Category: fox-news/us/education

Elite university professor sparks social media backlash after revealing what Iran should do next: ‘This demon’

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A professor at Georgetown University is in hot water on social media over a post where he explained his "hope" for Iran doing "some symbolic strike" on a U.S. military base, igniting backlash on social media and calls for him to be fired.

"I’m not an expert, but I assume Iran could still get a bomb easily," Dr. Jonathan Brown, the Alwaleed bin Talal chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, posted on X on Sunday after the U.S. struck Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday night. 

"I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops. I’m surprised this is what these FDD/Hasbara people have been auto-erotically asphyxiating themselves for all these years. Ironically, the main takeaways (in my non-expert opinion, and I’m happy to be corrected) from all this have nothing to do with a US attack: 1) Iran can take a licking; 2) if Israel attacks Iranian cities, it gets f---ed up pretty bad. I mean I’ve been shocked at the damage Iranian missiles caused; 3) despite his best efforts, Reza Pahlavi HVAC repair services still only third best in Nova."

Many conservatives on social media immediately reacted to the post and interpreted it as a college professor wishing for Iran to attack U.S. soldiers or at least put them in harm’s way.

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"Are you kidding me?" conservative commentator Sage Steele posted on X in response to the post being picked up by the conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok. 

A ‘Professor of Islamic Civilization’ at @Georgetown ‘hopes Iran does some symbolic strike’ on Americans," GOP Rep. Randy Fine posted on X. "Some civilization. The President of Georgetown will be before @EdWorkforceCmte soon. This demon had better be gone by then. We have a Muslim problem in America."

"A Georgetown professor wants Iran to attack a US base," Foundation for the Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz posted on X, before providing information on the background of Brown’s wife. 

"Brown is married to Laila Al-Arian, a journalist for the Muslim Brotherhood propaganda outlet Al Jazeera. Her father, Sami Al-Arian, was deported from the U.S. to Turkey. He was accused of providing material support to the US-designated and Iran-backed terrorist organization Palestinian Islamic Jihad."

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Brown's father-in-law, Sami Al-Arian, was deported from the United States to Turkey in 2015 after a long legal battle where he pleaded "guilty" to supporting Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist organization, according to Politico. 

A 2006 Department of Justice press release said he acknowledged "in the plea agreement that he knew the PIJ used acts of violence as a means to achieve its objectives. Nevertheless, Al-Arian continued to assist the terrorist organization, for instance, by filing official paperwork to obtain immigration benefits for PIJ associate Bashir Nafi, and concealing the terrorist associations of various individuals associated with the PIJ."

"Al-Arian admits that he performed services for the PIJ in 1995 and thereafter, when he was a professor at the University of South Florida and after he knew that the PIJ had been designated by President Clinton as a terrorist organization," the press release said.

"I went to graduate school with Jonathan Brown," Jewish People Policy Institute fellow Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn posted on X. "I'm appalled to see him calling for Iran to attack U.S. troops and his awe at attacks on Israeli civilians. @Georgetown- enough!"

"These are the people teaching your kids at colleges and Universities," conservative influencer Laura Loomer posted on X. "@Georgetown should fire him."

In a follow-up post on Monday morning, Brown told his followers he deleted the post and explained why. 

"I deleted my previous tweet because a lot of people were interpreting it as a call for violence," Brown posted on X. "That’s not what I intended. I have two immediate family members in the US military who’ve served abroad and wouldn’t want any harm to befall American soldiers… or anyone!"

When reached for comment on his controversial post, Brown told Fox News Digital he "meant something like right after Solimani was killed, with telegraphed warning and no American casualties and no one felt any further need for attacks."

 "I was calling for de-esclation as I am very opposed to American involvement in foreign wars," he continued.

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A Georgetown University spokesperson told Fox News Digital the university was "appalled" by the social media post.

"We are appalled that a faculty member would call for a ‘symbolic strike’ on a military base in a social media post. The original statement is from an individual faculty member and not the University, and the faculty member has since deleted the post and stated that he would not want any harm to befall American servicemembers," the spokesperson said. "We are reviewing this matter to see if further action is warranted. We take our community’s concerns seriously and condemn language which is deeply inconsistent with Georgetown University’s values."

President Donald Trump announced the U.S. had struck a trio of nuclear facilities in Iran via a Saturday evening Truth Social post, which was not preceded by any media leaks of prior indication such strikes were imminent. 

The president ordered U.S. B-2 stealth bombers to carry out strikes against Iran’s Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear facilities.

"Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," Trump said. "And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier." 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report

Here’s what happened during Trump’s ninth week in office

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President Donald Trump signed more executive orders this week — including one to upend the Department of Education — battled the judicial branch, and spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

On Thursday, Trump announced plans to work with Congress to upend the Department of Education. Closing down an agency requires the approval of Congress, according to the U.S. Constitution. 

"We're not doing well with the world of education in this country, and we haven't for a long time," Trump said Thursday before signing the executive order. 

A White House fact sheet on the executive order said the directive aims to "turn over education to families instead of bureaucracies" and instructs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to "take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely."

Trump said Thursday programs for Pell Grants, student loans for undergraduate students, and others that provide resources for children with special needs would continue to exist, just under different agencies.

"They're going to be preserved in full and redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them," Trump said.

Those in favor of shuttering the agency have pointed to the "Nation’s Report Card," the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released every two years, released on Jan. 27. The exam tests fourth and eighth grade students and found almost stagnant math scores for eighth graders compared to 2022. Reading scores dropped two points at both grade levels.

As a result, Trump said without evidence that new efforts to upend the Department of Education would allow states like Texas to provide education comparable to countries like Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

"And then you'll have some laggards, and we'll work with them," Trump said. "And we can all tell you who the laggards will be, right now, probably, but let's not get into that."

Here’s also what Trump did this week: 

Trump called for the impeachment of Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in a social media post Tuesday, prompting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to issue a rare statement condemning Trump’s remarks.

Trump’s pushback stems from Boasberg issuing an order on Saturday halting the Trump administration from deporting migrants allegedly part of the Tren de Aragua gang under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The law permits deportation of natives and citizens of an enemy nation without a hearing.

The flights carrying the migrants continued to El Salvador, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday the order had "no lawful basis" since Boasberg issued it after the flights departed from U.S. airspace.

JUDGES BLOCKING TRUMP'S ORDERS ARE ACTING ‘ERRONEOUSLY,' WHITE HOUSE SAYS

In response to Boasberg’s order, Trump said the judge should be impeached. However, Roberts said that "it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision." 

Boasberg’s order is one of multiple injunctions issued against the Trump administration, blocking various executive orders he’s signed since taking office in January. The White House has accused judges of behaving as partisan activists to stop Trump’s agenda. 

"I would like to point out that the judges in this country are acting erroneously," Leavitt said in a Wednesday news briefing. "We have judges who are acting as partisan activists from the bench."

Trump also announced that Boeing had won out among defense companies for a contract to build the Air Force’s next-generation fighter jet, known as the F-47. 

"I’m thrilled to announce that at my direction the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet," Trump said Friday in the Oval Office at the White House. "Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be called the ‘F-47,’ the generals picked that title." 

BOEING TO BUILD NEXT-GEN ‘F-47’ US FIGHTER JET, TRUMP ANNOUNCES

The Next Generation Air Defense initiative that the Biden administration put on the back burner will oversee the effort. The Trump administration revived the program, a move that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Friday "sends a very direct, clear message to our allies that we're not going anywhere, and to our enemies that we will be able to project power around the globe." 

An experimental version of the jet has been covertly flying for "years," according to Trump. 

"The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built," Trump said. 

Trump also spoke with both Putin and Zelenskyy this week over the phone, amid ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine. 

Following the calls, both Russia and Ukraine agreed to a limited ceasefire against energy. The next step is for respective teams to conduct meetings to navigate how to reach a full ceasefire, according to the White House. 

"Technical teams will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to discuss broadening the ceasefire to the Black Sea on the way to a full ceasefire," the White House said in a statement Thursday. "They agreed this could be the first step toward the full end of the war and ensuring security. President Zelenskyy was grateful for the President’s leadership in this effort and reiterated his willingness to adopt a full ceasefire."

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report. 

Glenn Youngkin ‘personally invites’ new Trump admin to settle in Virginia over Maryland and DC

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EXCLUSIVE: Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will release a video ad Tuesday inviting the countless new workers and officials in the second Trump administration to settle in his state, versus the District of Columbia and neighboring Maryland.

Youngkin, who made education policy a pillar of his 2021 campaign against ex-Gov. Terence McAuliffe amid several school controversies in Northern Virginia, said the commonwealth has better schools than its neighbors.

Youngkin cited a CNBC study ranking Virginia first in the U.S. in education, and first in the nation overall for business – displacing its neighbor in 2023, first-place North Carolina.

"To the new members of President Trump's administration moving to the area, I want to personally invite you to make Virginia your home," Youngkin said.

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"Virginia is right across the Potomac. We offer a great quality of life, safe communities, award-winning schools where parents matter, and lower taxes than D.C. or Maryland."

Maryland was listed 31st in best-for-business, and the District of Columbia was unranked, according to the study.

The ad flashed through several scenes in the Old Dominion, from the capital, Richmond, to the King Street Trolley slinking through Old Town Alexandria. 

"It's why so many people choose Virginia as the best place to live, work and raise a family," Youngkin said.

Youngkin has called education the "bedrock of attaining the American dream," and the CNBC study credited both Youngkin and the Democratic state legislative majority for compromising on $2.5 billion in new K-12 funding and 3% raises for teachers.

When asked about Virginia being pitched as a new home for the new administration, Trump transition team spokesman Brian Hughes said Youngkin's performance speaks for itself as its own advertisement.

CLIMATE PROTESTERS INTERRUPT YOUNGKIN'S 9/11 SPEECH

"With the amazing job Governor Youngkin has done bringing common sense, low taxes, and high quality of life to his state, it's no wonder that he has a compelling case to make to people who are exploring next steps in the region." Hughes said.

Youngkin was swept into office in 2021 after a major political upset of McAuliffe – as Republicans had been out of power in Richmond for about a decade.

The last Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, reappeared on the political scene during President-elect Donald Trump's various legal trials, as he, too, had been subject to prosecution by now-special counsel Jack Smith.

In McDonnell's case, the once-rumored 2012 running-mate candidate's political future imploded during his own corruption litigation, but the Supreme Court later unanimously threw out Smith's conviction. Now-Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, ultimately chose then-Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. to run with him that cycle.

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With Virginia being the rare state that does not allow its governor to run for consecutive terms, Youngkin's deputy, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, has launched a 2025 gubernatorial campaign she said seeks to build on the Youngkin-Sears record.

The prominent Democrat in the upcoming contest thus far is Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who gave up her seat in launching her bid. Spanberger will be replaced in Congress by Rep-elect Yevgeny "Eugene" Vindman, D-Va., – the twin brother of Trump impeachment witness Col. Alexander Vindman.

Democrats join Republicans in condemning antisemitism at Columbia University

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A number of Democrats in the Senate have joined their Republican colleagues in denouncing discrimination against Jewish students at the prestigious Ivy League Columbia University, where an anti-Israel solidarity encampment persists on campus, prompting the institution to move classes online on Monday. 

"Every American has a right to protest," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. "But when protests shift to antisemitism, verbal abuse, intimidation, or glorification of Oct. 7 violence against Jewish people, that crosses the line."

"Campuses must remain safe for all students."

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Schumer, who represents New York City, where Columbia is located, is the first Jewish majority leader in the Senate and also the highest ranking Jewish elected official in U.S. history. 

Last week, the anti-Israel demonstration sprang up on Columbia's campus, with students camping out in tents and demanding that the university divest from all companies with ties to Israel. Since then, the protest has grown in size and presented a safety threat to Jewish students. This has mushroomed into such a concern that an Orthodox rabbi at the school advised Jewish students to leave campus because "Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety."

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, another Democrat, also denounced the display of antisemitism at the university, saying she was "appalled." 

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"Threats of violence against Jewish students and the Jewish community are horrible, despicable and wholly unacceptable," she said. "Using the rhetoric of terrorists has no place in New York, where we pride ourselves on tolerance and the right of every group to practice their religion in peace."

Others who joined their party members in addressing the encampment were Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and John Fetterman, D-Penn.

"I’m outraged by the vile displays of antisemitism at Columbia University, including threats of violence," read a post on X, formerly Twitter, from Rosen, who faces a tough re-election battle in November in swing state Nevada. 

Fetterman, who has emerged as one of Israel's strongest supporters in his party, compared the demonstration to "Charlottesville for these Jewish students." Fetterman referenced the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Virginia that drew hundreds of white supremacists and ultimately turned violent, resulting in the death of one woman. 

"President Minouche Shafik: do your job or resign, so Columbia can find someone who will," Fetterman added. 

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While a number of Democrats have chosen to make public statements on the events unfolding at Columbia, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blamed the party for allowing it to happen in the first place. "The radical anti-Israel protestors have always been part of the Democratic Party’s base," he wrote on X. "Now Joe Biden is using them as an excuse to undermine Israel and appease Iran."

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the administration condemns "echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations" in the "strongest terms." 

Republicans in the Senate were quick to condemn the encampment at Columbia, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., even suggested, "Any student on a visa that is arrested for supporting Hamas needs to be deported immediately."

Many GOP members in the upper chamber have reinforced their support for Israel and the Jewish people frequently throughout the war between Israel and terrorist group Hamas in Gaza. Democrats have been more measured and careful with their commentary on the war and Israel as the party's divide on the issue expands, making the statements from them regarding Columbia particularly significant. 

President Biden and Democrats have faced criticism from their Republican counterparts for pulling back from Israel, a major U.S. ally in the Middle East. Biden recently warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that U.S. policy in support of the country could change depending on the actions it takes to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

And in the wake of Iran's recent direct attack on Israel, Republicans quickly blamed Biden and other Democrats, accusing them of emboldening Israel's adversary to undertake such an audacious attack.

Sen Ernst cites Jewish student discrimination in bid to protect free speech on campuses

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is looking to crack down on universities that receive federal funding but discriminate against students based on their viewpoint in a new attempt to protect free speech on college campuses. 

The Iowa Republican will introduce a new bill on Thursday, the Students Bill of Rights Act of 2024, which would safeguard free speech on public campuses.

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"Freedom of speech is a core American value that our heroes fought and died to secure – we must protect it for future generations," Ernst said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. "I want college students in Iowa and across America to engage in debates, challenge their ideas, and express their viewpoints freely, without facing discrimination or abuse. Echo chambers only serve to stunt the developing mind."

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According to Ernst's office, the measure was prompted in part by concerns over the free expression of Jewish and pro-Israel students at various schools across the country amid the war between Israel and terrorist group Hamas.

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The goal of the Iowa Republican's bill is to push back on "left-wing activists on college campuses," who she accuses of eroding First Amendment rights, as well as attacks on Jewish students, her office said.

Ernst's bill proposes a universal speech and association protection standard for any public universities and colleges that receive funding through Title IV. 

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It addresses four areas to protect students from viewpoint discrimination. The measure specifically carves out provisions to assure students are assisted in finding faculty sponsors or otherwise gaining recognition at their schools; mandates institutions to disclose fund distribution and security fee charges to student organizations; mandates institutions similarly disclose policies in place to protect guest speakers; requires institutions to implement disciplinary measures for any students who threaten the safety of speakers invited to campuses. 

Since the onset of the Israeli war in Gaza, higher-education institutions have become hotbeds for anti-Israel demonstrations. Prestigious schools have been accused of allowing threats and attacks against Jewish students to occur, even prompting a congressional hearing. 

At the same time, a group created to express support for Israel recently faced difficulty in its quest to gain recognition at Columbia University Law School, illustrating the obstacles for some students to organize. After initially being denied by the law school's Senate, Law School Students Against Antisemitism was ultimately approved for recognition as a student organization in February after a re-vote. 

Wisconsin Supreme Court weighs challenge to constitutionality of state-funded school choice programs

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Supporters of Wisconsin's taxpayer-funded school choice and independent charter school programs urged the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to reject a lawsuit seeking to declare the programs unconstitutional, saying such a move would create chaos for tens of thousands of families with students currently enrolled.

Private schools, parents with students who attend them, advocacy groups and the state chamber of commerce argue in court filings that the 32-year-old program has benefitted families for a generation and the effort to undo it is politically motivated, after the Supreme Court's majority shifted to liberal control earlier this year.

"A mere change in membership should not create an opportunity to challenge precedent," supporters of school choice programs, being represented by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, contend. "A single election is not a mandate to radically change the law."

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The lawsuit was filed two months after the state Supreme Court flipped to 4-3 liberal controlled. With that change, Democrats hope the court will rule in their favor in pending cases seeking to overturn Republican-drawn legislative electoral maps and undo the state’s ban on abortion.

The school choice lawsuit comes after decades of complaints from Democrats who have argued that the program is a drain on resources that would otherwise go to public schools.

The nation's first school choice program began in Milwaukee in 1990. Then seen as an experiment to help low-income students in the state's largest city, the program has expanded statewide and its income restrictions have been loosened, and it served more than 52,000 students at a cost of $444 million in the last school year.

Democrats including Gov. Tony Evers, who previously served as state superintendent of education, have been longtime critics of the program. But Evers this summer agreed to increase spending on the programs as part of a larger education funding package that was also tied to a deal sending more money to Milwaukee and local governments.

The first question for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to decide is whether to take the case directly or first have it work its way through lower courts. The plaintiffs want the high court to take it directly, which would mean a ruling could come in months rather than perhaps years if it had to go through the lower courts.

The lawsuit was brought by several Wisconsin residents and is being funded by the liberal Minocqua Brewing Super PAC. Kirk Bangstad, who owns the Minocqua Brewing Co., is a former Democratic candidate for U.S. House and state Assembly. His brewery produces beer with politically themed names that tout Democrats, such as "Evers Ale," a nod to the governor.

Bangstad's super PAC has funded previous lawsuits targeting Republicans.

The lawsuit asks the court to stop three state officials from continuing the choice programs: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly and Secretary of the Department of Administration Kathy Blumenfeld.

All three of them faced a Tuesday deadline to file arguments.

The lawsuit argues that the state’s revenue limit and funding mechanism for voucher school programs and charter schools violate the Wisconsin Constitution’s declaration that public funds be spent for public purposes.

It also contends that vouchers defund public schools, do not allow for adequate public oversight and do not hold private schools to the same standards as public schools.

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that Milwaukee’s voucher program was legal. But the current lawsuit alleges that as the program has expanded, the situation has dramatically changed.

At the start of last school year, enrollment in choice programs was more than 29,000 in Milwaukee, 3,900 in Racine and 17,000 elsewhere in the state, according to the state Department of Public Instruction. Another 2,200 disabled students received vouchers under a special needs scholarship program.

Ending the programs now would cause "chaos," for tens of thousands of families, argued 22 parents of voucher-enrolled students, private schools and choice advocacy groups.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative activist law firm, on Tuesday released a report claiming that if the school choice program ended, the Milwaukee school district would have to open about 17 additional buildings to accommodate the influx of students. Statewide, more than 3,700 teachers would have to be hired in public schools, the report said.

Supreme Court justices clash over major school-choice case

Posted on by Tyler Olson
The Supreme Court appeared closely split during oral arguments Wednesday in a case with potentially major implications for the school choice movement, as the justices -- including Chief Justice John Roberts, who presided over President Trump's impeachment trial the previous night until 2 a.m. -- sparred with the lawyers and each other.