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.”
Daniel Penny to be tapped for Congressional Gold Medal by House GOP lawmaker
FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker wants to award a U.S. Marine veteran, accused of killing a homeless man in what he argued was the defense of himself and others, with Congress’ highest civilian honor. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., is planning to introduce a resolution to give Daniel Penny the Congressional Gold Medal, Fox News Digital was told on Friday. “Daniel Penny’s actions exemplify what it means to stand against the grain to do right in a world that rewards moral cowardice,” said Crane, a retired Navy SEAL. “Our system of ‘justice’ is fiercely corrupt, allowing degenerates to steamroll our laws and our sense of security, while punishing the righteous. Mr. Penny bravely stood in the gap to defy this corrupt system and protect his fellow Americans. I’m immensely proud to introduce this resolution to award him with the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize his heroism.” DANIEL PENNY TRIAL: JURORS ASKED TO SEE KEY EVIDENCE AGAIN DURING DELIBERATIONS Penny has been on trial for the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in May 2023. Witnesses said Neely, who had schizophrenia, told train passengers that “someone’s going to die today” and did not care if he himself died in a scene that was described as erratic. Penny, 26, grabbed Neely in a chokehold from behind for about six minutes. He later died. Penny’s defense lawyers have argued that his actions protected Penny and other passengers aboard the train. They also argued that it is not certain beyond a reasonable doubt that the chokehold killed Neely, who also had the synthetic drug K2 in his system at the time. MANHATTAN DA’S DOWNPLAYING OF DANIEL PENNY’S POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT ‘IMPROPER AND MISLEADING’: DEFENSE However, prosecutors have said Neely did not threaten anyone specifically and was not armed. They blamed Penny’s actions for recklessly causing the homeless man’s death, citing video that shows Penny continuing his chokehold even after Neely stopped moving. The case has led to wider debates about the morality of vigilantism versus progressive cities’ criminal policies. In the text of his resolution, Crane said Penny “protected women and children of the city of New York, New York, from violence on May 1, 2023.” “Throughout President Biden’s term as President, local governments across various cities and States failed to adequately protect residents and their property from violent criminals,” reads the legislative text, previewed by Fox News Digital. “Daniel Penny, with others, acted to save New York City subway riders from threatening behavior by restraining a criminal – who had 42 prior arrests and an active warrant – until the police came. The courageous actions taken in response to the threat to his community by Daniel Penny, a decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, went beyond the civilian call of duty.”
AOC launches bid for top Democratic role on House Oversight Committee
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the progressive Democrat from New York, has launched a bid to serve in the top Democratic role on the House committee leading investigation efforts into the federal government. In a letter to her fellow lawmakers on Friday, AOC announced her candidacy to serve as ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability for the 119th Congress, a position currently held by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. The “Squad” member, in her pitch to colleagues, noted that her focus would be to lead a Democratic effort against the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump. “This is not a position I seek lightly,” the congresswoman wrote in the letter. “The responsibility of leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee during Donald Trump’s second term in the White House is a profound and consequential one. Now, more than ever, we must focus on the Committee’s strong history of both holding administrations accountable and taking on the economic precarity and inequality that is challenging the American way of life.” AOC’S ‘RED LIGHT DISTRICT’ PLAGUED BY CRIME AS DEMOCRAT WHO HELPED HER RISE TO POWER SAYS SHE ‘DISAPPEARED’ “In the 119th Congress, Oversight Committee Democrats will face an important task: we must balance our focus on the incoming president’s corrosive actions and corruption with a tangible fight to make life easier for America’s working class,” she continued. NANCY MACE FIRES BACK AT AOC, CRITICS OF TRANS BATHROOM BAN: ‘HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY’ AOC’s announcement comes just days after Raskin, the committee’s current ranking member, announced he would be seeking the top Democratic post again during the next Congress. AOC will also be competing for the seat against Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who recently declared his bid for the Oversight role. Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., currently serves as chairman of the committee, which focuses on ensuring efficiency and accountability within the federal government and its agencies.
Top law enforcement official sounds alarm about bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang operating in red state
FIRST ON FOX: A top law enforcement official in Tennessee is warning that the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is operating in the state and conducting human trafficking — the latest indicator of a growing footprint by the bloodthirsty gang. “We’ve seen, in the past few months, a resurgence of intelligence information that tells us they are operating in our state. They are operating in the human trafficking space,” Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch said. Rausch made the comments on the “Unmuted with Marsha” podcast with Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., video of which was shared with Fox News Digital. Blackburn noted the recent arrest of a Tren de Aragua fugitive from Venezuela with a history of violent crimes in Tennessee. EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’ Tren de Aragua is believed to have started in the Tocoron prison in the Venezuelan state of Aragua and has since expanded into Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and the U.S. They are believed to have grown exponentially with the surge of Venezuelan migrants into the U.S. Numerous crimes in the last year have been linked to TdA, in states including Georgia, Illinois, Texas, Colorado and New York. Rausch said that in 2022, his agents first came across the gang in Tennessee and made arrests in 2023, and over time they encountered victims who provided additional intelligence about the gang’s operations in Tennessee and elsewhere throughout the U.S. He told Blackburn that they appeared to briefly leave the state, but have since returned. “What they’re doing is, they bring in these females, Venezuelan females, and they’re bringing them into the country. They’re smuggling them in, bringing them into the country. Some of them, they’re bringing in, exploiting our system, where they’ll come in and claim that they are fleeing the dictatorship and the challenges that exist in Venezuela,” he said. NEW REPORT WARNS BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG’S FOOTPRINT WILL REMAIN IN US ‘FOR DECADES’ Rausch said that his agency has conducted two major operations where it had located TdA members in the Nashville area. However, he did caution about the extent of their presence and said that it wasn’t as intense as it is in other states like Colorado. “Most recently, when we were expressing that we knew they were in Tennessee, and they’re operating in our major cities, that caused a lot of challenge, a lot of people got upset about that. They immediately went to thinking, ‘This is TDA that is taking over apartment complexes, as we’ve seen in other cities.’ We’re not there yet, but we don’t want to get there,” he said. Rausch warned that the gang typically starts with human trafficking and moves to other crimes like organized retail crime and theft, before getting into the drug trade and becoming increasingly violent against other cartels. “We certainly don’t want to see it anywhere in the country, but my responsibility primarily is here in Tennessee, and so we don’t want that happening. And so I raised the alarm that we know they’re here operating human trafficking. We want to stop them at this point, where we can right now,” he said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Blackburn asked about solutions to the crisis, and mentioned her own legislation that would encourage local law enforcement co-operation with the federal government when they encounter a criminal illegal immigrant. “When someone is committing crimes in your country, and they’re in the country illegally, of course, you need to deport them,” Blackburn said. Rausch noted also that returning migrants to their countries of origin can be difficult when they don’t accept them. “What do we do with these individuals? Do we hold them here in the U.S. prison until that situation in whatever country it is they came from that we can’t send them back to, that we figure that out? What is the answer to that?” he asked. The conversation comes ahead of what is expected to be a historic deportation operation by the incoming Trump administration. Trump this week announced additional picks for his border security team, including former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott as his choice to lead Customs and Border Protection (CBP). During the presidential election campaign, Trump said he intends to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
Biden attends national Christmas tree lighting on windy Washington night
President Biden participated in the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Washington D.C. on Thursday night in what will be his last time attending the annual event before he exits the White House next year to make way for President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office. “Merry Christmas America!” Biden declared during remarks at the tree-lighting event. Freelance photographer Andrew Leyden shared photos of the ceremony, writing on X, “As he left the National Christmas Tree lighting, @POTUS removed his stocking cap, bent over to look at the press and then asked ‘You’re still here?’ It was very cold and windy tonight.” BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’ “For a bit of context– as the night went on and temperatures dipped, Biden put on a wool stocking cap. When it came off static electricity + wind. It happens,” he noted in another post. “Biden’s entire presidency summed up in a hairdo,” one X user quipped. LEGAL EXPERT SKEPTICAL SUPREME COURT WILL ‘BUY’ BIDEN ADMIN’S ARGUMENT CHALLENGING TENNESSEE TRANSGENDER LAW Biden — whose decades-long Washington career has spanned more time than the length of some Americans’ entire lives — in 1987 commented on a Washington Post piece that suggested he had undergone a hair transplant. “Guess,” Biden said when asked to confirm the matter, according to the outlet. “I’ve got to keep some mystery in my life.” DEMOCRATS FRUSTRATED BY HUNTER PARDON CONSIDER WITHHOLDING FUTURE BIDEN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY DONATIONS: REPORT While Biden suggested prior to the presidential election that Trump represented a “genuine danger to American security,” the outgoing president is slated to attend Trump’s inauguration next month.
Biden EPA makes first-ever climate change arrest
The Biden administration has made a precedent-setting arrest related to anti-climate change activities this fiscal year, highlighted in a new report that shows a ramped-up enforcement effort against environmental offenses. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final report on enforcement efforts under President Biden, which detailed how climate-related penalties were enforced this fiscal year. The EPA worked to implement the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, which requires the agency to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, a synthetic compound commonly used for refrigeration or air conditioning, by 85% by 2036. The AIM Act led to the arrest of Michael Hart, of San Diego, in March on charges related to “smuggling potent greenhouse gases,” highlighted in the EPA report. The charges marked the first-ever greenhouse gas-related arrest issued under the AIM Act, but according to an EPA press release from earlier this year, “it will not be the last.” EPA’S NEW RUL TO CHARGE OIL AND GAS COMPANIES FOR EMISSIONS COULD FACE A TRUMP RECKONING Additionally, the EPA reported issuing $1.7 billion in administrative and judicial penalties, the highest level since 2017. The agency’s environmental enforcement efforts also saw 1,851 civil cases concluded, 121 criminal defendants charged, and it issued more than 225 million pounds of “pollution reductions” in “overburdened communities,” according to the report. As of the end of 2024, there are about 480 open criminal investigations on environmental programs. BIDEN IMPOSES NEW METHANE EMISSIONS TAX AS HE PREPARES TO LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE The results reflect a 3.4% increase in civil cases and a 17.6% increase in criminal charges compared to 2023, The Associated Press reported. In the FY 2024 report, the EPA also noted that collaborative efforts on the “implementation of EPA’s national priorities” led to a “12% increase in criminal leads opened because of referrals from EPA Headquarters and regional offices.” “In Fiscal Year 2024, EPA’s enforcement and compliance assurance program produced its strongest results since 2017, focusing on efforts to combat climate change and tackling some of the nation’s most significant environmental threats to our shared air, water and land,” David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement. “The progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration has sent a clear signal that polluters will be held accountable and that protecting communities from harm is a top priority.” The agency zeroed in on six areas of priority for FY 2024 as part of their National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative: mitigating climate change, exposure to PFAS, working against communities from coal ash contamination, reducing air toxics in overburdened communities, increasing compliance with drinking water standards and chemical accident risk reduction. Biden has made issuing green energy projects a focus of his administration, most recently handing out billions of dollars to fund climate-related projects in the remaining months of his term before President-elect Donald Trump steps into office.
National Police Association endorses Trump pick for FBI director
The National Police Association (NPA) announced on Friday its endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, praising his record of “transparency” and “accountability” they say makes him well-positioned to head up the nation’s sprawling law enforcement agency. In a statement Friday, the NPA—a nonprofit group that represents more than 240,000 U.S. police officers— praised Patel’s “distinguished career” both as a former federal prosecutor and legal liaison to the Joint Special Operations Command. “The law enforcement community knows that effective leadership at the FBI is essential for building public trust and enhancing coordination across all levels of policing,” the group said. “Kash Patel’s proven record of leadership, expertise in counterterrorism and intelligence, and ability to navigate complex legal and operational challenges make him the ideal candidate to restore faith in the FBI’s mission and ensure it remains a steadfast ally to our nation’s police forces. “We are confident that under his stewardship, the FBI will thrive in its vital mission to protect and serve the American people,” the group added. KASH PATEL: MILLEY, BIDEN ADMIN ‘PEDDLING FALSE FACTS’ ON CHINA PHONE-CALL CONTROVERSY Patel is a close ally of the president-elect and served in the first Trump administration both as a deputy assistant and as the senior director for counterterrorism. Trump announced earlier this month that he plans to fire FBI Director Christopher Wray and nominate Patel as his replacement. Wray could also voluntarily vacate the position on his own before Trump’s inauguration, though he has not yet said whether he plans to do so. TRUMP TRANSITION SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS “This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social announcing his plans to nominate Patel. Still, replacing a sitting FBI director is a controversial move. FBI directors are appointed to 10-year terms, allowing them, in theory, to operate without political pressure and interference from a sitting president. Trump also selected Wray during his first term as president to replace former FBI Director James Comey, whom he fired less than four years into his tenure. Trump praised Wray at the time as a “fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity.” Patel’s nomination has also sparked criticism from some circles, who have cited his earlier vows to prosecute journalists and career officials at the Justice Department and FBI that he sees as being part of the “deep state.” Those fears were not shared by the NPA, however. In their statement, the group said Patel’s appointment would mark a “pivotal moment for law enforcement and public safety across the United States.” His leadership “will bring a renewed focus on collaboration, ethical standards, and the relentless pursuit of justice,” they said.
Romania’s top court annuls results of presidential election’s first round
Constitutional Court says move aims to ensure ‘correctness, legality’ of process amid Russian interference claims. Romania’s top court has annulled the results of the first round of the presidential election and says the process must be rerun after allegations that Russia ran a coordinated campaign to promote the far-right candidate who emerged as the winner. The Constitutional Court’s decision on Friday, which is final, came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence this week that alleged Romania was the target of “aggressive hybrid Russian attacks” during the election period. The alleged effort included thousands of social media accounts that promoted far-right populist Calin Georgescu across platforms such as TikTok and Telegram. The court has decided “to annul the entire electoral process for the election of the President of Romania … to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process”, it said in Friday’s decision. Georgescu, a pro-Russian candidate who wants to end Romania’s support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, emerged as the frontrunner in the first-round vote on November 24 despite being a political outsider who declared zero campaign spending. Advertisement He was due to face pro-European Union centrist Elena Lasconi of the Save Romania Union party in a run-off on Sunday. Voting is already under way in polling stations abroad. Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said the court’s ruling was “the only correct decision” after the declassified documents showed alleged Russian interference. The intelligence files released on Wednesday were from the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunication Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In light of their release, the Constitutional Court received multiple legal complaints urging it to annul the first-round vote, but it is not clear yet on what grounds it made the decision. A new date will now be set to rerun the first round. “The electoral process to elect Romania’s president will be fully rerun, and the government will set a new date and … calendar for the necessary steps,” the Constitutional Court said in a statement. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli forces strike, storm Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital with ‘no warning’
The World Health Organization says Israel issued no warning for the strike on the hospital that killed four staff. At least four staff have been killed when several air strikes hit Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital and Israeli forces stormed the facility, according to the hospital’s director and the enclave’s Civil Defence agency. Hossam Abu Safieh, the director of one of the last functioning health centres in northern Gaza said a series of air strikes hit the northern and western sides of the hospital on Friday, “accompanied by intense and direct fire”. No surgeons were left in the hospital, he added. Soldiers swept into the hospital and ordered all staff, patients and displaced people into its courtyard before allowing them hours later to return inside. Richard Peeperkorn, spokesman of the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations health agency, said “there was no official warning or evacuation order before the bombing of … the hospital, only rumours that spread panic.” A Palestinian man uses a mattress to pull away a victim after an Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya [AFP] This comes just a week after the WHO had facilitated the entrance of an Indonesian emergency medical delegation to the hospital for the first time in 60 days. The facility had run out of most supplies, including fuel. Advertisement Abu Safieh said some hospital staff, including the emergency team, were ordered to leave the premises for good. Peeperkorn said the fact that the attack on the hospital had taken place after Israeli authorities had allowed the entry of the medical delegation was particularly troubling for the staff and patients. “Within one week, they feel forced, scared, whatever, to leave,” Peeperkorn said at a Geneva news briefing. “That is extremely concerning and should never happen.” The hospital was “minimally functional”, he said. According to the WHO, about 12,000 patients across Gaza need medical evacuation but only 78 have been evacuated so far. The bodies of victims lie in the courtyard of Kamal Adwan Hospital [AFP] Gaza’s Ministry of Health said the three main hospitals in northern Gaza are barely functioning and have been under repeated attack since Israel sent tanks into the northern town of Beit Lahiya and nearby Beit Hanoon and Jabalia in October. The ministry on Friday accused the Israeli military of committing a “war crime” in Kamal Adwan Hospital by perpetrating “all forms of killing and violence inside and around it”. “The injured who remained inside are in critical condition and need immediate medical care,” it added. The Israeli army has not yet commented on the attack. Beit Lahiya has been the site of an intense military operation for the past two months that has escalated in recent days, forcing thousands of people to flee the bombing. Emptying the hospitals Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said medical sources confirmed the Israeli military ordered patients out of the facility while the Indonesian medical delegation was able to flee to al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Advertisement “It seems that they are trying to empty northern Gaza of medical facilities and push civilians to move towards Gaza City in order to impose significant military control in these areas,” he said. Hospitals, their staff, patients and vehicles are protected under international law. An Israeli drone last week killed Ahmed al-Kahlout, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, as he was reportedly passing through the gate of the besieged hospital in northern Gaza. Israel has accused Hamas fighters of using civilian buildings, including hospitals, schools and apartment blocks, for operational cover. Hamas has denied this, accusing Israel of indiscriminate bombings and assaults. Adblock test (Why?)