US strips $1bn in funding for PBS, NPR for 'woke' news coverage
The amount now being withheld would have covered up to several years' worth of grants for all those newsrooms, US media watchdog Poynter said.
Federal funding only makes up roughly 16 percent of the PBS budget, and one percent of NPR's budget, Poynter noted, so it's the local stations in rural areas that are heavily reliant on federal support.
Those stations are sometimes the only source for life-threatening weather alerts and guidance in those communities.
The decision was part of a $9.4bn rescissions package that strips taxpayer funding from both public broadcasting and foreign aid projects, all of which were previously approved by Congress for those purposes.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
The latest move came at the behest of the White House, which is scrambling to push through as many bills as possible to fund President Donald Trump's agenda before the November 2026 midterm elections, when Republicans could lose their majority.
The package had already been advanced in the House of Representatives before being approved with slight amendments in the Senate, meaning the House had to push it through one more time before it goes to the president's desk.
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Republicans were "finally ending taxpayer funding for PBS and NPR, two media organisations that have ridiculously used federal dollars to push a partisan left-wing agenda for many years".
That "left wing agenda" was highlighted in a lengthy thread on X by the administration's dedicated "rapid response" social media account, which intends to "hold fake news media accountable".
Among the accusations is that "PBS staff used 162 variations of 'far right' labels and only six 'far left' labels, an astounding ratio of 27 to 1," the administration said, citing the anti-liberal media monitoring site, Newsbusters.
Trump's pick for UN ambassador says he'll use aid as 'leverage' for African votes Read More »
PBS also "produced an entire movie celebrating a transgender teenager's so-called 'changing gender identity'," the account said, as part of its reasoning to defund the news outlet.
However, there were also examples of critical, rather than positive, PBS coverage of Trump's first term, suggesting that, where possible, the administration is indeed trying to shut down or weaken coverage that does not flatter the president.
NPR was similarly attacked for its coverage of immigration, given that back in 2021, it apologised for calling certain immigrants "illegal" rather than "undocumented".
In 2013, the Associated Press style guide, which governs most US news outlets, said it no longer sanctioned the term "illegal immigrant" because only actions, not people, are illegal, it said.
The Ad Fontes Media bias chart from January 2024 places both PBS and NPR squarely in the middle, whereas it shows outlets like CNN and Al Jazeera both skew left.
The other $7.9bn cut to US government spending in the package is set to impact refugee and development programmes, as well as international disaster response. Much of that work was done by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), but the organisation has been defunct since early this year, and only some of its programmes survived and have been rolled into the diplomatic arm of the US government: the State Department.
In a last-minute change in the Senate, Republicans voted to keep $400m in funding for the president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a resoundingly successful initiative begun by former president George W Bush to combat HIV and AIDS around the world.
US foreign aid may very well be conditioned differently from here on out, and with the likely confirmation of Trump's pick for US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, who told lawmakers he would tie foreign assistance decisions to whether or not countries vote with the US at the international body.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Post
21 minutes ago
- Arabian Post
US-EU Trade Deal to Reshape Energy and Investment Landscape
A transformative trade agreement between the United States and the European Union is poised to redefine their economic relations. US President Donald Trump announced the deal, which is set to have far-reaching implications on both sides of the Atlantic. The agreement includes the unprecedented opening of trade at zero tariffs, along with a significant commitment from the EU to purchase $750 billion worth of energy over the next decade. Moreover, the EU has pledged to invest an additional $600 billion in various sectors, significantly surpassing previous investment targets. The deal was hailed by the Trump administration as a major victory for the US economy, promising to bolster energy exports and enhance investment flows. While the specifics of the energy sectors involved remain under discussion, the agreement signals a substantial shift in the global energy market. The US, a major producer of natural gas and oil, is expected to benefit from increased exports, particularly in liquefied natural gas and other energy resources. At the heart of the deal is the mutual understanding that both parties will benefit from zero tariffs on industrial goods, which has been a longstanding issue in US-EU trade talks. The tariff reduction is expected to boost economic growth on both sides, especially for sectors such as automotive, technology, and agriculture. For the EU, the opening of the US market is seen as a crucial opportunity to tap into the world's largest economy without facing the heavy tariffs that have traditionally limited market access. ADVERTISEMENT Investment plays a pivotal role in the agreement, with the EU's commitment to direct $600 billion more than previously agreed upon into US infrastructure, technology, and innovation. This will likely lead to a surge in American jobs, particularly in industries poised for growth. It also presents a major opportunity for EU businesses to secure a foothold in the burgeoning US tech sector, which has long been a hotspot for investment. The announcement of the deal was accompanied by optimistic rhetoric from both US and EU officials, who described the agreement as an example of transatlantic cooperation that will not only benefit both economies but also foster stronger geopolitical ties. Experts believe the trade deal could serve as a model for future trade relations, potentially influencing global trade dynamics and setting a precedent for other international agreements. However, the deal has faced criticism from some quarters. Critics argue that the focus on energy purchases and large-scale investments could overshadow critical issues like labour rights, environmental protections, and fair competition. Some environmental groups have voiced concerns about the potential long-term environmental impact of increased energy trade, particularly if it leads to more fossil fuel reliance. These concerns underscore the ongoing debates about the balance between economic growth and sustainability, a tension that continues to shape global trade discussions.
Gulf Today
37 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
The quiet Obamacare overhaul needs a loud reveal
The unprecedented cuts to Medicaid in President Donald Trump's tax bill rightfully garnered headlines in recent months. After all, the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office predict some 10 million people eventually will lose their public insurance. But attention now should turn to the less visible ways his policies are undermining the Affordable Care Act. Instead of the full-blown attack on the ACA waged in his first term, when Trump tried — and failed — to repeal the law, he is letting crucial parts of it wither on the vine, and millions of Americans will be affected while potentially not even realising who is to blame. Some will log in to sign up for care in 2026, only to discover their plan has gotten a lot more expensive — and an estimated 4.2 million of them will risk going uninsured because of it. Others will never know they could have had affordable insurance, because the government will make far less of an effort to advertise its existence. 'It's a stealth sabotage,' says Benjamin Sommers, a physician and health economist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'Many folks won't even see the small print that led to that outcome.' Enrollments for marketplace plans soared under the Joe Biden administration. That was largely due to two things: enhanced subsidies, which made insurance more affordable for a broader swath of the population, and an incredible outreach effort to help people find and enroll in policies. Both helped bring the number of uninsured people in the US to an all-time low in 2023, and by the end of Biden's term, a record-breaking 24.2 million people bought coverage through the government. That's more than twice the number of people who accessed plans under Trump's last watch. This time around, his administration is quickly unraveling both factors underpinning that progress. The biggest impact will come from an anticipated spike in the cost of federal or state-run marketplace plans as the government takes away extra subsidies that make them affordable. The ACA has always included tax credits that vary based on someone's income, but they got a lot more generous under the Biden administration. Since 2021, those additional benefits made it cheaper for people to buy insurance while also expanding the number of people who qualified for help. Coverage was suddenly within reach for many more Americans — in fact, four out of five enrollees qualified for a plan that cost as little as $10 per month. Trump's new tax bill allows those subsidies to expire at the end of this year. A recent analysis by the nonpartisan health care group KFF gives a snapshot of what that could mean for consumers. It found that out-of-pocket premiums will go up on average by 75% — and people in at least a dozen states could see those fees double or more. Retaining marketplace insurance will cost a typical family of four living on $65,000 per year an additional $2,400, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. While the overall burden on families is rising, insurers themselves are also going to charge more for their plans. Just how much more is starting to come into view as marketplace providers begin to publish their proposed rates, which they file to state regulators each summer. KFF found that among the insurers reporting to states, expiration of the enhanced tax credits is attributed to an average 4% increase in premiums next year. That would primarily raise costs for the people who buy marketplace coverage, but don't qualify for subsidies, Sommers explains. The insurers' reasoning? Without subsidies, they say fewer healthy people will sign up for plans, leaving them to cover a larger proportion of sicker people (who ostensibly use more health care). The likely expiration of the enhanced benefits isn't the only way that the Trump administration is undermining Obamacare accessibility. The president is also making it harder to know about and sign up for a marketplace plan. Within weeks of taking office, he slashed the budget for navigators, the ACA experts who help the public wrestle with their insurance options, by 90%. Meanwhile, he has shortened the window during which people can sign up for coverage and is expected to repeat a trick from his last term, when he decimated the budget for advertising the open enrollment period. Those aren't just nice-to-haves. Sommers led a recent study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research that found affordability is not enough — people need to be able to easily sign up for a plan, too. He found that the same subsidy offered under the Biden administration resulted in a 30% greater decrease in the uninsured population compared to the Trump regime. The difference? A federal push to help people understand when they are eligible and guide them through the process of finding coverage.
Gulf Today
38 minutes ago
- Gulf Today
US Muslim leaders boost security after mosque ‘attacks'
After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the US from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the US. He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated - but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said ... it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Centre of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, centre spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. Associated Press Washington: After a spate of vandalism reports involving graffiti at a few mosques in Texas and California, Muslim leaders there have stepped up existing efforts to keep their sacred spaces and community members safe. The incidents and subsequent hypervigilance add to what many American Muslims say has already been a charged climate amid the fallout in the US from the Israel-Hamas war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated Gaza. The war started in October 2023 with a deadly attack by Hamas on Israel. 'The past two years have been extremely difficult for American Muslims,' said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation. A constant stream of images showing the death, destruction and ongoing starvation in Gaza has taken a toll, said Mitchell, as has a rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigotry in the US. He pointed to one of the most egregious examples of that bigotry: After the war started, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian American Muslim boy and wounded his mother in a hate-crime attack. The recent vandalism reports have left some worried and frustrated - but not entirely surprised. 'Since October 2023, we've definitely seen rise in Islamophobia,' said Rawand Abdelghani, who is on the board of directors of Nueces Mosque, one of the affected mosques in Austin, Texas. 'Anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, all of that rhetoric that's being said ... it has contributed to things like this happening.' Nueces security footage showed someone, their face partially covered, spray-painting what appears to be Star of David symbols at the property. CAIR Austin said similar incidents were reported at two other Austin mosques. They all seemingly happened on the same night in May, in what the group described as part of 'a disturbing pattern of hate-motivated incidents.' It called for increased security patrols and protective measures. Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR Austin operations manager, called them an intimidation attempt. Less than two weeks earlier, someone had spray-painted graffiti at the Islamic Centre of Southern California, including the Star of David on an outer wall there, centre spokesperson Omar Ricci said. 'In light of what's going on within Palestine and the genocide in Gaza, it felt like an attack,' said Ricci, who's also a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer. Some specifics remained unresolved. The LAPD said it opened a vandalism/hate crime investigation and added extra patrols, but added it has neither a suspect nor a motive and noted that nonreligious spaces were also targeted. Associated Press
