Today in History for 26th February 2026

[CoM Moderators]

Historical Events

1929 - US President Calvin Coolidge establishes Grand Teton National Park
1941 - Cowboys' Amateur Association of America organized (California)
1954 - First typesetting machine (photo engraving) used in Quincy, Massachusetts
2013 - A rocket launched from the Gaza strip into Israel ends the ceasefire since November 2012
2025 - First death from measles in the US occurs in Texas in a decade, and the first child to die in 22 years amid an outbreak affecting 124 people

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Famous Birthdays

1939 - Josephine Tewson, British actress (Keeping Up Appearances; Last Of The Summer Wine, 2003-10), born in Hampstead, England (d. 2022)
1945 - Peter Brock, Australian auto racer (3 x Australian Touring Car C'ship; 9 x Bathurst 500/1000; 9 x Sandown Endurance), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2006)
1950 - Billy Steinberg, American lyricist and songwriter (with Tom Kelly - "Like A Virgin"; "True Colors"; "I Touch Myself"), born in Palm Springs, California (d. 2026)
1957 - David Muldrow Beasley, American politician, born in Darlington, South Carolina
1959 - Rolando Blackman, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star 1985, 86, 87, 90; Dallas Mavs, NY Knicks; Italian Cup MVP 1996 Olimpia Milano), born in Panama City, Panama

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Famous Deaths

1802 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral and Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy, dies at 83
1933 - Princess Thyra, Danish princess, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark, dies at 79
1960 - Aleksandar Belic, Serbian linguist, dies at 83
2008 - Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician
2023 - Fred Shabel, American basketball coach (Connecticut Huskies 1963-67) and executive (AD University of Pennsylvania 1967-75; Comcast Spectacor), dies at 90

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[samhexum]

The Kansas state government has invalidated the driver’s licenses and birth certificates of transgender residents who changed the gender ‌on those documents, in accordance with a law that took effect on Thursday.

The ‌move affects more than 1,000 people. The law requires residents to change their gender identification to the sex they were assigned at birth, and also bans residents from changing their gender on those documents in the future.

Affected residents must pay for their new driver’s licenses.

The law also requires transgender people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in buildings owned or leased by government entities that match their ‌sex assigned at birth.

Transgender people in the United States have faced increasing restrictions at the state and national levels. Republican President Donald Trump has taken ⁠a particularly hard line since returning to office last year, issuing multiple executive orders limiting transgender rights.

One Trump directive stated that the U.S. government will recognize only two sexes, male and female. Another sought to exclude transgender athletes from female sports.

The new Kansas law “puts transgender people in danger any ‌time they interact with law enforcement or apply for a job or for housing or public benefits,” said Harper Seldin, a senior staff attorney with the LGBTQ and HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The mismatch between how they present themselves in the world and their driver's license puts them at risk of discrimination or violence, and so that's why ‌many trans people choose to change the sex markers on our licenses so that we can live as ourselves in society and keep ourselves safe.”

Kansas residents were permitted to change their gender markers on driver’s licenses ‌and birth certificates until 2023, when those changes were halted amid litigation initiated by the state’s Republican attorney general, Kris Kobach. Last year, the courts permitted transgender residents to once again make those changes. State lawmakers then introduced the bill enacted into law after ‌the Kansas legislature overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto.

Seldin said the ACLU expects to file a lawsuit challenging the law by the end of Friday.

https://www.aol.com/articles/kansas-invalidates-driver-licenses-birth-174751461.html