The Good and Bad news of the week.
Full disclosure, this news bulletin was created by AI with some edits by me.
Response to the White House barring CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the Press Pool
I would be remiss if I did not add this story to the news of the day. Even though it does not impact just our community, it does and will have an impact on all of us. Again, this news and the updates are provided by AI with some edits by me.
President Trump announced Friday that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be barred from the White House. Their reporters were subsequently denied entry and had credentials confiscated or disabled. Reuters
The major development today, September 21, is that ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News joined CNN in suspending participation in the White House television press pool after CNN was excluded from covering Trump’s trip to New York. That means the traditional network television pool — which collectively supplies video and reporting that other outlets use — has effectively stopped participating for now. The Wall Street Journal
However, this is not a complete walkout by the White House press corps. Print reporters, photographers and journalists from other organizations are continuing to cover the White House. In fact, reporting from Saturday specifically noted journalists from NBC and the Associated Press continuing to enter and leave the White House after CNN, MS NOW and Politico were excluded. The New York Times
There are therefore three separate things happening, which may explain the reports you’re seeing:
- CNN, MS NOW and Politico were barred by the White House.
- ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and CNN have now collectively suspended their participation in the television press pool.
- CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a federal lawsuit today seeking restoration of their White House access, arguing that excluding them because of their coverage violates the First Amendment and due-process protections. AP News
So the headline “the media walked away from the White House” would overstate what happened. A more accurate description would be:
Major television networks have collectively withdrawn from the White House TV press pool in protest of restrictions on press access, while the broader White House press corps continues reporting.
UPDATE
There is a meaningful clarification this afternoon: the major-network action is now being carried out in practice, but it still has not become a walkout by the entire White House press corps.
The five networks that make up the presidential television pool — ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News and NBC News — did not provide pooled television coverage of President Trump’s White House events Monday after the White House prevented CNN from performing its scheduled pool assignment. Reuters and AP confirm that the remaining networks declined to substitute for CNN. Reuters
That had a visible practical consequence today. During President Trump’s South Lawn event before departing for New York, there was no normal network television pool present to provide the shared camera and audio feed. Other forms of press coverage continue, however, and other television-pool operations — including coverage of Congress and certain other Washington events — are continuing normally. In other words, this remains specifically a presidential TV-pool action, not a general withdrawal of journalists from covering the White House. KTXS
There is also a concrete development in the lawsuit filed by CNN, MS NOW and Politico: the organizations are seeking a temporary restraining order restoring their White House access, and a federal court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 23. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly. Reuters
The White House also formally responded Monday, maintaining that White House access is a privilege rather than a right and defending its decision to remove the organizations’ credentials. The news organizations contend that removing access because of their reporting constitutes unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. That dispute is now before the federal court. AP News
So the important distinction remains: the television pool has collectively stopped covering presidential pool events, and we now know that action is actually affecting daily White House coverage. The broader press corps has not walked out.
Wednesday’s court hearing could be the next major turning point.
Update on the Crackdown in Turkey
Meaningful new detention-condition development — September 20: Kaos GL has issued its first detailed public account alleging serious mistreatment of LGBTQ+ detainees held in Ankara and Sincan Prison following the September crackdown. The allegations are substantially more specific than the general reports of ill-treatment noted in the previous update. Sendika
Kaos GL says detainees were subjected to forced drug testing, physical mistreatment, forced cutting of some detainees’ hair, attempted strip searches, anti-LGBTQ+ insults and threats. It further alleges that some detainees have been placed in isolation and that people requiring regular medication have been denied access to it. Sendika
The organization also reports that one group had to be transferred to another prison because authorities could not guarantee their safety, while some detainees have gone approximately a week without clean clothing or hygiene supplies and have lacked reliable access to basic necessities, including drinking water. Sendika
These are allegations from Kaos GL and have not yet been independently verified. I have not found a substantive response from the Turkish Justice Ministry addressing the specific accusations. However, their level of detail makes this a meaningful development, particularly because the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had already raised concern about reports of mistreatment in detention.
The broader numbers have not materially changed: current reporting continues to indicate 82 people held under court orders, including 25 people identified as LGBTQ+/HIV organization members, activists or a journalist. Sendika
Read the detailed report on Kaos GL’s allegations
Weekly LGBTQ+ News Roundup — September 13–19, 2026
This week brought one especially significant U.S. development involving transgender health care, a new federal judicial appointment worth watching, and a genuinely encouraging development abroad. Here in Houston, there is also a welcome bit of news from Montrose.
🔴 1. Two more major hospital systems agree to end gender-affirming care for minors
On September 18, the Justice Department announced agreements with NYU Langone Health and UPMC ending their provision of gender-affirming medical care to patients under 18.
The two systems will also pay a combined $9.45 million—$8.5 million from NYU Langone and $950,000 from UPMC—to resolve federal investigations concerning billing practices. Both denied wrongdoing. Reuters
This follows similar federal agreements with other major health systems and is increasingly looking less like a collection of individual hospital decisions and more like a national transformation in access to transgender health care for young people.
Why it matters: Federal policy is having an effect even without Congress passing a nationwide prohibition. Hospitals facing investigations, subpoenas, potential financial liability and concerns about federal funding may simply decide that continuing care is too risky.
Reuters report on the hospital agreements
Justice Department announcement
🔴 2. Senate confirms federal judge with a record opposing same-sex marriage and transgender recognition
The U.S. Senate confirmed Matthew Byrne to the federal district court in southern Ohio on September 15 by a 52–45 vote.
Byrne previously expressed opposition to same-sex marriage while campaigning for the Ohio judiciary. Reuters also notes a 2024 decision he wrote involving a transgender child in which he stated that Ohio law does not require parents to unquestioningly affirm a child’s stated gender identity. Reuters
Why it matters: Federal judges receive lifetime appointments. LGBTQ+ rights increasingly are being determined through litigation involving transgender health care, schools, public accommodations and government recognition of gender.
The long-term composition of the federal judiciary may therefore prove every bit as consequential to LGBTQ+ rights as legislation coming out of Congress.
Reuters report on Byrne’s confirmation
🔴 3. Turkey’s LGBTQ+ crackdown became substantially worse this week
Although this is international, the scale of what happened makes it impossible to leave out.
After nationwide raids beginning September 13, Turkish authorities jailed at least 31 people pending trial and subsequently detained 126 protesters demonstrating against the arrests in Ankara and Istanbul.
The government’s campaign has involved LGBTQ+ organizations, transgender people, activists, websites and businesses. Investigations reportedly extend across 15 provinces and involve 162 suspects. European human-rights officials have condemned the actions. Reuters
This is particularly important because the government is framing the campaign around protecting “family values” and children—language LGBTQ+ communities have encountered in many countries.
Why it matters: What began as troubling raids has developed into a broader suppression of LGBTQ+ civil society, including attempts to prevent people from protesting the crackdown itself.
Reuters: arrests and protest crackdown in Turkey
🟢 4. Hungary moves in the opposite direction—and this is genuinely good news
There is an important counterpoint this week.
The new Hungarian government introduced legislation on September 15 to dismantle significant portions of the anti-LGBTQ+ system established during Viktor Orbán’s government.
The proposed legislation would repeal restrictions adopted in 2021 that prohibited what the government called the “promotion of homosexuality” and gender transition in material accessible to minors.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s government is also considering changes to rules that effectively prevented gay people from adopting children. Reuters
Why it matters: Hungary had become one of Europe’s most prominent examples of a government using “child protection” arguments to restrict LGBTQ+ visibility.
Seeing a succeeding government begin dismantling those policies demonstrates something worth remembering:
Political setbacks do not necessarily become permanent social changes. Laws can be repealed. Rights can be restored.
Reuters report on Hungary’s proposed repeal
⭐ Texas: James Talarico’s transgender-sports position deserves attention
One Texas political development from the edge of this week’s reporting window deserves continuing attention.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico said he opposes transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports when participation presents concerns involving safety or fairness.
The position represents a change from—or at minimum a significant qualification of—his previous opposition to Republican legislation restricting transgender participation in school sports. 19th News
Why it matters: This may be evidence of a broader political recalibration. The interesting question isn’t simply whether one agrees with Talarico. It is whether Democratic candidates are beginning to distinguish transgender sports from broader questions of transgender civil rights.
🌈 Houston: the rainbow is coming back to Montrose
And Houston provides a particularly nice way to finish this week’s report.
Nearly a year after the rainbow crosswalk at Westheimer and Taft was removed following state pressure over roadway markings, Progress Pride flags are returning to Lower Westheimer.
Pride Houston 365 is reviving the historic Lower Westheimer Banner District, placing Progress Pride banners along the corridor.
The banner raising is scheduled for September 24, followed by a community event and press conference on September 29. Chron
This isn’t simply decoration. Montrose’s visible LGBTQ+ identity has historical significance to Houston. When one form of public LGBTQ+ representation disappeared, community organizations found another way to restore it.
You can remove the rainbow from the pavement. That doesn’t mean you remove the rainbow from Montrose.
Houston report on the returning Pride banners
🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ Good News — September 14–20, 2026
This week produced a useful reminder that progress can take several forms at once: laws can be reversed, young people can successfully defend their rights, history can finally receive recognition, families can change institutions, and communities can simply refuse to disappear.
- LGBTQ+ students in Virginia won their fight to form a Gay-Straight Alliance. Students at King George Middle School wanted to establish a GSA. Rather than permit it, the school board had restricted noncurricular clubs at the middle-school level. Students and their families sued with help from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia. Following a reported settlement, the school board unanimously reversed the restrictive policy. Talking point: This is one of those wonderful stories where young people discovered that their voices—and their constitutional rights—actually have power. LGBTQ Nation Read the students’ story
- Virginia Commonwealth University is going to honor the LGBTQ+ students it once fought in court. This may be my favorite historical story of the week. Virginia Commonwealth University announced that a historical marker will commemorate its first LGBTQ+ student organization, the Gay Alliance of Students. Fifty years ago, the university refused to recognize the group, leading students to court. Their 1976 victory ultimately helped protect LGBTQ+ student organizations across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. The marker is scheduled to be unveiled October 16. Talking point: Imagine being one of those students in 1974, fighting your own university simply for the right to organize—and living long enough to see the university place a historical marker honoring what you did. That is how LGBTQ+ history gets preserved. Axios Axios: VCU will honor its pioneering LGBTQ+ students
- A gay couple fought for equal surrogacy benefits—and changed company policy. Atlanta couple Brian and Brant Rawls-McQuillan discovered years ago that the family-building benefits available through Brian’s employer didn’t treat their path to parenthood equally. They challenged the policy and eventually obtained surrogacy coverage. Today they’re fathers of two—and have turned their experience into a children’s book about their family. Talking point: Sometimes equality doesn’t begin with a Supreme Court case. It begins when one employee asks, Why doesn’t this benefit apply equally to my family? Their persistence didn’t merely help them; it helped change the workplace for families who came afterward. LGBTQ Nation Read their family’s story
- Hundreds gathered for Pride in a smaller Midwestern community—and the celebration keeps growing. The fifth annual Pride Festival in downtown Alton drew hundreds for music, performers, vendors and community organizations. Organizers and longtime participants said the festival’s continued growth reflects increasing local visibility and support. Talking point: We understandably pay attention to Pride in New York, San Francisco and Houston. But a Pride festival thriving in a smaller Illinois community tells another important American story: LGBTQ+ community isn’t confined to the country’s largest cities. The Telegraph Read the Alton Pride coverage
- Dallas Pride is using celebration to preserve local LGBTQ+ history. This weekend’s Pride in Dallas celebration centered on Cedar Springs and included a new music-and-arts festival along with Sunday’s parade. What makes this particularly relevant to Prairie Rainbow Review is the distinction organizers make: while June Pride commemorates milestones in the broader gay liberation movement, Dallas’ September celebration places special emphasis on local LGBTQ+ history. Talking point: A community’s history isn’t only Stonewall and national figures. It is also the bars, neighborhoods, organizations and ordinary people who created LGBTQ+ life in places such as Dallas—and Houston. Dallas Voice Dallas Voice: Pride in Dallas 2026
There is a beautiful connection between this week’s stories. Students in Virginia fought for a club today because students before them fought the same battle fifty years ago. Those earlier students are now receiving a historical marker. A gay couple challenged an unequal corporate policy and made things easier for families coming behind them. Hungary is beginning to dismantle laws that once appeared firmly entrenched. And communities from Alton to Dallas continue gathering publicly to say: We are still here.
LGBTQ+ progress rarely happens all at once. Someone challenges a rule. Someone files a lawsuit. Someone starts an organization. Someone tells a story. Someone marches down a street. And sometimes, fifty years later, another generation discovers that the ground they’re standing on was made a little firmer by people whose names they may never know.