Latest news with #UniversityofTexasat
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump's new terror prevention appointee is 22-year-old ex-gardener, Austin H-E-B worker
A 22-year-old former landscaper and grocery store worker with minimal national security experience is now leading the federal office charged with preventing domestic terrorism and targeted violence — an appointment that has sparked alarm among former officials and counterterrorism experts. Thomas C. Fugate, a 22-year-old University of Texas at San Antonio graduate, was recently appointed by the Trump administration to lead the Department of Homeland Security's Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, the agency's flagship office for countering domestic violent extremism and administering multimillion-dollar community prevention grants. Experts have compared the new hire for the Trump administration as "putting the intern in charge," according to ProPublica, which reported on the new hire Tuesday. Following the announcement, The Daily Beast reported that Fugate had little to no relevant experience, citing a LinkedIn profile that has since been taken down. According to the outlet, the now-defunct profile listed a short stint as a 'Landscape Business Owner' in 2020 and a role as a 'Cross Functional Team Member' at an H-E-B grocery store in Austin. According to LinkedIn, he would 'perform various activities around every department of the store, fulfilling key duties contributing to store operations" in that role. Although his professional background bears little connection to counterterrorism or national security, he has quickly risen through the ranks in conservative political circles over the past year. His résumé includes internships at the Heritage Foundation — the think tank behind Project 2025 — service as a special assistant in a DHS immigration office and campaign work on Trump's 2024 presidential trail. He was also an intern for Texas Representatives Terry Wilson (R-Austin) and Steve Allison (R-San Antonio). This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Who is Thomas Fugate? Trump taps college grad to lead terror prevention
Axios
14-05-2025
- Axios
River Walk gets a taste of restaurant week
San Antonio's River Walk is getting its own culinary spotlight with a restaurant week event, just in time for graduation season. Why it matters: More than two dozen restaurants from Southtown to River North are offering specially priced, prix fixe menus until Sunday, showcasing the city's culinary scene with waterfront views. How it works: Prix fixe menus are available for $25 lunches, $35 lunch or dinner or $45–$55 dinners at more upscale restaurants. All of the menus have three courses. Diners can download a digital passport to earn points at each stop. Points can be redeemed for sweepstakes entries to win prizes like gift cards, tickets to VIP events and more. $1 from each prix fixe menu sold benefits the San Antonio Hospitality Foundation, which supports scholarships for culinary and hospitality students at St. Philip's College and the University of Texas at San Antonio. This River Walk event is separate from the long-running Restaurant Weeks organized by Culinaria. The vibe: Expect everything from white-tablecloth, special occasion spots to hidden neighborhood gems. Between the lines: UTSA and St. Mary's University graduations this weekend could make the River Walk a popular spot.
New York Post
05-05-2025
- New York Post
‘Social-justice advocate' professor allegedly had child porn streaming on bedroom TV when FBI raided his home
A Texas college professor and self-described 'social-justice advocate' has been arrested for allegedly streaming child porn — and even had one of the sick videos playing on his TV when the feds raided his home, according to prosecutors. Zaid Mashhour Haddad, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is accused of accessing more than 180 child porn videos that he streamed from his computer to a TV mounted on the bedroom wall, according to the feds. 'One of the videos that allegedly depicted child pornography was displayed on Haddad's TV as the FBI executed a search warrant on his apartment,' the U.S. Attorney's Office said. That clip had been sent to him via a link on Telegram — an encrypted cloud-based messaging app, according to court papers. Zaid Mashhour Haddad, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is accused of accessing more than 180 child porn videos, federal prosecutors allege. UTSA Haddad would then store the child porn material in the Telegram app on his phone, according to the feds. A probe determined that the links Haddad was accessing also often led to virtual Zoom meetings where child porn would be live-streamed, the filing alleges. Haddad, who was nabbed last Tuesday, has since been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of knowingly accessing with intent to view any material that contained an image of child pornography. At the time of his arrest, Haddad was an assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies and curriculum and instruction at the public university, MySanAntonio reported. Haddad, who was nabbed last week, is a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. JHVEPhoto – His biography on UTSA's website describes him as a 'teacher educator and social justice advocate' and notes that his research interests include 'understanding the ways we negotiate our many intersecting identities as we encounter new and changing contexts.' Haddad was previously a high school social studies teacher and guidance counsellor, his bio states. He was also a doctoral student at the University of Nevada before joining UTSA. If convicted on the child porn charges, Haddad faces up to 20 years in prison, the feds noted. The university did not immediately respond to a message Monday.
Axios
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Texas and San Antonio leaders honor Pope Francis
San Antonio is joining global remembrances of Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff, following his death Monday. The big picture: Francis was treated for double pneumonia before being released from the hospital in March. The latest: The Archdiocese of San Antonio hosted a memorial mass Monday at San Fernando Cathedral. What they're saying: "We were inspired by the Holy Father's advocacy for migrants globally and of his commitment to provide services and minister to all of God's children," Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller said in a statement. "He emphasized that in welcoming the stranger we are welcoming Christ. He worked for the conversion of hearts and minds, to create a culture and practice of hospitality in receiving migrants." State leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro celebrated the pope and mourned his passing. Between the lines: Joshua Thurow, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at San Antonio, tells Axios that Francis' papacy is "deeply meaningful" for Hispanic Catholics. "He has consistently elevated care for the poor, marginalized and oppressed," Thurow says. "As pope he spoke forcefully about immigration — urging that immigrants are created in the image of God and deserve respect and should be greeted with a 'spirit of welcome.'" Thurow notes Francis' canonization of Oscar Romero and the pope's devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whom he honored early and often in his papacy. Zoom in: About 29% of San Antonio area residents identify as Catholic, per a survey conducted in 2023-24 by the Pew Research Center. The next pope will be the church's 267th. How it works: The selection will follow a series of Vatican meetings and a papal election, called a conclave. In about 15 to 20 days, Cardinal electors will gather in St. Peter's Basilica for mass. Then, they will go to the Sistine Chapel to begin rounds of super secret voting on the next pope.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Citizens of tiny Bhutan, 'Land of the Thunder Dragon,' may end up on Trump travel ban list
A remote Himalayan mountain kingdom nestled between China, India and a bunch of clouds may be about to get more distant. Bhutan is known as the "Land of the Thunder Dragon" and for its deeply Buddhist culture and for measuring national happiness. For more than a century, Bhutan has had links to the University of Texas at El Paso, where the kingdom's architecture has inspired the design of campus buildings since 1917. Ties have extended to foreign students, festivals and cultural exchanges. Bhutan could became one of 43 countries whose citizens face restrictions or demands on entering the U.S. because of a new Trump administration travel ban. According to a draft list of plans developed by the Trump administration, Bhutan could join "red" list countries such as traditional American adversaries Iran and North Korea, whose citizens may be entirely barred from entering the U.S. Trump travel ban 2.0: What countries it will affect? Another possibility is it could be designated an "orange" list nation, for which travel is restricted but not entirely cut off, or a "yellow" list country, which means it would be given 60 days to address concerns about its perceived immigration-related deficiencies. The draft memo was seen by The New York Times and Reuters news agency. President Donald Trump imposed a ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations in his first term. When he took office for his second term, he issued an executive order requiring the U.S. State Department to identify countries "for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries." Trump said that he was taking the fresh action to protect American citizens "from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes." It's not fully clear why Bhutan, home to fewer than 800,000 people and until relatively recently tucked away in the mountains in virtual isolation from the rest of the world, was added to the list. Here's some of the factors that might come into play. Bhutan was an association of local fiefdoms until the 18th century; following British intervention, it became a hereditary monarchy in 1907. The country became a two-party parliamentary democracy about 100 years later, though Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck − Bhutan's fifth "Dragon King" − is still the de facto constitutional head of state. The country only started opening up to outsiders in the 1970s, when the first tourists were allowed in. Bhutan did not get television until 1999. It still has no traffic lights − perhaps the only country in the world without them. Bhutan is approximately half the size of Indiana. Its constitution mandates that 60% of the country must remain under forest cover for all time as part of a commitment to conserve the environment. Since 2008, Bhutan has been using what it calls the "Gross National Happiness" index to track its citizens' well-being, a gauge that goes beyond economic indicators to encompass social, cultural and environmental factors that contribute to happiness. For this reason, Bhutan is often called the "kingdom of happiness." However, Tshering Tobgay, Bhutan's prime minister, has said the concept can mask real problems in Bhutan, such as chronic unemployment, poverty and corruption. Related: Reporter's notebook: Finland, happiness, saunas, NATO and the threat from Russia Michael Hutt, a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, said Bhutan's political elite has traditionally been dominated by Buddhists who emigrated from Tibet. There is also a large Hindu minority, originally from Nepal. In the 1990s, Bhutan's Buddhists started to see its Hindus as a political threat, though the conflict was not over religion, it was over ethnicity and politics, sparked by resurgent Bhutanese nationalists. After a rebellion, about 100,000 Bhutanese Hindus left for refugee camps in Nepal. Hutt said they lived in these camps for about 20 years until countries in the West, including the U.S., offered to resettle them. Around 65,000 moved to the U.S., chiefly to the East Coast; also to cities in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. In recent years, Bhutan has become the world's third largest cryptocurrency investor. The White House has not said why Bhutan could be specifically targeted. But visa overstays may be one factor. While the total number of travelers to the U.S. from Bhutan each year is relatively small − well short of 1,000 − data from the Department of Homeland Security's 2023 "Entry/Exit Overstay Report" show that Bhutanese who entered the U.S. that year as students, for exchange visits, or for business or tourism purposes, had a high overstay rate. The report said that more than a quarter − 26.6% − of Bhutanese students and exchange visitors remained in the U.S. beyond their authorized period. For Bhutanese nationals who entered the U.S. on business or tourist visas, the overstay figure in 2023 was 12.7%. By comparison, the average overstay rate for students and exchange visitors from the United Kingdom in 2023 was 1%; for business and tourist travelers, it was 0.4%. Trump travel ban: Central Ohio Somali, Bhutanese families could feel pain The Bhutanese, a news website, reported that Bhutan's inclusion in the travel ban could also be linked to a series of immigration fraud scandals. In one, Nepalese nationals falsely posed as Bhutanese refugees to try to gain entry into the U.S. In another, first made public in a 2010 cable by the WikiLeaks whistleblowing platform, a group claiming to be cultural performers from Bhutan was unearthed as front to get into the U.S. illegally. According to the WikiLeaks cable, the group initially told the U.S. Embassy that their purpose of travel was to perform as members of a Buddhist folk music and dance troupe at several U.S. venues. Some members admitted they were actually intending to travel to the US. to work illegally and hoping to bring other with them. Bhutan has a high youth unemployment rate that hit 19% in 2024, according to the World Bank. That may be one reason pushing many Bhutanese seek work and study opportunities overseas, with Australia the top destination. Bhutan's ministry of foreign affairs and external trade did not return a request for comment on what the country could be asked to do to satisfy U.S. immigration officials − to get off the Trump administration list. According to Kuensel, a Bhutanese media outlet, the nation's officials have formally requested a review of the listing, insisting that Bhutanese citizens do not pose a significant security threat to the U.S. Karma Loday is a blogger and former Bhutanese politician. He wrote an open letter Trump on his Facebook page, saying he felt "it is unfair" to have his "beloved country enlisted with some of the countries with terrorism history." In other posts, Loday also appeared to suggest that Bhutan had ultimately been placed on the list as a result of having its reputation being "smeared using false narratives" by members of Bhutan's diaspora. He didn't elaborate. Hutt, who wrote a book on Bhutan's refugees, said it's a misconception that Bhutan's Hindu minority were persecuted. "They weren't nice to them. They weren't persecuting them" because of their religion, he said. Still, he said Bhutan is not an easy for place to reach or procure a visa for and that refugees who fled the country find it "problematic" to go back because they are scrutinized by Bhutan's security services. A Human Rights Watch report published on Tuesday, based on findings from the United Nations, found that Bhutan's government has locked up people for life without parole for expressing their political opinions. "We may not have the answer to why Bhutan is on the list," said Sudarshan Pyakurel, the executive director of the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio, in an email. "We strongly believe that the White House should engage with Bhutan to establish diplomatic and bilateral relations rather than resorting to a one-sided travel ban." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why this remote kingdom may end up on Trump's travel ban list
