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USA Today quietly deleting Sen. John Kennedy's op-ed is latest of bizarre editorial moves by newspaper giant
USA Today’s recent debacle over its deleted op-ed penned by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is the latest in a series of bizarre editorial decisions made by the newspaper giant.
Fox News Digital broke the story last week about how several USA Today Network’s Louisiana-based newspapers quietly removed Kennedy’s opinion piece on his opposition towards trans athletes competing in women’s sports from their websites without telling the lawmaker and replacing it with an error message.
Its parent company Gannett told Fox News Digital the op-ed “did not meet our ethical guidelines, which state we will treat people with respect” and stood by its decision to pull the op-ed despite the fact that it did not express any objections to the senator’s piece before publishing. Kennedy accused Gannett of trying to “silence the position it disagrees with.”
After Fox News Digital reached out seeking comment, Gannett added a disclaimer to the once-broken links noting the content “has been removed because it did not meet our editorial standards.”
But this isn’t the first time that the editorial staff at USA Today has raised eyebrows.
USA TODAY NEWSPAPERS QUIETLY DELETE GOP SENATOR’S OP-ED ON TRANS ATHLETES WITHOUT TELLING HIM
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., accused USA Today of trying to “silence” him after the newspaper giant quietly removed his op-ed about trans athletes without telling him. (REUTERS/Larry Downing)
In March 2021, USA Today published an op-ed from Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams, who appeared to support boycotts against her state during the uproar at the time over a GOP-backed election reform law ahead of her second bid for governor.
“The impassioned response to the racist, classist bill that is now the law of Georgia is to boycott in order to achieve change,” Abrams originally wrote. “Events hosted by major league baseball, world class soccer, college sports and dozens of Hollywood films hang in the balance. At the same time, activists urge Georgians to swear off of hometown products to express our outrage. Until we hear clear, unequivocal statements that show Georgia-based companies get what’s at stake, I can’t argue with an individual’s choice to opt for their competition.”
She continued, “However, one lesson of boycotts is that the pain of deprivation must be shared to be sustainable. Otherwise, those least resilient bear the brunt of these actions; and in the aftermath, they struggle to access the victory. And boycotts are complicated affairs that require a long-term commitment to action. I have no doubt that voters of color, particularly Black voters, are willing to endure the hardships of boycotts. But I don’t think that’s necessary — yet… I ask you to bring your business to Georgia and, if you’re already here, stay and fight. Stay and vote.”
USA TODAY UNDER FIRE FOR ALLOWING STACEY ABRAMS TO RETROACTIVELY EDIT OP-ED TO DOWNPLAY BOYCOTT SUPPORT
USA Today was under fire after it allowed Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams to edit her op-ed so that she can water down her support of boycotts after the MLB pulled its 2021 All-Star game out of Atlanta. (Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
However, after the MLB pulled its All-Star game from Atlanta in protest of the law, USA Today allowed Abrams to retroactively edit her op-ed to water down her boycott support without placing an editor’s note.
“The impassioned (and understandable) response to the racist, classist bill that is now the law of Georgia is to boycott in order to achieve change. Events that can bring millions of dollars to struggling families hang in the balance. Major League Baseball pulled both its All-Star Game and its draft from Georgia, which could cost our state nearly $100 million in lost revenue,” Abrams’ revisions read. “Rather than accept responsibility for their craven actions, Republican leaders blame me and others who have championed voting rights (and actually read the bill). Their faux outrage is designed to hide the fact that they prioritized making it harder for people of color to vote over the economic well-being of all Georgians. To add to the injury, the failed former president is now calling for cancellation of baseball as the national pastime.”
“Boycotts invariably also cost jobs. To be sustainable, the pain of deprivation must be shared rather than borne by those who are least resilient… I have no doubt that voters of color, particularly Black voters, are willing to endure the hardships of boycotts. But such monetary loss is unlikely to affect the stubborn, frightened Republicans who see voter suppression as their only way to win. Money isn’t quite as seductive as political power to these putative leaders. “
Her revised op-ed adds, “Instead of a boycott, I strongly urge other events and productions to do business in Georgia and speak out against our law and similar proposals in other states.”
A spokesperson for Gannett at the time told Fox News Digital, “We regret the oversight in updating the Stacey Abrams column. As soon as we recognized there was no editor’s note, we added it to the page to reflect her changes. We have reviewed our procedures to ensure this does not occur again.”
EX-USA TODAY EDITOR TELLS WHY HE SPOKE OUT AGAINST THE PAPER’S WOKE REPORTING: ‘THE PLACE HAS GONE OFF THE RAILS’
Later that year, USA Today was caught stealth-editing multiple pieces after its sports columnist decried the “racist” Atlanta Braves team name.
Bob Nightengale, USA Today’s MLB writer, penned a piece titled “MLB, club won’t budge on Atlanta baseball team’s nickname, but here’s why I won’t use it” that began by listing the “blatantly racist” caricatures and the “offensive” mascot that were previously removed and how headdresses, face paint and the famous “tomahawk chop” chant at games became “strongly discouraged.”
“In recent years, I have tried to avoid using Atlanta’s nickname in columns,” Nightengale wrote. “Copy editors have occasionally changed it in my copy because until now this has been my private stance. Several readers picked up on the name appearing in my articles during Atlanta’s World Series run, and after talking it over with my editors, I have decided to explain my stance here and make more of a concerted effort to keep the name out of my columns.”
USA Today was caught stealth editing its columns to scrub “Braves” from its pieces about the Atlanta Braves after its sports writer decried the team name as racist.. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Nightengale’s past coverage of the Braves underwent a jarring makeover. His column from the weekend originally had the headline, “Sweet revenge: Atlanta Braves knock off Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to World Series,” according to The Wayback Machine. That was changed to read, “Sweet revenge: Atlanta knocks off Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to World Series.”
Every reference to the “Braves” was removed from the piece.
The stealth-editing similarly occurred with another piece, originally titled, “Mighty Dodgers are reeling, frustrated after two walk-off NLCS wins for the Braves,” now titled “Mighty Dodgers are reeling, frustrated after two walk-off NLCS wins for Atlanta.” All uses of the word “Braves” in the piece were also scrubbed.
USA TODAY STEALTH EDITS, SCRUBS ‘BRAVES’ FROM COLUMNS AS SPORTS WRITER DECRIES ‘RACIST’ TEAM NAME
Both articles were timestamped as “updated” on Oct. 25, two days before Nightengale’s piece slamming the Braves team name was published. No editor’s note was initially added acknowledging the changes, though one of them included an unrelated correction.
A spokesperson referred to the stealth-edits as an “oversight,” telling Fox News Digital the stories have been “corrected” with an editor’s note, which reads, “A previous version of this column was edited to remove the team name after it had been originally published. Due to an editing change, the team name was inserted without the author’s knowledge.”
David Mastio, a former deputy editorial page editor for USA Today, left Gannett in 2022 after roughly 25 years because of its left-wing transformation.
“USA Today had always previously been a place that welcomed vocal conservatives, that welcomed having my opinion out there. And, you know, I just didn’t feel it was that kind of place anymore. And so I needed to leave,” Mastio previously told Fox News Digital. “And I certainly wasn’t going to get promoted again, and I wasn’t going to be the next editorial page editor. So, you know, they said the next time I screwed up, I was going to be fired. So I thought it was better to leave before being fired.”
FORMER USA TODAY EDITOR WARNS GANNETT: YOU’RE ON A ‘ROAD TO RUIN’ BY WRITING OFF HALF THE COUNTRY
Before leaving on his own terms, Mastio threatened to take legal action against Gannett following a nasty feud that began when he wrote on social media “People who are pregnant are also women,” which he said was in response to a USA Today report that claimed transgender men can get pregnant.
By the time Mastio left USA Today, a “good number of conservatives” who worked in the newsroom were either laid off or accepted buyouts over the years and were “replaced with the young, inexpensive, woke workers.”
He was compelled to speak out after it was reported that Gannett was scaling back the editorial pages of its newspapers in an effort to combat readers’ perception of liberal bias, but he was particularly irked when his former boss, then-USA Today opinion editor Kristen DelGuzzi, claimed, “This is part of the overall evolution of our industry… The opinion pages feel like the last part of the newsroom to evolve.”
“I just thought that was wildly untrue. And it made me want to say something,” Mastio told Fox News Digital. “The conservative editorial pages had been shut down and replaced with liberal editorial pages all over the country… and I thought that the opinion sections going out across the country had evolved a lot over the last ten years and that readers had decided that they weren’t good anymore. And so I thought that story needed to be told.”
Mastio offered a direct plea to Gannett to change its ways “before it’s too late.”
“There are tons of really good people and really good journalists across Gannett’s newspapers, and I think that they’re putting themselves on a road to ruin by writing off half of their readers, half of their potential customers,” Mastio said. “And I would much rather have Gannett be saved because there’s so much good there than this small group of loud, woke journalists, you know, driving it into a ditch.”
Gannett did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Two in three Charlotte, North Carolina, residents say they feel less safe today than they did a year ago, according to a recent survey, as the city reels from two train stabbings.
More than 930 people responded to a survey that the Queen City recently completed before hiring its new police chief, Stella Patterson. Residents overwhelmingly said they want a proactive police force, not a reactive one, with 66% saying they feel less safe.
The results come as Charlotte contends with another stabbing on its light rail system, months after the stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
On Friday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers responded to a call regarding assault with a deadly weapon. When they arrived, they found the victim, identified as Kenyon Kareem-Shemar Dobie, with a stab wound, according to warrants.
Oscar Solorzano, 33, was arrested in connection to a stabbing on a Charlotte, North Carolina light rail. (Mecklenburg County Jail)
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Oscar Gerardo Solorzano-Garcia, 33, of Honduras, was arrested after the stabbing and charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior, according to multiple Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources and arrest warrants obtained by Fox News Digital.
On Monday morning, Solorzano appeared in court, where he was denied bond. The 33-year-old appeared via Zoom in an orange jumpsuit where he was charged. Authorities revealed that Solorzano, prior to the Dec. 5 attack, was banned by Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
CMPD noted Dobie was in critical but stable condition when he was taken to a hospital.
The victim told WRAL News that he saw Solorzano yelling at an older woman before Solorzano handed his bike to another passenger and said: “I’m about to show you who I really am.”
“I wasn’t trying to be a macho man,” Dobie said in a TikTok post from his hospital room. “But what I won’t allow is you to attack random people for no reason, especially the elderly.”
Dobie said he jumped up and told Solorzano to leave everyone alone. He said Solarzano then grabbed his hands and stabbed him as he tried to grab him back.
Police in North Carolina have charged a 33-year-old man from Honduras with critically injuring another person in a stabbing on a Charlotte commuter train, just a few months after a Ukrainian refugee was murdered. (WJZY)
According to court documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, Solorzano broke into a railroad car “with the intent to commit a felony,” while carrying a large fixed-blade knife.
While intoxicated, he challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others using “unintelligible and slurred words,” according to court documents.
He was booted from the country by the Trump administration in March 2018 on a deportation order and reentered illegally during the Biden administration at the Texas border in March 2021, DHS sources said.
WATCH: Migrant who was deported twice accused of Charlotte light rail stabbing
CHARLOTTE MAN CHARGED WITH IRYNA ZARUTSKA’S KILLING COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY
Solorzano was deported a second time by the Biden administration and reentered illegally as a got-away at an unknown time and location.
Solorzano has a prior conviction for robbery in the U.S. and prior arrests for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and false ID, DHS sources said.
Court records indicate he had known aliases, including Solorzano-Garcia, Oscar Herardo and Kevin Garcia.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks alongside a photo of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly killed by Decarlos Brown Jr., on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the White House, Sept. 9, 2025. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
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The stabbing attack comes months after Zarutska, 23, was fatally stabbed on a LYNX Blue Line light rail while on her way home from work from a local pizzeria shop.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, who is accused of killing Zarutska, was charged with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, a capital offense under federal law.
Brown had a history of violent crime, including assaults and robberies, and had also been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Yet he was still free and walking the streets.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the city of Charlotte and the CMPD for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexander Koch and Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Chelsea Torres contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Murdaugh trial court clerk pleads guilty to showing sealed crime scene photos to photographer
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A former South Carolina court clerk pleaded guilty Monday in connection with showing sealed court exhibits related to the murder trial of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh to a photographer and lying about it in court.
Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill, who served as the court clerk in Colleton County, pleaded guilty to four charges — obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, plus two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting a book she wrote on the trial through her public office.
“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them and will carry that shame the rest of my life,” Hill said in a statement read to the court.
She was sentenced to three years of probation.
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Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill is sworn in before taking the stand to testify during the Alex Murdaugh jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP)
Her sentence would have been much harsher had evidence surfaced that she tampered with the murder trial, Judge Heath Taylor told Hill.
During Murdaugjh’s murder trial, Hill was responsible for taking care of the jury, overseeing exhibits and assisting the judge. Murdaugh was eventually convicted of murdering his wife and son after a six-week trial, which drew nationwide attention.
Murdaugh’s lawyers said Hill tried to influence jurors to vote guilty and that she was biased against Murdaugh because of her book.
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Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill smiles after pleading guilty on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, in St. Matthews, S.C. Hill pleaded guilty Monday to showing sealed exhibits from Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial and other charges. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Solicitor Rick Hubbard told the judge that a journalist informed investigators that Hill showed graphic crime scene photos to several media members.
He did not name the journalist.
The photos were posted online, and the metadata from the images matched a time when Hill’s courthouse key card indicated she was inside the locked room where the photos were kept, Hubbard said.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill is sworn in during a court hearing on Monday in St. Matthews, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)
Hill resigned in March 2024. One of the charges against her stemmed from money prosecutors said she took for herself. She brought a check to court on Monday to repay nearly $10,000.
Journalist Neil Gordon who worked with Hill on “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” and previously accused her of plagiarism, commented on Hill’s plea to Fox News Digital.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill pleaded guilty Monday to showing sealed exhibits from disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial and other charges. (Fox Nation/ Tracy Glantz/The State via AP, Pool)
“I appreciate seeing Becky step up and take responsibility for her actions, including the charge of misconduct in office, as it was directly related to the book I co-authored with her,” he said in a statement. “The specific instance was her decision to arrange a “Facebook Live” from her clerk’s office with the Colleton County Chamber of Commerce solely to promote our book.”
“The fact that it occurred during the workday showed boldness, poor judgement, and frankly ignorance of the oath she took as an elected official.,” he added. “Sadly, poor judgement around our book had been a pattern for Becky, as we later learned she plagiarized its preface.”
Meanwhile, Murdaugh is also serving a prison sentence for stealing money from his family’s law firm and client settlements.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Murdaugh’s attorney.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Florida designates Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations, DeSantis says
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Florida is designating the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as foreign terrorist organizations, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday.
The move mirrors a similar action taken by Texas in which Gov. Greg Abbott designated the CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood as foreign terrorist and transnational criminal organizations.
“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” DeSantis wrote on X.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantissaid CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood will be designated as foreign terrorist organizations. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
The governor’s order said the Muslim Brotherhood has long engaged in and supported violence, political assassinations and terror attacks on civilians with the intent of establishing a worldwide Islamic caliphate.
It also said the group, as well as Hamas have active fundraising arms in the United States.
SCATHING REPORT CALLS ON US TO LABEL ISLAMIST GROUP INFILTRATING ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE AS TERRORIST ORG
The order said CAIR, which was created to challenge stereotypes against Islam and Muslims, has had individuals associated with it that have been convicted of providing and aspiring to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations.
In a post on X, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said: “Great news! Thanks for this important Executive Order, Governor. We are ready to support!”
A joint statement by CAIR and its Florida chapter said the DeSantis administration has prioritized serving their interest of the Israeli government over the people of the state.
“He diverted millions in Florida taxpayer dollars to the Israeli government’s bonds. He threatened to shut down every Florida college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, only to back off when CAIR sued him in federal court,” the statement said. “Like Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis is an Israel First politician who wants to smear and silence Americans, especially American Muslims, critical of U.S. support for Israel’s war crimes. Governor DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom, and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Governor DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group with this unconstitutional and defamatory proclamation.
“We look forward to defeating Governor DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight,” the groups added. “In the meantime, we encourage all Floridians and all Americans to speak up against this latest attempt to shred the Constitution for the benefit of a foreign government.”
Florida’s designation is at the state level. It doesn’t carry the legal force of a federal Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) listing, which only the U.S. State Department can issue.
In Texas, Muslim and interfaith leaders have demanded that Abott reverse his proclamation regarding CAIR. In a lawsuit against Texas over the governor’s declaration, CAIR argued that it violates both the U.S. Constitution and state law.
Texas Gov. Greg Abott designated CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as a foreign terrorist organization. (Getty Images)
The order violates its First Amendment rights and due-process protections, CAIR said, arguing that the state overstepped its authority because terrorism designations fall under federal, not state, jurisdiction.
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