HBCU gymnastics coach surprisingly resigns after historic program start
By Chris Stevens Less than three years into their program’s history, the Fisk University gymnastics team will have a new leader for the remainder of the season. The university announced that Nuriya Mack will serve as interim head coach following Corrine Tarver’s sudden resignation. Mack was hired by Tarver as the program’s meeting director and social media manager upon their 2023 beginning. Bulldogs athletic director Valencia Jordan said in a statement, “Fisk has built a strong gymnastics program that has become a beacon of light for the university and young ladies nationwide. The future of Fisk University’s gymnastics program remains bright and
Justice Department broadens Jan. 6 pardons to cover gun, drug-related charges
Written By Tom Dreisbach The Department of Justice has widened the scope of President Trump’s pardons for Jan. 6 riot defendants to include separate but related gun charges. The charges stemmed from FBI searches executed during the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, which allegedly turned up evidence of other crimes not directly connected to the Capitol breach. In legal filings this week, federal prosecutors asked judges to dismiss cases against two former Jan. 6 defendants, who had both faced federal gun charges. This week’s legal filings represent a more expansive understanding of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons than was initially clear. Trump’s
Senate adopts $340 billion budget blueprint for Trump’s agenda after marathon ‘vote-a-rama’
By Sahil Kapur, Scott Wong, Frank Thorp V and Kate Santaliz WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled Senate on Friday morning adopted a $340 billion budget blueprint designed to boost funding for President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts, energy production and the military. The mostly partly-line vote came just before 5 a.m. ET following an all-night “vote-a-rama,” where senators cast votes on 33 amendments over the course of a 10-hour span. The final vote was 52-48, with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the lone Republican to join all 47 Democrats in voting against the budget resolution. “Without this bill passing,” said Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., “there
Federal judge temporarily halts the firing of 11 intelligence officers
By Dan De Luce and Raquel Coronell Uribe A federal judge Tuesday ordered spy agencies to put on hold for five days the firing of 11 CIA and other intelligence officers who had been told to resign or face imminent dismissal because of their temporary assignments working on diversity, equity, inclusion and access programs. U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga’s order gives the Trump administration until Thursday to file its response to a request from the intelligence officers for a temporary restraining order on their firing. The judge’s decision allows for the intelligence officers to continue to receive full pay and benefits while on administrative leave. The judge’s
Civil rights groups sue Trump over anti-DEIA executive orders
By Corky Siemaszko A trio of civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday charging that three of President Donald Trump’s executive orders attacking diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in the federal government violate their free speech rights and hinder their ability to help marginalized communities. Through Trump’s orders barring references to transgender people or support of DEIA programs within the federal government, public funding for several nongovernment organizations, including the three plaintiffs, are at risk of being cut. As a result, the civil rights organizations — the National Urban League, the National Fair Housing Alliance, and AIDS Foundation Chicago — said in
HBCU commissioners reach out to congress about future
The commissioners of the four NCAA HBCU conferences—CIAA, MEAC, SIAC, and SWAC—sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus urging action to protect the future of HBCU athletics. Representing 48 institutions and 15,000 student-athletes, the commissioners expressed concern about the evolving landscape of college sports, particularly regulatory decisions and lawsuits that could disproportionately harm HBCU programs. A primary concern is the push to classify student-athletes as employees. The commissioners argue that, unlike major athletic programs, most HBCUs do not generate significant revenue from sports and rely on institutional funding. If student-athletes were reclassified as employees, it could force many HBCU
Judge Chutkan rejects call from Democratic AGs for temporary restraining order blocking DOGE’s access to federal data
By Devan Cole and Tierney Sneed A federal judge declined on Tuesday to temporarily block Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal data systems at a slew of executive branch agencies. The decision by US District Judge Tanya Chutkan is an early blow to efforts by a group of Democratic state attorneys general to hamstring Musk and DOGE as they undertake efforts to upend the federal workforce. But the judge also indicated she was skeptical about the Trump administration’s statements about Musk and his powers in DOGE. Musk and DOGE’s access to closely guarded government data – including sensitive information it
4 Top Officials to Resign Over Adams’s Cooperation With Trump
By William K. Rashbaum, Dana Rubinstein and Emma G. Fitzsimmons Four top New York City officials said they would resign after the Justice Department moved to dismiss Mayor Eric Adams’s corruption case in apparent exchange for his help with President Trump’s deportation agenda. The four officials — Maria Torres-Springer, the first deputy mayor, and Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom and Chauncey Parker, all also deputy mayors — oversee much of New York City government, and their departure is poised to blow a devastating hole in the already wounded administration of Mayor Eric Adams. Hours later, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the authority to remove
Trump appeals to Supreme Court over firing of US agency boss
President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to allow him to fire the head of an independent ethics agency that protects whistleblower federal employees. He has filed an emergency appeal to the country’s highest court to rule on whether he can fire Hampton Dellinger, head of the US Office of Special Counsel. It is thought to be the first case related to Trump’s blizzard of executive actions to reach the highest court. Trump has also cut more than a dozen inspectors general at various federal agencies and fired thousands of employees across the US government. Mr Dellinger, who
Reparations bill returns to Congress as Trump leads charge against racial equity in government
By Michela Moscufo Rep. Ayanna Pressley will reintroduce H.R. 40, federal legislation to study reparations for slavery, on Wednesday as the Trump administration leads a wide-scale rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. The bill, which had 130 co-sponsors in the last session, is not likely to advance under the Republican-controlled Congress, and the White House has previously been opposed to any reparations efforts. “We find ourselves in a moment of emboldened white supremacy and anti-Black racism, and a weaponized Supreme Court that is actively gutting protections and progress that has been made,” Pressley, D-Mass., said in