West
Who is Alexa Anderson? Division I athlete leading legal battle for free speech
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University of South Alabama freshman Alexa Anderson was a top recruit nationally in the women’s track and field pole vault this past year and still found time to take on the establishment.
Anderson filed a lawsuit against the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) over the summer after she stepped down from a medal podium to protest a transgender athlete. Anderson’s lawsuit alleges she was told to get out of the medalist photo shoot and wasn’t given her third-place medal.
The lawsuit aims to ensure that high school athletes in Oregon are allowed to express their First Amendment right to free speech without fear of retaliation from officials. The lawsuit has already cleared one of the OSAA’s motions to strike.
Anderson comes from a family of Democrats but came to admire Charlie Kirk
Anderson told Fox News Digital in a June interview she comes from a family of Oregon Democrats. However, she said they also firmly agreed with her stance on protecting women’s sports from male trans athletes. But she had her own approach.
“I think whoever I vote for would be whoever aligns most with my personal values, whether that’s a Democrat or Republican,” she said.
Then, in September, she witnessed the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
“I followed that very closely,” she said. “I think it is so incredibly horrible that a young man was taken from his family, taken from his children, just for standing up for what he believed in.”
Anderson became inspired by Kirk after seeing him lead discussions with women’s sports activist Riley Gaines.
“It was really great to see people with such influence supporting this issue, knowing people like that are standing up with us,” Anderson said.
“I would hope that he would be proud of what we’re doing, that we’re standing up for what we believe in, because everything I’ve seen from Charlie Kirk, that was his message. He always wanted to stand up for what he believes in and spread that to other people and educate them.”
OREGON GIRLS WHO PROTESTED TRANS ATHLETE AT TRACK AND FIELD MEDAL PODIUM SCORE LEGAL WIN IN LAWSUIT
Growing up, Anderson ‘idolized’ Simone Biles. Now it’s complicated
Before she did the high jump and pole vault, Anderson was a gymnast as a child, and she had the same hero as so many young gymnasts across the U.S. — Simone Biles.
“I was a gymnast for nine years. I idolized her, ever since 2012, when she really started becoming the greatest of all time,” Anderson said.
When asked how Anderson feels about Biles now, she referenced the legendary gymnast’s online feud with Gaines.
“I think she is an amazing athlete, but I don’t agree with how she handled that situation. I think it was hateful and hurtful and not a good thing for all the girls who look up to her to be seeing,” Anderson said.
What bothered Anderson most was when Biles appeared to “body-shame” Gaines, when the Olympic legend wrote, “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
“When I saw a tweet of her, kind of body-shaming Riley and saying ‘pick on someone your own size,’ that really hurt,” Anderson said of Biles.
OREGON ATHLETES WIN ‘MOST VALUABLE PATRIOT’ AWARD AFTER REFUSING TO SHARE PODIUM WITH TRANS COMPETITOR
She found refuge in South Alabama after enduring an online hate campaign
Anderson became an overnight sensation in Save Women’s Sports circles on social media after she and fellow Oregon female athlete Reese Eckard stepped down from their third- and fourth-place spots on a medal podium to protest a trans athlete who finished fifth.
Then came the DMs.
Some were nice and supportive. But others weren’t. And she even responded to some of those.
“When I received one of my first hate comments, I kind of just brushed it off. I said, ‘Thank you for sharing your opinion. I respect your opinion. This is mine and this is what I stood for,’” Anderson said in June. “I have responded to some.”
Anderson had just committed to the University of South Alabama in January and was coming up on graduation. And when she made the decision to use her platform to protest a trans athlete, she was a 2023 pole vault state champion, national All-American, an under-20 sixth-place finisher and ranked eighth in the nation in the high school girls pole vault in the class of 2025.
She later revealed the negative comments escalated to the point of death threats and alleged calls to her school with demands to expel her before graduation as her story gained momentum.
“There were people who were calling my school asking for me to be expelled, not being allowed to walk at graduation,” Anderson alleged. “There were people messaging me personally, just saying horrible things, death threats even.”
“I hope you die” was one of the messages she received, she said. Another said, “Your parents are definitely embarrassed of you.”
“It definitely hurt,” she said.
A Tigard High School spokesperson declined to elaborate on the situation to Fox News Digital, writing, “We don’t have a comment to share.”
Anderson’s commitment to South Alabama earlier this year put her in a setting where she feels safe and accepted.
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“A lot of people have [seen the viral video of the protest], especially on my track team. A lot of people all know what happened, and they’ve all been very supportive and kind,” Anderson said.
South Alabama’s track and field season begins in late January, and Anderson will take on Sun Belt Conference competition while advancing her lawsuit.
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San Francisco, CA
Downtown San Francisco’s holiday light display returns for its 5th year
Once again, San Francisco has an extra glow for the holiday season as downtown hosts an annual light display over the course of 10 days.
Friday, the city kicked off the fifth year of its ‘Let’s Glow SF’ holiday light display, where projections are displayed onto buildings around downtown at nighttime.
Let’s Glow, which is led by the Downtown SF Partnership, began in 2021 as a way to spread holiday cheer during the pandemic. Since then, the event has grown in popularity and scale.
This year, Let’s Glow will be on display at eight locations around downtown San Francisco, including the Ferry Building. The installation will run from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will continue through December 14.
At the event to launch the light display on Friday, crowds packed the plaza in front of the Ferry Building to join in the festivities and watch the lights.
Four-year-old Miles Trapp of San Francisco said his favorite light display was the one that depicted an underwater scene with an otter.
“They look like they are playing a moving on the building,” Trapp said.
Chanel Blackwell of San Francisco attended Friday’s event with her husband. It was her first time seeing the Let’s Glow display.
“I am so happy I got to see this, it’s worth it, and it’s cold, but it’s so worth it being out in the cold to watch this,” she said.
Many local leaders in politics and business spoke at the event on Friday. One of the featured speakers was Empire Record Label founder Ghazi Shami, who shared memories with the crowd of his time growing up in San Francisco.
“Fast forward many years later to see how far this city has come, and how majestic and beautiful it is, I’m just proud to be here,” Shami said, adding that he brought his own family to enjoy the light display.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie spoke at the event as well and marveled at the number of people who showed up to attend.
“This is what is driving our comeback, our arts, our culture, our creative class,” Lurie said.
Several local leaders at the event spoke about how public art displays in San Francisco have played a big role in bringing energy back to San Francisco, and in particular to downtown.
Denver, CO
Recap: The Denver Nuggets overcome a 23-point deficit, drop the Atlanta Hawks 134-133 – Denver Stiffs
The Denver Nuggets looked terrible early, falling behind by as many as 23 points before rallying with an 80-point second half to defeat the Atlanta Hawks 134-133. Nikola Jokic was terrible in the first half, going 2-for-13 from the field but rallied to put up 40 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists on 50% shooting. Jamal Murray was clutch, leading much of a 20-0 rally with Jokic on the bench in the fourth quarter and putting up 23 points with 12 assists and 5 boards. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown combined for 30 points, and Cam Johnson had 16 as Denver put just enough on the scoreboard to get the win.
For the Hawks, Jalen Johnson had a triple-double in the first half and finished with a monster 21 point / 18 rebound / 16 assist night, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker let the team with 30 points and Kristaps Porzingis had 25 in 20 minutes. Even with 15 points on 5 threes from Vit Krejci, the Hawks just couldn’t stop Denver in the second half as the Nuggets paid back Atlanta’s hot first-half shooting with a half of their own and completed the third-largest comeback in Nuggets history.
Game Flow
Dyson Daniels opened the scoring at the rim for Atlanta and Onyeka Okongwu buried a triple, while Cam Johnson missed a pair of jumpers for Denver. Denver’s defense forced a 24-second violation and Jokic finished at the rim, then Cam got a steal and transition layup. Jokic got a rebound on a missed Cam three and turned it into a Peyton Watson dunk, but Atlanta hit a pair of threes in response. Jamal answered with one of his own, then traded layups with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and it was 13-11 Atlanta early. The Hawks added a pair of rim finishes to their early three point shooting and Denver had to regroup with a timeout. Jamal made a Jokic-assisted layup but Zaccharie Risacher had a layup of his own. Atlanta hit two more threes, on absolute fire from the field, while Nikola Jokic made a hot but missed three others. The Nuggets took another timeout down 29-15 to try to get it right on both ends. Tim Hardaway Jr. finally made Denver’s second deep shot of the night (against 6 early misses so far), but Vit Krejci hit yet another 3 for the Hawks. Atlanta went 16-for-21 in the first quarter, blowing the doors off while Denver went 10-for-28. Jokic had his shot blocked in the final seconds by Kristaps Porzingis and Denver trailed 41-23 at the end of a dismal quarter,
Hardaway made three free throws for Denver but Krejci had another deep make for Atlanta. Zeke Nnaji had a paint bucket, Krejci made another 3, and Bruce Brown answered with a transition finish. Okongwu and Jonas Valanciunas exchanged layups, Brown got a layup for Denver and Jalen Johnson traded buckets with Big Val. But unfortunately Krejci and NAW both made threes for the Hawks to put Atlanta up 21 at 57-38. Denver had a couple of bad turnovers under the basket, but Peyton Watson got a nice cut and finished a Jokic pass. Walker scored right back on them though as Denver just didn’t have the hustle or the shot-making to get close. Jamal got a steal then immediately turned it back over to give Atlanta a 23 point lead. Jokic was ice cold from everywhere, going 2-for-13 in the half and 0-for-6 from deep, and that caused big problems for the Nuggets. Spencer Jones had a paint finish, Watson hit a 3, and Jokic got himself to the line at least to make some from the charity stripe. At halftime Denver still trailed 73-54 though.
Jokic started the third quarter scoring inside which was nice to see, getting his third bucket of the game on a drive. The teams exchanged free throws, then Jokic finished a traditional 3-point play and Cam Johnson hit a 3 and the lead was cut to 11 after a 10-2 Denver run. The Nuggets came out of a Hawks timeout with a full court press, but Jalen Johnson got to the line anyway. Jokic had a great roll to the basket for a finish, then in transition Murray finished to cut it to single digits. Jamal buried an open three, Cam had a transition dunk and it was a 17-22 run and the Hawks lead was down to 77-73 just over 3 minutes into the 3rd. Jokic had another nice paint finish but Risacher had a couple of good buckets sandwiching a Watson dunk. Spencer Jones made free throws, Jalen Johnson had an Atlanta bucket, and Jokic traded paint buckets with Risacher. Jokic finally made a three-pointer for 14 points in the quarter so far, Jones hit a long two, but Daniels made a pair of buckets at the rim to keep Atlanta’s lead at 5. Jokic and Porzingis traded jumpers, then Jokic went at Porzingis to get to the line. Kristaps made a three, Watson airballed a floater, but both teams looked a little tired after that surge and exchanged missed and turnovers for a bit. Luke Kennard made a pair of free throws, Tim Hardaway Jr hit a Jokic-assisted three, but Vit Krejci answered with one in the final seconds to put Atlanta up 103-94 after 3.
Hardaway and Mouhamed Gueye traded threes to open the 4th. Cam Johnson added one of his own for Denver, but then missed a pullup the next time down. Jamal Murray and Cam Johnson hit two more threes to tie the game at 106 and force a timeout. Denver’s defense kept being stout early in the quarter as Big Val had a one-handed driving dunk and Jamal made a 15-foot pullup after a Hawks turnover and hit his free throw to boot. Bruce Brown hit a 3 to push the lead to 8, then THJ buried another on a 20-0 run for Denver. Porzingis finally stopped the run with a 3 of his own, but Cam hit another Denver three. NAW finished a layup through contact as Jokic came back in up 8 at 120-112. Murray buried a 3 off a Jokic handoff, but then both Watson and Jokic missed threes. Porzingis made free throws, Jokic finished at the rim and Porzingis came back at him from deep as did NAW to cut it to 5. Jokic banked in a shot over Kristaps, Jalen Johnson finished a drive down the lane then got a steal and finish on a bad Murray pass, but Jokic came right back with a reverse layup. NAW buried a 3 to cut it to a two-point deficit for Atlanta, Jokic hit another paint bucket, and Jalen Johnson hit a 16-footer to bring it back to just a one-bucket game with under a minute to go. Cam Johnson missed a 3, Kristaps turned the ball over as Jamal Murray got the steal and it led to two made Jokic free throws. Walker made a pair of free throws for Atlanta to cut it back to 2. The final possession had a near-Denver steal, a block by Jamal on Walker, NAW takes the 2 and Jokic got it to Jamal to run the clock out and rip this victory away 134-133 over Atlanta.
Final Thoughts
It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. The first half was as ugly as anything Denver had put together all year. Jalen Johnson had a triple-double at halftime, as Denver provided no resistance whatsoever. The Hawks shot 59% from the field in the first half, 54% from three. Vit Krejci was 4-of-5 from deep in the first 2 frames. If you’re going to give up career-best shooting numbers from everywhere on the court you are going to lose – most nights.
But this was not most nights. Jamal Murray had 12 assists in the second half, made four huge threes in the game and finished with three great defensive plays on the final possession for Atlanta alone, then finished by getting open for the long Jokic pass to ice it. Nikola Jokic put up 30 second half points, and dominated that second half with vision and aggression. Jokic said after the game that this team never gives up, and you could see from the first possession out of the break that they were more serious. This team has to find ways to be serious on defense, to get the stops that allow their offense to flourish. It wasn’t a great defensive showing even after halftime, with Denver still giving up 30 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Their offense was otherworldy though, and they got enough stops in flurries in the second half to create two big runs, one at the beginning of each quarter, that let the offense pay off. Trading blows doesn’t create momentum. Finding those stops was crucial.
Coach David Adelman said at halftime they essentially only talked about how they had 3 total fouls in the first half, which was a symptom of not playing hard enough on defense. “We have to have these defensive segments where we flip the game,” he said in the post-game presser, and that’s really what this all-world offense needs. The Nuggets don’t have the personnel and depth right now to consistently get stops throughout the game without Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun. But enough defense from either the bench or the starters can really jumpstart the offensive pieces, which they DO have. Jamal and Jokic were terrific as expected, but Cam Johnson took some nice Murray feeds and finished the play. Hardaway and Brown used the screens and got their scores. It’s not about getting every stop, it’s about getting the right stops and then taking advantage. Denver stopped turning the ball over in the second half (only 4 in the final two frames) and that combined with their defensive stints forced the difference and led to the giant comeback.
The heart of a champion still beats inside that Denver uniform – now they just need to harness that realization at home instead of just on the road. With a couple more road games still to go, though, hopefully the road winning streak can continue the rest of the week!
Seattle, WA
High winds cause power outage affecting over 8K Seattle City Light customers
SEATTLE — Over 8,000 Seattle City Light (SCL) customers have reportedly been affected by outages on Friday evening due to high winds, SCL said.
As of 8:24 p.m., SCL reported 13 active events with 8,318 customers without power.
Seattle City Light is investigating the cause.
The outage can be tracked on this map.
As of 8:24 p.m., Puget Sound Energy reported 39 active outages with 3,355 customers impacted.
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