WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Federal judges on Tuesday dealt President Trump’s attempts to gut foreign aid and impose ideological restrictions on government grants a temporary setback in two separate cases. In one case, a judge granted a request made by nonprofit and business groups to extend a halt on the White House’s January freeze on federal grants and loans. In the other, a judge ordered the administration to disburse payments to nonprofit contractors with the U.S. Agency for International Development within two days. (Associated Press)
The Trump administration does not have to make immediate payments to support USAID projects in limbo thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday, which gave the White House help in its effort to dismantle foreign aid. The ruling came as a deadline to make the payments set by a lower court approached. Trump’s vision for reduced foreign aid came into more focus with an internal administration memo obtained by the Associated Press that detailed plans to eliminate 90 percent of U.S. AID foreign contracts and reduce international development and humanitarian assistance by $60 billion. (Associated Press)
Faced with the Trump administration’s dismantling of foreign aid programs and retreat from the World Health Organization, international health-and-development nonprofits are making urgent appeals to big philanthropies, including the Gates Foundation and Open Philanthropy, to fill in the gap. Last year the U.S. devoted more than $12 billion to global health. The next biggest funder, the Gates Foundation, provided a fraction of that — less than $2 billion — in 2023. “There is no foundation — or group of foundations — that can provide the funding, work force capacity, expertise, or leadership that the United States has historically provided to combat and control deadly diseases and address hunger and poverty around the world,” the foundation’s North America director, Rob Nabors, said by email. (New York Times)
Independent news outlets around the world have been imperiled by the shutoff of aid from the United States. USAID and other federal agencies have long supported investigative newsrooms around the world that ferret out corruption, but some conservatives have accused those outlets of spreading propaganda. The shutoff comes after other major media grant makers, including the Open Society, Knight, and Ford foundations, have either ended much of their funding or redirected it domestically. A co-founder of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project called the move “a boon to dictators and autocrats around the world.” (New York Times)
Immigration nonprofits are printing “know your rights” cards by the millions to help undocumented people exercise protections granted to them under the Constitution. Since the election, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center has received orders for about 9 million cards, more than in the previous 17 years combined. “You show agents the card,” Eliseo, who has been in the United States for decades, told the New York Times on the condition his full name not be used. “It does the talking.” Others say the cards allow people to evade the law. “They call it ‘Know Your Rights,’” the president’s so-called border czar, Thomas D. Homan, said last month on CNN. “I call it, ‘How to escape arrest.’” (New York Times)
A conservative legal nonprofit has sued Chicago public schools for dedicating more support to Black students. Parents Defending Education, the group that filed the Chicago complaint, argues that the schools are violating civil-rights laws as well as the Trump administration’s orders to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. At issue is the Chicago Public Schools’ Black Student Success Program, an effort to boost test scores and graduation rates among Black students, which were lower than their peers. (Wall Street Journal— subscription)
A court case that will test the limits of free speech, and could potentially send Greenpeace into bankruptcy, goes to trial today. At issue is the organization’s involvement in organizing protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline nearly a decade ago. Energy Transfer, a Dallas company, sued Greenpeace, accusing it of masterminding protests against the pipeline, which some Native American groups say encroaches on sacred land and threatens their water supply. Greenpeace says the company is jeopardizing its right to peaceful protest and estimates that if found guilty it could have to pay up to $300 million. Energy Transfer declined to comment, but in August the company said the case is about Greenpeace not following the law. (New York Times)
The U.S. Marine Band has canceled a May performance that was part of a mentorship of young musicians of color, in accordance with President Trump’s executive order targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The Equity Arc Wind Symphony was to be the culmination of a multi-day program for high-school students chosen through a competition overseen by Equity Arc, a nonprofit in Chicago. Equity Arc Executive Director Stanford Thompson “expressed concern that military bands across the country may find these types of outreach programs harder to accomplish.” (Washington Post)
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STEM Education: The mission of the Glenn W. Bailey Foundation is to foster pathways to success in globally competitive STEM careers for students in the United States. The Foundation funds programs and projects throughout the United States that provide students and educators with enhanced resources for hands-on, STEM-based learning. Grants range from $20,000 to $35,000 on average.
Health and Well-Being: The American Psychological Foundation’s Direct Action Visionary Grants seek to fund innovative interventions, based on psychological knowledge, that directly address pressing needs of communities in the United States. Projects should serve marginalized communities, end prejudice and stigma, prevent violence, and explore mind-body health connections.
