Free Republic

A federal judge overturned a former Biden-era rule that protected transgender healthcare under anti-discrimination measures. On Wednesday, Judge Louis Guirola Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled in favor of a coalition of 15 Republican-led states. The complaint was filed regarding Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which the Biden administration interpreted to include provisions for transgender-identifying people to receive so-called “gender-affirming care.” The provision added gender identity to Title IX’s definition of discrimination “on the basis of sex,” which previously included discrimination based on sex characteristics and reproductive function. This rule prevented...

An illegal immigrant from El Salvador was sentenced to 30 years in prison for repeatedly raping an 11-year-old girl in Virginia Beach. On Wednesday, the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office shared the mugshot of 35-year-old Ricardo Lionel Mejia, who was sentenced on Tuesday. Mejia was booked into the Virginia Beach Correctional Center on October 9, 2024, after pleading guilty to three charges of raping a victim under the age of 13, indecent liberties with a child under 15, and statutory burglary. The sheriff’s office stated that he will serve a 30-year sentence at the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) facility on...