Latest news with #Months
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Pentagon Will Celebrate Pride Month by Renaming Ship Honoring Gay Rights Icon
President Donald Trump's assault on the LGBTQ+ community will continue through Pride month. According to a Tuesday report from the U.S. Navy is preparing to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, a Navy support ship christened in honor of the assassinated gay rights icon. The report was confirmed by CBS News and ABC News. The order reportedly came directly from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Other vessels named after prominent civil rights and labor leaders are on a list for recommended renaming. According to a list obtained by CBS News, these include the USNS Thurgood Marshall, named after the first Black Supreme Court justice; the USNS Ruth Bader Ginsburg, named after the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court; the USNS Harriet Tubman, named after the famed abolitionist and former slave; the USNS Dolores Huerta, named after the Chicana labor activist; the USNS Lucy Stone, named after the suffragist and abolitionist; the USNS Cesar Chavez, named after the labor activist who worked alongside Huerta; and the USNS Medgar Evers, named after the civil rights leader and anti-segregationist who was assassinated by a white supremacist in 1963. It's no coincidence that such prominent historic leaders in minority movements are being targeted by an administration that is hell-bent on erasing the history of American equality movements from the public consciousness. The Defense Department source who spoke with said the decision to rename the ship during Pride month was an intentional choice. In January, Hegseth issued a directive titled, 'Identity Months Dead at DoD,' in which he declared that members of the department were barred from using Pentagon resources to promote or celebrate 'cultural awareness months,' including 'National African American/Black History Month, Women's History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.' According to a memo obtained by CBS News, the decision to rename the ship was part of an effort to reestablish 'the warrior culture' within the military — a particular fixation of Hegseth. But the names on the list are, in many ways, the embodiment of American 'warrior culture.' Tubman braved the risk of capture and death to liberate dozens of slaves from the South, and Huerta and Chavez defied federal law to lead one of the most consequential labor strikes in American history. Evers led protests against segregation in the most racist corners of Mississippi. Milk was not only one of the most prominent figures in the gay rights movement in the '70s and '80s, he was also a Korean War veteran. Milk was ousted from the Navy in 1955 after being accused of engaging in then-banned homosexual activities. He was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 — the first gay man elected to the position — after years working as an activist and leader of the Castro neighborhood's growing gay and lesbian community. As city supervisor, Milk worked closely with former Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, then also a city supervisor. Milk was assassinated along with former San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978 by disgruntled former supervisor Dan White. In 2019, when the Navy announced it would be naming a vessel after Milk, it seemed like a step towards restitution by the organization that had forced out Milk on the mere suspicion that he was gay, and had done the same to an estimated thousands of other service members under 'don't ask, don't tell.' 'When Harvey Milk served in the military, he couldn't tell anyone who he truly was,' California state Sen. Scott Wiener wrote in 2016. 'Now our country is telling the men and women who serve, and the entire world, that we honor and support people for who they are. Harvey Milk's strength continues to reverberate throughout our city, our country, and the world.' Now, only a few years later, Republicans are using their revulsion of DEI as a cover to reinstitute discriminatory policies, and erase the work of countless Americans who have battled — and as in the case of Milk and others, lost their lives — in the ongoing work to build a better America for all. Under Trump, the military has banned the enlistment of transgender individuals, and the Pentagon recently caught flack for erasing scores of photos and web pages honoring women and minorities in the military — including in one instance flagging photos of the 'Enola Gay' airplane which dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, for deletion. Now, civil rights heroes will have their names scrubbed from Navy vessels, lest any seaman learn too much about the men and women who fought for the rights they may now enjoy. More from Rolling Stone 'Transphobia Is Not Victimless': Online Queer Communities Remember Charlotte Fosgate Transgender Troops Deserve the Right to Serve 'SNL' Cold Open: 'AA Team' Jeanine Pirro, Pete Hegseth Have One Big, Boozy Reunion Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Chicago Tribune
10-03-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Husband of Caitlin Tracey, woman found dead in South Loop stairwell last year, taken into custody on Michigan warrant
Months after his estranged wife was found dead in the stairwell of a South Loop highrise, a Chicago man is expected to appear in Cook County court Monday after he was arrested on an outstanding warrant issued by police in Michigan. An extradition hearing for Adam Beckerink, husband of Caitlin Tracey, is scheduled for Monday, according to a representative for Tracey's family. Beckerink faces two pending charges of domestic violence against Tracey in Michigan. Beckerink is not charged in Tracey's October 2024 death. Last year, Tracey's parents successfully won custody of her remains after arguing in court that Beckerink, who was married to their daughter for six months, had a history of abusing her. He had filed a motion last year to temporarily prevent Tracey's parents from proceeding with her funeral. He argued in an affidavit he would be 'irreparably harmed and deprived of the ability to direct the disposition of his wife's remains for which he is entitled to and has priority under both Illinois and Michigan law.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
These are the US military's diversity photos Trump doesn't want you to see
The Pentagon is erasing photos, videos, and articles from military websites. The whitewash is part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's crackdown on DEI. Hegseth said he thinks DEI efforts harm unity among troops and "erode camaraderie." Shindigs on base. Pride celebrations. A tribute to a fallen warrior. These are among the years of celebrations and recognition of the US military's diversity being expunged on orders from the Trump administration, a time-consuming effort that extends the DEI crackdown from canceling future Black History Months for its workforce of 3 million to erasing all evidence that military commands had ever recognized them. The online content purge is the latest in a series of policy changes President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered at the Pentagon, including regulations targeting transgender troops. Since late January, error messages reading "content not available" or "page not found" have appeared on webpages depicting diversity day events hosted at military bases, biographies of pioneering military leaders, and stories advocating for women, racial minority groups, and LGBTQ+ troops. The erasure adds to concerns about the new administration and raises questions about why the military would devote resources to eliminating past projects intended in part to prompt more people to consider a military career in a difficult recruiting era. 'Our Diversity is Our Strength' Over the last month, Hegseth has criticized the Pentagon's diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as divisive, saying he thinks "the single dumbest phrase in military history is, 'Our Diversity is Our Strength.'" "I think our strength is our unity, our strength is our shared purpose; regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race, in this department we will treat everyone equally," the defense secretary said during a town hall at the Pentagon in February. "We will treat everyone with fairness. We will treat everyone with respect," Hegseth continued. "And we will judge you as an individual by your merit and by your commitment to the team and the mission." The Trump administration took the concerning and unprecedented move to axe top military leaders within the US military as part of its DEI pushback, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the first Black officer to lead a military branch, and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Navy's first female service chief. 'Identity Months Dead at DoD' Hegseth said he believes diversity-related initiatives "erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution." Hegseth said in a January press release that viewing troops by anything other than their "merit" is meant to "divide or create complications that otherwise should not and do not exist." And the wide-ranging online content removal is ensuring that diversity content doesn't exist — at least on US government websites. As one of the largest employers in the US, the Defense Department oversees a geographically and racially diverse workforce and has recognized traditions like Black History Month for decades. The US military's active-duty force of 1.3 million is predominantly male, with white as the largest self-identifying race at 68%, according to the Pentagon's 2023 demographic report. The enlisted ranks are more diverse than the officer corps, with Black troops accounting for 19.5% and Latinos 21.7%. Of the more than 400,000 racial minority troops, only about 15% are officers, and the lowest percentage of racial diversity is found among the highest-ranking officers across all service branches. Deleting DEI In addition to halting DEI efforts at the Pentagon going forward, Hegseth also mandated a "digital content refresh across all DoD public platforms," ordering the removal of diversity-related content by March 5. A memorandum of the February 27 mandate broadly described relevant content as "information that promotes programs, concepts, or materials about critical race theory, gender ideology, and preferential treatment or quotas based upon sex, race or ethnicity, or other DEI-related matters with respect to promotion and selection reform, advisory boards, councils, and working groups." The mandate also required the removal of content related to "merit-based or colorblind policies" and cultural heritage months. Since late February, photos and videos of cultural celebrations and stories highlighting groundbreaking servicemembers have been erased from military-run social media accounts and the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, the Pentagon's public media database. Vanishing voices The vague directive has led to a slew of content related to women, racial minority groups, and LGBTQ+ troops disappearing from military-run websites. "I guess I'll just stop taking photos of and sharing the stories of women and Black soldiers," an Army public affairs official told "Not sure how else to interpret this." People have taken to social media to share the stories of diversity that have gone dark on the Pentagon's official digital platforms. A transgender US soldier noticed the official Facebook account of the US Army's I Corps had taken down her 2021 Army Heritage Month video and re-shared the video on social media. Similarly, an article published in May 2023 about the legacy and achievements of West Point female graduates was taken down. The article mentioned trailblazing women like Maj. Kristen Griest, one of the first two women to graduate from the US Army Ranger School, and 2nd Lt. Emily Perez, who had been a high-ranking cadet leader at West Point. Perez was also the first Black female officer in US military history to die in combat after she was killed in action while leading a convoy in Iraq in 2006. Some videos about Perez's service were erased on the Army's public platforms. "I also talked about how my dad served for 24 years and the impact of 9/11. Now it's just gone," a user who identified herself as a former soldier said on social media after noticing a video profiling her was deleted. "Not going to lie it stings knowing my dad's service didn't matter, Emily's service didn't matter to them, and mine doesn't either." Flagged keywords In an internal memo sent last week, the Army's Office of the Chief of Public Affairs listed nearly 60 keywords for officers to use to target online material for removal, reported. The internal memo included terms like "culture," "diversity," "racism," and "sexuality." "Respect," one of the Army's core values, was also among the list of search terms for removable content. "This directive is antithetical to everything public affairs is supposed to be about," an Army public affairs official told "The Army has ethically compromised everyone." Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A cautious Rob Manfred says MLB's 'values on diversity remain unchanged'
Three days after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said his league would remain committed to its diversity initiatives, Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said his league would, too — albeit more cautiously. 'Our values on diversity remain unchanged, but another value that is pretty important to us is, we always try to comply with what the law is,' Manfred said Thursday at the MLB owners' meetings. 'There seems to be an evolution going on here. We're following that very carefully. When things get a little more settled, we'll examine each of our programs and make sure that, while the values remain the same, that we're also consistent with what the law requires.' President Trump's executive orders aimed at curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts apply to the federal government, not to a private business like MLB. Read more: Trump administration directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on leave 'The best I can do for you right now is, our values on the issues of diversity remain unchanged,' Manfred said. Trump's effort to limit government programs to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has compelled companies across America to take a stand on the issue, with Costco, Apple and Delta among the corporations retaining their DEI initiatives and Target, Amazon and McDonald's among those scaling back theirs. On Inauguration Day, Trump unveiled an executive order titled 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,' in which he said 'federal employment practices … shall not under any circumstances consider DEI factors, goals, policies, mandates or requirements.' Last Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a memo titled 'Identity Months Dead at DoD,' citing 'unity and purpose' as the reason to discontinue official celebrations of 'cultural awareness months,' including Black History Month. The next day, tweets from MLB, its players union and its clubs commemorated the start of Black History Month. Is Manfred happy with the results of the diversity programs he has championed? 'Some better than others,' he said Thursday. 'I think we have been successful in terms of the diversity of our fan base. … In terms of our player participation efforts, they have produced a different mix of players being drafted at the top of our draft. We see that as a positive. 'I think there are other job categories where we haven't been as successful as we would like to be.' In 2017, Manfred said baseball's diversity initiatives included a particular focus on the hiring of executives within the sport, not by mandating certain hires but by launching programs to attract diverse candidates to baseball at a young age and provide opportunities for development. 'I do believe there is something fundamentally American about the idea that the best guy should get the job,' Manfred told The Times then. 'I think it's very difficult to ask owners to do anything other than that. I think they have to do that, in a really competitive business. 'I think our job is to make sure you have a pool of candidates where there is a reasonable likelihood that the best guy is going to be a diverse candidate.' Goodell said Monday his league would remain committed to its diversity programs. Read more: Angels extend their Angel Stadium lease, committing to the venue through 2032 'We're not in this because it's a trend to get into or a trend to get out of,' Goodell told reporters at a Super Bowl news conference. 'Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent into the National Football League both on and off the field … We see how it's benefited the National Football League. 'I think we'll continue those efforts. I think it's also clearly a reflection of our fan base and our communities and our players.' The Athletic later reported that, for the first time since 2021, neither of the Super Bowl end zone markings would feature the slogan 'End Racism.' The NFL instead plans to use 'Choose Love' in one end zone and 'It Takes All Of Us' in the other. Trump is expected to attend Sunday's Super Bowl. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
