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Hiding kids’ ‘gender identity’ from parents is common in blue state fighting Trump on trans issues: watchdog

Hiding kids’ ‘gender identity’ from parents is common in blue state fighting Trump on trans issues: watchdog

More than 50 school districts in Maine have policies that allow minors to hide their gender identity from their parents, according to a new watchdog report.  Parents Defending Education (PDE), a grassroots organization tracking gender ideologies in schools across the country, filed public records requests to confirm that at least 57 of the state’s 192 school districts have policies excluding parents from knowing whether their children identify as another gender. The report comes after President Donald Trump chastised Democrat Maine Gov. Janet Millis last week over her refusal to enforce Trump’s “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order. TRUMP VOWS TO CUT OFF FEDERAL FUNDING TO MAINE OVER REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH ‘NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS’ ORDER “It was totally unsurprising to see the governor of Maine go to the mat to keep males in women’s sports when over 50 school districts in Maine have written policies to deceive parents about their own child,” PDE spokesperson Erika Sanzi told Fox News Digital Friday.  “We have seen a groundswell of parents in Maine speaking out about this now that they are aware of it, and it is our hope that districts begin to roll back these policies, not only because of the executive orders from the Trump administration but because nearly 80% of their constituents oppose them,” she said. In one example from the state’s largest district, Portland Public Schools, district policy on “transgender and gender expansive students” requires that if “a student and their parent or legal guardian do not agree with regard to the student’s gender identity or gender expression, the school shall abide by the wishes of the student with regard to their gender identity and gender expression while at school. “School staff shall comply with the student’s wishes regarding disclosure of their transgender status to others, including but not limited to parents or guardians, students, volunteers or other school staff, unless the student has explicitly authorized the disclosure or unless legally required to do so.” MAINE FEMALE ATHLETE ‘GRATEFUL’ FOR TRUMP’S FOCUS ON TRANS COMPETITORS AFTER LOCAL LEADERS ‘FAILED’ GIRLS Policies like Portland’s are also still in place after Trump signed an executive order at the end of January, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which states that “steering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement or allowing males access to private spaces designated for females may contravene Federal laws that protect parental rights.”  Trump has already threatened to cut off Maine’s federal funding if it continues to defy his orders.  “I heard men are still playing in Maine,” Trump told to a gathering of Republican governors in Washington last week. “I hate to tell you this, but we’re not going to give them any federal money. They are still saying, ‘We want men to play in women’s sports,’ and I cannot believe that they’re doing that. … So, we’re not going to give them any federal funding, none whatsoever, until they clean that up.” MAINE STATE REP TALKS ‘EXTREME’ TRANSGENDER ATHLETE POLICY Trump signed the executive order barring men from women’s sports earlier this month, which directs federal agencies to review grants, programs and policies that fail to align with efforts to block male participation in women’s sports “as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.” The order mandates strict enforcement of Title IX and threatens to revoke federal funding from noncompliant educational institutions and athletic organizations. After the order, several other blue states indicated they would not be complying with it, including California and Minnesota. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Maine Department of Education for comment. 

Newsom declares state of emergency to ‘fast-track’ wildfire measures after Trump attacks over previous blazes

Newsom declares state of emergency to ‘fast-track’ wildfire measures after Trump attacks over previous blazes

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday in a bid to fast-track wildfire prevention projects. Newsom announced the move after President Donald Trump blasted the governor’s handling of previous wildfire disasters. The order suspends certain environmental regulations that would have delayed forest management projects and other wildfire prevention measures. “This year has already seen some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, and we’re only in March. Building on unprecedented work cutting red tape and making historic investments – we’re taking action with a state of emergency to fast-track critical wildfire projects even more,” Newsom said in a statement. “These are the forest management projects we need to protect our communities most vulnerable to wildfire, and we’re going to get them done,” he added. NEWSOM CALLS TRUMP’S CLAIMS ‘PURE FICTION’ AFTER HE POINTED FINGER OVER CALIFORNIA FIRE TRAGEDY California’s wider efforts will cost roughly $2.5 billion, funding controlled burns, reducing fuel in burn areas, as well as implementing public tracking of wildfire prevention efforts. TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND The state of emergency announcement comes weeks after Trump blasted Newsom for “gross incompetence” in handling the recent wildfires. “Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!” Trump charged in a social media post on Jan. 8, repeating a derogatory name he often uses for the governor. Newsom traveled to Washington, D.C., in early February in a bid to secure federal backing for the disaster relief efforts. He said he had a “very productive” meeting at the White House at the time. The governor held two meetings on Capitol Hill before traveling to the White House and petitioning Trump for “unconditional disaster aid,” his office said. “As we approach one month since the devastating wildfires across Southern California, we continue to cut red tape to speed up recovery and clean up efforts as well as ensure rebuilding efforts are swift,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need.” Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

How to watch and what to know about Trump’s Tuesday address to a Joint Session of Congress

How to watch and what to know about Trump’s Tuesday address to a Joint Session of Congress

President Donald Trump will address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4 at 9 p.m. ET. The forum is not officially a State of the Union address, which traditionally comes during the second, third and fourth year of a presidency. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Trump earlier this month to address Congress on Tuesday. “Thanks to your strong leadership and bold action in the first days of your presidency, the United States is already experiencing a resurgence of patriotism, unity, and hope for the future,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Trump first obtained by Fox News Digital. HONORING TRUMP: SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS FLAGS TO FLY FULL-STAFF AT US CAPITOL DURING PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION “Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history,” the speaker wrote. “To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future. I eagerly await your response.” Fox News Channel, Fox News Digital and Fox News Go will have live coverage of the event Tuesday evening. Fox News Channel will also preview the speech during its primetime and afternoon programming. Will Cain will have the latest on the “Will Cain Show” at 4 p.m. ET. Following him, join Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld, Judge Jeanine Pirro and the hosts of “The Five” for more coverage leading up to the event. VA DEM SLAMS DOGE FANS; COMPARES JOB CUTS TO HOLOCAUST: ‘FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS…’ Chief political anchor Bret Baier continues the coverage at 6 p.m. ET on “Special Report,” followed by “The Ingraham Angle” with Laura Ingraham at 7 p.m. ET; before Jesse Watters offers a curtain-raiser just before the address at 8 p.m. ET on “Jesse Watters Primetime.” While it is officially an address to a joint session, historically, these speeches tend to follow the same customs as the official State of the Union forums. The latter are required by the Constitution under Article II Sec. 3 – which stipulates that a president must provide Congress with information about the state of the Union and offer legislative recommendations. Before the audiovisual and digital ages, the addresses tended to come in print form. Former President Woodrow Wilson delivered the first address in-person since former President John Adams. The title itself, “State of the Union,” was standardized by former President Harry S. Truman in the 1940s. Truman also offered the first televised State of the Union, as radio gave way to TV. Former President Lyndon Baines Johnson began the tradition of a primetime address. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP During such addresses, when all three branches of government are typically present, one member of the president’s cabinet is named “designated survivor” – and stays home from the address in case terrorism or another catastrophe leads to the deaths of all assembled in the chamber. The U.S. Senate keeps records of each designated survivor going back to 1984, when former HUD Secretary Samuel Pierce Jr. was designated the potential leader of the nation if former President Ronald Reagan and everyone else in attendance perished. Notable designated survivors have included then-future New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during former President Bill Clinton’s 1999 address, former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley – son of the famed Chicago Democratic Party boss – in 1998, and then-Attorney General Eric Holder in 2009. Most recently, former President Joe Biden’s education chief, Miguel Cardona, was 2024’s designated survivor. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Debate over whether to ban handgun sales to teens could soon head to the Supreme Court

Debate over whether to ban handgun sales to teens could soon head to the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court may soon weigh in on whether people younger than 21 have the right to buy handguns, a decision that could upend decades-old federal restrictions and reshape the nation’s gun laws. In January, the right-leaning Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, struck down the federal government’s decades-old ban on handgun purchases for 18- to 20-year-olds. That decision came after the 10th Circuit upheld the same prohibition in November. Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit is currently considering whether to uphold a Virginia district court judge’s decision ending the age-limit ban. “Whenever there’s decisions that cross each other, you have a much better chance of getting a writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court,” Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, told Fox News Digital.  FEDERAL COURT RULES AGE LIMITS ON HANDGUN SALES VIOLATE SECOND AMENDMENT “This issue is definitely making its way to the Supreme Court—and fast,” said Pepperdine’s Jacob Charles, a constitutional law professor with an expertise in Second Amendment issues. “This is a key federal law, and you just can’t have that apply differently across the nation (at least for long).” The federal ban on handgun sales to people under the age of 21 began in 1968 as part of the Gun Control Act passed that year. Fast-forward to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, and a tranche of lawsuits aiming to upend laws restricting gun sales to people over 21 are making their way through the courts. The gun-violence nonprofit news outlet The Trace compiled data showing that between June 2022 and August 2024, there have been more than 1,600 Bruen-based challenges to gun laws. The Bruen decision rejected the strict scrutiny frameworks being used by lower courts to evaluate gun laws and instead established a “historical tradition” that required laws to adhere more directly to the text of the Second Amendment. “The levels of scrutiny – rational basis, intermediate scrutiny, strict scrutiny – don’t matter. What the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling said was, you have to look at the text and the history. That’s what counts,” said Gottlieb. “When the Bill of Rights was put together, there was nothing that prohibited 18-to 20-year-old young adults from being able to own or carry a firearm.”  Gottlieb and the Second Amendment Foundation have sued in several states to reverse their bans on hand gun sales to young adults under 21.  Several cases challenging age limit bans, including cases filed in Massachusetts and Connecticut this month, are ongoing.  KYLE RITTENHOUSE RETURNS TO SPEAK AT UNIVERSITY WHERE ANGRY MOB LED TO CANCELED SPEECH “Our track record, at least, is mostly wins, and part of the logic on that is that there’s nothing in under the Bruen decision at the Supreme Court, which makes them look at the text and history of the Second Amendment.”  The Fifth Circuit decision cited the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling in its decision not to uphold the federal ban, as did two other circuit courts over the last year.  One case in the Eighth Circuit invalidated a ban in Minnesota. Since then, the Commissioner of Public Safety in Minnesota filed a petition for the Supreme Court to rule on the case. That petition is currently pending.