Sep 15, 2017

Active transgender troops' status will change in February

"Equality flags" are flown during an event in support of transgender members of the military at the Capitol. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Transgender troops currently serving in the military won't face any changes to their status until at least February when the Pentagon must decide the parameters of President Trump's ban, according to The Daily Beast.

Enlisted transgender troops can continue to receive medical care as prescribed and will be able to re-enlist as normal should their service terms expire before February.
Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will decide how to implement recommendations regarding the transgender troop ban from a military panel by February 21, 2018 — all while a legal challenge to the ban by the ACLU winds its way through federal court.

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Axios

2 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Atlanta mayor on Trump's riot response: "He speaks and he makes it worse"

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms responded on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday to President Trump's tweets and comments about the mass protests that have swept across the United States, urging him to "just stop talking."

What she's saying: "This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet. And I wish that he would just be quiet."

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Alexi McCammond, Stef W. Kight

37 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Black Americans' competing crises

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

For many black Americans, this moment feels like a crisis within a crisis within a crisis.

The big picture: It's not just George Floyd's killing by police. Or the deaths of EMT Breonna Taylor and jogger Ahmaud Arbery. Or the demeaning of birdwatcher Christian Cooper and journalist Omar Jimenez. Or the coronavirus pandemic's disproportionate harm to African Americans. It's that it's all happening at once.

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Rebecca Falconer

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Amnesty International: U.S. police must end militarized response to protests

Washington State Police use tear gas to disperse a crowd in Seattle during a demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

Amnesty International issued a statement on Sunday morning calling for an end to militarized policing in several U.S. cities and the use of "excessive force" against demonstrators protesting police brutality.

Why it matters: The human rights group said police across the country were "failing their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest, exacerbating a tense situation and endangering the lives of protesters."

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