Recent news round-up

Good News

• Judge orders Georgia to release database records on voter registration
• California governor signs bill dumping rape-reporting limit
• Ethics panel rebukes W.Va. Rep. McKinley over business name
• After 170 years, remains of US troops return from Mexico

Bad News

• Halifax trans football player says 'media attention' a reason for McDonald's firing
  

Today's news round-up

Good News

• Facebook co-founder pledging $20 million to defeat Trump
• Supreme Court rejects Michigan straight-ticket voting appeal
• Facebook allows postings of 'napalm girl' photo after debate
• Deputy who tossed student wants job back; sheriff says no
• CEO cuts 'Creationism' from Youngstown school classrooms

Bad News

• Foiled Paris attack 'was directed by IS'
• Report cites growing evidence of extremists reviving slavery

Recent news round-up, Part 2

Good News

• Judge orders state not to block Planned Parenthood funding
• Turkey court acquits famed pianist of blasphemy charges Blasphemy should not be a crime.
• Female WWII pilot has finally been laid to rest at Arlington
• Hungarian camerawoman who kicked refugees charged
• Rival Boko Haram groups clash in NE Nigeria: sources

Bad News

• New Hampshire city to reinstall Ten Commandments monument
• Maldives police raid newsroom after documentary broadcast

Recent news round-up

Good News

• Clinton leads Trump by eight points: Reuters/Ipsos poll
• Illinois latest state to expand domestic workers' rights
• Hundreds protest in Istanbul over transgender woman's murder
• Ole Miss won’t play 'Dixie' at football games anymore: What changed?
• Libyan forces say they capture mosque, prison from Islamic State in Sirte

Bad News

• Egypt state TV orders female hosts to lose weight
• 'Un-Islamic' cultural heritage in jihadists' crosshairs
• Galaxy’s Robbie Rogers says opponent used homophobic slur
• Man accused of unprovoked attack on interracial couple
• An Ethiopian medalist just led a protest that could land him in jail

Recent news round-up

Good News

• Win on NYS Medicaid Paying for Gender Transition “Cosmetic Surgery”
• LGBT history lessons heading for California classrooms
• Man caught in sting trying to join IS gets 8.5 years
• Model Gets Fired and Banned From Gym After Posting Naked Photo of Woman in Locker Room Even if it was meant to be sent only to a friend, it's still wrong, and quite possibly a criminal offense. I'm sure the woman she photographed would have a good lawsuit against her.

Bad News

• Untreatable gonorrhea: coming soon to genitalia near you The headline is misleading. It is not definitely coming, but the trend is in that direction.

Micro movie reviews

Free State of Jones: The story of Newton Knight, a poor, white Mississippi farmer who led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the Civil War. I'm not at all sure how close the film was to history, but the story it told was interesting and very well-made.

Love & Friendship: An adaptation Jane Austen's youthful, though posthumously published, novella Lady Susan. A cute, if a bit confusing, plot, but with some very amusing characters. Not bad.

Recent news round-up, Part 1

Good News

• Utah’s Misty Snow makes history as Democrats’ transgender Senate nominee
• Judge blocks Indiana genetic abnormality abortion law
• Federal judge blocks Florida law to end abortion clinic funding
• Obama signs bill easing access to government records
• Rome's Colosseum sparkles after magnate-funded restoration

Bad News

• Lawmaker: North Carolina LGBT law will largely stay intact
• Judge tosses case against street artist Shepard Fairey; city to appeal

Recent news round-up, Part 1

Good News

• Intel Chief Defends Rights of Transgender Community
• Drummer Defends Stanford Student Convicted in Rape Case. Her Band Pays a Price. What she doesn't seem to understand is that this type of rape is just as bad as someone dragging a struggling victim off and assaulting them.
• Federal judge bars Alabama from blocking gay marriage
• 14-Year-Old Transgender Girl Shares Inspirational Story of Overcoming Her Bullies
• 5 Rikers Officers Convicted in Beating of Inmate
• Washington's National Cathedral to remove Confederate flags from windows
• Iraqi Troops Enter Southern Fallujah for First Time in 2 Years
• Libyan forces enter main Islamic State bastion

Bad News

• Singapore Has Told Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring an Annual LGBT Event
• Black students more likely to be suspended: U.S. Education Department
• Pakistani teen burnt alive by her mother for choosing own husband

Today's news round-up

Good News    

• Top U.S. auctioneers refused to sell gun from Trayvon Martin shooting
• Man Pleads Guilty After Pulling Woman’s Hijab Off on Plane
• Anti-Abortion Laws Don’t Reduce Abortion Rates, But Birth Control Does
• UK man jailed for IS-inspired plot to attack US troops
• 5 Boko Haram leaders arrested; dozens of captives freed
• Sweet Honey in the Rock protesting during NC shows
• Event celebrates Salt Lake City street named for Harvey Milk
• Chicago mayor to replace police review board with more independent watchdog
• Walter Scott family attorney: Federal charges against Michael Slager could be a ‘turning point in history’
• Barber arrested for pulling gun on customer, says he 'doesn't cut black hair'  It's good he was arrested.

Bad News

• Police responded to 17,000 calls to Tampa Bay Walmarts in a single year, taxpayers pick up the bill I've said many times that Walmart is dangerous. In addition, it's expensive to the taxpayers--even the ones who don't shop there.

Recent news round-up, Part 2

Good News

• Bernie Sanders Supporters Propose ‘Mobilizing Voters’ to Beat Donald Trump
• Charges Dropped Against Brooklyn Mail Carrier in Altercation With Police
• ACC: LGBT law could affect whether NC hosts league events
• Germany to overturn 50,000 convictions of gay men

Bad News

• New Alabama law could shutter two abortion clinics near schools
• Islamic State kills 17 Iraqi soldiers with suicide truck bombs

Recent news round-up, Part 1

Good News

• U.S. to issue decree on transgender access to school restrooms: NYT
• Troopers suspended over pursuit video that shows pummeling
• ACLU sues school district over transgender bathroom policy
• UPS now lets you track packages for real — on an actual map This doesn't affect me very much, since my building's doorman is always here to accept packages. But I'm this will help many other people.
• Houston renames schools named for Confederate leaders 

Bad News

• Kansas to toughen rules on transgender birth certificates
• Judge sides with House Republicans against health care law
• Doping program behind Russian medals at Sochi Olympics: report I'm not the least bit surprised.

Recent news round-up

Good News

• Alabama chief justice faces ouster after gay marriage fight
• WGA Panel Sees More Viewer And Network Acceptance of LGBT Themes

Bad News

• North Carolina lawmaker dismisses U.S. deadline to change bathroom law
• Girl says she was thrown out of her prom for wearing a suit
• Egyptian court recommends death penalty for journalists, Mursi verdict postponed
• Turkey jails Cumhuriyet journalists Can Dundar and Erdem Gul
• Rolling Stones get no satisfaction from Trump on song ban
• Polish government to take control of WWII museum

Yesterday's news round-up

Good News

• Chicago schools say transgender kids should use bathrooms matching identity
• Kathryn Knott, Dad, Bucks County Sued for $5 Million for “Retaliation” Over Anonymous Internet Comments Knott was convicted for gay-bashing. I hope O"Donnell wins.
• Obama May Create Monument to Gay Rights Movement

Bad News

• Surge in Ridership Pushes New York Subway to Limit One more reason I'm so glad I'm retired. I used to ride on the Lexington Ave. line to get to work, and from 1988 to 1993 or 94 I boarded at the 86th St. station featured in this article. It was crowded even back then.
• Federal official: DC subway hasn't improved safety
• IS may be making chemical weapons, warns watchdog
• IS kills US Navy SEAL in Iraq attack

Today's news round-up

Good News

• Jacksonville Sheriff officer arrested, fired for punching woman in handcuffs
• 'Lost' Medieval Music Performed for First Time in 1,000 Years

Bad News

• Stricter Rules for Voter IDs Reshape Races
• Rare IS group bombings in southern Iraq kill 33
• Turkey: 'IS' link to deadly Gaziantep blast

Recent news round-up, Part 2

Good News

• Microsoft Will Not Donate Money to Republicans’ Convention
• Officer Convicted of Assault for Stomping on Suspect’s Head
• High-speed rail board approves revised California plan
• Obama Puts His Weight Behind Smart Gun Technology
• Spanish pipe-layers find large Roman coin hoard
• Lebanese army kills Islamic State leader at Syrian border

Happy birthmonth, Bill!

The exact date of Shakespeare's birth is unknown, but it was in April. And today is the 400th anniversary of his death.

Today's news round-up

Good News

• How the ‘Trump effect’ could flip the Senate and With Uncertainty at Top of Ticket, Republicans Back Off in Some States
• Adam Silver: N.C. law could affect All-Star Game, Hornets future
• Navy scraps mailer over sexism accusations
• David Geffen gives $100 million to Museum of Modern Art
• U.S. Capitol replacing flag display over Confederate imagery
• Vice Media Writers Ratify First WGA Contract

Bad News

• BYU students investigated by school after reporting rape Students should not have to fear expulsion if they report being assaulted.

Today's news round-up

Good News

• At Site of Gay Man’s Murder, a Street Corner Acknowledges Its Past

Bad News

• Istanbul on edge after suicide attack blamed on IS
• 13 Egypt policemen killed in Sinai attack claimed by IS

Today's news round-up, Part 1

Good News

• Guilty plea in nude photo hack reveals 'phishing' scam
• Ohio prosecutor in Tamir Rice shooting case loses re-election bid
• French historians unveil WWII secret services' archives
• New York details major ferry expansion for 2017
• For New York hospital's patients, miniature horses are a strong Rx

Bad News

• Instagram to ditch chronological user feed for 'interest' based one I've never gotten an Instagram account, but this is just one more reason not to.
• Cyber criminals snap up expired domains to serve malicious ads
• Agency told to 'stand down' in assault inquiry

Happy birthday, James Madison!