Hanging

Route 143, Albany Township.

Conner and Brinley Snyder were found hanging from opposite ends of a plastic-coated chain that had been thrown over the main support beam of the basement ceiling, with each end of the wire wrapped around the victims’ necks, according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant for the home. There were two chairs tipped over on the floor beneath the bodies, according to court papers.

The children were hanging about 3 feet apart from each other when their mother, Lisa R. Snyder, told state police at Hamburg she found the children in the basement.

Medics from Kempton Fire Department found the children.

The children were flown to the hospital, where they were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit on full life support. The victims were in full cardiac arrest but were revived on their way to the hospital.

The children were removed from life support on Sept. 26 and were pronounced dead 14 minutes apart.

Lisa Snyder and a 17-year-old who was living in the house told troopers that Conner Snyder frequently played video games and would surf the internet using an XBox gaming console.

Police are continuing to investigate. No arrests have been made. of Appeals in Atlanta.

Skydiving instructor Donald Zarda was fired shortly after telling a woman he was preparing to take on a dive that he was gay. Zarda, who worked for Altitude Express on New York’s Long Island, said he would sometimes reveal his sexual orientation to allay concerns women might have about being strapped together during a dive.

Zarda initially lost his lawsuit, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for him. Zarda has since died.

Stephens lost her job when she told Thomas Rost, owner of the Detroit-area R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, that she had struggled with gender identity issues almost her whole life. She was planning to exchange the dark suit and tie she had worn to work for nearly six years as an embalmer and funeral director for a conservative dress or skirt that was required for women who worked for Rost.

Rost told Stephens her plan wouldn’t work and let her go. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on her behalf and, after losing in a district court, won a ruling in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.

During the Obama years, the EEOC had changed its longstanding interpretation of civil rights law to include discrimination against LGBT people. The law prohibits discrimination because of sex, but has no specific protection for sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Trump administration and the employers say Congress could easily settle the matter by amending Title 7 to include LGBT people. Legislation to that effect is pending in Congress, but is not likely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.

But the workers contend, and the lower courts that have ruled for them have reasoned, that the law as it stands plainly covers sexual orientation and gender identity because discrimination against them is based on generalizations about sex that have nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs.

They also argue that they were fired for not conforming to sex stereotypes, a form of sex discrimination that the Supreme Court recognized 30 years ago.

RON DEVLIN - MEDIANEWS GROUP A state police vehicle is parked in front of the Albany Township home where two young children were found unconscious. Police are now saying the boy, 8, and his sister, 4, were found hanging in the basement by their mother.