Northeast
Blue states called out by women's group for ignoring risks posed by transgender inmates
FIRST ON FOX — A new study is sounding the alarm on female-identifying, biologically male felons being incarcerated at female-only prisons, saying those inmates pose physical and psychological risks to biological women.
The report from Independent Women, a nonprofit, released Thursday and shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, says “male inmates identifying as women are disproportionately likely to have committed sexual offenses, and incarcerated women face heightened risks of harassment and assault under these policies.
“Placing trans-identifying males, especially those with fully intact male genitalia or a history of violent sex crimes, in close quarters with female inmates risks a serious deprivation of the female’s rights,” the report states. “These risks — and the consequences that have already manifested for women subjected to mixed-sex prison environments — are known, but are being deliberately ignored in deference to laws and policies that marginalize incarcerated women and silence concerns about their safety.”
Amie Ichikawa spent five years in a California state prison after she was convicted of making terroristic threats with a gun. After her release, she began advocating for female inmates concerned about being housed with biological males.
BIOLOGICAL MEN ARE NOW WELCOME IN CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S PRISONS: ‘AN AGENDA FOR FEMALE ERASURE’
Amie Ichikawa spent five years in a California state prison after she was convicted of making terroristic threats with a gun. After her release, she began advocating for female inmates concerned about being housed with biological males. (Independent Women)
“It’s because the laws are based on self-identification. The only requirement is for someone to state that they are a female,” Ichikawa told Fox News Digital. “You can’t base your denials on physical attributes, including retention of a penis. You can’t deny somebody a transfer based on criminal history.”
Male inmates who identify as female will often sit before a review board to have cases heard and argue that sex-based prisons violate Equal Protection laws or claim they are being discriminated against on the basis of sex.
Transgender, biological male inmates will also argue that their housing conditions in male-only prisons violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, according to the Independent Women report.
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In four states, biological male inmates who identify as female can be placed in female-only prisons.
States that allow housing of trans-identifying inmates based on gender identity. (Independent Women)
Those states include California, Connecticut, Maine and New Jersey. Two states — Utah and Louisiana — prohibit men in women’s prisons, while all others operate on a case-by-case basis.
As of October 2024, there were 1,487 incarcerated men identifying as women in federal prisons — only some of whom are housed in female prisons, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
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People wave a Transgender Pride flag at the 2023 LA Pride Parade June 11, 2023, in Hollywood, Calif. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Nearly half of trans-identifying male prisoners have sex convictions, compared to less than 12% of the general male prison population nationwide, according to BOP statistics cited in the Independent Women report.
“Women do not deserve to be housed in locked prisons with violent criminal males, period,” said May Mailman, legal director at Independent Women. “During the [2024 presidential] campaign, Kamala Harris, unashamed of her overt backing of trans-identifying men in women’s prisons, tried to indicate the law required such insanity.
“She was wrong. ‘Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Stopping the Dangerous Policies Putting Men in Women’s Prisons’ makes clear that policy leaders hold clear authority to protect women and enforce sanity. This is a must-read for politicians and their staff trying to end the predations of gender ideology.”
Transgender policy advocates say housing female-identifying inmates in female-only prisons allows them to live in a safer environment because transgender women face sexual abuse in male-only prisons.
“Prisons and jails routinely subject transgender people in their care to abusive conditions, including denial of medical care, extended periods of solitary confinement, and harassment, sexual assault, and violence at the hands of guards and other people with whom they are incarcerated,” the Transgender Law Center states on its website. “Recent studies show that transgender women are 13 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in prison than others.”
But female inmates have also faced sexual abuse at the hands of transgender inmates who are biologically male, and they feel their concerns are not being addressed.
Female inmate Dana Gray told Independent Women she was sexually assaulted by a transgender woman “that was physically intact” in January 2023.
Female inmate Dana Gray told Independent Women she was sexually assaulted by a transgender woman “that was physically intact” in January 2023. (Independent Women)
“It was terrifying and disgusting because I knew there was nothing I could do,” Gray said.
“This is a perfect Trojan horse into the biggest victim pool anyone could ever hope and dream of.”
“The trans community has been hijacked as a hiding place for very mentally unwell sex criminals,” Ichikawa said. “This is a perfect Trojan horse into the biggest victim pool anyone could ever hope and dream of. There [are] trans women that I speak to in men’s prisons that want nothing to do with this and are horrified at the people that the states and federal institutions are allowing to transfer over [to female prisons].”
Further, those against housing transgender inmates in female-only prisons also trigger traumatic events for some women.
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Child sex trafficking survivor Alissa Kamholz had to share a cell with a female-identifying man affiliated with the same gang as her childhood abusers, according to the report.
Child sex trafficking survivor Alissa Kamholz had to share a cell with a female-identifying man affiliated with the same gang as her childhood abusers, according to the report. (Alissa Kamholz)
Ichikawa believes there are some men who identify as female to rig the system and be sent to a women’s prison to have more power than they would in a men’s prison.
The topic of housing transgender inmates in female-only prisons has prompted lawsuits and jarring news headlines across the country.
Last year, a man posing as a transgender female inmate at Riker’s Island raped a female inmate, according to a lawsuit filed by the victim. Also, last year, Tremaine Deon Carroll, a biological male California inmate who identifies as female was charged with two counts of forcible rape and one of “dissuading a witness from testifying” after allegedly attacking a woman at Central California Women’s Facility, according to a criminal complaint first obtained by the website 4W and later reported by Reduxx.
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Tremaine “Tremayne” Deon Carroll, 52, a violent offender incarcerated in California, was charged with rape in Madera County. A transgender person, Carroll was housed in a women’s prison by request and transferred to a men’s prison after an indictment for rape. (CDCR)
Demi Minor, a New Jersey transgender inmate, impregnated two female inmates in 2022. Moore later expressed fear after being transferred out of the female-only prison in an interview with NJ.com. An Indiana judge ruled last year that a female-identifying, biological male convicted of killing a baby could get state-funded transgender surgery.
Hannah Tubbs is a transgender California inmate who, at 17 years old, was convicted of molesting a young girl in a Denny’s bathroom in 2017. Under former District Attorney George Gascon’s mandates for suspects under 18, Tubbs, who was 26 when the case was eventually tried, received a softball sentence of two years in a juvenile facility for girls because the date of the offense was just days before Tubbs’ 18th birthday.
Hannah Tubbs began identifying as female after being arrested in a 2014 child molestation case in Los Angeles County. (Los Angeles County)
Before he could complete the sentence, however, a 27-year-old Tubbs was charged in Kern County with first-degree murder, threatening a witness, robbery and assault. Tubbs pleaded guilty to manslaughter and lesser charges in exchange for a 15-year prison sentence in November 2023.
IWF’s new documentary series, “Cruel & Unusual Punishment: The Male Takeover of Female Prisons,” shares stories of abuse and retaliation for voicing their concerns about the issue.
The IWF report is calling for solutions, including amending the Prison Rape Elimination Act to “prevent gender identity-based transfers to women’s prisons,” clarifying that the Americans with Disabilities Act “does not mandate ‘transition’ services or mixed-sex housing,” protecting female inmates’ rights to report abuse without retaliation, “eliminating reliance on activist medical guidelines” and “tying federal prison funding to policies that prioritize safety for female inmates.”
Read the full article from Here
Good morning. It’s Monday. Today we’ll look at raccoons carrying rabies in the city.
New Yorkers don’t usually spend much time thinking about raccoons. Rats and roaches are far more visible. But even if you don’t always see them, raccoons are everywhere.
In September, the Metropolitan Museum of Art asked raccoon experts for guidance in gently redirecting a juvenile raccoon who was drawn to the exterior of their building on Fifth Avenue.
Back in 2021, Laura Dudley Plimpton, a researcher who tracked city raccoons with GPS collars when she was a Ph.D. student, found one living above a bar in Brooklyn near Green-Wood Cemetery.
At the Delacorte Theater, where Shakespeare in the Park is performed, raccoons who live near the stage often make cameos.
“I have particular memories of one raccoon running off with Teagle Bougere’s flip-flops during ‘The Tempest,’” a stage manager once told The New York Times, referring to one of the show’s actors.
And in 2022, a college student filmed a raccoon trying to claw its way out of a light fixture in her Brooklyn apartment.
“They are experts at utilizing whatever is available to them and using it well,” Plimpton said.
While many of the city’s raccoons are healthy, some are infected with rabies, a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system and is transmitted via saliva. Other animals, such as skunks, bats and rodents, also carry the virus, but raccoons are the most commonly reported rabid animal in New York City.
The numbers fluctuate each year, but recent city data shows that rabid raccoons have most often appeared on Staten Island and in Queens. This year, however, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has already logged two rabid raccoons in areas of Brooklyn where it has never seen them before: Midwood and Sheepshead Bay. In addition, a third and “unusually aggressive” raccoon in West Midwood was presumed to be rabid but was not tested, the Health Department said in a public health advisory issued in April.
To date this year, nine raccoons and one skunk have tested positive for rabies in New York City. It may not sound like a lot, said Dr. Andie Newman, a public health veterinarian in New York State, “but there’s potentially more lurking behind the numbers that we actually see.”
In May, to prevent further spread of the virus, the city placed fish-scented bait packets in the parks and wooded sections of Brooklyn and Queens, including Prospect Park, Forest Park and Marine Park.
“When they bite into it with their little sharp teeth, there is a liquid vaccine that gets into the mouth,” Newman said.
In the fall, the city is planning to place the bait in other areas as well. It’s important that people and dogs avoid touching the packets. They’re not considered harmful, but dogs may vomit if they were to eat many of them. And if the pink vaccine liquid gets on human hands, there is a small risk of becoming infected with the vaccinia virus, which is used to make the wildlife rabies vaccine.
Rabid animals are often assumed to be aggressive. But that’s not always the case. They may instead appear to have a wobbly gait, act confused or stagger and fall down, said Sarah Bookbinder, the executive director of the Charles N. Gordon Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Earlville, N.Y., who advised the Met about the loitering raccoon.
According to the Health Department, other signs that an animal may be rabid include low energy; paralysis; chewing unusual objects like wood, soil or plants; having a vacant stare; and drooling or foaming at the mouth.
Given that raccoons are most active during dawn and dusk, people sometimes assume that raccoons are rabid if they’re out during the day, said Bookbinder, who specializes in the treatment of raccoons.
But in the spring, she added, it’s common for mother raccoons to forage for food to avoid leaving their kits alone in their den at night.
To protect your dog or cat (and yourself) from rabies, make sure that your pets are vaccinated. New York State requires that all domesticated dogs and cats be vaccinated for rabies, but some owners skip the vaccine, often out of concerns that the vaccines could be harmful to pets or unnecessary or could lead to illness. A 2024 survey estimated that about 22 percent of dog owners and 26 percent of cat owners could be classified as vaccine hesitant.
Even indoor cats need to be vaccinated, experts say, in part because of bats, which can enter homes. In 2025, two people in New York City received rabies antibodies and a vaccine series for exposure to a rabid bat.
If your pet has been in contact with an animal that may be rabid, report it to the Health Department and contact your veterinarian, Newman said. Dogs and cats who have already had the rabies vaccine will require a booster.
And when you’re outside, avoid contact with wild or stray animals.
“Enjoy nature from a distance,” Newman said.
Weather
It will be a sunny day today with a high near 78. The sky will remain clear tonight as temperatures drop near 61.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
In effect until June 19 (Juneteenth).
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When I look at the state of housing, I feel a lot of anger.” — Emely Rodriguez, 24, who grew up in Williamsburg and began engaging in housing advocacy at a young age.
METROPOLITAN diary
The Glow
Dear Diary:
On an unseasonably warm Brooklyn night, I was on my way to meet friends when I stumbled upon a glowing, heavy, orb-like glass sculpture on the sidewalk.
Something about it pulled at me. I scooped it up and carried it onto the train.
It moved with me through bars and parks and city blocks, unveiling itself as an invitation for connection. It passed tenderly from hand to hand, stranger to stranger, each of us sharing the weight and the moment.
On the way home that evening, I stood on the subway platform buzzing from the interactions the sculpture had touched off and with a renewed love for the city.
A handsome man gesturing toward the unusual item I was holding motivated me to remove my earbuds and fall into an easy, flirty rhythm as we fell onto the G train together, until his stop pulled him away.
Arriving home, I chastised myself for letting the moment close. With the residue of the evening’s magic still on my skin and feeling a swaggering confidence, I posted a missed connection on Craigslist.
The next morning, there it was: a note from orb man.
“I think it’s more of a nest shape, but we can argue about it when we see each other,” he wrote, the words levitating up and out of my phone.
We met again two days later. I left the orb at home.
— Billie Hirsch
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Tell us your New York story here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
A 17-year-old Boston Public Schools student took the skies on Monday, flying a plane for the first time. Messiah Dennison is part of Boston STEM Flight Academy and carefully went through his flight safety check with his instructor.
The two departed from Norwood Airport for a 45-minute discovery flight over Gillette Stadium and back, and from take-off to landing it was a smooth trip.
“I just flew a plane,” Dennison said. He’s beaming from ear to ear because for the first time he was able to see his future as clear as the sky above. “I can’t compare it to anything. Something I never experienced before and it’s unique and made me want to do it again,” he said.
Dennison got introduced to Boston STEM Flight Academy at his high school, Another Course to College in Hyde Park. “I think it’s really great actually, because it helps our students get exposed to new opportunities that they normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to be exposed to,” Another Course to College Head of School Demitri Curry said.
Founder Marcus James said Dennison is one of those students who never missed an aviation class. “I got to say Messiah, this kid is very exciting to watch in class, and we figured he was perfect for this flight today,” James said.
The students have been practicing flying this route from Norwood to Boston and to Foxboro on a simulator twice a week for the past two months. “We flew over Gillette Stadium, that was great. Everything felt so small, and I was enjoying it,” Dennison said. He said this experience has changed his perspective of what he can achieve in life and believes aviation is the path for him.
“Before I took the flight I couldn’t see it. Now I can envision it. Growing up in Boston you see the same thing every day. And being able to see myself doing something this cool opened the gateway for a lot of cool things,” Dennison said.
His mother watched nervously but proudly. “I’m very proud of him, this is his first time flying a plane ever, so I am proud he had this big opportunity,” she said.
James says he hopes Boston STEM Academy will help deal with the nation’s pilot shortage and plans to expand the program to other public schools in underserved communities. “By 2030 we need about 10,000 pilots. I want them to know the sky’s the limit, and they can do anything they would like to do the opportunity is available to them,” James said.
And Dennison got a real hands-on bird’s eye view of what he can achieve. “If you are going to give me the opportunity to do something great, why not be great,” he said.
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen at the tail end of the 2025 NFL season amidst struggles at the position. Thielen had returned to the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, the team that drafted him for which he carved out a very respectable career before signing with the Carolina Panthers in 2023.
Thielen appeared in five regular season games with the Steelers, catching 11 passes. He joined Good Morning Football on Monday and was asked about his experience in Pittsburgh, to which he couldn’t say enough nice things.
“What an amazing experience,” Thielen said. “First of all, just to experience the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. it was so cool to see it first hand. You hear a lot about it, you play against it, but you don’t really understand it until you get in that building. You just feel the culture and just kind of see how it’s different. It’s a family-owned business and it’s got that family aspect to it that they’re always in the building, they’re always around – it’s a really cool place.”
Thielen then discussed his time with Aaron Rodgers, and praised the four-time MVP for his approach to the game.
“Being around Aaron, I’ve known him for a long time,” Thielen said. “Played a lot of golf with him, built a strong relationship with him outside of football. But to seem in the building and in practice and his communication and the way he does things and his detail, it really showed me why he’s been so great for so long. A lot of times… you just think, ‘Oh, they’re really skilled…‘ these guys are great and separate themselves because of their process. He treated every single practice like it was the Super Bowl. it was unbelievable to see first hand just how hard he practiced, what it meant to him, how much communication there was through the week of trying to get everybody on the same page – whether that be coaches or players. So it was really cool to see that first hand and get to know him on the football side of things.”
Thielen retired after the 2025 season, finishing his career with 704 catches for 8,497 yards and 64 touchdowns.
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