Alarming Spike in Violence Against Cleveland’s Transgender Community Demands Action

A transgender woman was stabbed and wounded this weekend in her Cleveland apartment — the fourth known violent attack against a transgender person in the Ohio city this year, according to news reports.

While the survivor’s name is not yet public, Cleveland.com reported that police charged Ulious Brooks, 36, with felonious assault in the attack. According to police reports, the woman was found wounded in her apartment by her aunt, who heard the fight with Brooks.

This most recent attack occurred against an alarming backdrop of violence against transgender people in the city. During the last six months, two transgender women have been murdered and a homeless transgender woman was sexually assaulted in the Cleveland area.

Phylicia Mitchell, 45, was shot and killed outside her home on February 23. Her longtime partner, Shane Mitchell, described her as his soulmate.

“Everyone loved her,” Mitchell said. “My nieces and nephews opened up to her so much. She was just so funny and kind.”

On May 21, a 31-year-old transgender woman was sexually assaulted while sleeping in a Cleveland homeless shelter, according to Cleveland.com.

The woman, whose name was withheld, told the news outlet that she is too scared to return to the shelter, and fears for her safety when she passes a man on the street.

Keisha Wells, 58, was found dead with a gunshot wound to her abdomen in the parking lot of an apartment complex on June 24.

A longtime friend of Wells described her as “the nicest person ever” but also a “tough cookie.”

HRC stands with the Cleveland transgender community during this difficult time and urges a thorough investigation of these attacks. Elected leaders and policymakers must act to end this epidemic of violence.

Sadly, 2018 has already seen at least 14 transgender or non-binary people fatally shot or killed by other violent means nationwide.

Last fall, the HRC Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition released a report documenting the senseless acts of violence that made 2017 the deadliest year on record for transgender people, particularly for trans women of color.

To learn more about HRC’s transgender justice work, visit hrc.org/Transgender.

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John McCain Rips Trump’s ‘Tragic’ Putin Summit: ‘No Prior President Has Abased Himself More Abjectly Before a Tyrant’

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) tore into Donald Trump after Trump threw the FBI under the bus and sided with Vladimir Putin on Russian election meddling.

McCain’s statement:

“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.

“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.

“It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout – as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.

“Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.

“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.”

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John McCain Rips Trump’s ‘Tragic’ Putin Summit: ‘No Prior President Has Abased Himself More Abjectly Before a Tyrant’

Former CIA Director John Brennan: Trump’s Performance at Summit ‘Was Nothing Short of Treasonous’

Former CIA Director John Brennan blasted Donald Trump’s astonishing performance at the summit with Vladimir Putin, in which he threw the FBI under the bus and sided with Russia over election meddling among other things, “treasonous.”

Tweeted Brennan: “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???”

Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of “high crimes & misdemeanors.” It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018

Added Brennan: “Why did Trump meet 1 on 1 with Putin? What might he be hiding from Bolton, Pompeo, Kelly, & the American public? How will Putin use whatever Trump could be hiding to advantage Russia & hurt America? Trump’s total lack of credibility renders spurious whatever explanation he gives.”

Why did Trump meet 1 on 1 with Putin? What might he be hiding from Bolton, Pompeo, Kelly, & the American public? How will Putin use whatever Trump could be hiding to advantage Russia & hurt America? Trump’s total lack of credibility renders spurious whatever explanation he gives.

— John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) July 16, 2018

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Former CIA Director John Brennan: Trump’s Performance at Putin Summit ‘Was Nothing Short of Treasonous’

Upgrade to the latest version of Skype for desktop

Skype has always been about bringing people together. We continue to be driven by the opportunity to connect our global community of hundreds of millions, empowering them to feel closer and achieve more together. As we pursue these goals, we’re always looking for new ways to enhance the experience, improve quality and reliability, and connect people from any device.

Today, we are rolling out an updated version of Skype (version 8.0) for desktop that will replace Skype version 7.0 (also known as Skype classic).

We are encouraging everyone to upgrade now to avoid any inconvenience as only Skype version 8.0 will work after September 1, 2018. As we roll out improvements, there comes a time when we must shut down older services and application versions. This is done to ensure that all customers have the best possible Skype experience, and that there are no quality or reliability issues resulting from old technology and new technology interoperating. We know change can be hard, so we’re working to make the update as simple as possible. For help with the upgrade, please visit our support site. We appreciate the support of the Skype community as we upgrade the experience and listen to feedback along the way.

Everything about this new version, from the underlying performance improvements to the usability enhancements, is designed to keep you connected to the people who matter most. We built Skype version 8.0 based on feedback from our community—adding exciting new features while ensuring it’s simple to use with the same familiar interface of Skype version 7.0.

Here are some of the new features that come with Skype version 8.0—our most powerful, intuitive, and flexible version of Skype version yet:

• Free HD video and screensharing calls—Get together with 1 or 24 of your friends, families, or colleagues no matter what device they use Skype on. See everyone in high definition, view 1080px video, and share things together.
• More productive messaging—Express how you’re feeling by reacting to messages in conversations. Use @mentions to easily grab someone’s attention in a group chat. Simply type the @ symbol followed by their name to trigger a notification for them. You can easily find all your @mentions and get back to people in the notification center.
• Chat media gallery—Looking for the link or photo sent a few weeks ago? Chat media gallery makes it easy to find files, links, and photos that were shared in a conversation, whether it was yesterday or last month. No more scrolling through your chat history—just click Gallery under the chat name to see all the files, links, and photos in the conversation.
• Share photos, videos, and other files—Share up to 300 MB at a time over Skype just by dragging and dropping files into your conversation window.

Visit our upgrade page to learn more about all the latest features available on Skype version 8.0.

We have a few more ideas up our sleeves, too. Here’s a sneak peek at more new features we’re starting to roll out now with more coming later this summer:

• Skype version 8.0 rolling out on iPad—Features such as quoted messages, personalized themes, chat list, @mentions, and more are now available on the Skype for iPad experience.
• Read receipts—See at a glance who’s read your messages. Once someone reads your message, their avatar appears beneath it in the Skype chat—enabling you to see how far someone has read in the conversation without tapping every message. This is especially useful in group conversations to help you make sure everyone is caught up with the latest messages.
• Private Conversations—Have end-to-end encrypted Skype audio calls and send text messages or files—such as images, audio, or videos—using the industry standard Signal Protocol. Messages and notifications in these conversations will be hidden in the chat list to keep the information you share private. More information can be found at the Private Conversations FAQ.
• Call recording—Take call snapshots to the next level with call recording. Capture a special Skype calls with loved ones or record important meetings with colleagues. Call recording is completely cloud-based, and as soon as you start recording, everyone in the call is notified that the call is being recorded—so there are no surprises. Call recordings combine everyone’s video as well as any screens shared during the call.
• Profile invites—Easily start a conversation or call with people who aren’t on Skype yet. Simply go to your profile in Skype and tap the Share Profile option to invite friends to join you on Skype.
• Group links—Quickly get a group together on Skype, for either a group chat or call. Create a new group and tap the Invite More People option to share a link to your group. Anyone you send the link to can join your group quickly and simply.

To upgrade to the latest version of Skype from the app, select Help from the top toolbar and then select Check for Updates or visit Download Skype. It’s quick and easy—your account information will automatically and securely sync to the latest update—including password, contacts, and conversation history from the last year.

To learn more about the upgrade, please visit our friendly FAQ. For more information on which devices and operating systems Skype currently supports, please check our support site. To chat with us directly, please let us know your feedback through our Community, or use the “Send Feedback” option within the Skype app—just go to Settings and select Help & Feedback to send us a message.

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