Page 6 - 7-17-15 Friday's Edition

Presidential News
Pentagon Plans To Lift Transgender Ban
President Obama Picks Tampa For Internet Access For Low-Income Children
Tampa has been selected as one of 28 communities na- tionwide to participate in a public-private partnership de- signed in part to provide In- ternet access for children in low-income households to use when they return home from school.
Cities throughout the nation submitted proposals to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for ac- ceptance into the pilot pro- gram, called ConnectHome. The Tampa Housing Authority submitted the proposal for Tampa.
President Barack Obama announced the win- ners Wednesday.
Many details still must be worked out, such as who can take part in the program. No federal money will be in- volved.
In Tampa, 1,420 households
President Obama
with children will be served through the program — an es- timated 2,967 kids.
Organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the American Library Association and The College Board will help provide families in Tampa with broadband access and free educational tools like college prep and early learning tools.
Children from low-income homes will now have access to the internet.
Sprint will be the main In- ternet provider in Tampa, supplying free high-speed wireless broadband service to students from approved pub- lic housing units for four years. Partners involved and the services they provide will vary among the 28 communi- ties.
It is believed that approximately 15,000 soldiers are transgen- der.
The Pentagon is examining the implications of allowing transgender people to openly serve in the military, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday.
A Defense Department working group will over the next six months study the pol- icy and readiness implications of the move. The panel will start with the presumption that transgender people can serve openly without adverse impact on military effective- ness and readiness, Carter said, "unless and except where objective, practical impedi- ments are identified."
Carter also directed that administrative discharges for those diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who identify themselves as transgender be sent to Brad Carson, acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Car-
son will also lead the working group.
"Some estimates put the number of transgender people in the military at 15,000. Yet much like gays and lesbians under the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, which was lifted in 2011, the current rules have forced transgender people into a precarious existence in the ranks. The lucky ones have su- periors who look the other way; the less fortunate must keep their transgender status a secret, leaving themselves open to harassment or expul- sion if their colleagues found out the truth."
Although the military has a ban on transgender person- nel, some transgender service members have Several law- makers have also pushed for the military rules on transgen- der service members to be rewritten.
President Says There Is ‘No Precedent’ To Revoke Medal From Bill Cosby
President Obama said he cannot revoke embattled actor and comedian Bill Cosby's Presidential Medal of Free- dom, despite calls for the President to take it back after allegations that Cosby al- legedly had sex with women after drugging them.
"There's no precedent for re- voking a medal. We don't have that mechanism," the Presi- dent said in a news conference this afternoon.
While he would not com- ment on the specifics of ongo- ing criminal or civil cases, the president said rape is not tol-
erable.
"If you give a woman or a
man for that matter without his or her knowledge a drug and then have sex with that person without consent, that's rape," the President said. "I think this country, any civi- lized country should have no tolerance for rape."
Another Historic Moment For President Obama! Deal With Iran Reached
The United States and five of its allies have reached a his- toric agreement with Iran over its nuclear program.
The deal puts restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and also sets up an inspections regime that aims to make sure Iran is meeting its obligations. In exchange, the U.S. and its European partners have agreed to drop tough sanctions on Iran, allowing them to sell more oil and rejoin interna- tional financial systems.
President Obama hailed the Iran nuclear agreement as a diplomatic landmark Tues- day, saying it will block Tehran's path to a nuclear weapon and promote stability throughout the region.
If Congress, which has 60 days to review the deal, tries to block the agreement, Presi- dent Obama said he will veto it.
"Because America negoti- ated from a position of strength and principle, we have stopped the spread of nu- clear weapons in this region," the President said in the White House East Room with Vice President Biden beside him.
"Every path to a nuclear weapon has been cut off," he
President Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden, de- livers a statement about the nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major world powers during an address from the White House on Tuesday.
added, saying the deal is not just built on trust but "on ver- ification.
"We are stronger not when we are alone, but when we bring the world together," the President said.
Throughout his remarks, President Obama ad- dressed the concerns of those opposed to the deal, primarily Israel and the Sunni Muslim states of the Persian Gulf. No deal, President Obama said, would further endanger all na- tions. "This deal offers an op- portunity to move in a new direction,” President Obama said. "We should seek it."
Despite President Obama’s words, Republicans began taking aim at the Iran deal even before diplomats signed the papers.
Republican critics echoed Israeli officials who have also denounced the agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Ben- jamin Netanyahu, who spoke before Congress a few months ago, on the invitation of Republican House Majority leader, John Boehner, and to- tally disrespected President Obama spoke early Tuesday, called the agreement a "bad mistake of historic propor- tions" and said that "Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons."
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