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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

NH Alone in New England as Trump Rolls Back LGBTQ Protections

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Friday, October 13, 2017   

CONCORD, N.H. – The Trump administration has been wasting no time when it comes to rolling back protections for the gay community, and Granite State advocates say that is especially true for transgender people. There are significant protections in place for people who identify as gay, bisexual and lesbian in New Hampshire.

But Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, a transgender man and the public-education director at Freedom New Hampshire, says those protections don't extend to trans-people.

"So, transgender people and their families are vulnerable to being fired from their jobs and being kicked out of restaurants, and being evicted from apartments, just because someone doesn't like that they're transgender," he said. "That's unfair."

Under the new policy, a claim of a violation of religious freedom would override concerns for the civil rights of LGBTQ people. Heng-Lehtinen says it would be an easy fix for state lawmakers to simply update current law to include protections for transgender people.

Mason Dunn is a transgender man and the executive director at Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition. He says like the rest of New England, his state has no exception in anti-discrimination laws when it comes to transgender people.

"As a trans person who's also religious, I think it's important for us to say that freedom of religion is essential, it is important," he notes. "But freedom of religion doesn't mean that we give people the right to impose their beliefs on others, or to harm others, or to discriminate."

A September 2017 survey by Public Religion Research Institute found that 72 percent of Americans support laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.


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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

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