Woman federally indicted for buying guns used in Burnsville shooting of first responders

A Burnsville woman is facing criminal charges for providing guns to the man who police say gunned down three first responders last month in Burnsville.

Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, 35, is federally indicted on five charges of straw purchasing, five counts of making false statements during a gun purchase and one count of conspiracy.

Local, state and federal authorities announced the development Thursday.

It comes two days after 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reported that the mother of three of the children who were inside the home at the time of the shooting says she was subpoenaed and testified in front of a federal grand jury.

68 percent of college students say free speech protections should extend to threats, inciting violence: Poll

More than two-thirds of college students say free speech protections on campuses should extend even to individuals who are inciting violence or threatening others, according to an Axios Vibes survey conducted by The Harris Poll and released Thursday.

The poll found 68 percent of students agreed with free speech protection extending to inciting violence. Free speech was a top-three concern for students, behind only tuition and safety.

While the support for even potentially inciting free speech protections appears bipartisan, the survey found it is somewhat split among gender lines, backed by 74 percent of men and only 61 percent of women.

The survey comes at a tumultuous time for universities as they have navigated how to handle the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Around 86 percent of college students say schools should make them feel safe when sharing opinions on tense political issues, and 77 percent argue free speech is needed even when it upsets others.

Palestinian state is the only path leading to peace with Israel - Saudi official

An anonymous Saudi Arabian official told Al-Arabiya on Tuesday that the only possible route for Saudi to establish ties with Israel is through the establishment of Palestinian statehood.

“We don’t have a partner on the other side that is helping us to make this step,” the official said while claiming that normalization with Israel was still possible but more difficult since October 7. “But there must be an irreversible, irrevocable” establishment of a Palestinian state, the official asserted.

The United States is engaged in ongoing “planning processes” on how best to advance the establishment of a Palestinian state, US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said in January.

“Yes, we are actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel,” Miller told reporters in Washington on Wednesday. "We support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, and we do a lot of work in the government to think about how to bring it about.”

Do Palestinians want a two-state solution?
A poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that only 28% of Palestinians support a two-state solution, and 70% oppose it, the Jerusalem Post reported in June 2023.

A November poll conducted by the Arab World for Research and Development found that 74.7% of Palestinians supported the existence of only a singular Palestinian state.

New Jersey School District Responds To 'Inflammatory' Ramadan Flyer

A New Jersey school district has apologized after receiving criticism over an assistant principal’s “inflammatory” Monday flyer about Ramadan that highlighted “Muslim oppression.”

The flyer, distributed to students and staff at Columbia High School in Maplewood, described the importance of Ramadan, the holy month observed by Muslims. It went on to acknowledge oppression in Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and other countries, as well as emphasizing the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory of Gaza amid Israeli military strikes.

“When we speak about celebrating Ramadan within the U.S. context, it is imperative to contextualize that the U.S. is a co-conspirator with Israel, preventing Muslim Palestinians from partaking in Ramadan as the Israeli Zionist occupation enacts a genocide against them,” the flyer said.

After parents complained about the flyer, Kevin Gilbert, the acting superintendent of the South Orange and Maplewood School District, sent an apology letter to “families, staff, and community members,” according to NBC News.

Judge: Fleet Farm must hand over gun sales records in straw purchase lawsuit

A federal judge says Fleet Farm must turn over records of handguns sold from its Minnesota stores as part of an ongoing lawsuit involving potential straw purchases.

The sporting goods retailer must produce sale logs that identify customers who purchased four or more handguns within a two-week period.

Magistrate Judge John Docherty said Tuesday those records will be "sufficient to show purchasing patterns" at the retailer’s 17 Minnesota locations.

Tuesday’s ruling is part of an ongoing lawsuit that accuses the corporation of not doing enough to stop customers from illegally purchasing firearms for someone else – commonly known as straw purchases.

US commission ends Saudi trip after Jewish chair told to remove kippah

An American diplomatic trip to Saudi Arabia was cut off Monday after a Saudi official asked a Jewish member of the group to remove their kippah, a head covering traditionally worn by Jewish men.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) left Saudi Arabia early after the slight against Chair Abraham Cooper, who is also a rabbi, which occurred during a visit to the Diriyah UNESCO World Heritage Site in Riyadh.

“No one should be denied access to a heritage site, especially one intended to highlight unity and progress, simply for existing as a Jew,” Cooper said in a statement. “Saudi Arabia is in the midst of encouraging change under its 2030 Vision. However, especially in a time of raging antisemitism, being asked to remove my kippah made it impossible for us from USCIRF to continue our visit.”

“We note, with particular regret, that this happened to a representative of a U.S. government agency promoting religious freedom,” he continued. “USCIRF looks forward to continuing conversations with the Saudi government about how to address the systematic issues that led to this troubling incident.”

‘State of the Union is genocide’: Gaza protesters challenge Biden speech

United States President Joe Biden may have been preparing to address Congress, but protesters gathered outside of the US Capitol had their own message: “Stop funding Israel” and “Complete ceasefire now”.

About 150 protesters gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue – the arterial road that connects the White House to the seat of the US legislature in Washington, DC – ahead of the annual address on Thursday.

Organisers said they wanted to block Biden’s way, or at least make him find another route, as he travelled to the 9pm local (00:00 GMT Friday) speech. Five months into the war in Gaza, they said more pressure than ever was needed, with more than 30,000 Palestinians dead and nearly two million facing humanitarian catastrophe.

“As President Biden prepares to give the State of the Union address, we’re here to say, no more genocide with our tax dollars,” Cat Knarr, of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told Al Jazeera.

“We see people now taking their anger into the voting booth and that is something that Democrats should be very afraid of,” Falcon said. “[Democrats] have lost the moral standing to use Trump as a fear tactic and people are tired of this.”

Italy #MeToo march excludes Israelis says Di Segni

ROME, MAR 7 - Friday's Women's Day March in Rome organised by Italian #MeToo movement Non Una Di Meno (Not One Less) excludes Israeli woman because its manifesto calls for a ceasefire in Gaza "to stop the genocide", and and end to "the apartheid and colonial occupation in Palestine", the chair of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Noemi Di Segni, told ANSA Thursday. Di Segni said the "transfeminist" procession for 8 March "is absolutely not open to all. "It was not on 25 November (the last such march) and it is not now. "The manifesto highlights that there is only one kind of pain and horror to denounce, compared to a thousand that there are in the world, and already this explains that a choice of camp has been made, of being only on one side". Di Segni implicitly suggested the march by the Italian branch of the movement against patriarchal sex abuse and rape culture ignored the suffering caused by the brutal Hamas attacks that triggered Israel's hardline response on October 7. (ANSA).

El Camino Real Charter High students walk out over alleged antisemitism on campus

Students at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills staged a walkout Tuesday to protest recent antisemitic incidents on campus.

The action, which was organized by a group of seniors, included students holding up Israeli flags and signs that read, "Stop the hate."

Danielle Eshed, a ninth-grader at the charter school within the Los Angeles Unified School District, told KTLA-TV Channel 5 that a fellow classmate screamed antisemitic comments at her and then attacked her.

“He called me a dirty Jew, and then I said something out of defense,” Danielle told the station. “He said he was going to beat me up, and I didn’t believe him until he got up, pushed me and started punching me repeatedly in the neck and the back.”

Gun store owner: Weapon traced to scene of Burnsville shooting was straw purchased

The owner of a Burnsville gun retailer confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that a gun part found at Shannon Gooden’s home was straw purchased and traced to his store.

Investigators say Gooden, 38, shot and killed two Burnsville police officers and one firefighter-paramedic before killing himself on Feb. 18.

John McConkey, the owner of the Modern Sportsman gun shop in Burnsville, said in an email, “One of the firearms found at the scene in the February 18th incident was traced to our Burnsville location.”

McConkey added, “We are working with the [Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension] to assist them with their investigation.”