BYU enters its first Big 12 season seeking to establish a tougher defensive identity

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President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House for a delayed Pride Month celebration aiming to demonstrate his administration’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. Advocates have recently been warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses. The event, which the administration described as the largest Pride event hosted at the White House, was initially scheduled for Thursday, but was postponed because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. But the haze that blanketed a huge swath of the East Coast this past week had lifted over the nation's capital, allowing the president and first lady Jill Biden to hold their South Lawn party. “So today, I want to send a message to the entire community — especially to transgender children: You are loved. You are heard. You belong,” Biden said. Pride Month is being celebrated this year as state lawmakers have introduced at least 525 bills and enacted 78 bills that whittle away at LGBTQ+ rights, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer rights. That tally includes a recent flurry of bills that affect transgender people, including legislation recently passed by Republican governors vying for the 2024 presidential nomination. In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed a bill into that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youths. Earlier in the week, a federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a law that DeSantis signed shortly before announcing that he was running for president. In North Dakota, Gov. Doug Burgum last month signed a bill that prohibits public schools and government entities from requiring teachers and employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use. Burgum, who like DeSantis has made culture issues a central part of his tenure as governor, joined the White House primary field. Josh Helfgott, an LGBTQ+ activist and social media influencer from New York City, said marking Pride Month at the White House felt like one of the most important moments of his life. But he said the tide of legislation added another layer to this year’s celebrations. “Pride this year is so important because we cannot be silent when faced with hate and bigotry,” Helfgott said “The other side is so loud, incredibly loud. ” Anjali Rimi of San Francisco attended the White House event with her mother, who recently immigrated from India. Rimi came to the United States more than 20 years ago because, she said, she was shunned by family and society as a transgender person. Times were tough in the United States, too, she said. She was pushed out of a job after she came out, was homeless for a time, and took asylum in Canada for about a decade before returning to the United States. “It’s a moment that we are going to cherish for a lifetime,” said Rimi, an activist in San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community. "This is a joyful moment, but it’s also one that reminds us that we have so much work to do.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide AP News Digest 5:40 a.m. Trump pledges to endorse Mark Robinson for North Carolina governor US confirms China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019

Taylor Swift is known for keeping tabs on fans along with their online discourse, and at a recent concert shouted out a meme used by Swifties. At her show in Philadelphia, Swift cracked a Mother's Day joke (with the holiday recently taking place on Sunday) and made an amusing internet reference in the process. “Something that you guys are always saying online is ‘mother is mothering!’ Which I think you mean in a totally different context than Mother’s Day…" she said while sat at her piano as part of the 'Folklore' era of the show. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter This acknowledgement was much to the amusement of Swifties. Here is a breakdown of how the "mother is mothering," became a TS meme. The term "mothering," is a slang term used by the LGBTQ+ community, as an alternative to other expressions such as "slay" and "yass queen." But it is also used by fans to describe their favourite artist as "mother." Flashback to 2014, and according to Know Your Meme, the earliest usage of the expression came from a tweet by @Iikedaylight, a Taylor Swift fan account. The tweet is "I love when my mother is mothering," and was posted alongside a photo selfie between American Actress Aisha Tyler and Taylor. Over the years the term "mother is mothering" has been used to describe various celebrities from Adele, Lady Gaga, Cardi B, Rihanna, Beyoncé and Rina Sawayama. Since Swift kicked off her Eras Tour back in March, Swifties have flooded social media with mothering meme using footage they have taken when attending one of her shows. @zachtalbot ate and left literally NO crumbs, b*tch! #erastour #arlingtonerastour #swifttok #swifte #swifties #taylorswift #taylornation @bethany_pendleton13 MOTHER IS MOTHERING ?????? cr: jasmine thompson #taylorswift #swifttok #erastourtaylorswift #tstherastour #swiftie #taylorsversion #greenscreen #theerastour #TSmidnighTS #phillytstheerastour #taylornation #speaknowtaylorsversion @folk.lcre mother knows shes mothering #taylorswift #taylorswiftedit #taylorswifterastour #edit Elsewhere, Taylor Swift fan reveals what singer did after stopping security from harassing them. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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