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Cambridge Dictionary redefines woman and man to include trans people

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The Cambridge Dictionary has updated its definition of “woman” and “man” to include transgender people.

The dictionary publisher confirmed on Tuesday that it made the addition to the entry for “woman” in October.

“They carefully studied usage patterns of the word woman and concluded that this definition is one that learners of English should be aware of to support their understanding of how the language is used,” it told Washington Post.

“Transgender” is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behaviour does not conform to that which is typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.

The longtime definition of the word “woman” in the Cambridge Dictionary was “an adult female human being”.

But a supplementary definition of the word in the dictionary currently reads: “an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth”.

Included in the definition are two examples referencing transgender people.

One example reads: “She was the first trans woman elected to a national office.”

Another example using the updated definition reads: “Mary is a woman who was assigned male at birth.”

Additional updates were also made to the entry for the word “man” to reference transgendered people.

One example listed for the supplemental definition of the word reads: “Mark is a trans man”.

Another reads: “Their doctor encouraged them to live as a man for a while before undergoing surgical transition.”

The updated definition came ahead of a milestone in the decades-long struggle for marriage equality in the United States.

News of it came as US President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday in a development that grants federal protection to same-sex and interracial couples.

Cambridge’s update follows similar amendments from the Oxford English Dictionary and Merriam-Webster.

In 2020, Oxford tweaked how it defined “woman” following a backlash from critics who described the definition and its accompanying synonyms as “sexist.”

Merriam-Webster, on the other hand, included a supplementary definition for “woman”, adding that being a woman means “having a gender identity that is the opposite of male.”

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Former US President Bill Clinton hospitalised with fever

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Bill Clinton, the former US president who has faced a series of health issues over the years, was admitted to hospital Monday in Washington after developing a fever, his office said.

“President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever,” the 78-year-old’s deputy chief of staff Angel Urena said on social media platform X, adding Clinton “remains in good spirits.”

Bill Clinton was previously hospitalized for five nights in October 2021 due to a blood infection.

In 2004, at age 58, he underwent a quadruple bypass operation after doctors found signs of extensive heart disease. He had stents implanted in his coronary artery six years later.

The health scare motivated him to make lifestyle changes, including adopting a vegetarian diet, and he has since spoken publicly about his efforts.

Clinton’s health last made headlines in November 2022 when he tested positive for Covid-19. He said at the time that his symptoms were “mild” and he was “grateful to be vaccinated and boosted.”

Clinton, who led the United States for two presidential terms from 1993-2001, is the second-youngest living US president, after 63-year-old Barack Obama.

He was born mere months after fellow former US president George W. Bush and President-elect Donald Trump.

Though his prosperous time in office was marred by scandals, he has enjoyed a second life in the two decades after his presidency, which has seen him venture into numerous diplomatic and humanitarian causes.

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Trump dismisses claims of handing presidency to Musk as ‘hoax’

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Could Elon Musk, who holds major sway in the incoming Trump administration, one day become president? On Sunday, Donald Trump answered with a resounding no, pointing to US rules about being born in the country.

“He’s not gonna be president, that I can tell you,” Trump told a Republican conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

“You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born in this country,” Trump said of the Tesla and SpaceX boss, who was born in South Africa.

The US Constitution requires that a president be a natural-born US citizen.

Trump was responding to criticism, particularly from the Democratic camp, portraying the tech billionaire and world’s richest person as “President Musk” for the outsized role he is playing in the incoming administration.

As per ceding the presidency to Musk, Trump also assured the crowd: “No, no that’s not happening.”

The influence of Musk, who will serve as Trump’s “efficiency czar,” has become a focus point for Democratic attacks, with questions raised over how an unelected citizen can wield so much power.

And there is even growing anger among Republicans after Musk trashed a government funding proposal this week in a blizzard of posts — many of them wildly inaccurate — to his more than 200 million followers on his social media platform X.

Alongside Trump, Musk ultimately helped pressure Republicans to renege on a funding bill they had painstakingly agreed upon with Democrats, pushing the United States to the brink of budgetary paralysis that would have resulted in a government shutdown just days before Christmas.

Congress ultimately reached an agreement overnight Friday to Saturday, avoiding massive halts to government services.

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Seven confirmed dead in Western Mexico plane crash

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At least seven people died when a light aircraft crashed Sunday in a heavily forested area of Jalisco in western Mexico, local authorities reported.

The aircraft, a Cessna 207, was flying from La Parota in the neighbouring state of Michoacan.

Jalisco Civil Protection said via its social media that the crash site was in an area that was difficult to access.

Initial authorities on the scene “reported a preliminary count of seven people dead,” who haven’t been identified yet, according to the agency.

“A fire was extinguished and risk mitigation was carried out to prevent possible additional damage,” it added.

Authorities said they were awaiting the arrival of forensic investigators to remove the bodies and rule out the presence of additional victims.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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