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White House memo claiming that the Biden administration recruited “individuals with ‘severe intellectual’ disabilities in the FAA” under DEI hiring practices. Timothy Shriver, the chairman of the board for the Special Olympics, a sports organization for people with disabilities, said on Instagram that “to our knowledge, no persons with profound intellectual disabilities are employed as air traffic controllers in the U.S. or elsewhere,” reported NBC News.“I don’t know — incompetence might have played a role,” Trump added.

Pete Buttigieg is reportedly “taking a serious look” at running for one of Michigan’s U.S. Senate seats in 2026.“Pete is exploring all of his options on how he can be helpful and continue to serve,” a person close to the former Transportation Secretary told Axios. “He’s honored to be mentioned for this and he’s taking a serious look.”The seat is currently held by Democratic U.S.

Jason Riddle, a Naval veteran from Keene, New Hampshire, was a Trump supporter and a frequent attendee of Trump campaign rallies during the 2020 campaign season. He attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, to see the president one last time before Trump left office following his 2020 defeat.“I didn’t really believe the ‘big lie,’” Riddle told Vermont Public Radio of Trump’s contention that Democrats stole the 2020 election. But he noted that he “more than likely perpetuated” the conspiracy theory on social media.

My Life on the PTSD List, a mordant title tweaking the name of her Emmy-winning Bravo reality show. The show hits Washington, D.C.’s Warner Theatre on February 1.“I feel confident about this show and this material,” Griffin says, ecstatic to have stepped out of showbiz jail and back into sold-out evenings at venues like Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Theatre. “I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t.

can fight.”The auction’s sexy spin was that the winning bidder could head onstage and take their purchased item off the model. That striptease paid off especially kindly with a latex bodysuit and, in one burlesque-worthy case, a tall pair of socks.Amid the risqué fun, ONYX also found time to welcome a new chapter, ONYX High Desert in New Mexico. And Dominion made a call for everyone gathered to come back and represent at World Pride in D.C., never forgetting that Pride is a protest.So is Leather Weekend, in its way, highlighted by this year’s 50th Leather Cocktails on Saturday night, and centerpiece event, the Mr.

order, the U.S. government will no longer recognize transgender identity as valid.Instead, it will recognize only two sexes, male and female, which Trump has declared “not changeable” and “grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”The order defines “male” and “female” according to biological characteristics and a person’s ability to reproduce.Females are defined as those who, “at conception,” are biologically capable of producing “the large reproductive cell,” or eggs.

video posted to social media by Jason Whitley, a reporter for Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA-TV.ENGAGED.State Rep. @VentonJonesTX, a Dallas Democrat, just proposed to his longtime partner, Gregory Scott, Jr. moments after being sworn in.

Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion.Directed by Matthew Miele (Always at the Carlyle), the film, available to rent or purchase on Prime, thrives on fabulous clips and sketches of Mackie’s decades-long parade of iconic creations for the likes of Cher, Diana Ross, Elton John, Tina Turner, Barbra Streisand, Mitzi Gaynor, Bette Midler, and Beyoncé, supported by candid interviews with performers and muses who have worn his sequined, beaded, and embroidered designs.Miele presents fresh sit-downs with a few surprising subjects, as well as many of the one-name-only divas you might expect to see in a Mackie retrospective: Cher, P!nk, Elton, Miley (shown dazzling the 2024 Grammys crowd in a sizzling Mackie gown).Lawrence wore Mackie-designed costumes every Emmy-winning week of The Carol Burnett Show, and adds great personal insight in the film, as does Burnett herself, who, apparently, didn’t know her dear friend Mackie designed Marilyn Monroe’s infamous nude-illusion “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress.One thing Burnett does know, she insists, is that Bob Mackie should have an Oscar by now.

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you if you just know where to look.Case in point: As you walk down the north side of U Street in Northwest D.C., the space that houses D.C.’s newest gay bar features a small, unassuming storefront — blink, and you’ll miss it. A “Lucky Pollo Peruvian Chicken” logo consisting of LED lights, with a cartoon chicken wearing a leather cap and boots, serves as an “Easter egg” to those in the know — the rare external clue that more than what meets the eye lies beneath the exterior of the takeout chicken eatery.Once inside the restaurant, which, despite being under construction, is already equipped with an ATM and three tablets mounted to the wall, and where late-night revelers will eventually place their orders, your eyes inevitably drift to the right, almost by instinct, as you survey the space.

The New York Times.The bill now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate. But due to the filibuster, seven Democrats would have to vote with Republicans to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate on the bill before it receives an up-or-down vote.

The Northern Virginia bar’s owner, Freddie Lutz, told Metro Weekly that the bar had received a veiled threat from an anonymous caller the day before the fire.“He basically said, ‘We’re going to fuck you up, we’re going to fuck up people at the bar, and then we’re going to go beat up women, whatever that means,'” Lutz said.The same anonymous caller called back with a nearly identical message just hours after the fire was put out.It remains unclear whether the caller has any connection to the fire. Lutz said the would-be arsonist used some type of item — unknown at this time — to set a fire inside the vestibule at the bar’s main entrance, which opens up to an enclosed patio.The fire singed the front doors and the roof of the vestibule but did not spread to the awning, the rest of the patio, or other parts of the building.

bill into law on January 8, arguing that it strikes the right balance by allowing parents to have more of a say in what content their children are exposed to in schools. “[Parents are] the first teachers, they’re the best teachers, and that’s very, very important,” DeWine told reporters at the Ohio Statehouse, arguing the bill keeps parents informed of what’s going on in schools.The law is a response to a larger trend across the United States in which conservatives are immensely critical of public education.

announced the change on January 7, noting that it was eliminating its third-party fact-checking system and replacing it with a user-based “Community Notes” model similar to the one employed by X.Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg further announced the company would be relocating its content moderation teams from California to Texas to “help remove the concern that biased employees are overly censoring content.”All of it is being done in the name of promoting “free expression,” with Meta kowtowing to right-wing MAGA critics who claim the platform has limited the visibility of posts from conservatives or and has censored “free speech” as it pertains to religious or social issues, such as users who refuse to recognize transgender identity as valid.Perhaps most appallingly, Meta has updated its “Hateful Conduct” policy to allow the use of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and offensive terms, according to The Verge.In its revised policy, Meta defines prohibited “hateful conduct” as direct attacks against people — rather than concepts or institutions — on the basis of protected characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or affliction with a serious disease.It also considers age a protected characteristic when referenced along with another protected characteristic.However, it appears to have carved out a host of exemptions that will specifically allow certain types of hate-based speech directed at LGBTQ individuals on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.For example, Meta claims that it prohibits “calls for exclusion or segregation when targeting people based on protected characteristics.” However, it will allow users to argue in favor of excluding LGBTQ

mirrors actions taken by other companies to distance themselves from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which grades corporations on their commitment to LGBTQ inclusion, including the presence or lack of nondiscrimination policies, LGBTQ-friendly family or spousal benefits, and LGBTQ-inclusive health care coverage.McDonald’s said it would rename its diversity team the “Global Inclusion Team” and shift the focus of that team’s work.“We are proud of the work that we do at McDonald’s,” the company said in an email sent to franchise owners, employees, and suppliers. “We will continue to drive business results through all three legs of the McDonald’s stool, specifically with our people practices, by fueling economic impact and innovation through our robust supply chain and by building a franchisee pipeline that thrives in the communities we serve and fuels our growth.“It takes all of us to continue to create an environment where we can all be successful,” the statement concluded.

Facebook and Instagram accounts last week, writing that he hid his sexual orientation — and his relationship with his partner — from fans because he believed it would hinder his athletic career.The posts feature photos and short video clips of the couple being affectionate.“For a long time, I wondered if I would ever find the strength within myself to write these words,” Stekala wrote. “For years, I lived in the shadow of fear, in hiding, afraid that who I truly am might destroy me….For years, I lived in hiding, fearing that who I am could undermine everything I have worked so hard for. But today, I no longer want to run away.

The gay community in D.C. has been all abuzz ever since Uproar, an LGBTQ bar that has become a major hub for the District’s bear community — as well as the adjacent “daddy” and leather scenes – launched a campaign earlier this month to help the bar keep up with its rent payments and utility bills.Tammy Truong, the owner of Uproar, posted an appeal asking for financial help in response to “unexpected costs” in a message on the bar’s website, and on GoFundMe, where supporters can donate to the cause.

Jessie and Bunk’d, and in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, approaches just about everything in his life.“I had gotten a theater audition last year and my agent was just like, ‘I don’t know if this piece is what you’re going to be into,'” Brar says during a lively video call. “And I ended up loving the piece, but there was some miscommunication, dah, dah, dah, dah.

GoFundMe campaign on its Facebook page on Sunday, Dec. 8, urging people to click through and donate.

Grindr Unwrapped,” a compilation of cultural trends, sexual habits, and other statistics regarding its users.Over the course of 2024, Grindr’s users sent more than 130 billion chats, and “tapped” fellow users over 10 billion times.Additionally, more than 2 billion private photo albums were shared. And, yeah, that’s a lot of dicks.Grindr surveyed its worldwide user base, in addition to compiling anonymous, aggregated profile data from user accounts, to identify sex, dating, travel, and pop culture preferences and trends.For example, Grindr users selected the “missionary” position as the most popular “Sex Position of the Year,” followed by Backshots, a position allowing for deeper penetration; the “69” position; the “side” position; and spooning.“Missionary often gets dismissed as ‘boring’ or ‘vanilla,’ but this view overlooks the profound intimacy and intensity it can offer; eye contact, passionate kissing, the sweat of your partner drip[ping] onto your chin — these moments aren’t for the faint of heart,” Grindr sex and relationships expert Zachary Zane said in a statement.“Each year, ‘Unwrapped’ is our love letter to the queer community,” Tristan Pineiro, Grindr’s senior vice president of brand marketing and communications, said in a press release.

The Voice. As a contestant on the current 26th season of the reality series, J.Paul has been granted broad national exposure to the show’s millions of viewers, who have seen him give several performances showcasing his stunning and sturdy soprano-rooted, multi-octave vocal spread.

report issued by the U.S. Surgeon General’s office finds that LGBTQ Americans are more than twice as likely as their straight counterparts to have used electronic cigarettes.According to the report, based on data from 2019 to 2021, nearly half of bisexual adults have tried some form of e-cigarette, including e-cigars, e-pipes, e-hookahs, vaping pens, and hookah pens, compared with 31.8% percent of gay men and 26.7% of lesbians.Statistics for transgender Americans’ tobacco use were not widely available for analysis in all areas of the report.The report found similar disparities among young adults and high school students based on their sexual orientation.For example, 42% of young adults who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual reported trying e-cigarettes, compared with 30.3% of their straight counterparts.