Nashville leaders create fund to help immigrant community following ICE operation
The latest: O'Connell said he spoke briefly over the phone with Gov. Bill Lee following the state and federal operation. He said he "flagged that this seems like a moment of significant tension increase."
Driving the news: O'Connell emphasized that Metro Nashville Police Department officers were not involved in the series of about 150 traffic stops in South Nashville neighborhoods with heavy Hispanic populations.
Metro legal director Wally Dietz sent a letter to state and federal officials seeking the names and charges against those arrested in the raids.
What he's saying: "What's clear is that federal and state authorities are intent on enforcing immigration law," O'Connell said. "Their approach is not our understanding of what a 'Nashville for all of us' looks like."
The other side:"As part of our ongoing mission to uphold U.S. immigration laws, our targeted enforcement operations are specifically focused on individuals who threaten public safety or national security," an ICE spokesperson said in a statement.
State of play: O'Connell hosted a Monday afternoon press conference with Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee CEO Hal Cato.
Cato announced a new fund to help Nashville's immigrant community, especially those affected by the federal operation.
The mayor's office is working to determine whether money in O'Connell's recently proposed budget could be earmarked for the fund.
Zoom in: Cato said the Belonging fund will be used to address child care, transportation, housing assistance, food insecurity and "anything else they need."
"We want to make sure the immigrant community in this town knows that we have their back," Cato said.
Reality check: Metro's ability to respond to federal sweeps is limited. President Trump has made immigration enforcement a cornerstone of his term, and Republican state leaders have vowed to help.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Do Cuomo and Adams secretly want Mamdani to win?
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Trump's inspired Kennedy Center Honors picks spotlight liberals' own performance art
The Kennedy Center Honors are the nation's top performing-arts-achievement awards and their celebration the highlight of the capital's cultural calendar. Yet the honorees are typically announced in that most artless of ways — a press release. Not this year. You'd think liberals who decry conservatives as contemptible Philistines would be pleased to see a Republican president focus the country's attention on the arts with something of a show itself. But no — not when that president is Donald Trump. They slammed the selections too, though the list isn't much different from those under Democratic presidents such as Barack Obama — and reflects a wide swath of what Americans appreciate and admire in the arts. Of course, the small spectacle Trump held Wednesday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts wasn't exactly establishment Washington. The president walked to a podium in front of five pictures on easels, all covered with red cloth. Two attractive women in sleeveless dresses and high heels assisted — distinctly reminiscent of ring girls in boxing and Trump's beloved UFC — dramatically unveiling each honoree on cue. 'Rocky' creator-star Sylvester Stallone, glam-metal rockers KISS, country king George Strait, disco goddess Gloria Gaynor and Broadway luminary Michael Crawford will receive the 48th annual Kennedy Center Honors. Trump himself — also the center's chairman — will host the gala tribute Dec. 7, which CBS will air later that month. DC doesn't have a lot of glitz, so the December weekend honorees and those paying tribute to them spend in town is a big deal. I know because I covered the cocktail parties, the rehearsals, the red carpets and more for years when I lived in Washington. And the political and performing elite can't stand the idea of Donald Trump taking part in the ritzy rituals. Trump didn't attend a single Honors gala in his first term after 2017 honoree 'All in the Family' creator Norman Lear said he'd skip any White House event to protest the president. But Trump 2.0 is bolder and brasher — and wants to make real his 'vision for a Golden Age in arts and culture,' as he put it. The media fawned over First Lady Michelle Obama's White House Kitchen Garden. They published deep think pieces about her husband's summer playlists. But the same people who believe right-wingers want to cut all cultural education are annoyed when a GOP president spends an hour talking about great artists. 'You might be wondering why you haven't heard much about important issues like inflation, health care or infrastructure lately, but there's a very good reason: Donald Trump doesn't care,' late-night talker Seth Meyers said. Conservatives 'want to go on Fox News and whine about woke,' he continued. 'This is what the right really cares about. This is why Trump is spending his precious time announcing the Kennedy Center Honors.' Cue the subtle — and not-so-subtle — digs about the choices. 'The line-up explains a lot about him, his power and why he's president,' CNN's Stephen Collinson intoned. It's 'more populist than 'high' culture.' 'At the Kennedy Center, Trump Puts His Pop Culture Obsession on Display,' The New York Times headlined its story. Time Senior Correspondent Philip Elliott declared, 'The Kennedy Center Honors Is Now Just Another Trump Show,' and likened the Florida man to Stalin, who made the genius Shostakovich's life a living nightmare. This year's choices, Elliott wrote, 'signal yet the latest example of Trump putting his thumb on the scale of American culture and tossing it back to yesteryear.' Who's going to tell the storied Time the Kennedy Center Honors are lifetime-achievement awards whose winners always send us 'back to yesteryear'? Liberals howling this isn't the highfalutin' list it should be forget the first awardees under Obama included Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro and Mel 'Blazing Saddles' Brooks. LL Cool J won in 2017. Trump's is not a way-out-there list. It's true one spot usually goes to classical music or dance, and I'm disappointed that's missing — though to Trump, Michael Crawford is operatic. And he did originate the title role of 'The Phantom of the Opera,' which Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote for his then-wife, classical soprano Sarah Brightman. KISS is an inspired choice — a great American story. Two Jewish New York kids whose families had fled the Holocaust, Stanley Bert Eisen and Chaim Witz, transformed themselves into the makeup-laden, otherworldly Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. And in doing so, they transformed concert touring itself. Texan George Strait helped bring back a very American genre as a trailblazer in neotraditional country in the 1980s, when pop crossovers were stealing stages in Nashville and beyond. Now young country-not-crossover stars such as Zach Top and Parker McCollum cite his influence. As a Strait fan from Alberta, the Texas of Canada, told me, 'People like him because he's real. He's not fake ass. And he can actually sing.' Authenticity — it reminds me of my time covering the Honors. At the various events, the rest of the press wanted to talk only to the cool kids. At the cocktail party the year Steve Martin won, for example, their sights were set on well-known actors. That let me have Ricky Jay, Steve Martin's friend who appeared with him in the David Mamet film 'The Spanish Prisoner,' all to myself. He was one of the greatest magicians of our time, a learned man with an amazing medieval collection. Another year, it was just me and an AP reporter left on the red carpet for Chris Cornell, there to perform for The Who — the super famous stars had walked it already. The AP fellow knew nothing about him, so I was able to ask all of the questions of one of rock's greatest voices. Speaking of David Mamet, can Trump turn his attention to Mark Twain Prize for American Humor next? The Kennedy Center refuses to give it to politically incorrect geniuses like him and Woody Allen. Washington could certainly use some intelligent laughs these days.
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Teachers To Be Tested on 'Woke' Questions in Oklahoma
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters has introduced a new test for teachers coming into his state from California and New York in a bid to keep out what he called "woke indoctrination." Walters said his tests, compiled in association with conservative educational group PragerU, could be extended in the future to teachers from eight other Democratic-led states. Newsweek contacted Walters and PragerU for comment on Saturday outside regular office hours via their respective online inquiry forms. Why It Matters Since his second presidential inauguration in January, President Donald Trump has taken a number of steps to combat what he terms "woke" ideology, including issuing an executive order saying there were only two genders—male and female—and cutting funding to universities that refuse to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs. While state-level Republicans have worked to support the president's agenda, some traditionally Republican regions have recorded a significant influx of new residents from Democratic states in recent years—sparking fears that the population changes could shift red states' cultural and political identities. According to a report from StorageCafe, which rents storage units, California and New York saw the most departures in 2023. By contrast, nine of the 10 states with the largest population influx, including Oklahoma, were Republican dominated. What To Know Teachers moving to Oklahoma from California and New York will be required to pass a new test to obtain a teaching certificate for Oklahoma, according to Walters, who told CNN the move was designed to keep away "woke indoctrination." The network reported that the test was developed in association with PragerU, a conservative educational body that has acquired a large audience online and is sympathetic to the Trump administration. A stock photograph showing an American classroom in 2016. A stock photograph showing an American classroom in 2016. Elliott Kaufman/GETTY The test includes questions on the biological difference between men and women, the importance of religious freedom to American identity, and the U.S. government and political system, the New York Post reported. In recent years, about 500 new teachers have moved to Oklahoma as part of an incentive program designed to attract the "highest quality" educators. CNN said Walters declined to let the Oklahoma State Board of Education see a document on the legal status of his tests during a meeting in July. What People Are Saying The American Federation of Teachers told Newsweek: "Ryan Walters appears to be auditioning for the role of MAGA-in-chief, not educator-in-chief. His priority should be educating students, but it's not. It's getting Donald Trump and other MAGA politicians to notice him and think of him as their culture warrior. "This test will be yet another turnoff for teachers in a state that already has a huge shortage. It doesn't solve an actual problem in the classroom, but it certainly serves as a major distraction in the media as he deals with personal problems. "Teachers are patriotic, and they don't need a loyalty test from Ryan Walters to prove it. Whether they are conservative or liberal, they want what their students need: safe and welcoming public schools that are engaging and relevant and that prepare students for college, career and life." Oklahoma Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters told CNN: "We will not allow these leftists' plans and schemes to take place here in Oklahoma. They are trying to warp the minds of our kids to turn them into social justice warriors, instead of kids that are getting the most of their god given talents to go get a good job, to go live a fulfilling life." He told the New York Post: "Here in Oklahoma, our academics are going to be grounded in fact. "We've seen states like New York and California go so radical with gender theory and Marxist indoctrination, they are warping the minds of young people. … We need our teachers to agree to not be woke indoctrinators in the classroom. "We're also going to be teaching the foundations of American history. … So we can continue to be the greatest country in the world. We want our students to be patriots." PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told CNN that the questions were aimed at "undoing the damage of gender ideology that is forced and taught through some of these other tests like the PRISM test." PRISM is a training program created to help teachers support LGBTQ+ students in California. Oklahoma Democratic Party Chair John Waldron, a former teacher, told the outlet that Walters' plan was a "loyalty test" and an "insult to our profession." What Happens Next If Walters goes ahead with his tests, they are likely to face legal challenge. If they pass the courts, it remains to be seen what effects they will have on Oklahoma's education system and whether they will be extended to teachers coming from beyond New York and California.
