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Published by AlterNet Florida Republican House members passed three pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation Wednesday, The Advocate reports. Per The Advocate, the legislation “passed the same day that the state’s board of education approved a measure expanding the state’s ‘don’t say gay’ law up until high school graduation.” Time Magazine reports experts shared last month why they oppose the passing of the bills, which according to The Advocate, “could prohibit gender-affirming care for children, punish businesses letting minors watch drag shows, and treat transgender people peeing in the wrong bathroom as criminals.” RE… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters UK By Krisztina Than BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungary’s Christian LGBT community hopes a visit by Pope Francis to Budapest next week can help heal wounds in a deeply divided society amid an intensifying anti-LGBT campaign by the country’s deeply conservative government. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing nationalist in power since 2010, has sought to promote social policies he says safeguard Christian values against Western liberalism. He has targeted gender issues and what he calls LGBT propaganda in his campaign over the past few years, along with migrants. The pope will make an official vis… Read More View the full article

Published by AlterNet Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) has sent Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts a strongly-worded invitation to testify over his “decade-long failure” to fix the ethics problems he and his justices have created which have created a “crisis of public confidence,” but several Republican Senators are warning against him appearing. Declaring that the “status quo is no longer tenable,” Chairman Durbin says in his invitation (copy below) that “there has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, i… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a Republican bill intended to ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls’ school sports, delivering at least a short-term victory to social conservatives. The House passed the measure by 219-203 but it has little chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate. President Joe Biden has also voiced his opposition to the bill, calling it discriminatory, and has vowed to veto it if needed. Still, the vote was a win for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who hopes to keep his narrow Republican majority unified, as a fight over raising the nation’s debt ceiling looms. “There’s a reason why there’s men and women’s sports,” McCarthy told reporters on the grounds of the Capitol, where he held a news conference with three female athletes who had competed with transgender athletes and lost. “It’s about fairness. And if there’s one final fiber of America, it’s about giving people an opportunity.” If passed, the bill would change the civil rights law known as Title IX to require that a student’s sex be “based on an individual’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” Enacted in 1972, Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in educational programs or activities that receive federal funding. It was created to ensure equal opportunity for participation and opened the door for more women in sports. Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal, who said during Wednesday’s debate that she is raising a transgender daughter, said, “This bill fuels a virulent hate campaign against kids who just want to play with their friends.” The White House on Monday said the bill would effectively deny access to sports for transgender students, even at the elementary school level. Republicans have stepped up their focus on transgender youth. On Wednesday, Florida education officials voted to ban classroom instruction on gender identity and social orientation in public schools through high school. That expanded on a law signed by likely Republican presidential candidate Governor Ron DeSantis, which had banned such lessons for younger students and was derided by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Twenty-one U.S. states already have transgender school sports bans in place, according to the Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ advocacy group. The Biden administration has proposed prohibiting schools from banning transgender athletes from playing on teams consistent with their gender identities, with exceptions possible for the highest levels of competition. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) – Advocacy groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to strike down a new Tennessee law that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming medical treatment such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery to transgender minors. The American Civil Liberties Union and LGBTQ group Lambda Legal in a lawsuit filed in Nashville, Tennessee federal court say the law, which takes effect July 1, unlawfully discriminates against transgender people based on their sex. The law would ban any medical procedure performed for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify with a gender other than the one they were assigned at birth. Republican state lawmakers who passed the bill in February said it was necessary to protect young people from being permanently harmed. But many medical associations have said the law is transphobic and that gender-affirming care can be life-saving. The new lawsuit says depriving transgender youth of medically necessary care will have devastating consequences for them and their families. Untreated gender dysphoria can trigger anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, the groups said. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three families with transgender children and a Memphis-based doctor who performs gender-affirming procedures. The office of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the ban into law last month along with a separate measure restricting drag performances in public. A federal judge blocked the drag law earlier this month pending the outcome of a lawsuit by an LGBTQ theater group. The laws are part of escalating efforts by Republican lawmakers to regulate the conduct of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill intended to ban transgender women and girls from competing in women’s and girls’ school sports. The proposal is seen as having little chance of passing the Democrat-led Senate. The ACLU and Lambda Legal claim in Thursday’s lawsuit that Tennessee’s law violates the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by singling out transgender people. They also say the law violates the federal Affordable Care Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in the provision of healthcare. Several other U.S. states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and over the last several weeks groups have sued over laws adopted in Utah, Florida, Indiana and Arkansas. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard Chang) View the full article

Published by Raw Story Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken his war against Disney way too far, wrote columnist Eugene Robinson for The Washington Post on Thursday — to the point where even former President Donald Trump is looking like the adult in the room. “Is there something wrong with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis? What kind of politician declares war against Mickey Mouse and Tinker Bell? Does he have some sort of problem with impulse control?” wrote Robinson. “I mean, seriously, what kind of governor threatens the revenue of a company that is his state’s biggest private employer, No. 1 corporate taxpayer and most po… Read More View the full article

Published by Radar Online Mega Fox News admitted it lied as part of the historic $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems — but its millions of viewers won’t hear that. The network’s highest-ranking stars, chiefly Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, will not issue on-air retractions despite their lies about the 2020 presidential election, RadarOnline.com has learned. Mega Dominion had cited 20 specific broadcasts and tweets in which the voting company argued Fox News knowingly promoted lies that it had rigged the presidential election. Those anchors entangled also included Jeanine Pirro, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartiromo. But none of the network’s stars will be forced to issue groveling retractions or apologies to Fox News viewers or Dominion, despite the company initially seeking that as part of the settlement, sources told RadarOnline.com. “During the settlement negotiations, Fox maintained all along that it would not issue on-air apologies or retractions,” a source said. Mega “Privately, Fox believed it would have to pay a number, but it wasn’t prepared to willingly do anything to compromise its talent to its audience — or compromise its business. Added the insider: “The payout might hurt in the hip pocket but the business of Fox News continues.” Fired Fox News Producer Abby Grossberg Reveals She Has ‘Secret Recordings’ Relevant To Dominion’s $1.6B Lawsuit Against Embattled Network Ex-Prez Donald Trump Unleashes On Fox News In 2 AM Rant, Demands Network ‘FINALLY ADMIT’ 2020 Election Was Stolen Fox News Reaches $787.5 Million Settlement With Dominion Voting Systems In Defamation Case Tuesday’s last-second settlement ended a messy two-year legal battle and avoided what was being billed as the media trial of the century. The witness list for the trial included Fox boss Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan Murdoch, and top-rated anchors like Hannity and Carlson. Mega The settlement — hailed widely in the media as ground-breaking — represents “vindication and accountability,” according to Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson. “For our democracy to endure for another 250 years, and hopefully much longer, we must share a commitment to facts… Today represents a ringing endorsement for truth and for democracy.” Fox said in a statement that it “acknowledge[s] the Court’s rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.” “This settlement reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards,” it added in a statement. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. Mega “We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.” The channel’s highest-ranking executives and biggest stars, such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity, would have been forced to confront how lies they never believed were promoted on the network’s air to its millions of loyal viewers. And RadarOnline.com has been told by sources that the settlement the network reached with Dominion will not require its dishonest personalities to acknowledge reality and issue retractions on the air. View the full article

Published by AFP Analysts had predicted the Fox News trial could have been one of the most consequential libel hearings in US legal history New York (AFP) – Fox News’s massive payout to settle a defamation case doesn’t end its legal woes, with the network facing other lawsuits and shareholder action over its broadcasting of election conspiracy theories. The news behemoth agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to voting technology company Dominion, which sued the channel for airing false claims that its machines were used to steal the 2020 presidential ballot from Donald Trump. The right-wing network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another electronic voting company — Smartmatic — which claims that Fox News broadcast lies that “decimated” its business prospects. “Dominion’s litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox’s disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest,” Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly vowed in a statement. He added that the company was “committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.” Tuesday’s agreement, announced after jury selection and just before opening arguments were due to start, was settled for about half the $1.6 billion that Dominion initially sought. It avoided a high-profile trial that would have seen a parade of Fox personalities, including owner Rupert Murdoch and star anchor Tucker Carlson, forced to testify. Fox News, which argued that it was protected by First Amendment free speech rights, acknowledged in a statement an earlier ruling by the presiding judge that the conservative network had broadcast false claims. But US media reported that the channel’s anchors will neither have to admit nor apologize on air for spreading the falsehoods — comments that would likely anger its loyal viewers. At the heart of the trial was going to be whether Fox News aired the falsehoods despite knowing they were untrue. To win, Dominion would have to have proven “actual malice” — that Fox knew the information was wrong or had a “reckless disregard” for the truth. ‘Emboldened’ The high bar has been a bedrock of US media law since 1964. “The big takeaway is that the underlying law didn’t change,” Syracuse law professor William Banks told AFP. “So though there may be emboldened plaintiffs they still have a high burden of proof,” he added. Smartmatic sued Fox News in a New York state court in February 2021, alleging the network knowingly aired more than 100 false statements that its technology was used to rig votes for Joe Biden. A spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment but the network has denied the allegations in previous statements. Smartmatic’s complaint cites comments by former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and as well as anchors including Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro. In February this year, a New York appeals court rejected Fox News’s request to dismiss the case. A trial date has not yet been set. Last month, a Fox News producer filed two lawsuits against the network, alleging that its lawyers coerced her into giving false testimony in the Dominion case and claiming a “hostile work environment.” Fox is also reportedly facing separate claims from shareholders accusing it of being in breach of fiduciary duties related to its coverage of Trump’s claims. One complaint has already been submitted to a chancery court, the Financial Times has reported. Murdoch admitted in a deposition in the Dominion case that some on-air hosts had “endorsed” Trump’s lie but he denied that the network in its entirety had pushed it, according to court documents filed by Dominion. View the full article

Published by Reuters LONDON (Reuters) – Pope Francis has gifted fragments believed to be from the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified to form part of a new processional cross which will be used at the coronation of Britain’s King Charles next month. The new cross, made from recycled silver along with Welsh slate and reclaimed wood, was a gift from the king to the Church in Wales to mark its centenary in 2020. It will lead the coronation procession at Westminster Abbey in London on May 6. It features two small shards from the relic donated by the pope which have been shaped into a cross behind a rose crystal gemstone. “In a significant ecumenical gesture, the Cross of Wales will incorporate a relic of the True Cross, the personal gift of Pope Francis to His Majesty The King to mark the Coronation,” the Church in Wales, a branch of the Anglican Church, said in a statement. After the coronation, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Wales. “Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability,” said Andrew John, the Anglican Archbishop of Wales, who blessed the cross at a service on Wednesday in Llandudno in North Wales. “We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide their majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service.” Charles has close links to Wales. As heir to the British throne, he held the ancient title of Prince of Wales until he became king last September on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth. His son and heir William is now Prince of Wales. (Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Gareth Jones) View the full article

Published by Radar Online mega A former member of Menudo came forward with shocking claims that Jose Menendez, the slain father of imprisoned Menendez brothers Lyle and Erik, sexually assaulted him during his childhood, RadarOnline.com has learned. Roy Rosselló detailed a time years ago when Jose was affiliated with Menudo because he had signed the group as an executive of RCA Records, claiming Jose drugged and raped him during a visit to his home in New Jersey. Menudomega Rosselló was 14 at the time, the Claridad crooner said in a segment that aired on the Today show April 18 from the upcoming three-part docuseries scheduled to premiere on Peacock. “That’s the man here that raped me,” he said while pointing to a photo of Jose, who was shot dead by his sons in 1989. “That’s the pedophile.” Rosselló declared, “It’s time for the world to know the truth.” Rossello said that he was also assaulted by one of Menudo’s former managers, Edgardo Diaz, a claim that Diaz vehemently denied. Menudomega CRIME SCENE PHOTOS: Revisit The Menendez Brothers’ Home Where Their Parents Were Brutally Murdered Grim Anniversary: The Menendez Brothers’ Horrific Parent Murders 30 Years Later Marriages, Death Plots & Escape Plan: The Menendez Brothers’ Prison Secrets Exposed! Following two hung juries and mistrials, the siblings were retried together in 1996 and found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for gunning down their father, Jose, as well as their mother, Mary Louise, a former beauty queen AKA Kitty, inside of their Beverly Hills home. After the brothers were convicted of the killings, a judge ruled that their claims of sexual abuse involving Jose were inadmissible. Although prior appeals from Lyle and Erik have been denied, it is wondered if Rosselló’s allegations could be the catalyst for a new trial. erik menendezmega “Frankly I feel horrible. It’s sad to know that there was another victim of my father,” Erik said amid the explosive claims. Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free. “It’s a remarkable thing to happen so many decades later. Of course you know that would have made a difference at trial. Certainly that would have made an enormous difference because the entire trial centered on the belief of these events,” added Lyle. lyle menendezmega View the full article

Published by Raw Story Staffers at a subdivision of the National Archives and Records Administration, a federal agency Donald Trump has recently assailed as “a radical left troublemaking organization,” went out of their way to save the former president from embarrassment by making a last-minute substitution in a photo spread for an official publication commemorating his presidency. Emails exclusively obtained by Raw Story show that one staffer flagged a photo that was slated for inclusion in an official presidential papers volume because “Trump’s mouth is a little too close for comfort to the child’s mouth.” The pho… Read More View the full article

Published by New York Daily News NEW YORK — Theater audiences will get to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee when a new musical based on Muhammad Ali enters the ring. “Ali,” based on the life of the late, great boxer and civil rights activist, will have its world premiere at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in his hometown of Louisville in the fall of 2024. Lead producer Richard Willis announced Tuesday that Clint Dyer will write and direct the production, while Teddy Abrams will compose the music. Dyer currently serves as the deputy artistic director of London’s National Theatre. Doing double duty as the … Read More View the full article