MILITARY TAKEN OFF WHITE HOUSE POSTS AMID FEDERAL PROBE
Three members of the military have been reassigned from their White House jobs amid allegations that they had improper contact with foreign women while traveling with President Trump on his recent trip to Asia, according to officials familiar with the situation.
The service members all worked for the White House Communications Agency, a specialized military unit that helps provide the president, vice president, Secret Service and other officials with secure communications.
The military is scrutinizing three Army sergeants who allegedly broke curfew during Trump’s trip to Vietnam this month, officials said.
Mark Wright, a spokesman for the Defense Department, confirmed that the Pentagon is examining the behavior of personnel during the visit to Vietnam.
The episode comes after four members of the military on the same White House team faced allegations related to their behavior during a trip to Panama in August with Vice President Pence. Those men — two from the Army and two from the Air Force — stood accused of taking foreign women after hours into a secure area as they were preparing for Pence’s arrival, officials said.
Second U.S. judge halts proposed transgender military ban.
BALTIMORE»
Another federal judge has halted a proposed transgender military ban, expanding on an initial ruling issued last month against the plan by President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a preliminary injunction issued Tuesday in Baltimore, U.S. District Judge Marvin Garbis ruled that transgender service members have “demonstrated that they are already suffering harmful consequences” because of the proposed ban, including threat of discharge, stigma and the cancellation or delay of surgeries related to their gender transitions. The six plaintiffs in the lawsuit he reviewed have all been receiving hormone therapy.
Trump had announced on Twitter in July that the government would not allow transgender individuals to serve in the military in any capacity. The order was a proposed reinstatement of a longstanding policy that barred transgender people from joining the military and also subjected service members to discharge if they were revealed to be transgender. That policy was changed last year under President Barack Obama.
Self-harm, suicide attempts climb among U.S. girls, study says.
CHICAGO»
Attempted suicides, drug overdoses, cutting and other types of self-injury have increased substantially in U.S. girls, a 15-year study of emergency room visits found. It’s unclear why, but some mental-health experts think cyberbullying, substance abuse and economic stress from the recent recession might be contributing.
The rising rates “should be of concern to parents, teachers, and pediatricians. One important reason to focus on reducing self-harm is that it is key risk factor for suicide,” said Dr. Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor who was not involved in the study.
The sharpest increase occurred among girls ages 10 to 14, nearly tripling from 2009 to 2015, from about 110 visits per 100,000 to almost 318 per 100,000.
Older teen girls had the highest rates — 633 visits per 100,000 in 2015.
Group calls for Indonesian forces to stop virginity tests.
JAKARTA,
INDONESIA» Indonesia’s military and police continue to perform abusive virginity tests on female recruits three years after the World Health Organization declared they had no scientific validity, an international human rights group said Wednesday. Human Rights Watch said senior Indonesian police and military officers have told it that security forces still impose the “cruel and discriminatory tests,” which are carried out under the guise of psychological examinations for mental health and morality reasons.
“The Indonesian government’s continuing tolerance for abusive ‘virginity tests’ by the security forces reflects an appalling lack of political will to protect the rights of Indonesian women,” said Nisha Varia, women’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.