A Christian couple who spent more than a decade caring for foster children is celebrating a major legal victory after Washington state agreed to change its licensing rules following a dispute over requirements that foster parents use children's preferred pronouns and comply with gender identity policies, even when those requirements conflicted with their religious beliefs.

Shane and Jennifer DeGross told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday that the dispute began in 2022, when they attempted to renew their foster care license and discovered the state had changed its requirements concerning gender identity.

The couple said they were willing to love and care for any child placed in their home but could not agree to certain state-imposed requirements they believed violated their Christian faith.

"We were made aware that the state had updated and changed some of their requirements," Jennifer DeGross told Fox News Digital. "While we agreed that we would love and care for any child in our home, they had specific things that we could not agree to as Christians."

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Shane DeGross said the state required them to affirm the state's views on gender identity and human sexuality.

"Those views directly conflict with the biblical worldview of human sexuality," Shane DeGross said. "So, as Christians, we just couldn't accept that. Our allegiance is to God and the truth of Scripture. And we just couldn't abide by what they were requiring us to affirm."

Washington's licensing policies required foster parents to affirm and support LGBTQ children, including expectations concerning gender identity and the use of preferred names and pronouns. The DeGross family challenged the requirements on religious freedom grounds. Jennifer said the state eventually partially reinstated their license but restricted the ages of children they could foster.

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"We felt like even when they reinstated a partial license to us that they were still discriminating against us," she said.

"When a child reached 5, they had to be removed from our home," Jennifer said. "So not only was that upsetting to us, but that's not good for kids, right?"

Jennifer argued that such a restriction could disrupt a child's placement even if the child had already spent years living with a foster family.

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"If we had had a child for a couple of years, and then they have to be removed just because they turned or reached a certain age, it's definitely not in the interest of children," she said.

The legal battle resulted in a settlement under which Washington agreed to revise its foster care licensing rules, addressing the conflict between the state's gender identity requirements and foster parents' religious freedom claims.

Johannes Widmalm-Delphonse, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, told Fox News Digital that the DeGross' case should serve as a lesson for the rest of the country.

"These foster care agencies, they have to respect the First Amendment rights of foster parents, as well as the children in the system and everyone that they work with," Widmalm-Delphonse said. 

"So, states should be on notice from this settlement, as well as some of the other cases that we've seen like the Bates v. Pakseresht decision, that they have to respect First Amendment rights, they have to respect free speech rights, and the way you do that is you invite as many foster parents into the system as possible on the front end, and then you match at the back end according to children's individual needs or family's abilities, comfort level, things like that, which is what they've been doing for decades, and this settlement shows that they can continue doing that now," Widmalm-Delphonse added.

WASHINGTON FATHER SUES SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR DENYING RELIGIOUS OPT-OUT FOR 5TH GRADER FROM LGBTQ INSTRUCTION

Widmalm-Delphonse said that since the settlement, Washington State has a new proposed regulation, WSR 26-20-103, currently undergoing the public notice and comment process which would in part give foster parents like Shane and Jennifer DeGross a religious exemption.

"This new rule, in part, would give foster parents like the DeGross's a religious exemption from any rule requiring them to violate their religious beliefs on gender or sexuality," Widmalm-Delphonse said.

Shane DeGross told Fox News Digital, "It's a great victory in the sense that more Christians can be available to love and care for foster kids without fear of being excluded because of their religious beliefs."

"It's a huge victory for kids that need a loving home," he added.

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"We are proud of the diversity of our foster parent and kinship caregiver community who have different cultures, religious beliefs, and lived experience," the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families said in a news release on the settlement. "We are grateful that they all open their doors and provide a loving home to children and youth in foster care."

"This settlement agreement respects the religious beliefs of foster parents, while ensuring LGBTQIA+ youth are placed in an environment that is safe and supports their well-being," DCYF Secretary Tana Senn said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Washington DCYF for further comment.

He had an unlikely rise, from modeling agent to presidential special envoy. After his firing, he was unrepentant: “I need to make money.”

© Maurizio Fiorino for The New York Times

Our government, rather than acting appropriately, continues to cozy up to Big Tech.  

Our government, rather than acting appropriately, continues to cozy up to Big Tech.  

There was no group to stand with her in solidarity. No teammate to lean on.

We've seen other girls cross country runners in Washington state walk off the start line in protest of having to compete against a boy, but Elise Bierer was the first to do it all by herself.

It happened Wednesday during the Greater St. Helens League District Meet, where a runner for Camas High was competing as a girl after starting the year racing against the boys. And when the gun went off for the women's varsity race, Bierer walked off the line toward her mother, Sheona, who embraced her tearful daughter.

DAD BANNED FROM SCHOOL GROUNDS AFTER PROTESTING TRANS RUNNER COMPETING AGAINST HIS DAUGHTER

This was certainly not how Elise, a sophomore at Battle Ground High, pictured her season ending when the school year began. She was the second-fastest female cross country runner on her team, and almost certainly would have advanced to regionals had she participated Wednesday.

But as her mom explained, Bierer had been anticipating a moment like this for a couple of years, and was prepared to stand — or more precisely, walk — on principle.

"Before she entered high school — she's a sophomore — I told her that it's a real possibility that this could come into play, that she might be forced to race against a male. When we talked about that, she said if that were to happen, she would stand up for what was right and just not compete," said Sheona Bierer, speaking for a daughter who didn't feel comfortable being interviewed.

So two Tuesdays ago, when Battle Ground met Camas in a dual meet, Bierer and other teammates decided that they were simply not going to compete. But there really wasn't a whole lot on the line in that race. This time, though, it was districts. This time, a protest meant saying sayonara to her season.

A CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER SWITCHED TO THE GIRLS TEAM MIDSEASON, PARENTS VOICE THEIR DISAPPROVAL AT MEET

Sheona said Elise and other Battle Ground girls who didn't want to compete against the biological boy were pressured into running in the JV race Wednesday. This would maximize Battle Ground's chances of finishing in the top three of four teams to advance to regionals.

Two things, though. 1) Because of all this controversy, only five Battle Ground racers even showed up for Wednesday's women's varsity race (the other three teams had seven apiece). And 2) Elise felt it was her rightful place to line up with the varsity. She'd earned that position.

Sheona said that the initial plan was for other Battle Ground girls to walk off the start line with Elise. But those plans changed before the race, leaving Elise to make a statement all by herself.

What was that like to watch as a mom? I asked.

"I'm super proud. I'm still overwhelmed," said Sheona, adding that Elise has been running since sixth grade but would not return to the team next year if she had to run against the Camas boy. "I know this is really hard, but I love her, and I'm so glad that she's going to stand up for what's right, even when everybody else is walking away from what's right and chose to buckle under pressure."

Sheona said Elise didn't inform Battle Ground coach Patricia Tester of her plan for fear of being relegated to JV. I attempted to ask Tester about Bierer after the race — and about the exodus of female runners from her team — but she wouldn't even offer a no comment.

Then, another Battle Ground coach stepped in.

"Go away, please. That's my comment," he said.

I told him I was just trying to get answers about an athlete who protested.

"Leave the kids alone," he said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGE

I can't speak for other writers — and there were quite a few of them out there Wednesday — but I'd love to leave the kids alone. Unfortunately, Washington state law allows high school males to compete against high school females if they identify as the latter — leaving myriad girls distressed.

The Camas boy finished second out of 26 runners Wednesday, officially displacing a biological girl from competing in regionals — as only 21 can advance. He also helped lead his Papermakers to first place in the women's varsity team results. Earlier this season, he finished first in a varsity dual meet despite placing 76th among boys a couple weeks prior.

People are tired of this — and not just those on opposing teams. Eight days ago, about a dozen of the runner's own female teammates walked off the starting line for Camas.

One of them was Holly Burns, who spoke at a pre-meet rally attended by scores of supporters of Initiative 638, a Nov. 3 ballot measure in Washington state that would require K-12 athletes to compete according to their sex at birth. She had no idea her walking off the start line would spark the reaction it has — but it helped turn Wednesday's meet into the kind of media spectacle rarely seen in high school cross country.

"When I was talking about it with the girls, we were kind of like 'what's the point of even doing this?' It's not like it was going to change anything," said Burns, who, according to one parent, is one of 18 girls from Camas to have quit the team entirely. "But it seems like it definitely made a wave."

This won't be the only OutKick column from Wednesday's meet. There is much more to be written about the adults who are finally showing the courage that's been almost exclusive to the high schoolers so far.

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But this one is dedicated to Elise Bierer, who showed what real integrity looks like. Her coach wants us to leave her alone. No. Not when she had the guts to stand alone.

Moscovo admite retomar negociações com Kiev e Washington em Abu Dhabi. Putin oferece ajuda para resolver conflito com o Irão e a Rússia prepara o envio do primeiro petroleiro com gasóleo para os EUA.

Ucrânia e Rússia aceitam proposta dos EUA para retomar negociações de paz. Zelensky admite "congelar" a guerra nas atuais linhas da frente. Ainda, Washington retoma a partilha de informações com Kiev.

Amazon and UA have greenlit the untitled feature and set a release for late 2027.

President Trump has talked about replacing the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room with an indoor swimming pool.

© Andrew Leyden for The New York Times

O enviado norte-americano Steve Witkoff reúne-se em São Petersburgo com altos responsáveis do Kremlin. Moscovo está recetivo a ouvir Washington mas sem fazer concessões territoriais.

It is time to think big, think boldly and start reimagining elections that work for the people, not the politicians.

It is time to think big, think boldly and start reimagining elections that work for the people, not the politicians.

Mr. Trump appears to wish to be both president and first lady.

© The New York Times

In anteprima martedì sarà riprodotto il film che ripercorre la vita e l’arte di Brumidi, attraverso testimonianze esclusive

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday that it will investigate living conditions inside the Washington, D.C. Jail following years of reports of filth, medical neglect, and brutality. 

The D.C. Jail, which holds all pretrial detainees and misdemeanor offenders in the District of Columbia, was the subject of an unflattering 2016 Reason cover story, "How Not to Build a Jail," describing how wretched conditions had persisted there for more than a century. Lawsuits, audits, and media investigations have all documented persistent civil rights problems. The jail gained additional infamy for holding pretrial detainees and convicted defendants who were prosecuted for their role in the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol Building. 

The Justice Department received numerous allegations of excessive force, inadequate medical care, unsanitary living conditions, and malnutrition inside the jail, according to a department press release. The investigation will determine if D.C.'s Department of Corrections has a pattern or practice of violating prisoners' constitutional rights.

"The Constitution protects the rights of every incarcerated American, including those held in custody in our nation's capital," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a DOJ press release. "We are committed to upholding our federal civil rights laws so that no inmate is confined in unconstitutional conditions or subject to unconstitutional mistreatment at the District of Columbia Department of Corrections."

Last week, six current and former D.C. Jail inmates filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they found dead mice and cockroaches in their food.

Five different D.C. Jail inmates filed another lawsuit in September alleging guards failed to stop or adequately respond to a man in the jail's mental health unit from starting an electrical fire.

In 2021, the U.S. Marshals Service transferred roughly 400 inmates out of the D.C. Jail after a surprise inspection reported unacceptable living conditions, including guards withholding water and food from inmates as punishment.

A week before that inspection, a federal judge held the D.C. Department of Corrections in contempt for repeatedly failing to turn over the medical records of a January 6 defendant who had been waiting for months for a scheduled wrist surgery. 

The antiquated jail, opened in the 1970s, has numerous structural problems, but plans to replace it have stalled. In the meantime, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division will write a report to add to the top of the pile.

The post Justice Department Will Investigate Conditions at D.C. Jail After Years of Reports of Filth and Neglect appeared first on Reason Magazine.

In her two prior victories, Gluesenkamp Perez defeated a Republican with extremist ties. Now she faces a more mainstream opponent in businessman and legislator John Braun.

• Anthropic is looking to shape AI regulation by pitching an AI safety bill of its own.
• POLITICO obtained a confidential draft of the proposed legislation.
• The bill would let the government block an AI model only if it poses a foreseeable, imminent risk of more than $1 billion in damages, or of killing or seriously injuring more than 50 people.

Representatives for the artificial intelligence giant Anthropic have quietly pitched Capitol Hill lawmakers on a draft bill to regulate frontier AI safety and security, according to three people with knowledge of the efforts who were granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The confidential draft, obtained by POLITICO and not previously reported, marks a notable effort by the frontier AI lab to shape the rules governing its own technology as Congress weighs how to respond to the fast-moving industry.

"This bill represents the proposals outlined in Anthropic's Advanced AI Framework, which we have been advocating for with federal and state lawmakers since June," an Anthropic spokesperson said. "These are sensible policies we believe Congress should act on."

The bill would let the government block a model's release or use only if it poses a foreseeable, imminent risk of more than $1 billion in damages, or of killing or seriously injuring more than 50 people. The risk must stem from the creation or release of a biological weapon, the model evading its developer's controls or a cyberattack. The language mirrors that found in California's AI laws including SB 53, which was signed into law last year.

Leading AI labs disclosed a series of incidents this summer, in which AI agents hacked or probed websites and platforms. None reported so far appear to have caused widespread deaths or over $1 billion in damages.

Anthropic has yet to publicly back particular legislative efforts in Congress, but they have backed some state AI safety laws, including two in California. Their head of U.S. state and local government relations previously told POLITICO that they hope states will continue to pass ever-stronger AI safety laws that raise the standard nationwide.

Under the bill, independent evaluators, which would register with the Commerce Department, would be tasked with periodically evaluating the lab and its frontier models. The evaluators may be paid for their work by the lab itself so long as the payment is not contingent on the evaluations' results.

If the evaluators determine there is "imminent enumerated risk" for a company's frontier models, they must report it to Commerce within 72 hours of completing their assessment.

While the Commerce Department could bring a request to the judge to halt the release of a model after determining that it poses a risk, the language explicitly prohibits any other U.S. "department, agency, or officer" from suspending the model's development, deployment or internal use. A federal judge for the District Court for the District of Columbia could order the suspension of a model.

Over the summer, Anthropic was subject to sweeping export controls that shut down two of its most advanced models. The decision was made in a whirlwind series of phone calls between administration officials and the company's executives, worrying some in the tech industry that access to their technology may be restricted on the whims of government officials.

Anthropic's bill would also preempt some state AI laws related to public disclosure of risk, third-party evaluation and reporting of critical incidents. Preemption has been a political flashpoint on Capitol Hill, with Democrats rejecting some proposals they feared would neuter regulations passed by the likes of California, Illinois and New York.

Many tech industry groups have argued that a state-by-state patchwork of laws is difficult to comply with compared to a unified national standard.

The legislation would also require frontier labs to create safety frameworks, publish transparency reports for new frontier models, implement protections for whistleblowers and report critical safety incidents to Commerce.

Capitol Hill has seen a flurry of activity on AI safety legislation this summer. In the House, Reps. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) and Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) spearheaded the FRONTIER Act, which would give the government the ability to stop the deployment of risky models and preempt some state AI laws.

In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) have been negotiating an AI safety bill intended to mitigate catastrophic risks. But it has faced headwinds from some safety-minded groups and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on Cruz's Commerce Committee, who want the government to have a larger role in reviewing AI models.

Other progressives, including Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have gone well beyond their colleagues in calling for a pause in advanced AI development and a ban on superintelligence, a type of theoretical AI that far surpasses humans' cognitive capabilities.

This story originally appeared on POLITICO and is courtesy of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network, which harnesses the resources of the company's newsrooms to publish ambitious scoops, investigations, interviews, opinion pieces, and analysis. It allows journalists — including those from POLITICO, Business Insider, WELT, BILD, Onet, and Fakt — to collaborate on major stories for an international audience of hundreds of millions across platforms.

Lombardia Regione d’Onore e premi a personalità di spicco tra cui Sebastian Maniscalco, Anthony Capuano e Pierroberto Folgiero

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En una sesión plenaria ordinaria de votación, el parlamento iraní aprobó este domingo Akhlaghi como nuevo ministro de Defensa.