Taxpayer-funded Minnesota charter school shuts down in-person learning amid ICE raids
A taxpayer-funded Minnesota charter school moved classes online this week citing safety concerns, while a community organization advised illegal immigrants to stay home amid reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity and warned of widespread fear and disruption in the local Myanmar community.
Sejong Academy, a public charter school in St. Paul, announced it would move to online learning for the remainder of the week after citing concerns for the “safety and well-being” of its school community, according to a notice posted on its website.
“Sejong Academy will proceed with online learning for the remainder of this week (January 14 and 15),” the school’s website read. “Thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we prioritize the safety and well-being of our school community.”
The school said students would attend classes remotely Wednesday and Thursday before a previously scheduled day off Friday for staff professional development. The announcement did not specify the nature of the safety concerns prompting the decision.
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The shift came as Urban Village, a Minnesota-based community organization, released a video and posted statements on Instagram addressing immigration enforcement activity and urging illegal immigrants to remain at home.
In the video, a representative of Urban Village said the organization was communicating urgent information “regarding ICE,” while another speaker advised people without a green card or proof of citizenship to stay home and avoid opening their doors to people they do not recognize.
The video also referenced schools offering online learning options for families concerned about sending children to school.
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In a separate Instagram post, Urban Village said members of Minnesota’s Myanmar diaspora had been detained by ICE and U.S. Border Patrol and transferred to detention centers outside the state.
The organization claimed some detainees were pressured to sign documents waiving legal rights and alleged enforcement actions that may have violated policies or laws, citing information obtained from a public official.
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Urban Village said it was advising noncitizens and non-green card holders to remain home, avoid driving and limit contact amid what it described as heightened enforcement, adding that the guidance had caused parents to miss work, medical appointments to be skipped and children to miss school and activities.
Sejong Academy did not reference immigration enforcement or ICE in its online learning announcement, and it is unclear whether the school coordinated with Urban Village or adjusted operations in response to the organization’s guidance.
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According to IRS filings reviewed by ProPublica and verified by Fox News Digital, Sejong Academy reported receiving more than $7 million in government grants, underscoring its status as a publicly funded charter school.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sejong Academy and Urban Village for comment.
Top Iranian official downplays death toll, blames ‘Israeli plot’ as US considers strikes
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected claims of mass casualties amid a recent surge in protests within the Islamic country and blamed any killings that have taken place on an “Israeli plot” intended to create a large number of casualties.
The claim came during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Brett Baier” Wednesday evening, during which Araghchi was told estimates have indicated the death toll in his country could be anywhere between 2,500 to more than 12,000 protesters. But, according to the top Iranian official, the number is in the hundreds.
“When terrorist elements led from outside, entered this, you know, protests and started to shoot, you know, police forces, police officers and security forces. And there were terrorist cells. They came in, they used Daesh-style terrorist operations. They got police officers, burned them alive, they beheaded them, and they started shooting at police officers and also to the people. So as a result, for three days, we had, in fact, fighting against terrorists, and not with the protesters,” Araghchi said. “It was completely a different story.”
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According to Araghchi, these rogue, terrorist-like actors he spoke of started shooting at civilians for “one reason,” which he said was to draw the United States into the conflict.
“They wanted to increase the number of deaths. Why? Because President Trump has said that if there are killings, he would intervene. And they wanted to drag him into this conflict,” the Iranian Foreign Minister continued. “And that was exactly an Israeli plot. They started to increase the number of deaths by killing ordinary people, by killing police officers, by starting a kind of, you know, fighting inside the different cities.”
Iran has seen widespread unrest since the last week of December, as the country faces a massive economic crash that spurred many in Iran to take to the streets in protest.
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Contrary to Araghchi’s claims are eyewitness reports that describe government forces in Iran firing upon unarmed protesters. Some even spoke of snipers taking aim at innocent Iranians, according to testimony shared with the New York Times.
During Baier’s interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister, Araghchi also insisted that there are no imminent plans to hang, or otherwise execute, protesters. The top Iranian official tried to downplay the unrest erupting in his country as well, arguing there is now “a calm.”
“We are in full control,” Araghchi added. “And let’s, you know, hope that wisdom would prevail. And we don’t go for a high level of tension, which could be disastrous for everybody.”
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South Korean prosecutor seeks death penalty for ex-President Yoon over martial law declaration: ‘Self-coup’
A South Korean court heard arguments Tuesday seeking the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk Yeol, as prosecutors accused the ousted leader of orchestrating a rebellion through his controversial martial law declaration in December 2024.
Independent counsel Cho Eun-suk asked the Seoul Central District Court to impose the sentence, arguing that Yoon’s actions amounted to “anti-state activities” and describing the decree as a “self-coup.”
Yoon, a conservative who was removed from office last spring, remains in custody while facing multiple criminal proceedings tied to the martial law episode and other controversies from his presidency. Prosecutors say the rebellion charge carries the most severe potential punishment.
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Cho’s team argued in court that Yoon sought to prolong his hold on power by undermining South Korea’s constitutional system of governance.
Yoon has rejected the accusations, telling the court that the investigations into his conduct have been “frenzied” and marked by “manipulation” and “distortion.”
He has maintained that the declaration of martial law was intended to alert the public to what he viewed as the growing threat posed by the opposition Democratic Party, which used its legislative majority to block his political agenda.
Yoon argued that the exercise of presidential emergency powers cannot be treated as rebellion under the law.
The court is expected to deliver a verdict next month. Legal experts have said a life sentence is more likely than execution, noting that South Korea has not carried out a death penalty since 1997.
SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT REMOVED FROM OFFICE FOUR MONTHS AFTER DECLARING MARTIAL LAW
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Yoon is the first South Korean president who has faced a potential death penalty after leaving office since Chun Doo-hwan was sentenced to death in 1996 for various crimes. Chun’s death sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and he was subsequently pardoned and freed.
Iranian student shot in head at close range amid protests, body buried along roadside
A 23-year-old student was shot in the head at close range during protests in Iran, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, as the regime continues its violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations.
Rubina Aminian, a student of textile and fashion design at Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls in Tehran, was killed Jan. 8 after leaving college and joining the protests in the capital, according to Iran Human Rights.
She is among the few victims of the recent unrest whose identity has been publicly confirmed.
“Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,” the group said in a statement.
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Following her death, Aminian’s family traveled from their home in Kermanshah, western Iran, to Tehran to identify her body.
According to sources cited by Iran Human Rights, the family was taken to a location near the college where they saw the bodies of hundreds of young people allegedly killed during the protests.
“Most of the victims were young people between 18 and 22 years old, who had been shot at close range in the head and neck by government forces,” a source close to the family said.
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The family was reportedly initially barred from identifying Aminian’s body and later prevented from taking her remains, the group said.
After extensive efforts, relatives were eventually allowed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.
When they got there, intelligence forces reportedly surrounded the family home and would not allow a burial to take place.
According to Iran Human Rights, the family was forced to bury Aminian’s body along the roadside between Kermanshah and the nearby city of Kamyaran.
IRANIANS ABLE TO MAKE SOME INTERNATIONAL CALLS AS INTERNET REMAINS BLOCKED AMID PROTESTS
The family has also not been permitted to hold mourning ceremonies, and several mosques in Marivan were reportedly disallowed from hosting memorial services.
Iran’s spiraling anti-government protests have been driven by widespread anger over political repression and economic hardship, including rising inflation.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated Tuesday that over 16,700 people have been detained.
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Other rights groups have reported extremely high death tolls, with some estimates exceeding 3,000, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
Iran Human Rights described Aminian in a statement as “a young woman full of joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the violent repression of the Islamic Republic.”
Trump announces ‘final’ 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran regime
President Donald Trump announced what he described as an immediate and “final” trade order targeting Iran and its global partners.
In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump said any country that continues doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran would be hit with a 25% tariff on all trade with the U.S.
The president wrote: “Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The post came amid heightened tension with Iran as the country entered its fifteenth day of spiraling protests in which hundreds of people have been reported to have been killed since Dec. 28.
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According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), the deaths of 544 people have been confirmed so far and “dozens of additional cases remain under review.”
Trump’s trade tariff announcement, which could impact China, Brazil, Turkey and Russia, also came as U.S. officials urged citizens to consider leaving Iran, according to a Department of State statement.
“U.S. citizens should expect continued internet outages, plan alternative means of communication, and, if safe to do so, consider departing Iran by land to Armenia or Türkiye,” the statement said.
Officials also urged citizens to avoid demonstrations, keep a low profile, and remain aware of their surroundings.
The statement confirmed that protests across Iran were intensifying and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries.
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“Protests across Iran are escalating and may turn violent, resulting in arrests and injuries,” the statement said.
“Increased security measures, road closures, public transportation disruptions, and internet blockages are ongoing. The Government of Iran has restricted access to mobile, landline, and national internet networks. Airlines continue to limit or cancel flights to and from Iran, with several suspending service until Friday, January 16,” the statement read.
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Iran may also already have over eight American citizens and residents in its captivity based on information from sources outside the Trump administration who are well-versed with Tehran’s hostage-taking policy system.
Monday also saw Tehran say it was keeping communication channels with Washington open as Trump weighed how to respond to its deadly crackdown. Trump had said Sunday that Iran “wants to negotiate.”
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“We might meet with them. A meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting, but a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.
While airstrikes were one of many alternatives open to Trump, “diplomacy is always the first option for the president,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
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“What you’re hearing publicly from the Iranian regime is quite different from the messages the administration is receiving privately, and I think the president has an interest in exploring those messages,” Leavitt said.
Five severed heads found hanging on Ecuador beach amid escalating gang clashes
Five severed human heads were found hanging from ropes on a beach in southwestern Ecuador Sunday in a gruesome display linked to ongoing gang violence sweeping across the country, according to reports.
The killings came amid a wave of bloody violence tied to drug trafficking and organized crime, which has surged across Ecuador in recent years.
The Associated Press reported that the grim discovery underscores the tactics used by criminal groups competing for control of territory and trafficking routes, especially along the country’s coastline.
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Police said the heads were found on a tourist beach in the small fishing port of Puerto Lopez, in Manabi province.
The images shared by Ecuadorian media and on social media showed the severed heads tied with ropes to wooden poles planted in the sand, with blood visible at the scene.
A wooden sign left beside the heads carried a threatening message aimed at alleged extortionists targeting local fishermen.
The message warned those demanding so-called “vaccine cards” protection payments commonly extorted by gangs that they had been identified, the report said.
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Authorities said the display was likely the result of a conflict between criminal groups operating in the area.
Drug-trafficking networks with links to transnational cartels are active along Ecuador’s coast and have used fishermen and their small boats to transport illicit shipments, according to local police.
President Daniel Noboa launched an armed campaign against gangs and declared states of emergency in several provinces, including Manabi, deploying the military to support police operations.
Despite his efforts, violence has continued to escalate with police increasing patrols and surveillance in Puerto Lopez following recent massacres in the province, The Associated Press said.
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In 2025, at least nine people, including a baby, were killed there in an attack that authorities blamed on clashes between local gangs also.
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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, in 2025, infighting between factions of a gang vying for control over territory in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, left nearly two dozen people dead.
Ecuador ended the year with a record homicide rate of 52 per 100,000 people, according to the Organized Crime Observatory, making it the deadliest year on record.
Heritage Foundation warns America ‘dangerously close’ to family breakdown point of no return
A new report from the Heritage Foundation argues the American family is in crisis and that strengthening marriage and family formation should be a core focus of U.S. federal policy.
The conservative think tank calls for sweeping policy changes to reverse declining birth and marriage rates, including a proposed $2,500 investment account for every newborn child, as well as other proposals.
The report says government policies “should encourage and protect the formation of families, not mere fertility.”
“The country should not seek a mere boost in the number of children born or in the monetary support that parents receive, the report says. “Yes, the country needs more children. But it matters how and to whom children are born. Society depends on men and women who want to form families, that is, who freely want to marry, and then freely bear and nurture children.”
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The think tank assesses that decades of cultural change and public policy have contributed to the erosion of family formation, pointing to historically low fertility and marriage rates and a growing share of children raised outside married-parent households. The report ties the decline of the family to broader social and economic problems facing the country.
The report argues that traditional family structure remains essential, describing the family as “the foundation of civilization” and defining marriage — one man and one woman — as the ideal environment for raising children.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts warned that the country is nearing a point of no return when it comes to family breakdown.
“The family is the foundation of every healthy society, and, tragically, the American family is on the brink,” Roberts said in a statement. “We are dangerously close to being unable to reverse the decline. Our country will not survive if families continue to crumble at this rate.”
Roberts said the stakes extend beyond family life to the nation’s future itself.
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“If we want to secure the Golden Age of America, we must have bold solutions like those in this report that lay the foundation for stronger families,” he said. “Strong families build strong communities, churches, schools, and businesses. Without them, freedom cannot last.”
The report also criticizes welfare and government programs, arguing they often “punish marriage and family formation” by creating financial incentives that make marriage less attractive. It frames family decline not as inevitable but as the result of policy choices and calls for a “culture-wide Manhattan Project” to rebuild family norms.
To reverse the trend, the report recommends eliminating so-called marriage penalties in welfare programs, requiring federal agencies to review policies for their impact on marriage and family and encouraging policies that strengthen traditional families at all levels of government.
It also proposes financial incentives, including baby investment accounts seeded with $2,500 at birth, which the report says could help families build long-term financial stability.
Other proposed incentives include expanded adoption and child tax credits.
The report also advocates for efforts to discourage online dating and the creation of marriage “bootcamp” classes aimed at supporting long-term relationships.
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“‘Online’ has become the most common way couples meet in America today,” the report says. “While there are plenty of dating app success stories, studies show that couples who meet online and subsequently marry are six times more likely to get divorced within the first three years of marriage than are those who meet through in-person methods. Beyond higher divorce rates, couples who meet online are also less likely to get married in the first place.”
The report also calls for a minimum age of 16 for social media platforms and certain A.I. chatbots, arguing that digital culture has contributed to declining family formation.
Socialist dictator Maduro gone, but Venezuelans remain wary after years of oppression
Following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 after he and his wife were whisked away to face justice in New York, ordinary citizens of Venezuela are responding with a mix of relief, shock and uncertainty after 30 years of a brutal socialist dictatorship that bankrupted their nation.
While what happens next remains largely uncertain and multiple possibilities continue to be studied by Washington, the celebratory tones seen across the country and throughout the almost 9 million citizens in the diaspora on Saturday have largely subsided into muted and cautious joy only expressed in private circles among those who longed for an end to years of economic hardship and political repression.
Vera, a professor at one of the better-known universities, told Fox News Digital, “The world cannot fathom the joy we feel. Maduro is in a federal prison in the U.S. with living conditions and rights that our political prisoners never had. For me, it is comforting to know he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars eating rice and sausage and taking showers only three times a week, paying for damaging the lives of millions of Venezuelans.”
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Yet fear remains. The government has decreed any celebration of current events — and even expressions of approval of the U.S. operation in written text messages — to be a crime equivalent to national treason. Worse yet: it has empowered any law officer to check citizens and their telephones at random at hundreds of checkpoints established throughout Caracas and other regions of the country.
Anyone found in violation of the decree can be immediately arrested without a trial, turning the promise of change into an anxiety-tempered state about what comes next and raising questions about sovereignty, daily survival and how to overcome yet another crisis.
For Jesús, a 23-year-old university student from a middle-class family in Caracas who also works for a local business, a single word defines this past week: stress. For safety reasons, he and other Venezuelans interviewed for this story requested either partial or complete anonymity due to the security situation.
“We cannot afford the luxury of staying home and waiting to see how things will unfold. I have my own private vehicle and drive extensively throughout Caracas to go and come back from work, school, and run errands,” he said.
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“There are police cars and officers from the national, municipal and local authorities stationed in every corner. Hundreds of checkpoints have sprung up across Caracas since the decree forbidding any celebratory expression at the U.S. operation that captured Maduro. At the first few days, there were also pro-government publicly armed colectivos(state-sanctioned citizen collectivities) doing the rounds to capture and violently repress anyone so much as expressing relief that Maduro was gone. It’s been extremely difficult having to remain vigilant at all times. From prior experiences, I learned to avoid most checkpoints through alternate ways and avoiding main roads. People have been sending texts saying where the checkpoints are and telling us to delete anything that shows our support for U.S. actions from our phones.”
He continued, “For me, personally, it’s a time of mixed feelings. I am relieved to see Maduro gone and finally see a promise or discourse by either local or foreign governments to come to pass in Venezuela. While I obviously understand this only happened because of foreign interference, I much prefer a U.S. action that ends this dictatorship than preserving Venezuela’s sovereignty at the cost of our country. On the other hand, I am also frightened, because once you start dismantling the established structures, you end up having chaos, and in such a case, the population suffers the most.”
Jesús adds that he transits through three main large groups of people — his student friends, his family and older relatives and his job. He adds that among his friends the mood is largely of hope that the U.S. might reshape the Venezuelan market and develop it into what he calls a “developed” system, where people can actually lead a better life. “We’ll finally stop being a Cuban colony and either be truly independent or a U.S.-.led country like the Dominican Republic. Nothing wrong with that. We’ll still be better off and more stable,” he added.
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Among his relatives, the overarching tone is fear. So far, many of Maduro’s cronies remain in power, and they don’t know how they might suddenly react under paranoia, people with private property, and especially a potential mandatory military draft.
“Finally, at work, there is apathy. I work in a rich neighborhood where lots of government officers and military people frequent. Obviously, police officers and other government officials who benefited from the corruption and criminality are against what happened, but most military personnel say they won’t die for something they didn’t sign up for because of a dictatorship. At my work, we’ve seen so many broken promises, that we are only bracing to stay afloat,” he concluded.
For Hannah, a recent graduate, there’s relief that Maduro is gone. “Obviously, things shouldn’t be like this, and Venezuelans should be the ones deciding the future of their own country, but Maduro had to leave one way or another, and now he is gone,” she adds.
A business entrepreneur who asked to speak anonymously said there was very little inclination for Venezuelans in his position to speak to the press due to smear campaigns by the government and possible reprisals.
Based in Caracas, he said that stocks have been experiencing record highs in both trade and value since Saturday, with some of them reaching close to a 20% uptick since then.
“In the more pragmatic business elite in Venezuela, there is a lot of hope that a more normal business environment will be created now that Maduro is gone and if the U.S. plays the regime-change and economy-development cards right, even if it is to favor themselves foremost. But even then, this would be a better environment for private businesses and an enormous market ripe for renovated activity. In that sense, most people are hopeful that Maduro is finally gone, but obviously it’s hard to see your own country being attacked by a foreign power,” he says.
Vera, the professor, says she has been out and about in Caracas since Jan. 4, and has not encountered any of the She describes an overall sensation of relief a joy at seeing Maduro gone despite the many uncertainties.
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“There is generalized uncertainty, but the collective sensation is relief. For the first time in 26 years of oppression, there is political change. I do have my personal reservations regarding Trump and the U.S., as there is evidently an economic interest on their part. We have one of the largest extra-heavy oil reserves in the world, on top of our reserves of gas, gold and coltan.”
She continued, “The U.S. actions are not free, and we still need to see what the actual costs — which could be very high — will be. I am very sorry that this happened in my country and would be lying if I said I agreed with foreign incursions, but I am also of the opinion that our own Armed Forces should have listened to the majority of the citizens in the 2024 elections [when Maduro retained power despite losing the vote], but they chose to continue oppressing their own people. This is, therefore, part of the cost we should pay for their inoperancy,” she said.
Vera cautions that reactivating Venezuela’s economic growth will be a medium- to-long-term task, but that when the feeling of political change is real, everything flows better, and the feeling of opportunity in the country is real right now.