Florida to ‘curb’ diversity efforts at universities, Lt. Gov. Nunez says
Florida will be looking to “curb” diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at the state’s colleges and universities, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez said Tuesday, offering a preview of what higher education leaders can expect from lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session.
Her statements, delivered at a state Board of Governors meeting in Miami, marked the first time the DeSantis administration has explained why its budget office this month requested a detailed accounting of how much colleges and universities spend on such efforts.
“I can give you a few insights as to what we’re working on coming this session,” Nunez said, then referenced a recent statement from the presidents of Florida’s 28 state colleges. It pledged to root out any policy or practice that “compels belief in critical race theory or related concepts.” The lieutenant governor suggested that effort would soon extend to the 12 schools in the university system.
In a speech that earlier praised the university system for its high rankings and relatively low student debt, Nunez said “real forces” were “undermining the good work taking place.”
She also previewed proposals to review general education courses and give university presidents more control over faculty hiring.
—Tampa Bay Times
Ex-Columbia University gynecologist found guilty of abusing patients
NEW YORK — A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found former Columbia University gynecologist Robert Hadden guilty of enticing patients to New York City to sexually abuse under the guise of giving them medical care.
Jurors took less than three hours to deliberate the case after hearing two weeks of evidence.
The verdict caps a stunning downfall for Hadden, whose patients have pressured New York authorities for more than a decade to hold him criminally accountable for sexual abuse they suffered at his hands.
Hadden faces up to 80 years in prison when sentenced in April, but his victims say they’re serving life terms.
“I have had the memory of his fingers and his face and his giddiness as he touched me,” victim Jessica Sell Chambers said in court. “He has sentenced us to thousands of years of memories and trauma.”
Sell Chambers and other women urged U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to remand Hadden until he is sentenced, but the jurist agreed to let the disgraced doctor stay out on a $1 million bond at his home in Englewood, New Jersey.
—New York Daily News
Sen. Josh Hawley will introduce legislation to ban TikTok nationwide
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Tuesday he will introduce a bill to ban the app TikTok in the United States.
“(TikTok) is China’s backdoor into Americans’ lives,” Hawley, R-Mo., said. “It threatens our children’s privacy as well as their mental health. Last month Congress banned it on all government devices.”
The bill would be part of Hawley’s larger messaging campaign in opposition to the Chinese Communist Party and large social media companies. While he has also signed on to anti-trust legislation in the hopes of breaking up monopolies in tech companies, he’s been particularly aggressive in his opposition to TikTok.
The app, which boasts more than 1 billion users across the globe, is known for its short videos and powerful algorithm that helps people discover new content. It is popular among younger Americans and has helped grow the careers of influencers and celebrities.
But experts warn that the amount of data being collected by ByteDance, the Beijing-based company that owns TikTok, could be used by the Chinese Communist Party. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last year he had security concerns about the app.
—The Kansas City Star
Journalist deaths jumped by 50% in 2022, report says
The number of journalists killed last year was 50% higher than in 2021, mostly occurring in Haiti, Ukraine and Mexico, a new report said Tuesday.
Last year marked the deadliest for journalists since 2018, with 67 or more news media workers killed, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its annual report. At least 41 of them were targeted for their work, the press freedom advocacy group said, while motives for the other 26 were still being investigated.
Ukraine saw 15 members of the press killed, Mexico 13 and Haiti seven. They were the highest journalist death counts CPJ has ever recorded for each nation.
In Haiti, some died at the hands of violent street gangs running roughshod in the country’s capital, but at least two were shot by police.
Journalists in Ukraine “face enormous risk,” CPJ said. “Members of the press are frequently injured by shelling while covering the conflict, and some report that they have been targeted by Russian forces.”
Mexico’s killings are characterized and driven by impunity, as with the Jan. 17, 2022 murder of Tijuana crime photographer Margarito Martinez, followed just five days later by that of Lourdes Maldonado Lopez.
—New York Daily News
