Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard makes history at Olympics

Although Laurel Hubbard wasn't able to complete a lift for a chance to go for gold, she's been an Olympic pioneer for transgender athletes.

Diversifying the City Council in New York

New Yorkers citywide used ranked choice voting for the first time in the June primaries.  Ranking the top five candidates instead of just one has been credited with helping get more women and minorities elected to public office.

NHL prospect comes out as gay

Luke Prokop, a 19-year-old Canadian who was a second-round pick in the 2020 draft last fall, posted a message to Twitter on Monday.

1st female sailor completes Navy special warfare training

For the first time, a female sailor has successfully completed the grueling 37-week training course to become a Naval Special Warfare combatant-craft crewman. Those are the boat operators that transport Navy SEALs and conduct their own missions at sea.

Museum of Chinese in America reopens with anti-Asian racism exhibit

The museum dedicated to telling Chinese American history is reopening to the public with an exhibit on Asian Americans and racism that it curated partially during the pandemic and a surge of anti-Asian bias incidents around the country.

Group asks public to help change offensive name of moth

Bug experts want to change the common name of the gypsy moth because it's considered an ethnic slur and they're asking the public to help them.

President Biden to give speech on voting rights in Philadelphia Tuesday

President Joe Biden will be visiting Philadelphia next week to 'deliver remarks on actions to protect the sacred, constitutional right to vote,' according to a White House press release issued Friday.

The future American LGBTQ+ Museum finds a home in Manhattan

The New-York Historical Society has featured a number of LGBTQ+ exhibits, making it a natural fit to host a separate museum devoted entirely to the history and stories.

Supreme Court limits reach of Voting Rights Act

Justice Samuel Alito wrote that evidence that a law suppresses minority votes is not, by itself, enough to prove a violation under the Voting Rights Act.

July 4, Juneteenth and the meaning of national holidays

We set our calendars around national holidays — from December 25 for Christmas to July 4 for Independence Day, and, starting this year, June 19 for Juneteenth. But national holidays, even for the country's founding, didn't start until the United States was nearly 100 years old.

Times Square billboard ads shine light on growing anti-Semitism

A massive billboard in Times Square is displaying messages from JewBelong, a nonprofit that launched the campaign to spark conversations.

France legalizes IVF for lesbians and single women

France has approved a law that will allow single women and lesbians access to medically assisted reproduction for the first time. The National Assembly adopted the wide-ranging bioethics law in a 326–115 vote.

California bans government travel to 5 additional states due to new anti-LGBTQ+ laws

California is restricting state-funded government travel to Arkansas, Florida, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia as a "result of new anti-LGBTQ+ legislation recently enacted in each state," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday.

Accessibility is a centerpiece at East Harlem restaurant

Restaurateur George Gallego knows from personal experience how difficult it can be navigating New York City streets and businesses in a wheelchair.