Midwest

Supreme Court declines Indiana school's appeal on transgender bathroom order

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2024

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Supreme Court declines Indiana school's appeal on transgender bathroom order

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an Indiana public school district’s request to defend a policy that restricted bathroom access by sex.

The justices declined to hear an appeal by the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville after a lower court ruled that a middle school’s policy, which barred transgender students from using facilities like bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their self-professed gender identity, violated students’ constitutional rights and ran afoul of federal anti-discrimination law.

Attorneys for the school district had asked the court to “preserve the autonomy of school boards to make decisions.”

A 2023 ruling by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a student, identified in court papers as “A.C.,” is protected under a law called Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in education, and by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment requirement that people be protected equally under the law.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT BACKS FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT THAT BLOCKED TRANSGENDER STUDENT FROM USING BOYS BATHROOM

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an Indiana public school district’s request to defend a policy that restricted bathroom access by sex. (Reuters/Jonathan Ernst/File)

The Supreme Court did not issue a comment on its decision. The high court has in recent years mostly dodged controversial cases involving transgender rights.

A spokesperson for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, who supported the school district’s lawsuit, criticized the Supreme Court for refusing to weigh in.

“The Supreme Court did not take a necessary opportunity to provide clarity, particularly with such a split among the appellate courts on this issue. It makes little sense for SCOTUS not to resolve the difference in federal cases — but because of this split — children in other parts of this country will be properly protected,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Unfortunately for now, our schools will be forced to allow transgender students to use whichever bathroom they feel corresponds to the gender identity they’ve picked to use on that day. We will continue our fight so regular, common-sense Hoosier parents can raise their children free of this toxic transanity,” the spokesperson added.

Republicans in several states have pursued various laws that affect transgender people, including policies that reinforce bathroom and locker room segregation by sex, school sports participation, access to sex-reassignment medical procedures for minors, and restrictions on what schools teach about sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Indiana case involved a 13-year-old gender dysphoric student whose mother sued the school district and middle school principal after her child was prohibited from using boys’ facilities.

FEMALE SWIMMER WHO TIED LIA THOMAS SLAMS TRANSGENDER SPORTS POLICY: TAKING WOMEN ‘BACK TO THE 1970s’

The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal brought by the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville, Indiana, after a lower court blocked the district from enforcing a policy that requires transgender students to use bathrooms based on their biological sex. (Fox News Digital)

In 2022, U.S. District Judge Tanya Pratt ruled in favor of A.C., ordering the school to allow bathroom access that corresponds with the student’s gender identity. The 7th Circuit affirmed Pratt’s ruling, prompting the school’s appeal to the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority.

The school district argued in a court filing that Title IX permits schools to segregate bathrooms by sex and that the equal protection clause does not prohibit schools from protecting the interests of students “in shielding their bodies from exposure to the opposite sex.”

Lower courts have issued mixed rulings on school policies that affect transgender students. Last month, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a school that required transgender students to use gender-neutral bathrooms or those matching their sex, not their gender identity.

INDIANA SCHOOL DISTRICT RENEWS LEGAL FIGHT AFTER COURT BLOCKS RULE SEPARATING BATHROOMS BY BIOLOGICAL SEX

Lower courts have issued mixed rulings on school policies that affect transgender students. (Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Two other federal appeals courts have ruled that transgender students can use bathrooms that accord with their identities.

These cases have put pressure on the Supreme Court to resolve the discrepancies, but the court has refused multiple opportunities to do so.

In 2021, the Supreme Court left in place a 4th Circuit ruling that favored a transgender student who had sued to use the bathrooms associated with their identity.

More recently, the Supreme Court in April 2023 refused to permit West Virginia to enforce a state law that banned transgender athletes born as males from participating in female sports in public schools.

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph, Andrew Mark Miller and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Midwest

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

Published

1 hour ago

March 2, 2026

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Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spoke candidly on Wednesday, defending her outbursts during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Omar, along with colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who was seated next to her, appeared on video repeatedly interrupting and gesturing toward Trump several times throughout his speech.

Omar appeared to shout “You are a murderer” and “You’re a liar.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib at her side, spoke at a news conference at the State Capitol. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

When appearing on CNN, Omar was pressed by host Wolf Blitzer, who noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked members of his caucus to either sit in silence or to not attend at all.

“Should you have just boycotted the address? And do you think you violated the guidelines set out by your own leader?” he asked.

“No, I think it was really unavoidable. The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents,” Omar responded.

“Do you have any regrets at all about the interaction we played between you and President Trump just last night?” Blitzer asked.

“I do not, and I think many people look at that moment when the president says, ‘It is our responsibility to protect Americans,’ and he does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were killed,” she said. “And it was important for me to just remind the American people that the president and his administration was responsible for killing two American citizens.”

Blitzer proceeded to ask, with hindsight in mind, whether she still thinks she made the right choice by showing up.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., shout at President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I brought four Minnesotans up as guests for the Minnesota delegation. It was important for us to be there, to bear witness, to hold space for our constituents that have lived through an occupation from federal law enforcement, that have been terrorized, that have seen our neighbors been killed and traumatized in so many ways and, so, no. I think it was really important for my constituents to see me there,” she said.

“It was really important to my constituents to hear that. I was reminding the president that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed under this administration.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Democrats have rallied around the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good as a means to criticize ICE and immigration enforcement efforts. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

It responded with a Truth Social post from Trump in which he called for critics like Omar and Tlaib to be put on a boat and “send them back from where they came.”

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.

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Detroit, MI

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.

“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”

Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.

And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”

Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”

From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.

Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.

The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.

Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

FOX Weather

Big picture view:

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.