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‘Love Actually’ star thinks iconic scene is ‘creepy’

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Love, actually, might not be the best way to describe one of Keira Knightley’s most iconic film scenes.

The storied actress was only 17 when she joined the star-studded ensemble cast of “Love Actually,” a 2003 romantic Christmas movie that has since become synonymous with the holiday season.

Despite its popularity, Knightley admits she can’t remember much from her time on set.

“Most of my films I have either never seen or I have only seen once. So It’s nothing against ‘Love Actually.’ It’s lovely because it didn’t do as well as everyone thought it was going to when it came out. Suddenly, like three or four years later, it sort of took on a life of its own,” she told the Los Angeles Times. 

‘PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN’ STAR KEIRA KNIGHTLEY SAYS SHE WAS ‘TAKEN DOWN PUBLICLY,’ TRAUMATIZED AFTER FILM

Keira Knightley was one of several big actors in the ensemble cast of the 2003 Christmas film, “Love Actually.” (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

“It’s the only film I’ve had that found this life afterwards. The problem is, I was on it for about five days. I was 17, so I don’t actually have any memory whatsoever of it.”

Keira Knightley in a lace white dress looks directly at the camera on the red carpet

Keira Knightley says “Love Actually” is her only project that has resonated with an audience past its initial release. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

The movie, which weaves its characters together through a variant of love stories, includes a newlywed couple, Juliet and Peter, played by Knightley and Chiwetel Ejiofor, respectively. Their wedding is filmed by Peter’s best man, Mark (played by Andrew Lincoln), who is secretly in love with Juliet. 

In what is now an iconic scene, Mark comes to Juliet’s door to profess his love for her, cue cards in tow. Standing outside the couple’s doorstep with a boombox playing “Silent Night,” unbeknownst to his pal Peter, Mark has Juliet read the cards, telling her his true feelings.

Andrew Lincoln in "Love Actually" as Mark holding up a cue card that says, 'To me, you are perfect' with Keira Knightley's head in the foreground

Andrew Lincoln, who portrays Mark in “Love Actually,” shuffles through a series of cards to profess his love for Juliet (played by Keira Knightley). (Maximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo)

The scene hasn’t aged well, with many acknowledging a bizarre undertone of inappropriateness, one that Knightley can recall feeling on set and voicing to director Richard Curtis.

“The slightly stalkerish aspect of it – I do remember that,” Knightley reflected of filming. “My memory is of Richard, who is now a very dear friend, of me doing the scene, and him going, ‘No, you’re looking at [Lincoln] like he’s creepy,’ and I’m like, ‘But it is quite creepy.'”

“And then having to redo it to fix my face to make him seem not creepy,” she added.

Keira Knightley as Juliet in "Love Actually" looking a bit confused but smiling with Andrew Lincoln in foreground

Keira Knightley said during filming in 2003, she raised her concerns with director Richard Curtis. (Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection)

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“I mean, there was a creep factor at the time, right?” Knightley, now 39, said. “Also, I knew I was 17. It only seems like a few years ago that everybody else realized I was 17,” she said of her age when filming. Lincoln, whom her character Juliet runs after and kisses, was 29 at the time.

Lincoln, for his part, remembered having similar concerns in an interview with Vanity Fair in 2017.

“I kept saying to Richard, ‘Are you sure I’m not going to come off as a creepy stalker?’” he said.

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In 2023, Richard gave an interview with The Independent where he acknowledged the inherent weirdness of the scene.

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“I think it’s a bit weird. I mean, I remember being taken by surprise about seven years ago, I was going to be interviewed by somebody and they said, ‘Of course, we’re mainly interested in the stalker scene,’ and I said, ‘What scene is that?’ And then I was, like, educated in it,” he said. “All I can say is that a lot of intelligent people were involved in the film at the time, and we didn’t think it was a stalker scene.”  

Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney and Colin Firth also appeared in the film.

Saints coach Darren Rizzi unleashes wrath on punter after play vs Giants

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New Orleans Saints punter Matthew Hayball was on the receiving end of interim head coach Darren Rizzi’s wrath on Sunday during their matchup against the New York Giants.

Hayball punted a ball to returner Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the second quarter. Smith-Marsette made a move and took the punt all the way back for what the Giants thought was a touchdown, even nearly fumbling the ball on his way to the end zone.

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Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi is shown during the second half against the Los Angeles Rams at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Dec. 1, 2024. (Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images)

As the Giants celebrated, players started to realize a flag had been thrown on the play. New York was called for holding, wiping Smith-Marsette’s punt-return touchdown off the board.

Rizzi was seen on the sideline tearing into Hayball. Saints running back Alvin Kamara had to get in between his coach and his teammate. It was a 43-yard punt, but it appeared Rizzi was upset with how it was kicked to Smith-Marsette.

LEGENDARY NFL COACH TONY DUNGY TALKS CURSING AT PLAYERS IN LOCKER ROOM

Matthew Hayball walks off the field

Matthew Hayball (Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images/File)

The Saints’ special teams clearly holds a special place in Rizzi’s heart. He joined the Saints as their special teams coordinator in 2019 after serving in the same role with the Miami Dolphins. He was promoted to special teams coordinator and associate head coach in 2022.

Rizzi took over as the team’s interim head coach in the middle of this season after New Orleans fired Dennis Allen.

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Darren Rizzi at the Rams game

Darren Rizzi (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert/File)

He’s 2-1 as Saints head coach, and the Saints were leading the Giants 7-3 at the time the incident with his punter occurred.

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Assad arrives in Moscow, is granted asylum by Russia

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Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the capital of Damascus, has arrived in Moscow and has been granted asylum by the Russian government, according to Russian News Agency TASS.

Speculation about where Assad might land has been widespread since the longtime dictator fled the country, with allies such as Iran and Russia being at the top of the list.

TRUMP URGES US TO STAY OUT OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, BLAMING OBAMA FOR FAILURE AS ISLAMISTS CLOSE IN ON CAPITAL

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visit the Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province, Syria December 11, 2017. (RUSSIA-FLIGHTS/ Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/ via REUTERS/File Photo)

Assad was forced to flee the country after a coalition of largely radical Islamist groups led a sweeping offensive across Syria, culminating in the capture of the country’s capital city and the fall of Assad’s regime, which had seen his family rule Syria for over 50 years.

The offensive was the latest development in a bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for almost 14 years, a war that also led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization a yearlong interventions by countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran, and Turkey.

Rebels In Northwest Syria Seized Military Vehicles Belonging To The Regime Along The Route Toward Kweris Airport In The Eastern Countryside Of Aleppo On December 2, 2024.

Rebels In Northwest Syria Seized Military Vehicles Belonging To The Regime Along The Route Toward Kweris Airport In The Eastern Countryside Of Aleppo On December 2, 2024. (Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via APRami Alsayed/NurPhoto via AP)

ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE

Assad has been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had for more than a decade dedicated military resources to the defense of Assad’s regime and its government forces.

Assad now arrives in Russia with his family, according to an Interfax news agency report, citing a Kremlin source.

Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on their motorbikes with smoke billowing in the background during fighting on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and allied factions continue their offensive in the Aleppo province against government forces. 

Fighters enter the Rashidin district on the outskirts of Aleppo on their motorbikes with smoke billowing in the background during fighting on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and allied factions continue their offensive in the Aleppo province against government forces.  (Photo by BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images)

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“President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds,” the source told the outlet.

Trump vows to levy tariffs, pardon Jan. 6 rioters, deport all undocumented immigrants : NPR

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President-elect Donald Trump takes the stage before he speaks at the FOX Nation Patriot Awards on Dec. 5 in Greenvale, N.Y.

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President-elect Donald Trump doubled down on levying tariffs in his first days in office, minimizing his prior emphasis on retribution against his perceived enemies, in his first network interview since he won the election.

Trump spoke on NBC News’ Meet The Press with Kristen Welker about his vows to implement his top campaign promises — deporting all those in the U.S. illegally, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters and extending major tax cuts.

Trump also promised he won’t restrict access to abortion pills and hopes find a legislative solution that keeps “Dreamers” in the country legally. Dreamers are undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children who have legal status under an executive action from former President Barack Obama.

When asked about going after President Joe Biden after inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump said he won’t focus on the “past.”

“Retribution will be through success,” Trump told Welker. “I’m looking to get — bring prices down. Because … I won on the border, and I won on groceries.”

Trump had previously threatened to investigate, prosecute, imprison or otherwise punish his perceived enemies, including Biden.

The president-elect maintained his plans to levy heavy tariffs on the nation’s top trading partners such as Mexico, Canada and China. When asked about whether this would increase prices for consumers, as many economists have warned, Trump said: “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow.”

When pressed further by Welker on the fact that tariffs from his first administration cost Americans $80 billion, the president-elect pushed back, saying tariffs “cost Americans nothing” and can even be a tool of diplomacy.

“I have stopped wars with tariffs by saying, ‘You guys want to fight, it’s great. But both of you are going to pay tariffs to the United States at 100%’,” Trump said, without providing evidence of any wars he stopped.

Spending cuts, immigration

Trump has often pointed to tariffs as a source of revenue for the federal government to offset the losses due to his tax cuts in the first term. He has also promised to drastically cut federal spending through the Department of Government Efficiency — an outside group led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Trump said Social Security and Medicare are not on the chopping block.

“I said to people we’re not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient,” Trump said. “But the people are going to get what they’re getting.”

On the topic of health care, Trump did not offer a clear path forward. During his first presidency, Trump spent his first months in office trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

When asked if he’d do the same this time around Trump said, “Obamacare stinks. If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else and I’d do something about it.”

Immigration remains a top priority for Trump. During the NBC interview, he stood by his plans to implement mass deportations of people living in the U.S. illegally. Trump said he’d start with convicted criminals, but he’d go beyond that group.

“Well, I think you have to do it, and it’s a hard — it’s a very tough thing to do,” Trump said. “It’s — but you have to have, you know, you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally.”

When asked if he wants Dreamers — those brought to the country as children and registered to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program — to stay in the U.S., Trump said, “I do. I want to be able to work something out.”

On abortion, Trump continued to acknowledge to political potency of the issue and said he would not get in the way of abortion pill distribution.

“Will you restrict the availability of abortion pills when you’re in office?” Welker asked.

“I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years,” Trump said. “And the answer is no.”

NYPD divers seen searching Central Park lake as manhunt for CEO killer continues

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Scuba divers with the New York Police Department were seen scouring a lake inside Central Park as the manhunt for the killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson continues.

Divers were searching for evidence inside the lake throughout Sunday morning. The lake is near where officials found a backpack linked to the suspect. Images and video show divers signaling to one another as the search continues.

Police had not announced the recovery of any evidence from the lake as of late Sunday morning.

Police say the suspect fled the scene of the shooting last week and biked to Central Park before taking a taxi to the Port Authority bus station. His arrival to the bus station has led police to conclude he is no longer in New York City.

SHOCKING VIDEO SHOWS UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON GUNNED DOWN ON NYC STREET

Police recovered a backpack linked to the suspect inside the park. It contained Monopoly money and a jacket.

Retired FBI agent Scott Duffey told Fox News Digital that the backpack will be taken to a lab in Queens for forensic testing, where it will undergo trace evidence processing.

“[It’s] a process for hair, fibers [and] DNA,” Duffey explained Saturday. “If he holds his hand against the strap and tightens the buckle like most of us do, that is where DNA most likely can be found. And zippers.”

Members of the NYPD SCUBA team exit the lake in Central Park, New York, NY on Sunday, December 8, 2024.

The NYPD first announced that $10,000 was being offered for information leading to the suspect’s arrest and conviction. The FBI said late Friday it was offering up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.

FORMER NYPD INSPECTOR ‘SKEPTICAL’ UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO GUNMAN WAS PROFESSIONAL, ZEROES IN ON WEAPON OF CHOICE

The manhunt has now spread into multiple states and entered its fifth day on Sunday. The New York City bus station the suspect used serves routes that could have taken him to New Jersey, north toward Boston or south toward Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Police search for evidence in the murder of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson

Members of the NYPD SCUBA team exit the lake in Central Park, New York, NY on Sunday, December 8, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

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Former Washington, D.C. homicide detective Ted Williams said the Monopoly money in backpack is the “killer playing games with the authorities. All part of a cat and mouse game.”

“This killer knew they would more likely than not find the backpack, and he is leaving breadcrumbs to let [the] authorities know that he is in control, not them,” he said.

Columbia group’s antisemitic newspaper draws outrage from NY lawmaker, as university investigates

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Students at Columbia University are distributing an antisemitic newspaper called “The Columbia Intifada,” and one New York lawmaker is calling for consequences.

Copies of the newspaper launched by students who are part of an anti-Israel club were handed out on campus. They contain articles with the titles “Zionist Peace Means Palestinian Blood” and “The Myth of the Two-State Solution,” the New York Post reported, noting that the authors’ identities are not disclosed.

“If @Columbia cannot protect Jewish students on their campus, they should lose federal funding and have their tax-exempt status revoked,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., posted to X. “And for those students here on a visa engaged in an ‘intifada’ against American students of the Jewish faith? Deport them.”

Images of the newspaper were posted to the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine X account, with the group calling it their “official newspaper.”

PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS PLAN ANTI-VETERANS DAY GATHERING AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: ‘DISGUSTING’

A student protester parades a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, April 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, Pool)

Columbia issued a statement about the paper on Friday.

“Using the Columbia name for a publication that glorifies violence and makes individuals in our community feel targeted in any way is a breach of our values,” it reads. “As we have said repeatedly, discrimination and promoting violence or terror is not acceptable and antithetical to what our community stands for. We are investigating this incident through our applicable offices and policies.”

TWO JEWISH STUDENTS AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY TARGETED ON CAMPUS BY MASKED ATTACKERS

Columbia protest sign

A sign is seen at Columbia University near a protest encampment in support of Palestinians, in New York City, April 27, 2024. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)

The publication disturbed some Jewish students, according to the Post.

“When I see stuff like that, the title, ‘Myth of the Two-State Solution,’ these people don’t want peace,” Brooke Chasalow, 20, said.

Another student who refused to provide her identity said she is “supportive.”

Columbia University anti-Israel protests

People fall to the ground during a scuffle at Columbia University during the anti-Israel protests on Sept. 3, 2024. (Fox News)

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“I encourage the diversity of ideas in a school when we’re being censored,” she told the Post.

Anti-Israel protests plagued the Ivy League university during the spring semester, prompting the school to cancel its university-wide commencement and make campus safety changes ahead of the start of the new academic year, which began earlier this fall. 

Biden legacy includes relentless push for transgender agendaBiden legacy includes relentless push for transgender agenda

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Before President Biden was inaugurated as the nation’s 46th president, he and his administration put its staunch support of transgender issues at the forefront of its policies. 

In the waning days of the Biden administration, Fox News Digital revisited the Biden administration’s support of transgender issues, including a handful of controversies that elicited backlash from conservatives. 

“The president’s belief is that trans rights are human rights,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said within the administration’s first month in office during a press conference. 

One day before Biden was inaugurated, he announced the nomination of a person who would become the first known transgender woman to hold an office that required Senate confirmation: Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine. The announcement was soon followed by Biden, in his official capacity as president, rolling back Trump-era trans policies, celebrating holidays championing the trans and LGBTQ communities at large, and pledging support to transgender individuals during each of his State of the Union addresses. 

BIDEN OFFICIAL RACHEL LEVINE SAYS EARLY MEMORIES WERE OF TRANSGENDERISM, QUESTIONING BIOLOGICAL SEX

Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine (Joe Hermitt/The Patriot-News via AP, File)

Following Biden’s successful nomination of Levine to the Department of Health and Human Services, a job Levine still holds, Biden again underscored his administration’s explicitly pro-trans stance when he rolled back the first Trump administration’s ban on trans members of the military. 

Under the Trump administration in 2018, the 45th president officially authorized the Pentagon to ban transgender individuals from joining the military, with limited exceptions, after making the pledge to do so in 2017.

Biden bucked the policy on his fifth day in office through an executive order, saying it was “the right thing to do” and in the “national interest” of the country. 

Biden in WH

President Biden gestures after signing an executive order on advancing equality for LGBTQI+ individuals and handing the signing pen to Javier Gomez of Florida during a pride event at the White House June 15, 2022. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the White House said in January 2021. “This question of how to enable all qualified Americans to serve in the military is easily answered by recognizing our core values.”

The White House said at the time that America “is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive,” adding that “the military is no exception.”

3 MONTHS AND 28 DAYS: LGBTQ EVENTS CLOG CALENDAR AS WHITE HOUSE FACES BACKLASH OVER EASTER ANNOUNCEMENT

The Biden administration has also elevated trans and LGBTQ holidays across the last four years, including issuing messages of support of “Transgender Day of Visibility” each year.  

“Transgender rights are human rights – and I’m calling on every American to join me in uplifting the worth and dignity of transgender Americans. Together, we can stamp out discrimination and deliver on our nation’s promise of freedom and equality for all,” he posted to his X account in March 2021. 

Jill Biden at White House

First lady Jill Biden walks onstage during a Pride celebration on the South Lawn of the White House on June 26, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

International Transgender Day of Visibility was created by activists more than 10 years ago and is celebrated each year on March 31. The holiday came under fierce fire earlier this year, however, as it fell on the same day as Easter Sunday – t​​he most holy holiday for Christians. Conservatives, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ripped the White House’s decision to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, calling it an attack on Christianity.

“We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only – the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Karoline Leavitt, who served as the Trump campaign’s press secretary before being named as Trump’s White House press secretary, said at the time. 

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital at the time that Biden, as a Christian, was working to bring “people together” with the event.

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and upholding the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said. 

BIDEN SAYS HE ‘DIDN’T DO THAT’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT EASTER BEING ‘TRANS VISIBILITY DAY,’ DESPITE PROCLAMATION

Fox News Digital previously reported that the White House has celebrated or commemorated seven other holidays focused on LGBT issues, including National Coming Out Day in October; Lesbian Day of Visibility in April; International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in May; Pride Month in June; Spirit Day in October; Intersex Awareness Day in October; and Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. 

Sam Brinton

Sam Brinton, who worked as a Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary, speaks onstage during a Trevor Project event on June 11, 2018, in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for The Trevor Project)

The Biden administration came under fire in 2022 when one of the U.S. government’s first “non-binary” officials was accused of stealing airport luggage on multiple occasions. Non-binary is understood as an individual who does not exclusively identify as male or female. 

EMBATTLED FORMER BIDEN OFFICIAL ACCUSED IN MULTIPLE AIRPORT THEFTS ENDS 2023 FREE

Sam Brinton, a biological male, worked as the Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary, but made national headlines in 2022 when accused of stealing luggage at airports. Brinton was charged with stealing a woman’s suitcase at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in September and another at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas in July. The DOE said, amid outrage over the case, that Brinton was no longer employed by the department. 

Las Vegas police booked Sam Brinton at a detention center on Wednesday.

Las Vegas police booked Sam Brinton at a Clark County, Nevada, detention center. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

Biden also hosted what was billed as the White House’s largest Pride celebration in its history in 2023. During that event, a transgender model and activist, Rose Montoya, came under fire for going topless and cupping their bare breasts while standing on the South Lawn of the White House. The incident was slammed by conservatives as an “international embarrassment” and Montoya was subsequently banned from visiting the White House. 

“This behavior is inappropriate and disrespectful for any event at the White House. It is not reflective of the event we hosted to celebrate LGBTQI+ families or the other hundreds of guests who were in attendance,” the White House said in response to the controversy. “Individuals in the video will not be invited to future events.”

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS TRANS ACTIVIST FOR GOING TOPLESS AT PRIDE MONTH EVENT: ‘INAPPROPRIATE AND DISRESPECTFUL’

Rose Montoya

Rose Montoya attends The TransLatin Coalition’s 10th Annual GARRAS Fashion Show Fundraiser at Pacific Design Center on Nov. 16, 2024, in West Hollywood, California. (JC Olivera/Getty Images)

The administration has also invited notable transgender individuals to the White House over the last few years, including hosting “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider in 2022, and held a sit-down discussion with transgender internet influencer Dylan Mulvaney – who was embroiled in the Bud Light commercial controversy in 2023. The Biden admin also saw the elevation of transgender retired Navy officer and activist Shawn Skelly as assistant secretary of defense for readiness in 2021, a role Skelly still holds. 

Shawn Skelly

Shawn Skelly attends Out Magazine’s #OUT100 Event on Nov, 9, 2017, in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for OUT Magazine)

The White House celebrated the progress of the trans community under Biden’s administration in a comment to Fox Digital. 

“President Biden is proud to stand up for the dignity of every single American, and to have achieved historic progress for the following values that Fox Corporation shares and includes in their employee handbook: transgender Americans deserve an ‘environment free of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, and without fear of consequences or transphobia for living openly,” Bates said. 

BUD LIGHT HASN’T FULLY REBOUNDED AS ONE-YEAR MARK OF DYLAN MULVANEY FIASCO APPROACHES: ‘VERY STUBBORN BOYCOTT’

Amy Schneider in White House

Jeopardy champion Amy Schneider speaks in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on March 31, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Biden has also supported the transgender community each year during his State of the Union addresses, vowing in his first year that the “president has your back.” 

“To all transgender Americans watching at home, especially young people who are so brave, I want you to know your president has your back,” Biden declared during his first State of the Union address in 2021.

In 2022, he said: “The onslaught of state laws targeting transgender Americans and their families is wrong. As I said last year, especially to our younger transgender Americans, I will always have your back as your president, so you can be yourself and reach your God-given potential.”

Dylan Mulvaney with award

Dylan Mulvaney accepts the Streamy Award for Breakout Creator onstage at The Streamy Awards on Aug. 27, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

“Let’s also pass the bipartisan Equality Act to ensure LGBTQ Americans, especially transgender young people, can live with safety and dignity. Our strength is not just the example of our power, but the power of our example. Let’s remember the world is watching,” Biden said in his 2023 State of the Union address. 

The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, which is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, also showed their support for the LGBT community under the Biden administration by flying the pride flag during June each year. 

US RAISES PRIDE FLAG AT EMBASSY TO THE HOLY SEE

Trump’s second administration is expected to be a departure from Biden’s unequivocal support of promoting transgender issues. The president-elect vowed on the campaign trail that he will ban biological males from women’s sports, as well as vowing to remove “woke” ideology from the military – though no decision has been made if that policy will include removing trans individuals from the military. 

“On Day One, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender affirming care’ – ridiculous – a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance, and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. Can you believe this?” Trump said in a campaign video last year of his plan to “protect children from left-wing gender insanity.” 

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“I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures, and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states. It’ll go very quickly.”

New Jersey sees more drones overhead, as gov candidate floats theory on unsolved mystery

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Roughly a dozen counties in New Jersey have seen mysterious drones flying overhead, and residents – and the FBI – remain stumped regarding who or what is behind it.

The drones were reportedly first seen over Morris County, New Jersey – whose border sits approximately two miles north of the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster – in mid-November, according to Patch. Since then, drones have been spotted regularly across the Garden State, from central counties including Monmouth, Ocean, and Hunterdon, as well as Camden and Burlington Counties in the south of the state.

New Jersey radio host and gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea believes the unusual drone sightings are “some kind of a military test” and says when he is in office his constituents will have much more transparency.

“I just wish they would come out and say ‘Here’s what we’re doing,'” Spadea said on “Fox & Friends Weekend” Sunday morning. “When I’m elected governor, we’re not gonna have this secrecy coming from the state house. We’re gonna have total transparency because it’s clear someone knows what’s happening.”  

DRONE SIGHTING REPORTED OVER NEW JERSEY’S LARGEST RESERVOIR AS FEDS INVESTIGATE UNNERVING PHENOMENON

Authorities are investigating unusual drone activity in northern New Jersey, including the area of Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.  (Getty Images)

Spadea, a host on New Jersey’s 101.5 talk radio, said he first learned about the sightings from a friend who called the show a few weeks ago.

Since then, the station has been fielding calls from listeners about increased sightings. Spadea’s entire show the last week and a half has been on the drone issue, he said.  

“Callers from all over the state are calling in to say some of these drones are the size of cars,” he said. 

State officials have said they are taking the mystery drone sightings “seriously,” and Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy posted to X that “there is no known threat to the public at this time” on Thursday. 

At the same time, the FBI is leading an investigation into the matter. Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for information, but they did not immediately respond.

NEW JERSEY LEADERS SPEAK TO DHS AS UNUSUAL DRONE SIGHTINGS NOW ALSO REPORTED OVER NEW YORK

Drone in sky

The drone was seen over North Jersey on Tuesday. (Nicholas Lordi)

They have been seen nightly in some areas, and are occasionally reported traveling in groups, Patch reported. 

More recently, drone sightings were also reported on Staten Island.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's office in Miami, Florida

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s office in Miami, Florida is pictured on Friday, June 23, 2006. The agency is looking into the drones spotted across New Jersey. (Richard Sheinwald/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“We have recently been made aware of large, military-style drones flying over parts of New Jersey during the past few weeks,” Borough President Vito Fossella wrote in a letter to the FBI and FAA. “It has also come to our attention from concerned residents and within the media that these drones have now been flying over Staten Island during the past few days.” 

Fox News’ Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report. 

Politics chat: Trump attends Notre Dame reopening defends Pete Hegseth

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President-elect Donald Trump travels to Paris for the opening of Notre Dame and for some soft diplomacy, meanwhile the future of his pick for secretary of defense remains in question.

Traditional Christian schools thriving in liberal bastion of San Francisco

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As public school enrollment continues to decline across the nation, classical Christian schools in the deep blue city of San Francisco are gaining traction, according to a new report.

Three religious schools offering students a classic liberal arts education have opened across the Bay Area in the past five years, according to The San Francisco Standard, which has been documenting the growing trend.

Donum Dei Classical Academy, which touts its Bible-based curriculum for K-8th graders, may look out of place in the Bernal Heights neighborhood “adorned with rainbow Pride flags,” but its influence is growing, the report said. 

The tiny school has reportedly added 25 students since opening in 2019 and donations have skyrocketed from $45,692 that year to $773,319 in 2023. 

NEW REPORT SHOWS NEARLY 70% OF BIDEN ADMIN’S EDUCATION ENFORCEMENT TARGETED CHRISTIAN AND CAREER COLLEGES

Classical Christian schools are increasingly cropping up in San Francisco. (Reuters)

Donum Dei joins other classical Christian schools in the city, including private Catholic school Nativity High School, “which opened this fall with 20 students in the Inner Richmond; Saint John of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, a 25-student K-8 school in the Richmond that opened in 1994; and Stella Maris, a former Catholic school on the same campus as Nativity that has doubled its enrollment to 86 students since reinventing itself in 2021,” the Standard reported.

Parents looking for a curriculum that incorporates “tradition, faith, and conservative values” are drawn to these schools, staff told the paper.

Marilyn Bridon, an art teacher at Stella Maris, explained how their school may look different from many public schools, in that “woke” books are routinely removed from the school library and preferred “pronouns” are not something that is discussed.

An administrator and teacher at another classical school, Saint Johns of San Francisco Orthodox Academy, explained that parents have expressed that they didn’t want their kids’ education to be “too far to the left.”

WHAT WEARY SAN FRANCISCANS ARE SAYING AFTER VOTERS REJECTED ‘STRANGLEHOLD’ OF THE PROGRESSIVE LEFT

group reading a Bible

Parents looking for a faith-based classical education for their children are increasingly turning to classical Christian schools in San Francisco, according to a new report. (iStock)

“A lot of people in our community have said it’s important to them that we’re not too far out there, too far to the left,” Helen Sinelnikoff-Nowak said in the report. “I’m not preaching to parents, but I hear them, and that’s what they’re looking for.” 

The classical education movement has picked up steam as parents seek alternatives to public schools. According to the Association of Classical Christian Schools, there were 502 schools enrolled in their organization in the U.S. as of 2023.

While more of these schools open across the nation, public school enrollment has dropped in America’s most populous cities, according to a recent report.

Between 2013 and 2022, nationwide enrollment in public schools decreased by 2% from 49.9 million to 48.8 million, falling to some of the lowest points in decades, according to a report released in June by the Manhattan Institute.

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Fox News’ Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.