Joe.My.God. LGBT News

The Associated Press reports: An Orlando businessman is raising money for scholarships for gay students in order to honor the 49 patrons killed during the Pulse nightclub massacre. Barry Miller said Monday the fund would award 10 scholarships each year, each worth $4,900. Students would have to self-identify as “out,” attend an institution of higher learning full time and have …

Via press release from the South Florida LGBT rights group SAVE: On Tuesday night, North Bay Village voted to enact its own local ban on so-called conversion therapy. At the urging of SAVE, the Village, located just outside of Miami, became the latest jurisdiction in South Florida to adopt such a ban. “This year we’re hitting the ground running in …

The Palm Beach Post reports: President Donald Trump has taken to calling his Mar-a-Lago spread on Palm Beach the “winter White House.” Palm Beach County Commissioner Dave Kerner wonders if it should have another name: “municipal service benefit unit.” Kerner’s name is far less catchy than Trump’s, but it could give the county a way to impose a special tax …

The Oklahoman reports: Police here are investigating why state Sen. Ralph Shortey was in a hotel room last Thursday with a teenage boy. Police are reviewing text messages purportedly exchanged between Shortey and the teenager as part of the investigation, The Oklahoman has learned. Police became involved because of concerns raised by a relative of the boy. Cleveland County District …

The Daily Beast reports: A would-be Trump White House appointee who withdrew in the face of plagiarism allegations is now lobbying on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch who has recently advocated greater concessions to the Russian government, according to newly filed documents. Monica Crowley told the Justice Department’s National Security Division that she will represent billionaire Victor Pinchuk in discussions …

Via press release from OutRight: On Monday, 13 March, the United States Department of State announced that its official delegation to the 61st annual United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) includes representatives of two organizations known to oppose the UN human rights system, LGBTIQ rights, and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights: the Center for Family …

Via press release from the Democratic National Committee: “The White House’s willingness to release some tax information when it suits them proves Donald Trump’s audit excuse is a sham. If they can release some of the information, they can release all of the information. The only reason not to release tax returns is to hide what’s in them such as …

Politico reports: Fox News host Sean Hannity said Tuesday night that NBC News “is on a political jihad” against President Donald Trump after MSNBC host Rachel Maddow aired details from a portion of the president’s 2005 tax return on her show. The tax documents broadcast Tuesday night by Maddow show that Trump paid $38 million in taxes in 2005 on …

The New York Daily News reports: Take a wild guess at how President Trump reacted to the latest leak of his tax returns. Trump awoke early Wednesday morning to dismiss MSNBC’s scoop from the previous night as “fake news,” even though the White House confirmed the authenticity of the 2005 tax forms released by an anonymous source. Seven minutes later, …

The Guardian reports: The White House preemptively criticized the Maddow show before it aired, releasing a statement claiming Trump paid $38m in taxes on an income of more than $150m. The statement said he also paid “tens of millions of dollars in other taxes such as sales and excise taxes and employment taxes”. Here’s the full statement from a Trump …