Via press release from Immigration Equality: Yesterday, the U.S. State Department appealed the decision of a California federal district court that recognized the birthright citizenship of Ethan Dvash-Banks, the child of a same-sex bi-national couple. The government refuses to recognize the validity of Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks’ marriage, and continues to defend its discriminatory policy, which conditions the recognition of …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump for months has griped, complained and tweeted about what he says is the unfair Russia “witch hunt” investigation that has consumed nearly half of his presidency. Now, the president has floated a possible solution: two bonus years. White House officials and others close to the president said he was joking and is not serious …

Inside Edition reports: Pastor Jesse Duplantis zips around in a Dassault Falcon 50 jet paid for by his church. Inside Edition found him boarding his plane with his wife for a short one-hour flight from Fort Worth, Texas, to his home outside New Orleans. When he did not respond to Inside Edition’s requests for an interview, Chief Investigative Correspondent Lisa …

Reuters reports: U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is set on Tuesday to offer new incentives to Venezuela’s military to turn against President Nicolas Maduro, responding to an attempted uprising that fizzled out last week, a senior administration official told Reuters. Maduro – who has said Guaido is a puppet of Washington – has sought to show that the military remains …

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday praised the Arctic region — and its rapidly shrinking levels of sea ice — for its economic opportunities, despite continued warnings about the catastrophic effects of climate change. “The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance,” Pompeo said in remarks in Rovaniemi, Finland. “It houses 13 percent of …

The New York Daily News reports: He’s gone from late to overdue. Mayor Bill de Blasio revealed Monday that he will not announce his 2020 presidential bid this week after all, despite insiders’ widespread belief that he was planning to take the plunge. “It’s not the night, no,” de Blasio said on NY1 when host Errol Louis asked if he …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump has pardoned a former U.S. soldier convicted in 2009 of killing an Iraqi prisoner, the White House announced Monday. Trump signed an executive grant of clemency, a full pardon, for former Army 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, of Oklahoma, press secretary Sarah Sanders said. Behenna was convicted of unpremeditated murder in a combat zone …

The New York Times reports: Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a leading contractor for President Trump’s inaugural committee and a former adviser to the first lady, Melania Trump, has publicly disputed accounts of her departure from the White House last year, rejecting claims from officials that she was dismissed. Ms. Winston Wolkoff specifically took issue with suggestions by White House officials that …

Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade: The organizer of Cuba’s annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia marches on Monday announced they have been cancelled. The marches were to have taken place in Havana on May 11 and the city of Camagüey on May 17. The National Center for Sexual Education, directed by Mariela Castro [photo], the daughter …

Jacksonville’s ABC News affiliate reports: A Florida man accidentally shot himself while grocery shopping at a Publix in Pasco County over the weekend, authorities said. The incident happened sometime Sunday afternoon at the Publix near Collier Parkway and State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. In a tweet, the Sheriff’s Office said the …

Variety reports: In less than two weeks, “Avengers: Endgame” has made more money than any other movie in history except one — “Avatar.” “Avengers: Endgame” surpassed $2.188 billion worldwide in just 11 days, making it the fastest film to surpass $2 billion. It took “Avatar,” the previous record-holder, 47 days to reach that benchmark. That was back in 2009, when …

The Rising reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden has a 32-point lead in the Democratic presidential race in a HarrisX poll released Monday. Biden won 46 percent in the poll compared to 14 percent for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who came in a distant second place. Former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg was in third place with 8 percent, …

From the Hollywood Reporter: Savvy viewers who tuned in to the fourth episode of the HBO fantasy saga’s final season, “The Last of the Starks,” were distracted when they spotted what appeared to be an out-of-place Starbucks coffee cup in a scene taking place in Winterfell, the home of House Stark. Starbucks later responded with a tweet. “TBH we’re surprised …

The Washington Post reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday told House Democrats he would not furnish President Trump’s tax returns despite their legal request, the latest move by Trump administration officials to shield the president from congressional investigations. Mnuchin, in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.), said he had consulted with the Justice …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: Sen. Thom Tillis has drawn a Republican challenger in 2020. Garland Tucker III, the retired chairman and CEO of Triangle Capital Corporation and an author, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Committee to run in the Republican primary on Monday. Tucker wrote “Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Changed America — Jefferson to Reagan” and …

“The chemtrails, all the spraying is to detract us from hearing God’s frequency. They are spraying aluminum and barium in the chemtrails and if you look on the periodic table—barium is BA, aluminum is AL; it spells BAAL. That’s deep. That’s no coincidence. We are literally walking antennas because we’ve been breathing the aluminum, we’ve been breathing the barium. We …

Splinter News reports: The far-right news site GotNews filed a petition for federal Chapter 7 bankruptcy on April 24, court records show. The now-defunct site and its founder, Charles C. Johnson, were sued in federal court last year for misidentifying an innocent teenager as the driver of a car that killed Heather Heyer during the Unite the Right Rally in …

Charisma News, the site best known here for its anti-witchcraft tutorials, its claim that the lifespan of gays is shortened by 20 years, its warning that burning breakfast eggs can summon demons, and its examination of the threat of demons in swimming pools, has some thoughts about yoga. When people think of witchcraft, few think of the New Age. Yet …

Politico reports: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Monday accused many in the media of using her name as “clickbait,” telling an audience of journalists that “education is not about Betsy DeVos nor any other individual.” DeVos, speaking at the National Education Writers Association conference in Baltimore, acknowledged she’s not comfortable in the spotlight and never imagined she’d be the focus …

Roll Call reports: President Donald Trump issued an executive order today that directed the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Office of Management and Budget to create a rotational program that will “serve as a mechanism for knowledge transfer” across agencies. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of DHS, along with OMB and other agencies will also …