MainStream MultiMedia

07/27/2025

Those released include Andry Hernandez,a gay hairstylist the administration had accused of gang membership.

Deported under a little-known wartime law, more than 130 Venezuelans were sent from the U.S. to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. Now released, several tell NPR they endured beatings, s*xual abuse, and near-total isolation.

07/26/2025

Rain is expected to be all gone by the time a diverse line-up takes up two stages, and more than 100 vendors set up, for the Bloomington-Normal Pridefest tonight from 4 to 10 p.m.

Americ

07/26/2025

“This ruling affirms what we have long known: that Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance is lawful and supports public safety. The City cannot be compelled to cooperate with the Trump Administration’s reckless and inhumane immigration agenda." -- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on a judge's dismissal of the administration's lawsuit against Chicago for its "sanctuary city" policies.

A federal judge in Illinois dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit Friday that sought to disrupt limits Chicago imposes on cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police.

07/25/2025

Get a dose of LGBTQ+ Pride -- and live wrestling -- at Marshalltown Lgbtq+'s four-hour celebration Saturday.

Marshalltown LGBTQ+ hosts a four-hour Pride celebration Saturday featuring live wrestling, a day rave, a lip sync battle, and vendors.

07/23/2025

Trump wants to free big capital from the constraints of democracy by dismantling it.

07/21/2025

"A family can earn up to $400,000 and still get the full $2,200 tax credit per child, which reduces their tax liability dollar for dollar. In contrast, a family making $31,500 or less cannot receive a tax credit of more than $1,750 per child. And approximately 17 million children—disproportionately Black and Latino—will not receive anything at all." -- Beverly Moran of Vanderbilt University, on how the Trump administration's recently passed federal funding bill perverts programs meant to help the poverty-stricken to benefit the wealthy.

The U.S. racial wealth gap is stark. White families’ median wealth between 2019 and 2022 grew to more than $250,000 higher than Black families’ median wealth.

07/18/2025

"Trump's Republican administration is employing a rarely used tool that allows the president to transmit a request to cancel previously approved funding authority. Democrats tried to kill the measure but needed more Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them. The Senate approved the vast majority of Trump's request in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48. The House followed suit early Friday, 216-213." -- NBC New York

The Republican-led Congress has passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid spending.

07/17/2025

Collecting food for a nonprofit's in-demand pantry. An educational timeline of LGBTQ+ history. "Love tickets" for those in need. More shade. More live bands than ever before. And of course, tons of the drag talent for which Peoria is so known. With a focus on meeting the community's needs, Peoria Proud:
• kicks off its three-day Pride weekend tomorrow night with the InQueery panel of people sharing lived experiences
• hosts more than two dozen drag performers, 100 vendors and a half dozen bands at Saturday's River City Pride Festival, Peoria IL
• then wraps the fun Sunday with Drag N' Paint's annual "Pride Drag Brunch" tradition.

w/ Neighborhood House Association Peoria, Ada Vox

River City Pride in Peoria, Ill., features more than two dozen drag performers, a half-dozen bands, more than 100 vendors and a standout sense of community service.

07/16/2025

“AI’s hunger for electricity and water is pushing already-vulnerable ecosystems to the brink, and, as usual, it’s Black, Brown, immigrant, and low-income communities bearing the brunt.” — TheGrio

"There is a price for convenience and Black and brown [people] will pay the brunt of it every-time,” SZA warns of AI.

07/15/2025

A special note to subscribers, advertisers and those who carry "house copies" of MainStream MultiMedia's monthly magazine: your copy arrives this week in a white envelop that (just this time) will not have MainStream's return address. So keep an eye out!

Cover photo: One of many recent packed game nights at Mary's On 2nd in Davenport, led by Arnie Davis's Gleeful Events.

07/15/2025

S*x that is not heteros*xual vaginal in*******se, the eroticization of birth control methods, any content on creating more pleasurable s*xual experiences, and discussion of youth experiencing gender dysphoria or expressing transgender identities are among the topics to he removed from s*x education under a Trump directive (USA TODAY)

Public health experts say removing LGBTQ+ material from the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program could further stigmatize youth.

07/15/2025

The passing of nonbinary poet Andrea Gibson Monday from ovarian cancer continues to go viral and beyond with worldwide recognition for many reasons, including their embrace of the loving side of death. As tributes continue to grow, here’s a look at how Gibson helped a nation mourn and recover just four months after the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016.

Andrea Gibson performs "Orlando" featuring Mary Lambert singing "She Keeps Me Warm" at the Academy of Music in North Hampton, MA. Oct 19, 2016