West
USC protests break out after anti-Israel valedictorian's commencement speech cancelled over safety concerns
Days after the University of Southern California (USC) announced it would cancel its valedictorian speech, along with all outside speakers during this year’s commencement ceremonies, protesters gathered on the school’s campus on Sunday to show support for the student.
USC announced it would not be allowing biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum to give her valedictorian speech during the main stage commencement, which draws 65,000 people to the University Park Campus, following a series of social media posts she made about Israel.
“Given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program, university leadership has decided it is best to release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony,” a statement posted on the university’s commencement website read.
Tabassum’s social media, which critics called out as antisemitic, reportedly called for an end to the Jewish state. In a CNN interview, the USC valedictorian defended her position.
USC REMOVES OUTSIDE COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS AFTER CANCELLING VALEDICTORIAN’S SPEECH
As the LA Times Festival of Books was hosted this year at USC, CODEPINK rallied in solidarity with the silenced 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum. (X/@codepink)
“The abolishment of the state of Israel, I‘d like to clarify, is the abolishment of an apartheid system. It inherently is a system that subjugates Palestinians as dehumanized. And it subjugates Palestinian life as not worth the same as other human life,” she said.
USC’s move sparked outrage as an organization called “CODEPINK” organized a demonstration to demand the school allow Tabassum to give her speech. “As the LA Times Festival of Books was hosted this year at USC, we rallied in solidarity with the silenced 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum! Shame on USC! Reinstate Asna’s speech!,” the group wrote in a post on X.
According to the organization’s website, CODEPINK is a feminist grassroots organization working to end U.S. warfare and imperialism, support peace and human rights initiatives, and redirect resources into healthcare, education, green jobs and other life-affirming programs.
A spokesperson for the group told Fox News Digital that with the cancelation of all the graduation speakers, they are working on their next strategy.
‘Our hopes are that the voice of a young Muslim woman is not censored and silenced. Shame on USC for doing so,” the group said.
COLUMBIA JEWISH STUDENTS ‘NO LONGER FEEL SAFE,’ SAY ANTI-ISRAEL MOB CHASED THEM OFF CAMPUS
Hundreds of protesters gathered at the University of Southern California in support of Class of 2024 valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, after her commencement speech was canceled. (X/@codepink)
USC says the valedictorian is not being silenced for her political views on the ongoing unrest in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas but for the safety of Tabassum and others in attendance.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement. While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety,” Andrew Guzman, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, wrote in the statement.
Guzman stated that the decision was necessary in order to maintain the school and its students’ safety.
“To be clear: this decision has nothing to do with freedom of speech. There is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement. The issue here is how best to maintain campus security and safety, period,” Guzman wrote.
USC also told The Los Angeles Times that they had received threats via letters, phone calls, and emails.
Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum, Gabriel Hays, and Haley Chi-Sing contributed to this report.
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Montana
Bring your Treasures to the Montana Appraisal Fair in Billings
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Nevada
Nevada first responders receive autism training to improve emergency response
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — First responders from across Nevada gathered for a free training session on how to better recognize and respond to people on the autism spectrum as part of a broader push following the passage of Senate Bill 380 last year.
The free, day-long session, hosted by the Autism Coalition of Nevada, brought together police, firefighters, and emergency personnel from agencies statewide for what organizers call a “train-the-trainer” model. It equipped attendees with tools they can take back to their departments and share with others.
The training is designed to help first responders identify key behaviors associated with autism, such as delayed responses, lack of eye contact, or repetition, and adjust their approach in high-pressure situations where those behaviors could otherwise be misinterpreted.
“The training is to help them understand what’s in front of them, which is a person on the spectrum, and not somebody that’s being combative or argumentative,” said Michelle Scott-Lewing, president of the Autism Coalition of Nevada.
Advocates said misunderstandings can happen frequently, sometimes leading to unnecessary arrests, and this type of education is aimed at reducing those outcomes.
Senate Bill 380, signed into law by Governor Joe Lombardo, requires autism-specific training for first responders and adds guidance around how officers should be educated on recognizing and interacting with individuals on the spectrum, marking a significant step toward more consistent awareness across agencies.
The session was led by First Responder Autism Training, a national program that travels the country teaching officers and emergency crews how to recognize autism indicators and respond appropriately, with real-world scenarios that emphasize slowing down and de-escalating.
Henderson police said their officers already receive training on a range of mental health conditions, but this builds on that foundation with a more focused approach.
“For officers to be able to recognize those signs and be able to understand like, hey, this person, even though they’re not talking to me or they’re not doing what I’m saying, that doesn’t mean they’re non-compliant,” Deputy Chief Matthew Murnane with HPD said. “It just means maybe, hey, there’s something else going on there.”
Organizers said they want to expand the training with an additional session this year in Northern Nevada, aiming to make it more accessible statewide and ensure more first responders have the tools needed to safely handle interactions involving people on the spectrum.
New Mexico
Decision 2026: Gubernatorial candidates discuss education and other topics during second forum
RIO RANCHO, N.M. — We won’t know who New Mexico’s next governor will be until November, but you’ll be deciding who will be on that ballot in just five weeks.
When it comes to the race for governor there are 6 candidates. Tuesday, the community got more insight into their platforms during a forum held at Rio Rancho Public School headquarters.
They touched on a lot of topics: the economy, crime, healthcare and more but one in particular kept coming up: education. In last week’s forum in Santa Fe, they mainly focused on the economy.
Five candidates participated in the forum: Republicans Gregg Hull, Duke Rodriguez and Doug Turner and Democrats Deb Haaland and Sam Bregman. Independent candidate Ken Miyagishima did not participate.
All five candidates say when it comes to education, it’s an issue New Mexico is failing at and pointed to the fact that our state ranks last across the nation.
Hull and Turner both believe part of the answer is stopping what they called “social promotion” which means letting a child go to the next grade even if they don’t meet certain goal posts like reading.
“I’m going to be very, very focused on getting Career, Technical Education into all of our school districts, any school district that wants it, we need to be a partner with that and make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the workforce,” Hull said.
“We can’t just promote kids throughout the their school career, because we end up with a workforce that nobody can hire. So if we don’t focus on our children at all levels, we will be we will continue to fail,” Turner said.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez believes the answer is in offering more programs.
“You can’t have better students without taking care of your teachers, which includes funding their pension plan. We have got to go back to the basics and make our students value their education, make the parents realize the importance,” Rodriguez said.
Both Democrats Haaland and Bregman believe more intervention from educators is needed.
“Our kids need to read sooner. That’s why I want to put reading coaches in the classrooms and make sure that teachers can identify kids that need the help, so that we can make sure that they are ready to go on to the next grade, and that gives builds their confidence,” Haaland said.
“When a first and second grader isn’t up to that grade level, we need to rush in with ped, get them the help they need right away, so that we don’t end up in a situation where they’re at third grade not reading at grade level, at third grade, not doing math at that level,” Bregman said.
All five candidates will be on the primary ballot which will be held June 2.
The Republican and Democratic nominees will face independent Ken Miyagishima — if he gets more than 14,000 signatures and files on June 25, per the Secretary of State’s office.
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