Lawsuits filed by young people who were permanently disfigured by procedures attempting to reassign gender are multiplying, and more and more professional medical associations are backing away from endorsing the procedures for minors. Experts like Walt Heyer, who formerly spent eight years living a transgender lifestyle, say it’s just the beginning of a burgeoning movement. On Jan. 30, a New York jury awarded 22-year-old woman Fox Varian $2 million after she sued a psychologist and a plastic surgeon for deviating from standard medical practice and informed consent when they pushed her toward getting a double mastectomy at the age of 16 amid feelings of confusion over her identity as a female. Three weeks later, the Center For American Liberty announced that a court date of April 5 had been set for Chloe Cole, the 21-year-old national advocate against transgender procedures, who is suing Kaiser Foundation Hospitals for greenlighting gender reassignment procedures that included a double mastectomy and hormones when she was only 15. The rapidly changing landscape toward widespread disavowal of so-called gender reassignment procedures for minors is now enveloping professional medical associations, who were once the primary advocates of the procedures. On Feb. 3, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) became the first major medical association to publicly recommend against the procedures for minors, stating that surgeons should “delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.” In response to ASPS’s announcement, the American Medical Association (AMA) appeared to partially reverse its position as well, stating that it “agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.” For Walt Heyer, a senior fellow at Family Research Council and co-author of the new book “Embracing God’s Design,” the cultural tide is clearly turning, especially in light of the rise in lawsuits against purveyors of these procedures. “[W]hen the lawyers get a hold of this and it starts getting into the jury trials and juries are making the decisions, this is when things change,” he told Tony Perkins during Thursday’s “Washington Watch.” “[The] second part of that is the medical malpractice insurance goes up. And then the doctors, they go, ‘Wait a minute, now it’s costing me $2 million a year for medical malpractice. I can’t afford it. I’ve got to stop doing it.’” Heyer further emphasized that the gender reassignment industry is rooted in saddling fear and guilt onto parents of children suffering from confusion over their biological sex. “[It’s] emotional blackmail. ‘Your kid’s going to commit suicide if they don’t have hormones and surgery,’ which is a total lie. The fact of the matter is, they’re [more likely] to commit suicide … after having the hormones and surgery.” “Or kill someone else,” Perkins interjected. “Or kill someone else, which we’re seeing more and more of now,” Heyer agreed. This month, an 18-year-old male who began undergoing transgender procedures at age 12 committed the largest mass shooting in Canada since 2020, killing eight people and injuring 25 others. The shooting continued a troubling pattern of transgender-identifying individuals committing mass murder, including at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis in August 2025 that killed two children and injured 17 others, and at Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. in March 2023 that killed six people. Heyer underscored that those who think they are actually “transitioning” to the opposite sex by undergoing reassignment procedures are living a charade, as he himself experienced. “I look at this and realize … this whole thing about hormones and surgery — the fact of the matter is, it never changed my gender, right? So the whole thing is sort of a medical fraud to begin with. It’s masquerading. It’s all cosmetic. So I say, I never transitioned. I didn’t detransition because it never happened.” As Heyer went on to contend, the way to help those struggling with gender confusion is to identify the underlying comorbidity disorders and to treat those directly, especially trauma. “A lot of it is spiritual,” he explained. “And we’re dealing with demons who are coming after our children, kids who are struggling with things that happened, like [what] happened to me in my early childhood. … I was sexually abused, and … even as an adult, I thought I was trying to repair what had happened in my early life and thinking if I had my genitals cut off, then I wouldn’t be sexually abused again. … When we say these people have mental illness, I can testify to the fact that they do.” Heyer concluded by urging the church to get involved in helping those struggling with gender confusion. “Pastors need to speak to this. … [‘Embracing God’s Design’] was designed for pastors to help their congregation understand they don’t have a trans kid. … [S]omething has happened to that child. And let’s help find out what it is and get them the help they need.” Originally published at the Washington Stand. The post As Lawsuits Multiply, Transgender Reversal Movement Gains Momentum appeared first on The Daily Signal.

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Leigh Finke claimed during a Thursday hearing that pornography could be “educational” for “queer” children while arguing against a law requiring age verification to access adult web sites. The legislation HF 1434, would require age verification for sites deemed “harmful to minors,” with sites failing to do so being subject to civil action from the state attorney general and private citizens. Finke, a biological male who identifies as a transgender woman, claimed current sex education was not being provided for LGBT youth. “The AGs in many states are, are very clear about that they’re almost jubilant about being able to use these laws to ban young people from accessing content that could be educational if they are queer,” Finke claimed during the Thursday hearing. “And you’re a principal, you have LGBT students in your school, and we also know that they’re not receiving sex education for queer kids. We know that. Prurient interest could be for many people the very existence of transgender kids. More and more people are saying there simply are no transgender kids.” President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring the government’s recognition of the “biological reality of sex” and defining terms like male, female, man, woman, boy and girl within hours of taking the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2025. He later issued an order targeting child sex change procedures. In 2023, Finke authored legislation that would remove an exception for pedophiles when it came to protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, later claiming that the backlash was from people who “used the opportunity to amplify the hatred of trans people.” Finke received a “Children’s Health Hero” award from the Children’s Minnesota hospital system for authoring HF146, the “trans refuge” legislation for child sex change procedures. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, who was his party’s nominee for vice president in 2024, signed the legislation into law on April 27, 2023. Originally published by The Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Trans Lawmaker Wants You to Believe Porn Sites Are ‘Educational’ for ‘Queer Kids’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

MILAN, Feb 22 (Reuters) — The United States ended a nearly half-century wait for Olympic men’s ice hockey gold with a 2-1 overtime victory against Canada in a thrilling final on Sunday, with Jack Hughes delivering their third title and first since 1980 with the winning shot. Hughes left it all—including at least one of his teeth—out on the ice in a nerve-jangling triumph exactly 46 years to the day of the iconic U.S. “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Soviet Union en route to gold in Lake Placid. It came down to three-on-three play where Hughes collected a pass from Zach Werenski and fired into the net one minute and 41 seconds into the extra period, flashing a bloody, chipped grin after receiving a high stick to the face in the third period. The goal resulted in gloves, helmets and sticks flying over the ice as his teammates ran to smother the country’s hero. NOW – Jack Hughes, who scored the golden goal in overtime: "We're USA, we're so proud to be Americans. Tonight was all for the country."pic.twitter.com/A5Pwg7SIve— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) February 22, 2026 Matt Boldy had put the U.S. ahead after six minutes with the Americans’ first shot of the game before Canada levelled through Cale Makar to set up a nail-biting final period after U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 40 saves over the 60 minutes. Canada were forced to play without their captain Sidney Crosby, 38, a living legend in his country who scored the overtime goal against the U.S. to secure gold on home ice at Vancouver 2010. Crosby left the quarter-final injured in a sad finish with wondering if it could be his last Games. “You want to be out there and you want to find every way possible but not at the expense of what needs to be done,” said Crosby. “It’s just unfortunate we couldn’t find a way.” Double Gold for US Hockey It is the first time the U.S. have won the men’s and women’s tournaments in a single Games, with the American women beating Canada in their own overtime thriller on Thursday. The games were played against the backdrop of political tensions between the U.S. and Canada, with President Donald Trump having repeatedly threatened to make Canada the 51st state through “economic force.” Trump congratulated the men’s team on social media moments after the final buzzer, while the White House X account posted an image of an American bald eagle stepping on the neck of a Canadian goose. https://t.co/kOiCXdVMao pic.twitter.com/ZIiychKPoo— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 22, 2026 Dream Showdown Between Rivals Billed as the showpiece match the ice hockey world wanted to see following the return of NHL players to the Games after a 12-year absence, the North American rivals did not disappoint. Fans at the Santagiulia arena poured out duelling chants of “USA!” and “Canada!” as the players traded blows. It took until the sixth minute for the U.S. to get their first shot off, but they made it count. Boldy juggled the puck on his stick on his way past two Canadian defenders and slipped a backhander beyond the goalie. The U.S. had not conceded on a power play all tournament but with two players in the penalty box that impressive statistic came under threat. The Americans held firm during five-on-three play midway through the second period. Canada, however, finally found a way past Hellebuyck in goal with less than two minutes to the final interval. Devon Toews’ pass found Makar in acres of space and the Canadian defenceman made no mistake with his wrist shot. The U.S. squandered a prime chance to avoid overtime when Sam Bennett, a last-minute replacement on the Canadian roster, got sent to the penalty box for four minutes after whacking Hughes across the mouth in the third period. However, the fans’ desperate screams did nothing to inspire another goal as the clock wound down. Four days after his older brother, Quinn, delivered the kill-shot in the Americans’ quarter-final win, it was Jack Hughes’ turn to shine and he proudly flashed his battle-dented smile as he wrapped himself in the American flag. Finland, gold medallists four years ago, took bronze on Saturday with a 6-1 win over Slovakia. (Reporting by Trevor Stynes and Amy Tennery; Additional reporting by Lori Ewing and Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Ken Ferris) The post ‘Tonight Was for the Country’: USA Defeats Rival Canada for Olympic Hockey Gold appeared first on The Daily Signal.

THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent told “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that revenue from tariffs would not drop, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling against the authority President Donald Trump’ invoked to levy his “Liberation Day” tariffs. The high court decided Trump exceeded his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in a 6-3 ruling issued Friday. Bartiromo questioned Bessent about claims made Friday by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget that the deficit would increase due to the loss of revenue. “Yes, so, Maria, let’s take a step back here. And Maya MacGuineas should be ashamed, and they should take the word ‘responsible’ out of her organization’s name,” Bessent responded. “Everything she told you was completely irresponsible and, look, where were they when the Biden administration blew out the deficit that we had a fiscal contraction last year? So she should be ashamed.” “So let me tell you what’s going to happen first, this ruling was a very narrow ruling in terms of the president’s ability to use IEEPA to collect revenues. The Supreme Court said the president can put in a full embargo, but he cannot collect one dollar,” Bessent continued. “So the president still has the most draconian measure for negotiations, and you know that under Sections 232, Sections 301, we’re already collecting substantial tariff revenue. The IEEPA tariffs are going to be replaced in three days with the Section 122, and I can tell you at Treasury, contrary to what the ‘Committee for an Irresponsible Budget,’ or whatever it’s called, says, tariff revenue will be unchanged this year and will be unchanged in the future.” Trump announced reciprocal tariffs to address import duties and “horrendous imbalances” in trade with other countries during an April 2, 2025 Rose Garden event. He later took to Truth Social on April 9 to announce a pause, citing the willingness of other countries to negotiate trade deals. Bessent told Bartiromo those deals would remain in place. “The president announced on Friday and amended over the weekend [a] 15% global tariff using a very robust authority from 1974. Those will be layered on with section 232, section 301, and the 122s; they run for 150 days,” Bessent continued. “And during that time, [the Department of] Commerce, USTR [United States Trade Representative] will be doing studies, and the studies will likely lead to increased tariff revenues.” “We’ve been in contact with our foreign trading partners, and they like the tariff deals,” Bessent noted. “So, you know, they’re not going to be changed and the president remains undeterred in his determination to lower our trade deficit and bring manufacturing back to the U.S.” Originally published by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The post Scott Bessent Lays Out Future of Trump’s Tariffs, Trade Deals appeared first on The Daily Signal.

As many as two dozen states could enact legislation this year to ban foreign funding of ballot measures, a trend that gained bipartisan support last year.  This follows nine states that have already enacted bans in the last 18 months.  While it’s already illegal for foreign nationals or foreign entitites to contribute to candidates, ballot initiatives have been a longstanding loophole.  “This is gaining momentum all across the country, and states are rejecting foreign funding,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, a conservative-leaning watchdog group, told The Daily Signal.  The APT legislative tracker for 2026 shows that bills have advanced through one chamber in Alabama, Arizona, and Michigan. Meanwhile, an Iowa Senate subcommittee advanced legislation as well.  There is also momentum in Nebraska, Florida, and Georgia, Sutherland said.  By mid-February, legislators in 25 states introduced 64 separate bills that address the issue of foreign individuals or entities contributing to a political campaign, according to Ballotpedia. The ban on foreign funding of ballot initiatives could itself be a ballot initiative in several states. Lawmakers in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin have introduced such ballot measures, according to Ballotpedia.  Americans for Public Trust and the Honest Elections Project advocated for a comprehensive ban to include no direct foreign contributions, nor indirect contributions, to ballot initiatives. Indirect funding would include instances of wealthy foreign nationals pouring money into a dark money political nonprofit, that would in turn fund a ballot initiative. While such bans have gained bipartisan support, they have been largely driven by Republican lawmakers and conservative groups, passing in mostly red states. The lawmakers have cited the influence of foreign money in recent state ballot measures advancing abortion and redistricting efforts.  Ohio was the first state to pass a such ban in 2024, followed by Wyoming, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, and Tennessee in 2025. One example of a case that was reviewed by federal regulators was a 2021 complaint in Montana. A 2023 Federal Election Commission ruling dismissed the complaint that Australian mining company Sandfire Resources contributed more than $280,000 to defeat a Montana ballot initiative that would have increased the power of state mining regulators. The FEC determined it lacked jurisdiction, but recommended Congress act to close the loophole. Although the measures have gained bipartisan backing, there has been litigation in some cases.  After Kansas banned foreign contributions, a group called Kansans for Constitutional Freedom sued, and claimed the law could affect the political activity of U.S. citizens. “There is no reason why a donor should have to provide detailed and confidential information about its own funding sources,” the lawsuit said.  Sutherland said only nine states have a comprehensive ban on foreign money, while others only restrict contributions directly from foreign citizens or entities. She added that not all of the 25 states considering legislation are proposing comprehensive bans.  According to multiple news reports, since 2016, Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss-funded organizations have contributed more than $240 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, both of which were part of what was previously known as the Arabella Advisors network.  The Sixteen Thirty Fund spent $97.6 million on state ballot initiatives in 25 states in the past decade, according to an April 2024 report by Americans for Public Trust, a conservative-leaning watchdog group. These included initiatives in battleground states such as Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, and Nevada, the report says. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, in a statement to The Daily Signal, said Americans for Public Trust “is attacking our organization because it disagrees with our support for progressive causes.” “Sixteen Thirty Fund is proud to support causes like abortion access and voting rights, and we do so in full compliance with all laws, rules, and disclosure requirements governing our work,” the Sixteen Thirty Fund statement says. The New Venture Fund did not immediately reply to inquiries for this story.  Neither the Wyss Foundation, nor its lobbying arm the Berger Action Fund, immediately responded to inquiries for this story. The post More States Moving to Close Election Funding Loophole Few Voters Knew Existed appeared first on The Daily Signal.