Joe.My.God. LGBT News

Politico reports: Former President Barack Obama met Thursday with Texas House Democrats to praise them for leaving the state to stop a GOP-backed redistricting effort. Obama also pointed to the response by California — which launched its own redistricting retaliation on Thursday — as a result of the Texas Democrats’ own protest, which he views as a temporary offset. He …

The Hill reports: President Trump says he’s open to following through on former President Biden’s push to reschedule marijuana, a move that comes up short of legalization but would still provide a major boost for the cannabis industry. Trump reportedly told donors this month he was considering rescheduling marijuana, and in a press conference this week he said a decision …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration, stepping up its crackdown on policing in the nation’s capital, on Thursday named the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration to be Washington’s “emergency police commissioner” with all the powers of the police chief — a significant move that increases national control over the city as part of the federal government’s law-enforcement takeover. …

“In order for politicians to truly demagogue, you have to suggest that America is a terrible place. That the only thing that can fix America is if you give me more power. Your life will be better if you give me more power or you give me more money. “Well, to President Trump’s credit, he understands that in order to …

The Washington Post reports: President Donald Trump announced the recipients of the 48th Kennedy Center Honors on Wednesday — the first class of honorees since he took over the arts complex this year — and a major change to the ceremony: He’ll be the host. Actor Tom Cruise was offered the honors but declined because of scheduling conflicts, according to …

Washington DC’s CBS affiliate reports: A man accused of throwing a Subway sandwich at a federal officer in D.C. was back in federal court on Thursday, facing felony charges. A judge released 37-year-old Sean Dunn — a former Department of Justice employee — on his own recognizance, despite prosecutors pushing for serious felony assault charges that could carry up to …

Axios reports: The West Wing has created a scorecard that rates 553 companies and trade associations on how hard they worked to support and promote President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a senior White House official tells Axios. Trump works transactionally, and companies have rushed to pay demonstrative homage. Now, senior aides will have data to consult when considering corporate …

Variety reports: A Sinéad O’Connor biopic is in development. Variety has learned that a film is in the works that will tell the story of the early life and career of the iconic Irish musician, who died in 2023 at the age of 56. O’Connor became one of the most legendary figures in Irish cultural history and a trailblazer for …

Gothamist reports: If you hear a knock on your door this weekend, don’t be surprised if it’s a volunteer for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. After a seven-week respite, the legion of supporters who helped propel Mamdani’s insurgent campaign to a commanding 13-point victory in the Democratic mayoral primary will hit the streets and the doors to help him build a …

“This is new for the Democratic Party. They’ve earned these low approval ratings, and they’ve earned them also from a group we haven’t talked about, independents. For years, independents really were — they were lax Democrats who were folks who said “I would be a Democrat, but I have a problem with this.” And the Democrats kind of owned the …