In transgender ruling, another judge finds Trump credibility gap

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis listens as President Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting on Nov. 1. In one case after another involving White House policies, federal judges have questioned the professed motives of President Trump and his surrogates, and have poked gaping holes in arguments by government lawyers. Their rulings are peppered with doubts about the administration's intentions and not-so-subtle jabs at its legal strategy.

2nd US judge halts proposed transgender military ban

Another federal judge has halted a proposed transgender military ban, expanding on an initial ruling issued last month against the plan by President Donald Trump's administration. In a preliminary injunction issued Tuesday in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis ruled that transgender service members have "demonstrated that they are already suffering harmful consequences" due to the proposed ban including threat of discharge, stigma and the cancellation or delay of surgeries related to their gender transitions.

After Roem’s election, Va. GOP leader wants to do away with ‘gentlewoman’ title for lawmakers

Virginia Del.-elect Danica Roem , left, and Demi Lovato at the American Music Awards. With Virginia's first openly transgender elected official preparing to take her seat in the House of Delegates, the Republican leader of that chamber says it is time to end a tradition of addressing lawmakers by formal male and female pronouns.

Dems urge Baker to withdraw support for Fitchburg Senate candidate

Gov. Charlie Baker has tried, often against the odds, to grow the Republican Party since his 2014 election, but often times that means siding with candidates that don't perfectly align with his brand of moderate, socially liberal Republicanism. That conflict is rearing its head again two weeks before a special Senate election in north central Massachusetts as the Massachusetts Democratic Party is calling on the governor to withdraw his support for Fitchburg City Councilor Dean Tran over comments the candidate made during a debate this past weekend.

Alaska lawmaker sees financial boon in refuge drilling

The sanctuary of the small-town Texas church where a gunman carried out a massacre will be turned into a temporary memorial for the more than two dozen victims. A Marine Corps drill instructor was convicted by a military jury of physically abusing young recruits, sometimes while drunk, and focusing his fury on three Muslim-American military volunteers.

Ex-principal in Kentucky to be sentenced in child porn case

The Senate version of the Republicans' high-stakes tax overhaul is set to be unveiled with billions in tax cuts for people and corporations and repeal of the federal deduction for state and local taxes. The Senate version of the Republicans' high-stakes tax overhaul is set to be unveiled with billions in tax cuts for people and corporations and repeal of the federal deduction for state and local taxes.

Gleeful Democrats see political wave; GOP says not so fast

New Jersey gubernatorial nominee Phil Murphy celebrates while speaking to supporters during his election night victory party at the Asbury Park Convention Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Asbury Park, N.J. Minneapolis has elected a black transgender woman to its city council in what advocacy groups say is a national first. Minneapolis has elected a black transgender woman to its city council in what advocacy groups say is a national first.

In striking feat, Dems come close to retaking Virginia House

Danica Roem, a Democrat who is running for Virginia's House of Delegates against GOP incumbent Robert Marshall, casts her vote at Buckhall Volunteer Fire Department on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Manassas, Va. If Roem wins she would be the first openly transgender person elected and seated in a state legislature in the United States.

Trump resistance hands heavy defeats to Republicans in governorship polls

US Democrat Ralph Northam has defeated Republican Ed Gillespie in the race for the governorship of Virginia, marking his party's first major Trump-era victory. The results in the state were replicated in several contests across America on Tuesday as the Trump resistance struck back at the US president's nationalist rhetoric.

Get ready for Moore bad news on Election Day

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's ruling Monday temporarily blocking a White House ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military prompted right-wing Republican candidate Roy Moore to provide fresh evidence why sensible Alabamians should not allow him to set foot in the U.S. Senate. Moore, a rabid homophobe and champion of the anti-Obama " birther" movement , has called for Kollar-Kotelly's impeachment by the House of Representatives because, in making her ruling, she has "placed herself above the Constitution" with a display of "judicial activism."

Judge largely blocks Trump’s military transgender ban

A federal court judge in Washington, D.C., has largely blocked President Trump's controversial ban on transgender people serving in the military. The judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, issued a preliminary injunction on Monday halting two portions of Trump's presidential memorandum issued in late August, including his reinstatement of the ban on transgender service members that was in place before June 2016.

Court partially blocks Trump’s transgender military ban

Paul Manafort, Who Once Ran Trump Campaign, Told to Surrender - WASHINGTON - Paul Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates were told to surrender to federal authorities Monday morning, the first charges in a special counsel investigation, according to a person involved in the case. Manafort to turn himself in to Mueller, source says - Source: Manafort to turn himself in to Mueller - STORY HIGHLIGHTS - Manafort is the first person in Trump's orbit charged in connection with the special counsel investigation - Washington Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort How the Russia Investigation Entangled a Manafort Protg - Nearly everywhere Paul Manafort went, it seemed, Rick Gates followed, his protg and junior partner.

Judge allows new route to challenge Mississippi LGBT law

A gay rights group is getting another chance to challenge a Mississippi law that lets government workers and private business people cite their own religious beliefs to refuse services to LGBT people. Legal experts say it's the broadest religious-objections law enacted by any state since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.

How John Kelly Exposed Himself As Steve Bannon Lite

The notion of the three retired generals surrounding Donald Trump-National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and Chief of Staff John Kelly- protecting Americans from an unstable, impulsive demagogue who might create global catastrophe has been around since the beginning of the Trump presidency. The narrative , that these individuals are privately more moderate and responsible, has been bandied about by pundits, reporters and other observers.

Stopping hate crimes against transgender Americans

It's compelling and important news that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is so concerned about the killing of a transgender Iowa high school student that he has sent an experienced federal hate crimes lawyer to help prosecute the man charged in the murder. This act of compassion also begs a question: Why isn't Sessions more concerned about violence against transgender people while they are still alive? There have long been concerns about Sessions' stance on the civil rights of gay and transgender Americans.

Mississippi Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Law Takes Effect

A Mississippi law enabling sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination in the name of "religious freedom" took effect Tuesday as a result of a federal appeals court decision throwing out a legal challenge to the statute. The law, House Bill 1523, was signed by Gov. Phil Bryant last year in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage nationwide.