Turkiye’s Istanbul University annuls Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s diploma
Opposition leader slams the university’s move as ‘unlawful’, saying it does not have the power to make the decision. Turkiye’s Istanbul University has annulled Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s diploma, citing irregularities with Council of Higher Education regulations and threatening his chances of running in the 2028 presidential election. The university said on Tuesday that 38 people, including Istanbul’s mayor, had irregularly transferred to its Management Faculty’s English-language programme in 1990. It added that 10 of those with the irregularity had their transfer annulled, and the degrees of 28 graduates, including Imamoglu, “will be withdrawn and cancelled on the grounds of … obvious error”. Imamoglu slammed the move as “unlawful” and promised to fight the decision in court. “They [the university] do not have the authority to make such a decision. The authority lies solely with the Board of Directors of the Faculty of Business Administration. “The days when those who made this decision will be held accountable before history and justice are near. The march of our nation, thirsty for justice, law and democracy, cannot be stopped.” Advertisement Murat Emir, a lawmaker from Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party, said the decision “dealt a heavy blow to our democracy”. Musavat Dervisoglu, the opposition Good Party chairman, said the annulment was “beyond purging a political rival”. 2028 election The ruling could hurt Imamoglu’s plans to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2028 election and came days before the opposition was expected to select Imamoglu as its presidential candidate. Under the Turkish Constitution, presidential candidates must have a higher education degree. Imamoglu, currently in his second term as the mayor of Istanbul, is the subject of multiple investigations and cases. The vocal opponent of Erdogan in January slammed what he called “harassment” after leaving an Istanbul court for questioning as part of an open investigation on his criticism of the city’s public prosecutor. In 2022, Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in jail and banned from political activities for “insulting” members of Turkiye’s High Election Council, a sentence that Imamoglu has appealed. Adblock test (Why?)
Putin may well get what he wants in Ukraine
After the long telephone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, which followed on the heels of US-Ukrainian talks in Jeddah last week, the war in Ukraine seems to be entering its final stages. Both Moscow and Kyiv appear to agree with Trump’s pursuit of a peace settlement, though the details of their positions regarding the specifics remain hazy. Kyiv has agreed to Washington’s proposal for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire followed by peace talks. Freezing the conflict before starting peace talks was not what Ukraine had wanted, but the prospect of losing more territory, infrastructure, human lives, and – very likely – American support, has brought it onboard. Russia, for its part, has agreed to suspend missile attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days, while continuing discussions for a full-fledged ceasefire. Earlier, Moscow expressed concern not only about the logistics of implementing the ceasefire and guarantees to prevent violations, but also about what comes after. Advertisement The caution is due to the fact that Russia has an advantage on the battlefield, which it is not very keen to lose before the framework of a settlement is set in stone. In any case, Russian officials sounded very upbeat about the prospects of settlement after the Trump-Putin call. If the ceasefire negotiations move forward, the question that arises is whether Putin is likely to get all that he wanted in February 2022 when he launched the brutal all-out invasion of Ukraine. The rough framework of a realistically attainable peace settlement is clear to all sides by now. Moscow has stated repeatedly that the peace deal is to follow the outline of the Istanbul agreements that were developed by the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in the spring of 2022 but were eventually ditched by Ukraine under British and American pressure. These agreements envisaged Ukraine’s military neutrality, a cap on the size of its army and measures to protect Russian speakers living in Ukraine. After three years of war, Moscow now wants Kyiv to recognise the loss of four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia – which Russia formally proclaimed its territory although it has not fully occupied any of them yet. It is possible, however, that the Kremlin will walk away from its maximalist demand of Ukraine withdrawing from the unoccupied parts of these regions. US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have signalled that territorial talks will include the fate of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which is currently occupied by Russia and is quite close to the front line. If Russia becomes a part of that conversation, it will mean that it’s no longer claiming the unoccupied north of Zaporizhia and – by extension – the unoccupied territory of the other three regions. Advertisement The discussions on the nuclear plant are a good sign because they indicate a shift to realistically attainable concessions the West and Ukraine could extract from Russia as opposed to the entirely unrealistic demands of NATO boots on the ground in the guise of “peacekeepers”, which the United Kingdom and France are pushing for. The key to understanding Putin’s logic is accepting that he is not fighting for territory. He sees the all-out invasion, which has now resulted in the occupation of a fifth of Ukrainian territory, as a punishment for Ukraine derailing the 2015-2016 Minsk agreements, which had envisaged the two breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, remaining under formal Ukrainian control. Russia’s annexation of these two regions, alongside Kherson and Zaporizhia, was punishment for Ukraine walking away from the Istanbul agreements. While the nuclear power plant could be feasibly swapped for some other territory or – more likely – political concessions pertaining to the rights of Russian speakers and the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church, what is nonnegotiable for Putin is NATO countries retaining any security infrastructure or influence on Ukrainian security bodies. Rooted in the West’s decision in the 1990s to confront rather than integrate the newly emerged democratic Russia, this conflict is really about drawing a thick red line beyond which the American-led West is not going to expand – at least until the time when the conversation about Russia’s westward integration becomes possible again. Advertisement For now, though, Putin will insist not just on Ukraine’s neutrality but also on the removal of what he describes as “NATO infrastructure”, which includes military training and logistical facilities as well as CIA listening stations along the Russian border. He will also likely demand the de-Westernisation of Ukrainian security structures strongly affiliated with the CIA and MI6, such as the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) and some directorates of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Crucially, he will insist on Kyiv and NATO reneging on the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit promise that Ukraine would become a member of the alliance. That commitment, imposed on European allies by US President George W Bush, triggered tectonic changes in Russian foreign policy, leading to conflict with Georgia and subsequently Ukraine. Judging by signals emanating from Trump’s administration, all of these goals are attainable along with the lifting of sanctions against Russia – at least by the US itself. The Kremlin for its part has signalled that it could agree the $300bn in frozen Russian assets in the West could be used for post-war reconstruction in Ukraine. It sees this money as already lost and perhaps considers that a benevolent gesture like that could help it start mending relations with the now very hostile neighbour. If he can get all of that, Putin will see his decision to become a war criminal by launching the brutal aggression against Russia’s closest neighbour in social, ethnic, cultural and economic terms as justified. Advertisement Besides securing the neutrality of Ukraine and pushing NATO further from Russian borders, Putin also appears bound to fulfil another goal: the restoration of Russia’s superpower status in the eyes of the entire world. For Western leaders, the failure to rein in Russia will lead to a belated realisation: that a major nuclear
Netanyahu: ‘From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire’
NewsFeed “From now on, negotiations will only take place under fire.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hamas that Israel’s breaking of the Gaza ceasefire with widespread aerial attacks is “only the beginning.” Published On 18 Mar 202518 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Former Republican governor of key swing state mulls bid to flip Senate seat
EXCLUSIVE: NEWFIELDS, N.H. — Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu says he’s holding a dialogue with national Republican leaders about potentially running next year in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu, who enjoys a large national profile thanks to his regular appearances the past few years on the cable news networks and Sunday talk shows, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that he aims to make a decision regarding a 2026 campaign in the “next few weeks.” The former governor, who for a couple of years was a vocal Republican critic of President Donald Trump, said, “I have no doubt I’d have the president’s support,” if he decides to make a bid for the Senate. WHY THIS LONGTIME DEMOCRATIC SENATOR ISN’T RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION NEXT YEAR And Sununu, who was elected and re-elected to four straight two-year terms as governor of the key New England swing state, touted that “I have no doubt I can win.” The 78-year-old Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history to win election as governor and as a U.S. senator, announced this week that she would retire at the end of next year rather than seek a fourth six-year term in the Senate. ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026 Even before Shaheen’s announcement, her seat in swing state New Hampshire was considered one of the GOP’s top pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterms – along with Michigan, where Sen. Gary Peters is also retiring, and Georgia, where Republicans consider first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff vulnerable – as Republicans hope to expand their current 53-47 majority. Sununu’s comments in recent interviews are a switch from last year, when he repeatedly said he wouldn’t seek to run for the Senate in 2026. In a November interview with Fox News Digital, the then-governor reiterated what he had first said in a July interview. SUNUNU OPENS UP ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT AFTER HE FINISHES HIS TERM AS GOVERNOR “Definitely ruling out running for the Senate in 2026. Yeah, definitely not on my dance card,” Sununu said in an interview along the sidelines of the Republican Governors Association winter meeting in Florida. The 50-year-old Sununu, who when he was first elected in 2016 was the nation’s youngest governor, was asked again about a 2026 Senate run in a Fox News Digital interview in early January, in his last full day in office. “I’m not planning on running for anything right now. I’m really not, at least for the next two, four, six years,” he said. “Who knows what happens down the road? But it would be way down the road and nothing, nothing I’m planning on, nothing my family would tolerate either short term.” But Sununu, in his interview on Tuesday, shared that “some folks in New Hampshire, some folks in Washington, have asked me to really take a few weeks and think about it at this point.” “The door’s open,” he said, before adding, “It’s not open a lot, to be honest. Among those he’s talking with is Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who’s the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. “Tim is a great friend. We’ve talked a lot, not just about me running, but other opportunities.” And he described his talks as “an ongoing discussion.” Sources tell Fox News that Sununu’s headed to the nation’s capital in the coming days for a dinner with Scott and other Senate Republicans. Sununu four years ago expressed interest in running for the Senate against his predecessor as governor, Democrat Sen. Maggie Hassan, who was up for re-election in 2022. And the popular governor was heavily courted by national Republicans to take on Hassan. But on Nov. 9, 2021, Sununu announced that he would instead run for a fourth term as governor, upsetting many Republicans in the nation’s capital. TOP POLITICAL HANDICAPPER REVEALS DEMOCRATS CHANCES OF WINNING BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY And he heavily criticized the Senate. “When you look at what their (senators’) job is and what a governor’s job is … it’s not even close. I can’t tell you how many senators told me, ‘You’re just going to have to wait around a couple of years to get anything done.’ Can you imagine me sitting around a couple of years?” Sununu said at the time. “They debate and talk and nothing gets done. … That’s not the world I live in.” Asked if he has changed his mind, Sununu on Tuesday responded, “Not really, no….I think Washington has been really stagnated. Hasn’t done a whole lot, doesn’t deliver.” But with Trump back in the White House, Sununu pointed to a “fundamental change in the past two months,” and that now Congress is “talking about things that I care very passionately about.” Those things include a balanced budget and government efficiency. “Whether you like them or not, you got to give credit to Trump, to DOGE, to folks driving this conversation, this narrative. We have $36 trillion in debt. It’s a very real number. You owe it. I owe it. Your viewers owe that money, not the government. We’re going to have a car crash in the next couple of years with Social Security going bankrupt, Medicare going bankrupt, more debt on the books. So, there has to be a plan and a strategy out of this, and the administration is really leading that effort,” Sununu argued. He said “that gives me hope that…maybe there is an opportunity to have a leadership role in something that is very critical and vital to the country, something I believe very passionately in, and something we’ve been very successful with here in New Hampshire.” Following Trump’s first term in the White House and in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of former President Biden’s 2020 election victory, Sununu became a leading vocal
Netanyahu accuses media of echoing ‘Hamas propaganda’ as Gaza war resumes
Peace negotiations will now only take place as Israel continues to pummel Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday amidst a renewed military offensive campaign in Gaza. “From now on, the negotiations will resume only under fighting,” Netanyahu said in a brief public message. The defiant Israeli prime minister said Hamas had “refused” to engage and return hostages and blamed the media for “echo[ing] Hamas propaganda” amid accusations that he had renewed the fighting for his own political survival. ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN HOUTHI BALLISTIC MISSILE AFTER CEASEFIRE COLLAPSES “I hear the commentators reporting lies in the studios, as if the IDF’s recommendation and IDF actions stem from political considerations,” he said. “They have no shame. They have no red lines. They simply echo Hamas propaganda time and time again.” Netanyahu went on: “We extended the ceasefire for weeks when we did not receive any hostages. We sent delegations to Doha. We sent delegations to Cairo. We made proposals together with the mediators. We accepted the proposal of the American envoy, [Steve] Witkoff. In contrast, Hamas has repeatedly rejected every offer.” Israel’s military launched a large-scale bombing campaign on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that had been in place since late January. The offensive mission killed at least 404 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which would make it one of the deadliest days of the war since October 7, 2023, if true. “I want to assure you: This is just the beginning,” Netanyahu said. CEASEFIRE OVER AS ISRAEL STRIKES GAZA AFTER HAMAS REFUSES TO RELEASE HOSTAGES, OFFICIALS SAY Meanwhile, Israel said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen’s Houthis on Tuesday evening after the U.S.-led offensive strikes on 30 Houthi targets over the weekend. “The Zionists will pay for their crimes against children, women, and civilians,” Hazam el-Assad, a senior Houthi official, posted on X. Netanyahu in his statement said that Israel was “changing the face of the Middle East.” “It has been proven in past months – military pressure brings the hostages – we already got many of them home.” The prime minister claimed Hamas was to blame for “every civilian casualty.” “Israel does not target Palestinian civilians. We target Hamas terrorists. And when these terrorists embed themselves in civilian areas, when they use civilians as human shields, they are the ones who are responsible for all unintended casualties.” “Palestinian civilians should avoid any contact with Hamas terrorists, and I call on the people of Gaza, get out of harm’s way. Move to safer areas. Because every civilian casualty is a tragedy, and every civilian casualty is the fault of Hamas.” The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement their airstrikes had eliminated Essam al-Da’alis, “the most senior figure of authority in the Gaza Strip.” The IDF and ISA also determined with “high probability” that Israeli strikes had eliminated Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu-Watfa, the Minister of Internal Affairs in charge of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; Bahajat Hassan Mohammed Abu-Sultan, who served as Head of Hamas’ Internal Security Forces; and Ahmed Amar Abdullah Alhata, who served as Hamas’ Minister of Justice. The White House backed Israel’s moves to renew the bombing campaign, even as European leaders condemned them. “Hamas could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war,” National Security Council (NSC) spokesman Brian Hughest told Fox News Digital. Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “unwavering support.” “Our alliance with the United States has never been stronger.” During the two-month ceasefire, 33 hostages were returned to Israel in exchange for nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. Some 59 hostages remain in Hamas’ captivity, though Israel believes around 35 of them are dead. Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Trey Yingst and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mexican immigration activist who hid in Colorado church for years to avoid deportation arrested by ICE
A well-known immigration activist who hid in a Colorado church for years to avoid deportation has been arrested, a move Denver Mayor Mike Johnston called “Soviet-style persecution” of political dissidents. Jeanette Vizguerra, a mother, Target employee and immigration reform advocate, was taken into custody in Aurora on Monday. Vizguerra was the subject of a deportation order and had multiple stays preventing her removal, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. Despite having a final order of deportation stretching back to the Obama administration, some Democrats have claimed that Vizguerra has not had due process. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? Johnston addressed the arrests on Tuesday. “This is not immigration enforcement. This is Soviet-style political persecution of political dissidents under the guise of immigration enforcement,” he said. “This is not someone with a criminal record. This is the mom of American citizens who works and Target.” “This is not something that makes our community safer in my mind,” he added. “I think it makes our community lawless.” Johnston was one of four sanctuary mayors grilled earlier this month by Congressional lawmakers about their respective city’s sanctuary policies at the fiery hearing. John Fabbricatore, a retired ICE field office director, said he was prohibited from deporting Vizguerra during the Biden administration. “The Biden administration kept me from deporting Jeanette Vizguerra 4 years ago,” he wrote on X. “She should have been deported in 2009 as well. She hid in a church the first time Trump was President. She is a criminal, hates Trump, and is an open-borders, abolish-ICE advocate. Bye!!!!” Images posted on Vizguerra’s Facebook account depict protests against ICE and calls to abolish the agency. One image posted on Oct. 14, 2019 depicts a Native American scalping President Donald Trump, who is shown on his knees with two arrows piercing his torso. “This is how you can make America great again,” the caption states. TRUMP POLICY ON BORDER JUMPERS EMPOWERS USE OF ‘MAXIMUM CONSEQUENCES,’ BORDER AGENT TELLS FOX Vizguerra has a long history with immigration authorities. In 2009, she was the subject of an ICE detainer in Denver. That same year, she was convicted of second-degree forged instrument possession and sentenced to 23 days in jail. In March 2009, after being released by ICE, she was convicted of failure to display proof of insurance, driving without a license and ordered to pay fines. In 2011, a federal immigration judge denied Vizguerra’s application for relief from immigration proceedings, but granted her a voluntary departure. She failed to depart the U.S. per the terms of the order within the 60-day window and instead filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals. In September 2012, she voluntarily returned to her native Mexico. She was arrested in 2013 by ICE in El Paso, Texas and ordered to be deported. She was eventually released because she didn’t meet the agency’s priorities for removal under policies at the time. In 2019, Vizguerra skipped an appointment with an immigration official and sought sanctuary at the First Unitarian Society Church in Denver. She later clandestinely moved to the First Baptist Church a short distance away, where she became a leader in the sanctuary movement.
Judicial halt of deportation flights puts US foreign policy at risk, career State Dept official claims
The United States’ foreign policy could be in jeopardy after a federal judge ordered deportation flights with Venezuelan gang members be returned to the states, a career State Department official argued in a recent court filing. Michael Kozak, Senior Bureau Official at the State Department, wrote in a declaration filed Monday that, “The foreign policy of the United States would suffer harm if the removal of individuals associated with TdA were prevented,” given the “significant time and energy” already invested by U.S. government officials. Obama-appointed, D.C.-based Judge James Boasberg issued an order Saturday to immediately halt any planned deportations of Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Boasberg also ordered the Trump administration to notify their clients that “any plane containing these folks that is going to take off or is in the air needs to be returned to the United States.” TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS NOON DEADLINE TO DISCLOSE DEPORTATION FLIGHT DETAILS AFTER JUDGE’S ORDER The flights also included alleged members of the violent gang Tren de Aragua (TdA). Kozak noted the possibility “that foreign interlocutors might change their minds” over accepting certain individuals associated with TdA “or might otherwise seek to leverage this as an ongoing issue.” “These harms could arise even in the short term, as future conversations with foreign interlocutors seeking to resolve foreign policy matters would need to take this issue into account along with other issues, instead of allowing the discussions to fully move on to the other issues,” Kozak wrote. Kozak did not further expand upon the “harms” that could arise as a result of Boasberg’s order in his declaration. The State Department declined to comment on pending litigation. JUDGE WHO ORDERED DEPORTATION FLIGHTS OF VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS BE RETURNED FACES CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT “TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. “They rape, maim and murder for sport. TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray. TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.” The Trump administration had attempted to invoke a 1798 law to immediately deport said individuals for 14 days. Boasberg sided with the plaintiffs, Democracy Forward and the ACLU in granting the emergency order and ruling that the deportations would likely pose imminent and “irreparable” harm. “Given the exigent circumstances that [the court] has been made aware of this morning, it has determined that an immediate Order is warranted to maintain the status quo until a hearing can be set,” Boasberg wrote. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? In a Monday-evening hearing, Boasberg proceeded to ask the Trump administration to submit more information regarding the flights. Both parties are ordered to appear back in court on Friday. In its Monday motion to vacate the order, the Trump Department of Justice argued that not only did the court not have jurisdiction to hear the plaintiffs’ claims, but Trump’s “determination that an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ has occurred” is not subject to judicial review. “The Constitution simply provides no basis for a court to determine when this AEA trigger has been met, and thus there is no basis for second-guessing the policy judgment by the Executive that such an ‘invasion’ or ‘predatory incursion’ is occurring,” the motion read. The motion also argued that the administration’s “Proclamation” and its implementation “are perfectly lawful.” “Under his authority to protect the nation, the President determined that TdA represents a significant risk to the United States, that it is intertwined and advancing the interests of a foreign government in a manner antithetical to the interests of the United States, and that its members should be summarily removed from this country as part of that threat,” the motion continued. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
White House says it didn’t create a banned word list, leaves language choices up to agencies
The White House does not have a list of banned words that are restricted from use in official documents, and instead charges individual agencies with word choice in government documents, Fox News Digital learned. Media outlets in recent weeks have promoted reports that the Trump administration has banned hundreds of words from official documents, including words such as “diverse” or “LGBTQ” or “unconscious bias.” An administration official told Fox Digital that the White House does not have a list of banned words. Instead, individual agencies hold discretion over word choice in compliance with President Donald Trump’s executive orders. Trump has signed 92 executive orders since his inauguration in January, including ones that have targeted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the public and private sectors, as well as ones addressing transgender issues, such as banning biological men from playing in women’s sports or banning transgender surgical procedures for children. WOKE LIBERALS PUSH TO REPLACE ‘MOTHER’ WITH ‘BIRTHING PARENT’ TO APPEASE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY A handful of the executive orders rescinded Biden-era policies, such as ending DEI programs that were woven into the fabric of the federal government during his term. The New York Times reported that about 250 words were removed from the Trump administration’s lexicon or used with discretion. The list included a handful of words that could defy Trump’s executive orders on trans issues and DEI, including: “they/them,” “breastfeed + people,” “antiracist,” “people + uterus” or “confirmation bias.” REP. CORI BUSH SCORCHED FOR REFERRING TO WOMEN AS ‘BIRTHING PEOPLE:’ SHE’S REDUCING MOTHERS ‘TO A FUNCTION’ In February, the White House hit back on a report that Food and Drug Administration officials were instructing scientists to stop using words such as “woman,” “disabled” and “elderly” in external documents, as they were on an alleged FDA list of banned words for the administration. DEMOCRATS REPLACE ‘WOMEN’ WITH ‘BIRTHING PEOPLE’ A White House official told Reuters in February that the majority of words listed as allegedly banned did not need to be removed from external communications and documents, arguing the agency likely misinterpreted Trump’s executive orders on gender ideology. The White House specifically identified words such as “gender,” “inclusion,” “identity,” “diversity,” “intersex,” “equity,” “equitable,” “transgender” and “trans” as ones that do not need to be prohibited in order to comply with Trump’s executive orders, according to Reuters. Presidential administrations have a long history of adjusting the language used in their official documents and external communications in an effort to realign the federal government with the administration’s policies and vision for the future. The Biden administration, for example, used the phrase “birthing people” instead of “mothers” in a 2022 budget proposal before the phrase — and similar ones such as “menstruators” — were used by other federal officials and agencies. The Obama administration favored the phrase “undocumented immigrants” versus “illegal immigrant” in official text and presidential speeches.
Trans Air Force sergeants take Trump admin to court, say it’s ‘not possible’ to serve as women
Two transgender military service members, both of whom have already undergone sex changes from female to male, are taking the Trump administration to court over executive orders that not only banned transgender individuals from serving in the military but also recognize only two sexes, male and female. The lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by Master Sgt. Logan Ireland and Staff Sgt. Nicholas Bear Bade, two biologically female service members who transitioned to male, argues the executive orders subject the Air Force personnel “to unequal, harmful, and demeaning treatment.” TRANS AIRMEN, SPACE FORCE PERSONNEL HAVE UNTIL MARCH 26 TO RESIGN UNDER TRUMP ORDER: MEMO The lawsuit continues that the executive orders mean the non-commissioned officers’ “future in the Air Force is in jeopardy” as they have been put on administrative leave unless they serve as their biological sex. “It is not possible, though, for either Plaintiff to serve as a woman because each one has medically transitioned to be and live as a man,” the lawsuit states. Both service members “reasonably fear” imminent separation proceedings against them after the Trump administration issued a memorandum warning transgender troops in the Air Force and Space Force have until March 26 to resign, saying that individuals with gender dysphoria are “incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.” PENTAGON SAYS TRANSGENDER TROOPS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM SERVICE WITHOUT AN EXEMPTION “Simply put, Master Sergeant Ireland and Staff Sergeant Bade have a constitutional right not to be separated from military service based on their transgender status, a characteristic that has nothing to do with their fitness or ability to serve,” the lawsuit reads. Both service members began their gender transition more than 10 years ago and have since racked up several honorable accolades while serving in the military, court documents show. Both airmen contest that their longstanding careers will take a hit, affecting their livelihood and families, if forced to resign. This is the third lawsuit the Trump administration has been hit with over his transgender military order, and one of at least 12 others against Trump’s “two-sexes” order. The lawsuit requests the court to block Trump’s order from taking effect, which if granted would add to a pile of district judges bucking several of Trump’s executive orders. VA RESCINDS 2018 DIRECTIVE ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS, ALIGNING WITH TRUMP’S ‘TWO SEXES’ EO Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
TribCast: Measles, COVID and the state of our public health system
On the fifth anniversary of the start of the COVID pandemic, we discuss the measles outbreak and the state’s ability to respond to health crises.