Texas judge halts 2 transgender child abuse probes
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge on Friday temporarily halted the state’s child abuse investigations into two families with transgender children, agreeing they faced immediate harm.
Travis County District Court Judge Jan Soifer granted the families’ requests for a temporary restraining order after a virtual court hearing that lasted less than an hour. In a meaningful move, the families’ lawyers said the order extends to all members of the nonprofit advocacy group for allies of LGBTQ people known as PFLAG.
Friday’s decision marks another temporary, albiet meaningful, win for transgender Texans since the state began to investigate gender-affirming care for minors as abuse earlier this year. A fourth investigation into a family with a trans teen, being litigated in a separate case, was put on hold by another judge last month and doctors at a hospital in Dallas recently won the ability to restart some treatments for new trans youth seeking gender-affirming medical care after major changes to their program in November.
The state has opened at least nine probes into families with transgender children since late February.
—The Dallas Morning News
Extreme heat cuts short UC Davis graduation
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The University of California, Davis graduation ceremony was abruptly cut short Friday morning after extreme heat left six people hospitalized.
At 10:56 a.m. Pacific time, UC Davis posted a message on Twitter that those who had already crossed the stage were encouraged to leave with their families due to “extremely hot” temperatures.
Shortly thereafter, an announcement was made in the stadium telling all graduates to clear the field, and announcing that the ceremony would be halting.
“We believe we have reached dangerous conditions,” the announcement, which can be heard in the graduation’s livestream, said. “We would like to honor our graduates that have not made it to the field, but in the interest of public safety we ask you to leave the field.”
The announcement was made about three hours into the ceremony, and just over one hour after graduates began to cross the stage.
In a news release Friday afternoon, the university invited students who did not get a chance to walk to attend a separate ceremony Sunday with their families.
—The Sacramento Bee
Hong Kong school asks kids to isolate before Xi visit
In the latest sign that China President Xi Jinping will soon be making his first trip outside of the mainland in years, a Hong Kong school is asking some of its students to undergo a week-long hotel quarantine to greet visiting dignitaries for the city’s 25th anniversary of the city’s handover to China on July 1.
The HKFEW Wong Cho Bau School informed parents on Thursday that its primary students had been invited to “rare honorable missions” that include attending a ceremony on June 30 to welcome unidentified visitors at the airport, as well as an event the following day to send them off, according to a copy of the notice seen by Bloomberg. Meals, transportation and quarantine expenses will be paid by the Hong Kong government, according to the note.
Vice Principal Chan Lai-ha confirmed the authenticity of the notice and said students will be accompanied by teachers to undergo hotel quarantine from June 23 and isolated students will attend classes via Zoom. Chan didn’t say how many students signed up and said she didn’t know who the students will be greeting at the airport.
—Bloomberg News
Bad weather causing Sriracha shortage, exec says
Huy Fong Foods, makers of the Sriracha hot sauce with the iconic green cap and the rooster on the bottle, is warning of a shortage of its popular condiment this summer. That shortage can be attributed to weather conditions in a single region of Mexico, according to Donna Lam, executive operations officer for the company.
"It's a crop thing and something that we can't predict," Lam told The Times on Thursday. "It's been happening since last year and this year is a lot worse, and that's what put us back."
In a sign of how closely guarded and competitive the overall market is for Sriracha and Sriracha-like sauces, Lam declined to specify what region of Mexico is involved, or the name of the supplier. Still, the new information helps illuminate the state of panic sparked this week after word of the looming shortage spread to the public.
Huy Fong Foods goes through about 50,000 tons of chiles a year, used to make its Sriracha, chile-garlic sauce and a sambal oelek. Lam said the Irwindale-based company sources chiles from multiple suppliers in different regions of Mexico, but she declined to specify them. The chiles are grown during fall and spring seasons.
The letter informed customers that the company would not be accepting any new orders until September and that customers who placed orders after April would be fulfilled after Labor Day.
—Los Angeles Times
