The News for 12/13/25
The content you hear on this program has not been reviewed by WRFL prior to broadcast and is produced under the discretion of its host DJs, and does not reflect the views of the University of Kentucky, WRFL, or its underwriters.
We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, December 13th.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported Wednesday that the University of Kentucky has flagged 1,200 of its partnerships with external organizations for cancellation due to potential violations of the Civil Rights Act as interpreted by the Trump administration. This news comes after the U.S. Department of Education found earlier this year that UK and 45 other universities had violated the Civil Rights Act for participating in The PhD Project, a program for students of color completing their doctoral degrees. The federal government had forced UK to examine its relationships with every external organization to see if any of them “may restrict membership based on race.” But the Herald-Leader said that the report that UK sent to the U.S. Office of Civil Rights this week “went much further” than that.
Herald-Leader columnist Linda Blackford’s piece this week was titled, “UK complies with Trump administration’s desire to turn higher-ed back to 1950.” In it, she calls the process a “witch hunt” and says UK’s criteria to flag its partnerships for cancellation went as far as considering whether the organization’s name includes “racial, ethnic, gender-based or identity-specific terms” and whether they’ve had DEI trainings. UK also flagged any organizations whose websites contain terms such as “anti-racism,” “structural racism,” or similar concepts used to describe “the historical facts of a country that used to enslave much of its population,” Blackford said.
In the column, Blackford went on to say, “For some reason, UK officials seem a little too eager to comply in advance, with no word about how they disagree with these measures, even as they meet them. Are other universities putting as much evident passion as UK is into meeting Trump’s call to rid public spaces of everyone but white men? Certainly, UK has been dotting every i and crossing every t, especially if the t is in transphobia,” Blackford said. She concluded her piece by saying, “This too shall pass, and we will remember who folded to Trumpian extremism and hate. That’s not much consolation for the minority and vulnerable students on campus who are living through these attacks right now, but in Kentucky, it seems that it’s all we’ve got.”
In other local news, The Kentucky Kernel reported this week that the independent news outlet Kentucky Lantern has now sued the University of Kentucky after UK’s open records office refused to release records related to a $375,000 settlement that UK made with a faculty member who opposed its decision to disband the University Senate last year. Kentucky Lantern attorney Michael Abate told the Kernel that this case shows UK’s resistance to transparency and that he has never seen another situation like this one, in which UK made a large payment to faculty member Deshana Collett in June in exchange for her withdrawing her open records request. Abate said that UK “doesn’t want anybody to know what they’re up to,” and that people “should be really concerned.”
Finally tonight, in media news, Deadline Hollywood reports Friday that Paramount has launched a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros., which Netflix announced last week it would be buying for about $28 a share. Paramount’s hostile takeover bid offers $30 a share for Warner Bros., using funds from Jared Kushner’s private equity firm and from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Deadline reports that unlike Netflix, Paramount would likely shutter WB’s film studio and also wants to take control of the slate of cable TV channels owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which would be spun off into a separate company under the Netflix deal. Warner Bros. must respond to the bid by December 22nd, although it could do so sooner, Deadline says, as the future of another historic major film studio hangs in the balance.
And that’s… the news.
The News for 12/6/25
The content you hear on this program has not been reviewed by WRFL prior to broadcast and is produced under the discretion of its host DJs, and does not reflect the views of the University of Kentucky, WRFL, or its underwriters.
We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, December 6th.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that the University of Oklahoma placed one of its instructors on administrative leave after a student complained about religious discrimination for receiving a zero on an essay she wrote for a psychology class that was not based in any scientific foundation but instead cited the Bible and called the existence of multiple genders “demonic.” The decision to suspend the professor, who is trans, resulted in widespread condemnation of the University of Oklahoma, which is just one in a long line of universities this year, including UK, that have suspended their own faculty or staff after conservatives complained, according to the Times.
Independent journalist Parker Molloy wrote about the subject Tuesday, saying, “Somewhere, right now, a trans person is doing their job, but at some point, someone is going to have a problem with them because they’re trans. That person will take their grievance to the media, and it won’t matter what actually happened. The news will cover the [so-called] ‘controversy’, and the trans person will be put on leave, fired, or resign. And then the conservative who started it all will go on Fox News and get a GoFundMe.” Molloy went on to say, “This is a pattern. We’ve watched it happen over and over again, and we will keep watching it happen until the institutions that capitulate to these campaigns start recognizing them for what they are: coordinated attempts to purge trans people from public life.”
In other higher education news, The Atlantic published an article this week with the title, “Colleges Are Preparing to Self-Lobotomize,” arguing that, “The skills that students will need in an age of automation are precisely those that are eroded by inserting AI into the educational process.” The author, Michael Cline, wrote in the piece, “Technology professors believe that no one yet understands how to integrate AI into curricula without risking terrible educational consequences. It’s difficult to imagine a market for graduates whose thinking, interpreting and communicating has been offloaded to a machine.” This news comes after UK last month announced its “CATS AI” initiative, launching an Artificial Intelligence major and partnering with Microsoft to infuse AI into the workflows of UK students, faculty and staff, as reported by the Kentucky Kernel.
Also here at home, Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Linda Blackford wrote on Thursday about UK’s decision this week to fire its football coach, Mark Stoops, and pay out the remainder of his contract. Blackford wrote in the piece, “How could UK afford to pay $38 million over 60 days? We don’t know.” Earlier this year, UK funneled its athletics department into a limited liability company called Champions Blue, which requires fewer transparency disclosures, according to the Herald-Leader. “All this points to UK reaching peak corporate status, one in which various parts of what used to be a university have been parceled off into LLCs or into public/private partnerships. None of that is fundamentally improving UK, where professors and researchers are being told to save money and cut back. The last thing anyone talks about these days is educating students,” Blackford said.
Finally tonight, in media news, The New York Times reported that Netflix announced plans on Friday to acquire Warner Bros. in an $82 billion deal that “will send shockwaves through Hollywood and the broader media landscape. Netflix is already the world’s largest paid streaming service, with more than 300 million subscribers. Bulking up Netflix with Warner Bros. and HBO would create a colossus that could force smaller companies to merge as they scramble to compete,” the Times said. A group of feature film producers sent a letter to Congress on Thursday about what they said are their “grave concerns” with the deal, writing, “Netflix views any time spent watching a movie in a theater as time not spent on their platform. They have no incentive to support theatrical exhibition, and they have every incentive to kill it.”
And that’s… the news.
The News for 11/29/25
The content you hear on this program has not been reviewed by WRFL prior to broadcast and is produced under the discretion of its host DJs, and does not reflect the views of the University of Kentucky, WRFL, or its underwriters.
We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, November 29th.
There’s some late-breaking news in the world of higher education tonight. The Daily Northwestern newspaper reports late Friday night in a developing story that Northwestern University in Illinois, just outside of Chicago, has agreed to a deal with the Trump administration to pay the federal government $75 million in order to restore federal funding for the university’s research programs.
The agreement also requires Northwestern to provide housing & sports facilities based on assigned sex at birth, as well as end trans health care for minors at Northwestern’s medical arm, and reverse a policy Northwestern instituted last year in the wake of protests against the genocide in Gaza to be more transparent in its financial dealings. However, there are no limits imposed on what can and cannot be taught academically, the Daily Northwestern reported.
The Northwestern University Board of Trustees made the controversial decision to capitulate to the Trump administration despite Northwestern faculty voting earlier this month 595-4 to implore the university not to cave to Trump. This news also comes at a time when a new Gallup poll just released Friday shows that Trump’s approval rating nationwide has dropped 5 percentage points since last month’s poll to just 36% approval, with fully 60% disapproving of Trump and his administration, according to Gallup News.
Reaction to the Northwestern news in Illinois has been coming in swift online, with Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, which is based in Chicago, commenting just before 10:00 tonight that Northwestern’s move was, “an insanely stupid and short-sighted choice. I didn’t even know they were still trying to run this racket. You put more universities in danger with this, you idiots!”
This is an ongoing story as we come on the air tonight. We were planning to have a holiday break from the news this week but then this post-Thanksgiving Friday night news dump happened, so we’ll have a full report on this and other stories on next week’s show.
And that’s… the news.
The News for 11/22/25
The content you hear on this program has not been reviewed by WRFL prior to broadcast and is produced under the discretion of its host DJs, and does not reflect the views of the University of Kentucky, WRFL, or its underwriters.
We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, November 22nd.
The Kentucky Kernel reported this week that as the University of Kentucky continues to rush to comply with federal guidance and the state’s House Bill 4, students say they’re being left almost entirely in the dark about what’s happening. As we’ve told you about on the show in recent weeks, UK has revoked support for what it calls “identity-based” student organizations, eliminated gender-inclusive housing, halted preferred name and gender updates on student records, and according to students, frozen their organizational bank accounts that contain not only public funds, but privately raised donor money as well. Some students also told the Kernel they’ve had scholarships removed without warning, learning of the change only after checking their online accounts. All of this has unfolded with no public announcement and little to no written explanation to those most impacted, the Kernel said.
Instead, UK academic leadership has sent internal emails to faculty instructing them not to discuss UK’s DEI compliance with the media, even when they’re asked about their own experiences, telling them it could carry risks. UK’s PR office says it’s meant to protect employees. The Kernel’s reporting confirms that nearly everyone who has commented on the new restrictions has done so anonymously. The Kernel also said that UK has still not clearly defined what “identity-based” activities are, and religious groups have only now been quietly added to the list of restricted organizations after the Kernel pointed out those inconsistencies on UK’s website. Meanwhile, fraternities and sororities appear to be exempt from these restrictions due to separate federal classifications, the Kernel said.
UK officials insist they’re following the law and are trying to provide only “targeted communication,” but students argue that the secrecy is the problem. One student leader described the process to the Kernel as “shrouded behind a curtain,” saying that even a basic acknowledgment from UK explaining what’s happening and why could help reduce fear and confusion. Others told the Kernel that UK’s approach has left some of its most vulnerable students unsure of where they stand or whether their organizations will survive at all. The moderator of a student panel on the issue said, “UK is under a lot of pressure right now, but there is a conversation to be had about the consequences of its full-throated, almost enthusiastic, compliance with these guidelines,” the Kernel reported. More updates on this ongoing situation can be found at kykernel.com.
In other news, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Friday that the fight over dense student housing on East Maxwell took a major turn Wednesday night, when the city council voted 8-7 to deny a zone change for a 332-unit HUB apartment complex. The vote came after a marathon 7-hour public hearing where neighbors argued that the block of 1920s multi-unit homes has already been overwhelmed by two other large student complexes approved earlier this year. Residents warned that demolishing yet another block of historic buildings would worsen traffic on an already narrow Maxwell Street and erase some of the last affordable units near campus. The narrow vote underscored wider tensions between UK and the city of Lexington, with some council members calling for the revival of a long-disbanded committee that once coordinated housing planning. More details on that story can be found at kentucky.com.
Finally tonight, WKYT reported Friday that dozens gathered in Lexington Thursday night for the Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil, honoring lives lost and calling attention to the dangers trans Kentuckians continue to face. Organizers say that constant hostility is driving a mental-health crisis in the community, and events like these remind trans people in Kentucky that they’re not alone. District 4 council member Emma Curtis was at the event to announce a proclamation officially recognizing Transgender Day of Remembrance in Lexington, making it the first city in Kentucky to do so.
And that’s… the news.
The News for 11/15/25
The content you hear on this program has not been reviewed by WRFL prior to broadcast and is produced under the discretion of its host DJs, and does not reflect the views of the University of Kentucky, WRFL, or its underwriters.
We’ll get back to the music on 120 Minutes in just a moment, but first, it’s 12:30 and it’s time to check the news, for this week, November 15th.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports Friday that a University of Kentucky professor is now suing UK after it reassigned him and launched an investigation into him in July following comments he made related to advocating for the dismantling of Israel as a nation-state. The lawsuit filed in federal district court Friday by the tenured professor, Ramsi Woodcock, said his suspension “violates his First Amendment right of freedom of expression and his right to procedural due process,” discriminates against him, threatens the principles of the U.S. government, and degrades UK’s quality of education.
Woodcock said he was blocked from teaching two courses this fall and it’s caused a chilling effect within UK’s College of Law, preventing students and other faculty from speaking out. He said, “The problem here is that the university is abusing anti-discrimination structures that were put in place to address real problems of discrimination in order to engage in political persecution of speech,” alleging that UK’s investigation into him is unprecedented and that he was suspended because the administration “disagrees with the content” of his views on Israel and Palestine. The American Association of University Professors sided with Woodcock when he was reassigned this summer, according to the Herald-Leader. More on this story, including UK’s response, is available at kentucky.com.
Also in higher education news, the New York Times reported Thursday that the Texas A&M University System Regents have voted to restrict speech around race and gender in its classes. Texas A&M will now “ban advocacy of race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.” Texas A&M had previously fired a lecturer for teaching a course that recognized the existence of nonbinary gender, a move that led the president of Texas A&M to step down in September.
Meanwhile, the New York Times also reported on Friday that Indiana University removed a professor from teaching a graduate course in Social Work because she showed a graphic to her class citing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan as an example of covert white supremacy. The professor, Jessica Adams, was removed after a complaint was filed under a new Indiana state law adopted last year that reflects efforts by IU officials to conform to the Trump administration’s priorities, the Times said. As we previously told you about on the show, Indiana was also the university that abruptly shut down the print edition of its student newspaper last month after 158 years. The recent moves have caused concern among faculty and supporters of academic freedom, according to the Times.
In other news, the federal government shutdown ended this week after 43 days when eight Senate Democrats defected and voted with the Republicans to reopen the government despite not receiving any major concessions that would have prevented the price of healthcare premiums from increasing dramatically next year, according to the Associated Press. Polls show the government shutdown was politically hurting Trump more than the Democrats, leading many on the left, including The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart on Monday, apoplectic at the Democrats for caving, alleging that the entire shutdown was for nothing and “I can’t f—ing believe it.”
Finally tonight, Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Linda Blackford wrote Tuesday about the U.S. Supreme Court declining an attempt by former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis to overturn same-sex marriage in the United States. Blackford said that Davis and her team of lawyers are expected to try to delay paying out the $360,000 in damages that a jury ordered her to pay to plaintiffs who sued her for denying their marriage licenses. Davis herself has been married four times and has been challenging the law since 2015. Blackford said, “Here in Kentucky, I think there’s a majority of people who are tired of hearing about Kim Davis. Ten years is a hell of a long 15 minutes of fame. She needs to pay the bill and go home.”
And that’s… the news.