27 h. ago Newsom is warned of ‘criminal tax evasion’ if he withholds federal taxes

California governor made threat amid reports Trump is weighing huge federal funding cuts targeting stateThe US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, has warned California governor Gavin Newsom that he would be guilty of “criminal tax evasion” if he withholds his state’s tax payments to the federal government amid threats of a funding cut by Donald Trump.Newsom had threatened to cut tax payments to the federal government two days ago after reports that Trump was preparing huge federal funding cuts targeting Democrat-dominated California, including its state university system. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago If Trump cuts funding to NPR and PBS, rural America will pay a devastating price

Much of the country has little access to local news, with public media filling the void – and serving as a lifelineWhen Hurricane Helene walloped North Carolina last fall, residents were hit by a second threat at the same time: the dire need for accurate information.The loss of electric power amid the widespread flooding meant that people – especially those in isolated areas – were deprived of basic news. They needed to know about everything from road closures to the whereabouts of their family and friends to sources of drinkable water.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago New York won't rescind Native American mascot ban, despite Trump's threat of cutting federal funds

New York education officials have refused to rescind the state’s ban on Native American mascots and team names, despite threats from the Trump administration that it risks losing federal funding

Politics

5 d. ago Pennsylvania is suing the USDA over cutting funding to a $1 billion food aid program for states

Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying the agency, under President Donald Trump, illegally cut off funding through a program designed to distribute more than $1 billion to states

Economics

6 d. ago ‘Gonna have to hear mothers and sisters cry’: Trump’s funding cuts leave at

Mississippi’s Operation Good engaged teens in a range of programs, protecting them from crimes – but that work is now in jeopardyMost days, Fredrick Womack and his team can be found scattered throughout Jackson, Mississippi, talking to groups of young Black men and teens – whether they’re working, which bills need to be paid at home and if any brewing conflicts are at risk of turning violent. Through these conversations with young men, who are both perpetrators and victims of much of the city’s violence, Womack hopes he can help steer them in a different direction.Womack, 51, is the co-founder of the non-profit Operation Good, which, in addition to this work on the streets, hosts a youth summer program and trash cleanups, and helps teen boys find odd jobs, like cutting lawns, so they can earn a few dollars instead of resorting to crime for income. It also offers critical resources for the community, like buying school clothes for kids and paying utility bills for families that can’t...

Politics

1 week ago PBS accuses Trump of ‘blatant viewpoint discrimination’ in lawsuit over funding cut

The lawsuit follows a similar complaint filed by NPR earier this week

Politics

1 week ago Harvard holds commencement amid Trump funding cuts, threats to international students

Harvard University is holding it commencement Thursday

Politics

1 week ago Trump plans to cut last $100 million worth of contracts with Harvard and remove all government funding

Letter to federal agencies accuses university of antisemitism and breaking Supreme Court precedent on race-conscious admissions

Politics

1 week ago NPR sues Trump administration over funding cuts it says violate first amendment

Lawsuit argues executive order violates constitution by targeting NPR for news coverage Trump feels is biasedUS politics live – latest updatesNational Public Radio, the US public broadcaster that provides news and cultural programming to more than 1,000 local stations, has filed a federal lawsuit against Donald Trump’s administration, challenging an executive order that cuts federal funding to the public broadcaster as an unconstitutional attack on press freedom.The lawsuit, which landed on Tuesday in federal court in Washington, argues that Trump’s 1 May executive order violates the first amendment by targeting NPR for news coverage the president considers “biased”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Donald Trump's savage cuts leads to scientists exodus and making American dumb again

President Trump has overseen huge cuts to scientific funding, as well as bringing in controversial legislation to boot out non-US Harvard students from the country

Politics

2 w. ago Donald Trump's savage cuts leads to scientists exodus and making Americans dumb again

President Trump has overseen huge cuts to scientific funding, as well as bringing in controversial legislation to boot out non-US Harvard students from the country

Politics

2 w. ago Casualties in Trump’s war on the arts: the small museums keeping local history alive

Institutions in Los Angeles and beyond have seen millions in grants wiped away almost overnight. What happens when they can’t tell their stories?For the past two years, a small arts non-profit has been telling stories about the communities living alongside the Los Angeles river, one voice at a time.The organization, called Clockshop, has collected the oral histories of nearly 70 local residents, activists and elected officials. Their knowledge is compiled in a vast cultural atlas – which contains videos, an interactive map and a self-guided tour exploring the waterway and its transformation from a home for the Indigenous Tongva people to a popular, rapidly gentrifying urban space. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago Fresh attack on Harvard intensifies chaos for international students in US

Students will need to move schools to keep legal status, as US universities reel from funding cuts and Trump ordersThe Trump administration’s announcement on Thursday that it would revoke Harvard University’s eligibility to enroll international students marked the most severe escalation yet in its weeks-long showdown with the university.The move, which the university is likely to challenge in court, would force more than 6,000 currently enrolled students to transfer to other universities or lose their legal status, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The announcement sent shock waves through US universities already reeling from funding cuts and executive efforts to bring them in line with the administration’s agenda, but it will also add yet another element of uncertainty for international students after the administration abruptly terminated the legal status of thousands in recent weeks – a move it partially walked back but that has nonetheless disrupted students’ edu...

Events

2 w. ago EU steps in to save Radio Free Europe with $6.2m emergency fund after Trump cuts

The European Union plans to provide emergency funds to help keep Radio Free Europe afloat after the Trump administration stopped grants to the pro-democracy media outlet

Politics

2 w. ago ‘Plenty of time’ to solve climate crisis, interior secretary tells representatives

Burgum defends Trump budget slashing green funds, saying AI and Iran pose bigger threats than warmingThe US has “plenty of time” to solve the climate crisis,” the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, told a House committee on Tuesday.The comment came on his first of two days of testimony to House and Senate appropriators in which he defended Donald Trump’s proposed budget, dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill”, that would extend tax reductions enacted during Trump’s first term, while cutting $5bn of funding for the Department of the Interior. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago WHO opens annual assembly as UN health agency faces 'existential crisis' in wake of US funding cuts

The World Health Organization is opening its annual meeting of government ministers and other top envoys facing one of the most serious crises of its 77-year history in the wake of Trump administration funding cuts and plans to withdraw the United States

Events

3 w. ago House Republicans block Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ in major setback

Rightwing lawmakers say president’s bill – centered on tax cuts and funding deportations – doesn’t make enough cutsRightwing lawmakers derailed Donald Trump’s signature legislation in the House of Representatives on Friday, preventing its passage through a key committee and throwing into question whether Republicans can coalesce around the massive bill.The party has spent weeks negotiating a measure dubbed the “one big, beautiful bill” that would extend tax cuts enacted during Trump’s first term, fund mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, and temporarily make good on his campaign promise to end the taxation of tips and overtime. To offset its costs, Republicans have proposed cuts to the federal safety net, including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Humanities groups sue Trump administration to reverse local funding cuts

A humanities federation and a state council have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to reverse local funding cuts made by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the National Endowment for the Humanities

Politics

3 w. ago Trump administration piles on pressure on Harvard with $450m more in cuts

The latest cuts follow a $2.2bn freeze, bringing total federal penalties against Harvard to $2.65bnUS politics live – latest updatesEight federal agencies will terminate a further $450m in grants to Harvard University, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday, escalating its antagonization of the elite institution over what officials frame as inadequate responses to antisemitism on campus.The latest funding cuts come after the administration cancelled $2.2bn in federal funding to the university, bringing the total financial penalty to approximately $2.65bn. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump administration piles pressure on Harvard with $450m more in cuts

The latest cuts follow a $2.2bn freeze, bringing total federal penalties against Harvard to $2.65bnUS politics live – latest updatesEight federal agencies will terminate a further $450m in grants to Harvard University, the Trump administration announced on Tuesday, escalating its antagonization of the elite institution over what officials frame as inadequate responses to antisemitism on campus.The latest funding cuts come after the administration cancelled $2.2bn in federal funding to the university, bringing the total financial penalty to approximately $2.65bn. Continue reading...

Politics