Trump Mail-In-Voting Order. KSU Students Sue Over Takeover Threat. SCOTUS Tosses Death Sentence

The state of Kentucky voted to convert Kentucky State University (KSU), an 1890 land-grant HBCU, into a polytechnic institution. This move is framed as a deliberate attempt to dismantle the liberal arts university, effectively reducing it to a two-year associate degree program extension. The state owes KSU over $172 million in underfunding from 1987-2020, plus an estimated $10-15 million annually since 2020. Instead of rectifying this, the legislature passed a 'Trojan horse bill' that illegally changed KSU's mission, granted the president unilateral control over faculty and students, and led to retaliation against students involved in a lawsuit.

Republican lawmakers voted to make Kentucky State University a polytechnic institution [00:03:26]. This would get rid of liberal arts programs, basically nothing more than an extension on a two-year associate degree program [00:05:01], [00:04:16]. The Commonwealth of Kentucky owes over $172 million in underfunding to Kentucky State University over a 23-year period [00:05:34]. The statute gave unfettered control to the president to terminate faculty and staff, and over student enrollment [00:06:10]. The bill was adopted with the old title, no reference to Kentucky State University, making it illegal under Kentucky law [00:14:50].

Kentucky's actions against KSU are part of a broader pattern of systemic underfunding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by states. Federal land-grant money intended for these institutions has been diverted to predominantly white institutions (PWIs) for decades, resulting in billions of dollars owed to HBCUs across states like Tennessee, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. This deprivation of funds leads to poor facilities and lower graduation rates, which are then used by states as excuses to criticize HBCUs.

HBCUs were owed billions of dollars where money from the federal government in land grant money was owed to these schools. Tennessee State was one of those schools. Fort Valley State and others. We're talking billions of dollars that went to the states and then they sent that to frankly PWIs, predominantly white institutions, and screwed over the HBCUs [00:07:01]. North Carolina A&T alone is owed $2.79 billion [00:36:02]. Tennessee State is owed $2.1 billion [00:39:23].

A federal judge, a Trump appointee, allowed Donald Trump's executive order limiting mail-in voting and creating a federal voter list to stand. The judge rejected arguments from Democrats and civil rights groups that the order was unconstitutional and should be blocked due to its proximity to midterm elections. The ruling stated it was 'too early' to block the order because it had not yet been implemented, a tactic seen as gaming the system to create chaos and suppress votes, particularly in states that vote against Trump.

A federal judge is allowing Donald Trump's strange and ridiculous limitation on mail ballots to stand [00:01:19]. Judge Nichols rejected the request by Democrats and civil rights groups who argued that Trump's order would likely be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the person occupying the Oval Office, have the power to set the election rules [00:43:27]. Nichols agreed with the Republican Trump administration's contention that it was too early to block the order because it had not yet been implemented [00:43:40].

Apple, a company with a market cap of $4.59 trillion, is closing its Towson, Maryland store, which was the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize. Unlike employees at two other non-union Apple stores that are also closing, Towson employees received termination letters and must re-apply for jobs, rather than being automatically transferred. The union leader, Eric Brown, believes this is direct retaliation for unionizing, highlighting Apple's resistance during the two-year unionization process and the impact on the Baltimore community served by the store.

The market cap of Apple is $4.59 trillion [01:08:48]. The Towson store became the first Apple retail store in the United States to unionize [01:09:41]. The employees at the other two stores that are closing are being transferred automatically to other locations while myself and all of my coworkers, we all got letters of termination [01:11:30]. It took us double the normal time to get our first contract, until 2024 [01:13:33]. The Towson store is the only store that supports the Baltimore area [01:17:01].

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Terrance Pitchford, a Black man on Mississippi's death row for 20 years, clearing the way for his possible release. The majority, including Justices Kavanaugh, Roberts, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Jackson, found that the Mississippi trial court erroneously omitted a key part of the Batson inquiry, failing to allow defense counsel to argue that the prosecutor's race-neutral reasons for striking jurors were pretextual. Justice Clarence Thomas, however, dissented, arguing against federal intervention in state court decisions, a stance consistent with his history of ruling against Black defendants in similar cases.

In a 5-4 decision of the Supreme Court today, it favored a black man who has spent 20 years on Mississippi's death row [02:10:54]. Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson were the five. Clarence Thomas was part of the four [02:11:51]. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority, stating the Mississippi trial court erroneously omitted a key part of the Batson inquiry [02:14:00]. Gorsuch emphasized the high bar that an inmate like Pitchford must clear to obtain federal post-conviction relief [02:16:19].