Ouster of State Lawmakers Draws Nation’s Eyes to Tennessee 

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In an episode that fuses simmering conflicts in the United States over race, gun control, and the country’s deep political divide, Republican legislators in Tennessee have come under widespread criticism following a vote Thursday to expel two Democratic members from the state’s House of Representatives. The expulsion votes came just days after the two lawmakers, Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, interrupted a House session to demand that lawmakers implement stronger gun control laws. Jones and Pearson are both Black men. A motion to expel Representative Gloria Johnson, who participated in the protest with Jones and Pearson, failed by onemore

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Is the ‘Death of the Humanities’ Real?

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Between 2012 and 2018, U.S. enrollment in humanities majors dropped by over 14%. Many students think that the humanities, like history or English, won’t get them a good job or aren’t relevant to their interests. But the true picture may be less dire. Some colleges are bringing their humanities programs into the 21st century, and students are responding in earnest, as Johanna Alonso of Inside Higher Ed reports. (April 2023) …

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Everyone Agrees Campus ‘Free Speech’ Is in Crisis – but What Exactly do They Mean by Free Speech?

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Republicans in Congress convened a hearing on free speech, calling witnesses who claimed new language rules and diversity requirements have made healthy disagreement impossible. Democrats countered by noting Republican efforts to restrict public school curricula and ban books from public libraries. Eva Surovell of the Chronicle of Higher Education analyzes the debate. …

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Why Are Fewer Americans Enrolling in Community College?

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Community colleges offer two-year degrees, which are often meant to be a steppingstone to a full bachelor’s degree. But nearly half of two-year community college students drop out, and the number of students enrolling has plummeted by 37% since 2010. Some would-be students are taking advantage of a lucrative job market before school; others are questioning the value of college in the first place. Read the story from Jon Marcus of the Hechinger Report, published by the Associated Press. (April 2023) …

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Trump Pleads Not Guilty to 34-Count Hush Money Indictment

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a New York state court to a 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records in furtherance of an unspecified crime – described by prosecutors as a bid to hide a hush money payment to a porn actress to help him win the presidency in 2016. In the first-ever criminal case against a current or former U.S. leader, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged in a “set of facts” accompanying the indictment that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging informationmore

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Explaining the Criminal Charges Against Trump

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Thirty-four counts of “falsifying business records in the first degree.” Those are the charges against former President Donald Trump in the first indictment of a current or former U.S. president. The indictment, handed down by a New York grand jury last week, was made public Tuesday afternoon after Trump was arraigned in a New York state court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The charges stem from a hush money payment of $130,000 that Trump’s then-lawyer Michael Cohen made to porn actor Stormy Daniels in the final days of the 2016 presidential election. The payoff, prosecutors say, wasmore

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White House Refrains From Commenting About Trump Arraignment

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As his predecessor was entering not guilty pleas to felonies in a courtroom, U.S. President Joe Biden met with his science and technology advisers and commented about the potential risks and benefits of artificial intelligence. He ignored reporters’ questions about Donald Trump’s arraignment. The president on Tuesday was not paying attention to the activities in New York, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “It’s an ongoing case, so we’re just not going to comment on the case specifically itself,” said Jean-Pierre. “Look, the president is just going to focus on the American people like he does every day.” more

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Ex-Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson is Running for President

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Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’s running for president in 2024, offering himself as an alternative for Republicans ready to turn the party away from Donald Trump. “I’m confident that people want leaders that want the best of the America, not those who appeal to their worst instincts,” Hutchinson told ABC’s “This Week” in an interview aired Sunday. He said he would make a formal announcement in April in Arkansas. “I have made a decision and my decision is I’m going to run for president of United States,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight yearsmore

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Former US President Trump Expected to be Arraigned Tuesday

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be formally arrested and arraigned Tuesday, the first time a former occupant of the White House has faced criminal charges. In a move without precedent in U.S. history, a grand jury in New York voted Thursday to indict Trump on charges related to paying off a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign. The highly anticipated charges come as Trump seeks a return to the White House after losing a reelection bid in 2020, making him both the only president, current or former, as well as the only presidential candidate, to bemore

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Donald Trump Has Been Indicted. Here’s What Happens Next

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Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump will become one of them next week. Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon after an investigation into payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself remains sealed for now in the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president. Trump — a Republican who assailed the case Thursday as a Democratic prosecutor’s “political persecution” of “a completely innocent person”more

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Trump Faces Criminal Indictment

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A grand jury in New York has voted to indict former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges related to a payoff to a former adult film star. Mike O’Sullivan reports on reaction to the unprecedented move against a former president. …

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Republicans Assail Trump Indictment; Democrats Say He Will Get His Day in Court

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Reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump, the first of a former U.S. president, was predictable in the hothouse of divisive American politics. His fellow Republicans assailed the prosecutor for what they claimed was a purely partisan attack, while Democrats contended that no one should be allowed to stand above the law. Even Republicans eyeing a 2024 run against Trump for the party’s presidential nomination came to his defense after a New York grand jury indicted Trump on charges linked to his $130,000 hush money payment in 2016 to an adult film actress to silence her about an alleged affairmore

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Trump Facing Several Criminal Investigations

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump, indicted Thursday in connection with a hush money payment to a porn star, is also facing several other significant criminal investigations related to his 2020 reelection loss and classified documents he took with him when his presidential term ended two years ago. Trump is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and trying to reclaim the White House, but his political future is clouded by the array of probes that could lead to more charges, or possibly clear him of allegations of wrongdoing. Special counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland, with anmore

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Trump Seeks to Make Indictment Pay with 2024 Fundraising Drive

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Less than two hours after news of his indictment broke, former President Donald Trump appealed to supporters to help with his legal defense, hoping to boost his coffers as he seeks the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. “Please make a contribution – of truly any amount – to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024,” said an email sent by a Trump fundraising group called the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee. A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after a investigation into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump, who hasmore

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Navajo Tech First Among US Tribal Universities to Offer PhD

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A university on the largest Native American reservation in the U.S. launched its accredited doctoral program, becoming the first among more than 30 accredited tribal colleges and universities across the country to offer such a high-level degree. The program at Navajo Technical University will be dedicated to sustaining Diné culture and language. Dine is the Navajo word meaning “the people” and is commonly what tribal members call themselves. A celebration is planned on the Crownpoint campus in western New Mexico in April, and the school already started accepting applications for the fall semester. The offering marks a milestone for themore

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DeSantis Clarifies Position on Ukraine War, Calls Putin ‘War Criminal’

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis this week called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and condemned his invasion of Ukraine, a week after coming under criticism for remarks that seemed to advocate a reduction in U.S. support for Ukrainian forces. DeSantis, widely expected to announce his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination later this year, had previously described the war in Ukraine as a “territorial dispute” that did not represent a “vital national interest” of the United States. The remarks earned him immediate condemnation from many, including multiple long-serving Republicans in Congress, even though support for continued U.S. aidmore

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Prosecutor Rejects Republicans’ Demand He Hand Over Documents in Trump Investigation

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The New York City prosecutor on Thursday rejected a demand by congressional Republican lawmakers that he hand over documents linked to his investigation of former President Donald Trump’s $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election to buy her silence about an affair she claims to have had with Trump. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg assailed the request earlier this week by three committee chairmen in the House of Representatives as “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.” The three lawmakers — Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryan Steil — had calledmore

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Court Orders Trump Lawyer to Provide Documents in Mar-a-Lago Case

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A federal appeals court in a sealed order Wednesday directed a lawyer for Donald Trump to turn over to prosecutors documents in the investigation into the former president’s retention of classified records at his Florida estate. The ruling is a significant win for the U.S. Justice Department, which has focused for months not only on the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago but also on why Trump and his representatives resisted demands to return them to the government. It suggests the court has sided with prosecutors who have argued behind closed doors that Trump was using his legal representation to furthermore

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Republicans Assail New York Prosecutor Investigating Trump

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Republican lawmakers on Monday assailed the New York Democratic prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump in connection with his alleged $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election. Three committee chairmen in the House of Representatives accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of prosecutorial misconduct and demanded that he provide them information and documents related to his investigation of Trump. The former president said over the weekend that he expects to be arrested in the case on Tuesday, although the prosecutor has made no public announcement indicating whether Trump would be indicted or when. Trumpmore

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Pro-Moscow Voices Tried to Steer Ohio Train Disaster Debate

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Soon after a train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals in Ohio last month, anonymous pro-Russian accounts started spreading misleading claims and anti-American propaganda about it on Twitter, using Elon Musk’s new verification system to expand their reach while creating the illusion of credibility. The accounts, which parroted Kremlin talking points on myriad topics, claimed without evidence that authorities in Ohio were lying about the true impact of the chemical spill. The accounts spread fearmongering posts that preyed on legitimate concerns about pollution and health effects and compared the response to the derailment with America’s support for Ukraine following its invasionmore

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