Latest news with #ChristineClarridge
Axios
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Survey: Most Americans support protections for LGBTQ+ people
Three-quarters of Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, but remain divided over support for laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors, according to a Public Religion Research Institute survey out Tuesday. Why it matters: President Trump made attacks against trans people a central part of his campaign — and many of his earliest actions in office have targeted or rolled back protections for trans Americans. By the numbers: 89% of Democrats, 62% of Republicans and 78% of independents support nondiscrimination protections in housing, employment and public accommodation for LGBTQ+ people, according to the PRRI survey. Americans are largely divided along partisan lines over laws restricting gender-affirming care for minors, according to the survey. 70% of Democrats oppose laws that would ban parents from allowing their child to receive gender-affirming care, compared to 30% of Republicans. A slightly smaller share of Democrats, 60%, oppose laws that require a person's driver's license or ID to match their sex assigned at birth. 14% of Republicans oppose such laws. Reality check: Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association, consider gender-affirming care medically necessary and lifesaving. Zoom in: Most states still allow transgender people to update their gender marker on their birth certificates or IDs. But a day one Trump executive order stating the federal government would only recognize two genders, male and female, has sparked confusion at the state-level over individuals' wanting to update their passport to ensure it matches their gender identity, Axios' Christine Clarridge reports from Seattle. What they're saying: "Support for LGBTQ rights, including marriage equality and non-discrimination protections, have largely stabilized after some modest declines last year, with strong majorities — including majorities of most people of faith — supporting such policies," PRRI CEO Melissa Deckman said in a news release. "Americans are more divided on the rights of transgender Americans, however, largely polarized along partisan lines," Deckman said. The big picture: Trump's allies across the government are also passing policies targeting trans Americans, including as recently as last week when the Pentagon moved to ban transgender service members unless they receive a waiver. On his first day in office, Trump also rescinded some Biden-era orders that in part provided nondiscrimination protections in health care and schools for LGBTQ people, according to KFF. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under the second Trump administration has also moved to stop enforcing — or dismiss entirely — nondiscrimination cases and protections for LGBTQ+ people in the workforce. Methodology: The PRRI survey was conducted online between March 13 and Dec. 2, 2024. It is based on a random sample of 22,260 adults in all 50 states. Among those, 20,642 are part of Ipsos's KnowledgePanel and an additional 1,618 were recruited by Ipsos using opt-in survey panels, per PRRI. The margin of error for the national survey is +/- 0.84 percentage points at the 95% level of confidence, Go deeper: All of the anti-trans executive orders Trump has signed
Axios
03-03-2025
- Science
- Axios
How to see 7 planets align in "great planetary parade" Friday
Look to the sky Friday night for the rare chance to see seven planets lined up. The big picture: Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Mars will appear together in a "planetary alignment" or "parade of planets" shortly after sunset Friday, according to the astronomy website and app Star Walk. Feb. 28 is considered the best day to see the alignment worldwide. What is a planetary parade? Zoom in: A planetary alignment is when planets appear close together. There are different kinds of planetary alignments, according to Star Walk. Mini alignments include three planets, small alignments four planets and large alignments have five or six planets, according to Star Walk. A great or full planetary alignment, which is extremely rare, includes all planets. What time will the planets align tonight? To see the seven-planet alignment, find a place with a dark sky without light pollution and with a clear view of the horizon. Sunset times vary and can be calculated using the Sun calculator at The best time to starting to look for the planets is about half an hour after sunset, experts advise. How to see the planetary alignment What we're watching: Four planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter — will be visible to the naked eye. Start looking below the horizon after sunset, Star Walk says. To see Uranus and Neptune you'll need to use a telescope after it gets dark, Preston Dyches, a public engagement specialist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told NPR. NASA says Mercury and Saturn " will be too low and faint for most observers to spot." Zoom out: What makes this celestial event special is that the planets will be in roughly the same region of the sky during the dark sky phase of a new Moon, Axios' Christine Clarridge reports. This offers a better chance for visibility. Weather and cloud conditions can impact the ability to see the planets. Between the lines: There will be more chances to see multiple planets in March, per EarthSky. Total lunar eclipse coming in March What's next: A total lunar eclipse — when the Moon will pass into Earth's shadow and appear to turn red — is coming. NASA says it'll happen on the night of March 13 or early in the morning on March 14, depending on time zone. More from Axios: Economic blackout targets retailers from Amazon to Walmart Exclusive: Target to open Warby Parker shops in some stores Tooth fairy payouts drop to lowest rate in years
