Hunter College Prof. not fired but on leave for racist hot-mic comments

Hunter College has placed an associate biology professor on leave after she managed to drop some truly vile comments during a virtual Community Education Council meeting. The backlash was swift and entirely deserved. 

As of this writing, she has not been fired.

This all went down on February 10 when Allyson Friedman, who moonlights as a parent at a public school, was attending the meeting virtually. A Black eighth-grade student was voicing concerns about her Upper West Side school potentially shutting down. That's when Friedman's hot mic betrayed her.

"They’re too dumb to know they’re in a bad school," she was heard saying.

She kept going: "If you train a black person well enough, they’ll know to use the back. You don’t have to tell them anymore."

Disgusting.

The remarks appeared to riff on a quote from Carter G. Woodson in his 1933 book "The Mis-Education of the Negro," which the district's interim acting superintendent had referenced earlier. Woodson wrote: "If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told."

The meeting went dead silent for about 10 seconds. Two other adults immediately called her out, while others sat there in shock, hands over mouths. The moderators apologized to the student and moved on.

Hunter College President Nancy Cantor issued a statement Wednesday addressing the mess."I write to share an update about actions that Hunter College is taking as a result of the incident during a recent virtual meeting of the New York City School District 3 Community Education Council in which abhorrent remarks were heard coming from a district parent who also is a Hunter employee," Cantor wrote.

"As I shared earlier, we are investigating this matter under the university's applicable conduct and nondiscrimination policies. Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employee has been placed on leave."

The statement did not clarify whether Friedman is still getting paid. Earlier, the CUNY school had said it was "reviewing" her conduct after the audio spread online and ignited widespread outrage.

Friedman tried to clean it up later, claiming she was explaining systemic racism to her own child "by referencing an example of an obviously racist trope." She added that her full remarks were not completely audible due to the microphone mishap.

"My complete comments make clear these abhorrent views are not my own, nor were they directed at any student or group," Friedman told the New York Times.

Public officials were having none of it and demanded action.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman Sigal called the comments "outrageous."

"It is particularly despicable that these vile words were uttered while children were giving testimony at the meeting, exposing them to this hatred," he said.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. posted on X: "She still isn't fired???" 

United Jewish Teachers president Moshe Spern wrote: "She shouldn't be near any child at all. Her words are abhorrent and racist. I feel awful for all those children who witnessed this. Hunter shouldn’t allow her to continue in her role until a full investigation is complete."

Cantor noted in her statement that counseling services and an employee assistance program are available for anyone in the school community needing support.

"This painful incident unfolded at a meeting where Black History Month was being celebrated, and the pernicious and enduring effects of anti-Black systemic racism were being discussed, especially with regard to the role of educational institutions in addressing them," Cantor wrote.

"Hunter has long embraced such a role, which requires constant vigilance to remain attentive and responsive to the ways in which we continually draw and redraw discriminatory social lines."

The professor is tenured, so this could drag on, but the hot mic moment has left her exposed and the school scrambling. In a world where educators are supposed to model better behavior, this one set the bar somewhere below basement level.

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Iran will target US military after Trump promises to use bunker busters on them

President Donald Trump has drawn a very clear red line in the sand with Iran, and the clock is ticking fast.

In his State of the Union address, the president made it crystal clear that he will not let the world's top state sponsor of terrorism [you know it as Iran] get its hands on a nuclear weapon.

"I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror … to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told a joint session of Congress.

This comes after he publicly laid down a tight deadline back on February 19, giving Tehran roughly 10 to 15 days to cut a real deal. 

"I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum," Trump said at the time, adding that without an agreement, "it's going to be unfortunate for them."

Tuesday night from the House floor, he ramped up the pressure, confirming talks are happening but noting Iran still hasn't uttered the magic words he demands.

"We are in negotiations with them," Trump said. "They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: 'We will never have a nuclear weapon.'"

He also took a moment to flash back to the decisive 2025 U.S. strike, Operation Midnight Hammer, which he said "obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program."

Tehran got the message loud and clear after that hit: don't even think about rebuilding. Yet here we are, with Iran apparently trying to restart the whole thing.

This mix of a hard diplomatic timer and a blunt reminder of American military muscle signals a more intense phase in this standoff, especially as negotiations grind on in Geneva.

Trump hasn't spelled out exactly what comes next if Iran blows off his terms, but he told reporters earlier this month that if no solid deal happens, "bad things will happen," and he's weighing additional moves.

With the SOTU in the books and the deadline already rolling, the next few days could decide if we get a breakthrough on the nuclear front or if things head toward serious confrontation in the Middle East.

Backing up the tough talk is the biggest show of U.S. naval power in the region since the 2003 Iraq invasion.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced carrier in the fleet, pulled into Souda Bay, Crete, on Monday. It links up with the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been running around-the-clock flight ops in the Arabian Sea since late January.

Together, these strike groups give the U.S. 14 major warships, including nine Arleigh Burke-class destroyers loaded with Tomahawk missiles.

Adding to the firepower, twelve F-22 Raptor stealth fighters landed at Ovda Airbase in southern Israel.

As national security analyst Joe Funderburke pointed out in Small Wars Journal, "The F-22 is not a simple show-of-force aircraft. It is designed to suppress enemy air defenses and protect penetrating strike platforms like the B-2 Spirit bomber, the same combination used to devastate Iran’s deeply buried nuclear facilities at Fordow and Natanz nine months ago."

Trump's shout-out to Operation Midnight Hammer, where B-2 bombers dropped those massive 30,000-pound bunker busters, basically serves as the playbook for whatever might follow this deadline.

While the 2025 strike was a clean, surgical surprise, the current force posture points to something potentially much wider, given Iran's threats of a strong counterpunch.

After Midnight Hammer, Iran's reaction stayed pretty restrained, and they had some forewarning. This time around, Tehran is vowing a much harder response and claiming any U.S. troops in the region are fair game.

On top of the nuclear squeeze, Trump highlighted the brutal crackdown on recent protests in Iran.

"Just over the last couple of months with the protests, they’ve killed at least, it looks like, 32,000 protesters — 32,000 protesters in their own country," the president said. "They shot them and hung them."

Team Trump has made it plain: any deal means Iran stops all uranium enrichment cold and gives ironclad, verifiable proof the program can't come back, demands the regime has shot down repeatedly.

Both sides seem convinced the other is bluffing.

Trump is selling this window as the last real shot at diplomacy, backed by unmatched force. Iranian leaders keep brushing off the threats and promising massive retaliation against U.S. forces and allies if attacked.

Even so, U.S. and Iranian teams are set to sit down again in Geneva on Thursday. The stakes couldn't be higher.

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Rashida Tlaib wears "F*ck ICE" pin during President Trump's address

Rashida Tlaib proudly displays her latest IQ score

In a quest for total Democratic dominance, people on the Left, particularly Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) advocates for abolishing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to allow illegal aliens into the country who, they believe, will vote for their Party.

During President Donald J. Trump's State of the Union Address on Tuesday, February 24th, the Hamasshole supporting congresswoman yelled out "you are a murderer" at the President while wearing a Hamas scarf to show her support for actual murderers. It felt like upside-down Tuesday.

The anti-Semitic "Squad" member also wore a message reading: "STAND WITH SURVIVORS RELEASE THE FILES,"  apparently referring to materials pertaining to the late, not so great Jeffrey Epstein. Other lawmakers could be seen wearing that message during the speech as well, after they likely held a meeting to discuss what they should wear.

Tlaib was seated next to the equally reprehensible Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), a fellow member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as the "Squad."

These two "Garlic Sisters" rudely shouted during the president's address and also left early, reports indicate.

President Donald Trump's administration has been working to crack down on illegal immigration and have done an incredible job at basically stopping the influx of illegals into the country.

But some politicians, including Tlaib, have called for the abolition of ICE due to a false sense of moral superiority, while discounting the impact it has on Americans.

"ICE has no place in Michigan. This is an unaccountable and violent agency that terrorizes and brutalizes our communities every day," Tlaib, a staunch anti-Zionist/anti-Semite said in a statement earlier this month.

"We have all watched as ICE agents execute American citizens in broad daylight and detain and deport our immigrant neighbors with no regard for their wellbeing, right to due process, or the myriad other laws and court orders restricting their illegal operations," she said in the statement, without describing how ICE agents were in mortal danger by these scumcrumpets and killed them in self defense.

But that's an inconvenient truth, as climate 'expert' Al Gore might say.

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But no matter how you slice it, vulgarity has no place at a State of the Union Address and Tlaib should be sanctioned.

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Judge rules on defense's attempt to disqualify prosecutors in Charlie Kirk murder case

In the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Judge Tony Graf presided over yet another hearing in the grim aftermath of what can only be described as a political assassination. Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of murdering conservative activist Charlie Kirk, appeared remotely from his jail cell on September 16, 2025, a detail that underscores the gravity and the spectacle of the proceedings.

A Utah judge has now firmly rejected the defense's attempt to disqualify the prosecutors in the case against Tyler Robinson, the young man charged with the killing of Charlie Kirk.

On Tuesday, having considered the arguments aired at a hearing on February 3, Judge Tony Graf ruled decisively for the prosecution. He stated that the court was unpersuaded that a prosecutor’s relationship with his daughter, who had been present at the event, had improperly influenced the decision to pursue the death penalty against Robinson.

The defense had pressed their case with considerable vigor. They insisted that because Chad Grunander's daughter had attended the Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University, the very scene where Kirk was fatally shot, the entire Utah County Attorney’s Office ought to be removed from the prosecution. This familial connection, they maintained, created at least the appearance of impropriety, and that alone was sufficient to warrant disqualifying the whole office from the matter.

The county attorney’s office countered with clarity and restraint. Neither the office nor the deputy attorney in question labored under any conflict of interest, they argued, because AC (the adult child present at the college event) “did not see Charlie get shot” and “did not see anyone [in the crowd or elsewhere] with a gun.” Moreover, “nearly everything [AC] knows about the actual homicide is hearsay,” according to filings submitted by the office.

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Robinson’s preliminary hearing is now set to commence on May 18 and is anticipated to span three days. Only upon its conclusion will he face arraignment, and he has yet to enter a plea.One cannot help but observe the deeper irony here. In an age when political violence has become a grotesque currency, the attempt to recuse an entire prosecutorial office on grounds so tenuous speaks volumes about the lengths to which some will go to muddy the waters of justice. Yet the judge, in his measured ruling, has reminded us that the rule of law demands more than mere appearances or speculative bias; it requires actual evidence of impropriety. The prosecution may proceed, and the grim business of determining guilt in this assassination will continue unimpeded.

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US sends F-22s to Israel while Trump ponders pounding Iran

American F-22 fighter jets touched down at an Israeli Air Force base Tuesday evening as tensions with Iran continue to soar.

According to reports from Walla's Amir Bohbot and Israel's public broadcaster, at least a dozen of these stealth killing machines, among the most advanced fighters on the planet and exclusive to the U.S. arsenal, landed amid the escalating showdown between Washington and Tehran.

President Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with the limits of U.S. military leverage against Iran, per sources familiar with the matter cited by left-leaning CBS News. This frustration follows briefings where aides told the president that, unlike the recent operation that removed Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, any move against Iran would demand far more than a single strike. The Monday CBS report noted that such an action could drag the U.S. into a prolonged military campaign across the Middle East.

Pentagon officials earlier this week voiced serious concerns about the potential costs of such a campaign, warning it could claim the lives of American troops and our allies, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ and Axios highlighted that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine strongly opposed war with Iran, a claim Trump pushed back against in a Truth Social post. The WSJ added that several other Pentagon officials echoed similar warnings to Caine, though he was the most prominent voice.

Trump himself said General Caine "would [not like] to see war in Iran, but if a decision is made on going against Iran at a military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won."Sources told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that Trump remains undecided on the path forward: whether to pursue a deal with Iran, launch a weeks-long war aimed at toppling the regime, or opt for a narrower strike to pressure Tehran into accepting better terms.

With fake news and wild speculation flooding the airwaves, even top American and Israeli officials sometimes appear as uncertain about Trump's next move as the rest of us. One emerging option, now being widely leaked according to sources, involves Trump hunting for a middle-ground approach: a limited, short-duration attack on the Islamic Republic.

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The Islamic Revolution's 2026 anniversary could well be its last.

Bottom line: the pieces are moving, the rhetoric is heating up, and the F-22s on Israeli soil are a very clear signal that the Trump administration isn't bluffing when it comes to Iran. Stay tuned; this story is far from over.

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Want to shovel snow? 5 forms of ID please. Want to vote? No problem.

Snowcialism has officially arrived in the Big Apple, folks. Comrade Mayor Zohran Mamdani, is dead set against requiring ID to vote because apparently that's racist or a poll tax or Jim Crow 2.0 or whatever the talking point is this week. But when it comes to signing up to shovel snow for the city during a monster blizzard? Oh, then he wants no less than five forms of identification. 

Welcome to peak progressive logic.

The NYC Sanitation Department website lays it out clear as day: to register as an emergency snow shoveler, you need two small photos (1-1.5 square inches), two original forms of ID plus copies, and your Social Security card. That's right, multiple layers of paperwork just to pick up a shovel and earn some extra cash clearing sidewalks and hydrants. 

Soon they'll be asking us to provide fingerprints, a DNA sample, and an Xray to prove our right to shovel snow.

Mamdani, ever the helpful socialist cum communist, hit a presser Saturday and urged New Yorkers to step up. "For those who want to do more to help your neighbors and earn some extra cash, you too can become an emergency snow shoveler. Just show up at your local sanitation garage… with your paperwork which is accessible online," Hizzoner said at a presser Saturday.

The gig pays $19.14 an hour, jumping to $28.71 after the first 40 hours in a week. Not bad for some side hustle, but good luck if you don't have your ID portfolio ready to go.

Of course, this comes from the same guy who's tied to the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA hates voter ID laws with a passion, calling them out as "racist voter ID laws and secret poll taxes like the ‘SAVE America Act.'" Their website proudly declares, "Our candidates for office stand firm against racist voter ID laws and secret poll taxes like the ‘SAVE America Act.'"

So what is it called when people must produce 5 forms of ID to shovel snow?

Social media lit up with ice-cold mockery over the glaring hypocrisy. Fox News host Jimmy Failla quipped on X, "This is Jim SNOW 2.0." X user Casey Cook posted, "No joke. To register to shovel snow in Mamdani’s NYC….for the impending snowstorm, you need two types of identification. Can’t make this up." 

Another user piled on with a Greta Thunberg gif, captioning it, "Mamdani's snow shovelers must be 'Eligible to work in the United States,'" followed by her famous "how dare you."

A City Hall spokesperson tried to clean it up for The Post, explaining, "As with any employer, the City of New York has a legal obligation under federal law to verify work authorization and maintain proper documentation before issuing payment. We are not legally permitted to hand out checks without completing that process."

Fair enough on the federal I-9 rules, but try telling that to the left when the same logic applies to election integrity. Suddenly it's suppression.

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Meanwhile, Gotham is staring down a beast of a blizzard, with up to 24 inches possible across the East Coast Sunday and Monday. Wind gusts could hit 60 mph, and snow might pile up one to three inches per hour. If Mamdani's voters want to help dig out the city, they'll need more ID than it takes to cast a ballot. Classic.

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U.S. positioned for "highly kinetic" war in Middle East

US assets in the Middle East are positioned for a "highly kinetic" war, a former senior Pentagon official warns. Dana Stroul told Fox News Digital that the current force posture stands ready to execute whatever orders President Trump gives.

The U.S. military has built up one of its largest recent deployments in the Middle East, and a former top Pentagon hand says we're now set up for a "highly kinetic" campaign against Iran if things go that way.

Dana Stroul, who now serves as research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, dropped this assessment on Sunday as Washington and Tehran gear up for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.

"The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran's missiles," Stroul told the outlet.

"The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater," she said. She added that "no ally or enemy [is] capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup." Stroul pointed out how this posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets. Back then it was limited, highly targeted hits to degrade key facilities without kicking off a wider regional mess. Now the U.S. has ramped up both offensive and defensive muscle.

"Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer," she explained.

"The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran," she said.

The U.S. has also "increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems" in the region. Carriers like the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln are carrying serious weight here strategically. The Ford was recently tracked heading east through the Strait of Gibraltar, while the Lincoln is in the Arabian Sea.

"They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater," Stroul explained. She noted there could be "one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf."

"There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East. The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around," she added.Exact destinations stay under wraps for obvious operational security reasons, but just having them there sends a clear message of escalation leverage and deterrence.

This buildup rolls on while indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran keep going, with Oman playing mediator again on Feb. 26.

Stroul says Iran's leadership is juggling brinkmanship and negotiation.

"Iran's leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness," she claimed.

"They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance, Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms," Stroul said.

Meanwhile, the Ayatollah is somewhere in a hidey-hole with a target on his hairy back.

"Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran's security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program," Stroul said.

Iran's proxy network, Hezbollah, Shi'ite militias in Iraq, elements in Syria, has taken a beating too after over two years of Israeli operations.

"Iran's long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran's defense last summer," Stroul explained.

"No matter what Iran's leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months."

"That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives," she said. "It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision."

It seems to be more of a question of 'when', than it is a question of 'if'. 

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"Don't leave the resort" Mexican tourists are warned as cartel clashes go wild

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro is sounding the alarm as violent fallout spreads across multiple regions following a major federal operation.

The US Embassy has issued an alert, urging Americans to shelter in place. It was also learned that the US government shared information that got the CJNG leader el Mencho, neutralized, which may have sparked the insanity.

CJNG is making two demands: 1, release the body of el Mencho; and 2. everyone responsible for his death, including CIA who may have been involved, surrrender.

Tourists vacationing in the popular Mexican beach spot of Puerto Vallarta got a rude awakening on Sunday: stay inside your resort and don't even think about venturing out. That's the word from folks on the ground, they were told. Resort staff reportedly told them to hunker down, though no immediate explanation was provided for the lockdown.

The U.S. State Department followed up with its own stern travel warning Sunday afternoon, telling American citizens to shelter in place until further notice in several hotspots due to "ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity."

The alert covers parts of Jalisco state, including Puerto Vallarta, Chapala, and Guadalajara; Tamaulipas state, including Reynosa and other municipalities; and sections of Michoacan state, Guerrero state, and Nuevo Leon state.

Smoke could be seen rising over Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro took to X to lay out the situation, explaining that federal forces had conducted an "operation" in the town of Tapalpa earlier in the day, which sparked "clashes" in the area.

"Also as a result of said operation, in various points of that region and in other parts of Jalisco, individuals have burned and blocked vehicles with the aim of hindering the actions of the authorities," Navarro wrote in Spanish.

In follow-up posts, the governor made it clear the trouble was escalating. He noted that "the violent incidents have spread" and "blockades have shifted" while authorities scramble to protect citizens.

Navarro declared a "Code Red" to prioritize public safety.

Tourists said they were told not to leave their resort in Puerto Vallarta on Sunday. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)

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"We reiterate the recommendation to avoid leaving your homes," Navarro wrote in another post. "The clashes are occurring in several federal entities."

Officials were tight-lipped at first about specifics of the federal operation, but local media reports point to the Jalisco New Generation cartel and its infamous leader, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, as being at the center of it all.

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