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White House roadmap says Europe may be 'unrecognizable' in 20 years as migration raises doubts about US allies
The White House warns in a stark new National Security Strategy that Europe could be "unrecognizable in 20 years or less" due to mass migration, adding that the demographic shift raises doubts about future U.S. allies on the continent.
"Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less," the 33-page document released on Thursday reads.
It adds that the "real and more stark prospect" is of "civilizational erasure."
Mass immigration has been one of Europe’s most volatile political flashpoints over the past decade, fueled by repeated waves of immigrants from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
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"As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies," the document says. "Many of these nations are currently doubling down on their present path. We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence, and to abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation."
The national security plan cites migration policies that are "transforming the continent and creating strife," along with "cratering birthrates" and the erosion of national identity.
The White House warns the demographic shift could have major implications for NATO and European security, noting that several member states may become "majority non-European." That scenario, the document argues, could weaken Europe’s ability to deter adversaries and complicate U.S. efforts to maintain transatlantic stability.
"Over the long term, it is more than plausible that within a few decades at the latest, certain NATO members will become majority non-European," the document says. "As such, it is an open question whether they will view their place in the world, or their alliance with the United States, in the same way as those who signed the NATO charter."
The document says Europe’s economic decline is well under way, losing a 25% share of global GDP in 1990 to 14% today — "partly owing to national and transnational regulations that undermine creativity and industriousness."
But it says that economic decline is eclipsed by the broader warning of "civilizational erasure." It lists migration policies, censorship, political suppression, cratering birthrates and the loss of national identity as the forces driving that trajectory.
TRUMP SLAMS EUROPE OVER IMMIGRATION, SAYS ‘HORRIBLE INVASION’ IS KILLING THE CONTINENT
President Donald Trump echoed similar warnings during a visit to the United Kingdom last year, saying mass immigration would "destroy Europe" and that the continent was "not going to survive" unless governments dramatically changed course.
The White House defended the warning, saying Europe is already suffering the consequences of mass immigration.
"The devastating impacts of unchecked migration and those migrants’ inability to assimilate are not just a concern for President Trump but for Europeans themselves, who have increasingly noted immigration as one of their top concerns," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "These open border policies have led to widespread examples of violence, spikes in crime, and more, with detrimental impacts on the fiscal sustainability of social safety net programs."
Kelly said Trump’s border policies "saved America from such destruction," adding that "other countries would be wise to follow suit."
The White House pointed to a range of European data to support the administration’s concerns, citing studies showing asylum migration costing the Netherlands €475,000 per migrant, illegal immigration costing France €1.8 billion in 2023 and non-Western migrants committing disproportionate shares of violent crime in Denmark and Germany. The White House also referenced a series of fatal terror attacks across the continent carried out by migrants.
The 33-page blueprint has no named author but features a foreword by Trump, who calls the document a "roadmap to ensure America remains the greatest and most successful nation in human history."
The document forms part of a sweeping set of national security goals in which the president vows to enforce the Monroe Doctrine while adding his own corollary aimed at expanding U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere and countering adversaries’ growing footprint.
The Trump administration asserts that a "reasonably stable" Western Hemisphere where governments work together to fight malign foreign influence is key to U.S. national security. To achieve this, the administration vows in the document to "assert and enforce a 'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine."
Former President James Monroe issued the doctrine in his seventh annual address to Congress on Dec. 2, 1823, warning European powers against interfering in the Western Hemisphere through political influence or colonization. The U.S. Office of the Historian, part of the State Department, notes that although European nations initially paid little attention to Monroe’s declaration, it eventually became "a longstanding tenet of U.S. foreign policy."
"After years of neglect, the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, and to protect our homeland and our access to key geographies throughout the region," the document reads.
"This 'Trump Corollary' to the Monroe Doctrine is a common-sense and potent restoration of American power and priorities, consistent with American security interests."
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Iowa State AD fights back tears after Matt Campbell departs for Penn State coaching job
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard fought back tears when talking about Matt Campbell leaving the school to take the Penn State head coaching job.
Pollard, 60, said that he was sad, but that Campbell does not owe Iowa State anything.
"You’re sad. But, you know what, I get it," Pollard said to reporters Friday. "I’ve done this long enough. These jobs are hard, and we make sacrifices that fans will never understand. We do. And he’s had an amazing run as our football coach, and didn’t get to do it in front of his family and friends. He had other times he could have left, and he chose not to."
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"Matt Campbell, though, owes Iowa State nothing because he did more than we could’ve ever, ever dreamed he would do as our head coach. So yeah, a page turns. But none of us are here forever. Life goes on, and so that’s how I just viewed it. … the sun will come up in the east, like it does every morning, and we’ll go on."
Penn State announced Campbell as its new head coach on Friday, pending board approval on Monday.
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The 46-year-old is the winningest coach in Iowa State history. The three-time Big 12 Coach of the Year went 72-55 in 10 seasons with the Cyclones, with eight winning seasons, including this one at 8-4.
Campbell helped lead Iowa State to two Big 12 championship game appearances.
Prior to coaching at Iowa State, Campbell was the head coach at Toledo for five seasons, where he went 35-15.
Penn State hired Campbell nearly two months after the program fired James Franklin.
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Creative hobbies keep the brain young, study finds — here are the best ones to pursue
A large-scale international study found that creative activities such as music, dance, painting and even certain video games may help keep the brain biologically "younger."
Researchers from 13 countries — including teams at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland and SWPS University in Poland — analyzed brain data from more than 1,400 adults of all ages worldwide and found that those who regularly pursue creative hobbies show brain patterns that appear younger than their actual age.
Even short bursts of creative activity, such as a few weeks of strategy-based video gaming, had noticeable benefits, according to the study, which was published in the journal Nature Communications in October.
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Scientists collected brain data from people with advanced experience in tango, music, visual art and strategy gaming, but they also recruited non-experts for comparison. In addition, a third group of beginners underwent short-term training in StarCraft II, a strategy video game, so researchers could see how learning a new creative skill affects the brain over just a few weeks.
All participants underwent EEG and MEG brain scans that were fed into machine-learning "brain age" models, or brain clocks, which estimate how old the brain appears biologically versus chronologically. Researchers then used advanced computer models to explore why creativity might protect the brain and found that the hobbies help strengthen the networks responsible for coordination, attention, movement and problem-solving, which can weaken with age.
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People with years of creative practice showed the strongest reductions in brain age, but even beginners saw improvements, with strategy games boosting brain-age markers after roughly 30 hours of training.
"One of our key takeaways is that you do not need to be an expert to benefit from creativity," Dr. Carlos Coronel, first author and postdoctoral fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin and Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, said in a statement. "Indeed, we found that learners gained from brief video game training sessions."
According to the researchers, this was the first large-scale evidence directly linking multiple creative fields to slower brain aging, though previous research has linked creativity to improved mood and well-being.
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"Creativity emerges as a powerful determinant of brain health, comparable to exercise or diet," senior author Dr. Agustin Ibanez of Trinity College Dublin said in a statement. "Our results open new avenues for creativity-based interventions to protect the brain against aging and disease."
Dr. Aneta Brzezicka of SWPS University added that the findings suggest that creative pastimes should be incorporated into educational and healthcare programs as tools to support brain health.
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The study also showed that brain clocks, a relatively new tool gaining steam in neuroscience, can be used to monitor interventions aimed at improving brain health, Ibanez said.
The researchers cautioned, however, that the results are early and come with caveats, including that most participants were healthy adults, many subgroups were small, and the study didn't track people long-term to see whether younger-looking brains actually lead to lower dementia risk or better daily functioning.
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"The brain clock, in preliminary studies, shows promise and accounts for the diversity of the factors that can contribute to that wide disparity between our brain age and chronological age," Dr. Jon Stewart Hao Dy, a board-certified adult neurologist from the Philippines, told Fox News Digital.
"However, it's important for the public to know that brain health is influenced by a multitude of factors that cause a wide brain age gap," added Dy, who was not involved in the study.
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Creative people often have other advantages, the researchers noted, such as higher education, robust social lives and better access to arts and activities, and the study couldn't fully separate those factors from the effects of creativity itself.
"Evidence shows that dancing, painting, pottery, embroidery and even museum visits confer the greatest neuroprotection in preserving cognition and improving cognitive function in older adults," Dy said, and he agreed that the science is strong enough to justify action. "It's a matter of translating it into public policy that will fund and support these programs."
The work, which was funded by academic and public research bodies, will now be followed by more comprehensive studies that add other creative fields and link brain-age measures to real-world outcomes such as memory, thinking skills and disease risk.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the study authors for comment.
Jane Fonda says Warner Bros. Discovery sale 'threatens' the First Amendment, warns Trump will take advantage
Actress and activist Jane Fonda penned an op-ed in The Ankler on Thursday, warning that the potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery "threatens" the First Amendment — especially considering how the Trump administration has "used anticipated mergers as tools of political pressure and censorship" in the past.
Fonda's op-ed — published before Netflix confirmed its acquisition of Warner Bros. on Friday — contended that while it was not known at the time which company would end up buying the legendary film house, "we don’t need to know the final outcome to understand the danger."
"The threat of this merger in any form is an alarming escalation in a consolidation crisis that threatens the entire entertainment industry, the public it serves, and — potentially — the First Amendment itself," she wrote.
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Fonda continued, "Regardless of which company ends up acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery or its parts, the resulting impact is clear: Consolidation at this scale would be catastrophic for an industry built on free expression, for the creative workers who power it, and for consumers who depend on a free, independent media ecosystem to understand the world. It will mean fewer jobs, fewer opportunities to sell work, fewer creative risks, fewer news sources and far less diversity in the stories Americans get to hear."
As noted in Netflix's Friday statement, the streaming giant has purchased only the studio side of the company, as well as HBO and HBO Max. The cable news side of Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN, TNT and Discovery, will be separated into its own publicly traded company, Discovery Global.
Continuing her criticisms, Fonda claimed that whichever company acquires Warner Bros. Discovery would "gain the power to steamroll every guild — SAG-AFTRA, the WGA, the PGA, the DGA, IATSE, everyone — making it harder for workers to bargain, harder to stand up for themselves and harder to make a living at all."
The actress cautioned that no matter how dangerous the "economic fallout" might be, that is not what frightens her most about the sale.
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"What terrifies me — and should terrify anyone who cares about a free society — is how this administration has used anticipated mergers as tools of political pressure and censorship," she wrote. "We’ve already seen this at work. During the Skydance-Paramount merger proceedings, the Chairman of the FCC launched an investigation into 60 Minutes over routine editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris — a move his own predecessor said was ‘fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.’"
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
The actress asserted that "the First Amendment is not partisan and neither is standing up to defend it," claiming that even conservative leaders have warned that the Trump administration is "operating outside legal and ethical bounds."
Closing out her thoughts, Fonda called for an organized effort to oppose Trump, warning that "if we don’t speak now, we may have no industry — and no democracy — left to defend."
"This is not a partisan fight. It is a fight for our creativity, our livelihoods and our most fundamental rights as Americans. I choose to stand up. I hope you will join me," she concluded.
Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Sydney Sweeney sizzles in white swimsuit, Halle Berry slams Gavin Newsom
HEAT WAVE - Sydney Sweeney stuns in a white swimsuit during Florida Keys weekend with Scooter Braun.
CELEBRITY HEAT — Halle Berry stuns crowd by criticizing Gavin Newsom, says he 'probably should not be our next president.'
SOUR GRAPES - George Clooney admits years of resentment after Brad Pitt beat him for 'Thelma & Louise' role.
RING-A-DING - Paul Anka confirms the legendary Frank Sinatra rumor that made Hollywood blush.
LEGACY OF PAIN - Prince William carries ‘wound that will not heal’ from the interview that shattered Princess Diana’s life, author says.
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SURVIVAL PUSH — Amy Schumer dropped 50 pounds to battle a disease that 'can kill you' if untreated.
FASHION REBEL — Kristen Bell defies her daughters' request to change out of ‘too sexy’ red dress.
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'GREEDY JACKALS' - Matthew Perry's family slams 'greedy jackals' who exploited the actor, begging a judge to impose the maximum sentence.
BLISTERING REBUKE — The White House fires back after Sabrina Carpenter slams an ICE video using her song.
RULES BROKEN - ‘Mormon Wives’ is clashing with core LDS values and America is eating it up, expert says.
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Michigan college president explains innovative way colleges are driving down costs
Adrian College President Jeffrey Docking explained to Fox News Digital on Wednesday how a growing number of colleges are driving down costs in higher education.
"It's too expensive, students are taking on too much debt. Even upper middle class families are saying we don't know if we can do this anymore. And things are really falling apart at a lot of different schools right now," Docking said.
The for-profit company, Rize Education, acts as a middleman for a course-sharing platform that allows colleges to work together to offer online classes.
Docking argued that rising higher education costs are due to inefficiency and a lack of institutions working together to drive down costs like other industries in the private sector. He originated the idea of course sharing to allow universities to share professors, avoiding the cost of hiring faculty.
"If you're teaching German at Adrian College and there's 10 other colleges and universities within a hundred-mile radius, and they all have a German professor, you have too many German professors for the number of students that are majoring in German," he explained.
"So why don't you just have one or two German professors that share with the other schools and drive down that cost. It allows you to start new majors. We've just started 38 new academic programs and added one professor."
Docking built the company in 2019 with two Harvard graduates, Kevin Harrington and Connor McCarthy, after he convinced them to relocate from New York City to the middle of nowhere, Adrian, Michigan, a small town about an hour away from Detroit at driving distance. Harrington and McCarthy worked at Adrian as assistants to Docking to learn about the business behind the higher education sector.
Harrington, CEO and co-founder of Rize, and McCarthy grew the company to 65 employees. Five years ago, there were seven colleges using Rize and, currently, there are almost 140 colleges using it and the number is projected to grow.
"Five years ago, we had roughly 40 kids taking classes through this shared arrangement with other colleges. This year will be well over 10,000," Docking said.
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Over 1,500 students at Adrian College share classes with other colleges, according to Docking. Students would take classes the traditional way in person, then take a course at another 501(c)(3)-accredited college.
"I had a presence all over the United States that wanted to get in on this, and I realized, oh, we've got something here," Docking told Fox News Digital.
Harrington told Fox News Digital that 130 schools added over 700 new academic programs and career pathways at "1/10th of the cost, meaning costs for students can be decreased as these colleges expand and improve what they offer to students."
Since the platform has been so successful, Docking was invited to testify before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Nov. 18, during a hearing titled "The Future of College: Harnessing Innovation to Improve Outcomes and Lower Costs" at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
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Docking was among four witnesses to discuss innovative approaches they said would lower student debt and improve employment outcomes for college students.
"I think the reason I was invited to the committee is, instead of just acknowledging this, we did something about it. And we said that we need to take decisive action and make some big changes to drive down the cost of education," Docking told Fox News Digital.
College tuition has increased tremendously over the years and forced students into debt. During the fourth quarter of 2023, student loan balances stood at $1.6 trillion, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve.
College costs have been a growing issue in the U.S., prompting many to find solutions.
Docking co-authored a book titled, "Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America" and is attributed to bolstering the school's sports programs and doubling enrollment at Adrian College since he started working there in 2005. Now, the institution is offering more majors.
Ever since Adrian College formed a partnership with Rize, the institution has launched 27 majors, 13 minors and 8 certificates in business, technology, engineering and healthcare.
"The negative implications for a democracy like ours are just profound over the long term. We need an educated population… when we start to whittle away at that because it's too expensive, we're all going to pay a price."
Trump touts 2026 World Cup draw success, claims massive viewership
President Donald Trump praised the success of the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., on Friday, where he was honored with the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize at the event meant to set the stage for the global sporting event coming to the United States next year.
Speaking ahead of a private concert by Andrea Bocelli at the White House, the president thanked the Italian tenor for his opening performance at the Kennedy Center. Trump also remarked on the success of the draw and claimed that more than "a billion people" tuned in to watch the participating nations learn their fate for the tournament beginning in June.
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"He was so good today at the FIFA Award," Trump began, speaking about Bocelli. "It was an award for me, I can tell you. But it was a draw. And they say over a billion people were watching and there was no way you could beat tonight what you did today because that was one of the greatest openings to an event that I've ever seen. And he was in rare form."
"What you did this morning was incredible, so thank you very much."
The private concert at the White House was attended by Republican lawmakers and members of Trump’s Cabinet.
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The evening followed a day filled with high-profile stars, sports legends, and world leaders in D.C. for the World Cup draw.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney joined Trump on stage to draw their respective nations’ names as the three countries prepare to host the international tournament next year.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also presented Trump with the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize, which recognized the president for his actions to "promote peace and unity around the world."
"This is truly one of the great honors of my life," Trump said, adding that "most important, I just want to thank everybody. The world is a safer place now."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Inside ‘Little Mogadishu’: Minnesota’s beleaguered Somali community under a cloud of fraud and Trump attacks
Minnesota is home to the nation’s largest Somali community — a rapidly expanding Muslim population that has become a flashpoint in national debates over integration, welfare fraud and how the group is reshaping the state’s historically Scandinavian, Christian cultural landscape.
That scrutiny intensified this week after President Donald Trump blasted Somali Minnesotans as welfare abusers who have been raiding state coffers for years.
"I hear they ripped off — Somalians ripped off that state for billions of dollars, billions every year. … They contribute nothing," Trump said, amid news that some Somalis were involved in bilking that state out of hundreds of millions of dollars in various fraud schemes.
"I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you. Somebody says, ‘Oh, that's not politically correct.’ I don’t care. I don’t want them in our country. Their country’s no good for a reason. Their country stinks and we don’t want them in our country."
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Trump and members of his administration have also accused the population of committing immigration fraud in order to bring friends and relatives to the U.S. and again claimed Rep. Ilhan Omar married her brother — a charge she has repeatedly denied.
For years, accusations of crime and gang activity — and the fact that a small cohort of Somali Minnesotans traveled overseas to join al-Shabaab — have cast a long shadow over the community’s efforts to assimilate.
Many Somali residents told Fox News Digital that they are angered that the entire community has been saddled with what they say is an unfair reputation, blaming a small minority of fraudsters and criminals for the negative attention against the group as a whole.
And now a massive COVID-19-era fraud scheme – which prosecutors say is the largest pandemic-era fraud case in U.S. history – has thrust the population back into the spotlight.
At first glance, the choice can seem perplexing: families from an East African nation putting down roots in a state known for subzero winters and harsh conditions.
But the Somali civil war forced thousands to flee their homeland beginning in the 1990s, with refugee resettlement and family reunification swelling the Somali population in Minnesota to roughly 80,000 to 100,000, depending on the estimate. One local leader told Fox News Digital the true number is likely closer to 160,000.
Like many immigrant groups before them, Somalis have brought their own customs and traditions — and have made their mark on the neighborhoods where they’ve settled.
Advocates say Somalis have woven themselves into Minnesota life — running restaurants and working in nursing, trucking, factories and filling shopping centers like the Somali-themed Karmel Mall in Minneapolis. They argue the community’s true story is one of hard work, civic pride, and assimilation — not the isolated crimes that grab headlines.
The largest cluster of Somalis in Minneapolis is in Cedar–Riverside, a neighborhood just south and west of downtown that has earned the nickname "Little Mogadishu," a nod to Somalia’s capital city. The name reflects the area’s sweeping demographic and cultural transformation.
When Fox News Digital visited Cedar–Riverside, the area felt almost hollowed out — run-down, like a poverty-stricken inner-city neighborhood.
On a Saturday afternoon, the streets were quiet, lined with shuttered storefronts and once-lively bars from years past, while a handful of East African restaurants carried on with a steady flow of local patrons. Some closed shops with faded English signs now displayed "coming soon" notices in Arabic.
The Riverside Plaza complex — a cluster of 1970s-era brutalist concrete towers — loomed large over the neighborhood. Its once-vibrant multicolored panels have faded with time, mirroring the on-the-ground sense of wear and age — a reflection of the neighborhood’s shifting fortunes.
Outside, beside a street sign reading "Somali St," a woman dressed in bright green offered bottles of water for sale to passing drivers while flocks of pigeons flapped and spiraled up outside the towers.
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The Islamic call to prayer rang out from a nearby mosque occupying an older commercial building, echoing over an empty street and through the concrete courtyards — a sound that felt both peaceful and eerie in the stillness.
Men gathered outside the mosque, some wearing kufis for Friday prayers, while women passed by in hijabs and abayas — a sight still unfamiliar to many Americans, though now a regular part of daily life in Minneapolis.
Faith and politics were visible here.
The day before, the liveliest scene unfolded as people entered and left another mosque on a corner street, its windows boarded up, while political yard signs for mayoral candidate Omar Fateh dotted the grass outside, as did ones for Council Member Jamal Osma. Both are progressives like Ilhan Omar, who has become the community’s most visible national figure.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR–Minnesota, said that faith remains central to Somali life, but also serves as a bridge to their new home.
"Religion grounds us," he said. "It helps us build discipline and community, and it’s part of why Somalis have been able to succeed here."
The sight of Muslim garb is a striking change for a neighborhood that was once a European immigrant enclave and, more recently, a hub for students and music lovers drawn to the University of Minnesota’s West Bank and Augsburg University campuses nearby.
Many of the old watering holes — like Palmer’s Bar, which predates World War I — have struggled and closed amid changing demographics, shifting drinking habits and declining foot traffic. Alcohol is forbidden in Islam.
Palmer’s, which sits beside the commercial building turned mosque, has reportedly been purchased by the mosque. The congregation also bought the now-shuttered Nomad World Pub directly across the street, residents said, once a local mainstay for soccer fans and live music. In the 1990s, Minnesota had only a handful of mosques. Today, there are about 90 statewide, Hussein said.
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The Cedar Cultural Center — one of the last survivors of the West Bank’s old music corridor — still hosts musicians and artists, a reminder that Cedar–Riverside hasn’t entirely lost its creative pulse.
A few residents appeared high on drugs, huddled in doorways, the signs of addiction hard to miss.
In the evening, a group of Somali volunteers wearing orange high-visibility vests gathered in the town square, offering medical help to those who had overdosed or fallen ill.
One man said he had served time in jail for a gang-related crime, but denied being part of one. Another young man said he had just moved from South Dakota to rebuild his life after being jailed for murder, but was let out after being wrongly accused.
"As soon as we entered the neighborhood, it was instantly like the demographics changed," Luke Freeman, a young white man who was visiting the city from Wisconsin with a friend, told Fox News Digital.
"Cedar–Riverside is very distinctly Somali. It’s a more rundown neighborhood — not bad, but certainly a rougher part of town."
The pair said they had heard about "Little Mogadishu" and wanted to check it out, complimenting a meal they had just finished at a local East African restaurant.
Most older Somali residents, known as "elders," spoke little English but were welcoming, although women were far more reluctant. Younger Somalis were warmer and more talkative, greeting visitors with "bro" and eager to discuss day-to-day life in Minneapolis and their African heritage. Some admitted they wanted to be more westernized to blend in; another boasted that his rap video had millions of views on YouTube.
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"It’s been great so far. Welcoming. ‘Minnesota nice,’ as we call it," said Abdi Fatah Hassan, who came to the U.S. in 2004 at age 13. "Thank God I’m in a great community. It’s close-knit, kind of feels like back home. You’re not just thrown in the deep end; people show you things, help you grow, help you adapt to the country."
"Every community has its bad apples. Don’t judge the few for the many. Most of us are hardworking, honest Americans — patriots, you could say."
Hussein, of CAIR–Minnesota, said that negative press about crime often overshadows the contributions Somalis have made to the state — even as the community continues to face persistent challenges.
"Somalis in Minnesota are hard-working folks — many of them work two jobs, and yet about 75% are still poor," he said. "There are entrepreneurs, successful restaurants, people in trucking, IT, and even corporate America, making significant changes. But those positive stories don’t get much attention."
About 36% of Somali Minnesotans lived below the poverty line from 2019 to 2023 — more than triple the U.S. poverty rate of 11.1% — according to Minnesota Compass, a statewide data project. Somali-headed households reported a median income of around $43,600 during that period, far below the national median of $78,538.
Hussein added that Somali Minnesotans are a "very young community, still maturing politically and socially," but already shaping neighborhoods through small businesses and civic engagement.
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Hussein’s point was borne out at Karmel Mall, about three miles southwest of Cedar–Riverside, a multi-story complex buzzing with activity. The mall houses more than 200 Somali- or East African–owned businesses with modest-looking stores. Its floors are mazes of narrow corridors packed with African clothing stalls, salons, barbers, jewelry stores and halal eateries.
When Fox News Digital visited the mall on a recent Saturday evening, shoppers were eager to discuss life as Somali Americans. Many men drank coffee or tea late into the evening, the place humming like a social club. It also has a mosque.
Mahmoud Hussain, a barber and first-wave Somali arrival in the 1990s, was cutting a child’s hair while a line of customers sat waiting outside. He said he was grateful for the opportunity America had given him.
"Somali people are giving, loving, strong in their roots and they adapt to other cultures," Hussain said with a bright smile.
"We came from Somalia to America directly post-war. We were one of the first people to come out and build a halal community and money-transfer businesses," he said of his family. Most people were doing taxis at the time — just getting through the day."
"When we came here, it was like a gold rush — everybody was talking about Minneapolis."
"Growing up here, you have a generational gap between your parents and understanding the society here. But America’s a melting pot — we’re trying to get our own foot into our roots while embracing the country that accepted us."
A small framed sign above one of his mirrors read, "In God We Trust."
He beamed with excitement when asked about it. "It means everyone’s God," he said. A simple line he believes bridges his Muslim faith with the country he now calls home.
Nearby, a woman working in a clothing store said she is a software engineer at eBay in California. She came to the United States from Somalia at age 19 on a scholarship, pointing out that not everyone arriving from Somalia is a refugee and that Somali women are thriving in fields once closed to them.
She said she is immensely proud of her job in a traditionally male-dominated sector, "because we pass so many categories of being a minority," she said.
"First of all, we're black in tech. Then we're women, then we're Muslim women, then we are Somalis. So you see, there's a lot of categories of minority that we fall under… You’ve got to have the skills which means you got put in the effort."
Meanwhile, as the night drew to a close, a group of young women wearing hijabs were cleaning up inside a salon. Laughs and giggles spilled outside the half-closed shutter door, but nonetheless they too wanted to share their lived experiences growing up in Minneapolis.
"There’s a big community, so it feels welcoming and weird at the same time," said Najma Mohammad, a hair stylist who came to the U.S. as a child.
"Most people think just because some people are bad and Somali, that every Somali is bad — which is just a stereotype. We’re not the people we are seen as. Most of us are here to make a difference in the world and to make our parents proud."
Fellow hair stylist Ferdowsa Omar, who came to the U.S. in 2016 from Ethiopia, said religion and the wearing of the hijab were often met with curiosity.
"In the beginning, it was kind of hard not knowing the language, but as I grew older, I found myself because I grew up with my people," Omar said. "Some people didn’t know what hijab was, and when we were young, they used to look at us like they were confused, but they were always respectful about it."
"I personally don’t wear [the hijab] every day, but when I do, I feel beautiful — I feel myself," Omar said before Mohammad chimed in.
"It's a religious act, so you can wear it if you want," Mohammad said. "And if you don't want to, you don't have to. But my mom and my dad have taught me to wear the hijab for religious reasons."
For them, Karmel Mall and the salon represent more than a job; they’re safe spaces to work, connect and show that Somali and East African women are thriving.
As the stores began closing, the first floor remained full of chatter as men sat around tables sipping coffee. There are no bars for Muslims — the mall itself is the night's social center.
Back in Cedar–Riverside, behind the concrete towers, two soccer games unfolded on an all-weather field under the floodlights played by Somali men in their 20s and 30s.
For most Somali Minnesotans, this is ordinary life — work, prayer and play.
"Minnesota has had thirty years with the Somali community — and ninety-five percent of it has been positive," CAIR's Hussein said.
"We’ve been here thirty years. We’re no longer newcomers. Our children were born here — they are Minnesotans now."
Grocery chain goes viral with 'addictive' butter-dipped ice cream cones, sparking divided reactions
A regional grocery store recently went viral after unveiling an unusual — and intriguing — treat: butter-dipped ice cream cones.
Stew Leonard's, a Connecticut-based chain with additional locations in New York and New Jersey, posted an Instagram video of the dessert on Nov. 20.
The video shows an employee dipping a vanilla soft-serve cone in a bowl of melted Stew Leonard's-brand butter.
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"Soft serve … dipped in real butter," the post read. "Yes, we're testing it. Yes, it’s insane."
The chain also shared a video of its CEO, Stew Leonard Jr., trying the dish himself. The Instagram video has been liked nearly 75,000 times, sparking reactions ranging from amusement to mild disbelief.
"My son just said (in awe), 'We don't even do that in Wisconsin,'" one person wrote.
"Just because you ameriCAN doesn't mean you ameriSHOULD," another joked.
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Many commenters were enthusiastic about the butter-and-vanilla combination and expressed interest in trying it.
"I would absolutely lose my mind over this," an Instagram user said.
"I could have gone my whole life without ever fathoming this combo … and now I'm craving it so much," another wrote.
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Other social media users made suggestions for the dish.
"Serve with French fries!" one person wrote.
"Gotta do that with sweet-corn ice cream!" another viewer said.
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Speaking to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Stew Leonard's described the treat as "the perfect combination of salty [and] sweet."
"I held off trying the butter-dipped cone for a few days for fear that I might like it too much, and I was right to do so," the official said.
"It's absolutely delicious!"
She added, "The overriding flavors are obviously vanilla, butter and salt, but as you take your first bite, there's a slight crunch from the cooled butter shell, and I think that's what makes the cone a little addictive and totally decadent."
Sydney Sweeney fights back against attacks over American Eagle jeans campaign in powerful response
Sydney Sweeney is done staying quiet.
The "Anyone but You" star is addressing the backlash head-on after months of heated debate over her American Eagle’s campaign, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans."
Sweeney said the intense reaction wasn’t something she ever expected.
"I was honestly surprised by the reaction," she told People. "I did it because I love the jeans and love the brand. I don’t support the views some people chose to connect to the campaign. Many have assigned motives and labels to me that just aren’t true."
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The playful pun instantly sparked controversy online, with some critics arguing the "jeans" and "genes" wordplay carried racially charged implications.
Others compared the sultry shoot to Brooke Shields’ provocative 1980 Calvin Klein denim ads.
The actress said she’s usually someone who keeps her head down and avoids commenting on controversy. But the growing narrative around her intentions made her rethink her silence.
Sweeney, who described herself as someone who "leads with kindness," said clarifying her stance felt necessary.
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"Anyone who knows me knows that I’m always trying to bring people together. I’m against hate and divisiveness," she explained.
"In the past my stance has been to never respond to negative or positive press but recently I have come to realize that my silence regarding this issue has only widened the divide, not closed it. So I hope this new year brings more focus on what connects us instead of what divides us."
What started as a play on words in a denim campaign tagline exploded into a full-blown controversy.
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The commercial sparked backlash after she spoke about genes being "passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color."
"My jeans are blue," she added as the camera closed in on her eyes.
When the campaign was released on July 23, it faced immediate backlash, with some critics on social media suggesting it had shades of "eugenics" and "white supremacy."
American Eagle released a statement on its social media accounts on Aug. 1, saying, "’Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans. Her jeans. Her story. We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone."
The star first addressed the debate last month during her GQ "Men of the Year" cover story, where she responded simply and directly when asked if the backlash caught her off guard.
"I did a jean ad. I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life," she told the magazine at the time.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sweeney for comment.