Trump camp rips Harris over unearthed Columbus Day comments
The Trump campaign slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for allegedly wanting to “cancel American traditions,” citing her 2019 comments supporting efforts to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.
“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police – she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt exclusively told Fox News Digital.
“President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris.”
Leavitt was referring to Harris’ 2019 comments when she spoke to voters in New Hampshire about a month after launching her ultimately failed 2020 bid for the White House.
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“Count me in on support,” Harris told a voter when asked if she supports renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day,” footage of the event shows.
Harris cited recent legislation she helped author that makes lynching a federal crime as she delivered her response to the New Hampshire voter.
“People did not want to deal and accept and most importantly admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery and Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to be honest about that,” she said, the Washington Times reported in 2019. “If we are not honest, we are not going to deal with the vestiges of all of that harm, and we are not going to correct course, and we are not going to be true to our values and morals.”
“Similarly, when it comes to indigenous Americans, the indigenous people, there is a lot of work that we still have to do, and I appreciate and applaud your point and your effort, and count me in on support,” she said, marking her support of renaming the holiday.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. The holiday will be celebrated on Monday this year.
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Activists in recent years have worked to disassociate the day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people, in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020.
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President Biden was the first president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, but states have taken different approaches to how to celebrate the day.
In 2021, Harris’ first year as vice president, she said that the U.S. “must not shy away” from its “shameful past” of European explorers ushering “in a wave of devastation for tribal nations.”
“Since 1934, every October the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas,” she said. “But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story.
“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations – perpetrating violence, stealing land, and spreading disease,” she said.
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“We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on native communities today.”
A review of Harris’ X account for her vice presidency shows she has exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day each year she has been in the office.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on her previous statements and Leavitt’s comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Coach gives update on NFL star who suffered gruesome injury and left game on backboard
Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson came into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys leading the NFL in sacks with 6.5, but his season was put in jeopardy.
In the third quarter, Hutchinson added to his league lead with the seventh sack of the season. However, as he was on the ground after tackling Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Hutchinson appeared to smack his leg onto another player.
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Hutchinson immediately writhed in pain and took his gloves off as medical trainers attended to him. The game briefly paused as players and coaches from both teams gathered around the third-year player.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
He was then placed on a backboard and onto a car and driven off the field at AT&T Stadium.
Hutchinson had three total tackles before the injury.
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Lions head coach Dan Campbell spoke about Hutchinson after the game. He said Hutchinson suffered a broken tibia.
“He’s in good hands right now,” Campbell said. “He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here. Obviously, he’s going to be down for a little while. That’s tough. That’s hard to lose somebody like him but we’ll know a lot more after this. Obviously, wish him the best.”
He has been part of the reason why the Lions’ defense has seen a resurgence since the 2022 season. Detroit selected him with the No. 2 pick of the draft that year, and he immediately came on strong. He was the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2022 when he had 9.5 sacks and three interceptions.
Last season, he had 11.5 sacks and an interception on his way to the first Pro Bowl selection of his career.
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Hutchinson had played in every single game so far. Now it appears he will miss a lot of time.
Catholics gather outside Dem gov’s house for ‘Rosary Rally’ after video sparks backlash
A group of Catholics held a Rosary Rally outside the home of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday, after the Democrat sparked backlash with a Doritos video that critics alleged made mockery of a sacred Christian rite.
The “Rosary Rally for Religious Respect” was organized by CatholicVote.
The rally comes in response to a controversial social media video in which Gov. Whitmer wore a Harris-Walz campaign hat and fed Doritos to a kneeling liberal podcaster named Liz Plank.
The video followed a TikTok trend whereby someone, acting in a sensual manner, is fed by another person who stares uncomfortably into the camera while “Dilemma” by Nelly and Kelly Rowland plays in the background.
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The bizarre clip was intended to spotlight the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act that allocated nearly $53 billion towards efforts to bring semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S. But religious groups felt the clip made a mockery of the sacrament of Holy Communion.
The Democratic governor apologized in response to the backlash, insisting the video was not meant to mock people of faith.
Whitmer told FOX 2 that in more than 25 years of public service, “I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith.”
“I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs,” Whitmer said.
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On Sunday, a group of around 100 Catholics recited the rosary in front of the governor’s residence near Moores River Drive in the Michigan capital of Lansing.
One of the participants told The Lansing State Journal she participated because of the governor’s “blasphemous and offensive video mocking the Holy Eucharist.”
“It’s our most sacred sacrament,” she said. “So, we came to pray. We came to pray for her, and we are also praying out of mercy to pray for our Lord.”
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CatholicVote National Political Director told Fox News Digital that Sunday’s rally was motivated by “deep concern over recent actions that undermine the dignity of the Eucharist and the rising tide of anti-Catholic sentiment promoted by some in the progressive left.
“We find it profoundly troubling that our faith and its sacred beliefs are so openly mocked. As Catholics, we believe in the power of prayer, especially for our nation’s leaders. Our rally served as a call for the conversion of Governor Whitmer’s heart and mind, urging her to recognize and respect our religious convictions,” Church said. “We also hope this serves as a reminder to our elected officials that Catholics vote.”
Republican State Rep. Josh Schriver of Oxford wrote a post on X promoting the “Rosary Rally for Religious Respect.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the governor’s office for a response to the rally.
Angry cyclist who screamed at driver that he has ‘more rights’ fined after calling cops
An angry cyclist was filmed raging at a driver in the Salt Lake City area, chastising him for getting too close as he called the cops – only to later be fined himself.
The driver of the car, 22-year-old Pierce Kempton, filmed the hostile interaction with the driver, 73-year-old Gary Peacock, on his phone.
A portion of their exchange, which was filmed near a skate park in Park City, Utah late last month, was also caught on Kempton’s dashboard cam.
Peacock can be heard asking Kempton if he saw him on the road. The cyclist is seen opening Kempton’s door on the driver’s side, demanding he get out of the vehicle.
Peacock repeatedly tells Kempton: “You’re not leaving!” as he calls the police.
Kempton tried to leave to go skate, but Peacock prevents him from leaving, standing in front of the driver’s side.
With a calm demeanor, Kempton says: “Bro’s got his f—ing hands on me.”
He asks Peacock why he’s being so “cranky” and says he “doesn’t want to be aggressive” with him.
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Peacock gets a dispatcher on the phone, saying he has a “very aggressive teenager” who supposedly almost hit him as Kempton stand by.
Peacock demands that police be sent to ticket Kempton, saying he is willing to testify in court.
At one point, Peacock angrily tells Kempton: “I’m riding a bike, I have more rights than you.”
An officer eventually arrives on scene and separates the two parties.
Local outlet KPCW reports that Peacock was fined $160 for disorderly conduct infraction. Kempton was reportedly fined $130 for passing too closely – which he plans to fight in court in November.
Per Utah law, drivers are prohibited from endangering “vulnerable” users of a highway, which includes bicyclists.
Peacock admitted to losing his temper and expressed regret for his action. He told KPCW that he had blown up at Kempton because he had had so many other incidents with drivers.
“This guy, unfortunately, was the subject of my wrath, because all these other incidents,” Peacock said.
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Kempton told the station he felt like Peacock “could have settled that just by telling me with his words.”
“I don’t think he needed to get the law involved,” Kempton said.
State official put on leave for allegedly prioritizing ‘qualified’ job candidates
A diversity, equity and inclusion expert had her former boss placed on administrative leave for reportedly prioritizing merit over personal identity when hiring new employees, according to a report.
Megan Donecker, who formerly served as the Oregon Department of Forestry’s DEI strategy officer, complained about the agency’s management, criticizing her boss Mike Shaw for looking “beyond gender and identity in hiring, seeking only candidates most qualified for the job,” OregonLive reported.
Shaw served as the agency’s second-in-command under State Forester Cal Mukumoto until he was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 6 after Donecker filed a formal complaint against him, the Daily Mail reported.
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Donecker reportedly first took issue with Shaw when he advocated for a careful approach to DEI, comparing rapid changes to speeding on “an icy road.” She claimed that Shaw, using this metaphor, warned, “We don’t go 60 (mph) out of the gate, or we’re gonna crash the car.”
She also reportedly claimed that six queer staffers didn’t “feel safe or comfortable” at work because they could not have “conversation around pronouns” and referred to the department as a “boys club,” the Daily Mail reported, citing the formal complaint obtained by OregonLive.
While the Oregon Department of Forestry did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry, they have responded to recent criticism of their agency, insisting that leadership “takes employee complaints and concerns seriously and, when brought to our attention, we ensure they’re handled in accordance with state laws, rules, policies and HR best practices. This includes protecting employees from retaliation.”
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State Forester Mukumoto added that “Providing a safe, diverse and inclusive workplace is a shared core value and priority of both the department and the Board of Forestry.”
The pink-haired, tattooed Salem resident has left the department and now works as a DEI consultant, according to the Daily Mail. She reportedly describes herself as an “accomplice to marginalized communities,” the outlet reported.
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OregonLive summarized that leadership in the department has significant implications for the state.
“The Department of Forestry is charged with protecting about 16 million acres of public and private forestland and serves as Oregon’s largest fire department,” The local journalist Noelle Crombie wrote. “It is overseen by Mukumoto, who answers to the Oregon Board of Forestry, a seven-member citizen board appointed by the governor. Mukumoto, appointed in 2021, manages an agency of nearly 1,400 employees and a biennial budget of about $577 million. His salary is $237,288.”
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Oregon widely implemented DEI initiatives following the political unrest in response to George Floyd’s killing in 2020, prompting racial justice protests that swept the nation — and raged for more than 100 consecutive nights in nearby Portland.
But residents have slowly begun pushing back. Clackamas County in Oregon announced in January that it will dismantle their nearly $830,000 a year diversity, equity and inclusion office, calling it an “unnecessary expense” that “only foments friction.”
Dem lawmaker brushes off violent migrant gang, blames Trump-supporting Americans
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, insisted on Saturday it was the “MAGA gang” and not illegal immigrants who were behind the crime and unrest in communities.
Crockett called out former President Trump for spreading lies about migrant crime, claiming his refusal to call out White supremacists was the real issue.
“He said we’ve got these cities and these towns that are being overrun by gangs and crime out of control. I absolutely agree with that. And guess what? It’s the MAGA gang. It is the White supremacists that have decided to descend upon places such as Springfield, Ohio. So I agree with him. I just disagree with who the problems are,” Crockett said on MSNBC’s “Velshi.’
She continued, “The problems are him and his minions. The problems aren’t the people that have come to make our economy stronger, the people that have actually been able to help to continue to make sure that we got out of the big hole that he put us in after Covid-19 with his ineptness. Yeah, I agree that there are problems in our communities, but usually, it is some White supremacist on the other side, and he has yet to call them out.”
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Crockett also accused Trump of harming states damaged by the recent hurricanes by refusing to tell the truth.
“As it relates to him being a liar, that’s just what it is. The problem is that we have people that are absolutely listening to him and that is the scary part, even those people that are in need in North Carolina or Georgia or Tennessee or whatever state, Florida, they are in need. They literally are harming themselves because he does not have the ability to tell the truth about what it takes to get help, and he thinks it’s going to help him in the campaign,” Crockett said.
“At the end of the day, you cannot say you are a leader when you are absolutely seeking to harm people and that’s who he is,” she concluded.
At a Colorado rally Friday, Trump announced the “Operation Aurora” program, a proposal to remove dangerous illegal immigrants from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The program is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to target and dismantle “every illegal migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”
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“My message today is very simple,” Trump said Friday. “No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that Kamala Harris has inflicted on this community can ever be allowed to become the President of the United States.”
Members of the Tren de Aragua gang have also been identified and arrested in Texas.
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Archaeologists uncover one of the world’s oldest Christian churches
Archaeologists recently uncovered what they believe to be one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.
The University of Münster announced the discovery of the fourth-century church in a press release on Oct. 11. The school, which is located in Germany, teamed up with archaeologists from the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia to find the ancient ruins.
The remains of the ancient Christian building were found at the Artaxata site in the Ararat Plain. Excavators have been digging there since 2018, but didn’t find the remains until recently.
“The find consists of an octagonal building with cruciform extensions,” the University of Münster explained. “The team excavated parts of the church and studied it using geophysical methods.”
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“Typologically, the find corresponds to early Christian memorial buildings,” the press release continued. “In the cross-shaped extensions, the researchers discovered the remains of wooden platforms, which were radiocarbon dated to the mid-4th century AD”
The oldest Christian church buildings date back to the third and fourth centuries. The octagonal church at Artaxata had a floor made of mortar and terracotta tiles, and measured around 100 feet in diameter.
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There were also some fragments of marble imported from the Mediterranean, which indicate the church was “lavishly decorated,” experts say.
“The 4th century building is the oldest archaeologically documented church in the country – sensational evidence for early Christianity in Armenia,” University of Münster Professor Achim Lichtenberger said in a statement.
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The find is fitting in Armenia, which the University of Münster says was the first Christian state ever established.
“According to legend, Gregory the Illuminator converted the Armenian king Tiridates III to Christianity in Artaxata in 301 AD, making Armenia the first Christian state in the world,” the school explained.
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“The medieval monastery of Khor Virap, just a stone’s throw from the now-discovered church, is a reminder of this tradition. Artaxata served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia, ruled by the Artaxiad and Arsacid dynasties,” the press release added. “The city developed into an important metropolis in the Hellenistic period and was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia for almost six centuries.”