Middlebury College’s student commencement speaker encouraged her fellow graduates and alumni to pull their donations and instead support the people of Gaza during her speech.

Film, media, culture and environmental studies major Faith Wood was chosen among a committee of students to represent the graduating class on Saturday with a final address. She spoke to the class wearing a rainbow scarf and keffiyeh and largely mourned the state of Gazan cities.

She suggested holding the school accountable for what she claims is the school's culpability in the suffering of Gaza through their pocketbooks. 

EX-VERMONT GOVERNOR SUES MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE FOR CHANGING NAME OF ITS CHAPEL BASED ON ‘GROSSLY DISTORTED CLAIM’

"Being an alum of Middlebury College gives you power in this world. Leveraging that collective power in this room can be that difference. First step, Middlebury. Then, in the world," Wood said. "Here's one thing you can do. Open up the pamphlets people have been handing out and pledge to donate any money you would have to Middlebury to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency." 

She concluded, "Until Middlebury demonstrates its commitment to prioritizing education here and everywhere over profit through divestment from war profiteering, there is nothing as whole as a broken heart. Loving Middlebury means holding it and ourselves accountable to our promises. To love means to grow together. That is what it's going to take."

Earlier in her speech, Wood called out the school for standing "tall and pretty" while schools in Gaza are destroyed.

"There is simply nothing we as students at one of the eleven NESCACs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) deserve that students of the eleven institutions of higher education in Gaza do not also deserve," Wood said.

She also lamented the "heartbreaking" situation she and her fellow students find themselves in after President Donald Trump returned to office.

"We are literally graduating the same month a fascist has taken office. Within 11 days, he has pulled out of Paris Climate Agreement for the second time, denied the existence of trans people and unleashed a slew of ICE agents to arrest an average thousand people every single day since they began," Wood said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Middlebury College for a comment.

Last year, Fox News Digital reported that the StandWithUs (SWU) organization filed a lawsuit against Middlebury College alleging that the school "failed egregiously to provide adequate protection for Jewish students seeking to remedy persistent antisemitic bigotry on campus." Students at Middlebury also requested to remain anonymous on their comments out of fear of retaliation.

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A pro-life protester who was sentenced to over three years in prison told Fox News Digital she is still processing President Donald Trump’s pardon. 

"To be pardoned by the President of the United States is something that I'm still trying to register," Bevelyn Beatty Williams told Fox News Digital. "I don't think I can fathom in my mind how big this is because I don't see myself as… the celebrity that people like to call me. I'm just like regular, old Bevelyn."

On Friday, Trump pardoned 23 pro-life prisoners who were convicted by President Joe Biden’s administration of violating the FACE Act, a federal law which bans the use of force on those accessing abortion clinics and other reproductive healthcare facilities. 

PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS PARDONED BY TRUMP, FOX CONFIRMS 

Trump told the media Friday that "We released 23 people that were unjustly put in and having to do with pro-life. And, they will be released, and they'll be out very shortly. It was disgraceful what happened."

In June 2020, Williams organized a protest outside a Planned Parenthood in Manhattan, and allegedly pushed the door closed on the hand of a worker opening the door for a volunteer, injuring the worker’s hand. 

A press release from the United States Attorney’s office of the Southern District of New York reads that, "On June 19, 2020, and June 20, 2020, WILLIAMS threatened and used force against patients and staff members at a reproductive health center located in Lower Manhattan (the "Health Center") and blocked patients and staff members from accessing the Health Center."

The press release describes one occasion where she "pressed her body against the door of the Health Center’s patient entrance and refused to move, preventing a Health Center volunteer from entering the Health Center. As a Health Center staff member ("Victim-1") attempted to open the door for the volunteer, WILLIAMS purposefully leaned against the door, crushing Victim-1’s hand."

On July 24, 2024, Williams was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon to 41 months in prison, who said that Williams "repeatedly intimidated and interfered with individuals seeking and providing critical reproductive health services. She did so by physically blocking access to clinics, threatening staff, and by force."

"I was indicted and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for ministering in front of an abortion clinic and practicing my First Amendment right," Williams told Fox News Digital. "And they accused me of being loud and threatening and obstructing and violent, all things that were not true. And they sent it to me in federal prison for three and a half years."

Williams, 33, president and co-founder of At the Well Ministries, said her views on abortion changed when former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law in 2019 that legalized abortion up to birth in most cases.

NEW YORK ‘CELEBRATES’ LEGALIZING ABORTION UNTIL BIRTH AS CATHOLIC BISHOPS QUESTION CUOMO’S FAITH 

"I've had three abortions in my past, and so I did not start off pro-life," Williams said. "I think what ignited my fight for life was when Gov. Cuomo legalized abortion up to nine months… Once I became a Christian, I realized that abortion was wrong, and I always knew it was wrong. I never in my mind thought, okay, abortion is healthcare… But at the same time, when Gov. Cuomo legalized abortion up 'til nine months, it hit me that this is really murder and these poor, innocent babies are being tortured for convenience."

She said that her sentencing was especially hard on her husband. 

"My husband was devastated," Williams said. "My husband cried and cried that night after the sentencing. And it was just every day was like a clock counting down until the day I had to turn myself in. My daughter, who's two, was not aware of what was going on. But she did feel my absence. And my husband, he says now he can tell the difference in her joy and happiness, seeing that mommy's home." 

She said that she does not know what is next, but wants to foster communication and dialogue. 

"For me, this is not the time to settle. I feel like the fight is still on now," Williams said. 

"Am I going to continue to protest," she added. "I feel like… my demeanor was met for the proper season. And I understand when to shift. You know, when I was protesting and preaching against certain things, there was Covid going on, rights were being taken away. You had BLM militias and Antifa running amok in the streets and destroying cities. You know, there was a reason for me to raise my voice the way that I did at that time. I feel like in this season, people are a lot more reasonable. And I think this is a time to start having conversations that may have been tough as they have in the past."

Newsweek’s profile of a former death row inmate and convicted murderer, who is transitioning into a woman, shocked readers who called it "puff piece." 

Steven Joseph Hayes was previously sentenced to death in 2010 for the killing of a Connecticut mother and her two daughters after an attempted burglary. Hayes’ death sentence was later commuted to life without parole in 2015.

Since being convicted, Hayes has transitioned to Linda Mai Lee and gave exclusive comments to Newsweek, claiming to finally feel "comfortable living as a woman."

"For the first time in my life I am happy to be alive and do not want to die," Lee told Newsweek.

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The article was criticized as a "puff piece" about a convicted murderer because the inmate was transgender.

"This man held a family of four hostage in their home for hours, beating them, raping the 11 year old daughter and the mother, then strangling the mother, and finally setting the house on fire, killing both children from smoke inhalation. Newsweek now publishes a puff piece on how he is now happy and at peace since he came to terms with his gender confusion. They claim his ‘former anger’ had been fueled by this distress. Now he is seeking treatments to feminize his appearance. (Undoubtedly funded by taxpayers.) You don’t hate the media enough," civil liberties attorney Laura Powell wrote.

Live Action founder Lila Rose wrote, "A man convicted for the murder and rape of a mother and her two young daughters has a puff piece in Newsweek today about how happy he is now that he has ‘transitioned’ and gets to live in a WOMEN’S prison and wear lipstick and ‘panties.’ Unbelievable evil."

Author Helen Joyce asked, "He raped an 11 year old and her mother, and murdered both, as well as the 11 year old's sister. And we're supposed to pity him because his crimes were supposedly because of his confusion about his gender identity? And to give a toss that he's ‘happy to be alive’?"

"He murdered a mother and her two daughters and raped two of them before doing so. But now he's kind of sorry for what he did, but he’s also at peace with it. The feel-good story of the year," National Review columnist Becket Adams wrote.

"’I raped and murdered a little girl and her mother, and murdered the teenage daughter, because of my feminine gender identity’ Siri show me the definition of ‘misogynistic garbage.’ Shame on Newsweek for publishing this repulsive crap," British columnist Hadley Freeman wrote.

"Newsweek is total trash. Used to be a respected and respectable. No more," former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova wrote.

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In the Newsweek piece, Lee (formerly Hayes) described the murders as "wrong on every level" and "the behavior of someone deeply mired in addiction and gender identity issues." Newsweek similarly reported on how Lee was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at the age of 16 and how "intolerance" likely contributed to the crimes.

"Had Lee accepted herself earlier, Hawke-Petit and her daughters may still be alive, she said," the article read.

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A Latino pastor said churches are fearful of mass deportations at services as President Donald Trump's administration rapidly cracks down on illegal immigration.

"We're called as pastors to serve all communities," Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero told Fox News Digital. "So we don't ask, as pastors, whether people are immigrants and what their status is. We don't have the bandwidth, and we're not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. We're not police. But we're deeply concerned about how these policies are going to affect children in our Sunday schools and for families that are in our worship service."

Salguero is pastor of The Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida, and president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, (NaLEC), which represents thousands of Latino evangelical churches and faith leaders across the nation. 

Since returning to office, President Trump has rapidly begun to fulfill his campaign promise to curb the illegal immigration crisis and deport violent criminal migrants, issuing several executive orders aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration law and policy.

FLASHBACK: TOP DEMOCRATS TOUT DEPORTATIONS, TOUGH IMMIGRATION POLICIES

Thousands of violent criminals have been detained by ICE, according to the White House, with 962 criminal illegal immigrant arrests recorded on Wednesday alone.

Trump has authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to roll back guidelines that restricted ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement at "sensitive" locations, like schools, churches and hospitals.

"Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest," the DHS said in a statement on January 21 announcing the changes. "The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense."

Salguero's group, NaLEC, has come out against these policy changes, calling them "harmful" and an attack on religious liberty.

The church coalition is supportive of Trump's actions to deport violent criminals, but also has concerns about other immigrants being targeted.

"We want to make sure that in this kind of enforcement, there's not a chill sent up the spine of Latino evangelical churches and communities for those people who are not violent criminals, but are people who are starting small businesses, who are going to school," Salguero told Fox News Digital. 

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"We're looking for a sober approach that deals to violent criminals, secures the border, but finds a way to integrate the majority of immigrants who are trying to do good to this country," he continued.

Fears over Trump's immigration policies had caused attendance and church participation to decline, according to Salguero.

"They said, 'We can't go to church. We don't feel safe. We're not sure how this is going to work out,'" he told Fox News Digital of comments he'd heard.

The faith leader acknowledged that ICE and other immigration officials have a right to enter their worship spaces to enforce the law and should be treated respectfully. His group is training spokespersons for each church who can respond in a calm way if immigration officers visit their church. They are also giving parishioners information about their rights.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

He believes that Latino pastors have a responsibility to both follow the nation's laws and keep their biblical commitment to serving all people.

"For us, this is not a partisan issue. This is a pastoral issue. Christ has called us to walk alongside these families, to love them," he said.

Salguero is a registered independent, but emphasized that Latino evangelicals are not a "monolith" and share a variety of opinions on Trump's immigration plans.

He said NaLEC has spent the past two decades calling on Congress for "common sense, bipartisan immigration reform."

In a press release, NaLEC asked the Trump administration to "reconsider these harmful policies while continuing to work with Congress toward comprehensive immigration reform that is grounded in justice, compassion, and respect for the dignity of all people, regardless of their immigration status." 

At Friday's press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the administration's crackdown on illegal immigration, referencing a New York Times poll showing "83%" of Americans supported deportations of violent criminal illegal immigrants, and "97%" of the deportations carried out by the Trump administration so far had deportation orders from the previous administration, according to ICE. 

The Department of Homeland Security and White House did not return a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

PETA is proposing a "weather reveal" cake in place of groundhog Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day this year. 

The organization, known for its animal advocacy, believes that Phil is being exploited on the annual winter holiday. In response, they sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, asking them to let Phil retire ahead of this year's celebration on February 2. 

Instead of Phil, PETA has offered to send a vegan "weather reveal" cake, similar to a gender reveal cake, each Groundhog Day. The proposed cake when cut would show one of two colors: blue, signifying six more weeks of winter, or pink, indicating an early spring.

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PETA President Ingrid Newkirk explained her offer in the letter: "Retire Phil to a reputable sanctuary with his family, and every year we’ll provide a giant vegan ‘Weather Reveal’ cake (it would be the first in the world this year) to share with revelers at Gobbler’s Knob."

"If the inside of the cake is blue, there will be six more weeks of winter. If it’s pink, there will be an early spring," she added. "This would allow you to still make tourism dough while showing Phil a slice of decency. It would be as least as accurate as asking a groundhog what to expect in a way that doesn’t even reflect his nature."

She reiterated that they "batter believe" that Groundhog Day is no piece of cake for Phil. 

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"Groundhogs are shy prey animals who, when allowed, actively avoid humans," she said. "Yet, year after year, Phil is transported to Gobbler’s Knob, whisked on stage, and subjected to a noisy announcer, screaming crowds, and flashing lights against all his natural instincts."

"If approached in his natural habitat, he would run away in fear, not volunteer to live year-round in captivity, unable to do anything that’s natural and important to him like hibernate or burrow—just to be a town’s once-a-year fake meteorologist," she added. 

This isn't the first time PETA has tried to remove Phil from the festivities. In 2023, the group offered to replace him with an enormous, golden, weather-predicting coin.

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"We’d be happy to send you a large thermometer for Gobbler’s Knob instead that reads, ‘If it’s still cold, it’s still winter,’ which would aptly represent the absurdity of the current form of this tired old spectacle. We look forward to hearing from you, as always," Newkirk concluded in this year's letter. 

Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar, apologized and ditched X after multiple controversial tweets were resurfaced.

Gascón, who is currently a contender for the Academy Award for "Best Actress" after starring in the movie "Emilia Pérez," faced backlash for old social media posts about Islam and George Floyd. 

In one 2020 post that was reportedly viewed and translated from Spanish by Variety magazine, Gascón shared a photo of a Muslim family in a restaurant, and wrote, "Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY."

This was not the only post from the performer criticizing Islam, however, as Gascón also proposed in 2020, "Until we ban religions that go against European values and violate human rights, such as Islam, under the protection of freedom of worship, we will not end part of the huge problem we face."

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The performer slammed other religions by name, writing in a 2021 post, "I am so sick of so much of this sh--, of islam, of christianity, of catholicism and of all the f---ing beliefs of morons that violate human rights."

In a post from 2020, shortly after the death of George Floyd, the performer wrote, "I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys Without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They’re all wrong."

The Academy Awards nominee had also criticized the Oscars in 2021, "More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala."

Since then, Gascón appears to have ditched the X platform and apologized for the controversial statements, telling The Hollywood Reporter in Spanish, "I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect neither my family nor me anymore, so at their request I am closing my account on X." 

The performer also claimed to have been "threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion."

"I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt," Gascón said in a statement provided by Netflix. "As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness."

Fox News Digital reached out to Gascón's management and did not receive an immediate reply.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hit back at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on Friday, after the activist group sent a letter to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club promising to send them a vegan "weather reveal cake" if they agreed to stop pulling Punxsutawney Phil out of his burrow for his Feb. 2 prognostication.

"Come and take it," Shapiro tweeted in response to a New York Post story on PETA's demand.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for Shapiro, told Fox News Digital the governor stands by his comments and said he will again make the trip to Gobbler's Knob in Jefferson County on Sunday to witness Phil's 138th meteorological prediction.

Shapiro has been on-hand for every Groundhog Day ceremony in Punxsutawney since taking office in 2023.

PETA CALLS TO END GROUNDHOG DAY TRADITION, REPLACE PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL WITH CAKE

PETA President Ingrid Newkirk told the Post that Phil is denied the traditional lifestyle of a groundhog "for a tired old gimmick."

Visitors to Punxsutawney year-round can visit Phil and his "wife," Phyllis, at the borough library. On this reporter's last visit to the area, the rodents had recently become proud parents to a new baby groundhog, as well.

While Groundhog Day is considered a national holiday and has even been popularized in the classic 1993 Bill Murray film of the same name, the day — and Phil himself — hold a special place in many Pennsylvanians' hearts.

In addition to the large ceremony in western PA, throughout the rest of the Commonwealth, many historically Pennsylvania German communities are home to a "Grundsau Lodsch" or Groundhog Lodge. 

GROUNDHOG DAY QUIZ! HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT THIS UNIQUE DAY?

Each lodge holds an annual banquet or "Versommling" in honor of their totem – Phil – with "Lodsch Nummer Ains an de Lechau" (Lodge #1 on the Lehigh River) in Allentown hosting theirs annually on the February 2 holiday itself since 1934.

Nineteen other lodges based around the state have held "Versommlinge" for decades, as well. 

However, three — "#2, Schibbach" in Montgomery County, "#3, Temple U." in Philadelphia County and "#5, Bind Bush" in Schuylkill County — have gone defunct in recent years as the Pennsylvania German language and culture see a decline in younger generations.

A March 2024 Versommling for "Lodge #18 an de Forelle Grick" (on Trout Creek) in Slatington featured local beer on tap, a traditional Pennsylvania German supper, stories and riddles from lodge elders told in the Pennsylvania German language, and, of course, representations of Phil himself.

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Until recently, it was the custom of groundhog lodges to forbid English-speaking in favor of "Pennsilfaanisch," lest the violator toss a nickel in a donation jar on their table.

Other states' groundhogs have been less lucky than Phil, as then-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio infamously dropped Staten Island Chuck during a 2014 ceremony in West New Brighton. Chuck later died from internal injuries after appearing to land on his head.

With the importance Groundhog Day and Phil himself hold to Pennsylvania past-and-present, Bonder said Shapiro will continue to defend the groundhog and his tradition, and will be on hand for future wintertime prognostications in Punxsutawney.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin torched the Trump administration for allowing television personality Dr. Phil McGraw to tag along as border czar Tom Homan and a team of agents carried out deportation operations in Chicago last weekend. 

From the Senate floor on Tuesday, Durbin scrutinized President Donald Trump's campaign messaging that mass deportations would initially target illegal immigrants who pose national security risks – sex offenders, murderers and drug dealers, to name a few. 

"If this mass deportation is truly focused on dangerous individuals — murderers, rapists, drug dealers and [the] mentally ill — Dr. Phil has as much business being on these raids as he does performing surgery," Durbin said, according to The Chicago Sun-Times. 

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"Why is he there? In fact, he could complicate the situation. We are talking about a legal process and the possibility of criminal prosecution following. And to have this television character come along for the ride is dangerous and makes no sense."

McGraw filmed a number of ICE arrests during the operations as part of his show on Merit TV, even interviewing a convicted sex offender and internet predator from Thailand living in the U.S. illegally until he was nabbed.

The subject frequently evaded his questions, recognizing him after seeing him on television.

Durbin said he was "disappointed" to see ICE agents arresting immigrants and asking them questions even after they had requested to speak with an attorney.

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He also expressed disdain for Trump's "sweeping executive actions" that could allegedly "leave those arrested by ICE, including those with lawful status and U.S. citizenship, with little opportunity to even state their case and show that they belong in this country."

He continued, "Let’s be clear, 90% of undocumented immigrants have no criminal convictions — 90% who make up more than 40% of home health care aides and children’s assistance day care — an outsized percentage of these and the agricultural workforce are undocumented. Immigrants are a key part of America’s success story."

He added that, while he doesn't want to see "a single dangerous person" remain in the U.S. or be allowed to "seek permanent residence," others have abided by laws and should remain a part of America's future.

ICE officials, under the Trump administration's watch, have nabbed swathes of illegal immigrants in major cities across the nation, including Chicago. Deportation efforts also began in New York City earlier this week, with agents reportedly nabbing alleged Tren de Aragua ringleader Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco in the Bronx.

Fox News' Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.

Venture capitalist and conservative activist Paul Martino credited President Donald Trump’s election win for a documentary featuring Martino's family being screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

"Bucks County, USA" focuses on two 14-year-old girls, Evi and Vanessa, maintaining a friendship despite opposing political beliefs in a bellwether county of one of the seven swing states in 2022. The five-part docu-series asks if "we can learn that it’s possible to coexist and love one another despite our differing political views" and "discover the humanity in ‘the other side.’"

"Bucks County, USA" was also one of two docu-series to feature at Sundance, where it debuted the first two episodes on Tuesday.

Martino, Vanessa’s father, took part in the documentary as a conservative perspective based on his work founding the Back to School PA PAC to elect candidates in favor of keeping schools open during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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At the premiere in Utah, Martino expressed his surprise at the series being featured in general, suggesting Trump’s win had encouraged more political dialogue even in film.

"One of the things that is fascinating about ‘Bucks County, USA’ being chosen as an official selection is it really looks like, in the era of Trump being re-elected, Sundance has pivoted to the middle," Martino said on X. 

"All of the sudden, the discussions are about ‘wow, I need to listen to the other side.’ So it is satisfying to be here at Sundance, which is known to be so left-leaning, knowing that there is a new openness to dialogue."

He continued, "I think the reason there’s an openness to dialogue is Trump won, and he won pretty big. And I think people are starting to realize, ‘this wasn’t a one-time little fluke when it came down to Hillary Clinton and the weirdness in 2016.’ This guy won the popular vote in 2024, and now I think people are like ‘Okay, maybe I shouldn’t just be in the resistance for four years. Maybe I should find out what the other person down the street from me is thinking.’"

In a clip sent to Fox News Digital, Martino addressed a theater audience at Sundance who criticized his beliefs after watching the series.

"Why can’t you be like your kids?" one audience member exclaimed.

Martino responded to the backlash by giving his perspective on what led him to activism.

"We were successful in the school policies around Covid, but you know what happened? The public sector’s unions decided to run ads about what an awful person I was, literally turning it into a personal battle," Martino said. "I was literally ready to take my ball and go home, but they decided they were going to make me a villain and my family. So what should I have done? Should I have just gone home? Or should I have actually gone into the fight?"

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Members of the audience cheered at his response.

"You’ve clearly watched the movie then, seeing the humanity in the film is what this is about, given your response," Martino added. "But what’s crazy to me is that you attacked me. That is the start of this."

In another video posted on Martino’s X account on January 22, Martino discussed his involvement in the process after being told by the filmmakers that "nobody on the right has agreed to be in the documentary."

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"[Robert May] did exactly what he promised me, that he would portray it as it happened. I didn’t want to be portrayed as good or bad. I just wanted the facts to be told. And when the facts are told, guess what? Us on the right look pretty damn rational. Our policies were the right ones. Our point of view was the right one, in particular around Covid policy," Martino said.

A group of moms in one Massachusetts public school district were condemned for questioning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion's (DEI) influence on local education, but now the district itself is changing course.

Carey Goldberg, a contributing writer for Globe Ideas, wrote an extensive opinion piece about how a trio of mothers in the tony Boston suburb braved public backlash to warn against far-left school policy changes. The three moms, all of whom were Democratic Party voters, began to question Newton public school district policies in 2022.

"At first we were just trying to understand the drastic changes that took place while no one was in school during COVID," Vanessa Calagna, one of the trio, told The Globe writer. "It was like we were trying to put a puzzle together. And then we were trying to ring the alarm."

Those changes, Goldberg wrote, "involved a heightened emphasis on racial equity and antiracism, including a district commitment to ‘dismantle structures rooted in racism’ and seek ‘more equitable outcomes for all students.’"

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One of the most controversial initiatives was combining students into "multilevel" classes, where, "Rather than students being divided into separate classes by level, students at varying levels would learn together — even in math, science, and languages." 

The purported goal was to "break the persistent pattern that white and Asian students predominated in ‘honors’ classes while Black and Hispanic students tended to be clustered in less-challenging ‘college-prep’ classes."

"[The mothers] wanted to know whether the multilevel classes and other new policies — such as denying advanced math students the chance to skip ahead a year — hurt students academically," the author summarized. "They also worried that the schools’ newer approaches to race and other identities emphasized differences rather than commonalities. And that equity was being defined as 'equal outcomes' rather than fairness."

School Committee member Paul Levy estimated that when he campaigned in 2021, 80% of more than 1,000 parents voiced concerns to him about these issues, but many would not dare speak about them in public for fear of being called "racist."

In 2022, the trio of mothers and their allies faced severe backlash after launching a petition to create an advisory panel that would give parents a voice on such academic issues. 

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"The mothers and their allies found themselves portrayed online and in public as dog-whistling bigots doing the bidding of right-wing national groups," Goldberg wrote. She added further that "PTO newsletters opposed them, as did the teachers’ union and the robust local group Families Organizing for Racial Justice, which claimed in an email that some petitioners ‘challenge the need for any activities related to microaggressions, inclusion, respect, or belonging.’"

When the three mothers and other parents questioned these new policies, defenders would cite the district’s "statement of values and commitment to racial equity," which sought "more equitable outcomes" and "an antiracist future."

"And that was untouchable," Calagna told The Globe contributor. "That was the third rail until, all of a sudden, now."

Now many Newton teachers are reportedly "openly rebelling" against multilevel classes.

"Those teachers report that the classes do not tend to work well for anyone — not for teachers, not for students who need more support, not for those who need more challenges," Goldberg reported. "Many parents concur."

"I’ve heard about multilevel classes from many, many parents over the last three years, and the feedback has been consistently negative," School Committee member Rajeev Parlikar reportedly argued during a meeting in November. "I actually have not heard from a single parent who thought their child benefited from being in a multilevel class."

However, even with both teachers and parents openly calling to remove multilevel classes by next fall, Newton’s new superintendent, Anna Nolin, told Goldberg such reforms are a long process.

"When [Nolin} took office in mid-2023, she found that the prestigious district lacked basic infrastructure that is standard elsewhere, including systems for curriculum development and student assessments," Goldberg summarized. "Also absent: an agreed-upon system for the district to track the effects of the multilevel classes on student achievement."

Work is reportedly underway to create distinct levels, but Nolin warned, "you can’t fix the curriculum overnight."

The superintendent has also begun efforts to restore parents’ trust in the schools, such as by establishing a new Office of Family Engagement so parents "know exactly what we’re doing."

Nolin observed that after the COVID-19 pandemic, "parent attitudes toward the schools changed, and there was a skepticism about how effective our methods were. For whatever reason, they did not feel heard by the school system, and that is the cocktail that brought us this schism between ‘equity’ and ‘excellence’ groups."

The superintendent noted that the school’s motto "Equity & Excellence," is now seen as "divisive." 

It will soon be replaced by the phrase, "Where All Children Thrive."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the school district and did not receive an immediate reply. 

EXCLUSIVE – A law firm requested public records from five major universities in order to investigate whether they were participating in a "censorship regime" they claim was conducted under the Biden administration.

"Free speech is essential to a free society," said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Phil Sechler, director of the ADF Center for Free Speech, in a press release obtained by Fox News Digital.

"The American people have a right to know if their tax dollars were used to suppress certain voices and how involved state actors were—and are—in social media censorship," Sechler said in the statement.

Now with a new administration in power, ADF is going after the University of Michigan (UM), the University of Wisconsin (UW), Indiana University (IU), the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

ATTORNEY SAYS 'A LOT OF TEACHERS COMING TO US' AFTER THEY ARE BEING FORCED TO USE STUDENTS' PREFERRED PRONOUNS

ADF cited President Donald Trump signing an executive order that seeks to restore freedom of speech. Trump on Jan. 20 announced that the executive order ends the previous administration’s practices of trampling "free speech rights."

The White House said the federal government will not censor speech on social media or any online platform in general, which they said was executed "under the guise of combating ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation.’"

ADF claims that these universities created "misinformation" centers that are "designed to censor speech."

For example, ADF called out UM’s Center for Social Media Responsibility (CSMR), which, according to their website, "addresses the negative effects of broad access to the means of public communication, while amplifying positive effects."

CSMR’s website explains further that while social media product managers, designers, and engineers "are the day-to-day policymakers of today's social media landscape," the institution aims to help them articulate "principles" as well as create "metrics and tools" that help them "set responsible policy."

LOCAL VIRGINIA TEACHERS NO LONGER FORCED TO USE STUDENTS' PREFERRED PRONOUNS AFTER SETTLEMENT

The law firm wants records related to the CSMR containing any communication between the CSMR administrators, including the director, and federal government officials or employees. Furthermore, ADF requests documents related to communication between CSMR directors and employees of social media companies Google, Facebook, Instagram, "Twitter," YouTube, Snapchat, and Reddit.

Acquiring such communication would help ADF identify any "certain censorship red flags," in its view, like "cancel," "throttle," "First Amendment," and "free speech." 

ADF also cited a report released in February by investigators from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee which found that UM officials pitched an idea of an artificial intelligence tool to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for "externalizing the difficult responsibility of censorship."

The House Judiciary Commitee's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government stated in February last year that NSF issued "multi-million-dollar grants to university and non-profit research teams" to combat "alleged misinformation" regarding COVID-19 and the 2020 election.

Considering that NSF "is responsible for funding censorship grants," ADF wants records containing any of the terms National Science Foundation and NSF. 

ADF suspects that CSMR and similar institutions at IU, UW, UNC, and UCLA had worked with the Biden administration.

Sechler claimed that the Biden administration "established a censorship regime that aimed to suppress so-called ‘misinformation’ and other speech deemed unfavorable to the government," which "included funding censorship tools created by these public universities."

"The U.S. government should defend our First Amendment right to free speech, not be its greatest threat," he said.

UM, IU, UW, UNC, and UCLA, as well as a spokesperson for former President Joe Biden, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Immigrant advocacy groups condemned Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan Wednesday for calling illegal immigrants "illegal," or what they called "the i–word." 

Liberal activist groups and public figures have called for illegal immigrants to not be described as such, instead wanting them to be referred to as "undocumented" or "unauthorized" immigrants.

As some localities plan to resist the Trump administration’s efforts to remove criminal illegal immigrants, Duggan has said that Detroit is not a sanctuary city and would not shield those who are here illegally.

SELENA GOMEZ POSTS, QUICKLY DELETES VIDEO CRYING ABOUT TRUMP'S ICE DEPORTATIONS AND DISPLAYING MEXICAN FLAG

"ICE has a list of who they're looking for who are illegal immigrants, who have committed crimes," Duggan, a former Democrat turned Independent, said last week. "And when one of the people we've arrested comes up, they will contact us. And if we have them in custody at the Detroit detention center, we will turn them over to ICE."

According to The Detroit News, nine Michigan organizations that work with immigrants denounced the mayor for "describing undocumented immigrants as ‘illegal.’"

"The Mayor’s use of the I-word is inappropriate, dehumanizing, and an insult to Detroit’s longstanding immigrant communities," the organizations wrote in a press release viewed by the local news outlet.

Duggan reportedly shrugged off the criticism as mere "political correctness" in an email, according to the Detroit News.

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"[W]hen Detroit police make a criminal arrest and DPD gets federal notification that the person in custody is in the country illegally, we should not and do not shield you from federal enforcement," he said. 

"Groups who oppose this position are criticizing me today over the political correctness of my statements, but I do not apologize for providing a clear explanation of Detroit’s position. It is a position we have followed consistently through the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations," Duggan added.

Washington state's attorney general is standing by Costco as the retail giant resists conservative pressure to ditch its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

This week, 19 Republican attorneys general sent a letter to Costco, urging the retail giant to end "all unlawful discrimination imposed by the company" through its "divisive" DEI policies. 

The attorney general for Washington state, where Costco's headquarters are located, defended the company and fired back at the Republican effort.

"I’m surprised by my Republican colleagues’ eagerness to weaponize the government against business," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat, told Fox News Digital. "We don’t believe in punishing private companies for making decisions that protect and enhance their workforce."

COSTCO SHAREHOLDERS REJECT ANTI-DEI MEASURE

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who led the 19-state effort against Costco alongside Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, vowed to "look at all available options" to ensure the business is following federal and state laws regarding race-based or gender identity-based hiring practices.

"Costco needs to show us the proof that they are following the law because they have public statements that cause us great concern," Bird said Wednesday to Fox News. "Many other big retailers have changed their policies and are now following federal law, just like President Trump is doing with his executive orders rooting out DEI, so they need to show us they're following the law."

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota also signed the letter, which gives Costco 30 days to respond.

The letter comes on the heels of Trump signing an executive order targeting DEI in the federal government and encouraging the private sector to end these "illegal" practices.

TRUMP'S DISMANTLING OF DEI IS DEEPER AND BIGGER THAN YOU KNOW

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The order tasks the attorneys general with rooting out sectors and organizations that allegedly engage in discriminatory DEI practices. Recommendations will be made for potential lawsuits against violators.

Major companies like Target, McDonald's and Walmart have backed off from their DEI policies in recent months amid growing scrutiny over these policies. 

Costco has thus far resisted these challenges and defended DEI values as critical to the success of its business. 

"We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members every day. It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers," Costco board chair Hamilton "Tony" E. James said at the shareholder meeting Thursday.

At that meeting, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected an anti-DEI proposal brought by a conservative shareholder group to evaluate the risks posed by its DEI practices to the company's bottom line.

James said that the company's "commitment to inclusion" neither compromises merit nor includes quotas or systematic preferences.

WALMART FACING BACKLASH OVER DEI POLICY REVERSAL AS SHAREHOLDERS AND DEM OFFICIALS URGE THEM TO RECONSIDER

Constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that, "absent an unlawful policy, businesses have the right to make their own employment decisions within the parameters of the law."

"That includes mandatory training on DEI. Customers obviously have the right to make their own judgment in purchases, as shown by the response to Bud Light and Disney. However, state AGs need to be mindful of the countervailing speech and other rights afforded to corporations and organizations," he added in an emailed statement.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of the remaining 30 state attorneys general that did not sign off on the letter to Costco to ask if they would be taking any action, for or against the business, after Trump's executive order. 

A spokesperson for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita told Fox News Digital, "Attorney General Rokita stands firmly against unlawful DEI practices and supports President Trump’s actions to end them in corporate America."

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown's office referred Fox News Digital to his letter, co-signed by 13 Democratic attorneys general earlier this month, urging Walmart to keep its commitment to DEI. The letter was also signed by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Iowa AG Bird did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by publication time.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph and Taylor Penley contributed to this article.

Pop star Madonna took a swipe at the Trump administration's wave of executive orders with a social media message made in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

"It’s so sad to watch our new Government slowly dismantling all the Freedoms we have been fighting for and WON over the years," the 66-year-old singer wrote in an X post on Tuesday. 

After adding a pride flag and broken heart emojis, she concluded the post by urging her fans, "Don’t give up the Fight!"

The "Material Girl" and "Vogue" singer's post came hours after Trump signed an executive order titled "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness," which bars transgender Americans from serving in the military.

MADONNA SHARES RARE GLIMPSE OF HER 6 CHILDREN TOGETHER IN LAVISH CELEBRATION FOR 66TH BIRTHDAY

Last week, Trump also signed an executive order recognizing only two sexes – male and female – in all areas of the federal government, also mandating that the government adhere to biological sex rather than gender.

Conservatives lauded the move as a "return to common sense," but critics met the decision with scrutiny.

Madonna, who has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in the past, was also an outspoken critic of Trump during his first term in office.

In 2017, she delivered a profanity-laced speech at the Women's March in Washington, D.C., shortly after Trump assumed office for his first term.

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"I have thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House," she said at the time, before adding that she "knows this won't change anything."

The soundbite made headlines, earning rage among those in Trump's corner. After Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Nov. 2016, Madonna said his victory "felt like someone died."

"It wasn't a bad dream that I had," she added at the time, saying she wanted to "rain on [Trump's] parade."

Multiple candidates vying for New York City mayor are hoping to distance themselves from their past support of "defund the police" initiatives.

Democrats, like New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, former city comptroller Scott M. Stringer and current city comptroller Brad Lander, have thrown their hats into the ring to replace Mayor Eric Adams in 2025. Since announcing their runs, each candidate has been promoting a pro-police and public safety campaign to address rising crime.

Both Stringer and Myrie have released a plan to hire more than 3,000 police officers, with Stringer also calling for "a dedicated officer on every subway train."

NYC BUSINESSES, EXPERTS RIP CRIME POLICIES HURTING PROFITS, SCARING EMPLOYEES: 'WHY NEW YORK IS THE WORST'

Lander, meanwhile, was more repentant, saying that he wanted to "acknowledge that progressives, including myself, were slow to respond to the growing sense of disorder coming out of the pandemic."

This marked a stark contrast to their opinions on police and police funding just a few years prior.

In June 2020, shortly after George Floyd’s death, Lander remarked, "It is time to defund the police and reimagine our public safety infrastructure." His mindset remained unchanged into 2021, despite having an NYPD security detail for himself.

"All neighborhoods need and deserve to be safe, and we must confront rising levels of gun violence," Lander said in 2021. "But NYC already has more police officers per capita than nearly every large American city."

Stringer called for a $1.1 billion reduction in the police budget in 2020 during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests.

"The brutal, senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery are the most recent reminders of the longstanding need for racial justice and reform in policing," Stringer said. "We must call out racism in all its ugly forms to break this painful cycle. But it is not enough to condemn racism in words: our fight for justice must be backed up with accountability and concrete action."

Myrie previously sued the NYPD, claiming he was assaulted and pepper sprayed while taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest.

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"Police brutality is in the DNA of this country and if we do not start the conversation from there I will not engage with you," Myrie wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2020.

Fox News Digital reached out to the candidates for comment.

The shift resembles Mayor Adams’ own tough-on-crime campaign that led him to victory. In 2021, he criticized his primary opponent, Maya Wiley, for hiring private security while pushing to defund the police.

"To me that’s the highest level of hypocrisy," Adams said. "Security can’t be for the affluent — it must be for every New Yorker."

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Actress and singer Selena Gomez shared and then deleted a video of her crying about ICE deportations and expressing her wish she could "do something."

Over the first weekend of President Donald Trump’s second term, federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their partners conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 illegal immigrants who were charged or convicted with committing crimes on American soil.

The American-born "Only Murders in the Building" star posted a video to her Instagram story with a caption of "I’m sorry" along with a Mexican flag emoji.

MSNBC ANCHOR CORRECTS HER CORRESPONDENT ON-AIR: THEY'RE 'UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS'

"All my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand," she said while crying. "I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise."

She deleted the video shortly afterward, and according to a purported screenshot, posted another, now-deleted Instagram story simply with a caption saying, "Apparently it’s not okay to show empathy for people."

The video was widely mocked across social media, such as by talk show host Piers Morgan, who wrote, "Posting yourself weeping over illegal immigrant criminals being deported is a new level of absurd celebrity narcissism."

The actress has spoken about illegal immigration before, and executive produced a Netflix documentary series about illegal immigrants called "Living Undocumented."

TRUMP’S ICE NABS CHILD SEX OFFENDERS AMONG 530+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN SINGLE DAY

In a 2019 Time Magazine interview, Gomez spoke about how illegal immigration helped shape her own family's story. 

"In the 1970s, my aunt crossed the border from Mexico to the United States hidden in the back of a truck," she said. "My grandparents followed, and my father was born in Texas soon after. In 1992, I was born a U.S. citizen thanks to their bravery and sacrifice."

She later told the outlet, "Over the past four decades, members of my family have worked hard to gain United States citizenship. Undocumented immigration is an issue I think about every day, and I never forget how blessed I am to have been born in this country thanks to my family and the grace of circumstance. But when I read the news headlines or see debates about immigration rage on social media, I feel afraid for those in similar situations. I feel afraid for my country."

Known as "America’s Friendliest Hometown," The Villages, a retirement community located in Central Florida, may be after another title: "The New Headquarters for ‘Make America Great Again.’" 

While not a physical headquarters, the embodiment of the spirit of The Villages continues to point to increasingly strong support for the MAGA movement and President Donald Trump. 

Hundreds of members of The Villages MAGA Club and supporters of Trump gathered under the leadership of the group's president and co-president, Tommy and Valerie Jamieson, to celebrate Inauguration Day last week with a sold-out gala.  

When asked what drew the retirement community to MAGA, Valerie Jamieson told Fox News Digital, "I don’t know if it’s The Villages that draws MAGA or that most Villagers are MAGA." Tommy told local site, The Villages News, "It was a great day, and it was a miracle to see him inaugurated today after what he has gone through last year… We just had to celebrate."

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Prior to Election Day, a parade of over 1,000 golf carts was led by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., — becoming the largest Trump golf cart parade in the history of the community, according The Villages News. 

Trump has made previous appearances in The Villages, one being at a 2020 rally, where he brought in more than 10,000 supporters.

BILL MAHER SHOCKED TO ADMIT 'TRUMP IS COOL NOW,’ SAYS SPORTS PLAYERS LOVE THE PRESIDENT

As one of the largest retirement communities in the world, The Villages, a census-designated place that spans Sumter, Marion and Lake Counties, has made itself known as both one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation and a Republican stronghold. All three of the counties went strongly for Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, including 68.3 percent for Trump in Sumter.

With the Villages being a 55+ retirement community, recent Census data shows that The Villages Metropolitan Statistical Area has the highest median age in the country at 68 years old, according to The Daily Sun. This also puts a majority of Villagers in the "Baby Boomer" generation. 

Age is known to be closely tied to partisanship and the GOP holds a clear advantage for voters aged 60 years and older, confirmed by recent research from the Pew Research Center — although Trump did gain ground in the 2024 election among several traditionally blue voting blocs, including young voters, such as Gen Z men, due to being the "assertive outspoken" candidate. 

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Although The Villages Democratic Club had nearly doubled its membership since the 2020 election cycle, totaling around 1,500 people prior to Election Day, its traction wasn’t enough to curb support for Trump in the community.

As far as being a haven for MAGA, Villagers cited reasons including common interests of "getting the country back to where it should be," which often included immigration reform, and shared mindsets of retirees — which involved working hard, earning what they’ve worked for "the right way" and enjoying the fruits of their labors. 

Washington State University (WSU) is offering free "Queer Pole Fit" classes to help challenge the stigma surrounding pole dancing and offer an inclusive "safe space" for "queer" people.

The free classes, hosted each Friday, do not require registration and are "open to all who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies!" according to a description on the university's website. 

"Queer Pole Fit is meant to create a community and environment that helps folks feel safe and disrupt stereotypical ideas about pole dancing. Taught by our queer pole instructors, come as you are, and enjoy this fun and challenging format," the class description continues.

POLE DANCING STUDIO DEFENDS VIRAL ‘MOMMY AND ME’ CLASS ALLOWING KIDS TO TRY POLE TECHNIQUES WITH PARENTS

Laura Yasinitsky, the University Recreation fitness coordinator, told The Daily Evergreen – the university's news source – in a recent piece that the classes serve a purpose of welcoming those who are traditionally left out or not "supported" in their fitness journey.

"This is labeled queer. You’re allowed to present however you are, and you will be seen exactly in that way," she said.

Yasinitsky added that the program's goal is to "break" boundaries and welcome beginners to a "safe space" that allows them to "try something new."

PRINCETON GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM TO OFFER ‘SEX WORK,’ ‘QUEER SPACES’ COURSES

Ri Scovel, a Queer Pole Fit instructor, told the outlet that, by focusing on the "queer" demographic, the course challenges the pattern of pole classes being addressed to "ladies," expanding the sport to a frequently ignored group while also granting space to a stigmatized method of dance.

The university began offering the classes last January and continues to attract new people, reports say.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Washington State University for additional comment about the course but has yet to receive a response. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., joked it might be time for the pro-life movement to welcome the New York Times into the fold for a recent headline from the legacy media outlet that acknowledged the "unborn" as children. 

"You know, I kind of feel like we have a lot of momentum, so there's this issue that the president has introduced, which I'm supportive of, to say the Constitution doesn't give birthright citizenship to people that are here illegally," DeSantis said Friday at the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. 

"But it's interesting. Not everyone likes that. And so, The New York Times had a hit piece going against this. And here was their headline, ‘Undocumented women ask: Will my unborn child be a citizen?’" he said.

"So The New York Times is admitting it's not just a clump of cells," DeSantis said. "Let's welcome the New York Times to the pro-life movement."

NUMEROUS US STATES SUE TRUMP OVER BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER AS SUPREME COURT COULD MAKE FINAL DECISION 

The New York Times piece, which ran on Tuesday, quoted illegal immigrants voicing their concern that their unborn children might not be recognized as citizens. 

The piece was in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order on Monday saying that the children of illegal immigrants and those born to legal immigrants with temporary visas should not be recognized as citizens. 

The executive order, which goes into effect Feb. 19, says that "it is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth."

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The New York Times article quotes the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment which says that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

The piece goes on to say that the "provision has since been interpreted to apply to virtually all children born here, regardless of their parents’ status. But some immigration restrictionists believe that there is a legal ground for narrowing its scope." 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a New York Times spokesperson said of DeSantis' remarks, "Our newsroom covers abortion and immigration impartially as our recent coverage of President Trump's immigration executive order demonstrates, from the logistics of enlisting the military, to legal challenges, to tracking the demographics of who would be affected by deportations, as well as interviews with undocumented women who expect to give birth after the order goes into effect."

On Thursday, a federal judge in Seattle, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional."