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Trump's attack on diversity programs, bureaucracy sends US agencies scrambling

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Trump's attack on diversity programs, bureaucracy sends US agencies scrambling

By Bo Erickson and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. agencies under new President Donald Trump were pushing to implement his mandates to reshape the federal bureaucracy on Thursday, encouraging workers to report any clandestine efforts to maintain diversity programs and preparing to close offices dedicated to such efforts by next week.

Trump has made little secret of his disdain for the sprawling federal workforce and in particular for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which promote opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other traditionally underrepresented groups.

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In a speech delivered by video on Thursday to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said his orders ending DEI programs would make America a “merit-based country” once again.

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“These are policies that were absolute nonsense, throughout the government and the private sector,” he said.

Trump and his supporters say DEI programs end up unfairly discriminating against other Americans, while civil rights advocates say the efforts are needed to address longstanding inequities and structural racism.

A memo distributed to thousands of federal workers across the government on Wednesday commanded employees to turn in co-workers who sought to “disguise” DEI efforts by using “coded language,” warning that a failure to report relevant information would trigger “adverse consequences.”

The messages carried the imprimatur of top-level Trump appointees: the State Department memo was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, for instance, while the Veterans Affairs Department email was signed by acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Todd Hunter.

Officials overseeing DEI programs in numerous agencies and departments were put on leave on Wednesday, and their offices were set for permanent closure by month’s end.

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The steps were part of Trump’s broader campaign targeting the federal bureaucracy, which he has sometimes disparaged as the “deep state” secretly working against his agenda.

Trump, a Republican, has frozen virtually all federal hiring and signed an executive order on his first day in office on Monday that would allow his administration to fire at will tens of thousands of career civil servants, who historically have enjoyed job protections that insulate them from political partisanship.

The order, known as Schedule F, would permit Trump to fill those positions with hand-picked loyalists. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 workers in three dozen agencies, filed a lawsuit challenging the move.

“This gleeful hatred of the federal workforce will lead to nothing good,” Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, who represents 140,000 federal workers in Virginia, told reporters.

Trump’s decision to shut down diversity programs drew immediate condemnation from Democrats and civil rights advocates

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Trump has also sought to dissuade private companies that receive government contracts from using DEI programs and has asked government agencies to identify any that might be subject to civil investigation.

In a Wednesday order, Trump rescinded a 1965 executive order requiring federal contractors to use affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity and banning them from discriminating in employment practices.

The decades-old order, signed by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson, was seen as a significant moment of progress in the civil rights movement, coming at a time when Black Americans faced the threat of violence and “Jim Crow” laws that prohibited them from voting and from living in predominantly white neighborhoods.

The federal government committed $739 billion to contractors in fiscal year 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Humeyra Pamuk; Addition reporting by Daniel Trotta, Bianca Flowers, Andrea Shalal and David Ljunggren; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Howard Goller)

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One person killed in Maine in second fatal ICE-involved shooting in less than a week | CNN

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One person killed in Maine in second fatal ICE-involved shooting in less than a week | CNN

A person was killed Monday in an ICE-involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine, according to the state’s speaker of the house — just days after a federal agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop in Houston, sparking mass protests and demands for transparency and accountability.

“A person was killed. ICE was involved. State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well,” Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau said in a statement on Facebook. “These are the details that I have at this time. I will provide further updates, as they are relayed to me.”

CNN has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

Biddeford police told CNN there was a “police incident” in the area, about 18 miles south of Portland, and said there is no threat to the public at this time, but declined to provide additional details.

Maine Democratic US Rep. Chellie Pingree said she was “disturbed and angry” upon hearing the news of the shooting. She called for an investigation into the incident, adding a question directed at ICE officers: “Why are you in Maine?”

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The incident comes less than a week after a man on his way to work in Houston was shot and killed by an ICE agent. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed during a traffic stop in what ICE initially described as a targeted enforcement operation, though a source later said Salgado Araujo was not the target of the operation.

The shooting has reignited calls for accountability among ICE agents, which reached a fever pitch earlier this year after 37-year-old mother Renee Good and 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti were killed by federal immigration agents during the Trump administration’s operation in Minneapolis.

The administration dubbed a similar surge in immigration enforcement across Maine in January “Operation Catch of the Day.” The ACLU and other advocates filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agents for “abducting a lawful immigrant” during the surge.

Some community groups and advocates that rallied against the surge earlier this year have already started to organize in response to Monday’s shooting. The group “Maine Resists” has planned an emergency community rally in the city at noon. The racial justice and immigrant rights group Project Relief said it is in touch with the victim’s family.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Want to own a real T. rex? It could cost you $30 million

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Want to own a real T. rex? It could cost you  million

“Gus,” a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, is pictured during a press preview at Sotheby’s in New York City on July 1.

Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images


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Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

If you ever wanted to own an actual T. rex and not just a toy, you now have a chance. But it’s going to cost you some bones. Millions of them.

The Tyrannosaurus rex fossil known as “Gus” will go up for auction Tuesday morning at Sotheby’s New York City office. The starting bid for the dinosaur is $19 million and the auction house estimates it could sell for $20 to $30 million.

Gus was found in Harding County, S.D., on private land in 2021, according to Sotheby’s. The T. rex skeleton, which is 38 feet long and 12 and half feet tall, is believed to be from the late Cretaceous period from about 67 million years ago.

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“Judging from the overall size and degree of bone development it can be determined that Gus’ skeleton belonged to a very large, robust, adult individual,” the auction house said in the listing.

Thomas Heitkamp, president of Theropoda Expeditions, the company that excavated the site, said in a Sotheby’s video about the discovery that nearly a thousand pieces were collected.

The creature is named after the owner of the ranch where it was discovered, Gary “Gus” Licking. He died during the excavation process, which ran through 2023, and was not able to see Gus fully assembled, according to Cassandra Hatton of Sotheby’s.

“Gary had for years roamed around his 6,500 acre property and seeing T. rex teeth and little bits of fossils and such, and he realized that there was probably something really important under the ground,” Hatton said in the video.

Gus is one of the largest and most complete T. rex specimens ever found, according to Sotheby’s.

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It’s not the first time dinosaur bones have been for sale to the highest bidder.

The first auction for a dinosaur was held by Sotheby’s in 1997. The creature, a T. rex named Sue, was purchased by a few large companies for the Field Museum in Chicago. It went for $8.4 million.

In 2024, Apex the stegosaurus sold for $44.6 million, the most ever for a dinosaur fossil. It was purchased by billionaire investor Ken Griffin, who loaned it to the American Natural History Museum in New York for four years.

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Map: 4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Southern California

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Map: 4.1-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Southern California

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Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown.  All times on the map are Pacific time. The New York Times

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A light, 4.1-magnitude earthquake struck in Southern California on Sunday, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor happened at 3:38 a.m. Pacific time about 1 mile southeast of Frazier Park, Calif., data from the agency shows.

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U.S.G.S. data earlier reported that the magnitude was 4.4.

As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.

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Aftershocks detected

Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.

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Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles

Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.

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When quakes and aftershocks occurred

 All times are Pacific time. The New York Times

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Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Pacific time. Shake data is as of Sunday, July 12 at 11:54 a.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Sunday, July 12 at 2:24 p.m. Eastern.

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