lead story - Everything you need to know about the transgender military ban

Orion Rummler
Axios

The Pentagon

Arlington, VA

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please press:  www.axios.com

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

Daniela Desantis
Reuters

Asuncíon, Paraguay

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civil rights - BETSY DEVOS SAYS SHE KNEW OF POTENTIAL HARMS—LIKE ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, LOWER TEST SCORES—WHEN SHE RESCINDED OBAMA-ERA PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS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

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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

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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

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please press:  www.splcenter.org 

civil rights - Attorneys: Honduran transgender migrant unlawfully detained

Press
San Francisco Chronicle

Albuquerque, NM

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please press:  www.sfchronicle.com

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

Palana Belken
Fosters.com

Dover, NH

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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

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please press:  www.washingtonblade.com 

civil rights - DeVos defends controversial guidance on transgender students

Avery Anapol
The Hill

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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

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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

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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

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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

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please press:  www.latimes.com

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

Rick Reilly
The Atlantic

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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

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please press:  stluciatimes.com

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

Press
The Daily Item

Carlisle, PA

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please press:  www.dailyitem.com

Arizona - Arizona filmmakers spark discrimination discussion at ACLU event

Molly Stellino
Cronkite News

Phoenix, AZ

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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

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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

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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

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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

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please press:  www.metroweekly.com

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

Kate Santich
Orlando Sentinel

Orlando, FL

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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

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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.