Evening News Recap — August 25, 2026

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KEMETIC MINDS
Evening News Recap — August 25, 2026

Here is what shaped Black America and civil rights today.

1. White Supremacist Group Activity: Ex-SPLC Figure Beirich a No-Show in Court Over $1.2 Million White Supremacist Funneling Case

Heidi Beirich, the former Southern Poverty Law Center figure charged with funneling $1.2 million to white supremacist groups, failed to appear at her court hearing Tuesday.^[1]

Beirich is accused of funneling one point two million dollars to white supremacist groups.
She did not show up for the hearing in her federal case.
Beirich lives in Palm Springs, California.
She had made her initial appearance in federal court in Riverside earlier this month.

2. ICE: Trump’s ICE Has Detained More People Than the Population of Atlanta

Video: Trump's declaration sparks Atlanta ICE rally — Associated Press via YouTube

More than 610,000 people have been detained by ICE since Trump’s inauguration — surpassing the population of Atlanta — according to Deportation Data Project data released Monday.^[2]

Last month, ICE detained over 45,000 people, the highest monthly total since Trump retook office.
More than 270,000 people spent at least a week in ICE detention last year, the most since 2012.
About 80% of people detained since Trump retook office have come from the interior of the country, compared with 30% under Biden.
The Trump administration’s policy is to detain almost all unauthorized immigrants regardless of circumstances, often for months or years.
The number detained and deported falls far short of Trump’s goal of deporting 1 million people per year.

3. Executive Orders: Keeping DEI Policies Didn’t Hurt Companies, Study Finds

A new study by UC Berkeley’s Jacob Grumbach found that S&P 500 companies that retained their DEI policies or rejected anti-DEI shareholder resolutions performed just as well financially as those that rolled them back.^[3]

Jacob Grumbach, an associate professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, analyzed how S&P 500 companies performed following Trump’s executive order.
Trump’s executive order ended DEI policies in the federal government and among federal contractors and encouraged—but did not require—private-sector businesses to abandon them.
Grumbach used “abnormal returns,” the difference between a stock’s expected and actual performance, to isolate the financial impact of retaining or revoking DEI policies.
Companies that retained their DEI practices included Costco, Apple, and Delta Air Lines.
Grumbach said, “No matter how we measure DEI in companies, we find the same answer.”

4. Civil Rights & Politics: NAACP Joins Call for Answers in Death of Mississippi Teen Nolan Wells

Video: Here's how the NAACP plans to help Ben Crump's probe into Nolan Wells' death — CBS News via YouTube

The NAACP is now involved in the death of Mississippi teenager Nolan Wells, amid unresolved questions about his autopsy and growing federal scrutiny.^[4]

Nolan Wells was a Mississippi teenager whose death has drawn civil rights leaders.
The NAACP has formally joined the case.
Federal attention has been focused on the case.
Questions about his autopsy are mounting.
The case update was reported by MSN on Saturday, August twenty second.

5. Hate Crimes: Brothers Sentenced to 11 and 3 1/2 Years in Paris, Illinois Hate Crime Plea Deals

Two brothers charged in a Paris, Illinois attempted murder and hate crime case took plea deals and were sentenced to eleven years and three and a half years in prison.^[5]

The brothers were arrested after a disturbance involving a firearm in Paris, Illinois.
Both brothers took plea deals on the charges they were facing.
One brother was sentenced to eleven years.
The other brother was sentenced to three and a half years.
The charges included attempted murder and a hate crime enhancement.