The Smile: 04/09/2025

 

Hi friend, Happy Wednesday! From coast to coast, Democratic-led cities and states are taking a stand against the Trump administration’s threats to slash school funding over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Their message is loud and clear: our classrooms should be inclusive, not political battlegrounds. Sign the petition to support leaders defending DEI and public education for all students - SUBSCRIBE TO GET SINGLE CLICK PETITIONS TO SEND TO YOUR LAWMAKERS! IT'S A GREAT WAY TO EXPRESS YOUR OPINION & DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TIME! Elsewhere, we’re seeing more hopeful headlines—from legal challenges against funding freezes to heartwarming reunions and powerful stories of resilience. There’s always light breaking through. Let’s dive into some good news together! Democratic-led cities, states push back on threats to cut US school funding over DEI WORTH READING!  excerpt:  Vermont’s education chief assured schools the state supports DEI practices and said superintendents won’t need to sign the certification. Instead, the state will assure federal officials it’s already following federal law, Zoie Saunders, the state’s education secretary, said in a Monday letter to school districts. The Illinois board of education rebuked the federal agency, saying it’s “attempting to exert power over every district in the country — even as it claims it’s returning education to the states.” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, said his city is willing to go to court over the order, which he called federal overreach. The New York and Minnesota letters both cite past comments from Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education secretary during his first term, extolling the virtues of diversity and inclusion. In a 2020 memo to agency staff, DeVos wrote that “embracing diversity and inclusion are key elements for success.” The states argue the Education Department is shifting its position without explanation. The states also accuse the Education Department of making broad declarations about the illegality of DEI without citing policies that violate federal law. Minnesota’s letter said if the federal agency has identified DEI practices that violate civil rights law, “we request advisement of them.” Maine sues Trump administration over funding freeze after trans athlete dispute Donald Trump's Approval Rating Slumps to Lowest Level in Multiple Polls House Democrats lay out their targets for 2026 battle Watch: ‘Never thought I would see him again’: Owner reunites with dog after 5 years How a chess champion became Utah’s most successful Democratic lawmaker Elon Musk Rage Quits Livestream After Being Cyberbullied by Gamers WOW!  “YOU WILL ALWAYS FEEL INSECURE AND IT WILL NEVER GO AWAY” Path of Exile 2 is one of Musk’s favorite games—so much so that he once claimed to be one of the world’s top players in an attempt to boost his gamer cred, before later backtracking and admitting that he had been secretly paying people to level up his account to make him appear more talented at it than he was. Nevertheless, while attempting to show off Starlink’s in-flight WiFi capabilities while onboard his private jet over the weekend, Musk streamed himself playing some PoE2 on the hardest difficulty, which was broadcast live on X. The DOGE chief was, predictably, terrible at the game, but that was the least of his problems—Less than five minutes into the stream, a player logged on and asked Musk if he could “please jerk off mr trump so he dies of a heart attack.” It only got worse from there. For the next hour and a half, Musk sat in stony-faced silence and blasted techno music while dozens of users with names such as ELON_IS_A_PEEDOPHILE and ELON_MUSK_IS_PATHETIC repeatedly spammed the chat to tell him “YOU HAVE NO FRIENDS AND YOU WILL DIE ALONE” and “YOU WILL ALWAYS FEEL INSECURE AND IT WILL NEVER GO AWAY.” Judge orders Trump administration to lift its ban on The Associated Press covering White House events Watch: 'God was working’: Man gets new heart, lungs and kidney in one day ACLU files suit to block Alien Enemies Act deportations Today’s user-submitted photo was sent in by Gwen H. who shared this beautiful photo from Lake Michigan. If you want the chance to have your photo featured, reply to this email 😄  Thank you for reading, and we hope these articles shine a light on your day. In solidarity, Emily from The Smile