Caitlyn Jenner has announced that she is running for governor of California.

The 71-year-old's team confirmed the news to Axios, telling the outlet that she has filed her initial paperwork.

The former Olympic decathlete, who hopes to replace Democrat Gavin Newsom, has even launched her campaign website, Caitlyn for California.

On April 23, Jenner announced the news herself via her Twitter account, telling her 3.5 million followers: "I’m in! California is worth fighting for."

Included in the tweet was a press release, which reads: "California has been my home for nearly 50 years. I came here because I knew that anyone, regardless of their background or station in life, could turn their dreams into reality.

"But for the past decade, we have seen the glimmer of the Golden State reduced by one-party rule that places politics over progress and special interests over people. Sacramento needs an honest leader with a clear vision."

The reality star, who is thought to be a Republican, added: "I have been a congressional disruptor throughout my life, from representing the United States and winning a gold medal at the Olympics to helping advance the movement of equality.

"As Californians, we face a now or never opportunity to fundamentally fix our state before it’s too late."

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Jenner goes on to refer to herself as "a proven winner and the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom's disastrous time as governor."

She then promises to meet up with Californians from across the state to "hear their voices and finally get this state moving in the right direction."

According to Axios, the TV personality has put together a team of renowned GOP operatives including Tony Fabrizio, the top pollster on Donald Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns, Ryan Erwin, founder of RedRock Strategies, and Tyler Deaton, president of Allegiance Strategies.

The outlet also states that she has appointed Steven Cheung, a former Trump White House and campaign communications hand who previously worked on the successful 2003 recall campaign of actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Rumors that Jenner was planning to run for office in California began circulating earlier this month.

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The United States Senate has voted in favour of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the US supreme court, despite the multiple accusations of sexual misconduct that have been highly publicised in the past weeks. In a 50-48 vote, the Senate confirmed him on Saturday following a confirmation process that split the country.

The soon-to-be Justice Brett Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump in July to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. Since his nomination, objections to the conservative who previously served on the DC Circuit Court were made by the public. This only intensified in recent weeks after demonstrations were sparked following the accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple women.

Despite the ensuing investigations and trials, Kavanaugh was confirmed to serve, news that came to be expected after the Senate voted on Friday morning to continue with the confirmation process. That afternoon, Senator Susan Collins declared her support for the Kavanaugh in a floor speech, citing a "lack of corroborating evidence" to justify her decision.

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Following a procedural vote, the dominant Republican party won the majority support, bringing the news of Kavanaugh's confirmation to near certainty. Kavanaugh's victory is also a victory for Trump, and tilts the US's highest court to the right for the foreseeable future

People have been protesting furiously against the decision, with Saturday's vote reportedly being interrupted at least four times by protesters in the gallery. The nomination passed narrowly, with 50-48 making it one of the closest votes in the court's history. It is reported that votes came down almost entirely to party lines.

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Kavanaugh was accused of having sexually harassed several women from his past, the most prominent of which was Dr Christine Blasey Ford. Though she was "terrified" of speaking out in front of the nation, the research psychologist chose to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.

She said that she felt it was her “civic duty” to share her story about the “boy who sexually assaulted me”. During the emotional hearing, Dr Ford said she was "100 per cent" sure that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in high school. When they were both teenagers, Dr Ford recalled how he has attempted to rape her in the 1980s. Previously, she had told the Washington Post that she was reluctant to come forward for one reason: “Why suffer through the annihilation if it’s not going to matter?” she said.

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In his own appearance before the panel, Kavanaugh strongly denied all allegations of misconduct. At times appearing aggravated and frenzied, he slammed the whole thing for being a smear campaign organised by Democrats. This prompted an FBI investigation into the matter, which was later condemned by Democrats as being incomplete.

“I might have been too emotional at times. I know that my tone was sharp, and I said a few things I should not have said,” he later wrote in an opinion article published in the Wall Street Journal.

But despite the fact that other women made claims against Kavanaugh, and despite the fact that several of his former classmates announced that he had lied under oath, Kavanaugh is to be sworn in today and begin serving this week.

Yesterday, Americans across the nation took to the polls in order to vote in the midterm elections. Tensions were high as both Republicans and Democrats encouraged their supporters to have their say, with many politicians seeing the ballot as an unofficial referendum on Donald Trump's presidency.

The Republicans maintained their grip on the senate by a small majority, but lost control of the house to the Democrats for the first time in eight years. This is obviously a huge win for blue voters, as President Trump's policymaking powers will be restricted from here on in.

More than that, though, this election was groundbreaking for a number of other reasons. A record number of women and LGBTQ candidates won seats this time around, with Jared Polis becoming the first ever openly gay man to make it to the house of representatives as a governor.

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The state of Colorado made history in their decision to elect Polis, a Democrat, to succeed the term-limited John Hickenlooper (also Dem.).

The 43-year-old previously served as a congressman for five terms, and based his campaign on his promise to fight for renewable energy standards and publicly-funded education for preschoolers and kindergarteners. He also placed particular emphasis on Trump's attitude towards public healthcare, and promised to fight against efforts to privatise the industry further. This was a huge issue for voters in Colorado, as many of those in the more rural areas pay some of the nation's highest insurance premiums.

As well as this being a victory for the state, however, Polis' success is also a huge win for LGBTQ people.

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Historically, gay/trans/queer individuals have been excluded from the political sphere, and Polis' election is a benchmark for positive change in the USA. After all, it was only a few years ago that marriage between same-sex couples became legal, and the current administration has been notoriously against transgender individuals.

"I live in Colorado and voted for Polis and had no idea he was gay. I think this means we’re making progress," said one person on Twitter. "A persons sexuality should have no bearing on how people feel about them."

"It makes me really happy that he was chosen based on the content of his character and his qualifications for the job, rather than being discounted for the consensual things he does in the bedroom," said another.

"I really think that we are at our best as a nation, as a society, when our elected officials are fully representative of the people they're elected to work for," Polis himself told ABC News. "That means we should have our communities of colour represented, women represented, the LGBTQ community represented. And the more diversity we have in elected leadership, responsible positions, I think the better result we'll have."

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Polis' opponent, Republican Walker Stapleton, did his best to disparage his opponent by claiming that Polis' ideas would "bankrupt" the state, but he could not rally enough support from voters. He did not have a great chance to begin with, however, as Colorado has not had a Republican governor since 2007.

Jen Psaki has been praised online for her responses to a male reporter's questions about abortion.

The White House Press Secretary was repeatedly questioned by a male reporter during a press conference on Thursday following Texas' decision to introduce controversial abortion law.

As reported by CNBC, President Joe Biden has blasted the decision as an "unprecedented assault" on women’s rights, after Supreme Court justices rejected efforts by abortion-rights advocates to prevent the restrictive abortion law from taking effect.

The law makes most abortions illegal following six weeks of pregnancy and allows private citizens to file lawsuits against abortion providers.

In the fallout from the law being passed, Psaki was asked by Owen Jensen from the Eternal Word Television Network on Thursday: "Why does the president support abortion when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion is morally wrong?"

To which Psaki responded: "Well, he believes that it's a woman's right, it's a woman's body, and it's her choice."

Jensen then quickly fired back at Psaki, asking: "Who does he believe, then, should look out for the unborn child?"

Psaki then said: "[Biden] believes that it's up to a woman to make those decisions and up to a woman to make those decisions with her doctor.

"I know you've never faced those choices, nor have you ever been pregnant. But for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing. The President believes that their right should be respected."

Once Psaki had finished her answer, Jensen can be heard attempting to continue his questioning, causing the White House Press Secretary to say:  "I think we've got to move on. I think we have to move on - you've had plenty of time today."

Psaki's calm answering of the questions led to an outpouring of praise on social media, with columnist David Weissman tweeting: "Awesome response from Press Secretary Jen Psaki on President Biden’s support for Women’s rights while being Catholic."

In a damning statement from President Biden, he described the laws as "an unprecedented assault on a woman's constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade, which has been the law of the land for almost fifty years".

Biden's statement added: "This law is so extreme it does not even allow for exceptions in the case of rape or incest.

"And it not only empowers complete strangers to inject themselves into the most private of decisions made by a woman—it actually incentivizes them to do so with the prospect of $10,000 if they win their case."

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A transgender man has emerged victorious following a years-long case over whether trans students should be able to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Back in 2014, now-22-year-old Gavin Grimm, who was then a high school student, challenged the local school board in Gloucester County, Virginia, which had ruled that he could not use the male restroom as he was assigned female at birth, CNN reports.

In June 2015, Grimm, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the school board, arguing that the policy violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause.

After years of back and forth legal disputes, Grimm, along with the rest of the LGBTQ+ community, won the case.

On Monday, June 28, the Supreme Court upheld a decision that allows trans students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity. In doing so, it rejected a request from the school board to reinstate the policy that barred Grimm from using the male bathroom.

The 22-year-old said in a statement, per CNN: "I am glad that my years-long fight to have my school see me for who I am is over.

"Being forced to use the nurse's room, a private bathroom, and the girl's room was humiliating for me, and having to go to out-of-the-way bathrooms severely interfered with my education.

"Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials."

In an interview with BuzzFeed News, he reflected back on the lawsuit in which he played a vital part at a very young age.

He said: "What an ugly horrible world we live in that, that happened to a child. What a nightmare it is that this child has now become the mouthpiece of a movement countering hatred against his very personhood, the validity of his happiness and joy and who he is."

The activist also took to Twitter to share his joy at the outcome of the case and to thank those who made it possible.

He tweeted: "I was barred from the bathroom at my high school 7 years ago, when I was 15. 6 years ago, at 16, myself with the @ACLU / @ACLUVA filed suit in response to that discrimination. Twice since I have enjoyed victories in court, and now it's over. We won."

Grimm added: "There are just too many people to tag. Too many people played integral roles in our success and too many people who loved me so much. I have nothing more to say but thank you, thank you, thank you. Honored to have been part of this victory."

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