By MORIAH BALINGIT, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Education Department to undo a freeze on the last of the U.S. relief money given to schools to help students recover academically from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The federal government provided $189 billion in aid money for schools during the crisis, giving them broad latitude in how to spend it.

Nearly all that money had been spent, but some school districts received deadline extensions that gave them additional time to use it. Districts spent it on things like after-school tutoring, summer school, social workers, college counselors, library books and renovations to make school buildings safer.

On March 28, Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to school officials saying she had moved the deadline up — to that very day. She said the department would consider releasing some funds, but only on a project-by-project basis.

“Extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities,” McMahon said.

Officials in sixteen states and the District of Columbia sued in response, leading to Tuesday’s order from U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in New York City.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has unilaterally cut education funding and downsized the Education Department, leading to numerous legal challenges. The Trump administration also cut teacher-training programs that helped rural schools combat educator shortages and has threatened to withhold funding from schools with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

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.

By MAURA CAREY

The $2.8 billion NCAA settlement awaiting final approval from a federal judge is touted as a solution for thousands of athletes to finally get the money they deserve and provide some clarity to recruiting. For some, it’s too late.

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Sophomore distance runner Jake Rimmel says he was one of five walk-ons cut from Virginia Tech’s cross country team after Thanksgiving break. Rimmel decided to take a leave of absence and train independently while considering his next move – something that’s proven easier said than done.

“Everyone’s got their hands tied right now, so there’s just not many opportunities for me,” Rimmel told the Associated Press. “I’ve just been having to bet on myself and trust the process. It’s just been lonely. I’ve been at home training by myself and living with my family again. Thank God for my family and all, I appreciate them. It’s still kind of lonely though, being out of the norm, not being at school and with my friends.”

Pending approval, the so-called House settlement will allow schools to share revenue with athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). That could secure generational wealth for some but not others, and replacing scholarship caps with roster limitations is expected to leave walk-ons, partial scholarship earners, non-revenue sport athletes and high school recruits at risk. There are deep concerns about the potential impact on sports that feed the U.S. Olympic teams.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken told attorneys handling the settlement to come back to her with a plan soon to protect athletes currently or recently on rosters at schools across the country, a request seen as a way to soften the blow.

What that looks like is anyone’s guess for now, but thousands of athletes like Rimmel have no idea where they might be this fall or are in jeopardy of no longer playing college sports at all. And many athletes balancing school and their sport are unaware of what’s at stake and have more questions than answers.

Belmont track and field athlete Sabrina Ootsburg said everything she knows about the settlement is from personal research.

“My school doesn’t do a lot of education around it (the settlement). Every now and then, we’ll be told, ‘Hey, if you want to sign up to potentially get some money from this House settlement that’s happening, you can do that,’” Ootsburg said. “It’s almost like the education we’re being given is optional to consume, even though it’s limited.”

Oostburg is used to taking matters into her own hands, securing over 50 NIL deals by herself. She has contacted lawyers and asked for updates on the settlement, but she’s not quite reassured. The chaotic nature of college athletics so obvious to the public is even worse for the athletes themselves.

“Being a college athlete, it’s so hard to stay up to date with what’s happening every day because it’s so constantly changing,” she said.

FILE – The NCAA logo is displayed at center court at The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

Smaller, non-revenue-generating programs don’t often have a point person to navigate NIL deals or educate athletes. At Belmont, Ootsburg said, NIL-related responsibilities are managed by an already busy compliance office.

“To take time to learn about what’s happening is just so time-consuming, especially if you’re not in that one percent or one of the football players where they have people dedicated to helping them stay up to date,” she said.

For now, thousands of athletes are trying to wrap up their spring semesters and many of them have league tournaments or even NCAA championship competition ahead before what many expect will be the final summer before college sports sees some of the most dramatic changes in history. For athletes like Rimmel, those changes are already here.

Some of the others cut from the Virginia Tech program have given up on their dreams of collegiate running altogether. Rimmel hasn’t given up completely; he spoke with his former coach recently, who said the Hokies’ athletics department is still trying to figure out what’s to come.

“I’m still kind of hoping I might be able to find my way back there next fall,” he said.

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

By MATTHEW DALY and MATTHEW BROWN

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah, prompting outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who called the plan a betrayal that could lead to increased drilling, mining and logging in the West.

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Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee adopted the land sales proposal early Wednesday morning. The initial draft had not included it amid bipartisan opposition.

The land sale provision put forward by Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah would sell thousands of acres of public lands in the two states, and calls for some of the parcels to be considered for affordable housing projects. Rep. Joe Neguse , D-Colo., called the plan “deeply irresponsible.”

“Public lands shouldn’t have a price tag on them. But (President) Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working like mad to hand over our public lands to billionaires and corporate polluters to drill, mine and log with the bare minimum oversight or accountability,” said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. The lands potentially for sale “belong to all Americans. They shouldn’t be given away to pad corporate bottom lines,” Manuel said.

The sales were approved as the Natural Resources committee voted 26-17 to advance legislation that would allow increased leasing of public lands for drilling, mining and logging while clearing the path for more development by speeding up government approvals. Royalty rates paid by companies to extract oil, gas and coal would be cut, reversing former Democratic President Joe Biden’s attempts to curb fossil fuels to help address climate change.

The measure is part of Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up funding to halt migrants. House Speaker Mike Johnson has set a goal of passing the package out of his chamber by Memorial Day. All told, 11 different House committees are crafting portions of the bill.

Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Republican and former Interior secretary in the first Trump administration, had said before the vote that he was drawing a “red line” on public land sales.

“It’s a no now. It will be a no later. It will be a no forever,” said Zinke, whose state includes large parcels of federally owned lands.

Zinke and Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., are set to lead a new bipartisan Public Lands Caucus intended to protect and expand access to America’s public lands. The caucus was set to launch on Wednesday, hours after the resources panel vote.

Oil and gas royalty rates would drop from 16.7% on public lands and 18.75% offshore to a uniform 12.5% under the committee-passed bill, which still faces a vote in the full House and Senate once it is incorporated into the final legislative package. Royalties for coal would drop from 12.5% to 7%.

The measure calls for four oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge over the next decade. It also seeks to boost the ailing coal industry with a mandate to make available for leasing 6,250 square miles of public lands — an area greater in size than Connecticut.

Republican supporters say the lost revenue would be offset by increased development. It’s uncertain if companies would have an appetite for leases given the industry’s precipitous decline in recent years as utilities switched to cleaner burning fuels and renewable energy.

Drew McConville, a senior fellow at the liberal Center for American Progress, denounced the committee vote.

“The Trump tax bill was already a massive and historic sellout of U.S. lands and waters to corporate interests. This dark-of-night maneuver shows how shamelessly focused congressional Republicans are on sacrificing public benefits to pay for Trump’s reckless tax cuts. If this bill passes, the losses to America’s great outdoor legacy will be felt for generations,” McConville said in a statement.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner in March proposed using “underutilized” federal land for affordable housing. Turner said some 7 million homes are needed. Officials under Biden also sought to use public lands for affordable housing, although on a smaller scale.

The agencies have not yet released more details of the proposal.

Brown reported from Billings, Montana.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A hearing Wednesday before Nevada’s high court could provide the first public window into a secretive legal dispute over who will control Rupert Murdoch’s powerful media empire after he dies.

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The case has been unfolding behind closed doors in state court in Reno, with most documents under seal. But reporting by The New York Times, which said it obtained some of the documents, revealed Murdoch’s efforts to keep just one of his sons, Lachlan, in charge and ensure that Fox News maintains its conservative editorial slant.

Media outlets including the Times and The Associated Press are now asking the Nevada Supreme Court to unseal the case and make future hearings public. The court is scheduled to hear arguments in the afternoon in Carson City, the capital.

Murdoch’s media empire, which also includes The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, spans continents and helped to shape modern American politics. Lachlan Murdoch has been the head of Fox News and News Corp. since his father stepped down in 2023.

The issue at the center of the case is Rupert Murdoch’s family trust, which after his death would divide control of the company equally among four of his children — Lachlan, Prudence, Elisabeth and James.

Irrevocable trusts are typically used to limit estate taxes, among other reasons, and can’t be changed without permission from the beneficiaries or via a court order.

Rupert Murdoch has attempted to alter the trust, however, and Prudence, Elisabeth and James have united to try to stop that. James and Elisabeth are both known to have less conservative political views than their father or brother, potentially complicating the media mogul’s desire to keep Fox News’s political tone.

The dispute has had many twists and turns, including a probate commissioner ruling against Rupert Murdoch in December.

In a 96-page opinion, the commissioner characterized the plan to change the trust as a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” inside the empire “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the family trust, according to the Times.

Adam Streisand, a lawyer for Rupert Murdoch, told the newspaper at the time that they were disappointed with the ruling and intended to appeal. Another evidentiary hearing is scheduled for this month.