FIRST ON FOX: A GOP candidate running for governor in Alaska unleashed on the Anchorage School District after the public school system opted out of including Veterans Day on their official calendar, instead referring to the holiday designated to honor the U.S. military as a “student release professional development day.”

Bernadette Wilson, who is running as a Republican to lead the Last Frontier State, slammed the school district for not including Veterans Day on their annual calendar, calling it “absolutely unacceptable.”

She said that indoctrination and woke ideology are still prevalent in the modern education system. 

“There is no doubt a huge effort right now to indoctrinate our kids,” Wilson told Fox News Digital. “We see it with how low our kids are dropping in test scores, and then we see it with the forced, woke ideology that’s coming from our school districts.”

While the school district did not recognize the holiday on their calendar, they did post on social media on Veterans Day, saying, “the Anchorage School District extends our deepest gratitude to the veterans in our schools, families, and community for their courage, sacrifice, and dedication” and “your service and example inspire our students every day.”

HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS TEEN SON’S SCHOOL PROMOTES ‘NON-MONOSEXUAL IDENTITIES’ IN AM ANNOUNCEMENTS, URGES ACTION

Despite the school district’s public post, Wilson was quick to point out that this was the same school system that recently attached disclaimers to pamphlets of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence saying the district “does not endorse” the viewpoints held in America’s founding documents.

The Anchorage School District later told the Anchorage Daily News that the disclaimer was added as a mistake. 

Wilson then slammed the school district over their claim the disclaimer was an accident, telling Fox News Digital they “don’t get the luxury” of mistakenly avoiding allegiance with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

FOX NEWS CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER: SCHOOL GRAPPLES WITH ‘WHITENESS,’ ONLYFANS LECTURE, THANKSGIVING TURMOIL

“The very fact that you have educators who are in this sphere that are saying, well, that was an accident, you don’t get the luxury,” Wilson explained. “It wasn’t an accident. They got caught, and that’s where this so-called apology comes in.”

“The same school district that is taking Veterans Day and renaming it is now trying to say, well, [the disclaimers were] an accident,” Wilson added.

The Anchorage School District did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

As for what Wilson would do should she be elected governor of Alaska, she noted the many options that would “embolden parents” and strengthen schools.

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“We need to be empowering parents, whether it’s with educational savings accounts, we can look at ‘no more lines’ legislation,” Wilson explained. “Any number of different charter schools, home-school co-ops, I mean, there’s a whole host of things out there where parents have options.”

“I think that we need to continue the conversation to embolden parents to be able to utilize those options in front of them,” Wilson added.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

San Francisco firefighters are finally getting the protective gear they were promised after years’ long research revealed certain chemicals used in traditional firefighter uniforms can cause cancer.

“What none of us could have known is that some of the very gear designed to protect us was quietly harming us,” said San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen, who spoke alongside dozens of first responders on Thursday as he announced the city’s $3.6 million plan to provide protective equipment to all frontline firefighters by the end of the year.  “This is a joyous occasion for our city.”

The San Francisco fire department, the tenth largest in the nation, has already distributed the redesigned gear to about 80 of its firefighters and hopes to have all 1,100 of its new uniforms in use within the next three weeks – that’s enough protective equipment to provide one uniform to each of the city’s frontline firefighters.  While city leaders hope to eventually purchase a second set of gear, San Francisco firefighters will, for now, need to wash their new gear before returning to work or continue to rely on their old uniform as a backup.

“Public safety relies on the people who stand between danger and our residents,” Mayor Lurie told the crowd during Thursday’s announcement.  “Firefighter health must always be at the center of our decisions.”

San Francisco’s efforts stem from a first-in-the-nation ban that local lawmakers passed last year, which requires the city to outfit firefighters with new uniforms by July 2026. Over the years, studies have shown the jackets and pants firefighters across America have long relied on to keep safe during emergencies are made with materials proven to cause cancer. 

These so-called “PFAS” materials, often referred to as ‘forever chemicals’ because of their reluctance to breakdown, have long been used to bolster the reliability of firefighter clothing by helping to repel flammable liquids and reduce temperatures, even in extreme heat.  Researchers, however, have found the compounds to be harmful when absorbed through skin. While the precise level of PFAS exposure for firefighters and the associated health risks are still being studied, the compounds have been linked to cancer and other negative health effects impacting cholesterol levels and the immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

PFAS aside, the inherit health risks of firefighting, including prolonged exposure to smoke and ash, led the World Health Organization to deem the occupation a “carcinogen.”  Yet, some fear the very safety uniforms firefighters have come to rely on for protection could also be making them sick. 

In San Francisco, female firefighters have a six times higher rate of breast cancer than the national average, according to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. More than 400 firefighters in San Francisco have been lost to cancer over the past 20 years, according to the city’s fire department.

“The cost of inaction is measured in funerals,” said Stephen Gilman, who represents the local chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). “The reward of action is measured in lives saved.”

While materials laced with PFAS have been shown to pose safety risks, so has fire gear that has been manufactured without it.  Last year, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reported on research from North Carolina State University that found non-PFAS fire equipment to be less breathable and more flammable than traditional uniforms made with PFAS.

“We don’t want to just trade one hazard for another,” Dr. Bryan Ormand told the Investigative Unit back in May 2024.  “We’re introducing a potential hazard for flammability on the fire scene where firefighters didn’t have that before.”

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a city-wide ban of what are known as ‘PFAS’ or ‘forever chemicals,’ but replacement options still aren’t widely available and those that are seem be raising new safety concerns. Senior Investigator Bigad Shaban reports.

Milliken & Company, the textile firm that made the material for San Francisco’s latest uniforms, said the new type of gear “meets or exceeds” all industry standards for “breathability and thermal protection.” 

“We refused to trade one hazard for another,” Marcio Manique, senior vice president and managing director of Milliken’s apparel business, noted in a written statement.

“It meets the strictest performance standards without adding weight or compromising breathability – giving firefighters exactly what they asked for.”

In San Francisco, the new gear underwent a 90-day test trial with 50 of the city’s own firefighters.

“What we did was we actually went through a really comprehensive testing process,” Chief Crispen told the Investigative Unit.  “It went to the lab and received testing and everything came back great, so we feel strongly about this product.”

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