
The Latest: Harvard heads to court in $2.6B lawsuit against Trump administration
If U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would reverse a series of funding freezes that later became outright cuts as the administration escalated its fight with the nation's oldest and wealthiest university. Such a ruling, if it stands, would revive Harvard's sprawling scientific and medical research operation and hundreds of projects.
Harvard's lawsuit accuses the administration of waging a retaliation campaign against the university after it rejected a series of demands in an April 11 letter from a federal antisemitism task force.
However, even with the nation's largest endowment at $53 billion, the university has warned it can't absorb the full cost of the federal cuts.
Federal agencies say grants can be scrapped if they no longer align with government policies
In court filings, Harvard has said the government 'fails to explain how the termination of funding for research to treat cancer, support veterans, and improve national security addresses antisemitism.'
The Trump administration denies the cuts were made in retaliation, saying the grants were under review even before the April demand letter was sent. It argues the government has wide discretion to cancel contracts for policy reasons.
Hearing begins in Harvard's lawsuit over funding cuts
A lawyer for Harvard opened the hearing by saying the Trump administration violated the university's First Amendment rights by cutting more than $2.6 billion in federal funding.
Steven Lehotsky said the government conditioned research grants on Harvard, 'ceding control' to the government over what is appropriate for students and faculty to say.
US envoy doubles down on support for Syria's government and criticizes Israel's intervention
A U.S. envoy doubled down on Washington's support for Syria's new government, saying Monday there is 'no Plan B' to working with it to unite the country still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence.
In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Tom Barrack also criticized Israel's recent intervention in Syria, calling it poorly timed and saying it complicated efforts to stabilize the region.
Barrack is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, with a short-term mandate in Lebanon. He spoke in Beirut following more than a week of clashes in Syria's southern province of Sweida between militias of the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes.
Tom Barrack, who is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria and also has a short-term mandate in Lebanon, told The Associated Press that Israel's intervention in the latest round of conflict in Syria had further complicated matters. (AP Video shot by Fadi Tawil; Production by Abby Sewell)
Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to restore order, but ended up siding with the Bedouins before withdrawing under a ceasefire agreement with Druze factions. Hundreds have been killed in the fighting, and some government fighters allegedly shot dead Druze civilians and burned and looted homes.
Neighboring Israel intervened last week on behalf of the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority within Israel and often serve in its military. Israel launched dozens of strikes on convoys of government forces in Sweida and struck the Ministry of Defense headquarters in central Damascus.
Over the weekend, Barrack announced a ceasefire between Syria and Israel. Syrian government forces have redeployed in Sweida to halt renewed clashes between the Druze and Bedouins, and civilians from both sides were set to be evacuated Monday.
Trump threatens to hold up stadium deal if Washington Commanders don't switch back to Redskins
Trump is threatening to hold up a new stadium deal for Washington's NFL team if it does not restore its old name of the Redskins, which was considered offensive to Native Americans.
Trump also said Sunday that he wants Cleveland's baseball team to revert to its former name, the Indians, saying there was a 'big clamoring for this' as well.
The Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians have had their current names since the 2022 seasons, and both have said they have no plans to change them back. Trump said the Washington football team would be 'much more valuable' if it restored its old name. His latest interest in changing the name reflects his broader effort to roll back changes that followed a national debate on cultural sensitivity and racial justice.
The Commanders and the District of Columbia government announced a deal earlier this year to build a new home for the football team at the site of the old RFK Stadium, the place the franchise called home for more than three decades.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


UPI
a minute ago
- UPI
State Department to burn birth control worth $9.7M meant for poor nations
The U.S. government plans to destroy $9.7 million of contraceptives for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the nation "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." UPI file photo | License Photo July 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government plans to destroy a stockpile of contraceptives worth $9.7 million for poor nations, mainly in Africa, after the State Department "explored all possible options to prevent the destruction." The contraceptives include nearly 2 million doses of injectables, 900,000 implantable devices and more than 2 million oral packets, according to internal auditing in April obtained by The Washington Post. Chelsea Polis, a researcher with Guttsmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights, told the newspaper that the contraceptives could provide more than 650,000 women with pregnancy protection for up to one year and 950,000 women for three years. U.S. laws and rules prohibit sending U.S. aid to organizations that provide abortion services, counsel about the procedure or advocate for the right overseas. "The State Department confirms that a preliminary decision was made to destroy certain abortifacient birth control commodities from terminated Biden-era USAID contracts," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Only a limited number of commodities have been approved for disposal. No HIV medications or condoms are being destroyed." The destruction will cost $167,000, the spokesperson said. Most contraceptives have less than 70% of shelf life before expiration, the spokesperson said. The Guardian contacted an aide who visited the warehouse in Belgium and found the earliest expiration date was 2027. Two-thirds didn't have any labels. Belgium, the United Nations and humanitarian groups said they unsuccessfully stopped the destruction plans for the contraceptives. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump disbanded and merged into the State Department, was to have distributed them. They are part of a $9.5 billion program over 10 years to provide aid to more than 40 nations. The government said it based its decision on a policy that restricts funding for reproductive-related actions in the Mexico City Policy and the Kemp-Kasten amendment. President Ronald Reagan instituted the policy in 1985 and it has become a political issue. It has rescinded by Democratic presidents and reinstated by Republicans several times, including by President Donald Trump when he returned to office in January. A bipartisan group of U.S. legislators doesn't want the contraceptives to be destroyed, including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. "This is a waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars and an abdication of U.S. global leadership in preventing unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and maternal deaths," said Shaheen, who in June sent a letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the matter. The U.N. Population Fund and the International Planned Parenthood Federation were interested in receiving the contraceptives. "UNFPA was in conversation with Chemonics about purchasing the contraceptives but didn't receive an answer from them," UNFPA spokesman Eddie Wright said. "It's the height of hypocrisy for a government to preach efficiency and cutting waste, only to turn around and recklessly destroy lifesaving supplies when the need has never been greater," Micah Grzywnowicz, regional director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network, said in a statement MSI Reproductive Choices offered to pay for shipping and repackaging. MSI provides abortion services. "The complete dismantling of the world's largest donor for international family planning has been a catastrophe for the global supply chain of contraceptives," said Sarah Shaw, associate director of advocacy and for the organization. Sub-Saharan Africa has experienced an increase in teen births, according to a study at Columbia University in 2024. The number of births climbed from 4.5 million births in 2000 to 6.1 million in 2021as they decreased in the rest of the world. In Africa, 30% of all woman use birth control but more than half would use it if available, according to DebboAfrica, a healthcare company for African women. Worldwide, around half of women of reproductive age of 15-19 use some form of contraception, according to Focus2030. Foreign aid cuts could lead to more than 14 million additional deaths by 2023, including two-thirds children, according to a study published in Lancet earlier this month. Congress earlier this month passed legislation to remove $8 billion in foreign assistance. The Atlantic reported earlier this month that 551 tons of emergency food were expiring and will be incinerated rather than being fed to almost 1.5 million children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Almost 800,000 Mpox vaccines to be sent to Africa also are not usable because they are past their expiration date, Politico reported earlier this month.

Wall Street Journal
a minute ago
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Says U.S. Reached a Trade Deal With European Union
Trump Says U.S. Reached a Trade Deal With European Union President Trump announced a trade agreement between the U.S. and the European Union after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, marking his biggest deal so far. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US and EU agree trade deal - with bloc facing 15% tariffs on goods into America
The United States and European Union have reached an agreement on a trade deal, says Donald Trump. The announcement was made as the US president met European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen at one of his golf resorts in Scotland. Speaking after talks in Turnberry, Mr Trump said it was the "biggest deal ever made" and will be "great for cars" as well as having a "big impact" on agriculture. The US will impose 15% tariffs on EU goods entering America, after Mr Trump had threatened a 30% levy. He said there will be $600bn of EU investment in the US, the bloc will buy $750bn in US energy and will also purchase US military equipment. Ms von der Leyen said it was a "good deal" which will bring stability. She said the agreement would include 15% tariffs across the board, and it would help rebalance trade between the two large trading partners. Mr Trump had earlier said the main sticking point was "fairness", citing barriers to US exports of cars and agriculture. He went into the talks demanding fairer trade with the 27-member EU and threatening steep tariffs to achieve that, while insisting the US will not go below 15% import taxes. For months, Mr Trump has threatened most of the world with large tariffs in the hope of shrinking major US trade deficits with many key trading partners, including the EU. In case there was no deal and the US had imposed 30% tariffs from 1 August, the EU has prepared counter-tariffs on €93bn (£81bn) of US goods. Ahead of their meeting on Sunday, Ms von der Leyen described Mr Trump as a "tough negotiator and dealmaker". This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.