(Breitbart) Nearly 50 percent of likely California voters revealed that they are considering voting for a Republican candidate to be the next governor of the state in 2026, according to a recent poll.
A poll conducted between March 6-9 “of likely voters in the upcoming November 2026 California gubernatorial race found that 48 percent said they would “consider” voting for a Republican for governor, according to 790 KABC radio.
The poll was conducted by national pollster David Wolfson, according to 790 KABC.
Per 790 KABC, the poll also found that 83 percent of voters feel that “gas prices are too high” in the state, and almost 25 percent of Californians believe that biological males who identify as transgender “should compete in female sports,” among other issues:
• 83% of voters said gas prices are too high in California
• 73% support fully funding anti-crime Prop. 36, which State Democrat Leaders have refused to do
• 72% feel homelessness still is a big problem after years of Democrat control Sacramento
• 71% believe the Democrats in charge have not addressed the state’s high cost of living
• 69% think Democrats in Sacramento have not done enough to bring down energy/utility costs
• 62% support a “full independent investigation” of the recent Los Angeles Wildfires
• Only 24% of Californians think males (transgender) should compete in female sports
Breitbart News’s Simon Kent reported in February that a survey from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill found that former Vice President Kamala Harris was the frontrunner among Democrat contenders to replace California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The poll found that 57 percent of Democrat primary voters in the state would support Harris in a gubernatorial run in California.
Former Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) recently announced that she is stepping into California’s gubernatorial race, stating that “what California needs now is a little bit of hope and a whole lot of grit, fresh blood and new ideas,” according to NBC News.
US President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, described on CBS Sunday the progress and strategy behind the American strikes against the Houthis.
Waltz discussed the severity of the Houthi threat, adding that they are armed with more advanced weapons than other terror groups and have the backing of Iran.
“These guys are like Al-Qaeda or ISIS with advanced cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and some of the most sophisticated air defenses, all provided by Iran,” Waltz said.
The Houthis have downed 20 American Reaper drones since the beginning of the conflict for a total cost of $30 million.
However, Waltz added that the US has made decisive strikes against the Houthis.
“We’ve taken out key Houthi leadership, including their chief missileer, weapons depots, communications hubs, and even some of their over-the-water drone facilities, just in the last couple of days,” he said.
“President Trump has decided to hit the Houthis and hit them hard, as opposed to the last administration, when weeks or months would go by after one of these attacks. As a result, we’ve had one of the world’s most critical sea lanes get shut down.”
Waltz emphasized the need to attack the Houthis, given their disruption of international shipping.
“The last time one of our destroyers went through that area, it was attacked 23 times. Seventy-five percent of our US-flagged shipping now has to go around Africa instead of through the Suez Canal. Keeping that route open is part of our national security.”
The Houthis have officially declared an aerial blockade of Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, stating they will continue launching missiles at the airport until the IDF withdraws from the Gaza Strip.
Ben Gurion Airport, located near Tel Aviv, is Israel’s largest airport and is the primary hub for international flights to and from the country.
“Following the success of our Yemeni Armed Forces in halting Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, we are now imposing a blockade on Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Palestine,” the Houthis posted on X.
By: Michael Miller and Ligia Guallpa – NYDailyNews.com
The narrative around street safety all too often pits one group against another: Pedestrians and drivers admonish e-bike riders for traffic violations. E-bike riders berate drivers who swerve into the bike lanes.
The reality is this: while some attempt to divide us by how we navigate the city, we are all users of our streets, subject to the whims of those who benefit most from speed and chaos — the app companies. We should know.
As a rabbi who was recently struck by an e-bike rider traveling at high speed in the wrong direction, with surgically implanted leg hardware to prove it, and the executive director of Worker’s Justice Project, which advocates for delivery workers citywide, the expectation is for us to stand in opposition to one another.
We’re going to do better than that. We are united in the belief that to solve the problem of havoc on our streets, we need to look with clear eyes at its root cause: All of us.
We are all addicted to the convenience of touch-of-a-button delivery. Legislation cannot place the onus exclusively on delivery workers with no recognition of the economic environment in which they work.
Today, we stand together in support of innovative City Council legislation that will help bring order to our streets by regulating the third-party delivery companies that prioritize speed to maximize profits.
In the same way that the city regulated rideshare companies when they first came on the market more than a decade ago, the bill offers a new licensing structure for third-party delivery apps, putting the burden on companies who stand to make money from the size and 24-hour nature of our city as well as the craving for near-instant dispatch.
It brings the delivery landscape further into the daylight at long last while protecting workers’ individual rights and safety:
Licensed companies will be required to ensure that delivery workers use legal devices, including by providing them directly to their workers if they need them — since no one wants to spend all day on top of a ticking bomb, or bring one into their family home.
Additionally, companies will be required to ensure that delivery workers complete a safety training course and follow traffic rules — establishing a baseline understanding of expectations so that even those new to our city have the knowledge base they need to succeed.
Crucially, companies will also be required to share trip and other data to ensure compliance — because data is power, and the city can’t manage what it can’t measure. Ultimately it establishes penalties for companies that fail to comply with any of these requirements, with the most extreme scenario including the removal of a license to continue operating in one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic markets.
And we call on the Council to go one step further, equipping workers more fully with the tools to challenge the algorithmic pressures they face by creating rules around deactivation.
Too many workers who slow down, alter routes or refuse orders in dangerous conditions to prioritize safety have been deactivated. That’s unjust, and it adds to the chaos we all feel.
Workers shouldn’t have to choose between their safety and their job. As a city, we shouldn’t have to choose between our safety and quick delivery.
A supplement that guarantees deactivation protections will help workers feel secure in slowing down, bringing the intent of this legislation more fully to bear.
For too long, the apps have operated in a sort of legal gray zone without much oversight, as they chase a buck on the backs of hardworking delivery workers forced to make choices they wouldn’t otherwise make for fear of being locked out, and at great risk to pedestrians and other road users.
This bill will help put an end to that.
Even if it becomes law, there will still be room for law enforcement in this conversation. No one should run red lights or go the wrong direction down a one-way street. But to treat law enforcement as the first and last form of defense undersells the broader landscape.
As representatives of two sides of the same coin, we urge the Council to introduce and pass this proposed legislation to intelligently regulate a growing and vital delivery industry while restoring a sense of safety to pedestrians, riders and drivers alike. (NYDailyNews.com)
This article originally appeared in the New York Daily News.
Michael Miller, a rabbi, is the former CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council. Guallpa is the executive director of the Worker’s Justice Project, which launched the Los Deliveristas Unidos campaign in 2020 to protect the rights of NYC’s 65,000 app delivery workers.
Tragic E-Bike Collision Claims Life of Brooklyn Pedestrian in Greenpoint: Ongoing Concerns Over E-Bike Safety Intensify
Edited by: TJVNews.com
A devastating accident on a Brooklyn street has once again cast a spotlight on the growing dangers of e-bikes in New York City. As reported by VIN News, a 49-year-old man, identified as Luis Cruz, tragically lost his life on Friday night after being struck by an electric bicycle while attempting to cross a street in Greenpoint.
According to the information provided by VIN News, the incident occurred at approximately 7:45 p.m. on Franklin Street near Green Street, a bustling area in the heart of Greenpoint. Cruz, who was walking across the roadway, was hit with significant force by an oncoming e-bike. The impact left him with severe head trauma, prompting emergency responders to rush him to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition. Despite medical efforts, Cruz was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
The e-bike rider involved in the crash remained at the scene, according to NYPD statements cited by VIN News. Authorities have confirmed that no criminal charges have been filed and no criminality is currently suspected in the incident. Nevertheless, the NYPD cordoned off the area, closing Franklin Street for several hours to allow investigators to thoroughly examine the circumstances surrounding the fatal collision.
This tragic event has fueled renewed concern and public scrutiny over the proliferation of e-bikes on New York City streets. As VIN News reported, city officials have faced mounting pressure in recent months to implement more robust safety regulations and enforcement mechanisms in response to reckless e-bike riding and related accidents.
The incident is not occurring in a vacuum. For months, the Jewish community in nearby Williamsburg has been sounding the alarm over the hazards posed by electric bicycles. As VIN News has previously documented, community leaders and residents have voiced their frustrations over e-bike riders weaving dangerously through pedestrian-heavy areas, often disregarding traffic rules and endangering vulnerable pedestrians. Their warnings have now taken on a grim resonance in the wake of Cruz’s death.
The growing popularity of e-bikes—favored for their affordability, speed, and efficiency—has come with a steep cost: an uptick in accidents, injuries, and fatalities, many involving pedestrians. Critics argue that while e-bikes offer a convenient transportation alternative, city infrastructure and enforcement have failed to keep pace with their rapid rise. As highlighted in VIN News coverage, many e-bike operators are not licensed, and in several cases, ride on sidewalks or in the wrong direction, creating chaotic and often hazardous conditions.
This latest fatality in Greenpoint serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for a citywide safety overhaul, particularly in neighborhoods where foot traffic is heavy and street crossings are frequent. Advocates are calling for stricter e-bike regulations, enhanced traffic law enforcement, and more robust public education campaigns to promote rider responsibility.
As the city mourns the loss of Luis Cruz, the tragic circumstances surrounding his death are likely to intensify calls for action—not just from civic leaders and transportation officials, but from communities across Brooklyn and beyond. VIN News will continue to monitor developments surrounding this incident and the broader debate over e-bike safety in New York City.
For now, one question looms large: how many more lives must be lost before real change is enacted?
(AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia University is “on the right track” toward recovering federal funding after the elite New York City university agreed to implement a host of policy changes demanded by the Trump administration
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, McMahon described “great conversations” with Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
“She said she knew that this was her responsibility to make sure that children on her campus were safe,” McMahon said. “She wanted to make sure there was no discrimination of any kind. She wanted to address any systemic issues that were identified relative to the antisemitism on campus.”
Armstrong announced Friday that the university would put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline. It also agreed to adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand “intellectual diversity” by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to an outline posted on its website.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over how the university handled protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. In order to consider restoring those funds and billions more in future grants, federal officials demanded nine separate changes to the university’s academic and security policies.
Armstrong’s decision acceding to the administration’s demands drew condemnation from some faculty and free speech groups, who accused the university of caving to President Donald Trump’s largely unprecedented intrusion on academic freedom.
Asked whether the university had done enough to secure its funding, McMahon said: “We are on the right track now to make sure the final negotiations to unfreeze that money will be in place.”
The Trump administration’s crackdown on Columbia University, where a massive pro-Palestinian protest movement began with a tent encampment last spring, has thrust the campus into crisis and sparked fears of similar actions at colleges across the country.
Federal immigration officials on March 8 arrested Mahmoud Khalil, an activist who served as a spokesperson and negotiator for pro-Palestinian demonstrators last year. Khalil, a legal permanent resident, is challenging his detention and potential deportation in court.
French President Emmanuel Macron (AP/Kamil Zihnioglu, Pool
(AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Sunday the “poison of antisemitism” following a shocking attack on the chief rabbi of the central city of Orleans. French authorities are treating the incident as an antisemitic hate crime.
Rabbi Arié Engelberg was assaulted Saturday evening while walking in the city center with his young son. Local media reported that the suspect hurled antisemitic insults at the rabbi before physically attacking him.
“The attack on Rabbi Arié Engelberg in Orléans shocks us all. I offer him, his son, and all our fellow citizens of the Jewish faith my full support and that of the nation … We will not give in to silence or inaction,” Macron wrote in a post on X.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the assault and transferred to a psychiatric facility, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin confirmed. “I condemn with the greatest firmness the antisemitic attack of the Chief Rabbi of Orléans,” he posted on X. “He has all my support. The suspect was arrested and placed in a psychiatric facility.”
Darmanin later added: “France cannot allow itself to become a stage for foreign tensions that fuel violence and antisemitism.”
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“No, anti-Semitism is not ‘residual,’” said Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), reacting on X. “Those who minimize, relativize, or justify hatred of Jews by a conflict 4,000 km away bear an immense responsibility.”
The rabbi was not seriously injured but was left shaken, local media reported. Orleans’ mayor, Serge Grouard, condemned the “heinous and intolerable act,” describing it as “a serious attack on the values of our Republic.”
France is home to Western Europe’s largest Jewish population, with an estimated 500,000 Jews—approximately 1% of the national population. It is the third-largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel and the United States. That prominence has made France a frequent flashpoint for rising antisemitism, particularly during moments of heightened international conflict.
In recent years, antisemitic incidents have surged, with a sharp increase reported in 2023 after the Oct.7 Hamas attacks in Israel. These include physical assaults, threats, vandalism, and harassment, prompting alarm among Jewish communities and leaders.
According to figures released Sunday by the French Interior Ministry, 1,570 antisemitic acts were recorded in 2024, representing 62% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the country. While that marks a 6% decrease from the previous year, the ministry noted that 65% of those acts targeted individuals directly — unlike anti-religious incidents against other faiths, which tend to involve property. Physical or personal assaults were up 3% year over year.
FILE - Acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, speaks during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir, File)
(AP) – The U.S. has lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister who also heads a powerful network blamed for bloody attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government, officials in Kabul said Sunday.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who acknowledged planning a January 2008 attack on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed six people, including U.S. citizen Thor David Hesla, no longer appears on the State Department’s Rewards for Justice website. The FBI website on Sunday still featured a wanted poster for him.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the U.S. government had revoked the bounties placed on Haqqani, Abdul Aziz Haqqani, and Yahya Haqqani.
“These three individuals are two brothers and one paternal cousin,” Qani told the Associated Press.
The Haqqani network grew into one of the deadliest arms of the Taliban after the U.S.-led 2001 invasion of Afghanistan.
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The group employed roadside bombs, suicide bombings and other attacks, including on the Indian and U.S. embassies, the Afghan presidency, and other major targets. They also have been linked to extortion, kidnapping and other criminal activity.
A Foreign Ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, said the Taliban’s release of U.S. prisoner George Glezmann on Friday and the removal of bounties showed both sides were “moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress” in bilateral relations.
“The recent developments in Afghanistan-U.S. relations are a good example of the pragmatic and realistic engagement between the two governments,” said Jalaly.
Another official, Shafi Azam, hailed the development as the beginning of normalization in 2025, citing the Taliban’s announcement it was in control of Afghanistan’s embassy in Norway.
Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, China has been the most prominent country to accept one of their diplomats. Other countries have accepted de facto Taliban representatives, like Qatar, which has been a key mediator between the U.S. and the Taliban. U.S. envoys have also met the Taliban.
The Taliban’s rule, especially bans affecting women and girls, has triggered widespread condemnation and deepened their international isolation.
Haqqani has previously spoken out against the Taliban’s decision-making process, authoritarianism, and alienation of the Afghan population.
His rehabilitation on the international stage is in contrast to the status of the reclusive Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who could face arrest by the International Criminal Court for his persecution of women.
The FBI said on March 22 that Americans should be wary of individuals who may try to target Tesla dealerships and vehicles as a rash of arson and vandalism persists.
In a post on social media platform X, the bureau is warning Americans to employ “vigilance and awareness around Tesla locations” amid a series of “nationwide incidents” including “arson, gunfire, and vandalism targeting Tesla EVs, dealerships, and charging stations” in at least nine states.
While the FBI did not make mention of the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, serving as an adviser to President Donald Trump and frontman for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the agency noted that the attacks are “linked to political grievances.”
Separately, the FBI released a bulletin a day earlier that provided more details about graffiti written on Tesla vehicles and property and that they contain “grievances against those the perpetrators perceive to be racists, fascists, or political opponents.”
“These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night,” the bulletin said. “Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes.”
Americans are advised to be aware of violent threats made against specific Tesla locations and properties, surveillance or photography of Tesla personnel or dealerships, or attempts to gain access to Tesla locations or related properties, the FBI said. The agency also recommends that people report such activity to the FBI or local police.
“Reporting these crimes can help law enforcement identify violent or malicious actors and prevent further damage,” the FBI added.
On March 20, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against three individuals who allegedly carried out attacks against Tesla dealerships. Those individuals face between five and 20 years in a federal prison if convicted, officials said.
One person was arrested after allegedly throwing eight Molotov cocktails at a Salem, Oregon, Tesla dealership, while another person was arrested in Loveland, Colorado, after allegedly trying to set Tesla vehicles on fire with Molotov cocktails, the DOJ said. An individual in Charleston, South Carolina, was arrested after writing messages critical of Trump near Tesla charging stations before lighting them on fire with Molotov cocktails.
“The days of committing crimes without consequence have ended,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “Let this be a warning: if you join this wave of domestic terrorism against Tesla properties, the Department of Justice will put you behind bars.”
Musk said in a March 20 post on X that his car company has ramped up security and activated its “Sentry Mode” on all vehicles at dealerships. Earlier this month, Trump purchased a new red Tesla vehicle on the White House driveway to show his support for Musk’s company amid the vandalism and a drop in the company’s stock price of more than 24 percent over the past 30 days.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks were recalled by U.S. safety regulators after discovering that an exterior panel on left and right side of the vehicle’s windshield could detach while driving and potentially create a road hazard. The recall impacts more than 46,000 vehicles, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Tesla said that it will replace the panel at no cost to drivers and will send recall notification letters on May 19 to Cybertruck owners.
Schumer claims an Illinois-based gun manufacturer could be breaking the law for peddling a smaller and lighter version of an AR-15 aimed at an audience of children. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on March 23 that he will not step down as the Senate’s Democratic leader amid internal party criticism over his decision to support a Republican-backed funding bill to avoid a government shutdown earlier this month.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that he knew that voting for the funding measure would trigger “a lot of controversy” among members of his own party.
Schumer then explained the rationale behind his vote. “Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” he told the outlet.
“And I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree.”
Democrats were confronted with two options, including allowing passage of a bill that they believe gives President Donald Trump vast discretion on spending decisions or letting funding lapse. After Schumer said he’d vote to advance the spending measure, 10 Democrats supported breaking the 60-vote filibuster threshold, allowing the bill to pass.
The controversy that ensued among Democrats prompted Schumer last week to postpone his book tour amid a series of planned progressive demonstrations.
Several House Democrats, including members of the progressive wing, have been critical of Schumer’s vote and have suggested that he step down.
“The American people are fed up with the old guard, there needs to be a renewal,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told CNN on March 23. “You know, in Silicon Valley, when a company isn’t doing well, you don’t keep the same team.”
“And I think there’s going to be a new generation in this country,” the California Democrat said in response when questioned about whether Schumer should remain leader.
Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) targeted Schumer for saying he would vote to back the bill.
“There is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, adding that it “is not just about progressive Democrats,” and accused Schumer of betraying “the entire party.”
Days later, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told NewsNation that he respects Schumer but suggested that “it may be time for Senate Democrats to choose a new leader,” when asked whether Schumer should step down.
In an interview that also aired on Feb. 23 on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, criticized Schumer and other members of Democratic leadership in the Senate. But he abruptly ended the interview when asked about Ocasio-Cortez potentially being elected to the Senate, as some pundits have suggested.
“I don’t want to talk about inside-the-beltway stuff,” Sanders said in response to questioning about Schumer’s position.
Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a former House speaker, was also counted among those who were critical of Schumer’s vote. “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi said in response to the decision. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
“We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten [Republicans] to agree to a third way,” she told reporters in reference to a separate proposal by some Democrats to extend spending by another 30 days to secure more talks with Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers.
On March 14, the former speaker also released a statement that was critical of the Trump administration and senior presidential adviser Elon Musk, who Pelosi said gave Congress “a false choice” between funding their priorities and a government shutdown.
Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2028. The other U.S. senator from New York, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), was reelected in the 2024 election and isn’t up for reelection until 2030.
In a sudden and deeply unsettling development, former U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber was found dead inside her Alexandria, Virginia, residence on the morning of March 22, sending shockwaves through the legal and federal law enforcement community. As reported by The Epoch Times, authorities have launched an active investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death, although few details have been made public.
According to a formal statement from the Alexandria Police Department, officers responded at 9:18 a.m. to a call about an unresponsive woman at a home located in the 900 block of Beverley Drive. Upon arrival, police discovered the body of 43-year-old Jessica Aber, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have not yet disclosed a cause of death, and officials have confirmed that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia is working to determine both the cause and manner of her passing.
The report in The Epoch Times noted that Aber had only recently concluded her tenure as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the nation’s most prominent and high-profile prosecutorial posts. She had been appointed to the role by President Joe Biden, receiving unanimous confirmation from the U.S. Senate on October 5, 2021. Her resignation took effect just minutes before President Trump’s inauguration, as her term officially ended on January 20 at 11:59 a.m.
Aber’s sudden and unexplained death—so soon after stepping down from a highly sensitive federal position—raises quiet but unavoidable questions about the potential risks and pressures that may have accompanied her role. Though no foul play has been confirmed, the abruptness of her death has sparked subtle speculation among some observers regarding whether Aber’s high-ranking status and exposure to complex federal investigations might somehow be linked to her demise. As The Epoch Times reported, the police have not indicated any suspicion of homicide, yet the unusual timing and absence of cause leave room for concern in the minds of many.
Aber’s tenure in the Justice Department was marked by a formidable record of tackling a wide range of high-stakes federal cases, including financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime, and child exploitation, according to The Epoch Times report. She had served in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2009, building a reputation for incisive legal strategy, unshakable integrity, and a commitment to justice.
In her January 17 resignation announcement, Aber expressed her deep appreciation to those who had supported her journey, specifically citing Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, President Biden, and Attorney General Merrick Garland. “I am proud of the work we have done with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to enforce the law and build community trust,” she stated, as reported by The Epoch Times.
Following the tragic news, her successor, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert, paid a heartfelt tribute, describing her as an “unmatched leader, mentor, and prosecutor.” In a social media post cited by The Epoch Times, Siebert wrote, “We are heartbroken beyond words to learn of the passing of our friend and former colleague… Her professionalism, grace, and legal acumen set the standard.”
Siebert further emphasized Aber’s unwavering dedication to the Eastern District of Virginia, calling her a “proud Virginian” who loved her work and left an indelible mark on the office she once led. “We remain committed to her life’s work, a commitment to seeking justice, as she would have wanted,” he added.
Despite the outpouring of grief and admiration, the fact remains that the circumstances surrounding Aber’s death are not yet fully explained. While The Epoch Times reported that a routine investigation is underway, her unique position as a recently departed federal prosecutor—deeply involved in sensitive matters of national legal consequence—leaves many wondering whether her passing will be remembered simply as a tragic loss, or as part of a deeper, still-unknown story.
For now, the legal community mourns a dedicated public servant whose influence extended far beyond her years—and whose death, however officially categorized, may leave behind more questions than answers.
You’ll find over-the-top Marie Antoinette-style flourishes throughout.
Gold Standard Realty
Valery Kogan’s Lavish 15 Central Park West Penthouse Sells for $33.89M Amid Billionaire’s Global Property Liquidation
Edited by: TJVNews.com
In a striking chapter of New York City’s high-end real estate narrative, Russian billionaire Valery Kogan and his wife Olga have officially sold their ultra-luxurious penthouse at the iconic 15 Central Park West for $33.89 million, according to city property records reviewed and reported by The New York Post.
The sale, finalized and filed on Monday, marks the end of a protracted listing saga that began in 2023, when the residence was first introduced to the market at a staggering $65 million. Notably, the final sale also includes the penthouse’s opulent furniture, adding even more cachet to what’s already considered one of Manhattan’s most extravagant private residences.
An eat-in kitchen and dining area inside the billionaires’ home. Gold Standard Realty
As reported by The New York Post, the penthouse is a breathtaking 5,398-square-foot spread on the 40th floor, dripping in lavish detail and designed in what insiders have dubbed an “extreme-Versailles” style. This architectural fantasy features 24-karat gold ornaments, large onyx tables, a giant malachite stone fireplace, and a stained-glass door. The interiors also include rich carved woodwork, custom parquet floors, and a sprawling chef’s kitchen, all set against a backdrop of panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline and Central Park.
The residence includes four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, and an elaborate home office that doubles as a screening room, highlighting both luxury and functionality. The limestone-clad building was famously designed by Robert A.M. Stern, and, as The New York Post revealed, the same architectural firm was also responsible for crafting the penthouse’s interior design. A source close to the transaction added that the anonymous buyer—shielded behind a shell company—is considering retaining Stern’s firm to “refresh” the space without altering its original aesthetic.
Despite the property’s gilded grandeur, it once faced the specter of foreclosure, a startling turn for such a palatial property in one of Manhattan’s most elite addresses. The listing was part of the Kogans’ post-Ukraine war real estate fire sale, following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as detailed in The New York Post report. That geopolitical event appears to have triggered a cascade of asset divestments by prominent Russian oligarchs, including Kogan.
Gold Standard Realty
The timing of the penthouse sale is particularly notable as Valery Kogan’s legal and political battles back in Russia intensify. According to the information provided in The New York Post report, Kogan is currently entangled in a dispute with President Vladimir Putin’s government over the ownership of Domodedovo Airport, one of Moscow’s major transportation hubs. Russian prosecutors have recently filed a case against Kogan and business partner Dmitry Kamenshchik, accusing them of failing to comply with efforts to renationalize the airport’s managing company—a property long regarded by the Kremlin as strategic to national security.
It’s not the first time the Russian government has moved to reclaim Domodedovo, which was originally privatized in 1997. Under current Russian law, foreign-controlled entities are prohibited from holding stakes in certain critical infrastructure assets, and Kogan’s holdings have increasingly come under official scrutiny.
The Central Park West sale is just one of many properties the Kogans have offloaded in recent years. As detailed in The New York Post report, the couple recently sold a 7-acre estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, for $10.4 million and are still attempting to sell their Plaza Hotel condo, which boasts a castle-like turret and is currently listed at $23 million—a steep drop from its original $50 million asking price.
Across the hall from the Plaza suite, Unit 1008, a one-bedroom apartment, is listed for under $3 million, with both listings handled by Compass broker Charlie Attias, as The New York Post report noted.
Internationally, the Kogans have also liquidated an Israeli penthouse for $33 million and sold a condo at 515 Park Avenue for $14.5 million, a significant markdown from its initial $25 million listing. In a particularly striking example of price erosion, their second Israeli estate, originally listed for $259 million, is now asking $89 million, reflecting a global pullback in Kogan’s once-sprawling property empire.
While the identity of the new owner of the Central Park West penthouse remains unknown, hidden behind layers of corporate anonymity, sources indicate the buyer has no intention of drastically altering the palatial aesthetic. According to The New York Post report, the buyer has expressed admiration for the original design and may simply modernize the infrastructure while preserving its ornate character.
The listing broker, Adam Rothman of Douglas Elliman, declined to comment to The New York Post on the transaction, leaving the motivations of the new owner—and the precise fate of the penthouse’s “extreme-Versailles” legacy—open to speculation.
The sale of Valery Kogan’s Central Park West penthouse marks not just the end of a luxury real estate listing, but a symbol of the shifting fortunes of global oligarchs navigating turbulent geopolitical and economic tides. The sale is part of a much broader pattern of asset liquidation that tells a deeper story—one that spans from New York’s skyline to the Kremlin’s courtroom.
Gary Barnett’s Extell bought the holdout lot at 576 Fifth Ave., next to his larger 574 Fifth Ave. The combined sites will have the address of 570 Fifth Ave. in this rendering of the tower he will build.
KPF
Gary Barnett Secures Full Fifth Avenue Blockfront After Decade-Long Pursuit, Plans $1B Tower With Manhattan’s First Ikea
Edited by: TJVNews.com
After ten years of relentless negotiations, strategic acquisitions, and high-stakes real estate maneuvering, Extell Development Chairman Gary Barnett has finally completed what many in the industry considered an elusive feat: securing the entire blockfront on Fifth Avenue between West 46th and 47th Streets, one of the most coveted parcels in Manhattan. As reported by The New York Post, Barnett finalized the acquisition of the last remaining piece — the holdout property at 576 Fifth Avenue — in a deal that officially closed on Thursday night.
The transaction marks the culmination of a decade-long chess game played across Midtown real estate, positioning Extell to build a 33-story, 1.1 million-square-foot mixed-use tower, featuring office space and a landmark retail component — Manhattan’s first-ever Ikea superstore.
According to the report in The New York Post, Extell paid a staggering $175 million for 576 Fifth Avenue, significantly more than the $101 million that South Korea’s enigmatic Sae-A Trading Co. shelled out for the same property just two years prior in 2021. Despite acknowledging the premium price, Barnett made no apologies for the hefty sum. “We paid a stupid price, but it gives us the whole block, which is amazing,” he told The Post, adding that the deal provides “the largest footprint available in Midtown and maybe anywhere.”
The acquisition consolidates Extell’s holdings at 574 and 576 Fifth Avenue, granting the developer a contiguous, uninterrupted site for the future skyscraper. The entire development will be readdressed under the unified designation of 570 Fifth Avenue.
The architectural plans for the development are being led by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), one of the world’s premier architectural firms. Barnett revealed to The New York Post that plans for the tower will soon be submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings, with delivery to tenants expected in approximately three years. Excavation work is already well underway, signaling Extell’s urgency to move forward on the $1 billion-plus venture.
The tower’s blueprint will feature a gradation in floor sizes — massive 65,000-square-foot plates at the base, tapering to more intimate 27,000-square-foot floors at the top, offering flexibility for both large corporate tenants and boutique office users. The office component alone will exceed 1 million square feet, placing it among the largest new commercial developments in Midtown.
As explained in The New York Post report, the project’s most headline-grabbing tenant is undoubtedly Ikea, whose parent company, Ingka Investments, has partnered with Extell on the development. Ingka will own 80,000 square feet outright, establishing the furniture giant’s first superstore in Manhattan — a significant milestone for both Ikea and the city’s retail landscape.
In a city where retail square footage is both premium-priced and hard to secure, Ikea’s move to Fifth Avenue represents a bold expansion strategy and a notable departure from its traditional big-box suburban locations. Its presence in Midtown could reshape pedestrian traffic patterns, draw new customer demographics, and act as a magnet for other high-profile retail brands.
While Extell now holds the full block, The New York Post report detailed the high-stakes drama that nearly derailed Barnett’s vision. The corner parcel at West 47th Street, now known as 576 Fifth Avenue, was originally controlled by a local partnership. In a surprise twist, Sae-A Trading Co. swooped in unexpectedly and purchased the property, demolished the existing 12-story diamond district building, but never filed development plans. The sudden move left Barnett with an incomplete footprint and a project with what he called a “missing tooth” at its northern end.
Despite being prepared to proceed without the corner lot, Barnett understood the symbolic and practical value of a seamless blockfront. Now, with full ownership in hand, Extell is poised to move forward without compromise.
The significance of this project extends beyond its architectural grandeur. According to the information provided in The New York Post report, this development represents a vote of confidence in the future of Midtown Manhattan, which continues to evolve in a post-pandemic commercial landscape. With remote work habits reshaping office demand and retail undergoing seismic shifts, Extell’s megaproject doubles as both a financial gamble and a strategic urban statement.
For Barnett, however, the risks are part of the reward. “You don’t get opportunities like this often,” he told The New York Post, clearly relishing the magnitude of what he’s accomplished. After ten years of patience, persistence, and negotiation, Gary Barnett now holds one of Midtown’s most commanding addresses — and he intends to make it a centerpiece of Manhattan’s next generation of real estate landmarks.
Oracle and U.S. Investors Eye TikTok Takeover Amid National Security Showdown — ByteDance’s Future in U.S. Market Uncertain
Edited by: TJVNews.com
A new front has opened in the long-running battle over TikTok’s future in the United States, with several major U.S.-based investors reportedly teaming up with Larry Ellison’s Oracle in a fresh attempt to spin off TikTok’s U.S. operations and avert an all-out ban. As reported by The New York Post, the proposed deal would involve a strategic reshaping of TikTok’s ownership structure to quell national security concerns while preserving access to its massive U.S. user base.
According to the information provided in The New York Post report, investment firms General Atlantic, Susquehanna International Group, KKR, and Coatue Management are in advanced discussions to acquire additional equity stakes in a restructured U.S.-based TikTok entity. The plan, detailed by The Financial Times and cited by The Post, would involve buying out TikTok’s Chinese shareholders, effectively reducing ByteDance’s control over the app’s American arm.
The goal: create a new U.S. consortium with a clear firewall between TikTok’s operations and Chinese government influence, an accusation that has long dogged the popular short-form video platform.
Oracle, which already functions as TikTok’s cloud services provider, is slated to play a leading role in the deal. As The New York Post report indicated, the enterprise software giant would not only take an ownership stake in the new U.S. entity but also serve as a data security guarantor, ensuring the personal information of over 170 million American users is stored and handled exclusively within the United States.
The company previously spearheaded “Project Texas,” a heavily publicized initiative aimed at convincing U.S. lawmakers that TikTok could operate safely by relocating U.S. user data to Oracle servers. However, Project Texas ultimately failed to satisfy national security hawks in Congress, who viewed ByteDance’s continued ownership as a fatal flaw in the arrangement.
Now, Oracle’s return to center stage signals a second chance for a security-centric compromise — albeit one still fraught with political hurdles.
Despite efforts to restructure ownership, ByteDance reportedly still wants to retain a minority stake in the proposed U.S. spinoff — a detail that could derail the entire transaction, The New York Post report warned.
The reason: Congress passed a law mandating full divestiture, requiring ByteDance to completely sever ties with TikTok’s U.S. operations. Any continued Chinese ownership would violate the spirit — and possibly the letter — of the law, a fact not lost on Senator Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a vocal skeptic of partial divestment schemes.
As The New York Post’s “On The Money” column recently reported, Cotton has made it clear to Trump administration officials that he will not support any agreement that leaves ByteDance with a seat at the table. The sentiment is widely shared across both parties, as lawmakers increasingly view TikTok as a proxy battleground in the broader struggle against Chinese influence over U.S. digital infrastructure.
The timing couldn’t be more pressing. President Trump, having returned to the White House, recently signed an executive order granting ByteDance a 75-day grace period to finalize a sale — pushing the new deadline to April 5. The reprieve came after ByteDance missed the previous January 19 divestment deadline, which had temporarily activated the Congressional ban on the platform.
Trump, in recent remarks cited by The New York Post, has vowed to “save” TikTok, asserting that the U.S. should retain a 50% ownership stake in any reformed version of the app. He has tapped Vice President JD Vance to oversee negotiations and said his administration is in talks with “four different groups” interested in acquiring the platform.
Notably, Trump has explicitly endorsed Oracle and Ellison’s involvement, indicating that the software behemoth could serve as both a political and technological bridge between policymakers and private investors.
Even if the proposed U.S.-led buyout clears the hurdles in Washington, it may still face resistance from Beijing. The Chinese government has already stated it will not permit the sale of TikTok’s powerful recommendation algorithm, the technological heart of the app’s viral success. Without control of the algorithm, many analysts argue, a U.S.-owned TikTok would be little more than a shell of its current self.
That restriction could become a deal-breaker, especially for Oracle and other U.S. firms tasked with operating a version of TikTok stripped of its core engine of engagement. As The New York Post reported, a potential compromise would allow ByteDance to retain control of the algorithm while Oracle manages the infrastructure — but such a hybrid arrangement could again run afoul of national security demands.
As the April 5 deadline looms, the fate of TikTok in the United States remains uncertain. What’s clear, as The New York Post report emphasized, is that any deal short of complete divestment from Chinese control will likely face fierce opposition in Congress and possibly renewed legal challenges.
For now, the Biden administration is publicly noncommittal, and The White House has confirmed to The Post that no final decision has been made on any proposed TikTok acquisition.
But with national security, free enterprise, and international diplomacy all colliding in one high-stakes negotiation, the next few weeks may determine not only TikTok’s future — but the shape of U.S.-China tech policy for years to come.
Pro-Hamas agitator Mahmoud Khalil on the Columbia University campus in New York at an anti-Israel protest encampment (Ted Shaffrey/AP)
(A7) Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student activist responsible for anti-Israel protests on campus, appeared in immigration court on Friday at a remote detention center in Louisiana as his legal team works to secure his release, The Associated Press reported.
Khalil, 30, sat alone through the brief hearing, which focused solely on scheduling. His attorney, participating via video, requested additional time to review the case. The immigration judge set a full hearing for April 8.
The proceedings took place in a windowless courtroom inside an isolated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility near Jena, Louisiana. The hearing came two days after a federal judge in New York ordered Khalil’s case to be transferred to New Jersey.
Meanwhile, Khalil’s legal team is also pursuing action in federal court to challenge his detention and potential deportation.
Khalil was detained by immigration authorities on March 8 as part of the Trump administration’s effort to combat what it describes as antisemitic and “anti-American” campus protests. He previously served as a spokesperson for pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators opposing Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
On Tuesday, Khalil issued his first public statement since the arrest, accusing both the Trump and Biden administrations of “anti-Palestinian racism”.
“My unjust detention is indicative of the anti-Palestinian racism that both the Biden and Trump administrations have demonstrated over the past 16 months as the US has continued to supply Israel with weapons to kill Palestinians and prevented international intervention,” Khalil declared.
“For decades, anti-Palestinian racism has driven efforts to expand US laws and practices that are used to violently repress Palestinians, Arab Americans, and other communities. That is precisely why I am being targeted,” he added.
Columbia has come under increased scrutiny over the rise in antisemitism on campus since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023 and has seen a resurgence of anti-Israel activity in recent weeks.
In January, anti-Israel students disrupted an Israeli history class by banging drums, chanting “Free Palestine,” and distributing fliers that depicted a boot stomping on a Star of David.
The students were later expelled, prompting protests at Barnard College. The demonstrations escalated when protesters took over the Barnard College library, leading to multiple arrests.
Khalil’s arrest followed the Trump administration’s official announcement that it would revoke $400 million in federal grants due to Columbia’s handling of antisemitism.
The university announced on Friday that it is taking steps to comply with the administration’s demands in order to restore the funding.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) said Thursday it has saved billions of dollars annually by cutting 50 million work hours, closing unnecessary facilities, and increasing plant productivity.
The changes translate to $2.5 billion in annual savings, the agency said in a March 20 statement.
Reductions are part of USPS’ Delivering for America 10-year plan which seeks to implement several changes to boost the agency’s financial and operational efficiency.
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On March 13, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said that USPS had terminated 30,000 workers since fiscal year 2021. Another 10,000 workers are expected to be laid off within a month, he added.
In addition to work-hour savings, Delivering for America has resulted in “$2.2 billion in annual transportation cost reductions by streamlining networks and optimizing air and surface options.”
USPS reported an increase in revenue by $3.5 billion annually by “adapting product offerings” as First-Class Mail volume has dropped
Elon Musk Says Amtrak, US Postal Service Should Be Privatized
USPS also announced implementing “refinements to service standards” which it claims will save the agency a minimum of $36 billion over the next decade through reductions in real estate, transportation, and mail and packaging costs.
Even though service enhancements are not expected to cause delays in the current First-Class Mail delivery time, changes in regional transportation schedules may extend service expectations by one day for mail collected at certain post offices locations. Overall, delivery speeds for both mail and packages are expected to improve, USPS said.
The agency plans on implementing service enhancements in two phases, with the first set to begin on April 1 and the second on July 1.
Last month, DeJoy said that the USPS has long been burdened by rules that failed to account for changes in mail volume and mix. This has resulted in “costly and ineffective” operations.
“For decades—and most specifically during the last three years—Congress has actively resisted operational solutions and meaningful change.”
USPS’ new cost reduction plan comes after the agency reported a net loss of $9.5 billion for fiscal year 2024, which was $3 billion more compared to 2023. The higher losses happened despite revenues rising slightly from $78.18 billion to $79.53 billion.
In April last year, a group of senators criticized USPS for raising postage rates.
Price hikes had “disastrous effects” in 2023, with mail volume falling by 11 billion pieces and the agency suffering $6.5 billion in losses, the senators wrote in a letter.
“Instead of connecting the two issues, USPS blamed inflation, despite mail prices nearly doubling inflation in that time period,” said the letter. Last year, USPS raised postal rates two times.
Working With DOGE
Last week, DeJoy informed congressional lawmakers that USPS has signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to work together on several issues.
DOGE and GSA are set to assist the postal agency in “identifying and achieving further efficiencies,” DeJoy said via letter. The focus shall be on reviewing the “mismanagement of our self-funded retirement assets and the actuarial miscalculations of our retirement obligations.”
The effort will look into the “mismanagement of our Workers’ Compensation Program” which resulted in $400 million in excessive annual charges compared to practices in the private industry.
GSA and DOGE intend to probe “burdensome regulatory requirements restricting normal business practice” at USPS which has cost the postal service more than $50 billion in damages, DeJoy wrote.
The American Postal Workers Union criticized USPS’ decision to work with DOGE, saying in a March 14 statement that there was “no legitimate role” for DOGE in the postal agency or any other federal agency.
“Our collective bargaining agreement is between the APWU and the Postal Service. Any effort by DOGE, or any other entity, to weaken our union rights or target our contractual protections and working conditions, will be met with immediate and sustained resistance by postal workers,” the union said.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Letter Carriers took a more open approach on the matter.
“Our understanding of the agreement between USPS and DOGE is that it does not grant” access to personal information of workers, association president Brian Renfroe said in a statement.
Several of the matters that DOGE could assist USPS with are issues that National Association of Letter Carriers has been actively looking at for many years, he said.
“These include USPS’s misallocated pension liabilities, which have cost the agency tens of billions of dollars, and a new investment strategy for USPS’s three retirement funds, which are currently held in Treasury bonds, missing out on hundreds of millions in annual returns.”
Earlier this month, DOGE-head Elon Musk suggested privatizing USPS, arguing that “logically, we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized.”
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National Association of Letter Carriers opposed the privatization idea. “A friendly reminder on behalf of every American who depends on USPS (including 51.5 million rural addresses): It’s called universal service, not ‘as much as possible’ service,” the group wrote in a post on social media platform X. “And we’ll #FightLikeHell to protect it.”
President Donald Trump had also previously suggested privatization of USPS. Last month, he raised the possibility of merging the postal service with the Commerce Department, an idea that was opposed by Democratic lawmakers.
The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Momodou Taal, a Cornell University graduate student who has called for the destruction of the United States, celebrated Hamas’s October 7 attacks, claimed to take his “cue from the armed resistance in Palestine,” and said “every single Zionist is a sick sick individual,” the Washington Free Beacon has learned.
Momodou Taal, a British and Gambian dual national, began studying at Cornell in 2022 on an F-1 student visa, which he no longer holds, according to a State Department official.
Taal’s lawyers confirmed in a court filing that the administration asked Taal to surrender to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at a facility in Syracuse, N.Y., for deportation proceedings. The request came in an early-morning email from the Department of Justice on Friday, the filing shows.
“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody,” wrote DOJ attorney Ethan Kanter in the email. “NTA” refers to a notice to appear, an ICE document that begins removal proceedings against a foreign national.
Taal’s lawyers asked a federal judge to block the deportation actions on an emergency basis, arguing that Taal was being targeted for deportation because of a federal lawsuit he filed against President Donald Trump’s executive order calling for the revocation of visas given to foreign students who support terrorism.
Taal filed the lawsuit on Saturday, several days after the Trump administration started publicly revoking visas of foreign nationals linked to pro-Hamas activism.
In the lawsuit, Taal argued that the looming threat of deportation had a “chilling” effect on his freedom of speech and has “deprived” other Cornell students and professors of hearing his “ideas and suggestions.” He asked a judge to halt Trump’s executive order.
Taal sought to depict the government’s decision to revoke his visa as retaliation for his lawsuit. He said his associates had spotted law enforcement officials stationed near his home Wednesday morning, which he called an attempt “to detain me to prevent me from having my day in court.” An Israeli activist group flagged Taal to the Trump administration long before he filed his lawsuit, the Free Beacon reported.
After Taal released his statement on the law enforcement spotting, a few dozen activists showed up at Cornell to protest his potential deportation on Thursday.
“Hands off Momodou,” the group chanted, waving signs opposing “mass deportation.”
Taal has repeatedly advocated for the destruction of the United States and for terrorism against Israel.
While leading an anti-Israel campus demonstration last year, Taal called on his fellow student protesters to take their “cue from the armed resistance in Palestine.”
“We are in solidarity with the armed resistance in Palestine from the river to the sea,” he said.
Taal made a similar statement hours after the October 7 attacks, writing, “The dialect demands: That wherever you have oppression, you will find those who [are] fighting against it. Glory to the resistance!”
Taal posted similar statements online in 2022 as he applied for his student visa. In one post, he wrote, “The end of the US empire in our lifetime in sha Allah.” Months later, he celebrated receiving his student visa, writing, “Student Visa issued. We going to America baby! Alhamdulillah!” Shortly thereafter, he tweeted, “My hatred of the US empire knows no bound. Wallahi.”
Taal has continued to post anti-American comments from his perch at Cornell. Last summer, he said he would support any group that sought the destruction of the United States.
“When the enemy is US imperialism, then absolutely anyone the US calls an enemy is my friend,” he posted in July. “My hatred for US imperialism and the global system it reproduces knows no bounds,” he wrote one month prior. “At this point; any movement, nation, people who are working to decrease the impact and effects of US imperialism on the world has my support.”
While studying at Cornell, meanwhile, Taal took aim at “Zionist-Jewish students at Ivy League institutions.”
“Every single Zionist is a sick sick individual,” he tweeted in 2023. “And there can be no path forward except for the complete eradication of Zionism; materially and mentally.” In another tweet, Taal wrote, “Zionists are indeed the chosen people… Chosen for hell.”
In Taal’s lawsuit filed last weekend, he complained that the Trump administration’s executive order to expel pro-Hamas visa holders had forced him to withdraw from “public engagement” and thus “deprived” his friends “of their rights to listen” to his “ideas and suggestions,” the Free Beacon reported.
The suit names two other plaintiffs, Cornell professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi and graduate student Sriram Parasurama, both U.S. citizens, who have allegedly “been deprived of their rights to listen to Mr. Taal’s ideas and suggestions about planning peaceful protests and organizing educational meetings about the rights of the Palestinian people,” as well as his “political insights into the historical, political, and sociological roots of what they understand to be a genocide against the people of Palestine.”
“The loss of Mr. Taal’s voice in these spaces has diminished the richness and diversity of political dialogue within the community and has deprived the citizen-Plaintiffs of an important source of intellectual and organizing leadership,” the lawsuit goes on.
The lawsuit characterizes Taal’s activism as peaceful messages “in support of the Palestinian people” and does not mention his support for terrorists and anti-American movements.
Taal is being represented by Christopher Godshall-Bennett, a lawyer with the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. His legal team didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The University of Pennsylvania has laid off its communications lecturer—who published a slew of anti-Semitic cartoons—just a year after standing by him, citing the school’s “bedrock commitment to open expression.” The dismissal coincided with the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $175 million in federal funding to the school.
The Annenberg School for Communication lecturer, Dwayne Booth, announced his unemployment in a Patreon post on Friday. Booth said “the reason for the termination was budgetary,” but accused universities nationwide of being “way too complicit” with a “largely Republican-led effort” to target left-wing voices.
“I was informed that the reason for the termination was budgetary, which I think is the same reason they gave to Jesus just before they crucified him, and Malcolm X just before they shot him, and what they told Eugene Debs, Susan B. Anthony, and Lenny Bruce just before jailing them. I jest, of course,” Booth wrote.
“The reality – and something that, unfortunately, is not unique to Penn – is that colleges and universities nationwide have been way too complicit with the largely Republican-led efforts to target students and faculty members engaged in any and all speech rendered in support of trans/black/immigrant, and women’s rights, free speech, the independent press, academic freedom, and medical research – speech that also voices bold criticism of right-wing nationalism, genocide, apartheid, fascism, and specifically the Israeli assault on Palestine.”
“The cowardice and complete lack of courage demonstrated by the UPenn administration has ruined the lives of a great number of professors and students whom I know personally, as if the total capitulation to the demands of MAGA thugs and bullies will somehow eventually ameliorate the suffering and deter the collapse of higher education,” he added.
The move comes roughly a year after the Washington Free Beaconunearthed anti-Semitic cartoons from Booth, who publishes the images under the pen name “Mr. Fish.”
One cartoon depicts Zionists sipping Gazan blood from wine glasses, a version of the ancient blood libel employed in anti-Semitic propaganda. Another shows Jews in a Nazi concentration camp holding signs that read “Stop the Holocaust In Gaza” and “Gaza, The World’s Biggest Concentration Camp.” A third depicts a Nazi flag with a Star of David drawn in place of a swastika.
While Penn’s interim president, Larry Jameson, described the images last February as “reprehensible,” he made clear that he would not take action to sanction or remove Booth from the faculty, citing the school’s “bedrock commitment to open expression.” As such, Booth continued to teach at the university until at least the 2024 fall semester, though in his Friday post, he said he would be “losing 3k a month to the fascist monsters devouring campuses,” suggesting he was still on the payroll until at least March.
Booth defended his cartoons last year, saying that those who view the images “by themselves” are missing “necessary context,” given that he created the cartoons to accompany columns by former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges. The columns routinely accuse Israel of “genocide” and compare the Jewish state to Nazi Germany.
“The Nazis shipped their victims to death camps. The Israelis will ship their victims to squalid refugee camps in countries outside of Israel,” Hedges wrote in one column that includes a Booth cartoon as its featured image. “And if we do not stand in eternal vigilance over evil—our evil—we become, like those carrying out the mass killing in Gaza, monsters.”
Booth also informed his Patreon readers on Friday that the American Association of University Professors—whose Penn chapter rallied around Booth last February and threatened to investigate the Ivy League school if he was punished—along with “some attorneys” are “looking into the matter” on his behalf.
“The targeted harassment of Booth was instigated by the Washington Free Beacon, a publication known for political provocation whose activities conform to a well-known pattern,” the Penn faculty union wrote last year. “It singled out a faculty member who had criticized the war in Gaza and portrayed him as an antisemite, which predictably generated threats of personal violence against him and calls for the university to discipline him.”
Penn, the White House, and the Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.
