CDC grant funding for ‘gender ideology’ programs is ‘permanently terminated,’ HHS says
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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Health and Human Services directed recipients of grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to immediately halt all programs, personnel and activities related to “gender ideology,” according to an email obtained by ABC News.
“You must immediately terminate, to the maximum extent, all programs, personnel, activities, or contracts promoting or inculcating gender ideology at every level and activity, regardless of your location or the citizenship of employees or contractors, that are supported with funds from this award,” the email stated.
It also said that “any vestige, remnant, or re-named piece of any gender ideology programs funded by the U.S. government under this award are immediately, completely, and permanently terminated.”
The email from HHS follows President Donald Trump’s executive order — Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government — which directed the federal government to recognize only two sexes: male and female.
The latest directive from the HHS impacts any entity that receives CDC funds, such as local health departments and clinics across the country, and it affects any programs supported by the nearly $4.5 billion spent by the CDC last year to aid health departments across all 50 states.
HHS sent a similar memo to recipients specifically receiving foreign assistance funds regarding DEI programs. That memo said, “You must immediately terminate, to the maximum, all programs, personnel, activities, or contracts promoting ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEl) at every level and activity, regardless of your location or the citizenship of employees or contractors, that are supported with funds from this award,” according to a copy obtained by ABC News.
ABC News previously reported a memo that was sent to HHS officials on Wednesday directing sub-agencies such as the CDC to remove “all outward facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) that inculcate or promote gender ideology” by 5 p.m. on Friday.
As of Friday evening, government webpages on HIV, LGBTQ+ issues and public health were taken down, according to a subsequent report by ABC News.
(NEW YORK) — President-elect Donald Trump, seeking to halt the upcoming sentencing in his criminal hush money case in New York, on Monday filed suit against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan over the judge’s denial of his presidential immunity motions.
The filing came as Judge Merchan denied a request by Trump, filed earlier Monday, that Merchan stay the sentencing, which is scheduled for Friday.
Trump’s lawyers filed the lawsuit — called an Article 78 motion — in New York’s Appellate Division First Department.
Trump’s attorneys argued in the suit that Judge Merchan exceeded his jurisdiction when he denied Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in his ruling last week and ordered Trump to appear for sentencing, either in person or virtually, on Jan. 10 following his May conviction.
Trump was found guilty in May of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in order to boost his electoral prospects in the 2016 presidential election.
In denying Trump’s request to halt the sentencing, Merchan wrote, “This Court has considered Defendant’s arguments in support of his motion and finds that they are for the most part, a repetition of the arguments he has raised numerous times in the past.”
“Further, this Court finds that the authorities relied upon in the instant motion by the Defendant are for the most part, factually distinguishable from the actual record or legally inapplicable,” Merchan wrote.
In asking Merchan to stay the sentencing, Trump’s attorneys had argued that Merchan “will lack authority to proceed with sentencing” because Trump is still appealing Merchan’s earlier ruling that the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision does not apply to the New York hush money case.
“Forcing a President to continue to defend a criminal case — potentially through trial or, even more dramatically here, through sentencing and judgment — while the appellate courts are still grappling with his claim of immunity would, in fact, force that President ‘to answer for his conduct in court’ before his claim of immunity is finally adjudicated,” defense attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove wrote.
Merchan initially scheduled the sentencing for July 11 before pushing it back in order to weigh if Trump’s conviction was impacted by the Supreme Court’s July ruling prohibiting the prosecution of a president for official acts undertaken while in office. Merchan subsequently ruled that Trump’s conviction related “entirely to unofficial conduct” and “poses no danger of intrusion on the authority and function of the Executive Branch.”
The Manhattan district attorney’s office urged Merchan to reject Trump’s request, arguing in a filing on Monday that the court has already “bent over backwards” to allow Trump to raise his claims of presidential immunity.
Bragg rejected Trump’s argument that his pending appeals mean Merchan does not have the authority to go forward.
“The notices of appeal that defendant will file with the Appellate Division do not divest this Court of jurisdiction or otherwise automatically stay proceedings in this Court,” Bragg argued in his filing.
Prosecutors argued that Trump’s lawyers failed to make the “extraordinary showing” needed to justify a stay of the entire case as they requested, arguing that the delay is largely a product of Trump’s own doing.
“The current schedule is entirely a function of defendant’s repeated requests to adjourn a sentencing date that was originally set for July 11, 2024; he should not now be heard to complain of harm from delays he caused,” the filing said.
The district attorney said sentencing Trump on Jan. 10 would not impair the discharge of Trump’s official duties because they are “duties he does not possess before January 20, 2025.”
“The President-elect is, by definition, not yet the President. The President elect therefore does not perform any Article II functions under the Constitution, and there are no Article II functions that would be burdened by ordinary criminal process involving the President elect,” the filing said.
Merchan last week indicated that he would sentence Trump to an unconditional discharge — effectively a blemish on Trump’s record — saying it struck a balance between the duties of president and the sanctity of the jury’s verdict.
Trump’s attorneys, in their Monday filing, said it did not matter.
“It is of no moment that the Court has suggested an intention to impose a sentence of unconditional discharge. While it is indisputable that the fabricated charges in this meritless case should have never been brought, and at this point could not possibly justify a sentence more onerous than that, no sentence at all is appropriate based on numerous legal errors — including legal errors directly relating to Presidential immunity that President Trump will address in the forthcoming appeals,” the defense said in Monday’s filing.
Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 20, has also argued that the sentencing would disrupt his presidential transition and “threatens the functioning of the federal government.”
(BETHESDA, MD) — An FBI special agent has been arrested in Montgomery County, Maryland, and stands accused of sexually assaulting two women, according to police.
Special Agent Eduardo Valdivia, 40, is charged with 10 counts, including two counts of second-degree rape.
According to court records, the alleged attacks took place in May 2024 and September 2024.
Valdivia is in custody in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility and is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing in district court on Tuesday.
“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously. We are aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and are fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department,” the FBI’s Washington Field Office said in a statement to ABC News.
“Regarding the employment of Eduardo Valdivia, he is currently suspended pending the conclusion of the Montgomery County Police Department investigation,” the statement said.
Valdivia was previously charged with attempted murder in a 2020 off-duty shooting after a verbal exchange on a Metro train car. The incident was captured by security cameras.
A jury in Montgomery County found Valdivia not guilty in that case after a trial in 2022.
Female giant panda Qing Bao eats bamboo in her enclosure at the National Zoo on January 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Giant pandas Bao Li and Qing Bao made their long-awaited public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D.C., ahead of Lunar New Year next week.
Bao Li and Qing Bao, both 3, are emerging from quarantine and are featured in the newly relaunched giant panda cam, which consists of 40 cameras that will be operated live between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
The superstar pandas traveled from China and arrived in the U.S. on Oct. 15, 2024. National Zoo members had the opportunity to see the pandas in a special preview held between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, a period that gave the giant pandas time to acclimate to their new home.
“Bao Li and Qing Bao have already won the hearts of our staff and volunteers, and we are excited to welcome panda fans back to the Zoo — the only place in the nation where you can see giant pandas for free — and celebrate the newest chapter of our giant panda breeding and conservation program,” Brandie Smith, the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the National Zoo, said in a news release.
“They’re very active and they’re just a lot of fun and obviously super cute,” zookeeper Mariel Lally told ABC News previously about the two pandas.
The National Zoo will host a series of public events and programs celebrating the giant pandas between Jan. 25 and Feb. 9, including a Lunar New Year event. Some Washington, D.C., hotels are even offering panda-themed packages with amenities such as stuffed toy pandas, roundtrip transportation to the zoo and panda-themed beverages.
Panda enthusiasts can see the giant pandas for free at the National Zoo, the only zoo in the U.S. where visitors can see the animals free of charge.
