
4 things to know about Trump’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education
CNN
President Donald Trump kicked off the process of dismantling the Department of Education by signing an executive order on Thursday.
President Donald Trump kicked off the process of dismantling the Department of Education by signing an executive order on Thursday. The move aims to fulfill a longstanding campaign promise and shift more power over education to the states. While the president cannot completely shut down the agency without approval from Congress, the department announced earlier this month that nearly half its staff would leave through layoffs and voluntary buyouts. It remains to be seen what will happen to the agency’s programs and functions, and legal challenges to Trump’s executive order are likely. Federal funding for students with disabilities, who fall under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, along with Title I funding for low-income schools and federal student loan payments, will not be changed by the order, a senior administration official said. However, the order bans programs or activities receiving agency funds from advancing diversity, equity and inclusion or gender ideology. Supporters of the order have said that education oversight should be returned to the states and parents, while opponents argue that that the move will harm children and their ability to learn. Here’s what to know about the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.

Authorities in Colombia are dealing with increasingly sophisticated criminals, who use advanced tech to produce and conceal the drugs they hope to export around the world. But police and the military are fighting back, using AI to flag suspicious passengers, cargo and mail - alongside more conventional air and sea patrols. CNN’s Isa Soares gets an inside look at Bogotá’s war on drugs.

As lawmakers demand answers over reports that the US military carried out a follow-up strike that killed survivors during an attacked on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a career Navy SEAL who has spent most of his 30 years of military experience in special operations will be responsible for providing them.









