Emily Sturge: Graduation Ceremonies Are Meant To Bring Students Together, Not Segregate Them
'So we've reported at UC Davis and also at Franklin and Marshall College, they're holding separate graduation ceremonies to honor Black students. We've also seen, even in my home state of Florida, graduation ceremonies at some of our major universities for LGBTQ students. The bottom line here is graduation is supposed to be a ceremony that brings everybody together to celebrate accomplishments of hard work, four years of success. And instead the education system is turning these ceremonies that are supposed to be about merit and they're making it about skin color. This is not what our ceremonies are supposed to be able. And I was lucky enough to walk in my own graduation ceremony with all of my peers. It wasn't divided based on skin color. So I feel for those students who are put in this situation, who are divided by skin color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or even in these illegal immigration ceremonies, students are even divided whether they're a law-abiding citizen or here breaking the law. It's very sad to see.'
Emily Sturge: Students Aren't Learning How To Think Anymore
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New York Post
5 minutes ago
- New York Post
Russia appears ready to test new missile — even as Putin prepares for Trump talks, researchers warn
Russia appears to be preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile, according to two US researchers and a Western security source, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin readies for talks on Ukraine with US President Donald Trump on Friday. Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization, based in Virginia, reached their assessments separately by studying imagery taken in recent weeks until Tuesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm. They agreed the photos showed extensive activity at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea archipelago of Novaya Zemlya, including increases in personnel and equipment and ships and aircraft associated with earlier tests of the 9M730 Burevestnik (Storm Petrel). 5 A satellite view shows an aircraft at the Rogachevo military airfield in Rogachevo, Russia on August 5, 2025 via REUTERS 'We can see all of the activity at the test site, which is both huge amounts of supplies coming in to support operations and movement at the place where they actually launch the missile,' Lewis said. A Western security source, who asked not to be further identified, confirmed that Russia is preparing a Burevestnik test. Lewis said a test could occur this week, raising the possibility it could overshadow the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Asked for comment, the White House did not address the possibility of a Burevestnik test. The Pentagon, the CIA, and Russia's Defense Ministry declined to comment. Putin has said the weapon – dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO – is 'invincible' to current and future missile defenses, with an almost unlimited range and unpredictable flight path. 5 A satellite image showed equipment appearing to be at the Pankovo test site in Russia's Yuzhny Island on August 7, 2025. via REUTERS Lewis, Eveleth, and two arms control experts said the missile's development has taken on more importance for Moscow since Trump announced in January the development of a US Golden Dome missile defense shield. But many experts say it is unclear the missile can evade defenses, will not give Moscow capabilities it does not already have, and will spew radiation along its flight path. A test would have been scheduled long in advance of last week's announcement of the Trump-Putin meeting, the researchers and experts said. Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters But Putin could have suspended preparations in view of US spy satellites to signal his openness to ending his war in Ukraine as well as to restarting arms-control talks with the US, the experts said New START, the last US-Russia pact capping strategic nuclear deployments, expires on February 5. 'Sometimes you can push up or push down the schedule for a political reason,' said Tom Countryman, a former acting undersecretary of state for arms control. 5 Researchers suspect Russia is preparing to test its nuclear-powered cruise missile. via REUTERS The Burevestnik has a poor test record, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative advocacy group, with two partial successes among 13 known tests. Special aircraft Eveleth and Lewis said the Planet Labs imagery showed stacks of shipping containers, equipment, and personnel arriving since late July. Lewis said two aircraft equipped to gather test data had been parked at the archipelago's Rogachevo military airfield since mid-July. Images he provided to Reuters showed two large jets mounted with saucer-shaped radar domes. He noted the presence of at least five ships associated with previous tests. A ship-tracking website – – showed a sixth ship linked to earlier tests was due to arrive on Tuesday, he said. 5 'We can see all of the activity at the test site,' researcher Jeffrey Lewis said. via REUTERS Reuters confirmed the website showed the vessel, a cargo ship named the Teriberka, bound for Novaya Zemlya, but could not independently confirm the researchers' other findings. Eveleth and Lewis said they began examining imagery of Pankovo starting from July, after Russia on August 6 published a notice to mariners to stay away from the area from August 9-12. Reuters found a series of notices on the US Federal Aviation Administration's Defense Internet NOTAM Service issued by Russia showing a possible launch window between August 9-22. 5 Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet with President Trump on Friday. VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA/Shutterstock The Norwegian military told Reuters in an email that the Barents Sea is a 'prime location for Russian missile tests' and that it had indications from notices and maritime warnings of 'preparations for test activities.' But it said it would 'not confirm any knowledge of what kind of munitions they are to test.' In late July, Eveleth said, he noticed a shelter protecting the Burevestnik launcher from the weather was being slid back and forth, which he called 'very clear evidence' of plans for a test. Lewis provided to Reuters images taken of the site on August 7 showing the protective launcher cover, stacks of shipping containers, a crane for moving them, and a helicopter. 'It's full steam ahead,' he said of the pace of test preparations.
Washington Post
6 minutes ago
- Washington Post
What will Trump's Alaska summit achieve?
You're reading the Prompt 2025 newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox. The highly anticipated Trump-Putin summit will take place tomorrow in Anchorage. On the agenda: how to end the Ukraine war. The meeting is sure to provide much theater, but will it yield anything else? I sat down with my colleagues David Ignatius and Max Boot to discuss. — Damir Marusic, assignment editor 💬 💬 💬 Damir Marusic Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reportedly said, 'I have many fears and a lot of hope.' David, Max, how are you feeling ahead of the sit-down? David Ignatius For me, it's a mix of hope and dread. The hope is that President Donald Trump, having committed so much to ending a war that he rightly condemns as a bloodbath, will lean hard enough on Russian President Vladimir Putin to get terms that reasonable people could sell to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his country. The fear is that Trump will simply listen to Putin's demands and either seek to impose them on Ukraine or walk away from his diplomatic mission. If I had to guess, I'd opt for the fearful version. Max Boot I have more fear than hope. I see no indication that Putin is going to call off his war (which is making little progress on the ground). The offer Putin apparently made to special envoy Steve Witkoff — he is demanding that Ukraine turn over unconquered, well-defended territory in the Donetsk region in return for a ceasefire — is a nonstarter for Ukraine. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Damir I'm maybe a bit more optimistic. Not in the sense that there will be any progress, but the opposite: The White House seems to be lowering expectations about what's possible. Trump on Monday told reporters, 'It's not up to me to make a deal.' Max Yes, I'm mildly cheered to see the White House lowering expectations. But I also know that Trump is mercurial and unpredictable, and he loves surprises. So the chances of Putin-Trump meeting in private and hatching some kind of deal (or, more exactly, the framework of a deal) and Trump coming back to proclaim 'peace for our time' are not negligible. I don't see that as the likeliest outcome — and I am also buoyed by the fact that Trump was able to say no to a bad offer from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at their last summit — but it's a real danger. David Trump's flair for the dramatic is what got him into this negotiation in the first place. And recalling his diplomacy with Kim, it's hard to imagine him just having a 'listening exercise' and then saying, 'See you later, Vlad.' One way or another, I suspect Trump will want some drama. Max My concern level will rise if Trump and Putin meet alone, with only interpreters. That's what happened at their last meeting in Helsinki, and it was a disaster. I hope Trump will take Secretary of State Marco Rubio, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg and others into the room with him (but preferably not Witkoff, who has proved very credulous in dealing with Putin). David An important baseline for Anchorage will come today, when Trump speaks with European leaders and Zelensky about what Europe might do to support Ukraine against continuing Russian aggression even if the U.S. backs away. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Damir The danger for me seems to be that Trump is still in thrall to the idea that everyone just wants to make money. During that Monday news conference, in the same breath as he said it was not up to him to make a deal, he seemed to hold out hope that normalizing economic relations with Russia could bring Putin to the table, saying that Putin has to get back to rebuilding his country. David Trump has always had a fantasy that there are 'trillions' to be made in a future Russia. People keep trying to talk him out of that misjudgment, I'm told. Yet it persists. Weird. Max I thought reality was dawning for Trump last month when he started denouncing Putin for having nice conversations but then continuing to bomb civilian centers. Trump was finally on the right track in threatening massive sanctions and agreeing to supply weapons to Ukraine (albeit with the Europeans buying them first). But then he did another U-turn last week, following Witkoff's meeting with Putin, again blaming Zelensky for starting the war and pretending that Putin is interested in peace. The whole summit is built on a fundamental misunderstanding: Trump thinks Putin wants to end the war. What Putin really wants is to win the war. David Trump has tried every possible approach to diplomacy. Term sheets. Timelines. High-level meetings. But he keeps coming back to his core idea that it's only a meeting between the two big guys — him and Putin — that can resolve this, so we end up in Anchorage with very little work done on the shape of a settlement or clarity about what it might involve. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Damir Is there any sense that Trump still has the 'stick' of secondary sanctions in mind? Max I don't know what Trump will do, but if he's serious about making a deal with Putin, he first has to impose the full gamut of pressure and wait for the sanctions to bite. He is making a major blunder by prematurely rushing into a summit when there is no indication that Putin will make any concessions. David I think Trump would love to use China and India as leverage to get Putin to make concessions. I'm told that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has included Ukraine in his conversations with Chinese officials, and obviously Trump has threatened India with heavy secondary sanctions if it continues to buy oil from Russia. But my guess is that these efforts will fade if Trump encounters an immovable obstacle in Putin on Friday. Damir An immovable Putin wouldn't cause him to double down, but fold? Is it TACO all over again? Max Trump has said he may conclude there is no deal to be had and walk away. That's fine, if it happens. The question is what happens next. Will he just ignore the entire war, thereby giving Putin a free hand? Or will he return to his threats of sanctions for Russia to punish Putin for intransigence? Trump doesn't have to insert himself into the peacemaking process — ultimately, it will be up to Russia and Ukraine to make peace, and thus far Putin is not even willing to meet Zelensky — but Trump does need to continue backing Ukraine. David I don't like the TACO analogy. It just eggs Trump on, as near as I can tell. I think the question for Trump is how much he's willing to risk to gain a peace in Ukraine that's desperately important for Europe but less so for the United States. And the answer, probably, is that he's not willing to risk much.
Bloomberg
6 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety
Pittsburgh had planned to host its first-ever local World Cup this summer, a community soccer competition inspired by the global tournament and aimed at celebrating the city's cultural diversity. The weeks-long event, which was set to begin in June, would have featured teams made up of residents from the city's vast immigrant community, who'd play under the flags of their national origins. But city officials called off the games amid growing anxieties over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The city also canceled its annual International Parade and Festival, which previously brought out vendors and performers from dozens of cultural groups. In a statement from Mayor Ed Gainey's office to Bloomberg, spokesperson Olga George said both events were canceled out of 'an abundance of caution' after consulting with residents and community stakeholders.
