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UNBIASED Politics
January 12, 2026: New ICE Footage of Minneapolis Shooting and When Deadly Force Is Justified, Two Transgender Athlete Cases Before the Supreme Court, Reality of Trump's Greenland Comments, and More.
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Welcome back to Unbiased, your favorite source of unbiased news and legal analysis. Welcome back to Unbiased Politics. Today is Monday, January 12th. Let's talk about some news. Quick note first about Iran. I know it's a highly requested topic, but just as a reminder, my general rule here is that I do not dive into international matters until the United States takes some form of, you know, action. So when and if the United States does do that and does get involved, I I will certainly talk about it then. But for now we are going to stick to domestic affairs, starting with some updates to the ICE shooting in Minute in Minneapolis. Since we last talked, there have been some updates and I do want to cover those updates. I also want to clear up something that I said in last week's episode and answer some of your questions about what kind of jurisdiction ICE agents have over US Citizens. So let's start with clearing up some precedent first. In last week's episode, I highlighted the fact that ICE agents cannot fire at the driver of a moving vehicle unless they have the reasonable belief that the driver poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. That, per the DHS Use of Force policy, to justify the use of deadly force, an agent has to have the reasonable belief that the subject, in this case the driver poses an imminent threat of either death or serious bodily injury. And that can either be to the agent or to someone else. So whether the shots were justified, here comes down to whether the agent had a reasonable belief that Renee Good posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury either to that agent or or to someone else. And in last week's episode, we talked a little bit about what reasonable belief means. And I said that according to the Supreme Court, when it comes to claims of deadly force, it is an objective standard. Meaning the reasonableness of an agent's use of force has to be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene rather than with the 2020 vision of hindsight. So courts will ask what a reasonable officer on the scene would have done based on the circumstances that the officer actually faced, not with hindsight after all, the facts are known. And in answering that question, courts allow for the fact that agents and officers are often forced to make split second decisions in situations that are tense or uncertain, you know, rapidly evolving. So there's. There's quite a lot of deference given to law enforcement officers, including ICE agents. But this is the part that I messed up. So in last week's episode, I said that the question is, at the moment the shots were fired, regardless of what happened leading up to that moment, regardless of the actions the officer took beforehand, would a reasonable officer have believed that the driver posed an imminent threat of death or bodily, serious bodily injury. Now, that sometimes called the moment of threat doctrine, but the Supreme Court actually rejected that doctrine very recently in May of last year, and it was in a case called Barnes vs. Felix. So the Supreme Court said in Barnes that the moment of threat doctrine improperly narrows the Fourth Amendment reasonable officer analysis because one, it ignores relevant context and events leading up to the shooting. It. And two, it conflicts with longstanding precedent requiring a broader totality of the circumstances review. So per the court's ruling in Barnes, courts must look not just at what was happening, you know, in the millisecond when the trigger was pulled. They have to consider all relevant circumstances the officer knew before that happened. So deadly force claims are judged by whether a reasonable officer on the scene would have believed there was an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. And this judgment is objective, and it accounts for split second decisions. But courts cannot limit that inquiry to just the moment the officer pulled the trigger. They have to consider the broader context leading up to that moment. So that is what we're looking at here in the wake of Renee Goode's death. Considering the events that led up to the moment of the shooting, would a reasonable officer on the scene have believed that Good posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury? And we do have this new cell phone footage that was released over the weekend, which was taken on the ICE agent's cell phone, the agent that ultimately fired the shots. In that footage, you can basically hear Renee Goode saying, actually, exactly what she says is, quote, that's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you. And she's saying this as the agent is walking around the car, taking a video of the car and of the license plate. While he's filming, there is another woman in the video standing on the street saying things to the agent like, show your face. And you want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say, go get yourself some lunch, big boy. The woman who's saying those things is also filming the ICE agent as he is filming her as well as Good's car. At this point, another ICE agent can be heard telling Goode, get out of the car, get out of the fucking car. And again, get out of the car. And that is when Goode puts her car into reverse and starts to pull away. The agent recording the video can be heard you yelling at this point as if he's about to be hit by the car. And then you can hear contact made or you can hear like impact sounds. It's unclear whether that impact was Good's car hitting the agent's cell phone, whether that was Good's car hitting the agent's body, whether that was the agent's cell phone hitting his own body, you're not really sure. But he yells as if he's about to be hit. And there is some sort of impact heard, but all within a one second time frame. The impact is heard and the shots are fired. And from there, an ICE agent, it's not totally clear whether it's the one taking the video or it's another agent that's, you know, right in that vicinity, can then be heard saying, as Good's car comes to, comes to a rolling stop, crashing into that light pole and a parked car. The. So again, you know, from that perspective, now that we have this new angle, now that we have this new footage, we ask the question again, the same question we were asking last week. Would a reasonable officer on the scene have believed that Good posed an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury? Now, a lot of you also have questions about ICE's jurisdiction over U.S. citizens. In other words, what power do ICE agents have over lawful US Citizens? And what rights do US Citizens have in, in the situation where they're confronted by ICE agents? So this is what I will tell you. If an ICE agent confronts a U.S. citizen, that citizen has the same basic constitutional rights that they would have with any other law enforcement encounter. Now, the problem is a lot of people don't know their rights. And that's why I'm here to help. I'm going to tell you exactly what rights, what rights you have. And, and this applies, you know, in situations with police officers. This applies in situations with ICE agents. You have the same basic constitutional rights. So first, you have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer any questions about anything. You don't have to answer where you were born. You don't have to answer questions about your citizenship status. You don't have to answer questions about how you entered the United States. You don't have to answer questions about anything else for that matter, even if it officer or an agent asks you, you also have the right to ask if you are being detained or if you are free to leave. If an officer says that you are free to leave, you can walk away. If the officer or agent says no, that means you are being detained and you cannot walk away. You also have the right to refuse a search without a warrant unless officers have private probable cause or as I just said, a warrant. So ICE agents can't search you without your consent unless they have probable cause. However, they can pat down the outside of your clothes if they think you might have a weapon. Now, if an agent tries to search you or your belongings beyond that pat down, you can say you do not consent to the search. Don't get physical with the agent. You can just say you don't consent. And this is why if you get physical, you can be arrested or at the very least detained. If you simply say you don't consent, you are preserving your legal rights. Because let's say you, you say you don't consent, right? And they search anyway. If that search turns out to be unlawful because they violated your constitutional rights, your refusal in that situation helps you challenge it in court later because any evidence and that is found in an illegal search can be thrown out first of all, and the government might lose their case against you. So that's another thing. If you are detained or taken into custody, you have the right to contact an attorney. Even if you don't have an attorney, you can tell agents that you want to speak with one. Now, here's another thing to keep in mind. ICE operates in a civil context, whereas typical police arrests operate in a criminal context, where. What this means is that when it comes to ICE enforcement, Miranda warnings aren't, aren't required in the same way that they are in criminal cases. So ICE might not be legally required to stop their questioning. Just because you say you want to talk to a lawyer. It depends on the circumstances. But you do always have the right to remain silent so they can continue asking you questions, but you do not have to answer. Along similar lines, you don't have to sign anything. If you're given paperwork, you don't sign it until you talk to a lawyer. Or if you do sign it, make sure you understand exactly what you are signing. Also remember that under federal law, ICE officers are allowed to interrogate someone that they reasonably, reasonably believe is an alien, meaning not a US Citizen or US National. They are also allowed to arrest, detain, and transport aliens in certain circumstances. And, and they can carry out Immigration warrants. Now, this is important. An ICE agent can detain someone that they reasonably believe is not a U.S. citizen, even if that person ends up being a U.S. citizen. Okay? But they can detain someone that they reasonably believe is not. This is the key, though. If a person turns out to be a US Citizen, ICE can no longer keep them in custody. Detaining a citizen without proper cause would violate the Constitution. Okay? And then this is the last thing I want to talk about, warrants. So ICE can only enter your home with a judicial warrant that has been signed by a judge. And it's important that you know not all warrants are the same. There are judicial warrants and there are administrative warrants. A judicial warrant is signed by a judge, and it allows law enforcement to enter your home. An administrative warrant is an internal ICE document. It is not signed by a judge. It does not give agents the legal authority to enter your home without your consent. If ICE only has an administrative warrant, you can legally refuse to let them into your house. So if ICE comes to your door, hypothetically, and says they have a warrant and to let them in, you can ask them, you know, either slide the warrant under the door or hold it up to a window, and from there you can check whether that warrant has been signed by a judge. If it is signed by a judge, they have the right to enter. If it is not, you can refuse entry. You can say something along the lines of, you know, I don't. I don't consent to entry based on this warrant, but if you have a judicial warrant signed by a judge, please show it to me. So, to wrap this up, this is what's important to remember. If you are a U.S. citizen and you are confronted by ICE, you do not lose your constitutional rights. You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to ask whether you're being detained or whether you're free to leave. You have the right to refuse a search if there's no valid warrant. Saying I don't consent doesn't necessarily stop officers from acting if they believe they have legal authority to do so, but it does protect your rights. Later, you have the right to speak to a lawyer. At the same time, ICE agents are allowed to question and temporarily detain someone they, they reasonably believe is not a US Citizen, even if that belief later turns out to be wrong. But once that person is confirmed to be a US Citizen, ICE cannot keep them in custody. And then, finally, when it comes to your home, only a judicial warrant signed by a judge gives law enforcement the authority to enter your home without your consent. An administrative ICE warrant is not enough. If ICE only has an administrative warrant, you can legally refuse entry. You are allowed to ask to see if the, if the warrant has been signed by a judge before opening the door. So the one liner to remember, to remember here is this. ICE has the authority to enforce immigration law, and with that comes certain powers, but it does not override the Constitution. And the last thing I want to say is this. The vast majority of United States citizens will never be detained by ICE. Okay? ProPublica found that 170 U.S. citizens have been detained by ICE in 2025. Now, obviously, that number is not zero, but it's a very, very small number compared to the, to the amount of citizens here in the United States. So I never want to scare you into thinking that you're at serious risk of being confronted by an ICE agent or you're at serious risk of being detained. But as with anything, anything is possible. So it is important to know your rights. And I hope that this conversation helped. Okay, so now what I want to do is briefly talk about Greenland, because a lot of you have been asking whether this is serious, what the legal limits are, and why this is suddenly back in the news. The reason this is back in the news is because this past Friday, President Trump told reporters that we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Now, that comment followed earlier comments by him where he suggested that if the United States doesn't act, Russia or China could move in, which, of course, makes it sound like Greenland is more of a national security issue than anything else. Keep in mind that this is not the first time Trump has talked about Greenland. Back in 2019, during his first term, he openly floated the idea of buying it. And at the time, he said that Greenland was, quote, unquote, strategically interesting. That proposal was met with almost universal rejection in Greenland itself. Fast forward to December 2024, a month after the most recent election. Trump brought up the idea again. And Trump said that the United States ownership and control of Greenland was an absolute necessity for national security and global freedom. Greenland's leadership responded immediately and again rejected the idea. The then prime minister said, Greenland belongs to its people. It is not for sale and it never will be. And European leaders also weighed in on this. Countries like France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, the uk Denmark issued this joint statement basically affirming that Greenland belongs to its people and emphasized NATO unity. So that's where we're at with this. But that brings us to the question, why Greenland? Greenland is A self governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. It's big too. It's about 836,000 square miles, but it's not that populated. Only about 57,000 people live there. Geographically it's ice, coastline, glaciers, tundra. But economically and strategically it's, it's a lot more than that. Greenland is actually pretty rich in minerals like lithium and certain rare earth elements along with oil and gas. And those rare earth elements and minerals are especially relevant because China currently dominates much of the global supply chain for them. So Greenland is enticing for the United States for this reason alone. But arguably the most important factor is location. Greenland is basically right between North America and Europe. So if you're moving ships, subs, aircraft between those two regions, especially through the North Atlantic, Greenland sits right along that path. And that makes it a natural strategic checkpoint. In fact, the United States has been involved in Greenland Since World War II when American forces were were allowed in to make sure Nazi Germany couldn't use the island as the shortcut between Europe and North America. That relationship was formalized in 1951 through this defense agreement that allowed U.S. forces to be stationed there. And at the height of the Cold War, the United states operated about 50 bases on the island. Today the United States only has one base there. But this is just to say location wise. Greenland has always made sense for the United States. But this is the legal question. Can the United States actually acquire Greenland if Denmark and Greenland oppose it? There are a few major legal barriers here. So the first one is NATO. Denmark is a NATO member. Under Article 5, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. So if the United States were to use force against Greenland, it would either trigger a massive alliance crisis or it it would expose Article 5 as effectively meaningless. Either outcome would fundamentally reshape NATO and how NATO works. The second barrier is international law, specifically the UN Charter. Article 2 requires member states to resolve disputes peacefully and it prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state. A unilateral annexation of Greenland without Denmark's consent would of course violate these provisions. But even beyond NATO and beyond the UN Charter, there's also Greenland's right to self determination. Under international law, territories like Greenland have a recognized right to self determination, meaning the people who live there get a say in their political future. Right. And Greenland isn't just, you know, land that Denmark can hand over. It's a self governing territory with, with its own elected government. And international law treats the will of its population as legally significant. So even if Denmark hypothetically agreed to a transfer, ignoring Greenlanders opposition would still be legally and politically problematic. And then even on Denmark side, this isn't, it's not a simple executive decision, just like it's not here in the United States. Any transfer of sovereignty would almost certainly require parliamentary approval, likely constitutional review. But right now, Denmark is clear that Greenland is not for sale. And Denmark has consistently supported Greenland's autonomy. And then finally, here in the United States, like I just said, acquiring Greenland is not something the President could just do himself. Under federal law here in the United States, acquiring a foreign territory requires congressional approval. Funding would need to be authorized. Any treaty or agreement would likely need Senate ratification. So it's not just, you know, oh, the President wants to do this. So this is what's going to happen. At this point, there's no publicly known plan for how or whether the administration would actually attempt to move forward on this. So this is all very much just, you know, it's an idea, it's discussions are happening. What we do know is that it's being discussed more. And we also know that Danish and Greenlandic envoys are actually expected in Washington this week for talks. So, so we'll have to see what unfolds there. But this is what we know as of right now. Let's take a quick break here. When we come back, we'll talk about the transgender athlete cases that are being heard at the Supreme Court tomorrow. And then we'll finish with quick hitters, critical thinking and one piece of good news in 2026.
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Really helps with that.
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You know, I've been thinking about what I want 2026 to look like and sure I have the usual goals like.
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Reading more, taking more me time, getting.
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In the gym more, etc.
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Serious comfort to my everyday go tos and look.
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You know, Comfier doesn't necessarily mean dressing.
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Down more or buying more loungewear.
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Comfy starts with the basics.
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The socks, the underwear, the T shirts. For instance, I want to get in.
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The gym more in the new year, but good socks are key for a good gym session.
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One of my favorite parts of the.
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Holiday season is the home cooked meals. And honestly I I dread letting go of those once the holidays are over.
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But I also realize once the holidays are over, that's when we're all kind.
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Meals instead of New Year New Me I'm over here saying New Year New sheets because let me tell you, I just recently got my hands on a new Cozy Earth bedding product and I have been in heaven and as you can probably hear, I've been a little sick lately. So I've been spending some extra time in my bed and I've never been so happy to have Cozy Earth sheets. I've told you guys before that I've always had the Cozy Earth bamboo sheet set, but I recently upgraded and got the bamboo duvet cover as well and it is an absolute game changer. And the pattern I got, I love it. It's the Bamboo Deluxe bedding Bundle in Classic Stripe in Ebony. It's a limited edition colorway. It's part of their new Baja bedding which is it's actually their first collection to have a complete matching set. So matching sheets and duvet cover to a matching quilt and coverlet. It's incredible and it's inspired by the colors and textures of the Baja California landscape. So it's the perfect set to create your own, you know, resort inspired haven at home and Cozy Earth also offers a 100 night sleep trial so you can try them out and if you don't love them, which I do not foresee being the case, but if that is the case, you can return them hassle free. Start the new year off right and give your home the luxury it deserves and make home the best of part part of Life. Head to cozyearth.com and use my code UNBIASED for up to 20% off. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Refresh your routines with comfort that makes every day feel like a new year.
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Welcome back. Let's talk about what's happening at the Supreme Court tomorrow because this is one of those cases that will come up a lot in the headlines, and I want you to understand what is being argued. So the court is set to hear oral arguments tomorrow in two cases back to back. One of those cases is Little versus Hecox. The other is West Virginia versus bpj. Both have to do with state bans on transgender athletes, and both raise questions about sex discrimination and fairness in sports. Where the two cases differ is when it comes to the legal framework that they're being argued under. So so Little versus Hecox is primarily a constitutional case, specifically an equal protection issue, Whereas West Virginia vs. BPJ is primarily a statutory civil rights case, specifically a Title 9 issue. And that distinction will make more sense as we dive further into this. But because of that, I want to explain both cases separately and then we'll bring them together at the end to talk about what questions the court has to answer. And you know, how the court could potentially rule here. So Little vs. Hecox involves Idaho's Fairness in Women's Sports Act. This is a law that was passed in 2020. It prohibits transgender women and girls from competing on women's and girls sports teams at public schools and public colleges. Under the law, eligibility is determined based on sex at birth. Okay. The plaintiff assigned in this case is Lindsay Hecox, a transgender woman who was a student at Boise State University. She challenged the law after being barred from trying out for the women's track and cross country teams. And her challenge was based on an Equal Protection Clause violation, which we'll get into more in a minute. But a federal district court ruled in her favor and blocked enforcement of the law as it applied to her her saying that she was likely to succeed on her claim that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and upheld that decision. And from there, Idaho's Governor, Bradley Little, which is why the case is Little versus Hecox, appealed the case to the Supreme Court. And now here we are. As I've said, Little versus Hecox, which I will call Little from here on out, centers on whether state laws that restrict transgender students from participating in school sports violate the Constitution, specifically the equal Protection clause. There's also a question about federal civil rights laws, but the main question in this case revolves around the equal protection clause, which comes from the fourteenth amendment of the Constitution and basically says that states cannot deny people equal protection under the law. So, in other words, if the government is going to treat groups of people differently, it has to have a legally sufficient reason for doing so. And keep in mind that not every law that draws a distinction between groups of people is unconstitutional. Courts look at how the law classifies people and what rights are affected by the law, and then they apply different levels of scrutiny to that law, depending on the answers to those questions. So there are three levels of scrutiny. Strict scrutiny is the highest. And. And it's applied when a law threatens a fundamental right or discriminates based on race, national origin, or religion. The government has to show. When it comes to. If the court decides that strict scrutiny applies, the court has to show a compelling interest and prove that it used the least restrictive way to achieve that interest. It is very hard for a law to pass strict scrutiny, and only very specific laws successfully do. Intermediate scrutiny is less demanding than strict scrutiny and typically applies to laws that discriminate based on gender or sex. And this is the one that matters most in the two cases we're talking about today. Under this standard, the government has to show that the law serves an important governmental interest and that the law is substantially related to achieving that interest. And then finally, there's rational basis review. This is the lowest level of scrutiny. It's easiest for laws to withstand constitutional muster under rational basis review because the person challenging the law has to prove that the government has no legitimate interest in enacting the law or that there is no reasonable rational link between the government's interest and the challenged law. And usually the government will have some legitimate interest in enacting a law, which is why laws almost always survive rational basis review. Now, one of the biggest disputes in both of these cases is which level of scrutiny should apply when states restrict transgender students participation in sports. And you might be thinking to yourself, well, you just said that intermediate scrutiny applies to laws that discriminate based on gender or sex. And while that's true, the Supreme Court has yet to determine which level of scrutiny applies to transgender status specifically. And that's why there are so many eyes on these cases specifically Little, because people are thinking that this is going to be the case in which the Supreme Court finally tells us which you know, which level of scrutiny applies to transgender status. In Little. The ninth Circuit's analysis is important. So first, the court asked whether the law classifies people based on sex, and it found that it does because eligibility for a sports team depends on sex assigned at birth. That is the conclusion that the ninth Circuit came to. Once the court reached that conclusion, it applied intermediate scrutiny. And the court also said the law discriminated based on transgender status, which is treated as a form of sex discrimination, because the law's purpose and effect were to exclude transgender women and girls based on gender identity. So under intermediate scrutiny, Idaho argued that the law served two main governmental promoting fairness in women's sports and protecting athlete safety. And while the ninth Circuit agreed that fairness is an important governmental interest, it said that the state had failed to show that a blanket ban based solely on sex at birth was substantially related to achieving that goal. And because of that, the ninth Circuit ruled that Idaho's Fairness and Women's Sports act violated equal protection and must be struck down. Now, Idaho went ahead and appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court. And now we're here. But this is where things get complicated. Specifically, as it pertains to little. Okay. After the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, he Cox, the plaintiff, voluntarily dismissed her claims in the lower court. She basically told the justices she no longer intends to compete in women's sports in Idaho for a variety of reasons. Her father's death was one of those reasons. Her own sickness was one of those reasons. Unwanted public attention was also another reason. So because she voluntarily dismissed the claims, it raises another very important question that the Supreme Court has to answer for. First, is this case now moot? Okay, federal courts, including the Supreme Court, can only decide live controversies if the plaintiff no longer has a personal stake in the outcome, the case is generally considered moot, and the court loses jurisdiction, and the court will dismiss the case. Now, there is an exception for cases that are capable of repetition, yet evading review. Okay, this is a doctrine that the court has used in cases like Roe vs. Wade. But the justices will have to ultimately decide whether that doctrine applies too little. And just so we're all on the same page with that, for the doctrine to apply, two conditions have to be met. Number one, the issue has to be inherently short lived. So think about things like pregnancy, elections, short term government orders, etc. If the issue usually resolves itself before the normal court process can finish the that weighs in favor of applying the exception. And the second condition is that the same plaintiff must reasonably face the same issue again. So the court doesn't ask whether someone else might face the same issue in the future or whether the issue is politically or socially important. The court asks whether this specific plaintiff is likely to be subject to the same issue or action again. And keep in mind, both of those conditions have to be satisfied for this doctrine to apply. If, if either one fails, the case is moot. So the court will have to look at both of those conditions and see whether they are both met. If they are, they can consider the merits of Little vs. Hecox, despite Hecox dropping her claim. If they're not, the case is moot and the court will dismiss the case as such without rendering a decision. Let's assume for the sake of the discussion, though, the justices decide that they are going to hear this case. This the merits of this case. The court is going to have to look at several questions here. Whether a law that bases eligibility on sex assigned at birth is a sex based classification under the equal protection clause, what level of scrutiny applies, and whether Idaho's categorical ban or blanket ban is substantially related to Idaho's interests of fairness and safety in women's sports. Idaho is arguing that sports have always been separated by sex and that that's allowed under the Constitution. Idaho also argues that, on average, male and females have biological differences that matter in competitive sports. So lawmakers decided that separating teams this way is the best way to keep women's sports fair and safe. And because this is a policy decision and not something courts are experts in, the state is saying basically judges shouldn't step in and second guess the rules that lawmakers, you know, set. Hecox, on the other hand, argues that Idaho's law draws lines based on sex and transgender status, so it deserves closer scrutiny from the courts. And instead of looking at individual athletes, the law just bans everyone who is transgender, no matter their circumstances. She argues that, you know, that's too broad because it assumes all transgender women have an unfair advantage, even, even when that might not be true for a specific person. And because of that, she says, the law goes further than necessary and isn't carefully designed to achieve the state's goals. And when I say, by the way, I just want to make this clear, when I say Hecox argues, I just mean the, the plaintiff side of things. As we know, Hecox dropped her claims. So I just mean that the plaintiff's side of the argument that that is what it is, it has since been taken over. It's not Hecox herself, but those are the arguments on both sides in Little vs. Hecox. Now let's talk about West Virginia vs. BPJ. This case involves West Virginia's state law called Save Women's Sports act. It passed in 2021. And like Idaho's law, it prohibits transgender women and girls from competing on girls and women's sports teams in public schools. BPJ is a transgender girl who began identifying as female in elementary school and and when she got to middle school, she wanted to join the girls track and cross country teams, but West Virginia's state law prohibited it. Her mom filed a lawsuit on her behalf and initially the district court blocked the law the law and allowed her to compete, but then later ruled in favor of the state when it ended up considering the merits of the case. The fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's decision and held that the law violates Title 9. Now, Title 9 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs that receive federal funding. People often associate Title nine with. With expanding opportunities for women in sports because that was. That was one of the main purposes of the law back when it was passed in the 70s. But it actually applies much more broadly. It applies to admissions, discipline, housing, access to educational programs, et cetera. And the Supreme Court has this is separate from Title 9 specifically, but has interpreted similar language so on the basis of sex language in other federal laws to protect transgender individuals, like in the context of employment law. But the court has never directly ruled on whether Title Nines on the basis of sex language protects transgender students specifically in the context of school athletics. And that is the main question in West Virginia vs. BPJ. When the 4th Circuit considered the merits of the West Virginia case, it said BPJ was treated differently from other girls because of sex based considerations tied to her transgender status. The court said that allowing her to compete only on boys teams was not a meaningful alternative and effectively denied her access to school athletics, which is prohibited under Title ix. And although the court ultimately resolved the case under Title ix, it also addressed equal protection. And like the ninth Circuit in little, it applied intermediate scrutiny. Under intermediate scrutiny, West Virginia, like Idaho, cited fairness and safety as its governmental interests. And the court accepted fairness as an important interest. But it said that West Virginia failed to show that excluding BPJ specifically advanced that goal. The court really emphasized the fact that BPJ had not yet gone through male puberty and was receiving medical treatment that resulted in physiological characteristics that were consistent with other girls her age. So the 4th Circuit ultimately held that this categorical ban, this blanket ban, was not sufficiently tailored to West Virginia's fairness interest and therefore didn't pass intermediate scrutiny and was struck Down. So in the West Virginia case, the Supreme Court is going to look at whether Title IX ban on sex discrimination includes discrimination based on transgender status and athletics, whether excluding transgender girls violates equal protection, what level of scrutiny applies, and whether blanket bans are legally justified. West Virginia, of course, argues just like these arguments are very similar to Little. But West Virginia argues that sports have always been separated by sex, and Title IX allows for that. And the reason schools separate teams is because, on average, boys and girls have different physical characteristics that matter when it comes to competitive sports. So West Virginia argues that it is reasonable for lawmakers to take biology into account when setting these rules and that the courts should not second guess that. West Virginia also argues that its law treats everyone the same. So in their view, the rule isn't targeting one specific person. It applies one eligibility standard to all students based on sex assigned at birth. And because of that, West Virginia says court courts should give lawmakers a lot of leeway in the policy choices that the state makes. Bpj, however, argues she's being treated differently from other girls based on sex. She's allowed to attend school as a girl, but when it comes to sports, the state suddenly says that she doesn't count as a girl. And that, she argues, is discrimination under Title 9. She also argues that the law makes broad assumptions instead of looking at individuals. In other words, the state assumes all transgender girls have an unfair athletic advantage without actually checking whether that's true in all cases. In her situation, she argues, there's no evidence that she has any competitive advantage at all. So from her perspective, this isn't about fairness. It's about being excluded from girls sports solely because she's transgender, without any sort of individualized assessment. So you'll notice the arguments in Little vs. Hecox and West Virginia vs. BPJ are, are actually very, very similar. What's different about the two cases is how those arguments get evaluated. From a legal perspective, Little is mainly about the Constitution, specifically the equal protection clause, whereas the West Virginia case is mainly about Title 9, a federal law. So what can we expect from here? In the short term, The Supreme Court, of course, will hear arguments tomorrow in both cases. From there, the court will analyze the arguments and have to filter first decide whether it'll even consider the merits of Little vs. Hecox. Right, because it's either going to say this case is moot and dismiss it, or if they decide to hear the merits, they'll have to determine whether laws like Idaho's law, which limits participation in women's and girls sports, to only biological women and girls violates the Equal Protection Clause. And that includes determining which level of constitutional scrutiny applies in this context, which, as I've said, is what most people have their eyes on. If they dismiss little as moot, they will only consider the merits of West Virginia vs BPJ. And again in the West Virginia case, they have to determine whether Title IX prevents a state from determining eligibility for girls and boys sports teams based on biological sex and whether the Equal Protection Clause prevents a state from offering separate girls and boys sports teams based on biological sex. So at a minimum, the court is expected to clarify what level of constitutional scrutiny applies to transgender status. And as always, I will be following these arguments and I will be looking at how the justices are taking to these arguments. That way on Thursday, I can hopefully give you a better analysis of what we can expect when the justices do ultimately issue their ruling, which likely won't be until the summer. But we can, we can talk on Thursday about how the justices were handling these issues. All right, let's do a few quick hitters. Federal prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, related to his congressional testimony earlier this year about the two and a half billion dollar renovation of the Fed buildings. Powell testified that there were no over the top proposals included in the 2021 draft plans that actually made it into the final proposal. Now it's not clear whether the DOJ is looking into possible perjury charges or something else. We don't really know much. Powell, though, says the investigation is part of the administration's push to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates. On Sunday, the president said he didn't know anything about this investigation into Powell, but said that Powell is, quote, certainly not very good at the Fed and not good at building buildings, end quote. Notably, this renovation project is completely funded by the Fed system through interest earned on government securities charged to financial institutions. It is not funded by taxpayer dollars. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado is scheduled to meet President Trump on Thursday at the White House. Trump told Sean Hannity in an interview that he understands she's coming in this week and that he's looking forward to saying hello to her. But it's unclear what the two plan to discuss considering. Trump told reporters earlier this week that Machado does not have enough support or respect in Venezuela to lead the country. Senator Mark Kelly filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Hegseth seeking to block the Pentagon's efforts to downgrade his retirement rank and pay. Kelly alleges the move equates to unconstitutional retaliation against him. And, of course, the Pentagon's attempt to downgrade Kelly's retirement rank and pay came after Kelly made a video with other senators urging slash reminding members of the military to, to, quote, unquote, refuse illegal orders. Kelly has asked a federal judge through this lawsuit to set aside Hegseth's recent moves and block the enforcement of any punishment against him. And according to a new Gallup poll, 45% of U.S. adults now identify as political independence. The previous record high for independence was 43%, which was recorded in 2014, 2023 and 2024. 4. The new poll also found that equal shares of U.S. adults, 27%, each identified as either Democrats or Republicans. And the 2025 findings are based on interviews with more than 13,000 U.S. adults throughout the year. Okay, for today's critical thinking segment, let's revisit the transgender athlete case or cases. So first, I have a question for those of you who are inclined to support court the bans. If lawmakers can rely on averages, where does that stop? So the states argue that, on average, biological differences matter in sports. But should courts allow laws to treat all individuals as the average case? Or should there be limits to account for individual facts or circumstances? For those of you who are inclined to oppose the bans, if individualized assessments are required, who makes them? Is it the schools? Is it the doctors? Is it athletic associations? Is it something or someone else? How do you maintain consistency? And put another way, how do we avoid inconsistent outcomes where similar athletes are treated differently depending on resources or location? And then here's a question for everyone, regardless of where you stand, how should Title IX be interpreted? Because if we think about Congress's intent in the 1970s, Congress most likely did not contemplate the issue that we are dealing with today. So should courts interpret statutes based on original understanding? Should they interpret based on evolving meaning? Or should they interpret based on practical consequences? And whatever your answer is, why is that your answer? Now, I want to leave you with some good news. So amid the protests in Minneapolis in the wake of the ice shooting, a new video shows a border Patrol agent hugging a protester after the two of them have what seems like a very civilized discussion. So they're having a chat outside of an ice processing facility in Minneapolis. 40 seconds of that chat was caught on video, and the agent can be heard telling a woman. The woman who was protesting, the agent said, I love you. I want to hug you, while he was laughing at something that she had said. And the woman says, quote, I mean, I would let you you can hug me, I would embrace it. End quote. And the agent then takes a step forward and hugs the woman. And after the hug, the agent says, we have a heart. You know what I mean? And the conversation between the two of them carries on for another 40 seconds or so. But it's just a nice reminder that two people standing on opposite sides of one another literally can still treat each other with kindness and respect. That is what I have for you today. Thank you so much for being here. I hope you have a fantastic next couple of days, and I will talk to you again on Thursday.