The deputy director of the new gun violence prevention office at the White House has been in Lewiston, Maine, helping the community recover from a mass shooting

George Stephanopoulos' wife Ali Wentworth is learning how to deal with being an empty nester as their younger daughter recently began college

Eying each other across a stream of traffic, rival Pakistani biryani joints vie for customers, serving a fiery medley of meat, rice and spice that...

A 72-year-old crocodile farmer was pulled in when one of the animals grabbed his stick.

Thailand's constitutional court has suspended leading prime ministerial candidate and winner of May's nationwide elections Pita Limjaroenrat from being a lawmaker, the latest set-back for his hugely popular progressive opposition party following nearly a decade of turbulent military-backed rule.

VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 19, 2023--

Anti-LGBT+ laws put in place by Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis have triggered a “mass migration” out of the state, a Pride organiser has said. This comes as several transgender people are reportedly taking to GoFundMe to solicit donations to move out of the state. Several Pride groups in the Sunshine State have cancelled their celebrations that were set to take place during the month of June after the new laws have left the community worried about possible blowback. The President and CEO of Lake County Pride Danielle Olivani said on The Daily Beast’s The New Abnormal podcast that their events are going ahead. “It’s not exactly being welcomed by the community where we’re having it. In fact, yesterday I just got a cease-and-desist from them, telling me not to mention them at all. They don’t want this to take place, but we’re gonna persevere,” they said. “We’re gonna have this Pride, because we’re fully within our rights to do so. And you know, we’re just gonna deal with things as they go. But right now, it’s a mixture of apprehension, fear. Yet, I’m hopeful at the same time.” Speaking about what it’s like to be a part of the LGBT+ community in rural Florida, they said, “there’s no tolerance here”. They added that the new restrictions have especially affected younger members of the community. Olivani said that the legislation signed by Mr DeSantis has led to a “mass migration” out of Florida. “It’s too much,” Olivani said. The number of trans people asking for donations on GoFundMe to leave Florida could be in the dozens or hundreds, according to The Advocate. GoFundMe spokesperson Brian Hill said in a statement that “in the wake of more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills being introduced in state legislatures across the United States in 2023, families and trans individuals are looking to leave their respective state as they could face more obstacles when it comes to accessing essential services related to healthcare as well as education”. Floridian Sage Chelf is trying to finance their move to Illinois on the platform. Chelf, a trans woman living in Orlando, wrote on their fundraising page that “due to the new bill Desantis signed into law SB 254 I can no longer be provided medication from my doctor to continue my transition”. “At this point, I only have a week’s worth left of my medication. On top of that, the new bathroom ban bill HB 1521 could get me arrested for using a public restroom of the gender I identify with,” they added. “Due to fear for my own safety and human rights, I have decided to try and escape Florida as soon as I possibly can. I’m trying to move to Illinois to be with the love of my life and also to settle down in a state I consider to be an LGBTQ+ safe haven.” “I just wanna live in a place where I don’t live in fear. Thank you all so much any help is highly appreciated. I’ve never done this before so figured I’d set the goal at like $2,500,” they said. Trans woman Juliet, 20, wrote on GoFundMe that “Florida grows increasingly hostile toward trans folk and laws are expanding to prevent people like me from receiving life-saving gender-affirming health care, such as ones seen in FL SB 254. I’m asking for you to help me flee this state”. Violet Rin, a trans woman hoping to move to New Mexico, wrote that “Florida continues to get worse”. “SB254 along with a slew of other Anti-trans bills have passed, and SB254 affects me directly. My care provider for my HRT had to drop me, and so many trans people in Florida are being dropped by their care providers,” Rin added. Earlier this month, Mr DeSantis signed a number of bills aimed at transgender people. The bills limit gender-affirming care for minors, ban people from using restrooms matching their gender identity, and block people from using their preferred pronouns in schools. Restrictions on drag shows were also imposed. “We are going to remain a refuge of sanity and a citadel of normalcy, and kids should have an upbringing that reflects that,” Mr DeSantis said when signing the bills at an evangelical school in Tampa. The bills were swiftly criticised by advocates for LGBT+ rights. Former Florida state representative Carlos Guillermo Smith became the first openly LGBT+ Latino to be elected to the state legislature. On Twitter, he said that the bills are “revoking our freedoms and ruining people’s lives in his quest for political power”. “We will NOT be erased,” he said. “We will RESIST. We will FIGHT BACK. We will proudly RAISE OUR FLAGS. We will WIN.” State Representative Anna V Eskamani said Mr DeSantis is pushing “an extreme agenda that is fueled by disinformation, isolating already marginalised people”. “In Florida, diversity is our strength – not a weakness or something to demonize and be afraid of,” she added. LGBT+ advocacy group Lambda Legal said in a statement that the bills revealed a “callous disregard for LGBTQ+ Floridians and, in particular, trans youth by facilitating homophobia and transphobia and exposing this most vulnerable population to discrimination, harassment, and abuse”. The bills include limitations on gender-affirming treatments for minors, such as puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery, The Independent previously reported. Part of the legislation states that that kind of care is child abuse and may lead to children being temporarily removed from their families, despite that it’s supported by medical officials. Democratic Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones, who is gay, told CNN that “they have cloaked themselves in being the party of less government and parental rights, and what we’re seeing now is the total opposite”. “Every other parent has the right to raise their child the way that they want to as long as your child is not gay, trans, bisexual. That’s freedom for some parents but not for all parents,” he added. Read More Trump loyalist floats ‘gross’ theory that Casey DeSantis is ‘exaggerating’ cancer story Ron DeSantis news – live: Florida governor vows to ‘destroy leftism’ as Disney governing board appointee quits Ted Cruz faces bipartisan fire for criticising Uganda’s new anti-LGBT+ law Why did Donald Trump turn on Kayleigh McEnany? Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin sends 100 National Guard soldiers to US-Mexican border AP News Digest 3:20 am

The impasse created by GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military nominations is raising the stakes of the Senate's final week in session as lawmakers are working frantically behind the scenes to try and find a solution that would get the Alabama senator to back off his slow walking of more than 270 military promotions.

Ukraine claims to have made advances in the face of “extremely fierce” fighting during its counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s forces, and has suggested Russia is losing a “staggering” 900 troops a day. As the lower house of Russia’s parliament gave its initial backing to plans to enable Moscow to enlist suspected or convicted criminals to bolster its army in Ukraine, Kyiv’s deputy defence minister claimed advances of several hundred metres near Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia. The claimed advances – which contrast with Russian claims to have repelled attacks – preface a critical Nato meeting this week where Kyiv will urge the West to greenlight delivery of fighter jets, with senior Kyiv official Yuriy Sak telling The Independent that if “had we had F-16s, by now the situation would have been different”. Meanwhile, Mr Putin said that if necessary Moscow would use weapons with depleted uranium in response to reports that the United States would supply such weapons to Ukraine, as his ally Alexander Lukashenko claimed Belarus had begun to receive Russian tactical nuclear weapons three times more powerful than those dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Read More Russia losing 900 soldiers a day during counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials claim Putin mixes threats of new offensive in Ukraine with offers of peace talks UN nuclear chief says large Ukraine atomic power plant held by Russia faces 'dangerous situation'

By Luc Cohen NEW YORK Sam Bankman-Fried, the indicted founder of the bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, is due

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez's date of separation has been listed as February 20, 2023

Martin Scorsese's star-studded 'Killers of the Flower Moon' is based on the Osage murders that took place between 1921 and 1926