Latest news with #Thisis
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
California allowing more girls in track-and-field championship amid Trump transgender athlete pressure
The governing body for high school sports in California said it would allow more girls to compete in this weekend's track-and-field state championships as President Trump threatens the state's funding over a transgender student-athlete's upcoming participation. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced Tuesday it is changing its competition rules to extend entry to 'any biological female student-athlete' who would have 'earned the next qualifying mark' in their event for the state championships in Clovis on May 30–31. 'The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,' the group said in a statement. 'The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.' The organization did not return a request for clarification about whether the policy change applies to all events or only to ones where a transgender girl qualified. A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the organization's proposed pilot 'is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing.' 'The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach,' said the spokesperson, Izzy Gardon. In the debut episode of his podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom,' in March, Newsom broke from most other Democrats by saying he believes transgender athletes participating in girls' and women's sports is 'deeply unfair.' Later, at a press conference in Modesto, Calif., Newsom said he would be 'open' to a conversation about limiting trans athletes' participation in the state if such a discussion were conducted 'in a way that's respectful and responsible and could find a kind of balance.' Student-athletes in California are able to compete on teams that best align with their gender identity under a 2013 law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown (D). The CIF announced its new entry process hours after Trump threatened to withhold funding from California and ordered local officials to bar 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, from competing at the state championships this weekend, though the organization said it decided to implement its new entry process several days earlier. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote early Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, referring to Hernandez's qualifying for the state championship meet. Trump did not mention Hernandez by name. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to,' Trump wrote, referencing an order he signed in February stating it is 'the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports.' At a signing ceremony in Washington, Trump said his administration will not allow transgender athletes to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Responding to Trump's order, the CIF said it would continue allowing transgender girls to compete on girls school sports teams. The Department of Education announced it had opened a Title IX investigation into the organization shortly after. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
California allowing more girls in track and field championship amid Trump transgender athlete pressure
The governing body for high school sports in California said it would allow more girls to compete in this weekend's state track-and-field championships as President Trump threatens the state's funding over a transgender student-athlete's upcoming participation. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) announced Tuesday that it is changing its competition rules to extend entry to 'any biological female student-athlete' who would have 'earned the next qualifying mark' in their event for the state championships in Clovis, Calif., on May 30 – 31. 'The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law and Education Code,' the group said in a statement. 'The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.' The organization did not return a request for clarification about whether the policy change applies to all events or only to ones where a transgender girl qualified for the final. A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the organization's proposed pilot 'is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing.' 'The Governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach,' said the spokesperson, Izzy Gardon. In the debut episode of his podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom,' in March, Newsom broke from most other Democrats in saying he believes transgender athletes participating in girls' and women's sports is 'deeply unfair.' Later, at a press conference in Modesto, Calif., Newsom said he would be 'open' to a conversation about limiting trans athletes' participation in the state if such a discussion were conducted 'in a way that's respectful and responsible and could find a kind of balance.' Student-athletes in California are able to compete on teams that best align with their gender identity under a 2013 law signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown (D). The CIF announced its new entry process hours after Trump threatened to withhold funding from California and ordered local officials to bar 16-year-old AB Hernandez, a junior at Jurupa Valley High School, from competing at the state championships this weekend, though the organization said it decided to implement its new entry process several days earlier. 'THIS IS NOT FAIR, AND TOTALLY DEMEANING TO WOMEN AND GIRLS,' Trump wrote early Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, referring to Hernandez's qualifying for the state finals. Trump did not mention Hernandez by name. 'Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to,' Trump wrote, referencing an order he signed in February stating it is 'the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women's sports.' At a signing ceremony in Washington, Trump said his administration will not allow transgender athletes to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Responding to Trump's order, CIF said it would continue allowing transgender girls to compete on girls' school sports teams. The Department of Education announced it had opened a Title IX investigation into the organization shortly after.
Elle
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
Are You Ready to Discuss the Twist at the End of 'The Last of Us' Season 2?
At last, Ellie's revenge mission has reached its apex. In tonight's finale episode, the scrappy 19-year-old finally encounters Abby again, though not in the way she planned. In fact, not much of her foray to Seattle has gone according to plan, and it's clearer with each passing scene that Ellie knows she's in too deep. Still, a sunk cost fallacy prevents her from considering any other path than the one right in front of her: She's come this far. She has to kill Abby and avenge Joel. To what end? She's not thinking that far ahead. The end might not even matter. To steal a line from another Pedro Pascal-starring sci-fi franchise, 'This is the way.' The finale opens on Jesse removing the crossbow bolt from Dina's leg as Ellie returns from hunting down Nora. When Dina awakens to wipe the blood from Ellie's scratches and bruises, Ellie stares into the middle distance, dazed. 'I made her talk,' she admits. 'I thought it would be harder to do. But it wasn't. It was easy.' Dina posits that Nora got what she deserved. But Ellie isn't so certain anymore. 'Maybe she didn't,' she says. She then proceeds to tell Dina about what Joel actually did—about the cure that might have been, about all those dead Fireflies, and about Abby's father. The admission of such a terrible secret visibly rattles Dina, who, for the first time since they left Jackson, seems to question her faith in Ellie. 'We need to go home,' she says. At least in the moment, Ellie seems to agree. But they can't leave without Tommy. The next morning, Ellie and Jesse set out to meet Joel's baby brother at a predetermined rendezvous point, an abandoned bookstore. Their hike over allows them both plenty of time to catch up. Jesse is none too thrilled with his former patrol partner—for the obvious reasons, as well as more complicated ones. He's inferred from Dina's behavior that his ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his kid. She refused alcohol to soothe the pain of her leg wound, and she insisted she couldn't die, not that she didn't want to die. 'I'm gonna be a father,' he tells Ellie. 'Which means I can't die. But, because of you, we're stuck in a war zone. So how about we skip the apologies and just go find Tommy so I can get us and my kid the fuck out of Seattle?' This is a decidedly different attitude than the one Jesse presents in the game. In The Last of Us: Part II, Jesse has his issues with Ellie's occasionally cavalier approach to violence, but he treats her with mutual respect, even affection. They high five after escaping near-death encounters; they joke about the fact that Joel once believed Ellie had a crush on Jesse. He swears he would have come with Ellie and Dina to Seattle had they asked him. 'I looked up to Joel,' he says. 'What happened to him was messed up. I would've come.' Even when he learns Dina is pregnant, Part II Jesse reacts not with anger but with empathy. 'I get why you came out here,' he tells Ellie. 'But we gotta take her back.' It's only when Ellie lies to him about her intentions for finding Tommy that he (temporarily) turns away from her. By comparison, in the show, Jesse treats Ellie much more like a frustrated, overburdened older brother might a petulant younger sister. When the two find temporary shelter from the downpour in a parking garage, they witness the capture of a Seraphite boy. Ellie tries to run out and help him, but Jesse yanks her back. 'I'm not dying out here. Not for any of them. This is not our war,' he insists. At the bookstore rendezvous point, they discover some soggy old paperbacks and children's books about monsters (a little on the nose there, HBO)... but no Tommy. Glad for a moment of rest, Jesse sits beneath a mural that reads: 'Everything's got a moral if only you can find it.' (Again, the messaging here is heavy-handed, to say the least.) He admits he loves Dina, but not the way Ellie does. Still, he's disappointed in her actions. Years ago, he, too, fell in love with someone: a girl who came through Jackson. But he refused to leave with her. He wouldn't abandon his community. He didn't feel like he could abandon his community. 'Because I was taught to put other people first,' he finishes. 'Okay, got it. So you're Saint Jesse of Wyoming, and everyone else is a fucking asshole,' Ellie concludes. I mean, sure. Before they can get any deeper into this petty squabble, their WLF radios fritz with gunfire, coming from a sniper they can only assume must be Tommy. They race up to the roof to get a better look at the Seattle skyline, from which Ellie spots a Ferris wheel near the far-off aquarium—with a whale emblazoned on the side of the building. 'Whale wheel' were the two words Nora managed to get out as Ellie beat her to a bloody pulp last episode. Alas, it dawns on Ellie: Abby is holing up at the aquarium. As she does in the game, Ellie abandons all pretense of rescuing Tommy, and refocuses instead on tracking down Abby. Exasperated, Jesse reveals that he voted 'no' during the Jackson referendum on avenging Joel. Why? 'Because everything you do, you do for you,' he tells his friend and ally. Ouch. Ellie might be stung, but she knows a hypocrite when she sees one. 'You let a kid die today, Jesse,' she retorts. 'Why? Because he wasn't in your community?' Joel was Ellie's community. She's acting as Jesse would in her shoes, or so she's convinced herself. She's doing right by her community. Jesse can't argue with her any further. 'I really hope you make it,' he tells her, and they go their separate ways. As Ellie cuts through the detritus of a bombed and waterlogged Seattle to reach the aquarium, the WLF top brass are preoccupied with their own vendettas. We watch as the sergeant from episode 5, Elise Park, informs Isaac that the storm is only going to grow. Her soldiers are set for the coming battle, even if the 'rank and file are a little scared.' Isaac doesn't blame them. But he's too distracted to ruminate on his own fears. 'Any word on Abby?' he asks. We've heard a lot about Abby since episode 2, but we've yet to see her in Washington. Apparently, Joel's killer is MIA, which is bad news for Isaac, who—surprise, surprise—had considered her the next him. In the (increasingly likely) event of his death, Abby would step up to lead the WLF. 'Who secures our future?' he asks Elise. 'It was supposed to be her.' This is a hint to viewers that Abby hasn't been sitting around watching old Curtis and Viper DVDs while Ellie and Dina have ripped a hole through the city. Abby's had her own story arc taking place during this same time period, and while we can't yet know what's happened, we know it's changed her relationship with her fellow soldiers. And that matters, because as Isaac laments Abby's shifting loyalties, the WLF are converging on the nearby Seraphite island base. The same base where Ellie washes ashore when her boat is shipwrecked. But thanks to the WLF's impending military operation, Ellie narrowly escapes disembowelment by the Scars. They flee into the forest as the Wolves ambush the island, and Ellie sprints back to her boat, hightailing it, at last, to the aquarium. There, she finds some bloodied surgical tools—a story tease we'll have to wait for season 3 to fulfill—and a path of wet footprints leading directly to where Owen and Mel stand, arguing about (who else?) Abby. Ellie sneaks up on them and trains her gun on Owen's head, then pulls an old tactic of Joel's out of her back pocket. She demands Owen and Mel both circle Abby's location on a map; if their circles don't match up, Ellie will kill them both. Mel is willing to give up Abby if it means saving their unborn child. But Owen is not so eager to forsake his ex-girlfriend. As he appears to reach for the map on the table, he instead lunges for his pistol. Ellie's reaction is immediate, practically subconscious. She fires, hitting Owen right at the base of his throat. He collapses immediately, dead within seconds. But the bullet unintentionally passes through Owen and grazes Mel's own throat, which starts gushing blood as she unzips her jacket to reveal her pregnant belly. Ellie, who knew nothing of Mel's condition, is horrified. Mel begs Ellie to cut the baby out with a knife before she dies (and the fetus with her), but Ellie is too scared, too traumatized, and too helpless to act quickly. She can only sit and watch, sobbing, as all three of them—Owen, Mel, and their unborn child—succumb to their injuries. It's a gruesome, dismal scene, one that clearly alarms Tommy and Jesse when they arrive to rescue Ellie. They escort her back to the theater, where they enjoy a brief period of peace before they begin their route home. Ellie thanks Jesse for coming back for her, for being 'a good person.' He finally admits to a sort of truce between them: 'If I were out there somewhere, lost and in trouble, you would set the world on fire to save me.' Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, their reconciliation is short-lived. They hear Tommy struggling out in the theater lobby, and as they burst through the doors to save him, someone—but, really, who else could it be?—shoots him in the head. Jesse's death is as shocking and immediate as it was in the game. There's no time to anticipate it, and even less time to grieve it. Finally, we see Abby again. She's a little worse for wear since her time in Jackson: Bruises bloom on her neck, and her braid sits in a limp, wet twist. She points her gun down at Tommy while Ellie pleads for her to let him live. It's her Abby wants, right? She killed Mel and Owen. Joel murdered Abby's father because of her. Abby can't believe it's come to this. 'We let you live,' she says, adjusting her aim to rest, instead, on Ellie. 'And you wasted it.' A gun shot cracks through the air, but the screen cuts to black before we can see where it lands. Instead, The Last of Us transports us back in time, reintroducing us to the Abby of three days prior. We watch her awaken inside the WLF compound in the fictional SoundView Stadium, based on the real-life NFL football arena Lumen Field. There, the Wolves have built a self-sustaining community almost eerily (and, you can bet, intentionally) like Jackson. As Abby surveys this small kingdom, a lower third informs us we have arrived back at Seattle Day One. So, what does that mean for our battle-scarred survivors? It implies that, next season, Kaitlyn Dever will take center stage as our lead protagonist, with Ellie's story temporarily sidelined in favor of Abby's perspective. That's the same narrative strategy the Part II game employed so artfully, though not without tremendous controversy, and I suspect the fan reaction to this choice will be similarly split when season 3 rolls around. But, unlike players of the game, fans of the show will have the luxury of some time to process. In the game, the leap between Ellie's perspective and Abby's is immediate, with no time to adjust unless you're keen to pause for a bathroom break. In the case of the HBO adaptation, viewers have months before season 3 delivers Abby's side of the saga. So grieve Jesse's death—and process Ellie's choices—while you can. It's only going to get more complicated from here.
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Menendez brothers' freedom in hands of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom
The Menendez brothers are one step closer to seeing life outside prison walls after a bombshell decision to reduce their life sentences, leaving the next hurdle in the hands of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic slashed the original sentences for Erik and Lyle Menendez from life in prison to 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole. Jesic's decision to resentence the Menendez brothers opens the door for a parole hearing to determine whether they should be released. "The question for the board is a simple one — do Erik and Lyle Menendez, do they pose a current, what we call `unreasonable risk to public safety,'" Newsom previously said on his podcast, "This is Gavin Newsom." In October, Mark Geragos, the brothers' lawyer, filed clemency documents with Newsom after former Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón asked a judge to reduce their sentences. "I strongly support clemency for Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are currently serving sentences of life without possibility of parole," Gascón previously said. "They have respectively served 34 years and have continued their educations and worked to create new programs to support the rehabilitation of fellow inmates." In response to their request for clemency, Newsom directed the state parole board to conduct a "comprehensive risk assessment investigation" of the Menendez brothers. Newsom described the assessment as a "common procedure carried out by the state." "There's no guarantee of outcome here," Newsom previously said. "My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis, but this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, as well as provides us more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency." Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom's office, which referred to a news conference Wednesday in which he spoke briefly about the parole process for the Menendez brothers and said the process is still unfolding. "We started a process, as you know, which was intended to help inform the judge in the resentencing of the risk assessment. We thought that would be prudent to do before any resentencing. That process has unfolded over the course of the last number of months, and forensic psychologists did an assessment of the risk of each individual brother," Newsom said. Certain details of those risk assessments, which have not been made public, were presented during part of Tuesday's resentencing hearing. The analysis from those reports typically includes what led a person to commit the crime, behavior in prison and the likelihood of recidivism. Both brothers admitted to killing their parents, Mary "Kitty" and Jose Menendez, in a gruesome 1989 shotgun massacre inside their Beverly Hills home. Until Tuesday's resentencing hearing, they had maintained that their actions were self-defense from a lifetime of physical and sexual abuse by their parents. Newsom's office explained that the legal standard in California for release on parole is whether an inmate poses an unreasonable risk to public safety, which has to be determined before the governor can make a decision on commutations. "This process doesn't mean there's any guaranteed outcome, but it shows we're doing our due diligence, ensuring transparency, keeping public safety at the forefront, making sure the process is fair for everyone involved and getting closer to a conclusion," Newsom's office said. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Fox News Digital it is "looking into the judge's decision and next steps in the parole process." "When a court resentences a defendant, it issues the new judgment to CDCR. The department then processes the judgment as quickly as possible while complying with legal mandates," the department said. The department added that "if an incarcerated person's sentence is changed to allow the possibility of parole, CDCR would determine applicable parole-eligible dates." SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER Clemency from Newsom is also still a possibility. "So, the question for the parole board is, will they reserve that as a more traditional parole process, or will they choose to have a separate pathway to an independent parole analysis?" Newsom asked. "And that's a conversation that we're having to make that determination. So, it's conceivable to the point that on June 13 there could be a recommendation to me. I'm the ultimate arbiter and will have to review the parole board's recommendations and report. It's also conceivable that this will happen months and months later. So, that's a process that we're making that's been determined in real time." Newsom's June 13 parole board hearings are planned to go on as scheduled, and the board will have the opportunity to free the brothers. No matter what happens with their clemency request, Newsom would still have the final say over whether they should go free. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital Tuesday that Erik and Lyle Menendez "will likely be freed in a matter of months," adding he does not expect "the parole board or Gov. Newsom" to block their release. Even if the parole board approves their release, the governor has veto power and could issue a pardon on his own. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
Breaking Down the Menendez Brothers' Legal Paths to Freedom
The Menendez brothers, Erik and Lyle, have been in prison for over 35 years. Credit - Ted Soqui/Sygma via Getty Image Nearly three decades after Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of murdering their parents in a Beverly Hills mansion, the brothers—whose case was thrust back into the spotlight by Ryan Murphy's 2023 docuseries—may be edging closer to freedom. This week, they are set to appear virtually in a Los Angeles courtroom as their lawyers argue for a resentencing that could open the door to parole, marking a pivotal moment in one of America's most notorious criminal cases. The prospect of resentencing emerged last October, when then-L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón announced he was 'keeping an open mind' about the case. In the months that followed, the brothers' family launched a campaign, "Justice for Erik and Lyle," urging officials to reconsider the life-without-parole sentences handed down in the 1990s. Gascón subsequently recommended their terms be reduced to 50 years to life, which would make them eligible for parole under California law. The resentencing effort is just one of several legal avenues now being pursued in an effort to secure the brothers' release. Here are the paths available to Eric and Kyle, now aged 54 and 57 respectively. This Tuesday and Wednesday are crucial for this path to release, in which the Menendez brothers will look towards Los Angeles County Superior Judge Michael Jesic to decide whether to proceed with former D.A. Gascón's recommendation. The hearings had been delayed for months, complicated by the arrival of District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has taken a markedly different view of the case than his predecessor. In April, Hochman moved to withdraw Gascón's recommendation, arguing that he did not believe the brothers had taken full responsibility for their crimes. This move was then rejected by Judge Jesic, paving the way for this week's hearings to take place. The brothers' longtime defense attorney, Mark Geragos, said he will call on at least seven family members to testify. It remains unclear whether the brothers will speak. Since the brothers were both under 26 years old at the time of their crimes, if they are resentenced, they will be eligible for parole immediately under California law. Alongside the court proceedings, a separate clemency request sits with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom has scheduled a parole board hearing date of June 13, to assess whether the two brothers pose a threat to the public. Under state law, parole can be granted if an inmate is no longer considered 'an unreasonable risk of danger to society.' On his podcast 'This is Gavin Newsom' in February, Newsom explained that the hearing would include the opinions of various public safety experts and forensic psychologists. 'There's no guarantee of outcome here,' Newsom said. "My office conducts dozens and dozens of these clemency reviews on a consistent basis but this process simply provides more transparency, which I think is important in this case, and more due diligence before I make any determination for clemency.' The final, and least likely path, lies in the 'habeas corpus' petition filed by the brothers' attorneys in 2023, seeking a new trial based on what they describe as newly discovered evidence. Central to the new evidence is a letter from Erik Menendez when he was 17 to a cousin, describing alleged sexual abuse by his father, Jose Menendez — claims that formed the crux of the brothers' defense during their 1996 trial. Their legal team also cite allegations made in 2023 by Roy Rossello, a former member of the boy band Menudo, who claims he was raped by Jose Menendez. To succeed, the petition must meet a high legal bar: the evidence must be new, credible, admissible, and could not be discovered at the time of the trial. Contact us at letters@
