PBS suing Trump administration over defunding — three days after NPR filed similar case
In its lawsuit, PBS relies on similar arguments, saying Trump was overstepping his authority and engaging in 'viewpoint discrimination' because of his claim that PBS' news coverage is biased against conservatives.
'PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,' lawyer Z.W. Julius Chen wrote in the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington.
3 PBS filed suit Friday against the Trump administration to block his order to strip federal funding from the television station.
Shutterstock
'But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS's programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.'
It was the latest of many legal actions taken against the administration for its moves, including several by media organizations impacted by Trump's orders.
Northern Minnesota PBS station joins in the lawsuit
PBS was joined as a plaintiff by one of its stations, Lakeland PBS, which serves rural areas in northern and central Minnesota.
Trump's order is an 'existential threat' to the station, the lawsuit said.
A PBS spokesman said that 'after careful deliberation, PBS reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard public television's editorial independence, and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations.'
3 The lawsuit reveals that PBS claims President Trump overstepped his authority and engaged in 'viewpoint discrimination' because of his claim that PBS's news coverage is biased against conservatives.
AP
Through an executive order earlier this month, Trump told the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and federal agencies to stop funding the two systems.
Through the corporation alone, PBS is receiving $325 million this year, most of which goes directly to individual stations.
PBS, which makes much of the programming used by the stations, said it gets 22% of its revenue directly from the feds.
Sixty-one percent of PBS' budget is funded through individual station dues, and the stations raise the bulk of that money through the government.
3 Lawyer Z.W. Julius Chen wrote in the suit, 'PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms.'
AP
Interrupting 'a rich tapestry of programming'
Trump's order 'would have profound impacts on the ability of PBS and PBS member stations to provide a rich tapestry of programming to all Americans,' Chen wrote.
PBS said the U.S. Department of Education has canceled a $78 million grant to the system for educational programming, used to make children's shows like 'Sesame Street,' 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' and 'Reading Rainbow.'
For Minnesota residents, the order threatens the 'Lakeland Learns' education program and 'Lakeland News,' described in the lawsuit as the only television program in the region providing local news, weather and sports.
Besides Trump, the lawsuit names other administration officials as defendants, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
PBS says its technology is used as a backup for the nationwide wireless emergency alert system.
The administration has fought with several media organizations.
Government-run news services like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty are struggling for their lives, The Associated Press has battled with the White House over press access and the Federal Communications Commission is investigating television news divisions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
10 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Latest: Justice Department to meet with Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell
Justice Department officials are set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump's base over an earlier refusal to release additional records in the Epstein investigation. A replica Oval Office on display near the White House just got a Trump makeover The replica Oval Office now looks exactly like President Trump's. But it's not the blingy version he's currently using. Visitors starting Thursday will experience the mock Oval Office as it was in the Republican president's first term, until it's redecorated again next year to incorporate the golden touches and other flourishes Trump brought to the workspace after he returned to power in January. 'Just like the White House itself, our Oval Office is a living space, so it changes and evolves as the actual Oval Office changes,' Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, said Wednesday as he led The Associated Press on a tour of the space as it was being revamped. The mock-up is inside 'The People's House: A White House Experience,' an educational center the association opened last year one block west of the Executive Mansion. House subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena Justice Department for Epstein files A House subcommittee voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for files in the Epstein case after Democrats successfully goaded GOP lawmakers to defy Trump and Republican leadership to support the action. The vote showed the intensifying push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation even as House Speaker Mike Johnson — caught between demands from Trump and clamoring from his own members for the House to act — was sending lawmakers home a day early for its August recess. Meanwhile, Democrats on a subcommittee of the powerful House Oversight Committee made a motion for the subpoena Wednesday afternoon. Three Republicans on the panel voted with Democrats for the subpoena, sending it through on an 8-2 vote tally. Democrats cheered the action as proof that their push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation was growing stronger. The committee agreed to redact information on victims, yet Democrats successfully blocked a push by Republicans to only subpoena information that was deemed to be 'credible' — language that Trump has also used when discussing what he would support releasing. Bondi facing Democratic calls to testify following report she told Trump he was in Epstein files Bondi is facing Democratic calls to testify before Congress after the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that she told Trump his name was among many high-profile figures mentioned in the files, which the Justice Department this month said it would not be releasing despite a clamor from online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and members of Trump's base. Trump's personal ties to Epstein are well-established and his name is already known to have been included in records related to the wealthy financier. Sen. Adam Schiff responded to the report by calling on Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Justice Department declined to comment on the report but issued a joint statement from Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying that investigators had reviewed the records and 'nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution.' The mere inclusion of a person's name in Epstein's files does not imply wrongdoing and he was known to have been associated with multiple prominent figures, including Trump. Senate Democratic Leader calls for closed-door briefing on the Epstein files Democrats aren't letting up on their calls for disclosure from the Trump administration on the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer started the morning off with a speech calling for a closed-door briefing for senators from the Trump administration on the Epstein files. While the administration is unlikely to comply with the New York Democrat's demand, Democrats are pouncing on the issue and have found some success this week by daring Republicans to join them in votes to demand disclosure of the files. 'A good number of people voted for Trump because he promised to be their voice against the so-called deep state. But now they've seen he's very much part of that deep state. He's right in the middle of it,' Schumer said. Lara Trump says she's sitting out the North Carolina Senate race The president's daughter-in-law formally made her decision public Thursday in a post on X, as news of RNC Chair Michael Whatley's expected entrance into the race emerged. Lara Trump said she was 'deeply grateful' for encouragement to seek the open seat in her home state and appeared not to close the door to a possible future run, saying she looked 'forward to the future, wherever that leads.' Lara Trump served alongside Whatley as RNC co-chair during last year's elections and had been seen as having the right of first refusal to seek the seat, which Democrats see as a top pickup opportunity in next year's midterms. Biden's former chief of staff appears on Capitol Hill for House Republican age inquiry Ron Klain, who served as former President Joe Biden's first chief of staff, entered the House Oversight Committee's hearing room just before 10 a.m. for testimony as part of House Republicans' probe into Biden's age and alleged cognitive decline. Klain took no questions as he entered the room. UnitedHealth stocks dip The stock price dropped 2%, or $6.13, to $286.50 on Thursday morning. Company shares have mostly shed value since December, when UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan on his way to the company's annual investor meeting. What to know about UnitedHealth Group The company's business covers more than 8 million people as the nation's largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans. The business has been under pressure in recent quarters due to rising care use and rate cuts. UnitedHealth also runs one of the nation's largest health insurance and pharmacy benefits management businesses. It also operates a growing Optum business that provides care and technology support. UnitedHealth says it is under a federal investigation and cooperating Shares of UnitedHealth Group dove early Thursday after the health care giant said it was under a Department of Justice investigation. The company said it has started complying with both criminal and civil requests from federal investigators and it was working cooperatively with them. '(UnitedHealth) has a long record of responsible conduct and effective compliance,' the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal said federal officials had launched a civil fraud investigation into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage, or MA, plans. Those are privately run versions of the government's Medicare coverage program mostly for people ages 65 and over. RNC Chair Michael Whatley plans to run for an open Senate seat in North Carolina That's according to two people familiar with his thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't permitted to speak on the record. President Trump, according to one of the people, asked him to make the run after Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, mulled the seat. Politico first reported news of Whatley's plans. Democrats see North Carolina as their top pickup opportunity next year after Sen. Thom Tillis announced his surprise retirement after clashing with Trump. While Lara Trump had been seen as having the right of first refusal, Whatley is considered by national Republicans to be a strong contender for the seat, thanks, in part, to the large fundraising network he's cultivated as RNC chair and his perceived loyalty to the president. He's a well-known name in the state, having served as GOP chair there, and has no voting record that could be used against him by Democrats. — Jill Colvin Trump's trip to Scotland highlights his complex relationship with his mother's homeland President Trump's trip to Scotland this week will be a homecoming of sorts, but he's likely to get a mixed reception. Trump has had a long and at times rocky relationship with the country where his mother grew up in a humble house on a windswept isle. He'll be met by both political leaders and protesters during the visit, which begins Friday and takes in his two Scottish golf resorts. It comes two months before King Charles III is due to welcome him on a formal state visit to the U.K. 'I'm not proud that he (has) Scottish heritage,' said Patricia Sloan, who says she stopped visiting the Turnberry resort on Scotland's west coast after Trump bought it in 2014. 'All countries have good and bad that come out of them, and if he's going to kind of wave the flag of having Scottish heritage, that's the bad part, I think.' Trump's schedule, according to the White House 3 p.m. ET — Trump will sign executive orders 4 p.m. — Trump will visit the Federal Reserve Man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump returns to court and hopes to represent himself The man charged with attempting to assassinate Trump last year at his Florida golf course will return to court Thursday to once again explain why he wants to fire his court-appointed lawyers and represent himself. Ryan Routh previously made the request earlier this month during a hearing in Fort Pierce before U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon. She didn't rule during the hearing but said she would issue a written order later. But now Routh, 59, is set to be back in front of Cannon, a day after his court-appointed federal public defenders asked to be taken off the case. Routh is scheduled to stand trial in September, a year after prosecutors say a U.S. Secret Service agent thwarted his attempt to shoot Trump as he played golf. Routh has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and several firearm violations.
New York Post
10 minutes ago
- New York Post
Most US adults still support legal abortion 3 years after Roe was overturned, poll finds
Three years after the Supreme Court opened the door to state abortion bans, most U.S. adults continue to say abortion should be legal — views that look similar to before the landmark ruling. The new findings from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that about two-thirds of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. About half believe abortion should be available in their state if someone does not want to be pregnant for any reason. Advertisement 6 The new findings from the poll show that about two-thirds of U.S. adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. AP That level of support for abortion is down slightly from what an AP-NORC poll showed last year, when it seemed that support for legal abortion might be rising. Laws and opinions changed when Roe was overturned The June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans on abortion led to major policy changes. Advertisement Most states have either moved to protect abortion access or restrict it. Twelve are now enforcing bans on abortion at every stage of pregnancy, and four more do so after about six weeks' gestation, which is often before women realize they're pregnant. In the aftermath of the ruling, AP-NORC polling suggested that support for legal abortion access might be increasing. 6 About half believe abortion should be available in their state if someone does not want to be pregnant for any reason. REUTERS Advertisement Last year, an AP-NORC poll conducted in June found that 7 in 10 U.S. adults said it should be available in all or most cases, up slightly from 65% in May 2022, just before the decision that overruled the constitutional right to abortion, and 57% in June 2021. The new poll is closer to Americans' views before the Supreme Court ruled. Now, 64% of adults support legal abortion in most or all cases. More than half the adults in states with the most stringent bans are in that group. 6 The June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans on abortion led to major policy changes. AP Advertisement Similarly, about half now say abortion should be available in their state when someone doesn't want to continue their pregnancy for any reason — about the same as in June 2021 but down from about 6 in 10 who said that in 2024. Adults in the strictest states are just as likely as others to say abortion should be available in their state to women who want to end pregnancies for any reason. Democrats support abortion access far more than Republicans do. Support for legal abortion has dropped slightly among members of both parties since June 2024, but nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and roughly 4 in 10 Republicans say abortion should be legal in at least most instances. Fallout from state bans has influenced some people's positions — but not others Seeing what's happened in the aftermath of the ruling has strengthened the abortion rights position of Wilaysha White, a 25-year-old Ohio mom. She has some regrets about the abortion she had when she was homeless. 6 In the aftermath of the ruling, AP-NORC polling suggested that support for legal abortion access might be increasing. AP 'I don't think you should be able to get an abortion anytime,' said White, who calls herself a 'semi-Republican.' But she said that hearing about situations — including when a Georgia woman was arrested after a miscarriage and initially charged with concealing a death — is a bigger concern. Advertisement 'Seeing women being sick and life or death, they're not being put first — that's just scary,' she said. 'I'd rather have it be legal across the board than have that.' Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Julie Reynolds' strong anti-abortion stance has been cemented for decades and hasn't shifted since Roe was overturned. 'It's a moral issue,' said the 66-year-old Arizona woman, who works part time as a bank teller. Advertisement She said her view is shaped partly by having obtained an abortion herself when she was in her 20s. 'I would not want a woman to go through that,' she said. 'I live with that every day. I took a life.' Support remains high for legal abortion in certain situations 6 'It's a moral issue,' said the 66-year-old Arizona woman, who works part time as a bank teller. AP The vast majority of U.S. adults — at least 8 in 10 — continue to say their state should allow legal abortion if a fetal abnormality would prevent the child from surviving outside the womb, if the patient's health is seriously endangered by the pregnancy, or if the person became pregnant as a result of rape or incest. Advertisement Consistent with AP-NORC's June 2024 poll, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults 'strongly' or 'somewhat' favor protecting access to abortions for patients who are experiencing miscarriages or other pregnancy-related emergencies. In states that have banned or restricted abortion, such medical exceptions have been sharply in focus. This is a major concern for Nicole Jones, a 32-year-old Florida resident. Jones and her husband would like to have children soon. But she said she's worried about access to abortion if there's a fetal abnormality or a condition that would threaten her life in pregnancy since they live in a state that bans most abortions after the first six weeks of gestation. Advertisement 'What if we needed something?' she asked. 'We'd have to travel out of state or risk my life because of this ban.' Adults support protections for seeking abortions across state lines — but not as strongly 6 In states that have banned or restricted abortion, such medical exceptions have been sharply in focus. REUTERS There's less consensus on whether states that allow abortion should protect access for women who live in places with bans. Just over half support protecting a patient's right to obtain an abortion in another state and shielding those who provide abortions from fines or prison time. In both cases, relatively few adults — about 2 in 10 — oppose the measures and about 1 in 4 are neutral. More Americans also favor than oppose legal protections for doctors who prescribe and mail abortion pills to patients in states with bans. About 4 in 10 'somewhat' or 'strongly' favor those protections, and roughly 3 in 10 oppose them. Such telehealth prescriptions are a key reason that the number of abortions nationally has risen even as travel for abortion has declined slightly.
The Hill
10 minutes ago
- The Hill
Columbia settles with Trump: 5 things to know
Columbia University and the Trump administration announced a long-awaited settlement Monday night after months of negotiations. Columbia will pay $221 million to restore the more than $400 million in federal funding that was cut off by the administration, which had originally cited alleged inaction on antisemitism, though Education Secretary Linda McMahon pointed to more ideological motives. 'This is a monumental victory for conservatives who wanted to do things on these elite campuses for a long time because we had such far left-leaning professors,' McMahon said on Fox Business Network. The university, which saw some of the nation's most active pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations amid the war in Gaza, did not have to admit to wrongdoing in the deal, which is certain to put the higher education world on high alert. Columbia, Trump both tout deal as a win Both Columbia and the Trump administration positioned the deal as a victory from their perspective. 'This agreement marks an important step forward after a period of sustained federal scrutiny and institutional uncertainty,' acting university President Claire Shipman said in a statement. 'The settlement was carefully crafted to protect the values that define us and allow our essential research partnership with the federal government to get back on track,' she added. Columbia did avoid some earlier reported provisions that would have given the administration more control over its business. But with significant reforms still agreed upon, the president went to Truth Social to declare victory. 'It's a great honor to have been involved, and I want to thank and congratulate Secretary Linda McMahon, and all those who worked with us on this important deal,' he wrote. 'I also want to thank and commend Columbia University for agreeing to do what is right. I look forward to watching them have a great future in our Country, maybe greater than ever before!' Columbia agrees to multiple reforms Along with the more than $200 million Columbia will pay over three years, an additional $21 million will go to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve all federal investigations against the university. Columbia also said it would implement reforms announced back in March such reviewing its Middle East curriculum and ending programs that 'promote unlawful efforts to achieve race-based outcomes, quotes, diversity targets or similar efforts,' with a report to monitor that progress. The university also agreed to ask incoming foreign students 'questions designed to elicit their reasons for wishing to study in the United States' and said it would provide information to the federal government regarding international students who are expelled. The school and the federal government will agree on an independent monitor to ensure the resolution is followed. Columbia did not try to fight in court Columbia's strategy with the Trump administration has appeared to be one of full cooperation, in contrast with other schools, particularly Harvard University, that have dug in their heels in opposition, filing multiple lawsuits against Trump's moves. While Columbia's faculty went through with its own lawsuit, a judge ruled only the university itself had the standing to bring a legal challenge to the Trump administration's actions. But Columbia decided, to a chagrin of staff and others in higher education, to try to come to an agreement. 'Columbia's longstanding research partnership with the federal government is vital to advancing our nation's progress in key areas of science, technology, and medicine,' Board of Trustees Co-Chairs David Greenwald and Jeh Johnson said in a statement on the matter. 'We are proud of the role we play in advancing this public service and preparing the next generations of students to meet complex challenges around the world,' they added. Trump sees this as roadmap for other universities One of the biggest concerns of higher education was Columbia's cooperation would lead the Trump administration to expect similar responses from other universities. 'Numerous other Higher Education Institutions that have hurt so many, and been so unfair and unjust, and have wrongly spent federal money, much of it from our government, are upcoming,' Trump wrote in his post announcing Columbia's settlement. McMahon, in her Fox Business interview, said, 'Our campuses are now what they should be. They're places for debate, they're places for education. They're not places for left-leaning riots and antisemitism.' Higher education looks to Harvard for hope From the start, Harvard and Columbia took opposite approaches in handling pressure from the administration. While Columbia worked on a deal with no retaliation, Harvard has sued multiple times, once for funding cuts and the other over attempts to take away its foreign students. The attempts to stop Harvard from enrolling foreign students were struck down by a judge, and a ruling over the funding pause is likely forthcoming. While Trump had indicated in June that a deal with Harvard could be forthcoming, such an announcement never came. Those in higher education are hoping Harvard keeps the fight going as a win against the oldest and richest nation in the country would pour even more gasoline on the Trump administration's fire to go after universities. 'Research that the government has put in jeopardy includes efforts to improve the prospects of children who survive cancer, to understand at the molecular level how cancer spreads throughout the body, to predict the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, and to ease the pain of soldiers wounded on the battlefield. As opportunities to reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease are on the horizon, the government is slamming on the brakes,' Harvard President Alan Garber said when Trump cut funding.
