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Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya blasts IOC’s new policy to ensure fairness in women’s events
Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the women’s 800-meter race, blasted the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over a new policy to ensure fairness for females competing at the highest level of sports.
Semenya, who has disorders of sex development (DSD), has testosterone levels higher than a typical female range and has launched legal challenges in order to compete in the women’s category. Semenya said she expected more from IOC President Kirsty Coventry.
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“Personally, for her as a leader, she’s an African, I’m sure she understands how, you know, we as Africans, we are coming from, as a global South, you know, you cannot control genetics,” Semenya said Thursday. “For me personally, for her being a woman coming from Africa, knowing how, you know, African women or women in the global South are affected by that.”
The IOC said it would employ genetic testing to verify the biological sex of competitors in women’s events. The IOC said that eligibility for events in the women’s category is “now limited to biological females, determined on the basis of a one-time SRY gene screening.”
“Evidence‑based and expert‑informed, the policy – applicable for the LA28 Olympic Games onwards – protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” according to the organization.
“Obviously if you say the science, because we talk about science here, if the science is clear, show us who decided and don’t dress that as a lie because it’s a lie and we know because we’ve seen it so if we were to answer or confront Kirsty that’s how we gonna respond and we’ll respond strong as we are because it affects women,” Semenya said.
Semenya won Olympic gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Games but is banned from competing in certain international meets like the Olympics and world championships since she refused to follow the rules and take medication to reduce her hormone levels.
“For me personally, I’ll say the voice is not heard because you taking it as a tick box, you ticking a box so you can go clarify or say yes we’ve consulted,” she said. “For me, it’s you ticking the box.”
The IOC said it came to the decision to implement the policy after consulting with a panel of experts, with the goal of providing equal opportunity for women in sport.
“The policy was developed on the basis that it is universally accepted that providing for a female category is necessary to allow both males and females equal access to elite sport,” the IOC said in an announcement.
“It was guided by the IOC’s modern goals relating to equality (equal opportunities for female athletes in finals, on podiums and in championships); enhancing Olympic value (featuring both women’s and men’s finals in every sport); and visibility and inspiration (celebrating female athletes on the Olympic podium to inspire and represent women and girls worldwide).”
Coventry suggested that the continued enabling of males in women’s sports is “not safe” in the announcement.
“As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition. The policy that we have announced is based on science and has been led by medical experts. At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat,” she said.
“So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
There’s a lot out there that can really be disturbing. A friend calls with some scary medical news; I start wondering about my own health. I check the stock market and become obsessed about money — will we ever have enough for retirement? I read a news story and see only suffering in the world. My whole sense of well-being gets out of whack.
What I need to remind myself — what is right there in the celebration of Easter — “Give it some time. Give it three days.” Change is happening. Good things can come after complete horror. Give it three days.
Let me circle back to an old story, surely apocryphal, but sweet and helpful.
A woman goes to church on Easter Monday and as she leaves, she pauses to chat with a disheveled woman sitting on the steps selling corsages and boutonnieres — a meager means of making a living. And yet, despite her appearance, the old lady is full of smiles.
I LOST MY BABY DAUGHTER, BUT GOD’S LOVE CAN HELP US PAST GRIEF THIS CHRISTMAS
“How is that even possible?” the woman coming out of the church wonders. She stops and talks with the lady.
No denying it. The flower seller has suffered. She reveals that. But Easter has just happened. What comfort there is in that. The pain and horror of Good Friday were turned into the power and mystery of the Resurrection. The magic of three days. “Whatever has happened to you,” she says, “just wait three days.”
As has often been pointed out, it’s the women in the Bible who witnessed the horror first-hand; Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, Mary the mother of Jesus, other women. It depends on which gospel account you’re reading. None of Jesus’s disciples are depicted as witnessing the crucifixion. It’s the women who stick it out, as awful as it must have been.
AT CHRISTMAS, GOD FULFILLS HIS PURPOSE — AND GIVES US OURS
But then, who are the first ones to witness the empty tomb, as they go there on the first day of the week, bringing spices to anoint the body, and find that the huge stone guarding it has been rolled away? It’s the women. An angel tells them that Jesus was raised from the dead. They were supposed to go tell the men. As the Gospel of Mark puts it, “They went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them…”
(In the Gospel of John’s account, Mary Magdalene, sitting there weeping, actually sees the risen Jesus, but doesn’t recognize him until he says her name, “Mary.” Wow, isn’t that powerful? We know who Jesus is when he calls us by name.)
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Every year our church does a three-hour service on Good Friday. Ugh. I go and hear the gospel story. Sometimes fellow parishioners act out the passion story. It is all so sad. Must we retell it, re-live it, year after year?
And yet, in all of this, there is a helpful lesson. Yes, we do go through pain. We do witness terrible suffering. It’s important not to run away from it and hide. Recognize it. Take it in. Deal with it. See if and what it might be teaching you. As the wonderful priest and teacher Richard Rohr puts it, we learn from two things: love and suffering.
Note to self: Be aware of your own suffering and the world’s suffering. For there is something profound on the other side. You will see truth in all its wonder and beauty. What do you have to do? Just wait. Go for a walk. Sit in quiet meditation. Put away the phone for a while. Talk to a caring friend. Pick up a book. Put it down. Whatever. Wait a few days.
Wait three days. No telling what you will see.
There is an old joke that scientists switched from lab rats to lawyers because you do not get as attached to lawyers. President Donald Trump has shown the same tendency to avoid becoming attached to either private or government counsel. Attorney General Pam Bondi is only the latest in a long line of lawyers let go by a president who was made famous with the tagline “You’re fired.”
There is no evidence of bad blood between President Trump and Bondi. The attorney general has been attacked over her loyalty to the president and has been by his side in some of the most precarious moments, from impeachment to criminal defense. As his “apprentices” learned, this is not personal. It’s business.
Jeff Sessions. Rex Tillerson. Bill Barr. Mark Esper. Kristi Noem. Trump’s Cabinet picks are known more for shelving than storage.
Indeed, being a cabinet member in a Trump administration is about as secure as being a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
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Trump has always viewed terminations as a way to spur higher performance levels.
There is a reason why Trump may have wanted to move now in swapping out attorneys general. There are growing predictions that the Democrats will lose the House and could now lose the Senate.
Democrats are running on pledges to unleash a new spasm of investigations and impeachments, targeting not just President Trump but anyone who supports him.
BONDI HEARING DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS OF SHOUTS AS AG ACCUSES TOP DEMOCRATS OF ‘THEATRICS’
Figures like Susan Rice, top policy adviser to both Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have promised “revenge” against all those who pushed Democrats out of power and warned that “it’s not going to end well for them.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pledged that, as soon as they regain power, they will start throwing Trump people in jail when they retake Congress.
Democratic strategist James Carville previously threatened that “collaborators” may be treated in the same way as they were after World War II.
TOP 5 MOMENTS AS BONDI CLASHES WITH DEMOCRATS IN FIERY HOUSE HEARING
Trump’s ability to secure confirmation of a successor will become far more challenging as he approaches the midterm elections.
Trump has to decide who will be the best hand on the wheel in those choppy waters ahead.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has the street cred that Trump values. An accomplished litigator and former prosecutor, Blanche is neither flashy nor gregarious. He is a lethal litigator who can gut you like a trout without breaking a sweat. He has been at the president’s side in and out of court. While he will be a lightning rod for Democrats who have attacked him for his role in the release of the Epstein files, his firmness in dealing with a hostile media likely appealed to the president.
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Blanche offers a seamless transition for the department. He literally only has to walk down the hallway to take the reins from Bondi.
Another name reportedly under consideration is EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, who would likely be the easiest to confirm and the most popular with members of Congress. Zeldin transformed the EPA in short order, including clearing away barriers to increasing energy production. Almost elected governor of New York, Zeldin has cross-over appeal in Washington as someone who cut his teeth in this town.
Other candidates include state attorneys general, as well as wild cards like U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a former judge with a tough-as-nails reputation in Washington, D.C. It is a deep bench.
There will be no shortage of applicants for the job. The office of the attorney general in the Trump administration has everything that one could want in Washington. Everything, that is, except job security.
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2. Acting AG addresses reports Pam Bondi ousted over botched Epstein files
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UNDER OATH — Nancy Guthrie sheriff to get dragged to hot seat as stalled case stirs up past scandals. Continue reading …
DANGER ALERT — Americans warned of potential attacks in vacation spot as border crossing fee doubles. Continue reading …
‘SIT THIS ONE OUT’ — Kamala Harris’ latest attempt to criticize President Trump sends internet into a frenzy. Continue reading …
UNSUNG HERO — 911 audio reveals surprising twist in moments following Tiger Woods’ crash. Continue reading …
COURTROOM DRAMA — Blake Lively suffers major legal blow in sexual harassment case against Justin Baldoni. Continue reading …
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MAD SCIENCE — NIH accused of defying President Trump by funding transgender mice research. Continue reading …
STRATEGIC SHIFT — Hegseth fires Army chief of staff in sweeping military purge operation. Continue reading …
AMERICA FIRST AID — Trump unveils 100% tariff plan on imported drugs unless firms shift production. Continue reading …
LEGAL SHOWDOWN — Top Democrats sue President Trump over executive order targeting mail-in voting. Continue reading …
FAILING GRADE — American students’ lack of basic civics knowledge alarms education advocates. Continue reading …
FAKE NEWS FURY — White House press secretary blasts Politico report previewing Trump address on Iran. Continue reading …
‘ON OUR SIDE’ — Chuck Schumer defends DHS shutdown strategy, claiming critics are ‘not fair.’ Continue reading …
SILICON SQUEEZE — Tech companies put on notice as Meta caves to Florida’s under-14 social media ban. Continue reading …
BRETT VELICOVICH — ‘Mystery’ drones are no mystery, they are a dangerous threat to national security. Continue reading …
DOUG SCHOEN — Democratic battle pits moderates vs. progressives for soul of the party. Continue reading …
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PERFECT TIMING — Alamo cannonball unearthed just one day before 190th anniversary of historic battle. Continue reading …
CRUSHED DREAMS — Tiger Woods was ‘hoping to’ play in Masters before shocking DUI arrest, bodycam footage shows. Continue reading …
DIGITAL’S NEWS QUIZ — What happened to Tiger Woods and who faced an investigation over military helicopters? Take the quiz here …
BALANCED BUZZ — United Airlines checked bag fees climbs $10-50 as fuel prices nearly double since Iran war. Continue reading …
NEW TARGET — RFK Jr. releases national microplastics mission. See video …
TOM HOMAN — Airports are critical infrastructure — it’s necessary for ICE to step in. See video …
GREG BOVINO — The asylum policy under Biden was a scam. See video …
Tune in as we explore Good Friday traditions and the surprising rise in religious interest among younger Americans. Check it out …
What’s it looking like in your neighborhood? Continue reading…
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