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Bonus Track.Mop-haired teen misfit George (Joe Anders), entering his final year at St. Sebastian’s Catholic School in small-town West Yorkshire, England, isn’t all that different from his peers.

In the Heights, they can always return again.First, because barely a season goes by that a production doesn’t spring to life somewhere near you, wherever you may be. For the DMV this season, that means Signature Theatre’s terrific new production, directed by James Vásquez.

Grindr for Equality, this year marking its 10th anniversary. The effort notes that in 2023 alone, it “provided more than $1.5 million in direct financial aid to more than 150 LGBTQ+ organizations worldwide.” Niaupari is this particular effort’s senior manager.So, what does a day in the life of Grindr for Equality’s lead look like?“A typical day is hard, because it always depends on where I am in the world,” offers the gender nonbinary, transmasculine Niaupari, speaking from Ecuador.

died from “acute intoxication” stemming from a mix of fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol, and other drugs, according to the city medical examiner’s office.Ramirez’s body was left in the back of a taxi in April 2022, while Umberger died in a townhouse a month later, while his attackers took photos and videos of them partying next to his lifeless body.At trial, prosecutors presented text messages showing that DeMaio was responsible for obtaining the fentanyl used to incapacitate the victims. Prosecutors also presented the jury with cell phone tower data, text exchanges, security video footage, and other evidence to track the defendants’ movements as they carried out their robberies and went on shopping binges with victims’ money.The jury also heard accounts from other men who had survived similar drugging encounters.One man described waking up bruised and alone in a hotel room with his credit card and phones missing.

METRO WEEKLY: You rose through the ranks to become the executive director of the Atlas. How did you first connect with the Atlas?JARROD BENNETT: My introduction to Atlas came through the Gay Men’s Chorus. One of the first cabarets I did with them was part of Intersections.

Hand to God who spends most of Robert Askins’ raucous comedy with his fist inserted firmly up another performer in the cast.It’s not weird, in practice. It’s puppetry, pulled off exquisitely in Josh Sticklin’s staging of the saucy Broadway hit, led here by Drew Sharpe portraying rural Texas teen Jason, and also Jason’s emotional support puppet Tyrone.Jason and Tyrone might be of the same person, but are not of the same mind.

Eclipse, a sculpture invitational now on display at The Athenaeum in Northern Virginia. “You look at a painting, but you react and interact with sculpture.”The show features a stunning, imaginative assortment of works by eleven area artists, including Michael Enn Sirvet, Carol Prusa, Michael Price, Murat Sener, and Tim Tate, a gay artist known for his elegant work with glass. Its mission, according to the gallery statement, is to examine “light and shadow, liminal space, and the passage of time.”“I found the whole experience really quite wonderful,” says Sigethy, who had never curated a show before.

assault of a gay man whom they reportedly lured to a house using the gay dating app Grindr.According to the Cecil Whig newspaper, one of the students, Zachary Leinemann, posed as a 16-year-old boy on the app, seeking to lure a 40-year-old man to an off-campus apartment for a sexual encounter on October 15, 2024. The age of consent in Maryland, in most cases, is 16 years old.Leinemann and the man allegedly corresponded through first Grindr and then Snapchat to set up an in-person meeting.When the man — whose name has not been revealed — arrived at the apartment, a group of 15 students affiliated with the university’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity ambushed and assaulted him.According to court records, the victim suffered a broken rib and multiple bruises.

second-degree murder in relation to the death of 52-year-old John Walter Lay at the city’s West Dog Park on February 2, 2024.The jury also failed to find Radford guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter with a weapon.Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office had sought to attach a hate crime enhancement to the charges. Had he been convicted, Radford could have been sentenced to life in prison.Prosecutors were impeded by the fact that there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting and no surveillance video of the altercation.

executive order from Donald Trump that seeks to compel government contractors to drop pro-diversity initiatives and programs.Those found in violation risk being rejected for opportunities to contract with the government on the grounds that, in the Trump administration’s eyes, pro-diversity policies constitute a form of illegal discrimination incompatible with the country’s civil rights laws.In response to Trump’s executive order, Booz Allen announced it would close its DEI department, remove diversity goals from employee and executive priorities, and eliminate all references to “DEI” in internal and external communications and training, as reported by Bloomberg News, which obtained a recording of a virtual company “town hall” meeting at which the changes were discussed. Booz Allen will also ban employees from using pronouns or accessing bathrooms that don’t match their assigned sex at birth if that is the rule of the government agency where an employee is assigned.“While our existing people programs comply with law, it is clear from these executive orders and other public statements, that the definition of what’s allowed is changing, so we must make changes,” Chief People Officer Aimee George Leary is quoted as saying.

claims the five school districts are violating President Donald Trump’s recent executive order preventing schools that receive federal funds from affirming trans students’ gender identities.The group says that if all five jurisdictions are found to have violated Title IX and still refuse to end their gender-affirming policies, then those school districts should be stripped of all federal funds. “In each of those school districts, a ‘gender expansive or transgender student’ has access to the sex-segregated common restrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex because it is consistent with their ability to be safe and comfortable in their subjective sense of ‘gender identity,'” the complaint reads.“But when other students whose ‘gender identity’ is the same as their biological sex object on the grounds that they now feel unsafe and uncomfortable in the common sex-segregated restrooms and locker rooms that have traditionally been designated exclusively for their sex, those students’ only option is to use a private restroom or an alternative that ‘minimize[s] the loss of instructional time.’“In other words, the relevant policies provide greater rights to students whose ‘gender identity’ does not match their biological sex than it does to students whose ‘gender identity’ matches their biological sex.

Schmigadoon!, a rousing musical stage adaptation of the Emmy-winning Apple TV series.Series co-creator Cinco Paul, who wrote all the songs for the two seasons of the loving sendup of musicals, also wrote the book, music, and lyrics translating Schmigadoon! from TV to stage. Condensing season one of the series into a robust two acts, Paul provides the streamlined vessel, and director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Death Becomes Her) expertly steers it to the magical town of Schmigadoon and back.Gattelli also choreographed both seasons of the series, and knows his way around these songs, these characters, and this wacky little burg where life is like a Golden Age musical, with showtunes and situations inspired by Oklahoma!, The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Brigadoon, and more.Gattelli’s staging has a knack for moving and grouping the large cast of townspeople around Scott Pask’s playfully theatrical sets, drawing focus to exactly where it needs to be.

Reuters.“The event was…merely based on pleasure that they wanted to seek,” Indradi said, adding that police discovered condoms and HIV medications at the party. The party’s three lead organizers were named criminal suspects and were accused of facilitating “pornography” services, which can carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.While homosexuality is not illegal in most of Indonesia, including Jakarta, it is considered taboo in the Muslim-majority nation.The province of Aceh enforces some provisions of Islamic criminal law (sharia), such as canings or beatings for same-sex relations, selling or producing alcohol, gambling, and adultery.While the Jakarta hotel room raid appears to have uncovered a legitimate sex party, LGBTQ activists have accused authorities of abusing anti-pornography laws by claiming even innocent gatherings or parties hosted by people in private homes or businesses are “sex parties.”“In the last 10 or 12 years, pretty conservative Islamic groups began to focus more and more on issues related to the LGBTQ community and to women being uncovered,” John Sifton, the Asia Advocacy Director for Human Rights Watch, told Metro Weekly in an interview, noting that previously such groups had focused on scapegoating religious minorities.According to Sifton, a growing amount of anti-LGBTQ sentiment reached its apex in 2017, when police began conducting raids of homes, bars, nightclubs, and other venues where LGBTQ people were believed to be congregating and arresting attendees.The number of raids has tapered off in recent years, although they continue to occur.

Bangkok Post.Anukool said there is growing acceptance of diverse gender identities, and acknowledged that transgender individuals may often require hormone therapy to assist them in transitioning until their physical appearance aligns with their gender identity.As part of its budget planning for 2025, the National Health Security Board approved 145.63 million baht to provide health services, including hormone therapy, to approximately 200,000 transgender citizens of the country.According to the Asia Pacific Transgender Network, there are believed to be approximately 314,808 transgender individuals living in Thailand.Thailand has long been considered one of the more LGBTQ-friendly countries in Asia. Its public opinion polls show overwhelming support for same-sex marriage rights, and it has a reputation as a destination where transgender individuals can seek out gender-affirming health care.Because the country’s economy depends heavily on tourism, it has begun courting LGBTQ tourists.

international travel advisory page. The department’s “International Travel” section on the website, which used to be designated for “LGBTQI+” travelers, now only denotes “LGB Travelers”“LGB travelers can face special challenges abroad,” the website reads.

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.

Tulsi Gabbard has been under scrutiny ever since President Donald Trump first nominated her to be the next Director of National Intelligence.Senators, including many Republicans, have expressed concerns about the then-congresswoman’s 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and her past adulation for Edward Snowden, a former NSA intelligence contractor who leaked classified information.Democrats have also expressed concerns about past comments the Democrat-turned-Republican made appearing to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Senators raised questions about those issues during hearings on January 30.Meanwhile, the Daily Beast published a story that seems to contradict past comments from Gabbard regarding her spiritual “guru,” Chris Butler, founder of the Science of Identity Foundation, an offshoot of the Hare Krishna movement, which describes itself as Hindu.The 43-year-old Gabbard has been a devout follower of Butler (who has taken the name Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa, or “Jagad Guru”) since childhood, when her family joined his religious movement.Gabbard, the first Hindu elected to Congress, described Butler as her “guru dev” in a 2015 video.

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.

On Thursday, January 23, the wholesale goods retailer considered a shareholder proposal – put forth by a right-leaning advocacy organization, the National Center for Public Policy Research – asking the company to issue a report outlining the risks associated with keeping DEI policies in place. One such risk is the threat of boycotts from conservative consumers, many of whom claim that DEI initiatives disregard merit and disadvantage whites, males, and heterosexuals, as well as others who are not part of historically marginalized communities.However, 98% of shareholders ultimately voted against the measure, reports Fox Business.Costco’s board of directors had previously – and unanimously – come out against the proposal, arguing that efforts to diversify the company’s workforce, as well as its suppliers, help the company offer consumers a wider range of products while also enhancing their interactions with employees who reflect the surrounding community.The National Center for Public Policy Research had argued that the company could potentially be sued over DEI initiatives, citing a Supreme Court ruling finding that race-based preferences in college admissions are unconstitutional and violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

The U.S. Senate voted 68-29 to confirm Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, making him the highest-ranking gay official in the United States.Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, will be tasked with steering President Donald Trump’s economic agenda over the next four years.