New York City mayor’s aide now cooperating with federal corruption probe: report
One month after the FBI announced it was looking into international flights New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams took on Turkish Airlines, a top City Hall aide is reportedly now cooperating with the probe. Rana Abbasova, whom the New York Times described as the mayor’s former liaison to New York City’s Turkish community, is cooperating with federal agents, according to the outlet. The investigation is centered on whether Adams’ 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers. The multipronged FBI investigation partially focuses on Turkish Airlines upgrades received by Adams. In November 2023, agents raided the home of former Turkish Airlines executive and Adams mayoral transition team member Cenk Öcal. Federal agents also seized some of Adams’ phones and an iPad in November. Abbasova’s cooperation reportedly began a few weeks after the FBI raided her home in early November. FBI PROBES NYC MAYOR ADAMS RECEIVED UPGRADED TURKISH AIRLINES TICKETS IN EXCHANGE FOR FAVORS: REPORT In its initial reporting of the probe, Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office and was told that as Brooklyn Borough president, Adams regularly disclosed official travel to Turkey. The representative for Adams, attorney Brendan McGuire, in April denied the former NYPD detective ever received improper upgrades or engaged in inappropriate behavior in exchange for upgrades. In a statement obtained by the Times on Monday, McGuire called news of Abbasova’s cooperation “not a new or meaningful development.” Abbasova, an Azerbaijani native, worked with Adams while he was in his borough office as well, but has since risen to a top post in the city’s office for international affairs. ADAMS OFFICE LASHES OUT AT FBI EMPLOYEE WHO MIGHT HAVE ‘IMPROPERLY LEAKED DETAILS’ OF CORRUPTION PROBE She accompanied Adams on two trips to Turkey and was in the loop on some of the mayor’s correspondence with the government in Ankara. Abbasova, however, has not been accused of any wrongdoing. One aspect of the investigation of Adams reported by the Times involved allegations the city pressured FDNY officials to ignore safety concerns and approve a new Turkish consulate. In January, Adams’ campaign compliance attorney confirmed to Fox News Digital that the mayor’s legal defense fund raised more than $650,000 since its formation two months prior. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Reacting to the report in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg said in November: “The mayor and our team are continuing to work with investigators and cooperate. We hope that investigators will continue to cooperate with us and reprimand any federal officer who has improperly leaked details about this investigation as such conduct could prejudice the public and undermines the integrity of our law enforcement process.“ Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Danielle Wallace and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.
Trump campaign says it will sue ‘The Apprentice’ filmmakers: ‘This garbage is pure fiction’
Former President Trump’s team is preparing to file a lawsuit against the makers of a biopic about his career in the 1980s. A spokesperson for Trump called “The Apprentice” – a 2024 film starring Sebastian Stan and directed by Ali Abbasi – a piece of “garbage” and “pure fiction.” “We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked,” Cheung said. FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP, MELANIA AT BARRON’S GRADUATION IN FLORIDA DURING BREAK IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL The film centers on Trump’s relationship with Roy Cohn, the McCarthy-era government lawyer who led investigations into suspected communists, portraying Cohn as a mentor for Trump in the hard-knocks world of New York City business and politics. It includes a number of salacious and disturbing scenes involving Trump, Ivana Trump and other real-life figures. NY V. TRUMP: DEFENSE RESTS WITHOUT CALLING FORMER PRESIDENT TO TESTIFY; MOTION TO DISMISS PENDING “This ‘film’ is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn’t even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire,” Cheung told Fox News Digital. “Everybody talks about him suing a lot of people – they don’t talk about his success rate though, you know?” Abbasi told reporters Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival. Abbasi went on to claim he would be willing to privately screen the movie for Trump if the former president was open to it. “I would offer to go and meet him wherever he wants and talk about the context of the movie, have a screening and have a chat afterwards, if that’s interesting to anyone at the Trump campaign,” Abbasi said.
Trump says he ‘will never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control’ or other contraceptives
Former President Trump said he has never and “will never advocate imposing restrictions on birth control,” and vowed to ensure the Republican Party would not support a ban on any contraceptives. “I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL, or other contraceptives,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday. TRUMP SAYS ABORTION SHOULD BE DECIDED BY THE STATES, ‘WILL OF THE PEOPLE’ “This is a Democrat fabricated lie, MISINFORMATION/DISINFORMATION, because they have nothing else to run on except FAILURE, POVERTY, AND DEATH,” Trump posted. He added: “I DO NOT SUPPORT A BAN ON BIRTH CONTROL, AND NEITHER WILL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!” Trump’s comments came after he was asked during an interview with a local Pittsburgh station KDKA whether he supports any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception. “We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly,” Trump said during the interview. When asked if he would support restrictions to emergency contraception, Trump responded, “Things really do have a lot to do with the states and some states are going to have different policies than others.” Biden campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika slammed Trump Tuesday, saying “women across the country are already suffering from Donald Trump’s post-Roe nightmare, and if he wins a second term, it’s clear he wants to go even further by restricting access to birth control and emergency contraceptives.” FOX NEWS POLL: ABORTION, ECONOMY, AND BORDER SECURITY ARE TOP DEAL-BREAKERS IN 2024 ELECTIONS “It’s not enough for Trump that women’s lives are being put at risk, doctors are being threatened with jail time, and extreme bans are being enacted with no exceptions for rape or incest. He wants to rip away our freedom to access birth control too,” Chitika continued. “While Trump works overtime to roll back the clock and rip away women’s freedoms, President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting nonstop to protect access to birth control and women’s right to make their own personal health care decisions.” But Trump, last month, emphasized his support for states determining their own laws for abortion — so long as there are exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. He also affirmed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF). “The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state,” Trump said last month. “Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks… at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.” Trump also said that the Republican Party “should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies,” stressing that “IVF is an important part of that.” President Biden and his re-election campaign have said Trump will support a nationwide abortion ban and put restrictions on contraception. The latest Fox News Poll shows that the issue of abortion is the biggest single issue among self-described Democrats (24%), suburban women (24%), self-described very liberals (23%), Black voters (17%), those with a college degree (17%), and voters under age 30 (16%).
Top Trump allies meet with Netanyahu in Israel as ICC seeks arrest warrants
Top allies of former President Trump traveled to Israel this week to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Former national security adviser Robert O’Brien made the trip alongside two other former Trump administration officials. They stayed in the country for three days, meeting with both Netanyahu and his top political rival, Benny Gantz. O’Brien was accompanied by John Rakolta, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates under Trump, and Ed McMullen, a former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland. “My goal on this trip was really to show support for Israel,” O’Brien told NBC News. “But at the same time, people know that I’m a former Trump official, I’m in regular contact with the president and strongly support him in November.” ISRAELI ARMY FINDS BODIES OF 3 HOSTAGES IN GAZA KILLED AT OCT. 7 MUSIC FESTIVAL The trip came as an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced he is seeking warrants for the arrest of both Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. NETANYAHU RIVAL THREATENS TO QUIT WAR CABINET OVER GAZA STRATEGY O’Brien said he and the other Trump allies also met with Gallant this week. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that based on evidence collected and examined by his office, he has “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for… war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine.” He said those alleged crimes include “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare” and “intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population.” ICC REQUESTS ARREST WARRANTS FOR NETANYAHU, HAMAS LEADERS OVER ‘ WAR CRIMES’ Khan also said he is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar, its top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and its military commander, Mohammed Dief. President Biden slammed the ICC request as “outrageous” on Monday. “The ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous,” Biden said in a statement issued Monday afternoon. “And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” Biden added. “We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” the president continued.
Key Trump witness nixed after Merchan’s stringent rulings reveals what his testimony would have been
Former President Trump’s legal team was slated to call on a former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission to testify in the NY v. Trump case, but the expert’s testimony was not heard after the presiding judge curbed the scope of what he could discuss before the jury. “Judge Merchan has so restricted my testimony that defense has decided not to call me. Now, it’s elementary that the judge instructs the jury on the law, so I understand his reluctance,” former FEC Commissioner Bradley Smith posted on X Monday. “But the Federal Election Campaign Act is very complex. Even Antonin Scalia – a pretty smart guy, even you hate him – once said ‘this [campaign finance] law is so intricate that I can’t figure it out.’ Picture a jury in a product liability case trying to figure out if a complex machine was negligently designed, based only on a boilerplate recitation of the general definition of ‘negligence.’ They’d be lost without knowing technology & industry norms,” he continued. Smith is an election law expert whom Trump has called the “Rolls-Royce” of experts in his field, but he will not testify after Judge Juan Merchan ruled he could speak before the court on the basic definitions surrounding election law, but that he could not expand beyond that scope. NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in the case. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg must prove to the jury that not only did Trump falsify the business records related to payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels, but that he did so in furtherance of another crime – conspiracy to promote or prevent election. Smith served as an FEC commissioner and chairman between 2000 and 2005. The FEC is the U.S. agency dedicated to enforcing campaign finance laws. His testimony was slated to shed light on prosecutors’ claims that Trump allegedly falsified business records, which is a misdemeanor that has already passed the statute of limitations, in order to cover up an election violation. TRUMP PROSECUTOR QUIT TOP DOJ POST FOR LOWLY NY JOB IN LIKELY BID TO ‘GET’ FORMER PRESIDENT, EXPERT SAYS Smith lamented on social media that while the prosecution’s witness, Michael Cohen, was allowed to go “on at length about whether and how his activity violated” the Federal Election Campaign Act, he was barred from broadening the scope of his previously anticipated testimony, which “effectively” led to the jury getting “its instructions on FECA from Michael Cohen!” Smith spoke with the Washington Examiner on Monday, discussing what he would have said in court if he testified. “Judges instruct the juries on the law,” Smith told the Washington Examiner. “And they don’t want a battle of competing experts saying here’s what the law is. They feel it’s their province to make that determination. The problem, of course, is that campaign finance law is extremely complex and just reading the statute to people isn’t really going to help them very much.” Smith said he anticipated “to lay out the ways the law has been interpreted in ways that might not be obvious,” while noting election laws are very complicated matters. NINE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRUMP TRIAL, ANSWERED “You read the law and it says that anything intended for the purpose of influencing an election is a contribution or an expenditure,” Smith explained. “But that’s not in fact the entirety of the law. There is the obscure, and separate from the definitional part, idea of personal use, which is a separate part of the law that says you can’t divert campaign funds to personal use. That has a number of specific prohibitions, like you can’t buy a country club membership, you can’t normally pay yourself a salary or living expenses, you can’t go on vacation – all these kinds of things. And then it includes a broader, general prohibition that says you can’t divert [campaign funds] to any obligation that would exist even if you were not running for office.” COHEN’S BOMBSHELL ADMISSION COULD LEAD TO HUNG JURY, IF NOT ACQUITTAL: EXPERT “We would have liked to flag that exception for the jury and talk a little bit about what it means,” Smith said. “And also, we would have talked about ‘for the purpose of influencing an election’ is not a subjective test, like ‘What was my intention?’ – it’s an objective test.” The case surrounding Trump’s payments is one that both the Justice Department and FEC rejected prosecuting in recent years. The Justice Department in 2019 “effectively concluded” its investigation into Trump’s payments. While in 2021, the Federal Elections Commission announced that it had dropped a case looking into whether Trump had violated election laws for the payment to Daniels. JIM JORDAN DEMANDS NY AG HAND OVER DOCUMENTS RELATED TO FORMER DOJ OFFICIAL AT HEART OF NY V. TRUMP Smith has previously joined Fox News, where he also highlighted that the “Federal Election Commission chose not to act on this.” “D.A. Bragg in this case waited, I think it was almost a year, before even bringing the charges. And I think that’s because the charges were flimsy. And as you point out, they’ve been you know, the prior D.A. had said, ‘No, we’re not going to bring this.’ The DOJ said no. The Federal Election Commission said no. And when he got increased political pressure, he brought the case,” Smith told Fox News host Mark Levin earlier this year before the trial kicked off. Smith also wrote an opinion piece published by the Federalist last month, when the trial kicked off, arguing that Bragg’s office had “one big problem” with the case. “The [prosecution’s] theory is that Trump’s payments to Daniels were campaign expenditures and thus needed to be publicly reported as such. By not reporting the expenditure, the theory goes, Trump prevented the public from knowing information that might have influenced their votes,” he wrote in the opinion
SC dismisses petitions seeking review of Article 370 case verdict
Last year in December, SC had ordered Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September end this year, while upholding the Centre’s 2019 decision.
Anti-Israel agitators interrupt Blinken Senate testimony, hauled out by Capitol police
At least four anti-Israel agitators were hauled out of a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing by Capitol police while Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified about his department’s budget on Tuesday. While Blinken began his opening statement, a man stood up shouting the name of a 6-year-old boy reportedly killed in Gaza. “Blinken, you will be remembered as the Butcher of Gaza,” the man yelled as officers pulled him out of the hearing room. “You will be remembered for murdering innocent Palestinians.” As other protesters started to speak up, Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., instructed an officer to remove the individual. BIDEN SLAMS ICC’S ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ REQUEST FOR NETANYAHU ARREST WARRANT Cardin warned that anyone who was speaking would be removed, but that did not deter an elderly woman who repeatedly shouted, “Stop the genocide,” while being escorted out by police. Blinken began his prepared statement again, when a woman suddenly rushed toward his table shouting, “Blinken is a war criminal. He is a war criminal. The blood of 40,000 people is on his hands.” “The blood of 40,000 Palestinians is on his hands,” she continued as Capitol police officers physically pulled her from the room. “He is a war criminal. He is a war criminal. Blinken is a war criminal.” A fourth person, another female protester, was then removed while shouting, “Blinken, you are funding a genocide in Gaza. There have been seven mass graves outside of hospitals.” “This is sick. This is deranged. You are a war criminal. Shame on you,” she yelled. Blinken is advocating before Congress for President Biden’s more than $60 billion budget request for the State Department and the Agency for International Development. Blinken is testifying before the Democrat-controlled Senate first, before the full Foreign Relations Committee, and later Tuesday, before the Appropriations subcommittee. On Wednesday, the secretary of state is scheduled to return to the Capitol to testify before the Republican-controlled House Foreign Affairs Committee and an appropriations subcommittee. STATE DEPT DENIES IRAN’S RARE REQUEST FOR US ASSISTANCE AFTER DEADLY HELICOPTER CRASH: ‘LOGISTICAL REASONS’ During Blinken’s testimony, Cardin, joined by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., John Fetterman, D-Penn., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and John Thune, R-S.D., released a statement condemning the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan also accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes and crimes against humanity. “These actions by the ICC jeopardize efforts to bring about sustainable peace in the Middle East. It puts at risk sensitive negotiations to bring home hostages, including Americans, and surge humanitarian assistance,” the bipartisan group of senators wrote. “The application for arrest warrants also draws a false equivalence between Israel with its longstanding commitment to the rule of law, and Hamas’ theocratic, autocratic, and unaccountable rule over Gaza. To state the obvious: Israel is a functioning democracy, while Hamas is a terrorist organization.” Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the Biden administration would be willing to work with Congress to respond to the ICC’s decision to pursue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. “The extremely wrongheaded decision by the ICC prosecutor yesterday, the shameful equivalence implied between Hamas and the leadership of Israel. I think that only complicates the prospects for getting such an agreement,” Blinken said, referencing cease-fire talks. “We’ll continue to forge ahead to to do that. But that that decision, as you said, on so many levels, is totally wrong headed. And we’ll be happy to work with Congress, with this committee on an appropriate response.”
LGBT group tackles Chiefs kicker’s Catholic college address: ‘Erroneous and dangerous’
The nation’s largest LGBT advocacy organization, GLAAD, has issued a fact check of Harrison Butker’s commencement speech at a private Catholic college last week, saying the three-time Super Bowl winner’s address was filled with “erroneous and dangerous claims,” even suggesting the kicker was out of step with Pope Francis. “Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker’s commencement speech was not only a clear miss, it was inaccurate, ill-informed, and woefully out of step with Americans about Pride, LGBTQ people and women,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement. During the address given at Benedictine College in Kansas, Butker encouraged graduating women to embrace their vocations, like motherhood, in their futures and also assailed “the deadly sin sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it” in comparison to “the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify Him.” “‘Gender ideologies’ is a term fabricated by anti-LGBTQ activists to deny the reality that transgender and other gender-diverse people exist,” according to one of GLAAD’s fact checks. “Butker reinforced toxic stereotypes about men, power and control.” DEGREE-HOLDING WOMEN DEFEND CHIEFS KICKER AMID COMMENCEMENT SPEECH BACKLASH: ‘MORE WIVES AND MOTHERS PLEASE’ GLAAD fact-checked Butker’s assertion attributing the COVID-19 pandemic to “bad policies and poor leadership.” Butker further contended that inadequate leadership had ramifications on various fronts, including “abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia,” which he attributed to “degenerate cultural values and media,” all stemming from what he described as “the pervasiveness of disorder.” “Fact: Butker omits the fact that Donald Trump was president at the inception of COVID, lied about COVID, and downplayed the threat for months as hundreds of thousands of Americans died and got sick,” the organization wrote. Another fact check by the organization stated, “Fact: Extremist legislators and Supreme Court justices have restricted access to deeply personal health care decisions that are supported by a majority of Americans across party lines and all faith backgrounds.” Much of Butker’s speech urged graduates to be “authentically and unapologetically Catholic” and stick to traditional values. However, GLAAD’s fact-check called Butker’s “generalizations about Catholics” at odds with the papal authority of Pope Francis, who has “has taken more actions than any pope in history in support of LGBTQ people and to welcome LGBTQ people in the church.” “American Catholics have supported marriage for same-sex couples at consistently higher rates than the general population over the past two decades,” the organization wrote. CHIEFS’ HARRISON BUTKER ‘SAID NOTHING WRONG’ DURING FAITH-BASED COMMENCEMENT SPEECH RELIGIOUS GROUP SAYS The portion of Butker’s speech that appears to have generated the most scrutiny from traditional media outlets, as well as social media blowback, was when he addressed women in the audience, saying they are the ones in society “who have had the most diabolical lies told to you.” “I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker said. “How many of you are sitting here now, about to cross this stage, and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said. “Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother,” he said. CLICK HERE TO READ HARRISON BUTKER’S FULL SPEECH Earlier in Butker’s speech, he asserted that “for most of us,” their vocation is to be “married men and women.” “It is only in the past few years that I have grown encouraged to speak more boldly and directly, because, as I mentioned earlier, I have leaned into my vocation as a husband and father and as a man,” he said. Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
West Virginia transgender athlete defeated girls in track events over 700 times, new legal filing says
A new court filing in a lawsuit against the Biden administration for its overhaul of Title IX claims that a transgender track-and-field athlete at a West Virginia middle school displaced girls in competition over 700 times in three seasons. On Thursday, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) a nonprofit civil rights firm, filed a motion asking the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop the Biden administration’s new Title IX rules from going into effect on Aug. 1, and to allow state laws that ban transgender athletes from playing on girls’ sports teams to stay in effect. The rules, issued by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona last month, say that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. The administration has claimed that the change wouldn’t affect sports, but attorneys for ADF say that’s not true. “The Biden administration’s radical redefinition of sex will upend the equal opportunities that women and girls have enjoyed for 50 years under Title IX and will threaten their safety and privacy at every level,” ADF senior counsel Rachel Rouleau said in a statement. RED STATE AGS SUE BIDEN ADMIN TO HALT ‘RADICAL TRANSGENDER IDEOLOGY’ THREATENING ‘SAFETY OF WOMEN AND GIRLS’ “While the administration claims this change won’t affect sports, it has already made its position clear that men who identify as women should compete in women’s sports under Title IX,” Rouleau said. The Biden administration has supported the efforts of one student, who identifies as transgender, to compete against ADF’s client and other girls in women’s sports in West Virginia, ADF says. After a federal court ruled against ADF and allowed the student to compete on the girls’ team, that athlete finished ahead of girls more than 700 times in cross-country and track-and-field events, ADF claims. “Our client has also lost her right to use the women’s locker room free from harassment and without a male present. This egregious example is just one of many ongoing difficulties girls are facing with this illegal rewrite of federal law and vast executive authority overreach,” Rouleau said. ADF’s motion was filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit launched by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and over 20 other states against the administration’s new rules. “Fifty years ago, Congress revolutionized our educational system. In 1970, nearly 34% of working women lacked high-school diplomas. In 2016, it was 6%. In 1972, 7% of high-school varsity athletes were women. In 2018, it was 43%. The change occurred because the people’s representatives balanced various interests and produced legislation centered on 37 words in [Title IX Of The Education Amendments Of 1972]: no person shall be excluded from, denied benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in educational programs on the basis of sex,’” ADF’s motion states. SUPREME COURT WON’T HEAR PARENTS’ CHALLENGE TO MARYLAND SCHOOL TRANSGENDER POLICY “A different sort of revolution took place a few weeks ago. On April 29, unelected Department of Education officials published Title IX rules that add the concept of gender identity – ‘an individual’s sense of their gender.’ The new rules sometimes even prioritize this subjective concept over someone’s objective sex, requiring schools to allow some men to use women’s restrooms, to change in women’s locker rooms, to shower in women’s showers, and to compete in women’s sports,” the motion states. “The result is that Title IX’s primary beneficiaries are denied the privacy, dignity, equality, and fairness needed to benefit from our educational system,” it says. CHRISTIAN EX-TEACHER SCORES BIG PAYDAY FROM CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT AFTER REFUSING TRANSGENDER DIRECTIVES “None of this is justified – or justifiable,” it states. The Department of Education previously told Fox News Digital in a statement that it “does not comment on pending litigation.” “The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally-funded education,” the statement reads. Fox News Digital’s Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
Why Jacob Zuma being barred from S Africa election won’t derail his support
Johannesburg, South Africa – After weeks of legal disputes and rulings from the country’s electoral commission and court, South Africa’s highest court on Monday barred controversial former President Jacob Zuma from becoming a member of parliament. The Constitutional Court’s decision brings finality to the matter, however, experts have said it will not hamper Zuma’s political life, as the former leader is still the face of his party, which is enough to attract support from potential voters. Zuma, who now leads the new uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party after a political fallout with the governing African National Congress (ANC), has been a thorn in the side of his former party before the general elections next week. The 82-year-old former statesman had his eyes set on returning to Parliament and becoming president again on a ticket of the MK after he fell out with his successor, current President Cyril Ramaphosa. But Zuma’s 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2021 has been a roadblock for him and an Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) decision disqualified him from holding a seat in parliament. Zuma appealed the IEC’s decision and the Electoral Court, a judicial body meant to resolve electoral disputes, then gave him the green light to stand as a candidate. The case was eventually heard by the Constitutional Court which ruled that Zuma could not run for parliament for five years from when his prison sentence was completed. Responding to the judgement, the Electoral Commission noted the Constitutional Court decision and said that Zuma, as leader of the MK, would remain the face of the party on the ballot. In South Africa, ballot sheets bear the name and symbol of a political party alongside its leader’s face. Zuma is ‘political capital’ Political analyst Ongama Mtimka told Al Jazeera the court judgement would not sway Zuma’s loyal supporters away from voting for the MK. “Zuma is the only political capital that the MK party has. People will vote for the MK party because he is the face of the party,” he said. Zuma relies on populist policies to attract support, particularly in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal where he is making gains. He wants the return of the death penalty and has sought to criminalise teenage pregnancy. Jacob Zuma arrives before the launch of the election manifesto of his political party, uMkhonto we Sizwe, before the May 29 general election, at a rally in Soweto, South Africa [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters] Mtimka described the MK party as a “vehicle for Zuma’s rage against the ANC”, adding that “people who were going to vote for Zuma because of their anger with the ANC and the system will still vote for the MK party.” The ANC has been losing support in recent years, with polls predicting that it will fail to win a majority for the first time since apartheid ended in 1994, which may force it to rule as part of a coalition. Zuma has been leveraging the dissatisfaction with the governing party, and his supporters have followed him. The MK said the Constitutional Court decision would not affect the party’s performance in the looming polls. “The judgement does not deter us from what we want to achieve. President Zuma is on the ballot as the face of uMkhonto we Sizwe Party because he is the party president,” MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela told Al Jazeera. Zuma ‘doesn’t respect judgments’ Outside of the court on Monday, Zuma supporters held banners with his name and chanted songs in his praise. “We are disappointed by the judgement, but Jacob Zuma remains the leader of the MK party and will be on the ballot,” MK party secretary Sihle Ngubane told supporters. Zuma, who was president from 2009, was removed from office in 2018 and later sentenced by the Constitutional Court for contempt of court after refusing to give evidence in an inquiry investigating allegations against him of corruption and state capture. The Constitution bars anyone sentenced to more than 12 months in prison from standing for elections, which is what the court cited in its ruling on Monday. “It is a big moment in terms of the vindication of the rule of law,” said Lawson Naidoo, executive secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), a non-governmental organisation aimed at promoting constitutionalism. He said the country had needed clarification on Zuma’s eligibility before the election takes place on May 29. Zuma addresses his supporters at his home in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal Natal Province, in July 2021 [File: Shiraaz Mohamed/AP] Zuma has faced numerous legal battles – before, during and after his time in office. In the past, he has unsuccessfully applied for a rescission of court judgements he disagreed with. “We don’t know if Zuma will respect the court order because we know from previous experience that he doesn’t respect judgements that go against him,” Naidoo said. “But I’m not sure there’s anywhere to go on this. It was a unanimous judgement,” he added. ‘Remain calm’ During the hearings on his electoral eligibility, Zuma’s legal team argued that six Constitutional Court justices should recuse themselves because they were part of the decision to sentence him to jail for contempt of court. They argued that Zuma would be prejudiced by their purported bias. The recusal application was dismissed. On the election campaign trail, Zuma has insulted the Constitutional Court and promised to change the Constitution if his party were elected. The MK has said that if it gets a two-thirds majority – a threshold needed to change the Constitution – it would seek to change the political system from a Constitutional democracy to a Parliamentary democracy. This would mean that the political party with a Parliamentary majority determines laws and would not be subjected to the current support of the state. The ANC led the process of enacting the current Constitution in 1996 after South Africa overcame decades of apartheid. It has been widely described as among the most progressive in the world with checks and balances in place