19 h. ago The Latest: Trump administration freezes more than $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard University

The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus

Politics

30 h. ago How Harvard became the first university to push back against Trump’s campus crackdown

Harvard has become the first of six Ivy League schools to formally oppose the Trump administration’s demands. Josh Marcus reports

Politics

36 h. ago How Harvard became the first university to push back against Trump’s campus crackdown and multi

Harvard is the first of six Ivy League schools threatened with funding cuts to formally oppose the Trump administration’s demands, a key early battle as 60 universities face investigation

Politics

37 h. ago Trump enacts swift revenge against Harvard after university refused to comply with bombshell list of demands

Donald Trump 's education department put the hammer down on Harvard, freezing over $2.2billion in funding after they rejected a list of demands from the federal government.

Politics

42 h. ago Harvard refuses to comply with Trump administration’s demands over $9 billion

Trump administration asked Harvard to end DEI programs, comply with Department of Homeland Security and reduce student and faculty’s authority

Politics

43 h. ago Harvard defies Trump's demands and risks $9B in federal funding

Harvard University says it won't comply with a list of demands from the Trump administration as a condition for it to received almost $9 billion in funding

Politics

3 d. ago US ‘demands control’ from Ukraine of key pipeline carrying Russian gas

Senior Kyiv economist describes latest postion of Trump administration in talks as ‘colonial-type’ bullyingThe US has demanded control of a crucial pipeline in Ukraine used to send Russian gas to Europe, according to reports, in a move described as a colonial shakedown.US and Ukrainian officials met on Friday to discuss White House proposals for a minerals deal. Donald Trump wants Kyiv to hand over its natural resources as “payback” in return for weapons delivered by the previous Biden administration. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago NY public schools tell Trump administration they won't comply with DEI order

New York state school officials have told the Trump administration that they will not comply with its demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion practices, despite the administration’s threats to terminate federal education funding

Politics

1 week ago Trump administration issues demands on Harvard as conditions for billions in federal money

Some alumni want Harvard to resist Trump administration demands the university must meet to receive $9 billion in federal grants and contracts being threatened during an investigation into campus antisemitism

Politics

2 w. ago Who actually runs Columbia University? | Arjun Appadurai and Sheldon Pollock

Trustees aren’t academics – and they’re often political wolves in sheep’s clothing. We need reform to save the American university as we know itLate on Friday evening, the trustees of Columbia University announced that its interim president, Katrina Armstrong, was leaving her post.Six days earlier, she had convened an emergency meeting with 75 faculty members after the university had cravenly surrendered to the demands of the Trump administration in the hopes of recovering $400m in federal grants and contracts. The president and her staff called their predicament “heartbreaking” and sought to reassure faculty that academic freedom and departmental autonomy remained intact. Continue reading...

Culture

2 w. ago ‘Canary in the coalmine of totalitarianism’: how Columbia went from a home for Edward Said to a punching bag for Trump

The university had a history of being a home for cutting-edge discourse on Palestine – until it capitulated to the administration’s demands Last week, Columbia University announced that it would cave to demands by the Trump administration and adopt sweeping measures against pro-Palestinian activity on campus, including new restrictions on protest and the takeover of an academic department from faculty control.The news sent shock waves across higher education institutions nationwide for what appeared a stunning capitulation to attacks on academic freedom and the independence of the department of Middle Eastern, south Asian and African studies, or Mesaas, which became a scapegoat for what the administration viewed as a pro-Palestinian climate on campus. It was also a remarkable turn of events for a university that had for years been a home for cutting-edge academic discourse on Palestine, beginning with the scholarship of Edward Said, a leading Palestinian intellectual. Continue readi...

Politics

2 w. ago Republican senators break ranks to call for investigation of Signal leak scandal

Senior GOP figures warn of potential ‘significant political problem’ for Trump administration in rare sign of unrestUS politics live – latest updatesIn rare signs of unrest, top Republican senators are calling for an investigation into the Signal leak scandal and demanding answers from the Trump administration, as they raise concerns it will become a “significant political problem” if not addressed properly.“This is what happens when you don’t really have your act together,” the Alaska Republican senator Lisa Murkowski told the Hill. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump officials pause some green card applications in immigration crackdown

Approved refugees reportedly affected by freeze on processing after Trump demands more aggressive vettingUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration has paused the processing of certain green card applications as the US government continues to implement a hardline immigration agenda.CBS News reported that approved refugees are part of the processing freeze, as the White House enacts an effort to more aggressively vet immigrants to the US. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Researchers in limbo as Columbia bows to Trump’s demands in bid to restore $400M federal funding cut

Researchers at Columbia University remain in limbo after the Ivy League institution bowed to the Trump administration’s demands for unprecedented changes in a bid to restore some $400 million in federal funds cut

Politics

3 w. ago Judge demands answers from White House on deportation flights to El Salvador

Jeb Boasberg instructs Trump administration to explain how refusal to return flights did not violate court orderA federal judge instructed the Trump administration on Thursday to explain why its failure to turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador did not violate his court order in a growing showdown between the judicial and executive branches.James Boasberg, the US district judge, demanded answers after flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants alleged by the Trump administration to be gang members landed in El Salvador after the judge temporarily blocked deportations conducted under an 18th-century wartime law. Boasberg had directed the administration to return planes that were already in the air to the US when he ordered the halt. Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago The US government has sent Columbia University a ransom note | Sheldon Pollock

Like a mob boss, the government threatens to cut off two of the university’s fingers: academic freedom and faculty governanceOn 15 March, Columbia University received what can only be described as the most dangerous letter in the history of higher education in America. The sender was the United States government. Like a ransom note, the government letter insists that Columbia comply with a list of Trump administration demands in order to even have a chance at recovering the $400m in federal funding for scientific research that the government canceled on 7 March.Oddly, one of the specific targets identified in the letter was Columbia’s Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (Mesaas), a small humanities department devoted to studying the languages, cultures and history of those regions. The government demanded the Mesaas department be put into “receivership” – basically, be taken over by the University – as a precondition to further negotiations. Continue readi...

Politics