Latest news with #Balcer
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump admin pulls funding from Maine for allowing men identifying as women to be jailed with females
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that the Trump administration had pulled all nonessential funding from Maine's Department of Corrections after allowing a 6-foot-1, 245-pound man who identifies as a woman to be housed in prison for women. Bondi spoke to "Fox and Friends" host Lawrence Jones about several topics, including President Donald Trump's authority to determine where federal funding is delivered. "We can determine where that money goes — all federal money," Bondi said before directing the discussion to Maine. "What's happening there is they're not abiding by what President Trump said. They're allowing men [in] women's sports. "And in the case right now, what we did last night, some breaking news — we pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison, a giant 6-foot-1, 245-pound guy who committed a double murder with a knife, stabbed his parents to death and the family dog, and, he identified as a woman," she continued. "So, they were letting him be housed in a female prison? No longer. We will pull your funding. We will protect women in prison. We will protect women in sports. We will protect women throughout this country. No more of that." Maine Transgender Inmate Convicted Of Murdering Parents Moved To Women's Prison In January, Andrea Balcer, a 24-year-old born "Andrew," was moved from the Maine State Prison to the women's section of the Maine Correctional Institute, Bangor Daily News reported. Read On The Fox News App Balcer was convicted in 2018 of stabbing both of his parents to death along with the family dog, and sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime that Balcer blamed on struggles with gender identity. Maine's prison policy allows inmates to be housed based on their gender identity if they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and officials believe it is in the inmate's best interest to be classified by the gender they identify with. Balcer was originally listed as male in Department of Corrections documents after the conviction, but state records were updated to list him as a female inmate. If I Were A Trans Kid Today: Here's What Potentially Saved My Life Along with allowing a transfer inmate to be held in a prison for women, Maine has refused to comply with Trump's February executive order to ban trans athletes from girls' and women's sports, prompting immense federal pressure. Trump initially vowed to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with the order during a Feb. 20 speech. On Tuesday, 14 state lawmakers in Maine penned a letter to the White House condemning Gov. Janet Mills for her continued support of trans inclusion in girls' sports. The senators claim that Maine's current policies that enable trans inclusion violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as Title IX. "Dear Mr. President, As you know, the working people of Maine agree with your commonsense approach to protect women's sports and spaces. We applaud your administration's efforts to bring Maine into compliance with not only the protections for women and girls guaranteed under the nation's landmark Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, but what has also been identified as violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," the letter read. Former Trans, Gay Activist Aims To 'De-program' Children From Woke Indoctrination: 'Children Cannot Consent' The lawmakers claim the majority of adults in Maine do not support Mills' policy of forcing girls to compete against boys in athletics. The 14 state senators who signed the letter include Senate Republican leader Trey Stewart, assistant leader Matthew Harrington, Susan Bernard, Richard Bradstreet, Bruce Bickford, Scott Cryway, Russell Black, Brad Farrin, Stacey Guerin, Joseph Martin, David Haggan, Marianne Moore, James Libby and Jeff Timberlake. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it's "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18. Fox News Digital's Jackson Thompson and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this article source: Trump admin pulls funding from Maine for allowing men identifying as women to be jailed with females
Fox News
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump admin pulls funding from Maine for allowing men identifying as women to be jailed with females
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Wednesday that the Trump administration had pulled all nonessential funding from Maine's Department of Corrections after allowing a 6-foot-1, 245-pound man who identifies as a woman to be housed in prison for women. Bondi spoke to "Fox and Friends" host Lawrence Jones about several topics, including President Donald Trump's authority to determine where federal funding is delivered. "We can determine where that money goes — all federal money," Bondi said before directing the discussion to Maine. "What's happening there is they're not abiding by what President Trump said. They're allowing men [in] women's sports. "And in the case right now, what we did last night, some breaking news — we pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison, a giant 6-foot-1, 245-pound guy who committed a double murder with a knife, stabbed his parents to death and the family dog, and, he identified as a woman," she continued. "So, they were letting him be housed in a female prison? No longer. We will pull your funding. We will protect women in prison. We will protect women in sports. We will protect women throughout this country. No more of that." In January, Andrea Balcer, a 24-year-old born "Andrew," was moved from the Maine State Prison to the women's section of the Maine Correctional Institute, Bangor Daily News reported. Balcer was convicted in 2018 of stabbing both of his parents to death along with the family dog, and sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crime that Balcer blamed on struggles with gender identity. Maine's prison policy allows inmates to be housed based on their gender identity if they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and officials believe it is in the inmate's best interest to be classified by the gender they identify with. Balcer was originally listed as male in Department of Corrections documents after the conviction, but state records were updated to list him as a female inmate. Along with allowing a transfer inmate to be held in a prison for women, Maine has refused to comply with Trump's February executive order to ban trans athletes from girls' and women's sports, prompting immense federal pressure. Trump initially vowed to cut federal funding to the state if it refused to comply with the order during a Feb. 20 speech. On Tuesday, 14 state lawmakers in Maine penned a letter to the White House condemning Gov. Janet Mills for her continued support of trans inclusion in girls' sports. The senators claim that Maine's current policies that enable trans inclusion violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as Title IX. "Dear Mr. President, As you know, the working people of Maine agree with your commonsense approach to protect women's sports and spaces. We applaud your administration's efforts to bring Maine into compliance with not only the protections for women and girls guaranteed under the nation's landmark Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, but what has also been identified as violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," the letter read. The lawmakers claim the majority of adults in Maine do not support Mills' policy of forcing girls to compete against boys in athletics. The 14 state senators who signed the letter include Senate Republican leader Trey Stewart, assistant leader Matthew Harrington, Susan Bernard, Richard Bradstreet, Bruce Bickford, Scott Cryway, Russell Black, Brad Farrin, Stacey Guerin, Joseph Martin, David Haggan, Marianne Moore, James Libby and Jeff Timberlake. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it's "only fair to restrict women's sports to biological women." The poll also found that 60% of residents would support a ballot measure limiting participation in women's and girls sports to biological females. This included 64% of independents and 66% of parents with kids under age 18.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration to pull federal funds for Maine prisons over trans inmate
The Trump administration is pulling funding from the Maine Department of Corrections over a transgender woman who is being housed in a women's prison, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview Tuesday. "We pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine, because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison," Bondi told Fox News. Bondi did not provide an amount during the interview, but Fox News reported it would be $1.5 million. The inmate Bondi was referring to is Andrea Balcer, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 for the murder of her parents and family dog. Balcer's attorney argued that she was going through a gender identity transformation and that her parents were not accepting. Balcer had no criminal record before the killings on Oct. 31, 2016, at her family home in Winthrop, Maine. She was 17 at the time. Balcer is currently incarcerated at the Maine Correction Center's Women's Center, according to the Maine Department of Corrections' online inmate database. 'We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country,' Bondi said in the interview. The Maine Department of Corrections released a statement Tuesday saying, in part, that it is "evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations." The department noted that the funding will affect three grant programs: Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry; Second Chance Act Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children; and Smart Probation: Innovations in Supervision Initiative. Advocacy groups criticized the move. 'If the federal government truly cares about women, all women, they would not withdraw funding for essential programs that lead to public safety in our communities,' Jan Collins, assistant director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, said Tuesday. Maine has already been a target of an attempt to pull federal funding. The Department of Agriculture has paused federal funding for certain state educational programs over the state's compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. At issue is Maine's allowing of a transgender athlete to participate in women's sports. It comes after a public confrontation between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump, which ended in Mills telling the president, 'We'll see you in court.' The federal government then launched an investigation into Maine's policies, which found that Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and a high school in the state were in violation of Title IX. Last week, the federal government issued a 'final warning' to the state, saying it will send the case to the Justice Department if all parties do not sign an agreement by April 11. Maine officials previously said they did not intend to comply. This story first appeared on NBC Boston. This article was originally published on
NBC News
09-04-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump administration to pull federal funds for Maine prisons over trans inmate
The Trump administration is pulling funding from the Maine Department of Corrections over a transgender woman who is being housed in a women's prison, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an interview Tuesday. "We pulled all nonessential funding from the Department of Corrections in Maine, because they were allowing a man in a woman's prison," Bondi told Fox News. Bondi did not provide an amount during the interview, but Fox News reported it would be $1.5 million. The inmate Bondi was referring to is Andrea Balcer, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison in 2018 for the murder of her parents and family dog. Balcer's attorney argued that she was going through a gender identity transformation and that her parents were not accepting. Balcer had no criminal record before the killings on Oct. 31, 2016, at her family home in Winthrop, Maine. She was 17 at the time. Balcer is currently incarcerated at the Maine Correction Center's Women's Center, according to the Maine Department of Corrections' online inmate database. 'We will pull your funding, we will protect women in prison, we will protect women in sports, we will protect women throughout this country,' Bondi said in the interview. The Maine Department of Corrections released a statement Tuesday saying, in part, that it is "evaluating the impacts to services from these funding terminations." The department noted that the funding will affect three grant programs: Improving Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Outcomes for Adults in Reentry; Second Chance Act Addressing the Needs of Incarcerated Parents and Their Minor Children; and Smart Probation: Innovations in Supervision Initiative. Advocacy groups criticized the move. 'If the federal government truly cares about women, all women, they would not withdraw funding for essential programs that lead to public safety in our communities,' Jan Collins, assistant director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition, said Tuesday. Maine has already been a target of an attempt to pull federal funding. The Department of Agriculture has paused federal funding for certain state educational programs over the state's compliance with Title IX, the law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education. At issue is Maine's allowing of a transgender athlete to participate in women's sports. It comes after a public c onfrontation between Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump, which ended in Mills telling the president, 'We'll see you in court.' The federal government then launched an investigation into Maine's policies, which found that Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals' Association and a high school in the state were in violation of Title IX. Last week, the federal government issued a 'final warning' to the state, saying it will send the case to the Justice Department if all parties do not sign an agreement by April 11.
Reuters
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Racing Louisville F Bethany Balcer taking a break
March 19 - Racing Louisville's Bethany Balcer announced Wednesday that she is taking a break from soccer to focus on herself. "I've always preached that when soccer is no longer fun, and you don't find joy in doing it, something needs to change," the 28-year-old forward posted on Instagram. Balcer has scored 42 goals during her NWSL career with the Seattle Reign (2019-24) and Racing Louisville (2024). She was the league's 2019 Rookie of the Year and helped the Reign win the NWSL Shield and The Women's Cup in 2022. She was traded to Louisville on Aug. 19, 2024, in exchange for Jaelin Howell and $50,000 in allocation money. Balcer has been a vocal advocate of the need to take care of one's mental health throughout her career, but said she hasn't "been listening to myself for a while." "The last year and a half I've found my identity slowing (sic) slipping away being consumed with soccer and being a professional athlete. I've been chasing things that are material, I've become bitter, and I've lost my love and joy for the game," she posted. "While that is a sad thing to admit, I'm excited to focus on Beth outside of soccer, because it's more important than who Beth the soccer player is. In due time, I'm confident I'll return to the field with a new passion and energy for doing something I love. Until then, I'm gonna keep doing my best, for me." Racing Louisville opened the NWSL season last Saturday with a 1-1 home draw against the North Carolina Courage. Balcer did not play.
