AG Bondi launches investigation into DEI admissions policies at Stanford, University of California schools
Attorney General Pam Bondi directed compliance review investigations Thursday into admissions policies at Stanford University and multiple University of California schools. The investigation, headed by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, will look into diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at Stanford; University of California, Berkeley; UCLA; and the University of California, Irvine. After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellow of Harvard Coll., colleges and universities are prohibited from using DEI discrimination in admissions. 60 UNIVERSITIES UNDER INVESTIGATION BY TRUMP ADMIN FOR ‘ANTISEMITIC DISCRIMINATION AND HARASSMENT’ The Department of Justice (DOJ) is demanding compliance. “President [Donald] Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country,” Bondi said. “Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect and character, not the color of their skin.” For decades, elite colleges and universities “prioritized racial quotas over equality of opportunity,” according to a news release from the DOJ’s public affairs office. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PUNISHES STUDENTS WHO TOOK OVER BUILDING DURING ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS The DOJ claims the practice divided Americans and discriminated against entire groups of applicants. The Trump administration this week filed an emergency Supreme Court appeal, which, if granted, would allow the slashing of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the Education Department. Fox News Digital reported this week that multiple Virginia colleges cut their DEI departments and initiatives, falling in line with Trump’s executive order directives. The prior administration “advanced the ideology behind this illegal practice and did nothing to protect the civil rights of American students,” the DOJ wrote in the release. “The Department of Justice will put an end to a shameful system in which someone’s race matters more than their ability,” said acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle. “Every college and university should know that illegal discrimination in admissions will be investigated and eliminated.” The compliance investigations into these universities “are just the beginning of the department’s work in eradicating illegal DEI and protecting equality under the law,” according to the DOJ. Fox News Digital’s Jeffrey Clark and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Trump pushes to ‘restore truth in American History,’ end DEI at Smithsonian
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at restoring what he calls “truth and sanity” in American history by reforming the Smithsonian Institution, protecting national monuments, and countering divisive ideology in public institutions. Trump’s order directs Vice President Vance to work on eliminating “improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology” from Smithsonian museums, research centers, as well as the National Zoo. It also pushes Congress to ensure taxpayer dollars do not fund exhibits or programs that “degrade shared American values” or promote ideologies which divide Americans by race. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS “Americans have witnessed a concerted effort to rewrite history and force our nation to adopt a factually baseless ideology aimed at diminishing American achievement,” the order states. The Smithsonian is criticized in the EO for promoting narratives that claim American and Western values are harmful. Trump specifically calls out exhibits that suggest sculpture has been used to “promote scientific racism” and that the United States has maintained power through racial systems. The order also takes issue with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which previously suggested that “hard work,” “individualism,” and “the nuclear family” are aspects of “White culture.” Additionally, the EO declares that the Smithsonian “celebrate women’s achievements in the American Women’s History Museum and do not recognize men as women.” SUSIE WILES SAYS TRUMP A ‘DIFFERENT PERSON’ IN SECOND TERM AFTER ‘LAWFARE,’ ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT The Executive Order also directs the Secretary of the Interior to restore national parks, monuments, and statues that have been “improperly removed or changed” in recent years to fit what it calls a false revision of history. Under the Executive Order, agencies must complete restorations and improvements to Independence Hall before our nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. The order also revives Trump’s effort to protect historical monuments from vandalism and establish a National Garden of American Heroes, a project he first proposed on Independence Day in 2020 to honor key figures in American history. “This administration is committed to ensuring that American history is celebrated accurately, fairly, and with pride,” Trump’s order concludes. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Smithsonian did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Deep red state makes major announcement about income tax: ‘We plant our flag’
FIRST ON FOX: Mississippi taxpayers will get significant relief with the incremental elimination of the state’s income tax. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves is signing legislation into law Thursday evening that will lower that tax from 4.7% to nothing over the next few years, including getting it down to 3% by 2030, then eventually down to zero. House Bill 1, the “Build Up Mississippi Act,” also slashes the grocery tax to 5% from 7%. REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR SAYS DOGE IS RESTORING OPTIMISM IN FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY “I am proud to sign into law a complete elimination of the individual income tax in the state of Mississippi,” Reeves said in a statement. “Let me say that again: Mississippi will no longer tax the work, the earnings or the ambition of its people. The legislation I’m signing today puts us in a rare class of elite, competitive states. There are only a handful of states in the country that do not tax income. Today, Mississippi joins their ranks, and, in doing so, we plant our flag.” Proponents of the legislation believe it will help boost economic development in the state. Only nine states do not charge an individual income tax: Tennessee, Florida, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Florida, Nevada, Wyoming, Alaska and Washington. ICE ARRESTS 16 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS CAUGHT FLEEING OUT BACK OF MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS DURING RAID “This is more than a policy victory. This is a transformation. And it’s a transformation that I have believed in, fought for and worked toward for many years,” the governor stated. “Generations from now, when our kids are raising families of their own in a stronger, more prosperous Mississippi, they will look back on this moment and say, ‘This is when we took our shot.’ To the people of Mississippi, you are the real winners today.” MISSISSIPPI CITY DROPS LIBEL LAWSUIT AGAINST LOCAL PAPER FORCED TO REMOVE EDITORIAL CRITICAL OF OFFICIALS The state legislature had disagreements on how to best approach tax policy, and a typo considered a happy accident by proponents paved the way for a faster schedule on how soon the cuts can be made, according to the Clarion Ledger. The outlet reported that some Democrats are opposed to the legislation, citing potential concerns about its effect on the public sector. The new policy comes as major tax changes are being proposed at the federal level. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 expires this year, and President Donald Trump has pledged to extend it. He is also hoping to make good on a promise to scrap the federal income tax on tipped wages and overtime pay.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Stefanik’s withdrawal as UN Ambassador nominee
The decision by President Trump to withdraw the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) as UN Ambassador is about the math. In so many ways. Yes. There has been a tight House GOP majority all Congress. And that was a factor. But not the only one. TRUMP ASKS STEFANIK TO WITHDRAW FROM UN AMBASSADOR CONTENTION OVER RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY In November, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he “begged and pleaded” with Mr. Trump not to recruit any more House members for his administration after Mr. Trump drafted National Security Advisor and former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) former Attorney General nominee and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Stefanik to serve in his administration. It was believed that the Senate was poised in the next week or two to confirm Stefanik as UN Ambassador. She would have resigned from the House immediately. But this would come as the GOP feared losing one if not two of those special elections to succeed Gaetz and Waltz. Plus, if Stefanik resigned, it would take about three months for a special election to hit in upstate New York to fill her seat. And – because of splintering in the New York GOP – there is concern that Republicans could lose that seat in a special election. But Fox is told that the problem wasn’t so much the potential of losing the special election in upstate New York – but when the VACANCY for that seat would come. The House is trying right now pass President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) backed off the idea of advancing the bill before Easter. It frankly will take weeks if not a few more months to pass that bill. Here’s the other problem: Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) just announced this week she is pregnant and due in August. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: SHOULD THE HOUSE ALLOW MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO VOTE REMOTELY? Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is now sparring with Johnson over her plan to go over his head and compel the House to allow for remote voting for expectant or new mothers. Luna and the co-sponsor of her resolution, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), have spoken at length about how tough it is to travel and make votes late in a pregnancy. One source told Fox that Republicans could be worried about losing ANOTHER GOP member if Cammack is unavailable for votes ahead of giving birth – as the House attempts to pass the “big, beautiful bill.” That, of course, presumes that Luna and Pettersen aren’t successful with their initiative to allow for remote voting. Here’s another issue: The president also indicated that Stefanik would return to the House GOP leadership table – although how is unclear. Stefanik previously served as the House Republican Conference Chairwoman. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) now holds that position. Multiple senior House Republican sources told Fox all day before the withdrawal that they weren’t aware of anything going on. “I hope not,” replied one member of the House GOP brain trust when asked about a potential withdrawal. And yet now President Trump is shoehorning Stefanik back into the GOP leadership when House Republican leaders appeared to have no clue that the President was about to yank Stefanik’s nomination. DEMOCRATIC REP. RAUL GRIJALVA DEAD AT 77 Now, here’s something which will cook your noodle. This is completely hypothetical. But worth exploring. The House is currently comprised of 431 members. There are 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. There are four vacancies. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) did not take office. Former Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) resigned. Late Reps. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) died. Let’s just say the Republicans – although unlikely – lose the two House special elections in Florida. With Democratic victories, the House would then have 433 members with 218 Republicans and 215 Democrats. Still two vacancies with the deaths of Turner and Grijalva. But if the Senate confirmed Stefanik, and she resigned, the House would be 217 Republicans and 215 Democrats with three vacancies: Stefanik, Turner and Grijalva. However… Had Turner and Grijalva lived, DEMOCRATS would have control of the House at 218-217 under that scenario. And notably, the House has never flipped in the middle of a Congress. This is why Johnson pleaded last November for Mr. Trump not to poach any other Republicans from the House.
Judge in crosshairs of Trump deportation case orders preservation of Signal messages
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday ordered all parties involved in the Trump administration’s leaked Signal chat to preserve disclosed messages, giving him additional time to evaluate the administration’s handling of the infamous group chat. A lawsuit filed by the left-leaning government transparency group American Oversight asks whether senior Cabinet officials violated federal recordkeeping laws by using Signal to discuss plans for a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen. The chat became infamous after it was revealed that top U.S. officials had inadvertently included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Golberg for several days of their discussions. Boasberg said during a 25-minute hearing that the federal government must “preserve all Signal communications between March 11 and March 15,” roughly the window of the communications about the military action in Yemen. TRUMP REVEALS WHO WAS BEHIND SIGNAL TEXT CHAIN LINK Boasberg, already under fire from the Trump administration for issuing a restraining order that temporarily blocked the president’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, emphasized at the start of Thursday’s hearing he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system, not by choice. His remarks came hours after President Donald Trump accused Boasberg on social media of “grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself,” a claim Boasberg quickly sought to refute by detailing the court’s random assignment process, including the electronic card system used to distribute cases among judges. “That’s how it works, and that’s how all cases continue to be assigned in this court,” he said. JUDGE TELLS GOVERNMENT WATCHDOGS FIRED BY TRUMP THERE’S NOT MUCH SHE CAN DO FOR THEM Boasberg has sparred with the Trump administration over its failure to comply with the court’s requests for information on its deportation flights earlier this month, which sent around 261 migrants, including Venezuelan nationals and alleged members of the gang Tren de Aragua, from the U.S. to El Salvador. The flights appeared to have departed from Texas around the time Boasberg issued an emergency restraining order and were not returned to the U.S. despite a bench ruling explicitly ordering their immediate return. The Justice Department this week invoked the state secrets privilege in the ongoing court battle, a national security tool that could allow the Trump administration to withhold certain information from the courts for national security purposes. Most recently, the Trump administration vowed to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling from the D.C. appellate court, which voted 2-1 to uphold Boasberg’s ruling and allow, for now, the block on Trump’s deportation flights to continue. Fox News’s William Mears contributed to this report.
Proposed ballot measure in blue state raises eyebrows over who it’s named after: ‘Road side lunatics’
A proposed ballot initiative in California is named after alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO assassin Luigi Mangione. The Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act submitted to the California Attorney General’s Office would make it illegal for an insurance company to “delay, deny or modify any medical procedure or medication” that is suggested by a licensed physician in the Golden State where there could be serious consequences such as “disability, death, amputation, permanent disfigurement, loss or reduction of any bodily function,” the document states. It was filed by Paul Eisner, a longtime Los Angeles-based attorney. The terms “delay” and “deny” were made popular by the healthcare book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About.” The words “delay, deny, and depose” were reportedly inscribed on the casings of the bullets that killed Brian Thompson on Dec. 4. LUIGI MANGIONE WANTS LAPTOP IN JAIL CELL TO ‘PROPERLY HELP PREPARE HIS DEFENSE,’ LAWYERS SAY “What” Rob Pyers, research director for California Target Book, posted on X. “A proposed ballot initiative has been filed in California entitled “The Luigi Mangioni (sic) Access to Health Care Act.” Actually,” Los Angeles-based conservative activist Elizabeth Barcohana said. “THE LUIGI MANGIONI (sic) ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE ACT” Seriously???? A ballot initiative about health care submitted today to the California Attorney General is named after the accused killer. Crazy,” author Gerald Posner wrote. “I’m starting to suspect the Democrats in charge of California might actually just be simple road side (sic) lunatics after all,” Ruthless Podcast Executive Producer Leigh Wolf said on X. SUSPECT NABBED IN ALLEGED PLOT TO KILL BESSENT, HEGSETH AND JOHNSON, ‘INSPIRED BY LUIGI MANGIONE’: PROSECUTORS Mangione reportedly faced “chronic back pain,” according to Honolulu Civil Beat, and issues after a spinal procedure. “Pain in general affects our mental well-being, how we go on in our day-to-day life and function. If you’re reminded of an injury in your body, and you live in pain, it can be something that really rattles you,” board-certified neurosurgeon Dr. Besty Grunch told Fox News Digital in December. LUIGI MANGIONE WINKS AT SUPPORTERS WITH GREEN SWEATER UNDER BULLETPROOF VEST “In this alleged circumstance, you have a 26-year-old, fit guy that has an injury and needs care,” she added. “And he may reflect his pain on someone else or blame it on someone else. And [that] can escalate to a point of suicidal or even homicidal thoughts.” Mangione is currently charged with murder by both New York and the federal government, and he has pleaded not guilty.
Senate Armed Services leaders ask Pentagon watchdog to probe leaked Signal chat
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate’s Armed Services Committee requested the Pentagon’s inspector general probe whether classified defense information was shared on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform. “This chat was alleged to have included classified information pertaining to sensitive military discussions in Yemen,” Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., wrote in a letter to acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins. “If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss classified and sensitive information.” The letter was sent Wednesday evening, a committee spokesperson said, after The Atlantic published messages in full that included details about a planned strike on the Houthis in Yemen and revealed a target had been successfully killed when a building he was in collapsed. White House officials have insisted the information Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security advisor Mike Waltz shared in the chat was not classified. TRUMP TEAM’S SIGNAL SNAFU SPARKS DEBATE OVER SECURE COMMS: ‘RUSSIA AND CHINA ARE LISTENING’ Stebbins is the acting Pentagon watchdog after President Donald Trump fired 17 inspectors general, including the Defense Department’s IG, shortly after taking office. Wicker told reporters Wednesday he would seek an “expedited” investigation. Hegseth’s Signal messages revealed F-18, Navy fighter aircraft, MQ-9s, drones and Tomahawks cruise missiles would be used in the strike on the Houthis. “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),” Hegseth said in one message notifying the chat of high-level administration officials that the attack was about to kick off. “1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)” he added, according to the report. “1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)” “1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)” “1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.” “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)” “We are currently clean on OPSEC” – that is, operational security. TRUMP NOT PLANNING TO FIRE WALTZ AFTER NATIONAL SECURITY TEXT CHAIN LEAK Later, Waltz wrote that the mission had been successful. “The first target—their top missile guy—was positively ID’d walking into his girlfriend’s building. It’s now collapsed.” The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who was unintentionally added to the chat, published an initial story that did not include specifics about the strike he believed to be sensitive. After the White House insisted the information was not classified, he asked them if they would object to him publishing its contents. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded that they would object. “No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS,” Waltz wrote on X on Wednesday. Government officials frequently use Signal to communicate, even for sensitive information, given that they don’t always have quick access to a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF). “This is an approved app. It’s an encrypted app,” Leavitt insisted to reporters Wednesday. Still, even some Republicans have grumbled about how the situation has been handled. Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., a Navy veteran with a top secret clearance, said adding Goldberg to the chat was “totally sloppy,” and the information shared was either classified “or at the very least highly sensitive.” “In the wrong hands, like the Houthis or any of America’s adversaries, this kind of Intel could have jeopardized the mission and put our troops at greater risk,” he told Fox News Digital. “It was wrong when Hillary put all that classified information on an unclassified server. It was wrong when Biden had the sensitive files in his garage. And it’s wrong now.” The Senate letter asked for “what was communicated and any remedial actions taken as a result” and an assessment of whether proper policies had been followed related to government officers “sharing sensitive and classified information on non-government networks and electronic applications.” It also asked for the IG to probe how the policies of DOD, the intelligence community, the National Security Council and the White House differ on the matter. The DOD IG’s office confirmed receiving the letter yesterday to Fox News Digital and said it was in the process of reviewing it. Earlier this week, Wicker and Reed said they would “likely” hold a bipartisan hearing on the Signal chat. But given the political nature of the storyline, it may be easier to allow an independent watchdog to conduct a fact-finding mission. “This is precisely why independent offices of inspectors general are so valuable. When a situation becomes a hot-button political issue, it’s incredibly helpful to have an objective, nonpartisan group of trained professionals to do the fact-finding and answer the hard questions,” former State Department inspector general Diana Shaw told Fox News Digital. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP She warned not to expect the IG to give any answers on whether criminal conduct had taken place, and not to expect a quick probe given the crossover of agencies implicated in the chat. “It’s very difficult to do anything quickly when it involves the Interagency – an interagency review requires navigation through a complex maze of jurisdictional boundaries. The committee may get some of its questions answered quickly, but it will likely have to wait some time for answers to the more central questions it’s posed.”
‘Excessive’ state taxes on guns, ammunition sales are target of new GOP crackdown effort
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers are pushing to stop states from imposing excise taxes on gun and ammunition sales, a condemnation of a measure California enforced in 2024. In 2023, California became the first state to adopt a measure imposing an excise tax targeting the gun industry. The legislation sets an 11% excise tax on guns and ammunition sales and directs the revenue toward gun relinquishment programs and other gun control initiatives. Colorado is also poised to impose a 6.5% excise tax on similar purchases in April. Other states like Maryland, New York and Massachusetts are considering similar pieces of legislation. NRA LEGISLATIVE EXPERT SAYS GUN RIGHTS COULD SEE ‘MOST MONUMENTAL’ WIN IN CONGRESS SINCE 2005 But these initiatives amount to unconstitutional tax that undermines the Second Amendment, according to Republican lawmakers. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who introduced the Freedom of Unfair Gun Taxes Act to their respective chambers of Congress Thursday, are seeking to bar states from adopting these measures. “Blue states that implement an excessive excise tax to fund gun control initiatives are exploiting the Second Amendment,” Risch said Thursday in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Freedom from Unfair Gun Taxes Act ensures states do not place a significant financial burden on law-abiding gun owners to advance their anti-Second Amendment agenda.” Issa said states like California historically have introduced “extreme” policies targeting gun owners that jeopardize their Second Amendment rights. SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BIDEN ADMIN ‘GHOST GUN’ REGULATION “The latest attack is California’s imposition of a ‘sin tax’ on firearms and ammunition,” Issa said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Specifically, Issa claimed California’s new law, which requires gun sellers to foot the bill for the excise tax, is an “outrageous and unfair burden on law-abiding citizens.” Excise taxes target specific goods or services for manufacturers, consumers or retailers. California’s new excise tax is coupled with the 10% to 11% federal excise tax gun dealers already pay that goes toward wildlife conservation efforts. California Assembly member Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat representing the San Fernando Valley, spearheaded legislation known as the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act in 2023 to impose the excise tax to raise revenue to support programs, including the California Violence Intervention and Prevention program. The law also allocates revenue from the excise tax toward a court-based gun relinquishment program that revokes gun ownership from domestic abusers and convicted criminals and law enforcement initiatives focused on gun investigations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on the law in September 2023, and it took effect in July. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It’s shameful that gun manufacturers are reaping record profits at the same time that gun violence has become the leading cause of death for kids in the United States,” Gabriel said in a statement in July. “This law will generate $160 million annually to fund critical violence prevention and school safety programs that will save lives and protect communities across the State of California.” Co-sponsors of the Senate’s version of the Freedom of Unfair Gun Taxes Act include Republican senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Steve Daines of Montana, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Jim Justice of West Virginia and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska. Republican representatives Richard Hudson of North Carolina and Doug LaMalfa of California also co-sponsored the House’s version of the measure.
US partners with Colombia to take on immigration using biometric technologies
The U.S. and Colombia have agreed to partner up to deploy biometric capabilities to help authorities manage migration and stop criminal activity. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem met with Colombia Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia in Bogota on Thursday, where the two signed an agreement to utilize biometric capabilities. “Today we have signed a statement of intent for biometric cooperation, and it will reaffirm our strong, and our resilient, and our enduring partnership,” Noem said after signing the agreement. The agreement comes just months after President Donald Trump and Colombia President Gustavo Petro clashed over the treatment of Colombians on deportation flights from the U.S. COLOMBIA LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS In January, U.S. officials sent two flights of Colombian illegal aliens back to their country of origin, though Petro rejected the flights, saying the U.S. cannot “treat Colombian migrants as criminals.” Petro also demanded the U.S. establish protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before his country receives them. In response, Trump threatened to unleash a slew of punishments, including ordering a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. from Colombia. After a week, Trump added, the tariffs would rise to 50%. Trump also ordered a travel ban and visa revocations for all Colombian government officials, plus “allies and supporters.” TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW Ultimately, the two countries came to an agreement and deportations resumed, though Petro has urged Colombian migrants to return home. Noem acknowledged Colombia’s efforts to resume the repatriation of migrants, adding that the sharing of biometric data will make the cooperation between the U.S. and Colombia more efficient. BILLIONAIRES COZY UP TO TRUMP WITH SEVEN FIGURE INAUGURAL DONATIONS AFTER PAST FEUDS WITH PRESIDENT “We’re going to strengthen our regional security systems and make sure that we’re disrupting the movement of threatening actors that perpetuate illegal activity and also facilitate illegal trafficking of migrants across the Western Hemisphere,” she said. “Through this expansion of sharing of biometric data, it will be much more efficient, effective, accurate, and it will also build cooperation that will open doors to new ways that we can continue to work together.” The memorandum of understanding signed by both Noem and Sarabia is intended to strengthen the sharing of migratory information, the latter said, while also ensuring migrants’ dignity and rights are respected. Noem was also expected to meet with Petro during her visit. Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis and Landon Mion, as well as Reuters contributed to this report.
HHS axes more than $300M in gender, DEI-related health grants to California alone
FIRST ON FOX: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) terminated more than $330 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and gender research in the state of California alone, Fox News Digital learned Thursday. “HHS terminated more than $330 million in wasteful research funding to organizations in California that is not aligned with NIH and HHS priorities,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a Thursday statement to Fox News Digital. “The terminated research grants are simply wasteful in studying things that do not pertain to American’s health to any significant degree, including DEI and gender ideology. As we begin to Make America Healthy Again, it’s important to prioritize research that directly affects the health of Americans.” Fox News Digital examined the list of terminated grants, all of which were related to DEI initiatives or gender-related issues, and predominantly were issued to colleges within the California public school system, such as the University of California, San Francisco and UCLA, as well as private colleges and research institutes located in the Golden State. HHS SLASHES OVER $350M IN GRANT FUNDING FOR GENDER IDEOLOGY, DEI RESEARCH PROJECTS “Harnessing the power of text messaging to reduce HIV incidence in adolescent males across the United States,” one $5,122,427 grant that was awarded to a nonprofit called the Center for Innovative Public Health Research reads, Fox Digital learned. “Sex hormone effects on neurodevelopment: Controlled puberty in transgender adolescents,” was the title of a terminated $3,692,048 grant to Stanford University, according to HHS. LIBERAL NORTH CAROLINA CITY’S DEI PLAN FOR HURRICANE RELIEF SHUT DOWN BY HUD SECRETARY “#TranscendentHealth – Adapting an LGB+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys,” reads another $1,319,024 grant awarded to the Center for Innovative Public Health Research. The University of California, San Francisco’s $2,554,402 grant for “Structural Racism and Discrimination in Older Men’s Health Inequities” also was canceled, Fox Digital learned, as was a $822,539 grant to UCLA called “Buddhism and HIV Stigma in Thailand: An Intervention Study.” A total of 61 NIH research grants focused on gender and DEI in the state of California were canceled. TRUMP NIH APPOINTEE DEFENDS PRESIDENT’S RESEARCH FUNDING CUTS, LAYS OUT NEW VISION FOR FUTURE The grant cancellation announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders removing DEI initiatives from the fabric of the government following President Joe Biden’s tenure. TRUMP ADMIN PAUSES $175M IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO UPENN OVER INCLUSION OF TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order focused on “ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs” and one focused on restoring merit-based opportunity and “ending illegal discrimination,” which ended DEI practices at the federal level in favor of merit-based systems. TRUMP’S ‘MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN’ COMMISSION TO TARGET AUTISM, CHRONIC DISEASES Federal agencies across the board have since worked to gut federal offices of DEI initiatives to abide by the president’s orders. On Friday, HHS announced it had terminated hundreds of other NIH research grants related to DEI and gender that totaled more than $350 million. The research grants included research on “multilevel and multidimensional structural racism,” “gender-affirming hormone therapy in mice” and “microaggressions,” among others. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.