Fearless Fund drops grant program for Black women business owners in lawsuit settlement
CNN
A venture capital firm has closed down a grant contest for Black women business owners as part of a settlement agreement with a conservative group that had filed a lawsuit alleging the program was discriminatory, both sides announced Wednesday.
A venture capital firm has closed down a grant contest for Black women business owners as part of a settlement agreement with a conservative group that had filed a lawsuit alleging the program was discriminatory, both sides announced Wednesday. The settlement came two months after a US federal court of appeals panel ordered the Atlanta-Based Fearless Fund to suspend the Strivers Grant Contest, which provided $20,000 to businesses that are majority owned by Black women. In a 2-1 ruling, the appeals court ruled that the American Alliance for Equal Rights, led by conservative activist Ed Blum, was likely to prevail in its lawsuit claiming that the program illegally discriminated on the basis of race. The lawsuit against the Fearless Fund, the Atlanta-based firm that has helped grow popular companies like beauty retailer Thirteen Lune and restaurant chain Slutty Vegan, has been closely watched as a bellwether in the growing legal battle waged by conservative groups against corporate diversity programs. Bolstered by the Supreme Court case that ended affirmative action in college admissions, conservatives have targeted dozens of companies and government institutions and challenged a wide array of programs and policies bolstering diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI. In a statement, Blum, who also brought the case that resulted in the affirmative action ruling, reiterated his view that “race-exclusive programs like the one the Fearless Fund promoted are divisive and illegal.” In a statement, Arian Simone, CEO and co-founder of the Fearless Fund, said she was pleased to put the lawsuit behind her and continue with the firm’s mission of “helping and empowering women of color entrepreneurs in need.”
Four days after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Elon Musk’s top lieutenants at the Treasury Department asked its acting secretary, a career civil servant, to immediately shut off all USAID payments using the department’s own ultra-sensitive payment processing system.
CNN’s 5 Things AM brings you the news you need to know every morning
Security for the Super Bowl in New Orleans will feature more boots on the ground, more tech and more intelligence – spearheaded by a federal official who grew up 40 miles from where kickoff will take place.
The Trump administration’s rapid moves to dismantle the US Agency for International Development have left thousands of workers scrambling to figure out what comes next and scores of those posted in dangerous hotspots around the world afraid for their safety.
President Donald Trump’s bid to remake the federal government is already affecting some vulnerable populations in the United States, according to nonprofits and health care providers who are grappling with delays in federal funding, new rules and changed guidance.
President Trump is seeking to end birthright citizenship in the United States. What is it, which other countries apply the policy and who would be affected by the order?
Panama denied a claim made by the State Department on Wednesday that the Central American nation had agreed to no longer charge fees for US government ships to transit the country’s famous canal.
The one-time Georgia prosecutor accused of using her office to impede the investigation into Ahmaud Arbery’s killers is set to stand trial more than four years after the Black 26-year-old’s death fueled nationwide protests over racial injustice.
Eligible federal workers must decide by 11:59 pm ET on Thursday whether to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, which will allow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.
Two Treasury Department employees affiliated with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will keep limited access to the highly sensitive payment system within the agency, following emergency court proceedings Wednesday that arose out of privacy concerns about DOGE’s access to the system.
The CIA has sent the White House an unclassified email listing all new hires that have been with the agency for two years or less in an effort to comply with an executive order to downsize the federal workforce, according to three sources familiar with the matter – a deeply unorthodox move that could potentially expose the identities of those officers to foreign government hackers.
After nearly three weeks in the minority, Democrats have finally settled on a target to rally against: Elon Musk.
The Office of Personnel Management’s chief financial officer, who manages more than $1 trillion in funds, was pushed out this week, two sources with knowledge of the situation told CNN.