A federal appeals court on Friday sided with Tennessee, finding that its law saying transgender-indentifying individuals cannot change their sex on their birth certificates does not run afoul of the Constitution. In a 2-1 decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Tennessee statute saying that birth certificates need to line up with sex does not violate the 14th Amendment. The state was sued by four men who identify as women who wanted to change the sex on their Tennessee birth certificates to female.  “But absent an existing fundamental right, the Constitution does not require the States to embrace the plaintiffs’ view of what information a birth certificate must record,” wrote Judge Jeffrey Sutton. “That’s why Tennessee’s choice to record sex — not gender identity — does not withhold a constitutionally prescribed benefit. Its amendment policy treats both sexes equally, and as elaborated below there is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex.” Sutton wrote that the law does not amount to unequal protection under the law “even under the most soaring generality of those terms.” “No person, male or female, may amend a birth certificate simply because it conflicts with their gender identity,” he wrote. “Tennessee does not guarantee anyone a birth certificate matching gender identity, only a certificate that accurately records a historical fact: the sex of each newborn.” Sutton added that it would be undemocratic for the court to weigh in and strike down Tennessee law since the Constitution didn’t require them to make a ruling.  “Any other approach would short-circuit the healthy, if sometimes difficult, legislative debates over these policies, debates that offer as much possibility for alteration as for continuity,” he said. “Why build a consensus among the competing constituencies if the Fourteenth Amendment, as interpreted by life-tenured judges, waits in the offing to provide total victory?” In a dissenting opinion, Judge Helene White claimed that the Tennessee law was discriminatory.  “Forcing a transgender individual to use a birth certificate indicating sex assigned at birth causes others to question whether the individual is indeed the person stated on the birth certificate,” she wrote. “This inconsistency also invites harm and discrimination.” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated the decision in a statement on Friday. “Whether someone can change the sex on their birth certificate is a matter for each state to decide,” he said. “While other states have taken different approaches, for decades Tennessee has consistently recognized that a birth certificate records a biological fact of a child being male or female and has never addressed gender identity.”

The FDA announced that the Solata Foods LLC spinach recall has been reclassified to level one, which carries the highest possible risk of “serious adverse health consequences.” The company issued the voluntary recall on June 21 after learning that the spinach was likely contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The bacteria is particularly dangerous to young children, the immunocompromised, the elderly, and pregnant women. On Friday, July 12, the FDA elevated the severity of the recall because of “a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” Recalled Spinach Sold Under Several Brand Names In Three States Solata Foods sold the recalled spinach under the brand names Full Circle Organic, Farmer Direct, Uncle Vinny’s, Solata, Gaia Organic, and Bogopa in New Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire. The packages have lot numbers 40606 and 11006 and expiration dates of 6/20/24 and 6/24/24 stamped on the side. To date, most of the fresh spinach would have been consumed or thrown away. However, those who froze the product can still fall ill. Freezing will not kill the bacteria.  No one has reported illness from the recalled spinach. But if you’ve consumed the product, speak to a doctor if you experience high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. For a more detailed list of the recalled spinach products read the original FDA announcement here. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Spinach Recall: FDA Elevates Risk To Highest Level appeared first on InspireMore.

'Everyone’s a little nervous'

Two of the world’s most endangered parrots have been united as part of a breeding program to help save the beautiful species from extinction. The pair of red-fronted macaws have arrived at Twycross Zoo in Leicester, England, with the hope they will “fall in love” and breed—adding to the total number of fewer than 300 […] The post Two Rare Parrots Sent From Different Zoos So They Might ‘Fall in Love’ and Save Species With Just 300 Wild Birds Left appeared first on Good News Network.

Does Trump Face Legal Risks Just for Attending the Convention?

PolitiFact, one of the fact-checking outlets with the ability to censor your Facebook posts, and PBS, the news channel subsidized by your tax dollars, announced in a joint statement on Friday on their respective websites that they are teaming up for the remainder of the 2024 election cycle, formalizing their June 27 Debate segment.. The statement involved plenty of mutual back-patting, “As the rise of misinformation and disinformation continues, fact-based and impartial journalism is more important than ever during this historic election. Together, PBS News and PolitiFact share a mission of equipping their audiences with the information they need to discern fact from fiction and hold elected officials accountable.” It further reports “PolitiFact’s fact-checking reporting and research will appear across PBS News programming and digital platforms during major political events such as the Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention and all upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates. The news organizations will also explore opportunities to co-produce content.” PolitiFact editor-in-chief Katie Sanders gushed, “We’re excited to have PBS News as a national television and online partner. Their engaged audience is a natural fit for PolitiFact’s thoroughly researched reports and fact-checking. Working with a trusted brand like PBS News will expand the reach of our work at a time when voters are seeking out factual information to help them make decisions.”  Meanwhile, senior executive producer of NewsHour Productions and WETA senior vice president Sara Just played the democracy card, “Trust and accuracy are the coin of the realm in journalism. Efforts to erode that trust and cast doubt on media accuracy does profound damage to our democracy and we in the media are duty bound to protect and build that trust up.” She added, “By working with PolitiFact, PBS News broadcasts and our online journalism will provide transparency to the audience to appreciate how facts are assessed and evaluated by journalists, especially during our heated election season. I’m delighted that our partners at PolitiFact will help PBS News platforms reinforce the reasons to have faith in the news we provide in the public interest.” While Just tries to claim that doubting media accuracy is dangerous to democracy, the truth is just the opposite. In the 2024 election cycle alone, PolitiFact has given Nikki Haley a “half-true” rating for a completely true statement about China, picked a fight with Ron DeSantis for admiring Calvin Coolidge, shown double standards in how it labels nuanced topics, slapped “false” labels on Babylon Bee jokes about Pete Buttigieg, shown a heavy anti-GOP selection bias, taken left-wing positions on culture war issues, and routinely defends Democrats’ abortion radicalism with non-sequiturs about how rare late-term abortions are. Perhaps Sanders was right. PBS and PoltiFact are a “natural fit.”

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