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California valedictorian will no longer give graduation speech over ‘alarming’ discussion

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California valedictorian will no longer give graduation speech over ‘alarming’ discussion


The University of Southern California says Asna Tabassum will no longer speak at the ceremony after the discussion about her selection took on ‘an alarming tenor’

The University of Southern California said its valedictorian will no longer deliver a graduation speech this year, citing “substantial risks relating to security” over social media chatter surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The Los Angeles school revealed that Asna Tabassum, a fourth-year student from Chino Hills, California, was selected as the valedictorian and would give a speech alongside two salutatorians. In a news release Monday, the university said she would no longer speak at the ceremony after the discussion about her selection took on “an alarming tenor.”

The move comes after some students, alumni and others complained to the university about Tabassum’s social media, which includes an Instagram bio that links to a pro-Palestine website.

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“The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” Provost Andrew Guzman said in a statement.

Guzman said the school can not ignore that similar risks led to harassment and violence at other campuses. He added that the school’s Department of Public Safety and campus safety team have consulted to evaluate potential threats for graduation, which typically draws around 65,000 people.

“This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students, but is consistent with the fundamental legal obligation – including the expectations of federal regulators – that universities act to protect students and keep our campus community safe,” he said.

Groups call to reverse USC decision

Tabassum addressed the university’s decision in a statement released through the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles.

“Although this should have been a time of celebration for my family, friends, professors, and classmates, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all,” Tabassum said.

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The council said the school’s decision empowers voices of hate, violates its obligation to project students and “sends a terrible message to not only Muslim students at USC but all students who dare to express support for Palestinian humanity.” It’s also urging the community to demand the school to allow Tassabum to speak at graduation.

Among the calls against Tassabum as a graduation speaker were student group “Trojans For Israel,” who said her selection turned “an inclusive and meaningful milestone into an unwelcoming and intolerant environment for Jewish graduates and their families.”

The 2024 commencement ceremony is scheduled for Friday, May 10.

War in Gaza stokes controversy worldwide

Controversies over the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict have been amplified since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people.

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Over 30,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since that day. The region is also difficult to access, leaving many civilians displaced and facing famine.

The crisis had led to protests for the release of Israeli hostages and to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, with those speaking out in support of Israelis and Palestinians on social media receiving threats.

Contributing: Kinsey Crowley

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Court documents shed light on Indiana shooting that sparked stand-your-ground debate

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Court documents shed light on Indiana shooting that sparked stand-your-ground debate
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The 62-year-old man who shot and killed a house cleaner who mistakenly arrived at his Whitestown home has been charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood has charged Curt Andersen with a Level 2 felony in the Nov. 5 shooting death of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velázquez, a 32-year-old wife and mother of four, after she showed up for a housekeeping job.

The charge, announced Nov. 17, is a step below murder and means investigators believe Andersen “knowingly or intentionally” killed Ríos Pérez “while acting under sudden heat,” according to Indiana law.

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Officials said they believe in and strive to uphold Indiana’s “Stand Your Ground” law that protects a person’s right to self-defense. But in this case they “determined that Curt Andersen’s actions do not fall within the legal protections” offered by that statute.

The facts show that “Curt Andersen fired one shot through a closed locked door from the top of his stairs knowing two individuals were on the other side of the door, fatally striking Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez de Velázquez,” police found.

His defense attorney, prominent Indiana 2nd Amendment lawyer Guy Relford, disagreed with the charge being filed and said on social media he “[looks] forward to proving in court that his actions were fully justified by the ‘castle doctrine’ provision of Indiana’s self-defense law.”

What the probable cause affidavit filed in Whitestown shooting says

Andersen told police that he went to bed around 2-3 a.m. Nov. 5 and woke up a few hours later when he heard commotion at the front door of his home on Maize Lane in Whitestown, according to charging documents.

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He walked from the second-floor loft where he and his wife were sleeping to the top of an indoor stairwell. Looking through his front windows, he saw two people outside who appeared to be trying to open the door.

“Oh no, this is happening and they are going to get in,” Andersen told police he said aloud. “What am I going to do? It’s not going away and I have to do something now.”

Andersen had prepared for what he would do if someone broke into his home by watching videos and trading in his handgun for a Glock 48 9mm handgun this September, he told police. He said he had never fired the new weapon and bought it solely to protect his home.

While he retrieved the gun from a lockbox, the noises outside his door seemed to intensify and “terrified him.” He told officers that 10-15 seconds after he finished loading the gun, he stood at the top of the stairs and pulled the trigger.

He fired one round through the closed front door. He did not announce himself beforehand, he said. Moments later, Andersen and his wife both heard a man crying out and weeping on the front porch, they told police.

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After the shooting his wife called 911, and Whitestown Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to the home at 6:50 a.m. They found Mauricio Velázquez kneeling over the body of his wife next to a large pool of blood on the front porch. A bullet had ripped a hole through the front door and struck the woman in the right side of her head, police say.

Andersen’s wife told police that neither she nor her husband had gone to the front door. She told police she had tried, but her husband stopped her because he worried the people outside might have a gun.

How the cleaners got the house wrong

Ríos Pérez and her husband were scheduled to clean a model home in the same area as Andersen’s property, a representative of Ryan Homes, the builder of the nearby Windswept Farms Subdivision, told police.

Velázquez told investigators that he and his wife, both Guatemalan immigrants whose primary language is Spanish, had received an address from their boss that brought them to Andersen’s home when they entered it into the GPS. They believed it was a model home without any residents. When police entered the address into Google Maps, the directions led to the recently built house just east and behind Andersen’s home.

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Ríos Pérez was trying to unlock the front door with a key they were given when the gunshot rang out. Her husband said they were on the porch between 30 seconds to a minute before the gunshot, while Andersen told police it was “over a minute.”

“Mauricio mentioned that in the past, when the keys wouldn’t work, they would just call his boss and inform him,” police state, “but he didn’t have the opportunity to do so today.”

After initially refusing a police order to exit the home, Andersen and his wife walked out the back door and were detained. Ríos Pérez was pronounced dead at the scene.

When police told Andersen that Ríos Pérez was part of a cleaning crew who went to the wrong address, he “became upset and immediately put his head down on the table.” He told police he “didn’t mean for anything to happen to anybody.”

Hours after the shooting and the interrogation, officers took Andersen home and he reenacted the events.

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Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

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Video: Border Patrol Descends on Charlotte, N.C.

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Video: Border Patrol Descends on Charlotte, N.C.

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Border Patrol Descends on Charlotte, N.C.

Border Patrol agents deployed across Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend, sparking protests and stoking fear in the community.

“Good morning.” “Sir.” “Get the hell out of my yard, you [expletive].” “I got to go.” “We’ll take care of your, this. You go.” “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community. I know this is a stressful moment, but please stay peaceful. And if you see something wrong, record it and report it to local law enforcement.”

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Border Patrol agents deployed across Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend, sparking protests and stoking fear in the community.

By Shawn Paik

November 17, 2025

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FAA to lift all restrictions on commercial flights

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FAA to lift all restrictions on commercial flights

An American Airlines aircraft takes off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Lynne Sladky/AP


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Lynne Sladky/AP

The Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday it is lifting all restrictions on commercial flights that were imposed at 40 major airports during the country’s longest government shutdown.

Airlines can resume their regular flight schedules beginning Monday at 6 a.m. EST, the agency said.

The announcement was made in a joint statement by Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

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Citing safety concerns as staffing shortages grew at air traffic control facilities during the shutdown, the FAA issued an unprecedented order to limit traffic in the skies. It had been in place since Nov. 7, affecting thousands of flights across the country.

Impacted airports included large hubs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

The flight cuts started at 4% and later grew to 6% before the FAA on Friday rolled the restrictions back to 3%, citing continued improvements in air traffic controller staffing since the record 43-day shutdown ended on Nov. 12.

The number of flights canceled this weekend was at its lowest point since the order took effect and was well below the 3% cuts FAA was requiring for Saturday and Sunday. Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that less than 1% of all flights were canceled this weekend. The flight tracking website FlightAware said 149 flights were cut Sunday and 315 were canceled on Saturday.

The FAA statement said an agency safety team recommended the order be rescinded after “detailed reviews of safety trends and the steady decline of staffing-trigger events in air traffic control facilities.”

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The statement said the FAA “is aware of reports of non-compliance by carriers over the course of the emergency order. The agency is reviewing and assessing enforcement options.” It did not elaborate.

Cancellations hit their highest point Nov. 9, when airlines cut more than 2,900 flights because of the FAA order, ongoing controller shortages and severe weather in parts of the country. Conditions began to improve throughout last week as more controllers returned to work amid news that Congress was close to a deal to end the shutdown. That progress also prompted the FAA to pause plans for further rate increases.

The agency had initially aimed for a 10% reduction in flights. Duffy had said worrisome safety data showed the move was necessary to ease pressure on the aviation system and help manage worsening staffing shortages at air traffic control facilities as the shutdown entered its second month and flight disruptions began to pile up.

Air traffic controllers were among the federal employees who had to continue working without pay throughout the shutdown. They missed two paychecks during the impasse.

Duffy hasn’t shared the specific safety data that prompted the cuts, but he cited reports during the shutdown of planes getting too close in the air, more runway incursions and pilot concerns about controllers’ responses.

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Airline leaders have expressed optimism that operations would rebound in time for the Thanksgiving travel period after the FAA lifted its order.

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