The United Methodist Church just held a historic vote in favor of LGBT inclusion. Here’s what that means for the organization’s future

“Queer kids … the church once told them ‘you’re loved,’ but then made that love conditional when they started to question their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Oliveto. “They’re going to hear, ‘We love you. We want you to be who God made you to be.’ That is huge. Lives will be saved.”

CBS News

Chris Murphy: If Biden can’t please left or right on Israel, maybe that’s a good thing

“President Biden advertised himself when he ran for office as someone who would often play it down the middle,” he said.

Politico

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is now barred from entering nearly 20% of her state, report says

The governor has now been barred from land belonging to the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate tribe, adding to her previous bans from the reservations of the Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock Sioux tribes, per the report.

Business Insider

Wisconsin Supreme Court to re-examine ruling that limited use of ballot drop boxes

The state’s high court is set to start oral arguments in the case Monday. The court now has a 4-3 liberal majority, meaning that there is the potential for the 2022 ruling — when the court had a 4-3 conservative majority — to be overturned ahead of the November election. The decision will be closely watched given the stakes of the coming election.

Washington Examiner

The Never Trump Republicans who can’t bring themselves to back Biden

They have broken with Donald Trump. They have gone public with their concerns about the threat that he poses to democracy and the rule of law. But vote for Joe Biden? That is a bridge too far.

The Guardian

Gold bars, basement carpeting and more. Here’s what prosecutors say bought off a US senator

This new case is a complicated affair involving multiple gold bars, envelopes of cash, a Mercedes and a lot more that, prosecutors say, the powerful former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his new wife (they got married during the alleged bribery scheme) obtained in exchange for helping a halal meat monopoly, granting favors for people from Egypt and Qatar and trying to influence a New Jersey prosecution.

CNN

Biden isn’t flying migrants to Florida. People pay for their own flights, legally enter US

In January 2023, the U.S. started accepting 30,000 people monthly from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela under a humanitarian parole program. The program, an expansion of an October 2022 initiative for Venezuelans, lets people legally enter, live and work in the U.S. for two years. To qualify, migrants need a U.S. sponsor and must meet other requirements. 

Austin American-Statesman

‘They Can’t Afford To Lose’: Sen. Graham Livid Over Biden’s Threat To Withhold Aid To Israel

“Why is it OK for America to drop two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end their existential threat war?” Graham asked. “Why was it OK for us to do that? I thought it was OK.”

“So Israel, do whatever you have to do to survive as a Jewish state,” he continued. “Whatever you have to do.”

Huffpost

RFK Jr. reverses abortion stance again after confusion, contradictions emerge within campaign

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once again reversed his stance on government limits for abortion access in a social media post Friday evening, prompted by criticism from within his own campaign.

CBS News

Montana’s Tribal Voters Could Determine the Makeup of the Senate

Following a major turnout dip in 2022, Native American voters are now a key target in the Montana Senate race, where their votes could make or break Jon Tester’s chances of heading back to the Hill.

Politico

Read the email Target sent employees about changes to its Pride collection after ‘challenging’ last year

“As we all know, last year was challenging, and we’ve made some changes this year based on guest insights and sales trends,” Saavedra said. “Stores were chosen based on where we’ve historically seen the strongest sales demand.”

Business Insider

Biden faces bipartisan backlash on Capitol Hill over Israel ultimatum

“On the one hand, they’re saying too many Palestinian civilians have been killed. With the other hand, they’re depriving us of the precision guided weapons that actually cut down on civilian casualties,” Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” though Biden specifically mentioned withholding bombs and artillery shells deemed by the administration as indiscriminate and imprecise.

“So if you’re worried about Palestinian casualties, the stated policy here actually doesn’t make a ton of sense,” Vance said.

CNN

Chris Van Hollen blasts Hillary Clinton’s comments about anti-Israel protesters as ‘dismissive’

“So we can certainly revisit history and past negotiations, but I believe that the overwhelming majority of the students, not all, and there are some — there are some very bad elements that are involved, as well as on the counterprotest side, but I believe that the students do understand what’s happening in Gaza with respect to the civilian casualties,” he added.

Washington Examiner

Kari Lake wants to look forward as abortion keeps dominating the conversation in Arizona

For Arizona Republicans, the resurgence of the state’s Civil War-era abortion ban was a political catastrophe that threatened to tip competitive races toward Democrats. Its repeal, Republicans argue, will return the focus to more favorable issues for the party such as immigration, even as Democrats vow to keep up talking about reproductive rights.

CNN

‘Not going to miss an election’: Jimmy Carter voted in Georgia primary, his grandson says

Jason Carter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Monica Pearson Show,” that his grandfather cast a mail-in ballot in the race. Georgia’s May primary election date is next week, though advance voting began on April 29 in the Peach State 

“He’s not going to miss an election.” Jason Carter said. “It’s important to him. I mean, that’s the person he is.” 

USA Today

Sanders says Americans don’t ‘want to be complicit’ in ‘starvation’ in Gaza

“Look, every Republican, as I understand it, wants to give huge amounts of money to Israel,” Sanders said during an interview on “Meet the Press,” NBC News’s Sunday show. “My guess is that many Republicans want Israel to go into Rafah, despite the incredible humanitarian destruction that will cause, and there are Democrats who also feel that way.”

“But this is what I will tell you. … That is not what the American people feel. Poll after poll suggests that the American people want an immediate cease-fire. They want massive humanitarian aid to get in,” he continued. “The people of our country do not want to be complicit in the starvation of hundreds of thousands of children.”

The Hill

US to probe further possible international law violations by Israel

“Given the totality of what we’ve seen in terms of civilian suffering, in terms of children, women, men caught in this crossfire Hamas is making who’ve been killed or been injured, it’s reasonable to assess that in a number of instances Israel has not acted in a manner that’s consistent with international humanitarian law,” Blinken said.

dpa International

Federal judge temporarily blocks Biden’s plan to cap credit card late fees at $8

While the average credit card late fee is $32, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulations would have limited late fees to $8 or required banks to show why late fees needed to be more than $8. The bureau estimates that late fees allow banks to bring in about $14 billion every year.

Just The News

Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott is running for reelection to 5th term

“During my four terms as Governor, my team and I have worked to grow the economy, make Vermont more affordable, and protect the most vulnerable,” he said in a statement. “I’ve done my best to rise above partisanship to solve problems, and help people.”

AP News

Support services for the local queer community at risk of ending unless Milwaukee LGBT Community Center raises $25,000

The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center has been serving the local queer community since 1998 and it is at risk of closing, ending support services for hundreds, unless the nonprofit raises $25,000.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lithuania’s pro-Kiev president clear favourite to retain post in poll

The 59-year-old incumbent Gitanas Nausėda was the clear favourite in the race for the highest office in the Baltic EU and NATO member state, which borders the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and Russia’s ally Belarus.

dpa International

North Macedonia’s new president reignites a spat with Greece at her inauguration ceremony

Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was sworn as the first female president of North Macedonia on Sunday and immediately reignited a diplomatic spat with neighboring Greece.

At the ceremony in the country’s parliament, Siljanovska-Davkova referred to her country as “Macedonia,” rather than the constitutional name “North Macedonia.”

AP News

Nemo, a non-binary singer and rapper, wins Eurovision for Switzerland amid Gaza protests

“I hope this contest can live up to its promise and continue to stand for peace and dignity for every person in this world,” Nemo said, after receiving the Eurovision trophy on stage.

USA Today

Kuwait forms new government headed by Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah

The new government comes shortly after the emir dissolved parliament indefinitely on Friday, after a prolonged period of bickering between the government and the elected parliament.

The New Arab

Transgender Women Making History In The World’s Top Beauty Pageants

After years of resistance, more and more major beauty pageants are selecting transgender women to compete. It’s shaking up ideas about inclusivity, questioning the modern world’s beauty standards — and perhaps redefining gender itself.

Worldcrunch

A car-free town in the Amazon serves lessons for pedaling to net zero emissions

Since 2002, this city on the Amazon River has been famously off-limits to motor vehicles. It wasn’t a matter of environmental scruples. Cars and motorways had no place in this town of 38,000, much of which is built on stilts and sits above the chronically submersed floodplains of Marajó Island, near where the world’s largest river empties into the Atlantic.

NPR

AsAm. academics explain US-Taiwan relations amid China-Russia cooperation

AsAmNews asked Asian American academics for their perspectives on the evolving relationships between the different nations.

AsAm News

Spain Socialists win Catalan vote as separatists lose ground

The Socialists of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez have won Catalonia’s regional election as pro-independence parties lost ground.

BBC

Israel preparing for Rafah invasion amid increasing tension with U.S. over humanitarian crisis in Gaza

It’s been a month since Iran’s brutal attack with missiles and drones. But this has been a week of more hostilities. In the north, there’s an intensifying of the not-much-covered battle with Hezbollah. And in the south, Israel is surrounding Rafah.

CBS News

What is it about Gaza? Wars are raging around the world, so why are young people so passionate about this one?

There are many factors that explain why people choose to protest. Personal, family or community impacts are strong motivations to become an activist. But even for those without an obvious connection to a cause, news coverage and stories shared to social media can be enough to catalyse action.

The Conversation

Strong earthquake strikes near Mexico-Guatemala border

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck early Sunday near the Mexico-Guatemala border, causing what appears to be limited damage.

USA Today

Israel detains journalists on suspicions of working for Al Jazeera

Israel has detained journalists that authorities incorrectly believed were working for Al Jazeera, the news broadcaster banned from the country for its coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s war in Gaza.

UPI

Putin sacks defence minister Shoigu, shifts to head Security Council

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, from his post to head the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Russian state news agency TASS and the Kremlin reported on Sunday evening.

dpa International

UN: Clashes in Sudan’s El-Fasher leave at least 27 dead

Clashes reignited between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitaries earlier this week in the key Darfur town of El-Fasher, the United Nations said Sunday, killing at least 27 people in one day.

The New Arab

Buddha’s birthday: When is it and how is it celebrated in different countries?

The birthday of the historical Buddha or Shakyamuni Buddha, known as Vesak in several countries, celebrates the birth of the child who became Prince Siddhartha around the end of the 4th century B.C. This is a holy occasion for all Buddhists, but is celebrated on different dates depending on the school of Buddhism or country to which one belongs. In several Asian countries, it is observed on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunisolar calendar, which this year falls on May 15. In several South and Southeast Asian countries, it is celebrated on the first full moon of May, which falls on May 23.

AP News