- SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill that would create a “turquoise” safety alert system for missing Native American people in New Mexico has been endorsed by the Legislature. A vote of the state Senate without opposition Thursday sent the rapid response initiative to New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who supports the proposal. The […]
- WASHINGTON (AP) — A little more than 23 years ago, Republican President George W. Bush sat at a desk at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed a law that would vastly expand the role of the Education Department and transform American schooling. On Thursday, his Republican successor, President Donald Trump, signed a very […]
- By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The University of California, Los Angeles, was sued on Thursday over a 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the U.S. campus protest movement against Israel’s war in Gaza, a court filing showed. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT In one of the most violent incidents from U.S. protests […]
- UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who was beaten, chained and starved while held for 491 days by Hamas, expressed his anger during an appearance at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday for having to suffer for so long and worry every day about being killed. “Where was the United Nations? Where […]
- NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has named a new acting director for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of seven independent government agencies cited in a recent executive order calling for their dismantling “to the maximum extent of the law.” Trump said that the order “continues the reduction in the elements […]
Recent Posts
- New Mexico bill would provide ‘turquoise’ safety alert when Native Americans go missingon March 21, 2025 at 2:18 am
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A bill that would create a “turquoise” safety alert system for missing Native American people in New Mexico has been endorsed by the Legislature. A vote of the state Senate without opposition Thursday sent the rapid response initiative to New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who supports the proposal. The bill responds to a troubling number of disappearances and killings in Indian Country — and would allow law enforcement to quickly share information about Native Americans who go missing. The “turquoise alert” system — taking its name from the blue-green mineral — would function much like existing “amber” and “silver” alerts that highlight the disappearance of children and the elderly. Cellphone alerts would be issued when law enforcement finds evidence of imminent danger in the disappearance of a Native American. “I carry with me countless stories of how our system has failed to respond to the disappearance or murder of Native people in our state,” said Democratic state Sen. Angel Charley of Acoma Pueblo, a co-sponsor of the bill. “We have answered the call.” California, Washington and Colorado have similar alert systems, according to the New Mexico Department of Indian Affairs. Arizona lawmakers are considering their own alert system as the brutal death of San Carlos Apache teenager Emily Pike reverberates through Native American communities. New Mexico has 23 federally recognized tribes, including large portions of the Navajo Nation, as well as land holdings of the Fort Sill Apache. The safety and concerns of those communities were on prominent display during a 60-day legislative session that ends Saturday at noon. A bill signed Wednesday by Lujan Grisham ensures students can wear their own Native American regalia at graduation and other school ceremonies in the spirit of free expression linked to cultural heritage. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Trump’s call to dismantle Education Department shows Republican rightward lurch and his grip on GOPon March 21, 2025 at 1:18 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A little more than 23 years ago, Republican President George W. Bush sat at a desk at a high school in Hamilton, Ohio, and signed a law that would vastly expand the role of the Education Department and transform American schooling. On Thursday, his Republican successor, President Donald Trump, signed a very different document — this one an executive order designed to dismantle the department. For years, as right-wing activists called for eliminating the agency, many Republicans paid lip service to the cause but still voted to fund it. Now Trump, emboldened and unapologetic in his drastic remaking of the federal government, has brushed aside concerns that deterred his predecessors. Thursday’s announcement follows other aggressive decisions, including the enlistment of billionaire Elon Musk to downsize the federal bureaucracy at startling speed, or the review of scientific findings that are foundational for fighting climate change. Dismantling the Education Department was always high on Trump’s list. He talked about it repeatedly during his campaign, often to cheers from his supporters, including the conservative group Moms for Liberty. But despite telegraphing his goals, Trump’s executive order was a stunner, even for a president who thrives on audacity. Margaret Spellings, education secretary under Bush, said she was indeed surprised he was following through on his campaign vow. For years, Spellings said, talk of about eliminating the department was a way for Republicans to signal their adherence to party orthodoxy, even as they voted to send billions of dollars to support its mission. Much of that money ended up at schools in their own districts, funding extra teachers for impoverished schools, for example. As recently as 2023, 60 House Republicans voted against a bill to close the department. “It was always a little bit of a wink and a nod deal,” Spellings said. “Donald Trump has called the bluff.” Trump, in remarks at the White House, said: “People have wanted to do this for many, many years, for many, many decades. And I don’t know, no president ever got around to doing it. But I’m getting around to doing it.” He held the executive order up for photos while standing next to Education Secretary Linda McMahon. He’s joked that he’ll need to find another job for her once her department is gone. The executive order is likely to get mired in legal challenges, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle said closing the department can’t move forward without their approval. But Trump, through the Department of Government Efficiency, has already shrunk the department’s imprint, moving to eliminate about half of its staff. The first talk of eliminating the department came just a year after its formation from President Ronald Reagan, who opposed its efforts to integrate schools. However, calls to get rid of the new department fell out of favor by the end of Reagan’s first term. By the time George W. Bush became president, it was seen as a vehicle to implement his policy vision of a federal government that required states to closely monitor student progress, and hold schools accountable that fell short. Calls to eliminate the department reemerged with the Tea Party, whose adherents made it a symbol of bloated bureaucracy that usurped power that belonged to local governments. The most recent push to close the department emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic, when right-leaning parents, infuriated by what they saw as unnecessary school closures, began arguing that the government was indoctrinating their children. Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, was in the White House audience and was recognized by Trump in his remarks. She said the department allowed teacher unions to exert undue influence over schools, a problem that became more apparent while schools were closed and students were learning over Zoom. “The American people woke up and recognized the fact there were a lot of people that were making decisions that were not in the best interest of their children,” she said. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who as a young lawmaker voted for the 1979 bill to create the department, praised Trump’s move and argued the agency has not accomplished its original mission. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” Gingrich said of backing Democratic President Jimmy Carter, his fellow Georgian, in a 215-201 vote. Two generations later, Gingrich argued, “If you take what the scores were then and how much we were spending on education then and compare it now, it’s impossible to escape the reality that it’s been an abject failure.” For all the talk of overreach, federal law explicitly bars the federal government from telling schools what to teach their students. Day-to-day operations of schools are largely handled by state and local authorities. And while Trump has talked about eliminating the department, he envisions a more muscular role for the federal government in schools, moving swiftly and aggressively to punish schools that do not fall in line with the administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws. Early in his administration, he has already taken unprecedented action to sever federal grants from the University of Pennsylvania and from Columbia University over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests. The executive order to close the department also included language to take federal funding away from schools that promote “diversity, equity and inclusion,” a term that has come to encompass everything from highlighting the achievements of Black Americans to allowing transgender athletes to compete. Advocates and Democratic strategists have warned that Trump’s efforts could backfire with voters. According to recent polling, six out of ten registered voters oppose the closure of the department. Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who has worked for multiple presidential campaigns, including Joe Biden’s 2020 victorious effort over Trump, said the president’s moves are a base pleaser likely to backfire for Republicans with the broader electorate. First and foremost, he said, “education is generally popular with voters” as a priority. Anything that allows Democrats to position themselves as better reflective of those values, he said, works against Trump. The states whose schools are most reliant on federal dollars include Mississippi, South Dakota, Montana, Alaska, Arkansas and North Carolina — all of which backed Trump. Any disruption in federal funding will hit them hardest. Spellings said there’s long been a bipartisan consensus that “education is the route to the American dream, and it ought to be afforded to everyone, and the federal role was to level the playing field.” “If that’s still true, we’re in the process of finding out.” __ Sharon Lurye and Linley Sanders contributed. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- UCLA sued over 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesterson March 21, 2025 at 1:04 am
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The University of California, Los Angeles, was sued on Thursday over a 2024 mob attack on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the U.S. campus protest movement against Israel’s war in Gaza, a court filing showed. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT In one of the most violent incidents from U.S. protests related to the Israel-Gaza war, masked assailants, described by officials as “instigators,” stormed the tent camp of pro-Palestinian protesters with clubs and poles. The encampment occupants said fireworks were also hurled at them. The situation continued for at least three hours into the early morning of May 1 before police moved in and restored order. The following night, hundreds of police officers raided the encampment, arresting over 200 people. KEY QUOTES “Not a single member of the mob attack was arrested that night, even though police and private security watched from just a few yards away as the attack raged for hours and was broadcast live to millions of people,” the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles superior court, said. The office of the University of California’s president said the suit was being reviewed and the university rejects violence and “all forms of hate, harassment and discrimination.” CONTEXT The disturbances thrust UCLA to the center of weeks of tensions at U.S. college campuses, which saw protests against Israel’s ongoing military assault that has killed over 49,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and led to genocide and war crimes accusations that Israel denies. Israel’s assault followed an October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants in which 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken as hostages, Israeli tallies show. The UCLA police chief who was criticized for the handling of the attack left the campus police department last year. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates) Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- Israeli hostage freed after 491 days asks: Where was the United Nations, the Red Cross, the world?on March 21, 2025 at 12:18 am
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Freed Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, who was beaten, chained and starved while held for 491 days by Hamas, expressed his anger during an appearance at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday for having to suffer for so long and worry every day about being killed. “Where was the United Nations? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?” Sharabi asked. He challenged the U.N.’s most powerful body: “If you stand for humanity prove it” by bringing home the 59 hostages still in Gaza, many of whom are believed to be dead. The fate of the remaining hostages became more uncertain after Israel on Tuesday ended a six-week break in the fighting that had allowed for the return of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Sharabi said the council talked about the need to get humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, but he saw Hamas militants eating stolen food from dozens of boxes marked with U.N. emblems while the hostages starved. They were given maybe a piece of pita and a sip of tea a day, and an occasional dry date, he said. When he was released on Feb. 8, Sharabi said he weighed 44 kilos (about 97 pounds) — less than the weight of his youngest daughter, who was killed along with his wife and older daughter in Hamas’ surprise attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, along with about 1,200 others. He was among 251 people taken hostage. The United States in November vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza because it was not linked to an immediate release of the hostages. The Palestinians and their supporters then went to the 193-member General Assembly, which adopted a resolution in December demanding a ceasefire and reiterating its demand for the release of the hostages. Unlike Security Council resolutions, though, those passed by the General Assembly are nonbinding. The ceasefire that went into effect in January was shattered on Tuesday with surprise airstrikes on Gaza that killed more than 400 Palestinians, one of the highest death tolls in the nearly 18-month war. Gaza’s Health Ministry said most victims were women and children. Sharabi’s appearance before the council, the second by a freed hostage, followed an Israeli request last week for a meeting on the plight of the hostages. Britain’s deputy ambassador James Kariuki called Sharabi’s suffering “beyond the imagination” and said “Hamas must be held accountable for their despicable actions.” But Kariuki also said the U.K. condemns Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s “warning of the total destruction of Gaza.” Britain calls for the rapid resurgence of aid to Gaza, an investigation into allegations of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces, and an urgent return to the ceasefire deal, he said. France’s new U.N. ambassador, Jérôme Bonnafont, expressed his country’s deepest condolences to Sharabi but also condemned the resumption of Israel’s bombing, saying it will not ensure the release of hostages, and demanded an end to Israel’s humanitarian blockade of Gaza. Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Dmitry Polyansky told the council, “Our hearts were filled with sorrow as we listened to the tragic story of Mr. Eli Sharabi,” adding “such brutality can have no justification.” Polyansky criticized Israel’s leaders for not moving to phase 2 of the ceasefire deal, which calls for the release of all hostages and a permanent end to the fighting. He said it’s difficult to discuss the future when Israel’s military and political leaders appear to have made the choice in favor of war. Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, representing the Arab world on the council, called Sharabi a “representative of civil society,” and said “no civilian, irrespective of their background, should endure suffering.” He then accused Israel of “cherry-picking” international law. He pointed to Israel’s ban on humanitarian aid, fuel and electricity entering Gaza since March 2, its killing of civilians, and the cutoff of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ access to over 9,500 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons since Oct. 7. After all council members spoke, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, sent “our condolences” to Sharabi over the killing of his loved ones and his prolonged captivity. He said Palestinians “understand this pain because we live it.” Sharabi made no mention of Israeli actions, except to say that on the morning of Oct. 7, when he heard that militants were inside Kibbutz Be’eri where he lived, he reassured his wife not to worry: “The army will come, they always come.” That morning, they never came. He told the council he came to speak for 24-year-old Alon Ohel, a fellow hostage whom he left behind in the tunnel, and all others, including his older brother, Yossi, who was killed but whose body remains in Gaza. “Bring them all home. Now!” Sharabi said. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
- What’s happening with the Institute of Museum and Library Services after Trump’s executive orderon March 20, 2025 at 11:19 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump has named a new acting director for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, one of seven independent government agencies cited in a recent executive order calling for their dismantling “to the maximum extent of the law.” Trump said that the order “continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary.” Since taking office, Trump has shuttered or drastically curtailed agencies, including the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The Institute of Museum and Library of Services, or IMLS, is a key source of funding for museums, libraries and educational institutions. IMLS was established in 1996 by a Republican-led Congress and has a mission to “advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development.” The institute combined the services of previous government agencies, including the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the Institute of Museum Services. It distributes thousands of grants nationwide, totaling in recent years to more than $200 million annually. Awards in 2024 ranged from $240,000 for the Chicago History Museum to more than $1 million for several state library training programs named for former Republican first lady Laura Bush to nearly $25,000 for the Lorain Historical Society, which is based in the Ohio hometown of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. A spokesperson for Bush declined comment. The new acting director, Keith Sonderling, had recently been confirmed as deputy secretary of the Department of Labor and was from 2020-2024 a commissioner on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He replaces Cyndee Landrum, who had been named acting director in March 2024. “I am committed to steering this organization in lockstep with this Administration to enhance efficiency and foster innovation,” Sonderling said in a statement after his appointment Thursday. “We will revitalize IMLS and restore focus on patriotism, ensuring we preserve our country’s core values, promote American exceptionalism and cultivate love of country in future generations.” During his first term, Trump repeatedly called for the IMLS to be shut down, but funding was maintained by Congress. The American Library Association in a statement this week condemned “eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services. … The Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer.” The library association has advised members that the status of current grants remains unclear. If the administration follows the same playbook it has in targeting other small agencies for closure, IMLS could be shut down. The U.S. Institute of Peace was one of four agencies Trump ordered to be closed last month in an effort to shrink the size of government. On Monday, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency took control of USIP’s headquarters in Washington and used law enforcement to escort the independent think tank’s employees out of the building. Former USIP board members have sued the administration to stop the takeover but a judge on Wednesday declined to immediately block the administration’s actions. Staff from DOGE have also moved fast in the past weeks to lay off staff, end grants and contracts and remove the leaders of two other agencies that invested in small businesses in Africa and Latin American and the Caribbean. Former board members and leaders of those organizations have also sued, but a judge ruled it would be legal to remove most staff and grants from the U.S. African Development Foundation. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
Recent Comments