Page 2022 – Texas Weekly Online

A battle over 100 words

That is the court fight some parents in California are waging against Democratic lawmakers and the Newsom Administration, who are trying to stop voters from a proposed ballot measure that would require schools to notify parents if a child is changing their gender. The initiative would also protect female sports from transgender athletes (born males) and mandate that students use school facilities consistent with their birth gender. Polls show a majority of Californian voters support the measures. However, the state legislature, where Democrats enjoy a super majority, refused to hear the bill, and Democrat State Attorney General Rob Bonta changed the initiative’s title from “Protect Kids of California Act” to the “Restrict Rights of Transgender Youth” initiative. CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS ADVANCE BILL CREATING GENEALOGY OFFICE TO DETERMINE REPARATIONS ELIGIBILITY Supporters also say Bonta changed the required 100-word summary of the initiative in a negative, misleading and pejorative way that they claim makes it nearly impossible to gather signatures or raise money. “His bias on these issues is clear, and he’s allowed to have his opinion,” says Dean McGee of the Liberty Justice Center, which brought the lawsuit against Bonta. “What he’s not allowed to do is mess with the democratic process in California. Rebrand this initiative in a way that makes it likely to fail, instead of giving it a fair shot at the ballot.” CALIFORNIA BILL AIMS TO BAN NO-PET POLICIES, ANIMAL FEES AT RENTAL HOUSING PROPERTIES According to state statute, the Attorney General is required to “give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure” so that it “shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.” On Thursday night, a judge tentatively denied the parents’ lawsuit, saying statutes also give the Attorney General “considerable latitude in preparing a title and summary” and “only upon clear and convincing proof” that the title and summary is “false, misleading, or inconsistent with the requirements” of the (elections code), can a judge step in. NEWSOM REFUSES TO BACK FELLOW DEMS TAKING ON GOOGLE, BIG TECH THROUGH NEWS LINK LEGISLATION Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto previously served as the chief deputy legal affairs lawyer for then Governor Jerry Brown. The parent activist group cited research showing that most voters only read an initiative’s title and summary. It claims changing words such as “protect,” “ensure,” and “fairness” to “require, restrict and prohibit” typically doom measures to fail at the ballot box. CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT ORDERED TO PAY LEGAL FEES AFTER LGBTQ FLAG DEBATE, DEATH THREATS “He’s attempting to bypass California’s abilities to evaluate this issue neutrally by writing a biased summary that people will be unlikely to support,” claims McGee. Leaders of Protect Kids California also say Bonta, a potential gubernatorial candidate, should be “conflicted out” because he’s already suing to stop the Chino Valley School District from adopting a similar policy. Bonta’s office issued this statement. “Under California law, the Attorney General’s Office is responsible for issuing official titles and summaries describing the chief purpose and points of every proposed initiative… and stand by our title and summary for this measure.” Judge Acquisto heard arguments Friday afternoon challenging his ruling. The parents’ group says it will likely appeal and hope to get on the 2026 ballot.

A battle over 100 words: Judge tentatively siding with California AG over students’ gender identification

Planned Parenthood refuses to hand over records of transgender procedures on children

Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, Missouri is appealing a judge’s ruling that required the clinic to hand over patient files exposing whether puberty blockers and transgender procedures were performed on children. The clinic filed the appeal in the 22nd Judicial Court in St. Louis on Friday, arguing that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s civil investigative demand was “improperly issued” because it did not reference Planned Parenthood in the 54 requests. Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act allows Bailey to obtain patient documents because they do not fall under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protections, St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer ruled earlier this month. But Planned Parenthood claims the civil investigative demand was “improperly issued in reliance” of the merchandising act. ARIZONA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS NEAR-TOTAL ABORTION BAN “The sworn affidavit directed to Washington University’s complaint of practices being investigated by the Missouri AG did not explicitly or implicitly reference [Planned Parenthood] in any way whatsoever,” the appeal read. Bailey has “weaponized” the attorney general’s office to “carry out a political campaign,” Richard Muniz, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, told Fox News Digital. “We’re asking the court of appeals to put a halt to Bailey’s pretextual and lawless investigation, because Missourians should not have to live in fear of having their essential and lifesaving care dismantled — or their private health information scrutinized by politicians,” Muniz said. The Planned Parenthood CEO added the clinic will not back down from “this sham investigation.” The appeal comes as Bailey is issuing a series of investigations into how transgender health clinics have offered services to kids. Bailey singled out Planned Parenthood for its part in dragging out the investigation. DETRANSITIONER BLASTS GOP GOVERNOR’S VETO OF BAN ON GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE FOR MINORS: ‘COMPLICIT’ IN THIS “It’s disappointing that Planned Parenthood doesn’t want to comply with our investigation that merely seeks to ensure children weren’t experimented on without parental consent,” Bailey told Fox News Digital in a statement Friday. “As a father of four, this fight to protect children is personal for me. We will not let up. I look forward to prevailing in court on this matter once again.” Of the three clinics Bailey has won against in court, only one has handed over documents: Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. A Planned Parenthood clinic in Great Plains has filed an appeal to keep their documents private while a St. Louis-based Planned Parenthood in St. Louis has yet to send Bailey’s office any of its patient documents. According to the court opinion, Planned Parenthood attempted to block Bailey’s inquiry and argued that Bailey’s office “failed to show” how they were “directly involved in his investigation” of transgender clinics. Last year, Bailey launched a multi-agency investigation into the Washington University Transgender Center (TGC) at St. Louis Children’s Hospital after a whistleblower went public and accused the hospital of lying to parents of patients. MISSOURI LAW BANNING GENDER-CHANGING TREATMENTS FOR MINORS TAKES EFFECT The AG’s inquiry into the TGC “seeks all records for all patients treated at the TGC, among other requests seeking private and protected health information. These records involve more than 1,000 patients.” Jamie Reed said in an affidavit submitted to the attorney general’s office in early 2023 that she was employed as a case manager at the children’s hospital from 2018 until November 2022. She accused hospital employees at the transgender center of lying to the parents of patients, among many other issues. Just a few months later, Missouri enacted a law outlawing puberty blockers, hormones and gender-transition surgeries for minors.

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Murphy slams Republicans on Mayorkas vote in response to Trump Jr.: ‘Republicans are full of s‑‑‑’

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took aim at Republicans on Friday in a social media response to Donald Trump, Jr. after calling out Senate Democrats who voted to end the impeachment case against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “Your Friday morning reminder that Republicans are full of s— when they complain about the border,” Murphy wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “They killed the tough, bipartisan border security bill because Trump told them to keep the border a mess because it would help him politically.” Murphy was responding to an earlier post by Trump, Jr. where he called out Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio – all of whom voted with their party to dismiss two articles of impeachment and are currently seeking reelection. ‘CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY’ OF SENATE DEMS QUASHING MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL QUESTIONED BY EXPERTS “Next time Dems like Bob Casey, Jon Tester and Sherrod Brown try to portray themselves as tough on the border, remember that they just did Biden’s bidding by voting to acquit Mayorkas without a trial,” Trump, Jr. wrote on X on Thursday. “By taking that vote, they all just endorsed the invasion at our southern border!” The first article against Mayorkas alleged he had engaged in “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” when addressing the border in his capacity as DHS Secretary while the second article claimed he had breached public trust. REPUBLICANS PREDICT DEMS TO PAY ‘HEAVY PRICE’ IN ELECTION AFTER MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT BID FAILS Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., initially requested unanimous consent — which would have provided a set amount of time for debate among the senators, as well as votes on two GOP resolutions and a set amount of agreed upon points of order. The request was objected to by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. Schmitt stated in his objection that the Senate should conduct a full trial into the impeachment articles against Mayorkas, rather than the debate and points of order suggested by Schumer’s unanimous consent request, which would be followed by a likely successful motion to dismiss the articles. Schumer proposed a point of order declaring the first article unconstitutional. A majority of senators agreed despite several failed motions by Republicans. It was deemed unconstitutional by a vote of 51-48, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voting present. After another batch of motions to avoid voting on Schumer’s second point of order, which would deem the second article unconstitutional, the Senate agreed to it. The vote was along party lines 51-49, with Murkowski rejoining the Republicans. Fox News’ Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Democrats look to strip Secret Service protection from Trump if he’s convicted

House Democrats have introduced a bill that would strip Secret Service protection from convicted felons sentenced to prison, a move directly targeting former President Trump who is currently on criminal trial in New York City for alleged hush money payments made during the 2016 election campaign and faces several other cases which could land him behind bars. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the former chair of the now disbanded Jan. 6 congressional committee, introduced legislation that would automatically nix Secret Service protection for those who have been convicted of a federal or state felony that carries a minimum one-year prison term. The proposed bill is provocatively called the “Denying Infinite Security and Government Resources Allocated toward Convicted and Extremely Dishonorable (DISGRACED) Former Protectees Act. NY AG LETITIA JAMES ASKS JUDGE TO VOID TRUMP’S $175M BOND IN CIVIL FRAUD CASE “Unfortunately, current law doesn’t anticipate how Secret Service protection would impact the felony prison sentence of a protectee—even a former President,” Thompson said in a statement. “It is regrettable that it has come to this, but this previously unthought-of scenario could become our reality.” A so-called “fact sheet” accompanying Thompson’s statement notes that Trump is facing an “unprecedented 91 felony charges in federal and state courts” which have “created a new exigency that Congress must address to ensure Secret Service protection does not interfere with the criminal judicial process and the administration of justice.” The one-page document also states that the bill would apply to former President Trump should he be convicted of a felony, as well as to all Secret Service protectees convicted and sentenced under felony charges. It notes that current law does not contemplate how Secret Service security would be administered to a protectee serving jail time and it therefore may pose logistical difficulties for both the Secret Service and prison authorities. TWO SEATED JURORS DISMISSED AS SELECTION PROCESS CONTINUES FOR DAY 3 OF TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL The proposed bill, Thompson says, would avoid such complications with incarcerating former President Trump should he be ordered to serve jail time. “Therefore, it is necessary for us to be prepared and update the law so the American people can be assured that protective status does not translate into special treatment—and that those who are sentenced to prison will indeed serve the time required of them,” Thompson said. It would also address suggestions that any potential conviction of Trump would likely result in some form of home confinement rather than prison time, given his Secret Service protection. “This bill would remove the potential for conflicting lines of authority within prisons and allow judges to weigh the sentencing of individuals without having to factor in the logistical concerns of convicts with Secret Service protection,” the document states. Secret Service protection is afforded to current presidents and their family members as well as former presidents and other high level officials. Protection was expanded to major party presidential nominees following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, although his son has not been provided with Secret Service protection for his 2024 independent run. As well as the hush money trial, Trump is charged in Georgia with trying to overturn the 2020 election in a racketeering case. He also has upcoming trials in Florida over his alleged hoarding of classified White House documents and in Washington D.C., where he is accused of conspiring to overturn the results of his election loss. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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FBI serves subpoenas at Chicago suburb of scandal-ridden ‘supermayor’ Tiffany Henyard

The FBI on Friday served subpoenas in the Chicago suburb where controversial Mayor Tiffany Henyard has faced accusations of corruption, Fox 32 Chicago reports. Henyard, the self-described “supermayor” of Dolton, and Thornton Township Supervisor, has recently been dubbed the “worst mayor in America” by critics after being accused of misdeeds ranging from weaponizing police raids to spending taxpayer money on luxuries in Las Vegas. Most recently, the scandal-ridden mayor has also come under fire for an alleged sexual assault by one of her allies during the Vegas trip, where the alleged victim claims to have been fired after speaking out. On Friday, four agents from the FBI paid a visit to Dolton at around 2:30 p.m. where they served two federal subpoenas, according to Fox 32. DEMOCRATIC ILLINOIS ‘SUPER MAYOR’ VETOES ATTEMPT TO PROBE HER LAVISH SPENDING The first one was for employment records, personnel files, and disciplinary reports for 25 Dolton employees, including three police officers and Keith Freeman, who is the village administrator and Henyard’s top aide. Freeman was charged with bankruptcy fraud on Monday. The second subpoena was served specifically for Freeman, asking for records of all companies associated with him and possible ties to the village. “The House of Cards are collapsing,” Burt Odelson, who serves as the Legislative Counsel for the Village of Dolton Board of Trustees., tells Fox 32. “I think the government is taking action.” The FBI did not provide any more information pertaining to the subpoenas and Henyard herself was not served. In February, it was reported that the FBI was investigating the mayor, as six individuals had reportedly spoken to the agency about her alleged misconduct, including “business owners, a former village employee and one or more public officials.” CONTROVERSIAL MAYOR POSTS VIDEO WITH BIDEN JUST DAYS AFTER RIPPING COLLEAGUES FOR ‘ATTACKING ON A BLACK WOMAN’ Dolton trustee Tammie Brown said she was ecstatic to hear the feds are looking around. “Months and months and months, we have been begging for someone to come out here and actually investigate as to what’s actually going on out here,” Brown said. The Village of Dolton last week voted to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a “Special Investigator” to look into Henyard’s conduct. It came after Henyard had vetoed the board’s request to launch a federal investigation into her alleged misuse of funds. Lightfoot is being paid $400 an hour to gather information on Henyard’s alleged spending and finance mismanagement as well as “any state and federal violations.” Earlier in April, Henyard made headlines for being condemned by local Dolton residents, but this Tuesday, she was similarly skewered by residents of the Thornton township in a town hall meeting. “Everybody wanted to continue to be a s—show and not really show facts as it relates to what’s really going on in our township,” she responded. Henyard has appealed to racial politics amid her scandals before, proclaiming during a previous meeting, “Y’all got false narratives out there, and y’all should be ashamed of y’all selves. Y’all Black. Y’all are Black! And y’all sitting up here beating and attacking on a Black woman that’s in power. Y’all should be ashamed of y’all selves.” Fox News Digital previously reported that Henyard has been living like a royal with a combined salary of nearly $300,000 — more than the state’s governor — and frequent use of beauty vendors, despite the 23,000 residents of the Illinois town having a median income of $24,000. The mayor who insists “God chose me” and met with President Biden in January, has been said to engage in such wild antics it is like a “real life Parks and Rec situation.” But her multitudes of alleged misdeeds could finally be catching up to her. Fox News’ Alexander Hall and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

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Mumbai police receives threat call of ‘major incident’ to be carried out by Lawrence Bishnoi’s man

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