Strong LGBTQ Showing in Golden Globe Nominations

Three Democratic US senators and the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security have sent letters to the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding... Show more

answers after a transgender woman died in US custody while seeking asylum from Honduras. Senators Kamala Harris of California and Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi are seeking a full review of the death of Roxsana Hernandez. An independent autopsy of Hernandez showed injuries consistent with abuse during the time leading up to her death on May 25. The senators, in their December 5 letter, requested that Ronald D. Vitiello, the acting director of ICE, and Kevin K. McAleenan, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, release “full and complete death review and supporting documentation on Roxsana Hernandez” to the public. The senators blasted ICE for being “uncooperative” in releasing information about the case, which they say “violates congressional requirements” stipulating that an initial report on in-custody deaths be provided within 30 days. Months later, a report on Hernandez’s death has still not been

Hard Return

The LGBTQ community followed up its strong year of representation in film and TV with a number of Golden Globe nominations on Thursday night. Ryan Murphy’s shows boasted a particularly healthy crop of both LGBTQ actors a... Show more

and characters earning nods. His FX show “Pose,” which highlights New York’s ball culture in the late 1980s, yielded two nominations, while “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” another FX show with LGBTQ characters, ended up with four nominations. Billy Porter landed a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series — Drama for his role in “Pose” as Pray Tell, who served as the emcee of the balls and offered his unwavering support to Blanca’s house, but privately struggled to face his own HIV diagnosis. Ben Whishaw garnered a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for his performance in “A Very English Scandal.” “Bohemian Rhapsody” wound up with nominations for Best Motion Picture — Drama and Rami Malek earned a nod for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama for his portrayal of its bisexual protagonist Freddie Mercury. Sandra

Cuomo Broadens HIV Drug Cost Supports

This show keeps dancers on their toes! The beloved ballet “The Hard Nut” — a joyfully strange take on “The Nutcracker” — will leap back into the Brooklyn Academy of Music on December 14. The Mark Morris Dance Group debu... Show more

e Group debuted the show at BAM in 1992 and has performed it somewhere every holiday season since. It never gets old, however, said one of its stars. “The show is always different, every single night,” said Lauren Grant, who has played the leading role of Marie for 20 years. “It’s finely choreographed, but there is room to make changes as you go, especially in the party scene... You’re always getting a fresh show, but it’ll always be the show you know and love.” Creator and choreographer Mark Morris used Tchaikovsky’s classic music, but set his show in an indeterminate 1970s-ish era, opening at a swinging suburban house party. He also restored a then-little known scene from the ballet’s original inspiration, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffman, in which a Rat Queen promises to restore beauty to a princess if a young man can crack the “hard nut” with his teeth. Morris said that he wanted to restore some of the story’s energy to the ballet. “I wanted it to be real

DOJ Hires Anti-LGBTQ Spokesperson

More uninsured or underinsured New Yorkers living with HIV will be eligible for financial assistance with their healthcare costs beginning in 2019, according to new regulations announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The Sta... Show more

te Department of Health is set to loosen eligibility requirements that are currently too strict for many HIV-positive people who fall just outside of the range of coverage for the HIV Uninsured Care Programs (HUCP). The HUCP includes a variety of components of the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which covers the cost of health insurance premiums, HIV medications, home care services, and more. Existing rules stipulate that recipients are only eligible if they do not have more than $25,000 in liquid assets and their household income does not exceed 435 percent of the federal poverty level. (The current federal poverty level is $12,140 for individuals and $16,460 for a family of two.) The new rules will increase the household income requirement to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, and there will no longer be a cap on resources on hand. “Expanding access to care is crucial to ending the epidemic, and the new regulations will ensure that people get the help they need,” Dr.

Trump Administration Mulls Cuts for HIV Lab

The Justice Department has hired a new spokesperson drawn from a leading anti-LGBTQ litigation group, accor ding to The Daily Beast. Kerri Kupec, who has worked with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), will serve as th... Show more

e DOJ’s director of the Office of Public Affairs. She recently worked in the campaign to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who faced serious allegations of sexual assault dating back to his time in high school. Kupec played a visible and vocal role at ADF, which represented bakery owner Jack Phillips in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission Supreme Court case. In that case, the court ruled in favor of Phillips, who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple. The decision, however, was decided on narrow grounds that did not settle the underlying question of a business’ right to claim a religious exemption from nondiscrimination laws. The ADF says on its website that the American legal system is “steadily moving against religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and marriage and family.” The nonprofit funds cases and trains attorneys in pursuit of its conservative views and actively works to block LGBTQ rights advances and undermine progressi

Details Scarce in Baltimore Black Trans Woman’s Murder

A $2 million-dollar contract to fund research and testing for HIV treatment is shrouded in uncertainty after the Trump administration confirmed it has not yet made a decision on whether to renew it, citing concerns about ... Show more

fetal tissue used in that research. A decision on the multimillion-dollar contract between the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of California, San Francisco will be made after the completion of “a comprehensive review of all research involving fetal tissue … in light of the serious considerations involved,” the Department of Health and Human Services said in a written statement. With the backing of the NIH, the university has long played a key role in testing HIV therapy dating back to the earliest days of the epidemic, including treatment options that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. A report by the Washington Post indicates that the “highest levels” of the government have already decided it will terminate the contract, but it remains unclear exactly when that would be. That same reporting noted that the AIDS division within NIH’s National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases informed the university in a letter that the con