By CHEYANNE MUMPHREY

Like many of his predecessors, President Donald Trump has affirmed the importance of historically Black colleges and universities, hailing them as a pathway to careers and a better life for students in the U.S.

The schools have not faced cuts to federal grants of the kind that have rocked Ivy League schools Trump has blasted as hotbeds of “wokeness” and antisemitism, and the president has said HBCUs’ core federal funding is not at risk.

But that is not to say it’s a comfortable time for HBCUs’ leaders. As the Trump administration cracks down elsewhere on programs to support underrepresented students, the colleges have been expressing gratitude for the administration’s recognition while mostly keeping quiet on its sweeping attacks against diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“HBCUs, in general, I don’t believe are in a position to be adamantly and vociferously opposed to these attacks, but deep down we all know what’s going on,” said Deron Snyder, an alumnus of and professor at Howard University. “It’s just how much can you actually say without fear of retribution.”

An executive order signed by Trump in April recognizes HBCUs and pledges his administration’s support. It calls for an annual White House summit, private sector partnerships, and an advisory board with the Education Department, but it does not guarantee any new federal funding.

The order won praise from some Black universities, including Howard University and Morgan State University, as well as organizations that work with HBCUs. Harry Williams, president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said the order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations and lawmakers to redouble support for HBCUs and their students.

But the colleges’ leaders have said little on other administration actions that are out of line with the mission of HBCUs, which were founded to educate formerly enslaved people.

The administration’s campaign against DEI has encouraged restrictions on classroom discussions around racism and led to cuts in federal research grants. As it threatens to cut federal funding from schools, some colleges have shuttered diversity offices and ended other programs to support students of color.

For HBCUs, the moment is reminiscent of the era decades ago when Black colleges were compelled to argue that school segregation was wrong but also needed to maintain government support for their institutions, said Marybeth Gasman, a Rutgers University professor who has studied the history of HBCUs.

Black college leaders “don’t want HBCUs to be under the umbrella of DEI, but I don’t know any HBCU president who would agree with the way that Donald Trump is dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” she said.

The Trump administration has cut federal research grants for several universities, pressuring them to comply with his agenda. Since Harvard University refused the administration’s demands for changes to its policies and leadership, the government has slashed $2.6 billion in funding, which the Ivy League school has described as retaliation.

In an interview in April, Trump told NewsNation that Black colleges and universities should not be concerned about losing their funding.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, vice chair of the House HBCU caucus, said there has long been bipartisan support for the colleges. But she said there will be new vigilance of their federal support in light of the administration’s record on programs serving minorities.

Sewell, a Democrat, said it is also alarming to see the administration move to dismantle the Education Department.

“We’ll be pushing back fiercely against that and do all that we can to make sure that our HBCUs get the money that they deserve,” Sewell said. She said the Congressional Black Caucus has been paying close attention to the Republicans’ funding plan for a program that supports 19 HBCUs through the Department of Agriculture.

Related Articles

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to leave mass layoffs at Education Department in place

Judge puts temporary hold on Trump’s latest ban on Harvard’s foreign students

Top US universities raced to become global campuses. Under Trump, it’s becoming a liability

St. Paul’s Maxfield Elementary breaks ground on ‘community schoolyard’

Trump promised to welcome more foreign students. Now, they feel targeted on all fronts

Williams, of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, said HBCUs have exceeded all expectations of the opportunities they have provided for for underrepresented students. He said he is grateful for the administration’s support, but when asked about its actions toward diversity initiatives, he said the administration has challenges it is working through.

“Hard work pays off and education pays off. That’s why these institutions are so critical to this country,” he said. “The realities of those other challenges that we’re grappling with right now in terms of what the administration is dealing with as it relates to their priorities, we were just pleased to know that they recognize the importance of what these institutions have done for the country will continue to do in a very deliberate way.”

AP journalists Collin Binkley and Matt Brown in Washington contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The Twins on Friday recalled right-hander Travis Adams from Class AAA St. Paul and added him to the 26-man active roster. He will be available to make his major league debut tonight against Toronto at Target Field.

To make room, left-hander Kody Funderburk was optioned back to St. Paul. In his second stint with the Twins this season, Funderburk appeared in seven games, allowing eight runs on 15 hits and four walks in eight innings. He struck out four.

Adams, 25, has appeared in 13 games (two starts) for the Saints this season, going 3-1 with a 3.43 earned-run average and three saves. He has allowed 38 hits and fanned 37 in 42 innings for St. Paul.

Hannah Husom thwarted a rally with a defensive gem, then all but iced a state title with her bat.

The senior’s two-run single capped a four-run fourth inning and Champlin Park was clutch in crunch time to beat Bloomington Jefferson 6-0 in the Class 4A softball championship game Friday morning at the University of Minnesota.

Five of six Rebel runs came were plated with two-out hits.

“These girls are built for the moment. Any time you have girls in scoring position, they thrive. They want the at-bat, want to go up there and pick their teammates up,” said Champlin Park coach Bryan Woodley.

Marissa Rothenberger allowed three hits and struck out six, Lauren Heltemes had three of the team’s 13 hits, and the Rebels (24-2) took top honors in the school’s first state appearance.

Up 1-0 in the fourth, Husom made sure the Champlin Park lead would hold.

Brook Borwege and Remi Rudquist had two-out singles for the Jaguars (25-3), but Husom raced to the gap in left-centerfield and, while looking toward the sun, reached out for a tremendous running catch to rob Grace Rolek of an extra-base hit.

“I know I’m fast, like I know I could get there, but I was shocked. It was a good hit, but it was a good catch,” Husom said.

Ever made a bigger catch?

“No, because that was a huge moment. I think that was the best catch I could have made,” she said.

In center field, Ava Parent — who had the game-winning hit for the Rebels in the semifinals Wednesday in Mankato — had the best look at what she termed an “insane” and “electric” snare.

“I wasn’t surprised that she caught. It was an amazing catch, so it was very exciting, but I knew she had it in her. … That catch just fired everyone up for the next inning,” she said.

The momentum carried to the bottom of the frame where Champlin Park scored four times.

Chloe Postma and Amanda Kotsmith had traditional singles, and Heltemes loaded the bases on a dribbler inside the first-base line. Two batters later, and with two outs, Parent had two-run single, and Husom did the same for a 5-0 lead.

“Losing in the section championship last year really gave us that drive, because we knew we could do it,” Husom said. “Coming into this year we were like, ‘We’re the best team in the state’. We had the confidence. We kept telling ourselves that.”

Seeded fourth, Jefferson upset top-seeded Forest Lake 3-2 in a semifinal but couldn’t get anything going in the title tilt.

“They outplayed us in every aspect of the game,” said coach Jim Hanson.

Related Articles

East Metro Softball Player of the Year: Forest Lake’s Avery Muellner

State boys tennis: St. Paul Academy finishes off fourth straight title

State softball: Champlin Park’s Ava Parent walks-off White Bear Lake

State softball roundup: Jefferson upsets Forest Lake in 4A semifinals

State tennis: St. Paul Academy takes first step on path to potential four-peat

By HANNA ARHIROVA and VASILISA STEPANENKO

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia struck Ukraine with a thunderous aerial bombardment overnight, further dampening hopes that the warring sides could reach a peace deal anytime soon days after Kyiv embarrassed the Kremlin with a surprising drone attack on military airfields deep inside Russia.

The barrage was one of the fiercest of the three-year war, lasting several hours, striking six Ukrainian territories, and killing at least four people and injuring about 50 others, Ukrainian officials said Friday. Among the dead were three emergency responders in Kyiv and someone who was pulled from the rubble of an apartment building in a northwestern city.

The attack came after U.S. President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, told him Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s attack Sunday on Russian military airfields. It was also hours after Trump said it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace. Trump’s comments were a remarkable detour from his often-stated appeals to stop the war and signaled he may be giving up on recent peace efforts.

Ukrainian cities have come under regular bombardment since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. The attacks have killed more than 12,000 civilians, according to the United Nations.

“Russia doesn`t change its stripes,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The war has continued unabated even as a U.S.-led diplomatic push for a settlement has brought two rounds of direct peace talks between delegations from Russia and Ukraine. The negotiations delivered no significant breakthroughs, however, and the sides remain far apart on their terms for an end to the fighting.

Ukraine has offered an unconditional 30-day ceasefire and a meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock. But the Kremlin has effectively rejected a truce and hasn’t budged from its demands.

“The Kremlin continues efforts to falsely portray Russia as willing to engage in good-faith negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, despite Russia’s repeated refusal to offer any concessions,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Thursday.

Further peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian are expected in coming weeks, as is another exchange of prisoners of war.

Homes are struck

The attack involved 407 Russian drones and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said. Ukrainian forces said they shot down about 30 of the cruise missiles and up to 200 of the drones.

The Kyiv emergency workers were killed while responding to the strikes. “They were working under fire to help people,” the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it aimed at Ukrainian military targets with “long-range precision weapons” and successfully struck arms depots, drone factories and repair facilities, among other targets.

But fitting a pattern for Russian attacks throughout the war, Friday’s bombardment also struck apartment buildings and other non-military targets, Associated Press reporters observed.

In Kyiv, explosions were heard for hours as falling drone debris sparked fires across several districts, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Administration. He urged people to seek shelter.

Related Articles

What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games

Today in History: June 6, Allies land in Normandy on D-Day

D-Day veterans return to Normandy to mark 81st anniversary of landings

The man whose weather forecast saved the world

WWII vets are rock stars in France as they hand over the duty of remembering D-Day

Vitalina Vasylchenko, a 14-year-old Kyiv resident, sheltered in a parking garage with her 6-year-old sister and their mother after an explosion blew one of their windows off its hinges.

“I heard a buzzing sound, then my dad ran to me and covered me with his hand,” she said. “Then there was a very loud explosion. My whole life flashed before my eyes — I already thought that was it. I started having a panic attack. … I’m shocked that I’m alive.”

In Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district, a fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 16-story apartment building. Emergency services evacuated three people from the burning unit. The attack caused a blackout in some areas, and more than 2,000 households on Kyiv’s eastern bank were without power, city officials said.

Elsewhere, 10 people were injured by an aerial attack on the western city of Ternopil, regional governor Viacheslav Nehoda said. The strike damaged industrial and infrastructure facilities, left parts of the city without electricity, and disrupted water supplies.

Russia also targeted the western Lviv and Khmelnytskyi regions, the northern Chernihiv region, and the central Poltava region, where at least three people were injured.

Russia also reports drone attacks

In Russia, air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital early Friday, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. As a precaution, flights at Moscow airports were temporarily suspended overnight Thursday into Friday and then again late Friday afternoon.

Ukrainian drones also targeted three other regions of Russia, authorities said, damaging apartment buildings and industrial plants. Three people were injured, officials said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 174 Ukrainian drones over 13 regions early Friday. It added that three Ukrainian Neptune missiles were also shot down over the Black Sea.

Ukraine struck airfields and other military targets in Russia, such as fuel storage tanks and transport hubs, the Ukrainian General Staff said.

Also, a locomotive derailed early Friday in the Belgorod region after the track was blown up, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Russia has recently accused Ukraine of sabotaging the rail network.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine