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Michelle Obama Asks LGBT Elected Officials At DNC For Election Support

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — First Lady Michelle Obama was an honored guest this afternoon at a Human Rights Campaign and Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund luncheon to honor LGBT elected officials attending the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Among those present were several high-profile LGBT and straight ally leaders, including convention chair and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, DNC Treasurer Andy Tobias and U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, Jared Polis and Tammy Baldwin.

WATCH: DNC 2012: Watch Michelle Obama’s Speech And Tribute — Full Text And Videos

Fresh off her captivating primetime convention speech kicking off events on Tuesday evening, Mrs. Obama brought LGBT supporters to their feet as she asked for their help in reelecting her husband.

“Our president, my husband, has stood strong for the values of freedom, justice and equality that make this country great,” Obama said, speaking 20 minutes late, though with no discernible consternation from those gathered to see her.

When she talked about ensuring that “all Americans are treated fairly, no matter who you are or who you love,” a man called “I love Barack!”

“I do too,” Obama said. “We have something in common.”

Later, she spoke about giving everyone the right to “do what Barack and I did and marry the loves of our lives.”

In asking for help in the campaign Obama, who last night described herself as the “Mom In Chief,” turned parental.

“You see my face,” she said. “It’s my serious First Lady face.” She added, to the crowd’s laughter: “My mom face. You heard me, Sasha.”

The First Lady asked LGBT voters to find five, 10 or more additional friends who can turn out to the polls in November.

The convention, she said, would “set the stage for what is at stake in the election, and what should guide us over these next four years.” She asked those gathered if the democracy they envisioned meant turning elections over to “whoever buys the most ads on TV.” The crowd booed back and said, “No!”

Also present were New York City Council Speaker Christine Queen, Clinton White House advisor Richard Socarides and Diego Sanchez, Frank’s legislative assistant and Capitol Hill’s first out transgender staffer.

Democratic National Convention coverage provided by The New Civil Rights Movement and QNotes.

— Pool reporters Ann Doss Helms (The Charlotte Observer) and Chris Geidner (BuzzFeed) contributed.

Matt Comer is the Editor of QNotes. Established in 1986, QNotes is the leading LGBT community newspaper of North Carolina based in Charlotte.

Image: Michelle Obama with San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee, via Twitter

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News

Mystery Grand Jury Witness in Trump Hush Money Probe Is Former ‘Enquirer’ Publisher and Trump Ally

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March 27, 2023

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Avid followers of the Manhattan District Attorney’s moves noted the grand jury had been called into service for Monday, and soon news leaked that yet another witness would be testifying in the probe into Donald Trump’s alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Monday afternoon, NBC News’ Garrett Haake reported live on MSNBC that the mystery witness was David Pecker, the former tabloid publisher of the “National Enquirer,” who reportedly had been looking for stories in 2016 to protect Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Haake notes Monday was Pecker’s second appearance before the grand jury in the hush money case.

The New York Times also reported David Pecker as the grand jury witness, calling Pecker “a key player in the hush-money matter. He and the tabloid’s top editor helped broker the deal between the porn star, Stormy Daniels, and Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time.”

READ MORE: ‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

“While the focus of Mr. Pecker’s testimony is unclear, he could provide valuable information for prosecutors. A longtime ally of Mr. Trump, he agreed to keep an eye out for potentially damaging stories about Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign,” The Times reports. “For a brief time in October 2016, Ms. Daniels appeared to have just that kind of story. Her agent and lawyer discussed the possibility of selling exclusive rights to her story of a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump to The National Enquirer, which would then promise to never publish it, a practice known as ‘catch and kill.'”

Former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harry Litman weighed in, noting, “nothing about that decision [to have Pecker testify] suggests any change of heart on Bragg’s part to indict Trump.”

Former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, an NYU professor of law, notes that Pecker’s “testimony can show the [hush money] scheme was designed to affect outcome of election.”

“He reportedly communicated directly with Trump on payment,” Goodman adds.

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News

‘Our Children Deserve Better’: First Lady Jill Biden Speaks Out After Six Die in Nashville School Mass Shooting

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March 27, 2023

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First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, speaking Monday afternoon at a National League of Cities conference, told attendees, “Our children deserve better,” as she broke the news of the Nashville school mass shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School where three children and three adults were shot dead.

“You know,” Dr. Biden, herself an educator and clearly pained by the news, began her remarks by saying, “I hate to say what I’m gonna say next because you know you’re so enthusiastic and with so much energy and hope and I feel it.”

“But while you’ve been in this room, I don’t know whether you’ve been on your phones but we just learned about another shooting in Tennessee, a school shooting and I am truly without words and our children deserve better, and we stand – all of us – we stand with Nashville in prayer.”

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The First Lady, a former public high school English teacher and currently a professor of English at a community college, was speaking at the organization’s Congressional City Conference.

Watch Dr. Biden below or at this link.

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BREAKING NEWS

Death Toll Rises to Six as Three Children and Three Adults Declared Dead In Covenant School Mass Shooting (Streaming Video)

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March 27, 2023

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Six people have now died after a shooter shot and killed three young children and three adults at The Covenant Presbyterian School, a private Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. Police say the shooter was a 28-year old woman who had two assault rifles and a handgun.

WSMV announced the rise in deaths on-air, noting that the shooter is also dead. A police spokesperson later increased the announced death toll from five to six. Including the shooter the death toll is seven.

Live streaming video via CBS News below.

This article has been updated with additional video.

1:56 PM ET: Updated to change age of shooter based on new reporting from WSMV.

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