Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Based

Nike unveils Caitlin Clark billboard in city where Angel Reese’s team is based, inciting mockery from fans

The Caitlin Clark marketing machine has expanded into enemy territory.

Nike unveiled its latest Clark billboard in Chicago this week at 157 W. Chicago Ave. The billboard is 3½ miles away from Wintrust Arena, home to the Chicago Sky and Clark’s rival, Angel Reese.

The placement of the billboard, taking up real estate in Reese’s city, sparked reaction from fans on social media due to the contentious history between the players.

Many of Clark’s fans have used the new billboard as an opportunity to mock Reese.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Clark and Reese have been linked to one another since they first met in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship. Reese mocked Clark at the end of that game when her LSU Tigers defeated Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes for the title, pointing to her finger in a taunting fashion to remind her who was getting a ring.

This sparked outrage from Clark’s fan base, including Bartstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who called Reese “a piece of s—” in a widely circulated X post after Reese’s gesture in the championship game.

XX-XY ATHLETICS LOOKS TO REDEFINE MAINSTREAM IN 2025, EYEING WOMEN’S SPORTS STARS AND HIT VIRAL ADS

Caitlin Clark (22) of the Indiana Fever and Angel Reese (5) of the Chicago Sky during a game June 1, 2024, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

They carried their rivalry into the pros this year. Their four matchups included a series of controversial flagrant fouls against Clark by Reese and other Sky players. Reese smacked Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a shot in their first WNBA meeting June 1.

One of Reese’s teammates, Diamond DeShields, posted screenshots of hateful comments she got after knocking Clark to the floor in their last meeting of the season Aug. 30.

Clark and Reese have never acknowledged there is a feud between them. They’ve only made respectful comments about one another to the media. But the fans are a different story. The two groups have been notorious for attacking one another and the two players on social media since the 2023 NCAA championship game.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Reese has said Clark’s fans have sent her death threats and made explicit AI images of her and sent them to her family.

“I think it’s really just the fans, her fans, the Iowa fans, now the Indiana fans, that are really just, they ride for her, and I respect that, respectfully. But sometimes it’s very disrespectful. I think there’s a lot of racism when it comes to it,” Reese said in the first episode of her podcast Sept. 5.

Now, Clark has notched an off-the-court win in the rivalry with her new billboard.

LSU’s Angel Reese reacts in front of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark during the second half of the NCAA national championship game April 2, 2023, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

In April 2024, Caitlin Clark signed an eight-year, $28 million endorsement deal with Nike. The deal includes a signature shoe and is the most lucrative shoe deal in women’s basketball history.

The new billboard is a continuation of Nike’s advertising campaign it launched with its first Super Bowl ad in 27 years Sunday.

The one-minute “So Win” spot is an all-female commercial that celebrates nine high-profile women athletes, including Clark, Jordan Chiles, Sha’Carri Richardson, JuJu Watkins and A’ja Wilson.

However, the campaign has also drawn criticism. Critics were quick to call out Nike for its company stance supporting transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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
Trans lawsuit lobbed against Trump admin based on ‘faulty interpretations’: Legal expert

As LGBT advocates and medical organizations challenge the Trump administration’s ban on transgender treatments for minors, legal expert Sarah Marshall Perry of the Heritage Foundation warns that this lawsuit is just the “tip of the iceberg,” driven by “faulty interpretations,” with more legal battles expected in the coming months.

“This is a $5 billion a year industry,” Perry said. “I would not expect what I like to call the gender ghouls to go quietly into that good night, they are going to suddenly be faced with a devastating reckoning on exactly where their bottom line lies.”

“If they want to fight for private insurance coverage through Cigna or Blue Cross Blue Shield, that’s entirely their prerogative,” Perry said, adding that these companies have “very big lobbying presences” to pursue coverage through private insurers.

LGBTQ+ ADVOCATES, FAMILIES SUE TRUMP ADMIN FOR ENDING FUNDING OF TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE UNDER 19

LGBT advocates and medical organizations sued the Trump administration over his executive order barring federal funds from going toward trans surgeries for those under the age of 19. (Getty Images)

“There is a reason that this type of so-called medical care proliferated, and that’s because they had governmental cover,” she said.

The lawsuit was filed in Baltimore federal court and seeks an immediate injunction to delay the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order from last week.

“Over the past week, hospitals across the country have abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under nineteen, canceling appointments and turning away some patients who have waited years to receive medically necessary care for gender dysphoria,” the lawsuit reads.

“This sudden shutdown in care was the direct and immediate result of an Executive Order that President Trump issued on January 28, 2025 — Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation — directing all federal agencies to ‘immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end gender-affirming medical care for people under nineteen (the ‘Denial of Care Order’).”

The group of plaintiffs claims executive orders are unlawful and unconstitutional, saying the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down a ruling by the end of June on a challenge to a Tennessee state law banning gender transitions for minors. (Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images | AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

However, Perry argued that existing federal coverage for gender-related procedures for minors stems from a misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, a decision that several federal courts have since ruled does not support such policies.

“Remember that we’re dealing with the vestiges of an administration that was all in on gender identitarianism and was manipulating federal case law to be able to push through policies that have already been struck down,” Perry said. “I think the President is acting wisely in an anticipatory stance to make sure that the federal funding cap is turned off, while we can get some of these challenges through court and determine whether or not, first, if there is a parental right to these particularly controversial procedures.”

She said that a federal judge already ruled against former President Joe Biden’s re-interpretation of Title IX, referring to U.S. District Court Chief Judge Danny Reeves vacating the regulation in January, in which the previous administration had expanded sex discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity.

Reeves ruled that Biden’s expansion contradicted the original intent of Title IX, stating that incorporating gender identity into the statute “eviscerates the statute and renders it largely meaningless.”

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in a case on transgender health rights on Dec. 4, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Perry noted that various federal statutes, including the Affordable Care Act’s anti-discrimination provisions, were “manipulated” by the previous administration to advance gender identity policies and noted that courts have increasingly pushed back against these interpretations.

“I think he is rightly acting in an anticipatory fashion,” Perry said of Trump. “He is the chief enforcer of the law, and he has drawn a line in the sand, saying we’re going to cut the tap off until we find a way to get clarity on this, but in the meantime, we are not going to continue to fund the things that we know have catastrophic, devastating effects on minor kids.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The lawsuit is the latest addition to those suing Trump over his gender-related executive orders.

The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct.

A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital they do not comment on pending litigation. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to weed out “radical gender ideology” as one of his key administrative focuses.

The Supreme Court will also rule on a major case this term about a Tennessee law that will determine whether gender transition procedures can be banned for minors.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 5, 2025
GOP lawmaker rolls out MERIT Act to restructure federal workforce based on private sector model

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Barry Loudermilk rolled out a measure Thursday that would reform and restructure the federal workforce by focusing on hiring and retaining officials on a merit basis, modeling employee dismissal with that of the private sector, Fox News Digital has learned.

Loudermilk, R-Ga., re-introduced the Modern Employment Reform, Improvement and Transformation (MERIT) Act on Thursday in an effort to hold “inefficient, corrupt government bureaucrats accountable.”

WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY

The rollout comes after President Donald Trump signed several Day One executive actions focused on reforming the federal workforce.

“Over the past four years, most Americans feared the federal government and its ability to unjustly wield power and have become tired of funding the fraud, waste, and abuse within our bloated federal bureaucracy,” Loudermilk told Fox News Digital. “With President Trump back in office, and the passage of my MERIT Act, Americans will have a government they can be proud of again, not one they fear and distrust.”

Loudermilk says he intends to “return our government to one that works for the people, not one that works for self-interests or political agendas.”

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairs the House Administration Committee Subcommittee on Oversight hearing on “Oversight of the U.S. Capitol Police Office of Inspector General” on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. (Getty Images )

The bill would address misconduct and poor performance by repealing the Chapter 43 special process for action against poor performers and bad actors, which Loudermilk said is “unnecessarily time-consuming,” and instead, streamlines the Chapter 75 process for removal or suspension of employees and supervisors.

The bill also permits agencies to remove a senior executive from the civil service for performance reasons, rather than merely demoting the individual to a non-Senior Executive Service (SES) position.

The MERIT Act also authorizes agencies to order recoupment of bonuses and awards when performance or conduct issues are discovered and it is determined the bonus or award would not have been paid had those issues been known at the time.

The bill also affects the retirement benefits of employees who are removed based on a felony conviction for actions taken in furtherance of official duties. The period of service during which the felonious activities occurred will be eliminated for purposes of any annuity computation under the bill.

“The reforming of the federal government must begin with a dedicated, efficient, and committed workforce, which is why the MERIT Act is an essential step in fixing our broken system,” Loudermilk said. “Our federal employment system should reward hard work and dedication; however, the current federal employment code protects poor performers and corruption.”

President Trump gives his second presidential inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2024. (Fox News)

Loudermilk said he has been working on the bill for “several years” and that “now is the time to reform our outdated system.”

“MERIT would create a more efficient and effective government that works for the benefit of the American people,” he said. “It would restructure the federal employment code by modeling employee dismissal with that of the private sector, and lessen the time it takes to root out misconduct and poor performers.”

TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

Loudermilk told Fox News Digital he is “encouraged” that Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will “complement MERIT.”

“I look forward to working with them and my colleagues to get it passed in the U.S. House,” Loudermilk said.

The bill’s original co-sponsors are Reps. Buddy Carter, Mike Collins, Erin Houchin, Burgess Owens, Anna Paulina Luna, Scott Franklin, Dan Webster, Tracy Mann, Dan Meuser, Brian Babin, Claudia Tenney, Jim Baird, Greg Steube and Tim Burchett.

TRUMP TO TAKE MORE THAN 200 EXECUTIVE ACTIONS ON DAY 1

The rollout of the legislation comes as Trump has already taken steps to reform the workforce during his first week in office.

Trump directed all agencies and departments to close their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) offices by Wednesday evening and place all DEI office employees on paid administrative leave.

Trump issued two other executive actions on Tuesday targeting DEI: An executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI, and a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

By the end of the day Friday, Trump ordered all agency and department heads to notify their workforce of a return to in-person, in-office work. The White House has recommended a target return-to-work start date for 30 days from the original notice.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

January 23, 2025
Astrologer Reveals Which Form of Lord Ganesh to Bring Home Based on Your Zodiac Sign
Home

Astrology

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024: Astrologer Reveals Which Form of Lord Ganesh to Bring Home Based on Your Zodiac Sign
Ganesh Chaturthi is here and expert reveals which for form of Bappa to bring home according to your individual zodiac sign.

Type of Lord Ganesh form to bring home as per your zodiac (Freepik)

Ganesh Chaturthi marks the birth of Lord Ganesha. ‘Vighnaharta,’ ‘Bappa’, the god is venerated by multiple names. It is one of the most holy festivals of Hindus. This year the celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi shall commence from September 7. There are multiple forms and styles of Lord Ganesh that holds different significant. During Ganesh Chaturthi, several devotees bring idols of Ganesh to their homes. Astrologer reveals which form of Ganesha may match the energy of each zodiac sign

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Special: Which Form of Bappa to Bring As Per Your Zodiac?
1. Aries – Vakratunda Ganesha: Aries is always eager to lead; she is dynamic and active. Aries’ brazen character speaks to Vakratunda Ganesha, who is renowned for tenacious overcoming of challenges. This form enables Aries avoid impulsiveness and properly direct their hot energy output. By encouraging strategic thinking and patience, meditating on Vakratunda will enable Aries succeed without rushing.
2. Taurus – Mahaganapati: Grounded and focused on stability, Taurus speaks to Mahaganapati, the great ruler of abundance. In line with Taurus’s need for comfort and security, Mahaganapati is connected with wealth and financial well-being. By use of this form of Ganesha, Taurus can balance their financial needs with spiritual happiness, therefore fostering inner calm and thanksgiving.
3. Gemini – Ucchhishta Ganapati: Gemini’s intellectual curiosity and passion of communication fit the lord of creative knowledge, Ucchhishta Ganapati. Gemini is inspired by this kind of Ganesha to venture outside traditional lines and investigate fresh concepts. By means of Ucchhishta Ganapati, Gemini might discover concentrate among their several activities, so improving clarity in communication and intellectual development.
4. Cancer – Heramba Ganesha: Heramba Ganesha, the kind protector, is the perfect fit since cancer is both protective and encouraging. Heramba, shown with five heads, speaks to Cancer’s compassion by providing strength and protection to people in need. Heramba Ganesha meditation helps Cancer to set emotional limits and support loved ones, therefore promoting both self-care and empathy.
5. Leo – Simha Ganesha: Leo’s royal and magnetic force fits Simha Ganesha, the lion-headed incarnation of Lord Ganesha. Simha Ganesha, who stands for bravery and leadership, lets Leo excel as a leader while yet keeping humility. By means of meditation on this form, Leo develops his confidence and sense of direction, therefore enabling him to lead with compassion and wisdom rather than ego.
6. Virgo – Siddhi Vinayaka: Siddhi Vinayaka, the form linked with accomplishment and achievement via dedication, might relate to Virgo’s precise and goal-oriented character. While motivating Virgo to let go of too much perfectionism, Siddhi Vinayaka supports them in following their aspirations. Meditating on this form helps Virgo keep harmony between their spiritual fulfilment and critical thinking.
7. Libra – Vigneshwara: Libra, always looking for harmony and balance, speaks to Vigneshwara, the remover of challenges. Vigneshwara guides Libra through disputes and into personal balance. Meditating on this form helps Libra to discover inner peace and promote diplomacy and inner tranquilly by means of which harmony in their relationships may be created.
8. Scorpio – Kshipra Ganapati: Renowned for their intensity and metamorphosis, Scorpio fits Kshipra Ganapati, the fast acting form of Ganesha. Promoting change and rebirth, Kshipra Ganapati helps Scorpio move quickly over emotional and personal obstacles. Meditating on this shape helps one to recover emotionally and to muster the confidence to welcome change.
9. Sagittarius – Dhumraketu Ganesha: Dhumraketu Ganesha, the form connected with wisdom and transformation, speaks to Sagittarius, the adventurer and knowledge seeker. Dhumraketu motivates Sagittarians to investigate spiritual truths and accept fresh ideas. Meditating on this form promotes development and enables Sagittarius to negotiate the uncertainties of life with understanding and hope.
10. Capricorn – Dhundhi Ganapati: Capricorn, orderly and aspirational, fits the tenacious search of truth undertaken by Dhundhi Ganapati. Offering knowledge and resilience, Dhundhi Ganapati helps Capricorn to remain focused on their long-term objectives. Meditating on this form helps Capricorn to overcome challenges by means of persistence and will.
11. Aquarius – Gajaanana Ganesha: Visionary and humanitarian Aquarius connects with the elephant-faced lord of knowledge and creativity, Gajaanana Ganesha. Gajaanana motivates Aquarius to be creative and pursue the common good. While keeping their humanitarian vision, meditating on this form helps Aquarians root their ideals in useful reality.
12. Pisces – Ekadanta Ganesha: Pisces, with their sensitive and sympathetic nature, fit Ekadanta Ganesha, the one-tusked lord signifying sacrifice and concentration. Ekadanta guides Pisces toward spiritual development by means of creative and sympathetic channeling. Meditating on this shape helps Pisces to achieve harmony between their dreams and reality, therefore promoting inner serenity and compassion.
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

(With Inputs from expert Sidhharrth S Kumaar)
December 31, 2024