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Barney Frank, the quick-witted Massachusetts congressman and liberal lion who helped overhaul Wall Street regulations after the 2008 financial crisis and made history as one of the first openly gay members of Congress, died Wednesday, his sister confirmed to NBC Boston.

He was 86. He had entered hospice care at his home in Maine in April 2026.

Frank represented southern Massachusetts in the House for 32 years and established himself as a leading voice in debates over banking, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights.

He blazed a trail for other openly gay American elected officials, and in 2012, he became the first member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage, tying the knot with his longtime partner, Jim Ready.

“It was life-changing, lifesaving for me,” Frank told NBC News.

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Texas Children’s Hospital must create the country’s “first-ever detransition clinic,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in announcing a settlement agreement that concludes a yearslong investigation into the medical center’s treatment program for transgender youth.

As part of the deal, the Houston hospital also agreed to terminate five doctors who previously provided transition care to children and to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that the hospital improperly billed the state’s Medicaid program for transition care, according to a news release. For the first five years of the clinic’s operation, Texas Children’s must provide detransition care for free.

Officials have not detailed exactly what the detransition clinic will offer. Detransitioning, which involves no longer identifying as transgender or stopping medical transition, is rare. The potential medical interventions are similar to those involved in transitioning — mental health therapy, hormone therapy and surgeries.

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Jason Collins, the first man to come out as openly gay while playing in the NBA, has died following months of treatment for glioblastoma, his family says. He was 47.

In 2013, Collins made history through an essay in Sports Illustrated but had been mulling whether to go public since 2011, he said.

“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” he wrote.

The Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ civil rights group, called Collins a groundbreaking figure in a statement.

“He powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation," a statement on behalf of his family reads.

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The Trump administration agrees to keep flying a rainbow Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument, reversing course after removing the banner in February.

In a blow to LGBTQ rights, the Supreme Court ruled that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy aimed at youths struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity violates the free speech rights of a conservative Christian therapist.

The 8-1 decision in favor of Kaley Chiles, who argued the state's ban violated her First Amendment rights, is likely to have national implications because more than 20 states have similar laws.

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The Trump administration sued Minnesota and its school athletics governing body on Monday, carrying out a threat to punish the state for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, the Justice Department alleges the state Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League are violating Title IX, a federal law against sex discrimination in educational programs that receive federal money.

Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison called the lawsuit “a sad attempt to get attention” over an issue that has already been in litigation for months. He said he’ll keep fighting.

The administration has filed similar lawsuits against Maine and California, and has threatened the federal funding of some universities over transgender athletes, including San Jose State in California and the University of Pennsylvania.

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Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy which aligns with President Donald Trump's executive order on women's sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females," the International Olympic Committee said, "determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening."

It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

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Pulse nightclub is being demolished, nearly ten years after a gunman walked into the Orlando gay club and committed one of the deadliest massacres in U.S. history. The city of Orlando will construct a memorial to commemorate the people killed in the mass shooting.

"Heated Rivalry" actor Robbie G.K. spoke to NBC News’ Chloe Melas at Elton John’s Oscar party about how he disagrees with the show becoming political, adding that the show "explores human nature."

Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette spoke to NBC News’ @chloemelas at Elton John’s Oscar party about what she called "a real attack on the trans community," sending a message of support to trans people.

Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. NBC News' @joyurcaba stopped by "Here's the Scoop" to talk about the impact.

Some 1,700 Kansans had their driver’s licenses invalidated last month. It wasn’t for racking up speeding tickets or a DUI charge, but because they are transgender.

Kansas is one of five states to prohibit trans people from changing the gender marker on their licenses, but it is the first to pass a law that retroactively cancels licenses that were already changed. The law also invalidated birth certificates for those who updated their gender markers.

Hundreds of trans drivers already received letters from the state informing them their documents were “invalid immediately” and they “may be subject to additional penalties” if they continue to drive, unless they surrender the license to the Kansas Division of Vehicles and receive a new one with their birth sex.

“I’m pretty heartbroken,” said Jaelynn Abegg, a trans woman living in Wichita who received a letter. She said she will not turn in her license and plans to move this month to another state.

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