Person of interest detained in deadly Brown University shooting after hourslong hunt
Police said Sunday that a person of interest is in custody following a deadly shooting at Brown University that killed at least two people and injured nine.
Police told Fox News that the individual was found at a hotel in Coventry, which is about 17 miles south of Providence.
Providence Chief of Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez Jr. declined to say whether the person was affiliated with Brown University when asked by reporters at a news conference, citing the early stages of the investigation.
He said the next process for the department is coordinating with prosecutors, collecting evidence and conducting interviews.
LIVE UPDATES: MULTIPLE DEAD, SEVERAL WOUNDER AFTER MASS SHOOTING AT BROWN UNIVERSITY
Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said seven individuals remain in stable condition, one in critical but stable condition, and one has been discharged.
ELITE IVY LEAGUE CAMPUS LATEST TO GRAPPLE WITH MASS SHOOTING AS VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT BROWN UNIVERSITY
“We’re going to continue to have our thoughts with the families, the individuals that have been impacted by this horrific event,” said Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee.
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Smiley also confirmed that the shelter in place order for the Providence community has been lifted. Brown University had announced the lifting of a campus shelter in place order earlier Sunday morning.
Inside look at how racism claims stopped Minneapolis fraud investigation in its tracks
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – In the aftermath of the massive Feeding Our Future scandal and broader allegations of systemic fraud in Minnesota’s social programs, a troubling theme has emerged: accusations of racism repeatedly used to deflect scrutiny, intimidate investigators and stall accountability.
Rumors and reports of fraud in Minneapolis, primarily within the city’s exploding Somali community, have been circulating for at least a decade, but criticism of the fraud has been largely dismissed by elected Democrats as “racist” or being underpinned by animosity toward foreigners. News stories focused on Somali fraudsters in recent years were shot down as “racist.”
The whole story kind of died under these accusations that people were being racist,” Bill Glahn, policy fellow with Center of the American Experiment, told Fox News Digital. “Oh, maybe somebody stole a little bit here, a little bit there, but there’s nothing systemic going on.”
Former assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Teirab, who helped take on federal prosecutions in the Feeding Our Future case, described to Fox News Digital how individuals implicated in fraud leaned on racial accusations as a shield. According to Teirab, suspects explicitly invoked race during a secretly recorded meeting with Attorney General Keith Ellison, asserting that investigators were targeting them “only because of race.”
OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: ‘DEEP, DEEP TIES’
Teirab called this tactic both deliberate and cynical. In one trial, a juror was even approached with a $120,000 cash bribe, allegedly accompanied by messaging intended to frame the investigation as racially motivated. The goal wasn’t just to escape prosecution, it was to taint the system itself by threatening anyone pursuing the truth with the specter of racial bias.
“It provided cover,” Teirab told Fox News Digital. “Fraudsters knew the issue of race and racism was something they could use as a cudgel… It’s disrespectful to use those terms when they’re not appropriate, especially in a case where fraud clearly happened.”
Minnesota Republican State Sen. Mark Koran echoed Teirab’s concerns, emphasizing that investigators followed the evidence, not demographics. Fraud prosecutions disproportionately affected one community simply because that’s where significant fraud was uncovered, not because investigators targeted anyone based on race.
“The average Minnesotan, average legislator, doesn’t care who’s committing the fraud,” Koran said. “All right, the evidence will lead you either to or from the perpetrator. And so, if the evidence leads to the perpetrator, we need to prosecute all of them.”
Koran noted that public officials and agencies pursuing fraud were routinely branded racist for doing so. Some perpetrators were so “emboldened,” he said, that they sued the state to force the continuation of payments, even after red flags signaled massive irregularities.
The scale, Koran argued, dwarfs what many Minnesotans understand. While federal authorities may ultimately prosecute around $2 billion in fraud, he suggested that the true annual losses across state programs could reach much higher when factoring in both blatant fraud and poor service delivery.
Meanwhile, many families participated in related schemes by receiving kickbacks from fraudulent autism service providers, further complicating enforcement. Investigators simply lack the resources to chase every case, creating an environment where fraud becomes a low-risk, high-reward enterprise.
MINNESOTA’S FRAUD SCANDAL WAS ‘SHOCKINGLY EASY’ TO PULL OFF, IS LIKELY WORSE THAN REPORTED: EX PROSECUTOR
“For the average hardworking legal U.S. citizen doing everything right,” Koran said, “it’s a disgusting disservice… knowing there’s such blatant disregard for the value of that dollar.”
Koran suggested that the racism claims so emboldened supporters of the status quo that it contributed to Feeding Our Future suing the state of Minnesota, accusing state officials of racism for investigating the alleged fraud.
Glahn told Fox News Digital that state agencies were “cowering in fear” over being called racist and local politicians were acutely aware that the “racist label” is a “career kiss of death.”
A legislative auditor’s report found Minnesota Department of Education officials felt they had to handle the nonprofit “carefully” because of these racism allegations and the risk of negative media coverage, and that this influenced which regulatory actions MDE did or did not take, CBS News reported.
Political commentator and Townhall columnist Dustin Grage highlighted another factor enabling the fraud: media hesitation. Conservative reporters, he said, described to him hitting internal roadblocks when pitching stories about the Feeding Our Future scandal because editors feared being accused of racism.
“In newsrooms, they’re told, ‘We can’t run that because we’re going to be accused of being racist,’” Grage explained. That fear, combined with political pressure, allowed the scandal to grow largely unchecked until federal indictments forced it into the spotlight.
MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL
Grage pointed to an early pivotal moment: Minnesota’s Department of Education detected signs of fraud and briefly halted payments. Immediately, Minneapolis political figures Omar Fateh and Jamal Osman pushed back, claiming the stop was racially motivated. They even took the state to court, though their case was eventually thrown out.
Yet the damage was done. Payments resumed, and crucially, Gov. Tim Walz declined to use his subpoena power to obtain Feeding Our Future’s bank records, despite having the authority to do so. That inaction, Grage noted, further delayed the exposure of the fraud.
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Glahn told Fox News Digital that in addition to fear of the “racist” label, politicians in Minnesota understand that it is difficult to win elections without the support of the Somali community.
“The Somali community is very concentrated in Minnesota and very concentrated in Ilhan Omar’s congressional district, and a few other pockets where the Somali vote swings elections, and at the state level, they’re big enough that we’ve had some super close elections at the state level, and the Somali vote is very monolithic, votes Democrat,” Glahn explained. “They provided the difference in statewide elections, and then in local elections, where it’s all Democrats, they’re providing the difference in the primary. So if you’re running in a primary against other Democrats, if you don’t have the Somali vote on your side, you’re not making it to the general election.”
The result of the fear to fully investigate the fraud was predictable: fraudsters exploited that hesitation, taxpayers lost billions and the vulnerable communities the programs were meant to serve suffered most.
As the state continues to grapple with accountability and reform, one lesson stands out starkly. According to those who spoke to Fox News Digital, combating fraud requires courage, not only to follow the evidence wherever it leads, but to withstand the inevitable attempts to distort legitimate scrutiny into something it is not.
Actor says ‘liberal college kids’ need to stop telling farmers what to do
Adrian Grenier has “compassion” for farmers who encounter critics trying to tell them how to do their jobs.
During a recent interview on “The Dan Buettner Podcast,” the 49-year-old actor spoke about his passion for sustainability and why people should “show some respect” to farmers and understand the realities they are facing before judging how they operate.
“Frankly, these woke liberal college kids who come in with all these big ideas trying to tell farmers that they got to do one thing because it’s bad for the environment,” he said. “Well, you know, put your money where your mouth is and go out and try and solve for farming practices instead of telling the farmers who are in the trenches trying to make food that you don’t even want to pay whatever for organic cause it’s too expensive.”
He explained that, growing up in New York, he didn’t know much about farming, but as an environmentalist, he “had all these abstract ideas of how things should be,” and he understood why farmers may “turn to chemical fertilizers.”
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“I get the luxury of trying to reinvent and figure out regenerative, healthy, organic ways of doing things, but it’s hard,” he explained. “If my crop dies, I’ll still get to eat. Farmers, their margins are razor-thin, and if they lose a crop, their family doesn’t eat.”
Grenier also discussed his life as an actor and why he chose to leave Hollywood. The actor initially left Hollywood in 2016 but has appeared in projects since then.
Known for his roles in “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Entourage,” Grenier explained that on episodes of the show there were never any consequences for bad behavior, but that “real life isn’t like that.”
“I always attempted to keep a level head about myself, even though, as time went on, I realized that I had indulged a little too much in that world, that I had forgotten my true center or my north star Or perhaps I never had a north star to begin with, but I had to reorient myself with spirituality and my purpose on the planet,” he said.
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He came to realize that the path he was on was not leading him anywhere good, leaving him to think, “What have I given? What have I cultivated?”
He told “Today with Hoda & Jenna” in February 2024 he felt as if he “was flying high for many years” living in Hollywood and New York, noting, “I live a much more grounded lifestyle now.”
In 2020, the actor founded Kintsugi Ranch with his wife, Jordan Roemmele, outside Austin, Texas, and has been involved with environmental work for many years, calling the farm his “ultimate recognition of” what he wants to do with his time on Earth.
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“You sleep better, you’re more grounded, you have a sense of wellbeing,” he told People about life on the farm in September 2023. “It’s good for mental health, it’s good for skill building, resilience and all of that. I think it allows you to make more informed, wiser choices when it comes to how you live, how you treat others and, in particular, how you treat the environment.”
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Although he has slowed down in acting, Grenier recently hosted the reality show “CryptoKnights” and recently wrapped production on the film “You, Always.”
Chuck Schumer knows how to fix Somali fraud — he should just ask… Chuck Schumer
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., usually quick to denounce anything he views as a scandal (including most of what the Trump administration does), has been uncharacteristically silent about the billion-dollar Minnesota social services fraud indictments. Understandable perhaps, because of the embarrassment it’s causing for Minnesota governor and former vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz and Minnesota’s progressive darling Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose Somali constituents are among the ringleaders — but whom left-wary Schumer is loath to alienate as he faces re-election.
But were Schumer to look back at his own legislative record, he could find a relevant and constructive response — one that might even help Democrats still lost on immigration-related issues in the wake of the Biden-era de facto open border.
In 2013, Schumer was one of a so-called Gang of Eight senators — including then-Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio — to sponsor a sprawling immigration law reform bill, the “Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.” The so-called “comprehensive” bill included everything from a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants to an increase in visas for foreign student in STEM fields — proposals even more likely to spark Republican opposition today than they did in 2013 when the bill died in the House after actually passing the Senate.
DAVID MARCUS: WHITE GUILT, APATHY FUEL MASSIVE CORRUPTION IN MINNESOTA
Schumer insisted that “piecemeal reforms” should not be considered — but one aspect of the bill that he endorsed could serve him — and centrist Democrats — well today, were he willing to revive it. The proposed Office of Citizenship and New Americans put the Senate leader squarely behind what was once called Americanization or assimilation, and more lately immigrant “integration.” It took as a given that immigrants from countries that don’t share American legal and cultural norms should be exposed to them — in the process of their being taught English.
An “Office of Citizenship and New Americans” would be responsible “for training on citizenship responsibilities for new immigrants,” including “information about English and citizenship education programs,” according to the American Immigration Council. Passing a citizenship test, keep in mind, requires a knowledge of the Constitution and the U.S. legal system.
Aiming, too, for “upward economic mobility,” it’s the sort of initiative that would have been ideal for Minneapolis Somalis, some 90,000 of whom count Somali as the first language and come from a country ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world. Transparency International, in fact, gives it a score of just 9/100, making it the 179th of 180 countries, or the second-most-corrupt government in the world. It’s actually gotten even worse since 2023, when it ranked 177th. Only war-torn South Sudan ranks lower.
WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS MASSIVE FRAUD IS HAPPENING IN OHIO SOMALI COMMUNITY, MINNESOTA ‘JUST TIP OF THE SPEAR’
In other words, immigration to a historic clean government state like Minnesota would be a cultural adjustment for Somalis, putting them in a position to take advantage of overly trusting locals.
The U.S. has historically profited from immigration by promoting values such as trust, integrity and the rule of law — and the idea that the best way to move up is to adopt those values. It’s a tradition that dates to the early 20th century immigration wave, when hundreds of volunteer-led “settlement houses” taught English and prepared immigrants to be citizens.
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It’s not as if European immigrants did not have their own corruption problems, such as those imported by the Sicilian Mafia from a region known for its dysfunctional honor society. (See Edward Banfield’s brilliant 1958 book about Sicily, “The Moral Basis of a Backward Society.”) To remember those who combated such a culture, think of Nobel Prize winner Jane Addams, founder of Chicago’s Hull House, who worked to teach South Side immigrants to cook healthy dinners and not to throw their garbage in the streets.
MINNESOTA’S SOMALI FRAUD SCANDAL EXPOSES THE HIDDEN COST OF IMMIGRATION
That city, as well as Minneapolis and so many others, should be using her approach today — and Schumer’s Office of Citizenship and New Americans would have helped, even if it didn’t cut the larger Gordian knot of immigration policy.
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Of course, any government program — including one meant to Americanize immigrants — could be taken advantage of by grifters. The essential Minnesota problem — a naïve government asleep at the wheel — still would have to be addressed. Indeed, a civil society approach — led by charity and volunteers — would be better.
But a Democratic Party always keen to propose a government solution could do worse than revive Schumer’s 2013 idea — and it just might have done some good in Minneapolis.
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New book teaching 5-year-olds abortion is a ‘superpower’ sparks outrage
A new children’s book portraying abortion as a “superpower” is drawing strong backlash from critics who say the authors are trying to normalize the procedure for young readers.
“Abortion is Everything,” set for release in January 2026, is a brightly illustrated book from activist group Shout Your Abortion geared toward children ages 5 to 8. It puts a positive spin on the divisive medical procedure.
“It’s extremely concerning to me that they are aiming this kind of messaging at children as young as 5,” Sarah Gabel Seifert, CEO and co-founder of pro-life diaper company EveryLife, told Fox News Digital.
Written by activist Amelia Bonow and educator Rachel Kessler, the book touts abortion as a “uniquely human superpower” that allows humans to “make choices that lead us toward the life we envision.”
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Shout Your Abortion recommends parents, other caregivers and teachers use the book as a resource to introduce the subject to children.
Gabel Seifert, a mother to two daughters, warned the book does more than normalize abortion, arguing it “frames it as a virtue.”
“Abortion is not ‘everything.’ Abortion ends everything. It ends a life,” she said. “Our children deserve a better narrative. We should be teaching them about the beauty, dignity and value of every human life, and that life should be celebrated, protected and defended from the moment of conception.”
The pro-life organization Live Action noted that Bonow has a history of promoting abortion to children, pointing to her appearance in a “Kids Meet” video series in 2019 in which she discussed her own abortion experience.
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Gabel Seifert said the new book reflects what she sees as a broader push by activists to shape young children’s views on abortion.
“The message being planted early is that children are an inconvenience or a burden, that pregnancy gets in the way of your goals and dreams, and that the unborn aren’t really human—just a ‘clump of cells,’” she said. “When that becomes someone’s foundation, it’s no surprise that if they later face an unplanned pregnancy, they’ll default to the loudest cultural voices telling them abortion is the obvious, empowering solution.”
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“That’s exactly why it’s so important to push back,” Gabel Seifert continued. “We need to offer a counter-cultural message that children are not the problem—they are a gift. We need more children in this world, not less. Children are our legacy, and parenthood is a blessing worth honoring and protecting.”
She urged parents to begin age-appropriate conversations with their kids about controversial topics like abortion before they hear about them from “activists or pop culture.”
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“We must teach young people to take ownership of their choices and to develop the critical thinking skills to weigh the decisions they’re making today—and how those decisions will affect them not just in the moment, but five or 10 years down the road,” she added.
“Abortion isn’t a quick fix; it’s a life-altering choice that stays with you forever,” she said. “Our job is to equip kids to think clearly and responsibly about these high-stakes decisions, and to understand that their choices have real, lasting consequences.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Shout Your Abortion for comment.
Bessent expects taxpayers will see ‘very large’ tax refunds early next year
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said American households will see “very large refunds” in the tax filing season early next year following policy changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Bessent spoke to NBC10 Philadelphia on Tuesday ahead of an event touting the Trump administration’s economic policies and said American taxpayers could see sizable refunds following the enactment of the OBBBA.
The treasury secretary noted that the tax law included retroactive provisions for policies that will impact what taxpayers owe on this year’s earnings, which could boost the size of refunds.
“The bill was passed in July. Working Americans didn’t change their withholding, so they’re going to be getting very large refunds in the first quarter,” Bessent told NBC10. “I think we’re going to see $100 [billion]-$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000 and $2,000 per household.”
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“Then they’ll change their withholding, and they’ll get a real increase in their wages. So I think 2026 can be a very good year,” Bessent added.
Bessent’s comments come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to emphasize its efforts to improve the affordability of life for Americans, with tax relief under the OBBBA a key focus.
TRUMP PROMISES ‘LARGEST TAX REFUND SEASON EVER’ FOR AMERICANS COMING IN 2026
Aside from creating the new tax relief Bessent discussed, the OBBBA extended lower tax rates and higher standard deductions implemented under the 2017 Trump tax cuts that were due to expire at the end of this year, which would’ve left taxpayers facing a tax hike in 2026.
The president said at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month that the upcoming tax filing season is “projected to be the largest tax refund season ever.”
VOTERS EXPRESS ECONOMIC WORRIES OVER INFLATION AS COSTS RISE, FOX NEWS POLL FINDS
A Fox News poll from November showed roughly three-fourths of respondents viewed economic conditions negatively, citing rising costs for groceries, housing and healthcare.
Larger tax refunds could help households shore up their finances. IRS data for the 2025 tax filing showed that as of early April, the agency paid out over $211 billion in refunds for an average of $3,116.
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The most recent data from mid-October showed the total amount of refunds paid rose to $311 billion, with the average refund amount declining slightly to $3,052. Over 102 million refunds were issued in the 2025 filing season as of Oct. 17.
Extreme left bias in freshman course at massive state school exposed in leaked lessons
EXCLUSIVE: PowerPoints from lectures in an introductory education course at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are riddled with far-left lessons teaching future educators to view their students through the lenses of racial and sexual oppression.
A student whistleblower sent six weeks worth of presentations from professor Gabriel Rodriguez’s EDUC 201 course, a first semester freshman year class for teaching majors at the state’s flagship university, to Fox News Digital on the condition of anonymity.
The course is called “Identity and Difference in Education.”
“It’s very obvious that [the course] is pretty liberal,” the student told Fox News Digital. “The first week, my professor opened up with, you know, teaching in polarizing times, and he talks about how you need to be political and really, what he meant was you need to be liberal.”
ARKANSAS PUBLIC UNIVERSITY OFFERS COURSE IN ‘QUEER CHILDHOODS’ TAUGHT BY FAIRY TALE SCHOLAR
The PowerPoint presentation for week 12 of the education course is titled, “Supporting LGBTQ+ Students in Schools.”
A slide called “Understanding the Current Landscape” cites the American Civil Liberties Union, a far-left activist group, making the claim that 2024 was a “record year for anti-LGBT+ legislation,” and that 18 bills were passed in 2018 that “curtailed students and/or educators rights.”
The same slide cites America’s largest teachers union, the National Education Association (NEA), itself a left-wing organization, saying that LGBTQ+ students are more likely to face bullying and harassment.
The following slides feature screenshots from various news outlets, including PBS, The Washington Post and NBC, about certain legislation.
MICHIGAN ADOPTS SEX EDUCATION STANDARDS RECOMMENDING STUDENTS BE TAUGHT GENDER IDENTITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION
“LGBTQ+ Americans are under attack, Human Rights Campaign declares in state of emergency warning,” says a screenshot of a PBS headline on one of the slides. The Human Rights Campaign is a left-wing advocacy group for LGBT people.
Slide nine of the presentation makes a blunt admission.
“Remember: Schools are a part of a larger political system. As such, education, at its core is inherently political,” the slide says. “School is a political place because so many adults (e.g., educators, policymakers, parents) have a vested interest in the future generation.”
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The presentation later cites data on mental health among LGBT people from the controversial Trevor Project, a self-described suicide prevention organization for LGBT youth, which has come under fire for its TrevorSpace program. That program has been critiqued by opponents for lacking age verification parameters, meaning that potentially vulnerable minors as young as 13 seeking support can freely be connected to adults for friendships and advice.
“LGBTQ+ students are facing unprecedented attacks and educators can play an important role in not just affirming who they are but advocating for and alongside them,” says another slide. “How are you demonstrating allyship and solidarity?”
Another slide encourages the use of preferred pronouns and embracing “diverse and intersectional LGBTQ+ experiences.”
IMMIGRANT MATH TEACHER SAYS HE WAS BRANDED ‘TRAITOR’ TO PEOPLE OF COLOR FOR QUESTIONING WOKE LESSONS
The end of the presentation is geared toward queer and transgender teachers, and features quotes from a letter to those teachers written by Harper Keenan, a professor of gender and sexuality research at the University of British Columbia.
“Those who now call themselves queer and trans people have been teaching the world since before those words even existed – the acceleration of queer language development and reclamation over the last century is but one example. You have important knowledge to bring to the work of education,” says a quote attributed to Keenan.
The Illinois student slammed the school’s teaching on gender, saying the university preaches ideas like “gender assigned at birth,” instead of recognizing binary sex, and places an emphasis on not assuming gender.
“They really want you to use pronouns. That’s a big thing. You can’t assume gender. You have to ask for pronouns,” the student said.
But the student has a moral objection to teaching children that they can be born in the wrong body.
I just think to push that on young children is just so wrong,” the student said. “To tell little kids who don’t know much about the worldwhen you’re a kid, you’re growing and going through all these changes. I guess they need to be reaffirmed in their biology and not reaffirmed in their delusion
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Like you’re not supposed to just tell a little girl who’s maybe insecure, ‘Oh, like go be a boy,’ or tell a boy who, again, maybe is insecure or has some things that are considered feminine, to go be a girl,” the student said.
Week five slides from the course focused on racial identity. The lesson is titled “Embracing Asset-Based Practices.”
“What does it mean to help students understand their privileged identities?” one question asks.
“What does it mean to help students understand and embrace their minoritized identities?” asks another.
A chunk of that week’s lesson focuses on “equity and justice,” and specifically rejects the idea of teaching best practices in favor of a less rigid strategy.
Quoting a 2010 paper by Boston College education professor Marilyn Cochran-Smith titled “Toward a theory of teacher education for social justice,” one slide in the presentation defines what justice in teaching means.
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“A theory of teaching practice that supports justice is not about specific techniques or best practices, but about guiding principles that play out in a variety of methods and strategies, depending on the particular circumstances, students, content, and communities,” says the quote from Cochran-Smith.
Another slide, quoting a different educator, encourages future teachers to “recreate and reinvent teaching methods and materials by always taking into consideration the sociocultural realities that can either limit or expand the possibilities to humanize education.”
A slide describing “opportunity gaps” says “opportunity and achievement are different things.”
“Shifts focus away from student outputs (e.g., grades, testing scores) to inputs (e.g., resources),” the slide instructs the education students.
“Thinking in terms of ‘achievement gaps’ emphasizes the symptoms; thinking about unequal opportunity highlights the causes,” says a quote attributed to Prudence Carter and Kevin Welner in their 2013 book “Closing the Opportunity Gap: What America Must Do to Give Every Child an Even Chance.”
A final takeaway from the lesson: “Strive for equity and justice.”
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“There’s the gender, the LGBTQ+, and also critical race theory is a big thing here,” the student said.
The student said Rodriguez has at times lashed out over the Trump administration’s anti-DEI policies.
“My professor will sometimes put, like, headlines in his slides and be like, ‘Look how wrong this is, look at these people trying to silence, you know, everything.’ And a lot of times it’s headlines about Trump. So, of course, there was stuff about a DEI being taken out,” the student said, adding later that Fox News stories are often portrayed in a negative light.
Once again, the student focused on the curriculum being pushed on future educators, and how that will impact children in the classroom in the not-so-distant future.
“People need to see the side of the liberal party,” the student said. “Parents need to know this is how far they’re going, like they’re going so far to push their agenda on children. And I don’t even know for what, like a little bit of political gain? They’re literally willing to hinder a child’s education.”
“They’re going to be pointing at your White child and call them an aggressor, or they’ll point at your Black child and convince them they’re a victim. People get mad at this but [children] don’t see color. Children don’t think like that. They don’t have any sort of biases. Nobody’s born with a bias against someone. Children genuinely just don’t see that.”
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SITE WARNS OF A ‘WHITENESS PANDEMIC,’ URGES WHITE PARENTS TO ‘RE-EDUCATE’
In a lengthy statement, a spokesperson for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, home to about 56,000 students, told Fox News Digital that it “complies with all applicable federal and state laws governing equal access and nondiscrimination in its programs and activities, including classroom instruction.”
The statement also provided more details on the course and its goals.
“This course, Identity and Difference in Education, (EDUC 201) examines how identity, power and privilege impact equity in education, focusing on socially constructed identities and asset-based frameworks,” it said. “Understanding differences in identities is important to improve educational outcomes for all students.”
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“The college and university approve programs of study and curricular requirements while instructors have freedom to create syllabi and slides that accomplish the course objectives using their expertise in the subject area. Questioning ideas, posing alternative opinions and presenting different perspectives is how we create knowledge and help everyone to have more meaningful engagement with the world around them.”
Rodriguez did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Click here to view the entire LGBT lecture PowerPoint:
Click here to view the entire “Embracing Asset-Based Practices” lecture PowerPoint:
SJSU volleyball drama deepens as coach calls out trans athlete’s attacks on teammate
EXCLUSIVE: Former San Jose State assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose has stepped into the recent war of words between former players Brooke Slusser and Blaire Fleming.
Fleming, who is transgender, made disputed claims that Slusser has been anorexic since they first met in 2023 and failed out of her classes at SJSU. Slusser denied Fleming’s statements, previously saying that she developed an eating disorder from the stress and anxiety of playing and rooming with Fleming after discovering Fleming was a biological male, and the highly publicized scandal that ensued.
The conflict between the two players and subsequent lawsuits by Slusser against the NCAA and Mountain West conference over the situation put the players and entire program under immense national scrutiny in their final season together in 2024.
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Now, Batie-Smoose has provided her perspective on the disputed claims between the two athletes.
“To my knowledge, Brooke’s mental health and academic performance were excellent during her first year and a half as a student athlete in the program. She was engaged, consistent and doing well both personally and academically. But after sharing her experience, the surrounding pressures intensified,” Batie-Smoose told Fox News Digital.
“She was chastised on campus and on social media, which seemed to cause her well-being and academic performance to decline. From my perspective, that context matters and underscores how much she has been carrying in a short amount of time.”
Batie-Smoose also expressed “disappointment” about Fleming’s disputed comments about Slusser.
“I’m a little surprised and disappointed by Blaire Fleming’s comments. Even if you’re frustrated or hurt by Brooke’s actions, I hoped there might be a little more empathy—especially from someone who has been the subject of personal attacks and understands how tough these things can get. Personal hardship should give us a deeper understanding of and more empathy for what others may be experiencing, not less,” Batie-Smoose added.
“Struggles with food, mental health or academic pressure are serious matters that deserve compassion, not dismissal. Regardless of personal dynamics, speaking harshly about someone who is clearly going through a difficult period is not something we want to encourage or normalize. Brooke’s issues with food and her grades aren’t excuses, but rather signs of someone who’s been going through a lot.”
Fox News Digital was unable to reach Fleming for comment, as Fleming’s Instagram account has been deactivated in recent days.
LAW FIRM THAT WORKED TO KEEP SJSU TRANS PLAYER ELIGIBLE ALSO CLEARED ATHLETE OF CONSPIRING TO HARM TEAMMATE
Slusser originally told Fox News Digital on Nov. 30 – the one-year anniversary of her final game with Fleming – about the impact the situation had on her body and academics.
“From the stress and how anxious I was every single day, I just wasn’t eating really at all,” Slusser said. “I went from around 160 to 128 [pounds] in that one semester. It definitely isn’t healthy for someone of my size to be that weight, and I ended up losing my menstrual cycle for nine months. So it was definitely severe.”
The 5-foot-11 Slusser added that people at home started to take notice.
“When I came home, some of my friends and family were very worried about me,” she added. “Some of my friends were just like, ‘You always looked tired all the time. You always look dead…’ I was able to come home three days that fall semester my senior year, and I had a friend later on tell me that when I saw her, she went home and cried to her mom, because she was so worried about me, just because she could tell I looked so unhealthily skinny.”
Her father, Paul Slusser, then insisted that she move back home to Texas from San Jose after the 2024 season and fall semester ended. The family said she then attempted to finish her final semester and degree online, but later dropped the classes to focus on physical and mental rehabilitation. Slusser and her family say she has recovered from her anorexia, and is working on finishing her degree. She aspires to start her own business in dietetics.
The family is still navigating the completion of her degree.
Fleming responded to Slusser’s situation, making the disputed claims to Fox News Digital on Dec. 7.
“She’s been anorexic and struggled with food since I’ve known her[,] aka since 2023. She literally would weigh herself 2-3x a day and keep track of it on her whiteboard in her room…. So I really don’t care or feel bad for her. And she didn’t drop her classes[,] she failed out[,] hope that helps!” Fleming said.
Slusser promptly responded, calling Fleming’s statement “just not true.”
“These statements are just not true. I have always lived a very healthy lifestyle. Before these events took place[,] I was very disciplined in fueling myself for athletics and [kept] track to make sure I was where I need to be[,] to be the best athlete. It wasn’t until all the craziness started that my healthy lifestyle turned very unhealthy into not eating the amount I should,” Slusser said.
“As for school[,] I decided to stay home after fall 2024 to better myself and heal. So no[,] I did not return to San Jose and enroll myself in more courses at an institution that didn’t have my best interest.”
Slusser has alleged in her lawsuits against the NCAA and Mountain West Conference that she was never told Fleming’s birth sex, and that the two regularly shared hotel rooms on away trips. Slusser has also said in the lawsuits that Fleming confessed to being transgender during a conversation over ice cream in April 2024.
Slusser then joined Riley Gaines’ lawsuit against the NCAA in September 2024. What followed was a series of forfeits by opposing teams. Each forfeit compounded growing attention in an election-season media cycle, putting SJSU’s volleyball players and their opponents under a massive political spotlight.
President Donald Trump even mentioned the scandal on his campaign trail in October of that year, during a Fox News Channel all-woman town hall event.
Police protection was assigned to the team on a regular basis.
Slusser has alleged in her lawsuit against the Mountain West, which was filed in November, that she was allegedly informed by teammates of an alleged conversation Fleming had with an opposing player, discussing a plan to have Slusser spiked in the face during a match.
Batie-Smoose reported those same allegations in a Title IX complaint against the school, and was later suspended and did not have her contract renewed in January. Batie-Smoose has since filed her own lawsuit against SJSU over her termination.
The Mountain West commissioned a third-party investigation into the allegations against Fleming, and determined that sufficient evidence could not be found to assign discipline.
Fox News Digital has reported extensively on the conditions of that investigation and its handling, prompting critical responses by the White House, U.S. Department of Justice and members of Congress.
EX-SJSU STAR BROOKE SLUSSER MAKES NEW ALLEGATIONS ABOUT PROBE INTO TRANS TEAMMATE’S ALLEGED PLOT TO HARM HER
In the waning weeks of the 2024 regular season, Slusser and 10 other plaintiffs in her lawsuit against the Mountain West filed a request for preliminary injunction to have Fleming be ruled ineligible to continue playing, and to have the forfeits to SJSU reversed. Federal Judge Kato Crews, appointed by former President Joe Biden, denied the request, keeping Slusser and Fleming on the court together for practice and games.
Slusser and Fleming were ultimately named to the Mountain West all-conference team, as SJSU’s only honorees.
They finished the season with a 14-7 record, aided by six conference forfeits, then advanced to the Mountain West championship game after Boise State forfeited in the divisional round.
But they lost in the title game to Colorado State, three sets to one. The loss ensured that the Spartans wouldn’t take their scandal into the NCAA tournament.
Slusser left campus shortly after that at the insistence of her parents. According to The New York Times, Fleming also resumed classes remotely the following semester from Virginia.
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Slusser said she came close to returning to play NCAA beach volleyball this past spring, and even had discussions with coaches at other schools about recruitment. But she ultimately decided not to, and moved to North Carolina, where she has served as a youth volleyball coach.
The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating the university for potential Title IX violations related to its handling of Fleming.