QnotesCarolinas

12/17/2025

Rob Reiner, the acclaimed actor, director, and producer whose work helped shape modern American film, is being remembered not only for his creative achievements but also for his advocacy for marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights.

Reiner and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday.

Their son Nick Reiner has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder, according to LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, though an official arraignment has yet to be held as of this writing.

No definitive reason has been given for the Reiner's murders, and authorities say the investigation is ongoing.

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Rob Reiner is remembered for his iconic films and pivotal advocacy for marriage equality following his tragic death in Los Angeles.

12/17/2025

A federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against Georgia’s law that cut off hormone therapy and other gender-affirming treatment for transgender people in state prisons, finding that the statute violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The ruling comes months after Senate Bill 185 took effect and barred state money from being used for hormone therapy, gender-transition procedures, and cosmetic interventions meant to alter s*xual characteristics.

The law also prevented transgender inmates from paying for that care themselves while incarcerated.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert concluded that cutting off this treatment fails to meet basic constitutional standards for medical care behind bars.

“The court finds that there is no genuine dispute of fact that gender dysphoria is a serious medical need,” she wrote.

“Plaintiffs, through their experts, have presented evidence that a blanket ban on hormone therapy constitutes grossly inadequate care for gender dysphoria and risks imminent injury.”

Her order requires Georgia prisons to continue providing hormones to people who had already been receiving them and to allow other incarcerated people diagnosed as needing hormone therapy to start treatment.

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Federal judge blocks Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming care in prisons, ruling it unconstitutional and restoring access to hormone therapy.

12/16/2025

The Department of Justice has directed Prison R**e Elimination Act auditors to stop applying standards created to safeguard transgender, inters*x and gender-nonconforming people from s*xual assault during confinement.

The instruction appears in an internal memo obtained by NPR, which says the department is rewriting federal PREA regulations to align with President Trump’s executive order on what he calls “gender ideology extremism.” That order declares that the United States recognizes only two s*xes.

Under the memo, auditors who review prisons, jails, juvenile facilities and immigration detention centers will not evaluate compliance with LGBTQ-specific protections while the revision process is underway.

These auditors are independent contractors hired by detention agencies and certified by the DOJ. The department did not respond to NPR’s questions about the directive.

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DOJ halts PREA audits of LGBTQ protections, raising safety concerns for transgender and inters*x people in U.S. detention facilities.

12/16/2025

Let’s end 2025 stronger together.

Qnotes is the only LGBTQ+ newsroom serving the Carolinas. If we disappear, so does most LGBTQ+ local coverage in our region. We created the Qnotes Press Club so our reporting can survive and our stories do not get erased.

Our goal is 200 members by December 31 to help fund reporting in 2026. Joining takes less than a minute, and $5/month makes a real difference.

Join today: qnotescarolinas.com/pressclub

***rMedia

12/16/2025

Congress has moved forward with a sweeping defense policy bill that includes a new federal ban on transgender women participating in women’s sports at United States military service academies.

The provision is folded into the National Defense Authorization Act, a 3,086 page package that authorizes about $900 billion in military and national security spending for 2026.

The House approved the bill in a 312 to 112 vote, sending it to the Senate for final approval and signaling that the measure has broad momentum.

The legislation directs the secretary of defense to ensure that military academies do not permit anyone “whose s*x is male” to take part in athletic programs or activities designated for women or girls.

It defines s*x as “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” This requirement appears alongside language aligned with several of President Trump’s executive orders, including new limits on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the Department of Defense and other policy changes that reshape internal practices.

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Congress advances an NDAA with a federal ban on transgender women in women’s sports at U.S. military academies.

12/12/2025

Former President Joe Biden attended the International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., where he accepted the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Chris Abele Impact Award.

According to the Victory Institute, he is the first former United States president to appear at the conference, and the award recognizes his role in advancing LGBTQ+ equality and leading what the organization describes as the most LGBTQ+ inclusive administration in U.S. history.

During his remarks, Biden moved quickly from gratitude to a direct call to action. “This is no time to give up.

Get up. Get up and fight back. Get up,” he told the audience. “What’s the fight all about? It’s about protecting the Constitution.”

He also warned that Donald Trump and the MAGA movement are driving efforts to undermine the fight for equality and deepen division.

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***rPolicy

Joe Biden receives the Chris Abele Impact Award and urges LGBTQ+ leaders to fight back against rising political attacks.

12/12/2025

Far-right media figure Milo Yiannopoulos told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he regrets “mainstreaming homos*xuality in the Republican Party,” calling it the “great regret” of his life.

The comments were made in a newly released interview in which Yiannopoulos, who has described himself as “ex-gay” since 2021, repeated claims that s*xual orientation is not real and promoted conversion therapy.

Yiannopoulos told Carlson that “mainstreaming homos*xuality in the Republican Party” is the “great regret” of his life, saying he feels responsible for what he called a “generation of gay Republicans.”

He referenced Republican drag performer Lady MAGA and far-right commentator Nick Fuentes while describing the results of his past visibility as “horrors” that trouble him.

Yiannopoulos added that he “hates” himself for having been openly gay within the party.

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***rNews

Far-right media figure Milo Yiannopoulos told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he regrets “mainstreaming homos*xuality in the Republican Party,” calling it the “great regret” of his life. The comments were made in a newly released interview in which Yiannopoulos, who has described hi...

12/10/2025

Another large-scale immigration enforcement operation appears to be underway in North Carolina, focusing on the Research Triangle and Triad area, according to immigrant advocacy group Siembra NC.

In a statement dated December 5, Siembra NC said they received reports of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Morrisville, Apex, Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte and other locations this week.

Some carried rifles and wore vests labeled “HSI Police” (Homeland Security Investigations is the investigative arm of ICE), while others wore masks and approached people in parked cars or pursued them on the road.

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Reports indicate a new monthlong ICE operation across NC, with arrests and rising community fear following recent Border Patrol raids.

12/09/2025

In the week leading up to Thanksgiving, Charlotte experienced an invasion.

This occupation wasn’t from an enemy nation or foreign army – it was a division of the United States Dept. of Homeland Security tasked with carrying out a mission to pick up undocumented residents in the area.

On Nov. 15, the Dept. of Homeland Security launched Operation “Charlotte’s Web” – a mission designed to “target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to the Tar Heel State because they knew sanctuary politicians would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” according to the department’s release on the operation.

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Charlotte’s “Operation Charlotte’s Web” left hundreds arrested, businesses shaken, and communities fearing federal overreach.

12/09/2025

You just can’t hold still. The music starts and your hips shake, your shoulders bounce, your fingers tickle the sky to match a beat.

Your air guitar is on-point, your head bops and your toes tap. You can’t help it. As in the new memoir, “Night People” by Mark Ronson, you just gotta dance.

With a mother who swanned around with rock bands, a father who founded a music publishing company, and a stepfather who founded the band, Foreigner, it was natural that Mark Ronson would fall into a music career of some sort.

He says he was only ten years old when he realized the awesome power of music.

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You just can’t hold still. The music starts and your hips shake, your shoulders bounce, your fingers tickle the sky to match a beat. Your air guitar is on-point, your head bops and your toes tap. You can’t help it. As in the new memoir, “Night People” by Mark Ronson, you just gotta dance. Wi...

12/08/2025

A singer’s voice, distinctive and immediately recognizable, is the key to their success. It’s what earns them a devoted following of fans who will stick with them through thick and thin.

In recent years, a handful of memoirs by musicians, including “The Harder I Fight the More I Love You” by Neko Case, “I’ll Never Write My Memoirs” by Grace Jones, “Boys Keep Swinging” by Jake Shears, “Broken Horses” by Brandi Carlile, and “Trans Electric” by Cidny Bullens,” have succeeded in capturing those voices in prose form.

The same can be said for gay musician Roddy Bottum’s memoir “The Royal We” (Akashic, 2025). Known by many for his membership in the bands Faith No More, Imperial Teen and Man on Man.

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***rAuthors

Roddy Bottum’s memoir “The Royal We” captures the musician’s distinct voice in a raw, resilient story of survival and creativity.

12/08/2025

While some of us are deciding on the holiday dinner leftovers to have for breakfast or making promises we won’t keep to begin workout and weight loss routines, others are navigating how to gain access to daily meals.

The most recently reported statistics (2023) from the Food Research & Action Center show almost 50 million Americans having experienced food insecurity in their households (one in seven American households).

These individuals were challenged with accessing enough nutritious foods and often went hungry as a result. Of those individuals nearly 15 million were children.

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Charlotte food pantries step up as food insecurity rises, offering crucial support, resources and care for LGBTQ+ and underserved communities.