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Hundreds of Sudanese families separated by armed conflict finally back in touch
By Lucien Christen and Aylona Synenko On August 14, 2023 Since the beginning of July, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Cross of Chad have organized more than 1,500 phone calls for Sudanese refugees who lost contact with their families when they fled to Chad. More than a third of…
Read MoreCity council votes to make Pittsburgh sanctuary city for gender-affirming care
By Royce Reed On September 12, 2023 PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — In a groundbreaking move on Tuesday, Pittsburgh City Council approved two bills that position Pittsburgh as a sanctuary city for people seeking gender-affirming care. The bills passed with all the eight council members present voting in favor. Pittsburgh City Councilperson Barb Warwick, who sponsored the…
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California lawmakers vote to end travel ban to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws
By Trân Nguyẽn On September 11, 2023 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California may soon lift a ban on state-funded travel to states with anti-LGBTQ+ laws and instead focus on an advertising campaign to bring anti-discrimination messages to red states. California started banning official travel to states with laws it deemed discriminatory against LGBTQ+ people in 2017, starting…
Read MoreFlorida law restricting transgender adult care can be enforced while challenged in court
On September 12, 2023 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A new Florida law restricting health care for transgender people can still be applied to adults while it is being challenged in court, a federal judge ruled Monday. Judge Robert Hinkle, who previously blocked the law’s enforcement on behalf of minors, ruled that adults seeking to expand his injunction…
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14-year-old charged with trying to drown a black boy while another teen called him ‘George Floyd’
By Isabel Keane On September 13, 2023 A 14-year-old boy has been charged for allegedly trying to down a black teen in a Cape Cod pond while calling him racial slurs — and while another white boy laughed and called him “George Floyd” because he couldn’t breathe. John Sheeran, 14, appeared in a Boston-area court…
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Hutto mayor asked to resign after tensions rise over racial trope during city council meeting
By Paige Hubbard On September 9, 2023 HUTTO, Texas — Some Hutto residents are outraged over what they’re calling a racial innuendo that went un-checked by the mayor at a recent city council meeting. “Those bananas sat there for two hours. We could not even see the mayor’s face. When he spoke, we saw bananas,” said…
Read MoreTexas crane & rigging company sued by EEOC, citing racist comments and offensive imagery including using N-word, nooses and white supremacy stickers
The lawsuit claims several employees used racial slurs and offensive imagery was posted on cranes at the facility, including nooses and white supremacy stickers. By Paul Livengood On September 5, 2023 A Fort Worth branch of a Houston-based crane and rigging company is being sued for “unlawful employment practices on the basis of race” and…
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Federal Court Again Strikes Down Alabama’s Congressional Map
Republicans failed to comply with a court order to create a second majority Black district or something “close to it,” the judicial panel said. By Emily Cochrane On September 5, 2023 A panel of federal judges rejected Alabama’s latest congressional map on Tuesday, ruling that a new map needed to be drawn because Republican lawmakers…
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What’s at stake in the long-awaited trial over Texas’s sweeping 2021 elections law
The GOP-backed Senate Bill 1 added voting restrictions that plaintiffs claim unfairly impacts voters of color. By Natalia Contreras On September 11, 2023 Two years after voting rights groups challenged Texas Republicans’ sweeping overhaul of its voting and election laws, the case comes to trial Monday in a federal court in San Antonio. The lengthy…
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