Today’s read: 3 min 5 sec

Good morning. Prestigious universities across America are having a revolutionary moment. And now politicians are calling on Biden to send in the National Guard.

Why? America’s supposedly best students — who made it through the minuscule acceptance rates of Ivy Leagues — have been arrested in dozens after violent pro-Hamas (and clearly anti-Jewish) demonstrations.

First time here? I’m Ari, and this is Upward News. Every day, we scour 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won’t see in the MSM. Sign up here.

PRESENTED BY HILLSDALE COLLEGE

Radicalism is Mainstream

It’s getting worse. Every day the left is becoming more and more radical.

How did we get here? The answer can be found in Hillsdale’s free online course, “The American Left: From Liberalism to Despotism.” Associate Professor of Politics Kevin Slack will expose how radicalism became mainstream in American politics and how we can combat these dangerous ideas.

Please support our sponsors!

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

🌐 The House passed nearly $100 billion of foreign aid bills. On Saturday, the House of Representatives voted with bipartisan support to pass three separate foreign aid bills for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Although the Ukraine bill ultimately passed, it garnered more Republican dissent than approval, with 112 GOP members voting against it and 101 voting for it.

🕵️‍♂️ The renewed FISA bill was signed into law. Over the weekend, the Senate passed, and President Biden signed into law the FISA reauthorization bill, renewing the U.S.’s widespread spying program. Despite bipartisan calls to restructure the previously abused surveillance tool, the only change made to appease detractors was to revise the reauthorization period to every two years instead of five.

🚫 The Biden administration blocked drilling in Alaska. President Biden’s Interior Department took action to block over 13 million acres in Alaska from being drilled for oil and mined for crucial minerals. The decision infuriated Alaska’s senators as President Biden looks to gain support from environmentalists heading into the election season.

🪖 The U.S. is to sanction an IDF battalion for human rights violations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce sanctions against the IDF’s Netzah Yehuda battalion. Netzah Yehuda is comprised of “ultra-Orthodox” soldiers who are accused of alleged extreme actions in the West Bank, including extrajudicial killings. Their alleged crimes occurred prior to October 7.

TRUMP TRIAL WATCH

• Opening statements in the Manhattan “hush money” trial are expected to kick off today.

• New York Attorney General Letitia James asked the judge presiding over Trump’s civil fraud case to void his $175 million bond, alleging that the former president failed to prove he actually has the collateral to back it.

• Donald Trump posted, “REMOVE THE GAG ORDER!!! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO HIDE???”

INSIDE AMERICA

Columbia’s disturbing pro-Hamas encampment

What’s happening: Anti-Israel activists at Columbia University created a “Gaza solidarity encampment” last week.

• Context: Last Thursday, the NYPD was brought in to arrest over 100 participants in the trash-filled encampment who were violating school rules. The arrests did not stop the protest from continuing without an end in sight.

Disturbing chants: During rallies associated with the encampment, people chanted “Al-Qassam [Hamas], you make us proud, kill another soldier now!” and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution.”

• Terror supporters: One person yelled at two Jews, "Never forget the 7th of October. That will happen not one more time, not five more times, not 10 ... 100 … 1,000 … 10,000 ... The 7th of October is going to be every day for you.”

• Antisemitism: Demonstrators were yelling “Jews” in Arabic and others were saying “Go back to Poland,” where more than 90 percent of the Jewish population was killed in the Holocaust.

• Contrast: Pro-Israel demonstrators came with American and Israeli flags, and sang God Bless America.

President’s response: Columbia President Minouche Shafik at first seemed in control when she tried to make it clear such conduct would not be tolerated. However, the movement is gaining steam. Tents have been re-erected in the encampment and people unauthorized to be on campus have been seen sneaking in.

• Out of control: The Orthodox rabbi at Columbia advised Jewish students to leave campus, writing, “What we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic … The events of the last few days … have made it clear that Columbia … cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety.”

—J.E.

WHAT WE’RE HEARING

• Tucker Carlson claimed congressmen feared being framed by intelligence agencies for possessing “kiddie porn” if they opposed reauthorizing FISA.

• Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) said, “The Ukrainian-Russian border is our border!”

• Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-TX) told CNN that he “[serves] with some real scumbags” in Congress—referring to two of his GOP colleagues.

Ukraine War Skepticism Grows in Congress

What’s happening: A senior Pentagon official was critiqued in a congressional hearing for dodging questions over whether the Crimean Peninsula must return to Ukraine…

🔗 Members can read it here.

📖 Not a member yet? Read it for free with a 14-day preview here.

OUR QUESTION TO YOU

POLL RESULTS FROM THURSDAY

Amid the Border Crisis and threat of Hamas, is mass surveillance justified?

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes (81)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👎 No (406)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Other (36)

IN THE LOOP

• A Jewish student at Yale University was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag during an on-campus protest.

• Nearly 700 Chinese migrants were apprehended at the southern border just last week.

• House Democrats introduced a bill that would strip Donald Trump of Secret Service protection if he were to be convicted of a felony and imprisoned.

• Texas leads the nation in job growth, with its real GDP growing at 5% annually—far above the national average.

• The most clicked link in our last newsletter was Rep. Jamie Raskin yelling at Rep. James Comer about the Biden impeachment case.

MORE RECENT MEMBER-ONLY ARTICLES