Some LGBT advocates and media have celebrated the first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics as a “major milestone in trans sports.” Elis Lundholm, a woman who identifies as a transgender man, will compete for Sweden at the Milan-Cortina Olympics as part of the ski team. But here’s the interesting part: Lundholm will take part in the women’s category, not the men’s.    View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Ski Team Sweden Moguls (@skiteamswedenmoguls) The skier began identifying as a transgender man five years ago and told the Swedish outlet Sportbladet that she “has never had a problem competing as a woman.”  Social media users pointed out the implications of Lundholm remaining in the women’s category, which is based on biological sex under current rules. “Lundholm is female, identifies as trans, uses he/him pronouns and has not gone through medical transition, competes in the female category,” British professor Jon Pike posted on X. “Lundholm is a walking/skiing refutation of the claim that it’s unreasonable to require TiM [Transgender identifying Male] athletes to compete in their sex category,” he said. “It’s said that this is the equivalent of ‘banning them from sport.’ Lundholm competes in the correct sex category, even though this is not the category into which Lundholm identifies, and has ‘no problem with this.’” Most social media commenters didn’t have an issue with Lundholm competing with other women, noting how the only thing that could make competition unfair is if she had been using testosterone. Last summer, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee changed its policy to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order banning men from competing against women, as The Daily Wire previously reported. The committee posted an update stating that it would “…ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment,” consistent with the executive order. This change followed years of controversy in the world of sports.  In the 2024 Summer Games, Imane Khelif of Algeria, a boxer who had failed gender tests, dominated the women’s welterweight division and won the gold medal. Khelif’s success in Paris drew outrage across the globe.  In 2021, trans-identifying man Laurel Hubbard of New Zealand competed against women in weightlifting in the Tokyo Games. Chelsea Wolfe, a man who identifies as a woman, was also at the Tokyo Olympics as a reserve cyclist for the U.S. women’s BMX Freestyle team.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) trolled Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) over the high-speed rail project that has been steadily rising in cost despite showing little progress over the course of nearly two decades. Newsom jabbed at the TSA first, boasting in a press conference that nearly 11 years after the project’s 2015 ground-breaking, 463 miles of the planned route were finally ready for construction to begin — and saying that eventually, passengers on his high-speed rail would not have to suffer the indignity of removing their shoes to travel. “While Texas canceled its project, California keeps building,” Newsom’s Press Office posted, neglecting to mention the fact that while Texas had canceled due to skyrocketing costs, California had simply opted to pass the added cost on to investors and depend on government grants. “463 miles are now ready for construction. We’re past the hardest part, and we’re finishing the job.” “High-speed rail means no TSA lines, no removing your shoes — just fast, clean travel,” the post read. The TSA pointed out that airline passengers had not been required to remove their shoes while passing through airport security since July of 2025 — and noted that while getting 463 miles of planned route ready for construction was certainly an accomplishment, the trains were not yet ready to leave the station. “Congratulations Gov. Newsom! 463 miles ‘ready for construction,’ maybe someday it will join the 20,000+ miles of passenger rail we already secure,” the TSA’s post read. “Meanwhile, Americans, who don’t fly private jets, have kept their shoes on at TSA checkpoints since July. Enjoy your next flight!” The California high-speed rail project, touted by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and originally approved in 2008, has long been viewed as a boondoggle of astronomical proportions. The initial budget was estimated at $33 billion, and was supposed to be completed by 2020. Initial passenger service was scheduled to begin in 2022. Instead, over the course of 18 years, the price tag has ballooned to more than $135 billion and the ground along the proposed route is only just now “ready” for construction to begin. Passenger service has been delayed until sometime between 2030 and 2033. In July of 2017, President Donald Trump announced that his administration was terminating some $4 billion in federal funding for the project: “To the law-abiding, tax-paying, hardworking citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California’s disastrously overpriced, ‘HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE.'”

The Department of Homeland Security is slated for a lapse in funding on Friday if Congress does not reach a spending deal. As of Monday, reports have circulated about a push from Republicans for another continuing resolution to give lawmakers more time to hammer out a plan, according to POLITICO. Democratic leadership released a list of demands to reform federal immigration enforcement last week, and many Republicans saw them as dead on arrival. The Daily Wire reported last week that the requests include ending masking for agents, adding more body cameras, and switching away from administrative warrants to judicial warrants for arrests. Senate Democrats provided the draft legislation to Republicans on Sunday, outlining requests, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) opposed a second short-term funding bill, according to Fox News. “Democrats’ newest proposal is a ridiculous Christmas list of demands for the press. This is NOT negotiating in good faith, and it’s NOT what the American people want,” Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), a top Senate negotiator, posted to X last week. “They continue to play politics to their radical base at the expense of the safety of Americans. DHS, FEMA, Secret Service, and the Coast Guard run out of money in 9 days. Democrats don’t seem to care one bit,” the Alabama Republican continued. The government briefly shut down last week after the White House and Senate Democrats struck a deal to split DHS funding from the rest of the spending package, which then had to go back to the House for approval. “This bill is a great victory for the American people. Instead of a bloated and wasteful omnibus monstrosity full of special interest handouts, we’ve succeeded in passing a fiscally responsible package that actually cuts wasteful federal spending, while supporting critical programs for the safety, security, and prosperity of the American people,” Trump said during an Oval Office signing ceremony last Tuesday to celebrate funding most of the federal government through September 30. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” signed by President Donald Trump in July included funding for many of the administration’s goals for immigration, such as resources to hire significantly more ICE personnel to execute mass deportations. Criticism of the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics has been public for months, but tensions soared following the fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as anti-ICE demonstrations raged on for weeks. On the Democratic side, some lawmakers are not optimistic about a deal either, with Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) telling Arizona Public Media that “I think it’s very difficult for us to get there,” last week. A shutdown of the department could create issues for other key agencies it oversees, most notably FEMA and TSA. During the 43-day government shutdown in the fall, TSA agent call-outs caused issues at airports nationwide. Following the shutdown, DHS announced $10,000 bonuses for some agents.

more open, more competitive

'Dumped 3,000 turbine blades'

armed men blocking the armored vans

'Leads to the oppression and possible persecution of minority faiths'

Divorcé philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $7.1 billion to various nonprofits and charities last year, a recent blog post from the reclusive giver claimed. “Since my post last December, I’ve given $7,166,000,000 to organizations doing work all over the world,” she wrote. Scott claimed she had donated $2.6 billion in 2024 and $2.1 billion in 2023. […] The post MacKenzie Scott Donated $7.1 Billion to Nonprofits in 2025, a Major Increase with More to Come appeared first on Good News Network.

News BookCon Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties Authors Alix E. Harrow, Olivie Blake, and more raise concerns about BookCon 2026 By Molly Templeton | Published on February 9, 2026 Photo: ReedPop Comment 0 Share New Share Photo: ReedPop Last year, it was announced that BookCon—the New York City book culture convention presented by ReedPop—would return. The event, set for April 18 & 19 at NYC’s Javits Center, is already sold out, and the website lists featured guests that include Chuck Tingle, Carmen Maria Machado, Holly Black, and Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid, among many others. Those guests include authors Alix E. Harrow and Olivie Blake, who have put together an open letter condemning ReedPop parent company RELX for its connections to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As the letter—addressed to RELX CEO Erik Engstrom, Nick Luff (CFO), and Paul Ashton Walker (Chair)—explains: We are some of the authors that make events like BookCon—run by your subsidiary, ReedPop—possible. Another of your subsidiaries, LexisNexis, has a $22.1 million contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), supplying them with the data they need to surveil and terrorize our neighbors, friends, and families. We condemn any collaboration with ICE and call for the immediate termination of all contracts between RELX and ICE. The letter follows growing concerns about ReedPop’s parent company. As readers and authors began to note and criticize the connection between RELX and ICE, ReedPop released a statement on social media, saying: We at ReedPop do not sell customer information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.ReedPop/RX [Reed Exhibitions] operates entirely at arm’s length and independently. None of our data is shared for marketing or commercial use by any other entity within our parent company. ReedPop’s statement links to its privacy policy, which is less clear about what happens to users’ personal information. It reads, in part, “Depending on the Service provided, we share personal information with: Our affiliates, trading names and divisions within the Reed Exhibitions group of companies worldwide and certain RELX companies that provide technology, customer service and other shared services functions.” ReedPop also runs Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, PAX, and C2E2, among other conventions. [end-mark] The post Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties appeared first on Reactor.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL — Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots 501(c)(4) organization, will key vote the SAVE America Act on its legislative scorecard. The SAVE America Act, recently introduced by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, would institute national requirements of proof of citizenship to register to vote, as well as photo identification to vote in federal elections. “This action would hold members accountable to the conservative base that is counting on Congress to advance the President’s agenda,” Heritage Action told The Daily Signal. The designation comes as the House lines up a vote on the bill later this week. The SAVE America Act is an updated version of the SAVE Act. It adds a provision requiring individuals to present an eligible photo identification document to vote to the original voter integrity bill passed by the House in June. Roy, who first introduced the bill under President Joe Biden’s administration, told The Daily Signal that he is “encouraged to see” that Heritage Action “stands behind” the updated bill, which already included requirements for voters to provide proof of citizenship and for non-citizens to be removed from existing voter rolls. “This updated legislation reflects common sense: we must require basic proof to ensure only American citizens vote in American elections,” Roy added. Heritage Action’s decision to key vote the bill for its legislative scorecard comes after President Donald Trump urged Congress for more election integrity legislation. “America’s elections are rigged, stolen, and a laughingstock all over the world,” the president wrote on Truth Social last week. “We are either going to fix them, or we won’t have a country any longer. I am asking all Republicans to fight.” Though Pew Research recently found that 83% of Americans support voter ID measures, Senate Democrats have stated they will try to prevent the legislation from reaching the president’s desk. In a press release last week, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed that the SAVE Act would “disenfranchise millions of Americans,” and “is reminiscent of Jim Crow era laws.” Schumer added that the bill will be “dead on arrival” if it makes its way to the Senate and also threatened “another prolonged Trump government shutdown” if the legislation were attached to an appropriations package. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he supports using the standing or talking filibuster to pass election integrity measures. “I’d love to use the [standing] filibuster,” the president said. “Voter ID is very important.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., recently told reporters that “some of our colleagues in the Senate are interested in” using the standing filibuster. “We will have a conversation about it,” the majority leader added. “Nothing decided.” Despite the ambiguity over a potential vote on the SAVE America Act in the Senate, Roy remains optimistic about the growing support behind his bill. “While a small number of Democrats supported the SAVE Act last year, and I am encouraged by comments from Senator Fetterman, Democrat leadership continues to support voting by non-citizens,” Roy said. The post EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Action Makes SAVE America Act ‘Key Vote’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.