West
Catholic group asks SCOTUS to block California law against revealing students’ gender identities to parents
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A Catholic legal group has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a California law that prevents public schools from notifying parents of transgender students’ gender identities.
The Thomas More Society filed an emergency appeal on Thursday asking the Supreme Court to reinstate a ruling issued last month by a federal judge who said parents with religious objections can opt out of the law’s restrictions. The challenged provisions bar teachers from informing parents if a student wishes to change their pronouns or gender identity, according to reporting by POLITICO.
“Parents only relinquish authority needed for the school to carry out its ‘educational mission’ … they do not delegate the authority to make decisions regarding whether their child is a boy or a girl,” attorneys for the Thomas More Society wrote in the appeal.
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The law prohibits teachers from telling parents if a student wants to use new pronouns or adopt a different gender identity. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The law, signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024 and in effect for the past year, also bars teachers from disclosing a student’s sexual orientation. That provision, however, is not directly at issue in the current legal challenge.
The measure was adopted after several school districts in the Golden State implemented policies requiring teachers to contact parents if students wanted to change their name, pronouns or gender identity – policies that critics labeled “forced outing.”
The law allows disclosure of a student’s gender identity in “compelling” circumstances, a standard opponents argue is vague and insufficient.
There are exceptions under the law allowing schools to disclose a student’s gender identity in “compelling” circumstances.
U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez issued a permanent injunction last month blocking parts of the law, siding with two Escondido Union School District teachers — Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West — who argued their district’s policies violated their constitutional and religious rights.
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The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
“Parents have a right to receive gender information and teachers have a right to provide to parents accurate information about a child’s gender identity,” Benitez wrote in the ruling. “Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence.”
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later paused Benitez’s ruling while California appeals the decision, keeping the law in effect for now.
In addition to seeking emergency relief from the nation’s highest court, lawyers challenging the law said they plan to ask a larger panel of Ninth Circuit judges to allow Benitez’s injunction to take effect.
The law was adopted after several school districts in the state approved policies requiring teachers to contact parents if students wanted to change their name, pronouns or gender identity. (Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said the state would continue defending the law.
“We look forward to continuing to make our case in court,” a spokesperson for Bonta’s office told POLITICO.
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The case comes amid broader scrutiny of California’s education policies. In March, the Trump administration announced the Education Department had launched an investigation into the state’s enforcement of the law.
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San Francisco, CA
Giants Head Home to San Francisco After Shutout Loss
After Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants headed back to the West Coast. They’re going back to the Bay Area, too.
The Giants have a date with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at Oracle Park starting Tuesday night.
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So, San Francisco probably wanted to get out of Washington, D.C., with a win. That didn’t happen at Nationals Park on Sunday afternoon.
Nationals reliever Andrew Alvarez, the third pitcher used by the team on Sunday, picked up the victory with 4 1/3 innings of work. Giants starter Robbie Ray absorbed the loss, falling to 2-3 this season.
Ray worked six innings, giving up seven hits, three runs (all earned), walking one, and striking out seven Nationals. If the Giants’ offense had found a way to tack on some runs, then Ray’s outing wouldn’t have looked so bad.
The Giants’ bats, though, had eight hits. The big number for Giants manager Tony Vitello to look at in the box score after this one was, well, pretty big. San Francisco left 10 runners on base on Sunday, going 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position. This indicates that San Francisco had plenty of opportunities to score some runs.
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They just didn’t get the job done.
Let’s go to the bottom of the fifth with the Giants and Nationals in a scoreless tie. With nobody out, the Nationals’ Keibert Ruiz connected for his third double this season. Nasim Nuñez scored to put Washington up 1-0.
With one out, Curtis Mead sent a Ray pitch over the left-field wall, a two-run blast that gave the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
San Francisco had a scoring threat in the top of the eighth inning. With runners at first and second base and nobody out, Casey Schmitt grounded into a double play. Matt Chapman, who was on second base, went to third. But the Giants were unable to bring him home.
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Rafael Devers and Drew Gilbert went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Giants, producing half of the Giants’ hits.
The Giants fall to 9-13 this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West Division. The Nationals’ record goes to 10-12, good enough for third place in the National League East Division.
All eyes now turn toward Oracle on Tuesday night. It’ll be a chance for two longtime rivals to renew their rivalry.
Baseball fans know that the Giants-Dodgers matchups usually are must-see TV.
That’s probably going to be the case once again as Giants fans watch their team battle the Dodgers. Those lucky to have tickets to the three-game series at Oracle Park will show up in Giants colors, hoping to see Los Angeles head back to Southern California with either a series loss or a Giants’ sweep.
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Buckle up, Giants fans. It’s about to get rowdy at Oracle Park.
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Denver, CO
Denver beekeeper says swarm season came a month early this year thanks to warm weather
DENVER (KDVR) — With the mild winter and warm start to spring, beekeepers are seeing swarms earlier in the year and expect the season to be longer than usual.
Gregg McMahan is a dispatcher for the Colorado Swarm Hotline. It’s usually his job to send a beekeeper to collect a swarm when someone calls, but on Sunday afternoon, he decided to handle one himself.
“Nice little swarm,” McMahan said. “It’s tricky, though, because it’s hanging on a fence.”
A warm winter and spring mean swarm season has begun four weeks early.
“Never seen it like this ever,” McMahan said.
This call is to a house on Denver’s east side. When McMahan arrived, he saw a swarm had taken up residence on the fence.
“Absolutely typical, it is on the small side,” McMahan said.
He got to work, first luring them into a box when he spotted a good sign.
“See all these girls, they got their butts up, they’re fanning their wings. That’s telling us the queens in here,” McMahan said.
With the queen in hand, the rest began to follow her into the box.
McMahan said two years ago, he had 400 calls like this. Last year, only 100, the Swarm Hotline was as unpredictable as the weather, which has caused bee activity earlier in the year than ever.
“It makes it hard on the bees, you know? Two days ago, I’m collecting swarms in the snow,” McMahan said.
Rescuing them is integral to Colorado’s ecosystem. McMahan hopes people give a beekeeper a call instead of spraying them or harming them in any other way.
“They do a phenomenal amount of pollination within this state. Not only our native flowers but all the other flowers that people bring in,” McMahan said.
Slowly but surely, the swarm left the fence and moved into the box. McMahan loaded them into his truck to deliver them to their new home.
“Westminster to the Stanley Lake Wildlife Refuge, so these girls will have lakefront property tonight,” he said.
As he wrapped up, McMahan’s phone was buzzing more than the bees. Just another call to start a swarm season, he thinks, could be a long one.
“This year I’m already 20 swarms deep, so I’m expecting way more than 100 this year,” McMahan said.
To have a bee swarm removed for free from your property anywhere statewide, the Swarm Hotline number is 1-844-SPY-BEES.
Seattle, WA
Here, Kitty, Kitty: Scenes from POP Cats Seattle 2026
A whimsical world of whiskers, creativity, and community took over Seattle Center this weekend as POP Cats 2026 returned for a celebration of all things feline. The immersive convention turned the Exhibition Hall into a vibrant ‘cat city,’ complete with colorful art installations, interactive exhibits and endless photo ops. From adoptable rescue cats and hands-on workshops to cosplay, shopping, and meetups with fellow cat lovers, the event blended fun with purpose. Attendees could even bring their own cats, making it one of the few conventions where pets are part of the experience. Felines and their human friends embraced a joyful, cat-filled escape and one meow-velous weekend in Seattle. (Image: Elizabeth Crook / Seattle Refined) April 18, 2026{ }
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