California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s viral comment about his poor SAT score and difficulty reading is drawing criticism from the chairwoman of the California Republican Party, who says it speaks to a broader issue of the way Democrats speak to Black voters in a condescending way.

“My first instinct was I couldn’t believe that the governor of California was saying something like this in 2026,” Corrin Rankin, the first Black chair of the California GOP in history, told Fox News Digital. 

The controversy began on Sunday when the conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted a clip of Newsom, viewed more than 40 million times on X, showing him telling Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens “I’m like you” and explaining that he has trouble reading and did poorly on his SAT.

The clip was viewed by many conservatives as Newsom pandering to Black viewers, talking down to them, and some called the clip “racist.”

“I think he just tanked himself yesterday,” Rankin said of Newsom, who is widely believed to have White House ambitions in 2028, “You know, you can’t go around and say that a segment of your state is intellectually inferior and think you’re gonna represent Americans. It’s never gonna happen. This is gonna haunt him for the rest of his career and any potential career he thinks he’s going to have.”

Newsom defended himself in a post on X on Monday, making the case he was strictly talking about his dyslexia. 

“First MAGA mocked his dyslexia and now they’re calling him racist for talking about his low SAT scores,” Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon told Fox News Digital in response to criticism of the clip. 

“This is MAGA-manufactured outrage. The Governor has said this publicly for years — including with Charlie Kirk and dozens of other audiences. The same people who excused or ignored Trump’s racist ape video can go f— themselves.”

NEWSOM CONFRONTED ON CALIFORNIA BEING THE ‘HIGHEST COST OF LIVING’ STATE IN THE US AMID AFFORDABILITY CRISIS

Many have defended Newsom on social media pointing to his dyslexia, and Mayor Dickens responded to the controversy in an Instagram post saying, “That wasn’t an attack on anyone. It was a moment of vulnerability about his own journey.”

“Trying to blame this on dyslexia is something that is completely separate from what he intended to say,” Rankin said. “He truly believes that black people, black Americans, are intellectually inferior. That is where his comments were coming from.”

Democrats have faced criticism in recent weeks for opposing federal voter ID legislation, including Sen. Chuck Schumer who has called the bill “Jim Crow 2.0,” and Newsom who suggested Black people have difficulty obtaining passports, a claim Rankin called out on social media last week. 

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“It should start ringing hollow, especially, you know what’s Jim Crow? Thinking that Black people are intellectually inferior, that’s the mindset that contributed to Jim Crow,” Rankin said. “It’s the mindset of thinking that Black people are inferior, they’re intellectually inferior, that they’re not smart and that was the reason to hold black people down the reason being that black people aren’t as smart as other people.”

“It’s a lie, we all know it’s lie, and the fact that anyone especially and including the governor of California to perpetuate that lie. And that false narrative, it’s beyond insulting. And honestly, he should be embarrassed. He should be embarrassed of himself. He should be embarrassed of his actions, his family, his children, his neighbors, everyone should be embarrassed from what he said.”

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As Prime Minister Mark Carney heads to India this week for trade talks, police have warned a Canadian Sikh leader about a “credible threat” to his life.

Moninder Singh, who heads the Sikh Federation of Canada, said a member of the Vancouver Police Department delivered the caution on Sunday.

The tip about the threat came from a confidential informant, the officer told Singh, whose wife and children were also deemed to be at risk.

The Sikh activist, who lives in Surrey, B.C., shared an audio recording of the police visit, as well as a photo of the officer’s business card, with Global News.

“From time to time, the VPD conducts what is called a ‘Duty to Warn’ when we receive information regarding a threat to someone,” a police spokesperson said.

“I can’t comment on if any ‘Duty to Warn’ incidents happened over the weekend as there would be an ongoing criminal investigation associated.”

Police did not share any further details but Singh believes it is the latest attempt by the government of India to silence its Canadian opponents.

in 2022, Singh and fellow activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar were the first to receive a duty to warn notice. Nijjar was gunned down the following year, allegedly by the Indian government.

Since then, police have warned Singh periodically about new threats against him but last weekend’s was the first to include his family.

Since he is not a business person like those typically preyed upon by India’s extortion gangs, he suspects he is being targeted because of his activism.

Singh is an outspoken critic of human rights in India, and an advocate of the Khalistan movement that supports independence for India’s Sikh-majority Punjab.

The RCMP has previously linked such threats to the Indian government, and Singh believes that is also the case for this latest caution from police.

“India uses criminal syndicates, gangs in Canada, to carry out their dirty work for them,” he said. “India taps them and then they go out and carry these political assassinations out.”

“So I feel like the reason why they’re targeting me, for my political expression, my support for a Sikh homeland, Khalistan, or unveiling India’s horrible human rights record, I think it comes back to India.”

For Singh, the incident has underscored concerns that Carney is re-engaging with India without regard to the safety of Canada’s large Sikh community.

Under pressure to diversity Canada’s trade partners amidst U.S. President Donald Trump’s unpredictable tariffs, Carney has turned to India.

But national security officials have reported that the government of India is behind foreign interference, disinformation and transnational repression in Canada.

The RCMP believes the Indian government has collaborated with the Bishnoi gang to attack political opponents, notably Nijjar, who was killed outside a Surrey Sikh temple in 2023.

Gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi and his Canadian lieutenant Goldy Brar allegedly carried out the killing for India. The crime group is also partly responsible for the current extortion crisis in Canadian cities.

Following Nijjar’s murder, the FBI uncovered a similar plot by an Indian intelligence officer to kill Canadian lawyer and activist Gurpantwant Singh Pannun in New York.

Then, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme accused India of orchestrating a broader array of violent crimes, prompting Canada to expel six India diplomats in October 2024.

Indian diplomats and agents were engaging in “clandestine activities” such as collecting information on members of Canada’s South Asian community, he said.

“This information is shared with senior levels of the Indian government, who then direct the commission of serious criminal activities against Indo-Canadians through the kinetic use of Lawrence Bishnoi’s organized crime network,” National Security Advisor Nathalie Drouin testified.

“Bishnoi is currently in jail in India, and he is able to order these actions through his gang, which has extensive criminal networks in India and internationally,” she said.

“Serious crimes committed in Canada include homicides, assassination plots, perpetrated extortions and other extreme violence.”

At the same time, Canada’s foreign interference inquiry called India the “second most active country engaging in electoral foreign interference in Canada.”

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In an interview on Monday, Singh said he had received no assurances from Canadian officials that those issues had been resolved, or that India had promised to stop.

Deepening ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government without having dealt with the underlying national security threats was premature, he said.

“There’s a lot of unfinished business,” Singh said, adding that many Canadian Sikhs felt betrayed to see Carney and his officials meeting their Indian counterparts.

“It’s a bit of a slap in the face of the Sikh community that we have all these ongoing issues and we’re talking to a country that’s behind all of that.”

“We’re not holding them accountable in any which way.”

Throughout Canada’s various disclosures of India’s actions, New Delhi has denied them and put the blame on former prime minister Justin Trudeau, while claiming it needs to see evidence before taking action.

“The burden of proof lies on the accuser, not on the accused,” Indian High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik told Global News in an interview on Monday.

Patnaik vowed that if such evidence surfaced, India would take action, even if it implicated senior officials in Modi’s government.

He said he had no response to latest Canadian Security Intelligence Service annual report, which referred to India’s role in the Nijjar murder.

The killing signalled “a significant escalation in India’s repression efforts against the Khalistan movement and a clear intent to target individuals in North America,” CSIS wrote.

“I cannot say anything about it,” said Patnaik, who replaced the previous high commissioner expelled from Canada for his role in violence against Canadians.

“Same way when we have our own report, it says that Canada supports separatist movements in India, that Canada support Khalistani movement in India,” he said.

“That’s the way our agencies look at it.”

Asked about extortions by Indian nationals working for India-based crime groups such as the Bishnoi gang, he said that was Canada’s problem.

An RCMP report released to Global News under the Access to Information Act said the Bishnoi gang was “acting on behalf of the Indian government.”

“You have to deal with it. If you start pointing fingers outside, that’s a different matter. It’s very easy to point fingers outside,” the high commissioner said.

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca

Former UK ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being probed by cops over allegations he shared confidential government information with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mandelson, who was fired from the top diplomatic job last year over his links to Epstein, was released from a southwest London police station at 1.15 a.m. Tuesday – around nine hours after plain-clothed officers swooped on his home. 

He was arrested on allegations of suspected misconduct in public office – the same offense Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was hauled into custody over last week. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Mandelson, who wasn’t named by British cops when he was arrested in line with strict crime laws, was led to an unmarked police car and whisked away for questioning.

He would’ve had his rights read, DNA swabs taken, fingerprints and a mugshot — just like any other suspect, according to the Telegraph.

Officers would’ve removed any items from Mandelson that he could use to injure himself.

A former Metropolitan Police officer told the outlet Mandelson would have been allowed regular breaks while in custody, and given the option to reply “no comment” when quizzed by cops.

Cops and prosecutors are still in talks over potential charges, as reported by the BBC.

Mandelson, a ruthless political operator described by some as the “Prince of Darkness,” allegedly leaked market-sensitive data to Epstein in 2009 while serving in the British government, according to damning emails released by the Department of Justice.

He allegedly spoke about ways the UK could raise money following the financial crisis, and told Epstein he would lobby government officials to reduce a bankers bonus tax.

Mandelson has always denied wrongdoing over his links to Epstein.

Earlier this month, officers searched two homes linked to Mandelson – one property in Wiltshire, southwest England, and the other in Camden, north London.

Calls urging UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign have intensified over his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.

Rumors have swirled that Starmer could face a leadership challenge in the coming months. Starmer has historically low approval ratings and the Labour party is languishing in election polls.

Some left-wing politicians from within Starmer’s Labour party urged him not to appoint Mandelson in the first place due to his ties with Epstein.

Starmer’s judgement has been heavily scrutinized over the appointment; the British government is set to release the first set of files relating to the appointment.

Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former chief of staff, quit over the Mandelson fallout.

“The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself,” McSweeney said in his resignation statement.

Mandelson served under former UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He had to resign twice from the Blair government due to financial or ethical impropriety allegations. Mandelson denied wrongdoing but acknowledged mistakes.

With Post wires

The company at the centre of a $29.5 million government lawsuit and allegations of fraud is pushing to move the case to commercial court in the hopes of speeding up the legal fight — a move the Ford government is attempting to block.

The company, Keel Digital Solutions, received millions from both the Ministry of Colleges and Universities as well as the Ministry of Labour, through its subsidiary Get A-Head, for counselling services for students on college and university campuses.

In a recent lawsuit, the province alleged the owners of Keel submitted “fraudulent” data on the services they provided and that the company was “unjustly enriched.” Keel fired back, saying the government’s argument was “deeply flawed, built on misstatements and outright inaccuracies.”

Now, weeks after being served with legal action by the government, its executives are trying to move the fight to a new arena — urging the province to accept a speedier resolution to allegations of fraud.

“Keel is ready to have the facts tested,” the company said in a statement.

“If the Province truly believes in its own allegations, and if it genuinely stands behind its repeated rhetoric about ‘Respect for Taxpayers,’ then it should have no hesitation in advancing this matter immediately in the Commercial Court, saving potentially millions in legal fees.”

In the latest twist, Keel’s executives have filed a motion to move the case to the Superior Court’s Commercial List, arguing they want to prioritize speed in order to preserve their reputation.

In the filing, the company claimed that the province “unleashed the weight of the government,” putting both the company’s viability and the owners’ reputation at risk. It expressed concern that a resolution could be “years away.”

“The reputations of the individual defendants and the ongoing viability of the corporate defendants are being irreparably damaged in real time,” the motion by Keel Digital Solutions argued.

The company said the government’s lawsuit, launched in early January, has made its directors “toxic,” has “effectively shut down the business,” forced them to lay off at least 30 staff and could result in the “bankruptcy” of its owners.

“The only practical way to mitigate the devastating harm to the defendants is an expedited trial that dismisses the baseless and misguided allegations in the claim,” Keel said in its motion.

Moving the case to the commercial list — presided by a team of judges with experience in managing complex commercial litigation — could potentially speed up the legal battle and lead to a resolution within a year.

The government, however, has balked at the request.

In a filing of its own, lawyers for the Ministry of the Attorney General said they do not view the case as being “appropriate” for the commercial court because the central concern relates to “compliance with provincial funding agreements and fraud.”

Rather than sitting idle, the government suggested its lawyers have already moved ahead with the next stage of the ongoing legal battle by requesting Keel’s internal data on the virtual mental health counselling sessions it offered.

The data includes start and end times of sessions, participant numbers, identification numbers, and login details, all of which the government claims the company has yet to turn over.

“It is [the company’s] refusal, and the absence of that highly relevant data, that grounded the audit’s serious concerns and is now central to Ontario’s claim,” government lawyers said in their filing.

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Back in November, the Ford government sent the findings of a forensic audit into Keel Digital Solution to Ontario Provincial Police, which has since opened an investigation.

The province said that a “routine audit” of the business had raised red flags that led to the forensic probe and eventual police investigation. Keel Digital Solutions strenuously denied that claim, raising questions about how the audit had been conducted and disputing its findings.

Then, at the beginning of the year, the government announced it had filed its own lawsuit against Keel, accusing it of breaching its contract and providing false and misleading reports.

The government’s lawsuit — against which Keel has filed a counterclaim and wants to see moved into commercial court — alleged that between 2022 and 2025 the company “provided false and misleading quarterly reports of their corporate performance measures,” which resulted in the government paying out its contracts.

Keel’s counterclaim seeks damages of $98 million, including for payments the government withheld and for what they call loss of corporate value.

The company said in its defence that the government’s audit process was secretive and “deeply flawed.” It also claims that when the province announced the police referral due to what it called “inconsistencies” found through the audit, the company says that it was done with the intent to harm its reputation.

The claims from either the government or Keel Digital Solutions have not been proven in court, and no charges have been laid in the OPP’s investigation.

The motion to move the case to the Commercial List will be heard in early March.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Taku River Tlingit First Nation celebrated the opening of a new outdoor rink in Atlin, B.C. on Friday with a ceremony featuring NHL Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier.

The “first of its kind” facility has a covered natural ice-surface for skating and hockey in the winter. In the summer, the area will be used for sports like basketball and baseball, as well as community gatherings, including potlatches. The project was funded through Jordan’s Principle.

Trottier, a former NHL hockey player who won four Stanley Cups during his career, says it was a “great honour” to be invited to the grand opening, after first visiting youth in the community last year.

“Brings me back to my First Nations roots, music, celebration, nature, family, sports, all these things that’s in our blood,” he said. “The invites are always special, because, again, it’s for me to celebrate my heritage.”

At the grand opening Friday, community members had an opportunity to skate on the new rink for the first time. 

Taku River Tlingit citizen Keith Carlick bought his own pair of skates for the occasion, hitting the ice for the first time in 30 years.

“I wish we had this when we were kids,” he said.

Now, Taku River Tlingit youth will have the opportunity to learn a variety of on and off-ice sports right in their own backyard.

“It will give a lot of our community an opportunity to start doing more activities, especially our youth,” said Marilyn Bowie, Taku River First Nation’s Wolf director.

“Maybe one day Atlin [players] will be able to join a team in the Native Hockey Tournament in the Yukon,” she said.

Vivian Mahoney, a Taku River Tlingit citizen, says the new space will bring community members of all ages together.

“I love it because you look out on the skating rink and there’s every generation there, and that’s another thing that we always worked on, is bringing the people together, no matter what age you are.”

All schools in Nova Scotia are closed today after heavy snow and high winds pummeled the province.

Schools in all eight regional centres are closed, including:

• Halifax Regional Centre for Education.
• Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education.
• Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education.
• South Shore Regional Centre for Education.
• Tri-County Regional Centre for Education.
• Strait Regional Centre for Education.
• Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education.
• Conseil scolaire acadien provincial.

In a news release on Monday night, the Halifax Regional Municipality said crews are focusing on clearing main roads and sidewalks.

“Residents are asked to avoid all non-essential travel while cleanup efforts are underway. Limiting travel helps crews work safely and efficiently,” the news release read.

Snow routes for Halifax Transit buses will remain in effect on Tuesday.

The municipality said curbside collection of solid waste for Tuesday is rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28.

Saint Mary’s University, Mount Saint Vincent University and Dalhousie University’s Halifax and Truro campuses were delaying opening until 10 a.m. St. Francis Xavier University was delaying opening until 11 a.m., and Acadia University was delaying opening until 12 p.m.

The storm was expected to bring 15 to 25 centimetres throughout the province, but totals were expected to exceed 40 centimetres in southwestern parts of the province.

Winds were also expected to gust between 60 and 80 km/h, with exposed areas gusting to 90 km/h. The gusty winds led to blowing and drifting snow and low visibility.

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As Canadians in parts of Mexico have been warned to shelter in place after cartel-related violence erupted, one Islander staying in Puerto Vallarta says he’s going to stay calm.

The federal government issued the warning Sunday after the Mexican government announced cartel leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes – also known as El Mencho – was killed in a military operation. His death promptly sparked widespread retaliatory violence in parts of the country, including in and around the resort town of Puerto Vallarta on the Pacific Coast.

Islander Francis Perry is in Puerto Vallarta, where he’s travelled every winter for the past five years. It’s one of the areas of Mexico that Canadians are being told to avoid travelling to because of the ongoing violence.

Like many Canadians, he spent Sunday morning watching the gold medal men’s hockey game between Canada and the United States.

“Our friend sent us a message saying there’s something going on, there’s some fires breaking out. And it was a video and I looked and went, ‘Wow, there’s more than one fire. It’s pretty much all over,’” Perry told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Steve Bruce on Monday afternoon. 

There were moments of confusion and Perry said he and his partner opted to “just keep the door closed,” saying they did not feel unsafe. He described Sunday as “pretty crazy” and said “it did look like a war zone.”

“Then we found out it was a bit more intense with some gunfire because we were watching videos of gunfire between the security and the cartel folks,” he explained. 

“Luckily, everything is brick and stone and no buildings around us were caught fire from the burning cars.”

Perry said by Monday the situation seems to be calming down and the streets seem busier than they were just a day prior. He said down a nearby street, there are three buses that were burned on Sunday and there are three burned cars only a short trip away from where he is but, as of Monday, it has been quieter.

Mexico popular destination among Canadians

Frances Gertsch, a senior travel advisor at Stewart Travel Group said she’s keeping in contact with people she knows who are in Mexico. She said while it is a frightening situation, they have been able to shelter-in-place safely.

“They have expressed that it has been a somewhat scary situation, but people are following the rules, and so it’s a bit eerie. Normally there’s vehicles out and people out enjoying Puerto Vallarta, but the streets are very quiet.”

Gertsch described Mexico as a popular travel destination for Atlantic Canadians.

“There’s still a demand for people to go and have a sun holiday and we’re doing our best to find them the best possible options with what’s available,” she said.

Gertsch noted Mexico is a large country and advice for potential travellers depends on their destination. She suggested following directions from the federal and local governments, as well as monitoring the situation as it unfolds.

“My advice to anyone when they’re travelling anywhere, to any destination around the world is to always be vigilant and conscious of your surroundings.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand said that as of 7 a.m. Monday morning, 26,305 Canadians in Mexico registered with Global Affairs Canada, but the actual number is likely much higher.

No plan to leave early

Perry said he will sometimes travel to Mexico for eight weeks at a time and has always felt safe. He said, unless instructed otherwise, he plans to enjoy the remaining week of his time in Mexico, though there are others who intend to leave.

The situation has led multiple Canadian airlines to cancel flights, with Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Porter and Flair Airlines suspending service in and out of Puerto Vallarta.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she expects flights to and from Puerto Vallarta to resume Monday or Tuesday, Reuters reports.

“We’re hoping it’s over, but it’s still kind of scary for a lot of people, obviously,” Perry said.

“I would imagine that things should be back to normal by then. If not, well, we’ll deal with it when it comes,” he said.