BREAKING -- CECILE RICHARDS CONFIRMS SHE WILL LEAVE PLANNED PARENTHOOD, READY FOR LIFE OF ACTIVISM TO FOLLOW:  In an interview with The New York Times’ Amy Chozick (@amychozick), Richards (@CecileRichards), a powerhouse advocate for women’s health -- and LGBTQ equality, says, “As a lifetime organizer, I’ve never been more excited, despite this Congress and this presidency.” More from The New York Times.

To know @CecileRichards is to know what it means to be bold, to persevere, and to lead. She has devoted her life and her career to making this country a more just and fair place for all people, particularly those who have been marginalized or left behind. https://t.co/EKSrbUmb5s

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) January 26, 2018

For millions of people in this country & around the world, @CecileRichards' lasting legacy will be access to services & opportunities that might otherwise have been denied to them. But it is her inability to accept defeat that has inspired a generation of fighters & advocates.

— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) January 26, 2018

TRUMP AT DAVOS -- FALSE CLAIMS, IGNORES VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTQ PEOPLE:  In his speech today, Trump outrageously claimed he’s lifted up marginalized communities, despite his so-called “America First” policies that exclude LGBTQ people, women, Muslims, refugees, people of color and other groups that truly make our nation great. And with an audience of world leaders, he failed to address the violent crackdown against LGBTQ people in Egypt, Chechnya and beyond. More from HRC.

• Meanwhile, Trump-Pence keep playing politics with the lives of hundreds of thousands of young Dreamers -- including 75,000 who are LGBTQ. Eighty-seven percent of Americans say Dreamers shouldn't face deportation. #DreamActNow.

LAMBDA LEGAL AND OUTSERVE-SLDN FILE TO PERMANENTLY BLOCK TRUMP-PENCE BAN ON TRANSGENDER TROOPS: HRC is an organizational co-plaintiff in this case. Said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride): “Following blow after blow to this order in federal courts, this motion for summary judgment has the potential to bring us one step closer to the speedy resolution that our brave service members deserve.” More from HRC.

HRC TO HONOR BETTY DEGENERES FOR HER DECADES OF LGBTQ ADVOCACY: Ellen’s mom will receive an Upstander Award at the organization’s fifth annual Time to THRIVE Conference on February 16-18. “Betty has been a tireless, fearless advocate for the LGBTQ community, and we have been proud to call her not only a member of the HRC family for more than two decades, but a true friend,” said Vincent Pompei, Director of HRC's Youth Well-Being Project and Time to THRIVE conference chair. Check out five ways she’s set the standard for #MomGoals at HRC.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY TO CELEBRATE ELLEN DEGENERES’ 60TH BIRTHDAY We mark this auspicious occasion with a very special #FlashbackFriday commemorating Ellen’s powerful speech at our first-ever National Dinner back in 1997. More from HRC.

HRC THANKS @nwlc @DemocracyFwd @NCYLnews FOR FILING COMPLAINT AGAINST  @BetsyDeVosED @usedgov for undermining student survivors’ Title IX rights.  LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted by sexual violence.

HRC JOINS BRIEF SUPPORTING TRANSGENDER STUDENT IN PENNSYLVANIA: The brief, prepared by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to uphold the Boyertown Area School District’s policy allowing transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms aligned with their gender identity. More from ADL.

ILLINOIS SCHOOL DISTRICT PASSES POLICY TO PROTECT TRANS STUDENTS: The Glenbrook High Schools District 225 Board of Education policy allows students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity. More from The Chicago Tribune.

ARREST MADE IN 2017 MURDER OF TEXAS TRANS WOMAN: Mark Daniel Lewis has been charged with manslaughter in the death of Kenne McFadden, 27, whose body was found in the San Antonio River. More from Spectrum News San Antonio.

GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS

NEW SURVEY FINDS 90 PERCENT OF INDONESIAN FEEL “THREATENED” BY LGBTQ COMMUNITY: More from Reuters.

IN CUBA, WOMAN WITH SAME-SEX PARTNER GRANTED CUSTODY OF LATE DAUGHTER’S CHILDREN: A local LGBTQ group believes the ruling is the the first time a same-sex partnership has been legally recognized in Cuba. More from The Washington Blade.

READING RAINBOW - Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!

NBC interviews India’s first and only LGBTQ choir; The Denver Post interviews the former director of the GLBT Center of Central Florida about the Pulse nightclub shooting; Nashville Scene interviews Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project on anticipated anti-LGBTQ state legislation