Democrat Ritchie Torres becomes 1st openly gay Black man elected to US Congress

News Network

November 4, 2020

Washington, Nov 4: Democrat Party’s Ritchie Torres has made history by becoming the first openly gay Black man elected to the US Congress.

Torres, 32, a New York City Council Member, won the election from New York's 15th Congressional District, defeating Republican Patrick Delices to become the next representative, New York Daily News reported.

“Tonight, a new era begins for the South Bronx,” Torres said in a statement. "It is the honour of a lifetime to represent a borough filled with essential workers who have risked their lives so that New York City could live.

“The Bronx is essential, and the vibrant, loving and talented people who live here have shown time and again their power, fortune and perseverance. The Bronx is the heartbeat of New York City,” he said.

Torres, who identified himself as an Afro-Latino, has served in the City Council since 2013.

He defeated nearly a dozen other Democrats in the June primary after Republican Jose Serrano announced his retirement earlier this year.

Torres is expected to be joined by another Black gay man, Mondaire Jones, in the US House of Representatives as results were pending in the race to replace retiring Republican Nita Lowey from Westchester county.

The seat is expected to go to 33-year-old Jones, a Harvard Law School graduate and former Westchester County attorney, who was leading Republican Maureen McArdle Schulman as of midnight, the report said.

Annise Parker, the former mayor of Houston and the president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, a group that endorsed both Torres and Jones, applauded the pair.

“Mondaire and Ritchie have shattered a rainbow ceiling and will bring unique perspectives based on lived experiences never before represented in the US Congress,” Parker said in a statement.

“As our nation grapples with racism, police brutality and a pandemic that disproportionately affects people of colour and LGBTQ people, these are the voices that can pull us from the brink and toward a more united and fair society.”

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Pak jail authorities say Imran Khan is alive and healthy after ‘murder’ rumours spark panic

News Network

November 27,2025

Authorities at Pakistan’s high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday dismissed speculation about the condition of imprisoned former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, rejecting rumours that he had been moved out of the facility or was in danger. Officials said Khan was in “good health” and described the viral death claims as “baseless.”

“There is no truth to reports about his transfer from Adiala Jail,” the Rawalpindi prison administration said in a statement, according to Geo News. “He is fully healthy and receiving complete medical attention.”

Amid swirling rumours on social media, Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), urged the federal government to issue an official clarification and demanded that authorities allow his family to meet him immediately, Dawn reported.

The frenzy began after Khan’s three sisters called for an impartial probe into what they described as a “brutal” police assault on them and other PTI supporters outside Adiala Jail last week. Soon after, several social media handles circulated unverified claims alleging that Khan had been “killed” inside the prison.

The rumours intensified when a handle named “Afghanistan Times” claimed that “credible sources” had confirmed Khan’s “murder” and that his body had been moved out of the jail — allegations that have not been verified by any credible agency.

Imran Khan, PTI’s patron-in-chief, has been lodged in the Rawalpindi prison since August 2023 in multiple cases. For over a month, an undeclared restriction has prevented family members and senior PTI leaders from meeting him. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has reportedly been denied access despite making seven attempts.

In a letter to Punjab Police Chief Usman Anwar, Khan’s sisters — Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan, and Dr. Uzma Khan — said they were “peacefully protesting” outside the jail when police allegedly launched an unprovoked assault after streetlights were switched off.

“At 71, I was seized by my hair, thrown to the ground and dragged across the road,” Noreen Niazi said, alleging that other women present were also slapped and manhandled.

Adiala Jail officials reiterated that speculation over Imran Khan’s health was unfounded and insisted that his well-being was being ensured, Geo News reported.

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