Planned Parenthood’s posts mysteriously deleted hours after RFK Jr is sworn in
Planned Parenthood caught the internet’s attention on Thursday after all of its Instagram posts were deleted within hours of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary RFK Jr.’s swearing in.
The organization, in an apparent nod to this move, posted a pair of eyes on a black background on its Instagram story with no explanation.
On Friday, Planned Parenthood posted another story, an animated gif with the words “I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me,” and later there were just three posts on its Instagram page, all about condom use.
As speculation swirled about the mysterious disappearance of the posts, many pro-life advocates started to call for the defunding of Planned Parenthood. This also comes just days after a conservative watchdog nonprofit founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, urged the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut federal spending on Planned Parenthood.
DOGE MUST ‘DEFUND’ PLANNED PARENTHOOD, MIKE PENCE’S WATCHDOG GROUP URGES MUSK
“For the sake of the American people and generations yet unborn, the time has come for the United States to finally defund the largest abortion provider in America,” Tim Chapman, president of Advancing American Freedom, wrote in a letter to Elon Musk.
Planned Parenthood health centers received nearly $22 billion in HHS grants and $53 billion from public health programs from 2019 to 2021, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
RFK JR TELLS LAWMAKERS THAT ‘EVERY ABORTION IS A TRAGEDY’ AT CONFIRMATION HEARING
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said that he believes “every abortion is a tragedy,” and expressed support for President Donald Trump’s assertion that states should handle the issue.
“I agree with President Trump that every abortion is a tragedy,” Kennedy said. “I agree with him that we cannot be a moral nation if we have 1.2 million abortions a year. I agree with him that the states should control abortion. President Trump has told me that he wants to end late-term abortions, and he wants to protect conscience exemptions.”
Kennedy, who has expressed support for abortion in the past, vowed to implement Trump’s policies.
With Kennedy at the helm of HHS and Elon Musk at DOGE, pro-choice advocates fear that Planned Parenthood will be on the chopping block.
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On Feb. 3, Planned Parenthood Federation of America put out a statement warning that “defunding” the organization could put patients at risk of losing access to “sexual and reproductive care.”
Planned Parenthood Federation of America said that in 2022 the organization treated 2.05 million patients. The services mentioned in the organization’s included more than 4.6 million STI tests, nearly 213,000 breast exams and more. However, no data on the number of abortions performed in that time was listed.
Planned Parenthood did not respond to a Fox News request for comment.
GOP gov ridicules ‘out-of-touch leftists’ amid transgender sanctuary cities, DOGE battles
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called out “woke, out-of-touch leftists” amid recent decisions to establish a sanctuary city for transgender individuals and protest the Trump administration’s efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut wasteful spending.
Democrats have been criticized in recent weeks over bold stances against the president’s policies. On Tuesday, the Worcester City Council in Massachusetts voted to become the first sanctuary city for transgender and gender-diverse Americans.
Other Democrats have received backlash for speaking out — often in vulgar terms and in protest songs performed off-key — against Elon Musk’s efforts to work with the Trump administration to eliminate wasteful spending through DOGE.
“All that I see when I’m watching these desperate political stunts is a reminder of how thankful I am that Donald Trump is in the White House,” Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders told “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Wednesday. “Honestly, it is sad and laughable what is taking place and just shows how out-of-touch the woke left really is.”
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Sanders said after Democrats lost “so badly” in November, one would think their tactics would change, but they don’t.
“While they’re having these ridiculous displays, Donald Trump is literally freeing hostages and welcoming them into the White House,” she told Fox News. “What a contrast. What a difference of what real leadership looks like, and I’m thankful that we have Donald Trump back there fighting for all of us.”
The governor said she is “at a loss for words” that Democrats don’t understand where the American public is, pointing to how Americans wanted a leader who would bring “law and order to our country.”
“The president is spot-on to go after all of these insane programs, get rid of them and make sure we’re actually using taxpayer money wisely,” she said. “He has not stopped since the day he stepped into office, and I don’t think he’s going to over the next four years. I think that the Democrats are terrified at what all he’s going to find.”
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Trump is moving at “lightning speed,” Sanders added.
“I think this is a person who is motivated and has a very clear priority list, and he’s going to get it all done and get it done quickly,” she said.
Lawmakers take matters into their own hands when state refuses to follow Trump order
After California took a stance refusing to follow President Donald Trump’s executive order banning trans athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, state Republicans are taking matters into their own hands.
On Friday, California lawmakers introduced three bills in the state legislature aimed to combat trans inclusion. One bill, which was introduced by Assemblymember Bill Essayli, focused specifically on sports. His bill would require that students use all school facilities only play on sports teams based on their biological sex and not their gender identity.
“We know the state of California is going to do everything it can to resist and avoid compliance with federal law, so it’s our role to try to force change at the state and local level,” Essayli said at a press conference outside the state capital building in Sacramento Friday.
Former San Jose State University volleyball coach, who was suspended and then let go from the program after filing a Title IX complaint over the school’s handling of a trans player last season, spoke at Friday’s press conference just days after her home was shot at. Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital she believes she was “targetted.” Police have not determined a suspect or motive.
“We need to make sure there’s DNA testing and moving forward there’s only women playing in women’s sports,” Batie-Smoose said at the press conference. “We definitely need to continue this fight and make sure that laws and legislation is changed so that we can have safe spaces for women and women in sports.”
Essayli’s bill would reverse a current law in California that protects trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports.
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A law called AB 1266 has been in effect since 2014, and gives California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) said it will continue to follow that law, even after Trump’s executive order went into effect, in a previous statement provided to Fox News Digital.
The U.S. Department of Education announced earlier this week that it is launching a Title IX investigation into the CIF over potential Title IX violations for its refusal to comply with Trump’s order.
In addition, residents have held protests and threatened lawsuits in response to the CIF’s current stance.
Essayli’s bill is the second proposal that California has seen to address the issue in 2025 alone.
California State Assembly member Kate Sanchez announced on Jan. 7 that she is introducing a bill to ban trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
Sanchez will propose the Protect Girls’ Sports Act to the state legislature. Currently, 25 states have similar laws in effect.
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“Young women who have spent years training and sacrificing to compete at the highest level are now forced to compete against individuals with undeniable biological advantages. It’s not just unfair – it’s disheartening and dangerous,” Sanchez said in a statement announcing the bill.
California’s enabling of trans athletes to compete with girls and women in the state has resulted in multiple controversies over the issue over the last year alone. Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, is currently embroiled in one of the most contentious local controversies on the issue.
A school board meeting by the Riverside Unified School District on Dec. 19 featured a parade of parents berating the board for allowing a trans athlete on the Martin Luther King girls’ cross-country team. A lawsuit filed by two girls on the team alleges that their T-shirts in protest of that player were compared to swastikas simply because they said “Save Girls Sports.”
The father of a girl who lost her varsity spot to the trans athlete previously told Fox News Digital that his daughter and other girls at the school were told “transgenders have more rights than cisgenders” by school administrators when they protested the athlete’s participation.
In San Diego, a middle school was recently thrust into local controversy because of a transgender student using the girls’ locker room. San Elijo Middle School previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital, crediting its enabling of the transgender student to access the girls’ locker room to the school’s obligation of following state law.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted against a measure to carry out the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would prevent trans athletes from competing in girls’ sports or entering girls’ locker rooms, despite pleas from multiple parents at the meeting to take action to protect the girls at the school.
Meanwhile, Stone Ridge Christian High School’s girls’ volleyball team was scheduled to face San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament but forfeited in an announcement just before the match over the presence of a trans athlete on the team.
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Before that, a transgender volleyball player was booed and harassed at an Oct. 12 match between Notre Dame Belmont in Belmont, California, against Half Moon Bay High School, according to ABC 7. Half Moon Bay rostered the transgender athlete.
The two other bills that were introduced Friday, by Essayli and freshman Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, focus on empowering parents to remove their children from settings and situations that promote transgender ideology in public schools.
“Reestablishing the primacy of parental rights over dangerous indoctrination is a critical first step in reestablishing trust in our schools and educators,” Castillo said Friday.
Freed American dad whose baby was born when he was in captivity reunites with family
American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen embraced his wife after being apart from her for nearly 500 days in heartwarming photos and video taken Saturday following his release by Hamas.
The scenes captured at a reception point in Israel show the 36-year-old hugging and kissing Avital Dekel-Chen, who gave birth to their third daughter two months after he was seized by the Palestinian terrorist group during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the country. Dekel-Chen’s parents are also seen welcoming him home.
“Our hearts ache for everything he missed, but now he’s here, unlike many others,” his family said in a statement to the Associated Press.
As with previous exchanges, Saturday’s hostage release was heavily choreographed, with the captives made to walk onto a stage and speak into microphones before a crowd in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Dozens of masked, armed Hamas fighters lined up near the stage, which was decorated with Palestinian flags and banners of militant factions.
HAMAS FREES 3 MORE HOSTAGES IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE THAN 300 PRISONERS AS PART OF CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH ISRAEL
Chen appeared to be limping as he descended the stage during the hostage release, the AP reported.
The other hostages released were Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29, and Iair Horn, 46. Troufanov has Israeli and Russian citizenship, while Horn is a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina.
The three were abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz in the terror group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR SLAMS PALESTINIAN PLAN FOR GAZA, DEMANDS PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FIRST ‘CONDEMN HAMAS’
In return for the hostages’ release, Israel began releasing 369 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, including 36 serving life sentences for deadly attacks. A bus carrying the first released prisoners arrived in the West Bank town of Beitunia and was greeted by a cheering crowd of relatives and supporters.
Some appeared gaunt, and the Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service said four were immediately taken for medical treatment.
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It is the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19. Before Saturday, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners were freed during the first phase of the truce.
Education Dept’s stark warning after Trump’s order to eliminate DEI from schools
The Department of Education is warning state education departments that they must remove diversity, equity and inclusion policies or risk losing federal funding.
A letter from the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights was sent to the departments of education in all 50 states, notifying them that they have no more than 14 days to comply. The letter was shared on social media by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency.
“Institutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding,” Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education, said in the letter.
The letter said the “overt and covert racial discrimination that has become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions” will no longer be tolerated.
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It argues that a Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which found that affirmative action in Harvard University’s admission process violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, should apply more broadly.
“The law is clear: treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent,” the letter reads.
DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON
Trainor said the Department of Education will “vigorously enforce the law on equal terms as to all preschool, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions, as well as state educational agencies, that receive financial assistance.”
The letter urges state education departments to “ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law … cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends” and “cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”
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The letter comes after President Donald Trump signed executive orders directing agencies to provide a plan to eliminate federal funding for “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.” He also signed orders to end DEI programs in federal agencies.
The Department of Education previously announced the removal of mention of DEI from documents and websites. The department also placed employees that led DEI initiatives on leave and dissolved its Diversity & Inclusion Council.
Expert weighs in on King Charles’ reaction to Trump remarks about Prince Harry
King Charles III is “likely relieved” after President Donald Trump said last week that he doesn’t plan to deport his youngest son, Prince Harry, back to Britain despite his immigration issues, an expert told Fox News Digital.
“It would put the spotlight back [on] the Sussexes,” said royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams. “Harry would undoubtedly appeal. The publicity would be ceaseless.”
“Apart from the fact that the royal family is the [U.K.] government’s trump card in dealing with the most unpredictable president of them all, Harry is in self-imposed exile and the royal family have health struggles and do not trust the Sussexes,” Fitzwilliams claimed.
Fitzwilliams added that Harry and his wife Meghan Markle wouldn’t be welcomed back to Britain “where their ratings are, apart from the young, extremely bad.”
“Regarding his wayward son Harry, it’s far better that he remains out of sight and out of mind. [Charles] remains focused on both his cancer recovery and dedication to duty, serving his people.”
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Charles “is and has always been conflict averse,” British royals expert Hillary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “Regarding his wayward son Harry, it’s far better that he remains out of sight and out of mind. [Charles] remains focused on both his cancer recovery and dedication to duty, serving his people.”
Fitzwilliams and Fordwich’s comments came after Richard Eden of the U.K.’s Daily Mail claimed that it would be “a relief” for Charles if Harry remained in California with his family. Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
On Feb. 7, Trump told the New York Post that he isn’t interested in deporting Harry, who is the subject of a legal battle over his immigration filings.
The conservative think tank Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit last year against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. They want the 40-year-old’s immigration records released after the royal admitted in his 2023 memoir “Spare” that he had used illegal drugs in the past.
“I don’t want to do that,” Trump told the New York Post on Friday after being asked if he would deport the royal. “I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”
PRINCE HARRY WARNED TO KEEP HEAD DOWN AS PRESIDENT SUGGESTS HE’S SAFE FROM DEPORTATION: EXPERTS
Fitzwilliams believes that “Trump was never likely to deport Harry, regardless of what he included on his visa application form.”
“He has other priorities and also knows it would make them popular in Hollywood, something they have otherwise failed to achieve,” he pointed out. “This would have been ironic. Now we know it won’t happen.”
Fordwich noted that the “continuity of the monarchy is of paramount concern” to Charles. She shared that it wouldn’t have been appropriate for the king, 76, to publicly comment on Harry’s visa case because he needs to “remain above politics.”
The Heritage Foundation in its lawsuit says that Harry may have lied on his immigration forms about his past drug use or was given preferential treatment by the government and called for the records to be released.
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“I’ll be urging the president to release Prince Harry’s immigration records and the president does have that legal authority to do that,” Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation previously told the New York Post.
Fordwich also said that not deporting Harry is likely to be in Trump’s best interest.
“President Trump is no fool, he cherishes his relationship with the British royals and most certainly wouldn’t have spoken out of turn regarding the deportation of Harry as he’s looking forward to his next invitation to Buckingham Palace,” she explained. “Therefore, we can be assured he is in lockstep with” Charles.
Fordwich noted that although people “erroneously” believe that Trump and the environmentally focused Charles don’t have much in common, “they maintained a relationship whilst Trump was out of office.”
“[Charles] wrote privately to Trump the day after the attack following his attempted assassination, in Butler, Pennsylvania, Buckingham Palace confirmed at that time,” she said.
Fordwich added that one of the many things Charles and Trump are in agreement on is “all” that Harry and Meghan “did to hurt” Queen Elizabeth II “in her final years and, indeed, hours.”
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Harry and Meghan, 43, famously left the U.K. in 2020 in what was called “Megxit” after they decided to step down as senior royals and try to become financially independent.
PRINCE HARRY ‘DROPPED’ HIS GOOD FRIENDS ONCE HE STARTED DATING MEGHAN MARKLE, COMEDIAN SAYS
They eventually settled in Montecito, California.
The move has also “robbed” Charles” of his grandfather duties to Harry’s children — Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — and left a “huge void,” British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard claimed to Fox News Digital.
“The painful realization that King Charles has missed out on involvement and connecting with his sweet American grandchildren, especially during their formative years, has left a huge void,” she said.
“Although King Charles would love a relationship with his son and grandchildren, he realizes there is so much water under the bridge and, despite years passing, I’ve heard there is still tremendous animosity and upset that hasn’t been resolved.”
Chard added that while Charles is “far more forgiving,” Prince William “cannot forgive and forget the hurt brought on his family by the Sussexes,” and “Harry doesn’t feel the need to build bridges.”
“King Charles has little stamina to fight his sons’ battles,” she claimed. “Peace and calm is essential as he serves as head of state and focuses on his cancer treatment. The working royal family are a priority.”
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Chard said that while Charles “wishes his son and family well,” after they left their roles as senior royals, “it’s easier with the Sussexes living far away as celebrities.”
“Both Prince Harry and Meghan are self-serving disrupters and this puts a spanner in the works for Team Royal,” she claimed.
“Perhaps in years to come when all legal cases are finalized, bridges built, trust earned and the negative spotlight is off of the Sussexes, family healing will materialize.”
Former Biden press secretary calls on Dem Party to ‘break some s—’
MSNBC host and former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki declared she has “retired from the world of Democratic messaging” and lectured the party on how they failed to reach voters in 2024 and continue to fail.
“I feel like when Democrats, and including people who are on television in a variety of ways, were saying things like, ‘Authoritarianism is under threat and democracy is on the ballot,’ I think we were speaking in a manner that was so academic and Ivory Tower, it wasn’t talking about a lot of the things people actually care about,” Psaki argued while appearing on comedian Jon Stewart’s “The Weekly Show” podcast.
She went on to say, “So, I don’t know that people voted against democracy, I think they voted in some ways against protection of status-quo and kind of the disconnected academic Ivory Tower elite language that is too often used by Democrats, sometimes on cable television.”
Psaki added that one of her takeaways going forward was to “cross authoritarianism and oligarchy out of every script. Nobody talks this way.”
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Psaki also expressed frustration that Democrats aren’t pushing back enough on the Trump administration cutting programs and explaining how it will directly affect the lives of even people who want to downsize the government.
“But that seems obvious, Jen! So why are they not doing it?” Stewart replied.
Psaki responded with a sigh and said, “I wish I knew the answer to that question.”
“That is the most painful sigh I’ve ever heard,” Stewart said.
“I’ve retired from the world of Democratic messaging in some ways,” Psaki said.
After wondering about whether the current state of affairs is a “punishment” from the voters against the Democrats, Stewart said that he still does not see an “understanding” from the party “of how they ended up in this position.”
“I don’t see that yet, either,” Psaki replied.
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Stewart later noted he leans towards progressive politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and argued, “I’ve been shocked by how un-democratic the Democratic Party can be,” such as by “putting their foot on the scales” to help Hillary Clinton against Sanders in 2016.
Psaki said after Democrats “lost everything,” are out of power and in control of nothing, the time has come for the party to “break some s—.”
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Plane passenger’s awkward seat has travelers sounding off online
An air traveler was assigned a less-than-ideal seat on a recent flight, prompting him to share the experience online.
On the “r/delta” forum, the passenger posted, “My seat put me halfway into the aisle,” along with a photo.
In the photo, the traveler shows half of his seat stationed outside the cabin row.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the user for comment.
The post drew more than 800 comments with users sharing similar experiences.
“The worst part is you get to see what the first class people are eating on real dishes and real utensils lol,” joked one user.
“RIP left knee,” another person wrote.
“I was in that seat this past weekend, and managed to avoid getting my knee bashed or my shoulder or head hit until, I kid you not, the very last person who managed to swing her large shoulder bag into me as she turned to ask the flight attendant a question,” said one flyer.
“God, I hate those seats. It’s so hard to go by with your rolling carry-on and not come in contact with the poor person’s feet/knee/elbow,” another person wrote.
“But you’ll be a step ahead of everyone else when the captain turns off the seatbelt sign,” one user joked.
The user responded, saying, “True. I actually stood up a few times during the flight to stretch and could basically remain in my seat area which was nice.”
“You get to stare at the flight attendant too when he or she sits on their jumpseat,” commented one user.
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Zach Griff, senior aviation writer for New York-based travel blog The Point Guys, spoke to Fox News Digital about uncommon seats.
“My recommendation for travelers stuck in these types of seats is to bring an eye mask and possibly also some reading material or other entertainment options to keep them distracted from what’s undoubtedly an awkward experience,” Griff said.
In September, a woman went viral on TikTok after showing how her airplane seat was in the opposite direction on the aircraft, facing the entire cabin and her fellow passengers, Fox News Digital reported.
The video, which showed the woman looking uncomfortable as she stared out into the crowd, reached 15 million views.
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“When you book row 1 as a treat, it turns into you facing the entire plane,” she wrote in text overlay on her video, with text that said, “Never going to recover.”