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Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a push from President Donald Trump to pause federal funding while his administration conducts an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives. The Trump administration plan plunged the U.S. government into panic and confusion and set the stage for a constitutional clash over control of taxpayer money. The order from U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan came minutes before the funding freeze was scheduled to go into effect. It lasts until Monday afternoon and applies […]

January 28, 2025

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A federal judge temporarily blocks Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include […]

January 25, 2025

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Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave

President Donald Trump ‘s administration moved Tuesday to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs that could touch on everything from anti-bias training to funding for minority farmers and homeowners. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and insisted on restoring strictly “merit-based” hiring. […]

January 22, 2025

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Supreme Court seems likely to uphold a federal law that could force TikTok to shut down on Jan. 19

The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company. Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company’s connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States. […]

January 11, 2025

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Federal courts won’t refer Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to attorney general over ethics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal courts will not refer allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have violated ethics laws to the Justice Department, the judiciary’s policymaking body said Thursday. Thomas has agreed to follow updated requirements on reporting trips and gifts, including clearer guidelines on hospitality from friends, the U.S. Judicial Conference wrote to Democratic senators who had called for an investigation into undisclosed acceptance of luxury trips. Thomas has previously said he wasn’t required to disclose the many trips he and his wife […]

January 4, 2025

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Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row

President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium […]

December 26, 2024

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President Biden breaks record for most Black judges confirmed to federal bench

As President Joe Biden enters the final days of his presidency, he has another historic milestone to add to his resume. The Senate confirmed Judge Benjamin Cheeks to the Southern District of California, marking the 63rd lifetime Black judicial confirmation during his administration. Biden has now confirmed more Black judges to the federal bench than any president in U.S. history, including those who served two terms. “[President Biden] making history with the 63rd Black judge shows that we have representation […]

December 23, 2024

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Biden commutes sentences of federal death row inmates, ‘striking blow’ to system that has ‘always targeted Black people’

President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of most inmates on federal death row, a historic executive action that is being celebrated by racial and social justice advocates. The president on Monday announced that he would issue commutations for 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. A majority of inmates on federal death row are Black (38%) and Latino (15%), according to Death Penalty Information Center. “I’ve dedicated my career […]

December 23, 2024

News

President Biden marks historic 40th Black female judge confirmed to federal bench

President Joe Biden marked yet another historic moment for his administration in his final days in office on Monday when the U.S. Senate confirmed his 40th Black female judge to the federal bench. As part of an effort to seat as many federal judges before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20, the Senate confirmed Tiffany Rene Johnson to serve on the Northern District of Georgia. Judge Johnson is only the third Black woman to serve […]

December 10, 2024