SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Trump administration regulation set to go into effect Friday bars transgender people from the military unless they “correct those deficiencies,” a description the American Medical Association said Thursday is unfair and defies science.

The AMA told The Associated Press on Thursday the policy and its wording mischaracterizes transgender people as having a “deficiency.” It said it also objects to the Defense Department classifying the need to transition to another gender among “administratively disqualifying conditions” that include those the Pentagon has labeled as “congenital or developmental defects.”

The new regulation strips transgender troops of rights they only recently secured under the Obama administration to serve openly and receive care if they choose to transition to another gender.

The Defense Department said its use of the words “deficiencies” is military lingo for when an individual fails to meet standards to maintain a lethal force. It is not a reference to gender dysphoria, a condition of extreme distress from not identifying with one’s biological gender, Lt. Col. Carla Gleason said.

The department says transgender people can serve if they remain in their biological sex.

“The only thing deficient is any medical science behind this decision,” American Medical Association President Dr. Barbara L. McAneny said.

Decorated Army helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller was a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits that tried to block the policy from taking effect. But the final legal injunction was lifted in March, though new legal challenges are expected.

Muller said she and other transgender troops feel demoralized.

“Under our ethical standards, we can’t say anything derogatory against the administration, while we are being presented in a disparaging and derogatory light,” said Muller, 37, who is based in Fort Carson, Colorado.

Troops like Muller, who began openly identifying as a woman in 2016, are worried they will be discharged. The administration says it will not boot current service members who transitioned before the Pentagon issued its directive, though the government has also said it retains the right to eliminate that protection.

Muller said the policy will cost the armed forces far more in terms of losing experienced personnel like herself and training replacements than any costs associated with specialized health care for trans servicemembers. She plans to retire from the military next year after serving 20 years.

Under the new policy, a service member can be discharged based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria if he or she is “unable or unwilling to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with his or her biological sex, or seeks transition to another gender.”

It said the discharge should come after an individual “has been formally counseled on his or her failure to adhere to such standards and has been given an opportunity to correct those deficiencies.”

The policy calls for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be medically evaluated before discharging them to see if they qualify as having a disability. Otherwise gender dysphoria can be considered a “condition that interferes with military service” like sleep walking, bed wetting, motion sickness, and personality disorders.

“They can dress it up in whatever words they want, but when you carefully look at this it’s total disrespect for these human beings by saying a core piece of them is not acceptable,” former acting U.S. Army Surgeon General Gale Pollock said.

Pollock signed a statement with three former U.S. surgeons general and two former military surgeons general, saying they are “troubled by the Defense Department’s characterization of the need to undergo gender transition as a ‘deficiency,’ and by the addition of gender dysphoria to official lists of ‘congenital or developmental defects’ that include bed-wetting and ‘disturbances of perception, thinking, emotional control, or behavior.'”

An estimated 14,700 troops identify as transgender.

Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion. Many have received medals since the armed forces welcomed them in 2016.

Transgender troops say the regulation mirrors the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibited gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces before Congress repealed it in 2010.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The government’s latest Census of Agriculture for Kansas shows the number of farms in the state has dropped 5% from the count taken five years earlier.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Thursday that there were 58,569 farms in Kansas during 2017. They covered some 45.8 million acres, down 1% from the 2012 census. Farms comprise 87.5% of total land in Kansas.

Kansas farms averaged 781 acres, about 34 acres larger than when the agency counted five years ago.

Kansas producers sold $18.8 billion of agricultural products in 2017, up 2% from 2012. About 66% of those products came from livestock and 34% from crops.

Average net farm income was $49,291 in 2017, down 3% from 2012.

The government’s agricultural census is conducted every five years.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has pulled the fossil of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex from public view at its Natural History Museum after anger erupted when the fossil’s private owner listed it for sale for $2.95 million.

Alan Detrich, who isn’t a trained paleontologist, said he originally shared his rare fossil with the museum two years ago because “the public ought to get to see it.”

His eBay sales pitch for the fossil initially highlighted the fossil’s ties to the university, prompting the school to tweet that it’s not involved in the sale.

Are we selling fossils on eBay? NO. The baby #Trex temporarily on view to the public at #KUnhm is not accessioned to our collection & is privately owned. Research is currently ongoing on our own baby Trex, which is not on display at this time. 🦖

— KU Natural History (@kunhm) April 8, 2019

Detrich said he and his brother unearthed the 68-million-year-old bones from a 4-year-old T. rex in 2013 on property he leased to hunt for fossils near Jordan, Montana. To the “naysayers” from academia who complained about the university’s link with the for-sale specimen, Detrich says his message is “you’re welcome.”

“You’re welcome — for me to allow my dinosaur to be in the museum and to be able to show the people,” he said. “People have had the opportunity to actually see the baby T. rex.”

Leonard Krishtalka, museum director and KU professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, said in an internal memo that the “intent was to keep the specimen in the museum sphere to be enjoyed by visitors until it was sold to a museum.” Krishtalka said the listing’s references to the university made it appear the university was promoting the sale in violation of a formal contract approved by the university’s legal team. The museum learned this week that Alan Detrich had “abruptly” listed the specimen for sale on eBay without notifying the museum, Krishtalka said.

Besides pulling the display, the museum asked Detrich to remove all references to the university and other “misleading language and photos” from his eBay listing, the memo said.

Detrich, who also is known for making religious art out of dinosaur fossils, has long been a source of frustration to some in the scientific community. They think fossils should be uncovered by people with more training and then donated for scientific study. Detrich, meanwhile, insists fossil hunting is a risky, expensive business.

“Millionaires aren’t rich enough to buy these dinosaurs,” Detrich said. “I don’t have a problem with selling to billionaires, because they’ve got enough money to protect this fossil and take really good care of it . At some point, all these things end up in museums.”

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A 15-year-old boy injured in skateboard accident has died, according to Wichita Police officer Charley Davidson.

Just after 11:40a.m. Sunday, police responded to a call for Emergency Medical Services near the intersection of 9th and Christine, according to officer Charley Davidson. Upon arrival, first responders found 15-year-old Samuel Harter in the street with critical injuries and a citizen rendering assistance.

Harter was transported to a local hospital with critical injuries and died Thursday, according to Davidson.

After speaking to multiple witnesses, investigators learned a 16-year-old was driving a Mazda 626 westbound on 9th Street and pulling Harter on a skateboard who was holding on through an open window on the passenger side. A second 15-year-old boy was holding onto the vehicle though an open window on the driver’s side.

The boy on the driver’s side was able to let go of the vehicle and safely stop his skateboard. Harter lost control of his skateboard, fell and struck his head on the ground. He was not wearing a helmet, according to Davidson.

Speed and alcohol are not believed to be a factor in the incident, according to Davidson. The accident remains under investigation and police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney for possible charges.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after a Thursday morning chase.

Just before 2:30a.m., a Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a Chrysler Sebring for registration violations near U.S. 24 and N. Kansas Ave in Topeka, according to Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer.

The driver of the Sebring failed to stop for the deputy. The vehicle traveled briefly on streets in north Topeka before heading east on U.S. 24 and entered Jefferson County.

A Shawnee County Sheriff’s deputy successfully initiated a vehicle maneuver near U.S. 24 and NE Detlor Road to end the pursuit safely.

The Topeka Police Department assisted with the pursuit as well as the arrest of the driver Christopher J. Clay, 40, of Kansas City.

Deputies transported Clay to the Shawnee County Department of Corrections with requested charges that include DUI, Possession of Cocaine, Interference w/ LEO, 2 Warrants for Felony Probation Violations and
Various traffic violations, according to Stallbaumer.