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Saturday

Friday

A National Park Service ranger places rainbow flags on the fence at the Stonewall National Monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on June 19, 2019.

A National Park Service ranger places rainbow flags on the fence at the Stonewall National Monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on June 19, 2019. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

National

Park Service erases 'transgender' on Stonewall website, uses the term 'LGB' movement

The website deleted all mentions of "transgender" and "queer" in its history of the Stonewall riots, and only referred to the riots' impact on lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

Friday

President Trump holds up the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order after signing it in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5. It became the latest in a series of executive orders focused on transgender rights, many of which also center on curbing "gender ideology."

President Trump holds up the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order after signing it in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5. It became the latest in a series of executive orders focused on transgender rights, many of which also center on curbing "gender ideology." Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

Politics

Trump's executive actions curbing transgender rights focus on 'gender ideology'

President Trump signed a series of executive actions that would limit transgender and nonbinary people's rights by focusing on "gender ideology." But the term is loaded, without a universal definition.

Trump signs order to ban trans women from sports in schools that get federal funding

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Friday

Tuesday

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is shown at his confirmation hearing wearing a blue jacket and red tie.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has 30 days to present a plan on how to implement President Trump's executive order on transgender people in the military. Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military

The executive order speaks of transgender identity in sweeping and dismissive terms and sets the stage for a policy that is more restrictive and punitive than the ban from Trump's first term.

Monday

Admiral Rachel L. Levine is a trans woman in her mid 60s. She has glasses and gray hair pulled back from her face. She is wearing a uniform with many gold stripes on the sleeves indicating her high rank.

Admiral Rachel L. Levine, a pediatrician by training, has been leading the Public Health Service during the Biden administration. She's pictured in a conference room at HHS headquarters in Washington, D.C. Maansi Srivastava for NPR hide caption

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Maansi Srivastava for NPR

Shots - Health News

Dr. Rachel Levine focused on her job at HHS. Still, anti-trans politics followed her

Dr. Rachel Levine is the highest ranking, out transgender person ever to serve in the federal government. Her tenure at HHS ran concurrent with an explosion in state legislation targeting transgender people.

Dr. Rachel Levine focused on her job at HHS. Still, anti-trans politics followed her

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Wednesday

Rep. Zooey Zephyr talks to reporters at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., in 2023.

Openly transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr, pictured at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., in 2023, was reelected last month. This week, her colleagues debated a rule that would have blocked her from the women's restroom at the Capitol. Tommy Martino/AP hide caption

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Tommy Martino/AP

National

Montana lawmakers cross the aisle to block a trans bathroom ban in the state capitol

Some Republicans joined Democrats in rejecting the measure, which would have restricted bathroom access. Rep. Zooey Zephyr, Montana's first openly transgender legislator, won a second term last month.

Saturday

Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally in Atlanta on Oct. 15. With the election in its closing weeks, Trump and other Republican candidates have been focusing many of their campaign ads around the issue of transgender rights.

Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally in Atlanta on Oct. 15. With the election in its closing weeks, Trump and other Republican candidates have been focusing many of their campaign ads around the issue of transgender rights. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Politics

GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves in the election's closing days

The ad spending, which includes at least $17 million by the Trump campaign, is part of a broader Republican strategy casting the Democratic Party as taking transgender rights to extremes.

Anti-Trans Campaign Ads

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Friday

Veronica, 17, is a teen with long, straight red hair, wearing a camisole top, jeans and necklaces. She's sitting cross-legged on a medical exam table, smiling.

Veronica, 17, drove with her mother nearly four hours from her home in Iowa to visit a doctor in Minneapolis in September. Iowa banned gender-affirming care for youth in March 2023.
Selena Simmons-Duffin/NPR hide caption

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Selena Simmons-Duffin/NPR

Shots - Health News

Her state bans gender-affirming care for teenagers. So she travels 450 miles for it

An estimated 110,000 trans teenagers live in states that ban gender-affirming care for minors. Some travel huge distances every few months to keep getting their treatment out-of-state.

Trans Youth Road Trip

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Wednesday

Area chart showing the number of states with laws that limit youth access to gender-affirming care. The number increases dramatically in 2023 — from three states to 22 states — and ends with 25 states in June of 2024.
Hilary Fung/NPR

Shots - Health News

In just a few years, half of all states passed bans on trans health care for kids

The Supreme Court will hear a case on gender-affirming care in the next term after a flurry of legislation. Lower courts have come to conflicting conclusions when these bans were challenged.

In just a few years, half of all states passed bans on trans health care for kids

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Saturday

Kansas governor vetoes proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks about the necessity to expand Medicaid in the state during a rally on March 6 in Topeka. Kelly on Friday vetoed a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP hide caption

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Evert Nelson/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP

National

Kansas governor vetoes proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly also vetoed a measure to require more reporting from abortion providers and what she called a "vague" bill making it a crime to coerce someone into having an abortion.

Sunday

Friday

Up First from NPR

Tennessee House Vote, Leaked Ukraine War Documents, Biden Transgender Proposal

Republican controlled Tennessee House expelled two Democratic members over protests for tighter gun control. Classified war documents detailing secret U.S. and NATO plans for the Ukrainian military have leaked on social media platforms. And the Biden administration proposed a rule that would forbid schools from broadly banning transgender students from sports teams that align with their gender identity

Tennessee House Vote, Leaked Ukraine War Documents, Biden Transgender Proposal

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Thursday

Alabama Legislature votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth

Rep. Wes Allen, sponsor of the House version of the bill, speaks during debate at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery on Thursday. Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP hide caption

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Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP

Efforts to restrict rights for LGBTQ youth

Alabama Legislature votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth

State lawmakers also passed a separate measure prohibiting early classroom instruction on sexual and gender identity, a bill critics have dubbed "Don't Say Gay."

Friday

Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite governor's veto

State Rep. Kera Birkeland, a Republican high school basketball coach who led Utah's efforts to ban transgender girls from youth sports, addresses a crowd of supporters on the steps of the Utah State Capitol on Friday in Salt Lake City. Samuel Metz/AP hide caption

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Samuel Metz/AP

Efforts to restrict rights for LGBTQ youth

Utah bans transgender athletes in girls sports despite governor's veto

Lawmakers voted to override GOP Gov. Spencer Cox's veto of legislation banning transgender youth athletes from playing on girls teams. The move comes amid a nationwide culture war over trans issues.