The Daily Signal - University Moves Classes Online Amid Anti-Israel Protests, Trump Criminal Trial, Agreement Reached With Larry Nassar Victims | April 23

Starting point is 00:00:02 I'm Brian Gottstein, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Tuesday, April 23rd. Here are today's headlines. Columbia University is moving almost all its classes online for the rest of the semester over safety concerns due to the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The semester ends at the end of this month. In recent days, over 100 people have been arrested at protests at the university, where students have formed a pro-Palestinian encampment, With classes moving online for the last week of learning, there are reportedly calls for tuition refunds.

Starting point is 00:00:48 The protests have also resulted in Robert Kraft ending his financial relationship with the college, at least for now. Kraft is the owner of the New England Patriots, and Columbia University is his alma mater. He announced this week that he's no longer comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken. Forbes magazine estimates he's worth over $11 billion. There have also been pro-Palestinian protests at Yale and New York University this week that have resulted in other arrests. This was what protests sounded like at New York University today via the suppressed news X account. The crowd is shouting, The Students United will never be defeated. Daily Signal columnist Jarrett Stepman attended a pro-Palestian protest near New York University today at Washington Square Park and heard this chant.

Starting point is 00:01:48 There have also been pro-Palestinian protests this week at MIT, Tufts University, the University of Michigan, the University of California, Berkeley, University of Minnesota, and Emerson College. Former President Donald Trump weighed in on the situation on the college campuses, calling it a disgrace. Per the Trump War Room X account? What's going on at the college level of the colleges? Columbia, NYU, or others is the disgrace. And it's really on Biden. He has the wrong signal.

Starting point is 00:02:31 He's got the wrong tone. He's got the wrong words. He doesn't know who he's backing. And it's a mess. President Joe Biden has also condemned the anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses. In a statement on Sunday, Biden said that the blatant anti-Semitism is reprehensible and dangerous and has absolutely no place on college campuses or anywhere. in our country. Biden didn't name any specific universities in the statement.

Starting point is 00:02:58 Senator Tom Cotton is leading the charge in the Senate with 26 of his colleagues to demand action be taken regarding anti-Semitism on college campuses. Earlier today, Cotton sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. The letter urges them to restore order on campuses that have been effectively shut down by anti-Semitic protests. The letter to Garland and Cardona reads in part, You need to take action to restore order and protect Jewish students on our college campuses. President Biden issued a statement on Sunday purporting to condemn the outbreak of anti-Semitism. If that statement was serious, it must be accompanied by immediate action from your departments.

Starting point is 00:03:42 Representative Richie Torres, a Democrat from New York, had harsh words for Columbia's president, posting on X Monday night, the cancellation of in-person classes at Columbia University is an admission of failure by President Minou Sheafiq, who was chosen to surrender control of Colombia to an anti-Semitic fringe. If you cannot ensure the safety of your students, then you have no business serving as president of any university, let alone the alma mater of Alexander Hamilton. The New York criminal trial against former President Donald Trump over alleged campaign finance violations was focused. on former National Inquirer publisher David Pecker today. Reuters reports that Pecker said that he promised Trump and his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, that he would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump

Starting point is 00:04:34 and would publish negative stories about his opponents. Pecker alleged that Michael Cohen would call him and say that he'd like the National Inquirer to run a negative article on a certain person, for example, Ted Cruz, the Washington Post reported. The Post noted that the Inquirer had published articles with such headlines as Ted Cruz's father caught with JFK assassin. Family man, Marco Rubio's love child stunner. Bungling surgeon Ben Carson left sponge in patient's brain. Pecker also said that he had paid $30,000 to a New York City dormant who claimed he could prove that Trump had fathered an illegitimate child, and he also paid $150,000 to Karen Dugel who claimed she had an affair with Trump.

Starting point is 00:05:18 The illegitimate child story ended up being untruthful. said Pecker. He said he had made the decision to purchase the story to avoid the potential embarrassment it would have created for Trump. Meanwhile, Trump continues to protest about his gag order. On true social today, the former president wrote, highly conflicted, to put it mildly, Judge Juan Merchant. He has taken away my constitutional right to free speech. Everybody is allowed to talk and lie about me, but I'm not allowed to defend myself. This is a kangaroo court, and the judge should recuse himself. The trial will resume on Thursday.

Starting point is 00:05:57 The Justice Department has reached in agreement with the victims of Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics official and doctor. Nassar allegedly sexually abused many young female gymnasts while supposedly treating them. The Justice Department will distribute about $139 million to 139 claimants

Starting point is 00:06:15 who said the FBI should have investigated Nassar sooner. Acting Associate Attorney General, Benjamin Meiser said in a statement that for decades Nassar abused his position, betraying the trust of those under his care while skirting accountability. Meiser said the allegations should have been taken seriously from the outset. He added that while these settlements won't undoing the harm that Nassar inflicted, the Justice Department hopes the money will provide the victim some of the critical support they need to continue healing.

Starting point is 00:06:46 And that'll do it for today's episode. Thanks for listening to the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't gotten a chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed, where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal interview edition. Mary Margaret O'Lahan will be sitting down with the Ohio Attorney General to discuss the state's legal effort to protect children from transgender procedures. Also, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcasts. And help us to reach more listeners by leaving a five-star race.

Starting point is 00:07:21 rating and review. We read all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. Have a great night, and we'll be back with you all tomorrow morning. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you. Executive producers are Rob Blewey and Kate Trinko. Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Mary Margaret O'Lehann, and Tyler O'Neill. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more or support our work, please visitdailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - University Moves Classes Online Amid Anti-Israel Protests, Trump Criminal Trial, Agreement Reached With Larry Nassar Victims | April 23

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.