Nex Benedict’s Death Is a Grim Reflection of Reality for Many Young LGBTQ Americans

In a new MSNBC op-ed in the wake of Nex Benedict’s death, PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman, Ph.D. writes that half of LGBTQ Gen Zers report experiencing discrimination based on sexual orientation according to PRRI’s recent survey. Yet, despite the hostility they face, and their distrust in societal institutions, queer Gen Zers remain politically engaged. PRRI data shows that whether their involvement is online or in person, LGBTQ Gen Z adults are far more engaged in activism than their straight counterparts; 22% of LGBTQ Gen Zers say they have attended a rally in the last year compared with 11% of straight Gen Z adults.

U.S. Abortions Reach Recent High, With Record Number Done via Medication

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff at The Washington Post reports that a new Guttmacher Institute study finds there were more than one million abortions in the U.S. last year, marking the first time since 2012 that the tally exceeded that threshold. States that border those with strict abortion bans saw some of the largest increases in abortion — states without total bans saw a 25% increase in abortions last year relative to 2020. PRRI research findsthat in states where access to abortion is very restrictive, 61% of Americans support legal abortion in most or all cases.

Putin Claims Election Win, Threatens NATO with World War III in Victory Speech

For BBC News, Paul Kirby writes that Vladimir Putin claimed victory in an election Western governments condemned as neither free nor fair. Putin hailed Russia’s use of online voting, calling it “transparent and absolutely objective … not like in the U.S. with mail-in voting…” TIME’s Armani Syed reports that, in a speech following his reelection, Putin warned that a confrontation between Russia and NATO would be “one step away from a full-scale World War III.” PRRI’s 2023 American Values Survey finds that a majority of Americans (64%) consider Russia an enemy of the U.S., a 40 percentage point increase from 24% in 2017.

As Hindu Wellness Gains in West, Chakra Healing Practitioners Root Their Art in Science

Richa Karmarkar at Religion News Service writes that as forms of alternative healing have gained popularity in the West, chakra teachers are working to dispel misunderstandings of their practice. Chakra healing is an ancient Hindu tradition that posits that chakras — “wheels” in Sanskrit — correspond to specific nerve endings and internal organs, and practitioners believe that blocked chakras cause suffering. One follower of the practice who migrated to the U.S. from India to complete a neuroscience fellowship argues that Hindu philosophy and Western science are not mutually exclusive, stating: “I come from a science background, but I do believe in some of the things that we cannot explain.”