Columbia University Leaders Grilled Over Antisemitism
Boeing whistleblower says he was told to "shut up"; 3 hour Senate impeachment trial
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Good morning,
Who’s the most random contact in your phone? Imagine they get an automatic invitation to your (or your child’s) birthday party. Well, that’s what allegedly happened to this mom. And we can’t help but 😂
Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
📚 CONGRESS LOOKS AT CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM CONCERNS
Yesterday, it was Columbia University President Minouche Shafik’s turn to take questions from Congress about the school’s response to antisemitism on campus. She’s faced significant criticism for both not doing enough to protect Jewish students and combat Islamophobia since the Hamas terror attack on October 7th.
Notably, two professors at the college have openly praised multiple terror groups, including Hamas for the October 7th attack.
One professor, Mohamed Abdou, said he supports Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and Hamas. He was hired AFTER October 7th. Shafik says he has been terminated once he finishes grading papers this semester.
There’s also a professor, Joseph Massad, who described the massacre of Israelis on October 7th as “awesome.” He happens to have tenure, and officials wouldn’t say what his exact status at the school currently is. Shafik says he has been “spoken to.”
She added: “On my watch, for faculty who make remarks that cross the line in terms of antisemitism, there will be consequences.”
SO HOW’D THE HEARING GO?
Columbia’s president had over five months to prep for the question the presidents of MIT, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania couldn’t seem to get right back in December: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate the code of conduct on campus?
The presidents at Harvard and Penn said it would depend on the “context.” Both have since resigned, although Harvard’s Claudine Gay stepped down because of plagiarism accusations.
Shafik’s answer was much more direct: Yes, it violates campus policy.
Claire Shipman, the school's Board of Trustee co-chair, testified, “I don’t like that any student on our campus does not feel safe. But I think what we see most routinely now is political speech crossing the line into antisemitism.”
Shafik and others claimed that the school’s existing policies, systems and enforcement mechanisms were “designed for a very different world” and “not up to the scale of this challenge.”
ON THE GROUND
During the hearing, hundreds of students occupied part of Columbia’s campus calling for the university to divest from Israel, violating University policies. The school says there are designated areas for protests and instituted a new policy toward unsanctioned demonstrations.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the University of Southern California is under fire after it canceled the valedictorian’s speech at next month’s commencement, citing security concerns.
Shortly after USC announced Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student who majored in biomedical engineering and minored in resistance to genocide, was selected for the honor, there were protests calling on the school to reconsider. At issue, she linked to a website on her social media page calling for the abolishment of Israel.
However, the University has not addressed her political views, instead saying they are concerned about security for the more than 65,000 expected attendees at commencement next month. Andrew Guzman, USC’s provost, said, “The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement.”
Tabassum says she was not informed of any specific threats and “by canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred.” In a CNN interview, she also stood by her political views as she was asked three times about calling for an end to Israel’s existence.
There are now several petitions circulating to reinstate her as a speaker.
✈️ BOEING WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS PLANE COULD FALL APART MID FLIGHT
Another rough day for Boeing. One of its engineers, Sam Salehpour, says the 787 aircraft is unsafe to fly, and unless safety concerns are fixed he warns that they could “drop to the ground” mid-flight.
The whistleblower says he spoke with his manager about misalignment issues for three years, and faced threats: “I was ignored. I was told not to create delays. I was told, frankly, to shut up.” He says Boeing culture dissuades employees from raising issues.
THE ALLEGATIONS
Boeing used “unmeasured and unlimited” amounts of force to correct misalignment between sections of jets, given that parts come from different manufacturers. Salehpour says he "literally saw people jumping on pieces of the airplane to get them to align."
Boeing’s standards allow misalignment of 5/1000th of an inch (width of a human hair), and Salehpour says planes were produced with larger gaps than that.
“Boeing adopted these shortcuts in its production processes based on faulty engineering and faulty evaluation of available data, which has allowed potentially defective parts and defective installations in 787 fleets," he told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager and the executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety, accused the company of a “criminal cover-up” in the National Transportation Safety Board investigation after a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max flight by Alaska Airlines in January.
OVER TO BOEING
Lawmakers are saying they want Boeing to succeed, but that these concerns are alarming. The company defended its safety record, claims it has a culture where employees can speak out, and is cooperating with government investigators. Here’s their statement:
🗳️ SENATE KILLS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES
After a less than three hour trial, Senate Democrats voted to kill the two impeachment charges against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas yesterday.
He’s the second Cabinet secretary in US history to be impeached. In February, the House charged him with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and a “breach of public trust” over his handling of an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senators voted 51-48 that the first impeachment article was unconstitutional, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voting present. Then, senators voted 51-49 dismissing the second article.
THE VOTE
The 51 Democrats said the charges are unconstitutional, and are policy disagreements that don’t meet the threshold for impeachment. The votes came before any evidence was presented. Republicans tried to stop or delay the vote, but failed.
The House sent the articles on Tuesday, and senators were sworn in as jurors Wednesday afternoon.
The Senate holds impeachment trials under the Constitution, and determines if impeached officials should be removed from office.
Some Senate Republicans who expressed skepticism about the charges still felt that the body should have held the full trial.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY): “We’ve set a very unfortunate precedent here which means that the Senate can ignore, in effect, the House’s impeachment.”
✔︎ Mo News Reality Check: Surprising Senate rule during impeachment proceedings… only milk, water, and candy are allowed in the chamber. Coffee and snacks are prohibited. No phones either.
Rules limiting food and most drinks first started when Vice President Thomas Jefferson presided over the chamber. The rule was also in effect during Trump's impeachment hearings in 2020.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s (R-OK) desk was covered in candy, while Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) handed some out to colleagues.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 NPR editor resigns after publicly criticizing coverage, calls new CEO ‘divisive’ (AP)
📌 Lawmakers vote against hearing Arizona bill repealing abortion ban on House floor (CNN)
📌 Mike Johnson sets up weekend showdown on foreign aid bills for Ukraine, Israel (AXIOS)
📌 Elephant roams streets in Montana after escaping from circus (PEOPLE)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 China lobbies Congress behind closed doors on TikTok, staffers say (POLITICO)
📌 Inside Story: Miscalculation led to escalation between Israel and Iran (NY TIMES)
📌 Iran's president vows to completely destroy Israel if it launches ‘tiniest invasion’ (FOX NEWS)
📌 Secret Russian foreign policy document urges action to weaken the U.S.(WASHINGTON POST)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Americans check their phones 144 times a day (CNBC)
📌 Google fires 28 employees involved in anti-Israel office takeover/sit-in (NY POST)
📌 NASA confirms International Space Station object crashed through home in Naples, Florida (ABC NEWS)
📌 Apple fixes iPhone bug that suggested Palestinian flag when some people typed ‘Jerusalem’ (CNN)
📌 Ford recalls over 456,000 Bronco Sport and Maverick cars due to loss of drive power risk (AP)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Taylor Swift’s new album drops tonight: Everything you need to know (NY POST)
📌 Beatles II: John Lennon and Paul McCartney's sons release first song together (CBS NEWS)
📌 Kate Hudson had a lifetime to make a record. The result is ‘Glorious,’ out in May (AP)
📌 Travis Kelce confirms he'll host ‘Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity’ saying, 'I'm just happy to be on the hosting side' (BBC)
📌 NBA bans Toronto Raptors players for life after gambling on games, giving info to bettors and limiting play for betting purposes (NBC NEWS)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: APRIL 18
1775: Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, warning colonists that British troops were coming.
1938: Superman made his debut on the first issue of Action Comics.
1984: Michael Jackson underwent 80 minutes of laser surgery to repair his scalp, burned in the filming of a Pepsi-Cola commercial earlier that year.
2008: ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ premiered in theaters.
Giving us one of our favorite movie quotes: “The weather outside is weather.”