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CA lawmakers introduce bill protecting girls from trans athletes after state refuses to follow Trump’s order

After California took a stance refusing to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, state Republicans are taking matters into their own hands.

On Friday, California lawmakers introduced three bills in the state legislature aimed to combat trans inclusion. One bill, which was introduced by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, focused specifically on sports. His bill would require that students use all school facilities only play on sports teams based on their biological sex and not their gender identity.

“We know the state of California is going to do everything it can to resist and avoid compliance with federal law, so it’s our role to try to force change at the state and local level,” Essayli said at a press conference outside the state capital building in Sacramento Friday.

Former San Jose State University volleyball coach, who was suspended and then let go from the program after filing a Title IX complaint over the school’s handling of a trans player last season, spoke at Friday’s press conference just days after her home was shot at. Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital she believes she was “targetted.” Police have not determined a suspect or motive.

“We need to make sure there’s DNA testing and moving forward there’s only women playing in women’s sports,” Batie-Smoose said at the press conference. “We definitely need to continue this fight and make sure that laws and legislation is changed so that we can have safe spaces for women and women in sports.”

Essayli’s bill would reverse a current law in California that protects trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.

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A law called AB 1266 has been in effect since 2014, and gives California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) said it will continue to follow that law, even after Trump’s executive order went into effect, in a previous statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The U.S. Department of Education announced earlier this week that it is launching a Title IX investigation into the CIF over potential Title IX violations for its refusal to comply with Trump’s order.

In addition, residents have held protests and threatened lawsuits in response to the CIF’s current stance.

Essayli’s bill is the second proposal that California has seen to address the issue in 2025 alone.

California State Assembly member Kate Sanchez announced on Jan. 7 that she is introducing a bill to ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.

Sanchez will propose the Protect Girls’ Sports Act to the state legislature. Currently, 25 states have similar laws in effect.

TEEN GIRLS OPEN UP ON TRANS ATHLETE SCANDAL THAT TURNED THEIR HIGH SCHOOL INTO A CULTURE WAR BATTLEGROUND

“Young women who have spent years training and sacrificing to compete at the highest level are now forced to compete against individuals with undeniable biological advantages. It’s not just unfair – it’s disheartening and dangerous,” Sanchez said in a statement announcing the bill.

California’s enabling of trans athletes to compete with girls and women in the state has resulted in multiple controversies over the issue over the last year alone. Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, is currently embroiled in one of the most contentious local controversies on the issue.

A school board meeting by the Riverside Unified School District on Dec. 19 featured a parade of parents berating the board for allowing a trans athlete on the Martin Luther King girls’ cross-country team. A lawsuit filed by two girls on the team alleges that their T-shirts in protest of that player were compared to swastikas simply because they said “Save Girls Sports.”

The father of a girl who lost her varsity spot to the trans athlete previously told Fox News Digital that his daughter and other girls at the school were told “transgenders have more rights than cisgenders” by school administrators when they protested the athlete’s participation.

In San Diego, a middle school was recently thrust into local controversy because of a transgender student using the girls’ locker room. San Elijo Middle School previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital, crediting its enabling of the transgender student to access the girls’ locker room to the school’s obligation of following state law.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted against a measure to carry out the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would prevent trans athletes from competing in girls’ sports or entering girls’ locker rooms, despite pleas from multiple parents at the meeting to take action to protect the girls at the school.

Meanwhile, Stone Ridge Christian High School’s girls’ volleyball team was scheduled to face San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament but forfeited in an announcement just before the match over the presence of a trans athlete on the team.

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Transgender athlete supporter Kyle Harp, left, of Riverside holds the progress pride flag as “Save Girls Sports” supporters Lori Lopez and her dad Pete Pickering, both of Riverside, listen to the debate as they join the overflow crowd converging outside the Riverside Unified School District meeting Thursday night to debate the rights of transgender athletes to compete in high school sports Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Before that, a transgender volleyball player was booed and harassed at an Oct. 12 match between Notre Dame Belmont in Belmont, California, against Half Moon Bay High School, according to ABC 7. Half Moon Bay rostered the transgender athlete.

The two other bills that were introduced Friday, by Essayli and freshman Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, focus on empowering parents to remove their children from settings and situations that promote transgender ideology in public schools.

“Reestablishing the primacy of parental rights over dangerous indoctrination is a critical first step in reestablishing trust in our schools and educators,” Castillo said Friday.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 14, 2025
Politicians trade roses and thorns this Valentine’s Day

Political power couples celebrated their love on social media this Valentine’s Day — but not without a few jabs from opposing political parties.

Several political organizations took to X to post Valentine’s Day messages trolling their rivals, including a meme from the White House with a message to illegal immigrants.

“Violets are blue, come here illegally, and we’ll deport you,” the official Trump White House X account posted.

Some X users embraced the deportation meme, while others found it insensitive. The top reply on the White House’s post says: “ROSES ARE RED VIOLETS ARE BLUE YOUR ANCESTORS WERE IMMIGRANTS AND SO ARE YOU LET’S EMBRACE OTHERS AND THEIR DREAMS TOO.”

Chris LaCivita, a GOP political strategist and a former advisor to President Donald Trump, posted a photo of Trump with a bandage on his ear from the July 2024 assassination attempt captioned, “I’d take a bullet for you.”

A Valentine from the Republican National Committee to the Democratic National Committee said: “Roses are red, violets are blue; We won seven Swing States, what did you do?”

Democrats had some fun with their Valentine’s Day message, too, poking fun at the power dynamics at play between Elon Musk and Trump.

“The left can’t meme,” multiple users replied to the Democrats’ post on X. Another X user replied with a photo of Trump and former first lady Jill Biden speaking at the reopening of the Notre Dame captioned: “Will you be my Valentine?”

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama celebrated 32 years of marriage with matching selfies across their social media accounts amid divorce rumors.

“If there’s one person I can always count on, it’s you, @BarackObama. You’re my rock. Always have been. Always will be. Happy Valentine’s Day, honey!” Michelle said.

Former President Joe Biden joined the love fest with a photo of his wife Jill sporting a “LOVE” jacket captioned, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jilly!”

PRINCE WILLIAM STEALS KISS FROM KATE MIDDLETON IN RARE VALENTINE’S DAY PHOTO

Former second gentleman Doug Emhoff posted a photo wishing former Vice President Kamala Harris a happy Valentine’s Day, saying, “Grateful to be by your side through it all.”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., fresh off being sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services, posted a photo on a hike with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines. He thanked her for “being my partner in this adventure.”

SENATE CONFIRMS ROBERT F KENNEDY JR. TO SERVE AS TRUMP’S HEALTH SECRETARY

“Thanking the love of my life Dina for her incredible support and love during the craziest year of our lives! Happy Valentine’s Day!” Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., said to his wife Dina, who served as deputy national security advisor during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, posted a charming photo with his valentine of 70 years.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., wished his wife Mindy a happy first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. The 59-year-old was a longtime bachelor before announcing his engagement to a “lovely Christian girl” in January 2024. The couple got married in August at the Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, for championing the rights of Californians.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jen. I’m lucky to call my best friend the love of my life. Thank you for all that you do to champion the rights of Californians. I love you,” Newsom said in a post.

From left: Former Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and his wife Mindy; and former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama celebrate Valentine’s Day. (Reuters/Getty/Fox Digital)

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., posted a throwback photo with his wife of 25 years, calling the life they built in Southwest Florida his “greatest blessing.”

“My high school sweetheart, the mother of our four amazing kids, the love of my life, and Pennsylvania’s First Lady! Happy Valentine’s Day, Lori,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro wrote in a post.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., wished his wife a happy Valentine’s Day with an Audrey Hepburn quote: “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams opted for a solo photo, holding up heart hands in his Valentine’s Day post and telling New Yorkers what he really loves is “making our city MORE affordable, building even MORE affordable housing, and making sure EVERY New Yorker has a job…so they can treat their boo to a night out.”

Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 14, 2025
Trump so far has freed 11 hostages in his first month as president; Biden released around 70 in four years

President Donald Trump’s administration has secured the release of 11 U.S. hostages held by foreign governments since taking office less than one month ago, according to the White House.

The Trump administration has emphasized arranging the release of U.S. hostages under his second administration and welcomed U.S. Marc Fogel, a U.S. history teacher who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S. Tuesday.

Other hostages released since Trump’s inauguration include six Americans detained in Venezuela, two Americans detained in Belarus and Israeli-American citizen Keith Siegel, who was held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas. There are at least two living American citizen hostages believed to be held in Gaza.

By comparison, former President Joe Biden said in 2024 his White House secured the release of more than 70 hostages during his four years in office, according to an August 2024 statement. Fox News Digital didn’t find any available data to compare numbers from Biden’s first month in office.

ISRAELI PRESIDENT CALLS TRUMP A ‘TRUE FRIEND’ ON INAUGURATION DAY, PRAISES HIS WORK TO RELEASE HOSTAGES

Released American schoolteacher Marc Fogel reacts during a Feb. 11, 2025, event held by President Donald Trump to welcome back Fogel, who had been held in Russia since 2021. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

There were 46 American nationals known to be held captive in 16 different countries in 2024, according to the nonprofit Foley Foundation, which advocates for U.S. hostages and was named after James Foley, a U.S. journalist kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012 and killed by ISIS in 2014. That number is now likely closer to the low 30s after the recent releases of hostages in January and February.

On Tuesday, Trump met with Fogel, who was arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possessing drugs and was slated to serve a 14-year sentence. Fogel’s family said the drugs he had on him were medically prescribed marijuana.

“I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all,” Fogel said Tuesday after meeting Trump. “And President Trump is a hero.

FREED ISRAELI HOSTAGE SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME

“These men that came from the diplomatic service are heroes,” Fogel said. “The senators and representatives that passed legislation in my honor — they got me home — they are heroes.”

Following Foley’s return and after announcing the release of another, unnamed hostage held in Belarus Wednesday, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Adam Boehler said Trump “has made bringing Americans home a top priority, and people respond to that.”

The names of most of the hostages released in February have not been publicly shared.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about which hostages the U.S. was planning to release next.

American-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel has released a video message heaping praise on President Donald Trump after he was freed from captivity by the terrorist group Hamas two weeks ago. (Omar el Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images )

Just before Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration coordinated to secure a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, which included provisions to release dozens of hostages on both sides.

Biden and Trump separately boasted about their individual efforts to secure the deal, and State Department spokesman Matthew Miller described the Trump administration’s involvement as “critical” to getting the deal over the finish line.

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Trump also touted his administration’s involvement in a social media post Jan. 15, claiming it occurred “as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies.”

Although Biden said the two teams had been “speaking as one team” during the negotiations, he also mocked suggestions that Trump was responsible for securing the ceasefire deal.

Former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump both took credit for their role in securing the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. (Getty Images)

“Who in the history books gets credit for this, Mr. President, you or Trump?” Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich asked Biden Jan. 15 after a White House news conference.

ISRAEL RELEASES 90 PALESTINIAN PRISONERS AS PART OF CEASEFIRE DEAL TO FREE HOSTAGES

“Is that a joke?” Biden said.

When Heinrich said it was not, Biden replied, “Oh. Thank you.”

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Emma Colton and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.

February 14, 2025
Saquon Barkley gifts Eagles offensive linemen trucks of Bud Light after his record-breaking campaign

Saquon Barkley did all of the running, but he knows he had some assists during his record-breaking campaign.

During Super Bowl LIX, the Philadelphia Eagles running back set the all-time record for the most rushing yards in a single season, including the playoffs, with 2,504 yards on the ground.

During an appearance this week on “The Tonight Show,” Barkley said that his offensive linemen had to be in attendance — but ahead of their Super Bowl parade, he perhaps gave the best gift of all.

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Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates his touchdown with Lane Johnson as Mekhi Becton looks on during the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Jan. 26. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Barkley gave each of his offensive linemen their own truckload of Bud Light.

Barkley dominated all season, much to New York Giants fans’ chagrin. After the Giants opted to move on from him, he became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards during the regular season. Had he not rested in Week 18, he very well could have broken former running back Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy during the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship parade on Friday. (Damian Giletto/Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA ASKS EAGLES FANS TO ‘CELEBRATE RESPONSIBLY’ AT PARADE AFTER SLEW OF CHAOTIC TURNS

The superstar running back joined the Eagles on a three-year deal this past offseason, and it’s proving to be perhaps their best move in recent memory. Out of his 20 games played, he rushed for 100-plus yards 12 times and eclipsed the 200-yard mark twice.

His regular season earned him Offensive Player of the Year honors — it was the first time that running backs earned the award in back-to-back seasons since 2005 and 2006, when Shaun Alexander and LaDanian Tomlinson won the hardware, respectively (Christian McCaffrey won it last year).

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Sunday. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

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Barkley ran for only 57 yards in the Super Bowl on Sunday, a rare bright spot for the Kansas City Chiefs — but he’s the one who came out with the Lombardi Trophy.

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February 14, 2025
LARRY KUDLOW: Sheriff Pam Bondi is making New York great again

‘Kudlow’ host Larry Kudlow gives his take on Attorney General Pam Bondi’s promise to crack down on illegal immigration and end the weaponization of government.

After just a couple of days of being sworn in as Attorney General, Pam Bondi is laying the law down, especially on illegal immigration. And especially on illegal immigration in New York.

All New Yorkers — in the city, the suburbs, and upstate — should be cheering her on for making the Empire State a safer and more decent place to live.

Here’s what she had to say:

This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and angel moms… New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today – as you know, we sued Illinois, and New York didn’t listen. So now, you’re next.

– Attorney General Pam Bondi, February 12

And our new Sheriff Bondi is going after something called New York’s Green Light Law, which allows illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses and stops the Department of Motor Vehicles from telling ICE.

So, Bondi sued all the New York Trump Derangement Syndrome operatives, including so-called Attorney General Letitia James and so-called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

And, just for the heck of it, Bondi threw in the DMV commissioner, who no one has ever even heard of.

The point here is that the new Trump Justice Department is busting through sanctuary cities and states, left and right. Bondi has already hit Illinois, and now she’s hitting New York.

And, of course, the far-left James-Bragg left-wing Soviet-like cabal deserves everything they get for their attempted weaponization jihad against President Donald Trump, where they tried to throw him in jail for 700 years, take all his businesses away, and bankrupt him.

All of that was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in history.

Whether or not AG Bondi had that in mind we’ll never know, but bravo to her for correctly arguing that federal law supersedes state and local law. And giving Tom Homan and his ICE brigade the right to capture and deport the murderers and rapists who have broken the law.

There’s no escape for them under the new Trump-appointed sheriffs. And these local yokel New York officials can whine as much as they want, but the voters’ tide has turned against them.

And then we come to the case of Mayor Eric Adams, whose biggest crime during the Biden years was to begin cooperating with federal officials to stop the flood of illegals coming into the Red Apple. So the Bidens weaponized the legal system against him.

A phony indictment from Biden’s Justice Department tried to lay him out, basically for doing nothing more than taking a couple of first-class airplane seat upgrades and helping a foreign embassy get a faster repair job.

The Trump-Bondi Justice Department dropped the indictment against Mayor Adams. And now you have a couple of Assistant U.S. Attorneys screaming like banshees, with highly visible resignation letters that no one really cares about.

Left-wing news outlets are telling us how brilliant these former prosecutors are, but, if so, they’re only book-smart or pedigree-smart.

They are not street-smart, with no common sense at all, because Adams is cooperating with Bondi and Homan to get the illegals out of New York and make New York safe again, even reopening ICE facilities on Rikers Island.

You could say the new Trump sheriffs are now weaponizing justice in favor of Mayor Adams — but so that he can fight migrant crime and get rid of illegals.

I’m calling this good weaponization. High moral ground weaponization. Law and order, safety weaponization.

And because of his good works, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is being mentioned as a possible Republican Mayor Eric Adams.

Stay tuned for more on that.

February 14, 2025
Rubio greenlights waivers to Mexican border security, anti-fentanyl efforts

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is using waivers to keep programs in Mexico and related to border security and anti-fentanyl efforts going amid a federal funding freeze – as he seeks to put pressure on Mexico to increase its efforts.

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital on Friday that Rubio has been granting waivers to the administration-wide pause on federal funding for efforts under the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Program.

The INL program provides aid to border security agencies in other countries that could pose a threat to the U.S. if narcotics production, organized crime and terrorist activity are allowed to flourish.

MEXICAN TROOPS BEGIN ARRIVING AT US-MEXICO BORDER FOLLOWING DEAL MADE TO PAUSE TRUMP-APPROVED TARIFFS

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader at the National Palace in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

“INL programs aim to reduce the entry of illegal drugs into the United States and minimize the impact of international crime on the United States and its citizens,” the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website says. That includes programs that target fentanyl smuggling. Illicit fentanyl, which can be fatal in tiny doses, is typically made in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico land border. Fentanyl overdoses kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Rubio recently completed a tour of Latin America, where he secured a number of commitments from foreign governments in terms of border security. The official said that INL programming has been coming back online in those countries since that trip.

Reuters reported on Thursday that INL programming in Mexico had been halted, including programs that train Mexican authorities to find and destroy fentanyl labs and to stop precursor chemicals entering Mexico. But the State Department official disputed that, telling Fox News Digital that some Mexican programming has already been granted waivers. Specifically, there has been $5.2M in waivers approved to date for Mexico, with an additional $2.5 million pending resubmission.

They said those waivers included funding for law enforcement in Mexico that has supported the extradition of transnational criminal organization members to the U.S. who have exported fentanyl and smuggled migrants into the U.S. Other programs include a wire intercept program and programs that assist with drug trafficking investigations of cartel members.

MEXICO AGREES TO DEPLOY 10,000 TROOPS TO US BORDER IN EXCHANGE FOR TARIFF PAUSE

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a press conference at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Mexico January 8, 2025. REUTERS/Henry Romero (REUTERS)

The official said that announcements of those waivers have not been forthcoming because Rubio is planning on visiting Mexico and is hoping to secure additional commitments from Mexico on border security.

“A new administration in the US has taken office, and we need increased commitments on the part of Mexico to assure us that they’re serious when it comes to stopping the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs,” the official said.

The official said there have been some waivers so far because the U.S. wants to show it is a reliable partner, but other programs are being reviewed and “we don’t want to turn them on yet until we know that our Mexican counterparts are going to promise various actions in return.”

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One of the areas that the U.S. wishes to see further action on is the rejection of INL assistance by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who the U.S. previously said had refused to participate in a U.S. program to train and equip Mexican police. The new Sheinbaum administration has now approved part of that assistance, officials say, but has not approved the rest, or eliminated an approval system that caused the blockage. Officials believe Rubio’s visit will confirm Mexico’s commitment and that the announcement of resumption of more INL funding will follow.

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The push comes amid a migration-focused start by the Trump administration and the State Department. The administration has secured a number of border-related commitments from Mexico and Canada, as well as promises to accept migrants being returned from Venezuela and Colombia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 14, 2025
Saquon Barkley spots Eagles ball boy in parade crowd, lifts him over barricades to join the action

The City of Brotherly Love hosted its second Super Bowl victory parade Friday.

A huge contingent of Philadelphia Eagles fans gathered along the parade route that stretched down Broad Street, the city’s famous thoroughfare.

Eagles players, coaches and executives, gathered atop floats and waved to supporters. Some players, including Saquon Barkley, opted for closer interactions with the fans at certain points of the parade.

As Barkley walked along the street, he spotted the team’s ball boy.

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Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, center, holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy during the Eagles’ Super Bowl championship parade Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Damian Giletto/Delaware News Journal/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

After greeting the ball boy, Barkley used a bear hug to help him get over a barricade and onto the parade route.

Barkley also helped create another memorable moment during the celebration when he took notice of a sign that said, “Today is my 3rd birthday. Go Birds!”

AJ BROWN BRINGS LOMBARDI TROPHY TO YOUNG EAGLES FAN RECOVERING IN HOSPITAL AFTER PHILADELPHIA PLANE CRASH

Barkley took a moment to take pictures with the young fan as he held her sign. The interaction appeared to leave the 3-year-old’s father in a state of shock.

“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” he said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Barkley had a memorable first season with the Eagles. After experiencing limited postseason success during his six-year run with the New York Giants, Barkley signed with Philadelphia in the offseason.

People take part in the Philadelphia Eagles’ victory parade Feb. 14, 2025, in Philadelphia after they won the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

He ran for a career-high 2,005 yards in the regular season, adding 499 yards on the ground in the postseason during the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl title.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley smiles after the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Barkley was mostly contained during the Eagles’ 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, finishing with 57 rushing yards.

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Barkley also celebrated his birthday on Super Bowl Sunday and reportedly proposed to girlfriend Anna Congdon before the game.

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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

February 14, 2025
Border czar Homan, AOC clash over webinar on ICE

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on Friday clashed with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over a webinar she hosted advising migrants about how to handle an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Let’s pray that she is not ‘educating’ the next murderer of a young college nursing student on how to evade arrest by ICE,” Homan told Fox News Digital on Friday. “How many more young women have to be raped, murdered and burned alive until she wakes up?”

Homan had first said on “The Ingraham Angle” that he had emailed the deputy attorney general asking whether Ocasio-Cortez’s hosting of a “Know Your Rights with ICE” event on her Facebook page could count as an impediment to federal law enforcement.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS SKYROCKET UNDER TRUMP ICE COMPARED TO BIDEN LEVELS LAST YEAR

Border czar Tom Homan and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (Getty)

“Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts?” Homan said. “If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So I’m working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be going to be in trouble now.”

During the event, viewers were informed of how to deal with ICE search requests. Migrants were also warned of “ruses” they allege ICE agents employ to get people to comply with searches, while the hosts also touted “trends” in how ICE conducts its searches, which have ramped up in recent weeks under the Trump administration. People were also recommended to record such searches and how to differentiate between different warrants ICE agents are likely to carry.

Ocasio-Cortez did not take part in the webinar but did upload tips to Instagram — via posters in both English and Spanish — and called on her followers to share the posters widely and study them. She also called on her followers to print out the posters and “tape them up in your workplace or keep them by your door.”

“So if ICE comes to your workplace or home, whether you are a citizen or noncitizen – YOU can defend your community and our constitution by exercising your right,” she wrote.

On Thursday, Ocasio-Cortez took to X to mock Homan for suggesting she could be in trouble.

“MaYbe shE’s goiNg to be in TroUble nOw,” she posted.

“Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start,” she said.

AOC’S OFFICE ADVISES MIGRANTS ON HOW TO AVOID DEPORTATIONS IN LIVE WEBINAR

A screenshot from the webinar. (Facebook)

In comments to Fox News Digital, Homan said that he was asking the Justice Department for their interpretation of the law regarding impeding and obstruction, and that he is “well aware of the Constitution, but I am also aware that DOJ gives legal interpretations on issues like this to ensure ICE acts in accordance of the law.”

He then suggested Ocasio-Cortez read Title 8 USC 1324 and 8 USC 1325, “statutes enacted by Congress, of which she is a part of.”

“It’s not OK to be in the U.S. illegally. It’s a violation of federal law to enter this country illegally. It is not OK to assist those in the U.S. illegally in furtherance of their illegal entry and unlawful presence. I thought I educated her on this several years ago during congressional testimony.,” he said, referencing a viral clash from the first Trump administration at a congressional hearing.

“She can call it ‘advising those who are illegally in the U.S. of their constitutional rights.’ But we all know it’s really about evading ICE and how not to get arrested and how not to adhere to a federal judge’s order to leave after receiving due process at great taxpayer expense,” he said.

“So if ICE comes to your workplace or home, whether you are a citizen or noncitizen – YOU can defend your community and our constitution by exercising your right,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. (Getty Images)

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“She obviously believes that we should not enforce laws enacted by Congress. By working against ICE, she is putting those that committed a crime entering this country illegally and those that committed asylum fraud and those who ignored a federal court order of deportation over those that enforce our laws and risk their lives every day trying to keep our communities safe.”

Ocasio-Cortez responded, telling Fox News Digital: “I am glad Mr. Homan is checking with the Department of Justice to familiarize himself with the limits of his agency’s authority in entering the homes of everyday Americans without a warrant. And I am proud to offer civil education to everyday Americans to ensure ICE’s compliance with the law, given the numerous reports of agents providing incorrect paperwork in their attempts to enter and search private homes.”

“Since Mr. Homan seems to be vaguely familiar with U.S. immigration law, we also remind him that according to Congressional statute, becoming undocumented in the United States is a civil offense and not a criminal one. I look forward to continuing our work in ensuring the safety of everyday New Yorkers while keeping families together,” she said.

The clash comes as many left-wing Democrats continue to raise objections to the mass deportation operation launched by the Trump administration. However, some Democrats have also expressed support, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams meeting with Homan on Thursday and agreeing to let ICE agents on to Rikers Island. While New York City is a “sanctuary” city, Adams has expressed openness to deporting criminal illegal immigrants.

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Fox News Digital reported earlier on Friday that ICE interior arrests have skyrocketed under the Trump administration compared to the same period during the Biden administration last year, with a 137% increase over last year. Arrests of aliens with criminal histories have soared by nearly 100% from 4,526 in the same period in 2024 to 8,993 under Trump this year.

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

February 14, 2025
Trump performs jiu-jitsu flip on judge’s order, sends Guantanamo rejects back to Venezuela

The Trump administration sent three illegal immigrants back to their home country of Venezuela in response to a judge’s decision blocking them from being sent to Guantánamo Bay as part of a continued crack-down on illegal immigration.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales of New Mexico issued a memo Friday announcing the court had vacated a March 3 status conference for three Venezuelan migrants just five days after it blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to transfer the migrants to Guantánamo Bay.

Since then, Gonzales said, respondents had filed a Notice of Removal “informing the court that all three petitioners were removed to Venezuela, their home country, on Feb. 10, 2025.”

SKYROCKETING HEALTHCARE BUDGET FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS HAUNTS BLUE STATE TAXPAYERS

The control is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

The Trump administration has vowed to deport millions of the more than 11 million people estimated to be living in the U.S. illegally, including deporting some illegal immigrants to the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay.

Trump has claimed the individuals deported to Guantánamo are “highly dangerous criminal aliens.”

But that notion has been sharply disputed by some immigration advocates.

Lawyers for the Venezuelan immigrants argued in a court filing last week that their clients “fit the profile” of individuals that they allege the Trump administration “has prioritized for detention in Guantánamo,” “i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”

ICE ARRESTS HOMELESS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO ASKED TO BE DETAINED OR ELSE HE WOULD ‘GO OUT AND COMMIT CRIMES’

ICE agents are seen arresting 32 illegal aliens in a Palm Beach County, Fla., enforcement action. (ICE)

Judge Gonzales ultimately granted migrants’ request for a temporary restraining order blocking their transfer to Guantánamo, ordering the parties back to court on March 3 for a status conference.

In response, the administration appears to have taken the matter into its own hands.

The motion to vacate did not expand upon the situation at hand, noting only that, “[b]ecause Petitioners have now been removed to their home country, it is no longer necessary to hold a status conference” on the previously scheduled date.

“Nor is it necessary for parties to update the Court by February 24, 2025,” Judge Gonzales said. “Thus, the status conference is hereby vacated.”

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The deportation comes less than a month after President Donald Trump signed into law the Laken Riley Act, a bipartisan law that gives authorities broad power to deport illegal immigrants accused of crimes.

Since Trump’s inauguration, White House officials said that the administration has arrested thousands of people in immigration enforcement actions.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.

February 14, 2025
LA Mayor Bass concedes Africa trip was ‘absolutely’ a mistake amid botched wildfire response

Los Angeles’ Democratic Mayor Karen Bass Thursday conceded her Africa trip was “absolutely” a mistake and that she was working to regain the public’s trust after facing backlash for her botched response to the raging fires in her city last month.

“Absolutely it is, and I think that I have to demonstrate that every day by showing what we’re doing, what is working, what are the challenges,” Bass told NBC Los Angeles when asked if she’s trying to “regain confidence.”

The remarks come as Los Angeles faces rainstorms this week, which could create “debris flows” in areas where the fires burned, a landslide risk for what’s left of the disaster that tore through in separate fires in the region. There have already been mudslides in some scarred areas, according to Fox Weather.

LOS ANGELES WILDFIRE CZAR’S $500K PAYCHECK FOR 90 DAYS OF WORK DRAWS SWIFT BLOWBACK, MAYOR REVERSES COURSE

LA Mayor Karen Bass, left, and LA wildfires, right (AP)

Bass was in Ghana for the swearing-in of its president when the fires began, even though there was a high fire risk known at the time. The Palisades Fire started Jan. 7 and escalated through the night, but the mayor did not get back into the city until Jan. 8, and she did not answer repeated questions from a Sky News reporter upon her arrival in the United States.

Bass’ silence went viral and led to backlash from residents and social media.

Water is dropped by helicopter on the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Over 170,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for her to step down as mayor. The situation also resulted in public criticism of the mayor, ranging from former Democratic mayoral opponent Rick Caruso to liberal talk show host Bill Maher.

LA MAYOR KAREN BASS POSED FOR PHOTOS AT A COCKTAIL PARTY AS PALISADES FIRE EXPLODED

“LA’s mayor, Karen Bass, the Nero of American politics, was fiddling in Ghana while the city burned,” Maher said last month.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., suggested that Disney CEO Bob Iger run for mayor in 2026. When pressed on whether she took Khanna’s comments personally, Bass shrugged it off.

“I am focused on one thing and one thing only, and that is to make sure that our city is able to recover and rebuild, and that all of those individuals that lived in the Palisades can go home,” Bass told NBC Los Angeles.

Rick Caruso, a Democratic candidate for Los Angeles mayor, celebrates at his primary night gathering in Los Angeles June 7, 2022, with his family behind him. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

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The nearly 24,000-acre Palisades Fire destroyed over 6,800 buildings, damaged 973 buildings and resulted in 12 deaths, according to state government data.

Political fallout from the fire continues as Steve Soboroff, who’s tasked with recovery efforts, was slated to receive a $500,000 payday for the next three months from different charities. However, he will now be doing the job without pay after the amount raised eyebrows as some Californians build back from nothing.

Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand

February 14, 2025