LANSING, Mich - Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," which prohibits transgender women and girls from participating in female sports at educational institutions across the United States.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association said they will not follow Trump’s order at this time.

“The MHSAA is awaiting further guidance as to potential conflicts between yesterday’s executive order and Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,” said MHSAA spokesperson Geoff Kimmerly said in a statement to Dave Bondy Keeping it Real.

Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA), first enacted in 1976, protects residents from discrimination in employment, housing, education, and public services. Originally covering categories such as race, religion, sex, and age, the law was significantly expanded in 2023 to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. This change modernized the law supporters say, ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals in Michigan are now explicitly safeguarded against discrimination in workplaces, housing, and public spaces.

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Trump’s order mandates that federal agencies enforce Title IX based on gender assigned at birth and threatens to withdraw federal funding from schools and universities that allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. Additionally, it directs the Department of State to advocate for similar policies internationally and to press the International Olympic Committee to exclude transgender women from female sporting events.

I interviewed Monica Yatoom from the Great Education Initiative who discussed the possibility that Michigan schools may not comply with President Trump’s executive action.

Click here to watch interview.

NCAA President Charlie Baker responded to the executive order in a statement, saying it provided a "clear, national standard."

Baker said the NCAA Board of Governors would review it and take steps to align the organization’s policy in the coming days.

The NCAA is an organization made up of 1,100 colleges and universities in all 50 states that collectively enroll more than 530,000 student-athletes," the statement said. "We strongly believe that clear, consistent and uniform eligibility standards would best serve today's student-athletes instead of a patchwork of conflicting state laws and court decisions. To that end, President Trump's order provides a clear, national standard.

"The NCAA Board of Governors is reviewing the executive order and will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration. The Association will continue to help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes. We stand ready to assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy."

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WASHINGTON D.C. - Newly-sworn in U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has gotten straight to work on her first day by directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities,” according to a Wednesday report.

Bondi’s day one directives, obtained by Fox News, showed a heavy focus on countering illegal immigration and drug cartels, as she also ordered the DOJ to evaluate funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that support illegal migrants.

The former Florida attorney general, nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the DOJ immediately after he won the November election, was confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday and sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Wednesday morning, Breitbart News reported.

In her first-day directives, Bondi reportedly added that Joint Task Force Vulcan, a coordinated effort between government agencies to dismantle MS-13, and Joint Task Force Alpha, created to fight human trafficking, would be “further empowered and elevated” to the Office of the Attorney General. Click here to read more.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting women’s sports from the incursion of transgender athletes.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And it should have been done long ago.”

The president signed the order in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by dozens of excited girls and young women who were there to witness the signing.

The order contains several measures, the first of which is to re-write federal Title IX education rules to withhold federal funds from schools that allow transgender athletes to play as females.

Another aspect of the order would charge the Department of Homeland Security with the task of denying visas to foreign trans athletes who want to enter the U.S. to compete among women. Click here to read more.

 

LANSING, Mich - Michigan’s reading and math scores failed to return to pre-lockdown levels, according to the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress. With only six states trailing Michigan in fourth-grade grade reading, it’s time for lawmakers to consider bold solutions to this growing education crisis.

Michigan ranked 44th among the states in fourth-grade reading on the 2024 NAEP, also known as The Nation’s Report Card. Eighth graders didn’t fare much better; they landed at 33rd on the reading test and 31st on the math test, right behind Missouri and Hawaii, respectively. And students got lower scores on these tests than they did on the previous NAEP, administered in 2022.

The fourth-grade math results were slightly better. These improved by three points, leaving them two points below the national average. This score placed Michigan at 34th in the nation. Click here to read more.

 

WASHINGTON D.C. - The executive branch will stop spending money on Politico subscriptions after paying millions of dollars to the news outlet last year, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Wednesday.

• "I was made aware of the funding of USAID to media outlets, including Politico ... And I can confirm that the more than eight million taxpayer dollars that have gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayer's dime will no longer be happening," Leavitt said. "The DOGE team is working on canceling those payments now."

• 'This is a whole of government effort to ensure that we are going line by line when it comes to the federal government's books."

Why it matters: It's an easy political lever for the Trump administration to pull to undermine media without facing legal or regulatory hurdles.

• Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations — like The New York Times, AP and Reuters — for products and subscriptions. Look for those organizations to be in the hot seat next. Click here to learn more.

 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released the unedited interview and transcript of Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election at the centerpiece of a complaint brought by President Donald Trump.

Trump’s team says 60 Minutes deceptively spliced the interview to benefit the Harris campaign. Click here to watch the entire video

In a stunning revelation that has sent shockwaves through the political and media landscapes, Politico, a prominent news organization known for its political journalism, finds itself at the center of a massive scandal involving government funding and accusations of editorial bias.

According to reports circulating on social media and several news outlets, Politico has allegedly received millions in taxpayer money from various U.S. government agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Posts on X have highlighted that Politico received approximately $34.3 million from federal sources, with a significant portion coming from USAID. This funding was supposedly for subscriptions, among other expenditures, which has raised questions about the outlet's independence and objectivity in its reporting.

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The specifics of these financial relationships were first brought to light by investigative journalism on platforms like RedState, which detailed how USAID paid substantial sums for what appears to be an inflated number of Politico subscriptions for government officials. The most egregious example cited is a payment of $443,998 for just 37 subscriptions to Politico for FDA officials, casting doubt on the actual cost and purpose of these subscriptions.

This scandal takes on a deeper significance given Politico's role in covering federal agencies, including USAID, without disclosing these financial ties. The lack of transparency has led to accusations that Politico might have been influenced in its editorial decisions, potentially skewing its coverage to favor certain political narratives or parties.

Adding fuel to the fire, former Politico reporters have come forward with allegations of editorial suppression. Marc Caputo and Tara Palmeri have claimed that during their tenure, stories critical of Joe Biden, particularly those related to Hunter Biden and the infamous Biden laptop, were quashed. These allegations suggest an internal directive from the top echelons of Politico to avoid or delay coverage that might negatively impact the Biden administration or family.

The broader context of this scandal also involves Politico's ownership by Axel Springer, a German media conglomerate with its own history of mixing journalism with conservative politics, which contrasts with Politico's stated commitment to neutral reporting. This has led to discussions about the influence of ownership on editorial direction and the ethical implications for journalistic integrity.

The financial and editorial controversies come at a time when Politico has also faced operational issues, with reports on X indicating that employees missed a pay period, signaling a possible crisis within the organization. The convergence of these events paints a picture of an institution under severe scrutiny, both internally and from the public eye.

Politico has yet to issue a comprehensive response to these allegations, but the implications for press freedom, journalistic ethics, and transparency in media funding are profound. This scandal could lead to a reevaluation of how news organizations disclose their sources of funding, particularly when reporting on entities that contribute to their revenue.

As the story develops, it remains to be seen how Politico will address these serious accusations and what measures might be taken to restore public trust in the media landscape. The conversation has already moved to broader debates about the influence of government funding on editorial content and the need for stricter regulations or disclosures to maintain the integrity of journalism in democratic societies.