Supreme Court sends transgender rights case back to lower court…Read full details

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This file photo taken on November 15, 2016 shows the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC. The US Supreme Court on March 6, 2017 sent a key transgender rights case back to a lower court for reconsideration, after the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew guidance to schools that was relevant to the case. The high court had scheduled a hearing for March 28 on a case involving bathroom rights for Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school boy in Virginia.<br />SAUL LOEB / AFP

The US Supreme Court on Monday sent a key transgender rights case back to a lower court for reconsideration, after the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew guidance to schools that was relevant to the case.

The high court had scheduled a hearing for March 28 on a case involving bathroom rights for Gavin Grimm, a transgender high school boy in Virginia.

But on February 22, the Trump administration overturned rules set by predecessor Barack Obama requiring public schools to let transgender students use bathrooms and locker rooms matching the gender with which they identify, rather than the one on their birth certificate.

The old guidelines had interpreted the federal law banning sex discrimination in schools to include gender identity.

But the new guidance allows states and school districts to decide whether students can access bathrooms of their choice.

Monday’s decision was a setback for transgender rights activists, who will likely face a conservative majority on the top court by the time the case makes its way back for another hearing.

The high court vacated a decision by a federal appeals court based in Richmond, Virginia that had relied on the Obama administration’s interpretation of the law to find in Grimm’s favor.

Now, the appellate court will have to determine more broadly whether federal laws barring sex discrimination extend to gender identity.

– ‘Detour’ –

“While we’re disappointed that the Supreme Court will not be hearing Gavin’s case this term, the overwhelming level of support shown for Gavin and trans students by people across the country throughout this process shows that the American people have already moved in the right direction and that the rights of trans people cannot be ignored,” said Grimm’s lawyer, Joshua Block of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This is a detour, not the end of the road, and we’ll continue to fight for Gavin and other transgender people to ensure that they are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

It was a win, though, for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was reported to have prevailed over Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in arguing for revoking the Obama era guidance.

In leaving it to the states to decide the fate of transgender students, Trump is enabling conservatives to write the rules in the 32 states governed by Republicans.

While affecting only a tiny slice of the American population, the issue is one that resonates strongly with Trump’s ultra-conservative base.

– Court’s shifting balance –

A new appellate court decision is likely to go back to the Supreme Court, but not during the current session.

The court currently is evenly divided between four liberal and four conservative-leaning justices.

But its conservative majority will soon be restored if Trump appointee Neil Gorsuch is confirmed by the Republican-controlled Congress to a vacant Supreme Court seat, as is likely.

Block hoped to win a landmark judgment from the Supreme Court on the model of the resounding 5-4 victory for gay marriage in June 2015.

“Unfortunately, this means that far too many trans kids across the country will be held in limbo for another 1-2 years. With the Department of Education no longer protecting them,” he said.

In leaving it to the states to decide the fate of transgender students, Trump is enabling conservatives to write the rules in the 32 states governed by Republicans.

In one anecdotal sign of the growing recognition of transgender rights, however, the clerk of the Supreme Court imposed the use of the pronoun “him” instead of “her” in briefs referring to Grimm.

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DOWNLOAD FULL/COMPLETE: WWE Fastlane (2017) Download 1080p 720p HDTV [Mp4,PC HD,AVI,MKV]

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Fastlane (2017) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for the Raw brand. It took place on March 5, 2017 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This was the third event in the Fastlane chronology, and the first to be brand exclusive.

Ten matches were contested at the event with one match on the pre-show. In the main event, Goldberg defeated Kevin Owens to win the WWE Universal Championship, becoming the only person to win the Universal title, WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship, and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. On the undercard, Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman, ending Strowman’s undefeated streak, Bayley retained the Raw Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair, thus ending Charlotte’s pay-per-view singles match undefeated streak, Neville retained the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Gentleman Jack Gallagher, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson retained the Raw Tag Team Championship against Enzo Amore and Big Cass.

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No change of strategy for City, says Monaco’s Jardim…See full details

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Leonardo Jardim

Leonardo Jardim says there will be no battening down the hatches when his Monaco side play Manchester City in the Champions League last 16 first leg clash on Tuesday at the Etihad Stadium.

The 42-year-old Venezuela-born coach — who has guided Monaco to the top of Ligue 1 despite having a significantly inferior budget to champions Paris Saint-Germain — said attacking football was in the team’s DNA and the players know that.

“It is a message that I pass on to the players: whether playing (non league) Chambly, PSG or Tottenham (above whom they finished in their Champions League group), it’s always the same style,” he said at the eve of match press conference.

“We have a DNA, we worked for that. The team will not change depending on the adversary.

“It is our 11th European match this season and the team has played the same way in all the previous ones.

“Perhaps the result is not always the same but that is life.”

Jardim, who two years ago guided a Monaco side including current Manchester United star Anthony Martial to the Champions League quarter-finals, said he was flattered by compliments from City counterpart Pep Guardiola.

But he said there were major differences between the respective clubs.

“I am a realist,” said Jardim. “He (Guardiola) was comparing the two teams.

“Both sides like to keep the ball, and have loads of highly-talented technical players. They also both work hard.

“However, there are areas where the teams can’t be compared.

“One can’t compare the value of both teams on the transfer market. We have players of great quality, that is true, but they have players who can be match winners on their own.”

Jardim, who has kept Monaco competitive despite regularly having to sell his best players — Portugal international Bernard Silva has been linked with Chelsea and both Manchester clubs — said he was looking forward to playing a side coached by Guardiola.

“He is a colleague to me,” said Jardim, who came to Monaco in 2014 after a spell with Sporting Lisbon.

“He is a good coach, who coached three big clubs: Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

“But is is difficult to talk of his methods, because what one reads is one thing, the reality is sometimes another.”

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Netanyahu held secret Arab peace meeting…Read full details

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on February 19, 2017.<br />DAN BALILTY / POOL / AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met secretly with Arab rulers last year to hear then US secretary of state John Kerry pitch a regional peace plan, an Israeli newspaper reported Sunday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the February 2016 talks hosted by King Abdullah II in the Jordanian city of Aqaba, Haaretz said, citing former senior officials in the Obama administration who asked to remain anonymous.

It said Kerry wanted the sides to endorse six principles, which he laid out publicly in a December speech.

They included a call for Israel to vacate territory it occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War, subject to land swaps agreed between the two sides.

A former Obama administration official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed to AFP that the meeting was held but would not comment on the substance of Kerry’s proposal.

Since 1967, Israel has pulled out of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip but annexed east Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

It continues to occupy the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in settlements seen as illegal by the international community.

Kerry’s parameters envisioned a Palestinian state, with Palestinians recognising Israel as a “Jewish state”.

Both would share Jerusalem as the “internationally recognised capital of the two states”.

Israel claims the city as its “undivided” capital. Netanyahu’s coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, rejects talk of ceding any part of it to Palestinian sovereignty.

“Netanyahu did not accept Kerry’s proposal and said he would have difficulty getting it approved by his governing coalition,” Haaretz wrote on Sunday.

Netanyahu’s spokesman and Jordanian officials refused to comment on the report.

Meeting on Wednesday at the White House, Netanyahu and President Donald Trump each spoke of prospects of a regional Middle East understanding to end the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“For the first time in the life of my country, Arab countries in the region do not see Israel as an enemy, but increasingly as an ally,” Netanyahu told Trump.

“We think the larger issue today is how do we create the broader conditions for broad peace in the Middle East between Israel and the Arab countries,” Netanyahu said the following day on MSNBC.

Trump said Netanyahu’s proposal for a regional alliance was something that “hasn’t been discussed before”, adding that it would take in “many, many countries and it would cover a very large territory”.

Egypt and Jordan are the only Arab states to have formal peace treaties with Israel.

Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar do not have diplomatic relations with the Jewish State, but they share informal links.

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US Fed’s Tarullo resigns, leaving 3rd vacancy…Read full details

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Daniel Tarullo, who helped enforce banking rules in the wake of the global financial crisis, will leave the central bank April 5, nearly five years before his term expires.

The Federal Reserve governor in charge of banking oversight submitted his resignation on Friday, creating a third vacancy for US President Donald Trump to fill.

Daniel Tarullo, who helped enforce banking rules in the wake of the global financial crisis, will leave the central bank April 5, nearly five years before his term expires.

In a brief letter to Trump, Tarullo, 64, gave no reason for his departure.

The resignation means Trump may have the opportunity to significantly influence the composition of the board, which sets the benchmark lending rate.

Janet Yellen’s four-year term as Federal Reserve chair is due to expire in February 2018, and given Trump’s criticism of the Fed and of Yellen, he is widely expected to appoint a new chief.

During his campaign, Trump attacked the Fed’s independence, accusing it of deliberately keeping interest rates low to support former President Barack Obama.

Yellen has said repeatedly the Fed does not allow politics to influence monetary policy decisions.

However, while Trump can replace Yellen as chair, her term on the board extends until January 2024, and while Fed chairmen have usually resigned if they are replaced in the leadership role, it is not required.

If she resigns, that would offer Trump a fourth Fed vacancy as well as the chance to designate a new chair of the board, which could dramatically alter the central bank’s policy decisions.

In addition, Vice Chair Stanley Fischer’s term expires in June 2018.

“Tarullo’s resignation only further cements our view that significant change is coming to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors over the next 18 months,” Barclays Research said in a client note.

Tarullo’s departure comes at a time when the Fed’s regulatory role may take on increased relevance.

Since taking office, Trump has announced a wide-ranging roll-back of financial rules and regulations, including those created under the post-crisis Dodd-Frank reform laws, in an effort to create more business-friendly markets.

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President Muhammadu Buhari sees off his guests in London

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Tweet from the official twitter account of the President; Muhammadu Buhari.

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