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Megan Rapinoe gives special birthday shoutout to brother after World Cup win

Brian is serving his final year in a rehabilitative program

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Megan Rapinoe. (Screenshot via Twitter)

Megan Rapinoe took the time to give her brother Brian Rapinoe a birthday shout out right after leading the U.S. Women’s National Team to its second straight World Cup win.

While giving a post-game interview to Fox News, Rapinoe directly addressed her brother.

“Just one thing: Happy birthday, Brian. I love you so much,” Rapinoe, 34, said in the camera before blowing a kiss.

ESPN reports that Brian, 38, was unable to travel to France to witness the game live because he is currently booked into a San Diego rehabilitative program which allows inmates to serve their final year taking classes outside of prison.

“Megs, breaks my heart that you couldn’t fly me out for an all-expenses-paid trip to France,” Brian reportedly texted his sister ahead of the game.

“Oh yeah, so sad I couldn’t pamper you for a month in France,” Rapinoe jokingly replied.

Rapinoe explained to ESPN that Brian was her and her fraternal sister Rachael’s hero growing up.

“I worshipped him,” Rapinoe said. “He played left wing, so I played left wing. He wore No. 7; I wore No. 7. He got a bowl cut, so I did too.”

Brian started using drugs at age 12 and at age 15 was arrested for bringing meth to school. He’s been incarcerated most of his adult life. He has been sober for 18 months.

“My brother is special. He has so much to offer,” Rapinoe says. “It would be such a shame if he left this world with nothing but prison sentences behind him. To be able to have him out, and to play for him, and to have him healthy, with this different perspective that he has now: This is like the best thing ever.”

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Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

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Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.

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PHOTOS: Shenandoah Valley Pride

LGBTQ celebration held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va.

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A scene from the 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The 2026 Shenandoah Valley Pride Festival was held at Turner Pavilion in Harrisonburg, Va. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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PHOTOS: Walk and 5K to End HIV

Whitman-Walker Health holds 40th annual event

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A scene from the 2026 Walk and 5K to End HIV on Saturday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Whitman-Walker Health held the 40th annual Walk and 5K to End HIV at Anacostia Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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