Southwest
Texas college students blast school for complying with law to remove DEI: ‘Political conformity’
University of Texas at Austin (UT) students blasted their school for complying with state law to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices on campuses.
UT laid off dozens of employees who worked in their DEI programs to comply with a new state law, the university announced last week.
The students wanted UT to defy state law in order to abide by the school’s “values” in protecting “marginalized groups.”
‘EXTREMIST TEXAN GOVERNMENT’
Maddox Réal, class of 2026, told Fox News Digital, “UT Austin is now compliant with the extremist Texan government.”
She went on to say it “demonstrates that if you look to promote an equitable academic environment for all students, you are not welcome here.”
HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR URGES UNIVERSITY TO ‘ABANDON’ DEI STATEMENTS: ‘IDEOLOGICAL PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE’
University of Texas Austin (UT) sophomore Erin McCormick told Fox News Digital called the DEI closures “heartbreaking.” (Fox News Digital)
‘WRONGFUL TERMINATION’
Réal added that the student population was appalled by the closure of the offices and called it “wrongful termination.”
“State efforts to undermine initiatives that seek to uplift and protect marginalized groups have no place on our campus. I have found myself extremely disappointed in UT Austin’s response to these authoritarian practices, and its commitment to be SB 17 compliant. As one of the most influential and powerful universities in this nation, one would expect a fight, a struggle, on behalf of so many vulnerable students,” she said.
“However, the school administration is continuously failing the very students it claims to protect,” she added.
“To remove job security from people who are both inward-facing and outward-facing ambassadors of equity is not congruent with the core values that UT claims to embody,” Erin McCormick, class of 2026, told Fox News Digital. “What’s happening right now on our campus is heartbreaking. The closure of the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE) is creating a ripple effect across campus. State representatives and legislation are not just responsible but also accountable for the erasure of these critical roles and departments on our campus.”
“The university’s actions have shown what they truly prioritize. They prioritize political conformity over the inclusion and support of their own students. The firing of employees has shown that they do not hold equity to the standard that they claim to,” Iala Darwish, class of 2025, told Fox News Digital.
‘VERY CONFUSED AND DISAPPOINTED’
Vashed Thompson, class of 2025, told Fox News Digital that those types of institutions help “reassure” students of color “that we’re going to make it.”
“I was very confused and disappointed to hear about the closure of DDCE as well as the firing of staff. Many of the staff members have been the only ones to show interest in both our professional lives, but also personal,” Thompson said.
Thompson went on to say, “They are the ones who go out of their way to find us resources and help in any way they can. To see that the university will just disregard them after all their hard work is crazy to me and feels as if the university does not see its minority students and faculty as valuable.”
‘POLITICAL CONFORMITY’
“The university’s actions have shown what they truly prioritize. They prioritize political conformity over the inclusion and support of their own students. The firing of employees has shown that they do not hold equity to the standard that they claim to,” Iala Darwish, class of 25, told Fox News Digital.
“While Abbott may say that these diversity practices are ‘excluding,’ it is the complete opposite. Places like the MEC provide a home for students that don’t have a home anywhere else on campus.”
TEXAS SCHOOLS WARNED OF FINANCIAL PENALTIES IF THEY SKIRT DEI BAN: ‘STRONGEST BILL IN THE NATION’
University of Texas at Austin students blasted their school for complying with state law to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion offices on campuses.
UT President Jay Hartzell announced on April 2 the school’s DCCE was being dissolved and its programs and funding transferred to other divisions.
The announcement came as the university works to comply with a new Texas law that came into effect Jan. 1, which effectively dissolved DEI institutions at public colleges and universities throughout the state.
The Austin American-Statesman reported that a person with knowledge about the situation said 60 positions that were related to DEI work were eliminated at UT-Austin.
TEXAS UNIVERSITY JOINS GROWING LIST OF COLLEGES REINSTATING STANDARDIZED TESTING
The law mandates that all governing boards of public colleges and universities ensure that their institutions prohibit the establishment and maintenance of a DEI office and the issue of “DEI Statements.” In addition, hiring practices and trainings are no longer able to use DEI statements.
“I recognize that strong feelings have surrounded SB 17 from the beginning and will shape many Longhorns’ perceptions of these measures,” Hartzell wrote in reference to the new law. “It is also important that this continues to be a welcoming, supportive community for all.”
In the message, Hartzell said student-facing jobs would remain throughout the rest of the semester and that laid-off employees could apply for other positions at the university.
The layoffs came after state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R., outlined expectations of how universities will comply with the state law. He wrote a letter expressing the serious nature of the bill, saying that the measure “mandates a fundamental shift in the operation of our higher education institutions.” He added that universities are expected to facilitate a “merit-based environment.”
Creighton, like other critics of DEI programs at the university level, argued they were simply discrimination by another name in explaining his opposition; DEI supporters argue they address increasingly diverse student populations and are a form of correction against systemic inequities.
Per a letter penned by Sen. Brandon Creighton from the Senate Committee on Education is expected to hold a hearing in May on how universities are complying with SB 17. (YouTube Screenshot)
Cultural graduations were another casualty of the effect of the law, prompting outrage from some students.
When the university’s Multicultural Engagement Center (MEC) was closed in compliance with the state’s law, Black Graduation, Latinx Graduation, and GraduAsian ceremonies were impacted as a result.
McCormick previously told Fox News Digital of the cancelation of Black graduations, “Everyone’s pretty irritated or pretty annoyed because UT Austin has a pretty big liberal population as well–like liberal student population.”
“It’s kind of bummy that they closed it because I feel like Black graduation – it really celebrates the achievement. Just because given the history of Texas and UT alone, Latinos are not always welcome here, not wanted to graduate from here,” McCormick said.
She added, “So having Black graduation is kind of a celebration of the history and of everything that the Black community in Austin, especially UT Austin, has gone through. And then also, UT, while being diverse, is not very diverse in the Black student population. So, Black graduation is a way for all of us to kind of find our own little niche community.”
The University of Florida last month eliminated all DEI positions and administrative appointments in compliance with a similar law in the state.
Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report.
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Southwest
5th Circuit clears Texas to enforce drag show law in front of minors, Paxton claims ‘major win’
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An appellate court found on Wednesday that Texas can enforce a law regulating drag shows in public places and in the presence of minors, scrapping a lower court order that had enjoined the state from doing so.
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reaffirmed its November ruling, saying Texas can enforce the 2023 law regulating “sexually oriented performances.” The two-judge panel said only one plaintiff in the case had standing and sent the lawsuit back to the lower court to reevaluate the plaintiff’s First Amendment claim.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is a candidate for Senate, framed the decision as a “major win” in a statement on social media.
“I successfully defended a law protecting children from being exposed to sexually illicit content at erotic drag shows,” Paxton said. “I will always work to shield our kids from exposure to erotic and inappropriate sexually oriented performances.”
A drag queen performs a routine set to the song “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine at the Texas State Capitol during the “No Kings” national rally in Austin, Texas on June 14, 2025, on the same day as President Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C. (SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)
The lawsuit, brought by numerous self-described LGBTQ organizations, centered on a state Senate bill that defined sexually oriented performances as visual performances that feature a nude person or sexual conduct and “[appeal] to the prurient interest in sex.” Under the law, a person could be prosecuted for causing a performance to occur in the presence of minors.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt, an appointee of President Donald Trump, authored the opinion and was joined by Judge Leslie Southwick, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.
The judges found that most of the plaintiffs, including a nonprofit called Woodlands Pride, did not have standing to bring First and Fourteenth Amendment challenges to the law because the groups’ performances were benign and therefore not relevant to the Texas law.
The judges said, however, that a group called 360 Queen Entertainment did engage in explicit enough performances, sometimes in the presence of minors, and therefore had standing.
APPEALS COURT SAYS TEXAS CAN ENFORCE DRAG SHOW BAN, SUGGESTS NOT ALL DRAG SHOWS VIOLATE STATE LAW
The Texas State Capitol in Austin (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Based on the evidence introduced at trial, 360 Queen’s performances arguably include proscribed conduct,” Engelhardt wrote. “The owner described one performance where a drag queen, who was wearing a ‘very revealing’ breastplate, pulsed the breastplate in front of people and put the breastplate in people’s faces.”
Sometimes those performances were visible to children, Engelhardt noted.
The panel ordered the district court to evaluate whether 360 Queen was right to claim the Texas law violated its free speech rights under the First Amendment.
In a statement, Brian Klosterboer of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said the 5th Circuit effectively deemed some drag performances “family-friendly” but that the law, which will go into effect in March, still had perceived constitutional problems.
“The law’s vague and sweeping provisions still create a harmful chilling effect for drag artists and those who support them, while also threatening many types of performing arts cherished here in Texas, from theater to ballet to professional wrestling,” Klosterboer said.
An appellate court found on Wednesday that Texas can enforce a law regulating drag shows in public places and in the presence of minors, scrapping a lower court order that had enjoined the state from doing so. (Getty Images)
In 2023, Judge David Hittner, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, found Texas’ law was unconstitutional. It is “not unreasonable” to think it could affect activities like live theater or dancing, Hittner wrote.
Last November, the 5th Circuit vacated that order. On Wednesday, it reaffirmed that decision and denied the plaintiffs’ request to rehear their appeal.
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TUCSON, Ariz. — A 34-year-old man was arrested late Thursday night outside the Arizona home where Nancy Guthrie went missing earlier this month, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department told Fox News Digital.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies arrested 34-year-old Antonio De Jesus Pena-Campos in front of Guthrie’s home on misdemeanor DUI charges, the department said.
The arrest is not related to the Guthrie investigation, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department added.
Pima County sheriff’s deputies stopped a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV near Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. A man was later taken into custody after what appeared to be field sobriety testing. (Fox News)
Footage shows Pima County sheriff’s deputies shining a flashlight into the driver’s side of what appeared to be a blue Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV parked near the home where Guthrie was last seen Feb. 1.
Moments later, deputies spoke with Pena-Campos near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside as a deputy shined a flashlight toward the man’s face.
In another sequence, Pena-Campos walks in a straight line in what appears to be part of a field sobriety test. In subsequent footage, he is placed in the back of a sheriff’s pickup truck.
The man was detained as investigators continue searching for Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, who was reported missing Feb. 1 after authorities said she was taken during a home invasion. Investigators have said her pacemaker last synced with her iPhone around 2:30 a.m. that morning.
Her family has since offered a $1 million reward for information leading to her safe return as authorities continue to pursue leads.
NANCY GUTHRIE’S NEIGHBOR SAW SUSPICIOUS MAN WALKING NEARBY 2 WEEKS BEFORE SUSPECTED ABDUCTION
A deputy shines a flashlight toward a man’s face during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. The man was later taken into custody. (Fox News)
The development comes after a Catalina Foothills resident’s street-facing Ring camera captured 12 vehicles passing by between midnight and 6 a.m. on Feb. 1, the morning Guthrie is believed to have been abducted.
Some of the activity occurred around the 2:30 a.m. mark, roughly when authorities said the 84-year-old’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone.
A man walks in a straight line under the direction of deputies during what appears to be field sobriety testing outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
Homeowners Elias and Danielle Stratigouleas told Fox News Digital that police had not canvassed their neighborhood in the 25 days since Guthrie was allegedly taken from her bed in what authorities have described as a home invasion kidnapping.
The couple said they alerted both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the footage. It was not immediately clear whether the video would prove useful to investigators or whether any of the vehicles had traveled on Guthrie’s street.
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Pima County sheriff’s deputies speak with a man near a white canopy tent set up along the roadside outside Nancy Guthrie’s Tucson home late Thursday night. (Fox News)
The Stratigouleas home sits on a back road that leads out of Guthrie’s neighborhood and avoids major intersections. The property is approximately 2½ miles — or about a seven-minute drive — from the crime scene, according to Google Maps.
One of the videos was recorded at approximately 2:36 a.m., roughly eight minutes after Guthrie’s pacemaker last synced with her iPhone, based on the sheriff’s timeline.
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz and Olivia Palombo contributed to this report.
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The Texas Senate primary for Republicans is a bloodbath, and President Donald Trump isn’t wading in.
Trump, who appeared in Corpus Christi, Texas, to tout his energy agenda Friday, had the opportunity to stake his claim in the contentious race and endorse a candidate.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is the longtime incumbent fending off seven challengers.
But the real race is between Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas.
President Donald Trump stops to speak to the media as he departs from Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House Feb. 27, 2026, in Washington, D.C. ( Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
All three were in attendance at Trump’s rally, reminiscent of the made-for-TV spectacles that dominated his successful 2024 election campaign. Yet Trump didn’t endorse any of them as Election Day in the primary fast approaches.
Trump acknowledged all three — he paired Cornyn and Paxton and mentioned Hunt later in his remarks. He noted that they were all engaged in an “interesting election.”
“They’re in a little race together,” Trump said of Cornyn and Paxton. “You know that, right? A little bit of a race. It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people, too.”
HUNT FILES POLICE REPORT AGAINST CORNYN CAMPAIGN STAFFER OVER ALLEGED FAMILY ‘DOXXING’ INCIDENT
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and John Cornyn, R-Texas (Getty Images)
Cornyn is running for a fifth term in the Senate and fighting for his political life in a nasty primary election that Trump has time and again refused to weigh in on. He’s got the full weight of Senate Republican leadership behind him, too.
Paxton, who has faced headwinds with scandals over the years, has strongly aligned himself with the president and built a coalition of conservative backers in the House, including Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who brought him to Trump’s State of the Union earlier this week.
And while the trio duke it out, money is being burned at a record pace. So far, a whopping $110 million has been spent on the Senate primaries, and $88 million of that has been dumped into the GOP contest, according to data from AdImpact.
CORNYN WARNS PAXTON WOULD BE ‘KISS OF DEATH’ FOR GOP AS BLOODY PRIMARY RACE RAMPS UP
Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, walks up the House steps for a vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. Capitol April 10, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Given the crowded field, it’s likely the race will head to a runoff, which will turn into a brutal sprint until late May. Paxton believes he could come out on top with at least 50% of the vote come March 3, while Cornyn is eying the long game.
The coveted Trump endorsement could put either over the top in ruby red Texas. And he may be close to picking his favorite.
Ahead of the event, Trump was asked if he had decided who to endorse.
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“Pretty much,” he told reporters.
But when asked if he would say who, he said, “No.”
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