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Three years after the state of Indiana removed a child from the home of two Christian parents over a disagreement about gender identity, the family is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and make it clear that the governments action was unconstitutional. 

It could set a national precedent. The contentious case involves a Christian couple, Mary and Jeremy Cox, whose teen son began identifying as a girl in 2019 and using a female name and female pronouns. The Coxes explained to him their belief that God creates human beings either male or female and that such traits are immutable, according to court documents. Nevertheless, they agreed to begin calling him a compromise nickname: A. During this time, the Coxes also provided their son therapeutic care for what they believed were mental health issues and got him help for an eating disorder.

In 2021, the state of Indiana began investigating the couple following a complaint. Eventually, he was removed and placed in a home that would affirm his preferred identity, according to Becket, the legal group that represents the parents. Following an investigation, the state acknowledged any accusations of abuse and neglect were unsubstantiated but nevertheless said the disagreement over gender identity was reason enough to keep him away from his parents. Courts upheld the states decision. 

The Coxes are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in, rule against the state, and affirm the rights of parents to raise their children. The teens eating disorder only became worse after he was removed from their home, Becket said in its legal briefs. 

The teen is now an adult. 

If this can happen in Indiana, it can happen anywhere, said Lori Windham, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. Tearing a child away from loving parents because of their religious beliefs, which are shared by millions of Americans, is an outrage to the law, parental rights, and basic human decency. If the Supreme Court doesnt take this case, how many times will this happen to other families?

The state countered in court that the teen was removed from the home due to the eating disorder. Becket claims that is a cover for the central issue: the disagreement over gender identity.

This case poses a question of national importance that is bound to recur absent this Courts intervention, Becket argued in its petition to the Supreme Court. As described above, the numbers of transgender youth are rising, matched by governmental willingness to remove gender-dysphoric children from their parents custody. Indianas tack — blame a comorbidity and dodge adjudication of parental fitness — provides a playbook that any state can use to eviscerate bedrock constitutional protections while guaranteeing they remain insulated from review.

… This case is especially apt for review since here, Indiana conceded and the trial court determined that petitioners were fit parents. Amid this fraught landscape, with the lives of real children and families hanging in the balance, this Court should grant this petition and affirm its precedents on the right of fit parents to custody of their children.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Crosswalk.com. 

Image Credit: Getty Images/Devenorr

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

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Taylor Swift reveals release date for new album

Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.

Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.

Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
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Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights

The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.

It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.

The full track list is:

1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.

Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.

The cover of Taylor Swift's newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
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The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records

The back cover of Taylor Swift's 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: 	Republic Records
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The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records

‘The hardest-working star in pop’

The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.

That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.

Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
Her new chart record

“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

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Trump’s pride vs Putin’s legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

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Trump's pride vs Putin's legacy: What to expect from pivotal Ukraine summit

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet for the first time in six years on Friday, with a possible deal to end the Ukraine war on the agenda.

Mr Trump has threatened “very severe consequences” if his Russian counterpart doesn’t agree to a ceasefire at the summit, being hosted at a remote US army base in snowy Anchorage, Alaska.

Follow latest updates from Ukraine war

But there are fears they will discuss a deal robbing Ukraine of the land currently occupied by Russia – something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he won’t accept.

Here’s what three of our correspondents think ahead of the much-anticipated face-to-face.

Putin’s legacy is at stake – he’ll want territory and more
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent, in Alaska

Putin doesn’t just want victory. He needs it.

Three and a half years after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, this war has to end in a visible win for the Russian president. It can’t have been for nothing. His legacy is at stake.

So the only deal I think he’ll be willing to accept at Friday’s summit is one that secures Moscow’s goals.

These include territory (full control of the four Ukrainian regions which Russia has already claimed), permanent neutrality for Kyiv and limits on its armed forces.

I expect he’ll be trying to convince Trump that such a deal is the quickest path to peace. The only alternative, in Russia’s eyes, is an outright triumph on the battlefield.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Osaka in 2019
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Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting in Osaka in 2019

I think Putin‘s hope is that the American president agrees with this view and then gives Ukraine a choice: accept our terms or go it alone without US support.

A deal like that might not be possible this week, but it may be in the future if Putin can give Trump something in return.

That’s why there’s been lots of talk from Moscow this week about all the lucrative business deals that can come from better US-Russia relations.

The Kremlin will want to use this opportunity to remind the White House of what else it can offer, apart from an end to the fighting.

Read more:
What could Ukraine be asked to give up?
Trump-Putin summit starting to feel quite ‘Midnight Sun’

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What will Kyiv be asked to give up?

Ukraine would rather this summit not be happening
By Dominic Waghorn
, international affairs editor, in Ukraine

Ukraine would far rather this meeting wasn’t happening.

Trump seemed to have lost patience with Putin and was about to hit Russia with more severe sanctions until he was distracted by the Russian leader’s suggestion that they meet.

Ukrainians say the Alaska summit rewards Putin by putting him back on the world stage.

But the meeting is happening, and they have to be realistic.

Most of all, they want a ceasefire before any negotiations can happen. Then they want the promise of security guarantees.

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Does Europe have any power over Ukraine’s future?

That is because they know that Putin may well come back for more even if peace does break out. They need to be able to defend themselves should that happen.

And they want the promise of reparations to rebuild their country, devastated by Putin’s wanton, unprovoked act of aggression.

There are billions of Russian roubles and assets frozen across the West. They want them released and sent their way.

What they fear is Trump being hoodwinked by Putin with the lure of profit from US-Russian relations being restored, regardless of Ukraine’s fate.

US Army paratroopers train at the military base where discussions will take place. File pic: Reuters
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US Army paratroopers train at the military base where discussions will take place. File pic: Reuters

That would allow Russia to regain its strength, rearm and prepare for another round of fighting in a few years’ time.

Trump and his golf buddy-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff appear to believe Putin might be satisfied with keeping some of the land he has taken by force.

Putin says he wants much more than that. He wants Ukraine to cease to exist as a country separate from Russia.

Any agreement short of that is only likely to be temporary.

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Zelenskyy: I told Trump ‘Putin is bluffing’

Trump’s pride on the line – he has a reputation to restore
By
Martha Kelner, US correspondent, in Alaska

As with anything Donald Trump does, he already has a picture in his mind.

The image of Trump shaking hands with the ultimate strongman leader, Vladimir Putin, on US soil calls to his vanity and love of an attention-grabbing moment.

There is also pride at stake.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, where Trump will meet his Russian counterpart. File pic: Reuters
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Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska, where Trump will meet his Russian counterpart. File pic: Reuters

Trump campaigned saying he would end the Russia-Ukraine war on his first day in office, so there is an element of him wanting to follow through on that promise to voters, even though it’s taken him 200-plus days in office and all he’s got so far is this meeting, without apparently any concessions on Putin’s end.

In Trump’s mind – and in the minds of many of his supporters – he is the master negotiator, the chief dealmaker, and he wants to bolster that reputation.

He is keen to further the notion that he negotiates in a different, more straightforward way than his predecessors and that it is paying dividends.

So far, despite sanctions on Russia, despite warnings and deadlines, the situation in Ukraine is only getting worse.

He’s hoping that this meeting, simply the act of sitting down with Putin, can change the tide.

The Russian president may have different ideas.

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Trump praises Frank Spencer actor as he prepares for major summit – sometimes the script writes itself

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Trump praises Frank Spencer actor as he prepares for major summit - sometimes the script writes itself

It’s official. Donald Trump will host the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors – Washington’s annual black-tie celebration of artistic achievement.

In previous years, occupants of the White House simply attended the event in the building named after President John F Kennedy.

Earlier this year, the US president sacked the board and installed himself as chairman and is threatening to put his own name on the door.

“GREAT nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY Center, whoops, I mean KENNEDY CENTER AWARDS…” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

Vowing that the show will be “non-woke”, he announced this year’s nominees – a stroll through Trump’s cultural sweet spot:

  • George Strait, who’s branded the king of country music
  • Sylvester Stallone, who, as Rocky Balboa, defeated the Cold War in a boxing ring
  • Gloria Gaynor, whose “I will survive” could double as Trump’s campaign theme
  • KISS, whose pyrotechnics will have the Secret Service on edge all evening
  • And, wait for it, the British Broadway star, Michael Crawford

Crawford’s West End and Broadway career spans Barnum, The Woman in White and, of course, The Phantom Of The Opera..

The Phantom’s tendency to buy grand, chandelier-filled buildings, has won the approval of the real-estate mogul now remodelling the White House.

More from US

Read more:
Trump’s aims for Putin summit appear fluid
The snowy remote base where Trump will host Putin for talks

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Trump hopes of Zelenskyy-Putin meeting

But there’s something Americans might have missed – the character who made Michael Crawford a household name back home: Frank Spencer.

The star of the sitcom “Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em” was endlessly optimistic but completely hapless, and oblivious to his own incompetence.

Revealing that he would host the awards himself, just two days before he hosts Vladimir Putin, is quintessential Trump, the prime-time president.

But “Ooh Betty,” as Frank Spencer would say, when Donald Trump extols Michael Crawford, an icon of slapstick comedy, the script writes itself.

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