Christopher Colwell of Valparaiso, Indiana, teared up a bit as his grandmother sang with her church choir during Northwest Indiana Pridefest earlier this month, calling the moment a haven of acceptance in a state and nation that’s become increasingly hostile to queer men like him.

The grandson and grandma briefly embraced after her performance on a stage adorned with rainbow-colored balloons and a giant Pride flag.

“I can’t stand the current climate in this state. It don’t represent its people anymore,” said Colwell, 25, at the June 8 event at Riverview Park in Lake Station. “I have a really poor outlook on the country as a whole.”

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While Pride events in the past were largely celebrations of the rights the LGBTQ community has secured — as well as promotions for greater representation and acceptance — many activists say the focus this year has been on girding protections and freedoms that are being actively rolled back on the federal level as well as in many Republican-led states such as Indiana.

“For the LGBTQ community, there’s a lot of anxiety about the rights that we have and are they going to stick around much longer?” said the Rev. Leah Peksenak, president of NWI Pridefest Inc. and pastor of two northwest Indiana churches. “It’s less about let’s celebrate what we have and try to push for more. Now it’s like, we might have to really dig in our heels and refuse to relinquish what we’ve already won. Because we’re not going backward.”

This is in stark contrast to more liberal states such as Illinois, which have been strengthening LGBTQ rights and protections in the face of a national movement to rescind many of them.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul earlier this month filed an amicus brief, along with 20 other states, defending a Michigan law that bars health officials from practicing so-called conversion therapy on LGBTQ children. He’s also spoken out against a Trump administration attempt to ban transgender military service and change to the passport application process, arguing they harm transgender and nonbinary Americans.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has publicly pledged to protect the community’s rights, as well.

“I’ve been marching for LGBTQ+ rights since Pride was considered a protest,” Pritzker posted on Facebook earlier this month, kicking off a series of Pride events statewide that culminated with the iconic Chicago Pride Parade in the Northalsted neighborhood Sunday. “And I’ll continue to march under this administration as a recommitment to the fight for equality today. No matter who you are or who you love, you have a home here in Illinois.”

Although Indiana has always been more conservative in terms of LGBTQ protections, Peksenak has seen more brazenness in the language and policymaking of elected officials in recent months.

A few days before the northwest Indiana Pride event, Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted a “Pride month alert” on the social media site X, warning parents that “the rainbow beast is coming for your kids!”

“Corporate America and government institutions are launching their annual siege on childhood innocence — and this year’s Pride Month agenda is more aggressive than ever,” the message said.

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan of Indiana’s 1st District greets people, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Many LGBTQ groups were outraged a few months ago, when Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita made an April Fools’ Day post joking that “The Left wins. … They have finally brainwashed me,” while standing beside a Pride flag.

In March, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a pair of executive orders targeting “extreme gender ideology.”

One barred transgender women and girls from participating in women and girls sports in Indiana schools; the other declared that there are only two genders. Both mirrored similar executive orders signed by President Donald Trump.

Out Leadership’s annual State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index released this month found Illinois to have among the strongest protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other queer residents, while Indiana was one of the lowest-ranked states in the nation.

The global LGBTQ rights organization’s state-by-state report showed great disparity across the country, with the nation as a whole growing more discriminatory — and divided — when it comes to LGBTQ rights and safeguards compared to previous years.

“Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation,” the report stated.

Logan Casey, director of policy research for the national nonprofit think tank Movement Advancement Project, said the result is often vastly different freedoms and levels of safety for LGBTQ folks, depending on the part of the country where they live, work or visit.

“There is a very dramatic and clear difference from one state to the next when it comes to LGBTQ policies and protections — so a real patchwork,” he said. “In a sense, there are two different Americas for LGBTQ people.”

‘Freedom isn’t linear’

Colwell’s grandmother, 70-year-old Maggie Reister, said she was proud to perform at the local Pridefest with fellow worshippers from her Unitarian church, particularly amid such a tumultuous time in history for many LGBTQ folks.

“I know my grandson and his friends are afraid. They’re more afraid now,” she said. “I know bad things happen, they’ve always happened, but I think they’re more afraid.”

Years ago, Reister attended rallies and protests demanding that governments legalize gay marriage. Then in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states couldn’t deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a decision that seemed to mark a turning point for the nation, she recalled.

Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the landmark decision.

Yet now, Reister fears the hard-earned rights and protections for the LGBTQ community are slowly slipping away in large swaths of the country.

“I think the conservative faction is more emboldened,” she added.

A choir performs during an interfaith service, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Anti-LGBTQ legislation and rhetoric by politicians have a trickle-down effect, which can encourage broader discrimination by the public and discourage allies from showing support, said Peksenak, who is affectionately nicknamed “the Rainbow Rev.”

The pastor said Pridefest organizers in northwest Indiana last year received one violent threat, which was frightening but the lone incident. This year, organizers received several similar messages in the run-up to the event, Peksenak said.

“Because of politics on a national scale, there just seems to be more and more permission for actual people to be loudly hateful, even just between last year and this year,” Peksenak said. “So there seems to be more vitriol.”

Like many other Pride events nationwide, the northwest Indiana festival faced a recent financial crisis when corporate sponsors who had pledged funding dropped out following Trump’s election in November.

“After the election results, they pulled out. Overnight,” Peksenak said. “They all closed ranks. And they didn’t say it was because of the election. They didn’t say it was because of blowback. They said things like ‘Oh, it’s just not in the budget this year.’ But we’re not stupid.”

Going into June, San Francisco Pride had faced a $200,000 budget gap after corporate sponsors withdrew their support; KC Pride in Kansas City, Missouri, lost about $200,000, which was about half its annual budget, according to The Associated Press.

Anheuser-Busch dropped its sponsorship of PrideFest in St. Louis after 30 years of support, leaving organizers with a $150,000 budget shortfall.

Attendees browse the vendor booths, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Several events nationwide had to scale back their celebrations because of a loss of funding; in some cases, organizers said corporate sponsors asked to remain anonymous.

“If you come to Pride this year, that’s a revolutionary act,” said Suzanne Ford, executive director of San Francisco Pride. “You are sending a message to those in Washington that, here in San Francisco, we still have the same values that we’ve always had — you can love who you love here. We’re not going to retreat from that.”

In northwest Indiana, organizers had to scramble to find new sponsors: An interfaith coalition of local churches and synagogues teamed up to raise events funds, each committing about $1,000 to $2,500, along with several steadfast local businesses, Peksenak said.

“Since November has been a really rude awakening,” the pastor added. “There is a general sense across the whole community that, oh wait, freedom isn’t linear. We can lose ground. And we actually have to work and engage to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

To stay or leave?

Colwell said he has no plans to leave Indiana, despite the rhetoric and policies of many of its officials.

He cited his supportive local family and friends as part of his reason for staying. Reister added that she loves her northwest Indiana church and much of the greater community, which share her commitment to LGBTQ freedoms and safety.

While state laws can differ vastly, Casey of the Movement Advancement Project noted that the lived experience of individual LGBTQ folks and their loved ones can often vary by community, neighborhood or sections of a state.

Prejudice still exists in states with pro-LGBTQ policies; states with fewer protections might have cities or municipalities with thriving LGBTQ resources and legal safeguards, he added.

“There is absolutely a polarization in the policy environment for LGBTQ people right now,” said Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. “But I would be hesitant to characterize any state as clearly pro-LGBTQ or anti-LGBTQ. Because on the one hand, many states have really strong policy elements but still have local or regional elements that might not be quite so supportive.”

The Rev. Leah Peksenak offers hugs to attendees while a choir performs at the conclusion of an interfaith service, June 8, 2025, during Northwest Indiana Pridefest at Riverview Park in Lake Station. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

The opposite can also be true: Redfield recalled recently speaking at an event in Indianapolis, where she noticed that even the roadside billboards grew more progressive as she left rural areas of Indiana and headed into the more liberal-leaning capital. There, she received a warm reception with engaging conversation about LGBTQ issues.

But discriminatory language by politicians and anti-LGBTQ policies can translate to real harm for individuals, including affecting their mental health, she said.

“Right now, we have this exacerbation of official language that is dismissive … of LGBTQ experiences and in some cases outright exclusionary,” she said. “Our research does show that anti-LGBTQ policy debates can have a real, measurable negative impact on mental health.”

There can be an enormous emotional cost “that comes from having your right to marry being debated or whether you have a right to exist or not being debated — or whether you can play sports or whether you can access a bathroom,” she added.

A Williams Institute survey of roughly 300 transgender, nonbinary and gender diverse American adults released in May found that nearly half have already moved or wanted to move to “more affirming places” within the United States, while 45% of those polled desired to leave the country. Most of the respondents cited anti-LGBTQ policies as the reason for wanting to move.

This is a troubling trend to Casey.

“It’s easy for a lot of people to think, ‘Well you should move somewhere else where the laws are better,’” he said. “While that obviously makes sense in a way, the larger point is that people shouldn’t be forced to choose between the place that they call home and their rights or protections.”

But he says that’s the quandary facing many LGBTQ folks and their loved ones nationwide, particularly in much of the South and Midwest.

“Those are choices that our politicians are making to force those sorts of really impossible life decisions for so many people,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By BROOKE LEFFERTS

NEW YORK (AP) — World-famous chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa has been tantalizing foodies for decades as he built his empire to include more than 50 upscale restaurants and several luxury hotels. The new documentary, “Nobu,” reveals the man behind the cuisine in an intimate look at how he found success, despite several major setbacks.

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The film traces Matsuhisa’s journey to creating his unique fusion cuisine, blending traditional Japanese dishes with ingredients discovered while living in Peru. Matsuhisa, now 76, was driven to run his own restaurant but faced obstacles, including financial woes, doubters and a devastating fire at one of his first spots.

Candid and sometimes emotional interviews with Matsuhisa are interspersed with mouthwatering shots of his “Nobu-style” culinary treats, made with a precision and standard of excellence his diners have come to expect. “Nobu” releases widely July 1.

Director Matt Tyrnauer and the chef himself sat down with The Associated Press to discuss his perseverance, creativity and influence on the culture. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: One of the most dynamic things about the film is the gorgeous food. How did you approach it, Matt?

TYRNAUER: Nobu started as a graphic designer, and you can really see it in the plates. The totality of his vision for creating a new type of cuisine, which he calls “Nobu style,” or the signature dishes, was really interesting, but also the beauty of the presentation, which is so important. We had cameras everywhere — on the ceiling, we had them over the shoulder, and anything to kind of get the precision and the detail. At a certain point in the film, you see him correcting some of the chefs who work for him and it’s a pretty tough process because he’s a perfectionist. I wanted to show that.

AP: There are many difficult moments in the film and you have to relive some pain from your past. How was that process for you Chef Nobu?

MATSUHISA: Even though my life was pain, but I learned from this pain. Also I learned lots and lots of love from people who supported me. So nothing is losing, in my experience. I’d like to say, at my age, I can say, I did my life.

AP: Matt, were there any surprises when you were shooting the film?

TYRNAUER: When he broke down on camera and couldn’t stop crying, it was a big surprise. I didn’t understand the true wound of the loss of Nobu’s best friend, Sakai. I’ve interviewed a lot of people. I’ve never had anyone really be so emotional. I thought it was extraordinary and very beautiful, actually, and very honest. Nobu invited me to go see the grave of his dear friend who had taken his own life and the pain and the suffering that we see on camera is unexpected in a movie that you think is just going to be about great food and the artistry of being a chef. There’s a soulfulness to it.

___

If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

___

This image released by Vertical Entertainment shows chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, left, and Robert De Niro in a scene from the documentary “Nobu.” (Vertical Entertainment via AP)

AP: Your world travel helped you develop your Nobu style. You’re still traveling and visiting restaurants. Can you talk about that?

MATSUHISA: I made the Nobu corporate teams. These teams that are traveling with me … they stand by at all the locations, and they set up, then they’re training for the next generations. The Nobu teams keep growing like a family, and they (are) working there long times so they understand Nobu’s quality, philosophy, the passions, how to do service. We have good teams.

AP: From “The Bear” to reality TV, there is high interest in what goes on in restaurant kitchens in pop culture now. Did that play into the film?

TYRNAUER: What I wanted to do was show the process and put that on display. Part of the secret to his success is that he’s actually created a very civilized culture, and it comes from the top down. I think that’s why he goes around the world like he does and visits all these restaurants and trains the chefs personally in his own style. But his own temperament is exemplary.

AP: What do you want people to take away from the film?

MATSUHISA: I’m very glad because I didn’t give up on my life. That’s the message. Even (when) the young people has a problem, I like to say, “Don’t give up. Just don’t forget about the ambitions, passions and go step by step.”

A fire investigator (Taron Egerton) is reluctantly paired with a police detective (Jurnee Smollett) to work the cases of two separate serial arsonists in the Apple TV+ crime thriller “Smoke.” One of the culprits won’t be a mystery to anyone familiar with the podcast “Firebug,” from which the nine-episode series draws fictionalized inspiration.

That’s not a spoiler; “Firebug” is cited in the opening credits. A true crime podcast about a real arsonist who was eventually caught, someone a lot like the person at the center of the podcast forms the basis for one of the characters here. The reveal is meant to be a twist (though it is heavily telegraphed) and it comes at the show’s midway point, when we already know the identity of the other arsonist, because he might as well be followed around by a blinking arrow pointing to him. So the question becomes: Will the show’s characters figure out what we already know, and will that process be interesting? Or will it drag on, filling time?

Most streaming shows suffer from “shoulda been a movie” syndrome, so you can probably guess the answer. But “Smoke” doesn’t have enough meat on its bones even for that. Created by Dennis Lehane (best known as the author of novels such as “Mystic River” and “Gone, Baby, Gone”), the series seems to have aspirations of Scorsese, but plays like an unintentional parody, working hard to capture “gritty” instead of just being gritty. Vibes abound, but they aren’t effective without a solidly constructed narrative.

Sometimes people set buildings on fire for the insurance payout. Sometimes they are driven by other reasons, and “Smoke” offers a paper-thin psychological study: Arsonists commit their crimes because they are filled with feelings of inadequacy, neglect and alienation, and this is how they regain a measure of power.

Two arsonists have been targeting a rainy, nondescript town and they’ve managed to elude the best efforts of Dave Gudsen (Egerton). His investigative know-how is supposedly legendary, but the arsons remain unsolved and there are new fires that keep following the same patterns. So he’s paired with Det. Michelle Calderon (Smollett), who is there to help narrow down the suspects.

He’s an ex-firefighter haunted by dreams of being trapped in an inferno. Married with a teenage stepson, he’s turned his real-life work experience into fodder for a novel. Great stuff, he thinks to himself! Outwardly, he is the picture of competence and regular guy-ness. Privately, he is both wildly overconfident and deeply insecure.

She’s an ex-Marine with a tough exterior. She’s only been a cop for a few years, and this new assignment does not seem good for her career, but someone in the police department has shuffled her off to arson investigations, likely due to her history of bad decisions, including an affair with a toxic coworker who is also her boss.

They are both outrunning demons, but otherwise, they are like oil and vinegar. Dave drops F-bombs liberally, but is the kind of person who flashes a big smile to massage a situation. Michelle has a chip on her shoulder and takes more of a dogged, sledgehammer approach.

Tonally, the show is all over the place, laying on the moody theatrics one moment, mocking Dave’s writerly pretenses the next. Greg Kinnear plays Dave’s worn-out boss, with John Leguizamo as the dirtbag ex-cop who was Dave’s partner before Michelle came along, and Anna Chlumsky is an investigator who joins the team late in the game. Everyone is compromised and not particularly good at their jobs, but the characters are too flat to register as meaningful. Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine especially is too good an actor to be stuck in the role of a troubled, slack-jawed man who might have developmental disabilities, but is rendered as an awkward person who has been treated poorly all his life and has finally been pushed over the edge. Only Smollett really shines.

The show is pulpy without being entertaining, with a ludicrous showdown in the finale that’s followed a few scenes later by another, even more ludicrous staredown. Plenty of smoke. No fire.

“Smoke” — 1.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Apple TV+

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.

By KIM CHANDLER, CLAIRE RUSH and ELLIOT SPAGAT

Mandonna “Donna” Kashanian lived in the United States for 47 years, married a U.S. citizen and raised their daughter. She was gardening in the yard of her New Orleans home when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handcuffed and took her away, her family said.

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Kashanian arrived in 1978 on a student visa and applied for asylum, fearing retaliation for her father’s support of the U.S.-backed shah. She lost her bid, but she was allowied to remain with her husband and child if she checked in regularly with immigration officials, her husband and daughter said. She complied, once checking in from South Carolina during Hurricane Katrina. She is now being held at an immigration detention center in Basile, Louisiana, while her family tries to get information.

Other Iranians are also getting arrested by immigration authorities after decades in the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security won’t say how many people they’ve arrested, but U.S. military strikes on Iran have fueled fears that there is more to come.

“Some level of vigilance, of course, makes sense, but what it seems like ICE has done is basically give out an order to round up as many Iranians as you can, whether or not they’re linked to any threat and then arrest them and deport them, which is very concerning,” said Ryan Costello, policy director of the National Iranian American Council, an advocacy group.

Homeland Security did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment on Kashanian’s case but have been touting arrests of Iranians. The department announced the arrests of at least 11 Iranians on immigration violations during the weekend of the U.S. missile strikes. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, without elaborating, that it arrested seven Iranians at a Los Angeles-area address that “has been repeatedly used to harbor illegal entrants linked to terrorism.”

The department “has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said of the 11 arrests. She didn’t offer any evidence of terrorist or extremist ties. Her comment on parole programs referred to President Joe Biden’s expanded legal pathways to entry, which his successor, Donald Trump, shut down.

Russell Milne, Kashanian’s husband, said his wife is not a threat. Her appeal for asylum was complicated because of “events in her early life,” he explained. A court found an earlier marriage of hers to be fraudulent.

But over four decades, Kashanian, 64, built a life in Louisiana. The couple met when she was bartending as a student in the late 1980s. They married and had a daughter. She volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, filmed Persian cooking tutorials on YouTube and was a grandmother figure to the children next door.

The fear of deportation always hung over the family, Milne said, but he said his wife did everything that was being asked of her.

“She’s meeting her obligations,” Milne said. “She’s retirement age. She’s not a threat. Who picks up a grandmother?”

While Iranians have been crossing the border illegally for years, especially since 2021, they have faced little risk of being deported to their home countries due to severed diplomatic relations with the U.S. That seems to no longer be the case.

The Trump administration has deported hundreds of people, including Iranians, to countries other than their own in an attempt to circumvent diplomatic hurdles with governments that won’t take their people back. During Trump’s second term, countries including El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama have taken back noncitizens from the U.S.

The administration has asked the Supreme Court to clear the way for several deportations to South Sudan, a war-ravaged country with which it has no ties, after the justices allowed deportations to countries other than those noncitizens came from.

The U.S. Border Patrol arrested Iranians 1,700 times at the Mexican border from October 2021 through November 2024, according to the most recent public data available. The Homeland Security Department reported that about 600 Iranians overstayed visas as business or exchange visitors, tourists and students in the 12-month period through September 2023, the most recent data reports.

Iran was one of 12 countries subject to a U.S. travel ban that took effect this month. Some fear ICE’s growing deportation arrests will be another blow.

In Oregon, an Iranian man was detained by immigration agents this past week while driving to the gym. He was picked up roughly two weeks before he was scheduled for a check-in at ICE offices in Portland, according to court documents filed by his attorney, Michael Purcell.

The man, identified in court filings as S.F., has lived in the U.S. for over 20 years, and his wife and two children are U.S. citizens.

S.F. applied for asylum in the U.S. in the early 2000s, but his application was denied in 2002. His appeal failed but the government did not deport him and he continued to live in the country for decades, according to court documents.

Due to “changed conditions” in Iran, S.F. would face “a vastly increased danger of persecution” if he were to be deported, Purcell wrote in his petition. “These circumstances relate to the recent bombing by the United States of Iranian nuclear facilities, thus creating a de facto state of war between the United States and Iran.”

S.F.’s long residency in the U.S., his conversion to Christianity and the fact that his wife and children are U.S. citizens “sharply increase the possibility of his imprisonment in Iran, or torture or execution,” he said.

Similarly, Kashanian’s daughter said she is worried what will happen to her mother.

“She tried to do everything right,” Kaitlynn Milne said.