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Charlie Kirk podcast pans Utah Valley University citing ‘safety concerns’ in scrapping controversial speaker

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The producers of “The Charlie Kirk Show” panned the stated reason Utah Valley University (UVU) canceled the commencement speaker invitation of author and educator Sharon McMahon, whose selection sparked outrage among supporters of the late conservative leader, who was murdered on its campus.

On Thursday, UVU issued a statement saying, “Due to increased safety concerns related to the speaker and in consultation with public safety professionals and Sharon McMahon, Utah Valley University has decided to proceed without a featured commencement speaker for this year’s ceremony.”

The statement didn’t sit well with podcast co-hosts Andrew Kolvet and Blake Neff.

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“Here’s what’s annoying,” Neff reacted. “They say it’s not because ‘Oh, we picked a terrible speaker and that was our bad.’ They say they have ‘increased safety concerns’ about what happened.”

“Basically it’s our fault we were engaged in menacing behavior, they say,” Neff continued. “But regardless, it’s a speaker they shouldn’t have chosen… Nobody was making any threats about this. Not on this show or anywhere else.”

“We were saying it was a bad idea,” Kolvet responded before saying, “Hallelujah.”

Representatives for UVU did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.

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UVU came under fire for its selection of McMahon, who attacked Kirk just days after his assassination.

“Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder that was horrific and should never have happened does not magically erase what was said or done,” McMahon wrote on X at the time.

The now-deleted social media post sent two days after Kirk’s death also included a pair of quotes that many Kirk supporters said were taken out of context. 

“It’s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words, and the ensuing actions his followers took,” McMahon said.

The university’s selection of McMahon as its commencement speaker drew outrage among Kirk’s supporters. A spokesperson for McMahon declined comment. 

Her team previously dismissed the notion that she celebrated Kirk’s death, telling Utah outlets that she “unequivocally condemned the murder of Charlie Kirk, repeatedly and publicly, calling his death a tragedy and stressing that public debate must never be met with violence.

The 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder was participating in a public speaking event sponsored by the campus chapter of Turning Point when he was shot and killed on Sept. 10. The suspect, now 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, was charged with seven counts, including aggravated murder. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

Fox News’ Max Bacall contributed to this report.

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Nike criticized for walking back Boston Marathon ad following ‘pace shaming’ backlash

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Nike is facing backlash after a now-viral Boston Marathon ad reading “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.” drew criticism online for allegedly “pace-shaming” slower participants and those with disabilities.

“This is not OK. We should be building a more inclusive community, not isolating and belittling people that are a part of it,” running coach Amy Gougler said in a TikTok post.

“As a run-walk runner, this is offensive,” she added.

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“If I’m honest, [the ad] left me feeling uneasy…” wrote Boston-based Instagram user Dr. Hussain Al-Zubaidi.

“Many people taking on the marathon next week will walk all or part of it. For them, what does a message like this say? Does it inspire, or does it exclude?”

The sportswear giant responded to the backlash by emphasizing inclusivity, saying it wants more people to “feel welcome in running,” regardless of “pace, experience or the distance.”

“During race week in Boston, we put up a series of signs to encourage runners. One of them missed the mark,” the company said.

“We took it down, and we’ll use this moment to do better and continue showing up for all runners.”

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The controversy quickly spilled into the news cycle and became a flashpoint on Monday’s episode of “Gutfeld!,” where panelists dismissed the backlash and criticized Nike for backing down.

“The only mistake Nike have made here is apologizing and climbing down,” said Piers Morgan, host of “Piers Morgan Uncensored.”

Morgan argued marathons are, by definition, for runners.

“If you’re in a marathon, you should do what it says on the tin. You should run,” he added.

Others echoed Morgan’s view, with comedian Jeff Dye saying the backlash is overblown.

“I support people that walk in marathons. I think that’s fine,” he said.

“The outrage is insane. It’s insane they apologized…”

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Co-host Kat Timpf questioned the legitimacy of the outrage.

“I just am trying to decide if the offense at this is real. It could not possibly be real,” she said, adding, “That’s what the shoes are for [running]. Can you not describe the shoes?”

X users similarly sounded off on the decision to pull the ad, with some arguing Nike shouldn’t have backed down.

Will Ahmed, founder of wearable tech company WHOOP, said he would have stood by the ad.

“Nike’s DNA is winning and competition. It’s an ad for the Boston Marathon which is a RACE that is very hard to qualify for in a city that has a winning sports culture. Those details matter,” he wrote.

“The line was good in that it ‘cut through’ and got people talking about Nike. That’s the point of marketing. And I can guarantee you there’s a whole group of people in Boston who are runners and walkers alike that read it and loved it…”

Others struck a similar tone.

“People gotta lighten up,” wrote former Forbes contributor and Ideasicle X founder Will Burns.

“That was a great ad coming from Nike. And I can’t believe Nike backed down. Maybe their tagline should be updated to ‘Just do it (unless it offends someone).'”

Nike has since replaced the ad with a more inclusive message: “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters.”

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Dept of Interior compares Trump to Teddy Roosevelt amid Hall of Fame reports

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The U.S. Department of the Interior has addressed a recent report that Secretary Doug Burgum is pushing for former President Teddy Roosevelt to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the department compared Roosevelt’s impact in saving American football to President Donald Trump’s recent executive action to reforming college sports.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the department compared Roosevelt’s impact on American football to President Donald Trump’s recent executive action to reforming college sports

The New York Post reported Saturday that Burgum made the comments about Roosevelt’s Hall of Fame candidacy at a Bank of America reception on Thursday.

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“Roger Goodell was in the White House in the Oval Office, I had a chance to be with him there, because we, the National Park Service, control the National Mall,” Burgum reportedly said. “The draft for the NFL is being held on the Mall a year from now (and) the Capitol will be in the background.

“Keep it a secret. Keep your fingers crossed, but I think we’re going to see Theodore Roosevelt inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame….it’s going to be announced on the Mall when Roger Goodell is conducting the draft.”

Teddy Roosevelt is credited with saving football in 1905–1906 by forcing college leaders to reform the game’s rules after frequent injury-related deaths of players. 

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The reforms led to the creation of the forward pass and the banning of dangerous formations.

Meanwhile, Trump has passed several executive orders aimed at regulating NIL, while protecting non-revenue sports and women’s sports amid growing financial pressure for universities to invest in revenue programs like football and basketball.

Trump signed executive order on April 3 titled “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports,” aimed at curbing the influence of NIL collectives and transfer portal freedom. The order proposes strict five-year eligibility limits, caps transfers, and threatens to pull federal funding from institutions not following NCAA rules to establish a uniform national framework.

Trump has also taken executive action to mandate that revenue-sharing models implemented by universities must preserve or expand scholarships and opportunities for women’s and Olympic sports, preventing them from being reduced to pay football or basketball players.

In February of last year, trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order that redefined Title IX to mean that “sex” is based on reproductive biology and genetics at birth. This explicitly banned transgender women from competing in women’s college sports.

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

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More naps, higher risk? Research links daytime sleep to health warnings in aging adults

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Excessive daytime napping is associated with higher mortality risk in older adults, according to new research from Mass General Brigham.

Between 20% and 60% of older adults take naps, according to the researchers.

While occasional naps have been shown to be refreshing, frequent or prolonged daytime napping in this group has been associated with a variety of health concerns.

The study followed 1,338 older adults for up to 19 years, tracking the timing and duration of their daytime napping habits using a wrist-worn tracker. They then examined all-cause mortality rates.

Taking longer, more frequent naps — or napping in the morning — were all associated with increased mortality risk and may be early warning signs of underlying health decline, as shared in a press release from Mass Brigham.

Morning naps were linked to about a 30% increase in mortality risk, and each additional hour of daily napping was associated with about a 13% higher risk, the study found. Each additional nap per day increased risk by roughly 7%.

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“Excessive napping later in life has been linked to neurodegeneration, cardiovascular diseases and even greater morbidity, but many of those findings rely on self-reported napping habits and leave out metrics like when and how regular those naps are,” said lead author Chenlu Gao, PhD, an investigator in the department of anesthesiology at the Mass General Brigham, in the press release. 

“Our study is one of the first to show an association between objectively measured nap patterns and mortality, and suggests there is immense clinical value in tracking napping patterns to catch health conditions early.”

There were some limitations to the study. As it was observational in design, it only showed that napping may reflect underlying illness, but did not prove that it caused mortality.

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The research did not take into account any contributing health conditions, and the sleep trackers only measured movement and not brain activity. This means rest could be misclassified as sleep in some cases.

Also, because the study population was limited to older, White adults in the Midwest, the results may not apply to other groups.

“It is important to note that this is correlation, not causation. Excessive napping is likely to indicate underlying disease, chronic conditions, sleep disturbances or circadian dysregulation,” said Gao.

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“Now that we know there is a strong correlation between napping patterns and mortality rates, we can make the case to implement wearable daytime nap assessments to predict health conditions and prevent further decline.”

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and affiliated research programs.

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