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HHS probing hospital over firing of nurse who blew whistle on minors getting gender treatments
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is probing «a major pediatric teaching hospital» over the alleged firing of a nurse who sought a religious exemption to avoid administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.
«The Department will robustly enforce federal laws protecting these courageous whistleblowers, including laws that protect healthcare professionals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions,» Acting HHS OCR Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement.
While HHS has not confirmed the hospital’s identity, it is believed to be Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) — the largest children’s hospital in the U.S. — as the investigation follows whistleblower nurse Vanessa Sivadge’s testimony on Capitol Hill. Sivadge first came forward publicly in June 2024 and was later fired in August 2024.
Protesters during a rally at Churchill Square in support of trans youth in Alberta following the ‘Sing With Love’ concert at McDougall United Church, on Feb. 11, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Sivadge told lawmakers that she had witnessed «disturbing trends and concerning practices» relating to the treatment of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. She also said that she «observed the powerful and irreversible effects» of treatments that patients were told were «lifesaving.»
«I witnessed firsthand how doctors emotionally blackmailed parents by telling them that if they did not affirm their child’s false identity, their child would harm themselves. In particular, I was saddened to see young girls suffering from profound mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, many of whom had also suffered sexual abuse or trauma, persuaded by doctors at Texas Children’s that a hormone would resolve their gender confusion,» Sivadge told lawmakers.
Dr. Eithan Haim speaks to the media after appearing for an arraignment hearing Monday, June 17, 2024, in Houston. Haim, who calls himself a whistleblower on transgender care for minors has been indicted on federal charges of illegally obtaining private information on patients who were not under his care, with intent to cause harm to the nation’s largest pediatric hospital. He has pleaded not guilty. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
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Dr. Eithan Haim, who was accused of violating HIPAA while in surgical training at Baylor College of Medicine, which is affiliated with TCH, also blew the whistle on the hospital for «lying about the existence of its transgender program.» The Biden DOJ brought charges against Haim for the alleged HIPAA violations, but the case was ultimately dropped under the Trump administration.
Haim claimed the hospital was engaging in fraudulent billing practices to hide the fact that it was carrying out transgender procedures on minors even though it was against Texas law. This included recording mastectomies as «breast reduction» surgeries and billing testosterone prescribed to a teen girl under a male diagnosis.
HHS memo reminds hospitals and providers about Trump’s policies forbidding child mutilation. (Getty Images)
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In her testimony, Sivadge said that federal agents came to her home when investigating the whistleblower, now known to be Haim, because of her objections to transgender medicine. She described the interaction as intimidating and said that one of the special agents «effectively asked me to compromise my Christian beliefs and made veiled threats regarding my career and safety if I didn’t comply with their demands.»
Sivadge’s attorney filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 11, alleging that she «observed TCH doctors, after very little deliberation or critical analysis, embarking children on dangerous and often irreversible courses of ‘gender-affirming’ treatment.»
According to the complaint, TCH «temporarily» paused «gender-affirming services» for minors after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in February 2022 that such treatments could constitute child abuse. The treatments were banned in the state following the passage of a bill in May 2023, which went into effect in September 2023. According to Sivadge’s attorney, she asked to be transferred back to cardiology in May 2024, citing her religious beliefs.
Sivadge publicly blew the whistle on TCH on June 18, 2024, and was asked not to report to work the next day, according to the complaint. Just days later, on June 21, she was placed on administrative leave and was officially terminated in August 2024. TCH alleged that the termination of her employment was due to improper access to medical records.
On Jan. 28, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the «Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation» order, which prevents minors from undergoing transgender treatments. In accordance with this order, HHS has issued guidelines for prospective whistleblowers.
Fox News has reached out to TCH and HHS for comment.
Healthcare,Health,Donald Trump,Children’s Health,Health Policies
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A U.S. appeals court struck down a law in New Jersey that prevented the federal government from contracting with private firms to operate immigration detention centers across the state.
The court’s 2-1 ruling marked a victory for President Donald Trump and his administration during their ongoing illegal immigration crackdown across the country.
One of the Trump administration’s efforts has been to expand a network of detention centers in preparation for the deportations of dangerous illegal aliens.
The court’s ruling also means CoreCivic Corp., a private prison firm, can continue to operate the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, which is one of the centers ramping up deportations.
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A federal appeals court overturned a New Jersey law that blocked private immigration detention centers, citing interference with federal immigration powers. (Kena Betancur/VIEWpress)
In the decision, U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was appointed to the post by Trump, wrote, «Just as states cannot regulate the federal government itself, they cannot regulate private parties in a way that severely undercuts a federal function.»
Bibas added that the law «interferes with the federal government’s core power to enforce immigration laws.»
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed a law in 2021 that barred CoreCivic from renewing its agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to continue operating the Elizabeth Detention Center.
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CoreCivic ultimately sued the state, resulting in a district court judge siding with the private firm. The state then appealed the ruling to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court and received a decision counter to what it had hoped.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin expressed disappointment about the decision in a post on X on Tuesday.
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«As recent events at Delaney Hall underscore, entrusting detention to for-profit companies poses grave risks to health and safety, and as the dissenting judge noted, States retain broad latitude to protect the health and safety of people within their borders – particularly where, as here, there is no conflict with federal legislation,» Platkin wrote, in part.
Platkin added he is evaluating the next steps in the case.
CoreCivic’s Ryan Gustin told Fox News Digital that the company has «played a limited but important role» in the U.S. immigration center at the Elizabeth facility for more than 25 years.
«We appreciate that we’ve had the opportunity to present our positions to the courts and are grateful to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals for reaffirming the federal government’s discretion to rely on the Elizabeth Detention Center to support its vital mission,» Gustin said.
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Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., has pleaded not guilty to allegedly obstructing Homeland Security agents during an altercation outside a Newark, New Jersey, immigration facility last month. (Fox News)
Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., was hit with a federal indictment for allegedly obstructing Homeland Security agents during an incident outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark on May 9.
McIver and two other members of Congress said they were conducting a congressional oversight visit that coincided with an immigration protest when a clash ensued with federal agents.
According to the DOJ, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was allowed into the facility’s secured area and refused to follow federal agents’ warnings to leave.
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When officers tried to arrest him, McIver allegedly put her arms around the mayor and «slammed her forearm» into one officer while grabbing another and using both of her forearms to forcibly strike the second officer.
McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Israeli police late Monday dismissed reports alleging that Jewish settlers set fire to the archaeological site of the Church of St. George in the village of Taybeh in the West Bank, calling them «factually incorrect,» lacking evidence and potentially misleading to the public.
According to police, a probe was launched last Thursday by a specialized team within the Judea and Samaria Central Investigations Unit (YAMAR) under the direction of the district commander. An internal committee was also tasked with reviewing the timeline of events recorded in police information systems, assessing the handling of reports and complaints, and evaluating the response.
«Findings gathered on the ground unequivocally show that no damage or harm was caused to the holy site itself,» police said.
DISPUTE OVER CHRISTIAN GROUPS’ VISAS TO ISRAEL RESOLVED AFTER HUCKABEE THREAT
An aerial view of Taybeh shows the remnants of a fire in a field located adjacent to the Church of St. George. (Courtesy: Israel Police)
The statement noted that a small fire had occurred in an open area near the site, but no buildings, crops or infrastructure were damaged.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee noted on X that Taybeh was «a beautiful village made up of mostly Arab Christians. Glad [the Israel Police] continue [to] search for truth [without] regard to assumptions.»
Huckabee pointedly added: «I have NOT attributed the cause of fire to any person or group as we don’t know for sure. The press has. I have said that regardless, it was [a] crime [and] deserves consequences.»
An exclusive investigation by The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL) first raised questions over the fire, having uncovered evidence that local Jewish residents had participated in firefighting efforts near the church and raised significant doubts about the cause of the blaze.
TPS-IL also documented additional fires on July 7, 8 and 11 in nearby pastureland, located dozens of meters from the church compound. In each instance, a Jewish farmer with a property adjacent to the site filed complaints with police, claiming the areas where animals were grazing had been deliberately set ablaze.
Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee during a tour of the Church of St. George area, the site of a fire, during his visit to the West Bank town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Last weekend, Huckabee visited Taybeh, where he called for accountability. «To commit an act of sacrilege by desecrating a place that is supposed to be a place of worship, it is an act of terror, and it is a crime,» he said in a statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. «There should be consequences, and it should be harsh consequences because it is one of the last bastions of our civilization, the places where we worship.»
The visit came after the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches of Jerusalem issued a statement claiming that «radical Israelis from nearby settlements intentionally set fire near the town’s cemetery and the Church of Saint George.»
A joint statement days earlier from the priests of the three churches in Taybeh – the Greek Orthodox Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church – blamed «Israeli settlers» for «deliberately ignit[ing] a fire near the town’s cemetery and the historic Church of Saint George (Al-Khadr), a fifth-century site considered one of the oldest religious landmarks in Palestine.»
A screenshot shows two Israeli shepherds trying to put out a fire near the Byzantine-period church in the Palestinian village of Taybeh on July 7, 2025. (TPS-IL)
HUCKABEE DEMANDS ISRAEL ‘AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE’ MURDER OF PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN KILLED IN ‘TERRORIST ACT’
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III accused «radical Israelis from nearby settlements» of «a targeted attack.»
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that Israel must take a more assertive approach in handling incidents that could impact its international standing.
«We are in the middle of the most consequential war since the founding of the state, and events like this are just as dangerous,» he said.
He emphasized the importance of reinforcing Israel’s role in safeguarding Christian heritage and holy sites, particularly in contested areas.
«This includes exposing the PLO and Hamas’ ongoing war against Christian citizens, but it also requires transparency and assertiveness in showing our role as guardians of Christian sites and civilization in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem,» said Diker.
An aerial view showing St. George church on the West Bank. (TPS-IL)
He also pointed to what he described as a coordinated effort by the Palestinian leadership to undermine Israel’s legitimacy on the global stage, particularly through the media.
«We are in the midst of an international crusade by the Palestinian leadership to uproot our legitimacy,» he said. «The international media has become an ecosystem for the defamation and delegitimization of Israel. They are weaponizing every event into an existential assault.»
On Monday night, the Binyamin Regional Council, which administers Jewish communities in southern Samaria, confirmed the church incurred no damage.
«Here I am on the outskirts of the church. You can see the apse over here. And even on the outskirts or the outer walls, there are no signs of fire,» the council’s international spokeswoman, Eliana Passentin, said in a video.
«We are the guardians of the biblical heartland. This land was given to us by God – there is no reason for us to burn a church or to disrespect anyone else’s religion,» she added.
Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Passentin recalled bringing visitors to the local brewery in Taybeh, which was so well-regarded that a rabbi granted it kosher certification. She noted that Israelis and Christian Arabs had coexisted peacefully in the area for years, but expressed concern that the community now identifies itself with a Palestinian state that does not formally exist.
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«When I was walking around, one of the priests in Taybeh said he believed in the two-state solution and it felt as if the P.A. was putting a lot of pressure on the Christians,» Passentin said.
She suggested that the latest crisis was manufactured by those seeking to divide Jews and Christians, whom she described as joint guardians of Judea and Samaria.
«We are striving for peace,» she said. «This is the land of the Bible, and we should be building it together – not fighting or spreading false blood libels accusing Jews of burning down a church.»
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