July, 21 2023, 06:01pm EDT
Idaho Families of Trans Youth Ask Court to Pause Health Care Ban
Plaintiffs in the Poe v. Labrador lawsuit challenging Idaho's ban on gender-affirming medical care seek a preliminary injunction
Boise, Idaho
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging H.B. 71’s ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors have filed a motion asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to prevent the ban from going into effect while the lawsuit is litigated. The ban is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024.
The case has been brought by two Idaho families with transgender children who are receiving medical care that that would be prohibited should H.B. 71 take effect. The motion asserts that a preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent irreparable harm to Idahoans while the case is pending. Court-ordered preliminary injunctions are in effect against similar bans in Alabama, Florida, Indiana, and Kentucky.
“There is no justification for banning all gender-affirming medical care for young Idahoans with gender dysphoria,” said Leo Morales, executive director of the ACLU of Idaho. “The ban prohibits care that the youth, their parents, and their doctors all agree is medically necessary, and which is supported by every major medical association in the U.S.”
“Last month, in the first ruling on the merits on such a case, a federal judge in Arkansas permanently struck down a ban on gender-affirming health care for minors, finding the ban violated the constitutional rights of transgender youth, their parents, and their doctors,” said Ritchie Eppink, an attorney with W/rest Collective. “We hope the court will rule in our favor in this case and prevent this kind of discriminatory harm from reaching Idaho families.”
The Idaho plaintiffs join families in Arkansas, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Indiana in fighting alongside the ACLU to prevent gender-affirming health care bans for youth in their states.
“This is part of a troubling trend across the country that targets trans people and access to necessary medical care such as abortion and gender-affirming hormones,” said Li Nowlin-Sohl, senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “We are deeply concerned with the coordinated attacks on people’s rights to access health care free from government intrusion.”
The attorneys on this lawsuit are the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Idaho, Wrest Collective, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, and Groombridge, Wu, Baughman & Stone LLP.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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'I Didn’t Say What Susan Collins Did Is Criminal,' Says Platner. 'I Said It SHOULD Be'
Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner accused his Republican opponent of exploiting a loophole to funnel money to the lobbying firm where her husband worked for a decade.
Jun 26, 2026
Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday unveiled a sweeping anti-corruption agenda featuring a plank named after incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, accusing the Maine Republican of using the power of public office to direct money to her husband's firm and enrich herself.
Platner's proposed "Collins Rule" would require senators to "recuse themselves from any vote, decision, or oversight activity involving an agency from which their spouse’s firm receives government contracts." Underlying the proposal is the Platner campaign's allegation that Collins "funneled more than $76 million in federal contracts to her husband's lobbying firm"—a claim that Collins' campaign denounced as "a lie."
In a social media post on Thursday after Platner announced his proposed "Corruption Crackdown," Collins wrote that "a man I have never met held a press conference and accused me of criminal conduct," referencing the Platner campaign's claim about the federal contract dollars flowing to her husband's firm.
"That is outrageous and false," Collins added.
Platner responded with a social media post of his own. "I didn’t say what Susan Collins did is criminal," he wrote. "I said it SHOULD be criminal."
In a nine-page document outlining its anti-corruption agenda, Platner's campaign writes that "no existing law" prevents the spouse of a US senator from "being enriched through winning contracts from agencies the senator oversees."
"Hiring your spouse is banned. Arranging for your spouse’s firm to receive millions from agencies you oversee is, apparently, fine," the document states. "This is plain corruption, and we will not stand for it."
"We’re taking this fight directly to Susan Collins and her billionaire donors, and we won’t stop until power is returned to the working people of Maine."
Collins' campaign manager rejected Platner's characterization of the senator's record and said she "has not funneled any money to Tom Daffron," her husband.
Daffron, who married Collins in 2012, was a registered lobbyist in 2006-2007 and, for the subsequent decade, served as chief operating officer for Jefferson Consulting Group, the firm that Platner's campaign says benefited from Collins' votes to the tune of $76 million.
News Center Maine noted that, "in its accounting, Platner’s campaign pointed to a list, compiled by searching the USA Spending website, of contracts awarded to Jefferson Consulting by the US Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, Interior, and Veterans Affairs. Fifty-five million dollars came from two contracts with USAID, the Agency for International Development, roughly three-quarters of that $76 million."
"The Collins campaign did not dispute the total amount in contracts," News Center Maine added, "but said it was the Obama administration, not Congress, that was responsible for doling out those funds between 2009 and 2016." (The executive branch awards federal contracts that are funded through congressional appropriations.)
During a press conference on Thursday, Platner rejected the notion that Collins' support for appropriations that ultimately benefited the firm that employed her husband was innocuous because she wasn't responsible for awarding the contracts.
"My entire life, I have heard from the political system that all of these very obvious mechanisms of corruption aren't actually corruption," he said. "That when we see people appropriating funds, when we see procurement systems in place, that the money comes from appropriations from the Senate and from the House, that somehow these things are entirely divorced, and it's just sheer coincidence that people who are connected to those in power wind up receiving lots of extra money."
"Obviously that's false," Platner added. "Any normal person can see that if you are directly tied to the power of the United States senator and you yourself benefit from it, and that senator's household benefits from it, that there's obviously some form of connection there."
Watch:
In addition to the "Collins Rule," Platner's anti-corruption agenda calls for barring members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks, "under penalty of imprisonment."
"As long as sitting members of Congress are allowed to hold and trade stock connected to the industries they have a hand in regulating, the public will keep asking whether their policy decisions serve our best interest—or their own bank accounts," the agenda reads.
Collins has opposed bipartisan legislation that would ban congressional stock trading, arguing for better enforcement of existing laws such as the STOCK Act—which the Maine Republican has violated dozens of times by missing the 45-day deadline to report her husband's trades.
NOTUS reported earlier this year that Daffron "purchased a Pfizer corporate bond worth from $15,001 to $50,000 on February 3, but Collins didn’t disclose the purchase to the Senate" until late March. Collins, whose net worth skyrocketed following her marriage to Daffron, says she has never owned or traded individual stocks during her three-decade Senate career.
Platner's agenda calls for "dramatically" increasing penalties for STOCK Act violations, which typically amount to a minuscule $200 fine. The Democratic candidate argues that "criminal prosecution—including imprisonment—[must be] on the table for the worst offenses, not a $200 parking ticket."
The Platner campaign's "Corruption Crackdown" also calls for overturning the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, shuttering the revolving door between Washington and corporate America by permanently banning former lawmakers from lobbying Congress, prohibiting candidates for federal office from receiving corporate PAC money, and requiring the Pentagon to pass an audit before it receives any additional funding.
"The establishment has rigged the system with legalized corruption and poisoned our elections with billionaire money and a politics that enriches the powerful at the expense of working people," Platner said Thursday. "We’re taking this fight directly to Susan Collins and her billionaire donors, and we won’t stop until power is returned to the working people of Maine."
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Scientists: Fossil Fuel-Driven Climate Crisis 'Directly Responsible' for Deadly European Heatwave
"Europe's savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it—it's the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet," said one UN leader.
Jun 26, 2026
With at least hundreds of people dead and high temperatures persisting, scientists said Friday that the "record-shattering" heatwave devastating Europe was "virtually impossible just 50 years ago"—and climate change driven by fossil fuel emissions "is unequivocally to blame."
World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international scientific collaboration that analyzes extreme weather events, said daytime highs and overnight temperatures that have been scorching several European countries likely could not have occurred in 1976, and a similar heatwave in that historic climate would be 6.3°F cooler.
The findings followed a Monday analysis from ClimaMeter showing that weather patterns similar to those driving the current European heatwave now produce temperatures roughly 3.6-7.2°F warmer, depending on location, than they did during the second half of the 20th century, because of greenhouse gas emissions.
"The sweltering overnight temperatures keeping many people awake this week are about 100x more likely today than they were just 23 years ago during the infamous 2003 European heatwave," WWA said Friday. "The daytime peaks are about 10x more likely."
WWA found that a "staggering" 45% of 854 cities across 30 European countries have broken, or are expected to break, their records for wet-bulb globe temperatures—which incorporate temperature, humidity, wind speed, and sunlight to measure the risk to humans.
"The science of how climate change is worsening heatwaves is settled. Continued fossil fuel emissions are directly responsible for the disruption people are experiencing this week in their homes, schools, and workplaces," said Theodore Keeping, a co-author of the WWA study who researches extreme weather and wildfire at the United Kingdom's Imperial College London (ICL).
"The speed of change is startling," Keeping continued. "Every few years, we are seeing heat records shattered in Europe. This year, it has been in consecutive months. In the UK, we are used to 'snow days' shutting down schools, but this generation is now growing up with 'heat days' as well."
While the "heat dome" responsible for Europe's second heatwave in two months "was moving east on Friday, bringing marginal relief to some areas in the west and threatening parts of Central and Eastern Europe with a scorching weekend," according to The New York Times, the 97.5°F recorded in southwest England was Britain's highest temperature ever for June, breaking a record set the previous day.
A record-breaking heat wave that’s spreading eastward across Europe has revived interest in a hypothetical temperature forecast for August 2050 in France.But it turns out, it didn’t take 36 years for those imagined temperatures to be reached — and even exceeded.
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— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost.com) June 25, 2026 at 12:30 PM
France also faced more intense heat on Friday, with a 103.3°F reading in Paris. The Washington Post pointed out that two days earlier, as parts of the country endured 112.3°F, soaring temperatures exceeded hypothetical forecasts for August 2050 in 19 of 34 locations across the French mainland.
The current conditions have proven deadly. As Reuters reported:
At least 48 people have died in France from drowning since the start of the heatwave while trying to cool off, authorities said, and three young children are known to have been killed by heat in cars in two separate incidents.
Since the end of last week, more than 20 people across Germany have died in swimming-related accidents, the German Life Saving Association said in a statement to Reuters.
Spain's Mortality Monitoring System estimated that the recent heat has resulted in at least 212 deaths, mostly among people ages 65 and older. Diana Gómez, a scientist at the agency, noted that the figures are preliminary and based on statistical projections.
Acknowledging that "many people still live, work, and study in places that are not designed for the temperatures we are now experiencing," Carolina Pereira Marghidan of the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Center said to "follow local heat advice, seek cooler spaces where possible, drink plenty of water, and check on family, friends, and neighbors who may be most at risk."
Pereira Marghidan also highlighted the "growing gap between the pace of climate change and the pace of adaptation," and called for "greater investment in heat-resilient homes, cities, and infrastructure to keep people safe."
Right now, record-breaking, dangerous heat waves are rolling across Europe. This isn't just "summer weather". This is exactly what the climate crisis looks like 🥵
— Greenpeace International 🌍 (@greenpeace.org) June 24, 2026 at 7:57 AM
Speaking at London Climate Action Week on Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres similarly said that "climate adaptation is no longer about preparing for a distant future. It's about managing risks in real time—as the searing heat now gripping London and far beyond makes unmistakably clear."
"Our climate is changing faster than our systems, our infrastructure, and our institutions can handle. The World Meteorological Organization confirms that the past 11 years have been the hottest on record. Scientists now expect the world to exceed 1.5°C in the coming years," he continued, citing the Paris Agreement's goal to limit temperature rise this century. "We're entering a new era of climate risk."
The heat has sparked calls to tackle the root cause of the rising temperatures—fossil fuel emissions—from Guterres and others. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said Thursday that "Europe's savage heatwave has the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it—it's the latest price to pay for fossil fuel pollution baking our planet."
"Schools closing, the vulnerable dying, economies sweating: This is what the climate crisis looks like in practice, and it's just getting started," he emphasized. "Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil, and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse, and other climate impacts—from megadroughts, floods, wildfires, and storms—will keep hammering every economy and population harder each year."
David Ho, a University of Hawaii at Mānoa professor, said on social media: "The heatwave in western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever, with almost half of Europe's largest cities experiencing their worst ever heat stress, a combination of high temperatures and humidity. Unless we stop burning fossil fuels, future heat conditions will become even more extreme."
I spoke with Geeta GuruMurthy of BBC World News Television about the record European heat wave and it's link to human-caused warming:youtu.be/d8vqO2J8WV0
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— Michael E. Mann (@michaelemann.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 2:17 PM
Although some natural phenomena can contribute to high temperatures, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced earlier this month that El Niño, the warm phase of a recurring climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean, had formed, WWA found that it "had no role in driving the heat" in Europe.
"Scientists like me are beginning to sound like a broken record. We put out similar quotes year after year, reacting to heat extremes that climb ever higher. Yes this is climate change, yes it's us, no it's not El Niño, yes we have the solutions, no we're not implementing them fast enough," said study co-author and ICL climate science professor Friederike Otto. "It's really now a question of what kind of future we want for ourselves, and whether we're willing to do what it takes to secure it."
On the heels of a French court's ruling against TotalEnergies, Lisa Rose, a campaigner at the global climate group 350.org, argued Friday that "it's time to turn the heat on the fossil fuel giants that caused this heatwave but are doing nothing to cover the costs."
"Both science and the law are clear: Polluters must answer for climate damage. Now it's up to our leaders to make them pay," Rose said. "Forcing fossil fuel companies to cut emissions and pay their fair share is the only effective lasting response. Half-measures won't cool this crisis, only a faster shift to renewables can."
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Corporate Democrats Mobilize to Counter Rise of Democratic Socialists Within the Party
"The progressive movement is winning across the country, from the heart of New York to Michigan to Maine," said US Rep. Ro Khanna in response to centrist critics.
Jun 26, 2026
The corporate wing of the Democratic Party is looking to fight back after three insurgent progressive candidates knocked off establishment favorites in primary elections in New York this week.
Axios reported on Thursday that centrist Democrats are gearing up to organize against progressives and democratic socialists, who have been racking up victories over the last two years by presenting themselves as an alternative to a failed status quo that lost the 2024 election to President Donald Trump.
One anonymous centrist Democrat predicted to Axios that "there's going to be a war" between factions in the party, referring to democratic socialists as "bomb-throwers, not problem solvers."
"Clearly there has to be organization," another centrist Democrat explained to Axios of their faction's plans. "You can't just wring your hands on this stuff."
To push back against recent victories by democratic socialists, 15 centrist Democrats on Thursday announced their support for the "Promise to America" manifesto in which they emphasize their support for capitalism, law enforcement, and "fiscal discipline."
In an interview with The Washington Post, Jessica Killin, a Democratic candidate running for US Congress in Colorado who signed the manifesto, said that moderate Democrats need "to be organized and clear in our vision," arguing that democratic socialists "should not be the face of our party."
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY), another signatory of the manifesto, told the Post that he gave the democratic socialists credit for their organizing, while warning that "that kind of campaign and that type of ideology is not going to play with the people in our districts."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), however, pushed back on the centrists' efforts to marginalize progressive insurgents.
On the floor of the US House on Friday, Khanna made the case for the growing number of progressives within the ranks of elected Democratic Party officials by saying that voters across the country have shown their hunger for this brand of politics.
"The progressive movement is winning across the country, from the heart of New York to Michigan to Maine," Khanna said. "The people are saying no to foreign wars and they're saying no to genocide in Gaza. They're saying no to the unfair and lopsided economy that has allowed a few people to hoard extreme wealth and power, and they're saying yes to Medicare for All."
Progressives are the future.
No war, no genocide, no oligarchs, and yes to Medicare for All. pic.twitter.com/sJQLoXX5e2
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) June 26, 2026
Melanie D'Arrigo, executive director of the New York Health Campaign, accused the centrist Democrats of offering a substance-free platform that would not improve Americans' lives.
"'Centrism' is just performative compromise devoid of critical thinking, policy, or ideology," D'Arrigo wrote. "It’s a political vehicle that gives permission to do nothing in service of protecting a status quo that benefits large corporate donors and special interest groups who fund both parties."
In an interview with The Independent, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that centrists' fears are misplaced if they believe that the democratic socialists would act as obstructionists and saboteurs as the Tea Party once did.
"I don't want to replicate the Freedom Caucus on our side," Balint insisted, "because it has made this place completely and totally dysfunctional, and we are not delivering for Americans."
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