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The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that the University of Maine System (UMS) has agreed to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order to keep transgender athletes out of women’s sports.
UMS, a network of eight public universities in Maine, claims it has been compliant with the NCAA’s revised gender policy to keep trans athletes out of the women’s category since the NCAA’s revision was made on Feb. 6, and has always followed state and federal law. UMS was subject to a temporary pause in funding from the USDA last week during an ongoing battle between the state and the federal government over trans inclusion in women’s and girls sports. The funding was reinstated just days later.
The USDA now claims the UMS is in full compliance with Trump’s executive order.
TRUMP ADMIN RESPONDS TO MAINE’S RELUCTANCE TO BAN TRANS ATHLETES FROM GIRLS SPORTS
“After the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a Title IX compliance review regarding federal funding, the University of Maine System (UMaine) has clearly communicated its compliance with Title IX’s requirement to protect equal opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports, as articulated in President Donald J. Trump’s Executive Order,” the USDA said in its announcement.
“Any false claim by the UMaine can, and will, result in onerous and even potentially criminal financial liability.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Jamie L. Whitten Federal Building entrance sign. (Getty Images)
UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy provided a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the system is “relieved” to have come to an understanding with the USDA.
“The University of Maine System has always maintained its compliance with state and federal laws and with NCAA rules, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture also affirmed in a press release today,” said Chancellor Malloy.
“We are relieved to put the Department’s Title IX compliance review behind us so the land-grant University of Maine and our statewide partners can continue to leverage USDA and other essential federal funds to strengthen and grow our natural resource economy and dependent rural communities through world-class education, research and extension.”
MAINE RESPONDS TO TRUMP ADMIN’S DECLARATION STATE VIOLATED TITLE IX BY ALLOWING TRANSGENDERS IN GIRLS SPORTS
The student rec center at the University of Maine (Edwin Remsburg/VW Pics via Getty Images)
In fiscal year 2024 alone, the USDA awarded $29.78 million in funding to UMS for research, the system said. The USDA claims it has provided over $100 million to the UMS in recent years in a letter addressed to the system.
Trump initially vowed to cut funding to Maine specifically if it continued to allow trans athletes to compete in girls sports during a meeting of GOP governors at the White House Feb. 20.
The next day, Gov. Janet Mills’ office responded with a statement threatening legal action against the Trump administration if it withheld federal funding from the state. Then Trump and Mills verbally sparred in a widely publicized argument at the White House during a bipartisan meeting of governors.
Just hours after that interaction, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would investigate the state for allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports and for potential Title IX violations.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has already determined that the state and its Department of Education violated Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete and warned that it will make a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice if the state does not provide a written agreement to comply with Trump’s executive order.
“What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School is simple — protect female athletes’ rights. Girls deserve girls-only sports without male competitors. And if Maine won’t come to the table to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS will enforce Title IX to the fullest extent permitted by the law,” OCR acting Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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Crime
A court hearing for Cher’s son Wednesday over allegations he broke into a New Hampshire home this month has been canceled.
Elijah Allman’s arrest on March 1 was his second in New Hampshire in a matter of days. Allman, the 49-year-old son of the iconic singer and actress, was also detained Feb. 27, accused of acting belligerently at a prestigious prep school in Concord.

It is unclear if Allman, of Malibu, California, has any connection to the home in Windham, New Hampshire. He is being held in the Rockingham County Department of Corrections, Superintendent Jonathan Banville said.
The hearing Wednesday was continued until an undetermined date after Allman got an attorney Wednesday morning. The attorney, Sarah Landres, did not respond to a request for comment.
Allman, whose father was the late singer Gregg Allman, is charged with two counts of criminal mischief, one count of burglary and a count of breach of bail for breaking into the home on March 1. Police said in a report that Allman did not have permission to be at the home and forcibly entered it.
Officials at St. Paul’s School said Allman last month identified himself as the parent of a prospective student and slipped into the dining hall as some students were leaving the building. Police responded to reports that he was disturbing people in the building.
He was charged with four misdemeanors in the school incident: two counts of simple assault, criminal trespass and criminal threatening. Allman was also charged with a violation of disorderly conduct, which is illegal in the state but not considered a crime. He was released on bail.
Allman did not respond to an email requesting comment, and a phone number for him was not working.
In December 2023, Cher filed a petition to become a temporary conservator overseeing her son’s money, saying Allman’s struggles with his mental health and addiction have left him unable to manage his assets and potentially put his life in danger.
The petition says the superstar performer’s son is entitled to regular payments from a trust fund. But “given his ongoing mental health and substance abuse issues,” she is “concerned that any funds distributed to Elijah will be immediately spent on drugs, leaving Elijah with no assets to provide for himself and putting Elijah’s life at risk,” the petition says.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui denied the request, saying she was not convinced that a conservatorship was urgently needed. Allman was in the courtroom with his attorneys, who acknowledged his previous struggles but argued that he was in a good place, was attending meetings, getting treatment and reconciling with his estranged wife.
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Firefighting efforts lasted more than 24 hours until Wednesday morning when thermal imagery showed the fire extinguished, according to the Coast Guard’s Petty Officer First Class Matthew West.
The Delaware Emergency Management Agency assisted the Coast Guard in its response.
“Multiple fire companies worked diligently to extinguish the fire, while state agencies and the U.S. Coast Guard coordinated resources to support response operations and minimize impacts to federal waterways, coastal communities, and the surrounding environment,” according to a statement by the Delaware Emergency Management Agency.
It remains unclear what exactly was burning or what was released into the atmosphere from the scrap metal, but it was likely “a very toxic mix,” according to Jane Clougherty, professor of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University.
“Remember that because this is scrap metal, it’s from an earlier era, potentially, when a lot of lead was used, both in metals and in the paints on those metals,” Clougherty said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s neighbors are suing the Democrat, accusing him of stealing a slice of their land to erect an eight-foot-high security fence around his private residence in an “outrageous abuse of power.”
The neighbors, Jeremy and Simone Mock, are currently duking it out with the governor in court over a 2,900 square foot parcel of land located between their two homes in Abington, Montgomery County, court papers show.
The Mocks alleged in a lawsuit filed last month that Shapiro and his wife, Lori, unlawfully seized the stretch of land after initial negotiations to buy it from them went up in flames.
Shapiro claimed in a countersuit that he owns the disputed land due, citing an “adverse possession” loophole that makes it his because he has maintained the sliver of property for decades.
The land-grab tit-for-tat kicked off last year when the Shapiros first sought to erect the huge fence and upgrade security following an arson attack on the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg while they were all sleeping inside on April 13.
Shapiro initially offered to pay the Mocks for the 2,900-square-foot section of land, which he for decades had believed was his, to be able to build the fence, the suit said.
The negotiations, however, fell through when the neighbors couldn’t agree on a price.
The Mocks allege that’s when Shapiro and his wife unlawfully claimed ownership of the property — even planting trees and having State Troopers stationed there.
“What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania,” the Mocks’ lawsuit argues.
“To begin, the Shapiros suddenly claimed, without evidence, they owned the Mock Property through ‘adverse possession’ despite their previous acknowledgments that the Mock Property was owned by no one other than the Mocks and despite having never been awarded the Mock Property through adverse possession by a court,” the court filing states.
The law allows for an occupant to legally acquire the title of someone else’s property if they’ve occupied the area for over 21 years.
The Shapiros purchased their home in 2003 and long believed the disputed 2,900 square foot section of land was part of their property, meaning they had maintained it for more than the required 21 years, their countersuit claims.
As the issue continues to play out in court, Shapiro’s office suggested the entire saga was a political stunt.
“The Governor looks forward to a swift resolution and will not be bullied by anyone trying to score cheap political points, especially at the expense of his family’s safety and wellbeing,” his office told NBC when the dueling suits were filed.
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