Free Republic

As you walk down a particular hallway on the seventh floor of the Humphrey Building in Washington, D.C., you'll find a line of photographic portraits of all the people from years past who have led the Public Health Corps at the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Only one of those portraits is of a transgender person: Adm. Rachel Levine, who served for four years as President Biden's assistant secretary for health. She was the first transgender person to win Senate confirmation, and her portrait has been displayed in the hallway since soon after she was confirmed in 2021....

After a recent change by the Trump administration, the federal government no longer explicitly prohibits contractors from having segregated restaurants, waiting rooms and drinking fountains.The segregation clause is one of several identified in a public memo issued by the General Services Administration last month, affecting all civil federal agencies. The memo explains that it is making changes prompted by President Trump's executive order on diversity, equity and inclusion, which repealed an executive order signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 regarding federal contractors and nondiscrimination. The memo also addresses Trump's executive order on gender identity.While there are still state...

A woman and two men were charged after the mayor of a small North Carolina town and his wife were found murdered in their home, police said. Dakeithia Nesha Andrews, 30, was the third person arrested in connection with the deaths of Leggett Mayor Gary Skelton and his wife, Jackie Skelton, The Charlotte Observer reported. The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday that Andrews was charged with conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon and is being held on $100,000 bond. Keith Earl Williams, 25, and Mitchell Brinson, 18, were charged with first-degree murder on Friday.