Ryan Herron/Getty Images(NORTH CAROLINA) Saint Augustine s University in Raleigh, North Carolina, is in an ongoing battle with the IRS and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Board of Trustees after the historically Black school s previous finance department "mismanaged" a $34 million budget, according to university officials.Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), both public and private, have been underfunded due to lower endowments, less alumni support and state and federal underinvestment.Recently, HBCUs have faced several challenges. During a funding crisis, Tennessee State University had its board stripped away in a complete overhaul by state lawmakers. In Mississippi, lawmakers proposed a bill that would have shut down the state s only public HBCUs.Now teachers and staff at Saint Augustine s have not received a salary for three months following the institution s plunge into debt of $32 million. The dire financial situation places the univer
Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images(NEW YORK) A worse-than-expected jobs report on Friday offered the latest evidence of an economic slowdown that could help ease inflation and trigger interest rate cuts. The trend, however, threatens to downshift the nation’s brisk economic growth.Employers hired 175,000 workers last month, falling short of economist expectations of 240,000 jobs, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9%, which remains near a 50-year low.The hiring in April marked a steep slowdown from the previous month and delivered the lowest monthly reading so far this year.Economists who spoke to ABC News characterized the fresh data as a mild cooldown that may ease fears of stubborn inflation fueled by an economy running too hot.The slowdown, they added, could help allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year without worrying about triggering a rebound of rapid price increases.“This is the jobs report the Fed woul
AirbnbAirbnb is already known for providing a home away from home for millions of travelers around the world, but its new Icons listings are for more than resting your head. After all, what fan wouldn t want to stay in the X-Men 97 mansion? Or stay in the home owned by Prince as seen in Purple Rain? Or maybe you d like to sleep in that balloon-festooned floating house from Disney/Pixar s UP? All those and more will now be available to the public along with once-in-a-lifetime experiences, like hanging with Kevin Hart or sitting in on a living room performance with Doja Cat."Icons take you inside worlds that only existed in your imagination until now," Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky says. "As life becomes increasingly digital, we re focused on bringing more magic into the real world. With Icons, we ve created the most extraordinary experiences on Earth."The company just unveiled 11 Icons destinations, promising more to come.&
Al Seib/ Los Angeles Times(SANTA CRUZ, Ca.) The captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire off the California coast in 2019, killing 34 people, was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Thursday, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC.The sentence also included three years of supervised release, KABC reported.A federal jury found Jerry Boylan, 70, of Santa Barbara, guilty of seaman s manslaughter in November 2023 in connection with the deadly boat fire.Boylan was the captain of the Conception, a 75-foot boat that caught fire while it was docked at Platt s Harbor near Santa Cruz Island during a scuba diving excursion in the early morning hours on Sept. 2, 2019, while passengers and crew members were sleeping. One crew member and 33 passengers died, while Boylan and four other crew members jumped overboard and survived.The judge issued the sentence after hearing more than a dozen victim impact statements.A federal grand jury initially indicted Boylan on 34 counts of miscon