https://www.advocate.com/rss.xml en https://assets.rbl.ms/32874384/origin.png https://www.advocate.com https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-14-26 Hello and Happy Wednesday, folks!]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:38:27 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-14-26 https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pete-hegseth-transgender-slurs-deposition A federal judge overseeing the legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban raised the possibility Wednesday of forcing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to testify under oath about his public statements targeting transgender people, including remarks in which he used an anti-trans slur before senior military leaders.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 18:03:19 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/pete-hegseth-transgender-slurs-deposition https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/katie-zacharia-press-secretary-china Kate Zacharia, the new White House press secretary, has already faced blowback for her first press briefing on Tuesday. Now, she faces additional scrutiny over her apparent claim that she passed the bar exam in China.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 17:37:30 EDT Jack Walker https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/katie-zacharia-press-secretary-china https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/donald-trump-jon-husted-rally President Donald Trump complemented the hindquarters of a male U.S. Senator during a rally in Ohio.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:56:11 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/donald-trump-jon-husted-rally https://www.advocate.com/opinion/shane-gillis-snl-monologue-opinion If anyone needed a sign that Saturday Night Live has completely lost its cultural and comedic compass, they need only watch the catastrophic opening monologue of Shane Gillis’s latest appearance.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:31:58 EDT John Casey https://www.advocate.com/opinion/shane-gillis-snl-monologue-opinion https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/little-shop-texas-school-seymour A Texas school district suddenly censored a high school production of Little Shop of Horrors after a female student won the role of Seymour. ]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 14:51:31 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/little-shop-texas-school-seymour https://www.advocate.com/opinion/pride-organizations-funding-crisis-capital-pride Pride organizations across America are facing a coordinated and escalating backlash, squeezed by political hostility toward LGBTQ+ people, corporate retreat from DEI commitments, and shrinking public funding. Facing this reality, many Pride organizers have dramatically scaled back what festivals and celebrations look like. Others have shut down their events and organizing bodies altogether as our federal government dismantles DEI.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:16:02 EDT Ryan Bos https://www.advocate.com/opinion/pride-organizations-funding-crisis-capital-pride https://www.advocate.com/politics/ohio-republicans-transgender-issues-jd-vance This story first appeared on The Buckeye Flame.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:44:23 EDT Ken Schneck - The Buckeye Flame https://www.advocate.com/politics/ohio-republicans-transgender-issues-jd-vance https://www.advocate.com/news/wnba-data-trans-debate This story originally appeared on Them.

Despite conservative pundits framing transgender inclusion in the WNBA as the latest flashpoint in a growing “culture war,” a new data analysis found that the actual opposition to trans athletes in the league has been largely exaggerated.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 11:08:45 EDT Quispe López https://www.advocate.com/news/wnba-data-trans-debate https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/doj-transgender-hegseth-comments The Trump administration wants a federal judge to disregard social media statements by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon when determining whether its transgender military ban is constitutional. At the same time, President Donald Trump’s media company sells faster access to his social media posts for as much as $100,000 a month.]]> Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:27:14 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/doj-transgender-hegseth-comments https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-13-26 Hello and welcome back folks!]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 18:32:00 EDT Edgar Ramirez https://www.advocate.com/newsletter/advocate-nl-10-13-26 https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/stonewall-museum-florida-funding-fight Broward County, Florida, is a Democratic stronghold. But that political identity has not protected one of its LGBTQ+ institutions from losing county support.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 18:21:56 EDT Dawn Ennis https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/stonewall-museum-florida-funding-fight https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/trans-care-medicaid-blue-states Toby’s grandmother helps pay for his testosterone. His mother, Melinda, is trying to preserve the appointments, blood tests, and medical supervision that make his treatment possible.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:24:22 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/trans-care-medicaid-blue-states https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jd-vance-james-talarico-gay This story appeared first on Them.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 17:05:57 EDT Delia Curtis https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jd-vance-james-talarico-gay https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/sophie-cunningham-looks-donald-trump Amid recent national demonstrations over sexual assault and the “Cornell 7,” as well as strong backlash against comedian Shane Gillis’s unfunny and sexist Saturday Night Live monologue, President Donald Trump picked an interesting time to make more demeaning remarks about women — even women on his side of the political spectrum.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 16:18:26 EDT Desiree Guerrero https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/sophie-cunningham-looks-donald-trump https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/transgender-prisoners-supreme-court-hormones Attorneys representing transgender people in federal prisons urged the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve their access to gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:37:23 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/transgender-prisoners-supreme-court-hormones https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/james-talarico-bottom-surgery-conspiracy As right-wing influencers spread conspiracy theories about Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, Kari Lake floated a baseless claim targeting his support for LGBTQ+ rights. The former Arizona Senate candidate implied in a social media post that the LGBTQ+ ally took time off the campaign trail for gender-affirming surgery.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:00:00 EDT Jacob Ogles https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/james-talarico-bottom-surgery-conspiracy https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/katie-zacharia-press-secretary President Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, opened her first briefing Tuesday with lavish praise for her boss and a promotion of Republican campaign rallies. She took questions from just three reporters, deferred a question about intelligence sharing with Ukraine, and, while discussing her family, accidentally called her husband “my president.”]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:59:21 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/katie-zacharia-press-secretary https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/laura-loomer-angie-nixon-drag Angie Nixon, the Democratic candidate in Florida’s U.S. Senate Race, won’t apologize for sharing the dance floor with drag queens at a recent fundraiser.]]> Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:23:54 EDT Jack Walker https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/laura-loomer-angie-nixon-drag https://www.advocate.com/news/culture/shane-gillis-dan-levy-misogyny Comedian Shane Gillis said “f*ck” during a sketch on live network television and referenced Joe Rogan on Saturday. It may have been the least offensive thing he said all night.]]> Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:38:04 EDT Christopher Wiggins https://www.advocate.com/news/culture/shane-gillis-dan-levy-misogyny