Trump admin updates: White House asks court to stay order to ground deportation flights

The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) opened investigations into 45 universities over alleged "race-exclusionary" discrimination.

The office claimed the universities, which included NYU, MIT and Rutgers, used "racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities" by partnering with the non-profit The Ph.D Program, which has helped underprivileged students obtain postgraduate degrees.

"Students must be assessed according to merit and accomplishment, not prejudged by the color of their skin. We will not yield on this commitment," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

Numerous studies, including a 2023 study from RTI, have shown that Black and Hispanic students face major disparities when it comes to earning a Ph.D compared with white students.

A small majority of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the Russia-Ukraine war and the United States’ relationship with Russia, a recent CNN/SSRS poll found.

Asked if Trump’s approach to the Russia-Ukraine war is good or bad, or makes no difference to the U.S, 29% said his approach was good for the U.S., 50% said bad and 20% said it makes no difference.

It also said that a majority of Americans feel his approach is unlikely to bring peace between the two countries.

Asked if the U.S. is doing enough, too much, or too little to help Ukraine in the war, 32% of poll respondents said too much, 38% said too little and 30% said the right amount.

However, Americans are relatively split over whether they feel favorable towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with around 1 in 5 saying they have no opinion about him.

--ABC News Oren Oppenheim

After Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that he plans to vote to keep the government open, President Donald Trump said it took "guts" for the New York senator to signal his support.

"Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took "guts" and courage! The big Tax Cuts, L.A. fire fix, Debt Ceiling Bill, and so much more, is coming," Trump posted on Truth Social. "We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights. Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. This could lead to something big for the USA, a whole new direction and beginning."

Schumer's move means there will almost certainly be enough Democratic votes to advance a House GOP funding bill before a shutdown deadline at the end of the day Friday.

In an unsigned letter to the Trump administration this week, Tesla raised some concerns about the ongoing tariffs-- warning that they could be "exposed" to retaliatory tariffs and urging them to "consider the downstream impacts."

"As a U.S. manufacturer and exporter, Tesla encourages USTR to consider the downstream impacts of certain proposed actions taken to address unfair trade practices," the letter to to United States Trade Representative Jamison Greer said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to questions from ABC News, including who wrote the letter, which was dated March 11.

In the letter, Tesla noted that actions by the Trump admin have resulted in "immediate reactions" by the targeted countries, which include increased tariffs on electric vehicles.

"Trade actions should not (and need not) conflict with objectives to further increase and support domestic manufacturing," the letter said.

-ABC News' Olivia Rubin and Claire Brinberg