TACOMA, Wash. (AP) _ A lawyer for the Lakewood Police Department says former officer Brian Wurts was fired for steps he took to protect a fellow officer during an embezzlement scandal.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — As a first-time father, Wayne Maines held his newborn twin sons and dreamed of their life together — a dream that, at least then, didn’t include taking one of them to a father-daughter dance.

DES MOINES (AP) — An Iowa group that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights is turning its attention to a lesser-noticed segment of that population: the aging and elderly.

The next legislative session doesn’t start until Jan. 11, but those looking for an appetizer of what’s to come can get it as the Georgia lawyer chapter of the American Constitution Society hosts a Jan. 6 debate on Senate Bill 129, the so-called “religious freedom” bill set to be introduced for a third straight year.

The 52-year-old Civil Rights Act protects the LGBT community, a federal judge has ruled.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Gay rights activists once again returned to the Idaho Capitol to protest lawmakers' refusal to pass anti-discrimination protections, this time by refusing to leave the state's bill-drafting offices.

(CNN) -- Sixty years after the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education challenged segregation in Topeka, Kansas, and changed the makeup of American classrooms forever, first lady Michelle Obama looked out at a crowd of Topeka's soon-to-be high school graduates and saw its "living, breathing legacy."

LGBT discrimination doesn’t stop as someone ages, and no one knows this better than Bruce Williams.

By 2030, there will be 1.2 billion women who are 50+ in menopause suffering with over 34 different symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, dryness, gum problems, changes in body odor, weight gain, sexual issues and more.

(CNN) In a case with far-reaching implications, a federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that the Civil Rights Act protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination.The full panel of 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals heard the case, holding that plaintiff Kimberly Hively's 2014 lawsuit against Ivy Tech Community College could proceed. Hively argued that the school violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it denied the adjunct instructor full-time employment based on her sexual orientation.

(Los Angeles Blade) The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Indiana Legal Services filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana last week against the Vigo County School Corp, after employees denied two Terre Haute North High School students their right to use the restrooms consistent with their gender identity.

LOS ANGELES -- Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler is asking Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to stop using the power ballad "Dream On" at campaign events.

LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) – An investigator says a transgender teenager who was found buried on the suspect’s father’s property in George County earlier this year was beaten to death.

Nine years after telling a gay couple she could not prepare a flower arrangement for their wedding because of her religious beliefs, the owner of a flower shop in Washington State has agreed to pay $5,000 to settle the dispute and withdraw her long-shot bid to get the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in her favor.

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) -- The Catholic Diocese of Toledo is backing a Roman Catholic school that parted ways with a gay teacher.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - The state House has rejected an amendment that would have added gay and transgender people to a bill aimed at protecting Wyoming residents from housing discrimination.

Thanks to the Food Network, Wilton Manors’ Andrews Diner has a new look.

A proposed bill that would bar people from using restrooms that align with their gender identities has cleared another hurdle.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Lawmakers have rejected a bill that would have prohibited housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

David and Jason Benham, the rightwing anti-gay anti-abortion twin brothers who made a career out of complaining how they lost their television career due to their extremist views, are using the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to sell books.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Exxon Mobil Corp. has said it will comply with the new protections for gay and transgender employees required of federal contractors, while still sidestepping the question of whether it will formalize that by changing the language of its corporate policy.

Back in April of 2015, when in the wake of marriage equality, panicked right-wingers were introducing religious freedom bills all over the country, Watermark asked when Florida would jump on the bigoted bandwagon.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — While finding that Americans narrowly favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, a new Associated Press-GfK poll also shows most believe wedding-related businesses should be allowed to deny service to same-sex couples for religious reasons.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tourism officials say Indiana may have lost as much as $60 million in revenue after a dozen conventions picked cities other than Indianapolis amid the uproar over the state’s controversial religious objections law.

(AP) Democrats in the Arizona Legislature want the state's civil rights laws amended to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran status.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An out-of-state advocacy organization is seeking approval to temporarily place a symbol of gay pride on state Capitol grounds in Little Rock.

The Athens-Clarke County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday evening that could lead to downtown bars losing their liquor licenses if they discriminate against patrons. The resolution calls for recommendations from the county attorney and the county manager on what local action can be taken in such instances.

Singer, musician, hotelier, and B-52’s member Kate Pierson got married over the weekend to her longtime partner Monica Coleman in Hawaii.

(AP) Supporters of a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation are vowing to keep fighting for rights, despite the bill's rejection by North Dakota lawmakers for the fourth time in recent years.

A Broward judge on Tuesday rejected a Fort Lauderdale man's request to reduce his $1 million bond on an Oakland Park hit-and-run case.