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Supreme Court conservatives signal support for state transgender sports bans during oral arguments
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The Supreme Court struggled for consensus Tuesday as it publicly debated state bans on transgender female students from competing in women’s and girls’ scholastic sports.
Both sides repeatedly invoked contrasting versions of «fairness» and «equal opportunity» before the justices during a more than three-hour oral argument session in the courtroom.
Idaho and West Virginia separately defended their laws that limit participation for transgender females who were designated male at birth in both public school and college athletics.
They are among almost 30 states who say their restrictions are a matter of ensuring a level playing field and student safety.
HOUSE GOP LEADER BLASTS TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS AS ‘BIGGEST FORM OF BULLYING’
A protester carries a transgender pride flag outside the Supreme Court as it hears arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams Tuesday, in Washington, D.C. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
But lawyers for a high school sophomore and a college senior counter that those prohibitions are clearly discriminatory and that the issues should be about equality and dignity for every student, free from politics and misinformation.
The high court is examining whether the laws violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause and the landmark federal law Title IX that prohibits sex discrimination in education.
A majority of the court — at least five of the six conservatives — appeared ready to back the state restrictions in some form. Only Justice Neil Gorsuch seemed open to some of the arguments by the student plaintiffs.
In arguments, much of the discussion came down to whether the transgender student population was large enough to give them an opportunity to defend their rights as a protected class.
With an estimated 2.8 million people in the U.S. who identify as transgender, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said their rights should be respected, even if they represent a relatively small percentage of the population.
«The numbers don’t talk about the human beings,» Sotomayor said.
«I’m struggling to understand how you can say that this law doesn’t classify on the basis of transgender status,» said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. «The law expressly aims to ensure that transgender women can’t play on women’s sports teams. So, why is that not a classification on the basis of transgender status?»
TRANS ATHLETE AT CENTER OF SUPREME COURT CASE ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, INTIMIDATION TACTICS AGAINST GIRLS
Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito said the reluctance of some female athletes to compete with and against transgender women is real. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
But other members of the court suggested just the opposite.
«The question here is whether a sex-based classification is necessarily a transgender classification,» said Chief Justice John Roberts, skeptical of the position by lawyers for the student plaintiffs.
Roberts added that allowing exceptions for a relatively small subset of individuals could have larger implications.
«If we adopted that, that would have to apply across the board and not simply to the area of athletics,» he said.
The arguments also focused a great deal on the relative competitive advantages some transgender athletes would have competing in women’s sports.
Justice Samuel Alito said the reluctance of some female athletes to compete with and against transgender women is real.
«Looking to the broader issue that a lot of people are interested in, there are an awful lot of female athletes who are strongly opposed to participation by trans athletes in competitions with them,» said Alito. «What do you say about them? Are they bigots? Are they deluded in thinking they are subjected to unfair competition?»
«For the individual girl who does not make the team or doesn’t get on the stand for the medal or doesn’t make all-league, there’s a harm there,» said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who for years coached his daughter’s basketball team. «And I think we can’t sweep that aside.»
He called the growing increase in female sports participation since Title IX was passed in 1972 «inspiring.»
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of activists groups on both sides rallied. Some carried signs like «protect women’s sports» and «trans rights are human rights.»
SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW STATE BANS ON TRANSGENDER ATHLETES’ PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL SPORTS
A protester with a transgender pride flag outside the Supreme Court as it hears arguments over state laws barring transgender athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s school athletic teams Tuesday, in Washington, D.C. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)
Inside, West Virginia plaintiff Becky Pepper-Jackson and her mother attended the oral arguments but did not speak.
This past year, Pepper-Jackson qualified for the West Virginia girls high school state track meet, finishing third in the discus throw and eighth in the shot put in the Class AAA division.
She has identified as female since third grade and has been taking puberty-blocking medication.
Although she is officially listed in court papers as B.P.J., her mother and ACLU lawyers have publicly identified her by Becky’s full name.
The Idaho plaintiff is Lindsay Hecox, a 24-year-old senior at Boise State University who wanted to compete on both NCAA-level and club sports teams for women.
Hecox now wants her high court case dismissed, fearing further harassment as she expects to graduate from college this spring. She says she will no longer play women’s sports in Idaho, but the justices will decide that question of mootness after argument.
Dozens of competing amicus, or supporting, legal briefs were filed by Republican- and Democratic-led states, Congress members, athletes, doctors, scientists and scholars.
The Trump administration was given argument time and said the federally-controlled Title IX does not apply to sex discrimination claims by transgender females.
Justice Department lawyer Hashim Mooppan suggested challenging a law on alleged sex-based discrimination requires a significant number of affected people to have it overturned.
«Why does it have to be that many people? Why? Why?» Justice Jackson asked, appearing exasperated.
Various hypotheticals were raised over how sex-based scholastic bans could apply beyond athletics, to science departments, chess clubs and remedial classes where brain chemistry and genetic differences have been debated.
«I think there are a lot of chess grandmasters who would tell you that women, for whatever reason, they’re not as good at this,» said Justice Elena Kagan.
President Donald Trump last February issued executive order 14201, «Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,» aimed at transgender athletes.
It is part of a broader federal effort to recognize what the White House says are «only two immutable sexes: male and female.»
WEST VIRGINIA AG ADDRESSES ALLEGATIONS AGAINST TRANS ATHLETE PLAINTIFF IN WOMEN’S SPORTS SCOTUS BATTLE
President Donald Trump waves after signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
What the court does here could affect other legal fights over LGBTQ+ rights, including transgender people having access to bathrooms or sex designation on documents like passports and driver’s licenses.
The justices have complete discretion to rule narrowly on the rights of athletic competitors or offer a more sweeping precedent on discrimination claims in the workplace, public spaces, military service, government benefits, housing, health care and education.
The Supreme Court in 2020 ruled workplace discrimination against transgender people amounts to sex discrimination.
But in June, the conservative court did not extend that protection to state bans on transgender minors seeking certain healthcare treatments.
The justices there said the issue was grounded on the basis of age and medical care, not sex or transgender status.
That legal articulation may now guide the high court in the current disputes, with questions from the bench Tuesday suggesting some justices may seek a cautious, limited approach to resolving this specific issue.
That could keep the courts out of the controversy for now.
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«Given that half the states are allowing it, allowing transgender girls and women to participate, about half are not,» Kavanaugh said. «Why would we, at this point, just the role of this court, jump in and try to constitutionalize a rule for the whole country while there’s still, as you say, uncertainty and debate.»
Such a ruling against the students would likely throw the issue back to the states, with the current mix of differing laws continuing to play out in the political process.
The high court cases are Little v. Hecox (24-38) from Idaho; and West Virginia v. B.P.J. (24-83). Decisions are expected by early summer.
politics,supreme court,supreme court oral arguments,federal judges,sports,ncaa,individual rights
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Iran is ramping up the recruitment of children as young as the age of 12 into military-linked roles tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to new reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The reports underscore mounting pressure inside Iran’s war effort. As U.S. and Israeli strikes intensify, rights groups and analysts say recruiting children points to manpower shortages and a growing reliance on paramilitary forces to hold the home front. It also escalates the human cost of the conflict, placing minors in direct danger while exposing Iran to potential war crimes liability.
Human Rights Watch said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched a campaign called «Homeland Defending Combatants for Iran,» lowering the minimum recruitment age to 12 and encouraging minors to sign up in mosques and through Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The roles go beyond support tasks and include «operational patrols,» staffing checkpoints and intelligence activities, putting children directly in harm’s way as fighting intensifies across the country.
IRAN ARRESTS 97 PEOPLE IT ACCUSES OF BEING ‘SOLDIERS OF ISRAEL’ IN MASSIVE CRACKDOWN
Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade. The IRGC is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department. A large part of its work is to covertly operate outside of Iran. (Reuters)
Amnesty International said the recruitment and deployment of children under 15 «constitutes a war crime,» and backed its findings with verified visual evidence and eyewitness accounts.
The organization analyzed 16 photos and videos published since Saturday, showing children carrying weapons, including AK-pattern rifles, and deployed alongside Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces at checkpoints, on patrols and during state-organized rallies in Iranian cities including Tehran, Mashhad and Kermanshah.
Amnesty also documented the fatal consequences. On Sunday, 11-year-old Alireza Jafari was killed at a checkpoint in Iran while accompanying his father, a Basij member, the group said. Authorities said he was killed «while serving» following an Israeli drone strike.
IRAN’S IDEOLOGICAL STATE: FAITH, FEAR AND FAVORS FUEL ITS VAST PROPAGANDA AND PATRONAGE NETWORK
Iranian soldiers take part in a military parade during a ceremony marking the country’s annual army day on April 17, 2024, in Tehran, Iran. (Getty Images)
According to Amnesty, the boy’s mother told the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri that her husband had reported a shortage of personnel at checkpoints and took their two sons with him. She said he told their son he «must get prepared for the days ahead,» adding that children as young as 15 and 16 are commonly involved in checkpoint duties.
Eyewitness accounts reviewed by Amnesty describe children visibly struggling to handle weapons. One person in Tehran wrote:
On March 25, «I saw a child at a checkpoint near our house … I think he was about 15… It seemed like he was struggling to breathe from the effort of lifting the gun.»
Another witness in Karaj, Iran, reported seeing a child «holding a Kalashnikov rifle,» while a third in Rasht said some appeared to be «13 years old at most,» warning they could «fire randomly.»
IRANIAN STUDENT WARNS ‘BARBARIC’ REGIME IS TAKING NATION ‘HOSTAGE,’ EXECUTING CIVILIANS TO END UNREST
Children wave Iranian flags during a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, at the Azadi, Freedom, Square in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 11, 2019.
In one video cited by Amnesty, filmed March 30 in Mashhad, Iran, two children wearing Basij uniforms and balaclavas were seen carrying assault rifles while positioned on a moving vehicle during a state-organized rally, elevated above a cheering crowd.
The recruitment campaign itself has been promoted through official channels, including posters depicting children alongside armed adults under the slogan «Basij with people, for people,» accompanied by a quote attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader calling for Basij forces to remain central to the revolution.
Iranian officials have defended the policy by pointing to what they describe as strong demand among teenagers.
In a televised interview with Iranian state media, IRGC official Rahim Nadali said the minimum age was set at 12 because «teenagers and the youth repeatedly have come and said that they want to take part.»
«There is no excuse for a military recruitment drive that targets children to sign up, much less 12-year-olds,» Human Rights Watch’s Bill Van Esveld said.
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Iranian schoolboys wear Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military uniforms and shout anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans during a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 1, 2026 (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The reports come as the United Nations classifies the recruitment of children in armed conflict as a «grave violation,» with international law prohibiting the enlistment of children under 15 and setting 18 as the standard for participation in hostilities.
Both organizations called on Iranian authorities to immediately halt the recruitment of minors and release those already serving.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations declined Fox News Digital’s comment request.
war with iran, recruitment, iran, israel, military
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Cruz Roja Salvadoreña reporta aumento de emergencias médicas y disminución de accidentes de tránsito
La Cruz Roja Salvadoreña ha registrado un aumento de emergencias médicas y una disminución de accidentes de tránsito durante el periodo vacacional de Semana Santa en comparación con 2025, según informaron sus representantes en entrevista con la radio universitaria YSUCA. La institución ha desplegado un amplio dispositivo de atención desde el pasado 27 de marzo, con equipos en carreteras, playas, lagos y otros puntos estratégicos del país.
De acuerdo con Luis Galdámez, socorrista de la Cruz Roja Salvadoreña, en los primeros días del operativo se contabilizaron 287 atenciones. De estas, 79 personas resultaron lesionadas; 16 accidentes de tránsito, 108 emergencias médicas, nueve rescates acuáticos, dos rescates urbanos, cuatro personas fallecidas y un incendio. La organización explicó que se han visto más casos de urgencias clínicas, como deshidrataciones, quemaduras solares y golpes de calor, mientras que los incidentes viales presentaron una leve reducción respecto al año anterior.
Según Galdámez, la disminución en accidentes de tránsito se atribuye a una mayor conciencia por parte de los conductores, quienes revisan mejor sus vehículos y toman precauciones antes de viajar. No obstante, las emergencias médicas han crecido, en particular por la exposición al sol y la sobreexigencia física en actividades recreativas.
El doctor Rudy Aldana, voluntario de la Cruz Roja Salvadoreña, detalló que las principales causas de atención sanitaria incluyen quemaduras solares, golpes de calor, intoxicaciones alimentarias y crisis relacionadas con enfermedades crónicas. Aldana recomendó el uso constante de bloqueador solar, evitar la exposición prolongada al sol, mantenerse hidratado y llevar siempre medicamentos personales, especialmente en el caso de personas con padecimientos como hipertensión, diabetes o asma.
Por su parte, Julio Pacheco, guardavida de la Cruz Roja Salvadoreña, señaló que los rescates acuáticos han registrado un ligero incremento en playas, ríos y lagos. El operativo de guardavidas se preparó desde inicios de año y fue reforzado con pruebas físicas específicas para asegurar la condición óptima del personal designado en los distintos cuerpos de agua. Pacheco hizo énfasis en la importancia de respetar las señales preventivas en las playas, especialmente los banderines de colores, que indican el nivel de riesgo en cada zona.
Entre las recomendaciones emitidas por los voceros de Cruz Roja Salvadoreña para la población que disfruta de las vacaciones destacan: no dejar a los niños sin supervisión en cuerpos de agua, escribirles un número de contacto en caso de extravío, portar ropa de colores llamativos o fluorescentes para facilitar su identificación y evitar clavados en lugares desconocidos o de profundidad incierta.
En cuanto a primeros auxilios, la organización subrayó la importancia de mantener la calma, utilizar barreras físicas como guantes o bolsas para evitar el contacto directo con fluidos, y consultar de inmediato a los servicios de emergencia ante quemaduras, convulsiones, crisis alérgicas o mordeduras de animales. Galdámez aclaró que todas las personas pueden recibir indicaciones telefónicas para atender situaciones críticas mientras llegan los equipos de socorro.
La Cruz Roja Salvadoreña también hizo un llamado a la población a revisar sus viviendas antes de salir de vacaciones, desconectar aparatos eléctricos innecesarios y no sobrecargar extensiones o regletas para prevenir incendios. Además, se instó a donar sangre, ya que durante el asueto las reservas del banco disminuyen por el incremento de la demanda y la reducción temporal de donaciones.
Para emergencias, la institución puso a disposición sus números telefónicos nacionales, para solicitar asistencia en todo el territorio, tanto en el área metropolitana como en el interior del país. Los voceros insistieron en que la prevención y la información adecuada pueden marcar la diferencia en la respuesta ante cualquier incidente durante la temporada vacacional.
corresponsal:Desde San Salvador, El Salvador
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Trump cabinet shakeup expands after Noem exit, Bondi firing — who’s under pressure next?
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Kristi Noem is gone from the Department of Homeland Security and Pam Bondi is out the door at the Justice Department.
It’s not unusual for a president to shake up the cabinet ahead of crucial elections.
And that appears to be the case right now for President Donald Trump, who’s saddled with underwater approval ratings and an unpopular war ahead of this year’s crucial midterm elections, when Republicans are working to hold onto their slim House and Senate majorities.
The big question going forward: Who may be next on Trump’s chopping block.
PAM BONDI ALREADY FIRED AS ATTORNEY GENERAL, CABINET OFFICIAL TEED UP AS REPLACEMENT: SOURCES
U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Bill Hagerty, speak during an event to sign a memorandum to send federal resources to Memphis, Tennessee, for a surge against local crime, in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., Sept. 15, 2025. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
The White House is pushing back against reporting that other cabinet secretaries may soon be given pink slips. But it’s worth noting that Trump announced in a social media post that he was letting Bondi go hours after media reports first crossed that the attorney general’s job was in jeopardy.
Here’s a look at three cabinet members that media reports suggest could possibly be in the president’s crosshairs.
Tulsi Gabbard
The director of national intelligence may have earned Trump’s ire by failing to condemn former counterterrorism chief Joe Kent after his abrupt exit from the administration last month after criticizing the president’s move to strike Iran.
Gabbard, a former Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination before crossing over and supporting Trump in the 2024 election and a military veteran who deployed to the Iraq War two decades ago, has not been as vocally supportive of the current conflict with Iran as others in the cabinet.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats at the Hart Senate Office Building on March 18, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
In backing Gabbard, Trump last weekend pointed to her stance on Iran and said, «I think she’s probably a little bit softer on that issue, but that’s okay.»
Pushing back forcefully against speculation that Gabbard may be next to go, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung on Thursday said, «President Trump has total confidence in Director Gabbard, and any insinuation otherwise is totally fake news.»
«The President has assembled the most talented and impactful Cabinet ever, and they have collectively delivered historic victories on behalf of the American people.,» Cheung touted.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Trump’s labor secretary is under investigation by the Labor Department’s inspector general over numerous allegations, including drinking alcohol while working and having an affair with a security officer.
Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is cracking down on reported H-1B abuse. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The resignation of some of her top aides has not helped matters.
Howard Lutnick
The president’s commerce secretary is a longtime Trump ally.
But there’s speculation Lutnick may be on thin ice after admitting in February he traveled with his family to Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island in 2012, four years after Epstein was convicted of child sex trafficking.
Howard Lutnick, commerce secretary, participates in a roundtable in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 10. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)
Lutnick previously denied having any relationship with Epstein and stated that he «barely had anything to do with that person.»
The White House is denying that either Lutnick or Chavez-DeRemer are in hot water.
«Secretaries Chavez-DeRemer and Lutnick are both doing a great job standing up for American workers, and they continue to have President Trump’s full support,» White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News.
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But a source in the president’s political orbit didn’t rule out further changes in Trump’s cabinet.
«The president is reshaping his team and his message is clear: loyalty is expected but performance is mandatory,» the source told Fox News.
pam bondi, donald trump, white house, kristi noem, cabinet, midterm elections
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