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Minnesota House fails to pass bill banning trans athletes from participating in women's sports

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Minnesota House fails to pass bill banning trans athletes from participating in women's sports

The Minnesota House failed to pass the “Preserving Girls’ Sports Act” weeks after President Donald Trump’s executive order to ban biological males from competing in women’s and girls sports.

HF12 needed 68 House votes for passage, but the bill fell one vote short with 67 affirmative votes to 66 negative votes.

The act stated that “only female students may participate in an elementary or secondary school level athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted to women and girls.”

A person waves a transgender pride flag during the People’s March and rally to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., United States, on January 18, 2025.  (Nathan Morris/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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“Female means a female as biologically determined by genetics and defined with respect to an individual’s reproductive system,” the bill mentions. 

A rally of supporters and opponents was seen at the Capitol, as they awaited the final vote.  

The Minnesota House had some “emotional discussion” before the bill was eventually voted on, and Republican state Rep. Peggy Scott, who sponsored the act, was among those who spoke. 

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“We cannot allow our girls to be vulnerable to losing their spot on the team, being on the podium, or to injury by a male teammate or male competitor,” she said. “That is not safe and that is not fair to our girls.”

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“We have women and girls around the world that are so afraid of competing with biological men that they are dropping out of sports,” Republican state Rep. Marion Rarick added in support of the bill, referencing a 2024 United Nations report on violence against women and girls. 

However, opponents of the bill pointed to trans discrimination in their arguments. 

“All children deserve to play,” Democratic state Rep. Brion Curran, the Minnesota Queer Legislators Caucus chair, said. “We will not be complacent with this hateful and dangerous anti-trans rhetoric.”

President Donald Trump signed the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive oder on Feb. 5, 2025. (AP/IMAGN)

Democratic state Rep. Liish Kozlowski added that the act was “a bill to bully trans girls and non-binary kids.”

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While this heated debate was going on, the Senate voted on Monday on a bill banning trans athletes from competing in women’s sports. The bill didn’t get the 60 votes needed to go through, which means at least seven Democrats didn’t vote yes. 

Trump’s executive order last month directed the Education Department to inform school systems, as well as colleges, that forcing girls and women to compete with transgender females is a violation of Title IX. 

After the order was signed, the NCAA revised its own policy on trans athletes in women’s sports, though the revision has been seen as controversial by some. 

Despite the executive order, the Minnesota State High School League announced it would continue letting trans athletes participate in girls’ sports, arguing that the Minnesota Human Rights Act and their state constitution deem them eligible.

Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman (Brooklyn Park-36B) leads a session of the Minnesota State Legislator at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, April 14, 2020.  (Getty Images)

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U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, though, wrote a letter late last month warning of the consequences of not passing the “Preserving Girls’ Sports Act.”

“The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has begun a Title IX investigation into the Minnesota State High School League,” the letter from Bondi read. “If the Department of Education’s investigation shows that relevant Minnesota entities are indeed denying girls an equal opportunity to participate in sports and athletic events by requiring them to compete against boys, the Department of Justice stands ready to take all appropriate action to enforce federal law.”

State Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke said a trans athlete issue in the United States doesn’t exist. 

“Minnesota has been inclusive for 10 years. We’ve had zero problems,” Finke said. “But we are doing this for political reasons. And when you lie about a community for long enough, people will believe it.”

Democrats in the Minnesota House voted the bill down.

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Republican state Rep. Peggy Bennett saw it entirely differently. 

“This bill is about fairness, safety and preserving girls sports in Minnesota.”

If the bill were to have passed in the House on Monday, it still wouldn’t have been signed by Gov. Tim Walz, a strong advocate for transgender rights who was expected to veto it.

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo makes NBA history with 83-point game

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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.

Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.

“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.

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Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.

He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.

After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.

“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”

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Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida.  (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.

He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.

Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.

He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.

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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.

Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

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Kings lose in overtime to the Boston Bruins

Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.

Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.

It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.

In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.

Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.

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Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.

After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card

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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June. 

But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract. 

White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card. 

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Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City.  ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))

“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”

White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it. 

UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT

The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan. 

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On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter. 

UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026.  (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready. 

“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”

Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.

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Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote. 

The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.

Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion. 

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