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☆ Efforts to Restrict Transgender Health Care Face Pushback in Three States
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Mitch Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Republican efforts to restrict gender-transitioning treatment hit roadblocks in three states on Wednesday. Across the country, transgender rights have emerged this year as a defining legislative issue, with Republicans enacting sweeping new restrictions in states they control. In just the past few weeks, new bans have been signed into law in Idaho, Indiana and North Dakota, with similar policies still under consideration in other states. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill that would have revoked the medical licenses of doctors who provided gender-transitioning care to children and allowed people who received that treatment as children to sue their doctors. In Missouri, a state judge blocked new restrictions, which were set to take effect on Thursday, until at least Monday evening.

But many medical associations have said the law is transphobic and that gender-affirming care can be life-saving. The new lawsuit says depriving transgender youth of medically necessary care will have devastating consequences for them and their families. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of three families with transgender children and a Memphis-based doctor who performs gender-affirming procedures. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the ban into law last month along with a separate measure restricting drag performances in public. Several other U.S. states have banned gender-affirming care for minors, and over the last several weeks groups have sued over laws adopted in Utah, Florida, Indiana and Arkansas.

☆ U.S. judge blocks Biden clean water rule in 24 states
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 12 (Reuters) - A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday temporarily blocked implementation of a Biden administration rule establishing protections for seasonal streams and wetlands in 24 states, according to court documents. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted the states' request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the United States rule, which was finalized in December. In the order, Hovland said the states would "expend unrecoverable resources complying with a rule unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny." An EPA spokesperson said the agency is reviewing Wednesday’s ruling and called the Biden administration rule “the best interpretation” of the Clean Water Act. In Congress, Republicans led an effort to repeal the water rule last month, with limited support from across the aisle including four Senate Democrats and independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

☆ Federal judge blocks Biden clean water rule in 24 states
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday temporarily blocked implementation of a Biden administration rule establishing protections for seasonal streams and wetlands in 24 states, according to court documents. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland granted the states' request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of the Environmental Protection Agency's Waters of the United States rule, which was finalized in December. In the order, Hovland said the states would "expend unrecoverable resources complying with a rule unlikely to withstand judicial scrutiny." West Virginia and 23 other Republican-led states sued the EPA in February, alleging the rule violates the U.S. Constitution and sows confusion for landowners. Reporting by Clark Mindock and Nichola Groom; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday temporarily blocked a law restricting drag performances in public from going into effect, saying it was likely "vague and overly-broad" in its restriction of speech. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, in February, had signed the bill passed by the state's legislature that was meant to go into effect on Saturday. The judge said the state had failed to justify with a compelling interest the restrictions it aimed to impose. The Tennessee bill was part of an upswing in recent months in Republican efforts to regulate the conduct of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Much of the debate in Tennessee has been over whether drag is inherently a sexually explicit art form.

☆ Dominion’s historic defamation case against Fox News will go to trial, judge rules, in major decision dismantling key Fox defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Marshall Cohen Oliver Darcy | Marshall Cohen | Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Dominion Voting Systems’ historic defamation case against Fox News will proceed to a high-stakes jury trial in mid-April, a Delaware judge ruled Friday, in a major decision that dismantled several of the right-wing network’s key defenses. Both sides had asked Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis for a pretrial ruling in their favor, declaring them the winner. After thousands of pages of filings and exhibits, and a series of courtroom clashes, Davis decided the case should go to trial. Incriminating texts and emails have shown how Fox executives, hosts and producers didn’t believe the claims the network was peddling about Dominion. Despite what appeared on air, Fox News executives and hosts privately criticized the Trump camp for pushing claims of election fraud.

March 30 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Texas on Thursday blocked Obamacare's mandate that health insurance plans cover pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV (PrEP) and other preventive care including cancer and diabetes screenings. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, said the PrEP mandate violated a federal religious freedom law and that the other preventive care mandates were based on recommendations by an illegally appointed task force. The ruling was a victory for conservative businesses and individuals that sued to challenge the mandates in 2020. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Obamacare, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Customers view semi automatic guns on display at a gun shop in Los Angeles, California December 19, 2012. REUTERS/Gene BlevinsMarch 20 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday blocked California from enforcing a state law requiring new semiautomatic handguns to have certain safety features, finding it violates the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney in Santa Anna, California is the latest in a line of decisions striking down state gun laws following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year expanding gun rights. The judge said it would not take effect for 14 days to give the state a chance to appeal. The California Rifle & Pistol Association and four individuals sued the state last year to challenge the law.

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 frees platforms from legal responsibility for content posted online by their users. In a major case to be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the nine justices will address the scope of Section 230 for the first time. A ruling against the company could create a "litigation minefield," Google told the justices in a brief. Some have targeted the way platforms monetize content, place advertisements or moderate content by removing or not removing certain material. A California appeals court dismissed the lawsuit, citing Section 230, because it sought to hold Twitter liable for content Murphy created.

Bumb three weeks ago blocked other parts of the law in a similar lawsuit brought by different plaintiffs. Those measures included bans on carrying guns in public libraries, museums, bars and restaurants and on private property without the owner's explicit permission, as well as transporting loaded guns in vehicles. Other parts of the law, including measures tightening gun licensing requirements and handgun safety rules, remain in effect. Both lawsuits argue that the state's new restrictions violate the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Utah is poised to be the first state to pass a gender-affirming care ban in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Utah is likely to become the first state to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors this year. The Utah Senate approved a bill Friday that would bar minors from receiving gender-affirming surgeries and place an indefinite moratorium on their access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Spencer Cox, who became the second Republican governor last year to veto a bill that bars transgender students from playing girls’ sports. Bri Martin, the editor of the student newspaper at West High School, described gender-affirming care as “nothing short of life-saving,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The bill also allows minors to sue medical providers for malpractice for gender-affirming medical care if the minor “later disaffirms consent” before they turn 25.

☆ Judge blocks sale of machine gun converters after U.S. sues
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. District Judge Nina Morrison in Brooklyn on Wednesday issued a temporary restraining order against Rare Breed Triggers LLC and Rare Breed Firearms LLC, and their owners Lawrence DeMonico and Kevin Maxwell. The department said this meant the devices qualified as machine guns under federal law, and said the devices did not qualify for limited exceptions permitting their sale. Rare Breed operates in Fargo, North Dakota, and, according to court papers, Maxwell is also its general counsel. AR-15 style rifles have been used in many recent mass shootings. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will do "everything in its power to protect the American people from gun violence and to hold accountable those that flood our communities with illegal guns."

☆ Women living in states with abortion bans suffer greater economic insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Women living in states that restrict or ban abortion face greater economic insecurity than those living in states where they have access, new research finds. “In many of these states, especially the states which have banned abortion, many of the women who are facing economic challenges already are also women of color,” she said. Raising the minimum wage is a powerful tool that has been known to have significant impact on closing racial income gaps. But nearly two-thirds of abortion restrictive states have a $7.25 minimum wage, the lowest legal hourly wage for most workers in the United States. The average minimum wage across the 26 states is $8.17, lower than the average $11.92 for states with no restrictions.

A Virginia bill would deem a pregnant person's fetus a passenger in a car, thereby allowing the vehicle to use the car pool lane on highways. Under the bill, the certifications would then be "linked" to toll collection devices — typically E-Z Passes — in vehicles. High occupancy lanes require drivers to have at least one passenger in their vehicles when they use the lanes. And by considering a pregnant person as two people — in this case, allowing a pregnant person to use an HOV lane — you're ultimately making it harder to uphold abortion rights, because you have essentially imbued a fetus with personhood," Nash added. Doug Ducey, a Republican, that included a provision, carried over from a 2021 law, that reproductive rights advocates say granted personhood to fetuses.

U.S. District Judge Renee Marie Bumb said that the state's new restrictions violated the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for Murphy, said the governor's office was disappointed that the judge had struck down "common sense restrictions" and would work to get them reinstated. The decision left open the possibility for states to restrict guns in "sensitive places," but said any restrictions must be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of gun regulation. Bumb ruled Monday that New Jersey's restrictions did not fit with that tradition. Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'A lone Trump-appointed judge in Texas' should not have the ability to block student-loan forgiveness for millions of Americans, says a Democratic lawmaker introducing a bill to stop it from happening
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

His new bill would channel that authority to D.C. courts and the Supreme Court only. "Although the Biden administration has appealed this ruling, its long-overdue student debt relief program will now, at a minimum, be stalled for many months," Jones wrote. Two federal courts have so far succeeded in blocking Biden's plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers. Some Republican lawmakers have lauded those rulings because they have consistently argued Biden does not have the authority to cancel student debt broadly without Congressional approval. Now, the fate of this debt relief rests with the Supreme Court as it will begin to hear arguments on February 28 as to whether Biden can move forward with the loan forgiveness.

☆ Biden administration releases plan for the scheduled lifting of Title 42 next week
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rosa Flores | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Department of Homeland Security’s six-pillar plan for the scheduled end of Title 42 next week includes surging resources to the border, increasing processing efficiency, imposing consequences for unlawful entry, bolstering nonprofit capacity, targeting smugglers and working with international partners. The federal government has also added 10 soft-sided facilities to increase Customs and Border Protection holding capacity by over one-third since 2021, the plan states. According to the six-pillar plan, CBP spends 30% less time processing migrants now compared to early last year – which will help mitigate overcrowding of CBP facilities. As the agency expects a surge of migrants with the lifting of Title 42, it plans to impose legal consequences on those who cross unlawfully and don’t have a legal basis to stay in the United States, the plan states. “For noncitizens seeking to evade apprehension, repeat offenders, and those engaging in smuggling efforts, we are increasing referrals for prosecutions,” the plan states.

☆ DOJ sues Arizona for placing shipping containers at the border
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Taylor Romine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The federal government is suing Arizona for placing shipping containers at the border as a temporary wall, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Doug Ducey, a Republican, issued an executive order telling the state’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs to use shipping containers to fill in gaps along the border, and did so without official permits or authorization, CNN previously reported. The federal government has been battling with the state ever since to get the containers removed, according to the lawsuit. “Not only has Arizona refused to halt its trespasses and remove the shipping containers from federal lands, but it has indicated that it will continue to trespass on federal lands and install additional shipping containers,” the lawsuit states. “Arizona stands ready to cooperate with the federal government on construction of a border wall and always has been,” the letter from Ducey’s office said.

“The States will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay from the termination of Title 42 for the reasons discussed in the motion,” the states argue in the filing, citing a separate ruling that blocked the end of Title 42 earlier this year. Since March 2020, when the authority was invoked, border officials have turned away migrants at the US-Mexico border more than 2 million times. “Over the weekend, the El Paso Sector experienced a major surge in illegal crossings, with a 3-day average of 2,460 daily encounters, primarily through the downtown area of El Paso. The Biden administration is asking Congress for more than $3 billion as it prepares for the end of the Trump-era border policy later this month, according to a source familiar with the ask. It is not specific to the end of Title 42, the source said.

☆ Penguin Random House CEO Resigns Weeks After Simon & Schuster Deal Was Blocked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, had been confident that regulators would approve the purchase of Simon & Schuster. Markus Dohle has resigned as chief executive of Penguin Random House weeks after a federal judge blocked the world’s largest consumer-book publisher from acquiring rival Simon & Schuster. He is being succeeded by Nihar Malaviya , 48 years old, currently president and chief operating officer of Penguin Random House U.S., who will serve as interim CEO effective Jan. 1.

☆ Penguin Random House CEO steps down weeks after judge blocked Simon & Schuster merger
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Penguin Random House said Friday that CEO Markus Dohle will step down at the end of the year, weeks after the collapse of a deal to merge Penguin with Simon & Schuster. A federal judge sided with the Justice Department and blocked Penguin's $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster in late October. Soon after the judge's decision, Paramount Global , which owns Simon & Schuster, officially pulled the plug on the deal. "We regret Markus Dohle's decision to leave Bertelsmann and Penguin Random House," said Christoph Mohn, chairman of Penguin parent Bertelsmann's supervisory board. "He has sustainably focused Penguin Random House on growth and profitability.

☆ Penguin Random House CEO to quit after merger blocked
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Penguin Random House head Markus Dohle will step down at the end of the year after a U.S. judge blocked a planned $2.2 billion merger of the world's largest publisher and rival Simon & Schuster, the company said in a statement on Friday. Nihar Malaviya, who is president and chief operating officer of Penguin Random House U.S., will take over as interim CEO from Jan. 1, the company said. Thomas Rabe, chief executive of Penguin's German owner Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F), expressed full confidence in Malaviya, who he said had a chance of permanently becoming CEO. With the deal's dissolution, Penguin will pay a $200 million termination fee to Paramount. Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A top GOP lawmaker staunchly opposed to Biden's student-loan forgiveness policies pledges to make 'oversight a priority' if selected to lead the House education committee
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx received a waiver to run for chair of the House education committee. She has been highly critical of Biden's student-debt relief and plans to bolster oversight over the reforms. "If I am selected to Chair the Committee, I will make oversight a priority and put the federal government in its place. Since Biden took office, Foxx has been highly critical of the higher education policies and reforms he has enacted, specifically related to student debt. Biden's administration is continuing to fight for it's student-debt relief plan, with the matter now sitting at the Supreme Court.

[1/2] Activists protest in the Indiana Statehouse during a special session debating on banning abortion in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. July 25, 2022. REUTERS/Cheney OrrDec 2 (Reuters) - A second Indiana judge on Friday blocked the state from enforcing its law banning most abortions after Jewish, Muslim and other non-Christian women challenged it in a lawsuit. The plaintiffs have argued that the measure infringes on religious freedom protected by another state law. The law had already been on hold, as another judge in September blocked Indiana from enforcing it while Planned Parenthood and other healthcare providers challenge it in court. The ACLU said the plaintiffs represented religions including Judaism and Islam as well as "independent spiritual belief systems."

☆ Biden's student-loan forgiveness remains blocked after another federal court rejects the administration's attempt to revive its debt relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It was in response to Biden's appeal to the court after a Texas judge blocked the relief. Separately, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on an 8th Circuit decision also blocking relief. On Wednesday night, a three-judge panel in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it would not grant the Biden administration's request to pause a district court decision that blocked the implementation of student-loan forgiveness. The Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on whether it will grant the Biden administration's request to revive debt relief for millions of borrowers. Now, the fate of student-debt relief appears to rest at the Supreme Court.

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