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government-sanctioned discrimination against LGBTQ people.In 2014, John published an open letter condemning Russia’s “gay propaganda” law, which was passed under the guise of “protecting” minors from being exposed to expressions of LGBTQ identity or gender nonconformity. The law was later expanded to apply to adults as well.The prosecutor’s office cast the Elton John AIDS Foundation as undermining Russian societal values.“When a musician plays along with the promoters of democracy, you get propaganda,” it wrote on its official Telegram channel.

Valley News about a listening tour he launched visiting all ten of New Hampshire’s counties, a step that usually precedes an official campaign announcement. “We’re getting out there and having lots of conversations with folks in all corners of the Granite State about what the path forward should look like, and I really trust and value the feedback of this state,” Pappas told the paper.

permitted to be displayed in or flown outside government buildings and schools include the American flag, the Utah state flag, military flags, the Olympic and Paralympic flags, college or university flags, tribal flags, and historic versions of other approved flags that might be used for educational purposes.“Taxpayer-funded entities shouldn’t be promoting political agendas,” Lee said on social media after Gov. Spencer Cox (R) allowed it to become law without his signature.

“People just really wanna go to their happy place right now,” says Heather Barnes. “And Awesome Con is a happy place for a lot of people. Some people look forward to it all year long.

Sinners and The Wedding Banquet to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, plus whatever’s made it to your favorite streaming service by then.The Woman in the Yard — Fresh off the streaming success of Netflix thriller Carry-On, director Jaume Collet-Serra re-ups the dynamite Danielle Deadwyler to star in this horror as a mom whose family is unsettled, to say the least, by a mysterious black-veiled stranger who shows up in a chair on their front lawn. Once the woman starts making ominous pronouncements like, “Today’s the day,” it’s only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose in the household, maybe in a literal sense.

Purpose — Cozy up to the dinner table, pass the grub, and watch the sparks fly with the Jaspers, a well-heeled Black family with political clout and lots of secrets. Phylicia Rashad directs the New York transfer of Chicago’s Steppenwolf theater production, written by one of the hottest playwrights of the moment, Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins, who brought us last year’s Tony-winning Appropriate. Runs through July 6.Buena Vista Social Club — When this show made its world premiere Off-Broadway at the end of 2023, one critic declared it “an irresistible tropical vacation…a gateway and a getaway.” Based on the Grammy award-winning album, it’s set in 1950s Cuba and follows a group of young musicians who have their days in the sun until a revolution upends their lives and country.

202-399-7993www.atlasarts.orgFredgren Studio Theatre 3443 Carlin Springs Rd. Falls Church, Va. 703-778-3008www.balletnova.org10534 York Road Cockeysville, Md. 21030 410-667-7974www.baltimoreballet.com45 West Preston St. Baltimore, Md. 410-752-8558www.theatreproject.orgCDP Media Lounge 700 12th St.

Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur’s military service during World War II was reportedly scrubbed from the U.S. Department of Defense website as part of the Trump administration’s overzealous efforts to purge anything related to diversity or LGBTQ identity.Last week, X user @swiftillery noted that the article on Arthur — first published in October 2021 — had been removed from the Defense Department website.According to The Advocate, the Internet Archive documented a “404 — Page Not Found” message at the URL where the article had been housed.Bonus chapter of Women’s History Month in honor of the program scrubbing DOD web articles.

purge the federal government of — and to pressure the private sector to eliminate — diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and programs, including anything that acknowledges the existence of transgender identity.Most of the studies funded by the revoked grant money — which had been awarded by the National Institutes of Health, an agency under the purview of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — were related to sexual minorities, including research focused on HIV prevention, cancer, youth suicide, and bone health.

mini-documentary from All Out podcast host Jon Dean, who traveled to Cambridgeshire to speak with some of Lee’s protégées.Lee has built a number of different sets at the Cambridgeshire university that his students can use for free to film content.One room, dubbed the “chav’s living room,” is a replica of the council estate flat where Lee lived growing up. Other sets include bedrooms, a gym, and even a Portaloo with no bottom where another actor can sit beneath the toilet seat.He provides advice on the practical side of the business, looking at things like paying taxes, getting regular STI checks, setting up accounts to derive income from content, picking an audience, and promoting content.Lee told Dean during a recent episode of All Out that men of all sexualities travel from all over the world to see if they’re interested in pursuing a career as an adult content creator.“A lot of people think they know what to do,” Lee said of those who attend the university.

Cincinnati Pride announced it will cut ties with several corporate sponsors, sacrificing tens of thousands of dollars, in response to the companies’ decisions to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives.The organization acknowledged that it would be a struggle to replace the funding for its annual Pride parade. But it has also said it is essential to stand by its values, which include respect for the history and diverse culture of the LGBTQ community.Cincinnati Pride says it doesn’t want to work with corporate sponsors that are viewed as hostile to those values and would rather work with companies that have demonstrated a genuine, ongoing commitment to LGBTQ causes throughout the calendar year, according to Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT.“Organizations that, I would say, walk the walk as much as they talk the talk,” Jake Hitch, a board member with Cincinnati Pride, said of the types of sponsors with whom it would like to partner.

ruling, Rosenthal found that the Queer Empowerment Council, which organizes the event, was likely to succeed in proving the ban violates the First Amendment. Rosenthal’s ruling comes after the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents passed a resolution in February banning drag performances from all 11 state university campuses on the grounds that drag — specifically, the idea of biological male performers dressing as women — is allegedly offensive and demeaning to women, “inconsistent” with the university’s core values, and creates a “hostile environment” for women in violation of federal law.The Queer Empowerment Council sued the university, arguing that the ban violates students’ and performers’ First Amendment rights and engaged in censorship or viewpoint discrimination against those who either do not find drag offensive or don’t hold socially conservative political beliefs.Rosenthal, a George H.W.

NOTUS about how Democrats should approach people with reservations or genuine questions about transgender inclusion. “If, for instance, we want to have a majoritarian coalition — not just electorally, but specifically on issues around trans rights — that, by necessity, is going to have to include people who have a range of thoughts.“A binary choice between being all-on or all-off is not constructive for anyone,” McBride added.

illegal to possess and inhale poppers, punishable with a fine of $500 or six months in jail.According to the Alabama Reflector, lawmakers in Alabama are poised to pass a law prohibiting the sale of poppers altogether, with possession punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. Distribution would be punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.

Well done,” wrote one user. “If people have the nerve to wear a symbol of hate and division into an establishment that promotes the opposite, you are well within your rights to express your displeasure and refuse service to those with intention to intimidate, insult and disrespect an specific group of people; the LGBTQIA+ community.”“MAGA gear in an LGBTQ+ bar? That’s like wearing a fur coat to a PETA meeting,” commented another user.Steven Bourasa, a Trump supporter, believes he is the person who prompted the nightclub to adopt the ban.

refused to recognize as an official campus organization.In the surprise move, the Orthodox Jewish educational institution said that it would end litigation related to its refusal to recognize the group, which it initially claimed was due to religious objections.As part of the settlement, the club — formerly known as the Yeshiva University Pride Alliance — would be renamed “Hareni” and would be allowed to operate with the same rights and privileges guaranteed to other student groups. Hareni will be allowed to publicly use the term “LGBTQ+” in communications and promotional materials, access university resources, and hold events on campus, such as charitable projects, movie and discussion nights, panel discussions, and networking events.

Click Here to open the issue in full.Alden Theatre: Jason Robert Brown & FriendsAwesome Con 2025Barns at Wolf TrapBethesda Film FestivalBirchmere: Lady Blackbird, Scott ThompsonBroadway at the National: Kimberly AkimboEveryman Theatre: The Mystery of Irma VepGay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C.: International Choral FestivalGeorge Mason Center for the ArtsGlen Echo Park: ExhibitionsHillwood MuseumIndie Stage CollectiveKennedy Center: Earth to SpaceKennedy Center: Spring ArtsNational PhilharmonicOlney Theatre Center: Waitress, Sleepova, Senior ClassShakespeare Theatre: Uncle VanyaSignature Theatre: In the Heights, Hedwig and the Angry InchStrathmoreAwesome Con 2025Bethesda Film FestivalCherry DCGay Men’s Chorus of Washington, D.C.: International Choral FestivalGlen Echo Park: Art Walk in the ParkTeam DC: Night of ChampionsTeam DC: Night Out GamesWashington Wizards: Pride NightWorld Pride DCCherry DCGreen Lantern DCNumber NineShaw’s TavernTrade Bar DCBite the FruitCity DogsDC Quit NowDignity WashingtonGranite & Marble ExpressJade FitnessMary’s HouseMiss Pixie’s Furnishings & WhatnotPlease click here to subscribe for FREE to our weekly magazine and newsletter.To inquire about advertising in Metro Weekly or on MetroWeekly.com, please Click Here.Browse back issues at our digital bookcase: Click here.

Lia Thomas to compete in 2022.Thomas originally competed for the men’s swim team but competed on the women’s team following her transition.She complied with what NCAA regulations regarding transgender athlete eligibility were at the time, undergoing hormone therapy for a year before competing.In 2022, Thomas began breaking school and meet records, becoming the first transgender woman to win an NCAA swimming championship medal in the Division I women’s 500-yard freestyle event.She also placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle — tying with Riley Gaines, who has since marshaled her anger over Thomas’ participation into becoming an anti-transgender activist — and eighth in the 100-yard freestyle at the championships.Since taking office, President Trump has promised to direct the Department of Education to investigate schools that allow (or have allowed) transgender athletes to compete on sports teams aligning with their gender identity.Trump made that promise to investigate specific colleges with known cases of transgender athletes while signing an executive order barring transgender females from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.That order threatens to strip funds away from those schools, allowing transgender athletes to participate on female-designated sports teams.The federal money — which came from the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services — was suspended in a separate review of discretionary federal money going to universities, according to a White House official, reports The Associated Press.A senior White House official confirmed to NBC News that the agencies paused the funds specifically because of Thomas’ 2022 participation.

The Center Square.The bill directs school boards to enact penalties for students who act in such a manner, including suspension or expulsion.Additionally, the measure allows the Texas Attorney General to impose a fine of $10,000 for a first offense — and $25,000 for subsequent offenses — if teachers and administrators fail to stop students from behaving like animals.Gerdes’ measure would also amend the Texas Family Code to redefine mental or emotional injury to a child as including “allowing or encouraging the child to develop a dependence on or belief that non-human behaviors are societally acceptable.”Under the code, allowing such behavior would be considered tantamount to subjecting a child to harm, including sexual abuse, human trafficking, prostitution, child pornography, child marriage, and use of controlled substances.Gerdes filed the bill in response to feedback from constituents, and a furry-related incident that allegedly occurred at the Smithville Independent School District.He did not elaborate on what the incident entailed or when it occurred — although he claimed that the superintendent confirmed the incident had taken place — and no known news reports in recent years have covered any such alleged incident.Gerdes’ obsession with furries relies on a common right-wing trope that has been repeated by Republicans who have sought political office.

Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue, a warmly loving, gut-bustingly funny stage parody of the hit NBC series that ran for seven seasons from 1985 to 1982, and lives on in perpetuity in reruns. Bernier portrays Dorothy, made iconic by the indomitable and legendary late Bea Arthur, for whom the 6’3″ actor is also a dead ringer.To prepare for the role, which Bernier plays in full drag, he “consumed everything that Bea Arthur had ever done — and we’re talking from Maude to her brief gig on the Star Wars Holiday Special to her brief voiceover role in Futurama.

Presence with the wily spy thriller Black Bag.Soderbergh and Presence screenwriter David Koepp load up the sex, lies, and video files for this taut tale of a search for the snake hiding within a nest of secret agents. The top agent, George Woodhouse, portrayed with cool determination by Michael Fassbender, is tasked with rooting out a mole embedded in a black-ops division of British intelligence.