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Trump asks Supreme Court to uphold Military’s ban on Transgender Soldiers

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The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to uphold its policy banning transgender Americans from serving in the military, the latest significant case involving trans Americans to reach the conservative court in recent years.

Days after taking office last year, Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to ban transgender service members as incompatible with military service. The administration is appealing a ruling from a federal court in Washington, DC, that sided with a group of trans Americans who were already serving.

“The authority of the US military to determine who may serve in the nation’s armed forces is a matter of exceptional importance,” US Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court, according to a copy of the appeal reviewed by CNN that has not yet been publicly docketed.

The Supreme Court will likely decide this fall whether to hear arguments in the case. If it agrees to do so, a decision may land early next summer.

Defense officials have said there are 4,240 service members across active-duty, reserve, and the National Guard ranks with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, defined as the psychological distress an individual feels when their gender identity differs from their gender at birth. Not every transgender individual has gender dysphoria.

Trans Americans have faced a series of significant setbacks at the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court. Earlier this year, a 6-3 majority upheld state bans on transgender students playing on girls’ sports teams.

Last year, in another 6-3 ruling, the court let stand a Tennessee law that banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors seeking to transition to match their gender identity.

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Trump campaigned aggressively against trans Americans in 2024 and implemented several policies once in office intended to roll back gains made by transgender people in recent years.

The president also banned transgender Americans from joining the military during his first term, but former President Joe Biden repealed that policy in 2021.

Trump’s policy reached the Supreme Court last year in an emergency case, in which the court allowed the president to enforce the ban. As is often the case in emergency rulings, the court did not explain its reasoning. The three liberal justices publicly dissented from the decision, but also did not explain their position.

But since then lower courts have issued new rulings limiting the policy. A divided three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in June upheld a block on the policy for 28 service members who sued.

Advocates say that the administration has been aggressively pursuing separation of other trans service members.

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PHOTOS: Two children k!lled, others injured as building collapses in Nasarawa

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Tragedy struck Tudun Amba area of Lafia in Nasarawa State as a building collapsed, k!lling two children from the same family.

The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Friday, August 28, 2026, also left other members of the family injured and hospitalized.

Details surrounding the cause of the collapse were not immediately available as authorities are expected to commence an assessment of the incident.

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PHOTOS: Two d!e as refuse dump collapses on building in Cross River

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Two persons have been confirmed d3ad following the collapse of a refuse dump at Ikot Effanga, along Old Odukpani Road in Calabar, Cross River State.

The spokesperson for the Cross River State Police Command, ASP Sunday Eitokpah, who disclosed this in a statement said the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday, August 28, 2026, when the collapsed refuse impacted a building reportedly constructed within a valley.

“The Cross River State Police Command is aware of a reported incident involving the collapse of a refuse dump at Ikot Effanga, along the Old Odukpani Road, Calabar, in the early hours of Friday, 28th August 2026, the statement read.

“Police personnel responded promptly to the scene, where it was discovered that the collapsed refuse had impacted a building reportedly constructed within a valley, resulting in the death of two occupants.”

The statement identified the victims as Nfon Imé, male, and an unidentified female, who were said to have been in the building at the time of the incident.

The bodies were recovered and deposited at the mortuary.

“The deceased, identified as Nfon Imé ‘m’, and a yet-to-be-identified female, believed to have been in the building at the time of the incident, have been recovered and deposited at the mortuary,” the statement said.

The police spokesperson said an assessment of the circumstances surrounding the incident was ongoing, while further investigation had commenced.

“The Command is currently conducting an assessment of the circumstances surrounding the incident, while further investigation is ongoing,” ASP Eitokpah said.

The command urged members of the public to remain calm and avoid speculation as efforts continued to establish the full facts surrounding the incident.

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“Further details will be communicated as soon as they are verified and available,” the statement added.

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Togo, Niger, Benin owe Nigeria $11m for electricity supplied in 2025 – NERC

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Togo, Benin and Niger owed Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian power generation companies under bilateral arrangements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

NERC disclosed this in its 2025 annual report, saying the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international electricity customers during the year. However, only $62.75 million was paid, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.16 million and representing an 84.90 percent remittance performance.

The international customers identified by NERC are Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) of Niger, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin and Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET). “The international bilateral customers … received a total invoice of $73.91 million for ancillary services provided by the MO and made a total payment of $62.75 million, corresponding to a remittance performance of 84.90%,” NERC said.

The commission also reported that domestic bilateral customers paid N12.75 trillion out of N13.20 trillion invoiced by the Market Operator for services provided in 2025. According to NERC, the payments represented a 96.60 percent remittance performance. However, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, classified as a special customer, made no payments against invoices issued during the period.

NERC said the company had an outstanding N4.96 billion invoice from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and another N500 million invoice from the Market Operator. “The Commission has escalated the issue of continual non-payment of electricity bills by Ajaokuta to the relevant federal ministries to find a lasting solution,” the report said.

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NERC warned that continued failure to settle the obligations could put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of disconnection from its electricity service providers. “Failure to settle the obligations may put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of being disconnected from its service providers (NBET and MO) on the grounds of gross indebtedness,” it added.

NERC also said electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collectively took off 31,251.77 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in 2025, while 25,867.86GWh was billed to customers. This resulted in a market energy accounting efficiency (EAE) of 82.77 percent.

The commission explained that EAE measures how effectively DisCos account for electricity received at their trading points. It is calculated by comparing the energy billed to customers, including metered and unmetered consumers, with the total electricity supplied to an area over a given period.

Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest energy accounting efficiency at 88.84 percent, while Enugu DisCo recorded the lowest at 72.18 percent. “The disaggregated performance of the DisCos shows that Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest energy accounting efficiency of 88.84%, while Enugu DisCo recorded the lowest efficiency of 72.18%,” NERC said.

The commission said DisCos were responsible for developing strategies to improve their energy accounting performance. “DisCos have the responsibility of developing strategies to improve their energy accounting efficiencies,” NERC said.

It identified improved distribution infrastructure, reduced technical losses, better customer enumeration and customer service, increased metering and the deployment of technology to combat electricity theft as measures that could help improve the sector’s performance.

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