Paraguay - Paraguay's LGBT community feels outcast amid conservative shift: 'We are forgotten'

Daniela Desantis
Reuters

Asuncíon, Paraguay

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Asunci%C3%B3n_Paraguay.jpg

please press:  www.reuters.com

civil rights - BETSY DEVOS SAYS SHE KNEW OF POTENTIAL HARMS—LIKE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, LOWER TEST SCORES—WHEN SHE RESCINDED OBAMA-ERA PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS

Alexandra Hutzler
Newsweek

'Secretary' of Education Betsy DeVos

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Betsy_DeVos_official_portrait.jpg

please press:  www.newsweek.com

Maryland - Baltimore City schools board passes policy protecting transgender students

Colin Campbell
The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore, MD

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please press:  www.baltimoresun.com

lead story - Stop pretending the transgender ban isn’t a ban

Diane H. Mazur
Politico

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Maryland_National_Guard_%2817285160576%29.jpg

please press:  www.politico.com

Donald Trump - Trump’s sister quietly retired in February, and it’s actually a really big deal

Matthew Yglesias
Vox

Maryanne Trump Barry

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Maryanne_Trump_Barry_in_1992.png

please press:  www.vox.com

Italy - WCF Verona: Where the 'Wind of Change' Marked a Sea Change in Hate Group's Strategy

Staff
Southern Poverty Law Center

Verona, Italy

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Arena-XE3F2406a.jpg

please press:  www.splcenter.org 

civil rights - Attorneys: Honduran transgender migrant unlawfully detained

Press
San Francisco Chronicle

Albuquerque, NM

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Albuquerque_%281880%29.jpg

please press:  www.sfchronicle.com

New Hampshire - HB 446: Allow trans, non-binary people to correct birth records

Palana Belken
Fosters.com

Dover, NH

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Public_Market%2C_Dover%2C_NH.JPG

please press:  www.fosters.com

lead story - Trump’s Transgender Ban Brings Chaos and ‘a Lot of Fear’ to Troops’ Families

Samantha Allen
Daily Beast

San Antonio, TX

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please press:  www.thedailybeast.com

LIVE - Donald Trump's brain!

(ummmm... or a black hole)

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Black_hole_-_Messier_87_%28cropped%29.jpg

Donald Trump - Trump’s ‘truly bizarre’ visit to Mt. Vernon

Eliana Johnson, Daniel Lippman
Politico

Bizzarro

ezs note:  Can Connecticut go to another country?  Please? We'll be good...

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/9/97/Bizzarro_-_DCUO.jpg

please press:  www.politico.com

Cuba - Cuba begins distributing PrEP through pilot program

Michael K. Lavers
Washington Blade

Havana, Cuba

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Cuba_LaHavana_Street_%28www.pixinn.net%29.jpg

please press:  www.washingtonblade.com 

civil rights - DeVos defends controversial guidance on transgender students

Avery Anapol
The Hill

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/87/McCoyDevos2017.jpg

please press:  thehill.com

Rhode Island - Vella-Wilkinson bill would extend benefits to gay, transgender veterans without honorable discharges

Rob Borkowski
Warwick Post

Warwick, RI

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please press: warwickpost.com 

lead story - 'Very Important Precedent:' Russian Court Rules Transgender Woman Was Fired Illegally

Press
RFE/RL

St. Petersburg, Russia

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Bronze_Horseman_02.jpg

please press:  www.rferl.org 

ezs note:  In North America and Western Europe, this is somewhat routine, but in Russia this is HUGE. Congratulations, Ms. Grigoryeva!

Brunei - Brunei’s death by stoning, anti-LGBTQ law sparks outrage, boycotts

Lucy Martirosyan
PRI

The Stoning Of An Adulteress

Abu'l Hassan Ghaffari (abt. 1853-1857)

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Stoning_of_woman.jpg

please press:  www.pri.org

ezs note:  If you have any heart at all, you'll email http://www.bruneiembassy.org/contact-us.html and contact the Ambassador and send a polite but FIRM message.  If you have no heart, please pick one up on the way out.

civil rights - HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow to Testify at Congressional Hearing on the Bipartisan Equality Act

Stephen Peters
HRC

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/ChicagoGayPride2005_1.jpg

please press:  www.hrc.org

Maryland - Md. House Speaker Michael Busch dies

James Wellemeyer
Washington Blade

Annapolis, MD

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please press:  www.washingtonblade.com

ezs note:  Maryland, we mourn with you...

lead story - Trump’s Transgender Troop Ban Marks the Dark Return of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

Samantha Allen
Daily Beast

Credit:  http://guides.ll.georgetown.edu/ld.php?content_id=28234813

please press:  www.thedailybeast.com

Donald Trump - Secret Service director out less than 24 hours after DHS secretary resigns

Katherine Faulders, Alexander Mallin
ABC News

Credit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU2p1ejnwRo

please press:  abcnews.go.com

Bosnia and Herzegovina - 'Door, please!': Sarajevo to host Bosnia’s first-ever LGBTQ pride parade

Michael-Ross Fiorentino
euronews

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Butmirska_vaza.jpg

please press:  www.euronews.com

civil rights - How Tasmania is going from worst to best on transgender human rights

Martine Delaney
The Guardian

Hobart, Tasmania

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Hobart_Tasmania_Salamanca_Place.jpg

please press:  www.theguardian.com

Vermont - John Killacky: Out in the Legislature

John Killacky
VT Digger

South Burlington, VT

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please press:  vtdigger.org

lead story - Although transgender workers face steep barriers, corporate America wants to hire them

Melissa Gomez
Los Angeles Times

Credit:  https://dynasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Woman-Factory-Worker-with-iPad.jpg

please press:  www.latimes.com

Donald Trump - Whatever Trump Is Playing, It Isn’t Golf

Rick Reilly
The Atlantic

Credit:  https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d1/1e/94/d11e9490499f98c06c76fdb2efaec25b.jpg

please press:  www.theatlantic.com

Saint Lucia - Saint Lucia’s ‘Dangerous & Discriminatory Laws Against Marginalised Populations’ Under Fire

Press
St. Lucia Times

Soufriére, St. Lucia

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Day248bdriveq.JPG

please press:  stluciatimes.com

civil rights - Giant Food Stores earns top marks in Corporate Equality Index

Press
The Daily Item

Carlisle, PA

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Carlisle%2C_Pennsylvania.jpg

please press:  www.dailyitem.com

Arizona - Arizona filmmakers spark discrimination discussion at ACLU event

Molly Stellino
Cronkite News

Phoenix, AZ

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Phoenix-Duppa-Montgomery_Adobe-1895-2.JPG

please press:  cronkitenews.azpbs.org

lead story - Charlotte Clymer: Being transgender shouldn't matter in the military

Charlotte Clymer
CBS News

The Pentagon

Arlington, VA

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/The_Pentagon%2C_cropped_square.png

please press:  www.cbsnews.com

Donald Trump - ‘No Celebrities’: Embarrassing Turnout at Trump’s Beverly Hills Fundraiser

Tarpley Hitt
Daily Beast

ezs note:  Where can I find Trump Victory?

(uh... you're here...)

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Libya_4608_Idehan_Ubari_Dunes_Luca_Galuzzi_2007.jpg

please press:  www.thedailybeast.com

Kenya - Worlds apart between conservatives and LGBT community in Kenya

Sheila Nyambura
Capital News

Nairobi, Kenya

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Kenyatta_International_Conference_Centre.jpg

please press:  www.capitalfm.co.ke

ezs note: After a while of trying 'transgender (country)' on my computer, I finally gave in and used the 'LGBT (country)' instead.  Hey, it ain't perfect, but it is better.

civil rights - U.S. attorney general orders probe into mistreatment of gay employees

Sarah N. Lynch
Reuters

AG William Barr

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/William_Barr.jpg

please press:  www.reuters.com

ezs note: It's too early to tell, but if it turns out to be a genuine article, it might be a promising sign.

But Trump's still in charge.  Don't hold your breath.

Illinois - Pritzker to change state's Medicaid policy to cover sex reassignment surgery

Greg Bishop
Illinois News Network

Springfield, IL

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Lincoln%27s_Tomb.JPG

please press:  www.ilnews.org

lead story - As a homeless transgender woman, she had turned to sex work to survive. Then she was killed.

Samantha Schmidt
The Washington Post

Fairmount Heights, MD

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Seal_of_Fairmount_Heights%2C_Maryland.png

please press:  www.washingtonpost.com

Donald Trump - How Trump Conspired with the Freedom Caucus to Shut Down the Government

Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer
Politico

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please press: www.politico.com 

France - Transphobic Paris attack sheds light on LGBT+ attitudes in France

Zoe Tidman
The Independent

Paris, France 

Parisii gold coin

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/ParisiiCoins.jpg

please press:  www.independent.co.uk

civil rights - Montana Human Rights Bureau finds Yellowstone County discriminated against trans employee

John Riley
Metro Weekly

Billings, MT

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/Pompey%27s_Pillar%2C_along_No._10%2C_Central_Montana_%2872432%29.jpg

please press:  www.metroweekly.com

Florida - City of Orlando poised to embrace LGBT-certified businesses

Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, FL

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Fullsizeoutput_32d6.jpg

please press:  www.orlandosentinel.com

lead story - The Crisis of Violence Against Transgender People Is Not a ‘Myth’

Gillian Branstetter
Rewire News

Credit:  http://www.glaad.org/files/ncavp_infographic_3-01_0.jpg

please press:  rewire.news

civil rights - The Advocate: Mara Keisling on Trump, the Equality Act, and fighting for trans rights

John Riley
Metro Weekly

Credit:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV0XohGitZ2OBLu-_0Blflxb7R1nRfmsAeIPgVSydwtVwvWM5OR-EjYq4mx3N5JSZZt8Ua7QXMCXJZPVj-kZS7Y3iekC_xVzf6s8IPK0zBLBZ-2aFvn6goWnXfMv_zpvqKbIgL2soDkM8/s1600/writer's+brain.jpg

please press:  www.metroweekly.com

Ohio - Catholic School, Right-Wing Hate Group Join Forces to Fight South Euclid Equality Measure

Bob Vitale
Prizm

ezs note:  Quick, bring out the violins!

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Violin_VL100.png

please press:  www.prizmnews.com

lead story - Washtenaw County Reflects On The Importance Of Raising The Transgender Flag

Jorge Avellan
WEMU

Ann Arbor, MI

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/SouthU.jpg

please press:  www.wemu.org

Donald Trump - Donald Trump’s Never-Ending Campaign Keeps Getting Angrier

Peter Nicholas
The Atlantic

Credit:  https://recoveringengineer.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/angry.jpg

please press:  www.theatlantic.com

Venezuela - Venezuelans with HIV/AIDS dying due to lack of antiretroviral drugs

Michael K. Lavers
Washington Blade

Caracas, Venezuela

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Petare_Slums_in_Caracas.jpg

please press:  www.washingtonblade.com 

civil rights - Parent Quizzes School’s Transgender Policy

Vince Conti
Cape May County Herald

Cisgender (born that way)

Transgender

Any questions?

Credit:  https://news.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/oparhighlight.jpg

please press:  www.capemaycountyherald.com

Maine - Tunnel of Oppression challenges perceptions of groups on campus

Ali Tobey
Maine Campus

Orono, ME

University of Maine

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/UMaine_HannibalHamlinHall.jpg

please press:  mainecampus.com

lead story - Under Trump’s Ban, Transgender Troops Must Decide: Come Out or Hide

Samantha Allen
Daily Beast

Atlanta, GA

(home of Georgia State)

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Siege-Coke-Atlanta-Nov2007.JPG

please press:  www.thedailybeast.com

North Dakota - North Dakota moves to nullify its 1975 Equal Rights support

James MacPherson
StarTribune

Chuck Damschen (R-ND)

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Neanderthaler_Fund.png

please press:  www.startribune.com

lead story - Transgender Woman Shot To Death Near The D.C. Border Will Be Remembered At Candlelight Vigil

Rachel Kurzius
dcist

Fairmount Heights, MD

Credit:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/World_War_II_Monument_-_Fairmount_Heights%2C_Maryland.jpg

please press:  dcist.com

ezs note:  If you have any information regarding the murder of Ashanti Carmon, please call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).  Thanks.

HUMANE prisons

Credit:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOmcP9sMwIE

ezs note:  I recently saw how Germany's prison is working, and how then-governor Dannel Malloy's (CT) visit there went. I do believe that certain persons do deserve imprisonment... but humane imprisonment.  If you agree with 60 Minutes, please email your governor, state representative, and state senator, and tell them that this stupid system is NOT working.  Thanks.