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National news in brief: Jan. 14

Prophet says ‘Don’t Ask,’ caused bird deaths, gay Yale employees get unpleasant tax surprise and more

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16 years ago

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Evangelist Cindy Jacobs says pro-gay measures can have consequences in nature. (Photo courtesy of General International)

‘Prophet’ claims animal deaths due to ‘Don’t Ask’ repeal

WASHINGTON — The deaths of thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas may have been caused by the recent repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” according to a self-described “prophet” who once claimed the ability to banish “gay demons,” the Raw Story, a D.C.-based alternative news site, reported.

Evangelist Cindy Jacobs said on a video posted over the weekend that the strange phenomenon, that has now occurred in various places around the world, was an “answer” from God for violating his principles concerning homosexuality,” Raw Story reported.

“According to biblical principles, marriage is between a man and a woman, so we have to say ‘What happens when a nation makes a decision that’s against God’s principles?'” she said in the video. “Well, often what happens is that nature itself will begin to talk to us – for instance, violent storms, flooding.”

During an evangelical conference in 2008, Jacobs conducted a mass exorcism of the audience to cast out the spirits of pornography, addiction, lust, bisexuality, homosexuality and perversion.

Model charged in death of Portuguese TV star

NEW YORK — A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder for allegedly beating and choking a Portuguese journalist and television personality inside a Times Square hotel room last week, authorities said Monday according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Renato Seabra, who has been described as a male model in his native Portugal, had been taken into custody and placed under psychiatric care at Bellevue Hospital after the body of Carlos Castro, 65, was discovered beaten and sexually mutilated inside the InterContinental Hotel on Friday night, police said.

The pair had been vacationing in New York when the incident unfolded, and statements Seabra allegedly made to authorities reveal the young man was conflicted about his sexuality and his relationship with Castro, a prominent gay rights activist in Portugal, a law-enforcement official familiar with the matter said. Other media outlets reported that Seabra castrated Castro with a corkscrew.

Seabra was taken into custody at Roosevelt Hospital in Midtown, where he went after the slaying for treatment of apparently self-inflicted wounds to his wrists and face, the official said.

Seabra will be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court once he is cleared by doctors, the official said. If he is not cleared, he will be arraigned in a bedside hearing at the hospital, the official said.

Gay White House hopeful excluded from forum

CLEVELAND — The only openly gay Republican exploring a presidential bid is fighting to be included in an upcoming candidates forum hosted by the Iowa Christian Alliance, On Top magazine, a gay news outlet in Cleveland, reported.

Fred Karger, a retired GOP consultant from California, told the Ballot Box he’s been excluded from the March 7 event because of his sexual orientation. But Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa group, said Karger wasn’t among the 15 potential candidates invited to attend because he only talks about one issue — gay rights.

“We’re inviting all potential candidates who are legitimate candidates,” Scheffler told the Ballot Box. Karger “is not a legitimate candidate.”

“That’s code for homophobia,” said Karger, who worked as a consultant on the late Ronald Reagan’s campaigns for governor and president. “I’m going to send him a letter and ask that I be included, and I’m going to look to the [Federal Election Commission] to see what the rules are.”

Payroll error gives gay Yale employees New Year’s surprise

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A group of 61 employees of Yale University in New Haven, Conn., who’d registered as having same-sex partners with their employer learned in December that a payroll error means they’ll have thousands of dollars in extra taxes taken out of their paychecks this year, the New York Times reported this week.

Because the employees are considered married by the state of Connecticut but not by the federal government, a programming error failed to withhold income for taxes owed on the value of domestic partner health coverage. The value of the benefits is taxable by the federal government but not on state income tax returns.

“Unfortunately, the payroll system inadvertently treated those benefits as nontaxable for Connecticut and federal purposes for the entire calendar year of 2010,” said a letter, dated Dec. 22, from Yale’s payroll department to employees with same-sex partners who  were affected by the error. To correct the error, the university went on to say, it would pay the tax and  deduct the amount it paid from employees’ paychecks — in equal amounts over the first three months of 2011, the Times reported.

The university, which has extended health insurance to its same-sex employees’ domestic partners since 1994, typically withholds those taxes from employees’ paychecks over the course of the year. But due to the programming error, employees will be responsible for paying the taxes for both years in 2011, the Times said.

Those costs can be significant. According to one employee who did not want to be publicly identified criticizing the university, paying the tax back over a three-month period would reduce take-home pay by 33 percent — and that doesn’t even include the taxes owed for this year.

State Department policy change a small gay rights advance

WASHINGTON — The State Department’s December decision to make passport applications more gender neutral is a small but notable gay rights advance, activists have said citing media coverage of the change in several news outlets.

The change, unveiled quietly last month but reported widely last weekend, means the forms required for first-time passport applicants younger than 16 will ask for “mother or parent one” and “father or parent two,” a more gender-neutral reference sought for same-sex parents.

Palm Springs police chief resigns over sex sting

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Palm Springs Police Chief David Dominguez, who last year was caught on tape using an anti-gay slur and accused of entrapment when a June sex sting resulted in 19 indecent exposure arrests — has resigned, the Los Angeles Times reported this week.

Activists have said the sting was absurd in the heavily — some say half the residents are gay or lesbian — gay town. Many harbor resentment toward the mayor and even the gay-majority City Council who had defended him.

During the sting, undercover officers urged men to expose themselves. An indecent exposure conviction requires defendants to register for life as sex offenders.

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National

Lou Chibbaro Jr. documentary wins award from NLGJA

‘Lou’s Legacy’ produced by D.C.’s Mattachine Society

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14 hours ago

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September 2, 2026

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“Lou’s Legacy: a Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade,” a documentary produced by The Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., will receive an Excellence in Journalism Award from NLGJA, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. 

The film premiered on WETA PBS in D.C. and Maryland Public Television (MPT) in June of 2025. The documentary’s Emmy-nominated director and producer Patrick Sammon will accept the award for Excellence in Local Television on Sept. 11 at NLGJA’s National Convention in San Francisco. 

“Lou’s Legacy” was produced in association with the Mattachine Society of Washington, D.C., a non-profit LGBTQ history society dedicated to conducting original archival research. Aside from Sammon, the NLGJA is recognizing other members of the film’s production team including Producer Julianne Donofrio, Editor Amir Jaffer, Executive Producer Charles Francis, and Executive Producer Pate Felts.  

“Lou’s Legacy” tells the story of two D.C. icons — legendary Washington Blade reporter Lou Chibbaro Jr. and beloved drag performer Donnell Robinson, known to generations of Washington audiences as “Ella Fitzgerald.” Through Lou’s nearly five-decade career at the Blade and Ella’s return to the stage after a three-year hiatus following COVID, the 29-minute documentary explores the history of Washington’s LGBTQ community and today’s rising backlash against LGBTQ rights, including laws targeting drag performers. 

“All students of journalism can learn a lot from the story of Lou Chibbaro, Jr. Lou has chronicled nearly five decades of LGBTQ+ life and the community’s struggle for equality in Washington, D.C. Lou’s work and the role of the queer press has been essential in covering stories the mainstream media would often ignore or erase,” said Ryan Levi, president of the D.C. chapter of the NLGJA.  

“We are thrilled to receive this award from the NLGJA,” said the film’s director Patrick Sammon. “Lou Chibbaro’s nearly five decade career at the Washington Blade demonstrates the essential role LGBTQ journalism plays in telling our community’s stories and documenting its history. This recognition from journalists who follow in Lou’s footsteps is particularly meaningful to me and the rest of our production team.”

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Arizona

Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead

Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime

Published

1 day ago

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September 1, 2026

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The shooting happened outside Venture-N bar in Tucson, Ariz. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.

Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.

The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.

Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.

Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.

“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”

According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.

Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.

“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”

“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”

Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.

The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.

“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”

A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.

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Congress

HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH

Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen

Published

2 days ago

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August 31, 2026

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Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, left, campaigns with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in Manchester, N.H., on Aug. 30, 2026. (Photo courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.

Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.

Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.

Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.

A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.

The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.

Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.

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