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Published by BANG Showbiz English Kim Kardashian has condemned the Supreme Court’s decision to terminate the constitutional right to abortion in the US. Lawmakers in the US caused uproar across the globe after the landmark Roe v Wade ruling – which makes terminations illegal for millions of American women – was overturned on Friday (24.06.22). Joining the protest, the SKIMS founder posted to her Instagram Story: “In America, guns have more rights than women.” The 41-year-old reality star and businesswoman – who is also known for her prison reform work and passed her baby bar law exam – then shared a series of reactions to the shocking news, including former First Lady Michelle Obama’s statement. The 58-year-old attorney said: “I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land — a time when women risked losing their lives getting illegal abortions.” She said: “When we don’t understand our history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes.” Obama then shared links to both Planned Parenthood and The United State of Women Reproductive Justice Hub for those wanting to take action. Taylor Swift, 32, responded to the statement by saying the law change has left her filled with horror, adding: “I’m absolutely terrified that this is where we are – that after so many decades of people fighting for women’s rights to their own bodies, today’s decision has stripped us of that.” The 1973 Roe v Wade battle centred around ‘Jane Roe’ – a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey. She was a single mother pregnant for the third time who wanted an abortion, and sued the Dallas attorney general Henry Wade over a Texas law that made it a crime to terminate a pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life was in danger – arguing the law infringed on her constitutional rights. President of the United States Joe Biden blasted the ruling as “un-American” in an address from the White House, adding it was a “sad day for the court and the country” and calling the move “wrong, extreme and out of touch”. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lizzo has donated $500,000 (£407,650) to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights following the overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade ruling. The ‘About Damn Time’ hitmaker has made the generous donation, which has been matched by live entertainment promoters Live Nation, with $1 million (£815,300) set to help the two non-profit organisations, which provide vital reproductive health care and campaigning, respectively. The 34-year-old singer announced on Instagram: “I’m pledging $500k from my upcoming tour to Planned Parenthood and Abortion Rights. Live Nation agreed to match— to make it 1 MILLION dollars. “The most important thing is action and loud voices. @plannedparenthood @abortionfunds and organizations like them— will need funding to continue offering services to people who are most harmed by this ban Black women and women of color have historically had disproportionately less access to family planning resources— this is a great loss but not a new one. (sic)” The Grammy winner also encouraged fans to donate and sign the Bans Off My Body petition, which was organised by Planned Parenthood as “a rallying cry for autonomy and equality.” Lizzo signed off the post: “Go to lizzolovesyou.com to donate, sign the Bans Off My Body petition and sign up to volunteer.” The Supreme Court’s decision to terminate the constitutional right to abortion in the US has caused outrage across the globe. The 1973 Roe v Wade battle centred around ‘Jane Roe’ – a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey. She was a single mother pregnant for the third time who wanted an abortion, and sued the Dallas attorney general Henry Wade over a Texas law that made it a crime to terminate a pregnancy except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life was in danger – arguing the law infringed on her constitutional rights. President of the United States Joe Biden blasted the ruling as “un-American” in an address from the White House, adding it was a “sad day for the court and the country” and calling the move “wrong, extreme and out of touch”. View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration indicated it will seek to prevent states from banning a pill used for medication abortion in light of the Supreme Court ruling overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, signaling a major new legal fight. The administration could argue in court that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone, one of the pills used for medication abortions, pre-empts state restrictions, meaning federal authority outweighs any state action. That same argument has already been raised by Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc, which sells a generic version of the pill, in a lawsuit challenging Mississippi’s restrictions on medication abortion. More than a dozen states plan to almost totally ban abortion with the Roe v. Wade precedent upended. In a stunning ruling, the conservative majority Supreme Court overturned Roe on a 5-4 vote on Friday, saying there is no right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution. States will likely face other difficulties enforcing restrictions on medication abortion because women are still likely to be able to obtain the pills online or in other states. Biden said in remarks after the Supreme Court ruling that the government would seek to protect access to medication abortion, saying efforts to restrict it would be “wrong and extreme and out of touch with the majority of Americans.” Attorney General Merrick Garland was more explicit about what Justice Department is eyeing, saying in a statement: “States may not ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA’s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy.” Mifepristone was approved for use in abortions by the FDA in 2000, long after Roe was decided in 1973. The pill, also known as RU 486, blocks the pregnancy-sustaining hormone progesterone while the other drug used, misoprostol, induces uterine contractions. Greer Donley, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law who is an expert on reproductive rights, said the administration’s stance “shows that they understand the stakes and are willing to pursue novel ideas.” Even before Roe was overturned, states imposed restrictions on access to the pill. There are 19 states that require women to make an in-person visit to obtain the drug, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports the right to an abortion. The FDA does not require an in-person meeting. Legal experts say the law on preemption is murky because Congress has never said explicitly that FDA approval trumps state law as it has done in the context of medical devices. Therefore it would be left to courts to decide the question under a theory known as “implied preemption.” Wide availability of medication abortion in states that want to restrict or ban the procedure would be a major setback to anti-abortion campaigners who have long sought to ban abortion outright. Attempts to challenge state restrictions could run aground at the Supreme Court, not only because the 6-3 conservative majority has shown its opposition to abortion rights but also because the justices are often skeptical about federal preemption claims. With Roe overturned, states would also have more leeway to argue they have a separate interest in preventing abortions based on moral objections to abortion. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) -Terrified revellers at a gay bar in Oslo hid in a basement and desperately called loved ones as a gunman went on the rampage, killing two people and injuring 21 on the day the city was due to celebrate its annual Pride parade. Authorities said the suspect, a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen of Iranian origin, was believed to be a radicalised Islamist with a history of mental illness who had been known to intelligence services since 2015. The attack took place in the early hours of Saturday, with victims shot inside and outside the London Pub, a longstanding hub of Oslo’s LGBTQ scene, as well as in the surrounding streets and at one other bar in the centre of the Norwegian capital. The deceased were two men in their 50s and 60s, police said in a statement. “Everything indicates that this has been an attack by an Islamist extremist,” Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference. “We don’t (yet) know if the queer community was the intended target, but we know it is a victim,” he said. Bili Blum-Jansen, who was in the London Pub, said he fled to the basement to escape the hail of bullets and hid there along with 80 to 100 other people. “Many called their partners and family, it felt almost as if they were saying goodbye. Others helped calm down those who were extremely terrified,” he told TV2. “I had a bit of panic and thought that if the shooter or shooters were to arrive, we’d all be dead. There was no way out.” Rainbow flags symbolising the Pride community were on prominent display across Oslo this week, but Saturday’s planned parade was cancelled at the advice of police. “Last night the rainbow was coloured black,” said Anette Trettebergstuen, Norway’s minister of culture and equality and herself a prominent campaigner for LGBTQ rights. While the official parade was called off, several thousand people held a spontaneous march in central Oslo, waving rainbow flags and chanting in English: “We’re here, we’re queer, we won’t disappear.” The suspect was detained minutes after embarking on the shooting spree, according to police who said they believed he acted alone. Two weapons, including a fully automatic gun, were retrieved from the crime scene, they added. Other witnesses described the chaos that erupted inside and outside the London Pub, which has been open since 1979. “Many people were crying and screaming, the injured were screaming, people were distressed and scared – very, very scared,” said Marcus Nybakken, 46, who had left the bar shortly before the shooting and returned later to help. “My first thought was that Pride was the target, so that’s frightening.” Journalist Olav Roenneberg of public broadcaster NRK said he was in the area at the time and saw a man arrive with a bag, take out a gun and start to shoot: “Then I saw windows breaking and understood that I had to take cover.” It was not clear exactly where the two people were killed in the area of the London Pub. NORWAY POLICE TO CARRY GUNS Security authorities raised the country’s terrorism threat assessment to its highest level following the attack. Norwegian police, who are not normally armed, will carry guns until further notice as a precaution, national chief Benedicte Bjoernland said. King Harald of Norway said he and the royal family were devastated by the attack, which police said also left 10 people seriously wounded and 11 with minor injuries. “We must stand together and defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other,” the 85-year-old monarch added. The shooting took place just months after Norway marked 50 years since the abolition of a law that criminalised gay sex. The Nordic nation of 5.4 million has lower crime rates than many Western countries, though it has experienced hate-motivated shootings, including when far-right extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in 2011. (Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, additional reporting by Stine Jacobsen in Copenhagen; Editing by Pravin Char and Frank Jack Daniel) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Kuba Stezycki and Joanna Plucinska WARSAW (Reuters) -Thousands of Poles and Ukrainians are walking for peace and demanding an end to discrimination against the LGBT+ community on Saturday, in a joint Pride march in Warsaw that organisers say aims to defend freedom and equality as war casts a shadow over eastern Europe. The annual Pride march in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was cancelled due to Russia’s invasion, leading the LGBT+ community in Warsaw to team up with their counterparts in Ukraine to organise the event in the Polish capital. “Russia denied us the right that we were fighting for for years, Russia denied us the Pride, our march of equality that we are holding every year since 2012 in Kyiv. … That is why we are marching in Warsaw,” said Lenny Emson, executive director of KyivPride, who came to Poland for the march. Conservative attitudes towards sexual orientation are widespread in both countries. Poland’s ruling nationalists have made battling what they call “LGBT ideology” a key plank of election campaigns, while in Ukraine far-right groups regularly targeted LGBT+ campaigners and events before the war. But with many LGBT+ people in Ukraine signing up to fight for their country, activists have said they hope the war can help to erode prejudice. “People who are ready to die to defend this country, I think they have the right to be equal, to have for example civil unions,” said Temur Levchuk, an LGBT+ activist in Kyiv. He was unable to attend the Warsaw march due to a law preventing Ukrainian men aged 18-60 from leaving the country. Moscow began what it calls its “special military operation” on Feb. 24, saying it wanted to ensure security at its borders. Kyiv and the West say President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion. For some LGBT+ Ukrainians, the fact that Putin has curtailed the rights of their community in Russia gave them more reason to fight. Olena Mykal, a 29-year old marketing manager at an IT company from Kiev, who fled Ukraine in March, said marching in Warsaw was an act of solidarity with the LGBT+ community in their home country.”I’m here because I can’t go to the parade in Ukraine. We’re all people regardless of who we love.” Mykal told Reuters minutes before the march started. (Reporting by Kuba Stezycki and Marek Strzelecki in Warsaw, Joanna Plucinska in Kyiv; Writing by Alan Charlish and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Richard Chang) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – In a bombshell decision, the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The court voted 5-4 to overturn Roe, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing separately to say he would have upheld the Mississippi law at the center of that case, which bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, but would not have reversed Roe. The court’s three liberal justices dissented. Here are some excerpts from their opinions. CONSERVATIVE JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, IN THE MAJORITY OPINION: “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.” Roe v. Wade recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. A ruling called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, made in 1992, reaffirmed abortion rights and prohibited laws imposing an “undue burden” on abortion access. “Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives.” CONSERVATIVE JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, IN A CONCURRING OPINION: “Because the Court properly applies our substantive due process precedents to reject the fabrication of a constitutional right to abortion, and because this case does not present the opportunity to reject substantive due process entirely, I join the Court’s opinion.” “For that reason, in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold (which protected the right to contraception), Lawrence (which invalidated state laws banning sodomy), and Obergefell (which legalized gay marriage nationwide).” “Substantive due process conflicts with that textual command and has harmed our country in many ways. Accordingly, we should eliminate it from our jurisprudence at the earliest opportunity.” CONSERVATIVE JUSTICE BRETT KAVANAUGH, IN A CONCURRING OPINION: “The Constitution does not take sides on the issue of abortion. The text of the Constitution does not refer to or encompass abortion.” “Because the Constitution is neutral on the issue of abortion, this Court also must be scrupulously neutral. The nine unelected Members of this Court do not possess the constitutional authority to override the democratic process and to decree either a pro-life or a pro-choice abortion policy for all 330 million people in the United States.” “To be clear, then, the Court’s decision today does not outlaw abortion throughout the United States. On the contrary, the Court’s decision properly leaves the question of abortion for the people and their elected representatives in the democratic process.” CONSERVATIVE CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS, CONCURRING IN THE JUDGMENT ON THE MISSISSIPPI LAW ONLY BUT NOT OVERTURNING ROE: “I would take a more measured course. I agree with the Court that the viability line established by Roe and Casey should be discarded under a straightforward stare decisis analysis. That line never made any sense.” “If it is not necessary to decide more to dispose of a case, then it is necessary not to decide more. Perhaps we are not always perfect in following that command, and certainly there are cases that warrant an exception. But this is not one of them.” “The Court’s decision to overrule Roe and Casey is a serious jolt to the legal system – regardless of how you view those cases. A narrower decision rejecting the misguided viability line would be markedly less unsettling, and nothing more is needed to decide this case.” LIBERAL JUSTICES STEPHEN BREYER, ELENA KAGAN AND SONIA SOTOMAYOR, DISSENTING: “Whatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens.” “No one should be confident that this majority is done with its work. The right Roe and Casey recognized does not stand alone. To the contrary, the Court has linked it for decades to other settled freedoms involving bodily integrity, familial relationships, and procreation.” “The Court reverses course today for one reason and one reason only: because the composition of this Court has changed.” “With sorrow – for this Court, but more, for the many millions of American women who have today lost a fundamental constitutional protection – we dissent.” (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Duham) View the full article

Published by AFP Megan Rapinoe joined a chorus of US sports stars voicing anger at the US Supreme Court decision to scrap a woman's right to an abortion Los Angeles (AFP) – Sports stars across the United States reacted with shock and anger on Friday after the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the right to abortion after nearly five decades. WNBA players and teams led a chorus of outrage over the seismic decision which threatens to result in abortion becoming illegal in nearly half of the 50 US states. The WNBA noted that the conservative-leaning Supreme Court’s abortion decision had come just a day after another bombshell ruling that decreed Americans have a right to carry a handgun in public. “Are we in a democracy where guns have more rights than women?” the WNBA statement asked. “This decision shows a branch of government that is out of touch with the country and any sense of human dignity.” The league said the decision would create a “treacherous pathway” to abortion bans that “reinforce economic, social and political inequalities.” Many WNBA players and teams took to social media to register disgust at the decision. WNBA icon and five-time Olympic gold medalist Sue Bird wrote simply: “Gutted.” Bird’s club, the Seattle Storm, meanwhile declared themselves “furious and ready to fight.” “People have won the freedom to buy guns with impunity while women have lost the freedom to decide their own future,” the Storm wrote on Twitter. Los Angeles Sparks star Lexie Brown added: “How did we get here? So much happening in this country and this is what they want to focus on. It’s really terrifying actually.” ‘Cruelty is the point’ US women’s soccer icon Megan Rapinoe, her voice cracking with emotion, spoke of her sadness in comments to reporters ahead of an international friendly against Colombia this weekend. “It’s hard to put into words how sad a day this is,” Rapinoe said. “I just can’t understate how sad and how cruel this is. “The cruelty is the point, because this is not pro-life, by any means. “It will completely exacerbate so many of the existing inequalities that we have in our country. The right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness and liberty is being assaulted in this instance.” Rapinoe, who is gay, said she also feared that US constitutional protections on same-sex marriage would eventually be in jeopardy. “We live in a country that forever tries to chip away what you have innately, what you have been privileged enough to feel your entire life,” Rapinoe said. US tennis legend Billie Jean King, who wrote in her memoir “All In” of her harrowing experience seeking an abortion in the days before it became a right in the United States, said Friday’s ruling “will not end abortion.” “What it will end is safe and legal access to this vital medical procedure,” King wrote on Twitter. “It is a sad day for the United States.” King’s fellow tennis great Martina Navratilova said simply: “The March to Gilead is here”, in a reference to the novel and television drama “The Handmaid’s Tale”, which portrays a dystopian future where women are subjugated and enslaved by men. Several male sports stars also spoke out against the decision. NBA icon LeBron James said on Twitter the decision was “absolutely about power & control.” Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei also contrasted the ruling with the court’s decision on gun control a day earlier. “Impose a constitutional right to concealed carry of firearms, and following day end the fundamental constitutional protection of reproductive rights!? Our country is actively moving in the wrong direction,” Frei wrote on Twitter. “What’s next? This is crazy.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Billie Eilish told her Glastonbury fans to scream away their anxieties during her history making headline slot. The 20-year-old – who became the youngest solo performer to play the Pyramid Stage on Friday night (24.06.22) – made the call during a sweary set. She also despaired over the Supreme Court’s reversal of 1973’s landmark Roe v Wade ruling, which now outlaws abortion for millions of women in the US. The singer called it a “dark day” for America while strumming a guitar and added: “I’m just going to say that, because I can’t say anything else now.” She yelled at the crowd about using screaming to exorcise their mental anxieties: “So here’s what I want you to do – whatever’s going on in your mind, something you’re wasting time worrying about, something you can’t just get the f*** out of your head – I want you to f****** flail around, and scream and stomp. “I want you to feel loose and free and don’t give a f*** about anything else but this moment. “I want you to think about the thing that’s p****** you off and I want you to scream at it.” While bouncing up and down, Eilish added: “To practise feeling free and loose I want you to just flop around – for real, just flop out your limbs – bounce, just bounce, just little hops.” The ‘Ocean Eyes’ singer also told the crowd she had three rules for her gigs: “Don’t be an a******, do not judge anyone out here – no judgements – and, number three – have fun b****.” It comes after she said she feared she would bomb at Glastonbury if she over-thought her performance. She told Matt Wilkinson’s ‘Glastonbury Special’ on Apple Music 1 on Monday (20.06.22): “With this kind of thing, which is doing this kind of show and headlining and with all the pressure of it, it’s like, if you overthink it, you might bomb. “So I try to keep myself as composed as possible. But if I do think about it, it’s like the coolest that I’ve ever heard. I mean, Glastonbury. Come on. It’s so cool. So I’m very, very geeked, very excited.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Lady Gaga, Tom Daley and the first all-male ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ couple were among the winners of this year’s ‘British LGBT Awards’. Vogue director Edward Enninful, 50, and singer Alicia Keys, 41, also took home gongs at the London event on Friday. (24.06.22) Hosted by comedian Sue Perkins, 52, it is the UK’s biggest LGBT+ awards event. Enninful said when handed his ‘Global Media Trailblazer’ prize: “I am so honoured to be part of the 2022 LGBT Awards, especially as the UK celebrates 50 years of pride. “Growing up as a young, black gay man in West London, I could only have imagined the day when events like this would celebrate people like me, and the other incredible trailblazers recognised tonight. “My hope is that we all continue to push for positive change for the next generation.” Keys, handed the ‘Celebrity Ally of the Year’ award, said via video link: “On a personal level, I’m honoured to accept this award tonight. “I’ve been blessed to know all kinds of people since I was a little girl and fortunately exposed to the beauty and richness of diversity. That’s all colours, all religions, all styles, all beliefs, all loves, all people. “Believe me, I know that hate is taught and judgement is taught, but we are the light and we are the love. I sometimes can’t believe how much hate there is to overcome, but where there is light and love, darkness and hate cannot exist.” Diver Daley, 28, collected the ‘Swinton Insurance Sports Personality of the Year’ award after he spoke out against anti-LGBT+ laws. Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, 52 was a surprise presenter on the night to hand out the ‘Celebrity Award’ – which went to 36-year-old Lady Gaga – after the ex-athlete last week broke a 34-year silence to say she is gay. ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ duo Johannes Radebe, 35, and John Whaite, 33, were handed the ‘Media Moment of the Year’ trophy by show judge Shirley Ballas, 61, after they were the first male same-sex couple on the show. BRITISH LGBT AWARDS 2022 – FULL LIST OF WINNERS CELEBRITY Lady Gaga MTV – MUSIC ARTIST Steps CELEBRITY ALLY Alicia Keys GLOBAL MEDIA TRAILBLAZER Edward Enninful MEDIA MOMENT John and Johannes on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ SWINTON INSURANCE – SPORTS PERSONALITY Tom Daley ONLINE INFLUENCER Jamie Raines TESCO – BRAND OR MARKETING CAMPAIGN LEGO’s ‘Everyone Is Awesome’ set JOHNSON AND JOHNSON – CHARITY OR COMMUNITY INITIATIVE LGBT Foundation JUST EAT TAKEAWAY – OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO LGBT+ LIFE Juno Dawson and Abbey Kiwanuka MACQUARIE – INSPIRATIONAL LEADER Rishi Madlani, NatWest HSBC – BUSINESS ALLY Laura Yeates, Clifford Chance LGIM – DIVERSITY HERO Kevin Humphreys, Jacobs FUTURE LEADER Kim Warren, Credera NETWORK RAIL – NETWORK GROUP (ERG) Legal and Generals LGBTQ+ Allies Network, LGIM INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER OR COMPANY Barclays BROADCASTER, JOURNALIST OR HOST Rylan Clark ROLE MODEL OF THE YEAR Adele Roberts LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Stonewall View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision paves the way for about half of the 50 states to ban or heavily restrict women’s access to abortions. The first restrictions will take effect in 13 states with so-called trigger laws https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/abortion-policy-absence-roe# designed to be enacted once the ruling is struck down. The states are Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group. Some trigger laws ban abortions almost completely, while others will outlaw abortion after six weeks or 15 weeks. How quickly those trigger laws will go into effect will vary. Some will be rapid. For example, Arkansas’ trigger law takes effect as soon as the state attorney general certifies that Roe has been overturned, the Guttmacher Institute says. In Texas, a near-total ban on abortion will go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court decision. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The Guttmacher Institute estimates a total of 26 U.S. states https://states.guttmacher.org are certain or likely to ban abortion, leaving women in large swaths of the U.S. Southwest and Midwest without nearby access to the medical procedure. Most states where abortion will still be legal are on the West Coast (California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) or in the Northeast. Governor Gavin Newsom of California, the most populous state, proposed enshrining a right to abortion in the state’s constitution. A handful of states in the Midwest and Southwest are expected to keep abortion legal such as Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota and New Mexico, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Under that scenario, a woman in Miami, Florida, might have to fly to another state or drive 11 hours, or more than 700 miles (1,100 kilometers), to reach North Carolina, where abortion is expected to remain legal. Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont have passed legislation this year seeking to protect or expand abortion access. CAN PILL PRESCRIPTIONS OVERCOME STATE BANS? Conservative states have already rushed to restrict abortion pills, which can be prescribed through online telemedicine visits. Now that the court has overturned Roe v. Wade, they will be able to ban them altogether, experts say. Thirty-two states allow only physicians to dispense abortion pills, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Six states, including Texas and Missouri, ban any use of telemedicine for medication abortion. Another 21 states do not have blanket bans but require at least one in-person visit https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-intersection-of-state-and-federal-policies-on-access-to-medication-abortion-via-telehealth, meaning patients cannot simply have a telemedicine appointment and receive the pills by mail, according to the foundation. (Compiled by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Howard Goller) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Seventeen months after leaving office, former President Donald Trump delivered on a campaign promise when the conservative U.S. Supreme Court majority he cemented overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. The ruling issued on Friday represented a victory long in the making for a well-organized and generously funded conservative movement to push America’s courts rightward, aided by legal activists and deft political maneuvering by top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell. Trump during his four years as president appointed three justices – Neil Gorsuch in 2017, Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Amy Coney Barrett in 2020 – giving a court that was ideologically deadlocked with four liberals and four conservatives when he took office a solid 6-3 conservative majority by the time he left. All three were in the majority in the decision to overturn Roe. The month before being elected in November 2016, the Republican businessman-turned-politician Trump promised during a debate with his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton to appoint justices who would overturn the Roe decision. “Well, if we put another two or perhaps three justices on, that … will happen automatically in my opinion because I am putting pro-life justices on the court,” Trump said at the time. Trump’s pitch appealed to conservative Christian voters, who became a key constituency during his presidency. Trump in 2020 also became the first U.S. president https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-abortion/at-anti-abortion-rally-trump-assails-democrats-draws-applause-idUSKBN1ZN152 to attend the March for Life in Washington staged annually by abortion opponents around the anniversary of the Roe decision. “Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House,” Trump told rally participants as he specifically touted his Supreme Court appointments. Trump has not announced whether he will run again for president in 2024. Critics have sought to paint the Roe decision as poorly reasoned liberal judicial activism. Driven by vocal support from an anti-abortion movement spearheaded by conservative Christians, they pursued the goal of appointing judges hostile to abortion rights. “The overturning of this case after the five decades of morass that Roe created is a major victory for constitutionalism and the rule of law,” said Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative legal group that has helped promote Republican judicial appointments. “Roe v. Wade was one of the greatest acts of judicial arrogance in Supreme Court history – and one of the catalysts for the birth and growth of the conservative legal movement,” Severino added. ‘BREAK-GLASS MOMENT’ For liberal legal advocates, the ruling represented a “break-glass moment,” said Brian Fallon, executive director of legal advocacy group Demand Justice. “Now the question is, will our side regroup and productively channel the public’s outrage to confront a court that has been captured?” Fallon asked. The Supreme Court for decades had a majority of Republican appointees but until now lacked the five votes needed to overturn Roe. The last time it had been so close was in 1992 in a case called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Conservative activists were disappointed by the 5-4 ruling that reaffirmed the central holding of Roe recognizing a woman’s right to obtain an abortion under the U.S. Constitution. Three Republican appointees – Justices Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy and David Souter – worked behind the scenes on a compromise that carried the day. It was later revealed that Kennedy initially had supported overturning Roe but changed his mind. Trump appointed Kavanaugh to replace Kennedy, who retired in 2018. Trump and McConnell – who have an icy relationship – were critical in engineering the demise of Roe. McConnell, as Senate majority leader, in 2016 blocked Democratic President Barack Obama from appointing a justice to the court in the last year of his term after conservative Justice Antonin Scalia died. Obama’s nominee would have given the court a 5-4 liberal majority. McConnell’s action meant Trump was able to replace Scalia with fellow conservative Gorsuch. McConnell shepherded Kavanaugh to Senate confirmation in 2018 after a contentious confirmation process in which the nominee denied sexual misconduct. McConnell then moved rapidly with Senate confirmation of Barrett a week before the 2020 election in which Trump was defeated. Barrett, a devout Roman Catholic and former legal scholar, previously had signaled support for overturning Roe. RELIABLE CONSERVATIVES Since the Casey ruling, Republican presidents have chosen a stream of reliably conservative nominees nurtured and promoted by connections to the influential Federalist Society. A key figure in that effort has been Leonard Leo, who has had a lengthy career at the conservative legal group and has advised Republican presidents in picking judicial nominees. Leo helped compile a list of potential Supreme Court nominees that Trump touted as a candidate before the 2016 election in a bid to attract conservative voters. Leo did not respond to messages seeking comment for this story. Conservative advocacy groups including the Judicial Confirmation Network have helped promote and defend conservative judicial nominees. Anti-abortion organizations also have staunchly backed Republican judicial nominees. “This victory represents proof of concept for the pro-life movement’s involvement in campaigns and elections and will spur more pro-life political activism in the years ahead,” said Mallory Carroll, a spokeswoman for one of those groups, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham) View the full article

Published by Reuters By Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday took the dramatic step of overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide, handing a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives who want to limit or ban the procedure. The court, in a 6-3 ruling powered by its conservative majority, upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks. The vote was 5-4 to overturn Roe, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing separately to say he would have upheld the Mississippi law but not taken the additional step of erasing the precedent altogether. The justices held that the Roe v. Wade decision that allowed abortions performed before a fetus would be viable outside the womb – between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy – was wrongly decided because the U.S. Constitution makes no specific mention of abortion rights. A draft version of the ruling written by conservative Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was likely to overturn Roe was leaked in May, igniting a political firestorm. Friday’s ruling authored by Alito largely tracked his leaked draft. “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision,” Alito wrote in the ruling. Roe v. Wade recognized that the right to personal privacy under the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s ability to terminate her pregnancy. The Supreme Court in a 1992 ruling called Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey reaffirmed abortion rights and prohibited laws imposing an “undue burden” on abortion access. “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division,” Alito added. By erasing abortion as a constitutional right, the ruling restores the ability of states to pass laws prohibiting it. Twenty-six states are seen as either certain or likely now to ban abortion. Mississippi is among 13 states already with so-called trigger laws designed to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. The court’s three liberal justices – Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan – issued a jointly authored dissent. “Whatever the exact scope of the coming laws, one result of today’s decision is certain: the curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens,” they wrote. As a result of Friday’s ruling, “from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of. A state can force her to bring a pregnancy to term, even at the steepest personal and familial costs,” the liberal justices added. Mississippi’s law had been blocked by lower courts as a violation of Supreme Court precedent on abortion rights. Abortion is likely to remain legal in liberal states. More than a dozen states currently have laws protecting abortion rights. Numerous Republican-led states have passed various abortion restrictions in defiance of the Roe precedent in recent years. Before the Roe decision, many states banned abortion, leaving women who wanted to terminate a pregnancy with few options. As a result of Friday’s ruling, women with unwanted pregnancies in large swathes of America may face the choice of traveling to another state where the procedure remains legal and available, buying abortion pills online or having a potentially dangerous illegal abortion. Overturning Roe v. Wade has long been a goal of Christian conservatives and many Republican officeholders. TRUMP’S APPOINTEES Republican former President Donald Trump as a candidate in 2016 promised to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who would reverse Roe. He was able to appoint three conservative justices – a third of the total – during his four years in office, moving the court rightward and building a 6-3 conservative majority. All three Trump appointees – Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – were in the majority in Friday’s ruling. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only abortion clinic remaining in Mississippi https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lone-mississippi-clinic-front-line-us-supreme-court-abortion-battle-2021-11-29, challenged the 2018 law and had the support of Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration at the Supreme Court. The law allows abortions when there is a “medical emergency” or a “severe fetal abnormality” but does not have an exception for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. A federal judge in 2018 struck the law down, citing the Roe precedent. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019 reached the same conclusion. LEAK INVESTIGATION Roberts denounced the May 2 leak of Alito’s draft opinion in the case and announced an investigation to identify the culprit. Supreme Court leaks are extremely rare, especially concerning internal deliberations before a ruling is issued. Following the leak, Biden condemned the overturning of Roe as a “radical” step and urged Congress to pass legislation protecting abortion access nationally. Thousands of people rallied for abortion rights in Washington and other cities after the leak, including some protesters at the homes of some conservative justices. A California man armed with a handgun, ammunition, a crow bar and pepper spray was arrested near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home on June 8 and charged with attempted murder. The justices in 2016 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-abortion/supreme-court-firmly-backs-abortion-rights-tosses-texas-law-idUSKCN0ZC0JL struck down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on abortion facilities and doctors. The justices in 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-abortion/in-major-ruling-u-s-supreme-court-strikes-down-strict-louisiana-abortion-law-idUSKBN2401WI struck down a Louisiana law that similarly placed restrictions on doctors who perform abortions. But the court has become more conservative in recent years with the addition of three appointees made by former President Donald Trump. Since 2018, the court lost two champions of abortion rights. Liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in 2020, being replaced by Barrett, who as an academic before joining the judiciary signaled support for overturning Roe https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-court-barrett/trumps-supreme-court-nominee-advocated-overturning-legalized-abortion-idINKBN26M7IS. Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who sometimes sided with the liberal justices on social issues such as abortion and LGBT rights, retired in 2018 and was replaced by Kavanaugh. Kennedy was part of the majority in the 1992 decision and voted to strike down the Texas abortion restriction in 2016. Gorsuch in 2017 replaced the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who was an abortion opponent. Opinion polls show a majority of Americans support abortion rights. But overturning Roe has been a goal of anti-abortion activists and Christian conservatives for decades, with annual marches in Washington including in January of this year. The number of U.S. abortions increased by 8% during the three years ending in 2020, reversing a 30-year trend of declining numbers, according to data https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2022/06/long-term-decline-us-abortions-reverses-showing-rising-need-abortion-supreme-court released on June 15 by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supporters abortion rights. The U.S. abortion rate peaked in 1980, seven years after the Roe ruling, at 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women of child-bearing age – 15-44 – and stood at 13.5 per 1,000 in 2017 before increasing to 14.4 per 1,000 women by 2020. In 2020, there were 930,160 U.S. abortions, with 20.6% of pregnancies ending in abortion in 2020, up from 18.4% in 2017. Mississippi experienced a 40% increase in abortions performed from 2017 to 2020. Globally, abortion rights generally have been increasing. The U.N. World Health Organization said around 73 million abortions https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/abortion take place globally each year, including 29% of all pregnancies. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Elon Musk’s daughter has legally changed her name to reflect her new gender identity and cut all ties with her father. The Tesla and Space X billionaire’s 18-year-old girl’s birth name was Xavier Alexander Musk, however, she now identifies as a trans woman and wishes to not be associated with her father. And on Thursday (23.06.22), she was granted the name change by the Los Angeles County Superior Court. She will now go by Vivian Jenna Wilson, taking her mom Justine Wilson’s maiden name. Her gender has also been changed to female, and TMZ reports that a new birth certificate will be issued shortly. Vivian’s petition filed to the court in April read: “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.” Elon is yet to comment on his daughter’s name change. Although Elon insists he “absolutely supports” transgender people, he struggles with preferred pronouns. In 2020, he tweeted: “I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an aesthetic nightmare.” He’d also caused outrage when he posted that “pronouns suck”, with many branding the tweet transphobic. The businessman has seven children in total. His youngest two with pop singer Grimes have bizarre names, X Æ A-12 and Exa Dark Sideræl, who are two years old and six months old, respectively. Elon also has Griffin, 18, and Damian, Saxon and Kai, all 16, with Justine. Meanwhile, Elon controversially said he wouldn’t take a COVID-19 vaccine because he doesn’t see the virus as a “risk” to himself or his children. Elon appeared on the New York Times podcast, ‘Sway’, and told host Kara Swisher that “everybody dies” and admitted he’d lost “faith” in humanity because of the “irrationality of people in general” over the pandemic. He said at the time: “This is a no-win situation. It has diminished my faith in humanity this whole thing [because] of the irrationality of people in general.” Asked if he would get vaccinated should he contract the respiratory infection, Elon replied: “No, I’m not at risk for COVID. Nor are my kids.” He also tweeted: “The coronavirus panic is dumb.” View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Charles is to give his blessing to Commonwealth countries that wish to move away from the royal family. The Prince of Wales will meet with prime ministers and presidents at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday (24.06.22), where he will stress that whatever happens as countries and constitutions evolve, the “common values and shared goals” that bring the 54 member nations together should never be forgotten. In a speech that comes when countries including Jamaica and Australia are preparing to follow Barbados in removing Queen Elizabeth as head of state, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reports Charles will say: “Our Commonwealth family is – and will always remain – a free association of independent self-governing nations. “We meet and talk as equals, sharing our knowledge and experience for the betterment of all citizens of the Commonwealth and, indeed, the wider world. “The Commonwealth contains within it countries that have had constitutional relationships with my family, some that continue to do so, and increasingly those that have had none. “I want to say clearly, as I have said before, that each member’s constitutional arrangement, as republic or monarchy, is purely a matter for each member country to decide. “The benefit of long life brings me the experience that arrangements such as these can change, calmly and without rancour. “But as I said in Barbados last November, we should never forget the things which do not change: the close and trusted partnership between Commonwealth members; our common values and shared goals; and, perhaps most importantly, the strong and enduring connections between the peoples of the Commonwealth which strengthen us all.” The speech will mark Charles’ first opportunity to address the group as their future leader. Although he officially won’t take over until he is King, he has been acting as de facto head of the Commonwealth as the queen no longer travels overseas and so is unlikely to attend any other CHOGM sessions. Within the Commonwealth, 15 members – including the UK – still have the queen as head of state, while 34 are republics and the remaining five have different monarchs. This week, Togo and Gabon will join the union, despite never having been under Britain’s rule in the past. View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Anne Hathaway’s sense of style is “so influenced” by working with Patricia Field on ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. The 39-year-old actress portrayed a fashion magazine assistant in the 2006 movie and she learned a lot about how to pull an outfit together from watching the legendary stylist create the costumes for the film. Asked by Michael Kors which outfit she wore in the movie that was more like herself than her character, Andy, she replied: “It’s a chicken-and-egg question, because what I think of as my style is so influenced by getting to work with Patricia Field and having conversations with her about how to put outfits together. “But I love what I wore to the James Hoult party, that velvet Chanel coat that went to the knees, and then the miniskirt and the stockings and the slouched boots. I think it was a sample because I kept finding straight pins in it.” The ‘WeCrashed’ star has had some fashion mishaps in the past and recalled how she once accidentally exposed her breasts on the red carpet because she hadn’t realised her dress was see-through. Anne was disappointed that no one pointed out her mistake as she would have done the same for someone else. Asked by Marc Jacobs for Interview magazine which of her past outfits she would erase if she could, she said: “Marc Jacobs, I love you and I love your wickedness. “There was this one time where I was very young and dressed myself for an event, and I stepped onto a red carpet and did not know my dress was see-through, and I wasn’t wearing a bra. “It was a very long carpet, and at no point did any of the people in that wall of photographers stop to give me a heads-up or offer me a jacket. I’m not naive. “I don’t expect that, but it’s something I would do for another person if I saw it. “And so I would erase that, just because it sucked.” View the full article

Published by Reuters By Katharine Jackson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A gun-safety bill that marked rare bipartisan cooperation as it passed the U.S. Senate was poised for approval by the House of Representatives on Friday on its way to President Joe Biden’s desk. The Senate bill, passed in a 65-33 vote late Thursday, is a modest package of measures to toughen federal gun laws, weeks after mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, that killed more than 30 people, including 19 children. Fifteen Republicans joined all 50 Senate Democrats in voting for passage. It is the first major gun-control legislation to pass in three decades in a country with the highest gun ownership per capita in the world and the highest number of mass shootings annually among wealthy nations. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applauded the bill’s passage and said in a statement that her chamber would take up the bill “first thing” on Friday, with a vote coming as soon as possible. The legislation would tighten background checks for potential gun buyers with prior domestic violence convictions or significant juvenile criminal records as well as increase funding for school security and mental health programs. House Republicans urged members to vote against it, but in a chamber controlled by Democrats, their support is not needed for passage. Biden has said that he will sign the bill into law. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Mark Porter) View the full article

Published by BANG Showbiz English Prince Charles has expressed his “personal sorrow” about “slavery’s enduring impact”. The 73-year-old prince addressed the issue during the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda, where he also called on other Commonwealth leaders not to ignore the impact of slavery. In a speech in Kigali on Friday (24.06.22), Charles said: “To unlock the power of our common future, we must also acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past. Many of those wrongs belong to an earlier age with different, and in some ways lesser, values.” The future monarch – who has been acting as de facto head of the Commonwealth as the Queen no longer travels overseas – told leaders that he wants to acknowledge that “roots of our contemporary association run deep into the most painful period of our history”. He added during his speech: “I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact.” In March, Prince William – Charles’ eldest son – spoke of his “profound sorrow” over slavery during a speech at a dinner in Jamaica. The 40-year-old prince described slavery as abhorrent and acknowledged that it “forever stains our history”. He added: “While the pain runs deep, Jamaica continues to forge its future with determination, courage and fortitude.” Earlier this week, William also conceded that discrimination remains “an all too familiar experience” for black men and women in Britain. What’s more, the prince spoke out against the Windrush Scandal, which involved the wrongful deportation of members of the Windrush generation, who migrated to the country after World War Two. William said: “Only a matter of years ago, tens of thousands of that generation were profoundly wronged by the Windrush Scandal. That rightly reverberates throughout the Caribbean community here in the UK as well as many in the Caribbean nations. “Therefore, alongside celebrating the diverse fabric of our families, our communities and our society as a whole – something the Windrush Generation has contributed so much to – it is also important to acknowledge the ways in which the future they sought and deserved has yet to come to pass.” View the full article

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Monkeypox Updates: U.S. CDC confirms evidence of local monkeypox transmission; WHO Considers Declaring Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency Boston : 6 More Monkeypox Cases Confirmed in Mass., Nearly Doubling Total New York City is offering monkeypox vaccines to men who have had multiple sexual partners in the last 2 weeks. NYC Launches Monkeypox Shots — But Walk-in Demand Overwhelms Capacity USA: Monkeypox is now in 7 states. US health officials urge awareness, not fear. California, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia and Washington. Florida: Monkeypox infections in FL in double digits, with cases in five counties in South and Central FL Number of Probable and Confirmed Cases: 22 California: First suspected cases of monkeypox in Riverside and Santa Clara counties reported. Number of Probable and Confirmed Cases: 51 Table Of Contents Monkeypox: ‘This is an entirely new spread of the disease’Diagnosis of monkeypox:History of monkeypox:What are the usual channels of infection?Should we be worried about this disease becoming widespread?Could the smallpox vaccine protect against this virus?Could we see other variants of monkeypox emerging?How monkeypox epidemic is likely to play out – in four graphsScenario 1: Self-limiting outbreakScenario 2: All populationScenario 3: Becoming endemicScenario 4: Recurrent large epidemics Monkeypox: ‘This is an entirely new spread of the disease’ Via The Conversation Electron micrograph of monkeypox virus particles isolated in 2003 in the United States from human samples (left, mature, oval viruses; right, immature, round viruses). Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner / CDC / AP One thousand confirmed cases of monkeypox, a disease originating in Africa, have been recorded since early May across at least 30 non-endemic countries such as the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, the United States, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Israel. But what is this virus? Who is affected? And should we be worried about the recent surge in cases? In a bid to answer such questions, we caught up with Camille Besombes, a medical doctor specialist in infectious diseases, who has been involved for the past three years in Afripox, a project that aims to gain a better understanding of the virus in its endemic region. She is currently conducting PhD research within the unit headed by the project’s coordinator, Arnaud Fontanet, a leading medical epidemiologist and emerging infectious disease specialist at the Pasteur Institute. The Conversation: What exactly is the monkeypox virus? Camille Besombes: Monkeypox is a virus belonging to the genus Orthopoxvirus, a family that also includes smallpox. Like smallpox, it is a large DNA virus with a particular appetite for skin tissue. However, smallpox only affected humans, which meant that we were able to eradicate it through worldwide mass vaccination, whereas monkeypox is carried by an animal viral reservoir. And despite its name, the natural reservoir is not actually monkeys. The term “monkeypox” was coined when the virus was first identified in captive primates (in Denmark back in 1958), but in nature, the virus is most often found in squirrels and other rodents. In 1970, the first human case of monkeypox was documented in a nine-month-old child in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, amid increasing efforts in the campaign to eradicate smallpox. In the UK, the authorities emphasized that “currently most cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men” There are two strains of monkeypox that we know of. The type that affects Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire is the so-called West African strain, with a case-fatality rate between 1 to 3%. This is the one that was detected in the recent cases in Europe. The second is the “Congo Basin” strain, which circulates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Gabon. Both strains are now circulating in Cameroon: recently, cases of infections implying the West African strain – imported from Nigeria – have been reported. Associated with more severe clinical forms, the Congo Basin strain has a case-fatality rate of around 10%. We must also keep in mind that these figures are taken from countries where medical care is somewhat lacking, particularly in more remote regions. As for Europe, several patients are currently in hospital with the disease, but no death and no severe form of it have been detected on the continent. Numerous cases in Spain and Europa appear to be linked to two festivals, one in Belgium between 4 and 9 May and one that took place in the Canary Islands between 5 and 15 May. The latter was attended by 80,000 people, potentially making it a “super-spreading” event. Diagnosis of monkeypox: What are the symptoms of this disease? CB: Following a relatively long incubation (usually lasting around 6 to 13 days, and up to 21 days), it presents its first onset symptoms during a two-day period known as the “prodromal” phase. These symptoms may include high fever, headaches, swollen lymph nodes (which are a sign that distinguishes it from smallpox), muscle pain, and fatigue. It is at this stage that patients are considered to be contagious. Monkeypox causes lesions that gradually spread over the infected person’s body. Jean-Marc Zokoé, Fourni par l’auteur Next, the patient develops a rash, usually starting on the face and gradually spreading over the rest of the body. This rash causes pain and intense itching due to the inflammation that occurs around the skin lesions. In the West African strain, these lesions can be initially rather infrequent and discreet, and may therefore go unnoticed. The disease typically lasts two to four weeks and tends to go away spontaneously in the majority of cases. The main complications of monkeypox include dehydration due to water loss from numerous and more widespread lesions, secondary bacterial infection of the lesions, sepsis, and corneal or other ocular lesions that may lead to vision loss. On top of these, cases of encephalitis (ed. note: “inflammation of the brain”) have also been documented, most notably in a child during the 2003 US outbreak. Children are more at risk of developing more severe forms of the disease. Jean-Marc Zokoé, Fourni par l’auteur Children who have been infected with monkeypox are more likely to experience complications and therefore have a higher fatality rate than adults. It is also assumed that immunocompromised individuals (particularly those who are HIV-positive) have a higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease, but there is not enough data yet to know this for certain. During the 2017-18 Nigerian outbreak, four out of seven people who died from the disease were HIV-positive. Pregnant women could also be affected by less moderate forms and we noted instances of mother-to-child transmission. Treatment for monkeypox Treatmentof the disease is largely symptom-based and involves methods like disinfecting the lesions, administering antibiotics in cases of secondary infection, and rehydration. Research is currently being conducted into whether certain antiviral molecules (such as tecovirimat could be effective against monkeypox, but the results are not yet conclusive. History of monkeypox: Is this the first time that the virus has spread outside of the African continent? How many cases have been recorded so far, and where? CB: No, it isn’t the first time. Although the Congo Basin strain has never travelled beyond Africa, the West African strain managed to reach the United States in 2003 by way of imported animals that had been infected. More recently, however, a number of countries have reported several cases brought in by humans. Back in 2003, number of individuals in the United States caught the virus from infected prairie dogs purchased from pet shops where the animals had been in contact with monkeypox-carrying Gambian pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) imported from Ghana. A total of 47 suspected cases of human infection were recorded, all the result of zoonotic (i.e., animal-to-human) transmission. There were no instances of interhuman transmission. At the time, the US authorities were concerned that the virus might take over a reservoir of local species, but this did not happen. Then, in September 2017, a more severe outbreak occurred in Nigeria, which had not experienced any monkeypox epidemic in the preceding 39 years. This particular epidemic is still ongoing, sustained by sporadic, regular transmissions that are both zoonotic and interhuman. To date, at least 500 suspected cases have been declared (215 of which have been confirmed). Reassuringly, albeit regrettably, only 8 deaths have been documented in the past 5 years. However, the Nigerian epidemic had marked a major change in monkeypox epidemiology and should have acted as a warning to us. Whereas the virus had tended to thrive in forest regions with little connection, in 2017, it hit the country’s more urban areas and at a larger scale. This is how it managed to spread more easily beyond the continent, with cases popping up in 2018 in Singapore, Israel, and England, brought back by travellers returning from Nigeria. In the case of England, a local human-to-human transmission occurred when a British healthcare worker became infected while cleaning a patient’s bed. There was no endemic viral circulation at the time, but more infections emerged in 2021, again linked to travellers coming back from Nigeria and occurring both in the UK and in the United States (where two cases were recorded). In the UK in 2018, scientists also studied the risk of emergence of an endemic animal reservoir. Species such as the common squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and domestic mouse (Mus musculus) were thought to be particularly prone to the virus, while other rodents (voles, dormice, other mice) or still hedgehogs were also considered as potential reservoirs. Monkeypox Origin: First Case of Monkeypox This Time What is different about the current context? CB: The situation is very different this time around. We know that the first case of the current epidemic, recorded on 7 May in the UK, was that of an individual travelling back from Nigeria. However, several other UK cases have since been confirmed that are apparently unrelated to one another or to this 7th May case. No instance of foreign travel (to African countries) associated with the infections has yet been proven and the direct chains of transmission have not been identified, suggesting the existence of several chains of transmission and a local circulation of the virus. As of 6th June, 1,000 cases had been detected in at least 30 different countries, worldwide, with the largest number of cases located in the United Kingdom (287 confirmed), Spain (189 confirmed), Portugal (143 confirmed). French authorities have reported 51 confirmed cases. For now, all of the recorded infections outside of Africa have been mild. Only a few patients have been hospitalised and no death or vital threat has been reported. A non-negligible proportion of cases were reported among HIV+ patients. That said, these local circulations of the disease are unprecedented. Another new aspect is that the cases have almost exclusively been reported among young males, primarily among homosexual men (in the UK, the authorities emphasised that “currently most cases have been in men who are gay, bisexual or have sex with men”). Only six suspected and confirmed women were declared in Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, the United States and United Arab Emirates. These last two women were not linked to the European cluster following mass gathering events, but returned from Western Africa, suggesting something is up with the Nigerian epidemic that is exporting the virus. What are the usual channels of infection? Why is this new? CB: Monkeypox epidemics most often arise from animal-to-human transmission, although the exact details of how they occur are unclear and it has not yet been possible to isolate the same viral strain in animals and in humans. It may come from direct contact with a living animal when hunting or eating bush meat. One thing we have noticed from our research in the CAR is that the outbreaks tend to be seasonal. This would suggest a link with certain seasonal activities like the harvesting of edible caterpillars, which involves individuals entering the forest, where they would be more exposed to local wildlife. Even though scientists have been tracking the viral reservoir since the 1970s, it has, as of yet, only rarely been isolated in wild animals. The first instance was in 1985 in the DRC and involved a species known as a Thomas’s rope squirrel (Funisciurus anerythrus), thought to be the reservoir of the virus. The next was that of a sooty mangabey monkey in 1992 (Cercocebus atys) in Côte d’Ivoire. Then, two decades later, the virus was isolated in a Gambian pouched rat and another rodent species (Stochomys longicaudatus), as well as in another rope squirrel (Funisciurus _bayonii) and a shrew (Corcidura litoralis). As things stand, the prime suspects for the viral reservoir are rodents, including squirrels. The Funisciurus anerythrus squirrel is the suspected reservoir of the monkeypox virus. cherifikoukomon, CC BY-NC Interestingly, monkeypox was also found in chimpanzee feces in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, during an outbreak among primates, which implies the possibility of environmental contamination. Aside from zoonotic transmission, there’s also human-to-human transmission, which occurs as a result of direct and prolonged contact with infected individuals through exposure to bodily fluids or contaminated materials (e.g. clothing, bedding, or surfaces). Such infections most often take place within the home. Transmission through inhalation of respiratory droplets has also been considered, but this point is difficult to ascertain. Generally speaking, infections take place within the family home, where there is closer human proximity and modes of contact are numerous and diverse. Africa has also seen some cases of hospital-acquired infection. In a detailed case description of the 2017 Nigerian outbreak, a large proportion of individuals suffered genital infections (68%), suggesting for the first time that the virus could be transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact during sex. Our data also shows that the rate of such infections is very high among cases recorded in the CAR. Close, intimate contact during intercourse may be behind the new increased frequency in interhuman transmission of monkeypox, a virus that is usually thought to present low transmissibility. This theory is supported by the fact that – at the time of writing – the “non-African” cases of recent weeks have mainly affected young men who have sex with men or who identify as homosexual. It should be noted, though, that such transmissions could also occur during heterosexual intercourse. Italian researchers have recently detected significant amount of monkeypox virus in the semen of 3 patients. However, the authors stressed that these findings “cannot be considered definitive evidence of infectivity”. The implications for transmission are not clear either. Monkeypox in humans: Should we be worried about this disease becoming widespread? What can we do to prevent this? CB: For now, we can’t say for certain what will happen. The problem is that the chain of transmission of these new cases has yet to be identified. As indicated by the daily evolution of the virus, and due to its relatively long incubation period, there is a real risk that new infections could emerge within the coming days and weeks, whether in countries that are already affected or elsewhere. Numerous cases in Spain and Europa appear to be linked to two festivals, one in Belgium between 4 and 9 May and one that took place in the Canary Islands between 5 and 15 May. The latter was attended by 80,000 people, potentially making it a “super-spreading” event. In order to prevent the spread of the virus, we need to raise awareness among the communities and individuals concerned, and among doctors, so that we can quickly identify each case and trace their contacts. One difficulty facing doctors is that monkeypox lesions resemble those caused by chickenpox and, when they occur on the genitals, they can be mistaken for symptoms of some STIs (like syphilis and herpes). A monkeypox diagnosis can be confirmed by a PCR test and isolation of the virus, but only a few specialist laboratories are equipped for these types of analysis. Nevertheless, we can find some reassurance in the fact that monkeypox outbreaks resolve spontaneously and relatively quickly. The longest chain of transmission ever identified was carried over seven generations, meaning that seven humans passed on the disease consecutively before transmission ceased. It is unclear why spreads simply stop like this. One hypothesis is that, until recently, these outbreaks would occur in small villages within restricted communities where some individuals might have already been immune, so the virus would contaminate only those who had never been in contact with it. But the 2003 epidemic in the United States also ended quickly and without any secondary human-to-human infection. It remains to be seen where this new outbreak will take us. Could the smallpox vaccine protect against this virus? CB: We know that a natural infection of smallpox offers cross-protection against monkeypox. In the 1980s, it was shown that the smallpox vaccine could also provide cross-protection at a rate of around 85%. However, these estimates were made just a few years after the mass-vaccination campaign to eradicate smallpox. It is now believed that its efficacy is closer to around 63% against severe disease. Moreover, smallpox vaccination was suspended in the 1980s once the disease was wiped out. Today, only a handful of healthcare professionals are vaccinated (in case of bioterrorist threats, while the virus is stored under high surveillance at a number of laboratories) and the first generation of the vaccine is no longer used, due to significant side effects. Monkeypox Vaccine: At present, if ever necessary, the most suitable vaccine for a roll-out would be the “third-generation” version known as Imvamune (or Imvanex or Jynneos). This is an attenuated vaccine that can be administered to immunocompromised people, unlike older vaccines. It has already been given to healthcare professionals and contact cases in Israel, Singapore, and the UK, and its effectiveness is currently being assessed among healthcare professionals in the DRC. There are also a number of fourth-generation “subunit” vaccines in development. These do not contain the attenuated virus and instead have only fragments of it. They are also being assessed for their effectiveness. Vaccines can be administered as either a pre-exposure (i.e., before contact with the virus) or a post-exposure treatment. With regards to the latter, US guidelines recommend that it be given preferably within 4 days and up to 14 days after exposure. On 27 May two French individuals received post-exposure vaccination for the first time after a high-risk contact with confirmed cases. Could we see other variants of monkeypox emerging? Is the genome of the virus currently circulating in Europe identical to the West African strain? CB: Monkeypox is a DNA virus, which means that it is less likely to mutate than an RNA virus like SARS-CoV-2. It is actually quite simple to determine whether we are dealing with a West African or Congo Basin strain. We just need to sequence out short sections of its DNA. But given the large size of the viral genome, it takes time and effort to obtain a complete sequence. We need this complete sequence in order to detect differences in sequences more precisely, which would allow us to identify chains of transmission and find out how cases are linked. However, if our experience with SARS-CoV-2 has taught us anything, it’s that a large-scale global effort can be of great help in moving things along. Phylogenetic tree depicting the ‘family’ relationships between the different strains of monkeypox virus responsible for outbreaks. Nextrain.org Initial sequencing carried out on samples from a Portuguese and a Belgian patient have shown the genetic proximity of the virus to strains isolated in Nigeria and during the previous out-of-African spread of the virus in 2018, with genomes of the ongoing outbreak being highly similar. This is in favour of a single introduction followed by community spread in Western countries after superspreading events. More detailed genomic analyses comparing 2022 strains to those of 2018 identified around 40 mutations (fivefold the expected rate of mutations) with a pattern specific of the action of an antiviral enzyme called APOBEC which may reveal the sustained circulation of the virus in a new animal intermediate host, or in humans. This observation, possibly indicating a recent increase in viral circulation in Nigeria, matches the documentation of cases in peri-urban areas of Nigeria like Abuja, together with increased frequencies of overseas exportation of cases. A recent article hypothesises that Nigerian synanthropic rodent populations (i.e., undomesticated rodents that live in close association with people and benefits from their surroundings) have increased in recent years as a result of land conversion and high urbanisation leading to increased human-rodent contact. Further sequencing is required to address remaining questions, like genome adaptation toward increased viral transmissibility. But, for the time being, there has been no evidence to suggest this. In a more exceptional way, what looks like a relapse of the monkeypox disease was reported among one of the 2018 UK patients, with an increased lymphadenopathy, a recurrence of rash and a transient shedding of monkeypox viral DNA following initial complete recovery. This hypothesis requires further study to be exploited. In 2019, the Institut Pasteur came together with partners in France and the CAR to launch the Afripox project, driven by a goal to increase understanding of the monkeypox virus and its spread. What exactly does the project involve? CB: Afripox is a cross-disciplinary project that was set up in light of an increasing number of monkeypox outbreaks in the CAR, as reported by Emmanuel Yandoko Nakoune, Director of the Laboratory for Arboviruses, Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers, Emerging Viruses, and Zoonoses at the Institut Pasteur in Bangui, the country’s capital. In the past few decades, monkeypox outbreaks have been more numerous and frequent in Africa overall, with the disease also expanding into areas where it was not endemic before. Improved medical monitoring and reduced immunity (following the end of smallpox vaccinations in 1980) are likely to have contributed to this figure, but the phenomenon may also reflect a growing viral circulation in a region of the world currently experiencing major ecological disturbances. Faced with the many uncertainties surrounding the epidemiology of monkeypox, the idea for this project was to rely on the CAR’s existing national medical monitoring system to develop a One Health approach toward the monkeypox virus, encompassing all its aspects in epidemiology, ecology, zoology, anthropology, and virology. For instance, through our partnership with researchers from the French National Museum of Natural History, we are attempting to identify its animal reservoir. Meanwhile, along with the SESSTIM team in Marseille, we are exploring the disease’s ecology in order to better understand why it spreads more in forest areas, pinpoint how deforestation affects outbreaks, determine whether or not there is a seasonal aspect, and so on. Emmanuel Nakoune and Camille Besombes investigating an outbreak of monkeypox in Zoméa, Lobaye, CAR. Jean Marc Zokoé, Author provided In the near future, the Afripox project also hopes to use on-the-ground PCR diagnostic tests that are currently being developed by the Emergency Biological Response Unit (“Cibu”) team at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. For now, suspected case samples are analysed in Bangui, but these tests would allow for reduced diagnosis time and quicker implementation of the appropriate measures. Lastly, the epidemiological and anthropological aspects of the virus are being explored by the teams at the Institut Pasteur Paris (namely, the Emerging Diseases Epidemiology Unit and the Emerging Diseases Anthropology and Ecology Unit), in collaboration with local researchers. Their goal is to precisely determine the risk factors of zoonotic or interhuman transmission and ascertain why monkeypox has been on the rise since the 1980s. While it is essential to identify the mechanics of this latest human-to-human epidemic of a relatively new format, it is also vital to understand how monkeypox emerges and circulates in its continent of origin. When Afripox was launched three years ago, few could have imagined that this disease would one day spread beyond the African continent and across the planet. The current epidemic has highlighted once more the importance of investing in scientific research over the long term, so that we can be better prepared for any and all eventualities. Translated from the French by Enda Boorman for Fast ForWord. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Camille Besombes, Institut Pasteur and Arnaud Fontanet, Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (CNAM) How monkeypox epidemic is likely to play out – in four graphs Smallpox vaccines are effective against monkeypox. James Gathany/CDC Adam Kleczkowski, University of Strathclyde The first case of monkeypox in a human was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then, there have been many monkeypox outbreaks, but they have been self-limiting, with chains of human transmission ending without establishing epidemics. The current outbreak, however, is different. There is more human-to-human transmission, and it is over a much broader geographical area. In mere weeks, monkeypox has spread to 37 non-endemic countries, with over 2,600 cases. So, what is likely to happen to monkeypox in the following weeks and months? There are huge gaps in what we know about monkeypox, but combining what we do know with a history of other infectious diseases makes it possible to analyse likely future scenarios. The four scenarios below are based on the following knowledge: the average number of people an infected person is likely to infect (assuming they have not been vaccinated against the virus or have had the disease before) is 2.13. This is called the basic reproduction number, or R. Herd immunity – the point at which enough people have immunity such that disease transmission can’t be sustained – is 53% (corresponding to this value of R). And the incubation period, the time from catching the virus to the appearance of symptoms, is between five and 21 days. Scenario 1: Self-limiting outbreak The 2022 epidemic appears to have started as a super-spreader event involving a network of predominantly men who have sex with men. But until the current outbreak it was assumed that the relatively low human-to-human transmissibility of the virus makes it unlikely for the virus to spread outside the initial community. Plot illustrating the daily number of cases under scenario 1. The size and duration of the outbreak here and in the graphs below are for illustration purposes only and do not constitute a detailed prediction of what might happen in the future. More details available at https://statisticallyinsignificant.blog/monkeypox-scenario-modelling/ Adam Kleczkowski In this scenario, the outbreak ends quickly once the population at risk becomes immune and herd immunity is reached locally. In the past, many people had some immunity (called “cross-immunity”) from the smallpox mass vaccination programmes of the late 20th century. So the effective reproduction number, R, can be close to or even lower than one, and the transmission will soon stop. Behavioural changes can reduce the number R even more. For example, the ring vaccination can form a “firebreak”, further reducing the susceptible population. Similar previous epidemics include the Sars outbreak in 2002-04, when a quick intervention stopped the disease from spreading. Scenario 2: All population The continuing spread of monkeypox in May and June 2022 suggests that the virus is moving beyond the original network. The size of the outbreak is already well beyond the most prominent 2017-19 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (760). It is possible that large gatherings, including raves and festivals, have created new transmission clusters. A plot illustrating the daily number of cases under Scenario 2. Adam Kleczkowski Scenario 2 assumes that everybody below the age of 50 is susceptible to the infection, reflecting the end of compulsory smallpox vaccination in the 1970-80s. The virus will continue spreading, effectively searching for pockets of high-risk and non-immune communities. Unless a combination of contact tracing and ring vaccination stops the spread, the monkeypox will continue spreading. But, given the low transmissibility of monkeypox, the epidemic may fizzle out before reaching the herd immunity threshold of 50% of the population. Scenario 3: Becoming endemic Complete eradication is impossible because monkeypox exists in a wide range of animal hosts. The low transmissibility also means it can survive at low levels in the population. In addition, the long incubation period and variable symptoms allow it to avoid detection. Therefore, monkeypox may have already been spreading for a long time. A plot illustrating the daily number of cases under Scenario 3. Details available at https://statisticallyinsignificant.blog/monkeypox-scenario-modelling/ Adam Kleczkowski In scenario 3, following the large outbreak, the disease will settle on a long-term, relatively constant level. Similar to the pre-vaccination smallpox or chickenpox. The influx of susceptible people through birth or migration will keep the virus in the population. Mass vaccination programmes might be needed to eradicate the disease. But relatively low monkeypox transmissibility means such programmes are likely to be highly effective. Scenario 4: Recurrent large epidemics The current epidemic might be the first instance of a series of outbreaks. In the long term (scenario 4), we should expect a return of monkeypox caused by future “zoonotic events” where the disease jumps from animal hosts to humans. As the cross-immunity from smallpox vaccines wanes, the epidemics can become even more substantial. A plot illustrating the daily number of cases under Scenario 4. Details available at https://statisticallyinsignificant.blog/monkeypox-scenario-modelling/ Adam Kleczkowski Little is known about the potential of monkeypox to mutate. Still, there is potential for it to evolve into a more rapidly spreading variant. Effective vaccines for monkeypox exist and are about 85% effective. Although there are currently not enough doses to vaccinate everyone, there is no need for a mass-vaccination programme given monkeypox’s low transmissibility. Instead, vaccines should be offered to those most at risk, including communities in Africa most in contact with the wild animals that carry the virus. Adam Kleczkowski, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. View the full article

Published by Reuters (Reuters) -The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said there was evidence of local transmission of monkeypox, in addition to reports of cases where people had traveled abroad. The cases are mainly occurring in men who have sex with men, but women are also getting infected, CDC staff member Dr. Agam Rao said at a panel meeting on Thursday. Monkeypox, a viral infection that causes skin lesions, is endemic in certain parts of Africa. But the current outbreak has hit countries where the virus does not usually spread, sparking concern. The CDC said had also been reports of transmission among family members and close contacts. “We also heard worldwide about close contacts like close household members who through example shared bedding, towels, have acquired infection,” Rao said. “So it is not just through close intimate contact that this is being spread.” The lesions associated with the present outbreak are also smaller than those typical of classic monkeypox, according to the public health agency. The CDC last month published guidelines recommending the use of Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine for laboratory personnel and other at-risk people, making another vaccine available in addition to Emergent BioSolutions’ ACAM2000. Earlier on Thursday, New York City opened a temporary clinic to administer the two-dose Jynneos vaccine to eligible people who may have been exposed to monkeypox, including gay and bisexual men. While there have been cases of heart inflammation called myocarditis associated with ACAM2000, no such cases have been reported yet after the use of Jynneos, the CDC said. There is a limited supply of Jynneos and the agency is considering how to best use the supplies, it said. (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni) WHO considers declaring monkeypox a global health emergency Published by NJ.com The World Health Organization will convene its emergency committee Thursday to consider if the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox warrants a global emergency declaration. Meanwhile, some experts say WHO’s decision to act only after the disease spilled into the West could entrench the grotesque inequities that arose between rich and poor countries during the coronavirus pandemic. Declaring monkeypox a global emergency would mean the U.N. health agency considers the outbreak to be an “extraordinary event” and that the disease is at risk of spreading across even more borders. It would also give monk… Read More View the full article

Published by Raw Story By Travis Gettys Kentucky’s current teacher of the year is leaving the classroom due to discrimination and lack of support because he is gay. Willie Carver Jr., the 2022 teacher of the year, is quitting teaching after 17 years to take a job at the University of Kentucky in student support services, and he will also be an academic advisor at the Gatton College for Business and Economics, reported the Lexington Herald-Leader. “This was not an easy decision; I have cried quite a few times trying to make it over the past few months,” Carver said in a Facebook post. “But, ultimately, I have always … Read More View the full article

Published by Orlando Sentinel ORLANDO, Fla. — At least six people in Florida have died in what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday called “one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history,” with state and health officials and LGBTQ+ groups scrambling to alert the public about the deadly disease. As of Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health has recorded 10 deaths and 44 cases in 2022, more than double the annual average over the last five years: 13 of those were in Orange County, three in Seminole, three in Lake and one in Osceola. At least 26 of those… Read More View the full article

Published by InsideHook By Bonnie Stiernberg Pixar’s Lightyear, a Toy Story prequel that tells the origin story of Buzz Lightyear, has already been banned in 14 countries for a brief scene that includes a same-sex kiss between space ranger Alisha Hawthorne (voiced by Uzo Aduba) and her wife. But the movie has faced bigotry and backlash related to the kiss here in the United States as well. The latest example? A movie theater in Oklahoma recently posted a sign warning patrons about the scene and promising to “fast-forward through [it].” As NBC News reports, the 89er, a theater in Kingfisher, Oklahoma — a small town of… Read More View the full article

Published by Reuters By Steve Keating (Reuters) – There are no perfect solutions to the transgender sport issue, the head of the United States Olympic Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said on Thursday, adding that not even its own board is in agreement on a way forward. The transgender sport debate exploded this week after FINA, world swimming’s governing body, voted to restrict the participation of transgender competitors in women’s competition and establish an “open” category, a move widely opposed by LGBT rights advocates. Following FINA’s decision many other sport federations, including world soccer’s governing body FIFA and World Athletics have moved to review their transgender eligibility policies. The International Olympic Committee said in November no athlete should be excluded from competition on the grounds of a perceived unfair advantage, while leaving it up to sports International Federations (IF) to decide where the balance lay between inclusion and fairness. USOPC Chair Susanne Lyons said her organisation would also leave it up to the IFs and National Governing Bodies (NGBs) to develop policies but expects to be part of the discussion. “I think we would all agree there are no perfect solutions to this very complex issue,” said Lyons, whose term as CEO comes to an end in January. “Things need to be decided at the federation level. “We’re not the decision makers on what the policies will be but we do feel that we do have an obligation to be informed and educated and provide whatever tools our NGBs need as they work with their IFs to try to develop their own policy.” Advocates for transgender inclusion argue that not enough studies have yet been done on the impact of transition on physical performance, and that elite athletes are often physical outliers in any case. Balancing the Olympic Movement’s core values of safety, fairness and inclusion with individual rights of athletes, however, is a tricky equation. “Part of inclusion is the individual right of an athlete to compete,” Lyons said. “Those a values are at odds in this particular instance. “Not everyone agrees. Even in our own board I would say we are not yet aligned on if one those values or more need to take precedence over another,” she added. “We do not have all the answers, we don’t even have all the agreements yet but we will try to provide as much support as possible to our partner NGBs as they struggle to set policy on this.” (Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, Editing by Ed Osmond) View the full article