USAGM withdraws termination of RFE/RL grant, funding back in effect
The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) has reversed its decision to terminate grant funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) for the fiscal year 2025, RFE/RL reported on March 27.
The move follows a U.S. District Court ruling that granted RFE/RL a temporary restraining order, blocking what the court deemed an unlawful attempt by USAGM to cut congressionally appropriated funds.
The funding for RFE/RL was terminated earlier this month after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered USAGM, the government agency overseeing RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, and Voice of America, to be dismantled.
RFE/RL's lawsuit argues that USAGM's actions violate federal law and seeks access to the full $77 million in funding approved by Congress.
RFE/RL President Stephen Capus called the reversal an encouraging step but stressed the need for formal confirmation and dialogue with USAGM leadership to secure long-term stability.
He also emphasized the importance of keeping RFE/RL operational, especially during rising threats and censorship implementation around the world.
'This is not the time for RFE/RL to go silent,' Capus said.
RFE/RL was founded early in the Cold War to counter Soviet propaganda in Eastern Bloc countries. It has since continued providing coverage of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and countries in Central Asia, the Balkans, the Caucasus, and elsewhere.
Read also: 'Russia managed to influence some in White House,' Zelensky tells Time magazine
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
US shifting Middle East military assets after Israel attacks Iran
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said Friday. The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House. President Donald Trump is meeting with his National Security Council principals to discuss the situation. The two U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect those personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran. There are typically around 30,000 troops based in the Middle East. However, that number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Hudner is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is capable of defending against ballistic missiles. On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
At least 30 ‘No Kings' rallies planned Saturday in Missouri, thousands nationwide
U.S. Army soldiers work on an assortment of M1 Alpha a3 Abrams tanks, stryker armored vehicles, and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles at West Potomac Park along the Potomac River on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Tanks and other heavy military equipment have arrived in the nation's capital for a military parade in honor of the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, which coincides with President Donald Trump's birthday and Flag Day (). A 'No Kings' demonstration is scheduled Saturday in downtown Columbia, one of nearly 30 planned in Missouri and almost 2,000 across the country against Trump administration policies. The 'No Kings Day of Defiance' was organized nationwide at the same time a military parade will mark the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary in Washington, D.C. The date also coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday. In response to the planned rallies in Missouri, Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Thursday that he had activated the Missouri National Guard in preparation for the protests. The Guard will be mobilized only if 'assistance is needed to support local law enforcement,' according to a news release from the governor's office. The rallies across the country are intended to 'honor civil liberties for all' and protest deportation, U.S. actions in Gaza and recent funding cuts to government departments such as USAID, said Jeff Stack, coordinator of the Mid-Missouri Fellowship of Reconciliation and an organizer of the demonstration in Columbia. A number of rallies are planned in Kansas City and St. Louis, with additional demonstrations scheduled in Boonville, Fayette, Marshall, Jefferson City, Warrensburg, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Joplin, Rolla, St. Joseph, Poplar Bluff, West Plains, Kirksville, Maryville, Clinton and several other locations. The demonstrations were spurred by the 50501 movement, a network of opposition that organizes and calls for protests across the country. The number refers to 50 protests, 50 states, one movement, according to the organization's website. It began on the social media platform Reddit after Trump's second inauguration in January. The movement issued a statement earlier this month that 'all No Kings events adhere to a shared commitment to nonviolent protest and community safety.' Saturday is also Flag Day, a federal holiday that marks the adoption of the American flag on the date in 1777. No protest rally will be held in Washington, D.C., with the organizers saying it will 'make action everywhere else the story of America that day.' The rally in Columbia will be a 'nonpartisan event,' Stack said. It is not in direct response to the presence of the National Guard and ICE in Los Angeles, Stack said, but federal action on the streets of California is emblematic of what will be protested. 'We're not aligned with one particular party,' Stack said. 'We're just concerned about the policies.' The goals of 'No Kings' are to 'give people a chance to come together to air grievances' and 'honor the human rights and civil rights that we all have,' he said. Cutting federal funding, deporting immigrants, enacting policies that 'benefit the wealthiest of the wealthy' and laying off scores of federal employees are examples of the grievances, Stack said. The demonstration in Columbia will begin at 11 a.m. at the Boone County Courthouse, 705 E. Walnut St. Speakers will address the crowd until about 12:30 p.m., when there will be a march through downtown. This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be republished in print or online.
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US shifts military resources in Mideast in response to Israel strikes and possible Iran attack
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is shifting military resources, including ships, in the Middle East in response to Israel's strikes on Iran and a possible retaliatory attack by Tehran, two U.S. officials said Friday. The Navy has directed the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner to begin sailing toward the Eastern Mediterranean and has directed a second destroyer to begin moving forward, so it can be available if requested by the White House. President Donald Trump is meeting with his National Security Council principals to discuss the situation. The two U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The forces in the region have been taking precautionary measures for days, including having military dependents voluntarily depart regional bases, in anticipation of the strikes and to protect those personnel in case of a large-scale response from Tehran. There are typically around 30,000 troops based in the Middle East. However, that number surged as high as 43,000 last October amid the ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran as well as continuous attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Hudner is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that is capable of defending against ballistic missiles. On Oct. 1, 2024, U.S. Navy destroyers fired about a dozen interceptors in defense of Israel as the country came under attack by more than 200 missiles fired by Iran.
