Northeast
NY Dem Sens. Schumer, Gillibrand avoid Columbia campus as 'Squad' descends to back agitators
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have avoided visiting Columbia University as anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations descend into chaos on the campus.
A pro-Palestinian occupation first developed on the Ivy League campus earlier this month and soon evolved into an encampment, taking over a portion of the outdoor space at the school.
It has persisted since then, being spurred on by the support of high-profile Democratic legislators from New York. Both Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., were seen visiting members of the encampment as it continued to gain national media attention and attract significant backlash.
A spokesperson for Schumer did not respond to multiple inquiries but referred Fox News Digital to the majority leader’s Tuesday remarks on the Senate floor, in which he addressed the protests.
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Prominent Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have avoided visiting Columbia University amid ongoing and escalating anti-semitic demonstrations. (Getty Images)
“Smashing windows with hammers and taking over university buildings is not free speech — it is lawlessness, and those who did it should promptly face the consequences that are not merely a slap on the wrist,” Schumer said, referencing the demonstrators’ recent takeover of a building on Columbia’s campus.
The New York Democrat’s office would not say whether he would follow the lead of House GOP leadership and visit the school, which happens to be in his home state.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., last week led several Republicans on a visit to the university amid the demonstration, remarking at the time, “We have to bring order to these campuses. We cannot allow this to happen around the country. We are better than this.”
On Tuesday, Johnson revealed he called on President Biden to make his own visit to the school as protests escalate.
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Gillibrand, Schumer’s New York counterpart who has been outspoken in her support for Israel, also did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry regarding any planned visits to Columbia or whether she supported “Squad Democrats” cheering on the protesters.
“I am appalled at the virulent antisemitism being displayed on Columbia University’s campus,” Gillibrand said in a statement last week. “Threats of violence against Jewish students and the Jewish community are horrible, despicable and wholly unacceptable. Using the rhetoric of terrorists has no place in New York, where we pride ourselves on tolerance and the right of every group to practice their religion in peace.”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz said Jewish students are not being protected at Columbia University and compared anti-Israel protesters to ‘White Aryan’ protesters at Charlottesville. (Getty Images)
House Democrats, including several representing New York, have also made their concerns about the protests known. In a letter signed by 21 lawmakers and led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., the Democrats urged the university’s Board of Trustees to dismantle “the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus,” telling them “time for negotiation is over.”
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Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer were among those to denounce antisemitism on Columbia’s campus, joining their Republican colleagues. (Getty Images)
Another New York Democrat, Rep. Ritchie Torres, a signatory of the letter, hasn’t visited the campus since the encampment began, but told Fox News Digital, “I have gone to Columbia University on several occasions — whether it is meeting with Jewish Students at Columbia Law School or joining students for Shabbat at the Columbia Chabad. I will continue to do so in the future.”
Rep. Thomas Suozzi, D-N.Y., who recently took over the seat of expelled former Rep. George Santos, was also a signatory of the letter. He shared a series of posts to X last week, detailing his visit to Columbia during the protests.
“Yesterday I went to Columbia University to show my support for the Jewish students who have faced harassment, intimidation and vicious antisemitic attacks on campus,” he said in one post.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., denounced the visit of “a Member of Congress” to the encampment, “who accused some Jewish students of being, ‘pro-genocide.’” He was referencing Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who said on video last week, “I think it is really unfortunate that people don’t care about the fact that all Jewish kids should be kept safe, and that we should not have to tolerate antisemitism or bigotry for all Jewish students, whether they’re pro-genocide or anti-genocide.”
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Connecticut is taking a step to make sure workers are paid fairly.
On June 30, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-17, which enables the State Comptroller to issue a stop work order and withhold state funds to contractors that are not properly paying their employees.
The bill was signed on the construction site for Greeneville Elementary School, which is one of the four new elementary schools being built in Norwich. The State of Connecticut is reimbursing the city for 80% of the project, and the law applies to “any place where the state is making a payment,” Lamont said.
Wage theft can take many forms
It matters because wage theft can take many forms, from money taken from base pay, to money not given in benefits, Kimberly Glassman, director of compliance and government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, said.
Local 478 also has a presence in the Norwich school building project, with 10 to 20 union members working at each site daily, Glassman said.
What do state leaders think of the Greeneville site’s progress?
Lamont is impressed with how quickly the work is going.
“They told me that the walls went up in the last two weeks, so a lot of progress is happening,” he said.
During the bill signing, Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh touted the importance of using union labor and the value of project labor agreements.
“We are on time and on budget,” he said.
After the bill signing, Singh said its possible the Greeneville School building could be complete as soon as the first quarter of 2027, he said.
“They’re not wasting any time,” Singh said.
State Rep. Derrel Wilson attended the original Greeneville School as a kid, and still lives in Greeneville. He was credited as being one of the driving forces for getting the workers bill passed.
“It’s exciting seeing this revitalization for our neighborhood, seeing active construction and watching individuals rebuild our community,” Wilson said.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts dad on ‘adventure of a lifetime’ left fighting for his life in Fiji after noticing bug bite
A trip of a lifetime quickly turned into an unimaginable nightmare for a Massachusetts father who is fighting for his life halfway across the world after being bitten by a bug.
Scott and Claire Winslow always dreamt of sailing across the South Pacific with their family — and in April, they were finally able to turn their dream into a reality when they embarked on an “adventure of a lifetime” to enjoy their retirement, according to an online fundraiser.
But just weeks into the three-month sailing voyage, Scott noticed what appeared to be a bug bite and his health rapidly deteriorated, WBZ-TV reported.
His condition worsened for nearly two weeks while at sea alongside his nephew, and by the time their ship made it to land in Fiji, he was so weak that he was unable to walk.
The father-of-three was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors discovered the severity of his infection.
“By the time they got to a doctor, he was so sick,” Scott’s daughter Lisa Babbin told the outlet.
Scott was then transferred from a private hospital to the Intensive Care Unit at Lautoka Hospital on Vitu Levu, the main island of Fiji, where his wife Claire was heartbreakingly told to “prepare for the worst.”
The retiree remains critically ill on a ventilator, battling septic shock and organ failure.
The infection has spread to Scott’s lungs and gallbladder and his kidneys are functioning at “a fraction of their normal capacity,” the GoFundMe page says.
It’s still unclear how the infection started — whether by the insect bite, an infected wound or something else, according to the dad’s family.
While doctors are doing everything they can, Scott’s critical condition requires greater care than the local hospital can manage, according to his daughter.
“Every hour counts for my father,” Babbin said.
The family has secured a bed for the critically ill father at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Mass., but doesn’t know if they will be able to afford to fly him back to the United States for better care.
“All we need is a medflight, that’s the only thing we need to get him home,” Babbin said. “Medflights are not cheap.”
A special medical flight from Fiji to Boston — which is over 8,000 miles in distance — could set the family back a staggering $250,000, according to the outlet.
In addition to the fundraiser, the Winslow family has applied for a US government loan to help with the astronomical costs of flying Scott home as well as the foreign medical bills that are adding up without medical insurance coverage.
Scott is a “hardworking, loyal, generous” man, “always willing to lend a hand,” relatives wrote on the fundraising page.
“He has spent a lifetime helping others, supporting his family, and being there whenever someone needed him.”
While Scott’s family “remain hopeful and continue to pray” for his recovery, “they are also facing the overwhelming financial burden that comes with a catastrophic medical emergency overseas,” the fundraiser says.
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