Are US graduation ceremonies the latest battleground for Gaza protests?
EXPLAINER Here’s how pro-Palestine campus protests and encampments are affecting graduation ceremonies at US universities. College graduates all over the United States this year are walking on stage to collect their degrees after donning Palestinian flags and keffiyehs with their caps and gowns. Graduation ceremonies are taking place in May during protests and encampments in solidarity with the nearly 35,000 Palestinians killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began more than seven months ago. Protesters who have set up encampments on campuses for the past several weeks are calling on their universities to cut academic and financial ties with Israel. Counterprotesters are making themselves heard as well with some carrying Israeli flags and displaying pro-Israel messages during commencement ceremonies. While students at some institutions are using graduation to further their protests, some universities – including Columbia University in New York, where the first encampment appeared in April – have cancelled ceremonies. Other universities have changed venues and put security measures in place. Which US universities have seen protests at graduations? These demonstrations include those at: University of Michigan: During the May 4 ceremony, some students held Palestinian flags and banners in protest. Police officers were present during the two-hour ceremony, which did not stop as a result of the protests. The protesters demanded that the university divest from companies associated with Israel. The institution has allowed students to set up an encampment on campus. However, during a dinner held for honorary degree recipients on the night of May 3, police assisted in breaking up a large gathering outside the dinner venue, and at least one person was arrested. Northeastern University: The Boston college held its commencement on May 5 at Fenway Park. The ceremony was peaceful, and some students held Palestinian and Israeli flags. Undergraduate student speaker Rebecca Bamidele also called for peace in Gaza. Last month, police arrested about 100 protesters at Northeastern after breaking up an encampment on campus. University of Illinois Chicago: Graduation speaker Aysha Affaneh used the occasion to speak about the killing of civilians, especially children and students, in Gaza. “I urge you all to acknowledge the class of 2024 of Gaza that no longer exists,” she said. “I urge you all to acknowledge the class of 2024 of Gaza…that no longer exists. Students that will not be walking their stage this year and 14,000 children who will never walk a stage again.” Looks like these students understand more than Hillary Clinton.pic.twitter.com/i94Hk1hnVa — Assal Rad (@AssalRad) May 9, 2024 Indiana University: Hours before the institute in Bloomington held its commencement on May 4, an alternate ceremony was organised by protesters in Dunn Meadow, where the university’s encampment had reached its 10th day. Students and faculty, including political science Professor Abdulkader Sinno spoke at the alternate ceremony. Sinno was temporarily suspended in December after he was found to have misrepresented an event organised by the Palestine Solidarity Committee as an “academic event” on an official university form. Protesters also gathered outside the venue for the official ceremony. The Indiana Daily Student newspaper reported that two planes circled in the sky above the venue with banners reading “Let Gaza Live” and “Divest Now – Whitten Resign”, referring to Pamela Whitten, the university’s president. Which universities have cancelled graduation? While most US universities are pressing ahead with their ceremonies as scheduled or tightening security, some have cancelled commencements altogether: Columbia University: On Monday, Columbia announced it had cancelled its main university-wide graduation, which had been scheduled for May 15. Instead, there will be smaller ceremonies for each school within the wider institution. Columbia became the epicentre for the pro-Palestine encampments after students pitched tents on April 17, faced a crackdown by police and reported events stage by stage from the ground via the student-run radio station. University of Southern California (USC): Like Columbia, USC cancelled its main ceremony in favour of smaller events for different schools. More than 100 commencement events started on Wednesday and will continue until Saturday. California State Polytechnic University: The campus in Humboldt, North Carolina, will host smaller ceremonies off campus. The institute called police onto the campus last week to arrest student protesters who were demanding divestment from Israel. The campus has been closed since then. How else have protests affected graduations? The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had been scheduled to speak at the University of Vermont’s commencement on May 19. However, the institute has announced that Thomas-Greenfield will no longer be speaking. This followed a week of protesters at a student encampment demanding that she be removed as the speaker on the basis that she has, on behalf of the US, vetoed several UN Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Are US universities taking action against graduation protests? While some universities have chosen not to try to clear the encampments during graduation, including Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, some universities have tightened security and put rules in place that prevent protests. At the University of Pennsylvania, signs, posters, flags and artificial noisemakers will be prohibited at the May 20 graduation, the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported. At USC, students are allowed to carry only clear bags at ceremonies. Umbrellas, banners, selfie sticks and machines that make noise such as whistles or air horns have been forbidden. On Monday, the president of Emory University announced that its commencement a week later will take place off campus at an indoor complex called the Gas South District in Duluth, Georgia, due to “concerns about safety and security”. A student wears a graduation cap with the flag of Israel on top during the University of Michigan’s spring commencement [Nic Antaya/Getty Images/AFP] How has the US government responded to the graduation protests? US President Joe Biden said he welcomed peaceful protests at commencements, according to White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. “We have been very clear. We believe all Americans should have the right to peacefully protest,” she said on Tuesday. “What we don’t want to see is hate speech, violence.” Biden is scheduled
United Nations General Assembly backs Palestinian bid for membership
Resolution does not give Palestine full UN membership, but recognises them as qualified to join and extends rights. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”. The vote by the 193-member UNGA on Friday was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member – a move that would effectively recognise a Palestinian state – after the United States vetoed it in the UN Security Council last month. The assembly adopted a resolution on Friday with 143 votes in favour and nine against – including the US and Israel – while 25 countries abstained. It does not give the Palestinians full UN membership, but simply recognises them as qualified to join. The UNGA resolution “determines that the State of Palestine … should therefore be admitted to membership” and it “recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favourably”. While the UNGA alone cannot grant full UN membership, the draft resolution on Friday will give the Palestinians some additional rights and privileges from September 2024 – like a seat among the UN members in the assembly hall – but it will not be granted a vote in the body. Reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said it was significant that such a high number of countries voted in favour of the resolution. “What we were hearing before the vote was anywhere perhaps between 120, 130 – at top end, 140. The fact that they got 143 meets and exceeds all expectations. It’s been overwhelmingly passed,” he said. “But they still only have observer status.” The Palestinian push for full UN membership comes seven months into a war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and as Israel is expanding illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Prior to the vote, Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s ambassador to the UN told the UNGA that “voting ‘Yes’ is the right thing to do and I can assure you, you and your country for years to come will be proud to have stood for freedom, justice and peace in this darkest hour.” Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the resolution’s passage showed that the world stands with the rights and freedom of the Palestinian people, and against Israel’s occupation. “I think strategically speaking, this [the vote] is not going to make any difference to Gaza,” Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said. “It is far more symbolic. It is an important milestone for Palestine for achieving status in the world arena.” Full result of the vote on enhancing @Palestine_UN‘s membership at the UN. pic.twitter.com/ejLHzz4P4M — Rami Ayari (@Raminho) May 10, 2024 Meanwhile, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, condemned the vote and said that the UN is now welcoming a “terror state” into its ranks. “The United Nations was founded with the mission of ensuring such tyranny [of the Nazis] never raises its ugly head again,” he said. “Today, you are about to do the exact opposite and advance the establishment of a Palestinian terror state, which will be led by the Hitler of our times.” An application to become a full UN member first needs to be approved by the 15-member Security Council and then the UNGA. If the measure is again voted on by the council it is likely to face the same fate: a US veto. Bishara said that stances towards the US likely affected Friday’s vote. “I think a good number of votes [in favour] were against the United States as much as they were for Palestine, and I think a good number of votes were abstaining under pressure from the United States.” Adblock test (Why?)
Mozambique’s president says northern town ‘under attack’ by armed groups
President Filipe Nyusi said the country’s army is battling ISIL-linked groups in gas-rich Cabo Delgado’s Macomia. Mozambique’s army is fighting armed groups who launched a major attack on the northern town of Macomia, President Filipe Nyusi has said in a televised address. The town is in Cabo Delgado, a gas-rich northern province where groups linked to the ISIL (ISIS) group, launched an armed uprising in 2017. Despite a large security response, there has been a surge in attacks since January this year. Two security sources told the Reuters news agency that hundreds of fighters are believed to be involved in the latest attack that took place on Friday morning. “Macomia is under attack since this morning. Fire exchange still continues,” Nyusi said at about 10:00 GMT, adding that the armed group fighters initially withdrew after about 45 minutes of fighting, but then regrouped and came back. Friday’s attack appeared to be the most serious attack in the area in some time. A regional force from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which deployed in Mozambique in 2021, started withdrawing last month as its mandate ends in July. Piers Pigou, head of the Southern Africa Programme at the Institute for Security Studies, said the attack on the Macomia district headquarters validates concerns over a security vacuum opening up with the drawdown of the Southern African troops. “Claims that the province has been for the most part stabilised are evidently not accurate,” he told Reuters. Nyusi said that attacks can take place in such periods of transition and that he hoped the SADC forces would be able to step in and help. It was unclear if they were still deployed in the area or involved in the fight. Rwanda has also deployed troops to Mozambique to help fight the armed groups. Figures released by the International Organisation for Migration in March show more than 110,000 people have been displaced since the end of last year, amid escalating violence in the province. The offensive comes as French oil company TotalEnergies is seeking to restart a $20bn liquefied natural gas terminal in Cabo Delgado that was halted in 2021 due to the violence. That project is some 200km (124 miles) north of Macomia, the town under attack. ExxonMobil, with partner Eni, is also developing an LNG project in northern Mozambique and said last week that it was “optimistic and pushing forward” as the security situation had improved. Adblock test (Why?)
House Education Committee chair demands answers after Northwestern University caves to anti-Israel agitators
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent a letter to Northwestern University leaders on Friday, demanding answers on an agreement reached with anti-Israel agitators. In the letter, Foxx announces her committee has opened an investigation into the university’s “response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students.” She demands documents and communications concerning the encampment and alleged antisemitic incidents that have taken place at Northwestern since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in addition to other materials. “I have grave concerns regarding Northwestern’s persistent failure in addressing antisemitism,” Foxx writes. The letter comes after Northwestern’s top administrators — including President Michael Schill — have faced intense criticism over an agreement with student protesters to end an illegal encampment on campus. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY HIT WITH FEDERAL COMPLAINT AFTER CAVING TO ANTI-ISRAEL MOB’S DEMANDS “Most recently, Northwestern’s decision to capitulate to antisemitic, pro-terror encampment organizers prompted seven members of Northwestern’s antisemitism advisory committee to resign in protest and for three national Jewish organizations, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Louis D. Brandeis Center, and StandWithUs, jointly to call for President Schill’s resignation or removal,” Foxx’s letter states. The so-called “Northwestern Liberated Zone” was established on April 29, 2024, by a group of students and faculty who staged an unauthorized five-day anti-Israel protest and encampment on Deering Meadow at Northwestern University in Illinois. It was part of the nationwide movement that began at Columbia University with students and Hamas supporters demanding that institutions of higher learning fully divest from Israel and condemn the war in Gaza. Under the agreement, Northwestern said it plans to cover the full cost of attendance for five Palestinian students who attend the school for the duration of their undergraduate careers. The agreement also provides for immediate temporary space for [Middle East and North Africa] MENA/Muslim students and a house for MENA/Muslim students that is conducive to community building as soon as practically possible, or sometime after 2026. NORTHWESTERN PROFESSOR, WHOSE SCHOOL GAVE IN TO ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS, IS SON OF NOTORIOUS TERRORIST RADICALS Northwestern’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) celebrated the deal as “a landmark victory made in our struggle for palestinian liberation,” and, Foxx’s letter notes, “an important step toward our ultimate goal: divestment from Israel (emphasis in original).” “The unlawful pro-terror encampment, dubbed the ‘Northwestern Liberated Zone,’ disrupted campus life and became a hotspot for pervasive antisemitic harassment and hostility,” Foxx writes. “Rather than enforcing University rules and disciplining those who violated them, Northwestern’s leaders surrendered to the violators in a shameful agreement.” After a strong condemnation of the agreement, Foxx cites several examples of alleged “crimes and antisemetic incidents” that have occurred at or around the encampment, including assault, obstruction of justice, harassment and theft. Such incidents include an April 25 confrontation when protesters physically resisted Northwestern University Police officers who attempted to clear the encampment. Faculty members participated in the demonstration, including Steven Thrasher, the Medill School’s Daniel H. Renberg Chair of Social Justice in Reporting. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT CALLS ON STUDENTS TO CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC PHRASES; SCHOOL GROUP CLAPS BACK On the same day, a Jewish Northwestern student was reportedly assaulted by an encampment member while recording the encampment, according to video posted on X. Other Jewish students reported harassment from protesters, including a woman who said she was “told to go back to Germany and get gassed,” and a student wearing a yarmulke who reported being spat at as he walked past the encampment. Foxx’s letter also points to antisemitic incidents at Northwestern University that predate the encampment, including a Jewish student who was “called a terrorist and a colonizer” after she wrote an op-ed discussing antisemitism at the university. It also cites a statement from Northwestern’s SJP issued in response to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which stated, “the occupied and oppressed have the undeniable right to resist and seek their freedom without stigmatization as instigators and terrorists.” Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, killed 1,200 Israelis as they brutally raped, tortured and murdered their way through southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attack, taking some 250 captives back to Gaza. SEVERAL ANTISEMITISM COMMITTEE MEMBERS RESIGN AFTER NORTHWESTERN MAKES DEAL WITH ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS The letter notes at least seven other examples of alleged antisemitic incidents at Northwestern that took place before the encampment and at least 13 that happened since April 25. “The record makes clear that President Schill and other Northwestern leaders have not only failed to address the pervasive antisemitic harassment and disruptions of a safe learning environment that have plagued the University in a serious manner, but have also surrendered to the malefactors responsible for this hatred and chaos,” Foxx writes. “This is an unacceptable dereliction of duty.” Northwestern University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Schill wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune published Thursday that stated that “University presidents are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the wave of protests and tent encampments on our campuses.” The column was titled “Here’s why I reached an agreement with Northwestern protesters.” Schill wrote that anti-Israel protesters at Northwestern “asked for several changes to university policy, including divestment from Israel and the end of an academic program that focused on Israeli innovation. We said a flat no to both. But we did say we understood their isolation and alienation and wanted to work with them to improve life at Northwestern for Muslim students and students from the Middle East and North Africa.” “Ultimately, we came to an agreement that they would take down the tent encampment and bring the demonstration into compliance with our rules and regulations,” Schill said, adding that the school has agreed to “establish a house for Muslim and Middle Eastern students to eat, pray and socialize, something already enjoyed by our Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Black and female students,” among other changes. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Greg Wehner and Jon Street contributed to this report.
GOP rep files impeachment articles using Dem precedent set during Trump administration
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., formally filed articles of impeachment against President Biden on Friday over his recent comments about withholding offensive weapons aid to Israel, drawing parallels to House Democrats’ first impeachment of former President Trump. The first-term House Republican told Fox News Digital it was his “constitutional duty” to do so. His legislative text, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accuses Biden of “abuse of power” and charges that he tried to force Israel into changing its own defense policies by leveraging lethal aid. “In violation of his oath to faithfully execute the office of President and to uphold the Constitution, President Biden abused the powers of his office by soliciting a ‘quid pro quo’ with Israel while leveraging vital military aid for policy changes. This egregious action not only compromised the credibility of the United States but also undermined the interests of our longstanding ally, Israel. Therefore, President Biden’s conduct warrants impeachment, trial, removal from office, and disqualification from holding any future office under the United States,” Mills said in a statement. ANTI-ISRAEL OCCUPIERS COULD LOSE FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS UNDER NEW GOP SENATE BILL Fox News Digital was first to report Mills’ intent to file the impeachment articles on Thursday. He and other GOP lawmakers have drawn comparisons between Biden’s comments on Israel and Trump’s leveraging of lethal aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv announced an investigation into the Bidens. “Joe Biden is pressuring Israel, our biggest ally in the Middle East, by pausing their funding that has already been approved in the House, if they don’t stop all operations with Hamas. It’s a very clear message, ‘this for that,’” Mills said Thursday. “These are the same accusations made against President Trump, which resulted in his impeachment by Democrats. The same must happen for Joe Biden, which is why we’re drawing up articles of impeachment now.” Biden made the high-stakes ultimatum to Israel’s government in a CNN interview that aired Wednesday night as it prepares for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The city is currently home to more than a million Palestinians who left other parts of the Gaza Strip, where Israel has conducted its mission to eradicate the terrorist group Hamas. Biden said Israel would continue to see U.S. support for its defensive systems, like the Iron Dome, in the CNN interview. He added, however, that “if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.” ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS Mills’ legislative text argues that in making those comments, Biden “used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and its ally Israel.” It’s highly unlikely for the push to reach the level of a Senate trial, with the House’s current ongoing impeachment inquiry into Biden still searching for smoking gun evidence amid accusations of improper behavior and bribery, all of which the White House has denied. But it shows the sky-high tensions that have taken over Washington amid Israel’s war on Hamas after the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack. A White House official told Fox News Digital that Mills’ push was “ridiculous” on Thursday. BIDEN’S DECISION TO PULL ISRAEL WEAPONS SHIPMENT KEPT QUIET UNTIL AFTER HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ADDRESS: REPORT “Senior administration officials had already made multiple public statements about Rafah similar to the President’s, including that we are also ensuring Israel gets every dollar appropriated in the supplemental. Trump failed to spend dollars appropriated by Congress that he was legally required to spend. This is about a purchase made by a foreign government and our decision whether to deliver that purchase right now, which could enable an operation we’ve publicly and privately objected to,” the official said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Meanwhile, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, “As the President said, Israel has not yet launched such an operation, so he was talking about what would happen in the future if they did. That is a choice Israel will have to make. We hope they don’t. We will keep working with them to develop alternative approaches that we think have a better chance of strategic success and a better chance of eliminating the threat that Israeli people still face from Hamas.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment on Friday.
Swing state GOP looks to go around Dem governor, put Texas-style border bill before voters
An Arizona push to work around Gov. Katie Hobbs and put tougher immigration laws in front of the voters to decide cleared a major hurdle in the State Senate. “The governor has openly said the border is not secure. She’s said the federal government’s failing us, the Biden administration’s failing us, but unfortunately, it’s just words,” Arizona Senate President Warren Peterson told Fox News Digital. “She hasn’t proposed anything, she hasn’t given us anything for the border.” Peterson’s comments come after an Arizona Senate committee approved the “Secure Border Act,” or HCR 2060, on Wednesday, coming one step closer to putting the question in front of voters this November. BORDER STATE GOP PUSHES TO DEFY WHITE HOUSE, ADOPT TX-STYLE IMMIGRATION LAW The bill, which is modeled after Texas’ controversial SB 4, would make it a crime to illegally cross the border. Like the Texas law, which is critically at the center of an ongoing court battle, the bill would give local law enforcement the ability to enforce immigration laws. “This is truly a border security bill,” said Peterson, the top Republican in the Arizona Senate. “It allows law enforcement to if they see somebody crossing the border illegally, they’re ale to arrest them, detain them, and put them through the judicial process.” Peterson explained that the bill addresses three key issues; border security, addressing the fentanyl crisis in the state, and making sure that those who are receiving government benefits are in the country legally. LARGE MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS SHIFT TO ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA, PIVOTING AWAY FROM TEXAS The Arizona lawmaker also stressed that the new bill is much different than SB 1070, a controversial 2010 immigration law in the state that was partially struck down by the Supreme Court in 2012. That bill allowed law enforcement in any part of the state to be questioned about their immigration status, Peterson explained, while this bill is more narrowly focused on securing the border. By putting the question in front of the voters, Arizona Republicans could effectively bypass the state’s Democratic governor, who vetoed a similar bill in March that made it a state crime to illegally cross the border. “This bill does not secure our border. On the contrary, it will be harmful for businesses and communities in our state and a burden for law enforcement personnel,” Hobbs said at the time. “I know there’s frustration about the federal government’s failure to secure our border, but this bill is not the solution.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Hobbs has also indicated that she does not support the new effort, according to a report from AZ Family. “We’re certainly going to continue addressing the situation, working with border communities, and the coalition that we have built whether or not, whether this measure makes it to the ballot or not,” Hobbs said. But Peterson believes the new legislation is the best way to tackle the issue, arguing the governor has not offered any concrete plans to tackle the border crisis, instead vetoing every bill the Republican-led legislature has put on her desk. “We’ve done 10 bills in the last two years to deal with border security and she has vetoed all of them,” Peterson said. “We’re going to send it to the voters for them to decide in November.” Peterson believes the bill will have a good chance of passing once in front of voters, noting that the border crisis is the number one concern of many of the constituents he and his colleagues represent. The proposal will now move to the full Senate for approval, where a vote is expected on May 15. The measure will also need to be heard by the state House of Representatives, where it enjoys the support of Republican House Speaker Ben Toma, according to the AZ Family report. Hobbs’ office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
‘Ramesh Awasthi Ke Samman Mein, Great Khali Maidaan Mein’, top wresteler’s road show for BJP candidate draws huge crowd
The roadshow, spanning approximately five kilometers, started at Chandrika Devi Chauraha and saw a massive turnout.
Backers of anti-Israel radicals are funding Dem rival’s Senate run, red-state Republican says
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused his Senate opponent, Democratic candidate Rep. Colin Allred of Texas, of being financially backed by the same powerful families who are supporting the anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations at universities across the country. Between April 18 and May 3, police either arrested or detained more than 2,200 people on at least 49 college campuses during protests in 26 different states. “Those protests are being funded by Joe Biden and the Democrats’ top donors,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in an interview, saying Allred’s donors — the Soros, Rockefeller, Pritzker, and Gates families — had also been either in the past or presently connected to organizations that are supporting the demonstrations against Israel. ANTI-ISRAEL OCCUPIERS COULD LOSE FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS UNDER NEW GOP SENATE BILL “They’re being funded by George Soros and the Rockefeller brothers and Bill and Melinda Gates and the Pritzkers,” he claimed. Cruz continued, “Those folks are not just Joe Biden’s top donors. They’re among Colin Allred’s top donors.” “Colin Allred has accepted $80,000 from those donors that are funding the anti-Israel, antisemitic protests on college campuses,” the Texas senator said. ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS Including both his congressional and Senate campaigns, associated committees and All In PAC, the four families have provided just under $80,000 to Allred’s electoral efforts, as Cruz claimed. Open Society, which was founded by Democratic megadonor George Soros and is chaired by his son Alexander Soros, said in a statement that they “fund an array of non-profit civil society groups across the United States that advocate for a fairer world.” UNIVERSITIES WOULD PAY ‘HEFTY PRICE’ FOR ALLOWING ENCAMPMENTS UNDER NEW SENATE BILL “The vast majority of these groups have no involvement with protests of any kind. Others may seek to articulate and amplify dissenting voices through, for example, petitions, meetings, and peaceful public protests,” a spokesperson said. George Soros himself did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. Nicholas and Susan Pritzker’s Libra Foundation also funds smaller social justice organizations, several of which are understood to be involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Politico recently reported. NPR CEO KATHERINE MAHER DECLINES HOUSE HEARING INVITE AMID BIAS SCANDAL The Rockefeller Brothers Fund has awarded the organization Jewish Voice for Peace hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants over the last several years, a group that has staged its own anti-Israel demonstrations and explicitly considers itself to be “anti-Zionist.” The fund was founded by the famous Rockefeller family, and its members remain involved in the organization. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given the controversial Tides Foundation and Tides Center millions of dollars over the last few years, with the most recent grant to the Tides Center being awarded in November and amounting to $616,409. Tides is understood to support several anti-Israel organizations with a large presence at the cross-country university demonstrations. Both the Tides Foundation and Tides Center are Tides entities and affiliates. The foundation is mostly focused on philanthropic work, while the center “supports social change leaders, connects diverse people and organizations, and powers solutions that come directly from communities historically denied power, including women, economically disadvantaged communities, and communities of color.” The Gates’ foundation told Fox News Digital that it does not have any grants that are active with the Tides Foundation anymore and denied funding the demonstrations either directly or indirectly. The foundation told Fox News Digital that grants to the Tides Center were still active but noted that they are related to education. A spokesperson claimed they do not either directly or indirectly fund the demonstrations. Allred’s campaign, the Pritzkers’ Libra Foundation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. “Colin has a choice. Will he stand with the people of Israel and send the money back or will he keep the money?” asked Cruz. “It’s sad what’s happened to the Democrat Party, but Colin Allred has an opportunity to make a choice and to decide which side he stands on,” he added.
Trump urges Biden to follow through with debate promise: ‘I’m ready to go anywhere’
Former President Donald Trump is demanding President Biden coordinate a presidential debate after both 2024 candidates have expressed enthusiasm for the idea. Trump wrote a short “letter to Joe” on Thursday via his proprietary social media platform, Truth Social. “Dear Joe, now that you’ve committed to Debate on the now dying Howard Stern Show, no less, [sic] let’s set it up right now. I’m ready to go anywhere that you are,” Trump said. BIDEN GIVES 3-WORD RESPONSE WHEN ASKED WHEN HE’LL DEBATE TRUMP The former president reiterated venue ideas he’s mentioned in previous debate challenges, including the White House and New York City. “We could do it in D.C., even pinpoint the White House, or in New York when your Radical Left Fascists are finished with ELECTION INTERFERENCE against your Political Opponent, ME,” Trump continued. The two presidential candidates have traded challenges back and forth since Biden said that he would be “happy” to debate the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee two weeks ago on the Howard Stern Show. TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS BIDEN DEBATE HIM ‘MUCH EARLIER’ AND MORE OFTEN The same day Trump posted his short “letter to Joe”, Biden was asked whether he would debate the former president prior to the election. “Set it up,” Biden told reporters following a ceremony celebrating the WNBA Champions, the Las Vegas Aces, on Thursday afternoon. Despite the bluster from both presumptive candidates, no progress seems to have been made setting up a debate. The Commission on Presidential Debates will proceed with its original schedule despite requests for earlier events. “The CPD’s criteria […] will be applied in early September; afterward, the Commission will extend debate invitations to qualifying candidates,” the CPD told Fox News Digital last month. The first presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The second debate will be in Petersburg, Virginia, on Oct. 1, and the third will be held in Salt Lake City on Oct. 9. A vice presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 in Easton, Pennsylvania. Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
Trump campaign moms pull no punches criticizing Biden admin for leaving working families ‘behind’
EXCLUSIVE: In the lead up to Mother’s Day, moms on the Trump campaign are pulling no punches in their criticisms that the Biden administration has left “working moms and families behind.” “Joe Biden can’t even define what a ‘woman’ is and his Administration disrespectfully refers to mothers as ‘birthing people.’ Joe Biden has left working moms and families behind by creating the worst inflation crisis in decades, welcoming millions of illegal immigrants into our country to commit crimes, and allowing violent protests to erupt on college campuses,” Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital. The comments come ahead of celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday. The Biden administration has faced ongoing scrutiny for the use of “woke” terms that are viewed as degrading to mothers, as well as for recent policy changes that opened the doors to biological males playing against females on youth sports teams, and even changing a federal prison policy that allows inmates to be housed based on their gender identity instead of biological sex. The use of the term “birthing people” gained national attention during President Biden’s first year in office, when an Office of Management and Budget proposal removed the word “mother” with the gender-neutral term. Later that same year, when Democrats introduced a $3.5 trillion spending package, they also made use of “woke” terms to describe moms, dubbing them “pregnant, lactating, and postpartum individuals.” PARENTS STRUGGLE TO AFFORD BASIC BABY NEEDS AS DIAPER PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE RNC co-Chair Lara Trump, former President Trump’s daughter-in-law, told Fox News Digital that Trump is the only candidate vowing to “give rights back to parents” and “protect our children” from inappropriate lessons in schools. WOKE LIBERALS PUSH TO REPLACE ‘MOTHER’ WITH ‘BIRTHING PARENT’ TO APPEASE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY “Not only did Donald Trump show his commitment to working families while President through policies like extending the child tax credit and paid family leave, but, he is also the only candidate for President who has vowed to give rights back to parents, protect our children from learning inappropriate topics in our schools and keep all Americans, including and especially our children, safe from the disasters that have resulted from Joe Biden’s open border policy,” she said. “As the mother to two of President Trump’s grandchildren, I see daily how they follow in his footsteps of exuding love for this country and standing up for what they know is right, even in the face of unprecedented obstacle.” INFLATION IS AFFECTING PARENTS’ ABILITY TO PAY FOR EDUCATION: SURVEY A campaign official noted to Fox News Digital that the Trump campaign employs dozens of moms this election cycle, including Leavitt who is expecting a baby this summer, and a top adviser for the campaign, mother and grandmother Susie Wiles. He has also hired hundreds of working moms since 2016, including high-profile names such as Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany. RNC and Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez and Trump’s legal spokeswoman Alina Habba are also both mothers of young kids. LAKEN RILEY’S MOTHER BLASTS BIDEN AS ‘PATHETIC’ FOR GETTING DAUGHTER’S NAME WRONG DURING SOTU “Everywhere we go on the campaign trail with President Trump, we hear from mothers who have lost children due to Biden’s soft-on-crime policies and have courageously spoken out against Biden and in support of President Trump,” the spokesperson said, citing Gold Star moms whose children were tragically killed during Biden administration’s botched exit from Afghanistan in 2021, and the moms of both Laken Riley and Maddie Hines, who tragically died allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants. GOLD STAR FAMILIES OUTRAGED BY BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘OBVIOUS’ LIES ON AFGHAN EXIT: ‘I’M NOT STUPID’ As the presidential election cycle continues to heat up, the economy and ongoing inflation is a top concern for voters. FOX Business reported last year that a whopping 67% of parents reported in a poll that inflation is affecting their ability to pay for their children’s education, school supplies and extracurricular activities. Diapers and the cost of child care, for example, both spiked by 32% last year compared to 2019 when Trump was president, while baby formula hit an all-time high under Biden. GOP LAWMAKERS SLAM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR ‘GENDER IDENTITY’ “If mothers want a President who will build a prosperous economy for future generations, empower law enforcement to keep their neighborhoods safe, and bring peace back to this world — there is only one option to vote for in November, and that option is President Trump,” Leavitt concluded.