Continuing to flesh out his roster, President-elect Donald J. Trump appointed two gay men to high-ranking positions within the State Department. 

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at the age of 100, is being remembered by both admirers and political observers as a progressive southern Democrat and former Georgia governor who pushed for an end to racial injustice in the U.S., and as a beloved humanitarian who worked hard as president and during his post-presidential years to improve the lives of people in need throughout the world.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s beleaguered pick to head the Defense Department, has walked back controversial comments on gays serving openly in the military.

An LGBTQ market in Texas shut down after complaints, activists raised funds to replace an LGBTQ plaque in Louisiana, and the Supreme Court is debating upholding a ban on trans youth care.

A former superintendent in New Jersey is suing schools for discrimination, LGBTQ seniors in California face health challenges, and a new law in Ohio restricts restroom use for trans students.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be the nation’s next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services if confirmed by the U.S. Senate. While he’s most known for being an anti-vaxxer, over the years, he’s also engaged in AIDS denialism.