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American flag hung upside down in Yosemite National Park in protest over layoffs

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American flag hung upside down in Yosemite National Park in protest over layoffs

A “distress” signal hung on one of Yosemite National Park’s most iconic sites by staff members was done in protest of recent layoffs by the Trump administration.

The inverted Stars and Stripes hung on the side of El Capitan, a 3,000-foot wall of sheer granite, on Saturday, Feb. 22. 

Anand K Sankaran captured footage, and told media-gathering website Storyful the flag was hung upside-down just before “firefall,” a period of time when the small waterfall Horsetail Fall “can glow orange when it’s backlit by sunset,” the park’s website says. 

Flying a flag upside down is traditionally a sign of “dire distress,” the United States Flag Code states. The symbol of protest was done by park staffers, media outlets report. The practice dates back at least 50 years, according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University.

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The upside-down flag was placed by Yosemite Park workers on Saturday to protest layoffs by the Trump administration.  (Brittany Colt, www.brittanycolt.com, @brittanycolt)

“We’re bringing attention to what’s happening to the parks, which are every American’s properties,” Gavin Carpenter, a Yosemite maintenance mechanic and disabled military veteran who assisted Saturday, told the San Francisco Chronicle. 

“It’s super important we take care of them, and we’re losing people here, and it’s not sustainable if we want to keep the parks open,” he continued.

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A close-up look of the upside-down flag hung in protest at Yosemite National Park in California. (Brittany Colt, www.brittanycolt.com, @brittanycolt)

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Last week, the Trump administration fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions as part of its broad-based effort to downsize government, the Associated Press reported.

Facing outcry, the administration plans to restore at least 50 jobs across the parks. The park service also said in a new memo it will hire more seasonal workers than normal. The park service has about 20,000 employees.

The flag was hung at a time when many tourists look at Horsetail Fall for the phenomenon that creates an orange glow.  (Brittany Colt, www.brittanycolt.com, @brittanycolt)

At least a dozen of those who lost their jobs worked at Yosemite.

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“The National Park Service is aware of the unauthorized and inappropriate display that occurred at Yosemite National Park over the weekend,” an Interior Department spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“This blatant disregard for park regulations and respect for our national symbols is unacceptable. The NPS does not condone such actions, and the flag was removed as soon as possible. We take the protection of our national parks seriously and will not tolerate behavior that undermines their integrity,” the statement concluded.

The White House did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Alaska

Alaska Supreme Court to take up case on Dan J. Sullivan, decision expected by Tuesday

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Alaska Supreme Court to take up case on Dan J. Sullivan, decision expected by Tuesday


JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – The Supreme Court of Alaska will be taking up the case of the State of Alaska, Division of Elections v. Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.

The oral arguments will be held Monday at 10 a.m. via Zoom, according to an order and opening notice.

The document also specifies that a decision is expected to be made before noon on Tuesday.

According to documents from the Division of Elections, the state must start printing ballots at noon on the same day.

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This comes after an Anchorage Superior Court Judge ordered Dan J. Sullivan on to the ballot Friday.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.



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California

CA state senator physically, verbally harassed at pride parade for Israel stance | The Jerusalem Post

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CA state senator physically, verbally harassed at pride parade for Israel stance | The Jerusalem Post


California State Senator Scott Wiener was harassed for his stance on Gaza during the San Francisco Trans March on Friday, to the point where it was no longer safe for him to remain, Wiener said. 

A group of people were so “physically and verbally aggressive that it was impossible for me to safely remain in the park,” Wiener stated, adding that this was the first time he did not participate in the march.

Wiener was surrounded by people who made statements about his “Israeli handlers, among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements,” Wiener said.

“We f***ing hate you. You stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel,” one person yelled in a video later shared on social media.

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Wiener stated that while he has no objection to anyone disagreeing, opposing, or protesting him, the “harassment, including cornering me, touching me, or trying to physically bully me out of a public event, that crosses a line.” 

“In San Francisco, we’re better than that,” he added.

Mayor Daniel Lurie made a statement on X/Twitter condemning the harassment, calling the language used “targeted, hateful, and antisemitic.”

In San Francisco, we welcome disagreement and respectful dialogue around issues many of us feel passionately about – but we cannot allow harassment and threats of violence,” Lurie wrote.

The California State Senate Democratic Caucus also released a statement on X, condemning the hate Wiener received. 

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“The harassment and violence shown from yesterday’s march in San Francisco towards Senator Scott Wiener is unacceptable and must be called out,” the statement read.

The caucus also pointed to Wiener’s work on legislation “advancing the rights and protections for Transgender, Gender Expansive and Intersex people.”

“The CA Senate Democratic Caucus and CA LGBTQ Caucus jointly denounce the verbal harassment and attacks he experienced,” the statement said.





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Arizona

Phoenix homeowner fights ASU’s eminent domain bid to save pre-statehood historic home

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Phoenix homeowner fights ASU’s eminent domain bid to save pre-statehood historic home


PHOENIX — 89-year-old Robert Young is battling Arizona State University in court over the Louis Emerson home, one of the oldest remaining houses in the Phoenix Churchill area.

At the corner of 4th and Pierce streets sits a home that pre-dates Arizona statehood, and now sits at the center of a legal battle between its owner and Arizona State University.

ASU wants the land where the Louis Emerson home stands. The university is planning a medical and technology school nearby and says it wants to exercise its right of possession over the property.

But Young, who has owned the home since 1975, is not backing down.

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“It’s not gonna happen. That’s what I thought then and that’s what I think today. I will not let it happen,” Young said.

Marshall Shore, known as the Hip Historian, says the home is one of the oldest remaining houses in the Phoenix Churchill area, built before Arizona was even a state.

“This house was here before statehood, before Arizona even thought of becoming a state; this house was here, and so it deserves to tell that story and continue on,” Shore said.

Shore says the home’s history is rooted in everyday life.

“It was an everyday man’s house. He was a butcher,” Shore said.

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Young says he and his wife lived in the home for 8 years before renting it out. He calls it an architectural and historic treasure that is irreplaceable. He says the legal battle is taking a toll on both of them.

“It’s stressful. You don’t know from day to day if you’re gonna find the house on the corner,” Young said.

Young says the university offered him between $290,000 and nearly $1 million for the property. Maricopa County Superior Court records show the Arizona Board of Regents sued Young for the home earlier this month.

According to the Arizona Republic, ASU gave a written statement explaining that they made several offers to Young on his home. Their final offer was based on an appraisal, and it was not accepted.

Shore says the home does not need to come down and has a vision for how it could coexist with the planned medical school.

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“I mean there’s nothing more sustainable than keeping a house where it is. Create a pocket park around it, so that way people can come and enjoy that little pocket park and make it really a gem in the community,” Shore said.

Shore says an online petition in support of preserving the home has gathered more than 10,000 signatures.

Young wants ASU and the public to understand what is truly at stake.

“It’s the way it’s placed on the corner, and it’s the fact that this corner itself is historic,” Young said.

Young is expected to appear in court on Sept. 4 to explain why the home should not be torn down.

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