Politics

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s election commission leader quietly certified Donald Trump ’s victory on Friday, moving past the chaos that surrounded the 2020 election results in the battleground state.

Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified results that show Trump won the state with 1,697,626 votes compared to Democrat Kamala Harris’ 1,668,229 votes during a morning Zoom teleconference that lasted six minutes.

The certification felt almost anticlimactic compared with the aftermath of the 2020 election, when Trump refused to accept that Joe Biden had won the state by about 21,000 votes.

Trump forced a recount in Dane and Milwaukee counties, the state’s two Democratic strongholds, but it didn’t change the outcome. Trump later sued to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in the two counties. He wanted to disqualify absentee ballots cast early and in-person, saying there wasn’t a proper written request made for the ballots; absentee ballots cast by people who claimed “indefinitely confined” status; absentee ballots collected by poll workers at Madison parks; and absentee ballots where clerks filled in missing information on ballot envelopes.

The state Supreme Court dismissed the case in December 2020, finding four of Trump’s claims were filed too late and the other was without merit. A federal judge that same month dismissed another lawsuit filed by two Republican legislators, voting rights groups and others seeking to overturn the results.

Facing pressure from Trump, Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman in the spring of 2021 to investigate allegations of fraud and abuse related to the election.

The probe ultimately turned up nothing. The state Office of Lawyer Regulation filed a complaint against Gableman last week accusing him of violating multiple rules of conduct during the investigation. The state Supreme Court will decide what sanctions, if any, Gableman will face.

The election commission’s nonpartisan administrator, Meagan Wolfe, found herself the target of conspiracy theorists and election skeptics who falsely claimed she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 election for Biden. Republican legislators are trying to fire her but the commission has filed a lawsuit to keep in her post. That case is currently before the state Supreme Court.

Trump’s national victory in November has calmed conservative anger but a vocal faction of the GOP remains deeply skeptical of election processes, particularly the use of mail ballots and scanners to tally votes. Still, several states that saw tumultuous certifications during the 2020 election and 2022 midterms have smoothly approved their results in recent weeks, including Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and New Mexico.

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TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators protesting the Georgian government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union rallied outside the parliament and clashed with police for a second straight night on Friday.

The night before, police used water cannons, pepper spray and tear gas to disperse protesters who took to the streets of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the suspension. The interior ministry said it detained 43 people during the protests.

On Friday evening, protesters again swarmed the parliament, with some trying to break the metal gates to the building. Riot police used water cannons to push them away from the building and later moved to force them farther back along the Rustaveli Avenue, the city’s main boulevard.

Some of the protesters used garbage bins and benches to try to build barricades.

Clashes between police and protesters also erupted late Friday in the Black Sea port of Batumi.

Georgian Dream’s disputed victory in the Oct. 26 election, which was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union, has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of the parliament. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit.

President Salome Zourabichvili joined protesters on Thursday after accusing the government of declaring “war” on its own people. In Friday’s address to the nation, Zourabichvili urged police not to use force against protesters.

The Georgian president, who has a largely ceremonial role, has declared that the ruling party rigged the election with the help of Russia, Georgia’s former imperial master.

The government’s announcement that it was suspending negotiations to join the EU came hours after the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s vote as neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”

European election observers said October’s vote took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meet the bloc’s recommendations, but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

EU lawmakers urged for a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

“We will continue on our path toward the European Union; however, we will not allow anyone to keep us in a constant state of blackmail and manipulation, which is utterly disrespectful to our country and society,” Kobakhidze said. “We must clearly show certain European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they must speak to Georgia with dignity, not through blackmail and insults.”

Kobakhidze also said Georgia would reject any budgetary grants from the EU until the end of 2028.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June, after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

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By Jeff Mason and Rich McKay

NANTUCKET, Massachusetts (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that his administration was working with the FBI to address “swatting” and bomb threats made this week targeting lawmakers and several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.

Rep. Seth Magaziner, a House Democrat from Rhode Island, said on Friday he was targeted by a bomb threat at home, a day after six Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut reported similar threats to their homes over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Law enforcement in each case found no evidence of explosive devices, the lawmakers said.Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to become U.S. defense secretary, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, were among nominees targeted with bomb threats and swatting attempts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Swatting is a false report made to police to induce chaos and fear by drawing a potentially heavy, armed response by officers at someone’s home. Law enforcement experts say it’s a form of harassment that is increasingly being used to target prominent figures.

“House Democrats will not be deterred or intimidated from serving the people by violent threats,” Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement on Friday.

Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July. In a separate incident in September, a man was charged with attempted assassination after allegedly positioning himself with a rifle outside one of Trump’s Florida golf courses.

Biden, speaking on Friday to reporters in Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he is spending the Thanksgiving holiday, said he expected to speak to Trump again during the transition.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Rich McKay in Atlanta; additional writing by Ismail Shakil; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Deepa Babington)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Five Democratic U.S. lawmakers from Connecticut on Thursday said they were targeted with bomb threats at their homes, but no explosive devices had been found, according to social media and local media.

U.S. Representatives Jim Himes, Jahana Hayes, John Larson and Joe Courtney, all from Connecticut, reported the threats in statements on Thanksgiving Day.

“There is no place for political violence in this country, and I hope that we may all continue through the holiday season with peace and civility,” said Himes.

Hayes said that on Thanksgiving morning, police told him they received an email “stating a pipe bomb had been placed in the mailbox at my home,” but that no bombs or explosives had been found and that the investigation was ongoing.

Local media in Connecticut reported that U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, had also been targeted. The U.S. Capitol Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet and administration picks were also targeted this week with bomb threats and “swatting.”

Swatting is a false report made to police to induce a potentially heavy, armed response by officers at someone’s home. Law enforcement experts see it as a form of intimidation or harassment that is increasingly being used to target prominent figures.

A spokesperson for the Trump transition team said on Wednesday that the threats were made Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Noeleen Walder and David Gregorio)

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TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia is suspending talks on its bid to join the European Union for four years, its prime minister said Thursday, in view of what he described as “blackmail and manipulation” from some of the bloc’s politicians. His announcement outraged the opposition and triggered a new wave of protests.

The move by Irakli Kobakhidze came hours after he was reappointed to the job by members of the governing Georgian Dream party after its disputed victory in last month’s parliamentary election that has sparked massive demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.

The Oct. 26 election was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit.

European election observers said the balloting took place in a divisive atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 on condition that it meets the bloc’s recommendations but put its accession on hold and cut financial support earlier this year after the passage of a “foreign influence” law widely seen as a blow to democratic freedoms.

Kobakhidze said Thursday that while the country will pursue its bid to join the EU, “it will not put the issue of opening negotiations with the European Union on the agenda until the end of 2028.”

“Additionally, we are rejecting any budgetary grants from the European Union until the end of 2028,” he added.

Thousands of protesters poured into the streets following Kobakhidze’s announcement, rallying outside the parliament building in Tbilisi and staging demonstrations in other cities.

Earlier in the day, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that condemned last month’s Georgian parliamentary vote as neither free nor fair, representing yet another manifestation of the continued democratic backsliding “for which the ruling Georgian Dream party is fully responsible.”

EU lawmakers urged a rerun of the parliamentary vote within a year under thorough international supervision and by an independent election administration. They also called on the EU to impose sanctions and limit formal contacts with the Georgian government.

The Georgian prime minister fired back, denouncing what he described as a “cascade of insults” from the EU politicians and declaring that “the ill-wishers of our country have turned the European Parliament into a blunt weapon of blackmail against Georgia, which is a great disgrace for the European Union.”

“We will continue on our path toward the European Union; however, we will not allow anyone to keep us in a constant state of blackmail and manipulation, which is utterly disrespectful to our country and society,” Kobakhidze said. “We must clearly show certain European politicians and bureaucrats, who are completely devoid of European values, that they must speak to Georgia with dignity, not through blackmail and insults.”

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Speaking in parliament earlier on Thursday, Kobakhidze described last month’s parliamentary vote as “also a referendum between immoral propaganda and traditional values, and our society chose traditional values.”

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June, after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.

President Salome Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy. Zourabichvili, whose post is mostly ceremonial, met with EU ambassadors and opposition leaders after Kobakhidze’s announcement.

In an address to the nation, Zourabichvili denounced what she described as a “coup” aimed at taking the country away from Europe and toward Russia. The president accused the governing party of waging a “war on our future, the future of our society, and the future of our country.” “Because on this path, there is no Georgian statehood, no independence, and no future — except in Russia,” she said.

Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

On Wednesday, the ruling party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her reelection bid Wednesday after a recount confirmed her lead, helping her party pad its thin majority in the U.S. House and retain control of all four of Iowa’s congressional seats.

Miller-Meeks said in a post on the social platform X that she was “deeply honored” after she defeated Democrat Christina Bohannan in a rematch of 2022, when Miller-Meeks won by 7 percentage points. The margin this year was much tighter — Miller-Meeks’ lead over Bohannan was less than a percentage point, or fewer than 1,000 votes.

“I am now looking forward to getting back to work in Washington to lower prices at the gas pump, grocery store and on prescription drugs, secure the border and help farmers,” said Miller-Meeks, who represents the 1st District, which includes the eastern part of the state and a swath of south-central Iowa, including Johnson County, home to University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Miller-Meeks earned a first term in Congress representing Iowa’s 2nd District when she defeated Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in 2020.

The Associated Press called this year’s race at 4:02 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Miller-Meeks had declared victory earlier, but the AP had not yet called the race because the margin was close enough that it could prompt a recount.

Bohannan’s campaign on Nov. 14 requested a recount, as any candidate is allowed to do, saying in a statement that the recount will make certain “that every voter is heard.” She congratulated Miller-Meeks in a message on X after the vote count was completed.

“Although this is not the result we wanted, I am so proud of our campaign,” she wrote. “We exceeded all expectations and turned a district that many pundits thought was unwinnable into one of the very closest races in the country.”

The request was made for a recount in each of the district’s 20 counties. Because the margin was less than a percentage point, the state — not the candidate — pays for the costs associated with the recount.

Miller-Meeks’ campaign accused Bohannan and other Democrats of being “election deniers,” and Republicans have said Bohannan is wasting taxpayer dollars.

“This is a delaying tactic to thwart the will of the people,” the Miller-Meeks campaign said in a Nov. 14 statement. “A recount won’t meaningfully change the outcome of this race as the congresswoman’s lead is mathematically impossible to overcome.”

Republican incumbents held onto Iowa’s three other congressional seats, maintaining GOP control over the entirety of Iowa’s congressional delegation. The sweep in 2022 represented the first time in three decades that Iowa had an all-Republican delegation, emblematic of the sharp rightward shift in the state not long after former President Barack Obama carried Iowa in 2008 and again in 2012.

Obama won with solid support from the eastern counties along the Mississippi River that have mostly backed Trump since and bolster Miller-Meeks’ in her district as well.

Two competitive congressional races in Iowa this year — the 1st and 3rd Districts — brought millions of dollars in paid advertising to the state from national campaign arms for House Republican and Democrats.

Zach Nunn fought off the challenge from Democrat Lanon Baccam in the 3rd District, which includes much of the Des Moines metro area.

Republican incumbents Ashley Hinson in the 2nd District and Randy Feenstra in the 4th District won decisively. Hinson defeated Democrat Sarah Corkery. Feenstra defeated Democrat Ryan Melton.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel in a Southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.

Steel said in a statement that “like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California Republican Young Kim as the first Korean-American women elected to Congress.

Tran, a lawyer and worker rights advocate and the son of Vietnamese refugees, declared victory earlier this week. He said his win “is a testament to the spirit and resilience of our community. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, I understand firsthand the journey and sacrifices many families in our district have made for a better life.”

The contest is one of the last to be decided this year, with Republicans now holding 220 seats in the House, with Democrats at 214. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in California’s 13th District, where Democrat Adam Gray was leading Republican Rep. John Duarte by a couple of hundred votes.

Steel held an early edge after Election Day, but late-counted ballots pushed Tran over the top.

Steel filed a statement of candidacy on Monday with federal regulators, which would allow her to continue raising funds. It wasn’t immediately clear if she planned to seek a return to Congress.

In the campaign, Tran warned of Republican threats to abortion rights. Steel opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman, while not going so far as to support a federal ban. Tran also warned that President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House would put democracy at risk.

On Capitol Hill, Steel has been outspoken in resisting tax increases and says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas. “As our greatest ally in the Middle East, the United States must always stand with Israel,” she said. She advocates for more police funding and has spotlighted her efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The largest demographic in the district, which is anchored in Orange County southeast of Los Angeles, is Asian Americans, and it includes the nation’s biggest Vietnamese community. Democrats hold a 4-point registration edge.

Incomplete returns showed that Steel was winning in Orange County, the bulk of the district. Tran’s winning margin came from a small slice of the district in Los Angeles County, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly 2-to-1.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is set to create a National Energy Council that he says will establish American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from President Joe Biden’s focus on climate change.

The energy council — to be led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s choice to head the Interior Department — will be key in Trump’s pledge to “drill, drill, drill” and sell more oil and other energy sources to allies in Europe and around the globe.

The new council will be granted sweeping authority over federal agencies involved in energy permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation and transportation, with a mandate to cut bureaucratic red tape, enhance private sector investments and focus on innovation instead of “totally unnecessary regulation,” Trump said.

But the president-elect’s energy wishes are likely to run into real-world limits. For one, U.S. oil production under Biden is already at record levels. The federal government cannot force companies to drill for more oil, and production increases could lower prices and reduce profits.

A call for energy dominance — a term Trump also used in his first term as president — “is an opportunity, not a requirement,” for the oil industry to move forward on drilling projects under terms that are likely to be more favorable to industry than those offered by Biden, said energy analyst Kevin Book.

Whether Trump achieves energy dominance — however he defines it — “comes down to decisions by private companies, based on how they see supply-demand balances in the global marketplace,” said Book, managing partner at ClearView Energy Partners, a Washington research firm. Don’t expect an immediate influx of new oil rigs dotting the national landscape, he said.

Trump’s bid to boost oil supplies — and lower U.S. prices — is complicated by his threat this week to impose 25% import tariffs on Canada and Mexico, two of the largest sources of U.S. oil imports. U.S. The oil industry warned the tariffs could raise prices and even harm national security.

“Canada and Mexico are our top energy trading partners, and maintaining the free flow of energy products across our borders is critical for North American energy security and U.S. consumers,” said Scott Lauermann, speaking for the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobbying group.

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents U.S. refineries, also opposes potential tariffs, saying in a statement that “American refiners depend on crude oil from Canada and Mexico to produce the affordable, reliable fuels consumers count on every day.”

Scott Segal, a former Bush administration official, said the idea of centering energy decisions at the White House follows an example set by Biden, who named a trio of White House advisers to lead on climate policy. Segal, a partner at the law and policy law firm Bracewell, called Burgum “a steady hand on the tiller” with experience in fossil fuels and renewables.

And unlike Biden’s climate advisers — Gina McCarthy, John Podesta and Ali Zaidi — Burgum will probably take his White House post as a Senate-confirmed Cabinet member, Segal said.

Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, called the new energy council “a good thing” for the U.S. economy and trade. “Conceptually it makes a lot of sense to have as much coordination as possible,” he said.

Still, “market dynamics will always be the key” for any potential increase in energy production, Meyer said.

Jonathan Elkind, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, called energy dominance a “deliberately vague concept,” but said, “It’s hard to see how (Trump) can push more oil into an already saturated market.”

Trump has promised to bring gasoline prices below $2 a gallon, but experts call that highly unlikely, since crude oil prices would need to drop dramatically to achieve that goal. Gas prices averaged $3.07 nationally as of Wednesday, down from $3.25 a year ago.

Elkind and other experts said they hope the new energy council will move beyond oil to focus on renewable energy such as wind, solar and geothermal power, as well as nuclear. None of those energy resources produces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

“Failure to focus on climate change as an existential threat to our planet is a huge concern and translates to a very significant loss of American property and American lives,” said Elkind, a former assistant energy secretary in the Obama administration. He cited federal statistics showing two dozen weather disasters this year that caused more than $1 billion in damage each. A total of 418 people were killed.

Trump has played down risks from climate change and pledged to rescind unspent money in the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s landmark climate and health care bill. He also said he will stop offshore wind development when he returns to the White House in January.

Even so, his Nov. 15 announcement of the energy council says he will “expand ALL forms of energy production to grow our Economy and create good-paying jobs.”

That includes renewables, said Safak Yucel, associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

“The mandate for the energy council is U.S. dominance globally, but what’s more American than American solar and American wind?” he asked. A report from Ernst & Young last year showed that solar was the cheapest source of new-build electricity in many markets.

Trump, in his statement, said he wants to dramatically increase baseload power to lower electricity costs, avoid brownouts and “WIN the battle for AI superiority.”

In comments to reporters before he was named to the energy post, Burgum cited a similar goal, noting increased demand for electricity from artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, and fast-growing data centers. “The AI battle affects everything from defense to health care to education to productivity as a country,″ Burgum said.

While Trump mocks the climate law as the “green new scam,” he is unlikely to repeal it, Yucel and other experts said. One reason: Most of its investments and jobs are in Republican congressional districts. GOP members of Congress have urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to retain the law, which passed with only Democratic votes.

“A lot of Southern states are telling Trump, ‘We actually like renewables,’” Yucel said, noting that Republican-led states have added thousands of jobs in recent years in wind, solar and battery power.

If renewables make economic economic sense, he added, “they’ll continue.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — There’s no easy way to bridge the political divides that have created rifts in communities, families and friendships.

But workplace morale and productivity can take a hit when ideological differences are left to fester, affecting teamwork and feelings of mutual respect. Finding a safe space to process emotions while remaining civil can be a delicate balancing act.

While talking politics with colleagues can be fortifying, the opposite also can be true when we disagree. Being exposed to strongly held beliefs that run counter to one’s own values can lead to people feeling mistreated or unsafe. This month’s U.S. presidential election heightened those tensions.

“There was a lot of anxiety during this election, and in times of anxiety you need to create psychological safety in people,” said Ron Gutman, an adjunct professor of leadership at Stanford University and the co-founder and co-CEO of health technology company Intrivo. “You need to create trust in people, to bring back the trust in each other.”

Here are some tips from business leaders, psychologists and communication experts on how to navigate political conflicts in the workplace.

To cultivate a more peaceful working environment, executives, managers and employees can practice humility. That means seeing ourselves as equal and not superior to our colleagues and subordinates, and recognizing that no one has all the right answers.

When we listen to others thoughtfully and relinquish a reflexive belief in our own infallibility, it allows us to remain open to new ideas and perspectives, said Inclusivv CEO Jenn Graham, whose organization creates structured dialogues around social and political issues for corporate clients.

“We can say something like, ‘I haven’t heard of that or thought of that before. Thank you for sharing,’” Graham said. “And that simple act of ‘thank you for sharing,’ with gratitude and humility combined, creates a reciprocity for that brave space, for that psychological safety. And that’s what we need to foster more than ever.”

To cultivate a humble mindset, think about why you might be wrong, and consider that the opposite of what you believe might be true, said Jake Telkamp, an assistant professor at Augusta University in Georgia. “We are really good at seeking out information that supports our beliefs, and then we scrutinize evidence that challenges our beliefs,” he said.

In some situations, a more guarded approach is warranted. If political talk feels like a personal attack, you may need to find allies who can help you process what you’re hearing and feeling.

For example, when a comedian opened a campaign rally for President-elect Donald Trump last month by referring to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” many people were deeply upset, said psychologist Alfiee Breland-Noble, founder of The AAKOMA Project, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering youth and young adults of color and people who face sexism and homophobia.

The same was true after Black teenagers and adults received text messages this month telling them they were “selected to pick cotton,” she said.

“There’s been a lot of sadness around, why isn’t anybody publicly telling these people, ‘You can’t say these things about people who come from my community?’” Breland-Noble said.

People feel like their lives are on the line, and are asking, “Where do I go with this struggle that I’m having? Because people who look like me nationally, we all feel like we’re under attack,” she said.

Breland-Noble encourages employees who feel marginalized by political discourse to identify colleagues to confide in, to check workplace policies for any rules on unacceptable speech and behavior, and to consider speaking with a trusted supervisor about what they’re experiencing.

“There is a lot that we can learn from how people have over time managed having a marginalized identity and being in the workplace because you have a plethora of people around you who are dealing with this stuff literally every day,” Breland-Noble said.

Also check your employer’s social media policy. In many states, workers can be fired for posting political beliefs online, said Brad Kelley, a shareholder who represents employers at the law firm Littler.

When attempting to resolve discord, one way to foster a peaceful resolution is to seek common ground.

In the structured conversations she leads, Graham encourages participants to begin by listening to and acknowledging what the other person is saying. Repeat it back. Honor their emotions. Then you can share your perspective, and in the process you may find similarities, she said.

“When you’re looking for common ground, you’re ideally looking for a shared value,” Graham said. It could be as simple as recognizing “we both have a need for and a desire for (fill in the) blank.”

Most people want a happier, healthier, more prosperous country, but the disagreement often lies in how to best get there, Telkamp said. Acknowledging shared goals can help de-escalate tension.

“People on the left and the right are disliking, distrusting, and generally they think people on the other side are unintelligent and immoral,” Telkamp said. “I’m interested in how we can kind of get off the ledge a little bit and come back to a better understanding of each other.”

One way managers can try to bridge divides is to create rituals for employees to share what’s important to them, Gutman said. This can help build a baseline of trust within an organization.

Every Friday at Intrivo, the staff gathers for an hour and one person presents on a topic they’re passionate about. It could be a hobby, an idea, a family experience or a skill. Political topics are fine as long as no one is putting anyone down, he said.

“It can be super technical or super silly,” Gutman said. The conversations build trust, and a sense of safety and community, he said.

In circumstances where a discussion is getting heated, sometimes the best way to handle it is to remove ourselves from the conflict or to keep our views to ourselves.

Leaders may want to consider abstaining from sharing their political views, which may alienate some workers, Telkamp said. “That’s not about silencing your beliefs,” he said. “It’s more about keeping the workplace focused on the work.”

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Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at workingwell@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at https://apnews.com/hub/be-well.

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By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) – Dr. Susan Lacy had been caring for transgender patients for several years in Tennessee when, in 2023, everything changed. In the span of a few months, the Republican-governed state banned healthcare providers from treating minors for gender dysphoria. 

The Memphis gynecologist, one of the plaintiffs who challenged the law in a case going before the U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 4, recalled the “hype and hysteria” as public debate coarsened over the issue.

“Why all of a sudden it’s a problem is a little bit hard to understand,” said Lacy, 57, who has her own medical practice and has an adult child who is transgender. “I think that really comes from sort of a political motivation to create an issue that people can rally around.”

Gender dysphoria is the clinical diagnosis for significant distress that can result from an incongruence between a person’s gender identity and the sex they were assigned at birth. 

Tennessee’s law aims to encourage minors to “appreciate their sex” by prohibiting puberty blockers or hormones used to help them live as “a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex.” Tennessee House of Representatives Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Republican who co-sponsored the measure, said in a statement to Reuters that he is optimistic about the state’s case.

“This case is about protecting vulnerable young people who are experiencing gender dysphoria or other mental health crises from making the biggest mistake of their lives,” Lamberth said. 

“These procedures are harmful, unproven and come with permanent, irreversible and life-changing consequences. States have a compelling interest in protecting minors from adult decisions they aren’t ready for,” Lamberth said.

To Lacy, an expert in hormone management, the swirling claims in the media and by some legislators that activists are carelessly pushing dangerous medications on vulnerable adolescents are not true, and are meant to stoke outrage.

“Actually listen to the patients. Actually listen to the physicians who are providing the care,” Lacy said. “You’re really seeing people that have a significant improvement in their lives.”

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden’s administration of a lower court’s decision allowing enforcement of the ban, one of 24 such policies enacted by conservative lawmakers around the United States. 

The plaintiffs challenged the law as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment promise of equal protection. Biden’s administration and other challengers including Lacy contend that banning care for youth with gender dysphoria discriminates against these adolescents based on sex and transgender status.

CULTURE WARS

The case brings transgender rights, a major flashpoint in the U.S. culture wars, to the nation’s highest judicial body just as Republican U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. Trump pledged during his election campaign to restrict gender-affirming care and transgender sports participation.

Tennessee passed its law in March 2023 after a conservative political commentator’s criticism of Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s transgender health clinic in Nashville went viral on social media, prompting Republican lawmakers to take action. 

A filing to the Supreme Court by the office of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, a Republican, justified the state’s regulation by pointing to “scientific uncertainty” about the treatments, tightened restrictions on their use in some European countries, and “firsthand accounts of regret and harm” from people who discontinue or reverse gender-affirming medical intervention.

Tennessee has warned of long-term side effects such as diminished bone density or infertility – although the law allows these medications to be used to treat minors for any other reason, including congenital defects, precocious puberty or other conditions. 

A CONSERVATIVE COURT

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority has steadily moved American law rightward on other contentious issues including abortion, guns and race policies. But in a landmark 2020 ruling authored by conservative Justice Neal Gorsuch, the court declared that a federal law called Title VII that bars discrimination in the workplace also protects gay and transgender employees.

If the Supreme Court sides with the challengers, it could rule that Tennessee’s ban is unconstitutional, or that the lower court must reconsider the state law under a more skeptical standard – an outcome that would make it harder for states to pass laws restricting transgender rights. 

The court could rule that “discrimination against people because of their gender identity is sex discrimination subject to heightened scrutiny under the court’s precedents,” Yale Law School Professor William Eskridge said. 

Another issue with the law, Eskridge said, is that it denies a small group of Tennesseans access to a fundamental interest – “the rights of parents to make health decisions for their children.”

Biden’s administration contends that the law singles out transgender people to “enforce gender conformity and discourage adolescents from identifying as transgender.” 

Under the law, “an adolescent assigned male at birth cannot receive puberty blockers or estrogen to live and present as a female, but an adolescent assigned female at birth can,” the Justice Department said in a filing to the Supreme Court, adding: “That is sex discrimination.”

The state has “exaggerated the risks” of gender-affirming care while ignoring its benefits, the administration said, noting that major U.S. medical organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association support the therapies for adolescents when deemed clinically necessary. 

Meanwhile, denying treatment for gender dysphoria can cause psychological harm, with studies showing that up to a third of transgender high school students attempt suicide in a given year, the administration said. 

Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, several plaintiffs – including two transgender boys, a transgender girl and their parents as well as Lacy – sued Skrmetti and other officials to defend the treatments they have said improved their happiness and wellbeing. The Justice Department intervened in the lawsuit.

A federal judge blocked the ban in 2023 as likely violating the 14th Amendment. In a 2-1 decision in 2023, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the judge’s preliminary injunction. 

FEELING ‘AT PEACE’ 

Lacy began treating transgender patients in 2016. They now make up about a quarter of her practice. 

“The most prevalent thing that (patients) would say is, ‘I finally feel like I can think correctly. I finally feel sort of at peace,” Lacy said. “I realized, there are many, many, people who need this care. And there are very few physicians that are providing this care.”

About a year after Lacy began treating these patients, one of her four children – now 23 – came out as transgender.

Deciding to join the legal fight against Tennessee’s law was easy, Lacy said, not only to share her experience caring for hundreds of transgender patients. 

“But as a parent of a child who went through this,” Lacy said, “I was compelled from that standpoint.”

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

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