News in brief
By The Associated Press
Top EU leaders will boycott meetings hosted by Hungary’s Orbán
BUDAPEST, Hungary | Top officials of the European Union will boycott informal meetings hosted by Hungary while the country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, after Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán held a series of rogue meetings with foreign leaders about Ukraine that angered his European partners.
The highly unusual decision to have the European Commission president and other top officials of the body boycott the meetings in Budapest was made ‘’in light of recent developments marking the start of the Hungarian (EU) presidency,” commission spokesperson Eric Mamer posted Monday on X.
California bans school rules requiring parental notifications over pronoun changes
SACRAMENTO, Calif. | California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law barring school districts from passing policies requiring schools to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification.
The law bans rules requiring school staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission.
Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ+ students who live in unwelcoming households. But opponents say it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents. It comes amid a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ+ students.
New York
county’s latest trans athlete ban draws lawsuits
MINEOLA, N.Y. | The New York attorney general and the New York Civil Liberties Union have sued a county on Long Island over its latest attempt to ban transgender females from playing on women’s sports teams at county facilities.
The separate lawsuits were filed Monday. They came on the same day Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, signed the policy into law, and months after a judge blocked a similar rule Blakeman put in place through an executive order. Both cases argue the ban violates state anti-discrimination laws.
Blakeman said he was disappointed to learn of the lawsuits.
Two suspected Houthi attacks strike ships in
the Red Sea
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Two suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea, as a new U.S. aircraft carrier approached the region to provide security for the key international trade route that has been under assault since the Israel-Hamas war erupted nine months ago.
The captain of the first targeted ship reported being attacked Monday by three small vessels as well as two separate waves of missile attacks that exploded in close proximity to the vessel. Later on Monday, in a separate incident, a vessel reported being attacked by a suspected uncrewed Houthi aerial vehicle.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says that both vessels and all crew are safe.
—From AP reports
