Around an hour and twenty-five minutes into the live-streamed program, the atmosphere shifted. A visibly hurt and frustrated Doroshow announced that despite what she had been told and what she had paid for, she had been informed that they would not be receiving their full time and the program would be cut short. Mariah Moore was the next to speak, and although forced into brevity, started with,

“How cliche, we are here celebrating someone who lived such a full life and we are told that we have limited time.”

In the early morning hours of November 8th, a 22yr old driver engaged in a high-speed chase with Tampa, Florida police, careened into a Ybor City LGBTQ bar and nightclub, killing 4 and injuring at least 13. TPD reports Silas Sampson of Dade City was racing with another vehicle around 12:40AM through Tampa, FL streets, heading towards the interstate that runs north to south through the city. One of the vehicles got on the interstate and was pursued by Florida Highway Patrol who attempted an unsuccessful stop and PIT maneuver. (A Precision Immobilization Technique, PIT, maneuver is a law enforcement tactic to stop a fleeing vehicle by using the patrol car to deliberately and intentionally tap the rear quarter panel of the suspect's vehicle. This contact causes the suspect's car to lose traction, spin out, and stop, bringing the pursuit to a halt. The maneuver requires extensive training and is considered risky due to the potential for severe injury or death). The suspect then headed towards Ybor City, and turned onto 7th Avenue, a highly populated entertainment district lined with countless bars and restaurants. TPA reported stopping chase with the vehicle at that time.

The car crashed into Bradley’s on 7th, a long-standing LGBTQ bar that had been a staple in the community, open for nearly 15yrs, hitting a crowd of party-goers in front of the bar. Three victims died at the scene, another was pronounced dead at the hospital and 10+ were injured. Two of the victims remain in critical condition.

Maybe the most notable win was Zohran Mamdani, who was convincingly elected as the next Mayor of New York City over defamed ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC royalty from a dynasty of NYC royalty. Cuomo had been on the receiving end of sexual assault accusations but even that rarely matters amongst the white, wealthy and powerful. NYC is the nation’s deepest melting pot but also deeply segregated with very little access to wealth amongst most of its residents. Mamdani, a millennial, Muslim, Ugandan immigrant was everything Trump and a post-9/11 NYC rejected. He self describes as a Democratic Socialist, was outspoken in his support of the working class of the city, immigrants, Muslims, and Trans folks. He chased the youth vote showing up at clubs, concerts, working social media and getting out in the streets to meet the people. He made commercials in the languages (literally and figuratively) of his constituents airing ads in spanish, different Arabic languages and featuring the stories of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Instead of trying to make himself “look more American” he made his campaign sound like what America actually looks like. He appealed to the young, immigrant, Black and working class that they say don’t and won’t vote. And then they did. He appealed to the wealthy that actually are willing to give more to do more for those that have less. The Robin Hood of Queens, living in a rent-stabilized apartment while teaching at Columbia- got over 1 MILLION VOTES and over 2 million New Yorkers showed up to make sure their voices were heard which is unheard of in an off year election. The most since 1969- nearly 60 years ago. On Wednesday, congratulations, celebrations and tearful gratitude poured in all over social media from all over the country. From middle-America to the middle of Florida, Mamdani’s win was a flash of light in what have felt like very very dark days in this country.