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State Pardon Courtnay Hough protests in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 25, 2017, after former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was pardoned by U.S. President Trump. REUTERS/CAITLIN O'HARA Alex Gomez of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) joins local immigrants rights organizations to protest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. August 25, 2017, after former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio was pardoned by U.S. President Trump. REUTERS/CAITLIN O'HARA (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday granted a pardon to controversial former Arizona lawman and political ally Joe Arpaio less than a month after he was convicted of criminal contempt in a case involving racial profiling. "Throughout his time as sheriff, Arpaio continued his life's work of protecting the public from the scourges of crime and illegal immigration," said a White House statement announcing Arpaio's pardon, the first of Trump's administration. Arpaio, 85, the self-proclaimed "toughest she

FILE PHOTO: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, U.S. FILE PHOTO: A gender-neutral bathroom is seen at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, California, U.S., September 30, 2014.      The Republican-controlled Texas Senate gave preliminary approval on Tuesday to a bill that restricts bathroom access for transgender people, endorsing a piece of legislation denounced by civil liberties advocates as discriminatory. Final Senate adoption of the bill was possible later on Tuesday or Wednesday. The measure would then be sent to the state House of Representatives, where passage during a 30-day special legislative session that ends in mid-August is less certain despite a Republican majority in that body as well. The preliminary vote in the Senate was 21-10, with one Democrat crossing the aisle to vote with the Republican majority in favor of the measure, Senate Bill 3. Enactment in Texas, the most-populous Republican