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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Free Legal Help Available for Transgender Nevadans, Post-Election

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016   

LAS VEGAS – Legal advocates in Nevada are offering free help to transgender people who want to change their name and gender marker before the new administration takes office. Nevada Legal Services said they've received a major uptick of calls since the election from people who say they're concerned that legal protections that transgender people currently enjoy in the Silver State may come under attack.

Kris Bergstrom, directing attorney for Nevada Legal Services' Las Vegas office, said for many transgender people, a name change can be anything but simple.

"A lot of them live below the poverty level, so they can't afford a lawyer to represent them," she said. "They may have been kicked out of their home, and so they might not have access to their original documents. They may have been using a different name informally for years, so their documentation will have many different names on it, which can make it a little more difficult to change their name."

Getting a job, in particular, can be difficult if your name doesn't match your Social Security card. The free legal help is available in Las Vegas and Reno. More information is online at NLSLaw.net.

Bergstrom said many in the LGBTQ community became alarmed when the Obama Justice Department had to sue to stop the state of North Carolina from nullifying a nondiscrimination law in the city of Charlotte.

Nevada is one of about 20 states that prohibit discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment and public accommodations.

"When we say 'public accommodations' in Nevada, that includes the right to use the bathroom that best matches your gender," she added. "And so, I think people are worried that if some sort of federal law passes, that it might nullify Nevada's law."

There are 1.4 million American adults who identify as transgender. A national website, translawhelp.org, provides a list by state of attorneys who offer pro-bono help to transgender people.


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