Record 120 Cities Get Perfect Score on HRC Municipal Equality Index

James Lindsay, a self-described enemy of “woke” culture who refers to LGBTQ+ people as “groomers,” claimed during an interview at Turning Point's recent Americafest Live event that drag queens are deliberately provoking their own murders so as to incite riots, reports Media Matters.“I think this is that unconventional warfare,” Lindsay said. “This is what they do in unconventional warfare. They make these provocations.

Elon Musk has been roundly criticized for sharing a meme early Wednesday morning that mocks LGBTQ+ rights, Black Lives Matter, vaccines, feminism, media, Islam, and Planned Parenthood.The “They Brainwashed You” meme that Musk shared depicts two restroom icons. One is shown with various social justice and religious iconography as well as organization and company logos while wearing a face mask and injected with several shots.

Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine announced that 18 attorneys general have opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.

Newly elected Republican congressman George Santos has apologised for false claims he made regarding his education and employment history.

US-based crypto exchange Kraken said on Wednesday (Dec 28) it would cease its operations in Japan next month, citing the current market conditions in the country and a weak crypto market globally.

Lily Collins underwent a major hair transformation for the highly-anticipated third season of Netflix's Emily In Paris, which premiered last Wednesday.The actress, 33 - who plays series lead Emily Cooper: a stylish American marketing executive working in Paris - bravely cut a Jane Birkin inspired fringe for the shoot.She thanked pro hairstylist Gregory Russell for 'starting Emily's new hair journey,' as well as her own 'fringe era.' Makeover: Lily Collins (pictured) underwent a major hair transformation for the highly-anticipated third season of Netflix's Emily In Paris, which premiered last WednesdayLily shared the nerve-racking moment when Gregory took the first chop in a video shared to Instagram on Tuesday.A makeup-free Lily can be seen sitting on a stool with a pink satin cape around her as Gregory meticulously parts out her brunette tresses. After creating the perfect section, Gregory pins back a portion of her soon-to-be bangs in order to work in layers.As Lily smiles nervously, Gregory quickly grabs ahold of the bottom layer and goes in for the cut.

With 2022 coming to a close, here are (in no particular order) some of the year's best LGBTQ+ television.In an age of endless reboots and sequels, it's hard to get excited for anything, no matter how beloved the original. Then came A League of Their Own, Amazon Prime's reboot of the classic film about a group of women starting their own baseball league during World War II.Decidedly more queer than the original, this iteration goes all in on its LGBTQ+ characters, including amazing turns by Abbi Jacobson, D'Arcy Carden and Chanté Adams.

One day, during a previous job, our PR team received a new employee with little warning. I immediately went to LinkedIn to find this mystery person, to no avail — I think this is the only person I have crossed paths with professionally who doesn’t have a LinkedIn page.Through a Google search, I found some self-generated content that hyped a well-connected political operative.

In her recently released interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Chaya Raichik, the bigot behind the Libs of TikTok social media account, accused LGBTQ people and their allies of grooming children for sexual abuse.

The woman behind the far-right, anti-LGBTQ+ social media account Libs of TikTok finally showed her face in an interview with Tucker Carlson that premiered Tuesday.During the hour-long interview, Chaya Raichik said LGBTQ+ people and the people who support them are grooming children — that is, preparing them for sexual abuse.  Appearing Tuesday on Tucker Carlson Today on the Fox Nation subscription streaming service, Raichik sat down with Carlson, one of her biggest supporters, and spewed anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry and conspiracies. At the start of the show, Carlson lamented how the public ought to be cautious in its consumption of news and information because of bias in reporting while simultaneously declaring Libs of TikTok a legitimate news source (it's not).Carlson played a 58-second clip of videos shared by Libs of TikTok, mostly of teachers with colorful hairstyles discussing personal pronouns and non-gendered concepts in classrooms. "That's information that you should definitely have but have never had until Libs of TikTok bothered to put it in one place and show you, and for doing that, the person who runs Libs of TikTok has been the focus of a lot of hate and many threats.

season three , posed for a kiss in front of the Christmas tree with her husband Charlie McDowell while wearing matching pajamas. would be horrified by the fashion choices here, which might be the point.On Christmas Day, shared two snaps on her Instagram grid. In the first, Collins (still rocking Emily's season three ), McDowell, and their dog are sitting outside in their matching long-sleeve white crewneck pajamas with red reindeer, trees, and snowflakes.

Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced a coalition of 18 attorneys general that are opposing Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act — also known as the “don’t say gay” law.Racine’s office said in a press release late last week that the law posed a threat to LGBTQ+ students, emphasizing that they are at particular risk and harm to discrimination.“My office has a strong track record of fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in the District and across the country to make sure that everyone can simply be who they are and love who they love,” Racine said.

Dame Joan Collins wowed her fans as she celebrated Christmas Day in Beverly Hills in style.

An incoming government minister in Israel suggested that doctors should be allowed to refuse treatment to LGBTQ+ patients on religious grounds.

Perthshire Pride is “committed to working with all people” in the region after legislation to make it easier for individuals in Scotland to change their legally recognised gender was passed by MSPs at Holyrood last week.

The third season of The L Word: Generation Q has brought more twists and turns than ever before.

Showtime has released a first look at Lauren Ambrose as Van in the upcoming second season of hit LGBTQ+ teen drama Yellowjackets.

Traitors' John McManus has insisted “I’m no bully”, after facing a backlash over his clash with co-star Aaron Evans on the show.

Spice Girls star Melanie C has pulled out of her upcoming New Year’s Eve performance in Poland. 

Congressman-elect George Santos, who is out, confirmed that he had deceived voters by fabricating parts of his professional and academic history.In interviews with conservative-owned media outlets, The New York Post and WABC-AM radio, Santos, 34, admitted to some of the lies uncovered in a New York Times investigation.And while he did admit to those misrepresentations, he told the Post that still plans to take office.“I am not a criminal,” he told the paper.The Times investigation alleged that Santos lied about going to Baruch College before going on to work at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. The college and those companies said they couldn’t find any record of Santos’s graduation or employment.He told the Post that he “never worked directly” with those two companies, but that he work with them through a company called Link Bridge.Santos also said he never graduated from Baruch or any college.“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said.

Gay American footballer Collin Martin has shared his thoughts on why the Premier League has no openly queer players. 

Drag Race star Mistress Isabelle Brooks has shut down fatphobic “fans” with a powerful statement on social media.

“Of course, I found a kind of permanent love - that’s very ungracious, but I got married nearly eight years ago and that’s changed things.“Especially talking about that child early on who knew he was gay and saw ahead of him only a life of exile and shame.”Stephen admitted: “The prospect that I could ever actually be married and live happily and for it to be no big deal to anybody[…].That’s made a big difference.”Back in 2016, Stephen credited Elliot with saving his life after falling madly in love and tying the knot the year before.Stephen has been open about his battle with depression and attempted to commit suicide in 2012. But the national treasure gushed over his husband, who he credited for helping him get to "a great place”."My husband has saved my life," Stephen told The Sun. "I think just the happiness and security and calm of being with him. I am in a great place right now." He added: "Rates of suicide and self harm are terrifying through Britain.

Spoilers ahead for episode five of Willow

BBC has finally released the first sneak peek at Heartstopper star Yasmin Finney in the upcoming Doctor Who specials. 

Gay icon Cher may or may not be engaged.On Christmas morning, Cher posted an image of a large diamond ring on Twitter. “There r no words, Alexander, A.E.,” she wrote.

Dear Plus Reader,Sheryl Lee Ralph has made a career of being a trailblazer, so breaking boundaries is nothing new for the Emmy winning legend of stage and screen — which is why we’re so very excited to have her grace the cover of our annual African American issue. In addition to paving the way for women of color in the entertainment industry (she directs and produces too), Ralph was one of the first high-profile celebrities to use her platform to raise awareness around HIV and AIDS.

Amy Grant, the Queen of Christian pop who crossed over to the mainstream with several hit songs, recently announced she is hosting the same-sex marriage of her niece.The Grammy winner, 2022 Kennedy Center Honor recipient, and the first Christian artist to have an album go platinum described her progressive views to The Washington Post: “Jesus, you just narrowed it down to two things: love God and love each other. I mean, hey, that’s pretty simple.” Grant also detailed her reaction when her niece first came out: What a gift to our whole family to just widen the experience of our whole family.Grant, in 2013, told Pride Source, “I know that the religious community has not been very welcoming [to LGBTQ+ people], but I just want to stress that the journey of faith brings us into community, but it's really about one relationship. The journey of faith is just being willing and open to have a relationship with God.

(CNN) -- After thousands of customers in Pierce County, Washington, were affected Sunday when burglars vandalized three energy substations, power was then knocked out for even more homes after a suspect or suspects gained access to a fourth substation, vandalizing the equipment and causing a fire, according to an update from the Pierce County Sheriff's Department.The damaged equipment cut power to around 14,000 customers, police said, weeks after an attack in North Carolina left thousands in the dark for days amid federal warnings of extremist threats to electricity infrastructure.The Christmas Day vandalism near Tacoma marked more such incidents in the state, where two November attacks on Puget Sound Energy substations were investigated by the FBI.

(CNN) -- "My whole life: 'She ain't Black enough. She ain't White enough.' Well, how about she's not obedient enough? How 'bout she ain't fearful enough?"That's Whitney Houston, played by Naomi Ackie, in Kasi Lemmons' moving and elegant new biopic, "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody." She's responding to criticisms that she's out of touch with Black audiences -- that she's merely an ingénue whose image and sound have been carefully constructed by White music executives to do just one thing: people-please.The scene is one of many in the movie neatly capturing the pressures the real-life Houston navigated as she walked a professional tightrope, trying to maintain her identity and integrity while meeting the demands of the record moguls who wanted her to tamp down her Blackness, behave "respectably" and quash even suggestions of queerness.

GEMMA Collins looked stunning in a sparkly low-cut mini dress as she celebrated Christmas with her loved ones. The Essex star, 41, slipped into a gold sequin frock as she posed alongside fiancé Rami Hawash, who sported a Santa costume and white beard. The former Towie star put her famous curves on display in the glitzy figure-hugging ensemble.

Imagine a world where a parent, upon seeing their young child moving in and out of the gender binary, becomes excited and proud, and when a dad comes home to see little Alejandro wearing his mom’s dress, immediately rings his own parents to tell them the great news, or when Mariposa asks to work construction with her dad, mom beams with pride at her beading circle. Historically, that was the way Two-Spirit children were honored by many tribes.

Sajid Ikram, 49, is an IT entrepreneur living in Canada. This is an edited version of his story, as told to CNA Insider.

(CNN) -- The FBI on Friday arrested a Texas man who allegedly called and threatened a Boston doctor who was providing care to transgender individuals, the US Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release.Matthew Jordan Lindner, 38, has been charged with one count of transmitting interstate threats and is scheduled to appear at a federal court in Boston at "a later date," the release said. He is being held without bail, The New York Times reported.CNN has reached out to Lindner's attorney for comment.According to a criminal complaint, false information began spreading on social media in August alleging that health care providers at the Boston Children's Hospital were performing hysterectomies and gender affirmation surgeries on patients younger than 18.

 (CNN) -- The family home of Iranian rock climber Elnaz Rekabi has been demolished, according to the pro-reform news outlet IranWire, after she rose to international prominence this fall for competing with her head uncovered.Rekabi competed without her hijab in South Korea in October, just as anti-regime protests swept Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.Some Iranian demonstrators saw Rekabi as a symbol of the national uprising calling for greater freedoms for women. However, human rights groups expressed fears for her safety when she returned to Tehran.Footage obtained by CNN from IranWire shows a destroyed structure and medals on the ground. The man filming the video clip describes what has happened to the house.

(CNN) – When NASA's Viking 1 lander made history as the first spacecraft to touch down on Mars on July 20, 1976, it sent back images of a landscape no one was expecting.Those first images taken from the ground there showed a surprisingly boulder-strewn surface in the red planet’s northern equatorial region, rather than the smooth plains and flood channels expected based on images of the area taken from space.The mystery of the Viking landing site has long puzzled scientists, who believe an ocean once existed there.Now, new research suggests that the lander touched down where a Martian megatsunami deposited materials 3.4 billion years ago, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.The catastrophic event likely occurred when an asteroid slammed into the shallow Martian ocean — similar to the Chicxulub asteroid impact that wiped out dinosaurs on Earth 66 million years ago, according to researchers. Solving an ancient riddleFive years before the Viking I landing, NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft had orbited Mars, spotting the first landscapes on another planet that suggested evidence of ancient flood channels there.The interest in the potential for life on the red planet prompted scientists to select its northern equatorial region, Chryse Planitia, as the first Martian landing site for Viking I.“The lander was designed to seek evidence of extant life on the Martian surface, so to select a suitable landing site, the engineers and scientists at the time faced the arduous task of using some of the planet’s earliest acquired images, accompanied by Earth-based radar probing of the planet’s surface,” said lead study author Alexis Rodriguez, senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson,

The Israeli LGBTQIA+ community truly concerned about the agreement between Israeli Prime Minister-delegate Netanyahu and the single stridently anti-gay member of the Noam party, Avi Moaz, a party whose main goal is to enact anti-gay policies, and considers gay rights to be “the destruction of the family.”The agreement is for Maoz to be a deputy minister for the Prime Minister, in charge of a new “National-Jewish identity.”“Do you know how much those marches harm holy Jerusalem, its public space?” he said. “You want to demonstrate — demonstrate.

Services have been planned for some of those killed in the Club Q shooting.The November 19 attack at the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub took the lives of five people. More than 20 were injured. A suspect has been arrested and awaits trial.Colorado Public Radio has reported on the funeral and memorial plans known so far:There will be both public and private services for Raymond Green Vance.

When Vincenzo Cugno Garrano suggested to Marco Scatena that the two Italian nationals should open a restaurant together, Scatena was all in.He invested “all of his personal money,” according to PinkNews, and got a bank loan, making him a 30 percent shareholder in Piatto, which opened in London in January 2018.But things quickly went downhill. Despite being one of four directors, Scatena never received a dividend payment.

In the wake of the Colorado Springs hate crime mass shooting last month at an gay nightclub’s drag show event that left five people dead, the anti-LGBTQ slur “groomer” and other anti-LGBTQ hate speech posts on Twitter skyrocketed, “peaking at 885% over their highest level before the shooting,” NBC News reports.

Jessica Watkins, a transgender woman, was one of five Oath Keeper members convicted for their participation in the January 6 Insurrection that attempted to derail certifying the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.Watkins and the other Oath Keepers were found guilty following an eight-week-long trial and three days of jury deliberations.The Oath Keepers are a far-right group with many members associated with militias and with former military or law enforcement backgrounds, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.Elmer Steward Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, and Kelly Meggs, leader of the group’s Florida chapter, were both found guilty of sedition.Watkins, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging duties. Kenneth Harrelson and Thomas Caldwell were convicted on related felony charges.“As this case shows, breaking the law in an attempt to undermine the functioning of American democracy will not be tolerated” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.  “The FBI will always uphold the rights of all citizens who peacefully engage in First Amendment protected activities, but we and our partners will continue to hold accountable those who engaged in illegal acts regarding the January 6, 2021, siege on the U.S. Capitol.”The group, including Watkins, had been planning to block the lawful transfer of presidential power, according to the DOJ.

A recent court ruling in Japan has delivered mixed results on the issue of marriage equality.A Tokyo District Court on Wednesday upheld the country’s ban on marriage equality, but also ruled the lack of legal protections for same-sex partners and their families infringed on their human rights. Japan is currently the only state among the G7 nations that does not recognize marriage equality.“This is actually a fairly positive ruling,” Nobuhito Sawasaki, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told Reuters.

Police in Minnesota arrested a man after he allegedly pulled a gun and made threatening remarks at a historic gay bar this week.Conell Walter Harris, 31, was taken into custody at the 19 Bar in Minneapolis late Monday evening and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and making threats of violence.In a charging document posted online, authorities allege Harris “entered the bar and was ‘acting strangely,’” and later “became upset” after an employee asked to see his ID.When a different employee asked Harris to leave, he allegedly pulled out a gun, held it in his hand, and said “I ain’t going nowhere.”Harris allegedly “squared up” with the employee, and when a patron stepped between the two to “deescalate the situation,” he allegedly threatened them saying “what watch the f*ck you’re saying” and “I’m going to f*ck you up.”As he left the bar, Harris allegedly said “I’ll f*cking kill your d*ke *ss” to a bartender.Harris returned to the bar a short time later and played pool. Police arrived and “immediately saw several people pointing at a male later identified” as Harris.

(CNN) -- The World Health Organization announced Monday that "mpox" is now the preferred name for monkeypox."Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while 'monkeypox' is phased out," the organization said.The Biden administration said they "welcome the change" and the US will use the mpox name "from this point forward."Monkeypox was named in 1970, more than a decade after the virus that causes the disease was discovered in captive monkeys, the organization said. But monkeypox probably didn't start in monkeys -- its origin is still unknown -- and the virus can be found in several other kinds of animals.The name was created before WHO published best practices for naming diseases in 2015.Scientists and experts have pushed since the start of the recent outbreak to change the name to avoid discrimination and stigma that could steer people away from testing and vaccination.

(CNN) -- NFL free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight Sunday morning at Miami International Airport after refusing to comply with safety protocol, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department.Officers were notified of a medical emergency on an American Airlines flight around 9:30 a.m.

A man in Georgia was arrested for allegedly making terroristic threats on social media against at least two LGBTQ+ nightclubs.Chase Staubs was taken into custody over Thanksgiving for making threats against two gay clubs in Atlanta, Heretic and Felix’s. No motivation was provided for the alleged crimes by police, but police did say a pepper spray gun believed used in the threats was recovered at the suspect’s home.The Atlanta Police Department said in a statement that officers responded on Wednesday to a bar identified as Heretic, meeting with employees who said they “observed threatening remarks made towards their establishment on social media.” On Thursday police responded to Felix’s, where employees and patrons told police they asked Staubs to leave the bar once he was identified.“The person appeared to be the same individual involved in making bias terroristic threats” against the Heretic, police said.RELATED: Photos: Who Were the 5 Victims of the Club Q Shooting?Officers quickly notified detectives with the APD Homeland Security Unit.