FIRST ON FOX: Texas Senate candidate James Talarico once criticized the Texas public school system for focusing too heavily on academics while arguing that social-emotional learning should receive greater attention and also declared that Texas schools were “not built” for “poor students” or “students of color.”

“I was trapped in a system that was focused purely on academics, reading, writing, arithmetic. And there wasn’t time to talk about social-emotional learning,” Talarico said in a 2020 discussion with Texas Rising — a progressive youth activist group.

“All the things that we all know on this call are more important than whether or not you memorize the quadratic equation,” he continued.

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Talarico made the comments while serving in the Texas House of Representatives, representing the 52nd District, after working as a public school teacher for just two years. His time working in education became a central point in his work in the legislature and now in his Senate campaign.

In the unearthed discussion, Talarico said that he felt like he wasn’t able to have “the really important conversations” with his students that “would allow them to live a fulfilling life.” He said that he was, instead, forced to focus on teaching the school curriculum rather than “social-emotional” lessons.

He also used the discussion to slam the Texas public school system as “not built” for “poor students” and “students of color.”

“Our public education system, particularly here in Texas, is not built for poor students,” Talarico said. “It’s not built for students of color.”

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Talarico claimed this motivated him to introduce his “Whole Student Agenda” in 2019 — a series of 24 bills which pushed for a variety of reforms including modifications for “scientifically accurate” sex education and encouraging restorative justice programs. Despite Talarico saying the system is “not built for students of color,” the package does not specifically address race-related issues.

The Texas Democrat has repeatedly been under fire for his progressive education work in the legislature, particularly his push for sexual education, DEI policies, law enforcement reforms and climate conversations.

Talarico described sex education as “maybe the most important topic” for Texas students to learn during a Texas House hearing in 2022. He also characterized bills addressing concerns about inappropriate school materials as “conspiracy theory-driven” and “kooky stuff.”

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He led a bill in the Texas House requiring most Texas school districts to hire a diversity, equity and inclusion officer, as well as for DEI to “explicitly” be taught in every classroom in the public school system.

Talarico has also faced scrutiny over his education consulting work while serving on the Texas House Public Education Committee. 

Fox News Digital previously reported that a firm employing Talarico received millions of dollars in contracts from the Texas Education Agency while he served on the committee. His campaign denied wrongdoing, calling the allegation a “lie.”

Talarico will go head-to-head with GOP Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton in the upcoming midterm elections, a race expected to be crucial in determining which party will take control of the Senate.

Talarico’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to combat antisemitism indirectly furthers funding to an Arab-American group critical of U.S.–Israel relations.

As part of $30 million in investments to push back persecution of the Jewish community, the strategy includes a $6.4 million grant to the Partners Against Hate (PATH). To carry out its mission to “enhance awareness and reporting of hate crimes,” PATH partners with a group of six other groups — including the Arab American Association of New York (AAANY), which was formerly led by disgraced Women’s March co-founder and notorious anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour.

The link between New York City and AAANY comes as Mamdani struggles to overcome skepticism among Jewish communities that its first Muslim mayoral administration has done enough to adequately combat rising levels of antisemitism in the Big Apple.

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Antisemitic acts make up the greatest slice of the city’s tracking for hate crimes in 2026, accounting for roughly 9% of the picture, according to NYPD reporting. In the first eight months of 2026, the city has recorded a hate crime uptick of 16% over last year’s levels.

Recorded hate crimes in the “homosexual” category, for instance, make up 29 incidents, and those against Muslims make up another 21. Hate crimes against Jews have reached 181.

One hundred thirty-one of those are felony offenses.

The surge prompted Mamdani to unveil his $30 million plan earlier this month, calling it a key step towards combatting hate towards Jewish communities.

“My administration has a responsibility to ensure New York City remains a place where Jewish New Yorkers can live their lives peacefully and safely, where they can walk down the street, enter their houses of worship and build their lives knowing that this city will stand with them,” Mamdani said in a strategy document.

Notably, the indirect partnership between New York City and AAANY, the Arab-American group, is not new.

AAANY’s link to PATH was listed in a 2021 press release from then-Mayor Bill de Blasio. In those remarks, de Blasio listed out the organizations that would partner with PATH to combat racial crimes through a $3 million grant distributed among its partners.

“The anchor organizations will work closely with the [Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes] and other city agencies to ensure a comprehensive, community-based approach to preventing hate crime,” the press release states.

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“In New York City, we do not tolerate hate, violence, or bigotry in any form. As we drive a recovery for all of us, we must lift up the community leaders standing up against America’s hate epidemic. We are taking action to make sure the hate in our beloved city is eliminated — once and for all,” de Blasio said at the time.

In the years since, however, AAANY has come under scrutiny for its advocacy against the state of Israel, a position that, in the view of some critics, goes outside the scope of its mission to combat racial prejudice. Since 2021, AAANY has reportedly given over $223,000 to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, New York (CAIR-NY). The national CAIR organization has long been the subject of controversy over its alleged ties to Hamas. In 2007, federal prosecutors named the organization an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case, the largest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history.

Alongside recognizing Israel’s war as a form of genocide, AAANY has pushed for the U.S. to distance itself from Israel.

During Mamdani’s time as a state legislator, the group rallied around his “Not On Our Dime” bill. That legislation sought to restrict New York nonprofit donations from going to Israeli settlement activity, citing what it called a “violation of the Geneva Conventions.”

The group’s executive director, Marwa Janini, has similarly pressed for the city to oppose the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, citing humanitarian concerns.

“I visited Cairo to pack food aid for Gaza and support Palestinian refugees. Despite their resilience in the face of the unimaginable loss and hardships they are facing, it is evident that merely sending aid to Gaza is not enough. The NYC City Council must pass a ceasefire resolution to end this U.S.-funded genocide and bring hope and stability to Gaza,” Janini said in a statement.

Longstanding critics of AAANY have argued that the organization has tried to delegitimize the state of Israel.

In 2017, AAANY received backlash from groups like the Anti-Defamation League, a group that combats antisemitism, when Linda Sarsour, who was one of its executive directors, espoused a similar position.

“We profoundly reject Linda Sarsour’s positions that delegitimize Israel. We have vigorously opposed efforts like the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which she supports, and we oppose her stance that one cannot be simultaneously a feminist and pro-Israel,” the Anti-Defamation League wrote.

Sarsour was previously pushed out of the Women’s March, alongside a couple of other co-founders, for allegations of antisemitism and their embrace of notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan.

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Sarsour is a longtime political ally of Mamdani. In 2020, she endorsed his bid for the New York Assembly, calling him her “favorite guy,” and was a major backer of his mayoral campaign.

The New York Mayor’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on whether it is concerned that ties to AAANY may undermine efforts to combat antisemitism.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

It’s common sense that common cents are getting less use in Americans’ daily lives. Congress has already taken action to eliminate the lowest rung — the penny — and now another coin collecting dust in people’s wallets could be on the chopping block next.

The House and Senate both passed bills earlier this year aimed at eliminating the penny once and for all. The bipartisan Common Cents Act was unanimously approved in each chamber, but has yet to get President Donald Trump’s signature to become law.

It followed the Treasury Department announcing last December that the U.S. Mint would no longer produce pennies, which at the time cost more than three times their value to make.

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Now, lawmakers want the administration to act on another portion of their bill, which would direct the Treasury to study the potential of making the nickel with cheaper materials than are currently used.

“If it costs 13 cents to make a five-cent coin, Washington should fix the problem instead of wasting more taxpayer money,” House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital. “My bill gives Treasury a path to make nickels at a lower cost without disrupting how Americans use them. It is a simple reform that saves money and brings a little more common sense to government.”

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who led the bill in the Senate, told Fox News Digital, “More and more Americans are paying with credit cards, debit cards and stablecoins for everyday purchases that once would have been made with cash or coins.”

“The half-cent coin was retired when it was no longer needed, and the penny has now reached that same point. It’s my hope that we can find a cheaper way to produce the nickel so that it remains economically viable for years to come,” Lummis said.

Nickels are produced at a loss to taxpayers of roughly eight cents per coin, according to the latest data. They are currently made of a mixture comprised of 25% nickel and 75% copper.

The Common Cents Act “authorizes a lower-cost nickel composition if testing shows it will reduce production costs without significantly disrupting coin-operated machines,” such as vending machines, according to a release on McClain’s site.

But it’s not clear that there is much appetite for ending nickel production altogether, at least not yet.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News in May 2025 that he believed the U.S. could “retool” the nickel to make it cheaper to produce.

In its December 2025 announcement, the Trump administration projected immediate cost savings of $56 million in stopping penny minting.

But the decision could be reversed by any future administration unless Trump signs the bill into law. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether and when the president plans to do so.