Connect with us

Northeast

Columbia president calls last 2 weeks ‘among the most difficult’ in school's history amid anti-Israel protests

Published

on

Columbia president calls last 2 weeks ‘among the most difficult’ in school's history amid anti-Israel protests

Columbia University’s embattled President Minouche Shafik on Friday called the last two weeks “among the most difficult in Columbia’s history,” as anti-Israel protests continue to rage on the New York City campus. 

Shafik, speaking publicly for the first time about the long-running demonstrations that have taken over the campus since police cleared an occupied campus building in a video message posted to the university’s social media, said the “turmoil, tension, division and disruption have impacted the entire community.”

She noted that the students have “paid an especially high price” by losing out on the final days of the year in classrooms and residence halls — “For those of you who are seniors, you’re finishing college the same way you started: online.”

She continued, “No matter where you stand on any issue, Columbia should be a community that feels welcoming and safe for everyone.” 

REP ELISE STEFANIK URGES TRUSTEES TO REMOVE COLUMBIA’S SHAFIK AFTER MOB SEIZES BUILDING

Advertisement

Columbia University president Minouche Shafik spoke about the “difficult” last two weeks in a video speech on Thursday.  (Fox News Digital)

Shafik’s speech came days after police raided the university’s Hamilton Hall administration building after it was illegally occupied by protesters. 

“We tried very hard to resolve the issue of the encampment through dialogue,” she said. “Many of the people who gathered there were largely peaceful and cared deeply about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” 

The president said that the university made a “sincere and good offer, but it was not accepted,” along with academic leaders talking with the protesters for eight days and nights. 

UNC FRATERNITY BROTHERS DEFEND REINSTATED AMERICAN FLAG FROM CAMPUS MOB WHO REPLACED WITH PALESTINIAN FLAG

Advertisement

She said that a group of protesters “crossed a new line” with the occupation of Hamilton Hall last that was a “violent act that put our students at risk as well as putting the protesters at risk.”

Seeing the damage the rioters caused as she walked through the building that holds classics, Germanic and Slavic language classes, was “distressing,” she said. 

“But, despite all that has happened, I have confidence. During the listening sessions I held with many students in recent months, I’ve been heartened by your intelligence, thoughtfulness and kindness.” 

She said she was most impressed by those were able to acknowledge those opposing them had “some valid points. We need more of that at Columbia,” noting that “parallel realities and parallel conversations have walled us off from other perspectives.” 

Advertisement

An anti-Israel protester holds a Palestinian flag outside the entrance to Hamilton Hall on the campus of Columbia University, April 30, in New York City.  (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer/Pool)

Shafik was born in Egypt and grew up in a Muslim family, noting in her address Friday that she had “many Jewish and Christian friends” growing up. “I spent two decades working with international organizations with people from every nationality and religion in the world, where if you can’t bridge divides and see the other side’s point of view, you can’t get anything done.” 

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, antisemitism and Islamophobia have all existed for a long time,” she noted, adding that Columbia “cannot solve them single-handedly.” 

But she said Columbia could be an example to the world of civil discourse and having “empathy and compassion for one another.” 

Advertisement

“We have a lot to do, but I am committed to working at it every day and with each of you to rebuild community on our campus,” she closed. 

Shafik has faced calls to resign and on Thursday, a Columbia faculty group called for a vote of no confidence against Shafik.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

Read the full article from Here

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Northeast

From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

Published

on

From palace to prison: Venezuelan strongman Maduro locked in troubled Brooklyn jail

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are spending their days for the foreseeable future at a notorious jail in Brooklyn known for housing high-profile defendants awaiting trial in New York City.

The Metropolitan Detention Center, known as MDC Brooklyn, is a sprawling, industrial-style facility that has faced a series of scandals in recent years involving assaults and poor prison conditions. Maduro, the Venezuelan leader arrested in his home in Caracas by the U.S. military over the weekend, is now being held at the jail on narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation and weapons charges.

MDC Brooklyn currently holds more than 1,300 inmates, according to the Bureau of Prisons. A BOP representative confirmed to Fox News Digital that Maduro and his wife were among that figure.

MADURO’S WIFE SUFFERED ‘SIGNIFICANT INJURIES’ IN DRAMATIC CAPTURE, ATTORNEY ALLEGES

Advertisement

Federal officers stand guard outside the Department of Justice next to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after the U.S. captured Nicolás Maduro and his wife, in New York City, Jan. 3, 2026. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

MDC Brooklyn inmates include little-known defendants and prominent ones, and they face a range of mild to serious charges. 

Maduro is likely to be held in what is known as the “VIP section” of the jail, according to Renato Stabile. Stabile is a New York-based criminal defense lawyer who represented former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was also held in MDC Brooklyn before he was freed in December as a result of Trump granting him a controversial pardon.

Stabile told Fox News Digital the VIP section is part of the east side of the jail, where high-profile figures like Hernández, rap artist Sean “Diddy” Combs and convicted crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried were once held. Others at MDC Brooklyn include Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old accused of murdering a top health insurance CEO. Jeffrey Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, was also held there.

People celebrate in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn on Jan. 3, 2026, after the capture of Nicolás Maduro. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

Advertisement

Those on the east side will be “hanging out together every day and watching TV together and playing pingpong together and doing whatever they do on that side,” Stabile said. He said the west side, where general population inmates are held, might be more crowded but that treatment of them was likely otherwise the same.

One reason inmates are segregated based on their notoriety could be that they are more vulnerable to violence or extortion, he said.

MDC Brooklyn is a male and female jail, but the inmates are not intermixed by sex, so Maduro and his wife might not be able to interact much there, except during joint meetings with their lawyers.

AFTER MADURO, VENEZUELA POWER VACUUM EXPOSES BRUTAL INSIDERS AND ENFORCERS

NYPD officers stand guard on a blocked road outside the MDC Brooklyn on Jan. 5, 2026, in New York City. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Advertisement

Maduro is being represented by New York-based attorney Barry Pollack, who previously represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty in court on Monday and now await their next court appearance, slated for March 17.

MDC Brooklyn has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its troubles, including a week-long power outage in the winter of 2019 that left inmates in freezing conditions, multiple inmate murders and assaults in 2024, and several allegations of inhumane conditions, including inadequate medical staffing and unsanitary food.

Stabile said, in his view, the facility is “run fairly efficiently.”

“But I can tell you that the east side is run a lot more efficiently than the west side, just because there are less people,” he said, noting that lawyers can see their clients with less hassle.

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD

Published

on

Boston City Hall intruder who stole from employees nabbed by police, after shoplifting arrest: BPD


Boston Police said they have nabbed the masked suspect who entered private office suites in City Hall during work hours and stole wallets stuffed with cash and credit cards from multiple employees.

The Boston Police Department identified Darrin O’Neil, 60, of Lowell as the suspect involved in the City Hall thefts, which occurred last month, on Dec. 1.

O’Neil was already being held after a prior shoplifting arrest at DICK’s House of Sport on Boylston Street when he was identified as the alleged perpetrator of the City Hall crime, following what the cops described as an “extensive investigation,” Boston Police said on Wednesday.

Three City Hall employees reported that their wallets, which contained cash, credit cards, health savings account cards, and personal ID were stolen from their offices, per Boston Police reports.

Advertisement

One woman who had her wallet snatched out of her purse with two credit cards, her City Hall ID, Massachusetts driver’s license, insurance and library cards, and $100 in cash told police two of her coworkers saw an unknown man “in the area who was wearing a brown beanie, dark jacket, sweatpants, and a blue face mask.”

Two other employees told police that not only were cash and credit cards stolen from their offices, but the thief used the cards to rack up hundreds of dollars in unauthorized purchases — totaling $1,500 at Macy’s and Walgreens.

The incident led to calls from two city councilors, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, for the city to tighten up security protocols in light of the intrusion and theft, which occurred during work hours and was described by both as a “security breach.”

Mayor Michelle Wu’s office said a day later that steps have already been taken to increase security after the incident, which involved unauthorized access to “several” office suites that are restricted to authorized personnel only.

Municipal Protective Services, which provides security for city buildings, has increased internal patrols throughout City Hall as a result of the incident, the mayor’s office said.

Advertisement

O’Neil was arrested on shoplifting charges on Dec. 27 at 760 Boylston St., after he was seen inside DICK’s House of Sport concealing merchandise, police said.

Police said they had responded to the store at 11:39 a.m. for a report of a theft in progress.

While police approached, O’Neil was seen exiting the sporting goods store. The cops “were able to quickly stop the suspect and could see clothing with tags affixed to them inside of a bag,” police said.

During a search, about $408 of stolen merchandise was recovered, police said.

For the shoplifting incident, O’Neil was arrested and charged with larceny under $1,200 and being a common and notorious thief, police said.

Advertisement

After further investigation, police said they determined that O’Neil had seven active warrants for his arrest for charges of four counts of larceny from a building, three counts of receiving stolen property under $1,200, two counts of larceny of a credit card, shoplifting by asportation, credit card fraud under $1,200, and shoplifting by concealing merchandise.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Pittsburg, PA

2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme

Published

on

2 Pittsburgh business owners charged in EBT fraud scheme


Two Pittsburgh business owners have been charged after an investigation by Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office found that they purchased electronic benefit transfer cards at a discounted rate and used them to purchase food for their businesses. KDKA-TV’s Chris Hoffman has more.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending