INTERNATIONAL NEWS #873 January 17, 2011 by Rex Wockner A poll has found that openly gay Irish Senator David Norris leads the pack seeking to be the nation's next president. The Red C poll conducted [...]

Well-known openly gay Portuguese journalist Carlos Castro, 65, was killed in his New York City hotel room Jan. 7. Reports said he was tortured at length, poked in the eye with a corkscrew and castrated [...]

McDonald's has come under fire in New Zealand for blocking access to gay websites on the free Wi-Fi available at restaurants. The banned sites included GayNZ, PFLAG, and Rainbow Youth. The company responded that it [...]

Marriage commissioners in Canada's Saskatchewan province cannot refuse to marry same-sex couples, the Court of Appeal ruled Jan. 10. The top court ruled in advance on a proposed law that would have let commissioners opt [...]

Several transgender people have been killed in Honduras within the past month, with two of them being set on fire, according to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. The victims include Alexis Alvarado [...]

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council on Jan. 12 banned the old Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing" from the airwaves because the lyrics contain the word "faggot." The council said broadcasting the word violates both [...]

The Toronto gay newspaper Xtra says its newspaper boxes are under attack from suspected homophobes. The hapless containers have been stolen, set on fire, glued shut, filled with garbage and defaced with the word "fag." [...]

FERDNALE-Affirmations Community Center has been plagued by financial difficulties since it opened its new $5.3 million building in downtown. The move, along with unexpected expenses and a harsh economy, has put the community center $1.2 [...]

By Tara Cavanaugh What is a "climate"? You can't touch one or carry one. Weather-wise, a climate is defined by a variety of factors, such as rainfall, elevation, temperature and so on. But what about [...]

By Hannah Schwab GRAND RAPIDS-Wealthy Street Theater Director Erin Wilson is extremely proud to offer to QUEERIES Night, a once-a-month film night that features LGBT and ally-friendly films. The theater has hosted many nonprofit events, [...]

"I like book clubs because you get to share what you're reading with your friends. You get to learn from their different perspective."-Jackie Walker Ferndale -The city is full of book clubs, and the LGBT [...]

FERNDALE-The 10th annual Bud Light Ferndale Blues Festival, which donates proceeds to the Michigan AIDS Coalition and Ferndale Youth Assistance, runs from Jan. 28 to Feb. 5. Donations and sponsorships help the festival raise $20,000 [...]

LANSING- A proposed piece of legislation introduced by Grandville Republican Dave Agema is raising alarms in the public health community. Agema has proposed eliminating the Michigan Health Fund Initiative, which is a special Michigan Department [...]

by Rex Wockner Obama has said he supports civil unions for gays but thinks marriage is for straight couples. The Human Rights Campaign called on President Barack Obama Jan. 13 to abandon his opposition to [...]

By Lisa Keen Daniel Hernandez Jr., the openly gay intern who ran to the rescue of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords during last Saturday's shooting in Tucson, was seated next to President Obama Wednesday during a [...]

by Rex Wockner The night before President Barack Obama gives the State of the Union address, the lights of the U.S. Capitol are seen in an ice-covered reflecting pool on Capitol Hill in Washington Monday, [...]

By Tara Cavanaugh In a 3-1 vote, the Michigan Civil Service Commission decided Jan. 26 to offer health care benefits to the domestic partners of state employees. The language offers one "other eligible adult" -- [...]