While Texas claims the guidance poses a safety risk to the public, "the coalitions brief again argues that no such harm has been demonstrated and that without this federal guidance, transgender people will be at risk..." New York heads the coalition that filed friend-of-court briefs. "At a time when so many are seeking to create rifts that separate Americans from one another, it is our responsibility to fight back and do all we can to bring this nation closer together," said Gov. Cuomo.   read more

The proliferation of the clinics “looks like it is occurring on a nationwide industrial scale,” said biochemist Turner, “operating brazenly, out in the open. It leaps out of these cultural assumptions about hopes and dreams of stem cell treatment, but there is no science behind it.” Some advertise treatments that seem to flout regulations. Said Prof. Ogbogu: "These clinics are being run by very sophisticated people. They understand the laws very well and have been working around the laws.”   read more

The regulations take aim at the harassing debt agency: Collectors would be barred from contacting people more than six times a week. After a debtor dies, collectors would have to wait 30 days before going after family members. “This is about bringing better accuracy and accountability to a market that desperately needs it,” said CFPB's Cordray. The bureau receives more complaints about debt collection than any other issue — more than 7,000 a month — 40% about debts customers say they don't owe.   read more

The EPA has announced new limits to formaldehyde exposure, ending a battle of more than five years to regulate a toxic chemical commonly found throughout the home. Until now, the federal government has not regulated formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, in wood products. “We are carrying out important measures laid out by Congress to protect the public from harmful exposure of this widely used chemical found in homes and workplaces,” said EPA's Jim Jones.   read more

Nearly two-thirds of respondents expressed support for stricter laws, with majorities favoring nationwide bans on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons such as the AR-15 and on the sale of high-capacity magazines holding 10 or more bullets. By a 55% to 43% margin, respondents said laws that limit gun ownership do not infringe on the constitutional right to bear arms. But responses also revealed a partisan divide: 87% of Democrats support stricter gun laws compared with 41% of Republicans.   read more

Some scholars liken the website's timeline to a work of propaganda. “It’s not a lie, but it’s disingenuous,” said professor Young. “It does not come to grips with the full reality of the war, the extent to which it was an illegal war and the extent to which the public was lied to about the war.” One of her qualms is that entries for the My Lai massacre and publication of the Pentagon Papers fail to mention attempts by military and political leaders to obscure information about the events.   read more

The sale of the vecuronium bromide by an unknown third party may show how difficult it could be for manufacturers to prevent such sales in states such as Arkansas that have execution secrecy laws. Reprieve's Maya Foa defended Pfizer and Hospira, saying no pharmaceutical company wants its drugs used in executions. In a bid to resume executions, the Republican-led Legislature passed the execution secrecy law last year. It requires the state to keep the details about its execution drugs secret.   read more

"Workers in the restaurant industry are among the lowest-paid workers in our economy," said David Weil. "They shouldn't have to deal with paychecks that don't accurately reflect their hard work." Said Sen. Harry Reid: "The actions taken by Restaurant Associates are despicable and their contract should be terminated. The Senate must refuse to do business with any unscrupulous vendors who flout the law and put profits above the rights and economic security of their employees."   read more

"In all these cumulative ways, you start to get the strong sense that when he says 'we and us,' he's only talking about whites in the U.S.," said Sandoval. Some point out that Trump's slogan "America First" was also the slogan of the America First Committee, an isolationist, anti-Semitic group whose goal was to keep the U.S. from joining Britain in the fight against Nazi Germany. They opposed the acceptance of shiploads of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution.   read more

In February, the U.N. proposed new emissions standards for international flights that would require an average 4% reduction in fuel consumption during the cruising phase of flight. This was met with criticism from environmentalists who felt the standards did not go far enough. They have also debated findings from studies cited by the U.N. and the EPA, which state that aviation accounts for less than two percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Activists have argued that it's actually about 5%.   read more

His vision grew dull, his head dizzy. Within months, he experienced a cough so persistent that it left him gasping for breath. By 2012, he was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung ailment. When he began coughing up blood, he suspected a connection to his work. Now, workers are stepping forward and filing lawsuits targeting specific ash sites. More than a half-dozen such cases have surfaced around the country in the past three years.   read more

A new Illinois law limits how police can use devices that cast a wide net in gathering cellphone data and are at the center of a lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department. The technology, a cell site simulator, is perhaps best known by the brand name Stingray. It gathers phone-usage data on targets of criminal investigations, but it also gathers data on other cellphones — hundreds or even thousands of them — in the area.   read more

A divided Virginia Supreme Court on Friday set aside Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s executive order restoring the voting rights of more than 200,000 felons, siding with the GOP lawmakers who argued the governor’s action was unconstitutional. In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of Virginia ordered the state to cancel the registrations of the more than 11,000 felons who have signed up to vote since McAuliffe issued his executive order in April.   read more

Thousands of times a year, the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services resolves complaints about possible violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) quietly, outside public view. It sends letters reminding providers of their legal obligations, advising them on how to fix purported problems, and, sometimes, prodding them to make voluntary changes. Case closed.   read more

The Justice Department sued a Pennsylvania town over its municipal board’s denial of a zoning application for a mosque, saying the decision is a clear case of discrimination on the basis of religion. The Bensalem Township violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act when its zoning board in 2014 rejected a request that would have allowed the Bensalem Masjid to build a mosque in the town, according to a complaint   read more

A nuclear power plant has stirred outrage because it requires demolishing 350 acres of woodlands. “Choosing solar over forests anywhere in the world is just plain stupid,” said Dick Amper, of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society. “Solar is very important to fight global warming and beyond, but I’m afraid we’re making false choices when you destroy portions of nature and the environment to accomplish that end.”   read more