Inclusive health care for trans patients, infrastructure bill signed: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Inclusive health care for trans patients is essential and can be hard to find
Paste BN Digital Editor Fellow Cady Stanton considers. Plus, White House correspondent Joey Garrison looks at what states and cities can expect from the new infrastructure bill, the jury begins deliberating in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Green Bay Packers hold a stock sale and Tueday means lots of great new book releases.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 16th of November 2021. Today, inclusive healthcare for transgender patients. Plus what states and cities can expect from the new infrastructure bill. And more.
Here are some of the top headlines.
- President Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping met virtually yesterday. Biden brought up human rights concerns among other issues as the two countries continued to have an icy relationship.
- Nearly 300 people trapped overnight in their vehicles by mudslides on a British Columbia highway were flown to safety yesterday. Hundreds of additional people are still trapped due to road closures in the Canadian province.
- And former MLB shortstop Julio Lugo has died. The baseball player had an apparent heart attack in his native Dominican Republic. He was 45.
For transgender patients, inclusive healthcare is essential, but can be hard to find. Paste BN digital editor fellow Cady Stanton has more.
Cady Stanton:
For the trans community, especially since the Affordable Care Act where insurance companies were able to cover more transforming procedures for the trans community, the number of doctors and providers who can provide those services to patients doesn't match the demand. There's far too few of those providers who not only can provide those services, but also who have the cultural competency to be able to provide them in an affirmative and equitable way. So for example, for a lot of trans patients who want to go to the doctor, whether it's for trans-affirming procedures or just for regular doctor's appointments - say flu shots, check ups - they'll walk into the doctor's office and be misgendered or dead named, (called by their name from before their transition). And as a result, it also leads to a lot of trans individuals being fearful of going to the doctor and delaying very important care.
So part of the article was based on the timing of trans awareness week, which started this past Saturday and runs through the week. And the focus of that week is to raise visibility about the trans community and address issues faced by trans individuals. And a huge part of that week is also celebrating accomplishments within the community and advances like you talked about progress. So in talking to providers about the progress that's being made in providing really affirmative and equitable care, it's also important to underscore the joy that can come out of really good care and the joy in transitioning. It's obviously a somewhat stressful and nerve-wracking process to try to find that care. But when you find it, it can be really life changing for a lot of patients, is something I learned by talking both to trans patients and providers.
Taylor Wilson:
It's transgender awareness week and we have lots of coverage across Paste BN. That includes a piece about how the stalled Equality Act is leaving the LGBTQ community to fend for themselves. Or you can read about young trans people who are thriving around the country, just search trans awareness week on usatoday.com.
President Joe Biden has officially signed into law the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package.
President Joe Biden:
The world has changed and we have to be ready. My fellow Americans today, I want you to know, we hear you and we see you. The bill I'm about to sign into law is proof that despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results.
Taylor Wilson:
The legislation covers nearly every facet of American infrastructure. It tackles public transportation, roads, bridges, ports, railways, power grids, broadband internet and the water systems. The package includes $550 billion in new spending and $650 billion reallocated from already existing projects and funds. It's both a rare bipartisan win on the issue and also one that spans from the local to state and national levels. And governors and mayors are getting ready to compete for their slice of the pie. White House correspondent Joey Garrison has more on what states and cities can expect.
Joey Garrison:
Well, really for months, an anticipation for this finally becoming law, this infrastructure bill, mayors and governors have started doing legwork behind the scenes in order to put their communities in position to get a lot of these funds. Really they've been promised a infrastructure package for a number of years. And so for a lot of local communities they already have various grant, proposals already drafted. They've already identified projects. So really, you're kind of in this instance where states and cities have done quite a bit more than maybe you would on other significant federal bills. Now from the White House's in, they now face pressure to show that government can actually work and that they can deliver. It's one thing to pass this bill, but they are going to have to actually get these projects out, ready as quickly as possible.
This is no doubt President Biden's first, most significant political win legislatively. But again, as I said, you get the... you build up these expectations for people to start seeing infrastructure work going on in the country. And the fact of the matter is it takes time for some of this stuff just naturally through the bureaucratic process, and then hiring vendors, contractors, et cetera. It really might be about a year from now until you start really seeing some major projects come off the ground. And that kind of is problematic politically for Biden, because as you know, Biden and the Democrats are looking to hold on power next November in the 2022 midterm. So it'll be interesting to see whether he can actually get a boost politically from this or whether this will just be short-lived. So they're really promoting - and suddenly - this package to the American people, but it's going to be hard to do given the lag time in which some of these things will be built.
Taylor Wilson:
The bill passed the house on a 228 to 206 vote with 13 Republicans voting for and six Democrats voting against. It passed the Senate with 19 Republicans supporting it. Today, Biden will be in Woodstock, New Hampshire to promote the legislation. There, he'll visit a bridge that has been on the state's red list since 2014 because of its poor condition.
Closing arguments were heard yesterday in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. The teenager faces homicide charges for shooting and killing Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer. And for injuring Gaige Grosskreutz. Prosecutor Thomas Binger continued to try and poke holes in his self defense argument. While defense attorney Mark Richards said he was glad Rittenhouse fired the shots.
Mark Richards:
And one of the things to keep in mind is that when the defendant provokes the incident, he loses the right to self defense. You cannot claim self defense against a danger you create.
Mark Richards:
Kyle shot Joseph Rosenbaum to stop a threat to his person. And I'm glad he shot him because if Joseph Rosenbaum had got that gun, I don't for a minute, believe he wouldn't have used it against somebody else. He was irrational and crazy.
Taylor Wilson:
The trial has featured eight days of testimony from around 30 witnesses and more than a dozen videos from the night of August 25th, 2020. Rittenhouse, who was 17, at the time traveled to Kenosha for what turned out to be violent protests after the police shooting of Jacob Blake paralyzed him. The prosecution has painted Rittenhouse as a vigilante from Illinois, armed with a rifle he could not legally possess and looking for vengeance against anti-police protestors. His defense attorneys painted him as someone driven by a youthful sense of patriotism to protect and defend a community. And that he was forced to kill to defend his own life. As for the jury, it's not clear how long they'll take to reach a verdict, as AP reporter Michael Tarm explains.
Michael Tarm:
It could be a matter... I doubt it'll be a few hours. Maybe it's a day. I would think it's probably more than a day. Maybe more than two days even. It could go longer. You never know.
Taylor Wilson:
The case has stirred racial and political tensions around the country while also creating several courtroom spectacles around judge Bruce Schroeder. He has several times scolded the prosecution and yesterday he dismissed a misdemeanor charge that Rittenhouse was a minor in possession of a firearm illegally.
The Green Bay Packers will hold a stock sale today. It's the sixth time the NFL team has done so, but the first since 2011. The Packers are the only publicly-owned team in the league. Shareholders get to vote for board directors and some other motions at the annual shareholders meeting and the organization says it will use money from this sale to improve Lambeau Field. The NFL requires that money raised by a stock sale only be used for stadium projects that are beneficial to fans. Previous Packers stock sales were held in 1923, 1935, 1950, 1997 and 2011, while the organization has more than 361,000 shareholders. This year's sale will begin today at 8:00 AM central time and is expected to run through February. The Packers said they plan on selling 300,000 shares at $300 each.
Well, it's a new book release Tuesday. First, an expanded version of the New York Times magazines, Pulitzer Prize winning 1619 Project. The book by Nikole Hannah-Jones contains essays, poems and photos exploring the legacy of slavery in America. On a different note, there is Welcome to Dunder Mifflin: The Ultimate Oral History of The Office. The book dives into hundreds of hours of interviews with the cast and creators of the TV show. They share their favorite stories and secrets along with behind the scenes photos. Then there's the latest edition in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The book follows Mma Ramotswe as she works to solve mysteries in Botswana. Today's novel called The Joy And Light Bus Company is the 22nd in the series. This time, a worried son learns his aging father's nurse stands to inherit the family home and takes his concerns to the agency. For all the latest from the world of books, head to the entertainment section on usatoday.com.
And as always, you can find 5 Things wherever you're listening right now, seven mornings a week. Thanks to PJ Elliot for his great work on the show. And I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA Today.