President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House for a delayed Pride Month celebration aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.
The event, which the administration described as the largest Pride event hosted at the White House, was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. But the haze that blanketed a huge swath of the East Coast this past week had lifted over the nation's capital, allowing the president and first lady Jill Biden to hold their South Lawn party.
"So today, I want to send a message to the entire community -- especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You belong," Biden said.
Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights.
That tally includes a recent flurry of bills that affect transgender people, including legislation recently passed by Republican governors vying for the 2024 presidential nomination.
In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill into that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youths. Earlier in the week, a federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a law that DeSantis signed shortly before announcing that he was running for president.
In North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum last month signed a bill that prohibits public schools and government entities from requiring teachers and employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use. Burgum, who like DeSantis has made culture issues a central part of his tenure as governor, joined the White House primary field.
Josh Helfgott, an LGBTQ+ activist and social media influencer from New York City, said marking Pride Month at the White House felt like one of the most important moments of his life. But he said the tide of legislation added another layer to this year's celebrations.
"Pride this year is so important because we cannot be silent when faced with hate and bigotry," Helfgott said "The other side is so loud, incredibly loud. "
Anjali Rimi of San Francisco attended the White House event with her mother, who recently immigrated from India.
Rimi came to the United States more than 20 years ago because, she said, she was shunned by family and society as a transgender person.
Times were tough in the United States, too, she said. She was pushed out of a job after she came out, was homeless for a time, and took asylum in Canada for about a decade before returning to the United States.
"It's a moment that we are going to cherish for a lifetime," said Rimi, an activist in San Francisco's LGBTQ+ community. "This is a joyful moment, but it's also one that reminds us that we have so much work to do."
The streets of downtown Ottawa are turning into a sea of orange with hundreds of people already in place on Parliament Hill ahead of a ceremony to honour the survivors of Canada's residential school system and the children who never made it home.
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Officials tell The Associated Press that Israel has launched small, precision raids across the border in Lebanon and that a larger ground operation is being planned.
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A B.C. condo owner who was blamed for a cockroach infestation in her building and charged thousands of dollars for the cost of eradicating the bugs must be refunded, the civil resolution tribunal ruled.
The son of a Canadian couple killed during Israeli strikes on Lebanon last week says Ottawa must do more to help citizens leave the country as fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group intensifies.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.
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Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
For the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry is dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola – but unlike Ebola, there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88 per cent.
A man who authorities say spent 12 hours camped outside Donald Trump's golf course before Secret Service spotted him with a rifle pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges including attempted assassination.
Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets.
Nearly 6,000 people in Haiti are starving, with nearly half the country's population of more than 11 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse as gang violence smothers life in the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond, according to a new report released Monday.
Officials tell The Associated Press that Israel has launched small, precision raids across the border in Lebanon and that a larger ground operation is being planned.
A California man charged with shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization abroad while taking shots at Conservative rhetoric at home.
The Liberal government is announcing more details on its existing strategy and funding to fight hate crimes.
Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse its cap on international study permits and tightening post-graduate work permit qualifications, claiming it will leave many students 'in limbo.'
Health Canada issued a recall last week for various sexual enhancement products for containing prescribed drugs like tadalafil and sildenafil.
The family of Kendyl Smith-Trimm, a young girl who bravely battled cancer, has raised a staggering $66,500 in her memory for the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
The fertility rate in Canada reached an all-time low in 2023, and the lowest rate was recorded in British Columbia, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.
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Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
A New Mexico judge on Monday denied 'Rust' armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed's request for new trial and upheld her involuntary manslaughter conviction for the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Oasis shocked fans by announcing a reunion tour last month, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. But those were only U.K. dates. On Monday, the band shared that they're planning on heading to North America in 2025, too.
Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, has died.
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Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.
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General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division will pay a US$1.5 million penalty after the unit failed to fully report a crash involving a pedestrian, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.
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Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.
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Calgarians gathered for a rally on Sunday in support of the people of Lebanon as conflict between Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate in the region.
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Several windows were damaged and spray painted with 'Free Gaza' during a protest at Concordia University Sunday night, Montreal police say.
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RCMP are seeking tips after a church on Main Street in Loon Lake burned to the ground.
A 73-year-old man on a mobility scooter was killed Sunday night in Sudbury after being hit by a vehicle on Lasalle Boulevard and Barry Downe Road.
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Students from three elementary schools in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) were taking part in a day of learning on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
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The fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation saw plenty of community members gathering across Barrie on Monday, reflecting on the impacts of residential schools and honouring survivors.
Around 20 South Simcoe Police officers attended the 47th annual Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Service in Ottawa on Sunday with three fallen constables in their hearts.
An early Sunday morning fire in Colgan that caused significant damage is under investigation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
The City of Windsor has unveiled plans for the “Park in Perfect Harmony†initiative in the downtown core.
Shoppers can support local businesses at a pop-up sales event at Devonshire Mall.
The residential “school†survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day — and the “Every Child Matters†movement — says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
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Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.
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The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.
A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.
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Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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