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DPA A new season of the Netflix production “Heartstopper” – the series famed for the best ever coming-out scene in television history – is set for release on Thursday. For those who are new to the series, it tells of a group of queer teenagers and their problems and feelings. The stars are Charlie and Nick, who fall in love with each other at school. The sweetest parts of the show are the playful comic elements, in emotional, intense moments. The romantic live-action series made in Britain is based on webcomics and the graphic novel by Alice Oseman. The story begins with lanky and melancholy Charl…
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[Part 2, Part 3] The last two weeks have seen the first convictions under broad new restrictions on LGBTQ people and their allies in Russia. Not much is known about the first conviction other than a man was fined 1,000 rubles for sharing a pride flag on social media. More details are known about the second, a woman arrested and jailed for 5 days for wearing ‘extremist symbols' — rainbow frog earrings — in Nizhny Novgorod, and she is speaking publicly through her lawyer and Aegis a group.
(Documents and posts translated by Telegram or Google Translate.)
Russian Court Sentences Woman to Five Days for Rainbow Earrings
In a recent and controversial legal decision, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, was the backdrop for a depressing marker of the government's tightening grip on LGBTQ rights and even the most basic expression publicly. Anastasia Ershova faced a five-day administrative arrest for wearing rainbow frog earrings, deemed to fall under recent Russian Supreme Court determinations of “extremist” organization symbols.
The investigation, arrest, handling of the case and Ershova's reactions since the incident January 29, 2024, show just how broad and ambiguous legislators left the definitions making for an environment in which LGBTQ people can easily and quickly find their lives turned upside down if not actually a terrifying nightmare. Ershova's ordeal began in a seemingly ordinary cafe encounter.
Accosted at Cafe With a Friend. Video Sent to Right-Wing Local Sites.
The incident unfolded as Ershova and a friend, at a local cafe, were confronted by two individuals. These accusers demanded the removal of what they called “extremist symbols”: Ershova's rainbow frog earrings and her friend's Ukrainian pin. The confrontation escalated quickly, with threats of police involvement, and was captured on video. This footage, disseminated by the accouters, self-described “civil activists” through Telegram channels and ultra-right bloggers, led to a quick contact by law enforcement.
Summoned for questioning the following day to the “Center for Combating Extremism,” Ershova found herself entangled in a legal nightmare. Despite her defense attorney's best efforts, she was detained pending trial, her earrings—a simple accessory—interpreted as a direct violation of the country's strict regulations against LGBTQ symbols.
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An Investigation, Inquiry, Trial and Appeal Sounding Kafkaesque
Ershova's trial as understood thought her lawyer's comments and release of the court decision here in the article, turned on the nebulous nature of the “prohibited symbols” legislation. Charged under Article 20.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, for publicly displaying symbols of an extremist organization, the court's deliberation focused not on the specific nature of the earrings but on their perceived symbolism. Despite arguments from the defense highlighting the lack of clarity and potential misinterpretation of the law base on the number of colors in the rainbow flag used by LGBTQ activists and other rainbow symbols, the judge sentenced Ershova to five days of administrative arrest.
This decision, Ershova and her defense attorney both said was unexpected and unsettling, leaving them dismayed. The defense's statement, reflecting on the court's reliance on formal references and the Supreme Court's classification of the LGBTQ movement as “extremist,” underscored the trial's arbitrariness and the chilling effect of such broad legislation. That November decision, classifying the entire international LGBT movement to be an “extremist organization” made symbols used by individuals or LGBTQ organizations, and even indirect support of allies totally forbidden in public.
Ershova's Time Incarcerated
Ershova's incarceration brought to light the harsh realities of detention. Her comments and advice were provided again through Aegis. In addition to how unexpected the detention and outcome of the case because, Ershova emphasized the severe conditions and the mental toll of her confinement.
With limited access to basic amenities and a sense of time warped by the monotony and isolation, Ershova found solace only in reading and coloring books provided during her detainment. Her reflections post-release were a mix of relief and disbelief, a personal testament to the surreal and oppressive nature of her ordeal.
“No matter how absurd the situation may seem, it is possible”
Ershova's parting advice, born from her experience, includes increased caution and preparedness, personal composure, and the basics of preparing for potential detention are sobering details.
Complaint Hearing Against the Ruling
As the further story unfolds, with the hearing of the complaint against the ruling scheduled for February 13, the outcome remains uncertain.
Aegis, a local group working digitally in support of LGBTQ people has been vocal about the increasing danger and has been a conduit for separating facts from misinformation about this case. It was formed in December, 2022 when the “the law on propaganda in public was signed.” It is a group of “experienced crisis managers and LGBTQ+ activists, [who] decided to unite to counter the increase in homophobic violence that quite possibly awaits us ahead.”
This is Part 1 of a 4 part report about dramatic turns to crackdown in Russia. Part 2 follows changes and movement over the last few years to get to this point. Part 3 offers what is known about the powerful politician, close to Putin, and the primary architect and advocate for the crackdown, how he connects it to the Ukraine invasion and his direct manipulation of Anastasia's case. and Part 4 is about the evolution of Aegis in their advice, attitude and role over the year as they individually and together have become illegal.
Ershova's case, while singular in its details, looks to be the leading edge of the disturbing crackdown that offers government approval to scapegoating and repression, likely to distract from the war and economy.
Even before the Russian Supreme Court's official classification of the International LGBTQ rights movement as an ‘extremist organization' in November, in fact for 13 months now legislators were churning out restrictive laws impacting trans citizens.
New Russian LGBTQ Crackdow Multi-part
5-Days Jail for Rainbow Earrings? Fined for Posting Gay Flag? Kafkaesque. Russia Launches LGBTQ Crackdown. WTF Russia? Part 1 Draconian: Sochi Olympics-Era “Gay Propaganda” Ban Expands to Forbid All Public LGBTQ Expression. New Russian Crackdown. Pt. 2 Orwellian: Architect of New Russia LGBTQ Crackdown Warns Of LGBTQ Threat in Ukraine War; Manipulates Rainbow Earring Arrest in Pt. 3 Dystopian: TK View the full article

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Reuters By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York state's attorney general on Friday said Donald Trump may have fraudulently inflated his fortune by far more than previously thought, her latest salvo in preparation for trial in her civil lawsuit against the former U.S. president and his family business. In a filing with a New York state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James said her valuation and accounting experts believe Trump falsely boosted his net worth by between $1.9 billion and $3.6 billion a year over a decade. That's higher than the $812 million to $2.23 billion range sh…
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Image is As interpreted by machines
Provided by Kaiser Health News
More than four years ago, then-President Donald Trump declared an ambitious goal that had bipartisan support: ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.
Now, that Trump program is one of several health initiatives targeted for substantial cuts by members of his own party as they eye next year's elections.
Pushing a slate of conservative political priorities that also takes aim at sex education for teens, health worker vaccine mandates, and more, Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed a spending bill that would cut $1.6 billion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — one-sixth of the agency's budget.
The proposal would zero out the agency's share of the Trump HIV plan, which was more than a third of the program's budget in the current fiscal year. It would also eliminate funding through other channels, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.
With another budget fight and potential government shutdown looming Oct. 1, the specific proposal is unlikely to clear Congress. Still, former CDC officials said they fear it is the opening bid on what could nonetheless be debilitating reductions to a strained agency that has lost some public support in recent years.
The cuts come on the heels of other recent reductions at the CDC, triggered by the eleventh-hour debt-ceiling deal, to its budgets for childhood vaccination programs and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. And they provide an early opportunity for the CDC's new director, Mandy Cohen, to show how well she can convince members of Congress to protect the agency's interests in a polarized political landscape.
“Public health is being politicized to a point that's never been seen,” said Kyle McGowan, of consulting firm Ascendant Strategic Partners, who served as chief of staff at the CDC during the Trump administration. Cutting public health spending “is not smart,” he said. “These culture wars are now leaking into and harming public health.”
He called the proposed cuts unprecedented in their targeting of bipartisan public health initiatives.
The House Republican spending proposal, which came from members of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education subcommittee, also targets programs that have drawn the ire of conservative lawmakers, such as those that focus on climate change and gun violence research.
“Cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are as outrageous as they are dangerous,” said Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the highest-ranking Democrat on the subcommittee.
But Rep. Kay Granger, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said the bill “works to responsibly fund programs that help improve the health and lives of the American people. It also holds agencies accountable when there has been a history of poor performance or controversial activities.”
Granger and the chair of the subcommittee that drafted the bill, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), did not respond to requests for further information.
The House Appropriations Committee has yet to mark up and vote on the measure, which would also need the approval of the full Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved its own health spending bill, which largely maintains existing CDC funding for HIV and would require the two chambers to work together to produce a consensus measure.
And any spending measure would also need the signature of President Joe Biden, whose most recent budget proposal included a request for $850 million to reduce new HIV cases.
The CDC declined to comment on the possible cuts, saying it would be premature to do so amid the ongoing budget process.
The Trump administration's HIV program launched in 2019 with the goal of cutting new infections nationwide by 90% by 2030. It has sent more than $1.7 billion, through different federal health agencies, to HIV hot spots around the country.
But the program has run into significant headwinds. The covid-19 pandemic diverted the attention of public health officials. Plus, red tape, along with persistent stigma and discrimination fueled by anti-LGBTQ+ messaging from politicians, have many health officials worried it won't meet its ambitious goals.
House Republicans said the HIV program, well shy of its first main milestone, in 2025, hasn't met its goals.
“This program has demonstrated a lack of performance data based on outcomes, insufficient budget justifications, and vague spend plans. The initiative has not met its original objectives,” the Republican-led subcommittee wrote in a report that KFF Health News obtained but could not independently verify as official. Granger and Aderholt did not respond to requests to verify the document.
Trump's Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative isn't the only Republican-created HIV program being targeted.
A number of key provisions in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, are set to expire on Sept. 30. The program, which funds HIV and AIDS prevention around the world, has saved millions of lives, and is widely seen as a public health and foreign policy success. It was launched in 2003 under then-president George W. Bush.
But discussions about reauthorizing the program have been derailed by Republican claims it finances abortion. PEPFAR won't immediately stop its work, but missing the deadline could signal an uncertain future for the program, experts say.
Regarding the Trump HIV initiative, service providers say any budget reductions would slow the progress it has made in the fight against the disease.
“There's a lot at stake here,” said Justin Smith, of Positive Impact Health Centers, an Atlanta-area HIV clinic. Smith has helped Georgia public health officials plan the distribution of Ending the HIV Epidemic funds among the four priority counties in the state.
Smith said the proposed cuts would be “quite devastating” for the work being done in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties in metropolitan Atlanta. That work has included ramping up HIV testing and PrEP, or preexposure prophylaxis, programs, as well as expanding care for transgender people living with the virus.
The South has the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the country, and many Ending the HIV Epidemic target areas are in the region.
In Louisiana, which has two of those HIV priority areas, the program has helped reduce the number of late HIV diagnoses and maintain levels of viral suppression, said Samuel Burgess, the director of the state's STI and HIV prevention program.
Even if the budget cuts don't survive the legislative process fully intact, it's “very concerning” that lawmakers would even propose such a cut, Burgess said.
HIV policy advocates are pushing back on the House Republican proposal. In July, the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership sent a letter to House appropriators warning of its potential impact.
“We are deeply concerned that this bill will not only stop progress being made to achieve the goals set forth by former President Trump in 2019, but will exacerbate the HIV epidemic which has plagued our nation for 40 years,” they wrote.
Cohen, who started with the CDC in July, is familiar with the budget process, having spent time in top leadership positions within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But she's new to the CDC and, regardless of her inside-the-Beltway experience, will need time to get up to speed, which could potentially leave the agency vulnerable, said McGowan. “It's a difficult time to have a leadership change at the CDC,” he said. But he added that “Dr. Cohen is doing a great job meeting with everyone on the Hill, both Democrats and Republicans.”
The fights over HIV programs concern Tom Frieden, who served as CDC director under former President Barack Obama. He estimated he made more than 250 trips to Capitol Hill over nearly eight years to sell the agency's work to lawmakers.
He called the Atlanta-based CDC's location outside of Washington a “double-edged sword.”
“People used to say to me, ‘Gee, isn't it great, we're not bugged by politicians down here in Atlanta?'” Frieden said.
While the location helps cushion the agency from politics, he said, it also makes it harder to get support from members of Congress.
But the CDC's response to covid pulled it back into the political fray. Frieden said he is hopeful the Democratic-controlled Senate will act as a “hard stop” against the Republican attacks — but he warned that substantial cuts can slip through the cracks.
“It's always a risk that some important stuff at the eleventh hour doesn't happen,” Frieden said.KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
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 In in amazing revelation, CBS has reported that the GOP (Grand Old Party) was aware of the lies propagated by one of its own candidates. The truth was hidden in a vulnerability report that was internal to the campaign. This report has recently surfaced, shedding light on the red flags that were raised long before the embattled representative was elected. This article delves into the details of this discovery and its implications.
The vulnerability report, as revealed by the sources, highlights a series of concerning findings about George Santos, a GOP candidate. The information contained in this report was crucial and had the potential to influence the outcome of the election had it been made public at the time.
According to the report, Santos had been consistently making false claims and misleading statements during his campaign. The report meticulously outlined these lies and presented evidence to support its claims. It brings to question the integrity and transparency of the GOP's selection process, as these allegations were largely overlooked or ignored.
One of the key findings in the vulnerability report was Santos' embellishment of his professional and educational background. The report reveals that Santos had misrepresented his qualifications and work experience, creating a false impression of his competence and expertise.
Furthermore, the report also raised concerns about Santos' financial dealings, highlighting potential conflicts of interest and questionable financial practices. It disclosed instances where Santos had allegedly received questionable funding from undisclosed sources, suggesting a lack of transparency and accountability.
The fact that the GOP was aware of these issues, as indicated by the vulnerability report, raises serious questions about the party's commitment to ethical conduct and honesty. The report seems to suggest that the party prioritized winning the election over upholding integrity and trust with the voters.
The implications of this discovery extend beyond the individual candidate. It casts doubts on the credibility of the GOP as a whole, as it calls into question the party's ability to thoroughly vet and support its candidates.
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Radar Online Influential conservative commentator Steven Crowder's shamelessness knew no bounds, claimed former staffers who accused the right-wing podcast star of sending unsolicited photos of his genitals and exchanging drugs in the workplace. RadarOnline.com has learned that five former employees and one source close to Crowder came forward with the explosive claims, opting to keep their identities under wraps due to fear of retaliation. Crowder has long proven to be a controversial figure who speaks his mind with adoring supporters and stern critics — either way, he's been bringing in the views. Follow…
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Reuters UK By Bill Trott (Reuters) -Tony Bennett, the smooth American singer who had an enduring hit with “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and remained perpetually cool enough to win over younger generations of fans well into the 21st century, died on Friday, his publicist said. Bennett was 96. He died at his home in New York City of age-related causes, his publicist Sylvia Weiner said in a statement. No less than Frank Sinatra called the former singing waiter “the best singer in the business” after he became a star in the 1950s. Bennett went on to win 20 Grammy awards, including a lifetime achievement…
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AlterNet A San Bernardino County, California school board president, Sonja Shaw, acknowledging a political grudge, grew angered and agitated in front of parents and students attending a school board meeting Thursday, kicking the State Superintendent of Public Instruction out after publicly berating him, accusing him of “proposing things that pervert children,” “blackmail,” and yelling at him that he had supported her opponent for election. Superintendent Tony Thurmond was at a podium for public speakers at a meeting of the Chino Valley Unified School District school board to weigh in on a controversial…
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New York Daily News Vice President Kamala Harris jetted into Florida Friday to denounce Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state's rewrite of its history curriculum to claim that slaves benefited by gaining valuable life skills from being enslaved. The first Black vice president in American history lambasted the conservative Republican — who is running against former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination — for whitewashing the horrors of slavery as part of his effort to push back against so-called “woke” influence in public education. “They decided middle school students will be taught th…
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Raw Story Anyone looking to historical precedent for successful prosecutions of a Reconstruction era statute under which Donald Trump is reportedly the being targeted shouldn't have to look far. That's according to new reporting from Lawfare, which notes that federal prosecutors earlier this year secured a conviction under Section 241, a criminal statute that's part of the Ku Klux Klan Act. The report notes that Section 241 prohibits a conspiracy to “injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any…
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Raw Story Sean Kauffmann gave a stiff-arm Nazi salute as he arrived at a protest outside a drag show at a local brewpub in Cookeville, a small city about 75 miles east of Nashville, Tenn., in late January. “Kill all the n—ers and the Jews!” shouted a 15-year-old boy who had come with Kauffmann to protest the “Celebrity Drag Brunch,” an event benefiting a local LGBTQ advocacy organization. An array of fascist and far-right groups flanked Kauffmann and the boy, chanting homophobic slurs at the several dozen people across the street who had arrived to serve as informal protectors for the drag show performe…
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AlterNet U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is facing strong criticism for mocking and attacking the U.S. Armed Forces and a U.S. Navy JAG Officer who spoke in a video published Wednesday by the U.S. Navy JAG Corps on its Instagram account. In the video, Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Audrey Knutson tells about an event held aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier named after the 38th President and commissioned by Donald Trump, the 45th President, both Republicans. The event appears to be one on November 11, 2022, which was sponsored by a suicide prevention group and the ship’s Gay, Le…
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Radar Online The backlash to Donald Trump’s indictment has just begun.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed to be inundated with racist death threats against him and his family over the decision to indict the former president in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case.
Mega Several typo-laden emails were obtained by Daily News showing a number of Trump supporters throwing out racist and antisemitic epithets towards the New York DA.
One email said, “Hay George Soros a–hole puppet. If you want President Trump. come and get me to … Remember we are everywhere and we have guns.”
Another wrote, “How do we get a n—– like you removed from office?”
mega The emails were sent through Bragg’s own campaign website where a number of Trump supporters signed up to receive updates about the DA’s work using various racial slurs as names such as “B—- Trash F—–” and “Aids Infested N—–.”
MEGA Tucker Carlson & Fox News Guest Call For Protests After Grand Jury Votes To Indict Trump: ‘I Hope You’re Ready For Whatever’s Next’ Ex-President Donald Trump Will Likely Be Sent To Rikers Island If Found Guilty Of Criminal Charges Ex-Prez Donald & Melania Trump ‘Living Separate Lives’ Despite Putting On A United Front Following His Indictment, Sources Claim Braggs voted to indict Trump in relation to a number of hush-money payments to Daniels to keep her quite about an affair between her and the at-the-time republican nominee for president.
Trump could face up to 25 charges related to the case, but they’ve been kept under seal until he appears in court later next week.
He’s expected to stand before Bragg on Tuesday after the ex-president’s lawyers negotiated his surrender soon after the indictment was announced.
mega According to Politico, Trump is expected to be photographed and have his fingerprints taken.
His lawyer Joe Tacopina made it clear that his client “will not be put in handcuffs” when turning over to the authorities.
Trump vehemently denied any wrongdoing throughout the probe and threatening “death and destruction” if any indictments were to happen.
In a statement posted on Truth Social Trump wrote, “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it,” Trump continued. “[I will] vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.”
Trump’s lawyer Chris Kise referred to the indictment as “the lowest point in history for our criminal justice system.”
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.

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Raw Story A large coalition of Catholic nuns has issued a public letter supporting transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive individuals – and “implicitly rebuking recent statements from the U.S. Catholic hierarchy,” the Religious News Service reported Saturday. The letter was issued by a wide range of Catholic communities representing more than 6,000 religious orders across 18 states, RNS reported. As members of the body of Christ, we cannot be whole without the full inclusion of transgender, nonbinary and gender-expansive individuals,” the letter reads. It goes on to argue that “we will remain oppre…
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New York Daily News A lawsuit was filed Friday after a Nebraska high school shut down its student newspaper because it objected to certain LGBTQ content. The Nebraska High School Press Association, along with high school journalist Marcus Pennell, filed the suit, reports NBC News. The lawsuit takes aim at Grand Island Northwest Public Schools and its superintendent, claiming they violated the students’ First Amendment rights by shutting down the paper. The newspaper issue that sparked the controversy was published in June of 2022, and included an article titled “Pride and prejudice: LGBTQIA+,” which focused on th…
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New York Daily News Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s official congressional Twitter feed was briefly suspended over tweets denouncing a planned rally supporting transgender rights outside the Supreme Court. The right-wing firebrand said Wednesday the social media giant disabled the account for several hours and blocked access to tweets about the so-called “Trans Day of Vengeance” rally that is planned for Saturday. “My official Twitter account was temporarily suspended for warning about (the rally),” Greene tweeted. The lawmaker accused the leftist Antifa of being behind the rally even though the organizing Trans Ra…
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Reuters By Gram Slattery and Nathan Layne
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. President Donald Trump warned of potential “death & destruction” if he faces criminal charges, hours after New York prosecutors probing his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels said they would not be intimidated.
The early Friday post on Trump’s Truth Social media site was the latest in a string of verbal attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg since last Saturday when Trump wrongly predicted he would be arrested three days later.
Trump falsely claims his defeat in 2020 was the result of fraud – a claim that inspired his followers to launch a deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying the election of Democratic President Joe Biden, who bested the Republican Trump by more than 7 million votes.
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” wrote Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Bragg’s office, in a letter to Republican committee chairmen in Congress on Thursday, challenged their standing to investigate his office and said Trump had “created a false expectation that he would be arrested” in his Saturday post.
The letter called the chairmen’s request for communications, documents and testimony an “unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.”
Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress and director whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she received the money in exchange for keeping silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump in 2006.
Trump has denied ever having an affair with Daniels, and has called the payment a “simple private transaction.” He has said he did not commit a crime and has called the investigation politically motivated.
The Manhattan grand jury probing Trump is not due to reconvene until next week.
In other cases, Georgia prosecutors are looking into Trump’s attempts to overturn his election defeat there, and a federal special counsel is investigating both his attempts to overturn his loss and the removal of classified documents from the White House after Trump left office.
On Saturday, Trump will hold a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, 30 years after a raid on the Branch Davidians religious sect there by federal agents resulted in 86 deaths, including four law-enforcement officers.
The event has become a symbol of government overreach for some and is a seminal moment for some right-wing extremist groups.
In an e-mail, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Waco was chosen because it is situated between several major population centers and has the infrastructure needed to host a large event.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Nathan Layne; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)

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Reuters By Sharon Bernstein
(Reuters) – Florida is looking to expand its ban on teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender identity issues to include all students in its public schools under a new rule set for a vote by the state Board of Education next month.
The proposed rule is the latest move by the administration of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to seek his party’s 2024 nomination for president, to limit or prohibit instruction on topics conservatives consider inappropriate for the state’s classrooms.
Last year, DeSantis signed a Republican-backed measure that banned classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade. Critics denounced what they dubbed the “don’t say gay” bill.
The Florida Department of Education’s new proposal, which would not require legislative approval, would extend the ban through the 12th grade.
The proposal drew swift criticism on Wednesday from Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists, with White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre calling the proposal “completely, utterly, wrong.”
Equality Florida said the rule was advancing DeSantis’ political agenda at the expense of diverse families and educators.
Under the rule, teachers could face disciplinary action if they discuss sexual orientation or gender identity outside of mandated curriculum or health courses that parents have been briefed on and given the option to keep their children out of class for those lessons.
“There is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education. Full stop,” DeSantis spokesperson Bryan Griffin tweeted on Wednesday.
The state Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the rule at its April 19 meeting.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Lincoln Feast.)

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Al-Araby With a South-Asian background, upbringing in the Gulf and ultimate relocation to the United States, Lamya (a pseudonym) deeply self-reflects about identity in her memoir,Hijab Butch Blues, while anchoring the coming-of-age tale in stories from the Quran. She reimagines Prophetic tales in contemporary, colloquial language, and interweaves lessons she extracts from the Quran with her daily life experiences. “Time and again, Lamya challenges readers to reject longstanding, culturally-informed binary ways of thinking. She writes about the uniquely heart-breaking homophobia of Muslims, who are also…
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Reuters By John Kruzel
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a traveling Christian evangelist’s free-speech challenge to a University of Alabama requirement that he obtain a permit before handing out religious pamphlets and preaching from a sidewalk adjacent to its campus.
The justices turned away an appeal by preacher Rodney Keister of a lower court’s ruling rejecting his claim that the university’s permit requirement violated free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Keister, founder of a Pennsylvania-based group called Evangelism Mission, regularly visits U.S. university campuses in hopes of spreading his Christian message to students, according to court filings.
In 2016, Keister, along with a companion, preached using an amplifier and distributed Christian literature from a sidewalk adjacent to the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, trying to engage passersby. School officials told Keister he needed a permit for a public-speaking event, prompting him and his companion to leave.
The university’s policy at issue governed when, where and how a person unaffiliated with the school may engage in public speaking on campus including on sidewalks, other than “casual recreational or social activities.” It required a permit application 10 business days in advance – which has since been reduced to five business days – and sponsorship by a student organization or university academic department.
Keister in 2017 filed a civil rights suit against University of Alabama officials, arguing that the sidewalk’s status under the First Amendment is that of a “traditional public forum,” affording speakers the most robust protections available under the Constitution. Following losses in lower courts, Keister’s appeal in 2018 was turned away by the U.S. Supreme Court, prompting him to file an amended civil rights suit against school officials the next year.
A federal judge in 2020 ruled in favor of the school officials, finding that the sidewalk was a “limited public forum” – a status giving public universities and other government entities more leeway to regulate particular classes of speakers or kinds of speech. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed last year.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, in recent years has taken an expansive view of religious rights, though this case came to the justices as a free speech dispute.
The high court is due to rule by the end of June in another free speech case involving religion. The court’s conservative justices during arguments in December appeared ready to rule that a Christian web design business owner named Lorie Smith has a right to refuse to provide services for same-sex marriages. Smith has said that under her Christian beliefs marriage should be limited to opposite-sex couples.
(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)

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St. Louis Post-Dispatch There are a few political figures today more maligned by conservatives than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, mostly because she has been so effective. From her guidance of the Affordable Care Act through Congress more than a decade ago to her steady hand through the tumultuous Trump era, she built a legacy that history will treat far better than it will her detractors. But the 82-year-old Pelosi’s decision last week to step down as the House Democratic leader is the right one, handing off to a new generation during what is sure to be a confrontational reign by a slim Republican House majority. Whoe…
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AFP Pelosi rips up the State of the Union speech delivered by President Donald Trump in February 2020 Washington (AFP) – When Nancy Pelosi stunned the world by ripping up Donald Trump’s speech to Congress in 2020, the veteran lawmaker cemented the no-nonsense leadership style that made her perhaps the most effective US House speaker in history.
The longtime leader of Democrats in Washington has been a master strategist in the role, chastening the unbridled Trump and twice leading his impeachment, but also shepherding historic legislation as she navigated America’s bitter partisan divide.
As Pelosi announced she would be standing down from the leadership when Republicans take over the lower chamber, allies hailed her achievements as its first — and so far only — female speaker, while foes cheered her exit.
But there is little doubt the 82-year-old Californian has left an extraordinary mark over a career that established her as one of the most powerful, and polarizing, figures in American politics.
As a child, “never would I have thought that someday I would go from homemaker to House speaker,” Pelosi told fellow lawmakers Thursday, drawing applause from both sides of the aisle.
Come January, she said, it will be time to let “a new generation” take the reins.
San Francisco liberal
A San Francisco liberal and multimillionaire, Pelosi is far from universally popular.
She has long been a hate figure for the right — an animosity that seemed to reach shocking new levels when an intruder, apparently looking for the speaker, violently assaulted her husband in the runup to the November 8 midterms.
During the deadly 2021 assault on the US Capitol, supporters of then-president Trump ransacked her office, and a crowd baying for blood chanted “Where’s Nancy?” as they desecrated the halls of Congress.
The violence came after Trump refused to admit defeat and urged a rally to march on the Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s win.
Pelosi moved quickly after that to try to oust the man she called the “deranged, unhinged, dangerous president of the United States.”
Corralling Democrats with the tight grip she maintained on the party for two decades, she secured a second impeachment of the president days before he left office.
For as speaker, Pelosi was nothing if not effective.
She was instrumental in passing then-president Barack Obama’s key health care reforms as well as massive economic packages after both the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pelosi’s goal may have been partisan but she succeeded thanks to cold-eyed realism, including working when needed with then-president George W. Bush even while fiercely opposing his invasion of Iraq.
Supporters believe she was vindicated on her anti-war stance and she was rewarded in 2007 when Democrats reclaimed the House and elected her speaker, making her the highest-ranking woman in US history until the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris in 2021.
“I want women to see that you do not get pushed around. You don’t run away from the fight,” Pelosi said in a 2018 interview — the year before she began her second term as speaker.
“If you’re effective as a woman, then they have to undermine you, because that’s a real threat.”
The one congressional job mentioned in the Constitution, the prestigious speaker position brings almost unfettered control over the day-to-day legislative process.
Pelosi had resisted Democratic calls to impeach Trump, the first time around, fearing the effects of overreach.
But she felt she had no choice after he was caught holding up US aid to Ukraine as he pressed a conspiracy theory about Biden.
That impeachment in 2019 poisoned her relationship with Trump, and as he wrapped up his State of the Union address later in the House chamber, Pelosi coolly tore up his speech — in an image that went instantly around the world.
Pelosi has often hit back at Trump rhetorically, and was captured on video reacting furiously to suggestions he might join his supporters during the Capitol insurrection.
“If he comes, I’m going to punch him out. I’ve been waiting for this,” she seethed.
“For trespassing on the Capitol grounds, I’m going to punch him out. And I’m going to go to jail, and I’m going to be happy.” 
Steeped in politics
The granddaughter of Italian immigrants, Pelosi was born in Baltimore where her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, was a mayor and congressman who schooled her in “retail politics” from a young age and staunchly backed Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Pelosi has said her family taught her two political lessons. “One is to know how to count — count your votes to win the election. The other is listen to your constituents.”
Pelosi attended her first Democratic National Convention before hitting her teens and was pictured with John F. Kennedy at his inaugural ball when she was 20.
She moved to San Francisco and raised five children with businessman Paul Pelosi while delving into Democratic politics before being elected to Congress at age 47.
Taking up causes important to a city with major LGBTQ and Asian-American communities, she fought to fund AIDS research and pressed human rights in China.
She remains a vocal ally of Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and won eternal antipathy from China’s communist leaders when, on a 1991 visit, she defiantly unfurled a banner in Tiananmen Square honoring pro-democracy students killed in a crushed uprising. 
While easily reelected to Congress every two years, the self-styled “mother, grandmother, dark chocolate connoisseur” became seen as a centrist by the standards of proudly left-wing San Francisco as she sought legislative compromise.
She will be stepping down at the end of a vexed congressional session in which she struggled to keep a lid on infighting between moderate and progressive Democrats.
This year she still managed to burnish her political legacy with a controversial trip to Taiwan — amid warnings from Beijing of “serious consequences.”
Defending the visit, she asked Americans to protect democracy worldwide and “make clear that we never give in to autocrats.”
And in her outgoing speech, Pelosi aimed once last barb at her presidential adversary. Saying she has “enjoyed working with three presidents,” Pelosi named George W. Bush, Obama and Biden — but left out Trump.

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Reuters By Heather Timmons
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The frequent targeting of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by online extremists and political opponents likely contributed to the violent attack on her husband Paul, terrorism and extremism experts said.
The intruder at the Pelosis’ home yelled “Where’s Nancy?” before assaulting Paul Pelosi with a hammer, according to a person briefed on the incident. An internet user with the same name as the man arrested at the scene, David Depape, expressed support for former President Donald Trump and embraced the cult-like conspiracy theory QAnon in online posts that referenced “satanic paedophilia.”
Police have yet to comment on a motive in the attack.
But terrorism and extremism experts believe it could be an example of the growing threat of so-called stochastic terrorism, in which sometimes unstable individuals are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see online and hear echoed by public figures.
“This was clearly a targeted attack. The purpose was to locate and potentially harm the speaker of the house,” said John Cohen, a former counterterrorism coordinator and head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security, who is currently working with state and local law enforcement across the country on the issue.
“This is a continuation of a trend that we have been experiencing over the past several years. It is a threat dynamic that has law enforcement extraordinarily concerned.”
Pelosi has been demonized online and in public by both far right and far left-leaning political websites and figures. Graphics depicting her being beheaded, and a call to send immigrants to her home, with her address, circulated online this summer, according to Site Intelligence Group, which researches online extremism.
Rita Katz, executive director of Site, said the Speaker was a hate figure for much of the political right, and is the “face of the Democratic establishment and, as such, at the center of many QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theories.”
Those theories and people who espouse them are sometimes promoted by more mainstream public figures, amplifying the threats, experts say.
“While the intent may be to mobilize one’s political base or generate ratings it also adds to the volatility of the threat environment,” said Cohen.
Individual attackers, sometimes known as “lone wolves” frequently combine personal with political grievances and are reinforced and radicalized by things they read online, the DOJ’s research arm The National Institute of Justice reports.
Attacks on political figures, places of worship and races or ethnicities have occurred in the United States for decades, but law enforcement professionals say the current environment is particularly dangerous.
“Today’s radical extremism threat has this powerful digital component that can really accelerate recruitment and activate violence across a broader threat landscape,” Aisha Qureshi, a social science analyst at the National Institute, said in an agency podcast before the Pelosi attack.
“Just the sheer volume and speed of misinformation spread through social media really exacerbates this problem,” she said.
Threats against political leaders are rising in the United States. Cases related to “concerning statements and threats” against members of Congress jumped from 3,939 in 2017 to 9,625 in 2021, according to the U.S. Capitol Police.
“Look at the FBI attack in Ohio,” said Todd Helmus, a senior behavioral scientist at security research firm Rand Corp., referring to an August incident when an armed man tried to break into the Cincinnati FBI headquarters.
Helmus linked that incident to rhetoric surrounding the FBI’s removal of classified documents from Trump’s Florida estate. Site said the Pelosi attack was being celebrated online by far-right supporters.
“We’re just waiting for more of these things to occur,” said Helmus.
(Reporting by Heather Timmons; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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Reuters By Paresh Dave and Steve Gorman
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -The man accused of bludgeoning U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer after breaking into the couple’s home threatened to take her hostage and break her kneecaps if she lied under his questioning, according to a federal criminal complaint filed on Monday.
David Wayne DePape’s alleged intentions emerged as federal prosecutors charged the 42-year-old suspect with assault and attempted kidnapping in Friday’s predawn break-in at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home.
Several state charges were filed separately in San Francisco Superior Court, including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, elder abuse and threatening a public official, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced at a news conference. An arraignment was set for Tuesday, her office said.
The 82-year-old speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, a Democrat who is second in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency, was in Washington at the time of the assault. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, 82, a real estate and venture capital executive, has undergone surgery for skull fractures and injuries to his hands and right arm, and he remained hospitalized on Monday.
“Paul is making steady progress on what will be a long recovery process,” the speaker said in a statement on Monday.
The attack, which Jenkins called “politically motivated,” has stoked fears about partisan extremist violence just over a week ahead of the midterm elections, on Nov. 8, that will decide control of Congress during one of the most vitriolic and polarized U.S. campaigns in decades. Democrats’ continued control of both the House and the Senate is at stake.
As one of the highest-ranking Democrats in Washington and a longtime representative of one of America’s most liberal cities, Nancy Pelosi has been a frequent lightning rod for expressions of conservative criticism and contempt.
Her office was ransacked during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of supporters of Republican President Donald Trump, some of whom hunted for her during the melee, following a fiery speech by Trump featuring false claims that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election was the result of fraud.
AWAKENED BY STRANGER
DePape was arrested by police officers dispatched to the Pelosis’ home after Paul Pelosi placed an emergency-911 call reporting an intruder, according to an FBI affidavit filed as part of the federal criminal complaint.
The San Francisco Police Department recovered zip ties in the bedroom and in the hallway near the front door. Police also found a roll of tape, rope, a second hammer, a pair of gloves and a journal in DePape’s backpack, the affidavit said. The intruder had broken in through a glass door to the residence.
Paul Pelosi, who was initially left unconscious from the attack, later told police that he was asleep when a stranger, armed with a hammer, crept into his second-floor bedroom and awakened him, demanding to speak with his spouse, the complaint states.
According to Paul Pelosi’s account in the affidavit, he told the intruder that his wife would be away for several days and the intruder responded that he would stay and wait for her. Pelosi’s husband recounted that he managed to slip away to the bathroom to place the 911 call, the affidavit said.
The suspect told police in an interview following his arrest that he planned to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage for questioning, and that if she told the “truth” he would let her go but if she “lied” he would break her kneecaps, according to the FBI affidavit.
He told police he did not flee the Pelosi home after Paul Pelosi’s 911 call because, according to the affidavit, “much like the American founding fathers with the British, he was fighting against tyranny without the option to surrender.”
Authorities said police officers arriving at the Pelosi home saw DePape and Pelosi struggling over a hammer. As the officers shouted at both men to drop the tool, DePape yanked the hammer away and struck Pelosi in the head before officers subdued DePape and took him into custody.
DePape was charged in federal court with one count of assault on a family member of a U.S. official and one count of attempted kidnapping of a U.S. official. Prosecutors alleged the offenses stemmed from the suspect’s intent to retaliate against the House speaker for her “performance of official duties.”
The federal charges carry a combined maximum sentence of 50 years in prison, the Justice Department said in a statement announcing the charges. The state charges are punishable by a prison sentence of 13 years to life, Jenkins said.
Online messages recently posted to several websites by an internet user named “daviddepape” expressed bigoted sentiments against minorities, Jews, women and transgender people while embracing the cult-like, right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon.
Older online messages promoted quartz crystals and hemp bracelets. Reuters could not confirm the posts were created by the suspect charged on Monday.
Experts on extremist ideology have said Friday’s attack appeared to be an example of a growing trend they call “stochastic terrorism,” in which sometimes-unstable individuals are inspired to violence by hate speech and scenarios they see online and hear echoed by public figures.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave in San Francisco and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington, Brendan O’Brien in Chicago and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O’Brien and Leslie Adler)

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