A George Floyd biopic, titled Daddy Changed The World, has been approved and is currently in its screenplay writing stage, courtesy of Night Fox Entertainment, Radar Pictures, and 8 Queens Film & Media Productions.

A Republican senator’s opinion column about keeping biological males out of women’s sports was removed from USA Today’s network of newspapers because of his “loaded language.” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) learned that a column he wrote about protecting women’s sports had been removed from several USA Today Network newspapers because of “inflammatory” language out of the paper’s editorial standards, Fox News reported Friday. Kennedy told the outlet that he was not aware that the column had been removed until he was informed of broken links to the article. Kennedy told Fox that the “USA TODAY Network apparently does not like the way I express myself.” “They think they are the speech police. Drunk on certainty and virtue, they think they are our moral teacher. This attitude is why so many Americans have lost confidence in the media. The media is not going to win that trust back until they return to neutrality instead of advocacy,” he added. The article, titled “Is transgender inclusion more important than women’s sports?” had been published on May 11 by several Louisiana-based papers owned by Gannett, the parent company of USA Today. “Men and women don’t compete for the same reasons,” the Republican senator said in his column. “Yet transgender activists want athletic institutions to ignore these obvious physical differences so transgender athletes can feel included, even if it hurts biological girls in the process.” Gannett Opinion Editor and Vice President of Standards and Ethics Michael McCarter said that Kennedy’s column did not meet the company’s “ethical standard” and that he had been given a chance to “revise his language.” “We recognize the importance of sharing varying perspectives and the vital role we play convening conversations,” McCarter said. “Sen. John Kennedy’s submitted opinion column did not meet our ethical guidelines, which state we will treat people with respect. After further review, our editorial team removed the column from our website. Sen. Kennedy has been given the opportunity to revise his language – not his viewpoint – to adhere with our standards.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP According to emails with the executive editor of the Shreveport Times, a USA Today Network newspaper, Kennedy’s use of the terms “biological male,” and “biological female,” were “loaded terms” outside of the outlet’s editorial standards. The outlet also took issue with Kennedy saying that men competing against women in sports was similar to NBA star Zion Williamson playing against middle school boys.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is transferring his role to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks today as he prepares to undergo elective surgery. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that Austin will undergo a “minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure” that is related to his previous bladder issue. The procedure will take place this evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “The Secretary has determined he will be temporarily unable to perform his functions and duties during the procedure, so Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will assume the functions and duties of the Secretary of Defense and serve as the Acting Secretary of Defense,” Ryder said. Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February after receiving treatment for a bladder issue that also prompted him to transfer his duties to his deputy. Austin, 70, faced blowback after the revelation that the secretary had been hospitalized on January 1 for complications stemming from a prostate cancer procedure and delegated some of his duties to a deputy without informing top brass in the Biden administration and Congress. Some critics, including GOP lawmakers and former President Donald Trump, called for Austin’s ouster as more details emerged, including that Austin kept his cancer diagnosis under wraps until the story broke. Multiple inquiries ensued, and the White House released new guidelines for Cabinet secretaries to enhance transparency rules when authority is delegated to a subordinate. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP The Department of Defense said Austin resumed his duties from home after being released from the hospital on January 15, and the secretary returned to work at the Pentagon on January 29. Austin has been scheduled to testify before a House committee about “his failure to disclose his hospitalization” on February 29. During a press conference, Austin expressed remorse for how his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization were handled. “We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” Austin said. “I should’ve told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.” Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

Drew Barrymore said no matter how many times her kids have asked, she refuses to give her two young daughters cell phones and “access to everything.” Speaking at the taping of “The Drew Barrymore Show,” the 49-year-old actress and talk show host spoke to her audience about the challenges of parenting kids in a time when everyone has cell phones, including kids. “I am struggling. I have a ten- and an eleven-year-old daughter,” Barrymore said in the clip posted by the show on Instagram. “Most parents are dealing with it. A lot of parents are giving their kids phones at very young ages.” “And it’s just access to everything,” she added. “It’s really tough. I’m like very overwhelmed. But I’m not going to give up. I’m going to give in. I haven’t let my kids have phones yet.” The Hollywood star talked about how amazing it is to have “wanted so badly” for her kids to love her and their environment, but she’s willing to risk it to keep them safe. “None of us want our children to resent us and we don’t want to be their enemy,” Barrymore explained. “It is such a hard choice to say, ‘I don’t care if you hate me for this. I don’t care if you are mad at me for this. I know that I’m doing the right thing by you. And I accept your anger.’” The comments drew loud applause from her audience members.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by The Drew Barrymore Show (@thedrewbarrymoreshow) “Nobody wants their kids to be angry with them,” she added. “It’s not a great feeling. But I know that this is what’s best for them. And I’ve got to stick with it. I have to find the courage every day to not give in.” The “50 First Dates” star said if you are a parent who has given up and let your kids have cellphones, she understands and said there is “no right or wrong,” calling it a hard thing to navigate. CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP Barrymore previously opened up about raising her kids in the public eye and got emotional about the challenge, calling it something they “didn’t sign up for.” “When I had my kids, I was like … that changed everything,” Barrymore explained on a past show. “Don’t f*** with my kids. This is not okay. They didn’t sign up for this. It’s so hard.” The host then really broke down and started crying as guest Pamela Anderson tried to comfort her, agreeing that it was “hard” to have your kids be in a spotlight they never asked for. The “Charlie’s Angels” star married art advisor Will Kopelman in 2012 and welcomed one daughter that year and another in 2014. In 2016, the couple announced their separation, and their divorce was official later that year.

'Could have significant repercussions'

'One of the most ridiculous interviews that I’ve ever done'

Free speech is for everyone

'think they are the speech police'

Several major U.S. companies continue to flout First Amendment freedoms, according to a legal group’s new analysis and rankings.  Alliance Defending Freedom’s annual Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index ranks dozens of corporations based on their “respect for free speech and religious freedoms” both inside and outside of the companies.  In its third edition, announced Tuesday, the Top 10 list of shame for flouting those freedoms includes many companies on the same list last year. The companies’ scores ranged from 1% to 100%, measuring 43 different factors, including employee trainings, charitable donations, and various policies for consumers that reveal ideological bias.   ADF, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based legal nonprofit that advocates for First Amendment free speech and religious rights, analyzed the businesses’ overall histories and broke down what it regards as each company’s shortcomings. “Vague and subjective terms of service” emerged as a common factor.  1. X Corp. The company running Elon Musk’s popular social media platform X, formerly Twitter, received the worst score in ADF’s index at 2%, dropping from 5% last year. ADF faulted the platform for maintaining a “hateful conduct” policy that continues to regulate users’ speech. The policy broadly says users may not engage in “hate speech,” which ADF flagged under “unclear or imprecise terms.” The company’s score also suffered due to a lack of clear protections for employees’ personal beliefs, decisions by prior leadership before Musk took over, or because the company did not provide requested information to ADF.  2. Airbnb Coming in second at 4%, the house-sharing service’s terms of use punish users it deems guilty of promoting “bias, prejudice, racism, or hatred,” which ADF labeled as vaguely defined. The legal nonprofit also noted “divisive” training that lectures employees about “social privilege” among white people and other demographics, and how to be an “ally” for the “marginalized.”  3. Apple The tech company prohibits content on the App Store that it considers “discriminatory” or “mean-spirited” and decides each case based on what it called an “I’ll know it when I see it” policy, according to its website. Additionally, Apple “is known to require vendors, suppliers, contractors, or other equivalent third parties to adopt” diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, ADF’s report said. It gave the smartphone giant a 5% rating for these and other practices.  4. eBay No sellers on eBay are allowed to list for sale “offensive materials” promoting “gender intolerance” and other undefined offenses. ADF criticized the vagueness of the policy and noted that it restricts speech “based on the personal characteristics or identifiers of” the offended person. eBay sits at 5% on the index.  5. Lyft Another 5% scorer, the ride-sharing service’s terms of use say that it may restrict a driver from using its direct-deposit program “for any reason.”  6. Pinterest ADF, rating Pinterest at 5%, noted a website policy that bans “hateful content or the people and groups that promote hateful activities.” Prohibited speech, listed under a “hateful activities” policy, includes “denial of an individual’s gender identity,” “conspiracy theories,” and more. 7. Amazon “We don’t sell … content that we determine is hate speech … or other material we deem inappropriate or offensive,” say Amazon’s guidelines for book vendors. Like other companies, Amazon does not specify further what it considers offensive. The company received a 6% score. Amazon long ran a charity donation platform that discriminated against conservative and Christian nonprofits, including ADF. 8. Salesforce Also scoring at 6%, Salesforce does not allow users to “display, store, process, or transmit … [h]ate-related material,” including any material that it deems “objectionable.”   9. PayPal Customers may not use PayPal for transactions tied to “the promotion of hate” or “intolerance,” a policy that factored into its 6% rating. PayPal has a history of freezing the accounts of conservatives and others critical of the Left with little to no explanation.  10. Etsy The online store also scored 6%, in part because of its policy against undefined “offensive” speech that applies to anyone “listing items, using community spaces, and writing reviews, or having direct communication with other [users].” Previous rankings and signs of progress In many cases, the companies’ lack of participation in the survey or lack of clear policies protecting free expression hurt their scores.  X (then Twitter), Amazon, Airbnb, eBay, Pinterest, and PayPal were among the Top 10 offenders in ADF’s 2023 rankings.  ADF’s report, however, noted some “signs of progress” in corporate America. It celebrated JPMorgan Chase ending a policy the legal group saw as discriminatory against conservatives. “By the end of 2023, the bank had quietly dropped its payment processor WePay’s ‘social risk’ policy that included subjective terms like ‘hate’ and ‘intolerance’ and allowed bank employees to cancel or punish customers based on their viewpoints,” ADF said in a news release. It also noted a pattern of “de-banking” conservative groups that prompted state investigations into Chase.  “Drawing on data provided by the Business Index, a sustained campaign has resulted in a major policy change that could reshape the broader financial sector’s approach to protecting free speech and religious freedom,” the organization said.   Of the 66 companies that appeared in last year’s report, 58% had improved their scores. The post Top 10 Companies That Step on First Amendment Freedoms appeared first on The Daily Signal.