Former President Barack Obama, in an open letter published on his social media accounts Monday, praised the country’s librarians for standing “on the front lines” as book bans spread around the nation.

(WB) House Republicans on Thursday passed a series of anti-LGBTQ amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, which establishes recommended funding levels for the U.S. Department of Defense each year.

(WB) A salon and beauty supply business owner in Traverse City, a Lake Michigan port city of 15,559 people in Northern Michigan, declared that she will not serve anyone who identifies other than a man or a woman. Instead she caustically noted that those persons should seek the services of a local pet groomer.

Results of a new poll conducted by the D.C.-based Data for Progress released last week showed that 65 percent of voters believe businesses should not be allowed to turn away customers who are of a particular race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation because of the business owner’s personal beliefs.

A business in Texas does not have to follow a law that prohibits discrimination, a hospital in Tennessee hands over a trans patient's medical records to an attorney, and a judge in Arkansas strikes down a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

In a 6 to 3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 ruled that a state law cannot require a business owner to comply with the law against discrimination in public accommodations if the owner claims their services or product expresses their “beliefs.”