US supreme court upholds Tennessee ban on youth gender-affirming care

A Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors can stand, the US supreme court has ruled, a devastating loss for trans rights supporters in a case that could set a precedent for dozens of other lawsuits involving the rights of transgender children.The case, United States v Skrmetti, was filed last year by three families of trans children and a provider of gender-affirming care. In oral arguments, the plaintiffs – as well as the US government, then helmed by Joe Biden – argued that Tennessee’s law constituted sex-based discrimination and thus violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Under Tennessee’s law, someone assigned female at birth could not be prescribed testosterone, but someone assigned male at birth could receive those drugs.Tennessee, meanwhile, has argued that the ban is necessary to protect children from what it termed “experimental” medical treatment

UK politicians propose ban on pimping websites

A ban on pimping websites has been proposed by MPs, as part of measures designed to rewrite legislation regulating the sexual exploitation of women.Campaigners say ordering a woman to be sexually exploited has become as straightforward as ordering a takeaway online, with the proliferation of websites that allow buyers to browse images and videos of women, and refine their search by postcode.A group of 59 cross-party MPs have signed an amendment to the crime and policing bill, to be debated on Wednesday, which would make it a criminal offence to “enable or profit from the prostitution of another person, including by operating a website hosting adverts for prostitution”.The all-party parliamentary group on commercial sexual exploitation has published research saying that the ease and speed with which pimps and traffickers can now advertise their victims to potential customers has “turbo-charged the sex trafficking trade”.The committee has warned that regulation of the sex trade has not kept pace with technological developments

Over half of English councils face insolvency under £5bn deficit, MPs warn

Councils in England face being overwhelmed by billions of pounds in debts and reforms that are divorced from reality, according to an influential committee of MPs.In its inquiry into local government finances, the public accounts committee (PAC) told the Treasury and other departments to urgently address the estimated £5bn deficit on high needs spending – mainly on special educational needs – that will hit council balance sheets at the end of the financial year, potentially driving many insolvent.Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the PAC’s chair, said: “Our inquiry heard that the government is concerned about local authority finances. But the lack of urgent action to come forward with a plan to address the fast-approaching cliff edge for under-pressure authorities would seem to suggest it is comfortable with the current state of affairs as normalised background noise.“Alarmingly, scrutiny of council finances can now provoke a sense of deja vu, with the same unfixed issues seen over and over

Overseas-trained dentists working in McDonald’s as millions lack NHS care

Overseas-trained dentists are working in McDonald’s and other takeaways in the UK even though millions of patients are finding it impossible to get NHS dental care.The disclosure comes in a new report being sent to MPs on Wednesday, which urges ministers to slash bureaucracy stopping dentists from abroad plugging the huge gaps in NHS dental care.The main obstacle they face is securing a place to take the exams needed to work in the UK, a process so difficult some liken it to obtaining a ticket to see Taylor Swift.As a result fully qualified dentists from countries such as India, Egypt and Albania are spending months or even years at a time working in fast food cafes, according to the Association of Dental Groups (ADG).The ADG, which represents major dental providers, demanded an urgent overhaul of the two-part overseas registration examination (ORE) to avoid “an unacceptable waste” of foreign dentists’ skills

Cannabis use could double risk of heart deaths, study suggests

Cannabis use may double the risk of dying from heart disease and increase the risk of stroke by 20%, according to a global review of data.The number of people using cannabis and cannabinoids has soared over the past decade. While previous studies have linked cannabis use to cardiovascular problems, the scale of the risk has until now not been clear.This is an important gap in light of major changes in consumption, researchers at the University of Toulouse in France said.To strengthen the evidence base, they searched databases looking for large observational studies, published between 2016 and 2023, which explored cannabis use and cardiovascular outcomes

Two mothers denied ‘rape clause’ exception to benefit cap discriminated against, UK court told

Two mothers who conceived children while in physically abusive relationships have been discriminated against after being denied access to benefits, a court has been told.The women launched a challenge against the universal credit system after being denied an exception to the two-child cap.The cap typically has exceptions, one of which is the “rape clause”, which means that a child conceived through sexual assault will still be covered by benefits.On Tuesday, however, Leeds administrative court was told that this rule only applies to third or subsequent children, meaning that some woman are unable to claim an exception if their first two children were conceived non-consensually.Karon Monaghan KC, representing the women, who can be identified only as LMN and EFG, said the pair conceived their children when they were in their teens and vulnerable