Duane Gang

This week marked the 40th anniversary of the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. Here’s how @usatoday.com covered it in the next day’s paper. News, Money, Sports and Life covers.

Love this obit to the humble penny by @typewriterninja.bsky.social for @usatoday.com Please read to the end!

Pres. Trump says the Smithsonian Institution is too "woke."

My colleagues + I went to several museums + interviewed visitors to assess his concerns.

Here's what we found:
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

@chrisquintana.bsky.social @stephenbeard.bsky.social @duanegang.bsky.social @usatoday.com

In New Orleans, Broadmoor and the Lower Ninth Ward tell competing stories of recovery since Hurricane Katrina. One emerged stronger than before. The other remains entrenched in a battle for survival. Rick Jervis reports from New Orleans for @usatoday.com ⁦‪ www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Tomorrow marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. ⁦ @usatoday.com national correspondent Rick Jervis covered a lot of the early rebuilding efforts‬⁩. He went back to see if New Orleans' culture survived Katrina. Here's what he found. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

The LA city council recently banned the N-word and C-word in its meetings, saying the terms have disrupted the proceedings "on many occasions."

But groups like @thefireorg.bsky.social, @facoalition.bsky.social and @aclu.org say the rule violates free speech.

My latest for @usatoday.com:

From Bibles to prayer groups: What Trump's new religion memo for federal workers means Trump's administration previously touted guidance Clinton's administration issued in 1997 on federal employees' right to religious expression at work.

The Trump admin's memo about fed. employees' right to religious expression says, among other things, they can talk to others about "why (their) faith is correct."

But that's nothing new, experts said. The new memo is, however, less concerned w/ potential harassment, they said.

More @usatoday.com:

Wait a bluegrass-pickin’ minute: Canadians are making Old-Fashioneds without Kentucky bourbon? Canadians are exploring new ways to make a classic cocktail after pulling American booze from their shelves to protest Donald Trump's tariff policies.

Canadians have pulled American alcohol from the shelves. So how does one make an Old Fashioned without Kentucky bourbon? Kentucky-native and Old Fashioned connoisseur
Michael Collins of @usatoday.com decided to find out. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Farmers are facing a fork on Trump's immigration highway. So what's next? Across the country, Trump’s immigration raids have roiled farms and farming communities – with cases of worker shortages and fears of unpicked crops.

Immigration raids and deportations are roiling American farms. For @usatoday.com, @chriskenning.bsky.social talks to farmers about what they see as the path forward. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Trump is seeking to reshape higher education. Meet the man he wants leading the charge. Trump's pick to oversee higher ed was a vice president for a company that paid $13 million to settle accusations it defrauded the student aid system.

The Trump administration is seeking to dramatically reshape higher education across the U.S. For @usatoday.com, @chrisquintana.bsky.social takes a deep dive looking at the man Trump wants leading the charge. www.usatoday.com/story/news/i...

Can Trump deport visa holders over their speech? Federal judge will soon decide U.S. District Judge William Young, who previously blocked the administration's termination of NIH grants, presided over the two-week nonjury trial.

The latest from @brieannafrank.bsky.social on the @usatoday.com First Amendment beat. Reporting from Boston. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

He signed away his home for a school that was never built. His family is fighting back. George Houston was pressed to sell his land in 1968. Like many Black Americans, it cost him a chance to build generational wealth for his children.

From @usatoday.com national columnist @suzyscribe.bsky.social: George Houston was pressured to sell his land in 1968 for a new middle school. It was never built. Now, his family is fighting back -- and changing state law in Washington along the way. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Smoky Hills @pbs.org is a rural station that sits in the heart of Kansas wheat country. It's among the places that advocates fear could be hardest hit if the Senate votes to claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

My latest for @usatoday.com:

With just word-of-mouth warning, a man raced 25 miles to save guests at his Texas RV park Center Point, Texas, RV park owner David Chambers said he was stunned not to have had a better warning as floodwaters rose.

With just word-of-mouth warning, a man raced 25 miles to save guests at his Texas RV park. From @usatoday.com's Rick Jervis on the ground in Center Point, Texas. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

See how the Texas floods unfolded and why Camp Mystic was in a hazardous location Maps show how heavy rainfall and rocky terrain helped create the devastating Texas floods that have killed more than 120 people.

From the talented @usatoday.com graphics team. How the deadly Texas flooding unfolded. www.usatoday.com/story/graphi...

A flood killed his entire family in 2015. Now, he's joined search efforts in Texas. Jonathan McComb was the sole family member to survive a Texas flooding in 2015. Now, he's in Kerrville searching for victims in from the latest flooding.

In 2015, this Texas man lost his entire family in flash flooding. Since then, he has felt called to join search-and-rescue efforts after other deadly natural disasters. Now, he's in Kerrville. Powerful story from @usatoday.com's Rick Jervis. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

Brief update, Senate version would cap the college endowment tax at 8% instead of the House's max rate of 21%. Also, only three tax tiers now, instead of four. Religious carveout remains in place, via Senate Finance Committee: www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...

A jailbreak, a monthlong manhunt and a push to fix New Orleans’ broken lockup The 10 men broke out of a New Orleans jail in an escape straight out of Hollywood. Now, with two escapees are still on the run 30 days into the search.

It's been one month since the brazen jailbreak in New Orleans. With 2 escapees still on the run, @chriskenning.bsky.social in this deep dive takes us inside the escape, the manhunt and the push to fix a broken jail system. @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

'No Kings Day' protests planned for June 14 with aim to reclaim the American flag The 1,800 "No Kings" protests across the country are meant to express frustration over President Trump's actions that organizers say are authoritarian.

'No Kings Day' protests planned for June 14 with aim to reclaim the American flag www.usatoday.com/story/news/n... via @usatoday.com

How the Supreme Court could still reshape religious liberty with decisions in two cases The court deadlocked in a case that would have created the first religious charter school, but two other significant religion cases remain.

The US Supreme Court is still to rule on two more cases that could have significant impact on religious liberty and the First Amendment. @brieannafrank.bsky.social explores the issue for @usatoday.com. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

With a war on Harvard raging, religious colleges get big tax break in Trump spending bill Trump's spending bill, now headed to the Senate, would exempt religious colleges from a big tax increase on endowments.

Today for @usatoday.com, @chrisquintana.bsky.social and @brieannafrank.bsky.social explore the religious exemption in the big college endowment tax hike included in the White House spending bill. Will every religious institution qualify? www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Orleans Parish DA blasts inmate search delays as prosecutors face safety worries As the search for five remaining escapees continues, Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams says there were delays in evidence gathering at the jail.

From @chriskenning.bsky.social and @photojmorgan.bsky.social on the ground in New Orleans as the city remains on edge amid the manhunt for five remaining jail escapees. The DA blasts delays in gathering fingerprint and DNA and demands the sheriff preserve documents. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

How 'money, power or greed' ripped the Nooksack 306 from their homes - and their tribe Elizabeth Oshiro was a member of the Nooksack Indian Tribe. A part of the family. Welcome to live on their tribal land. Until she wasn’t.

Wonderful storytelling by @usatoday.com national columnist @suzyscribe.bsky.social. She is embarking on a series about what home means. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

This is a good example of looking deep into a nonprofit organization's tax forms. @chrisquintana.bsky.social reports on how much Liberty University paid out to ex-president Jerry Falwell Jr. to end litigation stemming from his resignation back in 2020.

White smoke at Vatican, phones blowing up in Chicago: Their old classmate Robert is pope Those who knew Pope Leo XIV as a younger man say his path to the papacy has prepared him well for the challenges ahead.

Really nice storytelling and reporting from @usatoday.com and @chriskenning.bsky.social and @michael-loria.bsky.social about Pope Leo XIV and his early years in Chicago. www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

I am staying in Nashville so I’ll no doubt get to work with folks here from time to time still, and I'll continue cheering on The Tennessean and getting the paper at home and online! 4/4

Going forward, grateful to all my new
@usatoday.com colleagues for the opportunity and the chance to help showcase and elevate the fantastic journalism USA TODAY is providing readers across the U.S. 3/

I'll miss my awesome colleagues in Nashville. The Tennessean has been a family to me, especially over the past year. I am thankful for all the support from so many here over the past decade plus as I have grown as an editor and newsroom leader. 2/

Some personal news: After 13 years at The Tennessean, I am embarking on a new role as the senior editor for storytelling @usatoday.com where I'll get to work with a talented team of national correspondents telling in-depth stories from across the U.S. 1/

Thank you, Tennessee, for your hospitality. Now, it's time to move south. | Opinion Tennessee welcomed Opinion and Engagement Director David Plazas in 2014. As he leaves for a new opportunity, he reflects on hospitality and gratitude.

Going to miss @davidplazas.bsky.social as he leaves Tennessee. But wishing him the best as he takes on the opinion team at the @ajc.com. www.tennessean.com/story/opinio...