US sub sinks Iranian ship by torpedo in Indian Ocean, 1st such attack since WWII

(NEW YORK) — U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon granted Iowa a first-of-its-kind waiver to use millions of unrestricted federal dollars on education in a move that inches the Trump administration closer to its goal of transferring education power and decision-making to states.

“States should lead — Washington should support their sound approaches and get out of the way,” McMahon announced on Wednesday. “We hope that as we partner with congressional leaders to return education to the states we can work with them [Iowa] to expand these opportunities for states and local leaders to run their education systems.”

The over $9 million waiver will help the Hawkeye State save millions in “compliance costs” over four years as the money flows directly back into the classroom, McMahon said in a post on X.

“Iowa now has the flexibility to cut paperwork and simplify a hundred percent of state activities funding streams. It can invest in proven strategies to build a world-class teacher pipeline, close achievement gaps, and open post secondary opportunities to prepare for a great career,” McMahon said.

Under the waiver, certain federal requirements will be dropped so that less strings are attached giving the state more flexibility in using the aid. Prior to the formal waiver request, the state submitted a Unified Allocation Plan to show how it would use its funds to improve academic outcomes for Iowa’s education programs. The plan includes supporting effective educator development, English language acquisition, among other topics, according to state education leaders.

The approval of the waiver bolsters McMahon’s mission to reduce the federal government’s role in education nationwide. But education is already a local-level issue in the U.S. On average, state and local education agencies provide about 90% of public school funding across the country.

The agency is also working with about six additional states on their waiver requests, an Education Department spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

Title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 allows states and tribes to submit requests to waive any statutory or regulatory requirement seeking to “reduce administrative burden” and align programs with the needs of its students, according to a release from the Department of Education.

In addition to Iowa’s $9 million in flexible federal funding, the Education Department approved the state’s application for “Ed-Flex authority,” which allows the state to grant individual school districts waivers from certain federal requirements without first having to submit individual waiver requests, according to the release from the department.

McMahon made the announcement during her “Returning Education to the States Tour.”

During her first year as the nation’s top education official, McMahon has made about two dozen stops in states across the country aiming to identify the best educational practices on the local level and work with local leaders to scale those practices nationwide, she says.

Wednesday’s announcement allows state leaders to focus federal dollars on work that best improves the achievement of Iowa students, according to the release from the department. For the announcement, McMahon was joined by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, director of Education McKenzie Snow, and surrounded by about a dozen students at Broadway Elementary School in Denison.

Reynolds touted Iowa’s education models, including teaching the science of reading and using evidence-based math and reading practices. She stressed that the move Wednesday means “moving the dial” towards returning education to the states.

“The more red tape that we cut from the federal level, the more Iowa can increase education quality,” she added.

“I look forward to continuing to improve student outcomes, reduce red tape for schools, support teachers, and ensure federal education dollars are focused toward state and local priorities where they make the greatest difference,” Reynolds said in a statement.

However, critics of the Trump administration’s education initiatives say they believe abolishing the agency and giving sole power to the states could harm the millions of students across the country.

The top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee slammed McMahon’s approval of the education waiver for allegedly ignoring the law and abandoning marginalized students.

In a statement, Ranking Member Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, urged the Department to “refrain” from granting similar waivers to other states.

“Congress must not sit idly by as the Trump administration makes every effort to drag students, educators, and parents back into an era where students were denied the opportunities and resources they needed to succeed,” Scott said.

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(WASHINGTON) — Later this month, President Donald Trump is hosting an annual meeting with governors at the White House, but he will not invite any Democrats, only Republicans, breaking a long-standing tradition.

The meeting, part of the National Governors Association winter gathering, will only include Republican governors, a spokesperson for the organization confirmed to ABC News.

“The bipartisan White House governors meeting is an important tradition, and we are disappointed in the administration’s decision to make it a partisan occasion this year. To disinvite individual governors to the White House sessions undermines an important opportunity for federal-state collaboration,” Brandon Tatum, acting Executive Director and CEO of the National Governors Association, said in a statement to ABC News.

Trump is still planning to hold a separate, bipartisan dinner for governors and their spouses at the White House as part of the NGA activities. But Trump did not give invites to two Democrats: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

It’s unclear why Trump did not invite Polis and Moore to the dinner. Moore also serves as the vice chair of the NGA.

“This is a disappointing decision for a traditionally bipartisan event between Governors and whomever occupies the White House,” Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for Polis, said to ABC News in a statement. A source close to Polis said the governor was not given a reason for not being invited.

Over the past few months, Trump has put pressure on Polis to release Tina Peters from prison following her receiving a presidential pardon. Peters was convicted on state charges for a scheme to tamper with voting systems driven by false claims about the 2020 election. Trump’s pardon power does not extend to state crimes.

Moore was also not informed why he was not invited to the annual dinner and blasted Trump in a statement released on Sunday, appearing to suggest his race was a factor.

“My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why it’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership,” Moore said.

“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not,” he continued.

ABC News has requested comment from the White House regarding Moore’s remarks.

Moore said to CNN on Sunday that he has received a commitment from the bipartisan National Governors Association that it will not recognize the dinner as an official NGA event.

In a statement to ABC News, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president’s decision to exclude Democratic governors from the annual NGA meeting at the White House, adding that Trump did invite them to the dinner.

“These are White House events and the President can invite whomever he wants. With that being said, the White House has been coordinating meetings with the President, cabinet secretaries, and Democrat governors for more than a week,” Leavitt said in her statement. “Democrats were invited to the dinner at the White House. This is a non-story.”

Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, in an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Monday, slammed Trump’s decision to only invite Republicans to the annual meeting with governors at the White House and exclude Moore and Polis from the bipartisan dinner. Beshear also said he would not be attending the bipartisan dinner.

“No, I ain’t going,” Beshear said. “Wes is a friend of mine. Even if he wasn’t a friend of mine, this would be wrong — and Jared as well — but the other thing that’s going on is they didn’t invite any Democratic governor to the business section.”

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(NEW YORK) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday called for the Trump administration to terminate its immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, following the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents. 

“A fundamental responsibility for government is to keep people safe, and part of the way you keep people safe is by building trust between law enforcement and the community,” Shapiro said in an interview on “Good Morning America.”

“What Donald Trump and the federal government are doing is eroding that trust, is making people less safe, and it is time to terminate this mission,” he said. 

The Pennsylvania Democrat called for an independent investigation into the killings of Pretti and Rene Good to be led by the state of Minnesota. 

Some Republicans have called for a thorough investigation of Pretti’s killing, after videos of his killing raised questions about Trump administration officials’ initial characterizations of the incident. 

“This mission in Minnesota is compromised. It’s been directed by Donald Trump and [Vice President] JD Vance and [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem in a way to wreak havoc on a community, in a way that is very clearly violating people’s constitutional rights each and every day, and has led to two tragic killings in the streets of people who were not a threat, I believe, to law enforcement,” Shapiro said. 

Americans cannot bring a loaded firearm to protests, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.

“You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want,” the FBI Director said after being asked by Fox host Maria Bartiromo about his message to those who are outraged about the shooting. “It’s that simple. You don’t have that right to break the law and incite violence.”

Asked if he endorses calls by a growing number of Democrats to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security this week — and risk a partial government shutdown — Shapiro endorsed the position of Nevada Democratic Sen. Katherine Cortez Masto, who called for the Senate to fund the rest of the government while pushing for changes to DHS in the wake of the shootings in Minneapolis. 

Noem has defended the agents’ actions in Minneapolis.

“This individual went and impeded their law enforcement operations, attacked those officers, had a weapon on him and multiple, dozens of rounds of ammunition, wishing to inflict harm on these officers, coming, brandishing like that, and impeding their work that they were doing,” Noem said this weekend.

Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino also defended the actions of agents amid the protests.

“I believe the fantastic training that our law enforcement partners have, the fact that they’re highly trained, prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement,” Bovino told CNN this weekend. “So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that.”

“The challenge here … is the direction that these federal agents are receiving, the direction that’s coming all the way from the top, from Trump and Vance and Noem, that is compromised,” Shapiro said on Monday. “I would not continue funding this and giving the president a blank check to wreak havoc and undermine people’s constitutional rights.”

In his memoir out Tuesday, “Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service,” Shapiro reflects on his life in public office and grapples with the 2025 arson attack on his home. 

“One of the core principles you enunciate in your book is that we have more that unites us than divides us. You see what’s happening in Minneapolis. You see what’s happening in the streets of our country. And does it challenge your thesis?” ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Shapiro on Monday. 

“I would hope that even in these serious moments, even in these moments where I know we are consumed by this darkness, particularly coming out of Minneapolis right now, let’s not forget that there are people in the world doing good, bringing light each day,” Shapiro said. 

Shapiro said politicians need to “speak and act with moral clarity.”

“Part of the point of my book is to encourage more politicians, particularly those who enable this president on a daily basis, to take their cues, not from the division that exists, you know, in our society, and sort of pushed even more so by social media, but instead, take their cues from good people who are doing good things in our communities each and every day, and that’s where I find the light,” he said. 

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