Elon Musk's Twitter Is 'Hellscape' for LGBTQ+ People, Critics Say

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(CNN) – An honorary member of Buckingham Palace has resigned and apologized after a Black charity founder said she was questioned about whether she was really British at a royal reception on Tuesday.The guest, Ngozi Fulani, is the CEO of Sistah Space, an organization that provides specialist services to women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by abuse.Fulani was attending a royal function on domestic abuse organized by the Queen Consort on Tuesday evening when she said a member of staff began a line of questioning that the palace called “unacceptable and deeply regrettable.”Fulani said that the person persistently asked about her heritage and would not accept that she was a British national.Sistah Space shared a rough transcript of the conversation on Twitter on Wednesday. Fulani said that, after identifying herself as British-born, the person asked her “where do you really come from;” “where do your people come from;” and “when did you first come here?”When Fulani answered she was from the London neighborhood of Hackney, the household member insisted: “No, what part of Africa are YOU from?” as quoted on the Sistah Space Twitter account.

NAGA Munchetty left BBC Breakfast fan blushing with a VERY rude joke - and could barely keep a straight face. Today's show featured a report on beavers Winnie and Eeyore who have made a home on the River Glaven. The segment featured footage of the beavers at work building a dam as well as local wildlife experts talking about how the animals create wetlands, as well as their hopes for Winnie and Eeyore to breed and have a family.

Auto news: Uber of the future revealed - drive.com.au© 2022 Nine Entertainment Co.

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Even though I work in fashion, I’m not that interested in cool things, and I don’t have many friends in the industry — not even other designers. When I host a party, it’s usually a casual affair, not exactly Instagrammable. This was no exception.

The Labour Party has announced plans to ensure that people living with HIV have equal access to fertility treatments.

Eight-time Grammy winner Fergie seemed thrilled to reunite with her former collaborator - three-time Grammy winner Nelly - at the 36th Annual Footwear News Awards in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday.The 47-year-old pop diva (born Stacy Ann Ferguson) wore a black blazer featuring silver branch embellishments with matching Spandex bell bottoms selected by stylist B. Åkerlund.Fergie - who owns footwear lines Fergalicious by Fergie and Fergie Footwear - gave her 5ft4in stature a big boost with 3in platform black and silver boots.

Although it had a $180 million budget, the Disney animated adventure feature Strange World has picked up only (as of Tuesday) $18.8 million domestically and $9.4 million worldwide, for a total of $28.2 million, according to the latest information on Box Office Mojo.It's “the worst opening for a Disney Animation Thanksgiving title in modern times,” The Hollywood Reporter notes,  although the article does go on to mention that overall fukn  attendance was down 53 percent from 2019 and 12 percent from last year.Strange World features three generations of the Clade family and their adventures through “uncharted and treacherous land where fantastical creatures await,” as the Reporter puts it.Fans, like the Reporter, think that poor marketing deserves a significant portion of blame. The animated tale included Disney’s first biracial gay teen, Ethan Clade (voiced by Jaboukie Young-White), with a small scene of him getting tongue-tied near his crush, Diazo — and there are those who think that led Disney to deliberately bury the film.“Saw Strange World and I'll be damned, Disney Animation actually had a character that wasn't just lip service for online articles but now I wonder if that is the reason for the weak marketing/merch for this film.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, attempted to distance himself from suggestion of fraud in his first public appearance since his company's collapse stunned investors and left creditors facing losses totalling billions of dollars.

Russian lawmakers in the government’s upper house chamber unanimously passed a bill furthering restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights in the country.Under the new proposal that was passed by the lower house last week, the bill expands on the 2013 ban against spreading "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors. The new bill extends the ban to adults, too. It's the latest in the Russian government’s efforts to suppress the country’s battered LGBTQ+ community.The bill will now go to President Vladimir Putin who is expected to sign the legislation into law.The new legislation does away with all advertising, media and online resource books, films, and theater productions that are deemed to contain such "LGBT" propaganda, the Associated Press reports.The bill also bans information on gender transitions from being shared with minors. Fines for violating the law range from 100,000 to 2 million Russian rubles — the equivalent of $1,660 to $33,000.Violators not from Russia could be expelled for breaking the law.The 2013 law has been used as a tool to crack down on LGBTQ rights, groups, and activists.The new measure does not make violations a criminal offense, according to the AP.A separate bill would have to pass to do that.

Not sure how to honor World AIDS Day? Playbill and Gilead have you covered with their production of the third annual Remember the Ribbon: A Tribute to World AIDS Day.Taped live last month at Sony Hall in New York, Remember the Ribbon features storytellers, songs, tributes, and reflections on those affected by HIV. ABC entertainment journalist and Plus Life Media co-founder Karl Schmid serves as host, with appearances from Broadway luminaries like Carolee Carmello (1776), Anthony Harper (Kinky Boots), and with mainstays of television and film like Judith Light and Ariana DeBose (pictured above, left to right).Bryan Campione and Leonard Rodino co-directed the show, with music by Broadway Sings."Playbill is proud to host Remember the Ribbon for our third year, as we continue to honor our beloved friends, members of our community, and beyond who have been affected by HIV and AIDS," Playbill Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Alex Birsh said in a statement.

A record 120 cities have earned a perfect 100 score on this year’s Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, which rates cities on antidiscrimination laws, benefits for public employees, and other factors that contribute to a positive climate for LGBTQ+ people.That number is up from 110 in the 2021 index and just 11 in its inaugural year, 2012, “illustrating the striking advancements municipalities have made despite some being in states that have seen increased extremist-led anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation,” notes an HRC press release. The HRC Foundation released the index in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute.“LGBTQ+ people everywhere deserve to live in welcoming places that are focused on building equality for all,” JoDee Winterhof, HRC senior vice president of policy and political affairs, said in the release. “Since its launch 11 years ago, the main priority of the Municipal Equality Index remains supporting and celebrating the work cities do to serve LGBTQ+ people in the places they call home.

Sister AnaLee Pleasured

Op 1 december is het Wereld Aids Dag. Een dag waarop we stilstaan bij al die mensen die sinds het begin van de epidemie, dit jaar 40 jaar geleden, zijn geraakt door hiv en aids.

There are obviously BIG spoilers ahead for Wednesday! 

I get this a lot. #WarriorNun https://t.co/KfysRW4C8Si just finished season 1 of warrior nun and i’m obsessedI finished Warrior Nun.

The WNBA has announced the 2023 WNBA regular season schedule. Each team, including North Texas’ Dallas Wings, will play a total of 40 regular season games — 20 at home and 20 on the road — which is the most ever in a WNBA season.

Property News: Music promoter Michael Coppel sells Toorak home for more than $30 million - domain.com.au© 2022 Nine Entertainment Co.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado honored the victims and the heroes of the Club Q shooting in a speech on the Senate floor before the vote on the Respect for Marriage Act Tuesday.Bennet, a Democrat who was reelected this year, offered information about the five people killed the night of November 19 — Derrick Rump, Daniel Davis Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, and Raymond Green Vance — and showed their pictures.

This is President Joe Biden’s statement following passage of the Respect for Marriage Act:

(CNN) -- House Democrats chose caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries of New York to succeed Nancy Pelosi as leader of the Democrats in the chamber next year, a historic move that will make him the first Black person to lead one of the two major parties in either chamber of Congress.House Democrats met behind closed doors Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill to make their decision.Jeffries ran unopposed as leader, with Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, current assistant speaker, running as whip and California Rep.

The Food and Drug Administration is opening up blood donations to sexually-active men in monogamous relationships with other men, according to the Wall Street Journal.Currently, FDA policy makes all gay and bisexual men abstain from sex for three months before donating blood. This restrictive policy came after gay and bi men were essentially locked out of blood donation efforts for decades due to HIV fears — medical experts have long called limits on LGBTQ+ blood donation outdated and stigmatizing.“While today’s reports of an overdue move from the FDA is an important step, our community and leading medical experts will not stop advocating for the FDA to lift all restrictions against qualified LGBTQ blood donor candidates,” Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. “As LGBTQ leaders and medical experts have been saying for years: bans and restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men are rooted in stigma, not science.

(CNN) – As the hurricane season closes, a handful of blockbuster storms made history after a quiet first half of the season.“Overall, the season was less active than we anticipated,” said Phil Klotzbach, research scientist at Colorado State University. “We (and most other groups) forecast an above-normal season, and the season ended up pretty much dead-on average.”The season ended with 14 named storms, eight hurricanes, and two major hurricanes.

Lily Collins enjoys a romantic hot air balloon ride while on a dreamy getaway at a French vineyard with Lucien Laviscount in a new trailer for the third season of Emily In Paris.Despite struggling to choose between Alfie (Laviscount) and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo), the 33-year-old actress' character, Emily, appeared to be having the time of her life as she took in the breathtaking views from as they floated high above a château.Their blossoming romance seems to be going from strength to strength as they're seen kissing in her bed, strolling the City of Love together and riding on a train.

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The National Trans Bar Association Co-Chair Kristen Browde will step to the podium at the U.S. Supreme Court today (Nov. 30) and move the admission of a group of 10 attorneys to the group of those admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. These 10, all members of the NTBA, will be the first ever openly transgender attorneys ever admitted to practice before the nation’s highest court.

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Cyclist Emily Bridges spoken about her dream to represent Wales at the Commonwealth Games, in spite of bans on trans participation.

Dallas received a score of 100 on Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index. In Texas, 25 cities were rated. Arlington, Austin, Fort Worth and San Antonio also received top scores. Houston scored 76.

Stanford University has apologized for a skit performed by its band at Saturday’s football game against Brigham Young University (BYU) at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto.The band, officially known as the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB), performed a halftime skit entitled “gay chicken” that featured two women getting married and kissing, and using terms common in marriages performed by the Mormon church.BYU is ran by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the university repealed a ban on homosexuality a couple of years ago, the school still prohibits same-sex dating. “The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) has a long history of lighthearted and satirical halftime performances,” the Stanford Athletic Department said in a statement to local KSL Sports and BYU student newspaper Universe.

(CNN) -- Hours before the Senate voted to protect same-sex marriage rights, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin tapped twice on the wooden table before her for good luck."I'm not a superstitious person," the Democrat told CNN. "But I still have to do that."Baldwin needed not worry; She had not left the rights of LGBTQ people like herself up to fate.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) lashed out with a Bible verse Wednesday morning, after the Senate passed legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage, while rejecting his attempt to infuse special religious rights through an amendment that even some Republicans refused to support.

Richard Curtis has spoken with regret over the lack of diversity in his cult Christmas classic, Love Actually.

Creating a false narrative around parents' rights and painting transgender students as dangerous is not a winning strategy in northern Virginia. That's the lesson Republican Yesli Vega learned when she lost the election against Rep.

A school district near Milwaukee has removed seven books that deal with LGBTQ+ themes from circulation in what critics call a coordinated far-right attack on Wisconsin schools.Elmbrook School District, which includes the town of Brookfield, removed seven books from its school libraries, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reports.According to the paper, the seven stricken books were Jessica Shirvington's Embrace, Perfect by Ellen Hopkins, Lauren Myracle's TTYL and The Infinite Moment of Us, Queer: The Ultimate LGBTQ Guide by Kathy Belge and Marke Biesche, as well as Traffick: The Sequel To Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, and Juno Dawson's This Book is Gay.Republican state assembly member Jesse James spearheaded the removal of books from Wisconsin schools using a list he generated.

On Sunday, comedian and LGBTQ+ icon Kathy Griffin’s Twitter account was suspended for mocking Elon Musk, the new owner of the social media platform.To draw attention to the flaws in Musk’s plan to provide anyone who pays $7.99 with a verified checkmark on the site, Griffin changed her Twitter profile photo and display name to mimic Musk’s. In her tweets, she mocked the billionaire, still struggling to decide what direction to take the $44 billion purchase he made.“I’ve decided that voting blue for [reproductive] choice is only right,” she tweeted as Musk.Twitter suspended Griffin’s account on Sunday afternoon.Early Sunday evening, Musk tweeted, “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended.” He added that any change of one’s Twitter name would “cause temporary loss of verified checkmark.”Musk also announced that Twitter users would no longer receive warnings before being suspended.

An appeals court ruled on Wednesday that requiring the Miss USA pageant to allow transgender women to compete would violate its first amendment right to communicate “the ideal vision of American womanhood.”The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a two-to-one decision that forcing the organization to allow Anita Green, a transgender woman, to participate in the pageant would violate its First Amendment rights.The Oregon woman sued Miss United States of America Pageants in federal court in Portland last year after her application to participate was denied.The 9th Circuit ruled that Enforcing Oregon’s law would violate the pageant’s free speech rights under the U.S.

U.S. diplomats have met Thursday with WNBA star Brittney Griner, who’s imprisoned in Russia, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.“We are told she’s doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One, CNN reports. The State Department also confirmed that officials from the U.S.

In reaction to seeing their sunglasses on the faces of members of the Proud Boys who were disrupting a drag fundraising event in North Carolina, the manufacturer has said it will donate money to LGBTQ-friendly causes.Clad in their yellow and black colors, members of the far-right radical white supremacist group donned distinctive sunglasses outside an event in Sanford in images shared on Twitter last Sunday.Protest photographer and astrophysics professor at Elon University Anthony Crider posted a series of photos showing the scene where these men stood to menace patrons and LGBTQ+ supporters.

Although Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk, claimed it would not be a "hellscape" for LGBTQ+ people, human rights groups and advocates say it's already there only days after he took the reins. On Thursday, the world's richest man completed his long-anticipated takeover of the social media platform. And with his acquisition, out goes content moderation, critics say. As seemingly one of his first acts, Musk eliminated some of the app's safeguards.The billionaire claimed, however, he had yet to change Twitter's content moderation."Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," the billionaire tweeted.

(CNN) — The University of Florida Board of Trustees unanimously approved Republican US Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska as the university's new president Tuesday in the face of faculty and student criticism over the secretive search process, his limited relevant experience and his past criticisms of same-sex marriage.Ahead of the vote, Sasse spoke to the board Tuesday and outlined his reasons for taking the job and his plans to position UF to succeed in what he called an age of technological disruption."I'm here rather than at some other school, or rather than trying to claw to stay in the United States Senate for decades, because I believe that this is the most interesting institution in the state that has the most happening right now, and is therefore the best positioned to help lead our country through a time of unprecedented change," Sasse told the board Tuesday.When asked about his plans related to LGBTQ faculty and students, Sasse said he expected that his positions would be the same as that of outgoing President Kent Fuchs.

Results from a Phase I CORAL-BOOST and CORAL-CEPI trial under biotechnology company Gritstone Bio shows their self-amplifying mRNA (samRNA) vaccine can induce a safe, strong, and durable immune response against COVID-19.BioSpace reports that although the data was preliminary, it could provide the needed technology to fill the unmet needs in the COVID battle.The trial consisted of three dose levels in CORAL-CEPI, all of which were found to be immunogenic. A spokesperson for Gritstone said their primary goals consisted of “evaluating our self-amplifying mRNA candidates for potential application against COVID, and providing clinical proof-of-concept for the use of the samRNA platform and other infectious diseases.”The 340 participants in the CORAL-CEPI studies had never been immunized for COVID and are all HIV-positive.

(CNN) – SpaceX's Falcon Heavy — a towering, three-pronged vehicle that is the most powerful operational rocket in the world — returned to the skies on Tuesday for the first time since mid-2019.The rocket launched at 9:41 a.m. ET from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, hauling satellites to space for the U.S.

The National LGBTQ Task Force has assembled a group of straight and queer, transgender, and cisgender men for a campaign to persuade cis men to support the fight for reproductive freedom.The campaign, “Ban the Reproductive Binary,” consists of several short videos from a diverse set of male-identified voices, was released ahead of the midterm election to emphasize why reproductive rights affect cis men. The project was produced with funding from the Pop Culture Collaborative.The recent Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v.

“Just as it’s unacceptable for Americans to sit behind bars for simple possession of cannabis, it's absolutely unacceptable for an American sitting in a Russian gulag.” So said DC Marijuana Justice co-founder and cannabis activist, Adam Eidinger, to The Washington Post.So on October 26, when WNBA star Brittney Griner lost her appeal and, despite hope for a reduction in her punishment, a Russian court decided to uphold her nine-year prison sentence for drug smuggling charges, the same advocacy group and her supporters decided to hold a “smoke out” in protest.The demonstration kicked off at 4:20 local time outside the country’s embassy, and the group told demonstrators, “If you have used vape cartridges, bring them!"Griner, who was arrested February 17 at the Sheremetyevo International Airport near Moscow, had 0.702 grams of cannabis oil in vape cartridges in her luggage. "I had no intention to break the law," Grinder said during her initial testimony. She then added that it was an accident due to stress and rushing while packing, while also recovering from a then-recent COVID-19 diagnosis.At the time, she’d also testified that she’d used cannabis oil to treat various injuries she’d sustained over her basketball career.During the demonstration, protesters not only smoked marijuana, they also  carried a 51 foot inflatable joint.

(CNN) – The four people hurt in an apparent gas leak on Monday at Los Angeles International Airport were all airport employees, according to an update provided by the Los Angeles Fire DepartmentThe condition of the most severely sickened victim has been upgraded from grave to critical following the incident.A woman and three men were working in or near a utility room “when a popping sound was heard, and the apparent release of Carbon Dioxide vapor took place,” the LAFD report said.The most seriously injured man, described as being in his 50s, was found not breathing and without a pulse inside the utility room. CPR was immediately performed and advanced life support given by emergency responders as he was taken to a nearby hospital, the fire department shared.“LAFD Hazardous Materials experts have closely examined the area with sophisticated instruments, and discovered only trace residue of Carbon Dioxide remaining within the utility room,” said the LAFD.Portable fans are being used to further ventilate the immediate area.All other terminals and flights are operating normally, according to a tweet from LAX airport.The terminal was cleared of passengers due to a hazardous materials investigation, the airport tweeted earlier on Monday.The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for United Airlines as a result of the emergency.

The Kroger supermarket chain has settled a lawsuit via a consent decree with two former employees in Arkansas who claimed they were fired for refusing to wear aprons with a rainbow heart which they felt violated their religious beliefs.The two believed the heart was in support of the LGBTQ+ community. On Thursday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the Kroger Limited Partnership I agreed to pay $180,000 to former employees Trudy Rickerd, then 57, and Brenda Lawson, then 72, in return for dropping their suit. Both employees were subsequently disciplined and fired in 2019, although Kroger maintains they were not terminated in retaliation for their actions.