A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Texas did not have to follow guidance from the Biden administration which interpreted prohibitions against sex discrimination to include gender identity and sexual orientation.  The judge ruled that Biden’s Education Department had unlawfully exceeded its authority when it issued guidance in 2021 that opened up the door for schools to be liable for discrimination if they adopted policies like limiting bathroom access on the basis of sex. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Biden administration in June 2023 to shield Texas from enforcement of the policy.  “Nothing in the statute expressly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity or other unexpressed grounds,” U.S. District Judge for the North District of Texas Reed O’Connor wrote in a 112-page ruling. “And where Title IX allows for differentiation based on sex due to biological differences — such as intimate facilities and athletic teams — recipients may treat persons in accordance with their biological sex without regard to subjective gender identity.” Paxton’s lawsuit came after the Education Department released a memo on June 22, 2021, saying that it “interprets Title IX’s prohibition on discrimination ‘on the basis of sex’ to encompass discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.” The department also said that it would “fully enforce Title IX to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in education programs” for schools that receive federal funding. This means schools could face legal challenges if they had policies in place that said transgender-identifying students would have to use the bathroom facility or play on a sports team based on sex.   Judge O’Connor disagreed with the Education Department, saying that it was not logical to include gender identity under sex.  “Title IX explicitly appreciates the innate biological variation between men and women that occasionally warrants differentiation — and even separation — to preserve educational opportunities and to promote respect for both sexes,” the George W. Bush appointee wrote.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The guidance is different from the widely challenged Title IX rules unveiled in April that officially add gender identity and sexual orientation into federal education discrimination law.  Paxton celebrated the judge’s decision, saying Biden’s guidance was dangerous.  “Joe Biden’s unlawful effort to weaponize Title IX for his extremist agenda has been stopped in its tracks,” Paxton said in a statement on Tuesday night. “Threatening to withhold education funding by forcing states to accept ‘transgender’ policies that put women in danger was plainly illegal. Texas has prevailed on behalf of the entire Nation.” The guidance had previously been blocked from being enforced in 20 other states where a coalition of Republican attorneys general had challenged the policy. 

Actor Kevin Spacey became emotional during an interview with British TV personality Piers Morgan, saying he was broke and owed millions in legal fees. The 64-year-old “House of Cards” star has been involved in a number of sexual assault lawsuits over the past few years. Even though Spacey won some, he said they left him with no money. His conversation with Morgan was the first long interview he’s given since charges were filed, per The Independent.  “It’s been a very interesting and, I think, an important couple of weeks where I’ve had an opportunity to start to be able to talk about things that, well, for me, in some cases I’ve never talked about before, and to take accountability for those places where I have behaved badly, and to hopefully put some facts out there that maybe a great majority of the public don’t know about,” he told Morgan on “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”  Morgan asked what the actor meant by “behaved badly.” Spacey replied, “Pushing the boundaries. Being too handsy. Touching someone sexually in a way that I didn’t know at the time they didn’t want.” Spacey broke down in tears when Morgan asked where he was living. He mentioned that his house in Baltimore was being foreclosed on and sold at auction due to his legal debts. Kevin Spacey breaks down as he tells Piers Morgan he’s lost his home and now owes ‘many millions’ in legal bills. Watch the full interview at 8pm (UK) on YouTube ? ? https://t.co/QR11ywsANx@piersmorgan | @KevinSpacey pic.twitter.com/ouW06zE2vY — Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) June 11, 2024 When Morgan asked if he was facing bankruptcy, Spacey said, “There’s been a couple of times when I thought I was going to file, but we’ve managed to sort of dodge it, at least as of today.”  When asked how much money he had, the actor said “none” and then clarified, “I still owe a lot of legal bills” to the tune of “many millions.” “I’m not quite sure where I’m going to live now,” Spacey said. “I’ve spent so many years not wanting to talk about myself and avoiding questions about my personal life and my sexuality,” the actor, who is gay, added.  “I’ve come out of all this not bitter, not angry, not resentful,” the actor told Morgan.  When the interviewer asked him about flaws, Spacey responded, “There were bouts with arrogance. There were bouts with ego…My goal is now to prove that I am a man of good character.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Spacey also discussed his connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which he claims has been overblown. He tried to justify a photograph of him sitting with Epstein’s confidante Ghislaine Maxwell on the thrones at Buckingham Palace in 2002. He said President Bill Clinton had invited him on a humanitarian aid trip to South Africa. “I didn’t want to be around [Epstein] because I felt he put the president at risk on that trip to South Africa, because there were these young girls,” Spacey told Morgan. “We were like, ‘Who is this guy?’” “So, we flew then to London, and the president said to me, ‘Before we leave tomorrow, do you want to come? I am going to go to Buckingham Palace tomorrow to see Prince Andrew, do you want to come?’” he continued. “I said, ‘Sure.’” He said that’s when the photo was taken. “This Maxwell woman, she was one of many people to sit down next to me in that throne room,” Spacey continued. “I have no relationship with her. I had no relationship with [Epstein]. I mean he’s not my friend. I am not a confidant. I’ve never spent time with him.”

Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump said on Tuesday night that the verdict in the Hunter Biden gun trial was a distraction from much more serious corruption in President Joe Biden’s family. A federal jury convicted Hunter Biden, 54, on all three felony counts that he faced in his criminal firearm trial, including lying to a federally licensed firearms dealer, making a false claim on a federal firearms background check form, and being in possession of an illegally obtained firearm. Hunter Biden faces up to 25 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines. “Everybody knows what this trial with Hunter Biden was about,” Lara Trump said. “This is about smoke and mirrors, this is the red herring, this is a distraction from what you’ve talked about the entire show, which is that it’s not just criminality we’re worried about with the Biden family. It’s national security. We’re concerned about, we need to know as American citizens, that when Joe Biden, as President of the United States, is making decisions for this country, he’s made decisions based on what’s best for the American people and not what’s best for the bank account of the Biden family.” Lara Trump’s remarks reference the foreign business dealings that Hunter Biden engaged in while his father was vice president during the Obama administration. “If you think back to when Donald Trump won the election in 2016, think about what our family business was: We were a private company that had real estate and golf courses around the world,” she said. “We were in international business originally. Yet, what did we do? We said, you know what, when he won, we’re not going to do any new international business deals. The opposite of that happened when Joe Biden became Vice President of the United States. That’s when the Biden family got into international business.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP She also noted that the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop were confirmed as authentic during the trial, describing it as a “treasure trove” of damaging information on the Biden family. “The American people are demanding transparency,” she added. WATCH: RNC Co-Chair @LaraLeaTrump: The American people are demanding transparency on the Biden Crime family’s influence peddling schemes. “It’s national security we’re concerned about.” pic.twitter.com/maxCC7XE4h — GOP (@GOP) June 12, 2024

A post shared on social media purports that Melania Trump said house arrest for former President Donald Trump would be a cruel punishment for her. Melania Trump said it would be a cruel and unusual punishment for her if former U.S. President Donald Trump was placed under house arrest. ????? — Bonnie Towner DEMOCRAT (@BonnieTowner) June 11, […]

In 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states ‘cannot impose additional restrictions, such as term limits’

'Clear ideological agenda'

West was one of the league's first stars

In a study as amazing as it is probably unsurprising, a team of biologists and researchers using machine learning tools discovered that elephants call each other by names. For an animal that is known to perform deeply social acts like grieving, raising children collectively, and communicating across miles of countryside using complex low-frequency vocalizations, the […] The post Elephants Are the First Non-Human Animals Now Known to Use Names, AI Research Shows appeared first on Good News Network.

The post Feline Fine: Acupuncture in Cats, Part Two by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Hi, I’m Dr. Lauren! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my two adventurous cats, Pancake and Tiller. I first encountered acupuncture in cats while working as a veterinary technician. One of the vets I worked with in Alaska used the technique on multiple species, to help with arthritis issues. I was interested, but never really delved into the process until much later. In vet school, we were very lucky to have the late Dr. Bruce Ferguson, a pioneer in veterinary acupuncture from Chi University in Florida, and I was privileged to spend time learning from him, in great detail. This led to a few externships where I participated in feline acupuncture. I was amazed to find cats sitting in their bed, in the exam room at a clinic, calmly purring for an acupuncture session. And their owners sat, singing the praises, and how it improved their cat. And that’s how I found myself, sitting with an acupuncture needle in my own foot at a veterinary conference a few weeks ago, wondering, could I help patients, too? What benefits did acupuncture have? In this article, I’ll look specifically at that with regard to cats, and how it may help your favorite feline to feel fine (or feline fine, to play on the words!). Missed part one? Click here to read the first article in this series! Acupuncture needle in my foot – it helped! The Use of Veterinary Acupuncture Acupuncture has a history of originally being used in working or production animals—basically the animals that had a higher monetary value in society. So horses were a common acupuncture patient, far before cats and dogs. Today, things have changed, and even pet chickens have been known to receive acupuncture. There are lots of reports and publications about the use of acupuncture in humans and animals, and you may be surprised at the variety of medical conditions in which acupuncture treatment may complement traditional Western medicine. They include but are not limited to: Arthritis Chronic skin issues Acute respiratory collapse or CPR Feline hyperesthesia Gingivostomatitis Rectal prolapse Dental pain Anesthesia Osteochondrodysplasia Fever Cryptorchidism Diabetes Cancer adjunct Inflammatory Bowel Disease Urinary Incontinence Constipation Chronic otitis These little needles can potentially make a big difference: Acupuncture needle vs pen for size comparison So, if you sign your cat up for acupuncture, what can you expect? Many acupuncture treatments are around 20 minutes or so, but can vary. Theoretically, even stimulating a point for a very short time may have marked benefits Generally, expect a first visit to be longer, as it will include history, exam, and planning for the treatment. Treatment may or may not happen on the day. Most acupuncturists recommend weekly treatments, less commonly twice weekly. Rarely would they occur more often Expect to see full effects of the treatment after a month; don’t dismay if you don’t see anything immediately after the first one (though some patients will respond very impressively) Many courses of treatment will enter a maintenance phase once the cat is doing well; this may mean acupuncture every 2-4 weeks, or less. Check your country’s laws for who can perform veterinary acupuncture as well; I generally recommend using one of the professional organisations to find members that are certified or approved to practice on animals. In the final article in this series, we will take a more in depth look on how acupuncture is actually believed to work, in general, and in some of the specific conditions. The post Feline Fine: Acupuncture in Cats, Part Two by Dr. Lauren Demos DVM (Veterinarian) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.