As sudden budget cuts severely impact global health funding, prolonged conflicts around the world are fuelling disease outbreaks and posing a serious threat to public health, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Thursday.
More than 500 civilians have been killed in North Darfur state, Sudan, over the past three weeks, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have followed through on decrees aimed at erasing women from public life in the country and restricting their freedom of movement, the UN mission to the country (UNAMA) said in its latest human rights report published on Thursday covering the first quarter of 2025.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — New month, same active pattern still holding strong in central Indiana. We will continue to track rain and storm chances the next several days with cooler temperatures ahead.
Before going any further, April 2025 finished as the fifth wettest April of all time in Indy. It was also the first time we had 8″+ of rain in April since 2013.
Thursday night: Scattered showers and isolated storms will persist into early tonight. Coverage then turns more isolated into the overnight hours. Lows in the upper 50s with breezy winds subsiding closer to midnight.
Friday: We’re eyeing a dry start to Friday with some sunshine. Then, additional scattered showers and storms are on the table Friday afternoon and night. We can’t rule out isolated stronger storms south of Indy.
Highs will top out in the low to mid 70s.
Saturday: A cooler day is shaping up for Saturday. There will be an upper low that begins to settle in place, and another area of surface low pressure will creep in from the southwest. This will cause a continued chance for some isolated to scattered showers and highs that only make it into the low to mid 60s. For those running in the Indy Mini-Marathon Saturday morning, there is the chance for a few showers, and no lightning is expected as of now.
7-Day Forecast: The aforementioned upper low really locks in by Sunday, and there looks to be an Omega blocking pattern that fully forms by then too. This is when you have two distinct upper lows with an area of higher pressure wedged in between. Sunday keeps the theme of scattered showers and temperatures on the cooler side. We won’t really break from this pattern until next Tuesday-Wednesday.
CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) — May is a time to recognize the rich history, culture and contributions of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
Thursday was the start Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Dr. Albert Chen is not only a successful entrepreneur, he’s also a community builder. “You just have a determination and passion, and don’t be afraid to fail. During that period of 20 to 30 years, I probably failed several times. Fail just to get back up,” he told News 8.
Chen founded Carmel-based Telamon Corp., a provider of solutions for telecommunications networks, in 1985. At the time, Asian American leadership in Indiana’s corporate space was rare. That’s something he set out to change by just giving entrepreneurship a try.
Chen also founded Indiana’s Asian American Alliance Inc. in 1999. Since then, he’s seen the Asian population grow, especially in suburban neighborhoods like Carmel. “You don’t see any leadership for Asian Americans, so I thought there should be an organization that trains Asian American’s how to be a leader in this community.”
The nonprofit alliance offers leadership development programs and events designed to develop those skills, promote cultural heritage, and build a more cohesive community. He’s excited to see how the organization grows in the future and hopes to expand on volunteer services. “Train the younger generation to have the ambition to become a leader, particularly in public service.”
Nowadays, Chen is focused on the future. He has written a book hoping to inspire young Asian American leaders to build their own foundations. “I want them to become financially independent, and maybe this is a good route to become an entrepreneur, and establish your long-term reward.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana, and ‘The Zone Extra’ has everything covered.
The baseball and softball seasons are still in high gear. See highlights from some of the biggest games in central Indiana and the rankings from 4A.
The first ever boys volleyball Marion County and City Alliance championships took place. See who won both tournaments.
Greenfield-Central boys basketball star Braylon Mullins won Indiana Mr. Basketball.
Guerin Catholic baseball coach Dave Schrage joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.
The athlete of the week is Westfield boys golf’s Jake Cesare.
The “On Campus” segment highlights former Indiana Mr. Football Jack Kiser, who was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL Draft.
Plus, hear from IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig on this week’s “Ask the Commissioner.”
See all of that, and more, in the new ‘The Zone Extra’ attached above.
May 01 (IPS) – CIVICUS speaks with Ukrainian gender rights activist Maryna Rudenko about the gendered impacts of the war in Ukraine and the importance of including women in peacebuilding efforts.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The leader of Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis on Thursday said he’s considering further protests over what he calls racist comments from Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith.
Beckwith ignited a storm of controversy one week ago when he posted a video on his official X account in which he called the Three-Fifths Compromise “a great move” that ensured the end of slavery by limiting the political power of slaveholding southern states. The post followed two hours of emotional debate in the state Senate over a bill to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs in which Democrats at one point referenced the Three-Fifths Compromise.
The term refers to a provision the Framers included in the original text of the U.S. Constitution that counted three-fifths of all enslaved people toward a state’s population for the purposes of allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Southern states at the time pushed to have all enslaved people counted so they could have more seats in Congress, while northern states tried to have only free inhabitants counted. The Fourteenth Amendment eliminated the provision in 1868.
Faith groups including the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, the Baptist Ministers’ Alliance, and the Indiana Chapter of the National Action Network all condemned Beckwith’s comments as racist and demanded Braun publicly rebuke them. Senate Democrats and the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus later issued similar calls. Braun said nothing publicly until News 8 asked him about the matter during a Wednesday news conference.
“I definitely wouldn’t have used that characterization and I don’t like it. I’m a believer that you’d better start thinking about what you’re saying before it comes out,” Braun said. “So, I’ll leave it at that, and I think that you don’t want to make headlines the wrong way because it takes away from the substance of what you’re trying to do.”
Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis President Rev. David Greene, Sr. told News 8 Braun’s comments made it seem like Beckwith’s wording was the issue when the real problem was the view Beckwith’s post conveyed. He said slavery and its legacy are very painful for Black Americans and Beckwith’s comments continue a narrative that slavery was somehow good or beneficial.
“Since he is the governor of all Hoosiers, he needs to make a firm statement that he condemns any language that supports three-fifths of a person because that was degrading of Black people,” Greene said. “Historical facts bear out that what the lieutenant governor said was not true. So, I hope that he will come out and be direct about that and not try to be political.”
Greene said Beckwith’s comments, along with the DEI bill itself, are part of a larger national movement to rewrite American history. He said there is no way to consider the Three-Fifths Compromise a good thing from a Black person’s perspective.
So far, Beckwith has doubled down on his comments on social media and on local radio talk shows. He has turned down multiple requests for comment from News 8. On Thursday, his office said he had nothing further to add.
Greene said clergy, including Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis, plan to hold another news conference on Friday morning. That same day, he said he plans to deliver a petition to Gov. Mike Braun’s office urging him to forcefully condemn Beckwith’s remarks. He said the petition had more than 500 signatures as of Thursday morning. Greene said more actions are possible, such as a sit-in.
A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under an 18th-century wartime law and said President Donald Trump’s invocation of it was “unlawful.”
U.S. District Court Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. is the first judge to rule that the Alien Enemies Act cannot be used against people who, the Republican administration claims, are gang members invading the United States.
“Neither the Court nor the parties question that the Executive Branch can direct the detention and removal of aliens who engage in criminal activity in the United States,” wrote Rodriguez, who was nominated by Trump in 2018. But, the judge said, “the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.”
In March, Trump issued a proclamation claiming that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was invading the U.S. He said he had special powers to deport immigrants, identified by his administration as gang members, without the usual court proceedings.
“The Court concludes that the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful,” Rodriguez wrote.
There was no immediate comment from the White House.
The chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., said in a statement the judge had made clear “what we all knew to be true: The Trump administration illegally used the Alien Enemies Act to deport people without due process.”
The Alien Enemies Act has only been used three times before in U.S. history, most recently during World War II, when it was cited to intern Japanese-Americans.
The proclamation triggered a flurry of litigation as the administration tried to ship migrants it claimed were gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador.
Rodriguez’s ruling is significant because it is the first formal permanent injunction against the administration using the AEA and contends the president is misusing the law. “Congress never meant for this law to be used in this manner,” said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU lawyer who argued the case, in response to the ruling.
Rodriguez agreed, noting that the provision has only been used during the two World Wars and the War of 1812. Trump claimed Tren de Aragua was acting at the behest of the Venezuelan government, but Rodriguez found that the activities the administration accused it of did not amount to an invasion or “predatory incursion,” as the statute requires.
“The Proclamation makes no reference to and in no manner suggests that a threat exists of an organized, armed group of individuals entering the United States at the direction of Venezuela to conquer the country or assume control over a portion of the nation,” Rodriguez wrote. “Thus, the Proclamation’s language cannot be read as describing conduct that falls within the meaning of ‘invasion’ for purposes of the AEA.”
If the administration appeals, it would go first to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That is among the nation’s most conservative appeals courts and it also has ruled against what it saw as overreach on immigration matters by both the Obama and Biden administrations. In those cases, Democratic administrations had sought to make it easier for immigrants to remain in the U.S.
The administration, as it has in other cases challenging its expansive view of presidential power, could turn to appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, in the form of an emergency motion for a stay pending an appeal.
The Supreme Court already has weighed in once on the issue of deportations under the AEA. The justices held that migrants alleged to be gang members must be given “reasonable time” to contest their removal from the country. The court has not specified the length of time.
It’s possible that the losing side in the 5th Circuit would file an emergency appeal with the justices that also would ask them to short-circuit lower court action in favor of a definitive ruling from the nation’s highest court. Such a decision likely would be months away, at least.
The Texas case is just one piece of a tangle of litigation sparked by Trump’s proclamation.
The ACLU initially filed suit in the nation’s capital to block deportations. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued a temporary hold on removals and ordered the administration turn around planes that had left with detainees headed to El Salvador, a directive that was apparently ignored. Later, the Supreme Court weighed in.
The justices stepped in again late last month with an unusual postmidnight order halting deportations from North Texas, where the ACLU contended the administration was preparing for another round of flights to El Salvador.
Riccardi reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)–May is underway and with it, the buzz is building to one of the year’s biggest events, the Indianapolis 500.
The 109th Running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is now 24 days away. Leaders at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway say they know how special this event really is.
“We’re excited to host our community for the month of May and we hope our fans and our neighbors are willing to do the same,” said Michael Kaltenmark, senior director of marketing at IMS.
Kaltenmark says there are plenty of community events that take place around the Indy 500, including Porch Parties and 500 Fashion Fridays.
“Tomorrow is our first friday of May; we like to call those 500 Fashion Fridays. So, break out your checkered flag gear, your Wing and Wheel gear, your IndyCar merchandise, wear that to work with pride!”
Ticket sales are also up for both the Sonsio Grand Prix on May 10 and the Indianapolis 500. The Grand Prix is up over 10% increase from this point last year, according to IMS.
The Indianapolis 500 is also seeing an increase in ticket sales. Kaltenmark says sales are up 4% from this time last year.
“Over the last few years we’ve seen incremental growth for our crowd for the Indianapolis 500. This year we look poised to have our second-ever sellout of the grandstands following the first time we did it in 2016 for the 100th running.”
A sellout doesn’t just mean more people at the track — it means the Indy 500 could air live in Indianapolis for just the fourth time in 75 years.
The speedway implemented a local TV blackout in 1951 after two years of live broadcasts, believing the race would draw bigger crowds if people could not stay home and watch it. Officials promised to lift the local TV embargo if the race ever sold out — and both of those things happened in 2016. The blackout was lifted in 2020, when the race was held in August due to the coronavirus pandemic, and again last year following a four-hour rain delay.
Officials have not confirmed if the local TV blackout will be lifted if the race sells out this year. Either way, be sure to tune into WISH-TV starting at 5 a.m. on race day for live coverage from IMS.
Click here for more Month of May coverage from WISH-TV.
