Obama issues school rules on transgenders

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama’s administration told schools across America on Friday (Saturday in Manila) they must let transgender students use the bathroom of their choice, taking an intensifying battle over civil rights to the national stage.

Hailed by activists as a breakthrough, the move triggered an instant backlash from conservatives who perceive it as a threat to children’s well being, with a top Texas official refusing to comply with Obama’s “blackmail.”