Latest news with #YAF
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Linda McMahon Interrupted by Circus Music at Conservative Conference
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. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon was in the middle of giving a talk to the conservative Young America's Foundation (YAF) when she was interrupted by audio of someone calling her a "corrupt billionaire" and another clip of circus music playing in the background. Newsweek reached out to the Department of Education for comment via email on Wednesday. Why It Matters McMahon was arguably one of President Donald Trump's most divisive nominees. Despite being tapped to lead the Department of Education, McMahon has no previous educational experience, and her Senate confirmation process was marked by allegations from Democrats that she was unqualified for the job. Since taking office, McMahon has rapidly worked to shut down the Department of Education, slashing its workforce by roughly half while following through with Trump's threats to withhold federal funding from states that don't adhere to the president's political agenda. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks during the summer meeting of the National Governors Association at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks during the summer meeting of the National Governors Association at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. David Zalubowski/AP What To Know When McMahon's talk on Wednesday was first interrupted by a clip of someone referring to her as a "corrupt billionaire," she turned her head to the side in surprise. "Oh," she said. Former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the president of YAF and the moderator of the discussion, then cut in and suggested the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had hacked the conference's audio feed. "Apparently the CCP didn't like that," he quipped while the audience laughed. "They're cutting into our technology." "We're getting a little feedback in here," McMahon said while laughing. "Apparently it was a few of the liberal senators, in connection with the CCP that I think tried and cut into that," Walker added. Reached for comment, Walker told Newsweek in a statement: "Radicals tried to stop Secretary McMahon from being heard, just like they do to conservative voices on college campuses." Five minutes after the first interruption, while McMahon was talking about her confirmation process in the Senate, she was again cut off by audio playback that wasn't authorized by YAF. someone has apparently hacked the audio system used for Linda McMahon's talk lol — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 6, 2025 "I'm so happy we're getting to share this feed," McMahon said, while camera shots showed young audience members looking at each other in confusion. "Yeah, I said it's the wonders of hacking, apparently in the world of free speech," Walker said, before again attacking liberals for trying to "shut you down." Less than five minutes later, McMahon started talking about "wokeness" in school curricula and the concept of school choice, which is championed by conservatives. When she went on to urge parents to "run for the school board, so that you can have an impact" on children's curricula, the theme from "Curb Your Enthusiasm"started playing in the background. McMahon was again interrupted, this time by circus music, when she spoke about Trump's "working style" and noted that his daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, worked in the White House during Trump's first term. "This time, he knew the story," McMahon said while the circus theme blared in the background. "He knew how to make things work, how to make things run. He had the people coming in that he wanted to work with him." What People Are Saying Walker told Newsweek in a statement: "Our students are not deterred, nor was the Secretary. We have the truth on our side!" This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Al Manar
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Manar
Yemeni Armed Forces Target ‘Israel's' Main Airport with Hypersonic Ballistic Missile
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced Sunday that they conducted a military operation targeting Israel's main a statement, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the YAF, reported that the Rocket Force targeted al-Lydd Airport, also known as Ben Gurion Airport, located near Tel Aviv. Saree stated the attack was carried out using a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile. Statement by the Yemeni Armed Forces: A military operation targeted Lod Airport in the occupied Yafa area with a hypersonic ballistic missile of the 'Palestine-2' type. — سبأ (@alsyasiah) July 6, 2025 According to Saree, the operation successfully achieved its objective, resulting in a halt to air traffic and causing millions of Israeli settlers to seek shelter. The spokesperson added that the operation was in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and their Resistance fighters, and in response to the ongoing genocide committed by 'Israel' in the Gaza Strip. The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that their operations will continue until the Israeli aggression on Gaza is halted and the blockade imposed on the Palestinian enclave is lifted, Saree stressed, underscoring the YAF's full readiness to respond to any developments in the coming days.
Al Manar
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Manar
Yemeni Armed Forces Stage Drone Strike against Israeli Military Target, Down US Drone over Saada
Yemen's Armed Forces announced a drone strike targeting an Israeli military site in the occupied city of Jaffa, adding that the forces managed to shoot down reconnaissance drone over Saada Governorate. In a statement on Friday, the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) said that the retaliatory operation targeting Tel Aviv, which employed a domestically developed 'Yaffa' drone, was conducted in response to the continued Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the daily massacres of Palestinians carried out with US support. In a separate development, YAF air defenses shot down a Giant Shark F360 reconnaissance drone operated by the 'US-Israeli enemy' while it was conducting missions over Yemen's northern Saada Governorate, YAF Spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree announced. The drone was downed using a domestically produced surface-to-air missile, the statement read. بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن تنفيذ عملية عسكرية استهدفت هدفا عسكريا في منطقة يافا المحتلة وذلك بطائرة مسيرة نوع 'يافا'، وإسقاط طائرة استطلاعية تعمل لصالح العدو الأمريكي أثناء قيامِها بأعمال عدائية في أجواء محافظة صعدة بصاروخ أرض جو محلي الصنع. — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) April 4, 2025 The Yemeni forces also issued a call to action, urging 'all free people of the nation' to stand against the Israeli genocidal war on Palestinians, warning of the risks of inaction and the potential expansion of Israeli aggression into other Arab and Islamic nations. 'The consequences of silence, inaction, and failure to fulfill one's religious, moral, and humanitarian duties will be dire for all,'. Brig. Gen. added. He also pledged to continue operations until the Israeli regime halts its assault and lifts the siege on the Gaza Strip. Earlier in the day, the YAF conducted a retaliatory operation against US warships in the Red Sea, including the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, thwarting two planned strikes against Yemen.
Gulf Insider
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Second US Carrier Steams Through Indian Ocean To Join Yemen War
New satellite imagery captured over the weekend shows the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier entering the Indian Ocean, signaling Washington's escalating military build-up in the region as part of its war on Yemen and ahead of a possible attack on Iran. The USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier named in honor of US Congressman Carl Vinson of Georgia, was originally deployed in the western Pacific. It is now the second US aircraft carrier in West Asia, joining the USS Harry S. Truman. Last week, the US also deployed a fleet of B-2 Bombers to its base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Together, the US carriers and bombers greatly expand the US military's ability to launch air and missile strikes on Iran and Yemen. The satellite imagery and maritime data showed that the USS Carl Vinson and its strike group transited through the Malacca Straits to reach the Indian Ocean. The US military has been bombing Yemen since March 15, after the country's Ansarallah-led government announced its intention to resume attacks on Israeli-linked vessels in the Red and Arabian Seas in response to Israel's blockade on Gaza. The US military's bombing campaign in Yemen has cost nearly $1 billion in under three weeks, according to sources speaking with CNN, who said the campaign had caused a limited impact on the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces' (YAF) capabilities. Click here to read more…
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I know speech is protected at Davidson College. I see it all the time.
Conservative writer Andrew Dunn recently questioned whether Davidson College protects 'controversial' speech, particularly pro-Israel views. I've spent the past few years at Davidson looking into, reporting on and teaching about the importance of free expression. Every issue of importance is being discussed on campus. But every false claim of censorship, as YAF alleged here, further roots in the public consciousness a distorted perception of colleges, who are stuck having to play Whack-a-Mole to correct the record. A conservative student group, a chapter of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), handed out an anti-Muslim pamphlet made available to them by national YAF to counter what they believed was an anti-Israel campus atmosphere. The group also retweeted what some considered transphobic. They then faced the usual student disciplinarian process and could choose between a hearing, where they could be found guilty or not guilty for harassment, or accept an accountability plan. They chose neither, convinced they were targeted for their beliefs. But they weren't. The college was responding to complaints from other students, some of whom said they felt unsafe because of the pamphlet's contents, which was handed out near the student union's entrance. Davidson is required to take seriously every student concern for legal, practical and ethical reasons. That's what triggered the potential hearing – not the group's stance on the Gaza war. I know this because I know pro-Palestinian students and others have faced the same process disciplinarian, which is necessarily opaque because of privacy laws. I know pro-Israel views are welcome because professors, students and staff shared them before the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on that country, and since. I know because those voices can be so loud and persistent that they can pressure the college to cancel a Jewish speaker critical of Israel, as happened just weeks ago. (The college didn't cave.) I know because I have colleagues holding pro-Palestinian views who've rethought public presentations for fear of being falsely labeled antisemitic. I know because colleagues expert on the long-complex history of the Israel-Palestine conflict led well-attended teach-ins on the subject. They explained every side of the issue from an educational rather than ideological perspective. I know because students have shared those views in my classes during deliberative discussions and debates infused with passion. Here's what's also true: Students, faculty and staff often disagree about this subject, and many others. Many often feel reluctant to speak openly about this Israel-Gaza, and many other subjects. They fear the judgment of peers – a human instinct not unique to college campuses. Many of us even disagree about the nature of the student disciplinary process. Should speech of any sort short of flagrant-obvious harassment – like the hurling of epithets or stalking – be subject to that process? Or maybe it would be better to allow students to resolve uncomfortable disputes among themselves. Many Davidson students, faculty and staff disagree about when free expression advances or hampers the college's mission. When a student spreads misinformation on an important topic, should the college remain neutral to honor that student's right to speak freely? Or point out the falsehoods and correct them? If so, how can that be done in a way that doesn't feel punitive? What if a professor's expression of personal beliefs makes it less likely students will engage in class, even if inadvertently. Should the college step in? Colleges aren't gloried debate clubs who don't care about facts or the context in which they need to be grounded, the kinds of exchanges regularly on display in prime time on cable news. Free expression is a right. But it comes with responsibilities, particularly for institutions of higher education whose objective is greater than simply gathering together people to exchange words no matter if truth is cultivated or undermined. It's hard to determine where to draw the line between protected speech on a college campus, and that which should be shunned. But trying to get it right becomes more difficult each time an underinformed argument misleads the public about what we do and who we are. Issac Bailey is a McClatchy opinion writer in North Carolina and South Carolina.
