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NEW YORK (AP) — More than two decades ago, when gay men and lesbians were prohibited from serving openly in the U.S. military and no state had legalized same-sex marriages, a national LGBTQ+ rights group decided to promote change by grading corporations on their workplace policies. The Human Rights Campaign initially focused its report card, named the Corporate Equality Index, on ensuring that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer employees did not face discrimination in hiring and on the job. Just 13 companies received a perfect score in 2002. By last year, 545 businesses did even though the requirements have expanded. But the scorecard itself has come under attack in recent months by conservative activists who targeted businesses as part of a broader pushback against diversity initiatives. Ford, Harley Davidson and Lowe’s are among the companies that announced they would no longer participate in the Corporate Equality Index. Emboldened by a Supreme Court decision last year that declared race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional, conservative groups have won lawsuits making similar arguments about corporations. They’re now targeting workplace initiatives such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups, and widening their objections to include programs focused on gender identity and sexual orientation. “We don’t believe that people should be identified as groups and that you should right past wrongs by advantaging one group and disadvantaging another group,” said Dan Lennington, deputy counsel for the Equality Under the Law Project at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty. His firm has represented dozens of clients in challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs. Critics lament the rollback, saying it reverses years of hard-won progress. “Almost all LGBT community members have been bullied when they were young, and the concept of being bullied is something that hits us really hard. … It feels like you’re you’re letting the bullies win,” said David Paisley, senior research director at Community Marketing & Insights, which helps companies market to LGBTQ+ consumers. While many challenges to DEI programs have been about race, activists working to change corporate policies they deride as “woke” have made a point of demanding that companies end their participation in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. Most of the companies that recently announced changes to their DEI approaches did. Like LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., the requirements corporations need to meet to receive a high score on the annual index have expanded over the years. In 2004, the index placed more emphasis on providing comprehensive benefits to domestic partners and improving health care coverage for transgender workers. Later it added categories that gave employers points for promoting equality in the broader LGBTQ+ community. In 2019, it specified that supplier diversity programs, which encourage companies to work with minority-owned or veteran-owned businesses, must include LGBTQ+ suppliers. By 2022, the index said employers should offer same-sex spouses and domestic partners the same benefits as other couples for in-vitro fertilization and adoption, and that employers must create gender-transition guidelines, among other changes. Experts say the index has helped improve workplace benefits for LGBTQ+ people. The index also prompted many companies to create employee resource groups, which are voluntary, employee-led diversity and inclusion groups for people with shared backgrounds or identities, said Fabrice Houdart, a consultant on LGBTQ+ issues. The index is also a resource for LGBTQ+ workers to consult before deciding whether to accept a job, Paisley said. “A company that’s getting 100% versus a company getting 25% is an indication to our community about which companies are treating their employees more fairly and equitably,” he said. Several big companies announced they would end their participation in the index amid pressure from conservative activists who have threatened boycotts and firms such as the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty that have challenged DEI programs. “We have no problem with nondiscrimination, but we’re worried about these policies going too far and harming innocent third parties who have either religious objections or they’re being excluded because they’re not LGBTQ or a certain race,” Lennington said. Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley told employees that the company stopped participating in external culture surveys, citing the wide range of beliefs held by employees and customers and the evolving legal environment. He said Ford does not use hiring quotas or tie compensation to diversity goals. Harley-Davidson posted a statement on X about withdrawing from the index, adding that the company does not have hiring quotas or supplier diversity spending goals, and that employee resource groups would focus exclusively on professional development, networking and mentoring. When Lowe’s announced its departure from the index, the company said it was combining resource groups into one umbrella organization. It also planned to stop sponsoring and participating in some festivals and parades to ensure that company policies are lawful and aligned with its commitment to include everyone. Brown-Forman, the company that makes Jack Daniel’s whiskey, and beer and beverage maker Molson Coors, highlighted no longer taking part in HRC’s corporate survey in their announcements about scaling back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Dozens of legal cases have been filed against employers for DEI initiatives, including complaints that target hiring practices, employee resource groups or mentorship programs that plaintiffs say prioritize people of certain races or sexual identities while excluding others. Most American companies launched a review of their DEI programs last summer in the wake of the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions vs. Harvard, said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the labor and employment practice group at Gibson Dunn, a law firm that has helped more than 50 major corporations audit their DEI programs. “The opponents to these efforts are winning the war of words, and they’ve got a lot of momentum in the courtroom, so I do think it’s a serious threat that needs to be responded to in a thoughtful way,” Schwartz said. But there’s also a flip side. Companies built DEI anti-harassment programs in part to mitigate potential legal risks that come with a toxic workplace, and “abandoning these programs in fact opens them up to risk down the road if employees feel discrimination or harassment,” said Eric Bloem, vice president at the Human Rights Campaign. Companies that distance themselves from the Corporate Equality Index also risk driving away a growing customer group. A Gallup poll conducted in March found that about 1 in 13 adults in the U.S. identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, a share that has more than doubled since 2012. Among Generation Z, the proportion is even higher, with about 1 in 5 U.S. adults born between 1997 and 2005 identifying as LGBTQ+. Some LGBTQ+ customers have said they would boycott companies that are rolling back inclusion initiatives or share negative reviews on social media. “I think they will lose, in the end, LGBT talent and LGBT consumers,” Houdart said. “And the parents of trans kids, which are an increasing population in the United States, they’re probably going to remember that those were companies who went out of their way to side with the bullies.” Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

Schools reopened with extra security on Tuesday in the rural Kentucky county where a gunman who remains at large opened fire on an interstate highway, hitting a dozen vehicles and wounding five people. As authorities continue searching for the shooter, public schools in Laurel County were in session for the first time since the assailant sprayed bullets onto Interstate 75 on Sept. 7. The search for the suspected gunman, 32-year-old Joseph Couch, has focused on a rugged, wooded area near London, a city of about 8,000 people roughly 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Lexington. School administrators in Laurel County worked with law enforcement agencies on the district’s reopening plan, which provides enhanced security for buses, school campuses and extra-curricular activities. Police increased patrols along most rural bus routes in the southeastern Kentucky school district, administrators said in a message on the district’s website. Parents were urged to keep their children inside, if possible, until the bus arrived. Law enforcement bolstered its presence to monitor each school campus, and patrols were increased for after-school events. “We appreciate the support, trust and cooperation of our families and the community as we safely return to school,” the district said in its message. Students had shifted to virtual learning for several days after the shooting. Police have urged area residents to be vigilant and look out for their neighbors as searchers try to track down the suspect. The area where Couch is presumed to be hiding has cliff beds, sinkholes, caves and dense brush. The day after the shooting, law enforcement officers searched an area near where Couch’s vehicle was found, with a view of I-75. There, they found an Army-style duffel bag, ammunition and spent shell casings, authorities said in an arrest warrant affidavit. A short distance away, they found an AR-15 rifle with a sight mounted to the weapon and several additional magazines. The duffel bag had “Couch” handwritten in black marker. Couch fired 20 to 30 rounds in the attack, investigators said. Shortly before the shooting, Couch wrote in a text message: “I’m going to kill a lot of people. Well try at least.” In a separate text message, Couch wrote, “I’ll kill myself afterwards.” The messages were revealed in the affidavit. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff fed up with a spate of false school shooting threats is taking a new tactic to try get through to students and their parents: he’s posting the mugshot of any offender on social media. Law enforcement officials in Florida and across the country have seen a wave of school shooting hoaxes recently, including in the wake of the deadly attack at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, that killed two students and two teachers. Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood on Florida’s Atlantic Coast said he’s tired of the hoaxes targeting students, disrupting schools and sapping law enforcement resources. In social media posts Monday, Chitwood warned parents that if their kids are arrested for making these threats, he’ll make sure the public knows. “Since parents, you don’t want to raise your kids, I’m going to start raising them,” Chitwood said. “Every time we make an arrest, your kid’s photo is going to be put out there. And if I can do it, I’m going to perp walk your kid so that everybody can see what your kid’s up to.” Chitwood made the announcement in a video highlighting the arrest of an 11-year-boy who was taken into custody for allegedly threatening to carry out a school shooting at Creekside or Silver Sands Middle School in Volusia County. Chitwood posted the boy’s full name and mugshot to his Facebook page. In the video, which had more than 270,000 views on Facebook as of Monday afternoon, the camera pans across a conference table covered in airsoft guns, pistols, fake ammunition, knives and swords that law enforcement officers claim the boy was “showing off” to other students. Later, the video cuts to officers letting the boy out of a squad car and leading him handcuffed into a secure facility, dressed in a blue flannel button-down shirt, black sweatpants and slip-on sandals. The boy’s face is fully visible at multiples points in the video. “Right this way, young man,” an officer tells the boy, his hands shackled behind his back. The boy is led into an empty cell, with metal cuffs around his wrists and ankles, before an officer closes the door and locks him inside. “Do you have any questions?” the officer asks as he bolts the door. “No sir,” the boy replies. The video prompted a stream of reactions on social media, with many residents praising Chitwood, calling on him to publicly identify the parents as well — or press charges against them. Others questioned the sheriff’s decision, saying the 11-year-old is just a child, and that the weight of the responsibility should fall on his parents. Under Florida law, juvenile court records are generally exempt from public release — but not if the child is charged with a felony, as in this case. Law enforcement officials across Florida have been tracking a stream of threats in the weeks since the 2024-2025 school year began. In Broward County, home to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, officials said last week they had already arrested nine students, ages 11 to 15, for making threats since August. “For my parents, to the kids who are getting ready for school, I’m going to say this again,” Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony said at a press conference, “nothing about this is a laughing or joking matter.” “Parents, students, it’s not a game,” he added. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential election campaigning revs back up Tuesday, with Donald Trump heading to Michigan and Vice President Kamala Harris answering questions at a forum for Black journalists in Pennsylvania — even as authorities continue to investigate a second apparent assassination attempt against Trump that’s roiled the race. Trump is holding a town hall in Flint, Michigan, and has appearances later in the week in New York, Washington and North Carolina. Harris will participate in a Philadelphia gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists. She skipped the group’s recent gathering in Chicago, but an openly antagonistic appearance there by Trump sparked an uproar when he questioned the vice president’s racial identity. Harris has her own stops in Washington, as well as Michigan and Wisconsin, planned in coming days, with both sides zeroing in on the industrial Midwest and Pennsylvania and North Carolina — all battleground areas that could swing an election expected to be exceedingly close. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that months of criticisms against him by Harris and President Joe Bideninspired the latest attack. That’s despite the former president’s own long history of inflammatory campaign rhetoric and advocacy for jailing or prosecuting his political enemies. Both Biden and Harris have so far avoided politics in reacting to the attack. Harris has condemned political violence while Biden has called on Congress to increase funding to the Secret Service. Authorities say Ryan Wesley Routh camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach, where Trump was playing on Sunday, for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle but fled without firing shots when a Secret Service agent spotted and shot at him. Subsequently arrested, Routh’s past online posts suggest the suspect has not been consistent about his politics in terms of supporting Democrats or Republicans. That attack came barely two months after Trump was wounded during a rally in Pennsylvania. In fundraising emails, he’s implored supporters, “Fear not.” During an interview on the X social media platform, Trump recounted his experience Sunday, saying he was golfing with a friend and heard “probably four or five” shots being fired in the air. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

The presidential campaign is moving forward after another apparent attempt on Donald Trump ‘s life. Trump was safe after the incident in Florida and praised the Secret Service for protecting him but didn’t shy away from blaming his opponents. The Republican nominee claimed without evidence that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ‘ comment that is a threat to democracy had inspired the attempt on Sunday. The man suspected in the incident, Ryan Wesley Routh, camped outside the golf course in West Palm Beach with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, according to court documents filed Monday. Additional and more serious charges are possible as the investigation continues and prosecutors seek an indictment from a grand jury. Trump is expected to travel to Michigan while Harris will speak at a Black journalists forum in Pennsylvania. Here is the Latest: The election director in Cobb County, an Atlanta suburb where votes will be fiercely contested in this year’s presidential race, recently organized a five-hour training session. The focus wasn’t solely on the nuts and bolts of running this year’s election. Instead, it brought together election staff and law enforcement to strategize on how to keep workers safe and the process of voting and ballot-counting secure. Having a local sheriff’s deputy at early voting locations and panic buttons that connect poll managers to a local 911 dispatcher are among the added security steps the office is taking this year. Tate Fall, Cobb County’s election director, said she was motivated to act after hearing one of her poll workers describe being confronted during the state’s presidential primary in March by an agitated voter who the worker noticed was carrying a gun. The situation ended peacefully, but the poll worker was shaken. ▶ Read more about what officials are doing across the country Florida law enforcement will launch a state-level criminal probe of the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. DeSantis told reporters that the “suspect is believed to (backslash)have committed state law violations.” DeSantis’ announcement comes a day after Ryan Routh was charged with federal firearms crimes. Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after an agent who spotted him shot in his direction, officials said. He was arrested in a neighboring county. Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are kicking off a week of action to encourage young voters in battleground states to sign up to vote in the Nov. 5 election. Walz has events on Tuesday in Macon, Georgia, and Atlanta, followed by a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, while his wife, Gwen, appears in Las Vegas. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and actor Jane Fonda are among a group of high-profile Harris supporters who are set to participate in the registration drive. More than 130 voter registration events will be held on college campuses — at basketball tournaments, football games and more — in the handful of states where Harris and Walz and the Republican presidential ticket of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, are focusing their campaigns, the Harris-Walz campaign said. The campaign will also have a presence at historically Black colleges and universities and Hispanic-serving institutions, including setting up kiosks to assist students with registration. As he participated in an event on his X social media platform, Trump gave a shoutout to Elon Musk, saying the tech billionaire “endorsed me for president so strongly.” Trump also called Musk his “friend,” commending his efforts on space travel in particular. Musk deleted a post on X in which he said “no one is even trying to assassinate” Biden and Harris in the wake of the apparent assassination attempt on Trump. Early Monday, after taking down the post about the apparent Trump assassination, Musk wrote on the platform: “Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on X.” Musk, who has nearly 200 million followers on the social media site he bought for $44 billion in 2022, has increasingly embraced conservative ideologies in recent years and endorsed Trump for president. Trump says the apparent attempt on his life was a “much better result” than when he was shot in July because no others were wounded or killed. “That was some crazy day, and yesterday you had another one with a different result, actually much better result,” Trump said. The host noted that some of Trump’s sons were in the room for the interview. He and his friends playing golf “heard shots, being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five.” Trump said they got into carts “and we moved along pretty good.” “I would have loved to have sank that last putt,” Trump said, of not being able to finish the round of golf. Trump said an agent had seen a gun barrel “and started shooting in the bushes … and ran toward the target.” Trump also noted that a civilian woman in the area drove her vehicle to the back of Routh’s vehicle and took pictures of the license plate, which she then gave to authorities, who were able to track the suspect down. Trump is participating in his first speaking appearance since the apparent assassination attempt on Sunday. The former president is taking part in an X Space about the launch of World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform controlled by his sons Donald Jr. and Eric. From his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, Trump commended the Secret Service for doing an “excellent job.” Farokh, the event’s host, began by applauding Trump for not canceling his appearance. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com