Federal judge partially blocks Trump’s effort to deny funding to pro-DEI public schools
A federal judge in New Hampshire on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from cutting funding to public schools that maintain diversity programs, a setback to its broader crackdown on DEI. U.S. District Judge Landya McCafferty said the effort by Trump’s Education Department to block federal funding to public schools that continue to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs likely violates the First Amendment, presenting what she described as “textbook viewpoint discrimination.” At issue is a memo sent by the Education Department this month to public schools nationwide, threatening to withhold Title I federal funds from public schools that continue to “unfairly” promote DEI views or programs. The effort sparked an immediate wave of concern, and lawsuits, across the country from education groups that cited the importance of Title I funds as a critical source of funding for many low-income public schools. TRUMP-APPOINTED JUDGE ORDERS ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN SECOND DEPORTED MIGRANT The DEI-slashing effort was met with a wave of court challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the National Education Association, the group’s New Hampshire affiliate chapter, and the Center for Black Educator Development, who challenged the case in New Hampshire’s federal court. Two other U.S. courts are slated to hear similar challenges to the Education Department’s effort, with one case in Washington, D.C., expected to be heard as early as this week. McCafferty’s ruling stopped short of issuing a nationwide injunction to block the policy in all 50 states. Rather, it blocks the Trump administration from halting the disbursement of Title I funds to any schools that employ or contract with plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “The right to speak freely and to promote diversity of ideas and programs is … one of the chief distinctions that sets us apart from totalitarian regimes,” McCafferty said in her 82-page opinion, adding that the actions taken by the Education Department “threate[n] to erode these foundational principles.” TRUMP URGES SUPREME COURT TO LET TRANS MILITARY BAN PROCEED She also said the Trump administration failed to provide the court with a sufficient definition of the DEI programs that were at risk as a result of the anti-DEI push. The order comes after the Trump administration and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit reached a short-term agreement to delay the policy from taking force. That agreement was slated to expire Thursday, prompting the court to rule on the matter.
White House torches Tim Walz’s speech about Trump’s ‘gulags,’ ‘chaos’: ‘His largest city burned to the ground’
The White House hit back hard Thursday at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s state of the state address in which Kamala Harris’ former running mate slammed President Donald Trump over his immigration policies and other “chaos.” “It’s rich of Tim ‘Jazz Hands’ Walz to decry chaos when he let his largest city burn to the ground while his wife opened their mansion’s windows to savor the fumes,” White House deputy press secretary, Harrison Fields, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, referring to the Minneapolis George Floyd riots of 2020. “Walz also willingly served alongside Vice President Harris, who presided over one of the most chaotic administrations in American history.” The former Democratic vice presidential candidate used his state of the state address on Wednesday to criticize Trump and his administration for moving to deport illegal immigrants, including suspected gang members, as well as terrorist sympathizers. “The president has also chosen, and I stress this, chosen, to tear up the values that once made America the shining light of the world. In this land of the free and home of the brave, we have university students being swept up, shoved into unmarked vans, and fathers being tossed into Salvadorian gulags without a hint of due process,” Walz claimed. “I want to be real clear about this. If you say you love freedom, but you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it’s privilege,” the governor said, garnering a standing ovation on the Minnesota House floor. FEDERAL JUDGE DECLARES TRUMP ADMIN BLOCKING FEDERAL MONEY TO SANCTUARY CITIES UNCONSTITUTIONAL Walz appeared to indirectly reference the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia – an illegal immigrant and suspected member of MS-13, which the administration newly designated a foreign terrorist organization. The administration admitted to mistakenly deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, though Trump and federal officials have doubled down on Abrego Garcia’s alleged ties to the violent Mexican gang, as well as a domestic violence case involving his wife claiming he beat her. Abrego Garcia was initially suspected of human smuggling during a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop but was not charged. Democrats, categorizing Abrego Garcia as a “Maryland father,” meanwhile, have traveled to El Salvador to visit him while urging the administration to comply with Supreme Court and other court orders instructing that he be returned to the U.S. Abrego Garcia was initially held at the El Salvadoran megaprison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT), but he has since been transferred to the lower security Centro Industrial Penitentiary facility in Santa Ana, El Salvador. The State Department said in court filings he remains held there “in good conditions and in an excellent state of health.” Waltz also appeared to excoriate how federal immigration authorities have taken into custody foreign students whose visas were rescinded by the Trump administration for allegedly organizing anti-Israel demonstrations at U.S. college campuses. Though Waltz did not mention anyone by name, another group of House Democrats traveled to Louisiana detention facilities holding Tufts University fifth-year doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil this week. FEDERAL JUDGE ALLEGES ‘WILLFUL AND BAD FAITH REFUSAL’ TO COMPLY IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION CASE The Democratic governor also took jabs at Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming that the Trump administration wants to take Medicaid coverage away. “I can’t help but point out that we also gather at a moment of great uncertainty for our nation. And let’s be honest, this uncertainty, this chaos is no accident,” Waltz said. “The President of the United States has chosen, chosen to destroy the federal government’s ability to help people. He literally hired the richest man in the world to take a chainsaw to the basic services that Minnesotans rely on to build better lives. His plan leaves nobody there working to prevent the next pandemic, nobody to pick up the phone at the Social Security office, nobody making sure kids with special needs get the quality education they deserve.” Walz also slammed Trump over his reciprocal tariffs policies, alleging the Republican president is out of touch with working-class Americans.
Democrats’ vice chair gets ultimatum: stay neutral in primaries or step down from party leadership
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin, aiming to quell a raging firestorm in the party, is making it crystal clear the DNC will stay neutral in intra-party primaries. “No DNC officer should ever attempt to influence the outcome of a primary election, whether on behalf of an incumbent or a challenger,” the recently elected national party chair said during a conference call with reporters on Thursday. Martin’s comments were directed at DNC vice chair David Hogg, who last week pledged to shell out $20 million through his outside political group, Leaders We Deserve, to primary-challenge some older Democrats in blue districts. Hogg’s effort is aimed at helping to elect younger Democrats and includes supporting primary challengers to House Democrats in safe seats who Hogg argues “are asleep at the wheel.” DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR, TARGETING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIES David Hogg, the 25-year-old survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, drew sharp attention by spending money against fellow Democrats—a move a DNC official called unprecedented. The action has deepened internal party tensions that have simmered since President Donald Trump’s decisive election last November. DAVID HOGG DONATES $100K TO DCCC AFTER PLAN TO PRIMARY ‘INEFFECTIVE’ DEMOCRATS IGNITED CIVIL WAR IN PARTY “I have great respect for David Hogg. I think he’s an amazing young leader who’s done so much already to help move our movement forward,” Martin said. But the DNC chair added that while he understands what Hogg is trying to do, “I’ve said to him, if you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters. We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time.” “It’s important for us to maintain the trust that we have built with Democratic voters and to keep our thumb off the scale as party officers,” Martin added. Jane Kleeb, the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC) who joined Martin on the call, noted, “I, too, have a deep relationship with David. I was just talking with him this morning. We hope that he realizes that he got elected to be an officer of the DNC, which means that we remain neutral.” The move by Hogg comes as the party’s base is angry and energized in fighting back against Trump’s sweeping and controversial moves since returning to the White House three months ago. That anger is directed not only at Trump and Republicans, but also at Democrats. Many in the party’s base feel they haven’t been effective or vocal enough in pushing back against the president. The energy has been evident at town halls this past winter and early spring held by both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. And progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have drawn large crowds to their “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across the country over the past six weeks. JAMES CARVILLE CALLS DAVID HOGG’S PLAN TO PRIMARY ‘INEFFECTIVE’ DEMS THE ‘MOST INSANE THING’ HE’S EVER HEARD Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and other politicians who are leading the fight against Trump — including Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut — have seen a surge in their fundraising over the past three months. Another leader on the left who has been among those vocal in their resistance to the Trump administration, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, said in a Fox News Digital interview that “we have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party with a coherent platform and a future-oriented platform, and many leaders need to do that, new leaders, not the old guard. And I hope to be part of that.” In a social media post, Khanna said last week he supports Hogg’s primary plan and urged Democrats to “embrace a new generation of leadership & competition!” But while Democrats are increasingly energized to resist Trump, a slew of national polls this year indicated the favorability ratings of the Democratic Party sinking to all-time lows. Martin’s comments on DNC neutrality in primaries came as he and Kleeb announced a $1 million investment in Democratic state parties. The chair called the investment “historic” and said that it “will remake how we do business and how we achieve sustained political power in the Democratic Party.” “I ran for this job to get the DNC out of the D.C. . . . I don’t think it benefits Democrats to sit in Washington and gaze at the problem and expect solutions to present themselves. Everyone here just wants to win the argument. I want to win elections, and you win elections in the States. So, that’s where the DNC will invest our resources,” Martin said. Kleeb said that “the reform package that Ken Martin is bringing forward, that he will be discussing over the next several months that he ran on as chair is not a reaction to David, but is a step in the right direction of reforms that we’ve been fighting for, for 15 years. So I just wanted to make sure that that was clear.” Former DNC Chair Howard Dean, who instituted a previous 50-state strategy when he steered the national party committee two decades ago, praised the new plan, saying “this is a really critical move that’s being made here.” “The DNC’s job has got to shift outside of Washington. We cannot be a Washington-centric party and expect to win,” Dean added. Democratic politicians and pundits have criticized Hogg’s brutal strategy, alongside his political organization, Leaders We Deserve, to spend millions of dollars to primary-challenge older Democrats in blue districts. During an interview with CNN last week, longtime Democratic strategist James Carville ripped Hogg for challenging those within his own party when he could be investing those same funds to “take on a Republican.” “The most insane thing I ever heard is the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee is spending $20 million running against other Democrats.
Trump has his own deadline, ‘no allegiance to anybody’ in Ukraine-Russia peace deal
President Donald Trump said he is sticking to his own timeline when it comes to hashing out a peace deal to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Trump’s remarks coincide with a Thursday visit from Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store at the White House, and following Wednesday comments saying there was a high likelihood that a peace agreement would emerge within the next several days. “I have my own deadline,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And we wanted to be fast. And the Prime Minister’s helping us.” “He wants it to be fast, too,” he said. “And I think everybody in this, at this time in NATO, they want to see this thing happen.” “I think it has a very good chance of getting done,” Trump said. TRUMP TELLS PUTIN TO ‘STOP’ AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital requesting details on Trump’s self-imposed deadline. Following criticism of both Russia and Ukraine in recent days, Trump said his only priority is to save lives by securing a peace deal. “I have no allegiance to anybody,” Trump told reporters on Thursday. “I have allegiance to saving lives.” Trump voiced his displeasure with Russia for continuing Thursday strikes on Kyiv, which killed at least 10 and injured at least 90, including children, according to Ukraine. “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing,” Trump said Thursday in a social media post. “Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE!” Additionally, Trump signaled in the Oval Office that he would consider additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow were to continue to launch strikes against Ukraine. “I’d rather answer that question in a week. I want to see if we can have a deal. No reason to answer it now, but I won’t be happy. Let me put it that way. Things, things will happen,” he said. Despite these attacks from Russia, Trump also told reporters that “we are thinking very strongly that they both want peace, but they have to get to the table.” Even so, Trump said in a Wednesday post on Truth Social that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s opposition to certain concessions related to territorial control of Crimea would only stall peace negotiations. Vice President JD Vance disclosed on Wednesday that a proposal is on the table — but if neither party agrees, the U.S. will disengage from advancing the peace talks. Vance said the deal would require both Russia and Ukraine to give up some of their territory, but that the lines would remain “close to where they are today.” TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL “We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the U.S. to walk away from this process,” Vance told reporters on Wednesday. “We’ve engaged in an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, of on-the-ground work.” The Trump administration has recently signaled that a deal may be on the horizon, and Trump expressed optimism Sunday that Ukraine and Russia could nail down an agreement that would pave the way for them to start conducting “big business” with the U.S. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and Trump has promised since the campaign trail that he would move to end the conflict between the two countries. Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Pro-Trump shop owner backs Schumer on tariffs: ‘This has to be rectified’
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference alongside a business owner and supporter of President Donald Trump, who is speaking out against the president’s tariff agenda. On Long Island on Thursday, Schumer stood with Tandy Jeckel, the owner of TandyWear, a women’s clothing shop in Suffolk County. “No matter what your vantage, if you’re a business, if you are a consumer, if you are in the industry, the tariffs are one giant mess,” Schumer said. Jeckel told Fox News Digital that she is the exemplar of a split-ticket voter – consistently supporting Trump, while also praising Schumer’s years of work on behalf of Long Islanders, including after Superstorm Sandy. BIDEN EFFECT HITS THE SENATE: WAVE OF RETIREMENTS CLEARS PATH FOR YOUNGER DEMS When asked how she would grade Trump, she told Fox News Digital, “I would give him an 8 – it’s absolutely not a fail.” “I would say an A,” she added, when asked for a letter grade. “But, with the tariffs, that’s my only issue… because I have a small business. So it’s not really political, it’s just something that – this has to be rectified for our small business, because how long can we go on with this for my small business?” Tariffs, she told Fox News Digital, bring uncertainty to both businessowners and customers, adding that customers are “resistant to buy” these days “because of this shaky uncertainty.” She declined to answer a handful of questions that were political in nature. Jeckel told Fox News Digital that, in the long run, the Trump economy is “going to be great – once we get this situation with the tariffs” considered. Meanwhile, Schumer also announced he would force a vote next week to end what he called Trump’s trade war, and called on the House of Representatives to act in-kind. SCHUMER SAYS TRUMP ‘FEELING THE HEAT’ AFTER RECIPROCAL TARIFF PAUSE Long Island, though a suburban area of a blue state, is remarkably red for its environs – with particularly the eastern half of the island solidly Republican for more than a decade. Long Island lawmakers in Congress have real sway to pressure Republicans to act, Schumer suggested in a release prior to the event. The event was billed as one where Schumer “st[ood] with Long Island Trump voters who love MAGA, but hate tariffs. . . . “ Schumer claimed Nassau County, the central part of the island abutting Queens, could lose nearly 11,000 jobs, and Suffolk could see 24,000 disappear. His new bill to force an end to the tariffs, he said, was co-sponsored by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Peter Welch, D-Vt. “On Monday I was in restaurants in Syracuse and Albany,” he said of cities 300 miles to the northwest. “They’re having the same problem: paying more for their goods, less money in people’s pockets. So, it’s all across the state.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He also expressed hope that the House will take up a Senate-passed resolution to nix tariffs directed specifically at Canada, an issue Welch brought up in recent comments to Fox News Digital as well. When asked for a response, the White House said through a spokesman that Schumer wasn’t being forthright about his prior criticisms of unfair trade practices by other countries. “[He] railed against America’s historic and persistent trade deficits with China for years until President Trump took historic action to actually do something about China’s unfair trade practices and cheating,” spokesman Kush Desai said. “As always, Democrats are playing political games instead of working with the Trump administration to do what’s right,” he added.
Putin gifted Trump a portrait of the US president, Russian artist reveals mystery painting
Russian leader Vladimir Putin gifted President Donald Trump in March a portrait showing the moment Trump pumped his fist into the air in defiance after surviving an assassination attempt last year. While outlets previously reported the gift as a mystery portrait, the Russian painter has now revealed the details behind his work, according to a Russian embassy. Artist Nikas Safronov said he created the painting in hopes that the artwork would strengthen U.S.-Russia ties, the Russian Embassy in Kenya said on Wednesday in a post on X. The painting depicts Trump pumping his fist into the air while the other hand holds a red cap similar to Trump’s famed MAGA headwear. The American flag and Statue of Liberty are spread across the background, and blood is splattered across the president’s face. TRUMP SAYS HE IS ‘PISSED OFF’ WITH PUTIN OVER LACK OF PEACE PROGRESS: REPORT “It was important to me to show the blood, the scar and his bravery during the attempt on his life,” Safronov told CNN. “He didn’t break down or become afraid, but raised his arm to show he is one with America and will bring back what it deserves.” The painting is an illustration of a dramatic photo that captured the moment Trump survived an assassination attempt during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. RUSSIA, UKRAINE AGREE TO BLACK SEA CEASEFIRE FOLLOWING US TALKS Safronov has painted numerous global figures, including the late Pope Francis and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. He told the outlet that he was “visited by some people who said they want me to paint Trump as I see him.” While Safronov said he did not know who the visitors were, adding that some clients “do not go into details,” he suspected it was the Kremlin, the outlet reported. “When I started the portrait, I realized this could bring our countries closer, and decided not to charge any money because I suspected what this painting was for,” the artist said. TRUMP TELLS PUTIN ‘STOP’ AFTER DEADLY RUSSIAN STRIKES ON KYIV The painting was given to Trump envoy Steve Witkoff in March when the official was in Moscow seeking a ceasefire in the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, the Associated Press reported, citing Russian president’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. AP said Witkoff described the artwork as a “beautiful” portrait by “a leading Russian artist,” and added that Trump was “clearly touched by it.” While Trump and Putin have worked to strengthen their relationship, tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continue to simmer between the three countries. Russia recently pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones overnight and killed at least 10 people in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year. The attack on April 24 prompted a rare rebuke from Trump who said “Vladimir, STOP!” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New DHS portal to help migrants register biometrics to comply with Trump order
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is releasing a new online government tool designed to help millions of unlawful migrants living in the U.S. comply with a Trump order to register their biometric data with the government and carry documentation at all times. An online survey launched by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines whether an immigrant, lawful or unlawful, still needs to register under the renewed enforcement of the Alien Registration Act. The new tool, launched Wednesday, guides users through the requirement with a series of questions and tells them whether they still need to register. Registration is mandatory for everyone over the age of 14 and without legal status in the U.S., and requires a fingerprint and a home address, per an executive order from President Donald Trump. Some immigrants who are here legally and who did not have to go through the biometric vetting process upon arrival would also need to check their registration. The aim is to require those unlawful immigrants who have not interacted with the government by applying for asylum or a work permit to come forward. “Tens of thousands” of immigrants have already come forward to register, according to USCIS. TWO FEDERAL JUDGES MAY HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT AS HE DEFIES COURTS IN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN “As we approach the 100-day mark of President Trump’s presidency, we have already seen tens of thousands of aliens come forward to register – a remarkable feat,” spokesperson Matthew Tragesser told Fox News Digital. “For the first time in years, there is broad recognition that the failure to comply with the law will carry serious consequences. We look forward to many more registrations.” Once an immigrant has registered and appeared for fingerprinting, DHS will issue evidence of registration, which any alien over the age of 18 must carry at all times. They can register by filling out the form, G-325R, Biometric Information (Registration). NOEM ANNOUNCES DHS REGISTRY FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS IN US THAT WILL REQUIRE THEM TO BE FINGERPRINTED If an immigrant fails to register, they could be fined, jailed, deported and unlikely allowed to return to the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned. Those who fail to carry registration proof could also risk legal ramifications. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required all people living in the U.S. who are not citizens, here legally or illegally, to register with the U.S. government. But until Trump’s executive order, the registration requirement for illegal immigrants went unenforced for decades. Immigrant advocates argue the new requirement puts those here illegally in a bind: do they register and give the government their location, making it easier to find them for deportation, or risk being charged with the crime of not registering. “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws – we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans,” HHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. Advocates sued against the new rule, but a federal judge earlier this month allowed the Trump administration to move forward with the requirement. President George W. Bush created a similar immigration registry after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, requiring men and boys from predominantly Muslim countries to submit pictures and fingerprints to the government, and tens of thousands of people were deported from the registry.
Trans inmate who killed baby blames Trump admin for alleged assaults in prison: Lawsuit
A transgender inmate in Indiana convicted of reckless homicide of a baby is suing President Donald Trump over alleged sexual assaults caused by the president’s “transphobic” and “extremist rhetoric,” court documents filed on April 1 show. Jonathan C. Richardson, who goes by Autumn Cordellioné, claims in the handwritten complaint that, due to Trump’s “extremist rhetoric and transphobic hate speech,” he has “emboldened the Defendants and the assailants that brutally assaulted and raped plaintiff, not once, but multiple times, to act on their hate and prejudices, constituting the cause in action and his liability in this case. Therefore, President Trump was negligent due to his alleged knowledge that others may act on his words.” Cordellioné also claims the alleged assaults came after being transferred from New Castle Correctional Facility (NCN), where he was being “housed in protective custody,” to Westville Correctional Facility (WCA), an all-male prison. Fox News Digital reached out to the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) to find out whether the transfer was due to Trump’s executive order mandating federal prisoners be housed in units according to their biological sex. TRANS INMATE IN PRISON FOR KILLING BABY MUST GET GENDER SURGERY AT ‘EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY’: JUDGE When reached for comment about the lawsuit, a White House spokesperson said: “President Trump has vowed to defend biological women from gender ideology extremism and restore biological truth to the Federal government.” The inmate is seeking $3.5 million in compensatory damages from Trump, alongside the other defendants, including prison employees and 12 other “gang affiliated inmates,” who allegedly “stabbed” and sexually assaulted the inmate over a four-day period in January. “Trump’s president now, and we won’t even get in trouble for f—–g you trannies up, we’re patriots and even if you tell on us, Trump will pardon us and probably give us a medal,” Cordellioné claimed one of the offenders said, according to the complaint. Cordellioné further alleged the unit team manager and case manager also said similar things during the alleged assaults. “I’ve seen your case on the news, and I personally don’t think us tax payers should have to pay for your surgery,” the case manager allegedly said. INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY The lawsuit alleges that the offenders had violated Cordellione’s Eighth Amendment rights and committed gross negligence under Indiana tort law. Cordellioné’s years-long legal battle began in August 2023, when, with support from the ACLU, Cordellioné sued the Indiana Department of Correction over a state law that bans taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for inmates. Since then, Cordellioné—serving a 55-year prison sentence for the reckless homicide of an 11-month-old stepchild—has filed several complaints, including a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting the wearing of a hijab outside of immediate bedquarters, despite identifying as a Muslim woman. ACLU SUES INDIANA OVER DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD TO DEATH Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has been defending the state’s law and submitted a brief in January to a court of appeals defending Indiana’s law barring sex-change operations for inmates. The attorney general argued that the Eighth Amendment doesn’t require the state “to provide experimental treatments generally, and it certainly doesn’t here, when multiple doctors have said this inmate is a poor candidate for surgery,” a spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. In March, Judge Richard Young, a Clinton appointee, ordered the IDOC to arrange sex reassignment surgery for Cordellioné at the “earliest opportunity.” Fox News Digital scooped earlier this month that states failing to comply with federal orders to house inmates based on their biological sex can expect “imminent changes” and funding cuts. Trump’s orders also bar federal funds from being used for sex reassignment surgeries for inmates.
Hegseth faces latest battle defending his defense secretary post at the Pentagon
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth may have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan — but now he’s facing another battle: this time on his home turf at the Pentagon. Controversy has plagued Hegseth since Trump first nominated him to serve as the secretary of defense, from sexual assault and drinking allegations, to two Signal chat debacles, and an op-ed suggesting that Hegseth may be on the way out. The new Signal controversy, along with the op-ed, are only the latest blows in what the Trump administration claims are sustained effort against Hegseth as defense secretary, dating back to his nomination. Scrutiny has heightened after a Sunday New York Times report said that Hegseth shared information about a March military airstrike against the Houthis in a Signal messaging app group chat that also included his wife, brother and personal lawyer. That incident follows a similar episode in March, when the Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat alongside Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and others, to discuss the same attack on the Houthis. DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA While the White House continues to back Hegseth, a series of Democratic coalitions and multiple lawmakers are calling for Hegseth’s resignation. Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., is urging for the Pentagon’s inspector general to launch an investigation into the recent Signal chat allegations. “Since he was nominated, I have warned that Mr. Hegseth lacks the experience, competence, and character to run the Department of Defense. In light of the ongoing chaos, dysfunction, and mass firings under Mr. Hegseth’s leadership, it seems that those objections were well-founded,” Reed said in a Sunday statement. “Accountability starts at the top, and I have grave concerns about Secretary Hegseth’s ability to maintain the trust and confidence of U.S. service members.” Meanwhile, Vance told reporters Wednesday that he believed Hegseth is doing a “great job.” In response to a video post on X of Vance issuing the remarks, the Pentaton’s Rapid Response Team replied: “We will not be stopped. We will not be deterred.” While the secretaries of defense historically have received bipartisan support in the Senate, the upper chamber did not issue broad backing for Hegseth’s nomination. The Senate confirmed Hegseth along party lines in January, with all 47 Democrats opposing his nomination. Every senator except for Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., voted to confirm Trump’s first secretary of defense in 2017, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis. Likewise, the Senate voted in 2019 by a 90–8 margin to confirm Trump’s second secretary of defense, Mark Esper. HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT Hegseth first came under fire as sexual assault allegations emerged leading up to his confirmation. For example, he told lawmakers in written responses during his confirmation process that he had paid $50,000 as part of a settlement payment to a woman who had accused him of sexual assault in 2017. The police report on the incident says a woman had alleged that Hegseth sexually assaulted her in a hotel room, confiscated her phone and blocked the door. Hegseth told lawmakers that he had been “falsely accused” by the woman. Hegseth also faced allegations of alcohol misuse during the confirmation process. In response, Hegseth told lawmakers that he is not a “perfect person,” but said he was the subject of a “coordinated smear campaign orchestrated in the media.” Controversy has not left Hegseth since the Senate confirmed him in January, however. Hegseth’s role in the original Signal chat that included the Atlantic editor-in-chief, Goldberg, emerged in the spotlight in March following an initial report. Even so, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz’s team was responsible for creating the chat. Hegseth has said that no “war plans” were discussed in both the initial Signal chat with Goldberg, and the one with his wife. Additionally, he said that all discussions conducted over Signal were unclassified. “I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans,” Hegseth told Fox News Tuesday. “I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterize it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. That’s what I’ve said from the beginning.” Staff firings at the Pentagon have also shined a light on Hegseth’s leadership. John Ullyot, a former senior communications official for the Pentagon who stepped down from his post in April under Hegseth, wrote that the abrupt Friday firings of three of Hegseth’s “most loyal” advisors were alarming and “baffling.” Hegseth’s aide Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick and chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll, were all ousted. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in a Sunday op-ed for Politico. “Trump has a strong record of holding his top officials to account. Given that, it’s hard to see Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth remaining in his role for much longer.” Support for Hegseth is also cracking within Trump’s own party. For example, Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force general who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico on Monday that Hegseth is an “amateur person” and that he doesn’t believe that Hegseth has the experience to lead the Pentagon. These concerns started from the “get-go,” said Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska. NPR reported on Monday that the White House was eying a new secretary of defense. The story was based on one anonymous U.S. official who was not authorized to speak to the media. Meanwhile, the White House has pushed back on allegations that it is eyeing a replacement for Hegseth. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He is bringing monumental change to the Pentagon, and there’s a lot of people in the city who reject monumental change, and I think, frankly, that’s why we’ve seen a smear campaign against the Secretary of Defense since the
Kashmir attack: Does India’s Indus Waters Treaty freeze threaten Pakistan?
In tit-for-tat moves this week, India and Pakistan have entered a strategic standoff following Tuesday’s attack on tourists in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of at least 26 people. On Wednesday, India downgraded ties with Pakistan, announcing a series of steps, the most important of which is a decision to suspend its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which could seriously restrict Pakistan’s water supplies. India has also closed its main land border with Pakistan and given some Pakistani nationals currently in India a deadline to leave the country. On Thursday, Pakistan retaliated with similar steps against India, and also threatened to suspend its participation in all bilateral agreements between the two, including the 1972 Simla Agreement, a peace accord drawn up following their war the previous year that led to the creation of Bangladesh. Pakistan is particularly angered by the threat to the IWT and has warned India that any disruption to its water supply would be considered “an act of war”, adding that it was prepared to respond, “with full force across the complete spectrum of national power”. Advertisement The IWT, a transboundary water agreement that allows the two countries to share water flowing from the Indus basin, has survived armed conflicts and near-constant tensions between India and Pakistan over the past 65 years. While India came close to suspending the treaty in 2019, it did not go through with it. Why has India taken action against Pakistan? An armed group called The Resistance Front (TRF), which demands independence for Kashmir, has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack in Pahalgam, one of Indian-administered Kashmir’s most popular tourist destinations. Indian authorities have previously claimed that TRF is an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, an armed group based in Pakistan. India has long held that Pakistan backs the armed rebellion in Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies. On Wednesday, India claimed that the Pahalgam attack had “cross-border” linkages, blaming its western neighbour. During a special briefing by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had been called to discuss the attack in which men armed with rifles killed 25 Indian tourists and one Nepalese tourist, all men. “In the briefing to the CCS, the cross-border linkages of the terrorist attack were brought out,” Misri said. Misri added: “The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 will be held in abeyance with immediate effect until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism.” For a treaty to be in abeyance means that it is temporarily suspended or on hold. Advertisement Earlier on Thursday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India would identify, track and punish every “terrorist” and their backers. What is the Indus Waters Treaty? Signed in 1960, the origins of the IWT trace back to August 1947, when British colonial rule over the Indian subcontinent ended and India and Pakistan became two separate sovereign states. India is the upper riparian (located upstream) while Pakistan is the lower riparian, which means India has control over how the river flows. Because both countries rely on the water from the Indus basin’s six rivers for irrigation and agriculture, they signed an agreement called the Standstill Agreement to continue allowing the flow of water across the border. When the Standstill Agreement expired in 1948, India stopped the water flow towards Pakistan from its canals, prompting an urgent need for negotiations on water sharing. Following nine years of negotiations mediated by the World Bank, former Pakistani President Ayub Khan and former Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru signed the IWT [PDF] in September 1960. The treaty gives India access to the waters of the three eastern rivers: the Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. Pakistan, in turn, gets the waters of the three western rivers: the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab. India can use the western rivers to generate hydroelectric power and for some limited agriculture, but cannot build infrastructure that restricts the flow of water from those rivers into Pakistan or redirects that water. What would the suspension of this treaty mean for Pakistan? It represents a threat from India that it could, if and when it chooses to, restrict the flow of water from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab into Pakistan. Advertisement It does not mean that India plans to limit that flow immediately. Even if it wanted to, it is unlikely that India could immediately stop the flow of water even though it has suspended its participation from the treaty. This is because India has upstream reservoirs constructed on the western rivers, but their storage capacity cannot hold enough volumes of water to hold back water entirely from Pakistan. It is also high-flow season when ice from glaciers melts between May and September, keeping water levels high. “The western rivers allocated to Pakistan carry very high flows, especially between May and September. India does not currently have the infrastructure in place to store or divert those flows at scale,” Hassaan F Khan, assistant professor of urban and environmental policy and environmental studies at Tufts University in the United States, told Al Jazeera. However, if India were to try to stop – or cut – the water flow, Pakistan might feel the effects in seasons when water levels are lower. Pakistan relies heavily on the water from the western rivers for its agriculture and energy. Pakistan does not have alternative sources of water. Pakistan has a largely agrarian economy, with agriculture contributing 24 percent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 37.4 percent to employment, according to Pakistan’s most recent economic survey published in 2024. The country’s statistics bureau says that the majority of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on the agriculture sector. According to the World Bank, the country’s current population is about 247.5 million. Advertisement Does India have the power to suspend this treaty? While India has declared abeyance from the treaty, legal experts say that it cannot unilaterally suspend the treaty. “India has used the