House passes an unprecedented LGBTQ bill

House Democrats are following through on their promise to ensure civil rights protections for the LGBTQ community.

The bill dubbed the “Equality Act” passed in the house with a vote of 236-173, with only 8 Republicans voting for the bill.

The Equality Act would extend civil rights protections to LGBTQ people by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The protections would also be applied to employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations, and other areas.

In an interview with Yahoo! News, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, expressed the importance of the bill.

“Sexual orientation and gender identity deserve full civil rights protections–in the workplace and in every place, education, housing, credit, jury service, public accommodations,” Pelosi said.

Morehouse commencement speaker surprises graduates

Morehouse College seniors got the surprise of a lifetime when their graduation commencement speaker, Robert F. Smith, announced that he would pay off their student loan debts.

Smith, a billionaire investor, was immediately embraced with chants of “MVP!” from the joyous graduates.

The graduates of the historically black college shared their excitement with CNN.

“We’re looking at each other like, ‘Is he being serious?’ That’s a lot of money,” salutatorian Robert James said.

Many also shared how they planned to pay it forward like Aaron Mitchum, who plans to mentor students and donate to Morehouse.

Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson are engaged

Another celebrity couple is ready to walk down the aisle.

After two years of dating, Colin Jost and Scarlett Johansson are engaged, Johansson’s publicist confirmed.

The Saturday Night Live (SNL) writer and actress first met on the set of SNL over a decade ago.

This will be the first marriage for Jost and the third for Johansson. She was previously married to actor Ryan Reynolds and then journalist Romain Dauriac.