A progressive candidate aiming to unseat a vulnerable Republican in a battleground House district is leaning into a politically fraught issue that has dogged the Democratic Party. 

Tina Shah, an ER physician and former Biden administration official, appeared to back taxpayer-funded sex change procedures for minors in a video obtained by Fox News Digital. 

When asked whether children should have the “right to transgender healthcare,” Shah replied, “This is a no-brainer.”

“Healthcare is a right, period,” the New Jersey Democrat added. “It includes transgender children.”  

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Shah is one of four relatively well-funded Democrats vying to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., in November’s midterm elections. Kean’s suburban swing seat is considered one of the most competitive House districts in the country.

Shah’s apparent embrace of “transgender healthcare” for minors aligns with the views of her former boss, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who denounced Republican-led states cracking down on child sex-change procedures during the Biden administration. Shah served as a senior advisor to Murthy in 2021 and 2022.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, sharply criticized Shah’s support for “transgender healthcare” for children in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Radical Democrat Tina Shah said it loud and clear: She’d be a vote for radical policies like sex changes for minors and taxpayer-funded drag queens,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said. “Shah is completely out of step with Garden State families.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Shah’s campaign prior to publication.

Shah’s remarks come as some Democrats have blamed the party’s lurch to the left on the issue for its poor performance in the 2024 election.

Major medical groups, which previously offered full-throated support for child sex changes, have also largely retreated from the issue, with the American Medical Association in February saying those procedures should be generally postponed to adulthood. 

Still, Democrats in Congress have not made a clear attempt to calibrate on transgender issues.

Just a handful of Democrats crossed party lines in 2025 to vote for GOP-authored legislation that would have criminalized child sex changes. Kean was among nearly all Republicans who supported the bill.

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Kean’s re-election bid a “toss-up.” The election prognosticator downgraded the race for Republicans last year after Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., carried the swing district by two points.

Shah entered April with nearly $1.4 million in the bank, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett and businessman Brian Valera, who are also vying for the Democratic nomination ahead of the June primary, have posted similar fundraising numbers.

Kean’s campaign notably dwarfs the field with roughly $3.4 million cash on hand. 

The GOP incumbent, who fended off a competitive Democratic challenge in 2024, has come under recent scrutiny for a prolonged absence from Congress due to an unspecified health issue.

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Kean has missed 52 roll call votes in the House since March 17, amounting to a 100% absence rate, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional activities. 

“My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,” he said in a statement last week. “I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.”

Anne Hathaway was a very happy New York Knicks fan on Thursday night.

Hathaway, 43, talked about her Knicks fandom during an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” a day earlier and said she almost showed up in an OG Anunoby jersey.

“But I’m also the type of fan that I considered wearing an OG (Anunoby) jersey out here today,” Hathaway said.

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Anunoby played like he heard he had the Emmy Award winner’s support during the team’s 140-89 series-clinching win over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. Anunoby scored 29 points with seven rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block, with an incredible plus-minus of 42 in just 27 minutes.

Hathaway, who wore a blue and orange handkerchief during her appearance, has been at multiple Knicks games over the past couple of years. She called herself a “motherly” fan.

“When I’m at the game, I want them to know that I know who they are and that they’re going to win. I don’t want to get out into like ‘Oh, what are you doing?!’ All that. I want them to know that you can do no wrong. I’m trying to be like a gentle, loving, motherly fan,” Hathaway said.

“And when you miss the basket, that wasn’t you. That basket moved, I saw it.”

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The Knicks’ win over the Hawks broke several records.

New York broke several NBA records by halftime. Their 40-15 lead at the end of the first quarter marked the largest of the shot clock era. Their 47-point halftime lead was the biggest in playoff history.

And the Knicks’ 51-point win tied for the sixth-largest margin of victory in NBA postseason history.

It was the team’s largest playoff win in franchise history.

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The Knicks will play the winner of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers series, and maybe Hathaway will be in attendance at Madison Square Garden for the second round.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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EXCLUSIVE — A new website will be serving as a home for non-woke college newspapers across the country in the style of Drudge Report.

The Collegiate Network, a program from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) that provides grants to student-led publications combating liberal groupthink, has launched an aggregate platform that will highlight stories and reporting on college campuses.

“More than anything, we want these students to be in pursuit of the truth with no ideological bias,” Collegiate Network executive editor Marlo Slayback told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We’re trying to train these students to be trustworthy and reliable fixtures in newsrooms that are relied upon by the public to accurately and honestly report on what’s happening, not just at their campus, but hopefully one day outside the campus bubble.”

Founded in 1953, ISI’s stated mission is to promote “conservative thought and the Western tradition” on college campuses. Grants provided to the student-run newspapers go towards operational expenses like cameras, printers and costly materials for physical copies.

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Over the decades, the Collegiate Network has backed over 90 publications at some of the nation’s most elite universities, including The Cornell Review, University of Chicago’s The Harper Review, Harvard University’s The Yard Report, Columbia University’s The Sundial and The Stanford Review. The network fosters complete editorial independence among its papers.

The website, Slayback said, will elevate underrepresented voices and reporting that restores the basic tenets of journalism in the hopes that students will carry with them in the professional world.

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The initiative hits close to home for Slayback, who was a student journalist at the University of Pittsburgh and worked as an education reporter for The Daily Caller before joining ISI.

“We’re taking the work that they’re doing and showcasing it in a way that gives them national visibility. And that’s all in pursuit of kind of building out a talent pipeline,” Slayback said. “Success means more young journalists are feeling confident that their work matters and that their voices, especially those that aren’t always amplified, have a real audience.“

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY STUDENT NEWSPAPER APOLOGIZES FOR PRACTICING JOURNALISM, GETS BRUTALLY MOCKED

There has been a reckoning at universities in recent years, specifically regarding their implementation of DEI practices and how they address the increase in antisemitism on campuses.

“There’s a growing demand for insight into what’s happening on college campuses, but I think there’s also recognition that not all perspectives are equally visible, and I think this platform addresses both those gaps,” Slayback said. “So it does provide that real reporting from students on the ground, and it ensures that viewpoints, particularly conservative ones, the ones that might otherwise be overlooked as part of the national conversation, that those are prominently featured.”

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Nobel Peace Prize winner Nargis Mohammadi, who was in jail in Iran, suddenly got seriously ill. Due to this, he was hurriedly admitted to a hospital in north-western Iran. His foundation gave this information on Friday.

According to the Nargis Mohammadi Foundation, the Nobel laureate suffered fainting spells twice and a serious heart problem. The foundation said Mohammadi had fainted twice in the prison in Zanjan city on Friday. His lawyers told him after meeting with him in late March that he had possibly suffered a heart attack. At that time she was looking weak and was taking help from the nurse to walk.

Also read: US: ‘Do not pay toll to Iran for passing through Hormuz’, America warns companies; Strict restrictions may be imposed

Allegation of negligence in treatment
The foundation said Mohammadi was not given proper treatment for 140 days after his arrest on December 12. According to the foundation, jail doctors had already advised that Nargis could not be treated in jail. Doctors had asked him to be treated by a specialist team in Tehran.

The family had demanded several times for better treatment.
Mohammadi’s family had advocated for weeks for him to be sent to a hospital to provide better treatment. Quoting the family, the Foundation said that his admission to a hospital in Janjan on Friday seems to be a very late decision and a last-minute step.

My health had deteriorated earlier also
On March 24, Mohammadi’s fellow prisoners found him unconscious. He told this in the meeting with his lawyers a few days later. During a subsequent examination at the prison clinic, a doctor told him that he had probably suffered a heart attack. Since then he was suffering from chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

The jail administration had refused to admit him to the hospital.
His legal representative in France said at the time that Mohammadi had been denied hospitalization and access to his cardiologist. A prison official was present during the brief meeting with Mohammadi’s lawyers.

Also read: ‘Never seen such a scene before’: Iran overshadows US? 16 American military bases targeted in eight countries

Nobel laureate’s sentence extended by seven years
Mohammadi, 53, who became the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate while in prison, was arrested in December during a visit to the eastern Iranian city of Mashhad. He was sentenced to an additional seven years in prison. Before her arrest on December 12, Mohammadi was already serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges of conspiracy against state security and propaganda against the government of Iran. However, due to medical concerns he was released on parole from the end of 2024.

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Six transgender Idaho residents have filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s new bathroom law, which makes it a crime to enter a bathroom designated for the opposite sex, arguing the measure is unconstitutional, discriminatory and too vague to enforce.

The complaint, filed in federal court Thursday, alleges House Bill 752 would expose transgender residents to “violence, harassment, and psychological harm” and could subject them to criminal penalties for using public restrooms that “align with their gender identity.”

“I’ve been enjoying life as a man and using the men’s restrooms hasn’t been a big deal,” Diego Fable, one of the plaintiffs, said in a press release. “But this law would force me to use the women’s facilities, and doing so would only invite suspicion, questions, and raised eyebrows… The only safe option truly available is to just stay home — or leave the state entirely, leaving my treasured friends and community behind.”

HB 752 passed the Legislature in March and was signed by Gov. Brad Little on April 1. It is set to take effect July 1. The law would make it a misdemeanor offense to “knowingly and willfully” enter a restroom or changing room designated for the opposite sex.

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A first offense is punishable by up to one year in jail. A second offense within five years could bring a felony charge and up to five years in prison.

The bill includes 10 exceptions, including for law enforcement, custodial workers, emergency responders, people providing medical aid and those assisting a family member of the opposite sex. It also includes an exception for someone in “dire need” of a restroom.

Supporters say the law is meant to protect privacy and safety in sex-separated spaces.

“Private spaces such as restrooms, changing areas and showers are sex-separated for a reason,” said Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, who sponsored the bill. “Individuals in these vulnerable settings have a reasonable expectation of privacy and security.”

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The six residents, represented by the ACLU and Lambda Legal, argue the law violates their rights under the 14th Amendment and are asking a judge to block it before it takes effect in July.

They also say the law is unusually broad because it applies not only to government buildings but also to businesses open to the public.

“It creates confusion, increases suspicion and surveillance, and disrupts the status quo ante without any demonstrated need to do so,” the complaint says. “The law will not make restrooms in Idaho safer.”

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Nineteen states have laws restricting bathroom or changing-room use in certain settings, such as schools, based on biological sex. However, the Idaho law’s application to private businesses open to the public makes it one of the strictest in the nation, according to the Associated Press.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador and 43 county prosecuting attorneys are named as defendants in the complaint.

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Labrador’s office gave Fox News Digital the following statement:

“Idaho has the right to set its own policies on public safety and privacy. The legislature passed this law, the governor signed it, and our office will defend it. Courts have already upheld Idaho’s authority to maintain sex-specific spaces and we expect the same result here.”