The first openly transgender politician elected to the U.S. House, Democratic Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, claimed Sunday that the GOP’s focus on transgender issues is an “attempt to distract” voters.

“I think we are all united that attempts to attack a vulnerable community are not only mean spirited, but really an attempt to misdirect. Because every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract,” McBride, who was elected to represent Delaware earlier this month, said Sunday morning on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

“It is an attempt to distract from what they are actually doing. Every single time, every single time we hear them say the word ‘trans,’ ​​look what they’re doing with their right hand. Look at what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing Social Security and Medicare. Look what they’re doing, undermining workers,” McBride added. 

President-elect Trump, conservative voters and members of Congress have all raised concerns regarding transgender issues, including stretching back years, most notably in the context of barring biological men from competing in women’s and girls’ sports, as well as banning men from women’s bathrooms and locker rooms. 

SPEAKER JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW CAPITOL BATHROOM POLICY IN RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY OVER TRANS HOUSE MEMBER

On Capitol Hill, South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace introduced a resolution last week that moves to prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” 

Mace, a rape survivor, also introduced another bill that would “ban biological men from using women’s private, protected facilities – such as bathrooms and locker rooms – on all federal property” across the nation. 

NANCY MACE FIRES BACK AT AOC, CRITICS OF TRANS BATHROOM BAN: ‘HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY’

Democrats, including McBride, slammed Mace as a “far-right” extremist for the legislation. 

“This is a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing. We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care, and child care, not manufacturing culture wars,” McBride posted to X. 

Rep. Nancy Mace grilled civil rights activist leader and former NYC mayoral candidate Maya Wiley at a Thursday hearing. (GOP Oversight YouTube channel)

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said later in the week that single-sex facilities on Capitol Hill, including bathrooms, will be used by individuals with the corresponding biological sex. 

NANCY MACE’S EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER DELAWARE DEMOCRAT FROM CAPITOL WOMEN’S RESTROOMS GAINS SUPPORT

“All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings – such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms – are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,” Johnson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol.” 

MRC Free Speech America feels Speaker Mike Johnson should “direct relevant committees and committee chairmen to investigate Google for abridging people’s constitutional rights.” (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

“Women deserve women’s only spaces,” he added. 

“Like all policies, it is enforceable,” Johnson later told reporters. “But we have single-sex facilities for a reason, and women deserve women’s only spaces. And we’re not anti anyone. We’re pro-women, and I think it’s an important policy for us to continue. It’s always been the, I guess, an unwritten policy, but now it’s in writing.” 

MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS

McBride continued during her Sunday interview that the GOP’s focus on trans issues distracts Congress from policy issues such as lowering the cost of living. 

Rep.-elect Sarah McBride joins other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress for a group photograph on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 15, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Here’s also what we have to be clear about, because I think the last week has been a prime example of this. Every bit of time and energy that is used to divert the attention of the federal government to go after trans people is time and energy that is not focused on addressing the cost of living for our constituents. And we have to be clear that there is a real cost for the American worker every time they focus on this,” McBride said. 

Mace joined “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday, where she pushed back on Democrats criticizing her for introducing the legislation, notably New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“It’s sad and surprising that in 2024 I have to go on TV and on social media to explain to the radical left that men shouldn’t be allowed in women’s restrooms, that women shouldn’t be forced to undress in front of men.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

In conjunction with her newly released memoir, Cher is turning back time to reflect on her storied career, spilling secrets and addressing rumors that she is “difficult” to work with.

In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the “Goddess of Pop,” spoke candidly about two projects she had worked on as an actress during which she did not jibe with the film’s directors.

“There are only two directors I didn’t like: Peter Bogdanovich,” whom she worked with on the picture, “Mask,” and “the guy from ‘The Muppets,’” referring to Frank Oz, who was once slated to direct her 1990 film, “Mermaids.”

CHER WAS ‘SHOCKED’ WHEN SHE DISCOVERED LEGAL NAME DECADES AFTER BIRTH CERTIFICATE ERROR

Referring to Oz, Cher remembered giving an ultimatum on the set of the 1990 film, which was ultimately directed by Richard Benjamin. 

“I said, either you’re going or I’m going, which is a shame because he’s a really good director, but he had a thing about me,” Cher said. “He would go, ‘At least my wife loves me!’”

A representative for Oz did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Cher starred alongside Winona Ryder, Bob Hoskins and Christina Ricci in the 1990 film, “Mermaids.” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images)

Cher also laid into the late Bogdanovich, with whom she worked in 1985. He had said prior to his 2022 death that Cher was the “most difficult actor” he had ever worked with. 

“He was an a–hole,” Cher said of Bogdanovich. “He was not nice to the girls in the film and he was so f—ing arrogant. I really, really disliked him.”

“She didn’t trust anybody, particularly men,” Bogdanovich told Vulture in 2019, of his leading lady. “She doesn’t like men. That’s why she’s named Cher: She dropped her father’s name. Sarkisian,” he added. Born Cherilyn Sarkisian, the singer formally requested a legal name change in 1979 to just Cher.

Cher starred alongside Sam Elliott in the 1985 picture, “Mask,” directed by Peter Bogdonavich. (Universal/Getty Images)

But Bogdanovich was able to admit that Cher’s disdain for him was likely because of his disdain for her. 

“She was always looking like someone was cheating her. I came to the set one day; I said, ‘You depress me, you’re always so down and acting like somebody’s stealing from you or something,'” Bogdanovich recalled.

Cher remembered her time on set differently, telling The Sunday Times, “He comes in and says, ‘Cher, where do you think we should film this scene?’ And I say, well, the kitchen is working pretty well, why don’t we do that again? The next morning he arrives on set, eating an egg sandwich, and starts screaming that he’s not going to let me direct this film; I’m a nobody; he can cut me out at any moment,” she recounted.

“Oh yeah, he was a pig.”

Peter Bogdanovich once claimed Cher was the “most difficult actor” he’d ever worked alongside. (Araya Diaz/Getty Images for cinema prive)

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“Ask everybody: I’m really easy to work with,” Cher continued. 

“I’m not arbitrary in the things I say, because it’s right to do what the director wants until you need to speak up. Meryl [Streep] says that if the director wants you to do something you don’t like, you say: yes, yes, yes, I’ll do it that way. Then you do it your way and they don’t even notice. I’ve worked with Bob Altman, Mike Nichols, Norman Jewison…. Really great directors whom I respect. I know when to listen.”

Cher refuted Bogdonavich’s claims that she was difficult to work with. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Cher: The Memoir,” is out now.

South Carolina lawmaker Nancy Mace sparked a wildfire from critics like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., when she proposed a resolution to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol.

After the progressive Democrat claimed Mace and supporters of the bill were “endangering women and girls,” Mace fired back. 

“It’s really the height of hypocrisy,” Mace said on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” Sunday. “It just goes to show [Democrats’] lie. They don’t want to protect women. They never have wanted to protect women, and their policies will only endanger more women and girls.”

NANCY MACE’S EFFORT TO BAN TRANSGENDER DELAWARE DEMOCRAT FROM CAPITOL WOMEN’S RESTROOMS GAINS SUPPORT

Mace, who has vocalized being a survivor of rape and sexual abuse, introduced the resolution last week. She told Fox News Digital, “the sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol.”

The measure will prohibit “members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes,” according to text previewed by Fox News Digital.

“It’s just ludicrous to me that women who are victims of abuse should be forced to undress or go to the bathroom next to a man,” Mace told co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.

It comes just before the first openly transgender lawmaker, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is set to join Congress in January.

Mace’s legislation would charge the House sergeant at arms with enforcing the rule.

MACE FACES BACKLASH OVER EFFORT TO BAN NEW TRANSGENDER MEMBER OF CONGRESS FROM WOMEN’S BATHROOMS

AOC heavily criticized the legislation while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Wednesday.

“What Nancy Mace and what Speaker Johnson are doing are endangering all women and girls. Because if you ask them, ‘what is your plan on how to enforce this?’ They won’t come up with an answer,” she said.

“What it inevitably results in are women and girls who are primed for assault…because people are going to want to check their private parts in suspecting who is trans and who is cis and who’s doing what… Because she wants to suspect and point fingers at who she thinks is trans is disgusting.”

The New York lawmaker even accused Mace of wanting women to “drop trow” to enforce the resolution. 

Mace rejected that notion, saying, “[AOC’s] not telling the truth. No one has ever said that women should drop trow. That’s really disgusting.”

Since announcing the resolution, Mace has endured a slew of threats and even public accostation. 

“It’s sad and surprising that in 2024 I have to go on TV and on social media to explain to the radical left that men shouldn’t be allowed in women’s restrooms, that women shouldn’t be forced to undress in front of men.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Entering Saturday night, all No. 7 Alabama needed was a win against unranked Oklahoma to remain very safe in the College Football Playoff bracket.

Earlier in the day, No. 5 Indiana was blown out, No. 4 Penn State barely squeaked by Minnesota, and No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 14 BYU both lost.

But, the Crimson Tide could not get the job done, as Oklahoma dominated to a 24-3 victory.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who had been one of the nation’s best players, had his worst game of the season. He completed 11 of 26 passes for 164 yards with three interceptions and gained just seven yards on 15 carries for Alabama (8-3, 4-3). The Sooners held Alabama to 234 yards. He went just 2-for-7 for 62 yards before the half.

True freshman Xavier Robinson ran for career highs of 107 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma became bowl eligible and took coach Brent Venables off the hot seat.

The Sooners’ victory resulted in yet another edition of fans storming the field too early, but at least this one was practically over anyway, unlike the BYU-Arizona State game.

Oklahoma students and fans rush the field after they efeated Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

APPALACHIAN STATE FANS PELT JAMES MADISON PLAYERS WITH SNOWBALLS BEFORE GAME

Ole Miss and Alabama, both in the bracket prediction last week, now have three losses on the season. This leaves the door wide open for 9-2 teams like Clemson and Iowa State, who had been ranked 17th and 22nd in the nation, respectively.

And now, Indiana’s college football playoff hopes, right after their undefeated season ending, may not look all that over. No. 10 Georgia and No. 11 Tennessee figure to move up a few spots with three teams ahead of them in the rankings all losing.

Although, it’s certainly not out of the question that Alabama could be on the outside looking in.

Oklahoma spirit team member celebrates after a touchdown against Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The next rankings will come out on Tuesday, and it should be very exciting to see what the committee has in store.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The rivalry was back on between Appalachian State and James Madison University on Saturday with an added twist.

The Dukes traveled for the teams’ annual contest to Boone, North Carolina, where snow had hit the area.

The field was all clear for play, but the stands still had mounts of the white stuff – and the fans took advantage.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

As the Dukes were entering the field from the tunnel, Mountaineer fans bombarded the players with snowballs.

It appeared that some players didn’t mind one bit – some even seemed fueled by getting hit.

But maybe the Appalachian State fans had a good plan, as the Mountaineers came away with a 34-20 victory.

Joey Aguilar threw for 216 yards and two touchdowns, and Ahmani Marshall ran for 108 yards in the victory.

James Madison’s George Pettaway is tackled by Appalachian State’s Jordan Favors, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. (Allison Lee Isley/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

ARIZONA STATE FANS STORM FIELD WITH TIME ON CLOCK, CAUSING LENGTHY DELAY; SUN DEVILS POST LAST-SECOND WIN

Aguilar threw a 4-yard touchdown to Eli Wilson and a 64-yard touchdown to Makai Jackson to bring the Mountaineers (5-5, 3-4 Sun Belt) into a tie at 17 with 1:23 left before halftime.

After forcing the Dukes to punt, App State came up with a blocked punt and Michael Hetzel returned it 9 yards for a touchdown to give the Mountaineers the lead for good with 40 seconds left before intermission.

With the loss, James Madison (8-3, 4-3) is eliminated from a chance to represent the East Division in the conference championship game.

Appalachian State’s Shawn Collins recovers a fumble from James Madison’s quarterback Alonza Barnett III, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Allison Lee Isley/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The game was almost one year to the day the Mountaineers ruined James Madison’s perfect season, as the Dukes had considered legal action after being ruled ineligible for a bowl game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Fred Harris, a self-described populist Democrat from Oklahoma who served eight years in the U.S. Senate before an unsuccessful campaign for president in 1976, has died. He was 94.

Harris’ wife, Margaret Elliston, confirmed his death to the Associated Press in a text message on Saturday, writing: “Fred Harris passed peacefully early this morning of natural causes. He was 94. He was a wonderful and beloved man. His memory is a blessing.”

Harris, who was living in New Mexico, died in a hospital in Albuquerque, Elliston told The New York Times.

Harris first served for eight years in the Oklahoma State Senate after winning election in 1956. He then launched his career in national politics in 1964 when he won a Senate race to fill the vacancy left by Sen. Robert S. Kerr, who died in January 1963.

GAME SHOW HOST CHUCK WOOLERY OF ‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE,’ ‘LOVE CONNECTION,’ DIES AT 83

“I’ve always called myself a populist or progressive,” Harris said in a 1998 interview. “I’m against concentrated power. I don’t like the power of money in politics. I think we ought to have programs for the middle class and working class.”

As a U.S. senator, Harris was a member of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, the so-called Kerner Commission, appointed by then-President Lyndon Johnson to investigate the urban riots of the late 1960s.

Sen. Fred Harris of Oklahoma served in the U.S. Senate for eight years. (AP Photo, File)

The commission released its report in 1968, declaring, “our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white — separate and unequal.”

Thirty years later, Harris co-wrote a report that concluded the commission’s “prophecy has come to pass,” stating that “the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and minorities are suffering disproportionately.”

COLIN PETERSEN, BEE GEES ORIGINAL DRUMMER, DEAD AT 78

In 1976, Harris ran a failed bid to earn the Democratic presidential nomination, bowing out of the race after poor showings in early contests. The more moderate Jimmy Carter went on to win the presidency.

Harris moved to New Mexico that year and became a political science professor at the University of New Mexico. He wrote and edited more than a dozen books, mostly on politics and Congress. In 1999, he broadened his writings with a mystery set in Depression-era Oklahoma.

Former Oklahoma Sen. Fred Harris stands outside his Corrales, N.M., home, Friday, July 23, 2004. Harris died Saturday at a hospital in Albuquerque, his wife said. He was 94. (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf, File)

Harris was born Nov. 13, 1930, in a two-room farmhouse near Walters, in southwestern Oklahoma. The home had no electricity, indoor toilet or running water. He worked on the farm starting at age 5, driving a horse in circles to supply a hay bailer with power – earning 10 cents a day.

He later worked part-time as a janitor and printer’s assistant to help pay for his education at the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a law degree in 1954. He practiced law in Lawton before beginning his career in politics.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Harris married his high school sweetheart, LaDonna Vita Crawford, in 1949, and had three children, Kathryn, Byron and Laura. After the couple divorced, Harris married Margaret Elliston in 1983. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An 18-year-old Idaho woman was arrested after she allegedly dropped a dead baby in a Safe Haven Baby Box at a hospital, according to police.

Angel N. Newberry was taken into custody on an arrest warrant for failing to report a death to law enforcement officials and the coroner, Blackfoot Police said. She was booked into the Bingham County Jail.

The Safe Haven Baby Box allows parents to safely and anonymously surrender a newborn under 30 days old without legal repercussions, as long as the child is unharmed. Leaving a harmed or deceased infant, however, is not protected.

BRYAN KOHBERGER CAN FACE DEATH PENALTY IF CONVICTED IN IDAHO COLLEGE SLAYINGS

Newberry’s arrest comes following an investigation that was launched after police responded on Oct. 13 to a report of a dead baby left in a baby box at Grove Creek Medical Center.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes has said hospital staff responded immediately to an alarm indicating a baby was in the box and that the infant had died long before being left inside.

“Grove Creek Medical Center staff responded immediately to the alarm, indicating a baby was in the box,” Safe Haven Baby Boxes wrote on Facebook last month. “The medical team removed the infant from the bassinet within a minute. Upon removal, they quickly realized that the infant had passed away long before being placed in the baby box. The Safe Haven Law in Idaho allows for the surrender of an infant who is unharmed and healthy. Therefore, this was not a legal surrender under state law as it does not meet the criteria for Safe Haven surrender.”

Safe Haven Baby Box (Safe Haven Baby Boxes)

The group’s founder, Monica Kelsey, said: “We are heartbroken. Let this be clear: this is an illegal, deadly abandonment. Anonymity is only allowed when an infant is safely surrendered completely unharmed.”

When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached, Kelsey noted.

Due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation and the potential for further criminal charges, police said they are limited in the information they can release.

MARYLAND MAN FOUND GUILTY OF KILLING GIRLFRIEND, UNBORN BABY IN COUNTY’S FIRST-EVER CONVICTION OF ITS KIND

When the baby was placed in the box, she was wrapped in a blanket with the placenta still attached. (iStock)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Blackfoot Police collaborated with Twin Falls Police on the investigation.

The baby box at Grove Creek was put in place in July, making it the first in the state where parents can surrender newborns safely and anonymously, according to KIVI.