Court: W. Virginia transgender sports ban discriminates against teen athlete

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that West Virginia’s transgender sports ban violates the rights of a teen athlete. The 2-1 ruling Tuesday from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law cannot be applied to Becky Pepper Jackson. She has been taking puberty-blocking medication and publicly identified as a girl since she was in the third grade. Judge Toby Heytens wrote that offering her a “choice” between not participating in sports and participating only on boys teams “is no real choice at all.” The American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter and LGBTQ interest group Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit in 2021.

Ind. sheriff’s deputy dies after coming into contact with power lines at crash scene

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (AP) — Police say a suburban Indianapolis sheriff’s deputy died after he came into contact with downed power lines at the scene of a car crash. Hendricks County Sheriff Jack Sadler says Deputy Fred Fislar came into contact late Monday with power lines knocked down by the crash after he arrived at the scene just north of Plainfield. He was taken in critical condition to an Indianapolis hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Tuesday despite life-saving measures. Police say Fislar had been with the department for two and a half years.

Company believes it found sunken barge in Ohio River near Pittsburgh

(AP) — A barge operator believes it has found a sunken barge in the Ohio River near Pittsburgh, one of 26 that broke loose and floated away during weekend flooding. Crews used sonar to locate an object in a stretch of river north of the city. Campbell Transportation Company Inc. said Tuesday it presumes the object to be its missing barge. The river remains closed to maritime traffic while the company works to salvage the runaway barges. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating how the barges got loose from their moorings late Friday, striking a bridge and smashing a pair of marinas.

House panel says China subsidizes fentanyl production to fuel crisis in the US

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional committee is accusing China of fueling the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. A report released Tuesday by a House select committee says China is directly subsidizing the manufacturing of materials used by drug traffickers to make fentanyl outside the country. Committee investigators said they accessed a government website that revealed tax rebates for the production of specific fentanyl precursors as well as other synthetic drugs as long as those companies sell them outside of China.

Coal miners are getting new protections from silica dust

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department has issued a new rule intended to protect coal miners from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory ailment known as “black lung” disease. The rule announced Tuesday cuts by half the permissible exposure limit for crystalline silica for an eight-hour shift. Mine workers, advocates and elected officials from Appalachian states pushed for the stricter rule, noting that health problems have grown in recent years as miners dig deeper o gain access to coal seams where surface deposit have long been tapped.