Texas House candidate Shelley Luther says she’s not comfortable with trans children
A candidate for the Texas House of Representatives said during a forum last week that transgender kids make her uncomfortable. She also complained that other children are not allowed to make fun of them.
Former Spanish teacher Shelley Luther was recorded saying that she’s not “comfortable with the transgenders,” more specifically with “the kids that they brought in my classroom and said that this kid is transgendering into a different sex.”
Luther, a “true Christian conservative Republican (who) has the courage to stand up against the liberal agenda,” sounded frustrated because “I couldn’t have kids laugh at them.”
After a brief pause, she continued saying that “other kids got in trouble for having transgender kids my class,” explaining the reason she supports “school choice,” a program that provides alternatives to parents or legal guardians who don’t wish to send their children to the local public schools to which they are assigned.
A clip of the event was posted on Twitter by the Houston Chronicle.
—New York Daily News
Michigan's Ambassador Bridge remains closed into Canada
DETROIT — Traffic from the U.S. to Canada via the Ambassador Bridge remained blocked Wednesday morning, more than 36 hours after the bridge was completely closed due to a protest by Canadian truck drivers.
The Ambassador Bridge reopened to some U.S.-bound traffic early Tuesday morning and fully opened Tuesday afternoon, Windsor police said.
The protest against COVID-19 mandates and restrictions in Canada spread Monday across the Canadian border with the U.S., sparking traffic delays. The traffic-blocking convoy was the first sign demonstrations could affect the United States.
Many drivers opted for the Blue Water Bridge, which experienced backups because of the heavy traffic. Traffic cameras showed trucks backed up for miles.
The lack of traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, touted as the nation's busiest international border crossing, sparked concern among transportation leaders about the impact amid COVID-led supply chain and staffing shortages on Michigan businesses relying on transported goods.
"Any delay or disruption in the supply chain creates problems, not just for agriculture but the state economy," said Chuck Lippstreu, president of the Michigan Agri-Business Association, which represents businesses that support farmers, early in the closure.
—The Detroit News
Rural, conservative version of 'Souls to the Polls' launched in Georgia
ATLANTA — A group of Republicans is working to spread Sunday voting hours throughout Georgia, an effort that copies "Souls to the Polls" events by Black churches.
The new program will ask rural county governments to offer Sunday voting and coordinate group voting after services.
"This really is about giving everyone access," said state Rep. Matt Dubnik, a Republican from Gainesville. "We have folks out there working five, six, seven days a week that have families, that have other obligations" during weekday voting hours.
The rural voting drive, called "Patriotic Souls to the Polls," was launched Tuesday at the Georgia Capitol by Look Ahead America, a conservative voter mobilization group; Turning Point Faith, a conservative Christian organization, and three Republican state representatives.
Georgia's voting law, Senate Bill 202, kept Sundays as optional voting days during three weeks of early voting. County election offices can decide whether to open voting locations on as many as two Sundays.
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Main suspect in 2015 Paris attacks trial says he did not kill anyone
PARIS — The main defendant in the November 2015 Paris attacks trial has justified the carnage that left over 130 people dead as a response to French military action against Islamic State in Syria, but said he did not kill anyone.
Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving member of the Islamic State terrorist cell that struck Paris that Friday night with shootings and bomb blasts, said the military had killed civilians during its operations, therefore he had grounds to kill members of the French public.
It was the first time the 32-year-old had undergone questioning in court since the trial opened in September, and he willingly provided answers for several hours.
The judge, trying to fathom the motivation for the attacks, asked him: "Do you really believe that this will change French politics?"
Abdeslam failed to give a clear answer to the judge. But he said that his cell attacked restaurants, cafés, the Bataclan concert hall and the national stadium because the members lacked the aircraft and equipment to respond militarily to French targets in Syria.
Abdeslam was said to have have possessed an explosive belt but did not detonate it during the onslaught. He instead threw it away in a suburb where it was later found.
—dpa
