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Trump signs transgender sports ban. Indiana lawmaker is there for it

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Trump signs transgender sports ban. Indiana lawmaker is there for it


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President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that seeks to keep transgender women and girls from competing in school and college-level sports around the country.

Among those who joined Trump in the East Room of the White House for the signing was Indiana state Rep. Michelle Davis, a Whiteland Republican who authored a state bill banning transgender girls from youth sports.

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In addition, the president thanked Sage Steele, an Indiana University graduate and former ESPN sportscaster for her support on the issue.

Under Trump’s order, federal officials could withhold funding from schools that allow transgender athletes in women’s sports and block transgender athletes from entering the United States for the 2028 Olympics.

“It’s an honor to join President Trump in protecting the integrity of women’s sports,” Davis said in a statement. “As a former athlete and mother, I know firsthand the dedication and sacrifices female athletes make to compete at the highest levels. I have fought for these protections in Indiana and am grateful for the leadership of President Trump at the federal level to ensure a level playing field for women and girls competing in sports across the country.”

Female athletes also attended the ceremony.

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Davis was invited because of her past legislative actions, according to a news release. Her 2022 bill saw protests, legal challenges and a veto from then-Gov. Eric Holcomb that was later overturned by the Indiana General Assembly.

This year, Davis filed new legislation, House Bill 1041, that seeks to expand Indiana’s ban to college sports.

She was first elected to the Indiana House in 2020 and represents portions of Johnson County.

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USA TODAY contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X@CarloniBrittany.



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Indiana University reverses course, allows student newspaper to resume print

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Indiana University reverses course, allows student newspaper to resume print



In a reversal, Indiana University Bloomington Chancellor David Reingold will allow the Indiana Daily Student to resume print editions this semester.


In a letter to the IDS editors, Reingold said he will allow the paper to use its budget through the end of the fiscal year as the editors see fit. He also called for a “reset” with the paper and asked to “affirm what unites us.”

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IDS co-editors-in-chief Andrew Miller and Mia Hilkowitz described it as a win for student media but cautioned the campus community against considering the matter resolved.


“We do want to make sure that we ourselves and our community and our faculty and our alumni and everybody keep the administration here to their word,” Miller said to WFIU/WTIU News. “Thus far, it’s been kind of hard to trust their word, quite honestly.”


“The last time IU had a committee to look at student media, they didn’t fully follow their recommendations,” Hilkowitz said, referring to a recently announced task force on press freedom and the existing student media plan.

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“We would want more confirmation that that’s going to be binding. Also, I’m going to stand by the fact that I think our staff and the faculty and students of the media school deserve an apology.”


The university’s decision to end print editions coincided with it firing the director of student media Jim Rodenbush, who refused to remove news from a planned Homecoming edition at the university’s direction.

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Earlier Thursday,Rodenbush filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Indiana claiming IU violated his First Amendment rights.


Since then, the perception that IU censored its student paper has cost the school at least $1 million in donations and provoked the ire of faculty.


Reingold said the perception that he attempted to censor editorial content was “not grounded in fact.”

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“Indiana University has never attempted to censor editorial content, period,” he wrote. “The IDS is, and remains, editorially independent.”


He did not address the directive given to Rodenbush to remove news from the Homecoming print issue.

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The chancellor admitted the “campus has not handled recent matters as well as we should have. Communication was uneven and timing imperfect.”


He stopped short of an apology, saying that the decision to end print editions was a long-term financial plan to staunch the paper’s nearly $300,000 annual deficit.


The student media plan calls for limiting print to a few special editions per semester, but it also calls for preserving the IDS print product as a “critical learning experience for student media workers.”

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Ethan Sandweiss is a multimedia journalist for WFIU and WTIU.



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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to speak in NW Indiana Thursday

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DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to speak in NW Indiana Thursday


CHICAGO (WLS) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will visit northwest Indiana Thursday.

She’s expected to bring updates on the immigration enforcement that’s happening across the area.

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Secretary Kristi Noem will give an update on recent immigration enforcement deemed “Operation Midway Blitz,” which Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino has called “wildly successful” in an interview with ABC News earlier this week.

She will be joined by Indiana governor Mike Braun in Gary along with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, among others.

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SEE ALSO: Court pauses order requiring CBP Chief Bovino to meet with judge daily on immigration operations

Her visit has been met with some criticism, though, from other local northwest Indiana leaders.

Gary’s Mayor Eddie Melton said his office was not involved with planning the event and is not participating.

Hammond’s Mayor Thomas McDermott also posting on Facebook, criticizing how the press conference was announced.

Counter-protests are expected later Thursday morning.

RELATED | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

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Bovino says nearly 3,000 people have been arrested in the Chicago area, as part of “Midway Blitz.”

The expanded immigration enforcement started in September.

Wednesday night, Governor Pritzker sent a letter to Secretary Noem, requesting a pause in ICE enforcement this weekend in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks and place of worship, so children can safely celebrate Halloween.

The governor referenced an incident in his letter this past weekend in Old Irving Park – in which he says, federal agents reportedly interrupted a children’s Halloween parade and deployed tear gas without warning – on residents peacefully celebrating the holiday.

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Indiana BMV reports another text-related scam impacting Hoosiers

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Indiana BMV reports another text-related scam impacting Hoosiers


INDIANAPOLIS — Officials with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles are warning Indiana residents of a new scam that is being sent to Hoosiers via text.

According to a news release from the Indiana BMV, the scam asks the user for overdue payments over text, including traffic violations or unpaid tolls. The text reportedly “strongly” mimics the BMV’s mobile website and improperly cites Indiana code.

Officials said the messages should be considered fraudulent. The BMV is urging people who receive the message to delete it immediately and not click on any links.

This is not the first time that the Indiana BMV has been the subject of scam texts. According to previous reports, a scam was sent out to some Indiana residents from the “Indiana Department of Vehicles” regarding outstanding traffic tickets in early June.

“We want to make it clear that these messages are not from the Indiana BMV,” the release said. “The BMV does not send SMS text messages about outstanding penalties. In fact, the fees outlined in the messages are not ones that the agency actually collects.”

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For a list of known BMV-related scams, click here.



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