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Tribune News Service on Jul 14, 2026

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University of Illinois College of Medicine leader questioned on antisemitism, DEI practices at congressional hearing

Congressional lawmakers questioned University of Illinois College of Medicine interim Dean Enrico Benedetti in a multihour hearing Tuesday about antisemitism on campus and the role of diversity, equity and inclusion in the classroom, nearly a year after a congressional committee first launched an investigation into the school.

Benedetti, a transplant surgeon, appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Education and Workforce to answer questions on alleged antisemitism on campus stretching back to 2023, claims brought up initially by the committee in an August 2025 letter to the school.

According to the letter, allegations at the medical school include the repeated removal of posters raising awareness of hostages following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the unexplained cancellation of a speaker about the Holocaust, and hateful messages posted by students on a school Slack channel. The letter also stated the school allegedly failed to address antisemitism under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Officials from two other medical schools — the University of California at San Francisco and the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles — also received notices from the committee last year and spoke at Tuesday’s hearing, which was titled “Training Activists, Not Physicians: The Impact of DEI on Medical Schools.”

—Chicago Tribune

Florida LGBTQ+ Democrats snub longtime allies Wasserman Schultz and Frankel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The state LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus has snubbed two prominent South Florida allies, opting not to endorse U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Lois Frankel for reelection.

Their primary opponents didn’t get endorsed either. But the non-endorsements of Broward’s Wasserman Schultz and Palm Beach County’s Frankel stood out.

Leaders of the organization that withheld the endorsement sometimes refer to Wasserman Schultz as the “Godmother of the caucus” and the congresswoman consistently receives a score of 100 on the national Human Rights Campaign’s congressional scorecard.

Wasserman Schultz received a majority, 53%, of the votes cast at the weekend endorsement session, participants said, falling significantly short of the required two-thirds. Frankel’s support was even less.

—South Florida Sun Sentinel

Permanent daylight saving time is on the table. Would California scrap being on standard time?

LOS ANGELES — A proposal to make daylight saving time the year-round default nationwide is once again coming before Congress.

And, as in the past in both California and nationally, proponents and opponents of the switch cite the potential effects (good or bad) on health, business and agriculture as reasons to support or oppose the plan.

The House is expected to vote on the Sunshine Protection Act this week, according to the office of Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., the bill’s author.

The Senate version of the bill, SB 29, is sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. In a statement last year he said, “More daylight after work means more business and more active, safer California communities.”

—Los Angeles Times

Iran-backed Houthis strike Saudi Arabia in major escalation

The Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen fired ballistic missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia, the worst attack in several years that threatens to draw the rebels into the wider regional conflict between Tehran and Washington.

The Houthis claimed they targeted Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern region Monday and warned aviation companies to avoid Saudi airspace until what they called a Saudi siege of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, is lifted.

State-run Al Ekhbariya TV reported that Saudi Arabia defense systems dealt with Houthi missiles, without saying whether Riyadh would retaliate.

The Houthi strike came hours after the group accused Saudi jets of bombing Sanaa International Airport to prevent a plane carrying the group’s delegation from returning from the funeral of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran.

—Bloomberg News