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NBC News
21 minutes ago
- NBC News
California professor sues university over suspension for online comments on Gaza
A professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco filed a lawsuit Wednesday, alleging that the university violated her freedom of speech by suspending her for her online comments on Israel's war in Gaza, according to court documents. Rupa Marya's social media posts included expressing 'solidarity with the hospitals and healthcare workers that Israel was attacking in Gaza,' according to court documents. The complaint stated that Marya 'felt an obligation to speak out and did so using her X account.' Israel's war in Gaza has left more than 52,000 people dead since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 people hostage. Israel has received intense criticism from around the world, including from the United Nations, for its actions in Gaza. 'Firing Dr. Marya doesn't only violate her right to free speech, it threatens all of us,' attorney Mark Kleiman said in a statement. 'We all need to urgently speak up against these kinds of attacks on our basic rights to advocate for justice, and we expect the Court will agree with us that Dr. Marya's rights have been violated and must be remedied.' Marya was placed on leave in September 2024 and her clinical privileges were suspended by the UCSF Executive Medical Board on Oct. 1. The board called her a 'possible imminent danger' and cited social media posts, according to court documents. Her privileges were reinstated on Oct. 15. According to court documents, Marya received 'rape and death threats' as well as 'repeated harassment and threats' because of her posts, according to court documents. Before her suspension, Marya had several interactions with the university regarding her online activity. In November 2023, the dean of UCSF's School of Medicine notified Marya that the school would be assessing whether her social media activity violated university policies. In response to one of Marya's social media threads that went viral in January 2024, UCSF posted a statement regarding a circulating 'conspiracy theory.' 'Although the statement did not name Dr. Marya, Dr. Robert Wachter acknowledged in an email that it was in direct response referring to Dr. Marya's social media thread from January 2,' the complaint claimed. 'UCSF's January 6 statement accused Dr. Marya of promoting a 'racist' and 'antisemitic' 'conspiracy theory.'' According to court documents, Marya's posts "never impeded the performance of her duties as a physician or faculty member, or the regular operation of the University.' 'As a medical doctor, American citizen and as a person of South Asian descent raised in the Sikh religious tradition, Dr. Marya has long been concerned about American foreign policy, including in the Middle East and the issues surrounding the conflict between Israel and Palestine,' the complaint reads. 'Her posts take aim at state policy and supremacist political ideologies, not at any religious or ethnic group.' A spokesperson for the University of California, San Francisco said that because of privacy laws, the school is unable to comment on the lawsuit. Marya completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Francisco in 2007, was subsequently offered employment and joined the faculty. For the past five years, however, Marya had no teaching duties and focused exclusively on patient care in the non-teaching hospital medicine services, according to court documents. Marya was also appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to the Healthy California for All Commission in 2021, an initiative to advance a system for universal healthcare in the state.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
President of California's largest union arrested while observing ICE raids in LA
Labor leader David Huerta was detained while observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids taking place in Los Angeles. The Service Employees International Union California (SEIU) says that its president was injured during the ICE raids and is calling for his release, NBC4 Los Angeles reports. 'SEIU California members call for the immediate release of our President, David Huerta, who was injured and detained at the site of one of today's ICE raids in Los Angeles. He is now receiving medical attention while in custody,' Tia Orr, Executive Director of SEIU California, said. Mayor Karen Bass told NBC4 that Huerta had been pepper-sprayed during the incident. "He is doing ok physically, but I know what really impacted him the most was the emotional trauma of watching parents and kids being separated," Bass said. "He's going into ICE custody and we hope to get him out very soon." The mayor said she does not know why Huerta is being detained. The SEIU issued a statement supporting Huerta, insisting that he was "exercising his First Amendment right to observe and document law enforcement activity." 'We are proud of President Huerta's righteous participation as a community observer, in keeping with his long history of advocating for immigrant workers and with the highest values of our movement: standing up to injustice, regardless of personal risk or the power of those perpetrating it," the union said. Orr also condemned the ICE raids. 'We call for an end to the cruel, destructive, and indiscriminate ICE raids that are tearing apart our communities, disrupting our economy, and hurting all working people. Immigrant workers are essential to our society: feeding our nation, caring for our elders, cleaning our workplaces, and building our homes,' she said. Bass said she is going to meet with immigrant support groups to discuss plans for responding to situations like the mass ICE raids in the future. "My message to them is that we are going to fight for all Angelenos regardless of when they got here, whether they have papers or not," she said. "We are a city of immigrants, and this impacts hundreds of thousands of Angelenos." ICE arrested approximately 44 people in Friday's raid, according to Homeland Security Investigations. 'Today, ICE officers and agents alongside partner law enforcement agencies, executed four federal search warrants at three location in central Los Angeles. Approximately 44 people were administratively arrested and one arrest for obstruction. The investigation remains ongoing, updates will follow as appropriate," HSI spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe said in a statement.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Fed's Musalem estimates ‘50-50' chances on tariffs triggering prolonged US inflation, FT reports
June 6 (Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem has put the likelihood of Donald Trump's trade war causing a prolonged surge in inflation at "50-50," warning that U.S. policymakers would face uncertainty "right through the summer," the Financial Times reported on Friday. Musalem told the newspaper that while U.S. President Trump's tariffs could boost inflation for "a quarter or two," there was "an equally likely scenario where the impact of tariffs on prices could last longer." Trump's tariff hikes and a $2.4 trillion budget bill have shaken markets, prompting a wait-and-see stance from the Fed after last year's rate cuts. Musalem said he believes officials could benefit from a favorable scenario where uncertainty over trade and fiscal policy "goes away in July," which would put the Fed back on track to cut interest rates in September, according to the FT. He also highlighted, however, the possibility of a scenario "where inflation begins to rise materially and we will not know whether that is a temporary, one-off increase in the price level or whether it has more persistence," the report said. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady at its mid-June meeting, when it will release updated economic projections.
