Focus on the Family, an Anti-LGBTQ+ Group, Defaced in Wake of Club Q

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

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

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

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

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

Spoilers ahead for episode five of Willow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The creators of Netflix’s Wednesday have opened up about a potential Wednesday and Enid romance in future seasons.

Less than a week after two people were arrested for trespassing at the apartment building of gay New York City Council member Erik Bottcher, police have now identified a third suspect who is wanted for assault. Bottcher represents the city’s District 3, including Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Hudson Square, Flatiron, Times Square, the Theater District, and the Garment District. When The Advocate spoke to City Council Member Bottcher last Monday, he said that two people were arrested for entering his apartment building unlawfully and that a third suspect was being investigated for assaulting a nearby neighbor of Bottcher.The neighbor was on his way home to his building down the block when he encountered the multiple hate groups stationed outside Bottcher’s building in Chelsea, Bottcher said. Now, police have identified David Nieves as the accused assailant. Authorities allege Nieves struck his victim in the face, cutting the victim.

Spoilers ahead for the grand finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World.  

Egypt with its ancient pharaohs, unsolved mysteries and treasures has always been a hot topic for slots. Therefore, the GameArt company decided to create a game about the most famous woman in Egypt. This is how Cleopatra Slot was born, which attracts many users with its detailed design and good winnings. Also in the game there are a lot of bonuses that can significantly increase the budget for entering the game. Let's talk about how to get winnings in the game Cleopatra slots no download and what the gambler should pay attention to.

Spoilers ahead for the grand finale of Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World. 

Lesbian WNBA champion Brittney Griner posted a holiday message to supporters this week, urging them to write to Paul Whelan, an American who is still detained in Russia.“Thanks to the efforts of many, including you, I am home after nearly 10 months. You took time to show me you cared and I want to personally take the time to write to you and say that your effort mattered,” Griner wrote on Instagram. “Your letters helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined.

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

At 2:00 PM ET on Wednesday the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security published its latest terrorism threat report, and for the first time LGBTQI+ people were listed as “targets of potential violence,” which DHS warned could be “lethal.”  Barely hours later, MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace shared the news with Chasten Buttigieg, who was so stunned for several seconds he was speechless.

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.

Fox News propagandist Tucker Carlson, whose nightly show frequently has the largest reach of any on cable news, regularly attacks the LGBTQ community with fear-mongering and hate-filled segments about gay people, transgender people, “groomers” and the latest target: “drag queen story hours.”

(CNN) -- The prior arrest of the 22-year-old suspected gunman who allegedly opened fire in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub last weekend has put the spotlight on a state law which can be utilized to temporarily remove gun access from those deemed a danger to themselves or others.Colorado's controversial red flag law, also known as an extreme risk protection order, allows law enforcement, family members or a roommate to petition a judge to temporarily seize a person's firearms if they are deemed a risk. But one caveat is they must start the process.If the public is uninformed of the potential risk, or rejects gun control measures, or law enforcement refuses to enforce the law, it could be rendered useless, some observers said.The year before Anderson Lee Aldrich, whose attorneys say uses they/them pronouns, allegedly entered Club Q with an AR-style weapon and a handgun, killing five people and injuring at least 19 others, they were arrested in June 2021 on two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping, according to a news release from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office at the time.Aldrich allegedly threatened to harm their mother with a homemade bomb and other weapons.

(CNN) – The World Cup is well underway in Qatar, but issues surrounding LGBTQ+ rights and visibility in the Gulf state just won't go away.On Saturday, two German soccer fans told CNN that they were asked by security officials at Qatar 2022 to remove the rainbow-colored items that they were wearing as they made their way to watch the World Cup match between France and Denmark on Saturday.CNN witnessed the conclusion to the incident at the Msheireb Metro Station, in Doha, as Bengt Kunkel, who was wearing a rainbow-colored sweatband, and his friend – sporting a similarly colored armband – refused to hand over the items. The rainbow is a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride.After taking the Germans to one side, a group of security guards eventually let them go – on condition that they put the rainbow-colored items in their pockets, according to Kunkel.“Out of nowhere.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden called the owners of Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., where last week a gunman killed five people and injured more than a dozen more.The two offered their condolences to owners Nic Grzecka and Matthew Haynes, according to the White House.The Bidens also voiced support for the LGBTQ+ community.“They reiterated their support for the community as well as their commitment to fighting back against hate and gun violence,” the White House said on Friday. “They also thanked Nic and Matthew for the incredible contributions they have made and will continue to make to Colorado Springs.”Grzecka and Haynes have said the attack on Club Q, which was a queer safe space in a conservative community, was a hate crime.

(CNN) -- FIFA President Gianni Infantino pleaded with countries to let football take center stage ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, but it hasn't quite worked out like that.Soccer's global governing body has found itself at loggerheads with seven European nations over the threat of sanctions for any player wearing a "OneLove" armband during games.The eleventh-hour announcement from FIFA has created a rift between soccer's governing body and the seven nations involved, although neither side has emerged free from criticism.The "OneLove" armband -- which features the outline of a heart striped in different colors -- was intended to be worn by captains from England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and Wales at the World Cup to promote inclusion and display solidarity with people of different genders and sexual identities.But hours before England captain Harry Kane was scheduled to wear the armband against Iran on Monday, FIFA said any player wearing the armbands would receive a yellow card, putting them in danger of being sent off or banned from a later game in the tournament.FIFA regulations state that team captains must wear armbands provided by the governing body, even though it said it "supports all legitimate causes, such as 'OneLove.'"However, the debacle has rumbled on as a sideshow to the tournament itself.If players like Kane didn't wear the armband, Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib did as she talked to Infantino at the World Cup game between Belgium and Canada on Wednesday.German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser also wore the armband with Infantino sitting close by during her country's 2-1 defeat against Japan."It's quite scary for LGBTQ+ communities around the world to see our

For years Tucker Carlson has been targeting U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. The Fox News host and “propagandist” has attacked Buttigieg, the youngest and arguably one of the most popular to hold that Cabinet position, for the high price of gas, inflation, complaints against airlines – including ticket prices and flight delays, speaking out in support of women’s reproductive rights, and for allegedly working “feverishly on the equity agenda.”

An anti-LGBTQ activist who lost her write-in campaign this month for a county clerk position in Utah previously resigned as a teacher over misconduct involving her relationships with students.

The father of the accused Club Q shooter has expressed relief that his child isn’t gay.Aaron Brink, the father of Anderson Lee Aldrich, gave a homophobia-filled interview to San Diego TV station KFMB. Brink, 48, who has worked as a porn star and mixed martial arts fighter and coach, said he wondered what his offspring was doing in a gay bar. Aldrich, 22, is accused of killing five people and injuring nearly 20 at the Colorado Springs nightclub Saturday night.When Brink heard from Aldrich’s defense attorney Sunday, “they started telling me about the incident, a shooting involving multiple people,” Brink said told the station Tuesday.

CNN) -- The 22-year-old accused of carrying out a mass shooting inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, over the weekend is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday for the first time since the attack that left five dead and more than a dozen injured.Anderson Lee Aldrich is expected to attend the initial court hearing via video conference from the El Paso County Jail.The hearing will include "the advisement of the arrest charges as well as advisement of bond conditions," according to Colorado's Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen.Aldrich is set to be held without bond, Allen added.Preliminary charges include five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated crime -- elsewhere called a hate crime -- causing bodily injury, per El Paso County Court's online docket.Formal charges can be expected within about 10 days, Allen said.Ahead of the hearing, attorneys for Aldrich submitted a court filing stating the suspect identifies as non-binary."They use they-them pronouns, and for the purposes of all formal filings, will be addressed as Mx.

The founder of the anti-trans hate group Gays Against Groomers appeared on Fox News Tuesday night and put the blame on the mass shooting at Club Q on gender-affirming health care.Jaimee Michell spoke to Tucker Carlson and suggested that shootings like the one at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., would continue until the “evil agenda” of gender-affirming health care was put to an end.“You know, saying that ‘groomer’ is an anti-LGBTQ+ slur, that is doing irreparable damage to us as a whole, and it’s putting a really large target on our backs,” Michell told Carlson.Carlson and other pundits on Fox News have continued to target LGBTQ+ people in recent years, especially trans people and gender-affirming health care.Michell said her group saw the violence coming “from a mile away,” adding, “Sadly I don’t think it’s going to stop until we end this evil agenda that is attacking children.”Michell and her group argue that gender-affirming care for trans youth is child abuse, which goes against most medical associations' support for gender-affirming care as life-saving medicine.  NBC News’s Kat Tenbarge wrote on Twitter, “Fox News broadcast that mass shootings in LGBTQ spaces will continue unless we adopt laws that medically discriminate against transgender people. This is direct amplification of the threat of mass murder for political gains.” Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the mass shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 people killed and press secretary of LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida, wrote, “Here’s [Gays Against Groomers] founder on Fox with a crystal clear threat: “The mass murders will continue until you do as you’re told”He added, “My blood is boiling all over again.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, Equality Texas, Transgender Education Network Texas, and others filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights on Monday, alleging violations of Title IX.The ACLU is seeking an investigation of the Keller Independent School District (Keller ISD), which banned all books depicting or referencing transgender or nonbinary people earlier this month.The ACLU stated in its letter that the policy was intended to erase the existence of transgender and non-binary people.Three conservative school board members were elected to the seven-member Keller ISD board six months ago, resulting in Keller ISD’s anti-transgender policy.

Most of us are devastated by the horrible tragedy perpetrated on our community at Club Q in Colorado Springs this weekend, with five people shot to death and nearly 20 wounded.While not all of us can go to Colorado Springs and hug every LGBTQ+ person we run into, we can help in other ways. We can take care of each other and reach out to LGBTQ+ people who are feeling isolated right now.

NBC News’ senior reporter Ben Collins is calling for media outlets to have a “come to Jesus moment” – a dose of reality in order to make a major change – in the wake of the Colorado Springs hate crime mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub, Club Q, that left five people dead. A clip of his segment is going viral, with many agreeing the media needs to do a better job.

A CNN guest on Tuesday slammed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker for releasing an ad targeting teen transgender athletes hours after a gunman murdered five people at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs.

The mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs has shaken the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado and across the country. As the full scope of the massacre becomes clear, so do the stories of survival and bravery. Stories of terror that will never leave those affected.

Sunday afternoon U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) posted a tweet about the mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in his district and didn’t mention anything about the victims or that it was a crime of hate. He’s received so many angry responses he turned off responses.

Colorado prosecutors have filed hate crime and murder charges against the suspect in Saturday night’s anti-LGBTQ mass shooting. Five people, including employees of the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q were killed, another 25 were injured. The suspect is believed to have used an AR-15 style rifle.

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is being highly criticized for her role in spreading anti-LGBTQ hate and lies after this weekend’s horrific anti-LGBTQ mass shooting in her home state of Colorado, which left dead five patrons of a nightclub that caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community, and another 25 injured.

In the wake of Saturday's mass shooting at the queer club Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., which left five people dead and at least 18 wounded, advocates point to the increased anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric online and the numerous anti-LGBTQ+ bills drafted in recent months.Far-right influencers have set their sights on the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the transgender community and drag queens, to generate a divisive culture war issue in the run-up to the recent midterm elections. For months, experts have warned that the attacks targeting the LGBTQ+ community were not only bigoted but also dangerous.Now in the wake of the massacre, this time at Club Q, authorities are trying to piece together a motive. However, some say one of the factors is clear: targeted online extremism and stochastic terrorism.While authorities in Colorado Springs have not released why the suspect gunned down at least five patrons at Club Q, the venue called the shooting a "hate attack."A public information officer for the Colorado Springs Police Department said on Sunday that the department is still investigating the reason for the shooting and would not speculate on the motivation.

A man who was in Club Q in Colorado Springs — to celebrate his birthday — when a gunman entered Saturday night has shared his story with a local TV station.The man, Joshua, said he was on the dance floor when he heard the shots and initially thought the sound was part of the music. “When I realized what was going on, I ran to the dressing room immediately,” he told station KRDO. Another customer and a drag performer hunkered down with him there.

A man entered the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just minutes before midnight on Saturday and “immediately” began shooting before patrons bravely intervened to subdue him, police said at a Sunday morning press conference. Five people were killed and at least 18 people were injured. It was the 601st mass shooting in America this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Police officials have identified a 22-year-old man who walked into a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub and began shooting patrons with a long gun.Anderson Lee Aldrich allegedly walked into the club and, without hesitation, began firing around himself shortly before midnight Saturday, Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez said during a news conference Sunday morning.Five people died, and at least 18 were injured during the attack, but officials said the number could rise.According to Vasquez, at least two people inside the club stopped the gunman. “We owe them a great debt of thanks,” he said.The incident lasted just minutes. Police received numerous 911 calls starting at 11:56 p.m., officers were dispatched at 11:57 p.m., an officer arrived at midnight, and the suspect was detained at 12:02 a.m., police said.Lt.

(CNN) -- Five people were killed Saturday night at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to police. Another 18 people were injured in the mass shooting at Club Q.Authorities received numerous 911 calls starting at 11:57 p.m.

(CNN) — "I'm a man and I love men. I do -- please don't be shocked -- have sex with other men. This is normal.