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June 17 (UPI) — A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday expanded an order against the State Department’s passport policy to include all applicants who are transgender or nonbinary, saying the “passport policy violates their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws.”

Judge Julia Kobick granted a first preliminary injunction in April, which blocked the State Department’s policy for only six of seven people who originally sued. On Tuesday, the judge expanded it to plaintiffs who were added to the suit, and nearly all trans and nonbinary Americans seeking new passports or changes.

Kobick, an appointee of former President Biden, wrote that the six named plaintiffs and the new class of plaintiffs “face the same injury: they cannot obtain a passport with a sex designation that aligns with their gender identity.”

“The plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the Passport Policy violates their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws and runs afoul of the safeguards of the APA,” Kobick wrote in Tuesday’s opinion, while referring to the Administrative Procedure Act which governs how policies are adopted.

After taking office earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, proclaiming the United States recognizes only two sexes — male and female — and that those sexes “are not changeable.” Trump then ordered government-issued identification documents, including U.S. passports, to reflect a person’s sex at birth.

“We will no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad with an X marker,” according the State Department. “We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth.”

Under the Biden administration, passport holders could self-select gender designation, including “unspecified” which was designated by the letter X.

The Trump administration appealed Kobick’s ruling in April. On Tuesday, Kobick wrote that forcing transgender and nonbinary people to choose between two sexes makes them more vulnerable to discrimination.

“Absent preliminary injunctive relief, these plaintiffs may effectively be forced to out themselves as transgender or non-binary every time they present their passport,” Kobick wrote.

The legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts celebrated Tuesday’s ruling and vowed to “continue to fight.”

“This decision acknowledges the immediate and profound negative impact that the Trump administration’s passport policy has on the ability of people across the country to travel for work, school and family,” Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement.

“The Trump administration’s passport policy attacks the foundations of the right to privacy and the freedom for all people to live their lives safely and with dignity,” Rossman added. “We will continue to fight to stop this unlawful policy once and for all.”

Sue Fogwell, a flight attendant with 22 years of experience up in the skies, has revealed the reason why she never orders one particular drink when she is flying

A cabin crew member has shared the one drink she would not order on a plane.

Sue Fogwell, a veteran flight attendant with 22 years in the skies, says that a Bloody Mary is a bad idea on a plane. The cabin crew member told Travel + Leisure that the drink’s sodium level is a recipe for a bad time when up at 30,000 feet.

That is despite the fact that flying tends to leave passengers craving acidity and saltiness due to the extra air pressure—things that tomato juice should be able to deliver in good quantity.

“‘Due to the very high sodium content, I always avoid drinking Mr&Mrs T/bloody mary mix and tomato juice,” Sue said. She avoids the drink because high sodium levels can quickly make passengers feel dehydrated.

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There are other tipples that flight attendants advise avoiding. Jet, who also runs a blog sharing her in-flight experiences, has urged travellers to avoid fizzy drinks during their flights. It’s not the drinks themselves that are the issue, but rather the inconvenience they cause for flight attendants when serving them to passengers.

In her online blog, Jet shared that “soft drinks foam up a lot more when poured out of a can”, which means she has “to sit and wait for the bubbles to fall before I can continue pouring”.

This becomes especially time-consuming when there’s a line of passengers all wanting carbonated drinks, leading her to start pouring, take other orders, and then return to finish off the initial drink servings. And it’s not just about the inconvenience.

The dry cabin environment is another factor to consider, as consuming fizzy drinks or alcohol can worsen dehydration, potentially making you feel quite unwell. Furthermore, the fizziness in these drinks can lead to bloating and indigestion – neither of which are pleasant on a long-haul flight.

So, while your main considerations when ordering mid-flight might usually be cost and whether the hunger or thirst justifies the expense, flight attendants suggest there’s more to think about when choosing your in-flight refreshment.

TikTok’s very own flight attendant influencer, Brodie Capron, known on the platform as @brodie. capron, has recently taken to social media to debunk some common myths about in-flight tap water.

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The question of whether it’s safe to drink bottled water on planes is a frequent one, particularly with rumours that the onboard water filters are seldom thoroughly cleaned. However, Brodie, who works for Virgin Australia, put these rumours to bed by confirming that their tap water is indeed safe to drink.

She confidently declared: “Is the water safe to drink? Yes, it is. It’s filtered, and it’s clean.”

On the other hand, fellow flight attendant Deja, who shares her insights under the TikTok handle @i. amdejaa, questions the cleanliness of liquids stored on planes.

Her advice to travellers is straightforward: “When you are travelling on an aeroplane please don’t drink coffee or tea,” and she didn’t stop there, adding hot chocolate to the list of drinks to avoid while flying. Deja claims that the “water tanks on the aeroplane are never cleaned, and they are very disgusting”.