Overview

• ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel after FCC chair Brendan Carr warned the network to act, a move experts say could invite a court test over government coercion of speech.
• Clemson University shifted from defending expression to firing three employees under political pressure, as an anonymous source said the White House convened a call on possible funding options for universities.
• Universities including Miami, Tennessee, Auburn and UCLA have dismissed or suspended staff over posts about Charlie Kirk, while Iowa’s regents authorized immediate discipline and several Massachusetts districts placed at least seven educators on leave.
• Republican officials intensified campaigns for penalties, with Rep. Nancy Mace urging federal defunding of noncompliant schools, Education Secretary Linda McMahon praising crackdowns, and Attorney General Pam Bondi narrowing earlier talk of prosecuting “hate speech” to speech tied to violence.
• Legal analysts note private employers have wide latitude to discipline workers, public employees have qualified protections under cases like Rankin v. McPherson, and state laws vary, as civil-liberties groups warn of chilling effects and prepare challenges.