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Transgender adults in Florida `blindsided’ that new law also limits their access to health care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Debate surrounding Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult – even impossible – for many transgender adults to get treatment.Eli and Lucas, trans men who are a couple, followed the discussions in the Legislature, where Democrats warned that trans children would be more prone to suicide under a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Republicans responded with misplaced tales of mutilated kids. Eli said he and his partner felt “blindsided” when they discovered the bill contained language that would also disrupt their lives.“There was no communication. … Nobody was really talking about it in our circles,” said Eli, 29.Like many transgender adults in Florida, he and Lucas are now facing tough choices, including whether to uproot their lives so that they can continue to access gender-confirmin...

Hundreds of thousands march in Poland anti-government protests to show support for democracy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people marched in an anti-government protest in Poland’s capital on Sunday, with citizens traveling from across the country to voice their anger at officials who they say have eroded democratic norms and created fears that the nation is following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy.Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who belongs to the opposition party that led the march, estimated that 500,000 people took part. The Onet news portal estimated there there were at least 300,000 at the march’s culmination.Large crowds also gathered in Krakow and other cities across the nation of 38 million people, showing frustration with a government that critics accuse of violating the constitution and eroding fundamental rights in Poland, a country long hailed as model of peaceful and democratic change.Former President Lech Walesa, the leader of the Solidarity movement that played a historic role in toppling communism in Poland, marche...

Why don't tips show up on credit card charges?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Tipping can be a confusing practice to navigate correctly. (Is 20% the right amount for everyone? Do you tip on takeout too? And sure, you tip the bartender, but what about your tow truck driver?) To make matters more confusing, whatever amount you do end up tipping might not even show up on your credit card statement — at least not initially. The most common place this plays out is at restaurants. You may have the bill brought to your table, put your card down, have it swiped at the register, and then finally add a tip and sign before leaving. Why are the default tipping screens set so high? "When you use your credit card to pay for a meal, the restaurant will initially authorize your account with the card issuer for the cost of the meal, placing a temporary hold on your account," said Russell Nelson, manager of credit card products at Navy Federal. That hold, which doesn't include the tip amount, can last a few days.Then, after you fill in the amount you'd like to t...

Apple expected to unveil sleek, pricey headset

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.After years of speculation, the stage is set for the widely anticipated announcement to be made Monday at Apple's annual developers conference in a Cupertino, California, theater named after the company's late co-founder Steve Jobs. Apple is also likely to use the event to show off its latest Mac computer, preview the next operating system for the iPhone and discuss its strategy for artificial intelligence.But the star of the show is expected to be a pair of goggles — perhaps called “Reality Pro,” according to media leaks — that could become another milestone in Apple's lore of releasing game-changing technology, even though the company hasn't always been the first to try its hand at making a particular device.Apple's li...

Capitol Police stopped a children's choir from singing the national anthem. Why?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

Video of a children’s choir singing the national anthem in the U.S. Capitol, only to be unceremoniously cut off by police, spread across social media on Friday.Capitol Police say singers from Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville, South Carolina, were stopped May 26 because of a miscommunication. Musical performances in the hallowed seat of Congress require permission, and police said officers had been unaware that the choir had approval from the House speaker. Capitol Police denied choir leaders' claims that the performance was stopped because it might be found offensive.Choir director David Rasbach and Micah Rea, a choir leader who helped organize the trip, told The Associated Press that they worked with the offices of Reps. William Timmons, Joe Wilson and Russell Fry, all Republicans from South Carolina, to get permission for the performance. They said they were informed the visit was approved by the office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.After stopping by Wilson...

Missouri doctor's death being investigated as homicide, family says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

(NewsNation) — Nine days after seemingly vanishing, Dr. John Forsyth's body was found in Benton County, Arkansas, with a gunshot wound. His brother said the death is being investigated as a homicide. “He had no guns,” his brother, Richard Forsyth, said. “I talked to him about that. He didn’t want to have a gun.”Missouri law enforcement is still investigating how John Forsyth went missing in the first place, Nexstar's KOLR reports. Police: ‘Alarming number’ of kids missing in Cleveland area KOLR reached out to the Benton County Sheriff's Office, but the agency said they are not releasing details about the investigation at this time. Benton County Coroner Daniel Oxford said the Arkansas State Crime Lab is facing a backlog. The lab estimates autopsy results will take about 60 days, but Oxford said he’s still waiting on results sent to the lab in January and February.Authorities have not said whether they believe Forsyth was killed or took his own life. Initially, when Forsyth’s empt...

Chicago-born Afro-soul artist drops second extended play

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

Chicago-born Afro-soul artist, Nola Ade, dropped her second EP, extended play, ad joined WGN Weekend Morning News to talk more about the cultural influences in her music being a Nigerian-American woman.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Queerbomb returns for its annual Austin event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — LGBTQ+ community members and allies gathered in Austin Saturday to participate in the 2023 Queerbomb event.Queerbomb is an inclusive rally and march created by and for Austin’s queer community that has put on LGBTQ+ events in Austin since 2010.Saturday night attendees marched and partied on Sixth Street in celebration of Pride Month.People attend the 2023 Queerbomb event in Austin (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)People attend the 2023 Queerbomb event in Austin (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)People attend the 2023 Queerbomb event in Austin (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)People attend the 2023 Queerbomb event in Austin (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)People attend the 2023 Queerbomb event in Austin (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)Attendees were encouraged to dress up and bring everything they could to represent themselves in the procession.The organization said it hosts pride events on the first Saturday of June every year. Throughout the rest of the year, Queerbomb said it holds fundraising events within the c...

The need for Green Chemistry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Dr. David Soane is the Founder and CEO of Transform Materials. The company is "a sustainable chemical company that uses microwave plasma technology to convert natural gas into acetylene and hydrogen".He spoke with Rich Segal about Green Chemistry and its importance. He is concerned about the environment saying that there needs to be a change in how we make chemicals.He began by stating that Green Chemistry is the way of the future. He says that as the world's population continues to increase there becomes a need to find a way and to have the willpower to make chemicals in a sustainable way. Dr. Soane feels that cutting-edge technology and using plant-derived materials will assist in helping the environment in the creation of these chemicals.We know that plastics are one of the biggest concerns when thinking about saving the environment. Dr. Soane says one of the goals is to make single-use plastic obsolete.

David Brooks: Let’s smash the college admissions process

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:07 GMT

Within days or weeks, the Supreme Court is going to render a decision on the future of affirmative action in higher ed. If things go as expected, conservatives will be cheering as these policies are struck down — and progressives will be wailing.But maybe we can all take this moment to reimagine the college admissions process itself, which has morphed into one of the truly destructive institutions in American society.The modern college admissions era was launched over half a century ago with the best of intentions — to turn finishing schools for the Protestant establishment into talent factories for all comers. But in the end, the elite universities merely exchanged one privileged elite for another. Today, you don’t need bloodlines stretching back to the Mayflower to have a decent shot at getting into an elite school, but you do need to be born into a family with the resources to make lavish investments in your early education.In 2017, research led by Raj Chetty found that students ...