West
Concerned parents of trans kids compared to 'hate groups' by Colorado Dem: Wouldn't 'ask the KKK' for opinion
A Colorado Democrat likened parent groups to “the KKK” during an hours-long committee hearing for a controversial bill that could see parents accused of “coercive control” in custody fights for using a trans child’s “deadname.”
“I really am curious about how much stakeholdering went on both sides of the issue, and not just one side,” Republican state Rep. Jarvis Caldwell said during the hearing, which began Monday night and ran into early Tuesday. “I’m curious with if the businesses in the community were included in these and if parent groups that are not part of the LGBT community if they were involved.”
Later during the House Judiciary hearing, Democrat state Rep. Yara Zokaie said the committee that night had “heard a lot about stakeholding and who was left out of stakeholding” and that “this process is important for us to understand the implications of the bills that we are passing.”
“But a well-stakeholdered bill does not need to be discussed with hate groups,” Zokaie said. “And we don’t ask someone passing civil rights legislation to go ask the KKK their opinion,” she added as several in the committee room applauded.
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Colorado state Democrat Rep. Yara Zokaie says a controversial bill “does not need to be discussed with hate groups.” (Getty Images)
The bill in question, HB25-1312, An Act Concerning Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals, requires courts to consider “deadnaming, misgendering, or threatening to publish material related to an individual’s gender-affirming health-care services as types of coercive control” when making child custody decisions. It passed in a 7-4 vote out of the committee, clearing the first major hurdle to becoming law. It now goes to the Assembly for a second reading.
If the bill passes, it would make Colorado the first state to pass such legislation.
In California, similar legislation was passed in 2023 requiring courts to consider a parent’s affirmation of a child’s chosen gender identity in custody battles. However, liberal Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill.
The Colorado bill, which would create the Kelly Loving Act, named after a transgender man who was killed in the 2022 Colorado nightclub shooting by a nonbinary gunman, also prohibits Colorado courts from enforcing laws from other states that remove children from parents who allow transgender treatments for minors.
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The Colorado State Capitol (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
If a child in school wants to go by a different name other than their legal one, the bill says educators must be “inclusive of all reasons that a student might adopt a chosen name.”
“If the individual provides a chosen name that is different from the individual’s legal name, the chosen name must be used on all subsequent forms administered by the public entity,” the bill text summary says.
After the hearing, Caldwell told Fox News Digital in a statement that Zokaie’s reference to certain stakeholders was “deeply concerning” and “reckless.”
“Particularly when it involves labeling parents – the people who care the most about the future of their children – as hate groups,” he said. “Parents who stand up for their children’s education and rights should be respected, not vilified.”
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Parents could face negative legal repercussions in custody battles for “misgendering” trans children under the proposed legislation. (MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Zokaie also said during the hearing, “There was a lot of discussion of folks losing their children, and I just want us to note that these are parameters for a judge to consider.”
“The word ‘consider’ is used repeatedly. There are no mandates in this bill,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Zokaie for comment but did not receive a response by publication deadline.
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Washington
Residents clean up, assess damage after waters recede from Washington state flooding
Receding waters allowed residents of Burlington, Washington, to assess damage and clean up after record flooding. (AP video: Manuel Valdes)
Receding waters allowed residents of Burlington, Washington, to assess damage and clean up after record flooding. (AP video: Manuel Valdes)
Wyoming
Penn State wrestling wins 75th straight dual meet by beating Wyoming 40-7: Full results
Penn State beats Wyoming 40-7
12/13/2025 08:30:01 PM
Penn State won its 75th consecutive dual meet by beating Wyoming 40-7 on the road Saturday night. The Lions won eight of 10 bouts, including four victories by fall.
Penn State returns to the mat next Saturday in Nashville. The Lions wrestle North Dakota State and Stanford at the Collegiate Wrestling Duals. If they win both, they will pass Oklahoma State for the Division I record for most consecutive dual victories with 77.
Here are the full results from Saturday night:
125 pounds: No. 2 Luke Lilledahl (So.), Penn State TF Sefton Douglass, Wyoming, 18-3 (3:26) (PSU 5-0)
133 pounds: No. 10 Marcus Blaze (Fr.), PSU F Luke Willochell, Wyoming (3:39) (PSU 11-0)
141 pounds: Nate Desmond (Fr.) Penn State d. John Alden, Wyoming, 11-4 (PSU 15-0)
149 pounds: No. 1 Shayne Van Ness (Jr.), PSU F No. 30 30 Gabe Willochell, Wyoming, 2:54 (PSU 20-0)
157 pounds: No. 15 PJ Duke (Fr.), Penn State F No. 23 Jared Hill, Wyoming, 4:09 (PSU 26-0)
165 pounds: No. 1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Jr.), PSU F Sloan Swan, Wyoming, 2:00 (35-0 PSU)
174 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines (Sr.), Penn State TF No. 28 Riley Davis, Wyoming, 18-1 (4:50) (PSU 37-0)
184 pounds: No. 4 Rocco Welsh (So.), PSU d. No. 12 Eddie Neitenbach, Wyoming, 4-1 (PSU 40-0)
197 pounds: No. 2 Joey Novak, Wyoming md. Connor Mirasola, 10-2 (PSU 40-4)
285 pounds: No. 10 Christian Carroll, Wyoming d. No. 11 Cole Mirasola, 10-4 (PSU 40-7)
FINAL: PSU 40, Wyoming 7
West
Mass killings fall to lowest level in nearly two decades, national database shows
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The U.S. has recorded 17 mass killings so far in 2025, the lowest number since 2006, according to a long-running national database tracking such incidents.
The database, maintained by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University, defines a mass killing as an incident in which four or more people are intentionally killed within a 24-hour period, excluding the perpetrator.
Not all of this year’s mass killings involved guns, but most did.
Fourteen of the 17 mass killings in 2025 were carried out with guns. The data did not detail the three non-firearm incidents in its summary, but based on the database’s methodology and past reporting, non-gun mass killings typically involve stabbings, intentional arson, blunt-force attacks or the use of a vehicle as a weapon.
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People pray near the site of a shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sept. 29, 2025. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook)
James Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University who helps manage the database, said mass killings are down about 24% this year compared to 2024, which saw roughly a 20% decline from 2023.
Fox added that he’s not confident the trend will continue because the totals tend to swing sharply from year to year and that a few cases up or down can look like a big change.
“Will 2026 see a decline? I wouldn’t bet on it,” Fox told the AP. “What goes down must also go back up.”
James Densley, a professor at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, said the drop may simply reflect the small number of mass killings recorded annually.
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A man on his phone looks down as church members reunite at Trillium Theater across the street from the site of a shooting and fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Sept. 28, 2025, in Grand Blanc, Mich. (Emily Elconin/Getty Images)
“Because there’s only a few dozen mass killings in a year, a small change could look like a wave or a collapse,” he told the outlet, adding, “2025 looks really good in historical context, but we can’t pretend like that means the problem is gone for good.”
Densley said the decline may also be influenced by falling homicide and violent-crime rates nationwide after COVID-19-era spikes.
Two people stand outside the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis after a shooter killed two students and injured several others in August. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Improvements in immediate response to mass casualty events could also be contributing, he said.
He pointed to the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Minnesota in August in which two students died and dozens more were injured.
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“The reason only two people were killed is because of the bleeding control and trauma response by the first responders,” he said. “And it happened on the doorsteps of some of the best children’s hospitals in the country.”
The most recent mass killing occurred in California last week when a child’s birthday party was shot up, killing four people, including three children.
In 2019, there were 49 mass killings recorded, the highest annual total since the database began tracking cases in 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
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