Top Stories
White House trusted a transgender CIA briefer with the most sensitive secrets until her identity went public
Julia Curlee spent nearly two decades carrying the country’s secrets. She worked in war zones, traveled to 35 countries, briefed presidents, and boarded Air Force One with the President’s Daily Brief. She was trusted to decide what some of the world’s most powerful people needed to know before beginning their days. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. But in a remarkable first-person account published Monday by The Atlantic, Curlee describes how the second Trump administration came to view something else as dangerously sensitive: the fact that […]
Pastor Of Anti-LGBTQ Church Indicted In Hooker Sting
Amarillo’s ABC affiliate reports: A former Amarillo pastor was indicted following his arrest in a prostitution sting. A Randall County grand jury indicted David Austin Ritchie, 42, on a charge of solicitation of prostitution. Ritchie, the former senior pastor of Redeemer Christian Church, was among eight men arrested during a June undercover operation conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The church fired Ritchie after learning of his arrest. He had served as senior pastor since 2011. From our first report: An Amarillo pastor was fired following his arrest in a prostitution sting. David Ritchie, 42, is charged with solicitation of […]
Lawsuit Alleges Moms For Liberty Conspired To Have Gay Principal Fired, Faked Claims Of Grooming
Wisconsin Public Radio reports: A former longtime Wisconsin educator in a new federal lawsuit says he was fired from his job as a principal in rural Racine County because he is gay. Jeffrey Peterson, who previously filed a discrimination complaint with the state, was put on leave in 2023 and later, the district declined to renew his contract. At the time, he was a principal in the small Raymond School District No. 14, in Racine County, southwest of Milwaukee — the same place where he attended elementary school himself. His lawsuit claims multiple school board members and their allies pushed him […]
Local News
Human Trafficking Awareness and Violence Against Women Forum Happens August 13
he Commission on the Status of Women warmly invites you to attend the Violence Against Women and Girls: Human Trafficking Forum on August 13, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at 575 Administration Drive, Suite 117C, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. This forum will explore the scope and impact of human trafficking and multiple forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation. It serves as a public forum to raise awareness and promote prevention of human trafficking and gender-based violence. The forum will bring together survivors, advocates, service providers, and community leaders to share testimony, examine systemic challenges, and highlight effective […]
Positive Images Social Saturday Happened August 8 at Healdsburg Beach
Join Positive Images and Sonoma County Regional Parks for a Rainbow River day at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach for swimming, and some fun in the sun on August 8th from 12-2pm This is an all ages, family focused event. For questions, please reach out to joy@posimages.org
Arts & Entertainment
Now at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol: “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World”
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the WorldOne Week Only Starts Friday July 24 3:50 pm & 5:45 pm If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the […]
State News
Pro-LGBTQ Pharmacy Vandalized With Slurs
The Davis Vanguard reports: A family-owned Woodland pharmacy was vandalized early Monday morning, with a window smashed near pro-LGBTQ signs and anti-gay slurs painted across another window, prompting community leaders to raise concerns about a potential hate crime and an escalating pattern of online harassment targeting LGBTQ+ supporters in Yolo County. Corner Drug, a longtime Main Street pharmacy, disclosed the vandalism in a Facebook post Monday, saying the damage came after the business had publicly displayed its support for the LGBTQ+ community. “Early this morning the window of our family pharmacy was smashed and anti gay slurs were painted on them,” Corner […]
San Francisco named the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, but US cities are sliding
San Francisco has been ranked the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, though the study warns that American cities are slipping overall amid the political climate under Donald Trump. The finding comes from the 2026 Sexually Liberal City Index, compiled by adult entertainment platform Erobella, which scored 41 cities worldwide across four areas: sex-work law, LGBTQ+ life, reproductive health and adult lifestyle. San Francisco topped the LGBTQ+ category specifically, scoring 70 out of 100, ahead of Manchester on 62 and Cologne on 61. The city was praised for its enduring community infrastructure, from the Castro to its Pride traditions, and the […]
