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Thailand's lower house approves bill to legalize same-sex marriage
- Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday.
- The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 out of 415 members of the House of Representatives in attendance.
- The bill now moves to the Senate, where approval is anticipated.
Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender.
The bill passed its final reading with the approval of 400 of the 415 members of the House of Representatives who were in attendance, with 10 voting against it, two abstaining and three not voting.
The bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code to change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” It would open up access to full legal, financial and medical rights for LGBTQ+ couples.
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The bill now goes to the Senate, which rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house, and then to the king for royal endorsement. This would make Thailand the first country or region in Southeast Asia to pass such a law and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal.
Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill on Wednesday that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize equal rights for marriage partners of any gender. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Danuphorn Punnakanta, a spokesperson of the governing Pheu Thai party and president of a committee overseeing the marriage equality bill, said in Parliament that the amendment is for “everyone in Thailand” regardless of their gender, and would not deprive heterosexual couples of any rights.
“For this law, we would like to return rights to the (LGBTQ+ group). We are not giving them rights. These are the fundamental rights that this group of people … has lost,” he said.
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Lawmakers, however, did not approve inclusion of the word “parent” in addition to “father and mother” in the law, which activists said would limit the rights of some LGBTQ+ couples to form a family and raise children.
Thailand has a reputation for acceptance and inclusivity but has struggled for decades to pass a marriage equality law.
The new government led by Pheu Thai, which took office last year, has made marriage equality one of its main goals.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee State Parks announced that Cardwell Mountain is now recognized as a state archaeological park.
The new Cardwell Mountain State Archaeological Park preserves over 5,000 years of Tennessee’s history, and is one of only three archaeological state parks in the state.
Located at the edge of Eastern Highland Rim and the Cumberland Plateau, the park contains unique geological features like limestone outcrops on its mountains, and nears the Cumberland Caverns, one of the longest cave systems in the nation.
Research at the site has documented evidence of Native American settlement for thousands of years, and one the most prominent examples of this is a 15-foot-tall monument built by Native Americans around 1,000 years ago, located in a meadow beneath the mountain.
The mountain is named for the Cardwell family, who built a homestead on the mountain and lived and farmed for 150 years. Some of the apple trees from original Cardwell orchard still stand on the property.
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The park is not yet open to the public while protective measures are established to allow visitors to explore without disturbing the site.
RESTAURANTS like Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden are among the many enforcing a strict attire policy.
The “one ring” policy is put in place for diner safety concerns, and is strictly enforced likewise.
The “one ring” policy refers to the jewelry that employees preparing food can safely wear while performing their daily tasks.
Generally speaking, jewelry and other accessories are banned for their ability to harbor bacteria and potentially transfer it to food.
This applies to virtually any accessory worn on the fingers, hands, wrists, or arms, including watches and bracelets of any kind, including those with medical info.
However, there is one exception to the rule according to the latest version of the FDA’s food code, published in 2022.
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It specifies that the lone exception is “a plain ring such as a wedding band.”
The FDA permits this since wedding bands and similar styles of rings lack “grooves here pathogens can hide,” according to StateFoodSafety.com.
Employees should also wash their hands often and be sure to wear gloves in order to minimize risk of contamination from their ring, per StateFoodSafety.
In cases where an employee has a need for a medical bracelet, the FDA urges a conversation between the worker and management to find a new solution.
This can include wearing a necklace or anklet with the needed medical info, or taking advantage of other widely available alternatives.
Restaurants including Texas Roadhouse also have strict hair and beard rules, also as a result of the FDA’s Food Code.
These hygiene standards are fully in effect, and part of a push toward “Active Managerial Control,” replacing the older system where managers could enforce hair rules at their own discretion.
“Everyone entering the kitchen must wear a hair restraint to prevent contamination, and anyone with a beard must wear a beard net,” says the FDA.
These rules don’t apply to staff handling pre-packaged food and drinks, such as hosts and some wait staff.
With its season on the line, Virginia Tech softball takes on LSU today at 2 p.m. ET. The Hokies need to win two games to advance to Super Regionals, while the Tigers need just one. Read below for a game thread, organized in reverse chronological order.
FINAL | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
That’ll do it. The Hokies’ 2026 season comes to an end. Avery Hodge makes the catch, and LSU is headed to the Super Regionals. For the fourth straight season, Virginia Tech comes up empty in regional play.
B7 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Monticelli has Gaby Mizelle down in a 0-2 count. The LSU starter has retired 15 straight Hokies.
B7 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Rachel Castine flies out to left on the 2-2 delivery. Lorenz backed up and caught it on the warning track. The Hokies are down to their final out of the season. They need five runs.
B7 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Nora Abromavage pops up. The Hokies are down to two outs.
M7 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
The Hokies set down the side in order. Just like yesterday, they sit in a five-run hole entering the bottom of the seventh with their season hanging in the balance. Three outs to produce at least five runs, or their season’s over.
E6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
A five-pitch sixth followed a seven-pitch fifth for Monticelli. The Hokies will enter B7 — if they can hold LSU below three runs in T7 to avoid the enacting of the run-rule — in at least a five-run rut. Sounds familiar, though.
B6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Four. Kylie Aldridge popped up high to the pitcher’s circle. Paytn Montcelli has retired the Hokies’ last 12 batters.
B6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Edwards to Edwards (Kylee to Tori) for the grounder. Virginia Tech has five outs left.
M6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Layton escaped the jam. Bases were loaded, but Layton worked back from a 2-0 count for a strikeout. Virginia Tech has six outs to make up five runs.
T6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Avery Hodge reached on a fielding error by Lynch (The sequence that scored Franklin was ruled the same.). Bases are loaded.
T6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Ruling on the field stands. The inning is not over, and the Hokies are out of challenges.
T6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Virginia Tech is challenging that Tori Edwards left early. It looks very, very close on the TV replay.
T6 | LSU 7, Virginia Tech 2
Ally Hutchins RBI single. LSU leads by five. Looks like Rohs came up limping after the sequence.
T6 | LSU 6, Virginia Tech 2
Tori Edwards, single through the left on her first pitch. Runners at the corners.
T6 | LSU 6, Virginia Tech 2
Franklin blasted a one-hop shot that ricocheted off the right-field wall. Leadoff double.
E5 | LSU 6, Virginia Tech 2
Make it six. Monticelli has retired the Hokies’ last 10 batters.
B5 | LSU 6, Virginia Tech 2
Man, that one looks like it could’ve gone out. Addison Foster nearly skied a solo shot. But Franklin tracked it down and grabbed it when it was over the wall. Somehow managed to keep it. Seven outs left.
T5 | LSU 6, Virginia Tech 2
Call confirmed — and the Hokies lose a challenge. Emma Mazzarone is coming out; in comes Avery Layton.
T5 | LSU 6*, Virginia Tech 2
Another run scratches across when Virginia Tech logged a fielder’s choice at first. Believe Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour is challenging that the runner from first to second interfered with the throw to first.
T5| LSU 5, Virginia Tech 2
No outs. Rohs saved more runs from getting across by corraling it at short. The Hokies are now down three.
T5 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Mazzarone conceded a full-count walk, then a wild pitch. She’s now on her second straight full count; this one’s against Ally Hutchins.
E4 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Another 1-2-3 frame. Monticelli pitched two full-count at-bats, but circumnavigated both.
M4 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Bergeron reached on a fielder’s choice that outed Alix Franklin at third. The Hokies have yielded nine hits today, but they’re only down two heading into the bottom half of the fourth.
T4 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Or not. Alix Franklin got one in the zone and doubled deep into left. LSU has one aboard with two outs.
T4 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Flashing the leather. Kylee Edwards fired a liner that Annika Rohs snagged. Two outs. After the HBP, Mazzarone appears to have settled down.
E3 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
1-2-3 frame for Monticelli to close out the third. She set down the side in only seven pitches.
M3 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Abromavage snagged a fly ball, and the bases were left loaded. A four-spot for LSU — their second this weekend against the Hokies — has them up two as we head into B3.
T3 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
LSU challenged for a hit-by-pitch and got it. The bases are loaded with two outs. The Hokies are in trouble.
T3 | LSU 4, Virginia Tech 2
Ally Hutchins blooped a double up near the right-field line. Looks like Carrico jammed up Hutchins, but she still got it up. Rachel Castine couldn’t corral it, and Bergeron scored. Carrico’s outing is done; in comes Emma Mazzarone.
T3 | LSU 3, Virginia Tech 2
And just like that, the Tigers are in front. Tori Edwards grounded out to place Alix Franklin and Kylee Edwards on second and third base, respectively. Then, Maci Bergeron drilled a single through the left side to score both.
T3 | Virginia Tech 2, LSU 1
Solo shot, Jalia Lassiter. The Hokies’ lead has been sliced in half.
E2 | Virginia Tech 2, LSU 0
Lynch flew out to center to leave Foster on, but like in B1, the Hokies did more damage, scoring their second run of the game. The two runs they’ve scored today are the first that LSU has allowed this whole regional.
B2 | Virginia Tech 2, LSU 0
Holy moly. Virginia Tech quickly picked up two outs. Annika Rohs pushed a single up the middle and advanced to second via a passed ball. Then, Foster singled to second and beat the throw while Rohs went for a gutsy head-first slide to home.
M2 | Virginia Tech 1, LSU 0
No dice for LSU. It placed a runner aboard via a leadoff single from Maci Bergeron (then, a fielder’s choice that retired Bergeron as the lead runner). Carrico was worked to two full counts in the first, but she didn’t go through any in T2.
E1 | Virginia Tech 1, LSU 0
Monticelli stranded two with a Nora Abromavage pop-up. The Hokies, though, have already put up more hits today (three) than they did against the Tigers in yesterday’s run-rule (two).
B1 | Virginia Tech 1, LSU 0
LSU starter Paytn Monticelli struck out Zoe Yaeger looking on a 2-2 delivery and induced a 0-2 fly ball from Kylie Aldridge. She did concede a two-out single through the left to Michelle Chatfield, though.
B1 | Virginia Tech 1, LSU 0
LSU allows its first run in this regional. It was a Jordan Lynch single that zipped down the right-field line, bringing Foster around. That’s also Lynch’s first RBI in the regional.
B1 | Virginia Tech 0, LSU 0
Leadoff double from Addison Foster. That’s her 20th of the season — she broke the program’s single-season record yesterday.
M1 | Virginia Tech 0, LSU 0
Tori Edwards worked back from a 0-2 count to a payoff pitch, but she grounded to short. Addison Foster, Jordan Lynch and Zoe Yaeger are due up for the #Hokies.
T1 | Virginia Tech 0, LSU 0
Sierra Daniel produced a full-count single that bounced down near the left-field line, but Carrico induced a foul out of shortstop Kylee Edwards. Virginia Tech’s one out away.
T1 | Virginia Tech 0, LSU 0
Virginia Tech starting arm Bree Carrico fires off the first pitch to LSU’s Julia Lassiter; it went for a grounder. For perhaps the final time this season, we’re off.
Pre-Game
The Hokies’ starting lineup is as follows:
- Addison Foster – Center Fielder
- Jordan Lynch – Third Baseman
- Zoe Yaeger – Designated Player
- Kylie Aldridge – Catcher
- Michelle Chatfield – First Baseman
- Nora Abromavage – Left Fielder
- Rachel Castine – Second Baseman
- Gaby Mizelle – Right Fielder
- Annika Rohs – Shortstop
Starting Pitcher: RHP Bree Carrico
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