Saturday, March 21, 2026

UCLA's Skyy Clark loses front tooth in March Madness thriller to help Bruins seal first-round victory

UCLA's Skyy Clark loses front tooth in March Madness thriller to help Bruins seal first-round victory

UCLA center Skyy Clark has a new smile he’s showing off after the Bruins’ 75-71 victory over UCF on Friday night. 

The California native and senior lost his front tooth during UCLA’s first round game in the men’s NCAA tournament after he caught a stray elbow from UCF’s Themus Fulks when the pair dove for a loose ball late in the second half. 

The accidental contact knocked out half of Clark’s front tooth, an ugly scene captured on the CBS broadcast. 

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"It definitely hurt," Clark said after the game. "I have a little lisp going on."

As Clark was being attended to by the team’s staff, UCLA walk-on Jack Seidler jumped into action to find the missing tooth.

"Somebody’s got to get it, somebody’s got to get it," Seidler recalled.

TALLEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER EVER TOWERS OVER 6-FOOT-8 OPPONENT IN VIRAL MARCH MADNESS MOMENT

The broadcast showed Seidler returning to the scene and picking up what was left of Clark’s tooth, which he said resulted in his cellphone blowing up with reactions to his heroics. But for Seidler, the real star was Clark, who returned to play shortly after the incident. 

"That’s toughness right there," he said. "Losing half a tooth and coming back into the game to help us get the win."

Clark, who averaged 10.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals throughout his collegiate career, returned and hit a free throw with seconds remaining to secure the Bruins’ victory. 

"He looked so good in the locker room," head coach Mick Cronin said after the game. "Looks like a boxer. Keep trying to talk to these guys about my old days. He just looked tough. Looks tough. In the locker room, smiling. There’s blood."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.



source https://www.foxnews.com/sports/uclas-skyy-clark-loses-front-tooth-march-madness-thriller-help-bruins-seal-first-round-victory

Friday, March 20, 2026

Iran conflict won’t trigger Biden-style refugee replay, expert predicts

Iran conflict won’t trigger Biden-style refugee replay, expert predicts

Iran’s instability is unlikely to trigger a Syrian- or Afghanistan-style refugee crisis, a top immigration expert told Fox News Digital, even as questions mount over what comes next for the Iranian people once the fighting subsides.

With Ayatollah Ali Khamenei killed in an airstrike, several top officials dead and competing factions vying for control, questions are mounting over whether Iran’s turmoil could trigger a refugee crisis.

However, given the geography and environment in Iran, a mass refugee exodus appears unlikely, according to Andrew "Art" Arthur – a nationally-recognized national security and immigration expert at the Center for Immigration Studies.

NEXT MOVE ON IRAN: SEIZE KHARG ISLAND, SECURE URANIUM OR RISK GROUND WAR ESCALATION

"It's actually an interesting question, and there are a couple of things to keep in mind," Arthur said in a recent interview.

"One is Iran is about twice the size of Texas. It's, I think, roughly the size as Alaska. It is a huge country, and I think there are 93 million people there, but it's still a big country and most of it is untouched by the conflict, so it's not like individuals couldn't relocate in-country and be perfectly safe."

Unlike Afghanistan, he added, the U.S. and the West don’t have a previous footprint on the ground and don’t have people inside the country offering assistance.

AS AIRSTRIKES RAIN DOWN ON THE IRANIAN REGIME, CAN A FRACTURED OPPOSITION UNITE TO LEAD IF IT FALLS?

"[W]e don't have the ability to do something like President Biden did where we load up C-130s with everybody we can get our hands on and fly them to the United States. So, that's a huge distinction."

During the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, chaos reigned at Hamid Karzai International Airport as U.S. military planes with refugees hanging off of them flew in and out of Kabul while Taliban forces created deadly roadblocks and uncertainty for those trying to flee.

The operation led to a huge influx of largely unvetted Afghan nationals into the U.S., which many immigration hawks blame for some of the migrant violence seen domestically.

WINNING THE BATTLES, LOSING THE WAR? AMERICA MUST DEFINE THE ENDGAME IN IRAN

Arthur said that exemplar is rare, in that most refugees don’t or aren’t able to fly "halfway around the world" to escape unrest.

"The Afghanistan evacuation operation, Allies Refuge and Allies Welcome, was completely without precedent in U.S. history, because, generally, refugees resettle in an adjacent country assuming that they can resettle in-country," he said.

Such was true during the other major refugee flow this century, the Syrian crisis during the 2011 "Arab Spring."

AUSTRALIA GRANTS ASYLUM TO 5 IRANIAN WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS AMID IRAN CONFLICT

Then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responded to peaceful civilian protests with military force, spurring years of outflows of about 11 million Syrian nationals around Europe with a smaller proportion ultimately making their way to the U.S.

The Obama administration set a goal of 10,000 admissions of Syrians through refugee resettlement, while nearly 5 million were registered globally as refugees as of 2017, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

A good proportion of the U.S.’ Syrian population also predates the refugee crisis, some by more than 100 years, like the estimated 5,000 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN

Addressing the potential for any Iranian refugee crisis, Arthur said that, in practice, the U.S. could offer resources to neighboring countries but would not be obligated to take in refugees.

"That’s not the way that this works," he said, pointing out that during the 1980s Afghan-Soviet conflict, Afghans relocated to Pakistan and the U.S. helped them from afar.

"We didn’t bring them to the United States," he said, adding that the U.S. helped enforce a no-fly zone to assist aligned factions, such as the Kurds, maintain safer territory.

MEDIA UNDER FIRE: JOURNALISTS KEEP QUESTIONING IRAN WAR AS HEGSETH CALLS THEM ‘UNPATRIOTIC’ AND ‘ANTI-TRUMP’

Fox News Digital also asked the White House for its thoughts on the prospect of another refugee crisis amid another bout of instability in a Mideast country.

The White House directed Fox News Digital to recent comments by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on the matter, when he was questioned about the proclivity for such conflicts as Iran to force thousands to flee from the conflict zone and into the U.S. – and whether there are any "safeguards" in place to prevent such.

"I think it's safe to say there's no plan for a wave of new Middle Eastern refugees to the United States of America," Hegseth said.

"I think, as the president has pointed out for a long time, there are a lot of countries in the region who would be capable of providing that kind of support if need be."

"But that's certainly not something we're planning on," he said.



source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/iran-conflict-wont-trigger-biden-style-refugee-replay-expert-predicts

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Mystery drones fly near DC-area military base as Iran tensions escalate

Mystery drones fly near DC-area military base as Iran tensions escalate

U.S. officials detected unidentified drones near a military installation in Washington, D.C., where top administration officials reportedly have been housed, as security concerns mount amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and with Iran. 

Multiple drones were spotted in recent days near Fort Lesley J. McNair, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are living, The Washington Post reported, citing people briefed on the situation. The origin of the drones has not been determined.

The base, located in Southwest Washington, D.C., houses the National Defense University and senior military leadership. It also reportedly has been used to accommodate high-level administration officials amid elevated security concerns.

Officials with Joint Task Force–National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington said they are aware of the reported drone sightings. 

US DIPLOMATIC FACILITY IN IRAQ STRUCK BY DRONE

"We are aware of the reported drone sightings near Fort McNair and the surrounding areas," Heather Chairez, media chief for Joint Task Force–National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, told Fox News Digital Thursday. "We are working with our law enforcement and interagency partners to monitor and investigate the reported sightings." 

"Our top priority is the safety of our service members and civilian personnel that work and live on the base," she added. "Currently there is no credible threat to Fort McNair, but we will continue to monitor the situation and adjust force protection measures as needed." 

A growing number of top officials, including Rubio and Hegseth, have moved into military housing in the Washington area, according to multiple reports, a shift that is unusual and has few modern precedents for civilian political appointees.

Fox News has not independently confirmed Rubio and Hegseth live at McNair. 

The reported sightings come as the United States has heightened security measures at military installations and diplomatic posts following ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, raising concerns about potential retaliation and attacks on U.S. troops. 

Iran increasingly has relied on drones as a central component of its military strategy, deploying unmanned systems and supporting proxy forces across the Middle East in attacks on U.S. and allied targets.

During the opening phase of Operation Epic Fury, an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait killed six U.S. service members, underscoring concerns among defense officials about the growing threat posed by unmanned systems.

Several U.S. bases have elevated force protection levels in recent days, including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, which is home to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). 

MacDill, which serves as the headquarters for CENTCOM and oversees all U.S. military operations in the Middle East, also has experienced multiple recent security incidents that prompted temporary lockdowns, according to base officials. Officials did not detail the nature of the threat but said they "take all threats seriously and will continue to prioritize the safety and security of our installation, our mission and our people."

The State Department also has directed diplomatic posts worldwide to review and strengthen security measures in response to an evolving threat environment.

IRAN’S DRONE SWARMS CHALLENGE US AIR DEFENSES AS TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST FACE RISING THREATS

U.S. officials have not publicly identified the source or intent behind the drone activity near the nation’s capital, and it remains unclear whether the incidents are connected to broader geopolitical tensions.

U.S. law enforcement agencies also have been placed on heightened alert in recent weeks following a federal warning about intercepted communications believed to be of Iranian origin that could serve as a potential trigger for sleeper assets abroad, though officials said there was no specific or imminent threat tied to the alert.

Earlier in March, an FBI advisory referenced unverified intelligence suggesting Iran had explored launching drones from offshore platforms near California, though officials stressed the information was aspirational and not tied to any imminent threat.

Experts say that while Iran has invested heavily in drone warfare abroad, the more plausible risk inside the United States would involve small, commercially available drones rather than large military systems.

Unauthorized drone incursions near sensitive government and military sites are typically monitored and assessed by multiple federal agencies, including the Department of War, federal law enforcement and aviation authorities.

The Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mystery-drones-fly-near-dc-area-military-base-iran-tensions-escalate

Schumer keeps public guessing on how long Dems will refuse to fund DHS amid terror attacks

Schumer keeps public guessing on how long Dems will refuse to fund DHS amid terror attacks

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remained silent earlier this week when asked how long Democrats intended to hold out on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a recent string of suspected terror attacks.

Fox News Digital approached Schumer with a pair of questions in the basement of the Senate.

"Is it time to fund the DHS after four domestic suspected terror attacks have occurred?" a Fox News Digital reporter asked.

"If the Republicans don’t agree to the ICE reforms that you guys want, all of them, what’s the next step? How long are you willing to leave DHS unfunded?"

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING 'DEFUND THE POLICE' PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

Schumer deflected the questions.

"Ask the Republicans," Schumer answered.

Funding for DHS originally lapsed on Feb. 14 when Democrats refused to advance spending legislation for DHS that didn’t also include a set of demands to reform ICE. Among other changes, Democrats have conditioned their support on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirement for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols.

Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement goals.

Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats.

DEM SENATORS IN THE HOT SEAT AS REPUBLICANS RIP THEIR DHS VOTE AMID TERROR THREATS: 'UNDER ATTACK'

The standoff has overlapped with a series of domestic attacks, raising alarm among Republicans that DHS’s closure may be reducing the country’s preparedness to counter similar threats.

A vehicle ramming at a synagogue in Michigan, a university shooting in Virginia, the detonations of explosives in New York and another shooting in Texas have left Republicans like Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., calling for Democrats to abandon their demands.

"Democrats have shut down the very department charged with defending our nation from terrorism while our nation is on high alert," Barrasso said in a post to X.

In addition to ICE, DHS also manages the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Secret Service and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Barrasso, the Senate GOP Whip, was echoed by Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

He stressed the urgency to fund the department amid the U.S. conflict with Iran.

"I urge my Democrat colleagues to make the right decision and stop playing dangerous games with DHS funding. As threats from Iran escalate, America must be fully prepared to respond and mitigate threats to the homeland," Garbarino wrote.

The funding lapse hit the one-month mark on Saturday.



source https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-keeps-public-guessing-how-long-dems-refuse-fund-dhs

Bloody NYC Khamenei vigil reveals anti-US protest network linked to Iran

Bloody NYC Khamenei vigil reveals anti-US protest network linked to Iran

A small group of New Yorkers lined candles beneath a portrait of Iran’s late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at a recent "vigil" in Manhattan's Washington Square Park, and within minutes, a confrontation turned violent, then viral.

As Jewish rapper Rami Even-Esh approached the March 6 vigil, he noticed something was missing in the pro-regime gathering, which drew only a few dozen people from five far-left groups, including the socialist "Workers World Party."

"I looked around for images of the regime’s victims," Even-Esh told Fox News Digital, referring to tens of thousands of protesters the Iranian regime reportedly killed earlier this year. "I looked for Iranians who supported the regime, and I didn’t see any."

Slowly, Even-Esh, who performs under the moniker "Kosha Dillz," picked up the Khamenei photo, video footage shows, prompting several vigil organizers to quickly tackle him, punch him in the head and kick him as he fell to the ground. He emerged bloodied, and New York Police Department officers arrested both him and one of his assailants.

Video of the confrontation quickly spread online, generating widespread attention, with pro-regime groups framing the event far beyond the park as a symbol of widespread "resistance" to the war in Iran. The incident also offered a telling glimpse into a wider influence campaign now drawing scrutiny.

WITH DOGS, DANCE AND UNCOVERED HAIR, IRANIANS DEFY 'UNHOLY ALLIANCE' OF SOCIALISTS, RADICALS: ‘HYPOCRITES!’

A new report by the Network Contagion Research Institute, a think tank based in Princeton, New Jersey, finds that the vigil — along with a follow-up "Al-Quds Day" protest a week later on March 13 — was organized, promoted and amplified by a well-connected network of far-left U.S. activist groups with documented ties to Iranian state media. 

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump warned that Iran is pursuing an aggressive disinformation campaign, accusing the regime of using artificial intelligence and coordinated narratives to shape perception beyond traditional battlefields.

Drawing on leaked internal records, dating from 2019 to 2022, from Iran’s state-owned Press TV propaganda network, researchers identified repeated direct contact between Press TV officials and organizers of recent pro-regime protests, as well as patterns of coordination and amplification that helped transform small local gatherings into widely circulated global flashpoints.

The report identifies a structured ecosystem linking U.S. activist groups, intermediary media platforms and Iranian state outlets to a campaign of malign foreign influence, which is defined by the Directorate of National Intelligence as "subversive, undeclared, coercive, or criminal activities by foreign governments, non-state actors or their proxies to affect another nation’s popular or political attitudes, perceptions or behaviors to advance their interests."

Organizers tied to the New York vigil also coordinated follow-up protests for Al-Quds Day, the Arabic name for "Jerusalem Day," promoted through the same network of social media accounts, organizations and leadership.

IRANIAN REGIME SPREADING ANTI-ISRAEL PROPAGANDA ACROSS DOZENS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS: REPORT

Fox News Digital has identified at least 75 organizations that have protested in support of Iran’s regime since the conflict began, including 50 that identify as far-left, Marxist, socialist or communist groups, and 22 that are Muslim organizations aligned with forms of political Islam, or Islamism. The remaining organizations fall into overlapping ideological categories.

Many of these groups are connected through a broader activist network linked to American-born tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham, who is based in Shanghai. Lawmakers on the House Ways and Means Committee and House Oversight Committee have launched investigations probing whether Singham and the organizations he funds should register as foreign agents, promoting the interests of the Chinese Communist Party.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Singham and the groups organizing the pro-regime protests. 

Organizations associated with Singham's network include the People’s Forum, the ANSWER Coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, CodePink Women for Peace and the Palestinian Youth Movement, and while they didn't organize the Khamenei vigil, they participated in Al-Quds Day protests.

IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI 'MISFUNCTIONING,' NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES

The scene at the vigil reflected the mix of political messaging and symbolism that has defined "intersectional" activism of far-left politics in recent years. Organizers draped the table with Khamenei’s image with Palestinian checkered keffiyeh scarves and stocked it with pamphlets framing global conflicts — from Gaza to Haiti and apartheid South Africa — as part of a shared "anti-imperialist" struggle. A copy of the Quran sat alongside revolutionary communist literature, blending the kind of ideological and theological messaging that defines the so-called "red-green" alliance of socialists, represented by red, and Muslim theocrats, represented by the color of green for Islam.

Organizers and affiliated groups include a coalition of activist organizations connected to the "United National Antiwar Coalition," the Workers World Party, the "Bronx Anti-War Coalition" and the ANSWER Coalition, networks of socialists and communists who have organized protests across the United States on foreign policy and domestic issues.

The report’s strongest evidence centers on a history of direct contact between Iranian state media and activists from the groups.

The leaked internal records from Press TV, which is sanctioned by the U.S. government, showed hundreds of communications with the small group of organizers tied to the recent protests, including 83 calls to one senior figure. Researchers found that outreach far exceeded contact with other individuals based in the U.S., suggesting sustained engagement rather than routine media interaction.

TRUMP VOWS TO HIT IRAN 'VERY HARD' AFTER OBLITERATING NEARLY '90 PERCENT' OF REGIME MISSILES

The analysis also identified a pattern in which that outreach appeared to happen before protests from 2019 to 2022. According to the report, spikes in contact from Press TV personnel often occurred in the weeks leading up to increased protest activity in the United States, indicating a level of synchronization that researchers say is unlikely to be coincidental.

The report also documents a broader amplification loop: activists appear on Iranian state broadcasts, sharing and reposting state media content and promoting protest activity later picked up by outlets aligned with Iran’s messaging ecosystem.

A separate media platform, "Vox Ummah," is identified as an intermediary linking U.S.-based activists with Iran-aligned narratives in the "ummah," an Arabic term for the global community of Muslims, promoting the vigil and Al-Quds protests while republishing content from Iranian state outlets.

The report stops short of asserting direct operational coordination, but it concludes that the overlap of communication and messaging reflects a "repeatable influence pipeline" capable of turning local protest activity into widely distributed political narratives of malign foreign influence.

"A strain of moral confusion has taken hold where a growing number of people in our communities protest America while excusing regimes that jail, torture and silence their own people," Adam Sohn, co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, told Fox News Digital. "That’s not justice. It’s a psychological contagion causing these people to lose sight of what evil actually looks like."

The report also notes that messaging tied to the vigil, such as references to Khamenei’s "martyrdom," opposition to U.S. and Israeli policy, and alignment with the "Axis of Resistance," a term invented to describe opposition to U.S. foreign policy, mirrors themes promoted by Iranian state media following Khamenei's death.

IRAN WAGING EXTENSIVE AI MISINFORMATION WARFARE AGAINST US, ALLIES

On the edge of the Khamenei vigil, Iranian American Reza Ebrahimi, founder of a group called Lion Sun NY, watched the scene unfold with Even-Esh emerging bloodied and handcuffed.

Ebrahimi told Fox News Digital he is immune to pro-regime disinformation and propaganda. He was emboldened to see that Even-Esh also didn't succumb to the intimidation. 

He later told him, "I’m proud of you that you’re supporting us."

Azziana Solomon contributed to this report.



source https://www.foxnews.com/us/rapper-beaten-nyc-khamenei-vigil-reveals-anti-us-protest-network-linked-iranian-propaganda-machine

Former Wyoming volleyball star reveals how the SJSU trans scandal permanently ruined friendships on her team

Former Wyoming volleyball star reveals how the SJSU trans scandal permanently ruined friendships on her team

As San Jose State University approaches a critical deadline in its Title IX conflict against President Donald Trump's administration, another woman who was affected by the school's 2024 volleyball scandal has come forward. 

Former University of Wyoming volleyball star Macey Boggs said her team had been "torn apart" over a decision of whether to forfeit two matches to SJSU in 2024. The Spartans were embroiled in a national controversy at that time due to the presence of a biological male transgender athlete on the roster. 

Boggs said in a recent interview the players had found out about the trans player, whom they had competed against two years earlier, in the spring of 2024. When the fall rolled around, the locker room became a hive of tension and nerves due to the two scheduled matches between Wyoming and SJSU, and disagreements about whether to forfeit or not. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

"You could tell that things got a little bit hostile," Boggs told Fox News Digital.

"In between the whispering between each other's back, and then we were no longer one team, one unit, it was like these two separate islands." 

Friendships were permanently ruined for Boggs and the rest of the Cowgirls, she said. 

"Yeah," Boggs said when asked if the situation "permanently ruined friendships." 

"There were some of the girls who I really enjoyed, and we got along great, and then this situation came up, some conflict came up, and ultimately we went in separate directions because of that … as soon as we played in our last game, we all went in separate directions… it was hard to maintain those relationships." 

The first Mountain West team to forfeit to SJSU that year was Utah State, becoming the first of five conference teams to do so. 

Former Utah State star Kaylie Ray previously told Fox News Digital that the decision was left up to a player poll, and the majority of players voted to forfeit. 

Wyoming also left the decision up to a player vote, per Boggs. But that vote had troubling outcome for her. 

"It was said that it was up to the players. So we took an anonymous vote, it ended up we were going to play because most of the girls on my team wanted to play," Boggs said. But she and others weren't going to play anyway, regardless of the vote.

FORMER SJSU VOLLEYBALL STAR OPENS UP ON LIVING WITH TRANS TEAMMATE WITHOUT KNOWING ATHLETE'S BIOLOGICAL SEX

"There were a few of us who were like, ‘We’re not gonna play.' So we decided we're not gonna play. . . . There was a lot of conflict within the team . . . and it was not something you should have to deal with on your team. . . . It just seems so silly and something that tore apart the team." 

The divide came with several difficult conversations for Boggs. 

But most of the conversations weren't necessarily ideological, over whether males should be able to play in women's sports. Boggs said the conversations were mostly about the pain of taking two losses on their record, when they were all working so hard to make the playoffs.

It was especially hard for the seniors. 

"One of the hardest conversations, there were two, one of them was a fellow senior and she said, ‘This is my fellow senior year, I don’t want it to be ruined by this. And I fully resonated with that because it was also my senior year, and it was ruined by that," Boggs said. 

"One girl was doing really well statistically in the Mountain West and the NCAA and she mentioned, ‘how is this going to affect my stats?’ And that didn't settle well for me because I was like, ‘OK, that’s kind of selfish.'

"I understood where she was coming from … but ultimately it's a bigger issue." 

Boggs and the players who were determined not to play the game were preparing to tell the coaches of their intent. 

But just then, prior to the first match between Wyoming and SJSU on Oct. 5 of that year, the players were called into another meeting, Boggs said.

'HORRIBLE' MOMENTS EXPOSED FOR UNR VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS WHEN THEY WERE ROPED INTO THE SJSU TITLE IX SCANDAL

Boggs claims that Wyoming Athletic Director Tom Burman told them they were encouraged by the Wyoming state government to forfeit the game, but Burman made the final decision on the forfeit

"By the time it was time to tell the coaches, we had another meeting… It was told to us by our AD Tom Burman, so he was the one who said, ‘this is the decision that has been made, it’s been taken out of your guys' hands. And I'm so grateful for that," Boggs said. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to University of Wyoming Athletics and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon's office for a response. 

Public records show the university faced "outside pressure" to forfeit the match, according to WyoFile.

Gordon commended the forfeit in a statement at the time. 

"I am in full support of the decision by Wyoming Athletics to forego playing its volleyball match against San Jose State. It is important we stand for integrity and fairness in female athletics," Gordon said. 

Wyoming went on to finish the season 17-13, losing six of their last nine games. They finished two games out of the final spot in the conference tournament, and would have made the tournament had they won their two games against SJSU. It was Boggs and other seniors' last chance to make the tournament in their Wyoming careers. 

Within the locker room, the disagreements over initial vote left rifts. Boggs and the women on her side dug their heels in deeper. 

In November of that year, Boggs and teammates Sierra Grizzle and Jordan Sandy joined former SJSU volleyball star Brooke Slusser's lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference. Slusser initially brought the scandal into the national spotlight that September, when she joined Riley Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA, with Slusser citing her experience playing with and rooming with trans teammate Blaire Fleming without ever being officially told of Fleming's birth sex. 

Boggs, Grizzle and Sandy joined Slusser and seven other conference players in suing the Mountain West and representative of SJSU and the California State University (CSU) system.

Boggs said the decision to take things that far earned the respect of teammates who initially voted to play the game. 

Once they joined, Boggs said she told her other teammates, "'Hey, can we talk to you guys? We've decided to join this lawsuit, and this is why."

"And after that, they like totally understood . . . I think that standing up for something can be extremely scary, and something you need to be very brave and bold in."

FORMER COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL STAR KAYLIE RAY OPENS UP ON VIRAL CLASH WITH ARIZONA DEMOCRAT SENATOR

The Slusser v Mountain West lawsuit was partially dismissed by federal judge Kato Crews earlier in March, with all charges being dismissed against the Mountain West. 

However, Title IX claims and representatives of SJSU and CSU were not dismissed. Crews is reserving a ruling on those charges until after the ruling in the ongoing B.P.J. v West Virginia Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women's sports, and the Title IX implications. 

At the same time, SJSU and CSU are waging a legal war of resistance to the Trump administration's efforts to get SJSU to resolve its alleged Title IX violations for how it handled Fleming.

After the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation determined that SJSU violated Title IX, and offered a series of compliance points to resolve it, SJSU and CSU sued the federal government to challenge the findings. 

"I laughed," Boggs said, when she heard the news of SJSU's lawsuit. "That seems like something that is a little bit silly. I truly believe that we even shouldn't be having lawsuits centered around men in women's sports." 

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon responded to the lawsuits on March 11, giving the institutions a deadline of 10 days to come to an agreement or risk federal funding cuts and a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice.

With that deadline coming up within a week, Boggs is the latest woman to have been impacted by the scandal to speak out about the experience, joining Slusser and Ray. 

Both Slusser and Ray have gone viral on social media in recent weeks after speaking out, prompting criticism and even online insults from people with pro-transgender views.

Boggs said she's faced online attacks from the other side ever since her decision to forfeit and join the lawsuit in 2024, and she is prepared to face more, if necessary. 

"I will bare the weight all day, I will take any hate that has to come, because I truly believe in this. If you have to say these crazy things, I would rather you say them to me than those girls that I am fighting with." 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.



source https://www.foxnews.com/sports/former-wyoming-volleyball-star-reveals-how-sjsu-trans-scandal-permanently-ruined-friendships-her-team

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Louisiana social worker fights state red tape blocking her from helping special needs kids

Louisiana social worker fights state red tape blocking her from helping special needs kids

A New Orleans social worker is refusing to give up her fight to open a respite facility for children with special needs after Louisiana denied her application and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up her earlier challenge. The dispute is now headed back to court in a new state lawsuit filed March 18.

Ursula Newell-Davis, a licensed social worker with more than 25 years of experience, has devoted her career to helping children in the "trenches" of her community. As the mother of a 20-year-old son with autism, she knows firsthand the isolation families face.

"I know that a lot of people do not like to work with that population. They're kind of shied away from," Newell-Davis told Fox News Digital. "So I'm an advocate for those with special needs in order to get the needed services."

"I think that's my superpower," she continued. "That's what I'm strong at, is connecting with my community."

DOCTOR DENIES KNOWING ABOUT RAMPANT LA-AREA MEDICARE FRAUD USING HIS PROVIDER NUMBER

Newell-Davis sought to open a respite care business that would give parents of children with special needs a few hours of supervised care each week. 

She said she wanted to give caregivers a break while also providing children a safe place to build life skills that could help them live more independently.

"Most kids with special needs, it's hard for parents and grandparents to watch them because they require special care," she said. "Oftentimes, parents are not open to leaving their children with someone that they do not trust. My community rallied behind me."

But Louisiana health officials denied her applications in 2020 and again in 2025, concluding she had not demonstrated a "need" for an additional respite care business in her proposed service area, according to her petition and legal team at Pacific Legal Foundation.

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Under the state's Facility Need Review (FNR) process, certain providers must first convince the state that a new service is needed before they can move forward with licensure.

Newell-Davis argued that the standard has been applied in a way that blocks new providers even when families are struggling to find care. She said that while the state claimed there were already too many agencies, many existing license holders were not actually providing the kind of respite services local families needed.

"I dished out a lot of money because this is something I felt passionate about, and I did not believe I would be denied," Newell-Davis said, noting she paid for office space, phone lines and computers for years while waiting for a decision. "I couldn't fathom that I would be denied after knowing that most parents that I spoke with they're on the wait list for a year."

In 2021, she filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit challenging the law under the 14th Amendment. After the Supreme Court declined to hear that case in 2023, Newell-Davis and her attorneys are now pressing a new challenge in Louisiana state court.

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In the new lawsuit, they argue that the FNR rules violate due process and Louisiana's "Right to Earn a Living Act," which mandates state regulations be limited to protecting public health and safety instead of shielding existing businesses from competition.

The new suit also argues the rules are unconstitutionally vague because they do not clearly define what counts as "need," giving state officials broad discretion to approve or deny applicants without clear standards.

"The Constitution protects the right to earn a living free of irrational and arbitrary government restrictions," Pacific Legal Foundation says of her case. "The state cannot simply deny some people economic opportunity in order to insulate incumbent businesses from new competitors like Ursula."

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Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Anastasia Boden said that in previous court proceedings, the state's primary justification was "administrative convenience."

Before the government "takes away your liberty," it "has to have a good reason," she told Fox News Digital. "It can't just act arbitrarily."

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According to the petition, Newell-Davis’ second application included more than 100 pages of supporting material, including sworn declarations from mothers of children with special needs describing the shortage of accessible respite care. 

The filing also alleges that at least one mother ultimately had to relinquish custody of a child because she could not obtain the help her family needed.

"We want to open up the doors for all entrepreneurs in the state and across the country to be able to help their own communities, to see a problem and to step up and act and to be the change that's needed right there without jumping through unnecessary hoops," Boden added.

The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief blocking enforcement of the FNR rules against Newell-Davis, as well as attorney fees and costs. 

The Louisiana Department of Health did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.



source https://www.foxnews.com/media/louisiana-social-worker-fights-state-red-tape-blocking-her-from-helping-special-needs-kids