A University of Alabama student reportedly suffered multiple skull fractures and other injuries after he fell while on vacation with his family in the Caribbean. 

A GoFundMe page set up for Matthew Polaski and his family reads, “What should have been a joyful time together quickly became every parent’s worst nightmare.” 

“Mike, Steph, Matthew, and Evan were on a family vacation in the Dominican Republic during the holidays while Matthew was home on winter break from his freshman year at the University of Alabama,” the GoFundMe page added.  

“On December 28th, Matthew suffered a severe head injury after a fall. He was rushed to a local hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery to relieve swelling on his brain and save his life. He remains in critical care and was placed in a medically induced coma,” it continued. “Once stabilized, Matthew was transported by international medical flight to Miami, where his treatment continues.”

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The circumstances of the fall were not immediately clear. 

“University staff have been in touch with the family to offer support, and our thoughts are with Matthew and his loved ones during this time,” the University of Alabama told Fox News Digital in a statement.

The GoFundMe describes Polaski as a “hardworking, respectful young man with a deep passion for gymnastics.” 

“He recently began his college journey at Alabama, joined Sigma Pi fraternity, and has his whole future ahead of him. Mike and Steph have always been unwavering in their support — traveling to countless meets, tournaments, and college visits to help Matthew pursue his dreams,” it added.

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An update posted Wednesday on the GoFundMe page described how Matthew Polaski suffered “skull fractures, fractured pelvis and lower back vertebrate fractures.” 

“They reduced sedation and checked motor responses, both arms and legs responded on chest stimulation, another good early sign. Much is still being determined with mostly with the head injury for unknowns,” the update added. “Probably the most emotional update as a parent, Matthew started motion on his own, opened his mouth, and squeezed Steph’s hand in responses. I can’t imagine how many tears Steph had in that moment.” 

The Robbinsville Police Department in New Jersey said Matthew’s father used to be its chief.

The GoFundMe page said Matthew Polaski’s medical bills in the Dominican Republic have reached nearly $75,000. 

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“International medical transport costs alone are estimated between $35,000 and $55,000. Unfortunately, insurance provides very limited coverage for international medical care, and even with insurance, medical expenses in the U.S. add up quickly. This is only the beginning,” it said. 

A professor and author who penned a book rebutting much of the modern teaching of American history in classrooms nationwide told Fox News Digital that today’s curriculum intentionally presents Western culture in a negative light.

Wilfred Reilly is the author of “Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me” and an associate professor of political science at Kentucky State University. He said his book is a response to “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History” series, as well as other left-wing curriculum like the 1619 Project.

“There are all these books that try to do two things really,” Reilly said. “One is [to] present Western culture as probably the worst culture in the history of the world, and the other is kind of take this sort of sneaky approach to that by saying like, ‘and I bet you didn’t know these facts, these hidden facts that they’re not telling you in school.’”

Reilly takes issue with what he sees as an often oversimplified and non-contextualized curriculum regarding colonialism and slavery, among other topics.

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“So, I actually responded to what we’re actually learning by looking through these guys, like the 1619 curriculum, and kind of focusing on what they got wrong from the left,” said Reilly.

In the case of slavery, Reilly noted that modern educators are teaching only a sliver of the whole story.

“What we’re teaching is a focus on kind of the latter part of the Atlantic slave trade, which was one of about 20 global slave trades,” he said. “And the reason that we’re teaching this is because it allows the pedagogue, the professor or the teacher, a chance to segue into the modern oppression of Black people. That’s it. That’s why that’s a focus.”

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Native American history also lacks critical context, according to Reilly.

“I think the current presentation of Native Americans would be that they were peaceful, Gaia-worshiping people who were intentionally exterminated by the Europeans, and that’s fantastically false,” said Reilly.

“The Natives were people who had their own motivations, incentives, and drives, and who often competed very successfully with the Europeans,” he continued. “They were also some of the greatest warriors in history, especially the Plains Indians, on par with the Mongols. The Indian Wars took 400 years. The United States is 2% Native today. I mean, so the depiction is just completely factually false.“

Colonialism, he said, isn’t unique to the United States, either.

“Most countries, from time to time, engaged in international wars and took land,” he said. “This was not simply something that White countries did.”

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Like the Mongol and Persian Empires, according to Reilly, White Europeans conquered land, which was completely normal throughout most of history.

“Anyway, in that world, White colonialism, European colonialism, was just one variant on if you invite us in as a partner or if we win a war with you, we’re going to take some land, and we’re going to impose external governance on that land. No one thought of the imposition of external governance as evil.”

FIRST ON FOX – The FBI disrupted an alleged plot to attack people inside a grocery store and fast food restaurant in North Carolina on New Year’s Eve in support of the Islamic State terrorist group, prosecutors revealed Friday. 

Christian Sturdivant, 18, of Mint Hill — a town outside Charlotte — was arrested and charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina Russ Ferguson said. 

“The FBI and our partners continued working 24/7 over the holidays protecting the American people, and this case out of Charlotte foiling another alleged New Years Eve attacker is the latest example of their tremendous work,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our teams quickly identified the threat and acted decisively — no doubt saving American lives in the process. Thanks to our Joint Terrorism Task Force and regional partners both in New York and Western North Carolina for their efforts.” 

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Prosecutors said the alleged plot was foiled after Sturdivant recently began communicating online with an individual he “believed to be affiliated with ISIS but in reality was a government online covert employee,” who is referred to in a criminal complaint as “OC.” In one of the communications on Dec. 14, Sturdivant allegedly sent the OC an image of two hammers and a knife.

“During his online communications with the OC, Sturdivant said, ‘I will do jihad soon,’ and proclaimed he was ‘a soldier of the state,’ meaning ISIS,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

“In subsequent online communications with the OC, Sturdivant indicated that he planned to attack a specific grocery store in North Carolina and discussed plans to purchase a firearm to use along with the knives during the attack,” it added. 

Ferguson said during a press conference on Friday that the attack was planned to take place in Mint Hill and the suspect worked at a Burger King.

“He talked about where he was planning to do this attack, which was at a grocery store and a fast food restaurant in Mint Hill. Places that we go every day and don’t think that we may be harmed,” Ferguson added.

“He was preparing for jihad, and innocent people were going to die. And we were very, very fortunate they did not,” Ferguson also said, later adding, “I can tell you from his notes he was targeting, Jews, Christians and LGBTQ individuals.”

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Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that, “This successful collaboration between federal and local law enforcement saved American lives from a horrific terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve.”

“The Department of Justice remains vigilant in our pursuit of evil ISIS sympathizers — anyone plotting to commit such depraved attacks will face the full force of the law,” she continued.

Prosecutors said a law enforcement search of Sturdivant’s residence on Dec. 29 uncovered various handwritten documents, one of which was titled “New Years Attack 2026,” and “listed, among other things, items such as a vest, mask, tactical gloves, and two knives allegedly to be used in the attack.”

“It also listed a goal of stabbing as many civilians as possible and [the] total number of victims as 20 to 21. The note also included a section listed as ‘martyrdom Op,’ with a plan to attack police that arrived at the site of the attack so the defendant would die a martyr,” the Attorney’s Office continued. “In addition, law enforcement seized from Sturdivant’s bedroom a blue hammer, a wooden handled hammer, and two butcher knives hidden underneath the defendant’s bed.” 

Sturdivant remains held in federal custody, and if convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.

“The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people, and this case demonstrates our dedication to do everything we can to protect the residents of North Carolina. We worked closely with the Department of Justice, NYPD, Mint Hill Police Department, and our FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force partners to investigate and disrupt this serious threat of a violent attack. We will never stop working to hold people accountable who seek to harm and terrorize our community,” said James C. Barnacle, Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office.

The Attorney’s Office, citing the criminal complaint, said on Dec. 18, the FBI in Charlotte “received information that an individual later identified as Sturdivant was making multiple social media posts in support of ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.” 

“In one social post in early December 2025, Sturdivant posted an image depicting two miniature figurines of Jesus with the on-screen text that included ‘May Allah curse the cross worshipers.’ The post is allegedly consistent with ISIS historic practice calling for the extermination of all non-believers, including Christians and other Muslims who do not agree with the terrorist organization’s extreme ideology,” the Attorney’s Office added. 

Barnacle said at a press conference on Friday that Sturdivant first came to the FBI’s radar in January 2022, when he was still a juvenile.

“He was in contact via social media with an unidentified ISIS member overseas. Sturdivant received direction from this unidentified ISIS member to dress in all black, knock on people’s doors, and attack them with a hammer. In fact, Sturdivant did dress in all black. He left this house with a hammer, and fortunately his family stepped in,” Barnacle continued. “No charges were filed at that time. He was referred for psychological care, and he underwent psychological care.”

“This investigation highlights the very real threat posed by people who self-radicalized online and are inspired by jihadist ideologies espoused by foreign terrorist organizations,” Barnacle also said.

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“We rely on the communities we serve and encourage the public to contact law enforcement when they see or hear something that doesn’t seem right. I also have this personal message – if your child, relative, friend, or neighbor is sliding into a dangerous ideology, you’ll be the first to see it. And together we can stop it. The threats we face are bigger than any one law enforcement or intelligence agency, requiring everyone who hears this message to work together to keep people safe,” he added.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.