Food Bites: Nioka Steakhouse fires up just in time for summerSamsung Unaffected By US Curbs On Chip ExportsNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday following some potentially discouraging data on the economy . The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% for its fourth loss in the last six days. It’s a pause for the index, which has been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 234 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7% from its record set the day before. A report early in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. A separate update, meanwhile, showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches U.S. consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected. Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that’s driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year : Inflation is slowing enough to convince the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession. Of the two reports, the weaker update on the job market may be the bigger deal for the market, according to Chris Larkin, managing director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley. A surge in egg prices may have been behind the worse-than-expected inflation numbers. “One week doesn’t negate what has been a relatively steady stream of solid labor market data, but the Fed is primed to be sensitive to any signs of a softening jobs picture,” he said. Traders are widely expecting the Fed will ease its main interest rate at its meeting next week. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. A cut next week would have the Fed following other central banks, which lowered rates on Thursday. The European Central Bank cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as many investors expected, and the Swiss National Bank cut its policy rate by a steeper half of a percentage point. Following its decision, Switzerland’s central bank pointed to uncertainty about how U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s victory will affect economic policies, as well as about where politics in Europe is heading. Trump has talked up tariffs and other policies that could upend global trade. He rang the bell marking the start of trading at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday to chants of “USA.” On Wall Street, Adobe fell 13.7% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company gave forecasts for profit and revenue in its upcoming fiscal year that fell a bit shy of analysts’. Warner Bros. Discovery soared 15.4% after unveiling a new corporate structure that separates its streaming business and film studios from its traditional television business. CEO David Zaslav said the move “enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities,” raising speculation about a spinoff or sale. Kroger rose 3.2% after saying it would get back to buying back its own stock now that its attempt to merge with Albertsons is off . Kroger’s board approved a program to repurchase up to $7.5 billion of its stock, replacing an existing $1 billion authorization. All told, the S&P 500 fell 32.94 points to 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 234.55 to 43,914.12, and the Nasdaq composite sank 132.05 to 19,902.84. In stock markets abroad, European indexes held relatively steady following the European Central Bank’s cut to rates. Asian markets were stronger. Indexes rose 1.2% in Hong Kong and 0.8% in Shanghai as leaders met in Beijing to set economic plans and targets for the coming year. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.6% for its third straight gain of at least 1%, as it pulls back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. In the bond market, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.33% from 4.27% late Wednesday. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
After institutions for people with disabilities close, graves are at risk of being forgottenThe ZX Spectrum was a 1980s icon which played a starring role in the revolution that brought computers into the UK’s homes for the first time. The 8-bit computer arrived in 1982 with its distinctive rainbow stripe, rubber keys and the high-pitched electronic screech as games loaded. More than five million were sold, giving people the chance to dabble in computer programming and play games like Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy. The device was manufactured in Dundee, where The Speccy - as it was affectionately known - helped inspire a generation of games designers. Now its story is being told in The Rubber-Keyed Wonder, a new documentary which looks at its impact. Created by Sir Clive Sinclair and his team, the ZX Spectrum hit the high street in April 1982. It followed the hugely successful, if more technically-limited, ZX81, which had been many people's first encounter with home computing. The ZX Spectrum's games were downloaded via a cassette player and displayed on a TV screen - and they were in colour, unlike its monochrome predecessor. It cost £175 for the 48k model and £125 for the 16k version, which put it on many Christmas wish lists. "If you go back a few years to the 1970s, you've got a time where home computers didn't exist," said Anthony Caulfield, co-director of the new documentary. "Computers were in mainframes with air conditioning and cost many millions of pounds or dollars to create. "The whole concept of having a computer in your home was a completely new thing." Designer Rick Dickinson's rainbow design and rubber keys made for an eye-catching product, which was an instant success. "The Spectrum brought the arcade to your home," said Mark Ettle, who is now head of Dundee-based games designer Cobra Mobile. "There was a plethora of games you could play from the arcade, but there were also original games. "The Spectrum opened up a world of dabbling in computer programming and very basic graphics." With games selling for as much as £15, a lucrative black market trade in copies got under way in playgrounds across the country. Mark Ettle said: "If you came from a background that didn't have a lot of money you could take a tape and copy a game. "Copying became a fine art, because you had to have two tape decks wired and cabled in a particular way." Games like Manic Miner and its sequel Jet Set Willy, Ant Attack, Skool Daze and Sabre Wulf became instant classics. "I was particularly good at Sabre Wulf," said Mark. "I was one of the first people in the UK to complete the game and was sent a free game as a reward." The computer was manufactured at Dundee's Timex factory. Sinclair chose the Timex factory to make his computers because it needed the work after watch-making stopped, and he needed a skilled workforce. At its height, Timex produced a computer every four seconds - although not all of them ended up in stores. Mark Ettle said people in the area got access to Spectrums in the shops as well as through "the back door" of the Timex factory. "It got these computers into the hands of people who wouldn't necessarily get access to them," he said. "It kick-started the imagination of what the world could be." One of those who fell under its spell was Mike Dailly, one of the founders of Dundee-based DMA Design - which produced Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto. He said: "My mum's work wanted a database written so they bought a Spectrum for me to work on. "It was just good fun tinkering with it and making it do things. "I did play games but I spent most of my time writing stuff and seeing how far I could push it." He said the Spectrum's influence on Dundee as a world-renowned computer gaming centre was "huge." He said: "The whole of the original DMA Design pretty much started on Spectrums." DMA Design co-founder Dave Jones worked at Timex and when he took redundancy he bought an Amiga computer. Mike Dailly said: "That kickstarted DMA and the whole of the Dundee industry. "So the whole of the gaming route comes from the Spectrum." Anthony Caulfield, who co-directed The Rubber-Keyed Wonder with his wife Nicola, said the Spectrum's name "came up continually" during their previous film on the history of the British gaming industry, From Bedrooms to Billions. He said: "The baby-boomer generation have got rock'n'roll, a new thing that exploded and evolved for them. "In a way, for many born in the 1970s or early 1980s, the microchip revolution was our rock'n'roll. "We kept hearing all these different experiences of when people got their first Spectrum and what it did for them. "So many people went off in different directions, that we thought it needed its own space to tell that story." Later Spectrum models - there were seven in total - failed to capture the public's imagination in the same way. Sir Clive's ill-fated electrically-powered tricycle the Sinclair C5 bombed, costing the inventor millions. He sold most of Sinclair Research to Alan Sugar's Amstrad for £5m in 1986, and the Spectrum was discontinued in 1992. Sir Clive died in September 2021, aged 81. Mike Dailly said retro gaming events starring the Spectrum were still hugely popular, with new models based on the computer still being produced by enthusiasts. He said the Spectrum Next was a fan-based version of what the Spectrum could have been. "So it's not just people of my age, there are lots of younger folk coming because they like the games," he said. "It's always been about the games."
Trump is named Time's Person of the Year and rings the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors Thursday for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. At the stock exchange, Trump was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day and raised his fist. YouTube TV is hiking its monthly price, again. Here's what to know NEW YORK (AP) — Are you a YouTube TV subscriber? Your monthly bills are about to get more expensive again. YouTube has announced that it’s upping the price of its streaming service’s base plan by $10 — citing rising content costs and other investments. The new $82.99 per month price tag will go into effect starting Jan. 13 for existing subscribers, and immediately for new customers who sign up going forward. YouTube TV has rolled out a series of price hikes over the years. When launched back in 2017, the going price of its streaming package was $35 a month. By 2019, that fee rose to $50 — and has climbed higher and higher since. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's brotherhood is still strong after 30 years with new album 'Missionary' LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to music, there’s one person in particular Snoop Dogg trusts to steer the ship without question: hit-making producer Dr. Dre. Their bond, built over 30 years of brotherhood, began when Dr. Dre shaped Snoop’s game-changing debut, “Doggystyle,” a cornerstone of hip-hop history. From young dreamers chasing stardom to legends cementing their legacies, the duo has always moved in sync. Now, the dynamic pair reunites for Snoop’s “Missionary,” his milestone 20th studio album, which releases Friday. The 15-track project features several big-name guest appearances including Eminem, 50 Cent, Sting, Method Man, Jelly Roll, Tom Petty, Jhené Aiko and Method Man. Country star Morgan Wallen sentenced in chair-throwing case NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star Morgan Wallen has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. He had been charged for throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-story bar in Nashville and nearly hitting two police officers with it. Wallen appeared in court alongside his attorney on Thursday. He was sentenced to spend seven days in a DUI education center and will be under supervised probation for two years. According to the arrest affidavit, Wallen was accused of throwing a chair off the roof of Chief’s bar on April 7. The chair landed about a yard from the officers. Witnesses told police they saw Wallen pick up a chair, throw it off the roof and laugh about it. Indian teen Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest chess world champion after beating Chinese rival NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest chess world champion after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in Thursday's game which was played in Singapore. He has surpassed the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who won the title at the age of 22. Dommaraju is now also the second Indian to win the title after five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year. 'Vanderpump Rules' star James Kennedy arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Police say “Vanderpump Rules” star James Kennedy has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. Police in Burbank, California, say officers investigated reports of an argument between a man and a woman at a residence late Tuesday night and arrested the 32-year-old Kennedy. He was released from jail after posting bail. A representative of Kennedy did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Burbank city attorney will decide whether to file charges. Kennedy is a DJ and reality TV star who has appeared for 10 seasons on “Vanderpump Rules” — the Bravo series about the lives of employees at a set of swank restaurants. The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death moves to end their marriage MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own drowning so he could abscond to Europe has filed a court action to end the couple's marriage. Online court records indicate Emily Borgwardt filed a petition in Dodge County Circuit Court on Thursday seeking to annul her marriage to Ryan Borgwardt. A hearing has been set for April. According to court documents, Ryan Borgwardt staged his own drowning by leaving his overturned kayak floating on Green Lake. He flew to Eastern Europe, where he spent several days in a hotel with a woman before taking up residence in the country of Georgia. He is charged with misdemeanor obstruction in Green Lake County. San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A block in downtown San Francisco has been renamed for acclaimed photojournalist Joe Rosenthal, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of U.S. Marines raising the flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during WWII. The longtime staff photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, who died in 2006 at age 94, is also remembered for the 35 years he spent documenting the city's famous and not so famous for the daily newspaper. He photographed a young Willie Mays getting his hat fitted as a San Francisco Giant in 1957. He also photographed joyous children making a mad dash for freedom on the last day of school in 1965. Nearly half of US teens are online 'constantly,' Pew report finds Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly,” despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health. That's according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used — 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. Wander Franco's sex abuse trial has been postponed 5 months PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, has been postponed until June 2, 2025. Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing Thursday at the request of prosecutors because of the absence of several key witnesses in the case. Franco’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider the postponement, arguing Franco must report to spring training in mid-February. The judge replied that Franco is obligated to continue with the trial schedule and his conditional release from detainment.
US senator says mysterious drones spotted in New Jersey should be 'shot down, if necessary'Goldman Sachs Asset Management Announces Liquidation of Three Exchange-Traded Funds
Burleigh County auditor's political text messages raise federal, ethical concerns
NoneArteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber, who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. Our second-half goalscorers ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aFCIMffFaK — Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 26, 2024 To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.UBS cuts price target on Bayer on weak outlookMEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican lower house lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a proposal to alter the constitution to include a ban on e-cigarettes and vaping devices as well as a crackdown on synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who sent the proposal to Congress before leaving office this year, had argued that smoking devices were damaging public health, with children particularly susceptible to getting hooked. ADDITIONAL CONTEXT Lopez Obrador had already banned such devices through a presidential decree, though they remain widely available for purchase. Millions of Mexicans, meanwhile, smoke traditional cigarettes, which remain legal. The reform passed by the legislature on Tuesday also sanctions "production, distribution and sale of toxic substances, chemical precursors, the illicit use of fentanyl and other non-authorized synthetic drugs." Fentanyl, while approved for some use medically, is also by and large banned in Mexico. BY THE NUMBERS The measure passed, in general terms, with 410 votes in favor and 24 against. Less than 1 million people from ages 12 to 65 reported regularly using a vape in 2022, according to federal data cited by lawmakers. Meanwhile, around 500,000 teens and 300,000 adults used e-cigarettes. KEY QUOTES "We value girls', boys', and young people's right to good health above economic and political interests," said Workers' Party lawmaker Mary Carmen Bernal, who belongs to the ruling bloc. Opposition legislator Ector Jaime Ramirez, meanwhile, said banning fentanyl and vaping in the same reform was excessive and "trivializing to the effort being made to combat the most addictive and dangerous drugs." WHAT'S NEXT The reform is now set to head to the senate, where the ruling Morena party and its allies hold a strong majority. (Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by David Gregorio) Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .
Trump is named Time's Person of the Year and rings the New York Stock Exchange's opening bell NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange after being recognized by Time magazine as its person of the year. The honors Thursday for the businessman-turned-politician are a measure of Trump’s remarkable comeback from an ostracized former president who refused to accept his election loss four years ago to a president-elect who won the White House decisively in November. At the stock exchange, Trump was accompanied by his wife, Melania Trump, daughters Ivanka and Tiffany and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Trump grinned as people chanted “USA” before he opened the trading day and raised his fist. YouTube TV is hiking its monthly price, again. Here's what to know NEW YORK (AP) — Are you a YouTube TV subscriber? Your monthly bills are about to get more expensive again. YouTube has announced that it’s upping the price of its streaming service’s base plan by $10 — citing rising content costs and other investments. The new $82.99 per month price tag will go into effect starting Jan. 13 for existing subscribers, and immediately for new customers who sign up going forward. YouTube TV has rolled out a series of price hikes over the years. When launched back in 2017, the going price of its streaming package was $35 a month. By 2019, that fee rose to $50 — and has climbed higher and higher since. Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre's brotherhood is still strong after 30 years with new album 'Missionary' LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to music, there’s one person in particular Snoop Dogg trusts to steer the ship without question: hit-making producer Dr. Dre. Their bond, built over 30 years of brotherhood, began when Dr. Dre shaped Snoop’s game-changing debut, “Doggystyle,” a cornerstone of hip-hop history. From young dreamers chasing stardom to legends cementing their legacies, the duo has always moved in sync. Now, the dynamic pair reunites for Snoop’s “Missionary,” his milestone 20th studio album, which releases Friday. The 15-track project features several big-name guest appearances including Eminem, 50 Cent, Sting, Method Man, Jelly Roll, Tom Petty, Jhené Aiko and Method Man. Country star Morgan Wallen sentenced in chair-throwing case NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country music star Morgan Wallen has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment. He had been charged for throwing a chair from the rooftop of a six-story bar in Nashville and nearly hitting two police officers with it. Wallen appeared in court alongside his attorney on Thursday. He was sentenced to spend seven days in a DUI education center and will be under supervised probation for two years. According to the arrest affidavit, Wallen was accused of throwing a chair off the roof of Chief’s bar on April 7. The chair landed about a yard from the officers. Witnesses told police they saw Wallen pick up a chair, throw it off the roof and laugh about it. Indian teen Gukesh Dommaraju becomes the youngest chess world champion after beating Chinese rival NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju has become the youngest chess world champion after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in Thursday's game which was played in Singapore. He has surpassed the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov who won the title at the age of 22. Dommaraju is now also the second Indian to win the title after five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year. 'Vanderpump Rules' star James Kennedy arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Police say “Vanderpump Rules” star James Kennedy has been arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. Police in Burbank, California, say officers investigated reports of an argument between a man and a woman at a residence late Tuesday night and arrested the 32-year-old Kennedy. He was released from jail after posting bail. A representative of Kennedy did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. The Burbank city attorney will decide whether to file charges. Kennedy is a DJ and reality TV star who has appeared for 10 seasons on “Vanderpump Rules” — the Bravo series about the lives of employees at a set of swank restaurants. The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own death moves to end their marriage MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The wife of a Wisconsin kayaker who faked his own drowning so he could abscond to Europe has filed a court action to end the couple's marriage. Online court records indicate Emily Borgwardt filed a petition in Dodge County Circuit Court on Thursday seeking to annul her marriage to Ryan Borgwardt. A hearing has been set for April. According to court documents, Ryan Borgwardt staged his own drowning by leaving his overturned kayak floating on Green Lake. He flew to Eastern Europe, where he spent several days in a hotel with a woman before taking up residence in the country of Georgia. He is charged with misdemeanor obstruction in Green Lake County. San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A block in downtown San Francisco has been renamed for acclaimed photojournalist Joe Rosenthal, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of U.S. Marines raising the flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during WWII. The longtime staff photographer for the San Francisco Chronicle, who died in 2006 at age 94, is also remembered for the 35 years he spent documenting the city's famous and not so famous for the daily newspaper. He photographed a young Willie Mays getting his hat fitted as a San Francisco Giant in 1957. He also photographed joyous children making a mad dash for freedom on the last day of school in 1965. Nearly half of US teens are online 'constantly,' Pew report finds Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly,” despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health. That's according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used — 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. Wander Franco's sex abuse trial has been postponed 5 months PUERTO PLATA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The trial against Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor, sexual and commercial exploitation against a minor, and human trafficking, has been postponed until June 2, 2025. Dominican judge Yacaira Veras postponed the hearing Thursday at the request of prosecutors because of the absence of several key witnesses in the case. Franco’s lawyers asked the court to reconsider the postponement, arguing Franco must report to spring training in mid-February. The judge replied that Franco is obligated to continue with the trial schedule and his conditional release from detainment.
NASHVILLE — The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider for the first time whether states can ban certain gender transition medical treatments for young people – a closely watched case brought by three transgender teens, their parents and a doctor, all seeking to ensure health care access they say is critical. At issue is a Tennessee law barring transgender minors from using puberty blockers and hormones, treatments the state characterizes as risky and unproven. Lawmakers said the state should instead encourage adolescents to “appreciate their sex, particularly as they undergo puberty.” The court’s ruling might have implications for the more than 100,000 transgender adolescents living in Tennessee or one of the 23 other states that has banned using the drugs to treat minors with gender dysphoria. The question of whether and how to medically treat young people whose gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth has become a polarizing issue, one President-elect Donald Trump seized on in advertisements targeting transgender people during his campaign. The Supreme Court in 2020 extended employment protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, but it has yet to rule on the constitutionality of lower court decisions involving bathroom access, athletes and medical treatment for transgender minors like 16-year-old L.W., one of the Tennessee teens behind the case at the high court. Her parents, Brian and Samantha Williams, now drive her five hours to receive care in North Carolina. The teen started gender care treatments when she was 12 and said they have allowed her to “get to be myself a little bit more.” “It took a huge stressor off my back,” L.W. said in an interview. “I have more friends now because I’m more confident, and I’m more able to socialize.” The Biden administration and the American Civil Liberties Union are representing the parents and teens, who are referred to in court filings by their initials or a pseudonym to protect their identity. The families say the Tennessee law amounts to unconstitutional sex discrimination and a broad restriction on treatments that nearly every major medical association says are appropriate and effective for minors. ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, who is arguing on behalf of the families, will be the first openly transgender lawyer to present a case before the Supreme Court. Tennessee’s Republican attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti says in court filings that states have long had the power to regulate medicine and that there is nothing unconstitutional about restricting the use of a drug for certain purposes, even when it can be used for treating other conditions, or imposing age limits for health treatments when the risks and rewards are too uncertain. One potential wild card in the resolution of the case is the incoming Trump administration and the possibility that the next solicitor general will flip the federal government’s position to align with Tennessee’s view. If that were to happen, the court could allow the ACLU to continue challenging the law on its own, which would keep the justices on track to issue a ruling by the end of June. Trump transition officials did not immediately respond to questions about the case before the court, but his team has said Trump intends to fulfill his campaign promises, which included a crackdown on gender transition care for minors. PATIENTS AND LAWMAKERS CLASH L.W. said she began to suspect she was trans in 2019, when she was 11. She’d long felt as if she were “drowning,” but she didn’t understand why. She wore baggy clothes to obscure her body, and she panicked the first time she saw a few facial hairs above her lip. She was so uncomfortable in boys bathrooms, she avoided ever using one at school. Eventually, she developed urinary tract infections. After a cousin came out as trans, L.W. began researching on YouTube and Google. But she was scared, so she didn’t tell her parents she thought she was trans until just after Thanksgiving in 2020, more than a year after she’d first put a name to her feelings. Brian and Samantha Williams both had gay friends, and they told L.W. they supported her, but neither felt comfortable immediately taking her to a doctor. L.W. was 12, and Brian worried the distress she felt might be normal puberty angst. “It’s not like we took this thing lightly and just did it,” Brian said. The family went to a progressive church, and the church had a therapist on staff who specialized in trans youth, so Samantha and Brian signed L.W. up for counseling. After roughly six months, the therapist diagnosed L.W. with gender dysphoria and recommended a team of doctors at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. At Vanderbilt, L.W. underwent tests, then, in the summer of 2021, her doctors prescribed the drug Lupron to stop her body from going through male puberty. The medication, which has been used for at least 30 years on patients who start puberty too early, is largely reversible, but it can affect a young person’s bone density if taken long term without hormone therapy. The teen said she felt instantly relieved. To her, the benefits “strongly outweighed” any side effects. At the time, no state had banned trans adolescents from receiving the kind of care Vanderbilt’s team offered. Doctors nationwide had been treating a few thousand young people a year with hormones and puberty blockers, according to data compiled for Reuters – a tiny fraction of America’s adolescent population. They faced little pushback. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have found that a majority of trans adolescents experience “satisfaction,” “confidence” and “improvements in psychosocial functioning” after such treatment. Almost as soon as L.W. left her first appointment, she asked to start estrogen, but her doctors and her parents decided to wait. L.W. went in for regular evaluations, and in September 2022, more than a year after she started Lupron, her doctors agreed to prescribe estrogen. Hormone therapy made life feel possible in ways it never had before, L.W. said. She started hugging her family. She recorded music and built Lego models. She and her younger brother staged Airsoft matches with other teenagers. Neighbors even told Samantha that L.W. talked to them for the first time. L.W.’s journey felt personal to her, a singular distress followed by her own unique wins. But her time at Vanderbilt coincided with a historic rise in gender dysphoria diagnoses. In 2021, about 42,000 young people nationwide received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, nearly triple the number in 2017, according to data the technology company Komodo Health Inc. compiled for Reuters. The vast majority were not prescribed hormones or puberty blockers, the data shows. Still, as the numbers rose, lawmakers and activists across the country began to raise questions about gender clinics and the treatments doctors were offering. The same month L.W. started estrogen, the conservative podcast host Matt Walsh accused Vanderbilt of castrating, sterilizing and mutilating children for profit. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) promised to investigate the hospital. That fall, Walsh and a group of Republican state legislators held a “Rally to End Child Mutilation” in downtown Nashville. Only Arkansas and Alabama had passed bans on transition-related care at that point. But lawmakers in other conservative states signaled that they intended to prioritize similar restrictions. In March 2023, Tennessee adopted the legislation now before the Supreme Court. The law, known as SB 1, prohibits health-care providers from prescribing any puberty blocker or hormone for the purpose of enabling a minor to identify or live as “a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” Providers who violate the law can be fined $25,000 for each prohibited treatment and are subject to disciplinary measures and potential civil liability in private lawsuits. Throughout the hearings on the legislation, Republican lawmakers treated gender dysphoria as if it were an illusion. A co-sponsor of the House bill described transitioning as a “fiction” and “fantasy.” Another representative said, “If you don’t know what you are, a boy or girl, male or female, just go in the bathroom and take your clothes off and look in the mirror and you’ll find out.” The Williams family watched the hearings, and Brian was infuriated. The lawmakers didn’t know his daughter. He and Samantha had taken L.W. to experts. They’d had what felt like a million hard conversations, and they’d followed the best evidence available. “All of a sudden to have a state come down and say that that’s not the right thing to do, that’s it’s abusive, that it’s wrongheaded, it’s just infuriating because I feel like I’m doing all the right stuff,” Brian said. EXPERIMENTATION OR DISCRIMINATION? After the bill became law, everyone in the Williams family agreed that discontinuing care wasn’t an option. L.W. was happy in ways she’d never been before she transitioned. If she stopped taking puberty blockers and estrogen, her body would begin to go through male puberty. She told her parents that was too painful to contemplate, let alone experience. Moving didn’t feel possible either. L.W.’s brother sobbed every time he thought about leaving his friends, and Brian’s elderly parents live in Nashville and rely on his help. That spring, Samantha saw an ACLU form that invited families to describe how they’d been affected by the legislation. She didn’t imagine, as she filled out the form, that she was signing up for a lawsuit that would eventually make its way to the Supreme Court. She only knew that she wanted to protect her daughter and she didn’t want to feel helpless anymore. Tennessee gave families four months to wean kids like L.W. off the medications, but in June, before the ban even took effect, Vanderbilt shut down its clinic. In June 2023, a District Court judge temporarily blocked the law, saying it discriminates based on sex and treats some teens differently because they are transgender. The judge said the benefits of the treatments are well-established and noted that Tennessee’s law bans the medications for a small subset of minors while making them available for adolescents who use them for other health issues. “If Tennessee wishes to regulate access to certain medical procedures,” wrote U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a Trump nominee, “it must do so in a manner that does not infringe on the rights conferred by the United States Constitution, which is of course supreme to all other laws of the land.” A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit soon reversed Richardson’s decision, rejecting the families’ claims of discrimination and allowing the state to enforce the law while litigation continues. Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton said the law regulates gender transition treatments for all minors, regardless of sex, and concluded that Tennessee lawmakers could have rationally determined that the law was an appropriate response to perceived risks associated with the treatments. Sutton, a nominee of George W. Bush, also said courts should be wary of intervening in a highly contested political dispute. Judge Helene N. White, another Bush nominee, agreed with the majority that the Constitution envisions states acting as laboratories for democracies to resolve political debates, but dissented from the majority ruling. “When a fundamental right or freedom from discrimination is involved, experimentation has no place,” she wrote. At the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar is asking the justices to return the case to the 6th Circuit to apply a more stringent level of review, which she says should be triggered by a law that discriminates based on sex. The state, she wrote, ignores the benefits of gender-transition care and overstates the health risks. She also said the law’s stated goal of having teens “appreciate their sex” is based on stereotypical understandings of gender and cannot be used to justify the ban. Skrmetti, the Tennessee attorney general, said the state has the authority to protect minors from the risks of gender-transition treatment, and the federal government should not discount lawmakers’ concerns. He also objected to Prelogar’s characterization of the law as driven by stereotypes. It is not unconstitutional discrimination, Skrmetti argued, to say that drugs can be prescribed for one reason, but not another. L.W. will be in the courtroom on Wednesday, but she said she can’t comprehend the gravity of the case she’s a part of. Mostly, she has tried to continue to live the life gender care has made possible. The day the ACLU filed its petition, she went to high school, and she only told a few people in the Gender-Sexualities Alliance, or GSA, about the case. That night, she worried, briefly, that her name would be on a case that might be remembered along the same lines as Plessy v. Ferguson, the 1896 Supreme Court case that ruled it was constitutional for states to enact segregation laws. Eventually, L.W. decided it was out of her control, and plus, she had the drivers’ test for her learner’s permit to worry about, so she set aside her fears and let her lawyers handle the hard parts. She is a junior in high school now. She DJed a party this Halloween. She has broadened her social life, and she adopted a kitten the family named Mushroom. She wants to spend her free time traveling to look at colleges with aviation programs, but for now, she and her mother still make regular trips to get treatment in North Carolina. Traveling out of state for health-care she’d rather get at home is arduous. Until recently, her mother had to take unpaid time off work, and L.W. has to call in sick to the magnet high school where she takes three Advanced Placement classes. “I hate taking days off school, it’s, like, the worst thing ever,” she said. “I have very, very difficult classes. So I’ve got a lot to catch up on if I miss a single day.” The drive used to take five hours each way, but Hurricane Helene washed out one of the roads they take, and now, the journey will be much longer. Comments are not available on this story. Send questions/comments to the editors. « Previous Next »