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130 Democrat congressional representatives urge SCOTUS to side with trans athlete in Title IX legal battle
A coalition of 130 congressional Democrats filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging it to rule in favor of two trans athletes in forthcoming cases over the protection of women's sports and national enforcement of Title IX.
The coalition, which includes nine senators and 121 House members, is led by Congressional Equality Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Becca Balint, D-V.t., Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Rep. Teresa Leger, D-N.M. Fernández, and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii.
The list of signees include prominent figures on the party's left wing, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. The list also includes House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. The list does not include noted moderate Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., or Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
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The 130 Democrats on the list urge the court to side with Becky Pepper-Jackson, a trans teen from West Virginia who successfully challenged the state's law that prohibits biological males from competing in girls' sports, and Lindsay Hecox, who successfully challenged a similar law in Idaho to compete on Boise State's women's cross-country team.
"Categorical bans—such as the bans in West Virginia and Idaho—undermine those protections and the ability of transgender students to be part of their school community," the brief writes.
Hirono wrote in an announcement of the brief, "All students deserve equal access to opportunity in schools—whether in the classroom, on the playing field, or in other settings. No student should be discriminated against based on who they are.
"A categorical ban on transgender students participating in sports not only harms these students, but also subjects women and girls to harassment and discrimination, and leads to the policing of children’s bodies. This contradicts the very purpose of Title IX: ending discrimination in federally-funded education programs. These bans are blatant discrimination, and the Court should say so."
The congressional Democrats are taking this position even as support for trans athletes in women's and girls' sports emerged as a weakness for voters and point of contention within the party over the last year.
In January, a New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
The Little vs Hecox and West Virginia vs BPJ cases were each initially legal wins that enabled biological males to bypass their state's laws to compete against females. But now that the cases will be heard by the Supreme Court, a decision could have a wide-ranging impact on the legality of trans athletes in women's sports going forward.
The cases are set for oral arguments on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C.
The Little v. Hecox lawsuit was initially filed by trans athlete Lindsay Hecox in 2020, when the athlete wanted to join the women's cross-country team at Boise State and had the state's law to prevent trans athletes from competing in women's sports blocked.
Hecox was joined by an anonymous biological female student, Jane Doe, who was concerned about the potential of being subjected to the sex dispute verification process. The challenge was successful when a federal judge blocked Idaho's state law.
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld an injunction blocking the state law in 2023, before the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case. Hecox then asked SCOTUS last month to drop the challenge, claiming the athlete "has therefore decided to permanently withdraw and refrain from playing any women’s sports at BSU or in Idaho."
Hecox tried to have the case dismissed in September after the Supreme Court agreed in July to hear the case, but U.S. District Judge David Nye, appointed by President Donald Trump in 2017, rejected Hecox's motion to dismiss the case.
The West Virginia v. B.P.J. lawsuit was brought against the state of West Virginia by trans athlete Becky Pepper-Jackson, who was initially granted a preliminary injunction allowing the athlete to participate on the school's sports teams. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the law violated Title IX and the equal protection clause. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state's appeal.
In a response brief, the athlete's mother, Heather Jackson, argued West Virginia's law that prohibits transgender athletes from competing in women's sports violates Title IX.
However, Title IX does not explicitly protect the right of biologically male transgender people to identify as women. The Trump administration and West Virginia state government do not interpret Title IX as protective of that right.
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'The View' co-host Joy Behar says a conservative woman could win the presidency 'faster than a liberal'
"The View" co-host Joy Behar suggested Tuesday that a conservative woman could have a better chance of winning the presidency than a liberal one.
On the show's podcast, Behar, her co-host Sunny Hostin and "The View" producer Brian Teta commented on a recent segment where they discussed whether a woman could ever become president. Hostin said she couldn't see one winning in her lifetime, but Behar suggested it was possible with the right candidate.
"It's possible that somebody like a Liz Cheney could win if she wasn't in the doghouse with her own party right now," Behar said. "She could be somebody who could run. I think maybe a conservative woman would win faster than a liberal. It's possible."
KAMALA HARRIS REJECTS IDEA THAT BUNGLED 'VIEW' INTERVIEW WAS TIPPING POINT IN CAMPAIGN
"A lot of people think that," Teta responded. "A lot of people think a conservative woman might win first."
"A White conservative woman," Hostin clarified, adding that there's still "a lot of misogyny in this country."
No woman has ever won the Republican presidential nomination.
Earlier on "The View," the women discussed former first lady Michelle Obama's recent comments about America not being ready for a female president.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin disagreed with Obama, arguing that the recent candidates, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, were flawed.
"I respectfully disagree with the first lady," Griffin said. "I don't think that we're not ready. I think when you look at the two candidates that were Democratic nominees, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, there is sexism that plays in. They were flawed candidates."
Behar pushed back on the comment, insisting that several other countries, such as Mexico, have already elected female presidents.
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"We're the only country," Behar said.
During the show, Hostin said she didn't believe that the country was ready to elect a Black woman president because of its history of racism and misogyny.
"Because of my lived experience, as an Afro-Latina, I’m able to look at this world with a different prism, and I’m able to tell this country and tell this audience and tell my fellow co-hosts some uncomfortable truths. This is a country based on racism and slavery, and founded in it, there is systemic racism and misogyny," Hostin said.
NYC Mayor-elect Mamdani asks supporters for $4M to fund transition, vows no wealthy donors
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is appealing to supporters for donations as he prepares to take office.
"I hope very soon not to have to ask you for money. But until then, I'm askin' for you to go to transition2025.com, give whatever you can …" Mamdani said in a video posted Tuesday.
The incoming mayor explained that transition operations do not qualify for public matching funds, unlike campaign contributions.
"Now unlike the campaign, transitions do not get public matching funds from the city. So that eight-to-one match: gone. It's up to us to raise the money. Usually campaigns take that as an opportunity to rely on wealthy donors, but that's not us," he said.
NYC MAYOR-ELECT MAMDANI DOUBLES DOWN ON NETANYAHU ARREST PLEDGE
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, said "we need to raise $4 million dollars in total, so January 1st can be the day we start to deliver, not start to prepare."
Figures displayed in the video showed more than $1 million raised as of Nov. 14, with an average donation of $77.65 across 12,707 donors.
In the video, he explained why he's fundraising.
"We have to vet the 50,000 resumes we've received," he said. "We have to keep paying our incredible team."
"And we have to plan not just our inauguration, but our policy implementation," he said.
Earlier this month, the New York state assemblymember and Democratic mayoral candidate won the Big Apple's mayoral contest, defeating former Empire State Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Government releases newly declassified Amelia Earhart disappearance records from National Archives
Newly unsealed government records related to famed American aviator Amelia Earhart have been made public.
The U.S. National Archives released 4,624 pages related to the disappearance of Earhart on the Electra on Friday.
A variety of documents detail Earhart’s last known communications, maps, tables and logs.
AMELIA EARHART MYSTERY EXPEDITION HALTED AS RESEARCHERS SEEK ANSWERS ON MISSING PLANE
Her last communication was documented on July 2, 1937, the day of her disappearance over the Pacific. It reads, "We are on the line 157 337 wl rept msg we wl rept..."
Among the documents released is the U.S. Navy Report of the Search for Amelia Earhart from 1937.
The report began immediately after Earhart’s last transmission; it spanned 16 days, until July 18, 1937.
Earhart’s last confirmed radio transmission was reaffirmed in the report at 1912 GMT near 157° east longitude, 337° south latitude.
The report details the search by USS Colorado and USS Lexington that covered nearly 250,000 square miles of the Pacific. PBY-1 seaplanes, meanwhile, searched a 25,000-square-mile region of the ocean daily.
Four distinct areas were noted as potential landing sites, along with speculation notes.
McKean Island was mentioned as having a "recent disturbance of guano surface," while Gardner Island (Nikumaroro) showed "signs of habitation or fire marks."
Purdue University recently delayed an expedition to search for Amelia Earhart's missing plane in Nikumaroro to next year, due to issues with permits, as well as hurricane season concerns.
McKean Reef contained "unusual debris," while the search team saw a "dark object, possibly wreckage," at Sydney Island Lagoon.
A section of the Navy report notes there were seven credible distress signals detected between July 2 and July 6.
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Two were logged near Gardner Island — in support of the Nikumaroro theory.
Lockheed Electra performance charts show the Navy recalculated Earhart’s fuel endurance at 20 hours and 13 minutes.
Under this calculation, her expected flight time was extended by nearly 40 minutes beyond the initial Coast Guard estimate, speculating that Earhart could have passed Howland.
The report also reaffirmed that the Navy found no confirmed aircraft debris.
It stated, "No evidence of aircraft remains was discovered within the search radius."
A memo dated Nov. 18, 1936, also shows the Navy’s request to assist in refueling Earhart’s airplane ahead of her planned world flight in 1937.
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"The Navy Department will cooperate in refueling the airplane of Miss Amelia Earhart ... at Midway Island, and undertake such other operations as are required to prepare for and carry out this task," it reads.
In addition, various documents show that Earhart's husband, George Putnam, was also her manager. He communicated with the Navy on matters of the trip.
The Navy was not funding Earhart’s trip, but it was authorized to assist with logistical aid.
Another document shows a translated diplomatic letter from Japan after Earhart’s disappearance.
"Japan wishes to express her most profound condolences for the Earhart tragedy," the message says.
"She does so on behalf of both the government and the people."
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It continues, "The South Seas Islands Government Office has ordered all ships, stations and sentinels near the Marshall Islands, the suspected scene of the accident, to give every possible assistance in discovering the lost plane."
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of the Earhart documents on X. She added that as agencies identify additional files, those documents will be released on a rolling basis.
"Delivering on President [Donald] Trump’s promise, the release of the Amelia Earhart files will shine light on the disappearance of a beloved American aviator who has been at the center of public inquisition for decades," she said in a statement last week.
White House fires back after left-wing professor said Trump wants to re-segregate schools
Professors who appeared in a video on the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) YouTube page earlier this month discussed scheming against ICE operations, while one speculated that President Donald Trump plans to re-segregate schools.
Caroline Luce is a professor of social sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who appeared on the Nov. 6 episode titled "ICE AND HIGHER ED: DEFENDING OUR COMMUNITIES."
The Trump administration has demanded $1 billion from the school to settle claims of rampant antisemitism, along with the demand that UCLA establishes a $172 million claims fund for alleged victims of violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
In exchange, the Trump administration would release $584 million in taxpayer-funded federal grants back to the school.
"Conceding to these demands would be sacrificing the sanctity of higher education as we know it in this country," Luce, who twice referred to Trump as the "orange man," said. "But among the demands are information-sharing demands, and that includes in regards to visa holders, which is to say international students who are here on student visas."
UNDERCOVER VIDEO REVEALS RED STATE UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE SUGGESTING DEI IS SIMPLY BEING REBRANDED
"It would demand access to students—undergraduate students—under the guise of trying to stomp out DEI, which we know is just a veiled excuse to re-segregate our universities, and that's been borne out," she said.
Asked how that claim has been "borne out," Luce did not return a request for comment.
"During the Biden years, radical left-wing activists at universities separated and pit students against each other on the basis of race all in the name of DEI. President Trump put a stop to those divisive and un-American DEI programs to recenter the focus of education on merit," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Under President Trump’s bold leadership, promoting academic excellence is the number one objective once again in American education."
The conversation was hosted by New York University (NYU) professor Chenjerai Kumanyika, an AAUP National Council member. Kumanyika referred to Trump's UCLA demands as "extortion."
The panel also featured Aaron Krall, an English lecturer at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is the president of UIC Faculty United, another union on campus.
He said his union is actively working with community organizations on "rapid response" to ICE operations, and giddily informed Luce and Kumanyika that in Chicago, "everybody's got a whistle now."
PROFESSOR ADVOCATES DOXXING ICE AGENTS, IMPEDING OPERATIONS IN SOCIAL POSTS
Anti-ICE activists have taken to blowing whistles when agents are conducting operations, signaling community members and other activists to mob and film the agents as they work, causing havoc.
"But this is a way to make people feel comfortable going out into the streets and pushing back, saying that we disapprove, yelling at the fascists, getting in their faces," Krall said. "It's been amazing."
He told Kumanyika he "didn't want to go into the rapid response training too much," with a coy smile.
"I get it," Kumanyika replied with a chuckle. "Like, there's only so granular we're going to get about the nature of the planning."
Referring to ICE arrests, Krall also claimed that the law enforcement entity had "abducted" people from Chicago.
Krall, Kumanyika, UCLA and the AAUP did not respond to requests for comment.
McMahon says government shutdown proved schools don't need federal oversight at all
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Monday the recent government shutdown proved federal involvement isn’t essential for schools to operate.
McMahon released a video on social media claiming the nation’s education system continued to operate normally throughout the government shutdown.
"The Democrats kept the government shut down for 43 days. Flights were delayed, SNAP benefits ran dry, small-business and housing loans were frozen, but one major component of life for American families went virtually unaffected, education," McMahon said.
President Trump signed legislation last week ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN EXPOSED THE BIGGEST LIE IN EDUCATION
"The Federal Department of Education furloughed 90% of its staff. And what happened? Nothing," McMahon continued. "Schools stayed open, students went to class, teachers got paid. The shutdown proved our schools don't depend on Washington bureaucracy to function. If 90% of an agency supposedly governing education can disappear for weeks without disrupting education, do we really need it at all?"
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump made downsizing the federal government — including dismantling the Education Department — one of his key promises.
SECRETARY OF EDUCATION POINTS OUT THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SHOWS HER DEPARTMENT IS UNNEEDED
The Department of Labor absorbed some of the Education Department's workforce programs as part of Trump’s effort to eliminate the department.
In March, McMahon laid off half of the department's workforce while Trump announced an executive order that he planned to shutter the department.
TRUMP CANCELS $4.9B FOREIGN AID, PUSHES DC DEATH PENALTY, TOUTS KIM TIES
Germany unveils new incentives to boost military recruitment amid growing Russia threat
President Donald Trump started his campaign for Europe in general and Germany in particular to spend more of their budgets on defense during his first term, and it's starting to pay off in the economic engine of Europe, the Federal Republic of Germany.
Germany’s coalition government — Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union and the Social Democrats — has agreed to a new system of incentives for voluntary military service after a heated debate last week to address the growing Russia threat to the European continent.
Incentives to generate recruitment involve free access to driving licenses. The cost of driving licenses can reach several thousand dollars. The second incentive is an increase in the existing pre-tax salary at the starting level, to around $3,000 a month.
US BRISTLES AT GERMANY'S DEFENSE BUDGET PLANS AFTER IT FALLS SHORT
German conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared at the start of his tenure that Germany’s armed forces would be transformed into "Europe’s strongest conventional army," Jens Spahn, the parliamentary leader of Merz’s CDU party, told reporters on Thursday. "We want to win over as many young people as possible for the service for the fatherland."
Spahn added that if the voluntary model does not secure sufficient military soldiers and personnel, "we’ll need to make it obligatory" Spahn noted, however, that the move toward compulsory conscription would mean a new law would need to be passed.
David Wurmser, who worked for the U.S. Navy Reserve as an intelligence officer, as a Lieutenant Commander and was a former senior advisor for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News Digital that "Europe is finally beginning to contemplate defense and a more serious way."
"While it has never been its official policy, over the last few decades, Europeans took for granted the American umbrella and the inconceivability of war to both largely minimize any defense burden they share, as well as placed themselves as some sort of moral conscience lording over the world that ranged into pacifism and impossible moral perfection. It is a good thing that they are now forced to start soberly thinking about their defense and what that might entail."
‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS
He added that "it is important that we in the United States begin to understand that the center of gravity of European civilization is shifting eastward. The fact that Germany, before Britain and France, seemed to appreciate the threat that it faces and the resulting need to stand up a more robust defense, is symbolic of that shift eastward."
According to Wurmser, "Symbolically, Germany’s actions represent a realization that is long overdue, but is not yet universally understood. That what happened in February 2022, as well as what is happening in the Middle East against Israel, are only localized versions of a much larger, dangerous, and potentially deadly global competition that is led by several nations in opposition to western civilization."
He said, "That axis represents the fusion of communist, Islamist, and fascist thought. That unholy alliance, which is an unlikely alliance, is anchored first and foremost to the loathing of Western civilization. The West will not survive unless it realizes that, and what Germany is doing is to some extent a first small step in that direction. "
Trump urged Germany to pay the U.S.more for its military defense of Germany during his first term.
Antifa violence exposes UC Berkeley’s hypocrisy on free speech and tolerance
The University of California at Berkeley was once famed as the birth of America’s modern free speech movement in 1964, led by graduate student Mario Savio. But, that legacy has been marred by successive incidents and policies at the university antithetical to our First Amendment ideals. The growing trend of left-wing violence targeting free speech in America was on full display this week when Antifa thugs crashed a peaceful Turning Point USA event at UC Berkeley. The mob attacked attendees and vandalized university property in its attempt to oust Turning Point from the event space. Police made only a few arrests.
University organizers did little to protect students or the public, despite being on notice of similar incidents of organized violence in the past. They are also accused of interfering with ticketed access to the event featuring Christian comedian Rob Schneider. Berkeley’s legacy as a bastion of free speech is in tatters, stained with the blood of event attendees who came in good faith and were beaten and attacked by a vicious, organized mob while Berkeley police and campus administrators did little to stop the carnage.
Before the event, it was reported that the campus was littered with flyers promising violence against the Turning Point event, and the violent groups that are well known to the campus and the city openly took credit for their desired goals. This is a feature that has become all too common among radical left-wing groups embracing violence as a tool to achieve political outcomes. Broadcasting their aims to silence their perceived opponents — the classic "heckler’s veto" but with a twist — the Antifa hecklers are now armed and prepared to wreak mayhem.
It’s for this very reason that President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year designating Antifa a terrorist organization, and Attorney General Pam Bondi is vigorously enforcing this directive. What we saw at Berkeley only reinforces the need for a coordinated response to targeted, ideologically motivated violence.
History shows that violence against conservatives is nothing new at UC Berkeley. In 2018, the university settled a lawsuit brought by Young America’s Foundation and the Berkeley College Republicans after it sought to saddle the student groups with exorbitant security costs that were only necessary because many violent leftist students on campus were threatening event safety. I was the attorney who represented the plaintiffs in that case. And as a part of the settlement, UC Berkeley agreed to ensure conservative student groups would be able to exercise their First Amendment rights, just like every other student group on campus. This includes providing adequate security to ensure a mob of protesters can’t disrupt events.
Based on the events of this week, it appears UC Berkeley may not be living up to its end of the deal. Worse, reports of university officials suppressing turnout at the event and not recognizing or admitting certain ticketed attendees, are deeply concerning and merit investigation.
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The number of protesters at a high-profile event requires ample security by the university. The First Amendment demands that a public university provide such protection in an equal and unbiased manner, regardless of the speaker’s viewpoint. This is true even if the need for more security is the result of a hostile environment on campus. Peaceful speakers and those who come to hear them should not be left to shoulder the burden of the university’s failure to foster an accepting, non-violent culture for students.
Given the concerning behavior by violent groups on campus and the wholly inadequate response of both the university and the city of Berkeley, the Civil Rights Division, under the leadership and direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi, has opened an investigation to determine if any violations of federal civil rights laws occurred. This includes both acts or omissions by university officials, and any conspiracy by private individuals to violate the civil rights of Turning Point members, its speakers or its attendees. Any violation of law will be met with swift action. We are coordinating this work with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and other aspects of the DOJ and may uncover additional claims as we investigate the Antifa coordination, campus violence and policing failures we saw at Berkeley this week.
UC Berkeley was the birthplace of the free speech movement. But the events of this week confirm that the school still has a problem with left-wing violence. It’s a feature of life on Berkeley’s campus that contradicts the school’s venerable tradition supporting the free exchange of ideas. If UC Berkeley or the California Board of Regents does not get this violence under control, and we continue to witness policing practices in the city of Berkeley that leave innocent Americans at risk based upon their perceived viewpoints, the Justice Department will step in and ensure fidelity to our first principles of free speech on public campuses.
An illegal immigrant killed my daughter. Katie and Illinois are both getting justice
When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached out to ask if they could honor my daughter Katie through "Operation Midway Blitz," I had questions. I couldn’t agree to anything in my daughter’s name sight unseen. But after speaking with DHS and understanding the goals of this operation — to enforce the laws that are supposed to protect families like mine and to amplify Katie’s tragic story — I was convinced that her death would not be in vain.
Katie was violently killed on Jan. 19, 2025, in a way no parent should ever have to imagine. She was a passenger in a car stopped at a red light when an illegal alien, driving drunk at nearly 80 miles per hour, slammed into the back of their vehicle. The driver, Julio Cucul-Bol, a Guatemalan national in the country illegally and using false Mexican identification, stole from us a bright, loving young woman with her whole life ahead of her.
Adding to the horror of that night, after violently destroying the car and the lives inside it, he fled the scene — without a second thought to the people he had just maimed and killed. He didn’t try to render aid. He didn’t call for help. He ran, selfishly and cowardly, leaving others to face the devastation he caused.
That’s the true measure of the man who should never have been in our country to begin with.
DHS MARKS 'ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT DAYS' OF OPERATION MIDWAY BLITZ WITH SEVERAL ARRESTS
It seems painfully simple: if this man had not been allowed into our country against federal law, he would not have been on that road, and my daughter would be alive today. If Illinois had real leadership willing to prioritize public safety over politics — and if the state hadn’t doubled down on the sanctuary policies that shielded this coward — Katie might still be with us.
For months, I’ve been saying that it’s far easier to prevent chaos on the front end than to clean up tragedies like mine on the back end. An ounce of prevention always beats a pound of cure. I’ve consistently challenged Illinois politicians to explain how they had planned to balance public safety with their open-border and sanctuary policies. The silence has been deafening.
And I’ve asked repeatedly: what controls or audit processes were ever put in place once Illinois politicians opened the back door to anyone and everyone? Who was making sure our communities were safe? Who was tracking who came in, where they were going, or how they were being supported?
Instead of acting with compassion or foresight, Illinois leaders encouraged and even incentivized illegal immigration, sending a dangerous message that anyone could come here without consequence. That’s not compassion — that’s cruelty. It shows no regard for the safety of residents and no empathy for the struggles, abuse and exploitation suffered by the very people making that perilous journey.
After Katie’s death, I met with dozens of DHS and ICE agents and support staff in Chicago. I also sat down with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and we spoke at length about how open-border policies are tearing apart our communities. The contrast couldn’t have been more stark. I was struck by their professionalism, compassion and dedication. These men and women are not the villains that some politicians and activists make them out to be. They are Americans trying to do their jobs — to restore order and balance after years of dangerous neglect. Each of the dozens of men and women I met were competent, professional and deeply committed to keeping our communities safer.
I can’t help but wonder if any of ICE’s critics have ever taken the time to sit across from one of these agents or staff members. If they did, I believe they’d see what I saw: dedicated Americans working tirelessly to make our communities safer.
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Illinois politicians have shown no such compassion. They ignored Katie’s story because acknowledging it would mean admitting the failures of their policies. It appears their silence is not about grief or guilt — it’s about political self-preservation. Maintaining inflated census numbers and congressional seats seems to matter more than protecting innocent lives.
Katie lost her life to their cynical game of Russian roulette. And with her, we lost everything she might have become — her future, her chance to marry, to have children. I will never walk her down the aisle. I will never hold her children. Those are the real consequences of failed leadership.
Our current Illinois politicians should slink away in shame, never to hold any public office ever again.
That’s why I support "Operation Midway Blitz," because it’s time to bring accountability back to our immigration system. It’s time to put the safety of Americans ahead of political games. And it’s time to honor Katie — not just with words, but with action.
Biden’s green energy fiasco, not Trump's reforms, is jacking up your electric bill
There’s a battle to define a narrative about what’s to blame for rising electricity prices. Some claim higher electricity prices are due to President Donald Trump’s "one big beautiful bill," which curtailed subsidies for "cheap" wind and solar installations. Others blame AI’s rapidly expanding appetite for electricity, while some blame inflation. None of these charges hold up under scrutiny.
But shifting blame, usually with the help of a complicit media, helps with the only thing that matters to most politicians: seizing political power.
This is readily seen in California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s trip to Belém, Brazil, to rub elbows with the global elite at the U.N.’s COP30 global climate conference on Nov. 11. Newsom, an all-but-declared candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, slammed the Trump administration for not attending the confab, accusing the president of "handing the future to China," presumably in the category of selling solar panels embedded with secret kill switches.
Newsom went on to say that "We’re not turning backwards to the failed policies of the past — California is fighting for a clean-energy future, even as President Trump bends the knee to his Gulf-State patrons and takes a nap as the world burns." Newsom also claimed that California is now operating its grid on "two-thirds clean energy," with California operating on 100% non-fossil-fuel energy for at least part of the day nine out of 10 days this year.
NEWSOM CLAIMS TRUMP IS ‘HANDING THE FUTURE TO CHINA’ AT BRAZILIAN CLIMATE CONFAB THAT WH SKIPPED
But California now has the nation’s second-highest electricity prices, only behind Hawaii, with the Golden State’s electricity prices rising the most of any state since 2010: 127%, according to a new report from Jonathan A. Lesser, Ph.D., a senior fellow with the National Center for Energy Analytics.
The truth that Newsom doesn’t want Californians — or Democratic primary voters — to know is that "green" energy is expensive energy. That’s because, "60% of the time, (wind and solar) works every time" to borrow from the much-memed comedy "Anchorman." And, it’s very costly to make sure the power is on when wind and solar aren’t producing.
This, Lesser notes, is one of the main culprits in rising electricity costs.
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The Biden-Harris administration’s reckless push for subsidized wind and solar — and California’s before that and since — has destabilized our grid and forced consumers to foot the bill for fortifying unreliable "green" energy with reliable gas power and expensive batteries — the latter of limited utility.
From the first quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2025, average residential electricity rates across the U.S. surged by about 63%, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. But the pain isn’t evenly distributed. States like Massachusetts and California not only endured the steepest hikes, but now boast two of the nation's highest rates — over 30 cents per kilowatt-hour in some cases.
Critics peddle all sorts of excuses for these increases. One target is data centers, those power-hungry hubs fueling AI and cloud computing. Sure, they consume a lot of power — Virginia, a data center hotspot, has seen demand rise. But Virginia’s rates? Below-average increases and still under the national norm. If data centers are the villain, why isn’t the Old Dominion suffering like California?
TRUMP'S UN SPEECH REVEALS INCONVENIENT TRUTH OF MASSIVE GREEN ENERGY COSTS
A recent International Renewable Energy Agency report touts falling costs for renewables. But as Lesser’s analysis shows, that’s a half-truth at best. Subsidies like the federal production tax credit — now $27.50 per megawatt-hour — let wind and solar operators undercut the market with negative bids, distorting wholesale prices and squeezing out reliable baseload plants — which end up not being built.
Here’s the missing link the green advocates ignore: the shift in our generating mix. Between 2010 and 2024, U.S. electricity capacity grew 16% to 1,325 gigawatts, outpacing a mere 5% rise in retail sales. Sounds good, right? Wrong. Dispatchable sources — coal, gas and nuclear, which can ramp up on demand — plummeted by 80 gigawatts. Intermittent wind and solar ballooned seven-fold, to 278 gigawatts.
This trend accelerated in 2025: More than 1,900 megawatts of fossil fuel retired by July, with another 12,600 megawatts slated for shutdown by year’s end and into 2026. What's replacing them? More subsidized wind, solar, and pricey batteries.
TRUMP'S ENERGY PRICE PROMISE IS COMING DUE. HE HAS THE POWER TO SOLVE THE CRISIS
It’s policy malpractice. States like New Jersey and New York forced premature closures of reliable power plants such as Oyster Creek nuclear in 2018 and Indian Point in 2021, which powered a quarter of New York City’s needs.
Biden-era EPA rules, now being rolled back under Trump, would have shuttered most coal plants by 2032. Mandates for cars to have "zero-emissions" by 2035 in places like California ignore reality. Where will they get the electricity? Wind and solar can’t provide inertia or reactive power, essential for grid stability.
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The fallout? Skyrocketing prices.
NEWSOM PUSHES CLIMATE RECORD ABROAD AS CALIFORNIANS SHOULDER AMERICA’S HIGHEST GAS COSTS
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — only now going into effect, so any electricity price increases to this point aren’t due to the law — flips the script. By rescinding President Joe Biden’s vehicle emission standards and fossil fuel crackdowns, it prioritizes affordable, dispatchable energy. Expect more nuclear builds, streamlined pipelines and fewer handouts to Big Green. This won’t spike prices — it’ll stabilize them by restoring reliable supply.
Biden’s (and Newsom’s) green zealotry promised cheap power, but delivered the opposite: unaffordable, unreliable electricity that hampers economic growth. Trump’s reforms demonstrate that true energy independence means ditching the myths and embracing what works.
Americans deserve a grid that powers prosperity, not one that bankrupts it.