Daily News Roundup: GuideStar Drops ‘Hate’ Label From Nonprofit Profiles

GuideStar Removes ‘Hate Group’ Tags From Website: The online tracker of nonprofit data said a “commitment to objectivity” and threats to staff and leaders led it to drop the warning labels it recently affixed to profiles of organizations named as “hate groups” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, reports the Associated Press. The flagging drew strong criticism from conservative organizations that dispute the SPLC characterization.

Michael Bloomberg Pledges $200 Million for Cities to Tackle Big Issues: The billionaire ex-New York mayor said his American Cities Initiative will help urban leaders take on problems like climate change and gun violence and govern more effectively in areas where he said federal and state bodies interfere with or cut financial support for cities, reports The New York Times.

Court Clears AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Kickback Claims: A federal judge dismissed a whistle-blower lawsuit in which former employees of the charity, one of the nation’s largest suppliers of HIV and AIDS care, claimed it paid kickbacks for patient referrals as part of a scheme to bilk millions of dollars from the federal government, the Associated Press reports.

Politically Connected Philadelphian Convicted of $1 Million Charity Fraud: Prosecutors said Renee Tartaglione, the daughter of a longtime city elections chief and the sister of a Pennsylvania state senator, engaged in serial self-dealing to fleece the Juniata Community Mental Health Clinic, where she served as board president while owning the charity’s building, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Trump Administration Fights Settlement Payment for Tuskegee-Study Museum: The Justice Department opposes a plan to give $9 million from a 1970s legal agreement over the government’s research on the effects of untreated syphilis on black men to the Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center for a museum on the infamous study, writes the Associated Press. The department says unclaimed money from the settlement should be returned to federal coffers.

Edward Albee Art Sale to Benefit Late Playwright’s Foundation: A September auction of the more than 100 mostly modern artworks collected by the Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf writer, who died last year at age 88, is expected to fetch $9 million for his charity, which maintains a residence for artists on Long Island, The New York Times writes.