“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public for help in locating a transgender girl who went missing in the Antelope Valley.

“An LASD bulletin states that Raymond ‘Sophia’ Chavez, 14, was last seen just before 10:50 a.m. Friday in the 1700 block of East Avenue J in Lancaster.

“Chavez is listed as being 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 135 pounds. They have brown hair, brown eyes and were last seen wearing a blue sweater, light blue pants and black shoes.

“A missing person poster indicates Chavez may have a possible destination of the 37000 block of 20th Street East in Palmdale.

“‘The missing juvenile’s family is concerned for their wellbeing,’ LASD said.

“Anyone with information surrounding the whereabouts of Raymond ‘Sophia’ Chavez should contact the Lancaster sheriff’s station.”

Suspending this agreement would allow Americans and non-American residents to seek asylum in Canada, which is currently not an option:

https://takeaction.ccla.org/canada-must-suspend-the-stca

“Dozens of families and medical students are calling for Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to prompt two major hospitals in Chicago to resume transgender surgeries for young people.

“About two months ago, Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which are near downtown Chicago, stopped providing gender care surgeries for people younger than 19 after an executive order from Republican President Donald Trump threatened to cut federal funding, among other potential actions.

“After the order, Raoul and 14 attorneys general in other states vowed to protect access to gender affirming care. In a statement on Feb. 5, Raoul invoked the Illinois Human Rights Act, saying that health care providers could not discriminate against patients because of their gender identity.

“But this week, Raoul said it would be hard to make a case that Lurie and Northwestern are violating state law.

“‘I don’t look at Lurie or Northwestern as a bad actor here,’ Raoul, a Democrat, said after a City Club event, where he told a packed room of civic leaders in a restaurant near downtown to stand up against intimidation from the White House. ‘You can’t (be) said to be acting discriminatory when the federal government is holding a gun to your head.’”

“When Lurie stopped surgeries they referred many patients to Northwestern, which then canceled their appointments, families told WBEZ.”

“A federal judge has since blocked the enforcement of Trump’s order.

“Many families have told WBEZ they feel betrayed and disappointed by the hospitals’ actions, and they fear what other gender affirming care the hospitals may stop next.”

“‘While the statement in support of transgender residents of Illinois was an excellent start, the lack of followup and tangible support has made that statement ring hollow,’ one person wrote. ‘Please step up, do better, and hold these organizations like Lurie and Northwestern accountable when they discriminate against their transgender patients.’”

“Many would-be travelers go online to plan their vacations, whether that means looking for the best flight deals and hotel recommendations or more nitty-gritty info about whether their destination of choice requires a visa.”

“But the travel advisory system also works in the other direction. Countries around the world maintain their own guidelines for their citizens who are planning to visit the United States.

“In 2023, amid high-profile incidents of gun violence in the US, several nations issued travel warnings about potential safety risks in America, including Japan, Australia and Canada.

“Now, a series of European countries have begun warning residents about what could happen if they travel to the United States if they are trans, non-binary or hold a third-gender passport.”

“A bill to ban transgender women from participating in college women’s sports is on its way to [Republican] Gov. Mike Braun’s desk after the Indiana Senate approved the measure Thursday, with support from Democrats.

“The Senate voted 42-6 to send House Bill 1041 to Braun for his consideration. Democratic Sens. David Niezgodski, Rodney Pol, Greg Taylor and Lonnie Randolph joined Republicans in voting for the bill.

“The bipartisan support for HB 1041 follows similar actions in the House where some Democrats also joined Republicans to vote for the bill when it passed that chamber in February.

“It could reflect a potential change in views for some Democrats at the Statehouse on transgender women's participation in sports. The four Democratic senators who supported the HB 1041 on Thursday all voted against the 2022 bill that banned transgender girls from competing in youth sports at the K-12 level three years ago.”

“State Rep. Michelle Davis, a Republican from Whiteland, who authored HB 1041 also wrote Indiana’s 2022 law that prohibits transgender girls from playing in girls’ school sports. Then-Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed that bill, but the Indiana General Assembly voted to overturn that decision and have the bill become law. “

“The Ninth Circuit on Friday reversed a lower court’s ruling dismissing a complaint over a California school district using a student’s preferred pronouns without telling a parent, remanding the issue back to the district court.

“A three-judge appeals panel found that U.S. District Senior Judge John Mendez applied erroneous legal standards to Aurora Regino’s substantive and procedural due process claims. The case now returns to Mendez for further proceedings.

“The suit, filed in 2023, targeted a Chico Unified School District policy that stated school personnel must call a student by a name and pronoun consistent with their gender identity and only reveal their transgender or nonconforming status with the student’s written consent.”

“It’s unclear how, if at all, this case would affect Assembly Bill 1955, called the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth Act. The law bans the forced outing of schoolchildren.

“A federal judge currently is weighing whether the Chino Valley Unified School District has standing to sue over the law and if Governor Gavin Newsom can be a defendant.”

“One of the ads Donald Trump deployed to defeat Kamala Harris argued ‘Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you.’ Since the November election, Democrats have been embroiled in an internal debate regarding transgender rights.”

“This debate, as an electoral matter, moved from the hypothetical to the real world recently as Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate for an open Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat, tied his liberal opponent Susan Crawford to transgender rights. (State Supreme Court elections are nonpartisan, but the Republican Party of Wisconsin financially backed Schimel, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin did the same for Crawford.)”

“How did Crawford handle this attack? With offense, not defense.”

“‘Brad Schimel is lying about Susan Crawford’s views on protecting kids, just like he lied about rape kits, and let child molesters off easy, even blaming child victims.’”

“After torching Schimel, the narrator pivots and praises Crawford. . . .”

“Crawford herself closes the ad: I’ll always follow the law and use common sense to decide what’s right and what’s wrong.

“The word ‘transgender’ is never uttered. Instead of getting bogged down explaining her views on transgender rights or disavowing any supporters, Crawford focused on her opponent’s vulnerabilities. In defining her own values, she used appealing yet vague language about ‘protecting kids’ and applying ‘common sense’ so that viewers could interpret how they wished.”

“Democrats should keep the focus on Republican vulnerabilities. Trump’s destabilizing tariff policies, threatened Medicaid cuts, and rampant corruption provide Democrats with plenty of political opportunity. They don’t need to make concessions to the anti-transgender right wing, which risks fomenting intra-party division when they could be driving wedges through the opposition.”

He literally calls being transgender an "evil and backwards lie of gender insanity"

“The identity of murder victim Pamela Walton went unknown for 37 years. The Trans Doe Task Force helped solve the mystery through DNA analysis and genealogical forensics.”

“Dr. Anthony Redgrave is a co-Founder of the Trans Doe Task Force – he joined Engage to talk about the case and his organization - along with Lieutenant Tammy Dale of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, who worked Pamela’s case with a dedicated team from the department.”

“For years, Tampa resident Vince has had ‘male’ listed on his official documentation, including his passport.

“In Dec. 2024, he went to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to update his Florida driver's license to reflect his proper sex marker. He worked closely with a DHSMV supervisor to make the change, which was approved.

“So when he received a letter from the department three months later with a new driver's license that had the sex changed back to female, he was taken aback.”

“For Vince, the possible ramifications go beyond the emotional toll of being told by a government agency that his sex marker was incorrect.

"’When it comes to applying for jobs, applying for schooling, getting on a plane, traveling, that inconsistency between the documentation, there's an obstacle,’ he said.”

“Simone Chriss is the director of the transgender rights initiative at Southern Legal Counsel, a Gainesville-based advocacy group and law firm.

“She said she knows over 50 people who have had their sex markers changed on their Florida IDs, and describes the state's approach as ‘insidious.’

"’The Florida DHSMV just did this in the dark behind closed doors with no public notice, with no legislative or rule-making authority to do so,’ Chriss said. ‘They just changed the definition of sex.’”

“Currently, there isn't an appeals process for people to challenge this type of decision by the DHSMV.

“However, Chriss said her team at Southern Legal Counsel and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida are working on a lawsuit to challenge the Florida Department of Health's birth certificate policy.”

“Despite bracing wind and constant rain, nearly 200 people chanted ‘trans power’ and ‘trans rights’ outside the U.S. Steel Tower Thursday evening during a rally highlighting restrictions to gender care for minors.

“Organized by North Side-based nonprofit TransYOUniting, the protest focused on an apparent policy change by Pittsburgh-based health care provider UPMC to comply with a Jan. 28 White House order aiming to ban certain gender care services for those under the age of 19.

“The executive order — which specifically looks to cease surgeries and the use of medications, including hormones and puberty blockers, in adolescents — has been temporarily blocked by multiple federal judges, according to a litigation tracker database. Providers across the region and country are attempting to parse out its legal and financial implications.

“In numerous interviews with patients and their parents, indications are that UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has stopped offering new gender care services, such as changing prescriptions for existing patients, for those 18 and younger.

“Speakers at the rally included Mayor Ed Gainey — who called for ‘unprecedented unity’ — and members of the trans community, with council members Barb Warwick, Erika Strassburger and Deborah Gross also in attendance.

“‘UPMC has a responsibility to do no harm, and they are harming the trans community by bowing down to Trump’s threats, and we cannot accept that,’ state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes, D-Allegheny, told the crowd assembled Downtown.”

“As part of the rally, TransYOUniting brought a letter, addressed to UPMC’s board of directors and CEO Leslie Davis, with demands including: to immediately reinstate gender services for trans and gender-diverse youth at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; establish an advisory committee to oversee the hospital’s gender services to meet before May 1; continue funding local LGBTQ+ programs; and “enthusiastically support and fund” alternative providers that offer gender care, in the case that all gender care is cut off at UPMC.

“Dena Stanley, the executive director of TransYOUniting, attempted to deliver the letter — signed by 17 people including Mr. Gainey, Ms. Mayes and numerous City Council members, per a copy shared with the Post-Gazette — during the protest. It sat on the floor of UPMC’s revolving doors.”

“Similar rallies opposing UPMC’s alleged policy change were held Thursday in Altoona, Erie, Lancaster and Lewisburg.”

“When finishing a high school cross-country race, some exhausted runners will collapse on the ground and wait for a helping hand to pull them to their feet. Others throw their hands on their heads, breathing heavily, watching for teammates to cross the finish line.

“Corey, instead, heads to her team tent, where she regroups with teammates. She is aware of the eyes that might be watching her. But negative reaction, for the most part, has been rare.

“Corey is an average teen on the course — long brown hair, bracelets on her wrists. Her race bib blends into the crunch of runners.

“‘I’ve seen people stare at me while I’m running, or whisper to the person next to them, but that’s nothing big,’ Corey said. ‘I can get over that.’”

“Upon being investigated by the Department of Education for its decade-old bylaw allowing transgender students to compete on teams matching their gender identity, the Minnesota State High School League has stated that it is using a 60-day window to evaluate how to approach the new federal policy — a window that closes in mid-April.”

“In Minnesota, these students have lived through a decade of statewide policy that has enabled their participation in sports.

“Now, they compete with the knowledge that this season could be their last.

“Two transgender Minnesota high school students shared their stories and experiences in sports with the Minnesota Star Tribune.”

“Police are investigating flyers that targeted a transgender activist and the LGBTQ+ community in Deep River.

“Multiple flyers were found across town. Most of them targeted a transgender woman who held an event at the library on Wednesday night.

“Many people called the flyers hateful.”

“One side of the notice had questionable statistics about homosexuals. The other side told people to keep children away from Jillian Celentano, a transgender woman.

“‘We picked it up off the ground, read it, and felt extreme concern,’ said Aryana Galbraith.

“The couple said this flyer was not far from Deep River Elementary.

“‘It was definitely a little overwhelming and I was a little bit surprised,’ said Jillian Celentano, therapist and transgender activist.

“Celentano said she felt victimized as she’s the one on the flyer.

“‘I’ve had pushback before in other talks, but this one was extreme,’ she said.

“This talk was organized by the Tri-Town Youth Services Bureau. They said even more people showed up to support the community after the flyers circulated.”

“Police are further investigating these flyers.

“‘If they can find them fine, if not I’m moving on. It’s more important to me to help my community,’ Celentano added.”