Obama cancels Moscow trip amid human rights concerns

WASHINGTON – In an interview Tuesday with Jay Leno on NBC’s The Tonight Show, President Obama condemned a new Russian law that criminalizes even the most modest gestures of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The president stated that such laws violate “the basic morality that I think should transcend every country, and…

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President Obama nominates gay men as ambassadors to Spain, Denmark

Today, President Barack Obama nominated Rufus Gifford as the next U.S. ambassador to Denmark, and James Costos as ambassador to Spain.  Both men are openly gay. James Costos is Vice President of Global Licensing and Retail for Home Box Office (HBO).  Before joining HBO in 2006, he was president and CEO of Eight Cylinders, Inc.,…

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Cherry Grove’s Community House and Theater officially designated a Historic Site by National Register For Historic Preservation

NEW YORK – The Cherry Grove Community House and Theater in Fire Island has been added to the official list of the National Register of Historic Places of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The house, believed to be the oldest continuously operating gay and lesbian theater in the U.S., is only the second site of…

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President Obama announces Sally Ride as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, President Barack Obama announced he will award a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to Dr. Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut to travel to space.  The Medal of Freedom is the Nation’s highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the…

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Obama to new grads: ‘No time for excuses’

ATLANTA (CNN) — Past, present and future came together on a thunderstorm-filled Sunday, as President Barack Obama received an honorary doctorate and gave the commencement speech at historically black Morehouse College, where the Rev. Martin Luther King and many other prominent African-Americans spent their formative years. After opening with several one-liners, and more smiles than…

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Herndon Graddick resigns as president of GLAAD

NEW YORK – GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy organization, today announced the resignation of President Herndon Graddick. Under Graddick’s tenure, GLAAD began campaigns including a national call for the Boy Scouts of America to end their ban on gay scouts and scout leaders. The organization also announced a continuation…

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