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Year: 2026

Experts warn Minnesota school closures after ICE shooting will harm kids for ‘political points’

Experts warn Minnesota school closures after ICE shooting will harm kids for ‘political points’

Schools in Minnesota have been closing or providing remote learning options in the wake of an ICE shooting that has sparked violent protests, which experts tell Fox News Digital is a political move that will ultimately result in learning loss and unnecessary harm to children.  In response to the shooting death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, the St. Paul, Minnesota school system announced temporary closures and the option for students to learn remotely. Additionally, Minneapolis public schools are offering remote learning until February. The choice to take children out of classrooms was described as being due to “safety concerns,” but experts who spoke to Fox News Digital say it’s a decision based purely on politics that will negatively affect students in the same way COVID-19 lockdowns did. “Minnesota’s Teachers Unions did generational damage to the state’s children when they demanded schools be locked down for prolonged periods during COVID,” Stefano Forte, executive director of 1776 Project PAC, told Fox News Digital. “Once again, the teachers union is acting against the interest of children and showing themselves as being nothing more than a political arm of the Democratic Party.” GOT A SCOOP ON CAMPUS? SEND US A TIP HERE Numerous studies and reports have been released in recent years showing that remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic severely hindered student learning, including a Department of Education report in 2022, reported on by Fox News Digital, showing math and reading scores declined more during the coronavirus pandemic than they have in decades. Since the ICE shooting that set off protests and violent agitators across Minneapolis, numerous videos have circulated on social media showing young school-age children at protests, including one apparent student walk-out at the Minnesota state capitol.  Paul Runko, senior director of Strategic Initiatives for Defending Education, told Fox News Digital, “Nearly six years after the start of the COVID pandemic, American families know that school closures and mass remote learning were a complete disaster for kids; academically, socially, emotionally, and mentally.” PROFESSORS WERE DISCIPLINED FOR VULGAR POSTS AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? “Every day out of the classroom is a day students can’t get back. These decisions aren’t being made for children, they’re being made for adults, often to score political points or to accommodate priorities that have nothing to do with student success. Students deserve classrooms, not excuses.” Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported on a release from Defending Education alleging that a state-funded teacher preparation partnership in Minnesota explicitly limits eligibility based on race, possibly in violation of federal law. Rhyen Staley, director of research for Defending Education, told Fox News Digital that far-left ideology is ingrained in educational decisions being made throughout the state.  “What is happening with Minnesota schools is a feature, not a bug, of the current dominant ideology permeating Colleges of Education and the education system writ large,” Staley said. “Too many teachers are being trained to be far-left social justice activists to the detriment of the children they are hired to serve. This tragically will continue until this is changed.” Fox News Digital reached out to Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools for comment.

Shapiro says possibly being Harris’ VP pick ‘just didn’t feel right’

Shapiro says possibly being Harris’ VP pick ‘just didn’t feel right’

In his forthcoming book, “Where We Keep the Light,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro writes that the prospect of becoming the vice president for Kamala Harris did not “feel right,” Politico Playbook reported. “I knew that despite the honor of it, it just didn’t feel right for some reason,” Shapiro noted, according to the outlet. Regarding the vetting to potentially become Harris’ 2024 running mate, he wrote that “all of the questioning felt unnecessarily contentious,” according to the report, which also noted that he indicated that Harris’ team “didn’t understand where the people who would decide this presidential election really were.” JOSH SHAPIRO CLAIMS KAMALA HARRIS’ TEAM ASKED IF HE WAS A ‘DOUBLE AGENT FOR ISRAEL “If we had door A and door B as options, and she was for door A and I was for door B, I just wanted to make sure that I could make the case for door B, and if I didn’t convince her, then I’d run right through a brick wall to support her decision,” he notes in the book, according to The New York Times. “She was crystal clear that that was not what she was looking for.” Shapiro was “surprised” by the extent to which Harris “seemed to dislike the role” she held as vice president, he indicated in the book, Politico Playbook reported. SHAPIRO KICKS OFF 2026 RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN AS 2028 WHITE HOUSE BUZZ SWIRLS “She noted that her chief of staff would be giving me my directions, lamented that the Vice President didn’t have a private bathroom in their office and how difficult it was for her at times not to have a voice in decision making,” Shapiro wrote, according to the Times. The outlet reported that Shapiro opted to withdraw himself from consideration, and requested to get in touch with Harris to deliver his decision, but was told that “the VP would not handle bad news well and that I shouldn’t push.” OBAMA WINGMAN ERIC HOLDER DEFENDED WALZ’S VETTING — THEN MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL ERUPTED Harris ultimately tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her 2024 running mate, but the two were soundly defeated by the Republican ticket featuring Donald Trump and JD Vance.

Post Trump meeting, Venezuelan opposition leader says country will hold ‘free and fair’ elections ‘eventually’

Post Trump meeting, Venezuelan opposition leader says country will hold ‘free and fair’ elections ‘eventually’

After meeting with President Donald Trump, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Friday that Venezuela will hold “free and fair” elections “eventually” as Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, continues to rule the country after his capture.  Machado did not offer a timeline for how long the current interim government would be allowed to rule, only that elections would happen “as soon as possible.” “I am profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition.” Speaking at a news conference hosted by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, Machado said Venezuela is taking “the first steps of a true transition to democracy,” but stressed that dismantling the country’s repression apparatus must come before any credible election can be held. RUBIO LAYS OUT THREE-PHASE PLAN FOR VENEZUELA AFTER MADURO: ‘NOT JUST WINGING IT’ “We are facing a very complex and delicate process,” Machado said. “Eventually we will have free and fair elections,” she added, while emphasizing that security, rule of law and the release of political prisoners must come first. Machado rejected the idea that Venezuela’s constitutional election timelines could be applied immediately, arguing that years of repression have hollowed out democratic institutions. She said hundreds of political prisoners remain unaccounted for and warned that fear and coercion are still widespread inside the country. “The fact that you are not in a prison doesn’t mean that you are free,” she said, citing restrictions on speech, movement and political organizing. Her comments come after the Trump administration faces growing scrutiny from critics over the lack of a clear electoral roadmap following the Jan. 3 operation that led to the removal of longtime strongman Maduro. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described a three-phase U.S. plan — stabilization, recovery and transition — but acknowledged that the final phase remains undefined. During her Washington visit, Machado met privately with Trump and praised his role in pressuring Maduro’s government. She said the president told her he cares deeply about the Venezuelan people and their future. Machado also presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal, a symbolic gesture toward a president who has long coveted the award. She described Trump’s actions on Venezuela as courageous and said U.S. support has given Venezuelans renewed hope after years of repression and economic collapse. The Nobel Committee said in a statement that a “laureate cannot share the prize with others, nor transfer it once it has been announced.” “The decision is final and applies for all time.” Despite her praise for Trump, questions remain over Washington’s posture toward Venezuela’s interim leadership. Trump has publicly spoken positively about Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president who is now playing a central role in the transitional government — a stance that has unsettled some opposition supporters. Machado sought to downplay the appearance of competition between herself and Rodríguez for the U.S. president’s support. “This has nothing to do with a tension or decision between Delcy Rodríguez and myself,” Machado said when asked about Trump’s openness to working with the interim government. “This is about a criminal structure that is a regime and the mandate of the Venezuelan people.” Trump has spoken positively about Rodríguez’s role in the transition and suggested he’d be open to meeting with her. On Thursday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe was in Venezuela meeting with Rodríguez. Trump recently called Machado a “very fine woman” with whom he has “mutual respect,” after saying Jan. 3 that Machado “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to rule.  Machado called Rodríguez “a communist” and “the main ally and representation of the Russian regime, the Chinese and the Iranians,” while arguing that Rodríguez “does not represent the Venezuelan people” or the armed forces. VENEZUELA’S NEW INTERIM LEADER DELCY RODRÍGUEZ ‘HATES THE WEST,’ EX OFFICIAL WARNS Machado said the current phase of the transition remains unstable, with elements of the former regime still being forced to dismantle systems of repression, including intelligence units and detention centers. Only after those structures are neutralized, she said, can Venezuela begin rebuilding democratic institutions and organizing legitimate elections. She also stressed that future elections must include Venezuelans living abroad, noting that millions were barred from voting in past contests. “Every single Venezuelan, living in Venezuela or abroad, should have the right to vote,” Machado said. Trump has previously questioned whether Machado has sufficient support inside Venezuela to govern, backed by a U.S. CIA report on the matter, a remark she did not directly address during her public remarks. Instead, she framed the transition as a collective effort driven by popular will rather than individual leadership. “This is not about me,” Machado said. “It is about the will of the Venezuelan people.” For now, she said, the priority remains security. “We understand the urgency,” Machado said. “But without dismantling terror, there can be no real democracy.” The White House has said the United States intends to play a hands-on role during Venezuela’s transition, arguing it has significant leverage over interim authorities in Caracas. Venezuela. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said recently the administration believes it has “maximum leverage” over Venezuela’s interim leadership, including influence over economic and security decisions as the transition unfolds. After Maduro’s capture, Trump said the U.S. would essentially run Venezuela.  “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,” he said.  On Machado, Trump initially expressed skepticism. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”  A source told Fox News Digital there was concern among senior officials even prior to the Venezuela operation that Machado “lacked the necessary support in Venezuela if Maduro was to be removed.” Rubio has said the administration envisions a phased approach to Venezuela’s transition — beginning with stabilization, followed by recovery and then a political transition. Rubio acknowledged that while elections are the end goal, they must come after security conditions improve and democratic institutions are rebuilt.  Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.