West

UCLA locks doors on conservative students, preventing them from hosting pro-Israel event: YAF

Published

2 years ago

May 19, 2024

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UCLA locks doors on conservative students, preventing them from hosting pro-Israel event: YAF

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UCLA prevented conservative students on campus from hosting the founder of Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer, for a pro-Israel event, according to the student group.

“I am deeply disappointed in UCLA’s failure to protect our First Amendment rights,” Matthew Weinberg, chairman of UCLA Young Americans for Freedom chapter, said in a YAF press release. “All we wanted was a successful Pro-Israel event where people of all backgrounds and viewpoints can engage in the free exchange of ideas and hear a different perspective not heard across university campuses, and the school made that impossible. This is nothing but an act of pure cowardice.”

The Young American’s Foundation, a nonprofit conservative youth organization, invited Spencer to deliver a speech on Wednesday, but “the doors of the Bruin Viewpoint Room were locked,” according to YAF.

Fox News Digital previously reported that UCLA has not responded to the YAF chapter’s request to host Spencer, despite filing for approval weeks prior.

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Police arrest multiple protesters who gathered in a UCLA campus parking garage on May 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Weinberg told Fox News Digital earlier this month that he initially did not receive any word regarding the application from school leaders. He did eventually meet with administrators overseeing student engagement, but was told “there is no timeframe” for approving Spencer as a speaker.

UCLA SILENT ON APPROVING ANTI-JIHAD CAMPUS SPEAKER EVENT AMID CAMPUS PROTESTS

“The fact that the school prioritizes agitators, some who aren’t even students, that are clearly violating campus policy and have been physically assaulting Jewish students, over students who engage in the free exchange of ideas like people in our chapter to me is absurd and demonstrates cowardice. It demonstrates a lack of moral clarity and this needs to be addressed,” Weinberg said earlier this month.

Weinberg said he was planning to carry on with the event and was hoping “for the best.”

Anti-Israel students set up an encampment in support of Gaza on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. (Grace Yoon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

On Wednesday, however, university officials told the chapter “that the event would need to be moved to a low-traffic, remote location – an unacceptable last minute change that would have significantly impacted the event’s attendance and impact,” according to YAF’s press release, which said the ordeal is “a clear violation of students’ constitutional rights.”

The group’s press release added that “for weeks, UCLA administrators have stalled the approval process in a clear attempt to ensure the event would not happen.”

JEWISH STUDENT DEFIES ANTI-ISRAEL RADICALS WHO ‘STALKED’ HIM ON CALIFORNIA CAMPUS: WON’T BE ‘SILENCED’

University officials reportedly initially told the group that “it would be too dangerous to host an event” that holds contrary views to agitators on campus who had established an anti-Israel encampment on campus. YAF and Mountain States Legal Foundation pushed back on the school that not granting permission to host Spencer was an “unconstitutional use of the heckler’s veto.”

Robert Spencer, founder of Jihad Watch (Ida Mae Astute/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

The conservative student group argued that legal pressure appeared to “prompt the university to reconsider” their plan to stall the event, but “unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the case.”

“While the chapter boldly withstood these attacks, and things appeared to be moving forward, there was simply nothing they could do about the locked door, which administrators refused to open.”

Fox News Digital reached out to UCLA for comment on Sunday, but did not immediately receive a reply. A school official did tell the College Fix that “there is misinformation circulating that the Young America’s Foundation event at UCLA on Wednesday evening was canceled by the university.”

USC STUDENT RECOUNTS DISAPPOINTMENT AFTER GRADUATION COMMENCEMENT WAS CANCELED DUE TO ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

“This is incorrect,” the spokeswoman said. “The event took place in the designated location after it shifted to a closed, recorded event as proposed by the organizer and agreed to by UCLA.”

Weinberg pushed back on the school’s response, saying the event never took place, while lamenting to the outlet that UCLA’s campus has become hostile to Jewish students.

Anti-Israel students rally on the UCLA campus on Oct. 12, 2023. (Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

“The beauty of this event is that all are welcome, and we highly encourage students with opposing viewpoints to come and ask Robert any questions they would like. After all, the only way to move forward and create peace is to have an open dialogue,” he told the College Fix.

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“Bringing Robert Spencer allows us to present an alternative perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as the Israel-Hamas war that is not typically heard on college campuses,” Weinberg said.

Spencer said in YAF’s press release that schools such as UCLA are “radioactive wastelands” of left-wing politics.

“UCLA and other universities today are not institutions of higher learning; they are radioactive wastelands of hard-left indoctrination,” Spencer said.

Graffiti at the Powell Library on the UCLA campus on April 29, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Anti-Israel protests have broken out on college campuses nationwide, notably in New York City and at UCLA and USC in Los Angeles. Anti-Israel protests on Columbia University’s campus spiraled last month, when agitators were seen on camera with a poster outlining that Jewish students on campus would become Al-Qasam’s “next targets,” referring to terrorist organization Hamas’ military wing. That same weekend, a rabbi at Columbia warned Jewish students to leave campus immediately until the situation was quelled.

UCLA STUDENT SLAMS UNIVERSITY FOR ‘ENCOURAGING VIOLENCE,’ TURNING CAMPUS INTO ‘WAR ZONE’: ‘THIS IS A DISGRACE’

Protests also broke out on UCLA’s campus last month, including agitators establishing an encampment demanding the elite public school cut financial ties with Israel. Following a nine-hour standoff between radicals on campus, police were able to clear the encampment earlier this month and made hundreds of arrests.

CALIFORNIA STATE OFFICIALS CONDEMN VIOLENT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS AT UCLA

Weinberg joined “Fox & Friends” following police dismantling the encampment, saying the school was “encouraging students to engage in violence.”

“This is a disgrace. To me, this looks like a war zone,” Weinberg said. “It demonstrates to me that the school is run by a bunch of cowards… It demonstrates to me the lack of moral clarity, and it also demonstrates to me the degradation of our society.”

“They are encouraging students to engage in violence,” he said. “I know some students on the undergraduate level whose professors said, ‘Don’t worry about class. Just go to the protests and stand against Israel.’”

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

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Washington

Western Washington braces for wind, rain and hazardous Cascade travel through Thursday

Published

16 minutes ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Western Washington braces for wind, rain and hazardous Cascade travel through Thursday

WASHINGTON STATE — Winter was nearly out of here, but after months of hitting the snooze button, the season has decided to wake up.

Western Washington has already seen a return to wintry conditions over the past few days, including brief lowland snow in the North Sound on Tuesday morning. The Cascades are covered in fresh snow, with nearly 3 feet reported at Stevens Pass in the past 48 hours.

An extended plume of moisture — known as an atmospheric river — is expected to move into the Northwest tonight through Thursday. This is not a “Pineapple Express”-style system, as it is oriented straight across the Pacific rather than tapping into warmer air near Hawaii. That means steady precipitation, but snow levels should remain near pass level instead of rising significantly, as they did during storms in December.

Rain is spreading across the region tonight, gradually pushing out the remaining cold air near sea level. Some wet snow or sleet may briefly mix with rain in the lowlands, but it is not expected to last. Overnight lows will hover near 40 degrees in Seattle and Tacoma.

Snow is already falling in the mountains and will intensify on Wednesday. A winter storm warning is in effect for the Cascades, where an additional 1 to 2 feet of snow is expected in the next 24 hours. In the lowlands, periods of cool March rain are expected on Wednesday, with damp conditions for both the morning and evening commutes. High temperatures will reach about 50 degrees in the metro area, close to normal for this time of year.

Feet of snow, gusts up to 50+ mph expected in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains

The heavy snow and gusty wind expected have prompted a rare Blizzard Warning in the mountains Wednesday Evening.{ } Image courtesy of the KOMO 4 Forecast Team.{ }(KOMO News)

By Wednesday evening, a rapidly strengthening area of low pressure will move through Western Washington. Southerly winds of 30 to 50 mph, with gusts up to 55 mph, are expected across the region, including along the coast and through Puget Sound. The strongest winds between Kitsap and King counties are expected between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. A wind advisory is in effect, and gusty conditions could cause tree damage and power outages.

As the storm moves east, winds will shift to the west in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands. Gusts of 40 to 55 mph are possible in areas such as Oak Harbor, Port Angeles, and Anacortes.

Strong winds combined with heavy mountain snow have prompted a blizzard warning for parts of the Cascades and Olympics from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday. Winds could exceed 60 mph near mountain peaks and remain strong near the passes. Travel across the Cascades is expected to be hazardous on Wednesday night.

Heavy rain, mountain snow and gusty winds will make for a stormy Wednesday and Thursday around the region. Image courtesy of the KOMO 4 Forecast Team. (KOMO News)

By Thursday, winds will ease, but rain in the lowlands and snow in the mountains will continue. Snow levels are expected to remain near 2,000 feet through Thursday and Friday, adding to late-season snowfall at the passes and ski areas.

Another push of colder air is expected Friday night into Saturday, lowering snow levels to about 500 feet by Saturday morning. Some brief, light accumulations of lowland snow are possible. High temperatures on Saturday will struggle to rise much above the lower 40s.

Conditions are expected to improve Sunday and Monday, with drier weather and increasing sunshine just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. Highs could approach 60 degrees by Monday afternoon.

Until then, winter appears to be making one final push.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

34 minutes ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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West

California Rep Darrell Issa to retire, endorses Jim Desmond to succeed him

Published

4 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

California Rep Darrell Issa to retire, endorses Jim Desmond to succeed him

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., will retire at the end of his current term and is backing San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond to succeed him, he confirmed to Fox News Friday.

Issa’s seat is in California’s newly redrawn 48th District, which has been reshaped to favor Democrats under the state’s Prop 50.

“Today I’m announcing my enthusiastic endorsement of Supervisor Jim Desmond for Congress to represent California’s new 48th district,” Issa told Fox News.

“Jim is not only a personal friend, he’s a true patriot, a Navy veteran, a successful businessman and has a 20-year record of public service. He understands this community, was born and raised here and will make a terrific Congressman.”

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., March 4, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Issa said stepping down after 25 years in Congress — and another 25 in business — was not an easy decision.

“First, we built the right campaign infrastructure. Support has been overwhelming — including from President Trump — and our polling was unmistakable: We would win this race,” he said. “But after a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”

Among his recent efforts, Issa pointed to securing the Congressional Medal of Honor for retired Navy Capt. Royce Williams, crediting President Trump with making the award possible.

“For a decade, my team and I waged a nonstop fight for Royce, and we were turned down on his behalf more times than I can remember,” he said. “But that all changed this year.

“President Trump made Royce’s award possible, and when I witnessed the first lady place the Medal of Honor on my hero, it was more than just a job done. It felt like a career accomplishment.”

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Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 27, 2022. (Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Issa said he will remain focused on serving through 2026.

“There is still work to be done throughout 2026 both in Washington and my beloved current 48th District. And as many days that remain, I’ll dedicate each one of them to the people I serve and the indispensable nation I have sworn to protect as a soldier in the Army and as a proud and grateful Member of the People’s House of Representatives,” he said.

In a phone interview with Fox News, Issa also argued Congress has “diminished itself,” citing stagnant pay and the growing influence of outside money in elections.

“They have really, unfortunately, allowed outside money to exceed inside money in elections,” he said. “And more people live and die with social media rather than substance, so, I’m hoping that there’s a pendulum there. You know, some of only Congress can change.”

HOT MIC REVEALS ISSA PLOTTING GOP STRATEGY AFTER CALIFORNIA REDRAWS HOUSE MAP

U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif, speaks to the media during a news conference May 28, 2010, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) praised Issa’s tenure.

“We are grateful for Congressman Darrell Issa’s decades of dedicated service to the people of California and our nation,” NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez told Fox News. “Throughout his career, he has embodied the spirit of public service, championed our military and fought tirelessly for a stronger America.

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“We are optimistic that this district will continue to be represented by a Republican who will stand for common sense and reject the radical agenda and chaos that progressive Marni von Wilpert and socialist Ammar Campa-Najjar would bring.”

Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Story tips can be sent to sophia.compton@fox.com.

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