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By Liam Reilly, CNN

(CNN) — The New York Times filed a counterclaim Friday against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accusing the agency of retaliating against the publication for its reporting via a race- and gender-based discrimination lawsuit.

The countersuit follows an EEOC lawsuit filed in May on behalf of a White staffer, Bryant Rousseau, who claimed the Times had denied him a promotion to deputy editor on the basis of his race and gender.

The Times cast the EEOC’s action as politically motivated in its filing on Friday. The newspaper highlighted that the EEOC’s lawsuit came eight days after a Times report showed that staff at the agency said they were under pressure to pursue discrimination cases that “match (President Donald) Trump’s agenda” opposing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Shortly following its article on the EEOC, the Times reported that the agency was poised to sue after investigating a claim against the newspaper — later revealed to be Rousseau’s case. The EEOC sued the Times two days later.

Friday’s countersuit alleges that the EEOC’s lawsuit was filed even though the probe found “no evidence that race or sex was considered.”

“Despite pursuing an eight-month investigation of the Charge … the Commission tellingly does not (and could not) point to any evidence in its Complaint to show that Rousseau was discriminated against on the basis of his race or sex in connection with The Times’s hiring of a Real Estate Deputy Editor,” the Times’ attorneys write in the countersuit.

The Times also alleges that the EEOC’s lawsuit “was filed by a Commission that has expressly disavowed any independence from the President and is expressly committed to pursuing his agenda.”

“The Commission’s retaliatory, bad faith use of its authority to target The Times violates the First and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act (‘APA’) and poses a uniquely insidious threat to a free and independent press, and to our democracy,” attorneys allege elsewhere in the lawsuit.

The EEOC declined to comment, citing its ongoing lawsuit.

This isn’t the Times’ first legal fight with the Trump administration.

In September 2025, Trump filed a separate $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the Times, accusing it of being a “virtual mouthpiece” for the Democratic Party. A judge dismissed Trump’s suit but allowed him to file an amended complaint.

The Times, meanwhile, sued the Department of Defense over restrictions on press access in December.

The EEOC’s lawsuit “attacks a news organization that the President has repeatedly disparaged for its newsgathering and reporting,” the Times attorneys write in the countersuit.

The EEOC initially brought the complaint without identifying Rousseau, who later joined the lawsuit in May. While the May complaint demanded Rousseau’s promotion to deputy editor, a June filing indicates he left the company.

In a statement in May, a Times spokesp

Just earlier this year, gas prices reached all-time highs nationwide. Since then, the consesus is divided. Some say they've lowered, while others says they've only continued to rise. Your News Channel wants to know, have you noticed a change in prices at the pump?

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) - If you have a creative design you would like to see on a piano display, your deadline is coming up.

In the fall, the Pianos on State art exhibit will be back featuring several pianos downtown in open air locations. They will all be painted by artists who are submitting ideas for judging.

The winners will get a $700 dollar stipend.

The pianos will be out September 29th through October 19th for the public to see and play.

They will be up and down State Street, on the steps of the Lobero Theatre, and on Stearns Wharf. If you have a design go to Pianos on State.

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SANTA MARIA, Calif. (KEYT) - While hundreds of local agriculture students show off their animal projects at the Santa Barbara County Fair, agriculture mechanics students0 are also putting their talents on display at the industrial arts exhibit.

Located in the Convention Center, this year's Agricultural Mechanics show and auction features 172 impressive student-made projects.

"These student projects, they take a lot of time," said Carolina Hileman, Industrial Arts Superintendent. "They take preparation. The creativity of these projects are far beyond what I can expect, and I love to see all the new projects and things that you don't typically see."

Just like agriculture students, these industrial arts students must also enrolled in a qualified 4-H, FFA, Grange or Independent program.

"They're learning hard work, dedication, the trade," said Hileman. "I feel like this kind of trade is a lost art, and I love to see the kids learning it again."

Also similar to the livestock show and auction, the industrial arts projects are also judged and later auctioned off to the highest bidder.

"What I really love is the ingenuity of these projects that these kids come up with," said Hileman. "Some of them are sculptures, some of them are things that you don't think of, but then you look at it and you're like, 'I have to have that.'"

Some of the projects may only take a few days to complete, while others may take much longer, lasting weeks or even months to finish.

"A lot of these projects you have to be very precise and handy with tools because you can miss cut miss measure crack boards when trying to like put them together all that, so it's very hard," said Arroyo Grande High School FFA student Brady Robertson. "They can take a lot of time."

Four of the larger-sized projects will be auctioned off during a live auction on Saturday, while the rest are available for bid through a silent auction that ends on Sunday at 5 p.m.

The Santa Barbara County Fair will run through Sunday, July 12th.

Gates open at noon during the weekends and at 2 p.m. on weekdays and close each night at 10 p.m.

For more information about the Santa Barbara County Fair, click here to visit the official website.

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