作者： root

UC Berkeley tightens antisemitism policies to settle lawsuit

March 19, 2026 5:34 PM UTC / Reuters

Students attend a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at University of California, Berkeley during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berkeley, U.S., April 25, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo [Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab]

• Summary
• Companies

• Student groups cannot exclude supporters of Israel, Zionism
• UC Berkeley denies liability, says Jews should feel safe and respected
• Brandeis Center has settled with Harvard, others
• Law school dean opposes restrictions in bylaws

March 19 (Reuters) – The University of California, Berkeley, agreed to tighten protections ‌against antisemitism on campus to settle a lawsuit accusing the school of tolerating an “unrelenting” stream of harassment toward Jewish students and faculty.

Thursday’s settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education in November 2023, following harassment and other alleged mistreatment of Jews ​in the wake of Hamas’ attack on Israel a month earlier.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

UC Berkeley was accused of turning a blind eye to ​long-festering antisemitism, including anti-Israel protests and the exclusion of speakers who support Israel or Zionism.

The Brandeis ⁠Center said the settlement prohibits student groups, journals and clinics from excluding anyone from participating or speaking regardless of their support for ​Israel and Zionism, and an array of groups from including such exclusions in their bylaws.

Other changes include mandatory antisemitism and anti-discrimination training ​for faculty and staff, an improved process to handle complaints, and hiring an officer to ensure compliance with a U.S. law prohibiting discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs receiving federal funding. UC Berkeley will also pay $1 million of the Brandeis Center’s legal bills.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The settlement came nearly one ​year after a federal judge refused to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Jewish students and professors were treated ​differently because they were Jewish, and the university was “deliberately indifferent.”

Many top U.S. colleges and universities have been accused, including by the Trump administration, of tolerating ‌or ⁠encouraging antisemitism and mishandling protests.

The Brandeis Center has settled similar lawsuits against several other schools, including Harvard University.

UC BERKELEY SAYS JEWS SHOULD FEEL SAFE, RESPECTED

In a statement, UC Berkeley said the settlement reflects its commitment to combatting “abhorrent” antisemitic expression, harassment and discrimination on campus. The school has about 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

“UC Berkeley is and will continue to be a place where Jewish students, staff and faculty ​can thrive and feel safe, respected, ​and a true sense of ⁠belonging,” it added.

The Regents of the University of California, the governing body for the University of California system, denied liability in agreeing to settle.

“What happened at Berkeley is a cautionary tale,” Brandeis Center ​Chairman Kenneth Marcus said in a statement. “Universities, unions, corporations, and political parties cannot create an anti-Zionist ​exception to their ⁠conduct codes.”

The original complaint said “no fewer” than 23 groups at UC Berkeley’s law school had anti-Jewish policies, such as requiring invited speakers to repudiate Zionism, and forcing some Jewish students to undergo training that emphasized Israel’s supposed illegitimacy.

“My position since this issue emerged has not wavered,” ⁠Dean Erwin ​Chemerinsky wrote in a letter to the law school community on Thursday. “Student organizations ​have the First Amendment right to choose speakers based on their views, but I believe that these bylaws are inconsistent with the law school’s commitment to be a ​place where all ideas and views can be expressed.”

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Daniel Wallis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

节点运行失败

Repaired Artemis II moon rocket heads back to pad for April 1 launch try

March 19, 2026 / 3:13 PM EDT / CBS News

NASA readied its repaired Artemis II moon rocket for a return trip to the launch pad overnight Thursday, setting the stage for a delayed April 1 launch to send four astronauts on a historic nine-day flight around the moon and back.

Mounted atop a powerful Apollo-era crawler-transporter, the 332-foot-tall Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and its mobile launch platform were expected to start inching out of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building around 8 p.m. EDT to begin the 4-mile, 12-hour trip to launch pad 39B.

Once on the firing stand, NASA and contractor engineers and technicians will connect fuel lines, power and data cables and rig the pad for launch.

The Artemis II Space Launch System rocket is seen here atop NASA’s crawler-transporter during its initial roll out to the Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39B in January. After delays due to hydrogen leaks and work back in the Vehicle Assembly Building to fix a propellant pressurization problem, the rocket is being hauled back out to the pad for an April 1 launch try. NASA/Keegan Barber

NASA managers say earlier problems and repairs that required a follow-on fueling test have been resolved and that the next time the SLS rocket is loaded with more than 750,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants, it will be for an actual launch.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen went into pre-flight medical quarantine Wednesday night. They plan to fly to the Kennedy Space Center a week from Friday, and if all goes well, they hope to strap in for blastoff at 6:24 p.m. April 1, the opening of a two-hour launch window.

The flight will mark the first time astronauts have flown atop an SLS rocket and aboard an Orion crew capsule after a single unpiloted test flight in 2022.

In that flight, the Orion crew capsule was not equipped with a life support system. The Artemis II astronauts will devote their first full day in space to checking out the spacecraft’s propulsion, navigation, communications and life support systems before heading off to the moon.

The Artemis II flight will be the first piloted moon mission since the last Apollo crew landed on the moon in 1972. While Wiseman and his crewmates will swing around the moon and return to a Pacific Ocean splashdown without going into lunar orbit, an on-time launch will allow them to travel farther from Earth than any humans before them.

If the flight goes well, NASA plans to launch another SLS rocket and Orion crew next year to test rendezvous and docking procedures with one or both moon landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. That flight will be followed by at least one and possibly two moon-landing missions in 2028.

But first, the Artemis II crew must show the rocket and Orion spacecraft are up to the task with a successful trip to the moon and back.

The flight originally was planned for early February, but it was delayed after hydrogen fuel leaks were detected during a dress rehearsal countdown. That problem was fixed at the pad and the rocket sailed through a second fueling test without any major problems. That set the stage for a launch around March 6.

But after the fueling test, engineers ran into a fresh problem when they were unable to pump high-pressure helium back into the SLS rocket’s upper stage. Pressurized helium is routinely used in rockets to push propellants to engines and to help clean and dry tanks and propellant lines when needed.

Unlike the first stage leak, engineers could not access the second stage at the launch pad. So the entire SLS rocket had to be hauled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where extendable platforms provided the needed access.

The helium issue was traced to out-of-place seals in a quick-disconnect fitting and was quickly repaired. Engineers also replaced batteries in the rocket’s self-destruct system, recharged a variety of other batteries and replaced seals in the first stage liquid oxygen propellant umbilical mechanism.

Because of the constantly changing positions of Earth and moon, along with lighting and solar power constraints, NASA only has until April 6 to get the Artemis II mission off the ground. After that, the flight will slip another three weeks or so when conditions will once again be favorable for launch.

4 House Dems vote against Women’s History Museum bill over biological women-only amendment, Republican claims

House Republican Nicole Malliotakis slams Dems after bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall advances out of committee along party lines

By Alex Nitzberg
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 2:19pm EDT

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxNews.com.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Listen to this article

3 min

All four Democrats on the House Administration Committee voted against advancing a measure to authorize land on the National Mall to construct the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.

The measure cleared the committee on a 7-4 party-line vote, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said.

Malliotakis, who does not sit on the committee, said in a post on X that Democrats opposed an amendment to ensure the museum only honors biological women.

“Democrats in the House Administration Committee just voted against my bill to build a Women’s History Museum on the National Mall because an amendment was adopted to ensure only biological women are exhibited. What a way to celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth!” Malliotakis said in the post.

CALIFORNIA’S TRANS AGENDA SUFFERS ANOTHER LEGAL BLOW AFTER ATTEMPT TO UNDERCUT SCOTUS ORDER FAILS

Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., walks down the House steps after the last vote before the Easter recess at the Capitol on Thursday, March 30, 2023.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Her post includes a screenshot of the legislative text that states, “The Museum shall be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States” and “The Museum may not identify, present, describe, or otherwise depict any biological male as a female.”

The four Democrats on the committee include Ranking Member Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, as well as Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Norma Torres, of California, and Julie Johnson of Texas, the committee’s website indicates.

The bill initially had 231 cosponsors, including Johnson and Sewell, two of the committee Democrats who voted against advancing the measure.

Morelle criticized Republicans in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, saying that they inserted “ideological poison pills” into the proposal.

“The Republican majority took a bipartisan, Republican-led bill with 230 cosponsors and, at the last minute, replaced it with one that gives President Trump unchecked authority to choose the museum’s location, hands control of its design and construction to boards now filled with political loyalists, omits its sister museum honoring American Latinos, and inserts ideological poison pills aimed not at building a museum, but at generating cheap political talking points,” Morelle said in the statement.

TRANSGENDER TRIPLE KILLER REMOVED FROM HOME WITH 2 FOSTER CHILDREN MONTHS AFTER AUTHORITIES WERE NOTIFIED

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“The star of the Epstein files and Access Hollywood tape is the last person who should be handed the keys to a museum celebrating American women,” he added.

Sharing Malliotakis’ post, President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump commented, “This is insane, but not surprising for the Democrats.” She also included the clown emoji in her tweet.

Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who staunchly opposes allowing biological males to compete in female sports, wrote in a post on X, “A Women’s History Museum is one step closer to the National Mall. It passed out of committee, BUT only along party lines after an amendment was added to ensure it honors real women, not men identifying as women. Yes, that’s where the debate is in 2026.”

FORMER UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL STAR SAYS SJSU TRANS SCANDAL CAUSED INJURED FINGERS, SHATTERED DREAMS

Riley Gaines speaks during the 10X Ladies Conference Hosted by Elena Cardone at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa on Aug. 15, 2025, in Aventura, Florida.(Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

She added in another post, “Thank you to @RepNicole for championing this effort and standing firm in reality!”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

Photo of Michigan synagogue attacker shows him with AR-style rifle prior to the attack

March 19, 2026 / 12:57 PM EDT / CBS News

The man who drove a truck into a synagogue in Michigan and opened fire last Thursday sent a photo of himself with the AR-style rifle he had during the attack to a family member in Lebanon, according to a U.S. official who provided a copy of the picture.

In the photo, the Temple Israel synagogue attacker, Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, is wearing all black with a black and white scarf and is holding what appears to be a semiautomatic rifle with a scope attached. The photo is edited with verses from the Quran in yellow Arabic text.

A U.S. official told CBS News the photo was taken and edited prior to the attack on March 12, and sent to a relative the day Ghazali rammed his vehicle into the synagogue. The official said the rifle in the photo is the same weapon he had during the attack.

Photo shows Ayman Mohamad Ghazali holding an AR-style rifle, prior to his attack on a Detroit-area synagogue. Obtained by CBS News

The verse on the upper part of the photo said in Arabic: “Among the believers are men who have been true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vow, and some are still waiting. They have never changed.”

There was also script on the lower part of the photo about “vengeance.”

Ghazali had been living and working in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and was a naturalized U.S. citizen. He came from a southern Lebanese town that is now a Hezbollah stronghold. Four of his relatives there were killed in an Israeli drone strike on March 5, including two brothers who CBS News first reported were members of Hezbollah’s rocket squad, according to sources in Lebanon.

Israeli officials on Sunday confirmed the death of one brother, Ibrahim Mohamad Ghazali, who they said was a Hezbollah commander.

The attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, one of the largest synagogue congregations in the country, rocked the community. Young children were in school inside the building during the attack. No students or staff were injured in the incident, but a security guard was hit by Ghazali’s vehicle and knocked unconscious, officials said. The vehicle ramming started a fire in the building and other first responders were treated for smoke inhalation.

The FBI said the attack is being investigated as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”

At a briefing the day after the attack, Jennifer Runyon, the FBI Detroit Field Office special agent in charge, said Ghazali’s truck became jammed in a hallway and he was unable to exit the vehicle. She said Ghazali got in a gunfight with two security guards before turning the gun on himself, taking his own life. Runyon said he had waited in the parking lot for two hours before ramming his vehicle into the building.

Prior to the attack, Ghazali purchased more than $2,000 worth of fireworks from a local fireworks store. Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan told CBS News Ghazali was asked by a store worker why he was buying so much given that it was an unusual time of year for fireworks.

“He said it was to celebrate the end of Ramadan,” Zoldan told CBS News.

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that Ghazali entered the country legally in 2011 after receiving sponsorship from his then-wife, a U.S. citizen, and became a citizen himself in 2016.

Ghazali called his former wife just before the attack and she in turn called police to warn them that her ex-husband was “not stable.”

CBC warn billionaire governor that any Democratic presidential hopeful ‘has to go through’ them

By Adam Pack
Fox News

Published March 19, 2026 2:01pm EDT

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., emerged as a decisive kingmaker in Illinois’ primary elections Tuesday, but his efforts to boost his deputy, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, D-Ill., could create headaches for a future presidential run.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are sharply criticizing Pritzker for spending millions of his personal wealth to shore up support for Stratton in the state’s bruising Senate primary.

Pritzker’s deputy beat out Rep. Robyn Kelly, D-Ill., the CBC’s preferred candidate, and a $30 million war chest from Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., to advance to the general election.

“We don’t need to reach out to the governor,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., said of Pritzker, according to a new Politico report. “Others are going to have to reach out to us,” he said in a reference to Pritzker. Meeks helms the CBC’s PAC, which backed Kelly’s failed Senate campaign.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton waves during a primary election night watch party after winning the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, March 17, 2026, in Chicago.(Erin Hooley/AP Photo)

AS 2028 BUZZ BUILDS, PRITZKER DRAWS REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER IN SHOWDOWN FOR ILLINOIS GOVERNOR

Stratton’s dominant win could have immediate ramifications for Pritzker, who is running for a third gubernatorial term and is rumored to be considering a 2028 presidential bid. The Black caucus remains an influential force in the Democratic Party after allying itself with former President Joe Biden in 2020 and former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

For now, the group is holding Pritzker at arm’s length.

“Keep in mind, the Democratic candidate for president that prevails has to go through [us],” Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said referring to the Black caucus, according to the report. “The CBC is very strategic and so if there is an issue … we will lay out our framework for what it will take” to earn the group’s support, the Ohio Democrat added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, a longtime CBC member, did not hide his frustration with Pritzker, telling the outlet that the billionaire governor “has to justify what he did” by backing Stratton’s Senate campaign.

“As to whether or not it has merit or not, remains to be seen,” he added, according to the report.

Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., is drawing criticism from some Black lawmakers over his kingmaker status following the state’s Democratic primary elections.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS FEND OFF FAR-LEFT INFLUENCER IN PRIMARY TO SUCCEED REP JAN SCHAKOWSKY

The billionaire governor contributed at least $5 million to a super PAC supporting Stratton’s candidacy. The donation helped Stratton overcome a torrent of attack ads from the cryptocurrency industry seeking to block her from the nomination.

Additional CBC members have also lambasted Pritzker’s influence over the Senate race, with some voicing concerns that Stratton and Kelly’s dueling campaigns split the Black vote.

“Governor Pritzker’s effort to tip the scales in Illinois’ U.S. Senate race is beyond frustrating for the Congressional Black Caucus,” Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., chair of the CBC, told Punchbowl News earlier this month. “A sitting governor shouldn’t be heavy-handing the race. Quite frankly, his behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us.”

Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who was endorsed by the Congressional Black Caucus, placed a distant third in Illinois’ Senate Democratic primary.(E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Stratton, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, branded herself as a staunch anti-Trump foe on the campaign trail. She sparked controversy when her campaign released an ad full of expletives directed toward Trump, which notably featured Pritzker.

Pritzker appeared to downplay his role in boosting Stratton when speaking with reporters Thursday.

“She got outspent more than 3 to 1, with all the money that went into the other candidate, the other leading candidate versus all the money that was supporting her 3 to 1, she was outspent,” Pritzker said. “Why is it that you can overcome that kind of onslaught?”

“It’s because she’s a genuine person who people believe when she stands up and says what she believes in, people look at her and understand she’s been advocating for them for her entire career,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker for comment.

States challenge Trump decision to revoke basis of US climate regulations

March 19, 2026 5:33 PM UTC / Reuters / By David Shepardson

节点运行失败

United States Environmental Protection Agency logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) – Twenty-three states, led by Democratic-governed New York and California, along with 14 cities and counties, ​sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday seeking to undo its decision to revoke the government’s ‌scientific finding that underpins U.S. climate regulations, the New York Attorney General’s Office said.

The legal challenge filed against the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia takes aim at the agency’s move ​last month to terminate the government’s 2009 conclusion that climate change endangers human health and ​the environment. Trump has called climate change a hoax despite the scientific evidence.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The ⁠U.S. Virgin Islands and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are also among those suing the EPA.

LAWSUIT INCLUDES ​VEHICLE RULES

The lawsuit also challenges the EPA’s decision last month to repeal federal rules for all vehicles ​and engines from model years 2012 to 2027 that limit greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks.

Some of the other states joining the lawsuit were Michigan, Connecticut and Virginia, alongside cities including New York, Boston, Chicago, Denver ​and Los Angeles.

A coalition of environmental groups previously sued the administration to challenge the revocation of ​the endangerment finding.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Advertisement · Scroll to continue

The endangerment revocation – a major climate change ‌policy rollback ⁠by Trump – followed a string of regulatory cuts and other moves intended to unfetter fossil fuel development and stymie the rollout of clean energy.

In announcing the revocation last month, the Republican president called the endangerment finding

Hawley launches investigation into abortion drug manufacturers over ‘grave risks’ to women

Published March 19, 2026 12:40pm EDT | Fox News

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is launching investigations into two mifepristone manufacturers that he says profited off the abortion drug despite evidence that it “poses grave risks to women.”

Hawley notified the two companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, in letters addressed to the heads of the companies that were obtained by Fox News Digital. The letters notify company administrators that he is opening an investigation via the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, which he chairs.

“Mounting evidence suggests that mifepristone poses grave risks to women. Yet your company has continued to profit from the widespread distribution of this drug even as serious questions have emerged about hemorrhage, infection, sepsis, and other dangerous complications associated with its use,” Hawley wrote to both companies.

“Congress must determine what your company knew about the harms associated with mifepristone, when it knew it, what it told regulators, and what it may have failed to disclose to women and the public,” he added.

PRO-LIFE GROUP URGES SENATE TO PRESS RFK JR. ON ABORTION PILL SAFETY, DEMAND SAFEGUARDS RETURN

Sen. Josh Hawley asks questions during a Senate hearing.(Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The letters demand that the companies share documents relating to the investigation by April 24.

Those documents include all adverse event reports relating to mifepristone, relevant internal databases and a litany of other documents.

Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The investigation comes roughly a week after Hawley introduced a new bill to strip FDA approval from mifepristone.

A container holding boxes of mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, are prepared for patients at a clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, April 20, 2023.(Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The new bill builds upon proposed legislation Hawley introduced last year that would ban mifepristone and allow women to sue manufacturers profiting from what the lawmaker deems an “inherently dangerous” drug.

The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act was introduced in the Senate Tuesday and would prohibit the use of mifepristone for ending pregnancies.

SOUTH CAROLINA GOP LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL TO CRIMINALIZE ABORTION AS MURDER

“The science is clear: The chemical abortion drug is inherently dangerous to women and prone to abuse. Yet major companies like Danco Laboratories are making billions off it,” Hawley told Fox News Digital in a statement. “That’s why I am introducing new legislation to ban the use of mifepristone for abortion and empower women to sue its manufacturers. Congress must act now to protect the health and safety of women.”

An advertisement in Florida plugs abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.(Courtesy: 40 Days for Life)

If passed, the legislation would withdraw FDA approval for the drug and classify its distribution for abortion as a violation of federal law. In 2023, mifepristone was used in 63% of all abortions in the U.S., according to data from the Guttmacher Institute.

The Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research organization formerly affiliated with Planned Parenthood, also estimates there were 1,038,100 clinician-provided abortions in 2024. However, that figure accounts only for states without abortion bans and does not include abortions performed outside the formal healthcare system or in states where abortion laws differ.

Hawley raised concerns about the abortion pill last May when he introduced a separate bill that would direct the FDA to create safeguards on mifepristone, allowing women who suffered complications the right to sue telehealth providers and pharmacies for damages.

Research by the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) in Washington, D.C., showed the rate of side effects when using mifepristone is 22 times higher than indications from the FDA-approved drug label.

The study revealed more than one in 10 women have reported experiencing “infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

READ THE LETTERS TO DANCO LABS AND GENBIOPRO – APP USERS, CLICK HERE AND HERE:

Fox News’ Preston Mizell contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Divers find marble treasure possibly taken from Greek Parthenon at shipwreck site in Aegean Sea – CBS News

March 19, 2026 / 12:40 PM EDT / CBS News

Archaeologists have discovered a piece of marble treasure among the remains of a shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Kythira, which could be tied to an infamous robbery at the Parthenon, Greek officials said.

Crews uncovered the marble slab while excavating the site of the Mentor, a brig owned by Thomas Bruce, the British soldier and diplomat known as Lord Elgin, according to Greece’s Ministry of Culture and BBC News, a CBS News partner.

Elgin had used the vessel to transport artifacts from Greece to Britain, including relics taken from the Parthenon and other monuments on the Greek Acropolis, the ministry said.

His shipments from the ancient citadel have become the focus of controversy in recent years, as Greece sought to recover some of the “Elgin Marbles” — stone sculptures dating back more than 2,000 years, mostly from the Parthenon — which Elgin took from the Acropolis back to Britain in the early 1800s. They have since ended up in various museums, BBC News reported. Although Elgin insisted that he had permission to remove the sculptures by rulers of the Ottoman Empire, which controlled Athens when he took them, Greek officials have accused him of looting, according to the outlet.

Divers explore the Mentor shipwreck off the coast of the Greek island of Kythira. Greek Ministry of Culture

The Mentor sank in September 1802, falling to the bottom of the Aegean Sea in a spot off the fishing port of Avlemonas in southeastern Kythira, according to the culture ministry.

The ministry described the marble fragment recently unearthed from the shipwreck as decorative, and noted that it includes a sculptural feature resembling a water droplet, similar to the architectural style for which the Parthenon is known. Additional conservation efforts at the wreck site and further research into the fragment itself will help identify where the marble originally came from, the ministry said. The fragment measures just 3.6 and 1.85 inches at its longest and widest points.

Most cargo aboard the Mentor has already been raised, the ministry said. Discoveries made during previous excavations of the wreck site include fragments of utensils, fragments of the external copper plating once attached to the ship’s hull and a clay slab that officials say likely helped with some kind of insulation.

Virginia SWAM bill faces legal challenges over race and sex, experts say | Fox News

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger gives the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address.

A Virginia state bill passed along party lines directing state agencies to consider the race and sex of small businesses’ ownership when distributing discretionary funds for procurement and contracts is likely to face major legal headwinds, experts told Fox News Digital.

The Small SWAM Business Procurement Enhancement Program act “provides that executive branch agencies and covered institutions are required to increase their small SWaM business utilization rates by three percent per year until reaching the 42-percent target or, if unable to do so, to implement achievable goals to increase their utilization rates,” according to its text. SWAM stands for small, women-owned, and minority-owned.

Purchases between $10,000 and $200,000 must be set aside to be awarded to SWAM businesses as well, according to the text of the bill drafted by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton.

[INVESTIGATION OF NIKE’S DEI PRACTICES COULD HAVE MAJOR NATIONWIDE IMPACT ON HIRING, SAYS ALAN DERSHOWITZ]

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger offers the Democratic response to the State of the Union.(Mike Kropf/Getty Images)

As the bill approaches Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk, Oversight Project vice president of legal Kyle Brosnan told Fox News Digital it appears par for the course for the way Richmond is moving.

Brosnan said the bill constitutes “clearly intentional discrimination against White men.”

“Since reclaiming total control of state government, Virginia Democrats have shown their true colors as nothing short of radical ideologues,” Brosnan said.

[Former Virginia attorney general sounds off on ODU terror attack, Spanberger policies]

“By setting race and sex quotas for 42 percent of the state discretionary spending on government contracts, Gov. Spanberger and her far left enablers in Richmond are showing their true colors as radicals.”

Zach Smith, a former federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Florida, added that whenever the government proposes to treat people differently based on race and gender, it is unconstitutional.

“I think we saw the Supreme Court speak explicitly to this with its Harvard and UNC decisions, banning the use of race in admissions in higher education,” he said.

[VIRGINIA DEMS INTRODUCE CLASSROOM DEI CURRICULUM LAW ON DAY 1 OF LEGISLATIVE SESSION]

[Illegal immigrant charged with groping Fairfax High School students]

“As a result of that Students for Fair Admissions decision, we’ve seen some federal courts apply that same logic to other federal government programs that seek to prioritize minority-owned businesses are treating people differently based on their race and so I would certainly think the same logic would apply to this state law action as well.”

That Supreme Court case saw Chief Justice John Roberts author the majority opinion and Justice Clarence Thomas write a concurrence in a historic decision ending affirmative action in college admissions.

“While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold our enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles [that] all men are created equal … and must be treated equally before the law,” Thomas said at the time.

[DEM GOVERNOR-ELECT TAPS CROCKETT’S FORMER ‘CHIEF BRAND STRATEGIST’ FOR TOP DEI ROLE]

Smith said that even prior to such, the Supreme Court found quotas “impermissible” and that if Spanberger signs the bill there will be business owners who are outraged and will demand accountability.

“I do think there is likely going to be litigation surrounding this because this would involve a federal constitutional issue in addition to other legal claims that may be raised,” he said in a Wednesday interview.

[CORPORATE AMERICA HAS DECIDED THAT DEI NEEDS TO DIE]

A welcome sign is posted in the grass near the intersection of Lee Highway, Key Bridge, and the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Rosslyn, Arlington County, Virginia.(Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Brosnan agreed, criticizing the bill’s section requiring Virginia taxpayers to fund $1 million for systems updates, staffing and reporting to “institutionalize discrimination” in his words.

“It also “sets aside” government contracts of up to $200,000 for women and minority owned businesses, so long as their bids are no more than 5% higher than the lowest “noncertified” — read ‘White male-owned’ — business.”

“Did Virginians expect to get this institutionalized wokeism when they voted for the ‘moderate’ governor?” he asked.

The conservative outlet “The Federalist” said the bill instituted “racial rigging” and reported a section of the bill enforces the director of the Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity to conduct a “disparity study” every five years, which the outlet said translated to determining how to reduce the number of White males winning government contracts.

[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP]

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for an indication as to whether she will sign the bill. Fox News Digital also reached out to Ward, who is also the chairwoman of the Labor & Commerce Committee on Capitol Square.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

Iran hangs 3 people, including teen wrestler, in first executions over January protests

March 19, 2026 / 1:13 PM EDT / CBS/AFP

Iran executed three men on Thursday who were accused of killing police officers during protests in January, with activists warning of the risk of a new surge in hangings as war rages with Israel and the United States.

They were the first hangings Iran has carried out related to the nationwide demonstrations that were met with a brutal crackdown by the authorities.

Two sources confirmed to CBS News that Saleh Mohammadi, a young member of Iran’s national wrestling team, was among the three men executed in Iran.

Rights groups said the trio were executed without a fair trial and had given confessions under torture.

Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi were hanged in the city of Qom, south of Tehran, after being convicted of the capital crime of waging war against God, known as moharebeh under Iran’s sharia, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency said.

They had been found guilty of involvement in the killing of two police officers and carrying out