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University doctor resigns after unearthed audio exposes him boasting about skirting anti-DEI laws

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University doctor resigns after unearthed audio exposes him boasting about skirting anti-DEI laws

FIRST ON FOX: A university doctor has resigned from his position after Fox News Digital reported on unearthed audio where he touted how he has been avoiding anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) laws in Florida while attacking state and federal officials, including top White House official Stephen Miller.

“Shortly after learning of Dr. Brown’s comments, the university decided to place him on administrative leave to allow for a thorough review of the matter,” a University of South Florida spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “In response, he has chosen to resign effective immediately.”

Dr. Haywood Brown, associate vice president of Academic Affairs at the University of South Florida, explained how he continues to implement DEI policies and how he has avoided state and federal discrimination laws, as well as a recent Supreme Court ruling that colleges cannot consider race in admissions decisions, during a recent presentation last month at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“I really want to discuss the threat of the anti-woke movement to medical education and training and health equity,” he said in a video obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital.

FLORIDA EDUCATORS FILE FEDERAL LAWSUIT CHALLENGING STATE LAW UPENDING DEI POLICIES

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USF faculty member, Dr. Haywood Brown. (Getty/USF)

Haywood explained how his job title changed but revealed that his actual activities did not.

“Even though I eliminated my title, I didn’t eliminate my job,” Haywood, who was previously vice president for Institutional Equity at USF, said. “That didn’t change anything that I was doing already.” 

He explained how at USF a DEI office was rebranded to focus on “cultural enrichment.”

“As long as it works, that’s what we do,” he said.

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“So we changed our name to healthcare access,” Brown said in a presentation. “Who could argue against that? How do you get healthcare excellence? You only get healthcare equity. If you have a workforce that can meet those needs. So my office changed its name, and we’re able to do that to culture and enrichment. And we had it codified by our Faculty Council and a task force. And so the fact that it comes to codify this. And as a result, this is now how we address our issues. And who can argue against culture and environment. You know. But we no longer have a person who’s dedicated to it. We have a council that’s dedicated to it.”

Brown added, “Isn’t that slippery? As long as it works. That’s what we do.”

Brown said in the presentation that people in the health community know best, and sometimes have to ignore the directives from “the big house,” while also explaining that he has “learned how slippery you need to be when you’re talking to legislators.”

In his address, Brown also attacked White House official Stephen Miller, who has been critical of DEI initiatives.

“Well, Stephen Miller has already tried to attack the University of South Florida,” he said of Miller. “He’s a Dookie [Duke University alum]. We don’t claim him. He’s also, and he also claims to be Jewish, but we’ll see.”

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He also said that the Supreme Court decision would not affect Florida as “race conscious” admissions have been banned in Florida since 1999. 

REV. AL SHARPTON THREATENS BOYCOTTS FOR COMPANIES ENDING DEI: ‘YOU TOOK EVERYTHING’

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in 2023 that barred colleges and universities from using government funds to promote, support or maintain DEI programs or campus activities. (DeSantis 2024)

He also described his experiences on Capitol Hill and how “I’ve learned how slippery you need to be when you’re talking to legislators.”

DEI is defined as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification,” according to the State University System of Florida.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law in 2023 that barred colleges and universities from using government funds to promote, support or maintain DEI programs or campus activities.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, DeSantis’ office says it took swift action on the matter. 

“With the details of Mr. Brown’s actions and public commitments to violating state law and academic standards surfacing to our attention, our office has immediately ensured his relationship with our university system has ended,” DeSantis Communications Director Bryan Griffin said. 

“This individual’s employment at the University of South Florida is over today, and he is no longer welcome to work in Florida education.”

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Slide from Haywood Brown’s presentation  (Fox News Digital)

The university previously told Fox News Digital, before Brown resigned, that it was “disappointed” and “troubled” by Brown’s remarks and that the university “follows all state and federal guidance, policies and laws, and any suggestion otherwise by Dr. Brown is untrue.”

Multiple critics of DEI policies reacted to the audio in statements to Fox News Digital. 

“Woke DEI ideology is invasive at our university medical schools. The speech by former USF vice president for Institutional Equity Dr. Haywood Brown at Virginia Commonwealth University Health should raise alarm bells for state legislators, governors, attorneys general and anyone concerned about the state of medicine,” Kristina Rasmussen, executive director of Do No Harm, said. “Do No Harm will continue to work to expose administrators harming our healthcare system and we will not stop until this woke DEI ideology is fully eradicated.” 

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Universities increasingly moved towards implementing DEI at every level at the institution during the Biden administration. (Fox News Digital )

“This is just another example of how health systems across the country are intentionally prioritizing a woke agenda over patient care,” Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research, told Fox News Digital. 

“The Trump Administration has made it crystal clear that woke ideology such as DEI is illegal and must be removed from our institutions. Organizations like VCU think they can pull the wool over Americans’ eyes by inviting speakers like Dr. Haywood Brown, who has been caught openly strategizing on how to break the law and continue DEI practices covertly. Dr. Haywood may be proud of his plan to rename DEI positions and offices, but someone should tell institutions like VCU who continue to allow illegal DEI practices that they are effectively begging the Trump Administration to investigate their discriminatory practices.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Brown for comment but did not receive a response. 

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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GOP Rep Nancy Mace introduces ‘Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act’

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has introduced a bill to authorize the death penalty as a potential punishment for the sexual abuse of children.

“We have zero mercy for child rapists. Those who prey on our most vulnerable deserve the harshest consequence we can deliver,” Mace said in a statement.

The proposal is aptly called the “Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act.”

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announces she will run for South Carolina governor during a press conference at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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“No predator should be allowed to walk away from the most unthinkable crimes against children,” Mace noted. 

“This bill is simple. Rape a child and you don’t get a second chance, you get the death penalty. We will never apologize for protecting America’s children,” Mace added.

The bill would put capital punishment on the table as an option to punish those who sexually abuse children.

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Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., attends the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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“INTRODUCING: The Death Penalty for Child Rapists Act to amend Title 18 to authorize the death penalty for aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a minor and abusive sexual contact offenses against children. It will also amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to authorize the death penalty for the rape of a child,” she said in a post on X.

“We’ve spent months fighting to expose Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful predators. We’ve demanded accountability and pushed for transparency. Now we’re making sure anyone who rapes a child faces the ultimate consequence,” she noted.

Mace has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2021. 

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She is one of the candidates currently running in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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Virginia Democrats talk affordability — and vote to nearly triple their own pay

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The Virginia State Senate and its Democratic majority may have voted to nearly triple their pay if a provision inserted into their final budget survives the House reconciliation process and reaches Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The development comes as Spanberger has centered her campaign on “affordability,” with Richmond Democrats echoing that they are working to improve their constituents’ personal finances.

Virginia’s legislature itself was founded as a part-time, gentleman’s chamber, where lawmakers would return to their day jobs when Richmond wasn’t holding session.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs executive orders. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Proponents of raising the current 1988-established salary of $18,000 for senators and $17,640 for delegates say the structure restricts who can afford to serve as a lawmaker today. Lawmakers also qualify for a $237 per diem, mileage reimbursements, and coverage of office, meeting and other expenses.

Senators’ new salary would be $50,000.

Republicans were quick to criticize the final budget, with the Virginia Senate Minority Caucus saying in a statement that “teachers got a 3% raise, but Democrats give themselves 300%.” The actual increase would be closer to 178%, though one could say the new salary would be 300% of the original. 

“The affordability hoax just gets worse and worse,” the caucus said, adding that the chamber’s majority killed a repeal of the car tax — something GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Sears ran on — while increasing the state budget by $1 billion overall.

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, told WVTF it is the “wrong time” to address lawmaker pay.

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 “It’s supposed to be affordability for working families across Virginia, not members of the General Assembly,” he said.

Virginia’s legislature — the oldest continuous legislative body in the New World — has been making laws since its inception as the House of Burgesses in Colonial Williamsburg, where Spanberger gave the Democratic Party’s State of the Union response.

In her speech, she claimed President Donald Trump is the one “enriching himself, his family and his friends” and said Republicans are the ones “making your life more expensive.”

“I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere: costs are too high. In housing, healthcare, energy, and childcare,” she said.

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“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night.”

“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability — in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America,” Spanberger said Tuesday.

The pay raise could be moot if the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates does not amend its own budget proposal to include the provision.

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The House’s budget includes $137 million for expanded childcare access, a minimum wage increase to $13.75 in 2027 and $15 in 2029, and a $20 million appropriation for state employees’ and home health care workers’ collective bargaining, according to Washington’s ABC affiliate.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the governor, as well as the House and Senate minority leaders, for further comment.

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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Virginia murder suspect in bus stop stabbing had lengthy criminal history, multiple dropped charges

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A Virginia murder suspect accused of fatally stabbing a woman at a bus stop earlier this week has a lengthy criminal history filled with multiple arrests, but was let back onto the streets nearly every time. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is charged with the Monday night killing of Stephanie Minter, 41, of Fredericksburg, at a bus stop shelter, the Fairfax County Police Department said. 

Minter was found by officers with stab wounds to her upper body and pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

Abdul Jalloh, 32, is accused of killing Stephanie Minter, 41, at a Virginia bus stop.  (Fairfax County Police Department; provided)

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Jalloh, 32, who was seen on surveillance cameras exiting the bus with Minter at Richmond Highway and Arlington Drive, was arrested the next day. 

He was arrested at a liquor store after an employee called 911. At the time, officers arrested him for allegedly shoplifting. Investigators linked him to the murder a day later. 

Authorities were still trying to determine a motive for the killing and what led to the deadly stabbing. 

A search of online court records revealed Jalloh has more than a dozen arrests in northern Virginia, including on charges of petty larceny and malicious wounding. 

In most of the cases, prosecutors dropped the charges, FOX D.C. reported. 

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Abdul Jalloh seen on a bus in Virginia.  (Fairfax County Police Department)

Laura Birnbaum, the chief of staff for Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, said Jalloh was known to the district attorney’s office and was “acutely aware of the risk he posed to the community.”

“That is why we convicted the defendant of a 2023 malicious wounding charge, and have since made every effort to hold him accountable each subsequent time that he has come in contact with the criminal justice system, including asking him to be held in custody whenever possible,” Birnbaum said. 

“Unfortunately, the defendant in this case also had a history of selecting victims with no fixed address – some of the most vulnerable members of our community,” she added. “In multiple cases, we were unable to move forward with prosecution because victims could not be located or contacted.”

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Stephanie Minter, 41, was killed on Monday after getting off of a bus in Virginia.  (Provided)

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An obituary for Minter described her as a “happy, jolly” person. 

“A beam of light in dark places,” the obituary states. 

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