
Fairness Campaign director warns of LGBTQ setbacks in Kentucky
Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Campaign, a Kentucky LGBTQ advocacy organization, delivers an impassioned speech on the status of LGBTQ issues in the commonwealth, and across the nation, ahead of a Pride flag raising at Louisville Metro Hall to mark the start of Pride Month.

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New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Caitlyn Jenner flees Israel after being forced to hide in bomb shelter in face of Iran attacks
Caitlyn Jenner has fled Israel after Iran's ongoing missile attacks forced her to hide in a bomb shelter. The 75-year-old Olympic gold medalist flew to Tel Aviv last Thursday to be the guest of honor at a Pride parade the next day, which was then canceled because of the air attacks — and was pictured drinking a glass of wine in a bunker as missiles landed overhead. 'I am happy to stand with Israel today, now more than ever,' she wrote Friday, sharing the photo of missiles streaking over the Israeli city. 'Pray for us all. We will prevail.' 7 Caitlyn Jenner at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Arnon Bossani via State of Israel 7 Caitlyn Jenner and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai on June 11th. X/@MayorOfTelAviv 7 An explosion erupts from a missile fired from Iran in Tel Aviv, Israel. ATEF SAFADI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 'I am a friend, advocate, ally, and thank you to the Israeli people for making me family,' she wrote Saturday, while also praising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the preemptive attack on Iran's nuclear experts and facilities. 'The leadership by Bibi, and Israel's closest ally President Donald Trump will not allow this reckless violence towards so many [to] continue. Israeli jets overhead in Iran now,' Jenner wrote. '(Bye bye terrorists). We will liberate Iran's citizens.' 7 Caitlyn Jenner landing at the airport in Israel in a video posted to instagram in June. Instagram/@caitlynjenner Jenner eventually crossed by land into neighboring Jordan on Sunday after flights out of Israel were canceled, the Times of Israel reported. She was then due to fly back home to Los Angeles from Jordan. The Pride parade, the largest in the Middle East, was canceled because of the ongoing bombardments. 7 Caitlyn Jenner attends a press conference, prior to her attendance at the Tel Aviv Pride Parade on June 13. REUTERS 7 Caitlyn Jenner praying at the Western Wall. Arnon Bossani via State of Israel Jenner had earlier in her trip visited the site of some of the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas, meeting survivors as well as relatives of hostages. When the air assaults started, Jenner took to a shelter — where influencer Regev Gur shared a photo of her smiling and drinking a glass of red wine. 'What did you do during the alerts, because I'm drinking wine with Caitlyn,' Gur wrote. 7 Caitlyn Jenner and influencer Regev Gur drinking wine in a bomb shelter, as the air assaults began. In an earlier post, Regev joked that he had earlier been joking to Jenner that Israel is 'safer than Los Angeles,' after Jenner's home city was hit by days of violence following anti-ICE protests. So far, Iranian airstrikes have killed at least 24 Israelis since Friday, including two children.


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Budapest Mayor to Stage Pride Parade Over Orban's Opposition
Budapest's mayor said the Hungarian capital would organize this year's Pride parade under its own auspices to shield it from attempts by national authorities to ban the LGBTQ event. The announcement by mayor Gergely Karacsony, a prominent critic of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, followed a police decision earlier this month to reject a petition to hold the annual parade in Budapest. The police's move was in line with Orban's guidance and a recent law that casts the event as a threat to children's development.

6 hours ago
Juneteenth celebrations adapt after corporate sponsors pull support
AUSTIN, Texas -- AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Juneteenth celebrations have been scaled back this year due to funding shortfalls as companies and municipalities across the country reconsider their support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Canceled federal grants and businesses moving away from so-called brand activism have hit the bottom line of parades and other events heading into Thursday's federal holiday, which celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The shrinking financial support coincides with many companies severing ties with LGBTQ celebrations for Pride this year and President Donald Trump's efforts to squash DEI programs throughout the federal government. In Denver, for example, more than a dozen companies backed out of supporting the Juneteenth Music Festival, which is one of the city's biggest celebrations of the holiday, according to Norman Harris, executive director of JMF Corporation, which puts on the event. 'There were quite a few sponsors who pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn't or wouldn't be in a position to support this year," said Harris, who has overseen the event for more than a decade. The festival, which takes place in the historically Black Five Points neighborhood, has been scaled back to one day instead of two because of the budget shortfall. It has only been able to stay afloat thanks to donations from individuals and foundations. 'Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,' Harris said. Juneteenth celebrates the day the last enslaved people in Texas were told they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The day has been celebrated by Black Americans for generations, including in Harris' family, but became more widely celebrated after becoming a federal holiday in 2021. After the 2020 murder of George Floyd, many companies pursued efforts to make their branding more inclusive, but it has slowed down over the past few years after some received blowback from conservatives and because many companies didn't see it as an important part of their revenue stream, said Dionne Nickerson, a professor in marketing at Emory University. Some companies can no longer afford to support Juneteenth celebrations because they just don't have the money given the economic uncertainty, according to Sonya Grier, a marketing professor at American University. 'It's a whole confluence of issues,' Grier said. Many state and local governments hold or help fund celebrations, but some decided not to this year. The governor's office in West Virginia stated that the state won't be hosting any Juneteenth events this year for the first time since 2017 due to a budget deficit. Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey last month signed a bill to end all diversity programs. 'Due to the continued fiscal challenges facing West Virginia, state government will not be sponsoring any formal activities,' deputy press secretary Drew Galang said in an email. City Council members in Scottsdale, Arizona, dissolved their DEI office in February, which led to the cancellation of the city's annual Juneteenth festival. Event organizers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, had to move locations due to fewer sponsors and cuts in city funding, said Jennifer Smith, a planner for the Southern Colorado Juneteenth Festival. Around five companies sponsored the event this year, compared to dozens in years prior, Smith said. 'They have said their budgets have been cut because of DEI,' and that they can no longer afford it, she said. Some groups have also mentioned safety concerns. Planners in Bend, Oregon, cited 'an increasingly volatile political climate' in a statement about why they canceled this year's celebration. Many local organizations have also had their budgets slashed after the National Endowment for the Arts pulled funding for numerous grants in May. The Cooper Family Foundation throws one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in San Diego each year. It was one of dozens of groups told by the NEA in May that its $25,000 grant was being rescinded. The email said the event no longer aligned with the agency's priorities, said Maliya Jones, who works for the foundation. The grant money went toward paying for arts and dance performers. The event will still take place this year, but members of the Cooper family will have to divide up covering the costs, said Marla Cooper, who leads the foundation. 'That's $25,000 we have to figure out how we're going to pay for," Cooper said. 'We will always have Juneteenth. And we will work it out,' she said.