Trump orders the gradual shutdown of the U.S. Education Department
Trump’s order on Thursday entitled “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities,” was directed to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, asking her to take necessary steps provided by law to close the department.
“We’re going to shut it down. Return our students to the states that will do a better job,” he said at the signing ceremony at the White House, adding that his administration may eventually pursue efforts to get the congressional approval to close the agency.
The directive did not specify the dismantling process though the White House said the department will retain certain critical functions, including federal student loans.
The president has already derided the Education Department that was created in 1979 as wasteful, claiming that it was polluted by liberal ideology. However, he would be needing a legislation from Congress to gut it completely.
Trump’s party colleagues at the Capitol Hill have pledged to introduce a legislation to achieve his goal despite the opposition and warning from Democrats.
“Shutting down the Department of Education will harm millions of children in our nation’s public schools, their families who mostly rely on federal funding in schools and hardworking teachers,” Hakeem Jeffries, the U.S. House minority leader, said in a statement.
The move is part of Trump’s campaign promises to take apart federal agencies that’s been on the target list of conservatives for a long time.
Recently, the U.S. president ordered to gut seven federal agencies, including the one overseeing Voice of America and other government-funded media outlets globally and asked them to submit detailed plans specifying which functions are legally required.
There have also been deep cuts to the Office for Civil Rights and the Institute of Education Sciences, which gather data on the nation’s academic progress.
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U.S. administration”s baseless accusations once again highlight its hostile policy toward Iran: Envoy to U.N.
In a letter to the U.N. Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council Christina Markus Lassen, Iravani said these groundless accusations serve as nothing more than a calculated attempt to distract the international community”s attention from the unfolding Israeli genocidal war, war crimes, and mass atrocities against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
He stressed that the U.S. mission in the U.N. seizes every opportunity in the Security Council to manipulate this platform, advancing Washington’s political agenda and falsely depicting Iran as a threat to international peace and security.
The full text of Iravani’s letter to the U.N. is as follows:
Excellency,
I categorically reject the baseless accusations leveled against the Islamic Republic of Iran by the representatives of the United States and the occupying terrorist regime of Israel during today’s Security Council open briefing on 21 March 2025 held under the agenda item “The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question” (9883rd meeting), falsely attributing destabilizing activities and support for terrorism to Iran. These accusations are entirely groundless, devoid of any credibility, and serve as nothing more than a calculated attempt to distract the international community from the unfolding Israeli genocidal war, war crimes, and mass atrocities against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They also aim to obscure the United States” undeniable complicity in these crimes and its steadfast support for Israel’s destabilizing and malign activities across the region. I also reject the identical, unfounded claims made by the U.S. representative in the Security Council’s open briefing held on 18 March 2025 (9881st meeting) under the same agenda item.
The United States’ direct role in enabling Israel’s atrocities is irrefutable and well-documented. The U.S.’ unwavering political, military, and financial support has emboldened Israel to commit egregious crimes with absolute impunity. The baseless allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran are, therefore, nothing but a desperate attempt to obstruct the Security Council from shouldering its responsibility, deflect attention from the truth, shield Israel from accountability, and perpetuate impunity for its crimes. Furthermore, these baseless accusations once again highlight the hostile policy of the U.S. administration towards the Islamic Republic of Iran and affirm that the U.S. delegation to the United Nations, acting on directives from Washington, disregards the realities on the ground and continues to make false accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. They seize every opportunity in the Security Council to manipulate this platform, advancing Washington’s political agenda and falsely depicting Iran as a threat to international peace and security.
In response to the U.S. representative’s baseless claim about Iran’s nuclear program during the meeting, I must emphasize that Iran’s nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and fully compliant with its obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In stark contrast, the United States remains the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Moreover, Washington’s double standards and hypocrisy are evident in its continued silence on Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal and its failure to address Israel’s repeated threats to use weapons of mass destruction against the Palestinian people in Gaza, exposing how the non-proliferation issue serves merely as a political tool for the United States.
I should be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council.
Please accept, Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
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۱.۵ میلیون راننده جدید وارد جادهها شدند
به گزارش خبرگزاری مهر، سرهنگ احمد کرمی اسد، رئیس پلیس راه راهور فراجا، درباره عوامل مؤثر در افزایش تراکم ترافیک و تصادفات جادهای اظهار داشت: یکی از عوامل تأثیرگذار در این زمینه، افزایش تعداد رانندگانی است که به تازگی گواهینامه دریافت کردهاند.
طبق آمار، در سال ۱۴۰۳ بیش از یک میلیون و ۵۰۰ هزار نفر به ناوگان رانندگان کشور اضافه شدهاند که بخش عمدهای از این افراد، به واسطه اخذ گواهینامههای جدید، به جادهها ملحق شدهاند.
وی ادامه داد: علاوه بر افزایش تعداد رانندگان، تعداد خودروهای نو شماره نیز بهطور چشمگیری افزایش یافته که این موضوع خود عاملی برای افزایش تراکم ترافیک و احتمال وقوع تصادفات است. همچنین، تغییرات در قوانین اخذ گواهینامههای حرفهای نیز بر این موضوع تأثیر گذاشته است.
طبق مصوبه هیئت وزیران در سالهای گذشته، فاصله زمانی بین اخذ گواهینامه پایه دو به یک و پایه سه و دو، دو سال بود، اما از سال جاری این فاصله زمانی به یک سال کاهش یافته است.
رئیس پلیس راه راهور فراجا تأکید کرد: این کاهش فاصله زمانی سبب افزایش تقاضا برای دریافت گواهینامههای حرفهای، بهویژه گواهینامه پایه یک و دو، شده است. این در حالی است که بسیاری از رانندگانی که به تازگی گواهینامه حرفهای دریافت کردهاند، تجربه کافی در رانندگی ندارند و این میتواند خطرات زیادی را بهدنبال داشته باشد. همچنین، گواهینامه پایه سه رانندگان برای تردد در جادههای برونشهری محدودیتهایی دارد که رانندگان در یک سال اول از دریافت گواهینامه اجازه تردد آزاد ندارند.
سرهنگ کرمی اسد افزود: بهرغم این محدودیتها، تعداد زیادی از رانندگانی که گواهینامه پایه سه دارند، بهویژه در ساعات خاصی از شبانهروز، بدون رعایت محدودیتها به رانندگی میپردازند. در حال حاضر هیچ مکانیسم سیستمی برای نظارت و کنترل دقیق بر این دسته از رانندگان وجود ندارد و در بسیاری از مواقع تنها از طریق کنترلهای تصادفی و نظارت پلیس، امکان شناسایی تخلفات این گروه از رانندگان فراهم میشود.
وی در پایان خاطرنشان کرد: برای کاهش تصادفات و افزایش ایمنی ترافیک، لازم است که تدابیر کنترلی بهویژه در زمینه نظارت بر روند اخذ گواهینامههای حرفهای و رفتار رانندگان در جادهها تقویت شود.
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