Kaiser Pauses Under-19 Gender-Affirming Surgeries Amid Federal Scrutiny

Kaiser Permanente will halt gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 effective August 29, citing federal pressure and recent regulatory inquiries. All other gender-affirming treatments remain available as the health system consults with clinicians, families and regulators to chart a responsible path forward.

State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) decried the move as a "straight up denial of care," warning that federal actions—including an executive order, CMS investigations and a DOJ subpoena—threaten to restrict access for transgender youth.

London Trans Pride recorded a record turnout of around 100,000 people, surpassing last year's attendance by roughly 40,000, making it the largest Trans Pride march on record.

The increase comes in the wake of an April UK Supreme Court ruling that clarified the definitions of "woman" and "sex" under the Equality Act 2010, a decision that community groups fear may fuel discrimination and vigilantism against trans individuals in public spaces.

Organisers and speakers highlighted the event's role as a unifying statement of rights and dignity, urging continued legal safeguards for gender identity protections.

Birte Pfleger, whose mother was killed and father wounded in a 1994 robbery by Thongxay Nilakout, has spoken out after Nilakout's deportation from the US to South Sudan. She argues that the man who murdered her mother was denied notice and the opportunity to seek protection, in violation of constitutional due process.

• Nilakout, now 48, was released on parole in 2022 and caught in a Trump-era deportation sweep.


• A 7–2 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way to deport him without prior hearings or assurances of safety.

Pfleger warns that stripping due process sets a dangerous precedent for all migrants.

Under a Trump administration directive, the National Park Service has removed interpretive signage at Muir Woods National Monument that acknowledged women's club activism and the racist ideologies of prominent conservation figures. The signs, installed in 2021 as part of the NPS "History Under Construction" initiative, had highlighted The California Club's campaign to protect the old-growth redwood forest and flagged William Kent's anti-Asian policies and Gifford Pinchot's eugenicist affiliations.

A secretarial order from the Department of Interior, implementing the executive order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," called for removing content that "inappropriately disparages Americans." NPS spokesperson Joshua Winchell said staff will review all park signage and public feedback as the agency grapples with the administration's broader effort to reshape national monument narratives.

Sixteen Texas families have filed suit to block Senate Bill 10, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed this summer, requiring all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments in a poster or framed copy.

Opponents—from Muslim rising senior Azeemah Sadiq to Houston rabbi Joshua Fixler—argue the law infringes on parental authority, excludes non-Christians and reflects Christian nationalist aims.

A U.S. district court in San Antonio will hear motions next month as religious-freedom advocates, led by the ACLU, push to keep Texas schools secular.