Voice of America brings back 75 staffers amid Iran-Israel conflict
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Voice of America's employees have sued the government to be reinstated at work, restore broadcasting and force the government to uphold the statutory mandate ascribed by Congress.
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Employees told The Post that most of the Persia team was restored to assist with the news out of the Middle East. VOA had already restored 10 Farsi language service journalists previously - along with Dari, Pashto, and Mandarin reporters - to demonstrate to the federal court that it is fulfilling its statutory mandate. The 10 Persian news service reporters have been exclusively publishing on social media and the internet, an employee said, but they are planning to broadcast live on satellite TV into Iran.
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Israel launched attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities late Thursday and killed top military officers, including Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran launched missile strikes on Israel on Friday in retaliation. The conflict has led to new uncertainty for the Trump administration's plan for a nuclear deal with Iran.
'The biggest purpose of the Persian division is to report America's story for Iranian audiences where there's censorship or filtering of the internet there,' one Voice of America journalist told The Post on the condition of anonymity because they fear retaliation from their employer. 'And when something of this magnitude happens like an outright war with Iran's outright nemesis, Israel, we have to have a presence inside Iran.'
'Are they going to bring back a language every time there is a crisis the administration has interest in?' another VOA journalist told The Post. 'This is why you don't smash first and think later.'
Steve Herman, chief national correspondent for VOA, called it a welcome but belated move. 'Will all of our Persian Service staff be put back on leave a few weeks from now when hostilities subside? What other crises would compel USAGM to reactivate our other 48 language services?' he said. 'The imagination runs wild.'
David Seide, senior counsel at the Government Accountability Project, who represents some of the VOA journalists suing the government, said it's a step in the right direction for the government: 'It's a step - and it's a positive step - but it's only one of many steps that need to be taken.'
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New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
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Boston Globe
9 hours ago
- Boston Globe
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A contempt finding would allow the judge to impose fines, jail time or additional sanctions on officials to compel compliance. In three other cases, judges have denied motions to hold Trump officials in contempt, but reiterated that the government must comply with a decision, or ordered the administration to turn over documents to determine whether it had violated a ruling. Judges are considering contempt proceedings in other cases as well. Most lawsuits against the administration have been filed in federal court districts with a heavy concentration of judges appointed by Democratic presidents. The vast majority of judges who have found the administration defied court orders were appointed by Democrats, but judges selected by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush have also found that officials failed to comply with orders. Most notably, at least two Trump picks have raised questions about whether officials have met their obligations to courts. Legal experts said the slow pace of efforts to enforce court orders is not surprising. The judicial system moves methodically, and judges typically ratchet up efforts to gain compliance in small increments. They said there is also probably another factor at work that makes it especially difficult to hold the administration to account. 'The courts can't enforce their own rulings - that has to be done by the executive branch,' said Michel, the former judge and Watergate special prosecutor. He was referring to U.S. Marshals, the executive branch law enforcement personnel who carry out court orders related to contempt proceedings, whether that is serving subpoenas or arresting officials whom a judge has ordered jailed for not complying. Former judges and other legal experts said judges might be calculating that a confrontation over contempt proceedings could result in the administration ordering marshals to defy the courts. 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Such situations have prompted some former judges to do something most generally do not - speak out. More than two dozen retired judges appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents have formed the Article III Coalition to push back on attacks and misinformation about the courts. Robert J. Cindrich, who helped found the group, said the country is not yet in a constitutional crisis but that the strain on the courts is immense. Citing the administration's response to orders, as well as its attacks on judges and law firms, Cindrich said, 'The judiciary is being put under siege.'
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
Long Island school asks Trump to ink executive order to keep embattled ‘Chiefs' mascot, logo
Chief nation is going national. As the Massapequa school district continues its tussle to retain its Chiefs moniker and logo, the town is asking its biggest backer — President Trump — to sign an executive order to safeguard Native American names and images across the US. 'It's about not erasing, but instead educating about Native Americans and keeping them on the forefront,' Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter told The Post. Advertisement 7 The Massapequa school district is asking President Trump to issue an executive order protecting schools with Native American team names or imagery from having to change their mascots. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File 'It's the battleground here in Massapequa, but this keeps popping up all across the nation, of state educational departments banning Native American mascots and team identities.' The proposal would 'protect the voluntary and respectful use of Native American names, imagery, and symbols,' language in the draft reads. The executive order pitch would also put a halt to how 'radical state and local bureaucrats are attempting to erase this heritage, tear down this history, and silence this legacy,' according to Wachter and her attorney, Oliver Roberts, who called such bans unconstitutional and an attack on freedom of speech. Advertisement 7 Trump holding a Massapequa Chiefs shirt in the Oval Office. Instagram/realdonaldtrump President Trump has been sympathetic to the situation, intervening last April during the Long Island town's contentious legal battle over the New York State Board of Regents' 2023 ordinance requiring the removal of all Native American team connections in public schools. Schools were threatened with funding cuts and school board members faced removal if they didn't comply. Advertisement He proudly declared 'LONG LIVE THE MASSAPEQUA CHIEFS!' and even posed in April with school apparel in the Oval Office — in addition to ordering Sec. of Education Linda McMahon to step in. McMahon has made significant strides in the interest of schools resistant to the ban. '[Trump] stood up for us,' said Wachter, who claimed 'the overwhelming majority' of Massapequa is behind the push to keep the Chiefs name — and that phasing in a new one would waste about $1 million in school funds and taxpayer dollars. 7 Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter said the order would prevent state and local officials from attempting to 'erase this heritage, tear down this history, and silence this legacy' in Massapequa. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Advertisement 7 Wachter wearing a shirt with a quote from President Trump. Kevin C Downs for The New York Post 'It brought great pride in the community, and everyone was really happy to see that he took the time to talk about the Chiefs,' she added about 47. Trump further broadened his stance Sunday, calling on the Washington Commanders to revert to its long-used Redskins name — which a 2016 poll showed 90% of Native Americans were not offended by — or risk the team's new stadium deal being blocked. He also urged the Cleveland Guardians to return to their Indians moniker. 7 A Massapequa Chiefs mural seen by the school's softball and baseball field. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 'I think that this battle here in Massapequa and President Trump's involvement in our town sparked further interest in the Washington Redskins issue and that of other teams,' Wachter added. 'We're all bringing this back out to the nation to say, 'where does it stop?'' Educate, don't erase Massapequa's nationwide executive order would 'work with tribes, not against them,' while also giving Native American organizations protected privilege for 'requesting changes to imagery or names that it finds inappropriate.' Advertisement Massapequa has also partnered with the Native American Guardians Association, a pro-logo organization, which has granted the school permission to use the term 'Chiefs.' 7 The Bif Chief Lewis statue in Massapequa. AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson The school district is also working on expanding its existing Native American educational programming in collaboration with NAGA, which recently filed an injunction against the state ban. 'Preserve history, do not erase it; educate future generations in heritage, pride, and unity — not censorship,' the executive order states, adding that 'any institution found to be engaging in unconstitutional censorship or compelled renaming shall be subject to funding reconsideration' by the US Department of Education. Advertisement McMahon pushed back on the woke ideology during a Massapequa High School tour in late May. Inside the school's gym, she said that banning only Native American imagery was a civil rights violation and referred the Chiefs' issue over to the Department of Justice weeks later. 7 Massapequa Chiefs softball players Shea Santiago, left, Sienna Perino, center, and Samantha Portz posing in front of a Chiefs mural. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post This month, she began investigating Long Island's Connetquot district regarding the restriction of its Thunderbirds moniker amid a backroom deal with New York state to allocate $23 million for rebranding — potentially to an already in-use nickname of T-Birds, which state officials had initially disallowed as an alternative. Advertisement The relentless support from the Trump administration has brought new life to the fight on Long Island — mere months after the courts dismissed the Massapequa lawsuit. 'We're still pushing ahead with our federal litigation, which we fully expect to prevail on,' Roberts said.
