In Today’s BRIGHT
WNBA Admits Security Wrongly Censored Fans
Pentagon Audits Universities’ Foreign Ties
Gen Z Men Are Checking Out of the Job Market
On Wednesdays We Wear Pink
WNBA Admits Security Wrongly Censored Fans
Breitbart reported that the WNBA and Atlanta Dream condemned security officials who told a mother and daughter to cover their XX-XY Athletics shirts during an Atlanta Dream game. Across the country, young women are wearing the shirts to support Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham, who has publicly opposed biological males competing in women’s sports. XX-XY Athletics is the only company that has also supported women in women’s sports.
The mother said she and her daughter were just watching the game when security gave them replacement shirts and threatened to remove them from the venue. “We were just sitting there. I didn’t make signs; I wanted to make signs, but I didn’t. I did nothing,” she said.
Following social media criticism, the WNBA acknowledged the mistake, saying, “This should not have happened.” The Dream said its employees were not involved and that league security’s actions failed to meet the team’s standards. I’ve organized dozens of events with security. Aside from an imminent security threat, I don’t think I’ve ever not been consulted by security before an action like this. So, call me skeptical about the rogue security actions.
As a reminder, you can show your support and get 20% off any of XX-XY Athletics’ shirts and other gear by using code LISA20 at checkout.
Pentagon Audits Universities’ Foreign Ties
The AP reported the Pentagon has ordered 30 U.S. universities to audit partnerships with foreign institutions, primarily in China, and end any arrangements considered national-security risks within two weeks. Schools that fail to comply could lose federal funding. The review follows the Department of War’s identification of 130 Chinese, Iranian and Russian institutions suspected of increasing the risk that taxpayer-funded research could be stolen or exploited. Harvard, MIT and Johns Hopkins are reportedly among the universities on the list.
The AP reported:
The audit comes as the Trump administration continues to express deep concern about China’s activities in the Americas, pushing back on Chinese ownership of ports at either end of the Panama Canal, infrastructure projects funded by China’s Belt and Road initiative in the region and Chinese investment in the telecommunications sector.
The Justice Department also is investigating whether Harvard University is allowing Chinese donors to create scholarships that exclude American students, adding to the barrage of federal inquiries the Trump administration has opened in its battle against the Ivy League school.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy said in a statement that the country opposes what it described as the politicization of “normal scientific, educational, and academic exchanges.”
Pentagon technology chief Emil Michael said, “The Department of War has zero tolerance for academic partnerships that compromise our national security.”
Sarah Spreitzer of the American Council on Education objected that the announcement implied wrongdoing without evidence and could punish universities for older partnerships.
Gen Z Men Are Checking Out of the Job Market
The New York Post reported that young American men are retreating from the workforce even as the unemployment rate remains low. Labor-force participation among men ages 16–24 fell to 56.1% in July, down from 69% in 2000. Additionally, the share of young unemployed men no longer seeking work has doubled since the 1990s to 8%.
Experts cited shrinking entry-level opportunities, weak returns on college degrees, pessimism about wages and housing, and concern that AI will eliminate jobs in technology, finance, manufacturing and retail. Jobs for the Future exec Maria Flynn warned, “The longer the individual sits out of the labor market, particularly early in their career, the harder it’s going to be for them to build the skills and the network and the work experience that really shape earnings in future decades.”
On the bright side, the obstacles causing some to stay out are motivating other Gen Z men to pursue skilled trades. More from the Post:
Paul Iaccarino, a millennial whose Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund trains Local 363-A electricians across New York state, said Gen Zers now account for 66% of his free, five-year apprenticeship program in East New York. The average age of an enrollee in the most recent program was 26.2 years old – down from 30.9 years in 2021.
While Gen Zers have displayed enthusiasm for blue-collar work as they look for steady employment and guaranteed careers, Iaccarino said he’s also noticed a “general divide” as more young men drop out of the labor force altogether.