative preacher Kent Christmas asked God to “loose a Holy judgment” on the upcoming Barbie movie because it is “full of transsexual and transgender and homosexuality.”Posted on June 25, a now-viral video shows the Tennessee-based Christmas saying, “I curse in the name of the Lord this new Barbie movie that has been released full of transsexual and transgender and homosexuality in the name of the Lord. May God loose a judge, may God loose a Holy judgment.

six-page letter, dated July 5, also appears to promote a form of Christian nationalism, suggesting right-wing boycotts over the LGBTQ Pride products harmed the company’s market value, and then stating: “It is likely more profitable to sell the type of Pride that enshrines the love of the United States. Target’s Pride Campaign alienates whereas Pride in our country unites.”The letter also refers to reports from right-wing media including the National Review, Fox News, the New York Post, and the Daily Caller, along with articles from Reuters and Axios.It denounces Target’s financial support of GLSEN.

statement announcing his veto of the bills, Cooper accused Republicans of “scheming for the next election” by “hurting vulnerable children” and pushing “political culture wars.”He likened the measures to the state’s infamous HB 2 “bathroom bill” restricting transgender access to certain public multi-user facilities, which passed in 2016 and led to a large-scale economic backlash against the state.“A doctor’s office is no place for politicians, and North Carolina should continue to let parents and medical professionals make decisions about the best way to offer gender care for their children,” Cooper said of the restrictions on gender-affirming care, which prohibit rarely-recommended surgical procedures, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers, as well as mental health therapy that affirms a trans-identifying youth’s gender identity.“Ordering doctors to stop following approved medical protocols sets a troubling precedent and is dangerous for vulnerable youth and their mental health,” Cooper added.

Ron DeSantis is now personally defending the anti-LGBTQ ad his official 2024 presidential campaign promoted last week, which drew massive outrage from the left and the right for being homophobic and transphobic. The ad wrongly attempts to paint Donald Trump as being pro-LGBTQ by using some of his remarks from years ago, rather than his long record as president and presidential candidate of targeting and attacking the LGBTQ community.“Identifying Donald Trump as really being a pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream, where he was having men compete against women in his beauty pageants — I think that’s totally fair game, because he’s now campaigning saying the opposite,” DeSantis said Wednesday to  right-wing commentator Tomi Lahren, as NBC News reports.The video, which went viral on Twitter and currently has nearly 25 million views, includes this message from the DeSantis campaign attacking Trump: “To wrap up Pride Month, let’s hear from the politician who did more than any other Republican to celebrate it.”READ MORE: ‘Disgusting’: Pro-DeSantis Former GOP Lawmaker Pulls Support and Slams Florida Governor After Anti-LGBTQ AdTrump’s anti-LGBTQ record is extreme, despite his pre-presidential remarks and actions.

Prince Andrew has been allowed to stay in the Firm's £30 million Windsor mansion while his ex-wife recovers from breast cancer, it has been reported.

he wrote on Instagram. “America is becoming dumber by the minute.”In a 6-3 decision issued Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of artist Lorie Smith, who sued the state over its anti-discrimination law that prohibited businesses providing sales or other accommodations to the public from denying service based on a customer’s sexual orientation.Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, which said that, “In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance.” “But, as this Court has long held, the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong,” he continued.The Supreme Court handed down several rulings at the end of June, including ruling against President Biden’s student loan handout plan.In the 6-3 decision, the court held that federal law does not allow the secretary of education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt. The high court also ruled against affirmative action on Thursday.“Or a benefit to a student whose herit­age or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university.

LGBTQ advocates and allies are lamenting the Supreme Court’s recent decision in favor of a website designer who sought an exemption from her state’s nondiscrimination law to allow her to refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples.Despite one of the alleged requests for service from a gay couple allegedly being fabricated or submitted under false pretenses, as reported by The New Republic, the high court ultimately decided in favor of Lorie Smith, the owner of 303 Creative, LLC, finding that Colorado’s law infringes on her free speech rights.The court further found that, because Smith creates “custom” websites that contain “expressive content,” she should have been granted a “free speech” exemption to the Coloraod Anti-Discrimination Act allowing her to not only refuse service to same-sex couples, but to post a notice that she will refuse to create websites celebrating same-sex marriages.Many allies of the LGBTQ community noted that while the decision is not as broad as to overturn nullify laws prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination, it does create a massive carve-out for businesses providing “custom-made” goods or services, allowing them to discriminate against prospective customers — in this particular case, LGBTQ individuals, but potentially members of other groups in the future — on free speech grounds. “The Supreme Court just gave businesses a license to discriminate,” Ben Olinsky, the senior vice president of Structural Reform and Governance at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said in a statement.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a graphic designer who denied service to same-sex couples.

because she refuses to provide that service to same-sex couples. The case is 303 Creative vs.

The Supreme Court ruled that a website designer could refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings, despite a Colorado non-discrimination law.

303 Creative vs. Elenis, was argued on First Amendment free speech grounds.“The First Amendment prohibits Colorado from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees,” the Court ruled on Friday, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines.On Friday, Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, ruled in favor of the Colorado designer who claims she would like to expand her business to include producing wedding websites, but also claims her Christian faith requires her to refuse to do so for same-sex couples getting married.