Sinéad O’Connor Redefined Pop Stardom. It Came At a Cost

And so she could stay chaotic; deeply funny; unabashedly serious; mercurial; uncompromising to her values.

Teen Vogue

On the 75th Anniversary of Armed Forces Desegregation, Republicans Don’t Get to Pretend They Support Our Military

They don’t get to puff out their chests, talk about national security and profess the love and respect they hold for every man and woman who wears a uniform.

The Root

‘Denying our humanity’: how Santa Monica decimated a thriving Black community

African Americans helped build the iconic beach town, historian Alison Rose Jefferson details as California weighs reparations

The Guardian

Adult Trans Floridians Join Lawsuit to Fight Gender-Affirming Care Ban

A lawsuit, Doe v Ladapo, was originally filed on behalf of a group of trans minors and their parents. Four adult plaintiffs have now joined them, giving testimony to the fact that the law has resulted in a denial of their care. They are pursuing a preliminary injunction on the enforcement of the restrictions for adults.

Into

Federal judge halts Montana ban on drag performances

A federal judge in Montana issued a temporary restraining order on Friday blocking the state from enforcing a law that bans certain drag performances, writing in an order that the law likely suffers from “constitutional maladies.”

The Hill

Senators rebuke Wisconsin congressman who yelled vulgarities at high school-age pages

“I’m not going to apologize for making sure that anybody — I don’t care who you are and who you’re related to — defiles this House,” Van Orden said on “The Dan O’Donnell Show.” “It’s not going to happen on my watch, man.”

AP News

For Years, the FBI Investigated Manhattan Project Workers for Being Lesbians

A new report details the Lavender Scare inside the nuclear test site at the center of Oppenheimer.

them.

LGBTQ+ hip-hop artists use their spotlight to express queer joy

“I came in gay and I came in swinging,” artist Saucy Santana said.

ABC News

Judge Blocks Arkansas Law Allowing Librarians to Be Criminally Charged Over ‘Harmful’ Materials

Arkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday.

Time

The Kids Online Safety Act Would Harm LGBTQ+ Youth, Restrict Access to Information and Community

Archive of Our Own Survived a Cyberattack, But Will It Survive Congress?

Teen Vogue

More women are aiming to become church leaders. Together, they could change American Christianity

“Women — and men — in the church, have seen abuse and suffering. They’ve seen the role of the patriarchy in the church. They want to address constructively some of these challenges that have been facing both the church and in our society,” says Alexis Abernethy, chief academic officer at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. “They’re saying, ‘Enough of this. We need to be different.’ So I think a lot of these women are marshaling energy in that direction.”

CNN

‘I’m not wanted’: Florida universities hit by brain drain as academics flee

With the start of the 2023-24 academic year only six weeks away, senior officials at New College of Florida (NCF) made a startling announcement in mid-July: 36 of the small honors college’s approximately 100 full-time teaching positions were vacant. The provost, Bradley Thiessen, described the number of faculty openings as “ridiculously high”, and the disclosure was the latest evidence of a brain drain afflicting colleges and universities throughout the Sunshine state.

The Guardian

How California’s New Elder Parole Program Still Leaves Many Prisoners Behind

The state’s new rules expand early release to more aged prisoners — unless they were sentenced under the state’s three-strikes law.

Prison Journalism Project

Chris Murphy: Alito ‘stunningly wrong’ in saying Congress can’t regulate SCOTUS

“It’s just more evidence that these justices on the Supreme Court, these conservative justices, just see themselves as politicians,” Murphy said.

Politico

Nikki Haley warns Donald Trump’s legal troubles could cost GOP the 2024 presidential election

“We have to move forward. We’ve got to quit living in the past, and I don’t want there to be all of this division over the fact that we have a president serving years in jail over a documents trial,” Haley said, referring to Trump’s federal indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents. “I want all of this to go away. It’s why we have to have a new generational leader. It’s why we need to move forward.”

USA Today

Biden and Student Loan Forgiveness: What Is Plan B and What Are the Legal Barriers?

In short, no one really knows yet. On June 30, the president announced that the administration is planning to introduce a second forgiveness plan, but there has been no public mention yet of any details or qualifications, or how similar or different it might be from Biden’s original plan. What we do know is that this time, the administration will ground its legal argument in the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), which was passed to bolster educational resources like libraries, and oversee federally provided financial assistance for students pursuing post-secondary degrees. Section 432 of HEA suggests the Education Department secretary can “enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release” federal student loans.

Teen Vogue

President acknowledges Hunter Biden’s 4-year-old daughter as his granddaughter, and Republicans take jabs

“Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward,” the president said in the statement. “This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”

CBS News

Texas pushes back against court order to ease ballot access for third party candidates

After a June ruling from U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin that found the state’s paper petition signature requirement to be unconstitutional, the Texas attorney general’s office on Wednesday filed a motion to stay the ruling pending an appeal to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Austin American Statesman

Republicans dominate in Florida. Abortion and pot could change that.

Democrats hope two initiatives will “have a transformative impact” in the state.

Politico

Risks and razor wire on the Rio Grande

The Department of Justice sued Texas over Abbott’s border measures last week. It’s the latest hotspot in the nation’s struggles to deal with mass migration, immigration law reform and partisan politics. U.S. and Mexican leaders say Abbott’s actions are illegal.

El Paso Times

Where did it all go right for Biden? Facts blunt Republican attack lines

Crime is down, inflation is falling and the border is quiet. Little wonder the House speaker is floating impeachment of the president for … something

The Guardian

The Texas town caught in the middle of America’s border battle

Stuck between the two sides in the debate is Eagle Pass, a small town of about 30,000 that sits across the Rio Grande from the Mexican city of Piedras Negras.

BBC

Biden signs executive order changing how military handles serious criminal cases including sexual assault

The change comes two years after an independent commission recommended it to the Pentagon.

Task and Purpose

How the odd and wonderful people of this small Wisconsin town are slapping Republicans back into reality

All this did get me to thinking a bit about my town, Madison, Wisconsin, and I’d like to spend a few minutes telling you about it. After all, my town could well be the place the latest mega-election of our lives gets settled two Novembers from now.

Raw Story

Rebel, Kingmaker, and Accused War Criminal: The Last Confessions of an Afghan Warlord

Abdul Rashid Dostum has dodged assassin’s bullets and survived poisoning. Now from exile, he plots his revenge against the Taliban, rages about the failures of the war and for the first time addresses the charge that he ordered brutal crimes

Rolling Stone

Spain identifies 212 German, Austrian and Dutch fighters who went missing during Spanish Civil War

Spanish government researchers said Sunday they had identified 357 foreign fighters who went missing during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the conflict that foreshadowed World War II.

AP News

Joy and defiance at gathering led by Amazonian chief Raoni Metuktire

Amid rising concerns of drought and growing evidence that the biggest trees in the forest are beginning to die off, they came to Xingu national park to pay their respects to the most effective Amazon protector of them all, the Indigenous chief Raoni Metukire, who has indicated he may be coming towards the end of his activist days.

The Guardian

Israeli defence minister approves plan for possible escalation with Hezbollah

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant ordered Israeli forces along the length of Israel-Lebanon border to prepare for possible fighting, Israeli media reported.

The New Arab

Pro-coup protesters in Niger shout ‘long live Putin’ as new leaders face calls to cede power

Tense and sometimes violent scenes played out in front of the French Embassy in Niger Sunday as thousands of people who support a military coup voiced anger over France’s influence in its former colony.

CNN

Germany’s far-Right AfD raises spectre of ‘Dexit’

One senior party figure says bloc ‘must die so that the real Europe can live’ in phrase likened by historian to Nazi propaganda

The Telegraph

At least 44 killed in Pakistan after explosion at Islamist political rally

At least 44 people have been killed in an explosion in Pakistan during a rally organised by an Islamist party.

BBC

Central African Republic holds vote to abolish term limits

The proposed new constitution would allow President Faustin-Archange Touadera to seek a third term that would last seven years. It would also reset the counter on his existing term, which he is two years into.

Deutsche Welle

Saudi Arabia reportedly will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in August

The official who spoke to the AP said the summit would be the next step after talks that took place in Copenhagen in June.

Politico

China accuses U.S. of turning Taiwan into “powder keg” after White House announces new military aid package

China accused the U.S. of turning Taiwan into a “powder keg and ammunition depot” after the White House announced a $345 million military aid package for Taipei, and the self-ruled island said Sunday it tracked six Chinese navy ships in waters off its shores.

CBS News