Remembering
James Robison

You are viewing a page from our archive site. To browse the latest Christian TV content on The Stream, click here.

The Brew: UK Affirms Biology, Maine Faces Sports Showdown, and a Miracle Saves the Day!

Susan Smith and Marion Calder, directors of 'For Women Scotland' cheer as they leave the Supreme Court on April 16, 2025 in London, England after court ruled unanimously that "the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex."

By Gayle McQueary Published on April 17, 2025

Today we’re starting off with a sip of tea as we celebrate truth and reason winning in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, there was a true miracle in South Africa — but hold your teacup tight, because it’s going to get tumultuous back here in the United States.

Gosh, Who Knew?

Pop the confetti, but hold the champagne! The United Kingdom Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that under the Equality Act 2010, a “woman” is someone born biologically female. This landmark decision, delivered with a side of legal clarity early Wednesday morning, had women’s rights campaigners hugging and toasting outside the court, while sparking lively debates across the UK.

The case kicked off when a transgender woman argued that the Equality Act should embrace gender identity, letting trans women claim the same protections as cisgender women. But the court stuck to the biological script, saying the term “woman” is tied to birth sex, not gender recognition certificates (GRCs).

This means single-sex spaces — like hospital wards or abuse support groups — can exclude anyone not born female.

For a group known as For Women Scotland (FWS), which brought a related challenge, this is a major win. They’re hoping for clearer rules to protect women’s spaces. Trans folks, though, are still covered under the Act’s gender-reassignment protections, and the court was quick to call them a “vulnerable” group deserving dignity. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is now tasked with whipping up fresh guidance to keep everyone on the same page.

The ruling’s got Westminster cheering and Holyrood dodging awkward questions. With a Scottish election looming, don’t expect First Minister John Swinney to dive back into the gender reform fray anytime soon. Meanwhile, trans advocates are waving flags for legal updates to boost gender-identity protections, while women’s rights groups are high-fiving each other over the biology-based clarity.

Social media’s buzzing, with people “chucking it down” faster than a summer rain. Will Parliament tweak the Equality Act to balance “transgender” and biological rights? Only time will tell, but for now, this ruling’s got Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling cheering for the “extraordinary, tenacious Scottish women with an army behind them.”

Bravo indeed, ladies!

DOJ Challenges Maine’s Transgender Sports Inclusion Policy

While we’re on the topic of women and protecting their spaces, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi made a bold move Wednesday: filing a lawsuit against Maine’s Department of Education for violating Title IX by allowing transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports, defying President Donald Trump’s executive order.

Bondi, joined by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby (who was censored a few months ago in her Democrat-controlled legislative body for a Facebook post about a transgender high school athlete), and former swimmer-turned-warrior woman Riley Gaines, emphasized fairness and safety for female athletes, seeking an injunction to halt trans athletes’ participation and to reassign titles they “won” by beating XX competitors. The Justice Department is also exploring retroactively pulling Maine’s federal funding for public education.

The lawsuit escalates a feud sparked in February when Maine Gov. Janet Mills clashed with Trump by flatly stating she refused to comply with his executive order — citing the Maine Human Rights Act, which protects transgender students’ rights.

Mills’s defiance led to federal investigations by the Education Department, Health and Human Services Department, and USDA, with the latter briefly freezing funds until a judge intervened last Friday. Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey defends the state’s stance, arguing that federal courts support transgender inclusion in girls’ sports under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause, and accuses the Trump administration of ignoring legal precedent.

“We’re going to look at the rule of law as our guide and we’re also going to remind the Trump administration that it’s the rule of law that they are bound to as well,” Frey told The Hill.

Maine currently has two male athletes competing in high school girls’ sports, but that’s two too many for Pam Bondi. “I don’t care if it’s one. I don’t care if it’s two. I don’t care if it’s 100 — it’s going to stop, and it’s going to stop in every single state,” she said.

This administration is not backing down from protecting American women and girls from the people who can’t even define what a woman is (unlike our friends across the Pond).

Shoe on the Other Foot

My oh my, the tangled messes we can create. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who tried to prosecute President Donald Trump for everything under the sun, is now facing allegations of mortgage fraud, with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referring her case to the U.S. Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution. In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Todd Blanche on Monday, FHFA Director William J. Pulte cited evidence of irregularities in loans James had obtained which strongly suggest deliberate falsehoods.

Specifically, James is accused of falsifying documents to secure favorable loan terms for two properties:

1) a property in Norfolk, Virginia, she purchased in August 2023. She falsely claimed this one to be her primary residence, despite her role as New York’s Attorney General, and

2) a property in Brooklyn she misrepresented as having four units in order to access better interest rates and mortgage assistance through the Home Assistance Modification Program (HAMP). The structure actually has five units.

The referral follows earlier media reports, including from Fox News, and allegations that James listed her father as her husband on mortgage documents.

James’s office dismissed the accusations, asserting that she is focused on protecting New Yorkers and not subject to intimidation. Legal experts, including Jonathan Turley, highlighted the irony, given the way James prosecuted Donald Trump for similar alleged misdeeds, such as falsifying records.

A spokesperson for James dismissed the accusations, stating she remains focused on protecting New Yorkers and will not be intimidated. The allegations, supported by documents from 1983 and 2000, were first reported by retired NYPD inspector Paul Mauro. James, who led a $454 million civil fraud lawsuit against Trump (currently on appeal), has initiated multiple legal actions against the Trump administration in 2025.

Miraculous News

On Monday, we shared news about a 45-year-old American missionary, Josh Sullivan, who was kidnapped last Thursday during an evening service at his church in South Africa. Today we can share good news: Sullivan has been rescued!

A special division of South Africa’s police force, the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks), discovered Sullivan was being held in a safe house in a neighboring township. According to Hawks spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba, the rescue operation was conducted sometime Tuesday.

Suspects were found inside a vehicle parked outside the safe house; they attempted to flee the scene while shooting at officers. Fuma reported officers returned fire, and three suspects in the vehicle were killed.

The miraculous part of this story was that Sullivan also was inside the vehicle — unharmed from the shootout. Talk about a hedge of protection!

An investigation into the kidnapping is ongoing, but law enforcement, with help from the community, is to be commended for their swift action to defend the safety of the people of South Africa.

Along The Stream…

Don’t miss Jules Gomes’s brilliant piece later today detailing the U.K. Supreme Court ruling on gender, and what this could mean for other nations.

Also coming up, Pastor Jentezen Franklin shares that fasting is not about you, food, or anything else besides God in “Fasting Brings Breakthrough!”

 

Gayle McQueary is The Stream’s social media coordinator. She has a background in production and is a scary judge of pots calling kettles black … especially in New York.