Transcending on SCOTUS; Unreformed Pope; Genetic Reveal; Chief Failure; Duterte's Shoal Thing; UN or Occupy; and Unmarked Driverless Cars

Society

5 things to know: Transgender case lands in Supreme Court sfgate

Grimm was allowed to use the boys' restroom at his high school for several weeks in 2014. But after some parents complained, the Gloucester County School Board adopted a policy requiring students to use either the restroom that corresponds with their biological gender or a private, single-stall restroom. Grimm says that policy violates Title IX, a federal law that bars sex discrimination in schools.

Also see US Supreme Court agrees to hear student privacy case adflegal v

False Unity

Pope tweets for Christian unity on eve of Sweden visit usatoday

The pope's two-day visit on the celebration that marks Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic dogma is widely seen as the Vatican's efforts to mend ties with other Christians.

Also see What Is Reformation Day? ligonier.org

Genetics

Would You Want To Know The Secrets Hidden In Your Baby's Genes? npr.org

Just about every day, genetic counselor Shawn Fayer heads to the maternity ward at Brigham and Women's Hospital brighamandwomens.org in Boston and tries to convince new parents to give him a blood sample.

Fayer is offering gene sequencing for newborns. It gives parents a tantalizing look at their baby's genetic information.

"My initial reaction — why wouldn't someone do this? Why wouldn't they want the information?" Ian Patrick says as he cradles his newborn son, Finn. "For me, more information is better, even if it's not always good."

The Dairy Industry Lost $420 Million From a Flaw in a Single Bull theatlantic

It started with a bull named Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief, who had a whopping 16,000 daughters. And 500,000 granddaughters and more than 2 million great-granddaughters. Today, in fact, his genes account for 14 percent of all DNA in Holstein cows, the most popular breed in the dairy industry.

Chief—let’s call him Chief for brevity’s sake—was so popular because his daughters were fantastic milk producers. He had great genes for milk. But, geneticists now know, he also had a single copy of a deadly mutation that spread undetected through the Holstein cow population. The mutation caused some unborn calves to die in the womb. According to a recent estimate, this single mutation ended up causing more than 500,000 spontaneous abortions and costing the dairy industry $420 million in losses.

Philippines

Duterte deal with China over Scarborough Shoal exposes US failure cnn

It happened quietly last week when China suddenly lifted its four-year blockade of the Scarborough Shoal, allowing Filipino fishermen to freely access the shoal's plentiful waters. If it lasts, this will be chalked up as a victory for Duterte's pivot to China and a geopolitical setback for the United States.

Also see China says 'situation' at disputed Scarborough Shoal reuters has not changed and Philippines says China ships still at shoal, but fishermen unhindered reuters

Israel

UNHRC official: ‘Israel’s status at UN depends on ending the occupation’ jpost

“I raise the question, does the occupying need to realize that it’s status in the international community and at the UN depends on allowing the Palestinians to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and independence and to bring the occupation to an end,” Lynk said.

Israel, which holds that its presence in the West Bank is based both on security needs and Biblical history, has long argued that military rule of the territory does not fit the legal definition of occupation.

Automation

Driverless cars to be unmarked to stop motorists bullying them  telegraph.co.uk

It comes after researchers found that motorists are likely to overtake and cut off self-driving cars because they are perceived as law-abiding and unlikely to react.