‘X’ gender marker becomes available on passports
U.S. citizens will be able to select “X” as the gender marker on their passport application instead of M or F starting Monday. In June, the State Department announced the initiation of the X gender marker and said it would mean transgender travelers would no longer have to provide medical certification if their gender identity doesn’t line up with the marker on their birth certificate or other documents. The Human Rights Campaign said more than 1.2 million nonbinary adults in the U.S., 2 million transgender people and 5.5 million people born intersex could be affected by the changes.
Austrian chancellor to meet with Putin days after speaking with Zelenskyy
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, two days after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Nehammer told the Austrian Press Agency he hopes to promote dialogue between the countries and will address Putin’s “war crimes” in Ukraine. However, Nehammer’s plans drew immediate fallout in Ukraine. The deputy mayor of Mariupol, Sergei Orlow, told the German outlet Bild that the meeting was not appropriate. “The war crimes that Russia is currently committing on Ukrainian soil are still taking place,” he said. “I don’t understand how to have a conversation with Putin at this time, how to do business with him.”
Texas DA to file a motion dismissing murder charge in ‘self-induced’ abortion case
A Texas district attorney said that he will file a motion Monday to dismiss a murder charge against a woman who was arrested in “the death of an individual by self-induced abortion.” The Starr County Sheriff’s Office arrested Lizelle Herrera, 26, on Thursday. It is unclear whether Herrera was accused of having a self-induced abortion or whether she helped someone else get an abortion, and the sheriff’s office did not say under which law Herrera was charged. “In reviewing applicable Texas law, it is clear that Ms. Herrera cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her,” County District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez wrote in a news release. In a statement to The Associated Press, the sheriff’s office wrote that Herrera was charged after “intentionally and knowingly causing the death of an individual by a self-induced abortion.”
NBA postseason seeding is set after final day of regular season
The seedings for the NBA postseason are set after the league’s regular season ended over the weekend. Teams that clinched playoff positioning on the final day of the regular season include the Boston Celtics, who secured the No. 2 in the Eastern Conference with their win Sunday. Boston’s victory also means the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks are the No. 3 seed in the East. Staying in the East, the Brooklyn Nets won their regular-season finale, claiming the No. 7 seed ahead of Atlanta Hawks. In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz all won their final games, locking all three teams into the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 seeds in the West, and placing the Denver Nuggets in the sixth spot.
Live from Nashville: The CMT Music Awards
The 2022 CMT Music Awards, country music’s only fan-voted awards show, will air live from Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium Monday night. Country star Kelsea Ballerini and Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Anthony Mackie will co-host. The show, which is making its CBS debut (streaming via Paramount+), airs at 8 p.m. ET; red carpet coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on CMT. Performers will include Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Naomi and Wynonna Judd, who will perform on stage together for the first time in two decades.
