The U.S. Department of Education has opened a civil rights probe into the Duke Law Journal after a conservative news outlet reported the academic publication factored law students' racial and ethnic identities when selecting editors.

The Trump administration has identified a new target in its battle with elite higher education, announcing a two-pronged front against Duke University on allegations the North Carolina school is in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

The Trump administration has frozen $108 million to Duke University just days after it launched an investigation into alleged race-based discrimination at the institution. The frozen funds from the National Institutes of Health will affect the Duke University School of Medicine,