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[ad_1] An important Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina was severely damaged on Wednesday after a powerful tornado ripped through the area, threatening production lines that normally provide huge amounts of medicine to U.S. hospitals. Meanwhile, torrential rain flooded parts of Kentucky and communities from California to South Florida endured scorching heat that at times reached record-high temperatures. Pfizer confirmed the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for. Parts of roofs were ripped open at the Pfizer plant in Rocky Mount, which is a complex composed of several massive buildings. The plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone. "I've got repor

[ad_1] A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Kentucky state bill that would ban transgender care for minors, ruling that it violates the plaintiffs' constitutional rights. Kentucky Senate Bill 150 , passed into law by Republican lawmakers in March over Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's veto , aims to regulate some of the most personal aspects of life for transgender young people, from restricting the bathrooms they can use, to banning access to gender-affirming health care — including the use of puberty blockers and hormones. Seven transgender minors and their parents sued the state for relief from the law, arguing that it violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment. The challenge was filed by the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky found that the treatments barred by SB 150 are medically appropriate and necessary for some trans