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Bill Cassidy’s still attacking RFK Jr. Now it’s about abortion.
Topic: Abortion
Source: Politico
The senator said the health secretary needs to rescind Biden-era rules expanding access to abortion pills. At a hearing of the Senate Health Committee he chairs, Cassidy said Kennedy should have withdrawn policies adopted under President Joe Biden that allowed people seeking to end their pregnancies to get pills prescribed by telehealth and have them shipped through the mail. That has made it easier for people to have abortions in states, like Louisiana, that have banned the procedure following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling ending the constitutional right to abortion. “Why has the department not acted with greater urgency on reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement?” Cassidy asked.

LA Schools Shifting Back to Pen and Paper
Topic: Children and Family
Source: NBC Los Angeles
Los Angeles schools are about to look a lot more old-school. The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to sharply scale back student screen use in classrooms, reversing years of pushing one-to-one devices and digital lessons. Under the policy, students won't use screens at all until second grade; after that, the district will cap and track screen time by grade level and steer teachers toward more pen-and-paper work, per the Los Angeles Times. The move also authorizes blocking or limiting access to YouTube and games like Roblox and Fortnite, and would bar elementary and middle school students from using devices during lunch, recess, and passing periods except for teacher-approved work.

FCC mulls reform to TV rating system amid parental concerns over trans content
Topic: Children and Family
Source: Just the News
Currently, the TV industry uses a voluntary rating system that it created, which the FCC determined met the requirements established in legislation from 1996. The Federal Communications Commission is exploring the possibility of updating its TV rating system to reflect parental concerns about the inclusion of transgender content in shows currently rated appropriate for children. "Recently, parents have raised concerns that controversial gender identity issues are being included or promoted in children’s programs without providing any disclosure or transparency to parents," the FCC wrote in a notice. "Specifically, the industry guidelines that parents rely on are rating shows with transgender and gender non-binary programming as appropriate for children and young children, and doing so without providing this information to parents, thereby undermining the ability of parents to make informed choices for their families."

Sexual violence and forcible transfer in the West Bank
Topic: Violence Against Women
Source: Norwegian Refugee Council
This report documents gender-based and sexualised violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank in contexts where Israeli forces were present and did not prevent or halt the violence, nor effectively investigate the abuses. In these circumstances, such violence is not occuring in isolation. It operates within a coercive environment that contributes to the forcible transfer of Palestinian communities.

199 Vermont public schools keep students' gender transition secret
Topic: Children and Family
Source: The Post Millennial
...from parents: Defending Education study. The study found that 37 school districts representing more than 52,480 students have such policies in place intended to support gender dysphoric students who may not have a supportive home environment.

Indiana Ban on "Instruction" "on Human Sexuality"
Topic: Children and Family
Source: Reason
...in Pre-K to Third Grade Upheld by Seventh Circuit .From Smiley v. Jenner, decided yesterday by Seventh Circuit Judge Michael Scudder, joined by Judges Candace Jackson-Akiwumi and Doris Pryor: Indiana law establishes curriculum requirements for certain schools within the state. In 2023, the state General Assembly passed Indiana House Enrolled Act 1608 [codified at Section 20-30-17-2], which added a new curriculum limitation: "A school, an employee or staff member of a school, or a third party vendor used by a school to provide instruction may not provide any instruction to a student in prekindergarten through grade 3 on human sexuality."

Texas Gets a Win on Its Ten Commandments Law
Topic: Political Correctness
Source: Associated Press
[Ed: sorry to hear this.] Appeals court says state can require public schools to display them in classrooms. Texas can require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms, a US appeals court ruled Tuesday in a victory for conservatives who have long sought to incorporate more religion into schools. The ruling sets up a potential clash at the US Supreme Court over the issue in the future, the AP reports. Arkansas and Louisiana have passed similar laws, which have also been challenged in courts. And Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a similar law earlier this month. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals said in the decision that Texas' law did not violate the First Amendment, which protects religious freedom and prevents the government from establishing a religion.

Trump Calls On Iran to Stop Execution of 8 Women Amid Negotiations
Topic: Violence Against Women
Source: Jerusalem Post
"I would greatly appreciate the release of these women," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "I am sure that they will respect the fact that you did so. Please do them no harm!" Trump has previously claimed credit for Iran's cancellation of the planned execution of civilians during the Iran protests earlier this year.

UK to Anyone Born After 2008: No Cigarettes for You
Topic: Political Correctness
Source: BBC News
Newly passed bill also restricts vaping near children and regulates e-cigarette marketing. Anyone in the UK currently 17 years old or younger will never be able to legally buy cigarettes under a sweeping new law that has cleared Parliament. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which now awaits royal assent, gradually raises the legal age for buying tobacco each year, with the aim of preventing today's children from ever becoming smokers. Ministers will also gain wider authority over how tobacco, vapes, and other nicotine products are flavored, marketed, and packaged, reports the BBC.

Unprecedented ruling finds Hungary's anti-LGBTQ laws in breach of EU values
Topic: Gay/Lesbian Issues
Source: BBC News
The European Union's top court has ruled that Hungarian anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU rules and infringe its values of equality and minority rights. The laws were brought in by Viktor Orbán's government in 2021 and banned so-called promotion of homosexuality or gender change to under-18s, arguing it violated child protection laws. The European Court of Justice ruled that the Orbán reforms breached EU rules on a number of levels, and significantly that it also broke the founding values of Article 2 of the EU Treaty - an unprecedented finding.

Transgender Teen Shoots Up Turkish School
Topic: Political Correctness
Source: Reduxx
A teenage shooter who perpetrated one of the deadliest school attacks in Turkish history has been identified as a non-binary male student who used “she/her/it” pronouns. ?sa Aras Mersinli, who carried out the attack on April 15, reportedly preferred to be referred to as “Konata” – a name belonging to his favorite female character from a Japanese animated series. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least nine people, eight students and one teacher. The teacher, Ayla Kara, died while attempting to shield students in her mathematics class. More than a dozen others were injured, some of whom remain in critical condition.

Opening statements in Harvey Weinstein's third Manhattan sex trial begin
Topic: Violence Against Women
Source: New York Post
Maybe third time’s the charm? Opening statements in Harvey Weinstein’s third Manhattan sex crimes trial are set to begin Tuesday morning — as the disgraced former Miramax perv tries once more to shake off rape allegations from a former actress. The jury — comprised of seven men and five women — was finalized late Friday in Manhattan Supreme court, where they will decide whether Weinstein, 74, raped actress Jessica Mann inside a New York City hotel room over a decade ago.

Australian lesbian group’s fight to bar trans women
Topic: Political Correctness
Source: The Guardian
...to return to tribunal after federal court win.A Victorian lesbian group has won a legal appeal in its case to exclude transgender women from its public events after the federal court set aside a decision by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). The decision on Wednesday afternoon means the case will return to the administrative review tribunal for another determination. While the Lesbian Action Group called the finding a “definite win”, Equality Australia said the judge “simply identified legal errors in the tribunal’s reasoning”.

Israel to host largest LGBT festival in Middle East at Dead Sea in June
Topic: Gay/Lesbian Issues
Source: Human Eve
The festival, called Pride Land, is scheduled to run from June 1 to June 4, 2026, and will take place in the Judean Desert. Israel is preparing to host what organizers say will be the largest LGBT festival ever held in the Middle East, with a multi-day event planned at the Dead Sea this summer. When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, one of their targets was the Nova Music Festival, where the terrorists parachuted in and massacred young people.

Congress publishes list of 28 House investigations for sexual misconduct
Topic: Porn, Prostitution, and Sexual Freedom
Source: New York Post
— in wake of major scandals. The House Ethics Committee published a list Monday of all its publicly disclosed sexual misconduct investigations into members stretching back to 1976. The 28 investigations spanned from former Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) — both of whom resigned from the House last week — to the late Rep. Wayne Hays (D-Ohio). In total, fourteen were Democrats and 12 were Republicans. The late Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) was twice investigated for pursuing a “sexual relationship with a staffer in 2014 and again in 2020.

UK pastor prosecuted for preaching gospel near hospital 'buffer zone'
Topic: Abortion
Source: Human Events
Authorities allege Johnston breached buffer zone restrictions designed to prevent protests around abortion facilities when he preached the gospel of John near a hospital. A 77-year-old pastor from Northern Ireland is set to appear in court this week after preaching a sermon on John 3:16 near a hospital. The case has garnered international attention including from American officials. Clive Johnston, a retired Baptist minister from Strabane, NI, faces charges under Northern Ireland’s Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act after delivering an open-air sermon on July 7, 2024, within 150 meters of Causeway Hospital in Coleraine. The case is scheduled to continue Wednesday at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court.

Case of Religious Schools That Ban LGTBQ+ Families Heads to SCOTUS
Topic: Children and Family
Source: LGTBQ Nation
Colorado Catholic preschools say they shouldn't be excluded from state funds over admissions policies. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case of a group of anti-LGBTQ+ Catholic pre-schools in Colorado, which believe they should receive money from a state-run, taxpayer-funded preschool program, even though the schools violate the program’s nondiscrimination provision by rejecting children who have LGBTQ+ parents. The Archdiocese of Denver, which runs 34 preschools, says the state program’s nondiscrimination provision violates the Church’s First Amendment right to practice freedom of religion without being excluded for its religious doctrine, which recognizes neither same-sex relationships nor transgender people.

“Civic Action Requires More Than Textbooks”
Topic: Children and Family
Source: Jonathan Turley
Chicago to Subsidize May Day Protests By Teachers. The Chicago Public Schools are facing a major truancy problem…among teachers. The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) was up in arms over suggestions that classes should be held on May 1 when teachers wanted to be out protesting. Called International Workers’ Day, May Day is a global day of protest for socialist, communist, and unionist groups. The CTU was upset when parents objected that canceling a day of class for teachers to join a political protest was a burden for working parents. These teachers believe that they are teaching something far more important through their activism. In defending the demand for publicly subsidized protests, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter explained that “teaching our students what civic action looks like requires more than textbooks.”

Independent BYU LGBT center event
Topic: Gay/Lesbian Issues
Source: Campus Reform
The Cougar Pride Center, which describes itself as an independent resource center serving Brigham Young University (BYU) students, hosted an event titled “Provo Pride” on April 11, which featured an LGBTQ pride march through downtown Provo, Utah, followed by a pride festival at Memorial Park. The event featured more than a dozen LGBTQ-themed vendors and a concert with several LGBTQ performers, including drag queen Colette Coins, who self-describes as an “argumentative antithetical dreamgirl” on Instagram. One vendor stand at the festival featured apparent Molotov cocktails for sale alongside a painting of Donald Trump’s severed head being served on a platter