👥🗳️🤔 US Politics

What is the story behind the NYC professor who allegedly chased Post staffers with a machete?

- Shellyne Rodriguez, a New York City art professor, is under investigation by the NYPD after holding a machete to a New York Post reporter's throat and chasing two Post staffers in the street. - The incident began inside her Bronx apartment building when the Post reporter and photographer visited Rodriguez to inquire about a viral video from earlier this month in which she freaked out on pro-life students in an expletive-laced tirade at Hunter College, where she was employed as an adjunct. - After the reporter identified himself, Rodriguez threatened to "chop" him up before she flung open the door and put the blade of the machete up to his neck, video shows. - The Post staffers left immediately, but Rodriguez, still armed with the machete, pursued them into the street, dashcam footage shows. - Rodriguez was fired from Hunter College hours after the incident.

What are the details of the bill banning gender transitions for minors that was defeated?

• Louisiana state Sen. Fred Mills joined with Democrats to kill a bill that would have prohibited health care professionals from providing gender transition measures, such as hormones, puberty blockers, and surgeries, to minors.
• A state Senate committee reportedly voted 5-4 to kill the measure, with Mills siding with Democrats in the vote.
• Mills believes a choice should be made by a patient and a doctor.
• The ACLU of Louisiana cheered the demise of the measure, describing it as a "dangerous bill that targeted transgender children and stripped rights from their parents."

What is the controversy surrounding parents' rights and the Democratic Party?

There is controversy surrounding the Democratic Party's stance on parents' rights. Some Democrats are pushing for the destruction of the nuclear family and believe that children belong to the community, not just their parents. In North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency to rally support against expanded school choice, which nearly 70% of North Carolinian voters want. Democrats across the country regularly oppose school choice, and former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has stated that parents should not be telling schools what they should teach. The Biden administration claims that federal law requires anti-parent secrecy in schools, and the Justice Department investigates parents speaking up about school policies as though they are domestic terrorists. This has led to accusations of contempt for parents and disdain for representative democracy from some critics.

Why is there frustration with President Biden's decision on Space Command basing?

There is frustration with President Biden's decision on Space Command basing because the command remains in limbo more than two years after then-President Donald Trump signed off on Huntsville, Alabama, to be its permanent home. The command is currently housed in a temporary headquarters at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado, and Republican lawmakers say President Biden has dragged his feet on whether or not to proceed with the relocation to Alabama. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has lobbied heavily for Space Command to remain at Peterson in Colorado Springs, arguing that Mr. Trump’s plan to move the operation, and at least 1,500 jobs, to a reliably red state like Alabama, was based on partisan politics. However, Rep. Mike Rogers and Rep. Doug Lamborn, both Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, agree that the government made the right call when it selected Huntsville after scrutinizing other choices, such as San Antonio, Texas, and Cape Canaveral in Florida — along with Colorado Springs.

What is the significance of the religious parents suing a Maryland school district over LGBT lessons?

• Two families, one Muslim and one Christian, have sued Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland over a policy that prohibits parents from opting their children out of lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, even for religious reasons.
• The families allege that the district violated Maryland law and their First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion by not allowing them to opt their children out of lessons that use Pride Storybooks, a series of children's books from the Human Rights Campaign with gay and transgender themes.
• The families repeatedly sought a remedy from school officials before the district declared in March that no opt-outs would be allowed, a reversal of previous policy.
• The families are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit religious freedom legal group.
• The lawsuit says that "Children are entitled to guidance from their own parents, who know and love them best, regarding how they’ll be introduced to complex issues concerning gender identity, transgenderism, and human sexuality."

What are the bills restricting care for trans teens?

Sixteen states have placed broad new restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors this year, with 16 others having introduced similar bills, in a record-breaking year. The bills have mostly been introduced in Republican-controlled states.

What is the story behind the Texas bill allowing school districts to replace counselors with chaplains?

• Texas lawmakers have approved a bill that allows school districts to replace counselors with chaplains.
• The bill requires every school district in Texas to vote up or down whether to have chaplains within six months.
• The bill does not require chaplains to have any educational or professional requirements or training.
• Several amendments were proposed, including one requiring parental consent and another requiring chaplains to serve students of all faiths and not proselytize, but they were all rejected.
• The bill has caused concern among some lawmakers who worry about the infiltration of schools by religious figures and the potential for chaplains to impose their beliefs on students.