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☆ Slaughterhouse cleaning company fined $649,000 for child workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —A janitorial company has been fined $649,000 after an investigation found it hired minors for dangerous jobs cleaning slaughterhouses, the United States Department of Labor said Monday. Fayette Janitorial Service had employed at least 24 children, including those as young as 13, according to the DOL investigation. The minors had been working overnight shifts at two separate slaughter facilities, according to the DOL. The company said in February that it had ended all of its contracts with Fayette, according to the Sioux City Journal. Instances of illegal child labor have been growing in recent years, and other contractors have been fined over employing minors.

Persons: ” Fayette, “, Perdue “, ”, – CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Ramishah Maruf Organizations: New, New York CNN, United States Department of Labor, CNN, Seaboard Triumph Foods, Perdue, Labor Department, Seaboard, Sioux City, Packers Sanitation Services Locations: New York, Fayette, DOL, Sioux City , Iowa, Accomac , Virginia

☆ Video of Drake appearing to fondle a 17-year-old fan on stage resurfaces amid Kendrick Lamar feud
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Ellen Cranley | Caralynn Matassa | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewAn old video of Drake dancing with and kissing a 17-year-old has resurfaced again amid the rapper's feud with Kendrick Lamar. In the former, released Friday, Lamar suggests Drake is a "predator" and says he's got "sex offenders" at his record label, OVO. AdvertisementIn "Not Like Us," released less than a day later, Lamar outright calls Drake and his entourage pedophiles: "Certified Lover Boy? In 2019, many who took issue with the video of Drake compared his encounter with the 17-year-old to Kelly's behavior. Drake and Harris knew each other for several years before rumors that the two were dating circulated in 2018, when Harris was 18 and Drake was 31.

Persons: —, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Kendrick Lamar's, Lamar, he's, it's, Jeffrey Epstein, Millie Bobby Brown, Millie Bobby Browns, I'd, he'd, Lamar didn't, Prince Williams, Swan, Kelly, Aaliyah, Brown, Bella Harris, Harris Organizations: Service, Ogden, Guardian, Business, Drake, Getty, Hollywood, Washington DC Locations: Drake's Denver , Colorado, Washington

☆ Top New York official asks Best Buy about its commitment to LGBTQ groups after conservative pressure
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Brooke Sopelsa | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The New York state comptroller sent a letter to Best Buy last week questioning whether the company changed its commitment to inclusivity and supporting LGBTQ groups. The comptroller's office manages the state's $207 billion public pension fund, which has invested in Best Buy. He also denied that the NCPPR pressured Best Buy to stop supporting LGBTQ groups in general. "This contentious and vast disagreement between radical gender theory activists and the general public has nothing to do with Best Buy selling electronics." Peck did not ask Best Buy to stop its donations to the HRC, saying in the email, "We understand that it's unrealistic for Best Buy to leave HRC in the near future because of their political clout."

Persons: Thomas DiNapoli, Corie, Barry, J, Patrick Doyle, DiNapoli, Scott Shepard, Shepard, Trevor, Carly Charlson, Charlson, Eric Bloem, Bloem, Ethan Peck, Peck, Marina Rizzo, hadn't, Rizzo Organizations: NBC News, Securities, Exchange Commission, National Center for Public Policy Research, Best, NBC, NCPPR's Free Enterprise, SAGE, GLAAD, Human Rights, SEC, NCPPR's Free Enterprise Institute, HRC, PRIDE Locations: York, States

☆ Supreme Court Allows, for Now, Texas Law Restricting Access to Porn
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Supreme Court refused on Tuesday to block a Texas law that seeks to limit minors’ access to pornography on the internet by requiring age verification measures like the submission of government-issued IDs. A petition seeking review of an appeals court’s ruling upholding the law remains pending. A trade group, companies that produce sexual materials and a performer challenged the law, saying that it violates the First Amendment right of adults. The law does not allow companies to retain information their users submit. But the challengers said adults would be wary of supplying personal information for fear of identity theft, tracking and extortion.

Locations: Texas

☆ Nearly 47 child migrants a day vanished in Europe since 2021, research reveals
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Carlotta Dotto | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Around 47 children vanish every day in Europe, according to new research by cross-border journalism collective Lost in Europe showing more than 50,000 child migrants went missing after arrival over the past three years. The research builds on findings released in 2021 that revealed at least 18,000 child migrants disappeared upon arrival in Europe in the three years from January 2018 to December 2020. Out of 31 contacted countries, Lost in Europe received 20 responses, with seven lacking required data and 11 not responding — representing an improvement from 12 responses overall in 2021. Other significant countries of origin include Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco, according to the data collected by Lost in Europe. Lost in Europe is a not-for-profit cross-border journalism project investigating the disappearance of child migrants in Europe.

Persons: Aagje Ieven, Ieven, ”, “, Maja Hitij, Patricia Durr, Adam Berry Organizations: CNN, Ghent University, United Nations, Lost, ECPAT, Austrian Ministry of, European Union, Migration Network Locations: Europe, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Belgium, Switzerland, Ghent, Eisenhuttenstadt, Afghanistan, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, ”, Moria, Mytilene, Greece

☆ Here are 5 sectors of the market that are working and the stocks that stand out in each
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met with the press after the March Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, which was pretty fraught. Data centers If there is the whiff of a data center or anything in one, the stock goes higher. It's why Meta stock is a buy a tad lower as stocks tend to revisit those kinds of declines. I worry about Club stock Stanley Black & Decker for this reason, but the dividend will keep it propped up for now. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: what's, Jerome Powell, Powell, Powell isn't, Voltaire, Vertiv, Eaton, Meta, It's, jetsam, Darius Adamczyk, Vimal, Stanley Black, Decker, Azek, Morgan Stanley, Wells, Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo, Chipotle, that's, Johnson, Jensen Huang, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Scott Mlyn Organizations: Federal, Market, Broadcom, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Travel American Express, Raytheon, GE Aerospace, Royal, AAR, Honeywell, Southwest Airlines, Housing, Stanley, JPMorgan, Procter, Gamble, Colgate, Merck, Bristol, Myers, PepsiCo, Energy, Coterra Energy, Diamondback, drillers, CNBC Locations: California, Royal Caribbean, Delta, Devon

☆ Sexsomnia: An embarrassing sleep disorder no one wants to talk about
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

These are all clinically documented cases of sleep sex, or sexsomnia, part of a family of sleep disorders called parasomnias that include sleepwalking, sleep talking, sleep eating and sleep terrors. “There certainly can be legal consequences from the sexual behaviors, particularly with minors, and also with aggressive behaviors during sleep,” Schenck said. Also called OSA, obstructive sleep apnea is a serious sleep malady in which breathing stops for 10 seconds to two minutes many times per hour each night. “It’s the breath holding or apnea from the obstructive sleep apnea that triggers the arousal, typically in men, which then triggers the sexual behaviors in sleep,” Schenck said. “It’s so interesting, because a lot of people with stress become hyposexual, not interested in sex,” Schenck said.

Persons: rouses, Carlos Schenck, ”, Schenck, ” Schenck, Jennifer Mundt, moan, “ You’re, ‘, Yuliya Kirayonak, “, Northwestern’s Mundt, it’s, Mundt, ” Mundt, you’re Organizations: CNN, Hennepin County Medical, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, sexsomnia, “, US Centers for Disease Control Locations: Hennepin, Norway, Chicago

☆ Martin Freeman says it's unfair there's so much backlash to his age-gap movie with Jenna Ortega, who is 31 years younger
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Eve Crosbie | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Martin Freeman addressed the controversy around his latest film, "Miller's Girl." Freeman, 52, plays a teacher who has a relationship with his student, played by 21-year-old Ortega. AdvertisementMartin Freeman addressed the controversy caused by his latest film, "Miller's Girl," in which he stars opposite Jenna Ortega, who is 31 years younger than him. The movie, which landed on Netflix on April 25, follows a high school student, played by Ortega, who begins a sexual relationship with her English teacher, played by Freeman. Audiences were quick to criticize the film due to the age gap between the two actors — Ortega is 21, while Freeman is 52.

Persons: Martin Freeman, Freeman, Ortega, —, Jenna Ortega, — Ortega Organizations: Service, Netflix, Audiences, Business

☆ Biden Administration Restores Health Protections for Gay and Transgender People
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Noah Weiland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration announced expansive new protections on Friday for gay and transgender medical patients, prohibiting federally funded health providers and insurers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The new rule reverses a policy instituted by the Trump administration and helps to fulfill part of President Biden’s vow to restore civil rights protections for L.G.B.T.Q. people that were eliminated by his predecessor. The rule overhauls federal policy in an area that has become a political flashpoint, with more than 20 Republican-led states banning or restricting gender-affirming care for minors in recent years, and it is likely to draw legal challenges. Even the history of the rule illustrates the political sensitivities at play: It has now taken three different forms under three successive presidents.

Persons: Trump, Biden’s, “, ” Xavier Becerra Organizations: Biden, Republican

☆ Election Updates: Biden to campaign in Florida, keeping the focus on abortion.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Nicholas Nehamas | Patricia Mazzei | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The Biden campaign has made abortion one of its top issues, as polling shows it is one of the few subjects in which voters place more trust in Mr. Biden than Mr. Trump. While the vote could motivate liberal and independent voters to come to the polls, Mr. Biden would have to invest heavily in Florida to defeat Mr. Trump, which his campaign has not yet done. “Trump did this” has become a frequent messaging slogan from the Biden campaign. The Biden campaign, she said, should not give up on the nation’s third-largest state. Although the Biden campaign has a significant financial advantage over Mr. Trump’s operation, it has not spent heavily in Florida compared with the major battlegrounds.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Biden’s, Floridians, Donald Trump, ”, Michael Tyler, “, Roe, Wade, “ Trump, Ron DeSantis, Debbie Mucarsel, Powell, Rick Scott, Ms, Mucarsel, DeSantis, ” Mr, Tyler, “ We’ve, Lauren Brenzel, ” Alex Andrade, Mr, Andrade Organizations: Biden, Republicans, Gov, Republican, Democratic, Florida Locations: Florida, Tampa, Trump . Florida, Arizona, Florida , Arizona, Miami, “ Florida, Kentucky , Kansas, Ohio, Dade County, Hialeah Gardens, Fla

☆ A new version of TikTok that rewards you with Amazon vouchers and gift cards for watching videos is facing a crackdown in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewDigital regulators in Europe are clamping down on a new feature by TikTok that rewards users for consuming videos and interacting with creators, citing addiction concerns among children. The European Commission said on Monday that it had opened formal proceedings against TikTok Lite, a spinoff version of the TikTok app that uses less mobile data and launched in Spain and France in March. Users can earn such points on the Lite app by watching videos for up to 85 minutes daily. "We suspect TikTok 'Lite' could be as toxic and addictive as cigarettes 'light,'" said Thierry Breton, commissioner for the internal market in the EU. "The TikTok Lite rewards hub is not available to under 18s, and there is a daily limit on video watch tasks," the spokesperson said.

Persons: —, TikTok, Thierry Breton, Tiktok, TikTok didn't, Breton, it's Organizations: Service, European, Business, AFP, Digital Services Locations: Europe, Spain, France, EU

☆ EU threatens to suspend TikTok Lite’s money-for-views program over addiction fears
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This photograph taken on April 11, 2024, in Paris, shows the logo of the Chinese social network application TikTok Lite displayed in Apple's App Store. Users aged 18 or older can "collect points by discovering new content or completing certain actions," the social network said. The European Union on Monday opened proceedings against ByteDance's TikTok and threatened to suspend its newly launched TikTok Lite rewards program, where users can earn points for liking content or inviting friends to the app. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said TikTok had 24 hours to provide a risk assessment report for TikTok Lite or face fines. Children are thought to be at risk given the suspected absence of effective age verification mechanisms on TikTok, the EU said.

Persons: ByteDance's TikTok, TikTok, Margrethe Vestager Organizations: European Union, European Commission, TikTok, CNBC, EU, Digital Services Locations: Paris, France, Spain, EU

☆ Spurred by Teen Girls, States Move to Ban Deepfake Nudes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Natasha Singer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Caroline Mullet, a ninth grader at Issaquah High School near Seattle, went to her first homecoming dance last fall, a James Bond-themed bash with blackjack tables attended by hundreds of girls dressed up in party frocks. A few weeks later, she and other female students learned that a male classmate was circulating fake nude images of girls who had attended the dance, sexually explicit pictures that he had fabricated using an artificial intelligence app designed to automatically “strip” clothed photos of real girls and women. Ms. Mullet, 15, alerted her father, Mark, a Democratic Washington State senator. Although she was not among the girls in the pictures, she asked if something could be done to help her friends, who felt “extremely uncomfortable” that male classmates had seen simulated nude images of them. Soon, Senator Mullet and a colleague in the State House proposed legislation to prohibit the sharing of A.I.-generated sexuality explicit depictions of real minors.

Persons: Caroline Mullet, James Bond, Mullet, ” Ms Organizations: Issaquah High School, Democratic Washington State, State House Locations: Seattle

☆ What does Goldman Sachs want in a coder? For them to have studied philosophy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewArtificial intelligence is redefining what it takes to be a software engineer on Wall Street. A typical software developer holds a computer science degree. Goldman Sachs' chief information officer, Marco Argenti, recently encouraged his daughter, a college student, to concentrate her education on philosophy if she wants to pursue a career in engineering. AdvertisementZafar said he's paying more attention to people with "a computer science degree and an English minor," or "a psychology major and a computer science minor." Advertisement"That software engineer might get replaced by a sort of prompt engineer," Vyas said.

Persons: —, Goldman Sachs, Marco Argenti, Argenti, he's, it's, Citi's, Shadman Zafar, Zafar, Jensen Huang, Ken Griffin, Deepali Vyas, Korn, Vyas Organizations: Service, Wall, Business, Harvard, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, World, Citadel Locations: Dubai

☆ Scotland Pauses Gender Medications for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Azeen Ghorayshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Scotland’s National Health Service has stopped all new prescriptions of puberty-blocking drugs and other hormone treatments for minors, citing a sweeping review of youth gender services released in England last week. It is the sixth country in Europe to limit such treatments, and its changes are among the most restrictive. England and carried out by Dr. Hilary Cass, an independent pediatrician, over the course of four years, concluded that the evidence for benefits of youth gender treatments was “remarkably weak” and that pressing questions remained about potential long-term risks. This month, following recommendations by Dr. Cass, N.H.S. Hormone therapies, including estrogen and testosterone, are still available to teenagers in England aged 16 and up.

Persons: Hilary Cass, . Cass Organizations: Health Service, N.H.S Locations: England, Europe, N.H.S

☆ Weight-related bullying risk goes up the more time teens spend on social media, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The more time adolescents spend on screens and social media, the greater the likelihood that they will be bullied about their weight, according to the study. An X spokesperson said the social media platform’s policies had evolved since the data was first collected. “Weight stigma and bias are common on social media,” Ganson said in an email. “Social media use is ubiquitous among adolescents,” he added. Then, you can come up with solutions together on how to handle social media moving forward, Hanson said.

Persons: ”, Kyle Ganson, Twitch, Joe Benarroch, Elizabeth Busby, “, “ We’ll, ” Busby, Kendrin Sonneville, Sonneville, ” Ganson, Crispin la Valiente, Oona Hanson, ” Hanson, ’ ” Sonneville, “ Young, ‘, ’ ” Hanson, Ganson, Hanson, ” Sonneville Organizations: CNN, PLOS, Survey, Inwentash, Social, University of Toronto, Twitter, Advisory Council, Ambassadors, Guilds, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Getty Locations: Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, United Kingdom, United States, U.S, Los Angeles

☆ Making deepfake porn without consent could soon be a crime in England
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

It is already illegal in England and Wales to share explicit deepfakes without the subject’s consent, with perpetrators facing jail time. Last year, changes to the Online Safety Act already criminalized the sharing of deepfake sexual images in England and Wales. The new offense applies only to adults as, under existing English and Welsh rules, creating deepfake sexual images of minors is already a crime. The creation of deepfakes has included super-imposing women’s faces, without their consent, onto sexually explicit images. A directive criminalizing the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes has also been proposed in the European Union.

Persons: Laura Farris, “, Bill, deepfakes, Taylor Swift, Farris, —, Helle Thorning, Schmidt Organizations: London CNN, United Kingdom’s, ITV, Criminal, European Union, Facebook Locations: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, United States, India

☆ Federal appeals court blocks West Virginia from enforcing anti-trans sports ban against 13-year-old girl
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that West Virginia cannot enforce its anti-transgender sports ban against a 13-year-old girl, dealing a blow to one of nearly two dozen such laws enacted by GOP-led states in recent years. We hold it cannot,” Circuit Judge Toby Heytens wrote in the decision, which was joined by Judge Pamela Harris. Signed into law by West Virginia Republican Gov. The court’s majority said the law violates Pepper-Jackson’s rights under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex at schools that receive federal aid. The federal judge who initially blocked the law in 2021 reversed course last year and sided with state officials.

Persons: Becky Pepper, Jackson, Toby Heytens, Pamela Harris, Jim Justice, Pepper, “, ” Heytens, Steven Agee, Roy Rochlin, Agee, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Joshua Block, ” Block, Patrick Morrisey, ” Organizations: CNN, GOP, Appeals, ”, Republican, West Virginia Republican Gov, Lambda Legal, Conservative, American Civil Liberties Union, West Virginians, West Virginia Locations: Virginia, New York City, West Virginia

☆ Supreme Court Clears Way, for Now, for Idaho to Ban Transgender Treatment for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court on Monday temporarily allowed a ban to take effect in Idaho on gender-affirming treatment for minors, a signal that at least some justices appear comfortable with wading into another front in the culture wars. In siding with state officials who had asked the court to lift a block on the law, the justices were split, with a majority of the conservative justices voting to enforce the ban over the objections of the three liberal justices. The justices also specified that their decision would remain in place until the appeals process had ended. The court specified that it would allow the ban to apply to everyone except the plaintiffs who brought the challenge. Although orders on the emergency docket often include no reasoning, the decision included concurrences by Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who was joined by Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas, and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who was joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Persons: Neil M, Gorsuch, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Clarence Thomas, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: Justice Locations: Idaho

☆ England Limits Youth Gender Medications, Part of Big Shift in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Azeen Ghorayshi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Health Service in England started restricting gender treatments for children this month, making it the fifth European country to limit the medications because of a lack of evidence of their benefits and concern about long-term harms. England’s change resulted from a four-year review released Tuesday evening by Dr. Hilary Cass, an independent pediatrician. “For most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress,” the report concluded. In a related editorial published in a medical journal, Dr. Cass said the evidence that youth gender treatments were beneficial was “built on shaky foundations.”The N.H.S. England’s move is part of a broader shift in northern Europe, where health officials have been concerned by soaring demand for adolescent gender treatments in recent years.

Persons: Dr, Hilary Cass, Cass Organizations: National Health Service Locations: England, Europe

☆ Trump wants to deny Biden's easiest reelection path by pushing a last-minute change in Nebraska's election law
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewFormer President Donald Trump is backing a last-minute change to Nebraska's election law that could deprive President Joe Biden of an Electoral College vote that would loom large in a close race. The rest of the state is heavily conservative and has consistently handed its four other electoral votes to Republican nominees. Republicans could make Biden's reelection path more difficult if they successfully changed the law. It's worth being skeptical that Republicans can push this throughNebraska Republicans have gnashed their teeth over the law for years. Pete Ricketts to the US Senate, a move that angered some Nebraska Republicans given that Ricketts had endorsed Pillen over Herbster.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Jim Pillen of, Jim Pillen, Trump, Don Bacon, Semafor, Pillen, Charlie Kirk's, Kirk, hasn't, Barack Obama, Sen, Loren Lippincott, it's, Lippincott, Machaela Cavanaugh, Mike McDonnell, Megan Hunt, Hunt, McDonnell, Charles Herbster, Trump's, Pete Ricketts, Ricketts Organizations: Service, Electoral, Trump, Business, Congressional, GOP, Republican, Nebraska, White, Representatives, Nebraska Republicans, Democratic, Electoral College, Democrat, Congressional District, Lincoln Journal Star, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Nebraska Republican, Getty, Gov, Senate Locations: Jim Pillen of Nebraska, Nebraska, Omaha, Wisconsin , Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, Herbster, Maine

☆ Germans celebrate as recreational cannabis use becomes legal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Crowds gathered in Germany overnight to celebrate the legalization of cannabis starting from Monday. Adults can now cultivate up to three cannabis plants for private consumption. From July 1, cannabis will be available in licensed not-for-profit clubs with no more than 500 members – all of whom would have to be adults. The German government said that cannabis would remain illegal for minors and highly restricted for young adults, adding that consuming the drug near schools and playgrounds would be illegal. The move makes Germany the third country in Europe – after Malta and Luxembourg – to legalize the drug for recreational use, removing cannabis from the official list of banned substances.

Persons: Fabian Sommer, Karl Lauterbach, it’s, – Organizations: CNN Locations: Germany, Berlin, Europe –, Malta, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Australia

☆ Texas appeals court blocks state from investigating families seeking gender-affirming care for trans youth
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A Texas appeals court upheld two injunctions in a pair of legal cases Friday, in an order blocking the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services from investigating families of transgender youth who are seeking gender-affirming medical care for their children. The court of appeals upheld a trial court decision in the Friday order, ruling in favor of LGBTQ+ advocates and families in two related Texas lawsuits asking a state court to block the agency from investigating parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care. Paxton appealed the district court injunction in March and declared investigations could continue during the appeal process under the law. The court, in its opinion, also affirmed Paxton’s opinion does not alter preexisting law or legal obligations of the department. Abbott’s directive to the agency was seen by many as an attack on transgender children and their families.

Persons: CNN —, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, Abbott, “, ”, Paxton, Bill, Chase Strangio, ” CNN’s Amir Vera, Ashley Killough Organizations: CNN, state’s Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas Gov, Republican, Department of Family and Protective Services, ”, Lambda Legal, ACLU, Texas Supreme, Gov, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, HIV Locations: Texas, State of Texas, Travis County

☆ Republicans slam Biden for proclaiming Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, though it’s yearly observed on March 31
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Samantha Waldenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Republicans are taking aim at President Joe Biden for proclaiming Easter Sunday as the Transgender Day of Visibility, though the two days only coincided this year by chance. The Transgender Day of Visibility, which was started in 2009 as a day of awareness to celebrate the successes of transgender and gender-nonconforming people, is held annually on March 31. “It is appalling and insulting that Joe Biden’s White House … formally proclaimed Easter Sunday as ‘Trans Day of Visibility,” former President Donald Trump’s campaign said in a statement. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Biden administration had “betrayed the central tenet of Easter” in a post on X. President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for profit,” Bates said.

Persons: Joe Biden, Joe Biden’s, …, Donald Trump’s, Mike Johnson, Biden, “, ”, Andrew Bates, ” “, ” Bates, ” Biden, Trump Organizations: CNN, Republicans, Republican, GOP

☆ Inside a High-Stakes Fight to Limit Social Media’s Hold on Children
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Jay Root | Grace Ashford | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When New York’s governor and attorney general joined forces to pass a law trying to restrict social media companies’ ability to use algorithms to shape content for children, they expected Big Tech to put up a battle. That fight has certainly arrived, but with far more opponents than anticipated. A broad range of online service providers, including Google, TikTok and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has spent over $700,000 on lobbyists to press legislators and state officials, according to recent state disclosures. The spending represents aggregate amounts that includes other items on the lobbyists’ agendas, and the disclosures do not state whether the companies are for or against the legislation. But interviews and public statements show that most are opposing the bill — and a related bill connected to child data privacy — or raising concerns about the measures going too far, with some saying it could have unintended consequences on e-commerce sites or digital news publishers.

Persons: Big Organizations: New, Big Tech, Google, Meta, Facebook, Companies, eBay, New York Times

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