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Yale hosts controversial speaker Trita Parsi accused of promoting Iranian regime interests
FIRST ON FOX: Trita Parsi, a controversial figure among the Iranian American community, will be speaking at an event hosted by the John Quincy Adams Society at Yale University on Thursday, sparking concerns as tensions in Iran continue to rise.
Shay Khatiri, a senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute, grew up in Northern Iran and spent time living in the nation’s capital of Tehran. Khatiri didn’t hold back when discussing his view on Parsi’s messaging, telling Fox News Digital the Yale chapter’s speaker faced accusations of lobbying for policies that benefitted the regime.
"[Parsi] founded this group called the National Iranian American Council, NIAC," Khatiri explained. "That was really a lobbying group to promote lifting sanctions and what would eventually become the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or the Iran nuclear deal that President Obama reached with the Islamic Republic of Iran."
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"There has been huge suspicion among the Iranian diaspora and broader foreign policy community in Washington, D.C. that Parsi and his group have been lobbying on behalf of unofficially lobbying and promoting the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Khatiri told Fox.
The Yorktown institute fellow went on to explain that he believes the "talking points" used by Parsi are filled with disinformation.
"[Parsi says that] the protesters are really not that peaceful, and they are violent, and he omits the context that it's always the Islamic Republic that initiates violence and, defensively, protesters respond to it, or that the protests are really not that cohesive, that they lack a leadership, which is also not true," Khatiri added. "The protesters have been chanting the name of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the exiled crown prince of Iran."
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The Quincy Institute pushed back at the backlash, saying the event is an opportunity for "students to come inside and join the conversation."
"We’re talking about a single seminar about the Monroe Doctrine and, more generally, about the principles of Realism and Restraint," Jessica Rosenblum, director of communications at Quincy Institute, told Fox News Digital.
Parsi is co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute.
"It is a shame that, rather than engaging in substantive conversations about topics at the forefront of the news, a handful of protesters are resorting to the same cancel culture tactics that most of us had hoped would no longer plague university campuses."
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The nation of Iran has been under duress since December when protesters rose up against the Iranian regime as the Middle Eastern country faces economic disparity.
The protests turned deadly as reports show Iranian security forces using lethal force against the protesters.
Drawing on accounts from doctors operating in the region, The Sunday Times reports that a reviewed assessment estimates Iranian security forces have killed at least 16,500 protesters and injured more than 330,000.
"Parsi has been saying that if you want to have a new leadership in Iran, there are people within the system you can work with," Khatiri explained. "Which is, according to the Iranian diaspora and the Iranian protesters, an unacceptable outcome."
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Yale University did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but the university has also faced criticism over a left-leaning bias that reports and several studies indicate at the Ivy League university.
A January report from Yale Daily News that analyzed the political donations of professors showed that of the 1,099 donations made by professors to federal political campaigns and partisan groups, not one of the donations was made to a Republican.
Separately, a study by the Buckley Institute found that 27 of the 43 undergraduate departments at the Ivy League school had no Republican faculty members.
"From Obama’s weakness and giveaway of an Iran deal to Biden’s repeated capitulations to the Mullahs, Democrats have repeatedly failed to hold Tehran terror accountable or even stand up for the millions of Iranians fighting for their freedom," Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital.
"This isn’t a close call," Issa added.
Last week, President Donald Trump said "it’s time to look for new leadership in Iran," and has defended the protests that serve to end the regime.
Fox News Digital reached out to the John Quincy Adams Society at Yale University and Parsi but did not receive responses.
'Assassination culture' is on the rise, especially among women, study warns
"Assassination culture," or public tolerance of politically motivated violence, is increasing in the United States after a year of alarming bloodshed, according to a new national survey — especially among women.
Researchers also said they found that high usage of social media and growing pessimism about the country’s future may be eroding basic civility.
"I thought we'd be seeing a bunch of guys who were unemployed who'd be endorsing this," said Joel Finkelstein, director of the Network Contagion Research Institute, which studies emerging threats to national security, civics and American youth online.
The NCRI has been studying the topic of assassination culture since before the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who shared an earlier report by the group warning of the rise of the phenomenon months before his own death, in the wake of two failed attacks on President Donald Trump.
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"As the survivor of two assassination attempts — and recently watching his dear friend Charlie be assassinated — no one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. "That’s why, following Charlie’s assassination, President Trump delivered powerful and unifying remarks urging all Americans to ‘commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died. The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of God.’"
The message seemingly failed to resonate with an alarming portion of the country. Finkelstein said the research found three surprising things in common with people most likely to condone political violence.
"I thought we were looking for unemployed men and young men, and that's not what we're seeing," Finkelstein told Fox News Digital.
They spend a lot of time on social media. They believe the United States is "an empire in decline." And they are more likely to be female.
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"We see these lurid images of Luigi Mangione that have been packaged into some kind of sexual symbol," Finkelstein said. "And I think that we may be seeing some downstream effects of that on people who use social media a lot, on females."
Later, he added, "It's like Che Guevara."
Mangione is accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024. He has pleaded not guilty and has not yet gone to trial.
Thompson's murder came after two failed attempts on President Donald Trump. Months later, Kirk suffered a fatal gunshot wound during a speaking event in Utah.
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While the study found support for the violence was higher among women, the suspect in each of those cases was male.
"In general, violence is down...especially murders," Finkelstein said. "They're down, but what's really interesting is that political violence is up."
Researchers asked more than 1,000 respondents nationwide on a scale of zero to six about two high-profile political figures, Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
The study looked into tolerance for violence, not intent to commit it.
For questions about the justification of political violence, a score of zero meant that the participant considered the political violence completely unjustified. Anything higher than zero meant the respondent believed there was at least some justification. A score of six meant the respondent thought political violence was "completely justified."
According to NCRI, 67% of left-of-center respondents saw murder as justified, compared to 54% on the right. A year ago, left-of-center support was 56%. Women overall were about 15% more likely to support assassination culture, 14.8% for Trump and 21.2% for Mamdani.
While support for assassination culture is on the rise on both sides of the political spectrum and across both genders, the study found it is especially pronounced on the left, and among women of any ideology.
"It's still more pronounced on the left in our data," Finkelstein told Fox News Digital. "That's really clear, but it's growing on the right."
Older respondents across the board were less likely to condone political assassination. The group least likely to approve of it is conservative males. The most likely, by about 75%, are liberal women, Finkelstein said.
In response to the survey results, the White House called for an end to violent rhetoric, particularly in how the far-left talks about conservatives.
"President Trump, and the entire Administration, will not hesitate to speak the truth — for years, radical leftists have slandered their political opponents as Nazis and Fascists, inspiring left-wing violence," Jackson said. "It must end."
Mamdani's office did not respond to a request for comment on the study.
Finkelstein said that those who expressed tolerance for violence against one's political opponents were also more likely to accept political violence against their own side.
"It's a spiritual crisis about the belief in democracy," Finkelstein said.
He warned that culturally, young people may be spending too much time on social media, leading to dangerous results.
"Taken together, I think that the findings suggest that this is a moral, this is a spiritual crisis — it's not a partisan one," he added. "And we need to treat it that way. That means we need people coming together to talk about the fissures that are showing up in our national family."
Jack Smith faces public grilling on Capitol Hill about Trump prosecutions
Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to appear Thursday on Capitol Hill for a televised hearing, during which he will face questions from House Judiciary Committee Republicans and Democrats about his two prosecutions of President Donald Trump.
Republicans, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, are expected to level allegations at Smith that he brought politicized criminal charges against a leading presidential candidate to interfere with the 2024 election.
Smith’s appearance will mark the second time in as many months that he has answered questions before the Republican-led committee after he sat for an eight-hour deposition behind closed doors in December.
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Smith has long wanted to speak publicly about his work, and Trump, who has said Smith is a "thug" who belongs in jail, said in the Oval Office last year that he wanted the same.
"I'd rather see him testify publicly because there's no way he can answer the questions," Trump had said upon learning that Smith would first be testifying behind closed doors.
The public hearing featuring Smith is set to begin at 10 a.m. and comes as part of the committee’s ongoing probe into his special counsel work.
Republicans have specifically criticized Smith for seeking gag orders against Trump during his presidential campaign, attempting to fast-track court proceedings and subpoenaing records and phone data of hundreds of Trump-aligned people and entities, including numerous members of Congress.
The Republicans will likely broach the controversial subpoenas for the phone records, a source familiar with the hearing told Fox News Digital.
Republicans are also likely to raise questions about Smith’s team approving $20,000 in payments to an FBI source, known as a confidential human source, to gather intel on Trump, the source said.
Smith charged Trump with attempting to illegally overturn the 2020 election and with retention of classified documents, but he dropped both cases after Trump won the 2024 election, citing a DOJ policy that discourages prosecuting sitting presidents.
In his opening statement for the hearing, obtained by Fox News Digital, Smith plans to state unequivocally that he stands by his decision to charge Trump.
"Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in criminal activity," Smith plans to say. "If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat."
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According to Smith's team, the former special counsel plans to emphasize that his indictments were appropriate and that he carefully followed the DOJ manual, including the DOJ’s policies about interfering with elections.
Smith's team also said the former special counsel does not plan to respond to questions that could reveal legally protected grand jury information or details in the second volume of his final special counsel report, which pertains to his classified documents case about Trump. Judge Aileen Cannon has sealed that report through February.
One persisting point of contention has been that Smith sought phone data belonging to numerous Republican senators and House members as part of his investigation into the 2020 election. He has repeatedly defended that decision, saying it was not driven by partisanship.
"If Donald Trump had chosen to call a number of Democratic senators, we would have gotten toll records for Democratic Senators," Smith said during his deposition last month. "So responsibility for why these records, why we collected them, that's — that lies with Donald Trump."
The Republicans who were targeted, including Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have said the subpoenas violated their constitutional rights because of added layers of immunity that the Constitution affords to lawmakers.
Prince William’s ‘bulletproof sunshine’ fixer marks a turning point for the royal family: experts
Prince William has quietly hired a new staffer, nicknamed "bulletproof sunshine," to help "future-proof" his reign.
The claim was made by British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard, who told Fox News Digital that the Prince and Princess of Wales are intent on protecting the monarchy from future scandals.
"A few sources have suggested that Liza Ravenscroft’s background in crisis management is the real reason she was hired," Chard said. "The timing is notable, given recent royal challenges: ex-Prince Andrew’s fall from grace, the ongoing rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and growing financial scrutiny of the monarch."
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"Protecting William and Kate from intense media scrutiny and protecting the monarchy is a calculated, proactive move," Chard shared.
"She will anticipate and neutralize misinterpretation before it takes hold. It’s just what the doctor ordered, allowing the Prince and Princess of Wales to concentrate on their purpose and family. They’re putting the monarchy first without the cloud of intense media frenzy as unprecedented bombshells drop."
The Mail on Sunday recently reported that Ravenscroft was joining the press and public relations team at Kensington Palace from leading PR firm Edelman. The outlet said she specializes in crisis management. In the U.K., Edelman is led by Julian Payne, King Charles’ former head of media.
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Fox News Digital reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
"As they say, ‘prevention is better than cure,’" Chard said. "And from the sound of it, Ravenscroft’s qualities are key — she’s worth her weight in gold."
Following the announcement, social media users speculated that William and Kate were experiencing marital woes. Chard dismissed those claims, saying that’s far from the truth.
"As for speculation about the Prince and Princess of Wales’ relationship being pushed to the brink, that’s simply not the case," Chard said.
"They are a tight-knit, solution-focused family. Reflective Catherine has a new appreciation for life, a renewed sense of purpose and a focus on positivity, moving the monarchy forward with integrity. And Ravenscroft’s talent is well-documented. Ravenscroft will dampen any possible negative media scrutiny and differentiate the Prince and Princess of Wales from past controversies."
People magazine reported that Ravenscroft is joining William and Kate’s office in a "non-crisis-based role." According to the outlet, she will handle day-to-day press. The Mail on Sunday noted that it’s likely Payne championed Ravenscroft for William, 43.
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"It is unlikely to be a coincidence that one of his most senior and respected members of staff has taken a key role in Kate and William's office after a period of turmoil," a source told the outlet.
William’s disgraced uncle Andrew is expected to leave his longtime residence, Royal Lodge, and move to a home on the king’s Sandringham estate. The 65-year-old was forced to give up his lease after being stripped of his royal titles in October, following renewed scrutiny over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Royal experts previously told Fox News Digital that while the move was ordered by King Charles, 77, it was supported by his heir and the Princess of Wales.
Experts also told Fox News Digital that William and Kate are not in communication with Harry. The Duke of Sussex has been estranged from the royal family since he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California. The 41-year-old reunited briefly with King Charles in September.
"What could ever go wrong for William and Kate?" questioned royal expert Ian Pelham Turner to Fox News Digital.
"The constant barbs between all the houses are like a modern-day War of the Roses with the he said, she said. But in my view, it’s crass stupidity. [The gossip] is making the royal family brand look like a rather bad dose of ‘The Crown’ at a time when Britain needs a strong, united royal family to inspire and stimulate the country."
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"King Charles needs to stamp his authority again," said Turner. "Princess Diana would never have let it get as far as it had. She would have banged her boys’ heads together and made them see sense."
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that William has been taking a "tougher" stance in how the monarchy handles controversy.
"He is no longer willing to muddle through scandals," Fordwich explained. "He prefers to be managing them and ‘The Firm,’ as the monarchy is often described, as almost like a proper military command center. William wants to be proactive to head off scandals."
"Both Prince William and Princess Catherine recognize the harsh reality that there is highly likely to be more turmoil involving releases of material regarding the ghastly behavior of their uncle Andrew, hence the preemptive hiring. The aim is for Ravenscroft to provide a professional shield, bringing a more sophisticated strategy with a keen understanding of modern news cycles, as well as social media."
Fordwich added that, in the end, "the monarchy wins."
Chard previously told Fox News Digital that William and Kate have been quietly enforcing a stricter "zero-tolerance" policy within the monarchy.
"[William] is looking into the future with a solution-focused lens," said Chard. "He is far more ruthless than his father. He always takes the harder line. He can see reputational damage escalating for the royal family and is reviewing a decisive way forward to combat further scandals."
"Prince William and Princess Catherine’s zero-tolerance blueprint is already transforming royal family dynamics," chimed Fordwich.
"They’re proactive behind the scenes to specifically address scandals, enforcing a far better level of discipline, all intended to protect the monarchy’s future by excluding those who threaten its reputation in any way, shape or form."
Catholic university in Chicago covers 'abortion care services' through student health plan
Student healthcare plans for at least the past four years for students at Loyola University Chicago included language that said "benefits include abortion care services."
Loyola University Chicago, despite being a Jesuit institution, continues to offer "abortion care services" to students despite the school’s Catholic identity, while also offering prenatal, postpartum, and postnatal care.
The 2025-2026 UnitedHealthcare Student Health Insurance Plan Certificate of Coverage features the university’s logo along with the Jesuit motto Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, which, translated from Latin, means, "For the greater glory of God," says that "benefits include abortion care services."
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The plan also states that "voluntary sterilization procedures" are covered as well.
The document further says that "Benefits will be paid the same as any other sickness for the following contraceptive services and contraceptive methods," which include FDA approved contraceptive products, devices and drugs, patient education, contraceptive services, and follow-up services related to contraceptive products, devices, and drugs.
Abortion has always been against Catholic teaching, and during recent remarks to members of the diplomatic corps, Pope Leo XIV denounced abortion.
"In light of this profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished, and of the family as its responsible guardian, we categorically reject any practice that denies or exploits the origin of life and its development," Pope Leo said.
"Among these is abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of life," the pope said. "In this regard, the Holy See expresses deep concern about projects aimed at financing cross-border mobility for the purpose of accessing the so-called ‘right to safe abortion.’"
Fox News Digital has reached out to Loyola University Chicago for comment.
Expert flips script on narrative that ICE is preventing MN patients from getting medical care
A former immigration judge and policy expert said sanctuary policies, not law enforcement, are preventing treatments in response to reports that Minnesota doctors are concerned their patients are not receiving medical care because of ICE operations in the state.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on a news conference held by Democratic lawmakers and various doctors who claimed that patients are missing out on critical care due to fear of ICE.
Medical providers speaking during the press conference claimed that out of fear, both illegal immigrants and U.S. citizens are skipping out on care, including diabetes treatments, checkups and even giving birth, according to the outlet.
In response, the outlet reported that Department of Homeland Security Assistant Tricia McLaughlin said that "ICE does not conduct enforcement at hospitals — period."
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Andrew Arthur, who is a law and policy fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, further backed this up, telling Fox News Digital that, "There have not been any reports that ICE has gone into any medical facility, any hospital, any clinic, any doctor's office."
"Now if the concern is that when somebody is traveling to one of these facilities, there also aren't any ICE roadblocks being set up to check everybody for their status, so it's not like they're going to be looking for them in that context," he went on.
Arthur said the only reason the surge of federal law enforcement officers to Minnesota occurred in the first place was because of the state’s unwillingness to cooperate on immigration enforcement.
"This situation has been created by the sanctuary policies," he said. "What ICE is doing is targeted operations against specific individuals that they are looking for in Minnesota. And, of course, that is because … [the state] issued an opinion that said that local county jails in Minnesota could not hold people based on immigration detainers. Consequently, they've been turned out in the street, and ICE has to go into the communities to find them."
"The only reason that ICE is in communities looking for people and potentially finding people that they're not looking for, collateral arrests, is the fact that Minnesota has these sanctuary policies," he explained. "If Minnesota, if Hennepin County, if Minneapolis and St. Paul simply allowed ICE to take custody of criminal aliens from their jails, ICE wouldn't be running this operation there at all."
Arthur said that "really what this comes down to is not the enforcement, it's the status of the people who are there."
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"Framing it as a public health issue is almost too cute by half, because the issue isn't whether somebody can get medical treatment or not, the issue is whether somebody has lawful status in the United States or they don't," he said. "The only reason that any individual would be afraid of ICE enforcement is because they don't have status in the United States, either because they entered illegally or because they overstayed non-immigrant visas or because they committed some crime that would make them removable from the United States."
Stunning remnant from Thomas Jefferson's favorite wine, plus Victorian children's scribbles found in dig
Archaeologists digging in the East End of London recently discovered compelling signs of luxury in a neighborhood long labeled poor — including a seal from a bottle of French wine.
The wine seal was of particular interest, as it came from Chateau Margaux, a prestigious French vineyard once favored by former President Thomas Jefferson as well as British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole. A release on Jan. 12 from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) shared the details.
"Remarkably, the MOLA team uncovered a seal from one of these prized wine bottles during their excavations," the organization said.
The excavations took place ahead of SEGRO Park Wapping, an industrial development in the Wapping area of East London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets.
The seal from the bottle of French wine was found along with the floor of a chapel, terrace house foundations, and "wells, soakaways and rubbish pits full of pottery and clay pipes in the gardens."
Archaeologists also found numerous artifacts left behind by Victorian children, including a slate school tablet "covered with children’s scribbles and handwriting."
In addition, archaeologists found "alleys" — ceramic marbles designed to resemble alabaster stone — that children once played with.
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"They were found inside a covered, brick-lined drain, perhaps lost during a particularly enthusiastic match," the release added.
Excavators knew the site was home to a school dating back to the 1530s, as well as alms houses that lasted on the site from the 1550s to the late 19th century, according to MOLA's release.
The houses "provided homes and a monthly stipend for older local people in need," the release noted.
"Together these help build a picture of the everyday lives of the people who once called this area home," the release added.
Alex Banks, MOLA senior archaeologist, told Fox News Digital that experts are still investigating exactly how old the artifacts are.
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"We're currently exploring this as part of our post-excavation work on the site, so we hope to be able to share more soon," he said.
Archaeologists are also investigating what exactly the scribbles say.
Blanks added that artifacts related to children "are far less frequent [to come across] compared to those relating to adults."
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He cited the French wine seal as one of the most surprising discoveries of the excavation.
Excavators also found expensive imported pottery and wine glasses — which pushes back on the long-held idea that Wapping was always a uniformly poor area.
"Finds like this [reveal that] this area of London close to the Ratcliff Highway had a more complex social history in the 1700s and 1800s than often biased contemporary sources would have you believe," said Blanks.
"In reality, it was a very diverse area — just like the East End of London is today."
Sanders accuses Trump of pushing US and world ‘toward authoritarianism’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., accused President Donald Trump of working to push the U.S. and the rest of the globe in the direction of "authoritarianism."
"Trump's hostility toward Europe has little to do with his absurd and irrational arguments over Greenland. It has everything to do with his efforts to undermine democracy and move this country and the world toward authoritarianism. Trump does not like free elections, a free media or the right of people to dissent," Sanders claimed in a statement posted on X.
"That is why he hates Europe, with its strong democratic governance, social safety net, and commitment to peacefully resolving disputes. That is why he is sending ICE to invade American cities," the left-wing lawmaker continued.
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Sanders claimed the president would prefer a world controlled by wealthy "oligarchs."
"Let's be clear. Trump would prefer the world to be ruled by his fellow multi-billionaire oligarchs, like his good friends in Saudi Arabia and Russia. These dictators crush political dissent, jail their opponents, and engage in massive kleptocracy," he asserted.
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"As patriotic Americans who believe in our Constitution and the rule of law, we will stand with those heroes and heroines who gave their lives to defend our freedoms. Now, in this dangerous moment in American history, it is imperative that all of us, regardless of our political views, come together to confront the grave threat of authoritarianism," he declared.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Anti-ICE Minnesota church protester denies protesters 'rushed' the service despite previous comments
Nekima Levy Armstrong, who was one of the organizers of the storming of a Minnesota church to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday, denied that she and her group tried to "rush" the church on CNN, despite previous comments suggesting otherwise.
Armstrong appeared on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront" Wednesday where she was asked about whether the Justice Department had contacted her since threatening a crackdown on the protesters.
Armstrong said that she had not been contacted by the Justice Department, despite media attention, but that she wanted to "correct" the record on her protest.
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"We did not rush into that church," Armstrong said. "We actually went and sat down and participated in the service. And after the pastor prayed, that is when I stood up and asked him a question in response to his prayer. And then he responded to me. And then I proceeded to ask him about Pastor David Easterwood and how is it possible for him to serve as both a pastor and the director of ICE for Minnesota?"
She continued, "And instead of responding to me, as soon as I said the name David Easterwood, the pastor said, 'shame, shame.' And that is when I led us in chants 'Justice for Renee Good' and 'Hands up, don‘t shoot.' So I want to clarify that we didn‘t rush in. We didn‘t bust in. We were a part of the service until I got up and posed that question to the pastor."
Though Armstrong claimed that her group did not "rush" into the church, she previously told former CNN host Don Lemon ahead of the protest that they were planning to "disrupt business as usual."
"This is Operation Pull Up, more of a clandestine operation. We show up somewhere that is a key location. They don't expect us to come there, and then we disrupt business as usual. So that's what we're about to go do right now. We've had a lot of success with the times we have done Operation Pull Up," Armstrong told Lemon.
In another comment, she told Lemon, "They cannot pretend to be a house of God while harboring someone who is directing ICE agents to wreak havoc upon our community and who killed Renee Good, who almost killed a six-month-old baby. Enough is enough."
Before the Sunday service disruption, Armstrong caused controversy through her far-left views and activism. She has also been a key organizer of the boycotts against Target over its decision to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Armstrong has also raked in over $1 million during six years leading a Minneapolis civil rights nonprofit that addresses anti-poverty issues.
Fox News Digital reached out to Armstrong for comment.
MORNING GLORY: Trump uses Davos to showcase American strength and shake the global order
When President Donald Trump agreed to address the "World Economic Forum" in Davos, he rescued that gathering from looming irrelevance — at least for a year. If the President of the United States attends a forum, the world’s collective attention will turn to it.
The American public usually squints at this collection of would-be world big wigs — drawn from the world’s wealthiest, who are mostly not from our republic, but talking about it and how it and the world should work — and doesn’t like that look at all.
But President Trump came with some of his "A Team" on international economic and security matters, and Made Davos Great Again. People tuned in.
Two comments stood out to me. On the president’s desire to acquire Greenland, he did make one thing very clear: "I won’t use force." That simple statement buoyed markets around the world which had imagined some sort of intra-NATO kinetic conflict and panicked on Tuesday. That’s not going to happen, though the president has made it very clear he will use all levers open to him. "You can say yes, and we will be very appreciative," the president said regarding Greenland. "You can say no, and we will remember," he added. Message sent and received.
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The president’s speech was a reminder to the assembled globalists of the surging American economic growth, and of the enormous American economy behind it. But anyone who listened to the president’s press conference on Wednesday had heard most of the recap already.
It’s good to hammer those points home in every forum the president visits — from Switzerland to Iowa (where he’s off to next) because American voters’ perceptions of the economy will drive the midterms.
A reminder: the second set of midterm elections in the last four second terms of Republican presidencies — Ike’s in 1958, Nixon/Ford’s in 1974, Reagan’s in 1986 and George W. Bush’s in 2006 were tough going for the GOP, seeing, for example, the net loss of 49, 48, 5 and 30 House seats respectively. The tidal charts of American politics typically forecast bad news for the "in" party in that dreaded sixth year of a presidency.
So it is a very smart move to repeat, and repeat, and repeat the good news on the economy.
Only when President Trump sat down for questions did anything new cross our screens.
"Iran was the bully of the Middle East. They aren’t the bully anymore," President Trump told his questioner in a brief 15-minute sit-down after his speech. The very polite Eurocrat didn’t think follow up to ask about the 18,000 Iranians murdered by their regime last week or the tens of thousands imprisoned in that theocracy run by fanatics, a regime waiting for the world to lose interest before doling out its punishments to the captives.
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We have no idea what President Trump will order the American military to do with regards to Iran. Not to punish them severely for the barbarity that has few if any parallels in this century other than 9/11 and 10/7 would be a terrible mistake.
The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and the strike group of warships gathered around it was ordered last week to close on Iran and almost certainly will be within striking range of Iran by this weekend if it isn’t already. Other military weaponry has been dispatched to the region. Our allies in Israel and among the Gulf States have had sufficient notice to prepare should Iran be foolish enough to respond to a punishment strike.
But punishment should be forthcoming. To do nothing is to reward the savagery of the ayatollahs. "That which gets rewarded gets repeated" is among the oldest — and truest — of clichés. If Iran can mow down thousands of its own people and the world yawns in response, it will do so again, and again and again.
President Trump has lots of options. Pray he uses at least one of them to send the message: Never do that again.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.