Will Vatican City sit-down between Trump and Zelenskyy turn into peace?
The United States president says a deal is ‘very close ‘as he criticises Russia’s leader. Donald Trump promised to end the Ukraine war on day one of his US presidency. Then his special envoy promised to end it within the first 100 days. The second self-imposed deadline is days away, with no deal in sight. But Trump’s first face-to-face meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since an Oval Office blow-up in February seems to have brought Washington and Kyiv a step closer. So, how close is peace in Ukraine? Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests: Oleksiy Goncharenko – Ukrainian member of parliament and opposition politician Rachel Rizzo – Senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center Alexander Bratersky – an independent journalist focusing on foreign policy Adblock test (Why?)
Will Bangkok fall out of love with skyscrapers after earthquake rocks city?
Bangkok, Thailand – In the teeming metropolis that is central Bangkok, Methinee Phoovatis monitored a small computer screen, hoping to find signs of survivors. Surrounding Methinee, other members of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) coordinated the dozens of rescue workers shuttling along a path that led to an enormous mound of debris. The rescue teams worked in shifts, searching for any indications of life under the hill of cement and steel that loomed over them. “We are just hoping for a miracle that some of the people are still alive,” Methinee, a plan and policy analyst in the DDPM, told Al Jazeera. It was four days after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake jolted Bangkok on March 28, and as the hours and days passed, the chances of Methinee and her colleagues finding survivors were increasingly slim. “We are trying our best for the people. Hopefully, they are still alive,” she said, standing next to a whiteboard showing the tally of 73 people that were still missing under the rubble of the unfinished 30-storey building, which was designed to house Thailand’s National Audit Office. Advertisement The earthquake that rocked the Thai capital was particularly shallow, just 10km (6.2 miles) deep, which intensified the shock waves on the earth’s surface. Though situated more than 1,200km (750 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar where thousands died, the earthquake brought Bangkok to a standstill. Panicked residents of this city of more than 11 million people rushed out into the streets in search of safety as buildings swayed and shuddered. A month on, life in the Thai capital has returned to normal. But the dozens of deaths – most of which were at the site of the collapsed audit office building – and the shock of the events of March 28 have prompted concerns for some in Bangkok about the safety of high-rise living in the world’s 12th tallest city. Methinee Phoovatis, of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, outside the building collapse site in Bangkok [Jan Camenzind Broomby /Al Jazeera] ‘People were screaming’ A sudden feeling of nausea and the swaying of lamps inside his apartment on the ninth floor of a 41-storey building told Harry Yang he was in danger. “I ran out onto my balcony and everything was shaking,” said the 29-year-old, who has called Bangkok his home since birth. “People were screaming,” he said. Dashing down the fire escape stairs, Yang immediately thought of his ageing father who lives on the 32nd floor in another high-rise building in Bangkok and who has issues with mobility. Although his father, who works as an antique dealer, made it out of the ordeal unscathed, the quake destroyed many of his antiques and left him terrified. Advertisement “My dad is 68 years old, he has leg problems, and he needed to climb down” stairs to reach the ground floor, Yang said. People had good reason to be scared. Video clips on social media showed Bangkok shaking, with debris falling to the ground and water pouring in torrents from skyscraper infinity swimming pools. Lapaphutch Lertsachanant was in her condominium on the 27th floor when the quake struck. “The building was literally moving side to side. I really felt at that moment that the building could be cut in half,” Lapaphutch said. “I really thought that I wouldn’t survive,” she added, recalling her desire to speak to her partner one final time by phone. “I thought I could have my last words with him. He would be with me in my last moments alive.” Although seismic events in the wider Southeast Asia region are common, the scale of the quake that hit Myanmar – where more than 3,700 people were killed – and shook Bangkok took many by surprise. Wang Yu, associate professor in the department of geosciences at the National Taiwan University, said Myanmar lies directly on a tectonic fault line, the Sagaing Fault, and the March 28 quake occurred after a strike-slip fault between the India and Eurasian plates. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a strike-slip refers to a tectonic fault where two plates move horizontally past each other. Since 1900, the USGS reports that six other large earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or more have occurred within 250km (155 miles) of the epicentre in Myanmar of the March 28 quake. Advertisement Bangkok is built on a basin of unstable soil that can increase the effect of these quakes, Wang Yu explained. “When a seismic wave transmits from the outside into the basin, the amplitude of the seismic wave will be enlarged,” he said. But the precise reason why the building in central Bangkok collapsed remains under investigation. No other building in Bangkok suffered such a catastrophic failure, although many sustained structural damage. Officials in Thailand have launched an investigation to assess whether proper building protocols were followed. Cranes work to remove the debris at the site of the building collapse in Bangkok, Thailand [Jan Camenzind Broomby/Al Jazeera] ‘Earthquake Resistant Design’ Thailand first introduced seismic regulations on buildings in 1997. In 2007, new legislation specified that buildings higher than 15 metres (49ft) in high-risk areas like Bangkok must be built to withstand quakes of up to magnitude 7.0. Two years later, in 2009, the Thai Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning introduced a comprehensive “Standard for Earthquake Resistant Design of Buildings”. Given these building and engineering regulations, questions have been raised over how the almost-constructed building in Bangkok could collapse. “I think we need to find the root cause so at least we can learn some lessons and improve building regulations,” Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said shortly after the quake, as local authorities fanned out across Thailand to test buildings and assess whether they were still structurally sound. Advertisement So far, the majority have been deemed to meet safety standards. On April 3, just six days after the earthquake, Bangkok’s Metropolitan Authority declared an end to the “disaster situation” in Bangkok, except for the
Madhya Pradesh: PM Modi announces Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia for kin of 12 dead in Mandsaur accident
The speeding van plunged into the well after hitting a bike in the Mandsaur district on Sunday, leaving 12 persons, including a biker and a rescuer, dead, police have said.
Trump disappointed Russia launched rockets at Ukraine, blames Obama, Biden for Crimea giveaway
President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was disappointed with Russia for launching missiles while trying to reach a peace deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump spoke with reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday evening, where he was asked about everything from the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and Iranian peace talks to the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. During the gaggle, the president said his meeting on Saturday with Zelenskyy went very well. “We’ll see what happens over the next few days,” Trump said. “I was very disappointed that missiles were flying, by Russia…very disappointed.” TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL Trump and Zelenskyy met face-to-face for the first time since their infamous Oval Office spat in February, as both were attending Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome. After the meeting, the Ukrainian president posted on X that the meeting was “very symbolic” and could potentially be “historic.” The meeting came as peace talks between Russia and Ukraine appeared to be at a standstill with Zelenskyy and Putin making competing demands. TRUMP INSISTS UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL IS CLOSE, BUT MISTRUST IN PUTIN LEAVES EXPERTS SKEPTICAL Trump called the meeting with Zelenskyy on Saturday “beautiful.” “Look, we have a tough road ahead, okay?” Trump said. “He told me that he needs more weapons, but he’s been saying that for three years. He needs more weapons, and we’re going to see what happens. “I want to see what happens with respect to Russia,” Trump added. He explained that he was very disappointed with Russia for conducting bombings in Kyiv after the discussions with both countries. NIKKI HALEY ON RUSSIA AND UKRAINE SAYS US SHOULD ‘WANT TO BE ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY’ Trump said Zelenskyy spoke to him about Crimea, which has been a sticking point for the Ukrainian president. American officials have apparently floated the idea of recognizing Russia’s control of Crimea, a territory that Russia seized in 2014, as part of a ceasefire proposal. This would also involve the freezing of current frontlines. But Zelenskyy has drawn a red line about Crimea. In 2022, Zelenskyy said the Russian war against Ukraine and against the entire free Europe “began with Crimea and must end with Crimea – and its liberation,” according to a report from Axios. VANCE ISSUES ULTIMATUM TO RUSSIA, UKRAINE ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS On Tuesday, Zelenskyy reiterated his stance, shutting down the idea that Ukraine would recognize Russian control of Crimea. Trump blamed the state of Crimea on former U.S. presidents. “Crimea was given away by Barack Hussein Obama, and by Biden, like 11 or 12 years ago. That’s a long time ago,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know how he could bring up Crimea, because that’s been a long time. Nobody brought it up for 12 years, and now they’re bringing it up now. So, I told them, I told him, he should maybe go back to Obama, ask him why they gave it up. They gave it without a shot being fired by him.” As far as current negotiations about reaching peace, Trump said he wanted Putin to “stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal.” “We have the confines of a deal, I believe, and I want him to sign it and be done with it,” the president said. TRUMP SAYS ‘INFLAMMATORY’ ZELENSKYY STATEMENT ON CRIMEA PROLONGS WAR WITH RUSSIA Since his return to the Oval Office, Trump said the U.S. has been more respected than ever before. He also noted that with that strength, there are actions he can take against Russia, though he is not looking to act. “There’s no more games,” he said before taking another dig at former President Biden. “We have somebody that knows what he’s doing, not like the previous person who didn’t have a clue.” Trump touted that since implementing tariffs, costs are dropping “way down.” For instance, he said groceries, eggs and gasoline are coming down. He also said the U.S. is collecting “a lot” of money from the tariffs. “Eventually, we’ll be reducing taxes very substantially to the people of our country because the money is so great coming in from tariffs, that I’ll be able to reduce taxes to a very large extent, and maybe almost completely,” Trump said. Along with tariffs, the president addressed peace negotiations in Iran, saying he thinks the deal is going to be made without “having to start dropping bombs all over the place.” VIRGINIA GIUFFRE, JEFFREY EPSTEIN AND PRINCE ANDREW ACCUSER, DEAD AT 41 BY SUICIDE: REPORT On a more somber note, Trump was asked for his reaction to Virginia Giuffre’s suicide in Australia. Giuffre, 41, one of Epstein’s and Prince Andrew’s most prominent accusers, filed a lawsuit against the English royal in New York in 2021. In the lawsuit, Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with him three times between 1999 and 2002, when she was underage. She died in Neergabby, Australia over the weekend, where she had been living, according to an NBC report. “Well, it’s a very sad situation, the whole thing,” Trump said. “That whole situation is very sad, her and others. And so certainly that’s a horrible thing, horrible.” Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson, Bradford Betz and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Waltz doubles down on Hegseth praise amid ongoing Pentagon controversy
Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz reiterated the administration’s support for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Sunday, saying they “couldn’t be prouder” of his early months in the role, despite a wave of high-profile controversies and resignations that have embroiled the department in recent weeks. Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Waltz was pressed about the alleged dysfunction inside the Pentagon’s top ranks— and whether, in his view, the current Pentagon is equipped to deliver on lofty foreign policy goals, including helping broker a negotiated settlement in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Can you do this in what appears to be a chaotic, weakened Defense Department?” Bartiromo asked Waltz on “Sunday Morning Futures,” citing reports of chaos and dysfunction, including recent firings of Hegseth’s top aides, and reports he has been threatening polygraph tests for some staffers at the department. “I’ll tell you about a weakened Pentagon,” Waltz fired back. “That was one that had a Defense Secretary that disappeared for two weeks just last year, and nobody knew about it.” DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH REBUFFS NEW GROUP CHAT ALLEGATIONS AS ATTEMPT TO ‘SABOTAGE’ TRUMP’S AGENDA In contrast to his predecessor, Waltz said Hegseth is “leading from the front” at the Defense Department, and praised what he described as Hegseth’s early efforts to reform the Pentagon. “He is leading the charge, and he has no tolerance for leaking,” Waltz said, dismissing the alleged chaos or dysfunction as a “media narrative,” and one he vowed they “are going to power through.” Waltz also brushed off a question about the departures of senior aides, including Hegseth’s own chief of staff, Joe Kasper, last week. The exodus of senior officials and other allegations of chaos from inside the Pentagon have prompted some Democrats to call for an investigation into his leadership. But Waltz also brushed off these characterizations of dysfunction on Sunday. Asked by Bartiromo how he was going to replace the fired Pentagon officials, Waltz said in response: “Maria, there’s 20,000 people in the Pentagon.” “There is a record number of generals,” he said. “And the other piece— there is accountability. We have had several general officers that weren’t getting the job done, and admirals get fired and get replaced… That’s what the Pentagon needs.” Waltz argued that that is a stark contrast to the longtime culture at the Pentagon, where he said “no one ever gets fired, [and] there’s never a sense of accountability.” “And now there is,” he told Bartiromo. “Whether it’s leaks, or not getting the job done, or failures in terms of procurement acquisition, now you have a leader that’s in charge,” Waltz said. “And I couldn’t be prouder of Pete Hegseth.” HEGSETH SHARED DETAILS OF YEMEN STRIKES IN SECOND SIGNAL CHAT: REPORT Waltz’s remarks come as Hegseth’s role has come under mounting scrutiny in recent weeks — both for his participation in at least one Signal group chat in March where he discussed a planned military strike against the Houthis, and the firing of several senior staffers earlier this month. Hegseth earlier this month fired three top aides: including his aide, Dan Caldwell, his deputy chief of staff Darin Selnick, and the chief of staff to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll. These oustings were described as both “baffling” and alarming by John Ullyot, a former Pentagon communications official who resigned earlier this year. “The dysfunction is now a major distraction for the president — who deserves better from his senior leadership,” Ullyot wrote in an op-ed for Politico. The White House, however, has sought to emphasize its support for Hegseth in recent days, with both Vice President JD Vance and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt vehemently dismissing reports that the administration could be considering a possible replacement. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Let me reiterate: The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth and the change that he is bringing to the Pentagon, and the results that he’s achieved thus far speak for themselves,” Leavitt told reporters at a briefing last week, describing the reports as a “smear campaign.”
Trump vows to bring Columbus Day back ‘from the ashes’
President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to bring back Columbus Day “from the ashes,” while calling out Democrats for doing everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus’ reputation. “I’m bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. “The Democrats did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much. “They tore down his Statues, and put up nothing but ‘WOKE,’ or even worse, nothing at all! Well, you’ll be happy to know, Christopher is going to make a major comeback,” Trump added. “I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!” Columbus is commonly credited with discovering the “New World.” This after journeying across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain to find a direct route from Europe to Asia without traveling around the massive African continent. This inadvertently bridged the divide between Europe and what would eventually become North and South America. DEFACED COLUMBUS STATUE THAT WAS THROWN INTO A VIRGINIA POND FINDS MORE WELCOMING HOME IN NYC SUBURB Columbus’ ships – the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria – most likely landed on San Salvador, one of the Bahamian islands, before moving to different locations in search of valuable resources. The controversial part of his history, however, revolves around enslavement and colonization. In recent years, the Columbus Day holiday has come under heightened scrutiny, with many opting to honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead. PENNSYLVANIA APPEALS COURT REVIVES LEGAL BATTLE OVER PITTSBURGH’S EFFORTS TO REMOVE COLUMBUS STATUE In fact, several statues of Columbus have been removed, defaced or even dragged and submerged into water over the past few years because of the controversy surrounding the historical figure. An 8-foot-tall bronze statue of Columbus once housed at the entrance of Byrd Park in Richmond, Virginia, was uprooted by protesters in light of George Floyd’s 2020 death until finding a new home in a New York City suburb last year. In images from the tumultuous summer, protesters are seen marching near the statue, holding signs that called for removal of imagery that recognizes colonizers to pay respect to indigenous communities. RHODE ISLAND’S HIGHLY CRITICIZED COLUMBUS STATUE RE-EMERGES IN NEARBY TOWN AFTER BEING REMOVED 3 YEARS AGO Other reports and images show the statue on the ground after being pulled down from its pedestal with ropes, defaced with spray paint and lit on fire. The protesters then dragged the statue to a nearby pond and submerged it in water. The nearly 100-year-old homage to Columbus was later retrieved and restored before eventually being shipped to its new home at the Rockland Sons of Italy Lodge in the hamlet of Blauvelt, located approximately 20 miles northwest of New York City. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
Trump kicks off whirlwind week marking his 100th day back in the Oval Office
President Donald Trump’s 15th week in office will include his 100th day back in the White House, which he will celebrate by hosting a rally in Michigan – the last state he campaigned in before polls opened on Election Day of last year. “President Trump is excited to return to the great state of Michigan next Tuesday, where he will rally in Macomb County to celebrate the FIRST 100 DAYS!” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an X post announcing the rally. Trump’s presidential campaigns in 2016, 2020 and 2024 all ended with rallies in the battleground state of Michigan. Trump’s visit to Macomb County this week follows his final 2024 campaign rally in Grand Rapids, where he joined the crowds just after midnight in the final hours before his victory over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The event is billed as a celebration of Trump’s “LEGENDARY start to his presidency,” according to the Republican National Committee’s website. The rally will be held at Macomb Community College in Warren and will kick off at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday. TRUMP TO HOLD RALLY TUESDAY IN CELEBRATION OF FIRST 100 DAYS, LEAVITT SAYS Trump wraps up his 100th day in office with more executive orders signed than any other president over the same period since President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Trump has signed at least 137 executive orders, ranging from dismantling the Department of Education, establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, and stripping diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from the fabric of the federal government following the Biden administration. Trump returned from Rome on Saturday after attending Pope Francis’ funeral mass at the Vatican with first lady Melania Trump. Trump met with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy during the trip as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage and negotiations for peace stall. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, shortly after he met with Zelenskyy at the Vatican on Saturday. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY HAVE ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ TALK AS THEY ATTEND POPE FRANCIS’ FUNERAL “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” he added. While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to end the war between Russia and Ukraine in a matter of 24 hours, but negotiations have proven difficult. Trump’s Truth Social post on Saturday followed Russia launching a missile strike on Kyiv that injured dozens and killed at least 12. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the coming week will be “very critical” as the White House weighs whether it wants to continue working towards a peace deal. Rubio warned this month that the U.S. might “move on” from trying to secure a deal between Russia and Ukraine if progress was not made. “I think this is going to be a very critical week,” Rubio said on Sunday. “This week is going to be a really important week in which we have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally, if not more, important in some cases. But we want to see it happen. There are reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be realistic, of course, as well. We’re close, but we’re not close enough.” Trump put a 90-day pause on reciprocal, customized tariffs he had imposed on dozens of nations this month, sparking a trade deal negotiation blitz as dozens of nations began knocking on the proverbial doors of the White House in the hopes of striking more favorable terms. TRUMP SAYS HE HAD ‘GREAT CALL’ WITH SOUTH KOREAN LEADER, SUGGESTS DEAL POSSIBLE The White House has met and spoken with a handful of nations looking to make deals, including South Korea last week. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said negotiations with the Asian nation have progressed quickly and that the two countries could reach a trade agreement as early as this week. “We had a very successful bilateral meeting with the Republic of South Korea today,” Bessent said from the White House on Thursday. “We may be moving faster than I thought, and we will be talking technical terms as early as next week as we reach an agreement on understanding as soon as next week.” “So South Koreans came early. They came with their A game, and we will see if they follow through on that,” Bessent continued. Congress will reconvene on Monday following a spring recess, with Republican lawmakers expected to resume talks on a budget plan to advance Trump’s first-year agenda, including extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and carving out millions in funds for border security. SCOOP: REPUBLICANS ROLL OUT $69B FUNDING PLAN FOR NEW CBP AGENTS, BUILDING BORDER WALL IN TRUMP BUDGET BILL Democrats on Capitol Hill protested on Sunday ahead of Republicans returning to the table for budget plan talks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took to the steps of the Capitol on Sunday morning while flanked by supporters to protest the budget plan. “Republican leaders have made clear their intention to use the coming weeks to advance a reckless budget scheme to President Trump’s desk that seeks to gut Medicaid, food assistance and basic needs programs that help people, all to give tax breaks to billionaires. Given what’s at stake, these could be some of the most consequential weeks for seniors, kids and families in generations,” the two Democrat lawmakers wrote in a statement of the protests. Trump has repeatedly called on Republican lawmakers to pass the “big, beautiful” tax and spending package to advance his first-year agenda. Trump is expected to travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama,
The Texas Tribune wins 5 top awards from Texas Managing Editors
Tribune journalists were honored for coverage of the Texas-Mexico border, design and photography.
Indiana Lt Gov slams Democrats’ ‘DEI, radical revisionist history’ on Three-Fifths Compromise
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith criticized state Senate Democrats for equating a GOP legislative proposal intended to root out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education to the Three-Fifths Compromise. “They were saying this is a bad bill because it actually encourages discrimination, just like the Three-Fifths Compromise going all the way back to the foundations of our nation. I would like to share with you the Three-Fifths Compromise is not a pro-discrimination compromise,” Beckwith, a Republican, said in a video shared on X after an emotional floor debate. “It was not a pro-discrimination or a slave-driving compromise that the founders made. It was actually just the opposite.” “Don’t buy into the DEI radical revisionist history that is happening in today’s culture,” he said. “Know your history. Go back and study the documents. Read them for yourself like I have. Go look them up and you will find that the Three-Fifths Compromise and many other things like that were designed to make sure that justice was equal for all people and equality really meant equality for all.” INDIANA GOV PULLS PLUG ON DEI IN ‘EXHILARATING’ MOVE FOR STATE The legislation in question, Senate Bill 289, ultimately passed both chambers of the state legislature last week and heads to Republican Gov. Mike Braun’s desk. The bill restricts DEI programs at K–12 schools, charter schools, state agencies, and public universities and allows people to sue such institutions if they compel students, teachers or administrators to adopt that one race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin “is inherently superior or inferior” to another, that a person’s moral character is determined by one of those characteristics, or that a person should be blamed for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, sex, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. The GOP-sponsored bill – titled “unlawful discrimination” – also includes transparency requirements for institutions to post any DEI-related trainings online and repeals provisions concerning university diversity committees, among other reforms. It follows an executive action Braun, a former U.S. senator, issued when he took office as governor in January prioritizing merit over DEI in education and state government. Critics of the bill in the state Senate last week said the proposal leaves out of consideration a legacy of discrimination in the U.S., citing the Three-Fifths Compromise, Jim Crow laws and real estate redlining. As for the Three-Fifths Compromise, Beckwith said it was “a compromise that the North made with the South. At the time, there were basically 13 independent nations.” “They had not really created a Constitution. They were sort of a European Union-esque nation, and they were saying to the pro-slave states, ‘Hey, if you want to count your slaves to have representation, more representation in Congress, we’re not going to let you do that,’ because they knew that that would codify things like slavery into our nation and the North stood up to the South,” Beckwith said. PASTOR LEADING TARGET DEI BOYCOTT CALLS MAGA, TRUMP ‘ROACHES’ IN EASTER SERMON Made during the 1787 Constitutional Convention, the Three-Fifths Compromise set forth that slaves would be counted as three-fifths of a person when counting a state’s population for taxation and congressional representation. While it reduced the influence that slave-holding states initially wanted, it ultimately allowed them more seats in the House of Representatives and more sway in presidential contests in terms of the Electoral College than if free people were only counted. The Three-Fifths Compromise ended after the Civil War with the adoption of the 13th and 14th Amendments, abolishing slavery and establishing equal protection under the Constitution. When the Constitution was being written, Beckwith explained, southern states considered slaves as property but still wanted to count slaves as part of their population in the census to get more members of Congress from the South. The North said if the South wanted it to count its “property,” or its slaves, as whole people in the census, the North would in turn count its tables, chairs and all their belongings in their homes as part of their population as well, according to the lieutenant governor. “They came up with a Three-Fifths Compromise. They said you will only get three-fifths of a vote when it comes to your slave. And what that did, it actually limited the number of pro-slave representatives in Congress by 40%. This was a great move by the North to make sure that slavery would be eradicated in our nation,” Beckwith said. “They knew what they were doing. But now here you have Senate Democrats in today’s American Republic who do not understand that.” “They think the Three-Fifths Compromise was something that was a scourge on Black people. That’s not what it was. And how did we get to this place? We got to this because of DEI in education. We got here because you have professors at woke schools that will not teach the history of what actually happened back in the foundations of our nation,” Beckwith continued. “Many, many men and leaders in our nation’s history knew how wicked slavery was. They knew that God had created Black people, White people, red people, all people in his image, and they were fighting for equality for all, but they’re not taught that today, and that’s why you had the Senate Democrats who were getting up talking about the Three-Fifths Compromise like it was some sort of terrible thing in our past it was not it actually was the exact opposite that helped to root out slavery and lead us into a more perfect union that we now see.” Beckwith said the Three-Fifths Compromise was the beginning of the U.S. later evolving to where all people can have equal representation under the law. The anti-DEI state bill passed the state House by a 64-26 vote and the state Senate by a 34-16 vote. It awaits Braun’s signature.
Defunding DEI: Here’s how the Trump administration has undone Biden’s very prized programs
President Donald Trump shut down all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices across the federal government during his first week in office and signed a number of executive orders to quickly undo former President Joe Biden’s efforts. The president, just hours after taking the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, signed an executive order to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. He also quickly signed an order making it “the official policy of the U.S. government to only recognize two genders: male and female.” WHITE HOUSE OPM ORDERS ALL DEI OFFICES TO BEGIN CLOSING BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY A day later, the president directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to notify heads of agencies and departments to close all DEI offices and place those government workers in those offices on paid leave. That move quickly forced those offices to take down all outward facing media — websites, social media accounts, and more — for those DEI offices, and required the withdrawal of any final pending documents, directives, orders, materials and equity plans. Trump also canceled current and impending contracts focused on DEI initiatives, with Elon Musk, who heads up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), saying that move saved the federal government $420 million. The president also issued two other executive actions that day targeting DEI. One was an executive order to end discrimination in the workplace and higher education through race and sex-based preferences under the guise of DEI. The other was a memo to eliminate a Biden administration policy that prioritized DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration. In the memo rolling back Biden’s DEI hiring practices at the FAA, Trump ordered the secretary of transportation and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden’s DEI hiring programs and return to nondiscriminatory, merit-based hiring. TRUMP VOWS ‘NEW ERA OF NATIONAL SUCCESS,’ SAYS AMERICA’S ‘DECLINE IS OVER’ IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS Trump also required that the FAA administrator review the past performance and performance standards of all agency employees in critical safety positions and make it clear that anyone who fails to demonstrate adequate capability is replaced by someone who will ensure flight safety and efficiency. “Illegal and discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring, including on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other criteria other than the safety of airline passengers and overall job excellence, competency, and qualification, harms all Americans, who deserve to fly with confidence,” the memo read. The memo stated: “All so-called DEI initiatives, including all dangerous preferencing policies or practices, shall immediately be rescinded in favor of hiring, promoting, and otherwise treating employees on the basis of individual capability, competence, achievement, and dedication.” Trump also rescinded Biden’s order on diversity initiatives, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” which he signed on his first day in office in 2021. In February, the Department of Education also warned state education departments that they must remove DEI policies or risk losing federal funding. That move came after Trump signed executive orders directing agencies to provide a plan to eliminate federal funding for “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.” MAJOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER ACCUSED OF HIDING DEI PROGRAMS, INFLUENTIAL SENATOR CALLS THEM OUT The president’s efforts to end DEI across the federal government also prompted the cancellation of such programs across the private sector. Meta, in January, canceled its DEI programs, as did McDonald’s. And after the 2024 election, Walmart, Ford Motor Co., John Deere, Lowe’s and Toyota also ended DEI programs. As recently as April, according to Forbes, IBM, Gannett, and Constellation Brands Inc., made changes to DEI policies. Earlier in 2025, UnitedHealth Group, MLB, Victoria’s Secret, Warner Bros. Discovery, Goldman Sachs, Paramount, Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Pepsi, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Coca-Cola, Deloitte, PBS, Google, Disney, GE, PayPal, Chipotle and more scaled back or canceled their DEI programs. Meanwhile, in March, the National Institutes of Health rescinded the agency’s “Scientific Integrity Policy” implemented during the last few weeks of Biden’s term, to peel back any DEI requirements. That Biden-era policy said that DEI was an “integral” part of “the entire scientific process,” and pushed NIH’s chief scientist and top scientific integrity official to “promote agency efforts regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.” It also instituted agency-wide policy directives ordering supervisors at the NIH to “support” scientists and researchers who are “asexual” or “intersex,” while imploring NIH leadership to “confer with relevant offices” when additional DEI expertise is needed. MULTIPLE FEDERAL AGENCIES END LINKEDIN CONTRACTS OVER DEI “The Biden administration weaponized NIH’s scientific integrity policy to inject harmful DEI and gender ideology into research,” said Health and Human Services Department spokesperson, Andrew Nixon. “Rescinding this (scientific integrity) policy will allow NIH to restore science to its golden standard and protect the integrity of science.” The Biden administration also funded grants related to DEI, such as one for roughly $165,000 that was focused on “queering the curriculum” for family medicine doctors to guide them in their treatment of transgender patients. Those grants have been canceled. And earlier this week, multiple federal agencies told Fox News Digital that they have dropped millions of dollars in contracts for LinkedIn services over the business social network’s embrace of DEI. The Departments of Treasury, Interior and Veterans Affairs dropped LinkedIn — a move to comply with the president’s executive orders banning federal agencies from contracting with companies that embrace DEI policies. “Every American taxpayer should be angry that the Biden administration wasted so much money on contracts like these,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Under the leadership of President Trump, we have been combing through hundreds of thousands of contracts here at the Department alone and are canceling wasteful, woke, and downright ridiculous contracts that do not align with the will of the American people.” A LinkedIn spokesperson told Fox News Digital, in response, that: “Like every business, the organizations that use our products change,