Top Midwestern university becomes latest college to roll back DEI initiatives as trend goes national
The University of Michigan is the latest public university to dismantle its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) as part of its faculty requirements, making it one of several universities this year to roll back DEI initiatives. “The University of Michigan will no longer solicit diversity statements as part of faculty hiring, promotion and tenure,” the school said in a news release Thursday. University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley announced the decision to stop using the diversity statements following an Oct. 31 recommendation from a faculty working group, the university said. The group reportedly criticized the statements “for their potential to limit freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus.” DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER RANTS ABOUT ‘THE WHITE MAN’ DURING HEARING ON THE DISMANTLE DEI ACT “As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach,” McCauley said. The university chose not to implement two other recommendations from the working group: integrating DEI content into teaching, research and service statements, and enhancing training on how to write and assess them. Several other public universities this year have also rolled back their DEI initiatives and requirements. CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OFFICIAL COMPARED ‘SAVE GIRLS SPORTS’ SHIRT TO SWASTIKA, REBUKED GIRLS WEARING IT: LAWSUIT Following Senate Bill 17 being signed into law this year, Texas public universities eliminated DEI offices, DEI-related positions and mandatory DEI training. This included layoffs and restructuring at institutions like the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. The University of North Carolina system redirected millions from DEI initiatives to public safety and discontinued DEI programs on campuses in May. The state also prohibited mandatory diversity statements for job applications in academia. SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS Iowa’s three public universities — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — began eliminating DEI offices and reallocating funds after a state law was passed earlier this year. Last year, Florida’s restrictions on DEI in public universities were part of a broader set of education reforms implemented under Gov. Ron DeSantis, following the passage of legislation targeting DEI programs. Universities aren’t the only institutions rolling back DEI initiatives, and during his campaign, President-elect Trump vowed to eliminate DEI programs in federal agencies. In 2020, then-President Trump issued an executive order to ban “divisive” training for federal contractors. And the House Oversight Committee held a hearing last month about dismantling DEI policies. “It is a multibillion-dollar industry that pushes a left-wing, far-left ideological orthodoxy in essentially every area of American life, which is why I’ve begun to call it the ‘DEI enterprise,’ instead of just DEI, so that people have a sense of what I’m talking about,” Devon Westhill, a constitutional and civil rights attorney, told Fox News Digital in an interview. Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has encouraged DEI initiatives across several sectors of the federal government. In 2021, President Biden widened an executive order directing agencies to assess and “remove barriers” to equal opportunity through DEI policies. Another executive order signed that year was a government-wide initiative to embed DEI principles in federal hiring.
Russian attacks across Ukraine kill at least 11 people
Governor says strike on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region sets a service station on fire, killing at least nine people. At least nine people have been killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, its governor says. Ivan Fedorov said the strike on Friday set a car garage and service station on fire. “Nine dead and six wounded,” Fedorov said in a post on Telegram alongside images of a fire blazing with debris strewn across a street. He added that two children, aged four and 11, were among those hurt. The attack comes after weeks of escalation in the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up its strikes at the start of winter. The Russian military also struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, the local governor said, killing at least two people. The state emergency services agency said at least 16 others were wounded, including a child, while rescuers were searching for one missing person. “A three-storey building was destroyed, residential buildings and cars were damaged,” the agency said on Telegram. Kryvyi Rih, located about 80km (50 miles) from the front lines in southern Ukraine, has been targeted frequently by Russian aerial strikes since the country’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour. Advertisement Friday’s attacks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in Belarus’s capital of Minsk, where the two leaders signed a mutual defence pact. Speaking alongside Lukashenko, Putin emphasised the new agreement includes the potential use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus in response to an aggression. Russia also could deploy its newly developed hypersonic Oreshnik missiles in Belarus in 2025 as it begins to ramp up production, the Russian president said. Moscow unveiled the nuclear-capable weapon last month in a strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, sharply escalating tensions. “As for the possibility of deploying, to put it bluntly, such formidable weapons as Oreshnik on Belarusian territory, … it will become possible, I think, in the second half of next year,” Putin said on Friday. Russia had already deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in 2023. Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly said such weapons deployed to Belarus remain under Moscow’s control, but the secretary of Belarus’s Security Council, Alexander Volfovich, said on Friday that their use would require Lukashenko’s approval. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the recent use of the Oreshnik medium-range missile in Ukraine sought to make the West understand that Moscow was ready to use “any means” to stave off defeat. The Oreshnik launch on November 21 came after Ukraine carried out strikes against Russian military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk regions with Western-supplied weapons. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called Russia’s use of Oreshnik “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed to allies for updated air defence systems to meet the new threat. Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. Adblock test (Why?)
Why is the opposition capture of Hama in Syria so important?
Opposition fighters in Syria captured the strategic city of Hama on Thursday in a matter of hours. Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which means the Committee for the Liberation of the Levant, led the offensive as they stormed the city. Government forces quickly retreated. Inhabitants appeared to welcome what many described as the liberation of their city from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s clutches. One HTS fighter, who did not want to give his name, told Al Jazeera after entering Hama: “Thank God we liberated the city of Hama and now we are securing [it]. With God’s blessing, we will enter the city of Homs next.” Analysts and observers believe antigovernment fighters could capture most of the country, but say Hama has a particular value for the Syrian opposition. This is what we know about the strategic and symbolic significance of the city. Why is Hama so significant in Syria? The city witnessed one of the most brutal acts of repression in Syrian history, analysts and observers say. Advertisement In 1982, al-Assad’s father, Hafez, who was then president, ordered the killing of members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were occupying the city. The targeted people were part of a movement trying to remove the al-Assads from power and had taken over the city after ambushing army troops. They killed senior officers and leaders within the government and looted their homes, according to a report by the European Council for Foreign Relations, a think tank based in the United Kingdom. The group’s operations attracted widespread support and triggered an uprising against the government in the city. The government responded by bombing Hama for several days while Syrian troops moved in to crush the uprising. Syrian opposition fighters standing on a mat bearing drawings of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father Hafez [AFP] In the following weeks, Syrian forces laid siege to the city, going door to door to kill, torture and arrest any young men they believed to be with the opposition, according to Amnesty International. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 people were killed in Hama – the precise figure is still unknown. “It was the awareness of the mass arrests and executions that terrified people,” said Robin Yassin-Kassab, an expert on Syria and the co-author of, Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War. “[The episode] made Syria a kingdom of silence,” he told Al Jazeera. The 2011 Syrian uprising momentarily shattered that barrier of fear. As protests swept the country, inhabitants of Hama gathered and sang “Yalla erhal ya Bashar,” which translates to “Come on and leave, Bashar!” Advertisement Protesters in Hama carried olive branches and crowds reached more than 500,000 people, activists told Al Jazeera in 2011. What did the Syrian regime do to Hama in 2011? All across Syria, government forces violently repressed demonstrations in 2011, including in Hama. For more than a decade, the regime barrel-bombed cities and arrested and tortured activists and perceived opponents. The government often relied on Alawi, as well as Shia, armed groups, both from Syria and across the region, to crack down on protesters. The Alawi sect in Syria is an offshoot of Shia Islam to which al-Assad and his family belong. Yassin-Kassab said many believe the barrier of fear has been shattered for a second time after rebel groups captured Aleppo and now Hama within days. In Hama, scenes of prisoners of conscience being liberated from the central prison prompted celebrations by Syrians. In the city, inhabitants tore down a statue of Hafez al-Assad. “I presumed Hama is where [the government and its loyalists] would put up a serious fight … but they weren’t capable,” said Yassin-Kassab. “After Hama [was liberated], I thought to myself: ‘The Syrian revolution is back.’” An abandoned Syrian army armoured vehicle sits on a field controlled by Syrian opposition fighters in the outskirts of Hama, on December 3, 2024 [Ghaith Alsayed/AP] Is Hama strategically important? Very much so. The capture of Hama allows rebel groups to keep moving down the Aleppo-Damascus M5 highway towards Homs, which if captured, could split apart the regime’s strongholds. Advertisement Opposition fighters appear to have reached the outskirts of the city, according to reports, while thousands of people have fled. Homs has a larger population of Alawis than Hama, but HTS has reportedly offered assurances that minorities in Syria will not be harmed. The city is effectively a gateway to Syria’s capital, Damascus, as well as to the coastal provinces of Tartous and Latakia, which are Alawi heartlands and where Russian naval and air bases are located. If Homs falls to the opposition, then opposition fighters are likely to push on to try to take Damascus, said Yassin-Kassab. “I do think if Homs falls, then that will be the beginning of the end for the [Assad regime],” he told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
Food crisis as 1.5 million Syrians could be displaced, says WFP
NewsFeed The ongoing fighting in Syria is expected to displace around 1.5 million people, says the UN World Food Programme. This is a breaking point for a food crisis in the country where 12.9 million people are already considered food insecure. Published On 6 Dec 20246 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Texas’ maternal mortality committee faces backlash for not reviewing deaths from first two years post-Dobbs
Committee members said it was necessary to skip the two years after Texas passed its restrictive abortion laws to offer more timely recommendations.
GOP senator announces ‘DOGE Acts’ to back Musk, Ramaswamy government cost-cutting objectives
Sen. Marsha Blackburn will roll out a package of legislation backing up Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) objectives, as Republican lawmakers launch legislative efforts to rally behind the cost-cutting efforts. The Tennessee Republican announced her plans to unveil the “DOGE Acts” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. They would seek to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., freeze federal hiring and salaries for one year, and get federal workers back in the office. The GOP senator will reportedly unveil a series of measures that will mirror more of the framework being pushed by the new agency to cut government spending, according to the senators’ spokesperson. “I will be introducing legislation that coincides with @DOGE’s plan to make the federal government more efficient,” Blackburn said in a post on X. ‘WE’RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH’: REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY “My DOGE Act will freeze federal hiring, begin the process to relocate agencies out of the D.C. swamp, and establish a merit-based salary system for the federal workforce,” Blackburn said. A spokesperson for the senator later revealed that she plans to announce several of these bills. REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS “Senator Blackburn is planning to introduce a package of bills – known as the DOGE Acts – aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for managing taxpayer dollars next week,” Blackburn’s spokesperson said in a statement, the Hill reported. “The DOGE Acts coincides with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan to make the federal government more efficient.” Musk responded to the senator’s tweet, writing “thank you” in a post. The announcement came after Musk and Ramaswamy, the pair appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the efforts, spent the day meeting with lawmakers to discuss cost-cutting opportunities and objectives. Lawmakers told Fox News Digital that they were “very impressed” with the DOGE framework following their meetings with the duo. Along with Blackburn’s legislative plans, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, unveiled a 60-page cost-cutting proposal during a meeting with GOP senators and Ramaswamy on Thursday. The DOGE efforts have already gained bipartisan support from Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., joining the House’s GOP-led congressional caucus. Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked whether he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering, “Yes.”
Dozens of prominent veterans sign onto letter supporting ‘outstanding’ Hegseth nomination amid controversies
EXCLUSIVE: A growing number of prominent veterans are signing onto an open letter endorsing Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth as he battles back allegations that may stymie his confirmation. The Heritage Foundation began collecting the signatures on Thursday and garnered more than 74 in that short time, a foundation official told Fox News Digital. “As military veterans and patriotic Americans, we are pleased to see an outstanding veteran nominated to lead the Department of Defense,” the letter begins. “Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran who served as an Infantry Officer in the Army National Guard, deploying overseas to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.” HEGSETH SAYS HE’LL BE ‘STANDING RIGHT HERE IN THIS FIGHT’ The veterans state that Hegseth has “worked tirelessly” to support U.S. troops and that his experience and drive will lead him in rebuilding the military back to a “fighting force . . . capable of defending the national security interests of the American people.” They cite Hegseth’s long-held stance on “depoliticizing” the military and his rebuttals of “DEI”-type policies and other “toxic ideologies” they claim have been foisted upon troops in recent years. “Ending wokeness is just the start. The Pentagon is also bloated with bureaucracy and waste. The defense industrial base is failing to deliver,” the veterans wrote. “Cost overruns and delays have become the norm. The Department of Defense needs a Secretary of Defense willing to confront both the entrenched bureaucracy and the defense industry and force them to deliver the ships, planes, and munitions our troops need to confront America’s adversaries.” TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS Dan Caldwell is a veteran of the Marine Corps and Camp David security force who, along with his fellow adviser at the Center for Renewing America, three-time-deployed Marine Joseph Wade Miller, signed onto the letter. They join at least 40 other prominent veterans in supporting Hegseth’s nomination, as the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host faces allegations surrounding alcohol abuse and mistreatment of women. Eddie Gallagher, of the Pipe Hitters Foundation, also signed the letter. Gallagher launched the veteran defense-focused nonprofit after being found not guilty in a war crimes trial. James Jay Carafano, Rob Greenway, Wilson Beaver, Steve Bucci and Jeremy Hayes, all decorated military veterans who are advisers to, or fellows at, the Heritage Foundation, signed onto the missive. The letter also calls out the previous administration’s inability to secure the southern border and restore peace in Eurasia. “Pete Hegseth shares these priorities and is ready to execute the Commander in Chief’s agenda on day one. As proud American veterans, we stand with him and the President in this historic endeavor,” they write. Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage, called Hegseth the “right kind of fighter for America” and a person who is ready to “clean up” the Pentagon. “At a time when bloat and woke initiatives detract from the core warfighting mission of our armed forces, we need a secretary like Pete who has both served in combat and advocated for veterans on Capitol Hill,” Roberts said separately from the letter. Victoria Coates, a former adviser on national security to both Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Hegseth would be “a literal breath of fresh air in the musty halls of the Pentagon.” On Thursday, Hegseth said he refused to back down from a fight as his nomination remains in limbo amid drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing. “We’ve had great conversations, about who I am and what I believe,” Hegseth said of his meetings with senators. “And, frankly, the man I am today, because of my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ and my wife, Jenny, right here, I’m a different man than I was years ago.” That exchange followed the leak of a critical letter that Hegseth’s mother, Penelope, wrote to him years ago about his relationships with women. However, Penelope Hegseth told Fox News on Wednesday that she had written the email in an impassioned moment and later apologized for it. Multiple sources reported to Fox News that Trump is considering his former primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – a retired Navy lieutenant commander – for the top Pentagon spot in case Hegseth falters. Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Conservatives worry Congress won’t have ‘spine’ for spending overhaul after DOGE meetings
Republicans have big plans for spending cuts next year, but some GOP lawmakers are doubting Congress can muster the momentum for significant changes. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel on cutting spending and the national debt, were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a series of meetings with lawmakers on how Congress and the White House can work together to achieve that goal. And while that advisory panel is chiefly aimed at what executive actions Trump could take, lawmakers are conceding that significant, lasting change must be achieved through legislation. And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there. “The problem’s in that room,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referring to other GOP lawmakers who met with Musk and Ramaswamy. GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE FRAMEWORK AMID MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL “These guys, you know, they talk real tough,” but they did not vote in ways he believed showed they were serious about cutting spending. “You don’t see a lot of that. Now, when is that going to start? Is it going to start just because Elon and Vivek [address us]?” Burchett asked. “I just worry about us losing steam. … We’ve got to get some guts, and people have got to hold us accountable.” REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Fox News “a lot of members” stood up to suggest ways to “save money” during Thursday afternoon’s brainstorming session with Republicans and the DOGE duo. “One would think more of them would have been willing to vote, cast votes on the floor of the House in order to do those things early,” Bishop added. The DOGE discussions have opened up longstanding wounds within the House GOP, whose members spent a significant amount of the 118th Congress battling among themselves over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues. The national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion. A senior House GOP aide expressed optimism about the new goal but added that Musk and Ramaswamy were “swinging for the fences.” “The hard part is once they find the stuff to cut, I think it’s Congress who has to do the actual cutting, right?” the aide said. Another senior GOP aide said, “The mission of DOGE is worthy and absolutely necessary, but nothing is going to change. We aren’t going to cut spending like we [have to] to get our fiscal house in order, and we aren’t going to slash waste at any significant level.” US NATIONAL DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD: $36 TRILLION Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also skeptical, told Republicans at Thursday’s meeting they needed to “grow a spine” to actually move meaningful spending cuts. “I’ve said to my colleagues, ‘If you can’t print money, if, literally, it was banned today, what would you do?’ You would do what you do for your home budget. You would say, ‘Well, we can’t take a vacation here. I can’t get a fancy new car because I need to get braces for my child,’” Roy told WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor. “We don’t ever do that, and, until we do, all of the DOGE waste-cutting in the world won’t help. We’ve got to do both. We need the waste-cutting, but we need Congress to grow a spine.” MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT Some Republicans are skeptical of having Musk and Ramaswamy lead the charge. “They had no game plan — a wish list that they’re giving to Santa and the American people that will never be even remotely accomplished,” one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital of Thursday’s meeting. The GOP lawmaker called DOGE a “magical department that has been erected out of thin air,” and pointed out its logo was heavily inspired by a cryptocurrency known as “dogecoin” that Musk has backed. “They’re going to run into a brick wall called ‘members of Congress who know how to do our job,’” the lawmaker said.
The Texas House speaker race isn’t over. Here’s where it stands.
With Speaker Dade Phelan out of the race, Republican state Reps. David Cook and Dustin Burrows will now face off.
Detransitioners, parents demand end to ‘butchery’ of children through sex-change surgeries
Former transgenders, parents and activists braved frigid temperatures on Wednesday morning to rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court to demand an end to the “butchery” and “trauma” of child sex-change surgeries and treatments. The rally took place as the court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a high-stakes case over the constitutionality of Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and transgender surgeries for minors. One of the rally speakers, Matt Walsh, who is a podcast host for the Daily Wire and creator of the “What Is a Woman” documentary, told Fox News Digital that the case is about “basic truth.” “The trans agenda represents a unique, distinct threat to children. We have to stand up and protect them, that’s what this is all about,” he said. “If the Supreme Court gets this case right, then we could be looking at ultimately the death of the gender ideology industry. That’s what we want, and that’s what’s at stake.” ‘OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE’ OF NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES FROM GENDER ‘TREATMENTS’ FOCUS OF LANDMARK SUPREME COURT CASE The rally was organized by a diverse set of groups, including medical watchdog Do No Harm, the Heritage Foundation, Catholic Vote and the LGB Alliance. One member of the LGB Alliance, Glenna Goldis, from Brooklyn, told Fox News Digital that many lesbian, gay and bisexual people see sex-change treatments as a form of conversion therapy. “A lot of gay people feel strongly about this issue,” she said. “But we’re not able to get our voices out, because the LGBTQ lobby has so much money, and they drown us out, and they pretend that they’re speaking for gay people, but they do not.” SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS There was also a significant presence of former transgender people – “detransitioners” – many of whom said they did not want more children to undergo the negative health effects they had endured due to sex-altering treatments. One detransitioner, a woman named Laura Becker, told Fox News Digital that she had stopped the treatments after realizing that they were causing her incredible harm and trauma. “My advocacy is around healing the trauma instead of permanently medically mutilating the bodies of children and vulnerable young adults like I was,” she said. “I took testosterone when I was 19, and I had my breasts sliced off when I was 20 years old, despite being suicidal. I ended up being diagnosed with PTSD two years later, just from the transition.” “I had trauma already, which made me have an identity crisis, [and] then I had even more trauma from the medicalization,” Becker added. “That’s a permanent effect I live with for the rest of my life.” TENNESSEE GOVERNOR WEIGHS IN AS SCOTUS DEBATES STATE’S BAN ON TRANS SURGERIES FOR MINORS Another detransitioner, named Claire A., from Maryland, told Fox News Digital that the vast majority of people who undergo sex-change surgeries and treatments suffer from severe traumatic experiences that are only compounded by transitioning. “I started going to therapy for trauma that I experienced in my childhood that contributed to my trans identity, and through healing from that, I healed from the pain that made me feel I needed to change my body,” she said. Despite ending her treatments, Claire said she continues to suffer daily pain. “I’m three years off of testosterone, and I still experience pelvic floor dysfunction,” she said. “My voice hurts, I can’t raise my voice very loud, it hurts to talk. It hurts. My joints hurt. It’s not a fun life to live. I would like to keep other children from being forced to live this life.” There were also several parents of transgender children who have been denied custody and access to their children because they would not affirm their transgender identities. “I haven’t held my son in four years, my son is six years old now,” Adam Vena, a father from California, told Fox News Digital. Vena said that with the prompting of his son’s mother, his child, Aidan, began transitioning into a girl at two years old. Two years later, Vena said, he lost custody of his son, “because I was not a gender-affirming parent.” ACLU LAWYER DEFENDS TRANS PROCEDURES FOR MINORS DESPITE ACKNOWLEDGING ‘IT’S NOT THE KIDS WHO ARE CONSENTING’ “A California court ordered my son to go to a gender clinic at a Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles when I requested to sit in on the gender assessment, they denied me access to ask my own questions as his father,” he explained. “They also denied me a phone call. So, me being a father has been completely cut out of my son’s life.” Harrison Tinsley, another California father who recently regained custody of his son, told Fox News Digital, “I think this is one of the greatest evils of our time, like our lobotomy or slavery, transgender mutilation of children.” “The time to stop this is right now,” said Tinsley. “The Supreme Court’s going to rule the right way, and I’m hoping that Trump and Congress can ban this federally, stop the mutilation of children and stop this irreversible damage.”