Palestinian student sues Michigan school over teacher's reaction to her refusal to stand for Pledge
DETROIT — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Wednesday on behalf of a 14-year-old student who said a teacher humiliated her for refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in protest of U.S. support of Israel's war in Gaza.
Danielle Khalaf's teacher told her, 'Since you live in this country and enjoy its freedom, if you don't like it, you should go back to your country,' according to the lawsuit.
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Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
First female US ambassador to Russia to leave her role
The first female US ambassador to Russia is leaving her role after serving through one of the most difficult periods in relations between the two countries. Lynne Tracy, who has been based in Moscow, said she is "proud to have represented my country" in the Russian capital "during such a challenging time". There is no suggestion she has been removed from her role by the administration. The departure of the career diplomat appointed by former president comes as Russia and the United States discuss a potential reset in their ties, which sharply deteriorated after Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. President Donald Trump has said there are potentially big investment deals to be struck, but is growing increasingly frustrated that his efforts to broker a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine have so far not resulted in a meaningful ceasefire. In a statement shared by the US embassy in Russia on Telegram, Ms Tracy said: "As I leave Russia, I know that my colleagues at the embassy will continue to work to improve our relations and maintain ties with the Russian people. "I have been inspired by my meetings with Russians who love their country and work every day for a better future. I would like to conclude with lines from Pushkin's poem 'To Chaadayev', which speak of the love for the Motherland that lives in each of us. Goodbye!" The embassy said it wanted to "express our gratitude for her contributions based on consistent diplomacy, deep respect for Russian culture, and dedicated service to the American people". Read more from Sky News: In a statement earlier this month, the embassy said Ms Tracy, who arrived in Moscow in January 2023 and was greeted by protesters chanting anti-US slogans when she went to the foreign ministry to present her credentials, would leave her post soon. She was notably involved in efforts to win the release of US citizens jailed in Russia, and former marine Paul Whelan, who were eventually freed in August 2024 as part of a big East-West prisoner swap. Ms Tracy, who took over from John Sullivan, had previously served as the second-highest official at the US Embassy in Moscow, the deputy chief of mission, from 2014 to 2017. She was the ambassador to Armenia at the time she was nominated to replace Mr Sullivan after he retired. Ms Tracy, who speaks Russian, had also worked at US diplomatic outposts including Turkmenistan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. She majored in Soviet Studies and holds a law degree.
Fox News
20 minutes ago
- Fox News
Ex-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pleads for civil political discourse, warns 'democracy is at risk'
Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy warned Thursday that the tone of political discourse and threats to judges are undermining the ability of the U.S. to serve as an example of freedom and democracy around the world. Kennedy, a Reagan appointee who retired in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term, was speaking during a virtual forum about threats to the rule of law, as he defended the role of judges in a democracy and advocated for the need to protect them and their families from threats. "Many in the rest of the world look to the United States to see what democracy is, to see what democracy ought to be," Kennedy said during the "Speak Up for Justice" event, one day before the current Supreme Court justices are set to deliver their final rulings of the current term. "If they see a hostile, fractious discourse, if they see a discourse that uses identity politics rather than to talk about issues, democracy is at risk. Freedom is at risk," he continued. Kennedy did not mention Trump, even as other participants expressed concern about the barrage of threats and attacks against judges for blocking key parts of the president's political agenda during his second term, including his immigration policies, firings of federal workers and his implementation of broad-based tariffs. But Kennedy's remarks appeared to be sparked, at least in part, by the Trump administration's repeated attacks against judges who have ruled against him, including some whom he appointed during his first term. In March, Trump criticized U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg as a "radical left lunatic" and called for his impeachment after he attempted to block the administration from removing alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime presidential power Trump invoked. Last month, Trump attacked "USA-hating" judges as "monsters who want our country to go to hell." Trump's rhetoric has come alongside an uptick in threats against judges, according to POLITICO, although spokespeople for the administration have said the president is against any threats and that they would face prosecution from the Justice Department. Kennedy said "judges must have protection for themselves and their families" and that "judges are best protected when the public and our nation realize how central they are to our discourse." "We should be concerned in this country about, as I've already indicated, the tone of our political discourse," he said. "Identity politics are used so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation. That's not what democracy and civil discourse is about." Other participants at the forum, which featured judges from the U.S. and other countries who warned about how attacks on courts can threaten democracies, also took aim at Trump's statement denouncing the courts. Without mentioning Trump by name, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled lawyer who went to her New Jersey home in 2020, said disinformation about judges was spreading "from the top down," with jurists attacked as "rogue" and "corrupt." "Judges are rogue. Sound familiar? Judges are corrupt. Sound familiar? Judges are monsters. … Judges hate America," Salas said. "We are seeing the spreading of disinformation coming from the top down." Salas warned that the number of threats recorded against judges this year was reaching historic heights in the U.S., noting that the U.S. Marshals Service has tracked more than 400 threats against judges since January, when Trump was inaugurated. "We're going to break records, people, and not in a good way," she said.
New York Times
43 minutes ago
- New York Times
Cuomo Doesn't Blame Himself for Losing the Primary. Others Do.
For Andrew M. Cuomo, the rally rolling out a $20-an-hour minimum wage proposal was supposed to be a high point of his comeback campaign for mayor of New York City. It did not go particularly well. On the stage of a claustrophobic conference room in Midtown, the former governor flubbed two key lines, at one point promising to 'combat affordability.' Many of the laborers paid by their unions to attend appeared uninterested, chatting in the back throughout the speech. And when it was over, Mr. Cuomo bee-lined to his waiting Dodge Charger, punched the gas past waiting reporters and made an illegal right-on-red turn. He made no further public appearances that day last month, even with Primary Day weeks away. Mr. Cuomo, who dominated New York for a decade as governor, entered the crowded field of Democrats back in March with the force of a steamroller and a dominant lead in the polls. He wore down the Democratic establishment until it lined up behind him, strong-armed unions and seeded a record-shattering super PAC that would eventually spend $25 million. But even some of his allies said that up close, the campaign sometimes looked more like an listing ship, steered by an aging candidate who never really seemed to want to be there and showed little interest in reacquainting himself with the city he hoped to lead. New Yorkers took note. And on Tuesday, a campaign that Mr. Cuomo, 67, had hoped would deliver retribution four years after his humiliating resignation as governor ended in another thumping rebuke instead. Voters preferred Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker whom Mr. Cuomo dismissed a woefully unqualified, by a comfortable margin. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
