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Good afternoon and welcome to your afternoon news update from AP. Today, President Donald Trump’s handpicked board has voted to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center; the Trump administration moves to cut off transgender care for children; and multiple deaths are reported in a North Carolina business jet crash.

UP FIRST

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in November. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Trump’s handpicked board votes to rename Washington performing arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center

President Donald Trump’s handpicked board voted on Thursday to rename Washington’s leading performing arts center as the Trump-Kennedy Center, the White House said. Trump showed scant interest in the Kennedy Center during his first term as president, but since returning to office in January he has replaced board members appointed by Democratic presidents with some of his most ardent supporters, who then elected him as board chairman. He also has criticized the center’s programming and its physical appearance and has vowed to overhaul both. Read more.

TOP STORIES

Trump administration moves to cut off transgender care for children

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans. The sweeping proposals include cutting off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children and prohibiting federal Medicaid dollars from being used to fund such procedures. Read more.

Multiple deaths reported in North Carolina crash of business jet connected to retired NASCAR driver

A business jet with six people aboard crashed Thursday at a regional airport in North Carolina used by NASCAR teams and Fortune 500 companies, erupting in a large fire and killing multiple people, authorities said. Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Read more.

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