Toxic Gas Leak in Whitewater Township, Evacuation Order in Place [Video]

Multiple fires have broken out across New York and New Jersey amid strong winds and severe drought conditions

Donald Trump has promised to end the Department of Education. As the president-elect prepares to transition to power, the question remains of when that promise will become reality.Political science experts say this is a wait-and-see situation.TOP STORIES3 men, 1 woman wanted after vehicle chase on Interstate 40, Davie County officials sayWoman dies after car plunges down embankment along closed part of Interstate 40, authorities sayOne person hospitalized after assault in GreensboroGet the latest news stories of interest by clicking hereThe Department of Education was established as a federal agency in 1980 by Congress and currently serves more than 50 million students across 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools.Political science professors from Wake Forest, High Point University and North Carolina A&T say it would take congressional action to eliminate it, but theres no guarantee that a majority of Republicans in the House or Senate would agree to that proposal.A big question is, if the DOE is eliminated, what will happen to education funding?Professor John Dinan of Wake Forest University said the vast majority of K-12 education funding comes from state and local governments. The Department of Education manages and distributes a limited amount of money among K-12 schools.Dr. Briana Hyman of NCA&T told WXII this isnt the first time nixing the Department of Education has been proposed. One of the Department of Education's most important responsibilities is overseeing financial aid for colleges and universities. If it goes through, it could make higher education harder to attain for students across the country."The funding aspect is going to be super critical for our students," she said. "A great portion of NCA&T's students rely on federal funds to pay for their education, not just tuition, but also, you know, other fees and housing and things like that associated with coming to school."Hyman said thats not the only challenge college students could potentially face. Title IX protections would also be at risk. "How would we make sure that our students' civil rights are being upheld? How would we make sure that their privacy concerns are being heard and upheld," she asked. "Specifically for HBCUs, we are historically underfunded anyway. To add to that would be quite detrimental."Dinan said that if the Department of Education were to go, those responsibilities would still need to be fulfilled. "Those functions that the education department currently performs are mandated by federal law," he said. "They would have to be performed, if not by the education department, by some other department or other officials." Professor Martin Kifer of High Point University said it will take congressional action to make such a major change. "There are all these issues about what would have to happen with programs that you didn't want to totally do away with," he said. "It's too soon to say exactly what the president-elect will eventually be able to do with the Department of Education." In the meantime, Hyman said there is a way for higher education to prepare. Watch: NOWCAST streaming newscasts"Advocate for the protections of funding for colleges and universities and HBCUs with legislative officials," she said. "Because, again, that would be a way that we could kind of circumvent things." Because this isn't a change that would happen overnight, Dinan suggested its possible the incoming Trump administration will focus on staffing at top positions of the Department of Education to gradually shape education policy. NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Watch NOWCAST TV | Local News | National | News We Love |TRENDING STORIES

Officials at the Federal Reserve have been noncommittal publicly about what a Trump presidency means for the economy. Behind the scenes, they may already be discussing what the second Trump era will look like.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency" which is not, despite the name, a government agency.The acronym DOGE is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House advice and guidance and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before. He added that the move would shock government systems.It's not clear how the organization will operate. It could come under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which dictates how external groups that advise the government must operate and be accountable to the public.Federal employees are generally required to disclose their assets and entanglements to ward off any potential conflicts of interest, and to divest significant holdings relating to their work. Because Musk and Ramaswamy would not be formal federal workers, they would not face those requirements or ethical limitations.Musk posted on X: Department of Government Efficiency. The merch will be (fire emojis). Later he added: Threat to democracy? Nope, threat to BUREAUCRACY!!!Musk has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election.The president-elect has often said he would give Musk a formal role overseeing a group akin to a blue-ribbon commission that would recommend ways to slash spending and make the federal government more efficient. Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings nearly a third of total annual government spending.Trump had made clear that Musk would likely not hold any kind of full-time position, given his other commitments.I dont think I can get him full-time because hes a little bit busy sending rockets up and all the things he does, Trump said at a rally in Michigan in September. He said the waste in this country is crazy. And were going to get Elon Musk to be our cost cutter.Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump.Trump said in his statement the two will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."