National News - Page 75

Trump Admin Bans Race-Based Policies in U.S. Education

By Walter Hudson The U.S. Department of Education has issued a sweeping directive ordering educational institutions to eliminate race-based considerations from admissions, hiring, and other programs, sparking immediate opposition from civil rights organizations, educational leaders, and advocacy groups. In a Dear Colleague Letter to schools receiving federal funding, the Department mandated the cessation of race preferences in areas ranging from admissions and hiring to scholarships and disciplinary actions. Schools that fail to comply within 14 days risk losing federal funding. “With this guidance, the Trump Administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in

Illinois Dems Slam Trump Cuts Tied to Elon Musk’s Policies

By Sean Lewis Members of Illinois’ Democratic delegation in Congress gathered Monday to rail against Trump administration cuts to the federal government at the direction of billionaire Elon Musk. The most recent cuts — hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration terminated — made headlines shortly before the delegation’s press conference at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, an organization that receives 84% of its $41 million budget from federal funds. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has fired thousands of federal workers and either slashed or halted funding for a number of programs. “What is the plan?

Presidents Day: A Holiday with Many Names and Meanings

By John Hanna Is Presidents Day the most confusing holiday in the U.S.? States seem to have as many names for it and ideas about whom to honor as there have been presidents. The federal government doesn’t even recognize Monday as Presidents Day. It’s officially Washington’s Birthday, honoring the first president and the original American yardstick for measuring greatness. The holiday hasn’t been celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday of Feb. 22, or any other president’s birthday, for more than 50 years. Presidents Day became a popular name after the holiday was fixed to a Monday. The result is a jumble, causing

Judge Orders Health Data Restored After Trump Directive

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets that they removed to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington agreed to issue a temporary restraining order requested by the Doctors for America advocacy group. The judge instructed the government to restore access to several webpages and datasets that the group identified as missing from websites and to identify others that also were taken down “without adequate notice or reasoned explanation.” On Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an order for agencies

14 States Sue Musk, DOGE Over Federal Data and Power Grab

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A lawsuit filed on Thursday by attorneys general from 14 states challenges the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to access sensitive government data and exercise “virtually unchecked power.” The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues President Trump violated the appointments clause of the Constitution by creating a federal department without congressional approval. DOGE, which isn’t an official government agency, was tasked by Mr. Trump to produce recommendations on trimming federal outlays, with billionaires Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, before he departed,  saying they aimed to cut about $500 billion in annual expenditures. Musk’s team

Why Black Spaces Like HBCUs and The B Suite Matter

By Jhaelynn Elam Across the country, we are witnessing a troubling trend: the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the gutting of affirmative action and a growing push to erase discussions of race from education and corporate spaces. Black professionals are being told — implicitly and explicitly — that their presence, experiences and advancement are no longer a priority. In this moment, it is more important than ever to create and sustain spaces that center and empower us. I know firsthand the power of such spaces. When I stepped onto the campus of Tuskegee University in Alabama as

IRS Prepares to Grant Elon Musk Team Access to Tax Data

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By Alan Rappeport, Andrew Duehren, and Maggie Haberman The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said. The systems at the I.R.S. contain the private financial data tied to millions of Americans, including their tax returns, Social Security numbers, addresses, banking details and employment information. “Waste, fraud and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it.” Mr.

Veterans Worry as Trump Cuts Hit VA and DEI Programs

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By Bianca Holman With daily executive orders and changes from the White House, some veterans are concerned about the impact on the military. More than 70,000 federal workers are taking President Trump’s buyouts. As the new administration focuses on reducing the government workforce, some veterans are worried about what that means for their benefits and services at the VA hospital. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins addressed concerns that veterans’ benefits might be targeted for cuts. The Department of Veterans Affairs said in a statement more than 1,000 new workers were dismissed as part of the new wave of layoffs. Veteran Scott

Trump Admin Slashes $900M in Education Research Funding

By Ryan Quinn The Trump administration canceled nearly $900 million in Institute of Education Sciences contracts Monday—a massive blow to a U.S. Education Department agency that houses the National Center for Education Statistics, funds research on how to improve higher education and provides publicly accessible data on U.S. postsecondary institutions. Researchers and higher education associations worked Tuesday to better understand the scale of the cuts, which still wasn’t clear 24 hours after news first broke. A department official said 89 IES contracts were canceled, while other organizations put the total at closer to 170. While the Education Department said that some

Trump Becomes Kennedy Center Chair, Ousts Rutter

By Jessica Gelt The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ newly appointed board consisting of President Trump allies voted Wednesday to make him chairman and fired the center’s longtime president, Deborah F. Rutter. Trump announced his new position on Truth Social, writing, “It is a Great Honor to be Chairman of The Kennedy Center, especially with this amazing Board of Trustees. We will make The Kennedy Center a very special and exciting place!” Artists affiliated with the Washington, D.C., arts center immediately announced that they would step down from their roles, including TV producer Shonda Rhimes, a President

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