A Cornell University student, who earlier attracted widespread criticism after refusing an interview at a New York City startup because he did not want to “work for a Jew,” has announced plans to return to the prestigious Ivy League campus this fall.

Austin Franco, a 19-year-old set to become a junior, had originally sent the controversial message to VrfID’s Jewish co-founders, Gabe and Aiden Einhorn, through the job board site Handshake in June. In a conversation with Accuracy in Media, a conservative nonprofit, Franco claimed he received little more than a proverbial “slap on the wrist” from Cornell in response to the incident.

“As it stands, the university hasn’t taken any action on their end,” Franco reportedly told an investigator from the organization, who had approached him under the guise of shared antisemitic beliefs. “I think it’s because I didn’t say anything that could be directly deemed hateful,” he added, seemingly unaware of the investigator’s true motives.

While Franco confirmed that the university had reached out following the uproar, he stated that no formal disciplinary measures have been enforced against him thus far.

A Cornell spokesperson, when contacted, directed inquiries to an earlier statement released by the school and opted not to address Franco’s assertion regarding his return to the campus.

“This incident has been referred to the Cornell Office of Civil Rights for investigation under university policy,” the Cornell spokeswoman said.

“Cornell condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. The university is steadfastly committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for every member of our community.”

Cornell’s lackluster response has sparked outrage among Jewish students and leaders.

Rabbi Marc Schneier, founding senior rabbi of The Hampton Synagogue and president of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, told The Post this reflects how alarmingly “normalized” antisemitism has become.

“Cornell is a place of learning, and yet a student can openly declare that he will not work for a Jew, impose his own private boycott and still sit in its classrooms,” Schneier said.

“I refuse to believe that any other form of bigotry, racial or religious, would be treated with such tolerance.”

Davian Gekman, a Cornell student graduating in 2027, described Franco as “the worst of the worst.”

“Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. If the school administration is unable to do anything, then it is the bodies’ responsibility to do so,” he said.

In the clip posted Wednesday to X by Accuracy in Media, Franco admitted that his hateful way of declining the interview wasn’t “the smartest thing to say.”

“But the reaction was like, overwhelming. Not equal to what I said,” he said.

“I mean, I thought I was being nice. Saying this is why I don’t want to work for you.”

He also confirmed that he’s raked in about $25,000 in donations from his twisted supporters.

Franco, who hails from Virginia, described antisemitism as “very widespread among the younger generation” as he blamed The Chosen People for his employment struggles.

“That’s the problem I’m having. I’m going to Cornell. I’m applying for all these jobs. The only thing I’m getting is unpaid internships working for Jews. Yeah, pretty much only Jews actually,” he said.

“The company I was working at prior was also run by a Jew. Yeah, that’s why I got fired.”

Franco used to work at the kosher station at Cornell’s dining hall, according to students familiar with the situation.

Franco wrote on X that he met with Accuracy in Media because they claimed to be a group that wanted to offer him financial support and post-grad job opportunities.

“It’s sad that they were being disingenuous,” he whined.

Franco did not immediately return a request for comment.

Software engineer Zeb Mehring made the leap from New York City to London not as an escape from the United States, but as an adventure towards something new.

He felt he’d experienced everything that life in America had to offer.

At 29, he shared with the Daily Mail that beyond New York, no other place in the USA seemed to call to him.

“Living abroad had always been a dream of mine,” he revealed.

In London, Mehring has found that Britain provides amenities he found lacking back home, such as efficient public transportation, convenient travel options, and a smoother daily routine.

‘Things just work a lot better,’ he said.

‘Things that are often a big deal in the US are just not a big deal at all.’

Mehring is part of a growing wave of Americans looking across the Atlantic.

North Americans accounted for a record 19 percent of all overseas-based applicants searching for homes in Great Britain during the first quarter of 2026, up from 15 percent a year earlier and more than double the share seen a decade ago, according to Hamptons’ International Applicant Index, which analyzes buyer registration data from the Connells Group.

The Hamptons research found that while overall international buyer demand fell ten percent year over year, demand from North Americans rose 13 percent, making Americans and Canadians the fastest-growing overseas buyer group in Britain.

Property experts say buyers are being drawn by everything from London’s relative affordability and historic architecture to Britain’s walkability, culture and quality of life.

‘While international buyer demand has eased overall, Americans are bucking that trend,’ Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons, told Property Wire.

‘For many, London is starting to look like relatively good value again, and we’re increasingly seeing people buying with a view to living here, not just investing.’

The profile of overseas buyers is changing too.

First-time buyers accounted for a record 23 percent of international applicants during the first quarter of 2026, while investors made up just 12 percent, the index showed. 

Among North Americans, 27 percent were first-time buyers, and only ten percent were looking for investment properties.

Jennifer Ulloa, 32, never planned to make Britain her permanent home.

The Arkansas native initially crossed the Atlantic as a 23-year-old to pursue a master’s degree after concluding it would be more affordable to study in the UK than in the US.

But what began as a temporary move almost a decade ago soon turned into something much more permanent.

‘I stayed because I wanted to get a job in the UK and get sponsored,’ Ulloa told the Daily Mail.

‘What happened was that I found a husband through it all. So it was definitely worth it. He is Scottish too, so bonus points.’

Ulloa said she first realized Britain felt like home while wandering through London’s Brick Lane during one of her early visits.

‘I was taken aback by the amount of accents I heard, the languages spoken and everyone outside the restaurants trying to get you to come in and eat,’ she said.

‘My parents are immigrants and I’m a first-generation American, so I felt more at home in a place where everyone is from a different place.’

She said Britain’s diversity was unlike anything she experienced growing up in rural Arkansas.

Ulloa believes the biggest difference between life in the US and Britain has little to do with speaking the same language.

‘Americans optimize for making money, while Brits optimize for having a pint after work,’ she said.

‘They’re very different definitions of success.’

She believes healthcare plays a significant role in shaping those cultural differences.

‘You’d think because we speak the same language we’d be more culturally similar than different,’ she said.

‘But I personally think the two places are very different.’

Ulloa said she has embraced many parts of British culture.

‘I am a sucker for a good train network, the pub after work and the accents,’ she said.

‘I’m very stereotypically American girl in the UK.’

But there are still parts of home she misses.

‘I miss the speed of service in the States and I really miss Southern hospitality,’ she said.

‘People are much more inquisitive and chatty in the South. In the UK, being reserved is the default.’

But she also cautioned that social media often presents an overly romanticized picture of life across the Atlantic.

‘Everything looks picture perfect. It isn’t,’ she said.

While praising the NHS, Ulloa said it has ‘its limitations’ and pointed to high heating bills, crowded cities and the lack of air conditioning during Britain’s increasingly warm summers.

‘These are just a few realities I had to learn the hard way,’ she said.

Despite the trade-offs, Ulloa said she has no regrets about making the move.

‘It was 1,000 percent worth it,’ she said.

‘The US gave me ambition and taught me to dream big, while the UK taught me that success can also mean having time to enjoy your life.’

She and her Scottish husband now own a home in Edinburgh, where she hopes to retire one day.

London remains the biggest draw.

Data compiled by Hamptons Research showed the capital was the only UK region to record an increase in overseas buyer registrations during the first quarter of 2026, with demand rising eight percent compared with a year earlier. 

A quarter of all international inquiries focused on London, while the Hamptons report found that 28 percent of North American buyers were searching for homes in the capital, up from 24 percent last year and 17 percent five years ago.

But today’s Americans are not necessarily chasing multimillion-pound mansions in Mayfair.

According to the Hamptons research, just five percent of North American buyers were looking in prime central London, down from 13 percent at the market’s peak in 2013, as more buyers shift toward other London neighborhoods and regional markets where their money stretches further.

Joanna Cocking, head of Hamptons Private Office, told the Daily Mail that American buyers have become one of the firm’s strongest international client groups.

While the different political landscape may influence some, Cocking said the appeal extends well beyond this.

Instead, Americans are drawn by Britain’s architecture, history, legal system, schools and shared language.

And many are chasing the quintessential English dream: honey-colored stone cottages, Georgian homes and rolling Cotswolds countryside.

Typical budgets vary widely, Cocking said, with many Americans spending around £2 million ($2.7 million) on London apartments and as much as £5 million ($6.7 million) on country homes.

Many are purchasing second homes where they plan to spend several months each year, while others are making permanent moves.

For Mehring, however, the biggest difference has little to do with property.

He said London’s transportation network allows him to spend far less time sitting at home and much more time exploring.

‘It’s very easy to get literally everywhere,’ he said.

He has also been impressed by Britain’s healthcare system and public services.

‘The doctor’s office works much, much better,’ he said.

‘People are able to easily handle whether it’s doing their taxes… Things just work.’

Not everything has been perfect.

Mehring said Britons are generally more reserved than Americans, making it harder to build friendships than it was in New York.

‘Socially people are much colder,’ he said.

‘It’s very much an attitude of, “You do you, I do me.”‘

Still, he has no regrets. ‘I love my life and my lifestyle now.’

Ulloa, who has now spent nearly a decade in Britain, said that living in both countries has taught her not to romanticize either.

‘Something I like to live by is reminding myself that most things are “middle of the road,”‘ she said.

‘Things are never going to be as awful or scary as you fear and they aren’t going to be as romanticized or dreamy as you hope. Reality is somewhere in the middle.’

‘As long as you’re comfortable knowing that, then I think living in the UK can be incredibly rewarding.’

In Houston, it has been confirmed that the material discovered in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s van was neither a narcotic nor any forbidden substance, as stated by Representative Sylvia Garcia and lawyer Ruby Powers.

Garcia shared on social media that, according to the Salgado family, the powder was simply an electrolyte supplement intended to maintain hydration during the sweltering Texas summer. “The efforts to tarnish Lorenzo Salgado’s reputation have fallen flat,” she asserted.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office corroborated Garcia’s assertions, declaring that their tests proved the substance negative for any narcotics. While the DA’s office confirmed these findings, they refrained from further comment due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Ruby Powers, representing the Salgado family, affirmed in a statement that the latest test results were communicated to the family, who were informed that the Department of Public Safety (DPS) had verified the outcome.

Powers’ detailed statement included these remarks:

The preliminary report is already clear: the substance was not a controlled substance. An unproven claim was allowed to circulate before it was tested, and the way it was made public did real damage, diverting attention from what actually matters in this case. Lorenzo was shot, and no lab report answers for that.

Powers called for Victor, Lorenzo’s brother, to be released from ICE custody and emphasized the family’s demand for an independent investigation and accountability.

The FBI, which is conducting the federal probe into the deadly shooting, has not yet released any details about what exactly it found the substance in Araujo’s van to be.

Congressional Hispanic Caucus holds hearing in Houston on deadly ICE shooting

Lawmakers were in Houston to hold a hearing on Friday in response to the deadly shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Magnolia Park.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is hearing eyewitness accounts and other testimony related to the deadly shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE agent.

The shooting happened on July 7 off Canal Street after the Department of Homeland Security said Araujo tried to run over the agent. Araujo’s family disputes DHS’s claims.

ICE later said he was not the target of their operation.

This is a developing story.

In a case that gripped America, Pamela Smart—infamously convicted for persuading her young lover to murder her husband—has requested that a New Hampshire judge permit her latest effort for a new trial to proceed.

Back in 1990, at just 22 years old and employed as a high school media coordinator, Smart was accused by prosecutors of engaging in a sexual relationship with 15-year-old William Flynn, ultimately convincing him to kill her spouse, Gregory Smart.

The following year, Smart was found guilty of being an accomplice to first-degree murder, and she has been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole ever since.

On Monday, the legal proceedings took a significant step as Merrimack County Superior Court Judge James Kennedy considered Smart’s habeas corpus petition. He has taken her arguments under advisement and plans to issue a written decision in the next 30 to 60 days.

Smart, now 58, filed the petition in January seeking to overturn her conviction, arguing prosecutors misled jurors by providing transcripts of secretly recorded conversations that included words her attorneys say cannot actually be heard on the recordings.

Among the disputed words are “killed” in the phrase “you had your husband killed,” “busted” in the phrase “I’m gonna be busted,” and “murder” in the phrase “this would have been the perfect murder.”

Earlier this year, Smart’s attorney, Matthew Zernhelt, said the new research shows “modern science confirms what common sense has always told us: when people are handed a script, they inevitably hear the words they are shown.” He argued jurors “were not evaluating the recordings independently – they were being directed toward a conclusion, and that direction decided the verdict.”

During Monday’s hearing, Zernhelt argued the petition clears the low bar required to survive a motion to dismiss, saying the court’s role at this stage is simply to determine whether it alleges sufficient facts to warrant an evidentiary hearing.

Pointing to new forensic research, Zernhelt argued written transcripts can influence how jurors interpret difficult-to-hear recordings.

Zernhelt also pointed to recordings a juror made after each day of trial, arguing they show the juror relied on the written transcripts to understand the recordings and ultimately voted to convict Smart.

Assistant Attorney General John Drennan urged Kennedy to dismiss the petition, arguing Smart is attempting to relitigate issues that have already been decided by appellate courts over the past three decades.

Prosecutors argued nearly all of Smart’s claims either were raised and rejected on direct appeal by the New Hampshire Supreme Court or could have been raised years ago but were not.

Prosecutors also noted that during Smart’s trial, the defense challenged the transcripts only over the alleged “doubling” of voices when two people spoke at once – not over the specific inaccuracies now being alleged.

Jurors also were instructed that if the transcripts differed from the recordings, they should rely on what they heard. The New Hampshire Supreme Court later found Smart’s attorneys failed to make a “particularized showing of inaccuracies in the transcripts relative to the recordings or how she may have been prejudiced” by them.

Drennan challenged the scientific study cited by Smart’s attorneys, arguing the court has not received sufficient information about its methodology and that it does not demonstrate actual prejudice to the jury. He also noted jurors were instructed that the recordings – not the accompanying transcripts – constituted the evidence.

“Maybe cognitive bias has set in,” Drennan argued, comparing the issue to reading an automated voicemail transcript before listening to the recording itself. “It doesn’t mean that I can’t, when listening, say, ‘I’m not sure that’s right.’ I know to review it. I know to be skeptical.”

Kennedy questioned both sides throughout the hearing, including whether Smart’s claims regarding the disputed transcripts had already been addressed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court on direct appeal and what specific language in the transcripts allegedly prejudiced the jury.

The judge did not indicate how he intends to rule.

Smart’s attorneys also argue widespread media coverage tainted the verdict and that jurors received flawed instructions, including that they were told they had to find Smart acted with premeditation and were not instructed to consider only evidence presented at trial.

They also contend she should not have received a mandatory life sentence without parole because she was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder rather than as the shooter.

Prosecutors contend those claims either were previously litigated, could have been raised years ago or lack factual support.

News Media has reached out to Smart’s attorney for additional comment.

In 1990, Flynn and 17-year-old Patrick Randall entered the Smarts’ Derry condominium, forced Gregory Smart to his knees and shot him once in the head with a hollow-point bullet. Two other teenagers helped plan the killing.

Flynn and the three other teenagers involved in the murder later cooperated with prosecutors and have since been released from prison.

Smart’s latest legal challenge comes after she publicly accepted responsibility for her husband’s death in 2024.

In a prison video obtained by News Media, Smart said she spent years deflecting blame “almost as if it was a coping mechanism” before acknowledging her role in Gregory Smart’s killing.

“I take full responsibility for my part in Gregory’s murder,” Smart said at the time.

Smart has repeatedly challenged her conviction through state and federal courts over the past three decades but has never obtained a new trial. Her requests for sentence reductions and clemency have also been denied, including by Gov. Kelly Ayotte last year.

The case became one of the nation’s first murder trials broadcast live from start to finish and later inspired Joyce Maynard’s novel “To Die For” and the 1995 film adaptation starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.

The families of those lost in the 9/11 tragedy are calling for the exclusion of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani from the upcoming 25th anniversary ceremonies at Ground Zero. They have accused him of being an apologist for Islamic terrorism, asserting that his attendance would dishonor the memory of the nearly 3,000 victims who perished.

“Our opposition stems from his public record and his failure to adequately acknowledge the day’s horrors,” said Giovanni Galante, who lost his 29-year-old wife, Grace Catherine Galante, to al-Qaeda’s attacks. “He has been associated with, supported, or employed those who have minimized 9/11, defended terrorists, or even suggested that America deserved these attacks.”

In response, Galante, now 55, has helped lead a petition drive that has gathered more than 1,100 signatures within just over a week. Among these signatories are at least 300 relatives of the victims.

“This day holds profound significance for us,” expressed Galante, a Brooklyn-born real estate agent who resides in Florida.

“The commemoration is sacred, not a forum for political expressions, especially from those linked to such controversial viewpoints. His attendance would be deeply distressing and wholly inappropriate, akin to an uninvited guest at a deeply personal gathering.”

Galante and other petition organizers hope to gather enough signatures to convince local lawmakers and the ceremony’s organizers, the nonprofit 9/11 Memorial & Museum, to keep Mamdani away from the silver-anniversary ceremony planned for the former Twin Towers site in Lower Manhattan.

The petition posted on Change.org cites an array of concerns about Mamdani, who is the city’s first Muslim mayor and has promoted his religion since taking office in January. They include:

• Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry for violence against Jewish people.

• Mamdani defending al-Qaeda fiend Anwar al-Awlaki — and blaming America for turning the prostitution-loving cleric into a terrorist, according to some of his 2015 social media posts that resurfaced last year. Al-Awlaki became a prominent imam at mosques in San Diego and Virginia, eventually interacting with three of the heinous 9/11 hijackers there, U.S. officials have said.

“Given these concerns, we respectfully ask that the organizers carefully consider whether Mr. Mamdani’s participation would align with the intention of the ceremony and the expectations of the families most directly affected by the tragedy,” the petition says.

“The 25th anniversary should remain centered on remembrance, unity, and an unambiguous rejection of the violence and extremism that defined that day.”

Organizer Cheri Sparacio, whose 35-year-old husband Thomas was killed on 9/11, quipped there are  “so many other examples” why it would be “disrespectful” for Mamdani to attend the ceremony that “we couldn’t fit them on the list.”

They include Mamdani’s longtime association with vile left-wing influencer Hasan Piker, who once said “America deserved” the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and Mamdani’s outlandish claim that he and other fellow Muslims were also victims of 9/11 because it supposedly triggered a horrible wave of “Islamophobia,” added Sparacio, of Staten Island.

Monica Iken-Murphy, whose 37-year-old husband Michael Iken was killed on 9/11 and was a leading advocate in the creation of 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said she signed the petition but insisted it’s not about Mamdani’s politics.

Only politicians involved in the healing “process from the start” — such as ex-NYC Mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and longtime 9/11 family advocate and City Council Speaker Julie Menin — should join 9/11 family members in attending “this pivotal 25th anniversary ceremony,” she said.

“I don’t want families to feel uncomfortable,” said Iken-Murphy, also a founding trustee on the 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s board. “Others can come a different day, but let the families have their time.”

When asked about the petition drive, Julie Wood, a spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, said the nonprofit has “intentionally worked to keep the commemoration free of politics because remembering those we lost on 9/11 should never be a partisan issue.”

“Government officials from across the political spectrum, including every sitting president, governor, and mayor since 9/11, have attended the ceremony simply to bear witness — they do not deliver remarks and are asked to remain in a designated area,” Wood said.

The mayor’s office did not return messages.

Galante and other organizers said they plan to contact the NYC Council for help in their ban-Mamdani crusade.

Menin did not return a message seeking comment, but Queens Councilwoman Joann Ariola told The Post she’s ready to assist.

“This is a mayor who has endorsed candidates and has been endorsed by individuals who openly said that ‘America deserved 9/11,’ so I completely understand why families of those who lost loved ones would not want him there,” she said.