As Republican-led states pass legislation to restrict or ban transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming healthcare, Republicans in Congress have held a series of hearings or steered discussion around implementing national bans while raising dubious claims and dismissing guidance from major medical groups. On 27 July, Democratic members of a Republican-led House committee condemned the latest “cynical and dangerous attack” on trans children and their families during one of the first congressional hearings against affirming care and health providers. The panel heard from a former college athlete who advocates against trans women and girls from participating in sports that match their gender, members of right-wing special interest groups that support legislation targeting LGBT+ people, and a person who formerly received affirming healthcare and now advocates against other receiving it. The committee also heard from a Texas mother whose 18-year-old son is transgender, as well as the trangender legal director of a prominent LGBT+ legal advocacy group. While Republican US Rep Matt Gaetz was railing against a law in Washington state that seeks to protect trans children estranged from their parents, a person watching the hearing from inside the chamber called the Florida congressman a “murderer”. “Oh please, get over yourself,” Mr Gaetz responded. Moments earlier, Republican US Rep Wesley Hunt used a poster of a food pyramid to compare children with gender dysphoria to children who want to eat ice cream for every meal. “What if we affirmed every thought our children had?” he said. Democratic US Rep Mary Gay Scanlon called the hearing a “cynical and dangerous attack on trans people and their families” motivated not by medical guidance but poll numbers, with Republican members “just repeating right-wing talking points to delegitimize” healthcare for trans youth, she said. “Today’s hearing is an all-time low for the Republican majority,” said Democratic US Rep Jerry Nadler. “In my three decades in Congress, I have taken part in plenty of hearings where I did not agree with the choice of topic, to say the least. I am absolutely disgusted at the Republican majority’s bullying, bigoted framing of an issue that would otherwise be worthy of serious discussion.” The New York congressman was furious, calling the hearing a “taxpayer-funded platform for congressional Republicans to bully transgender kids, who are already some of the most vulnerable members of our community”. “The last thing trans kids and their parents need in their lives is Republicans in Washington to jump on the anti-trans bandwagon just so they can fear monger for their five minutes of fame,” he added. The hearing – titled “Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children” – follows proposals from House lawmakers to strip support for affirming care for US military service members in a must-pass national defence bill, as well as a series of hearings and proposals that replicate the avalanche of legislation targeting trans people in nearly every state. By the end of May, state lawmakers had introduced more than 500 bills impacting LGBT+ people in 2023, including 220 bills specifically targeting trans and nonbinary Americans, according to an analysis from the Human Rights Campaign. Republican members of Congress have also introduced federal legislation that mirrors some of the proposals dominating state capitols. One measure would impose national restrictions on trans athletes, and another bill would impose a similar but more-expansive version of what critics have called state-level “Don’t Say Gay” bills used to restrict classroom discussion of LGBT+ people and events. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the only trans person who addressed lawmakers, said in his opening statement that anti-trans legislation targets less than 1 per cent of the population as well as medication and supportive care regimens that have been widely available for decades. “They are not new. What is new is this recent massive overreach from state lawmakers,” he added. “These laws … they prevent doctors from doing their jobs, they prevent parents from getting medical care they need.” Stripping access to that care will have “devastating consequences for young people’s lives,” he said. “Decisions should be made by parents who love them, not by politicians who know nothing about a child’s life.” Miriam Reynolds, whose son Cameron is trans, shared the family’s journey to understanding what he was experiencing and working with health providers to “It was hard on me at first, but I was able to put my child’s needs before my feelings and find him the care he needed,” she said. “I could see that my child was happier and felt more and more comfortable the more he was affirmed.” There wasn’t any political “hysteria” surrounding his care when he came out several years ago, compared to the currently volatile environment surrounding his existence and the family’s support for him. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. “To be looked at as a child abuser, or indoctrinator, or something like that, is extremely painful … It feels very hateful and divisive.” Mr Gaetz grilled Mr Minter about recently enacted Washington state law that allows shelters to first contact the state Department of Children, Youth and Families if trans children entering the facilities. “There’s no reason to treat these situations with transgender young people who may be in danger or at risk of abuse at home, any differently than we would treat any other child,” Mr Minter said. “I want authorities to treat these kids with the same care they treat all other children.” In his remarks, Mr Gaetz ironically defended the rights of “parents to parent” their children while dismissing families who have asked for the same right to support their trans children. “What’s terrible is when you have this incongruent desire of the government to restrain the abilities of parents to parent,” he said. Read More Ron DeSantis threatens legal action over Dylan Mulvaney’s Bud Light video How a Texas ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth could break healthcare for children across the state Trans youth and families condemn ‘heartbreaking’ Tennessee court ruling against gender-affirming care

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Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden has revealed that she was rushed to hospital on Monday, where she learnt that a blood clot had been found on her lung. The professional dancer, 33, who first joined the cast of Strictly in 2017, announced that she could no longer compete in the BBC show earlier this year after she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and started receiving chemotherapy treatment. Dowden has been sharing health updates with her fans on social media throughout her treatment and shared the happy news last month that she had completed all eight rounds of chemotherapy. However, in a new update, Dowden told her fans on Thursday (30 November) that she has had a “nightmare week” after she was unexpectedly rushed to hospital. “It seems to be never-ending,” she said in a video shared on Instagram. “I was rushed into hospital on Monday and it came to our knowledge on Tuesday that I’ve got another blood clot on my lung and they were really worried that the clot was travelling to my heart or affecting my heart… luckily enough it’s not,” she said. “This was shock and it just means now… I’m really gutted… I was on blood thinners anyway for the blood clots in my arm…. I’ve still got a blood clot on my lung and obviously, it’s quite close to my heart – there’s a risk. Dowden said she is receiving regular blood thinning rejections for the “foreseeable” and will have another scan in a few weeks. The Welsh choreographer added that she felt frustrated from experiencing another setback, just weeks after she told her fans that she had fractured her foot and would not longer be able to appear in remaining episodes of Strictly. While she was not competing, she had been heavily involved in the latest series wherever she could. Dowden said that she had been working hard to get her “life back” post-chemotherapy and had planned a busy week with voiceover work. “You just get into your head when you finish chemo that that’s it. But you learn… it really isn’t. This chemo is still in my body. It’s three weeks today since I finished chemo. “I’m home now after a few nights in hospital and I’ve for the [Christmas] tree up so at least it’s cosy.” She admitted that she’d had a “rubbish rubbish week” after her hospital scare and was also concerned about the lack of growth of her hair post-chemotherapy. “I’m really frustrated because I thought my hair was coming back way quicker. Looking at photos from a couple of weeks ago, I look like I had more hair than I do now,” she said. “I have to wait until this chemo comes out of my system. But I just sem to be losing… they’re microbladed… but my eyebrows and eyelashes are just going. That’s what’s frustrated [me] and is getting me down.” “I’m gonna rest up because I want to get back to Amy and get back to doing what I love.” Despite not being able to be involved competitively in Strictly, Dowden has delighted fans when she’s made several surprise appearances throughout the current series. In October, Dowden arrived on the show in a sparkly gown to read out the terms and conditions for voting. Dowden later revealed that she decided to “brave the bald” just moments before appearing in front of the cameras, with the professional dancer crediting her Strictly cast members for giving her the “courage” to ditch her wig. Dowden was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, and underwent a mastectomy in July. The professional dancer was later told she would have to begin a course of chemo after doctors discovered the cancer had spread. In a new interview, Dowden shared that watching Strictly was “a great help” while she was undergoing treatment, adding the BBC team has also “gone above and beyond” to include her this season. “I’m my fellow professionals’ biggest cheerleader. I know people are like, ‘Yeah, yeah...’ but we’re the best of friends,” she told Women’s Health magazine. Dowden also said that her castmates – including Dianne Buswell, Carlos Gu, and Katya Jones – “check in on me” every day, while the production team has aimed to involve her in each week. Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 2 December at 18.40pm on BBC One. Read More Sam Thompson admits fears about ADHD and parenthood on I’m a Celeb Paris Hilton says using surrogacy was a ‘difficult decision to make’ Megan Fox says she’s raising her sons so they are ‘not like men that I’ve been with’ Sam Thompson admits fears about ADHD and parenthood on I’m a Celeb Paris Hilton says using surrogacy was a ‘difficult decision to make’ Megan Fox says she’s raising her sons so they are ‘not like men that I’ve been with’

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Magma may have reached very high up in the earth’s crust, according to Iceland’s meteorological office which says people will have to “wait in suspense for the next few days” to see how events play out. “While there is still magma flow into the corridor, and while our data and models show that, that probability is imminent, and we really just have to wait in suspense for the next few days to see what happens,” Kristín Jónsdóttir, head of department at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said. She said the decreasing earthquake activity over the last 24 hours could be a sign that magma has reached very high up in the earth’s crust, adding that the scenario is not unlike what was seen prior to a previous eruption in 2021. The Met Office said magmatic gas has been detected at a borehole in Svartsengi, signalling an imminent eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano over the coming days, with the town of Grindavik most at risk. “Hagafell is thought to be a prime location for an eruption,” the forecaster said. An eruption is now feared by many experts to be a case of when, not if. “I do think an eruption will take place, but the big question is when that might happen,” Dr Margaret Hartley, of the University of Manchester, told Live Science. Read More Biggest volcanic eruptions in the last 10 years as Iceland town faces devastation ‘It’s like a dystopian movie’: Iceland residents describe ‘apocalyptic’ scenes as they flee volcano threat Iceland earthquakes: Are flights still running amid fears of volcano eruption? Is it safe to travel to Iceland? Your rights if you have a holiday booked