National News - Page 68

Trump Administration Will Review Billions in Funding for Harvard

By Alan Blinder,Stephanie Saul and Anemona Hartocollis The Trump administration said on Monday that it was reviewing roughly $9 billion in federal grants and contracts awarded to Harvard, claiming that the university had allowed antisemitism to run unchecked on its campus. In a statement on Monday, the administration said that it was examining about $256 million in contracts, as well as an additional $8.7 billion in what it described as “multiyear grant commitments.” The announcement of the investigation suggested that Harvard had not done enough to curb antisemitism on campus but was vague about what the university could do to satisfy the Trump

HBCUs Face Funding Threats Amid Federal and State Cuts

By Robbie Sequeira The nation’s historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, are wondering how to survive in an uncertain and contentious educational climate as the Trump administration downsizes the scope and purpose of the U.S. Department of Education — while cutting away at federal funding for higher education. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pausing federal grants and loans, alarming HBCUs, where most students rely on Pell Grants or federal aid. The order was later rescinded, but ongoing cuts leave key support systems in political limbo, said Denise Smith, deputy director of higher education policy and a senior

Trump Admin Expands Deferred Resignation Program in D.C.

By Megan Lebowitz, Daniel Arkin and Ted Oberg At least six federal agencies are offering workers a new “deferred resignation” opportunity in the latest attempt by the Trump administration to slash the size of the U.S. government. Employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Agriculture Department on Monday night received emails, which were obtained by NBC News, presenting them with the option to resign while staying on paid leave for several months. Transportation Department employees received a similar notice about the program Tuesday morning, according to an email obtained by NBC News. Spokespersons for the General Services Administration and the Energy Department

HBCUs Lead AI Innovation for Equity in Tech Education

With executive orders to dismantle the Department of Education, and micromanage diversity and inclusion across federal programs and academic curriculums, the future of equity in academia is at a standstill. Thus, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) nationwide are adamant to uphold the future of diversity in digital advancement, particularly through leading in artificial intelligence (AI). “When HBCUs are at the forefront, when we are the breeding ground of innovation – out of necessity, too – we do it for everyone. It’s a humanity first effort all the time within HBCUs,” said Dr. Muhsinah Morris, Metaversity director at Morehouse College in

TMCF Hosts 2025 HBCU Presidents & Chancellors Fly-In

The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is hosting its annual Presidents & Chancellors HBCU Fly-In from April 1-3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. The HBCU Fly-In is a seminal event for presidents and chancellors from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), historically Black community colleges (HBCCs), and predominantly Black institutions (PBIs). The Fly-In facilitates direct engagement with key stakeholders, including members of Congress, executive branch officials and corporate leaders to address issues of law and policy that impact TMCF member schools and the broader higher education community. “This year will be our largest HBCU Fly-In, which illustrates the impact and value it brings to our

Salt Lake City Murals Honoring Victims of Police Violence Gone

By Curtis Bunn When the walls of a vacant public building in Salt Lake City became a canvas to commemorate victims of police violence, the 8.5-acre area of town known as Fleet Block gave a “sense of cultural inclusion” to the city, which is predominantly white. “It’s for the wrong reason — death at the hands of officers — but it was a place for us to mourn and show respect for the lives lost,” said Mona Robinson, who lives in a Salt Lake City suburb. That space for respect is gone now, she said, as Fleet Block and its 26

Trump Admin Cuts 10,000 HHS Jobs, Shakes Public Health

By Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Daniel Arkin, Brandy Zadrozny and Erika Edwards The Trump administration carried out mass layoffs across the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, aiming to slash around 10,000 full-time jobs from the federal agencies long tasked with regulating food and drugs and overseeing the nation’s public health policies. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is attempting to reduce the health department’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 across several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. The drastic job eliminations are part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wider plan

Trump Orders Overhaul of Smithsonian, Targets DEI Programs

By Nnamdi Egwuonwu President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday taking aim at the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers. Trump directed Vice President JD Vance to eliminate “improper, divisive, or anti-American” ideology from programs at the Smithsonian Institution, which receives federal funding. “Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” the order reads. “This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.” In the order, Trump accuses the Biden administration

HHS Abruptly Ends $12B in Public Health Grants Nationwide

By Apoorva Mandavilli The Department of Health and Human Services has abruptly canceled more than $12 billion in federal grants to states that were being used for tracking infectious diseases, mental health services, addiction treatment and other urgent health issues. The cuts are likely to further hamstring state health departments, which are already underfunded and struggling with competing demands from chronic diseases, resurgent infections like syphilis and emerging threats like bird flu. State health departments began receiving notices on Monday evening that the funds, which were allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic, were being terminated, effective immediately. “No additional activities can be conducted, and no

U.S. Revokes Student Visas Over Campus Activism Surge

By Daniella Silva, Chloe Atkins, Julia Ainsley and Abigail Williams Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday the State Department has revoked 300 or more student visas, as the White House increasingly targets foreign-born students whose main transgression seems to be activism. Rubio warned that the administration was looking out for “these lunatics.” Around the country, scholars have been picked up, in some cases by masked immigration agents, and held in detention centers, sometimes a thousand miles from their homes with little warning and often with few details about why they were being detained. “It might be more than 300 at this point. We do

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