Denton (United States) (AFP) – At the Texas Tradition Rodeo in Denton, John Beck gallops his horse Diamond across the arena, leaving a plume of dust in his wake — one of around 50 cowboys competing in classic events such as barrel-racing, calf-lassoing and bull-riding.

But at last weekend’s show, contestants also participated in unconventional challenges such as “Wild Drag Racing,” in which cowboys in sparkly dresses and extravagant wigs try to jump atop bucking steers — this is a gay rodeo.

And even as the state contemplates stripping back myriad protections for LGBTQ residents, this group of gay, lesbian and transgender cowboys are proudly joining in on one of Texas’ most famous traditions anyway.

Beck, who says he has known he was gay since he was a child, was not always able to be open in the rodeo world as a professional cowboy.

“I had to hide. For every little thing I did, I had to hide,” recalled the 73-year-old, dressed in jeans, boots and a cowboy hat adorned with an enormous blue feather. 

The show’s organizer, the Texas Gay Rodeo Association (TGRA), has put on these events for 30 years, even while the state legislature in Austin debates dozens of bills — 140, according to the NGO Equality Texas — that would seek to limit the rights of LGBTQ people, a trend seen in conservative states across the country.

Despite the looming threat, the small crowd in the metal bleachers in Denton, near Dallas, is enthusiastic. They laugh and cheer even when the drag queens tumble off their precarious perches on the bulls’ backs — here, unlike in the real world outside, the danger is all part of the fun. 

‘Live my dream’

The TGRA, which was founded 40 years ago to raise money to support people living with HIV, when government assistance for those affected by the disease did not yet exist in the southern state. 

The group relies on donations to bring its version of rodeo to life, according to TGRA member Jim Gadient, for people who love the “western” lifestyle but may not feel at home in traditional Texan culture.  

“Our rodeo is different,” said Gadient, 68. 

The space to be different is more relevant than ever for many of the participants, as lawmakers debate bills that would restrict the discussion of gender identity in schools, limit or forbid drag shows, ban certain books and prohibit hormone treatment for transgender minors.

“Wild Drag Race” amateur competitor Sean Moroz, a paramedic, said his friends and family were “very accepting” when he came out as gay. 

He had wanted to get involved in what he saw as the “hypermasculine” world of cowboys since he was a child. 

“Having a gay rodeo just made it a little bit easier and more comfortable for me,” he recalled. “I got to be a part of that and kind of live my dream.”

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a political ally of Donald Trump, has decried efforts to “sexualize and indoctrinate Texas children” with events such as drag queen story hours. 

But for 50-year-old drag performer Delilah DeVasquez, who joined other drag queens dancing between tables filled with adult attendees to collect money for charity, such concerns are irrelevant at the rodeo. 

“We know our audience. So if we’re entertaining children, we obviously are going to entertain appropriately, versus if we are going to entertain adults,” she explained. “It’s two different things.”

It’s not “dangerous,” Moroz said. “It’s people dressing up in a dress and having some fun.”

‘Long time to get here’

Some rodeo participants, including Gadient, said the Texas government should instead focus on issues like gun violence or voting rights rather than targeting the LGBTQ community.

“It’s important that these rights do not get repealed,” said cowboy Charlie Colella, 63, while feeding his horse. “It took a long time to get here.”

“I rode broncs in the straight world and gay world both for 17 years. I rode bulls for eight years,” Beck said, adding that he and his straight cowboy counterparts “learned to get along together. And that’s the bottom line.”

“These are my family, these are my friends,” Moroz, 35, said of his fellow LGBTQ rodeo competitors.

“And, you know, I’m able to be me.”

Lizzo brought out drag performers at her Tennessee concert in protest of the state’s anti-drag bill.

The Grammy winner was advised by fans on social media to cancel any concerts she has planned in Tennessee, but she instead chose to show her solidarity with the drag community in a bold way when she brought ‘The Special Tour’ to Knoxville on Friday (21.04.23).

She told the audience: “In light of recent and tragic events and current events, I was told by people on the internet, ‘cancel your shows in Tennessee,’ ‘don’t go to Tennessee’.

“Their reason was valid, but why would I not come to the people who need to hear this message the most?

“Why would I not create a safe space in Tennessee where we can celebrate drag entertainers and celebrate our differences?”

The ‘Truth Hurts’ hitmaker was joined by 19 drag queens, including ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ alums Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Kandy Muse and Vanessa Vanji Matteo, as well as local queens.

The bill, which was passed on March 2, caused an uproar among the LGBTQIA+ community.

It prohibits adult cabaret from performing on public property and other places where minors could be present, and it includes “male or female impersonators” under the banner of “adult cabaret.”

Violators would face a fine of up to $1000, and up to two years in prison.

The ‘About Damn Time’ hitmaker, 34, has a special connection with the community as drag queens were “the first to put” her “music on”, and she vowed to “march together” with them.

She previously told Ryan Mitchell on Audacy’s CHANNEL Q: “I don’t have any intersections in my mind about the people who have been marginalised, who deserve to be celebrated and uplifted, so I feel very parallel to the queer community, because I’m fighting for the same freedoms that they’re fighting for. We can march together and make this a party. That’s why I’ve always been so connected to the Queer community. Drag Queens were the first people who put my music on, and saw my music, and identified heavily with it in the beginning. I would be so excited to do Pride this year for a few reasons. I can’t talk about it right now, but when the music comes out, I think people are going to be very happy.”

Washington (AFP) – Incendiary host Tucker Carlson, who exited Fox News Monday, repeatedly aired falsehoods on his top-rated show, from anti-vaccine to anti-immigrant propaganda — and even his departure was wrapped up in conspiracy theories.

Night after night, Carlson launched into what American media pundits and researchers described as divisive, racist and conspiracy-laden monologues to millions of viewers of his 8 p.m. prime-time show on Fox News.

“Tucker Carlson Tonight,” a program he described as a “sworn enemy of lying,” amplified debunked claims about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, immigration and the transgender community.

“Tucker Carlson is a dangerous misinformer,” said Angelo Carusone, president of the advocacy group Media Matters for America.

“Tucker served as the bridge between Fox News and the most extreme parts of the right-wing base — laundering anti-trans paranoia, election lies, and venomous rhetoric including the great replacement conspiracy theory nightly.”

Last year, Media Matters declared Carlson the “Misinformer of the Year,” a designation reserved for the most influential purveyor of misinformation in the American media.

The nonprofit also released what it called a noncomprehensive research file that included more than 350 examples of falsehoods spread by the star anchor.

Carlson sprang to the defense of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol two years ago — in support of Donald Trump’s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Downplaying the episode, he insisted that it was not an “insurrection.”

In a claim debunked by AFP last month, Carlson said police officers “helped” and acted as “tour guides” for a rioter dubbed “QAnon Shaman” for his infamous horned headdress.

That was false — the rioter, Jacob Chansley, pleaded guilty to a felony crime after videos showed him disobeying police orders. 

Carlson also called Ray Epps, a former Trump supporter who participated in the Capitol attack, an FBI informant, according to CBS’s 60 Minutes. The FBI denied he ever worked for them and Epps said he received death threats as a result of the false claim.

‘Dangerous stuff’

Last year, AFP also reported that Carlson misrepresented government data on Covid-19 vaccines and offered misleading claims on vaccine mandates for schoolchildren. 

In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League called for Carlson’s firing after he presented an impassioned defense of the “great replacement theory,” a hateful notion that white people would be replaced by immigrants and people of color.

“Make no mistake: this is dangerous stuff,” ADL wrote in an open letter to Fox News chief executive, warning that the theory had helped fuel a string of mass shootings.

“Carlson’s full-on embrace of the white supremacist replacement theory… and his repeated allusions to racist themes in past segments are a bridge too far.”

News of Carlson’s departure on Monday sparked a string of supportive reactions from right-wing politicians, media figures and conspiracy theorists. 

Anti-vaccine propagandist Robert F. Kennedy Jr called Carlson “breathtakingly courageous,” linking his ouster to a recent monologue decrying Covid-19 jabs. He offered no evidence to support the claim. 

Fox News did not explain Carlson’s abrupt exit from the network. 

US media linked his departure to a lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who claimed that Carlson presided over a hostile and discriminatory workplace culture.

Last week, the influential broadcaster agreed to a $787.5 million settlement in a lawsuit by voting technology company Dominion over its coverage of false rigging claims in the 2020 election that Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

“Tucker’s departure from Fox is mostly remarkable for what he was able to get away with and how long he was able to get away with it,” Carusone said.

“If anything, that reign illustrates how committed Fox is to lies and extremism.”

burs-ac/jh

By Steve Holland, Jarrett Renshaw and Heather Timmons

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he will seek a second White House term in 2024, a decision that will test whether Americans are ready to give the 80-year-old Democrat, already the oldest U.S. president ever, another four years in office.

Biden made his announcement in a slickly produced video released by his new campaign team, in which he declares it is his job to defend American democracy. It opens with imagery from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

“When I ran for president four years ago, I said we’re in a battle for the soul of America, and we still are,” Biden said. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for re-election.”

“Let’s finish this job. I know we can,” he said.

Biden described Republican platforms as threats to American freedom, vowing to fight efforts to limit women’s healthcare, cut Social Security and ban books, while blasting “MAGA extremists.” MAGA is the acronym for the “Make America Great Again” political slogan of Trump, who may well be Biden’s Republican opponent in the November 2024 election.

In the two years since he took over from Trump, Biden won Congress’ approval for billions of dollars in federal funds to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and for new infrastructure, and oversaw the lowest levels of unemployment since 1969, although a 40-year high in inflation has marred his economic record.

Biden’s age makes his re-election bid a historic and risky gamble for the Democratic Party, which faces a tough election map to hold the Senate in 2024 and is the minority in the House of Representatives now.

Biden’s approval ratings were stuck at just 39% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on April 19 and there are steep concerns about his age among some Americans. He would be 86 by the end of a prospective second term, almost a decade higher than the average U.S. male’s life expectancy.

Doctors declared Biden, who does not drink alcohol and exercises five times a week, “fit for duty” after an examination in February. The White House says his record shows that he is mentally sharp enough for the rigors of the job.

Biden will be joined in his 2024 quest by his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

TRUMP MATCHUP AGAIN?

Biden’s entry into the race follows Trump’s announcement in November that he would seek a second term after losing the 2020 contest to Biden.

In a statement about Biden’s candidacy, Trump criticized the president over his record on immigration, inflation, and the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan.

“American families are being decimated by the worst inflation in half a century. Banks are failing,” Trump said on his social media platform. “We have surrendered our energy independence, just like we surrendered in Afghanistan,” he said.

Biden, running as an incumbent, is unlikely to face much competition from inside his party. No senior Democrats have shown signs of challenging him and he has compiled a board of rising-star Democrats to advise his campaign, including governors J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Potential and declared Republican presidential candidates have begun framing the 2024 election around cutting back government spending amid still-high inflation, restricting abortion, crime in Democratic-run cities and illegal immigration.

The two leading Republican contenders, Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, want to limit the access of trans children to sports teams and gender-affirming medical care, and restrict how schools teach LGBTQ+ issues and America’s history of slavery and racial disparities.

Trump goes on trial in a civil lawsuit on Tuesday over writer E.Jean Carroll’s accusation that he raped her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

The former president, who is not required to attend the trial, has denied raping Carroll in an October 2022 post on his Truth Social platform.

NOT A 2020 RECAP

Biden ran a mostly virtual campaign to defeat Trump in the 2020 election as COVID raged, saying he sought to unify the country, rebuild the economy, and better control the virus.

With pandemic restrictions mostly over in the United States, the 2024 race is likely to be a much different, more physical affair.

After losing by 7 million votes to Biden in 2020, Trump refused to concede defeat, falsely claiming that there had been widespread electoral fraud.

His supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, in support of his claims but they failed to halt certification by Congress of Biden’s win.

Biden’s campaign video suggests he plans to remind voters of these actions, while lauding his handling of the economic recovery from the pandemic slump, especially the strength of the labor market.

Other Biden themes may include strong U.S. support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and what the White House says are Republican plans to unravel federal healthcare and programs popular with older voters.

This summer, Biden is challenging Republicans to find common ground on raising the U.S. debt ceiling before the country goes into default in a matter of months.

Fifty-nine percent of Democrats polled by Reuters/Ipsos in February said the phrase “Joe Biden is too old to work in government” describes the president.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jarrett Renshaw; additional reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Alistair Bell, Heather Timmons and Chizu Nomiyama)

KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) -Noor Jehan, an elephant in Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo whose illness revived criticisms of the nation’s zoos, died on Saturday despite frantic efforts to treat her, officials said.

The critically ill 17-year-old elephant had fallen into a pond this month and been unable to get up without help.

“After fighting for 9 days, she succumbed to her critical condition. She spent too long lying on the ground – a life-threatening situation for elephants,” Four Paws, an international animal welfare organisation that had been advising local and international veterinarians on her treatment, said in a statement.

Four Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil said it was “heartbreaking that she had to die at only 17 years old, when she could have had many more years”. Noor Jehan was an African elephant, whose average lifespan is 60 to 70 years.

In recent years two lions died of asphyxiation in Pakistan after handlers tried to get them out of their den using smoke, and a number of white tiger cubs have died.

The director of the Karachi Zoo was removed this month over complaints of negligence. A court in 2020 ordered the closure of the Islamabad Zoo, where the elephant Kaavan was kept.

The American celebrity Cher, after years of seeking to free Kaavan, came to Pakistan to see him off on his move to a Cambodian sanctuary.

Khalil said Karachi Zoo did not meet international standards and urged that Madhubala, the healthy elephant remaining at the zoo, be relocated to a more species-appropriate place to give her a chance at a better life.

Four Paws said Madhubala was mourning the loss of her longtime companion.

The widespread criticism faced by authorities in the wake of Noor Jehan’s condition – with images of her helplessly lying on her side – has led to reports in the local media that Karachi Zoo may be shut down permanently.

Four Paws said it welcomed this proposal, adding that it could be a turning point for the welfare of wild animals in captivity in Pakistan.

(Reporting by Islamabad bureau; Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Willaim Mallard)