Before being elected as the first transgender woman to the US Congress, 34-year-old Sarah McBride said she expected hostility. A harsh national spotlight has fallen swiftly upon her. "They may try to misgender me, they may try to say the wrong name, they will do what we can predictably assume they might do," she told the TransLash podcast last month ahead of her resounding election victory on November 5. "They are going to do that to get a rise out of me and my job will be to not give them the response they want," the Democrat from Delaware explained. Ahead of her arrival in the House of Representatives on January 3, McBride was targeted by a resolution this week from a right-wing Republican colleague that would ban transgender women from women's toilets in the Capitol. "Just because a Congressman wants to wear a mini skirt doesn’t mean he can come into a women’s bathroom," South Carolina firebrand Nancy Mace wrote on social media as she led a highly personal campaign against McBride. House Speaker Mike Johnson, after initially seeking to buy time to debate the issue, came out in support of a ban, saying that all single-sex facilities would be "reserved for individuals of that biological sex." McBride -- who wears knee-length dresses, not miniskirts -- issued a statement saying that she said would respect the rules "even if I disagree with them." "I'm not here to fight about bathrooms," said the politician and activist, who transitioned as a 21-year-old and told her parents on Christmas Day 2011. Donald Trump repeatedly raised transgender issues in the closing stages of his presidential campaign, with aides noting how questions around trans identity struck a nerve with swing voters. Two of the biggest issues -- at the heart of ongoing "culture wars" between conservatives and progressives -- are whether transgender women should be allowed in women's toilets and be admitted in women's sport. Mocking transgender athletes and "woke ideology," Trump promised to get "transgender insanity the hell out of our schools, and we will keep men out of women’s sports." McBride has long been an advocate for trans rights and she helped campaign for a law banning gender discrimination in her home state of Delaware, during which she was publicly called a "freak" and the "devil incarnate". "Listening to that was demeaning and dehumanizing for my child," her mother Sally told The Washington Post in a 2018 profile. "I still have a hard time coping with that." Undeterred, McBride rode the blows and was elected as the first US transgender state senator in 2020. She has been open about her mental health struggles growing up as a boy named Tim and the personal tragedy that has marked her life since, writing a memoir called "Tomorrow Will Be Different" in 2018. "I remember as a child praying in my bed at night that I would wake up the next day and be a girl," she told a TED talk in 2016. She first gathered major public attention with an open letter while a student leader at American University in Washington that announced her transition. She went on to encounter President Joe Biden and his family, also Delaware natives, when she became active in grassroots politics there. After interning at the White House under President Barack Obama, she secured an invitation to speak at the 2016 Democratic Party convention. The White House was also the scene of her first encounter with her late husband, Andrew Cray, a transgender man and LGTBQ+ activist. They married two years later shortly before Cray died from cancer. Knowing the attention she is destined for in the US Congress, she says her aim is to be an effective congresswoman focused on everyday voter priorities such as housing and inflation. But she knows she will be constantly pushed to be a spokeswoman -- and defender -- of the trans community. "I can't do right by the trans community if I'm not being the best member of Congress that I can be for Delaware," she told TransLash. "It's the only way that people will see that trans people can be good doctors, can be good lawyers, good educators, good members of Congress. I can't be there to put out a press release and tweet every time someone says something." adp/bgsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California, home to some of the largest technology companies in the world, would be the first U.S. state to require on social media sites if lawmakers pass a bill introduced Monday. The legislation sponsored by state Attorney General Rob Bonta is necessary to bolster safety for children online, supporters say, but industry officials vow to fight the measure and others like it under the First Amendment. Warning labels for social media gained swift bipartisan support from dozens of attorneys general, including Bonta, after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on Congress earlier this year, saying social media is a contributing factor in the mental health crisis among young people. “These companies know the harmful impact their products can have on our children, and they refuse to take meaningful steps to make them safer,” Bonta said at a news conference Monday. “Time is up. It’s time we stepped in and demanded change.” State officials haven’t provided details on the bill, but Bonta said the warning labels could pop up once weekly. Up to ages 13 to 17 say they use a social media platform, and more than a third say that they use social media “almost constantly,” according to 2022 data from the Pew Research Center. Parents’ concerns prompted Australia to banning social media for children under 16 in November. “The promise of social media, although real, has turned into a situation where they’re turning our children’s attention into a commodity,” Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, who authored the California bill, said Monday. “The attention economy is using our children and their well-being to make money for these California companies.” Lawmakers instead should focus on online safety education and mental health resources, not warning label bills that are “constitutionally unsound,” said Todd O’Boyle, a vice president of the tech industry policy group Chamber of Progress. “We strongly suspect that the courts will set them aside as compelled speech,” O’Boyle told The Associated Press. Victoria Hinks’ 16-year-old daughter, Alexandra, died by suicide four months ago after being “led down dark rabbit holes” on social media that glamorized eating disorders and self-harm. Hinks said the labels would help protect children from companies that turn a blind eye to the harm caused to children’s mental health when they become addicted to social media platforms. “There’s not a bone in my body that doubts social media played a role in leading her to that final, irreversible decision,” Hinks said. “This could be your story.” Common Sense Media, a sponsor of the bill, said it plans to lobby for similar proposals in other states. California in the past decade has positioned itself as a leader in regulating and fighting the tech industry to bolster online safety for children. The state was the first in 2022 to bar online platforms from using users’ personal information in ways that could harm children. It was one of the states that sued Meta in 2023 and for deliberately designing addictive features that keep kids hooked on their platforms. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, also in September to help curb the effects of social media on children, including one to prohibit social media platforms from knowingly providing addictive feeds to children without parental consent and one to on school campus. Federal lawmakers have held hearings on child online safety and to force companies to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. The legislation has the support of X owner Elon Musk and the President-elect’s son, . Still, the last federal law aimed at protecting children online was enacted in 1998, six years before Facebook’s founding.Soccer-Lewandowski double helps Barca to 3-0 win over Brest in Champions League
'We are a bit fragile right now' - Man City boss GuardiolaBoosted by Mental Health Concerns, Gravity Blanket Market Expected to Reach $1.87 Billion at a CAGR of 17.6% by 2028NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Elijah Howard ran for 110 yards and scored two touchdowns, the Central Connecticut defense made seven interceptions, and the Blue Devils beat Duquesne 21-14 on Saturday to claim the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Elijah Howard ran for 110 yards and scored two touchdowns, the Central Connecticut defense made seven interceptions, and the Blue Devils beat Duquesne 21-14 on Saturday to claim the Northeast Conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) — Elijah Howard ran for 110 yards and scored two touchdowns, the Central Connecticut defense made seven interceptions, and the Blue Devils beat Duquesne 21-14 on Saturday to claim the Northeast Conference’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Howard provided the game-winning score by running it in from the 6, then threw the 2-point conversion to quarterback Brady Olson to cap the scoring with 13:44 left in the fourth quarter. The defense for the Blue Devils (7-5, 5-1) sealed the game when it stymied the Dukes (8-3, 5-1) on their final three possessions. Following Central Connecticut’s last touchdown, Jalen Howard sacked Darius Perrantes on Duquesne’s first play and forced a fumble which the Blue Devils recovered. Central Connecticut failed to add to the lead when Jack Barnum missed a 40-yard field, but Duquesne turned it back over when Perrantes threw an end zone pick. The Blue Devils punted after six plays, but again, Duquesne saw another drive end with a Perrantes interception. Perrantes threw seven interceptions with three going to Christopher Jean, a pair to Davone Walden Jr. and one each to Deon McLean and Vincent Thomas. Duquesne secured at least a share of the NEC title for a conference record seventh time in program history with last week’s win over Wagner. It was the second straight year the Dukes played a winner-take-all game for the NEC automatic bid on the road in the final week of the regular season. Last year they beat Merrimack 26-14 to win the NEC title outright. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball AdvertisementMan City blows 3-goal lead and gets booed by fans in draw with Feyenoord in Champions League
NoneBitfarms Announces Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements
California to consider requiring mental health warnings on social media sitesNone
Martirena opened the scoring in the 15th minute and Martinez added a goal five minutes later to give “La Academia” its first international title since 1988 when it won the Supercopa Sudamericana. “Maravilla” Martinez scored 10 goals in 13 matches and finished as the top scorer in the competition. Roger Martinez sealed the victory with a goal in the 90th. Kaio Jorge scored in the 52nd for Cruzeiro. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSocial Media Users Are Quitting X to Join Bluesky. Here’s Why You Should Too.
The EU needs a Russia strategy
Netanyahu's office says his security Cabinet has approved ceasefire deal with HezbollahPep Guardiola denies rumours of a rift with Kevin De Bruyne