West

USC protests break out after anti-Israel valedictorian's commencement speech cancelled over safety concerns

Published

2 years ago

April 23, 2024

USC protests break out after anti-Israel valedictorian's commencement speech cancelled over safety concerns

Days after the University of Southern California (USC) announced it would cancel its valedictorian speech, along with all outside speakers during this year’s commencement ceremonies, protesters gathered on the school’s campus on Sunday to show support for the student.

USC announced it would not be allowing biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum to give her valedictorian speech during the main stage commencement, which draws 65,000 people to the University Park Campus, following a series of social media posts she made about Israel.

“Given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program, university leadership has decided it is best to release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony,” a statement posted on the university’s commencement website read.

Tabassum’s social media, which critics called out as antisemitic, reportedly called for an end to the Jewish state. In a CNN interview, the USC valedictorian defended her position.

USC REMOVES OUTSIDE COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS AFTER CANCELLING VALEDICTORIAN’S SPEECH

As the LA Times Festival of Books was hosted this year at USC, CODEPINK rallied in solidarity with the silenced 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum. (X/@codepink)

“The abolishment of the state of Israel, I‘d like to clarify, is the abolishment of an apartheid system. It inherently is a system that subjugates Palestinians as dehumanized. And it subjugates Palestinian life as not worth the same as other human life,” she said.

USC’s move sparked outrage as an organization called “CODEPINK” organized a demonstration to demand the school allow Tabassum to give her speech. “As the LA Times Festival of Books was hosted this year at USC, we rallied in solidarity with the silenced 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum! Shame on USC! Reinstate Asna’s speech!,” the group wrote in a post on X.

According to the organization’s website, CODEPINK is a feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.

A spokesperson for the group told Fox News Digital that with the cancelation of all the graduation speakers, they are working on their next strategy.

‘Our hopes are that the voice of a young Muslim woman is not censored and silenced. Shame on USC for doing so,” the group said.

COLUMBIA JEWISH STUDENTS ‘NO LONGER FEEL SAFE,’ SAY ANTI-ISRAEL MOB CHASED THEM OFF CAMPUS

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the University of Southern California in support of Class of 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, after her commencement speech was canceled. (X/@codepink)

USC says the valedictorian is not being silenced for her political views on the ongoing unrest in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas but for the safety of Tabassum and others in attendance.

“After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement. While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety,” Andrew Guzman, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, wrote in the statement.

Guzman stated that the decision was necessary in order to maintain the school and its students’ safety.

“To be clear: this decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech. There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period,” Guzman wrote.

USC also told The Los Angeles Times that they had received threats via letters, phone calls, and emails.

Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum, Gabriel Hays, and Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.

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Denver, CO

Denver is revamping its residential health regulations for first time in a decade

Published

14 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Denver is revamping its residential health regulations for first time in a decade

For the first time in a decade, Denver plans to revamp its residential health regulations.

City officials have been meeting with housing advocates and stakeholders for the past year, gathering input about how they might better protect tenants and maintain housing habitability standards amid a housing crisis and increasing corporate consolidation in the rental market.

In a Dec. 19 memo obtained by The Denver Post, Mayor Mike Johnston outlined a series of proposals that would increase transparency for residents, help tenant organizations better negotiate with management and ensure that problematic landlords address violations and fines before their rental licenses are approved.

Nicol Caldwell, public health manager with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, said the agency last updated its regulations 10 years ago — and that was only a minor revision.

“What we’re looking at now is basically a complete overhaul of the ordinance and rules and regulations,” she said in an interview. “It’s gonna be a pretty big effort.”

These changes will come in three different buckets. Internal policies and procedures — such as what inspectors wear and how they fill out forms — can be changed unilaterally by public health leadership. Rules and regulations — such as the minimum temperature a unit must maintain — must be approved by the DDPHE board. Larger changes to Denver’s city code must go before the City Council.

This process began in October 2024 as the city was working on its annual budget. Housing advocates were beating the drum over tenant protections, lamenting a lack of enforcement from city regulators as residents lived in buildings without heat and hot water, or their units were infested with cockroaches and bed bugs.

In response to the feedback, the city agreed to add a public health investigator position as well as an analyst to create a public dashboard for residential health complaints and citations. Johnston also agreed to hold a series of stakeholder meetings with the Denver Metro Tenants Union and other housing organizations to discuss more avenues to protect residents.

“The reality is that there are bad actors out there who are not putting in the work that’s necessary to maintain their properties on a regular basis,” Caldwell told The Post in January 2025.

The mayor’s memo outlined a series of “focus areas” that the public health team will consider during its overhaul, including:

Requiring landlords to provide tenants with more information about violations and ongoing or completed enforcement actions
Setting a maximum indoor temperature requirement to address overheating concerns
Mandating that landlords meet and confer with tenants upon request to discuss property conditions or needed repairs
Improving communication during the city’s proactive inspections
Ensuring landlords pay outstanding fines and correct violations before they can renew their residential rental licenses

Some of the changes have already gone live. Members of the public can now find a comprehensive dashboard on the city’s website that tracks residential health complaints, violations and citations for any address dating back to 2022. Renters can now look up a prospective apartment building before they sign a lease, ensuring they’re moving into a space without years of documented problems.

The department previously increased the amount it can fine violators and started applying liens for unpaid fines.

“The ultimate hope is to make sure everyone in Denver, regardless of what type of dwelling they live in, has equal access to a healthy and safe environment,” Caldwell said.

Eida Altman, director of the Denver Metro Tenants Union, called Johnston’s letter “encouraging.”

“It indicated that the mayor’s office hears and understands many of the key issues we have been advocating around, and it signals that the conversation we held over the past year is the beginning, not the end,” she said.

Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, a Denver city councilwoman, said the discussions are “just the tip of the iceberg.” There’s still a lot more work to be done, she said.

“This is a good example of how our government and community can come together to work toward solutions,” she said in an interview.

Caldwell admitted that recent cases of egregious behavior by landlords shone a light on the need for updated regulations.

The department issued heavy fines and ultimately shuttered a neglected building in Denver’s uptown neighborhood last year that was owned by CBZ Management. The building lacked heat, hot water and working fire alarms.

An investigation by The Post in May found the city has handed out residential rental licenses to building owners with years of documented violations, who continue to neglect their tenants immediately after receiving the all-clear.

The city hopes the updated regulations will be done by the end of 2027 — though Caldwell acknowledged that to be a lofty goal. Public health officials still need to sit down with landlords and apartment associations, as well as other city agencies. The job, she said, is to weigh the pros and cons and find a balance.

“Our job is to ensure everyone has a safe and healthy environment,” Caldwell said. “If that means changing regulations that come with a cost, that would be something we have to do.”

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Seattle, WA

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

Published

20 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Around 200 protest fatal ICE shooting in front of Seattle’s federal building

SEATTLE, Wash. – There were at least 200 protesters that showed up in Seattle Wednesday night in what speakers called an “emergency protest” in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis Wednesday.

“We want justice, we want peace, we want justice, we want peace, we want ICE off our streets, we want ice off our streets…” they chanted.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Seattle protesters outside the Federal Building following a fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis. (FOX 13 Seattle)

After listening to speakers, protesters went on the march and circled the blocks near the Federal Building in Seattle.

Though the protest was organized on short notice, some protesters say they were compelled to come out Wednesday with urgency because they felt what happened in Minneapolis was a bridge too far.

What they’re saying:

“ICE has gone too far. We’ve felt this, we’ve known this for a long time. There have been people protesting,” said Raleigh Watts, protesting the ICE shooting. “We’ve been hearing the news. Today I came out because when I heard, it was my sign that a line has been crossed that I can’t stand anymore. So, I’ve come to say, ‘No ICE, you’ve gone too far’.”

“A lot of people out here are really, really angry, confused and sad, but I think we have what it takes to fight back,” said Sophia Van Beek, protesting the MN ICE shooting. “I’m certain there are going to be actions.”

Sophia says in order to make a difference, protesters need to create an actionable political program.

Seattle protest on fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Members of law enforcement were in the area and helped to block off the streets during the protest and march. There were no clashes during this protest and it wrapped up at around 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

“I am proud of all the hundreds of people who have turned out tonight at the federal building in Seattle. I’m proud of the people who are in Tacoma that are protesting at the ice detention center and in Minneapolis and in cities across the country. This is not okay for ICE to kill somebody,” said Watts.

What’s next:

Some people at Wednesday’s demonstration said they were planning to organize more protests in the coming weeks.

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The Source: Information in this story came from original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.

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San Diego, CA

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano

Published

26 minutes ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Padres roster review: Luis Campusano – San Diego Union-Tribune

LUIS CAMPUSANO

Position(s): Catcher
Bats / Throws: Right / Right
2026 opening day age: 27
Height / Weight: 5-foot-10 / 232 pounds
How acquired: Second round of the draft in 2017 (Cross Creek HS, Ga.)
Contract status: Will make $900,000 after agreeing to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration; Will not be a free agent until 2029.
fWAR in 2025: Minus-0.4
Key 2025 stats: .000 AVG, .222 OBP, .000 SLG, 0 HRs, 0 RBIs, 0 runs, 6 walks, 11 strikeouts, 0 steals (10 games, 27 plate appearances)

STAT TO NOTE

1 — The number of plate appearances for Campusano while in the majors between June 1 and June 13 and the one at-bat resulted in a weak, pinch-hit groundout against a position player (Kike Hernandez) on the mound in mop-up duty. Campusano was recalled to the majors four times in 2025 but did not get a real opportunity get settled after he went 0-for-6 with four walks and a strikeout in three straight starts as a DH in early May. Of course, hitting .227/.281/.361 with eight homers over 299 plate appearances after getting the first real chance to start in 2024 likely informed how the Padres viewed his opportunity in 2025.

Down — Called up a final time on the last day of the regular season, Campusano balked at the idea that the season did not go the way he wanted. “I had a great season,” he said as he and his teammates packed for the NL Wild Card Series in Chicago. And he did … for Triple-A El Paso. He hit more home runs than ever (25), drove in more runs (95) and finished with a career-high 1.036 OPS, tops among all qualifying Triple-A hitters. The disappointment inferred in the question posed to Campusano was that he was not able to impact the big-league team in any way in 2025, which began with the team choosing to bring in a 40-year-old Yuli Gurriel a chance on the opening day roster over a homegrown product. Once billed as the catcher of the future, Campusno did not catch a single game in the majors, nor did he get any hits, although the opportunity to play was sporadic after getting three straight starts as a DH in early May (see stat to note). The Padres even lost back-up catcher Elias Díaz to an oblique injury over the final weekend of the regular season, but Campusano — who played out the string for a Triple-A El Paso team that did not make the playoffs rather than participate in the majors as a September call-up — was added to the postseason roster more as a right-handed bat than a third catcher (Martín Maldonado was also re-added to the team for the playoffs as the defensive back-up to Freddy Fermin). Campusano, of course, was not asked to help the team in either capacity before the Padres were eliminated in three games.

2026 OUTLOOK

Campusano is finally out of minor league options this year, so the Padres will either have to carry him on the roster, trade him or expose him to waivers. He has fans in the organization, but two big-league staffs headed by Bob Melvin and Mike Shildt seemingly lost faith in his ability to catch a game and all the responsibilities that come with that. It remains to be seen what impact the arrival of robo umps will have on how new manager Craig Stammen views Campusano’s ability behind the plate, but he’s been a potent minor league hitter who has yet to truly get on track in the majors beyond the second half of 2023 (.875 OPS, 6 HRs). Campusano has dabbled at first base in recent years in the minors (12 starts total), so perhaps he settles into a role as a second catcher/right-handed DH/first base option to start 2026.

Luis Campusano #15 of the San Diego Padres and Nick Pivetta #27 walk to the dugout during a practice before the Wildcard series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 29, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

ROSTER RANKINGS

22. C Luis Campusano
23. LHP Yuki Matsui
24. INF Sung-Mun Song
25. RHP Matt Waldron
26. OF Bryce Johnson
27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
29. LHP Kyle Hart
30. RHP Jhony Brito
31. INF Will Wagner
32. OF Tirso Ornelas
33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
34. RHP Miguel Mendez
35. RHP Daison Acosta
36. RHP Ty Adcock
37. RHP Alek Jacob
38. INF Mason McCoy

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USC protests break out after anti-Israel valedictorian's commencement speech cancelled over safety concerns

West

USC protests break out after anti-Israel valedictorian's commencement speech cancelled over safety concerns