Who was Harvey Milk? Navy vessel may be stripped of gay rights leader's name

Who was Harvey Milk? Navy vessel may be stripped of gay rights leader's name

A U.S. Navy oil tanker named after civil rights leaderHarvey Milk is reportedly set to be given a new title– another apparent move to strip military diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives underDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth. U.S. officialsconfirmed to Reuterson June 3 that the USNS Harvey Milk, which was christened in 2021, will be renamed. An official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity that the directive came from Hegseth's office. In a statement to USA TODAY, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth "is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos." "Any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete," the statement said. The Navy did not immediately respond to request for comment. Here's what to know about Milk and the Navy vessel named after him. USNS Harvey MilkNavy to strip gay rights activist Harvey Milk's name from oil tanker Harvey Milk became one of the nation's first openly gay elected officials when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Born on May 22, 1930, Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951. He resigned four years later after being officially questioned about his sexuality, according to theHarvey Milk Foundation. Milk moved to San Francisco in 1972, where he eventually became involved in politics. After several failed candidacies for roles in local office, Mayor George Moscone appointed Milk to the city's Board of Permit Appeals, making him the first openly gay city commissioner in the United States, according to the Milk Foundation. A year after Milk won election to the city's board of supervisors, he and Moscone were assassinated by a disgruntled former city supervisor. Milk was posthumously recognized for his work advocating for the LGBTQ+ community. A statue of Milk sits in San Francisco City Hall's rotunda, and a terminal in the city's airport is also named after him. In 2009, President Barack Obama awarded him the Medal of Freedom. In 2016, the Navyannouncedit would be naming a tanker after Milk as part of the John Lewis class of oilers, named after the late Georgia congressman. The U.S. Naval Ship Harvey Milk, which is identified by hull No. T-AO 206, waschristened in 2021. After successfully completing acceptance trials, the ship wasdelivered to the Navy in 2023. It's unclear when the tanker will be officially renamed. A U.S. official told Reuters it would not be surprising if additional ships in the John Lewis class were renamed, since others also honor civil rights leaders. Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk's nephew and the executive chair of the Harvey Milk Foundation, said in astatementon social media that the organization is "heartbroken" to hear of the possible renaming. "His legacy has stood as a proud and bright light for the men and women who serve in our nation's military – including those who have served on the USNS Harvey Milk – and a reminder that no barriers of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, or physical infirmity will restrain their human spirit," the statement said. The potential renaming of the USNS Harvey Milk would mark the Defense Department's latest move to cut diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the military. Hegseth nixed identity month celebrations, such as Black History Month and Pride Month, at the Defense Department. In March, the department pulled down and then scrambled to restore websites on military achievements by veterans such asJackie Robinsonand information on theNavajo Code Talkers. DEI explained:What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know. At military schools around the world, the department has alsopulled books from shelves,barred coursesanddefunded student clubs. President Donald Trumphas also vocally pushed to abolishdiversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached atmelina.khan@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What to know about Harvey Milk amid possible Navy ship renaming

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June 04, 2025

Who was Harvey Milk? Navy vessel may be stripped of gay rights leader's name

Who was Harvey Milk? Navy vessel may be stripped of gay rights leader's name A U.S. Navy oil tanker named after civil rights leaderHarve...

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Justice Department drops lawsuit against Trump adviser Peter Navarro

Justice Department drops lawsuit against Trump adviser Peter Navarro

(AP) —The Justice Department is droppinga lawsuitthat it filed against White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a case in which he was accused of using an unofficial email account for government work and wrongfully retaining presidential records during the first Trump administration, according to a Tuesdaycourt filing. The joint filing by the Justice Department and an attorney for Navarro doesn't explain why they are abandoning a case that was filed in 2022, during President Joe Biden's term in office. The one-page filing says each side will bear their own fees and costs. The lawsuit accused Navarro of using at least one "non-official" email account — a ProtonMail account — to send and receive emails. The legal action comes just weeks after Navarro was indicted on criminal charges afterrefusing to cooperatewith acongressional investigationinto the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Navarro served afour-month prison sentenceafter being found guilty of misdemeanor charges. The civil cases alleges that by using the unofficial email account, Navarro failed to turn over presidential records to the National Archives and Records Administration. The government notified the court of the lawsuit's dismissal a day before US Magistrate G. Michael Harvey was scheduled to preside over a status conference for the case. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. A lawyer for Navarro didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Navarro served as a trade adviser during President Donald Trump's first term. A longtime critic of trade arrangements with China, he has been named senior counselor for trade and manufacturing for Trump's second administration. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

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June 04, 2025

Justice Department drops lawsuit against Trump adviser Peter Navarro

Justice Department drops lawsuit against Trump adviser Peter Navarro (AP) —The Justice Department is droppinga lawsuitthat it filed against ...

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NOAA 'fully staffed' with forecasters, scientists, US Commerce secretary says

NOAA 'fully staffed' with forecasters, scientists, US Commerce secretary says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told a Senate hearing that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is "fully staffed" with weather forecasters and scientists after concerns were raised about some offices losing 24-hour staffing ahead of hurricane season. "We are fully staffed with forecasters and scientists. Under no circumstances am I going to let public safety or public forecasting be touched," Lutnick told a Senate appropriations subcommittee overseeing NOAA, saying he got the National Weather Service (NWS) exempted from a federal hiring freeze. NOAA, which includes the NWS, lost around 1,000 people or 10% of its workforce amid federal job layoffs in the first months of the second Trump administration, including 600 at the weather service. At least six NWS offices had stopped the routine twice-a-day weather balloon launches that collect data for weather models. The U.S. hurricane season officially began on Sunday and lasts through November. NOAA forecast last week that this year's season is expected to bring as many as 10 hurricanes. The agency had been scrambling to reassign staffers internally to fill gaps in understaffed offices over the last few months, sources have told Reuters. Lutnick told the committee that they are going to fill these positions and focus on cutting programs that he said were not part of NOAA's mission, including "children's books about climate anxiety." An internal memo seen by Reuters said that NOAA plans to hire 126 mission-critical positions at the National Weather Service including forecasters, radar technicians, hydrologists and physical scientists that will be advertised externally. (Reporting by Valerie VolcoviciEditing by Marguerita Choy)

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June 04, 2025

NOAA 'fully staffed' with forecasters, scientists, US Commerce secretary says

NOAA 'fully staffed' with forecasters, scientists, US Commerce secretary says WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard L...

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Trump admin's emerging surveillance state raises privacy concerns

Trump admin's emerging surveillance state raises privacy concerns

DENVER‒For decades, the government has been able to watch where you drive and where you walk. It can figure out where you shop, what you buy and who you spend time with. It knows how much money you have,where you've workedand in many cases, what medical procedures you've had. It can figure out if you've attended a protest or bought marijuana, and can even read your emails if it wants. But because all of those data points about you were scattered across dozens of federal, state and commercial databases, it wasn't easy for the government to easily build a comprehensive profile of your life. That's changing ‒ fast. With the help of Big Tech, in just a few short months, the Trump administration hasexpanded the government surveillancestate to a whole new level as the president and his allies chase down illegal immigrants and suspected domestic terrorists, while simultaneously trying to slash federal spending they've deemed wasteful, and prevent foreigners from voting. And in doing so, privacy experts warn, the federal government is inevitably scooping up, sorting, combining and storing data about millions of law-abiding Americans. The vast data storehouses, some of which have been targeted for access by Elon Musk's DOGE teams,raise significant privacy concernsand the threat of cybersecurity breaches. "What makes the Trump administration's approach so chilling is that they are seeking to collect and use data across federal agencies in ways that are unprecedented," said Cody Venzke, a senior policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. "The federal government's collection of data has always been a double-edged sword." Americans have always fiercely guarded and worried about their privacy even from the country's earliest days: The Constitution's Fourth Amendment specifically limits the government's ability to invade a person's privacy. Those concerns have only grown as more and more government functions are conducted online. A2023 survey by the Pew Research Centerfound that 71% of Americans worry about the government's use of data about them, up from 64% in 2019. The survey found the concern was greatest among those people who lean or consistently vote Republican, up from 63% to 77%. The level of concern among people who lean or consistently vote Democrat remained steady at 65%, the survey found. That same survey found that Americans overall are almost as concerned about government access to their data as they are about social media companies having access. People who had attended college were more worried about data privacy, while people with high school degrees were in general "confident that those who have access to their personal information will do the right thing." In acknowledgment of those concerns, the federal government carefully stores most data about Americans in separate databases, from Social Security payments to Medicare reimbursements, housing vouchers and food stamps. That limits the ability of government workers to surreptitiously build comprehensive profiles of Americans without court oversight. In the name of rooting out fraud, and government inefficiency, however, PresidentDonald Trumpin March ordered federal agencies under his control to lower the walls between their data warehouses. The Government Accounting Office estimates the federal government loses $233 billion to $521 billion to fraud annually, much of that due to improper payments to contractors or falsified medical payments, according to an April GAO report. The report also noted significant losses via Medicare or unemployment fraud, andpandemic-era stimulus payments. "Decades of restricted data access within and between agencies have led to duplicated efforts, undetected overpayments, and unchecked fraud, costing taxpayers billions," President Donald Trump said in a March 20 executive order that helped create the new system. "This executive order dismantles unnecessary barriers, promotes inter-agency collaboration, and ensure the Federal Government operates responsibly and efficiently to safeguard public funds." Supporters say this kind of data archive, especially video surveillance coupled with AI-powered facial recognition, can also be a powerful tool to fight crime. Authorities in New Orleans used video footage collected by privately owned security cameras to help capture at least one of the men who recently escaped jail. And systems that read license plates helped Colorado police track down a suspect accused of repeatedly vandalizing a Tesla dealership. White House officials are now prosecuting some Tesla vandalism cases as terrorism. But the new White House efforts go far beyond anything ever previously attempted in the United States, allowing the government to conduct intrusive surveillance against almost anyone by combining government and commercial databases. Privacy experts say it's the merging of government and commercial databases that poses the most significant concern because much of it can be done without court oversight. As part of the broader White House effort, contractors are currently building a $30 million system to track suspected gang members and undocumented immigrants, and buying access to a system that tracks passengers on virtually every U.S.-based airplane flight. And federal officials are also making plans to compile and share state-level voting registration information, whichthe president arguesis necessary to prevent foreign nationals from illegally voting in federal elections. Privacy experts say that while all of that data has long been collected and kept separate by different government agencies or private vendors ‒ like your supermarket frequent shopper card and cell phone provider ‒ the Trump administration is dramatically expanding its compilation into comprehensive dossiers on Americans. Much of the work has been kicked off by Elon Musk's DOGE teams, with the assistance of billionairePeter Thiel's Denver-based Palantir. Critics say such a system could track women who cross state lines for abortions - something apolice officer in Texas is accused of doing- or be abused by law enforcement to target political critics or even stalk romantic partners. And if somehow accessed by hackers, the centralized systems would prove a trove of information to commit fraud or blackmail. The nonpartisan nonprofitProject on Government Oversighthas been warning about the risks of federal surveillance expansion for years, and noted that both Democrats and Republicans have voted to expand such information gathering. "We need our leaders to recognize that as the surveillance apparatus grows, it becomes an enticing prize for a would-be autocrat,"POGO said in an August 2024 report. "Our country cannot build and expand a surveillance superstructure and expect that it will not be turned against the people it is meant to protect." Trump campaigned in 2024 on a platform of tough immigration enforcement, including large-scale deportations and ending access by undocumented people to federal programs. Immigrant-rights advocates point out that people living illegally in the United States are generally barred from federal programs, although those who have children born as U.S. citizens can often access things like food assistance or health care. Supporters say having access to that data will help them prioritize people for deportation by comparing work history and tax payments to immigration status, work that previously was far more labor intensive. Because federal officials don't know exactly who is living illegally in the United States, the systems by default must to scoop up information about everyone first. One example: a newly expanded program to collect biometric data from suspected illegal immigrants intercepted at sea can also be used to collect the same information on American citizens under the vague justification of "officer safety." That data can be retained for up to 75 years, according to federal documents. "It's only a matter of time before the harmful ripples from this new effort reach other groups," Venzke said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump's emerging surveillance state hits privacy concerns

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June 04, 2025

Trump admin's emerging surveillance state raises privacy concerns

Trump admin's emerging surveillance state raises privacy concerns DENVER‒For decades, the government has been able to watch where you dr...

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Trump says Fed's Powell must lower interest rate - Truth Social post

Trump says Fed's Powell must lower interest rate - Truth Social post

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday redoubled his calls for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates, noting that payroll processing firm ADP reported that job creation slowed in May. "ADP number out. 'Too Late' Powell must now lower the rate. He is unbelievable. Europe has lowered nine times," Trump said in a Truth Social post. ADP reported on Wednesday that U.S. private payrolls increased far less than expected in May, increasing by only 37,000 jobs last month after a 60,000 rise in April that was revised downward. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast private employment increasing 110,000 following a previously reported gain of 62,000 in April. Wednesday's ADP data came ahead of a more comprehensive employment report that will be released on Friday by the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump, a Republican, has hammered Powell for months in often personal attacks, with his calls for the Fed chair's resignation weighing on U.S. stocks and financial markets. Trump's repeated attacks have raised questions about the continued independence of the U.S. central bank under the Trump administration, although the U.S. president last month said he would not remove the Fed chair before his term ends in May 2026. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal, Brendan O'Brien and Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Chizu Nomiyama)

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June 04, 2025

Trump says Fed's Powell must lower interest rate - Truth Social post

Trump says Fed's Powell must lower interest rate - Truth Social post (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday redoubled his c...

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