Archive

2025

Browsing

Trade winds are a-blowing.

The NFL combine is the unofficial start of trade and draft season, as plenty of league personnel gather in Indianapolis with plenty of time for chatter. Some of that comes to fruition in the form of signings, trades and draft picks, which we’ll find out down the road.

It’s the combine where that foundation is typically laid, however.

Plenty of names will be etched onto this list in the coming days, weeks and months that lie ahead. With constantly evolving rosters and players seeking new opportunities, everything in the NFL can change at a moment’s notice.

Whether it’s stars like Myles Garrett and Matthew Stafford or role players who don’t experience any time in the spotlight, the league is bound to look different by the time everyone suits up for real in September.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

NFL trade rumors 2025

Here’s a look at the players who could be on the move after finding their names in the latest rumors:

DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

Garrett sent shockwaves through Super Bowl week when he requested a trade following another disappointing season for the Browns. Whether he is eventually moved remains to be seen, but the organization remains firm in its stance that Garrett won’t be traded. Browns’ general manager Andrew Berry said the team’s stance remains unchanged at the NFL combine.

‘Understand the trade request and everything but our stance really has not changed,’ Berry said. ‘We can’t imagine a situation where not having Myles as a part of the organization would be best for the Browns.’

QB Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

During an offseason that doesn’t offer a lot of quarterback solutions, Stafford is one of the surprising options that is seemingly available. The Rams gave the 37-year-old the chance to speak with other teams to determine his market value.

The main sticking point relates to Stafford’s contract, considering he wants $50 million a year, according to NFL Network’s Peter Schrager.

With the possibility of a trade looking more likely than ever, Las Vegas Raiders part-owner and NFL on Fox broadcaster Tom Brady has reached out to Stafford’s camp in an attempt to recruit the quarterback, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore.

ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said it seems that the New York Giants’ top priority is Stafford, but added, ‘it still seems less likely to happen than happen at this point.’

WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

On Feb. 3, Kupp broke the news that he’ll be calling a new NFL city ‘home’ in 2025.

‘I was informed that the team will be seeking a trade immediately and will be working with me and my family to find the right place to continue competing for championships,’ Kupp wrote on X. ‘I don’t agree with the decision and always believed it was going to begin and end in LA.’

News has been mostly quiet on the Kupp front, leaving it a mystery where he’ll end up when the dust settles.

WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

Samuel was granted permission to seek a trade, which was confirmed by USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon. The receiver reportedly requested to be dealt during his exit meeting with the team, marking his second trade request since 2022.

The 49ers weren’t interested in dealing Samuel the last time around, turning down the New York Jets’ offer that included the No. 10 pick in the 2022 NFL draft, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. New York later selected Garrett Wilson with that pick, while San Francisco signed Samuel to an extension.

Speaking at the NFL combine, general manager John Lynch said the team will honor Samuel’s request this time around.

CB Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers

The Packers have held trade discussions surrounding cornerback Alexander, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Staying on the field has been a problem for Alexander, who has appeared in seven games in the last two years. After playing in 16 games during the 2022 season, the cornerback managed to play only four games in 2021.

Alexander also picked up a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team in 2024. The two sides have been seemingly trending towards a divorce for a while now.

LB Harold Landry III, Tennessee Titans

Landry was granted permission from the Titans to seek a trade, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The edge rusher was a second-round pick by the team in 2018, delivering 50.5 career sacks in 98 career regular games, posting at least nine in each of his last three healthy seasons. He added 4.5 sacks in five career playoff games.

With the Titans bringing in a new general manager and owning the No. 1 pick in the draft, roster changes are certainly on the way for Tennessee. The 28-year-old carries a $24.05 million cap hit for the next two seasons, according to OverTheCap, the final years of his current contract.

DT Jonathan Allen, Washington Commanders

Allen was given permission from the Commanders to seek a trade, as confirmed by the team’s general manager, Adam Peters, on Tuesday.

‘Everything’s still on the table in terms of whether it’s trade or staying here or whatever,’ Peters said. ‘We’re still going through that. It’s kind of early in the stages. We haven’t done a lot of exploring yet, but that’s kind of where we’re at right now.’

The 30-year-old missed nine games with a torn left pectoral muscle but eventually worked his way back into the lineup before the regular season concluded. Allen appeared in the final two regular-season contests and all three of Washington’s playoff games.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

The Cleveland Browns find themselves in a familiar spot heading into the 2025 NFL offseason – the quarterback market.

Deshaun Watson could end up missing the entire 2025 season after rupturing his right Achilles for a second time in just a few months. The initial tear came on Oct. 20, during the team’s Week 7 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Then on Jan. 10, the Browns announced Watson’s setback, putting next season in jeopardy.

With that question left unanswered, the Browns could ultimately turn to the NFL draft for a signal caller this offseason.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski addressed the options during his press conference and additional media availability on Wednesday at the NFL combine, saying he was impressed with the quarterbacks.

‘This is a really good class from top all the way through,’ Stefanski told reporters. ‘(We) mentioned Cam (Ward) and Shedeur (Sanders), but there’s really good players like throughout this draft at that position. I could go through some other positions, but I’m impressed with the whole group.’

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Stefanski went on to defend the class further and the idea that it is an underwhelming group of quarterbacks.

‘As we consume the draft, and there’s a lot to consume, I think there’s always narratives people are putting out, but I don’t think those guys are very concerned with whatever those narratives might be,’ Stefanski said.

The coach also noted that they aren’t close to having a decision despite owning the No. 2 pick in the draft.

‘This is a process,’ Stefanski said. ‘It’s one thing to watch the tape, and then you got to get to know them, and you got to make phone calls on them. Then you got to get to their pro day. There’s so much that goes into this evaluation, and we’re in the middle of it. We’re not there yet.’

However, he dismissed the idea of needing a ‘franchise quarterback’ label to justify drafting a player at the position that high.

‘Obviously, if you’re taking a guy there, you believe in him to be a guy that can be your franchise quarterback, quote-unquote. But, you know, we’re just looking for a good player that fits us,’ Stefanski said.

That remained the common theme throughout the coach’s time with the media on Wednesday. He repeatedly expressed that building a roster is about tailoring the system for the players rather than being rigid. Stefanski suggested that they need to adapt to the players and obstacles throughout the season, making that a necessity.

The Browns have a variety of roads they can travel this offseason to solve the quarterback spot between the draft, free agency and more.

‘I think we’re obviously looking in a bunch of different areas there,’ Stefanski said. ‘There’s some really exciting young players in this draft that you’re looking at. There’s obviously work to be done in free agency and all those types of things, but I think we’re looking in all avenues if you will.’

As for Watson, it’s unclear where he fits in going forward. The quarterback has not only struggled on the field during game action but also found difficulty remaining healthy enough to compete.

He’s played in just 19 games over that three-year span, posting a 9-10 record since arriving via trade in 2022. It’s a move that’s widely considered to be among the worst in NFL history.

The Browns ever-growing list of quarterbacks looks primed to grow by at least one this offseason. The franchise will hope it’s the last name they add for a while.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

An alternate, ‘ManningCast’-style show is coming to the NBA.

The league is launching a telecast Thursday night called “Courtside Crawsover” for the Minnesota Timberwolves-Los Angeles Lakers game, hosted by three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and former MLB player Dexter Fowler.

The telecast will be available on NBA League Pass and will also feature guests across sports and pop culture. Six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin and rapper Wale are scheduled to join the pilot Thursday; guests for subsequent telecasts are being finalized.

Comparisons to ESPN’s popular ‘ManningCast’ — an alternate NFL telecast hosted by brothers and former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning — are inevitable. Crawford called the show “the gold standard,” but Fowler insisted that their telecast is going to be “a standalone on its own” and not “anything like what they have” because of the focus on lifestyle and pop culture.

“I thought this could give a different twist, just to be with somebody you’re really cool with and almost make it like we’re watching the game with the consumer and the fan,” Crawford told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “You’re putting us right there with you on your couch, like you’re sitting at the barbershop. Yeah, we’re going to break down the game, but we’re going to bring so many more elements to it.”

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Crawford said the conversation will not be “as scripted” as other alternate telecasts, adding that they will rely on feel and flow for direction. Within that, a variety of topics — sports, music, fashion, lifestyle — are all up for discussion.

“We want to have fun with it,” Fowler told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. “It’s more about lifestyle and everything under the sun; that’s why we’re calling it the ‘Crawsover.’ Having people come on and get them out of their comfort zone. It’s going to be lighthearted and it’s going to be fun, but you’re still going to learn.”

As the NBA has experienced a slight decline in television viewership this season, per Nielsen, “Courtside Crawsover” is slated for select games over the remainder of the regular season, including March 21 (Rockets-Heat) and April 4 (Cavaliers-Spurs).

The launch is part of a larger effort the NBA is making to reach new audiences with altcasts; the league has been producing “HooperVision” — a basketball-centric offering that Crawford has occasionally co-hosted alongside Quentin Richardson — and will also produce “CoachCast,” a strategy-oriented offering co-hosted by former NBA coaches and assistants Derek Fisher, Phil Handy and Adrian Griffin.

“Alternate telecasts have been a core part of our efforts to elevate the live game viewing experience for fans on NBA League Pass for years,” Sara Zuckert, the NBA’s head of Next Gen Telecast, told USA TODAY Sports in an emailed statement.

Facing criticism about the volume of three-point shooting, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has pushed back on what he has called a “frustrating” narrative about viewership, arguing that conventional television ratings are an insufficient measure of the overall engagement in the league. Silver has pointed to the recently signed 11-year, $76 billion media rights deal, social media impressions and in-person attendance as essential factors in the discussion.

“From that standpoint, record popularity,” Silver said Feb. 15 during his annual press conference at the All-Star Game. “I don’t even know what you could even compare to us at this time, where we’re looking at a social media community that is estimated to be around two-and-a-half-billion people engaging in some way with our league and our players. And then there’s new platforms like podcasts, which are becoming increasingly popular. …

“Now, how do you blend all those things together? I think that’s the really tough question and I think that’s something we are focused on right now.”

Crawford, who has been an analyst for TNT’s NBA coverage, was also named the lead analyst for NBC’s coverage of the league when that new media rights deal kicks off in October 2025. Although the pairing with Fowler, a former outfielder with one All-Star appearance, may initially seem unconventional, Crawford said it was intentional.

‘Dex loves basketball, so for me it was like, why not Dexter Fowler?” Crawford said. “Because if I get another basketball guy, it’s like, ‘OK, that’s his friend, they’re basketball guys on camera talking about basketball.’ But (Fowler) may give some insight or different perspective about how they prepare or how they train. …

“I thought he would make it so it’s not too much basketball. He has a great sense of humor, he knows when to laugh. He may say something that he sees in a simple way that makes sense to me and everybody else, because a lot of people could be watching the game for one of the first times, or learning the game.”

Added Fowler: “It’s just thinking outside the box. I think of stuff that the regular fan probably thinks about.”

Fowler, who played basketball in high school and received an offer to play at Harvard, has appeared on Marquee Sports Network’s Chicago Cubs coverage and has also contributed to MLB Network and Turner’s baseball coverage. Turner was where Fowler eventually linked up with Crawford, who approached Fowler about the idea.

To prepare for Thursday’s launch, both have been doing reads and mock performances to develop their chemistry, timing and flow.

“I think, for us, the conversations are the star,” Crawford said. “It’s not me or Dex.

“I think the one thing that’s constant in any successful alt-cast is being organic, having a good time and not keeping it strictly about whatever you’re watching. Taking the audience on a ride and journey.”

The Timberwolves-Lakers game will tip off Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET. There will be no traditional pregame or postgame coverage, and League Pass subscribers can tune in to the “Crawsover” stream then.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker maintains the mounting sexual harassment allegations against him are ‘simply not true.’ Sixteen massage therapists have come forward with claims of inappropriate behavior.

‘I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider,’ Tucker said in a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. ‘I absolutely respect the massage therapy profession and more so the individuals who work as massage therapists.’

In January, The Baltimore Banner reported that six women at multiple spas across the Baltimore area accused Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior between 2012 and 2016. Ten more women have come forward since The Banner’s initial report, triggering an NFL probe.

Tucker initially released a lengthy statement on X, calling the allegations ‘unequivocally false’ and ‘desperate tabloid fodder.’ He doubled down on Wednesday, saying the claims are ‘so shocking and heart-breaking.’

All things Ravens: Latest Baltimore Ravens news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

‘Throughout the last four weeks, I have spent countless hours replaying every interaction I have had with bodywork professionals over the last thirteen years. I can assure whoever is reading this that I have never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever,’ he said. ‘It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry. I want you to know I am committed to ensuring that everyone I interact with continues to feel that I respect them and care about them as a human being.’

Tucker’s wife Amanda Bass, whom he married in March 2015, told OutKick Wednesday that the allegations have ’caused so much hurt to our family.’ She added, ‘I believe my husband, and I love and support him fully.’

Tucker’s lawyer, Joe Terry, didn’t provide additional comment when contacted by USA TODAY Sports.

Earlier this week, Ravens general manager and executive vice president Eric DeCosta called the allegations against Tucker ‘serious and concerning.’

‘I think we’re fortunate that the league is doing an investigation,’ DeCosta said. ‘We’ll wait as patiently as we can for as much information as we can. We’ll make our decisions based on that.’

This story has been updated with new information.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fastDownload for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

PEORIA, Ariz. − The pain has subsided. The bitter memories have faded.

Yet, none of it will ever be forgotten.

The San Diego Padres will tell you they should have won the World Series last season. They should have been the ones with the parade and a ring ceremony. They had the Los Angeles Dodgers on the ropes. They were just one victory from knocking off the mighty Dodgers to advance to the National League Championship Series.

The Padres were up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-five NL Division series, with Game 4 in front of their frenzied fans at Petco Park. Then, their offense abruptly disappeared. The Padres, who scored 21 runs in the first 20 innings of the series, were shut out the final 24 innings.

Just like that, it was over.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

“I can tell you it was rough,’’ Padres manager Mike Shildt softly said, “real rough. It left a really bad taste and a real emptiness because there was so much invested. That feeling will never go away.

“We can win the next two or three World Series, and it’ll still be there. But I’m glad it’s there for me, and I’m glad it’s there for our group.

“We were right there. We had them. I don’t want to dwell on it to the point where it overtakes me or us, but there’s an edge that’s there now and a hungriness for us to compete.’’

The Dodgers, who had lost eight of 13 regular-season games to the Padres, echo the same sentiments, believing all along that the Padres would be the biggest threat to their World Series title. They were proven correct, bludgeoning the New York Mets in the NLCS and cruising past the Yankees in the World Series for the title.

“That series against the Padres,’’ Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech said, “was the most intense series ever. They were so good. If we had lost to them, I’m convinced they would have been the ones to win the World Series.’’

No doubt, the real World Series last season was that NL Division Series, one that the Dodgers continue to celebrate, and one that will forever haunt the Padres.

“I hate losing, I really do,’’ Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado tells USA TODAY Sports. “We had them. We had them. But we came up short. When you lose to the champions, it stings. You see them win it all, it’s like, “Damn, it could have been us right?’

“You soak it in, and after that, you got to flip the switch. You got no choice. But that’s the beauty of baseball. The stuff gets harder every year. That’s why I love this game so much, it keeps you hungry.’’

Said Xander Bogaerts, who is switching back from second base to shortstop. “I mean, it stinks. We had a really good chance. A great chance. I thought we were a better team. We just didn’t win.’’

The Padres are confident they can be right back and meet the Dodgers again in the postseason, but there’s also a cruel reality check. The Dodgers went out and spent $450 million during the winter and will have baseball’s highest payroll at $390 million. The Padres’ free-wheeling spending days came to a halt while trying to keep their projected $207 million payroll below the luxury tax threshold, spending just $8.5 million on free-agent contracts for the 2025 season. They didn’t make a serious attempt to keep key free agents in Jurickson Profar, Tanner Scott, Ha-Seong Kim, Kyle Higashioka and Donovan Solano. They were crushed when 23-year-old Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki picked the Dodgers over them, despite Yu Darvish and former Japanese star Hideo Nomo making convincing arguments for San Diego in their meeting.

There was even fear they would have to trade starters Dylan Cease or Michael King or three-time batting champion Luis Arraez. Instead, they not only remain in a Padres’ uniform, but they signed veteran Nick Pivetta to a back-loaded four-year, $55 million contract. It gave the Padres a huge boost of confidence that they can return to the postseason, giving them at least one more shot before Cease, King and Arraez walk away as free agents after the season, with $845 million still remaining on the contracts for Machado, Fernando Tatis and Xander Bogaerts..

“I think it’s really an exciting time to be a Padre, and I’m just grateful to help them continue what they’ve been doing here,’’ said Pivetta, who spent the last four full seasons with the Boston Red Sox. “There’s a lot of hunger in the clubhouse. I watched their series against the Dodgers. It’s fun to see these two organizations go toe-to-toe with each other.’’

It’s the Southern California version of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, but perhaps in a tougher division.

“Our division now is by far the best division in baseball,’’ Machado said. “Hands down. We’ve got four teams who could make the playoffs.

“The Dodgers are [bleeping] good, man. But we’re excited to take them down. There’s nothing better than having a championship team in your division that you can knock off.’’

The Padres realize they have to take a back seat to the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup. They don’t have nine potential starters and five closers on their pitching staff. They’re not projected to win 103 games, or even come close to winning 93 again.

“But no one was picking us to do what we did last year either,’’ Bogaerts said. “We were one of the best two teams in baseball at the end of the season.’’

Besides, when the Padres gathered last spring, they didn’t really know what they had either. They traded All-Star Juan Soto. They didn’t know who was closing. They didn’t know who was rounding out their rotation. They didn’t know how Jackson Merrill would fare in the outfield or Bogaerts at second base. And they had a new manager in Shildt.

Yet, there they were, nearly winning the NL West, and scaring the daylights out of the Dodgers.

“Last year, it almost seemed like we needed to find our identity,’’ King said. “You just traded away one of the best players in baseball [Soto]. [Yu] Darvish and Joe [Musgrove] and I were the building blocks in the starting rotation, and I’m a question mark because I’ve had only nine starts. There were question marks around the whole team.

“But then we started to mesh as a team, we had an awesome trade deadline [acquiring relievers Scott and Jason Adams], and could have beaten the Dodgers. So, the confidence you get from that translates into this year.

“Obviously, we’ve got unfinished business but it’s a lot more fun coming into a locker room because you’re competing on a really good team instead of just seeing if we’re going to be a really good team.’’

The Padres still have question marks at the back end of their rotation, bullpen depth and lineup. It remains unknown whether Cease or King will still be with them on opening day. Ultra-aggressive GM A.J. Preller continues to listen to trade offers on Cease and King in ways to shed payroll while still remaining competitive.

But there is a strong belief that the Padres will back right back playing in October.

“It’s not necessarily the confidence in what we’re going to do,’’ Machado said, “but the confidence we have in each other. We just know each other so well. We just got to go out there and compete and be on the same page. When you’re not on the same page, you have individuals that do things differently, and it steers you in the wrong direction.’’

The Padres certainly went through that that in 2023, having the most talent and biggest stars in baseball, but fell completely flat and missed the playoffs. They parted company with manager Bob Melvin who left for San Francisco and traded Soto to the Yankees. One year later, they won 93 games, lost the NL West by only five games to the Dodgers, and gave them everything they could handle.

Now, here they are with basically the same nucleus, hoping that the $2 million platoon of Conner Joe and Jason Heyward can replace Profar in left field, and a GM with an itchy trigger finger to pull off something big.

“A.J. is ready man,’’ Machado said. “A.J. will do whatever to help us win now. He’s always done it ever since I got here. You know he’s going to make some moves.

“We’re in a good spot, man, and we’re going to go for this thing. You’ll see.’’

Besides, there were more uncertainties a year ago than now at this time. The Padres had no idea that rookie Jackson Merrill, who had never played center field before in his career, would become a star. Cease was still employed by the Chicago White Sox until the end of spring. Arraez was playing for the Miami Marlins until May. Closer Robert Suarez had only one career save. And Machado, recovering from elbow surgery, was limited to DH duties.

So why not believe again?

The Padres believe that last year’s postseason experience will be beneficial. They know what to expect now. They know the urgency of each moment. And they know the pain of how quickly it can end.

“Listen, we competed, we didn’t back down from anybody, and the moment wasn’t too big for anybody,’’ Shildt said. “We’re at a place now where’s some firm footing, a clear identity, and a real togetherness. We have more confidence with real confidence.

“We’ve got unfinished business, and we’re hungry to have that opportunity again.

“Really, we can’t wait.’’

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This post appeared first on USA TODAY

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is preparing legislation to safeguard the FBI’s Jeffrey Epstein files, citing concerns that some documents at the bureau were in danger of being destroyed.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the government was in possession of ‘pretty sick’ information on the late convicted pedophile, during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters on Wednesday. She said documents could be released as early as Thursday.

‘Should you encounter any statutory barriers to the expeditious public release of Jeffrey Epstein’s client list or other pertinent information related to his activities – to include circumstances in which any such documentation is housed in other federal agencies – I stand ready to assist,’ Ogles wrote to Bondi in a memo on Wednesday.

‘To that end, upon hearing reports that certain FBI agents are allegedly attempting to destroy critical records, I am currently drafting legislation entitled the Preventing Epstein Documentation Obliteration Act, or the PEDO Act.’

The legislation, which is still in the works, would protect all files across Bondi’s jurisdiction.

Ogles did not cite the names of any specific agents. He’s the latest Republican lawmaker to speak out about the Epstein files this week, after the House announced the creation of a new task force led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., dedicated to declassification efforts.

It comes after conservative influencer Benny Johnson reported on whistleblower allegations that there were rank-and-file agents within the FBI destroying documents in a bid to block FBI Director Kash Patel’s work.

‘Our constituents deserve nothing more than radical transparency in matters implicating the integrity of our justice system,’ Ogles wrote to Bondi.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) for comment, but did not hear back.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

House Republicans are urging President Donald Trump to use his executive power to block hospitals from denying organ transplants for people not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, who is leading the letter, said he was partially moved to act after Vice President JD Vance’s 12-year-old relative was reportedly denied a heart transplant over her COVID-19 vaccination status.

‘Over the past week, it has come to light that multiple desperate Americans have been denied life-saving organ transplants due to their COVID-19 vaccination status,’ the letter said. ‘This outrageous denial of care has affected some of our most vulnerable citizens – including a child from Indiana and a veteran from Ohio.’

Earlier this month, he and Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., introduced a bill to stop federal funds from going to any entity that denies someone treatment based on COVID-19 vaccination status. 

‘President Trump has done such a great job recently on executive orders,’ Rulli told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘And I am asking President Trump if he sees this, to please do an executive order… because you could save someone’s life today.’

‘The timing is everything. If we don’t get this done, people’s lives could be at risk.’

The letter, signed by Rulli, Houchin and five other House Republicans, cited Trump’s executive orders ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools and reinstating military service members who were discharged for not getting the vaccine.

‘The same principles apply here. These reckless mandates, implemented under the Biden Administration, do more harm than good,’ the letter said. 

‘With your leadership, our nation could return to a time when our brave and talented medical professionals can save lives freely, unburdened by bureaucratic barriers that endanger our most vulnerable citizens.’

The girl’s mother, Jeneen Deal, told the Daily Mail that giving her daughter the vaccine would violate the family’s religious beliefs.

When reached for comment on the lawmakers’ letter by Fox News Digital via Facebook Messenger, Deal beseeched them to include the influenza vaccine in their request to Trump.

‘Just removing the covid is just a start. The flu and covid are keeping her from being on the list,’ Deal wrote.

Vance said in comments to the Daily Mail that he would try to help.

‘I guess it’s been circulating on social media, but I was made aware of a couple days ago, and we’re trying to dig in and trying to help, obviously, as much as possible,’ he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for Trump and Vance for comment, but did not hear back.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

The Supreme Court appears poised to rule in favor of a straight woman’s discrimination claim in a case that could overturn a line of precedent that has made ‘the Civil Rights Act apply unequally,’ according to a legal scholar familiar with civil rights litigation.

Petitioner Marlean Ames claims that she was demoted and passed over for a position in the Ohio youth corrections system in favor of two less-qualified gay employees who had neither applied for nor interviewed for the roles.

At issue in her case is a higher burden of proof some lower courts have required for those considered to be in ‘majority groups’ – in this case heterosexuals – to prove discrimination occurred under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. 

During Wednesday’s oral arguments, the justices – and the lawyers on both sides of the dispute – all agreed that the appeals court erred in Ames’ case, which required her to provide additional ‘background circumstances’ to ‘support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.’ 

Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Wednesday all the court really needs to do is issue ‘a really short opinion that says discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, whether it’s because you’re gay or because you’re straight, is prohibited, and the rules are the same.’

At one point during the arguments, Ohio Solicitor General Elliot Gaiser – arguing on behalf of the Ohio Department of Youth Services – perplexed liberal Justice Elena Kagan when he agreed that ‘the idea that you hold people to different standards because of their protected characteristics is wrong.’

‘I mean, it’s a little bit of a peculiar situation, isn’t it, because this is what the court said,’ Kagan said. ‘And you’re up here, and I don’t know exactly what to make of this.’

Gaiser said he agreed with Ames ‘on that major premise point,’ but ‘we don’t think Ms. Ames proved enough evidence to showcase a discrimination claim.’

‘I think we had six depositions under oath, if you can’t show any evidence that the employer was motivated by a protected characteristic when they took the adverse action, and certainly, if you can’t show an adverse action at all, that’s not enough to create any burden of production for the employer,’ Gaiser said. ‘And that sample pattern approved the four elements that McDonnell Douglas lays out, courts have adapted that under this court’s guidance.’

The governing precedent in question is McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, a 1973 case where the high court established a four-step process for handling discrimination cases based on indirect evidence. Gaiser told the justices that Ames has not met the criteria set by those tests, even as the appeals court’s application of the precedent was wrong.

The ‘higher burden of proof’ at the center of the case, which several circuit courts choose to apply, ‘is not supported by the text of Title VII,’ GianCarlo Canaparo, senior legal expert at Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

‘There was, and to some extent still is, an ideological movement which says the text of the Civil Rights Act, not just Title VII, all of it applies to everybody equally, but really it’s only meant to give special protection to certain groups, and its protection doesn’t apply to other groups,’ Canaparo said. ‘And that sort of logic is what underpinned the rule in the Sixth Circuit and others, that says if you’re a majority group, you’re presumptively entitled to less protection, and so you have this disparate standard.’

Canaparo said that during oral arguments ‘pretty much everybody, except maybe Justice Jackson, said, ‘Look, the text is what it is. It’s really clear.”

He also said Ohio’s goal in the case is to raise the standard for everyone, making it more difficult to file discrimination claims. Under the current McDonnell Douglas framework, plaintiffs only need to present minimal preliminary evidence to suggest discrimination, after which the employer must prove a legitimate reason for firing the employee, Canaparo said. 

‘Now that sounds good in theory, but how it actually works out is that the evidentiary burden that a lot of plaintiffs have to put up in the first instance is so low that what functionally happens in a lot of cases is that the defendant, the employer, has to prove its own innocence,’ he said.  

Gaiser’s proposal, according to Canaparo, is to raise the initial burden on plaintiffs so that they must present a stronger case before the employer is required to defend itself, while maintaining an equal standard for all.

‘I think Ames will win, but that means a couple things. Number one, it means that traditionally created doctrines that make the Civil Rights Act apply unequally are on the way out,’ he said. 

This approach is expected to have significant implications in a second Trump term, especially as the president issued executive actions weeding out discriminatory DEI policies, he added.

‘I think it’ll have a pretty powerful effect in continuing to shape the country toward the colorblind understanding of the law,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Andrea Lucas, acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, wrote in a post on X that the ‘neutral standard that SCOTUS likely will land on in Ames’ already applies ‘and has for decades.’

‘@USEEOC unanimously signed @TheJusticeDept’s brief in Ames. Don’t wait for SCOTUS’s opinion—comply with Title VII now,’ she wrote. 

Lucas told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Thursday that ‘the EOC has never held that position’ of requiring a heightened background circumstances test for a ‘majority’ plaintiff or group.

‘The EOC position is that this background circumstances test conflicts with the McDonnell Douglas standard. It conflicts with Supreme Court precedent,’ Lucas said. ‘We already had policy and enforcement positions that we’ve taken for decades.’

Ames started working at the Ohio Department of Youth Services in 2004 as an executive secretary, which oversees the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. Since 2009, she was promoted several times, and by 2014, she was promoted to program administrator, according to the Supreme Court filing.

In 2017, Ames began reporting to a new supervisor, Ginine Trim, who is openly gay. During her 2018 performance review, Trim rated Ames as meeting expectations in most areas and exceeding them in one.

However, in 2019, after Ames applied for a bureau chief position and did not get it, she was removed from her program administrator role, the court filing states. The department’s assistant director and HR head, both of whom are straight, offered her the choice to return to her previous job with a pay cut. Ames chose to remain with the department and was later promoted to a different program administrator position. The department then hired a gay woman for the bureau chief role Ames had wanted, and a gay man for the program administrator position she previously held.

In a sign of apparent bipartisan agreement on the underlying controversy, Elizabeth Prelogar, the U.S. solicitor general under the Biden administration, filed an amicus brief in December urging the Supreme Court to vacate the appeals court’s ruling.

The Supreme Court is expected to release its ruling by the end of June.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, sparked a firestorm on social media over comments questioning DOGE chief Elon Musk’s allegiance to the U.S. given that he has been a citizen for ‘only’ 22 years.

‘Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years,’ Kaptur said outside the Capitol on Wednesday. ‘And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years.’

Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, drew immediate criticism on social media from conservatives accusing Kaptur of hypocrisy and using language that Republicans would be pilloried for using. 

‘Just like @elonmusk, I immigrated LEGALLY and pledged my full loyalty to America,’ Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno posted on X. ‘But Democrats just see us as cheap labor who pick their crops and mow their lawns. If you step out of line & question their liberal narrative, they say you don’t belong here. It’s disgusting.’

‘Rep Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) is now a nativist when it comes to Elon Musk,’ Greg Price of the White House Rapid Response team posted on X. 

The White House’s official rapid response account also posted on X, saying, ‘@RepMarcyKaptur is now questioning the loyalty of American citizens. This is a new low.’

‘A really bad thing for Marcy Kaptur to say,’ Taxpayers Protection Alliance President David Williams posted on X. ‘Is she really saying this about immigrants?

Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman posted on X that Kaptur’s comment was a ‘new tone for House Democrats…’

‘Marcy Kaptur’s disgusting remark questioning Elon Musk’s loyalty based on his immigrant background exposes the Democrat Party’s descent into nativist rhetoric — the very thing they claim to oppose,’ NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

‘Their hypocrisy is clear: they champion open borders when it benefits them but resort to xenophobic attacks when an immigrant doesn’t align with their political agenda.’

‘Only immigrant the Democrats aren’t for,’ National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuruposted on X.

‘This is the attack they want to make?!’ Republican communicator Matt Whitlock posted on X. ‘That Elon has only been a citizen for 22 years? The Trump administration continues to be blessed with the absolute dumbest opposition I’ve ever seen.’

‘I’m sorry, what?’ Macarena Martinez, communications director for Sen. Ted Cruz,, R-Texas, posted on X. ‘If a Republican said this they would be cancelled.’

Kaptur, 78, previously signed onto a House resolution in 2019 condemning President Trump for alleged xenophobic comments.

‘This resolution states that immigrants and their descendants have made America stronger and naturalized citizens are just as American as those whose families have been in the United States for generations,’ the resolution stated. 

‘It also expresses a commitment to keep America open to those who lawfully seek refuge from violence and oppression and those willing to work hard to achieve the American Dream, regardless of race, ethnicity, faith, or country of origin.’

Musk has continued to draw the ire of Democrats in recent weeks for his cuts to federal spending and government programs. At the same time, polling suggests most Americans agree with DOGE’s mission. 

Kaptur’s office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

Elon Musk’s status as the world’s wealthiest person is in no danger of changing.

But since mid-December, the tech titan’s net worth has declined by more than $100 billion, or approximately 25%, as a sell-off in shares of Tesla, his electric car maker, has accelerated in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the stock closed down another 8% to $302.80 and is off 25% year to date. The latest drawdown comes as new data showed new Tesla vehicle registrations plummeting in Europe, down 45% year-on-year for January, even as overall sales growth of electric-battery vehicles on the continent climbed. Sales in China also recently came in trending down.

Some reports have suggested European buyers are revolting against Musk’s active role in the Trump administration, which is effectively resetting longstanding European relations.

Investors may also simply be locking in the extraordinary gains of the past year or so: Even with the recent drop-off, the stock is still up 52% over the past 12 months.

On Tuesday, Gary Black, managing partner at The Future Fund investment group, said Tesla shares could fall even further this year given an apparent revision in recent Tesla corporate management guidance about deliveries in 2025.

Musk has assumed an unprecedented — and highly controversial — role in American society with his alliance with President Donald Trump and his ostensible leadership of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. Musk also leads SpaceX; the social media platform X; the xAI artificial intelligence company; and Neuralink, a company that is exploring brain-chip implants.

Yet Tesla investors have grown accustomed to Musk’s multiple responsibilities — and indeed, continue to value Tesla stock highly because they see Musk as a uniquely capable figure.

To that point, some investors say Tesla’s recent stock reversal may not endure in the long term. The company is expected to deploy a robo-taxi service later this year, and continues to roll out new models to adapt to shifting driver preferences. It is also unveiling its full-self-driving technology in China.

“Tesla’s superior products, new more affordable vehicle, which I believe will be a new form factor and expand Tesla’s total addressable market, and the promise of unsupervised autonomy will sell more Teslas,” Black wrote on X over the weekend.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS