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Portland Press Herald Maine official recommends transgender athlete referendum be invalidated Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien says that supporters fell roughly 500 valid signatures short of qualifying for the November ballot. May 21, 2026 Billy Kobin, Staff Writer A Maine official is recommending that a proposed referendum seeking to ban transgender athletes from competing in a way that aligns with their gender identity not appear on the November ballot. The rebuke Thursday came from Chief Deputy Secretary of State Katherine McBrien, the designated hearing officer in a case that has pitted supporters of the referendum against opponents. McBrien...

Seattle’s official LGBT Commission is calling on socialist Mayor Katie Wilson to declare a formal “state of emergency” over what it calls a “trans relocation crisis,” and is demanding the city provide free housing and taxpayer-funded salaries for trans activist groups to support thousands of transgender-identifying individuals allegedly fleeing red states. The commission claims “tens of thousands” of “trans refugees” have fled to Seattle in order to escape “genocidal and vile legislation” passed in Republican states that restrict sex change procedures for minors. In an official statement, the advisory body demanded the city immediately step up with housing “run by...

Long Beach city officials said the festival was nixed after the nonprofit that organizes it, Long Beach Pride, failed to submit the required information for an event permit. Read more at KTLA.com.

A New Hampshire woman says Planet Fitness canceled her membership after she complained about seeing a man in the women’s locker room last month. Judy Walcott, a longtime member of a Planet Fitness location in Concord, New Hampshire, told Fox News Digital she felt unsafe after encountering someone she believed was male in the women’s locker room near the shower area on April 11. “I was shaking. Like I was actually trembling because it freaked me out that bad,” she told Fox News Digital. Walcott said she reported the incident to a young employee at the front desk, who told...

A California postseason track meet on Saturday opened with a "Save Girls’ Sports" rally outside the gates and ended in familiar fashion, as one athlete again separated from the field in the jumping events, highlighting growing concerns over competitive fairness in girls’ sports. Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries in Yorba Linda drew attention before competition began, with demonstrators protesting California’s policy allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports. Inside, the focus turned to the jumping events, where biological male AB Hernandez, a senior from Jurupa Valley, competed against women and finished first across all three competitions with...

Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen announced Thursday that she is appealing to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after the Supreme Court of Finland found her guilty of hate speech in March for a 22-year-old pamphlet condemning homosexuality."The failure of the Finnish Supreme Court to uphold freedom of speech has set a dangerous precedent in my country and across Europe. I feel it is my duty to appeal this decision, to reinstate respect for the basic human right that all are free to peacefully express their views in the public square," Räsänen said, according to a press release from the...

The Trump administration attacked a judge for releasing an accused murderer, but it withheld existence of the foreign warrant. A federal judge said Monday that the Trump administration had put her security at risk by posting a “patently false” allegation that she knowingly released an ICE detainee with an international warrant for murder. Justice Department attorney Kevin Bolan profusely apologized to Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose for the press release posted last week by the Department of Homeland Security, which Bolan acknowledged “simply was not true.” Bolan said that he didn’t tell the judge about the foreign arrest...

It’s been a while since I’ve written a Progressive Christianity Watch. I have a trio of doozies for you today, so enjoy.Let’s head over to Houston, where Rev. Lura Groen, a woman pastor (shocker) preaches at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is part of the far-left Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She’s also an “out bisexual.”Did you know that God has a crush on you, likes to flirt with you, and thinks of you as a pet? That’s how Groen “interprets” the Bible.So goodness and mercy can chase you, can consensually pursue you, can delightfully flirt with you, can want...

A Virginia transgender substitute teacher was arrested for allegedly plotting a chilling “murder spree” at a local school — and bragging online about having a disturbing hit list. Hadyn Dollery, 19, was busted on school grounds Monday after posting threatening messages on Discord targeting John Champe High School in Stone Ridge, about 40 miles west of Washington, DC, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and multiple outlets. Police said a tip on the department’s Safe2Talk app exposed the suspect’s sinister online posts. The accused would-be attacker allegedly unleashed threats against family and friends on the messaging app, including disturbing...

Israel is set to host the Middle East’s largest ever LGBT festival at the Dead Sea in June 2026. The new festival, Pride Land, intends to transform the middle of the Judean Desert into a colorful pride city from June 1 to June 4. The event intends to create an experience broader than parties or performances, instead aiming for a space that is alive 24 hours a day, with 15 hotels, beach complexes, parties, and a central performance arena all operating around the clock. Alongside the nightlife, Pride Land will have cultural and art complexes, relaxation and scenic areas, and...

TULSA, Okla. — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg drew a packed crowd Saturday, April 18, at Will Rogers High School for a town hall focused on key issues ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. A full gymnasium welcomed Buttigieg as he took the stage, with attendees filling the space to hear and take part in the discussion. The event was part of a broader series of stops as he continues engaging with communities ahead of November, following a fundraiser for the Kansas Democratic Party in Wichita. Tulsa mayor Monroe Nichols joined Buttigieg at the event after extending an invitation earlier...

"Remember Lot's wife... one of the shortest verses in all the Bible. Don't look back." Billy Graham unpacks the terrifying lesson from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When the angels led Lot's family out of the judgment, they were given one rule: don't look back. But she loved the world too much, looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt! Jesus used her as the ultimate warning for believers today. If you have been rescued by grace, stop looking longingly at your old life!

Ocean Drive was filled with [homosexuals parading] as the Miami Beach Pride Parade marked its 18th anniversary. Despite new legislation limiting local government support for diversity, inclusion, and equity (DIE) initiatives, this...

Following a controversial Supreme Court decision striking down Colorado’s conversion therapy ban, advocates gathered in solidarity at the site of America’s most famous LGBTQ+ protest. Many of New York’s most prominent activists, from conversion therapy survivors to celebrated drag queens, came together for an emergency rally at Stonewall National Monument. “I am a trans, queer woman, and I am a nurse,” said Qween Amor, an activist and a registered nurse. “I am standing at Stonewall because something dangerous just happened, and we cannot pretend that it didn't.”

The Chicago Bulls waived shooting guard Jaden Ivey “due to conduct detrimental to the team,” the team announced in a statement on Monday. Ivey had increasingly been posting on social media about his religious beliefs and recently made anti-LGBTQ comments. The Bulls’ decision reportedly came after he criticized the NBA for celebrating Pride Month, which he called “unrighteousness.”

Canadian MPs passed radical Bill C-9 in a 186-137 vote, and conservatives are now calling on Christians to pray and ‘flood senators’ with phone calls and emails opposing the bill. OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — The majority of Canadian MPs have voted to pass a Liberal bill that will allow the criminalization of religious expression and belief when quoting parts of the Bible, including about homosexuality and gender.

🚨 JUST IN: The Idaho Legislature has PASSED legislation enacting CRIMINAL penalties if a man goes into a women's restroom under the guise of transgenderism That's right, CRIMINAL penalties for the transgender cult! Do it in all 50 states 🔥

Transgender attorney begs for a female police officer after getting tackled to the ground before being jailed for contempt. Oklahoma attorney Rob Hopkins was caught on camera arguing with the judge. “I’m a transgender attorney practicing all over the state!” The argument continued to escalate before the judge called in officers who then took Hopkins to the ground. Hopkins was heard screaming “I can’t breathe” and begging for a female officer. Hopkins was reportedly held on a $25,000 bond.

A millionaire Silicon Valley titan has launched a bid for Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat — with the backing of a famous drag queen. Saikat Chakrabarti, 40, shared video of “Peaches Christ” endorsing him on social media on Friday after he announced his intention to run. In the footage, she says: “San Francisco has a rare opportunity right now. This congressional race will decide whether we keep accepting business as usual or whether we send someone to Washington willing to actually challenge the systems that created the crises we’re living through.” They laughed and smiled their way through the event, where...

A 25-year-old who formerly served on a youth-focused board that provides insight to Pierce County about homelessness and housing instability has been arrested and accused of raping an infant girl.The victim is a child someone had asked the defendant to look after when she and her girlfriend moved in with them in a motel in 2023. Court documents indicate Tacoma Police Department detectives planned to contact the REACH Center, the organization that coordinates the Youth Action Board and hosts its meetings, out of concern that there could be other victims.The defendant is transgender and uses the name Isabelle, according to...