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Gov. DeSantis makes push to repeal Florida’s red flag laws

Gov. DeSantis makes push to repeal Florida’s red flag laws

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, signaled that he wants to repeal the red flag law in the Sunshine State, arguing that it infringes on gun owners’ Second Amendment rights. The governor made his intentions known during Tuesday’s State of the State Address. The state’s red flag law was signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is now a U.S. senator, in the aftermath of the Feb. 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in which 17 people were killed. RON DESANTIS CHIRPS AT CANADA’S ‘BOYCOTT’ OF FLORIDA, COUNTRY’S STANLEY CUP DROUGHT The legislation allows law enforcement to seek a court order to confiscate firearms from someone who is considered a threat to themselves or others and prevents them from purchasing more weapons in the future. This is different from other states with red flag laws where family members and roommates can also petition the court to confiscate firearms. The Florida law also raised the minimum legal age for purchasing guns in Florida to 21. DeSantis argues that red flag laws, or risk protection orders, are unconstitutional. He said he would have vetoed the law if he was governor when it was signed in 2018. “If you look at this red flag law that was passed, they can go in and say, ‘this person’s a danger, they should have their firearms taken away,’ which is property in addition to being something connected with a constitutional right,” DeSantis said. “The burden shifts where you have to prove to a court that you are not a menace or a threat. That’s not the way due process works.” Nearly 10,000 risk protection order petitions have been filed by law enforcement across the state between July 2022 and the end of 2024, state records show, according to Fox 13. FLORIDA GOVERNOR SPOTLIGHTS TIMELY GOLF OUTING HE AND CASEY DESANTIS HAD WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP No bills have been filed in either chamber of the Florida legislature to repeal the red flag law.

Trump withdraws slew of Biden-era lawsuits tied to abortion, racial discrimination, financial regs and more

Trump withdraws slew of Biden-era lawsuits tied to abortion, racial discrimination, financial regs and more

President Donald Trump has used his new powers to dismiss a slew of lawsuits filed under former President Joe Biden, including challenges to state abortion bans, allegations of racism in police and fire departments, environmental and anti-whistleblower cases, and various business-related disputes. Meanwhile, he has largely left Biden-era antitrust lawsuits untouched. The Trump administration took steps as recently as this week to drop a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s abortion ban that only permits the procedures when necessary to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest. The Biden administration tried to circumvent the state ban with its lawsuit that argued the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) required doctors to provide abortions in cases when they are needed to prevent serious health consequences, not just the life of the mother. “Democrats’ abortion extremism cost them the election,” said Katie Daniel, Director of Legal Affairs & Policy Counsel at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. “With President Trump and a new administration in charge, Biden’s weaponization of the federal government is over — no more lawfare. The will of the people is clear and activist judges must not interfere.” PRO-LIFE LEADERS URGE TRUMP TO REVERSE HIS IVF STAND, SAY THE TECHNOLOGY IS ‘NOT PRO-LIFE’ Multiple federal civil rights cases revolving around hiring discrimination have also been dropped under Trump. The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it intends to drop a 2023 case alleging anti-immigrant hiring practices at Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Additionally, several federal civil rights lawsuits accusing police and fire departments of racial discrimination based on their provision of certain physical fitness tests and other requirements like credit checks have also been dropped. “American communities deserve firefighters and police officers to be chosen for their skill and dedication to public safety — not to meet DEI quotas,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement after dismissing the lawsuits that had been levied against multiple jurisdictions around the country. TRUMP TO SHIFT AWAY FROM DEI VISA POLICY THAT ‘SURGED’ UNDER BIDEN, EXPERT SAYS A former DOJ civil rights attorney, Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Hans von Spakovsky said that in one of the cases against a fire department in Cobb County, Georgia, a judge refused to grant a settlement proposed by the Biden administration due to a lack of evidence proving physical fitness tests and credit report checks are racially discriminatory toward minorities. Spakovsky noted that settlements are typically approved by judges, but the one in Cobb County sought to set up racial hiring quotas that the judge likened to “a racial spoils system,” he said.  “Here’s a direct quote from the judge: ‘The court will not approve of an agreement which may violate the rights of others without a sufficient evidentiary basis to show that such race-based action is warranted,’” Spakovsky said.  “The broad scope of all of these dropped civil rights cases,” he concluded, “is that they are throwing out the ones — in my opinion — that call on defendants to violate federal laws against discrimination.” TRUMP WANTS ‘ACTIVIST’ GROUPS THAT SUE THE GOVERNMENT TO PUT UP MONEY IF THEY LOSE Two other high-profile lawsuits recently dropped by the Trump administration include a Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency case against local Louisiana regulators and the synthetic rubber manufacturer Denka, which alleged failure to adequately protect the predominantly minority community near its plant from cancer risks linked to air pollution. Another dropped case involved a medical whistleblower, Dr. Eithan Haim, who faced prosecution from Biden’s DOJ after he leaked documents to the media revealing Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston was performing transgender medical procedures on minors, even after it said it had stopped complying with new state regulations. Trump has also dropped a number of consumer protection and cryptocurrency lawsuits, but has done little in the way of disrupting the Biden administration’s antitrust enforcement, something tech professionals were expecting after the last administration challenged Big Tech companies aggressively for allegedly building monopolies.    “It’s a big plus for the crypto and fintech sector as a whole, because you just see them celebrating, like you see social posts online of a lot of these executives at those companies that just missed lawsuits who are really happy,” said Kison Patel, a financial tech entrepreneur and the host of “M&A Science,” a podcast about mergers and acquisitions. “It seems like there’s going to be less scrutiny and regulations around that sector.” Patel added that while mergers and acquisitions were expected to ramp up this year, he isn’t so sure anymore considering the approach Trump has signaled towards antitrust enforcement. “I think there’s still a lot to watch in the antitrust area,” said Patel, who pointed to a new case the Federal Trade Commission has brought against a medical device company on antitrust grounds. “But, the take home is there doesn’t appear to be a big shift in position in the realm of regulations around antitrust.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the Justice Department for comment on this story, but did not hear back by press time. 

Here’s what happened during President Donald Trump’s 7th week in office

Here’s what happened during President Donald Trump’s 7th week in office

The American dream is “surging” and “America is back,” according to President Donald Trump. Trump launched the week telling Americans that his administration would work to take “America’s destiny into our own hands” and vowed that “this will be our greatest era” during a joint address to Congress Tuesday.  Additionally, Trump shared in the address that Ukraine was prepared to sign off on a rare-earth minerals deal and continue peace negotiations to end the war with Russia after talks came to a fiery halt Feb. 28. Trump also disclosed that his administration caught the terrorist behind the 2021 Afghanistan attack that resulted in the death of 13 U.S. troops. “Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity,” Trump said Tuesday. “And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.”  Additionally, Trump urged lawmakers Tuesday to bolster funding for border security to foot the bill for deportations and along the U.S. southern border, claiming that his administration has “launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.”  TRUMP ADMIN REVEALS LIST OF CARTELS AND GANGS TO BE DESIGNATED TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS Trump also promised to work to end the war in Ukraine, days after a tense meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the role of diplomacy to end the conflict with Russia. Hours earlier, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was prepared to come to the negotiating table, despite the disagreement at the White House.  “It’s time to end this senseless war,” Trump said, adding that it’s important to talk to both sides to end wars. In response to his joint address, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., blasted Trump’s foreign policy agenda, claiming that Trump would have lost the Cold War if he’d been president in the 1980s.  “We all want an end to the war in Ukraine, but Reagan understood that true strength required America to combine our military and economic might with moral clarity,” said Slotkin, who was tapped to deliver the official Democratic Party response to Trump’s address. “As a Cold War kid, I’m thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War.” Here’s what also happened this week: Trump indicated that a nuclear deal with Iran could emerge in the near future, following his administration’s effort to reinstate a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran in February.  Trump told reporters Friday that the U.S is “down to the final moments” negotiating with Iran, and said he’d prefer to move forward in a peaceful fashion rather than utilize military intervention.  “It’s an interesting time in the history of the world. But we have a situation with Iran that something is going to happen very soon, very, very soon,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “You’ll be talking about that pretty soon, I guess. Hopefully, we can have a peace deal. I’m not speaking out of strength or weakness, I’m just saying I’d rather see a peace deal than the other. But the other will solve the problem.” TRUMP PAUSES AID TO UKRAINE AFTER FIERY MEETING WITH ZELENSKYY Trump also disclosed that he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pushing for Tehran to agree to a nuclear agreement or otherwise Tehran could expect military consequences, according to a clip released Friday from an interview with Fox Business that is set to air Sunday. “I would rather negotiate a deal,” Trump told Fox Business. “I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily.” Trump also signaled that he might impose harsher sanctions on Russia, after Russia reportedly fired 67 missiles and 194 drones in an overnight attack striking Ukraine’s energy and gas infrastructure, according to Reuters.  “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. “To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!” Additionally, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters that Trump prepared to use “carrots or sticks” to encourage both countries to reach a peace deal.  Trump also signed an executive order Thursday to pull security clearances and access to certain federal resources for Perkins Coie. The law firm hired the company responsible for crafting the so-called “Steele dossier” containing salacious material about Trump’s alleged connections to Russia, which the president has denied.  “This is an absolute honor to sign,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “What they’ve done, it’s just terrible. It’s weaponization. You could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again.” The executive order suspends security clearances for Perkins Coie employees until a further review evaluating its access to sensitive information is complete to determine if it aligns with the national interest. TRUMP CUTS OFF FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR LAW FIRM THAT HELPED FUEL 2016 RUSSIA HOAX  Perkins Coie told Fox News Digital it has reviewed the executive order and plans to challenge it.  Marc Elias, the former chair of the firm’s political law practice, hired opposition research firm Fusion GPS to conduct opposition research into presidential candidate Trump in April 2016 on behalf of Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee. Fusion GPS then brought on the help of former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who composed the so-called “Steele dossier,” which featured scandalous and mostly unverified allegations. However, the document was used to secure surveillance applications against former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page for the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Fox News’ Rachel Wolf and Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report. 

Agriculture secretary cancels $600K grant for study on menstrual cycles in transgender men

Agriculture secretary cancels 0K grant for study on menstrual cycles in transgender men

The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled a grant worth $600,000 for the study of menstrual cycles in transgender men, Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday. The Southern University Agricultural & Mechanical College in Louisiana was the recipient of the grant, according to a database on USAspending.gov. “The first occurrence of menstruation occurs at approximately 12 years of age and ends with menopause at roughly 51 years of age,” the grant description reads. “A woman will have a monthly menstrual cycle for about 40 years of her life, averaging to about 450 periods over the course of her lifetime.” FEDERAL DEPARTMENT SLASHES MILLIONS IN CONTRACTS, INCLUDING $230K FOR ‘BRAZILIAN FOREST AND GENDER CONSULTANT’ “It is also important to recognize that transgender men and people with masculine gender identities, intersex and non-binary persons may also menstruate,” the description adds. “At any given moment about 26% of the world’s population is menstruating.” The study seeks to “address growing concerns” related to menstruation, including the potential use of natural fibers, such as hemp, in feminine hygiene products. DOGE SAYS GOVERNMENT PAYING FOR 11,020 ADOBE ACROBAT LICENSES WITH ZERO USERS, PLUS MORE ‘IDLE’ ACCOUNTS The grant had been scheduled to remain in progress until April 2027. The study was first uncovered by the conservative nonprofit American Principles Project, which has identified more than 340 federal grants issued during the Biden administration to various institutions — including colleges and hospitals — that totaled more than $128 million in federal funds. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “CANCELLED: $600,000 grant to study ‘menstrual cycles in transgender men,’” Rollins wrote Friday on the social media platform X. “Keep sending us tips. THANK YOU, @approject! The insanity is ending and the restoration of America is underway,” she added.