Photos this week: January 23-30, 2025
Friends of Arbel Yehoud, a 29-year-old German-Israeli hostage, react as they watch a broadcast of her being released by Palestinian militants on Thursday, January 30. Yehoud was among eight hostages released in Gaza on Thursday. The chaotic scenes surrounding the release of seven of those hostages brought condemnation from Israeli leaders and a temporary delay in the release of Palestinian prisoners, who were ultimately freed later in the day as part of a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel. Ariel Schalit/AP
Madison Keys kisses her trophy after winning the Australian Open tennis tournament on Saturday, January 25. Keys, a 29-year-old American, stunned two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka to win her first-ever grand slam title. Vincent Thian/AP
Shoes that were taken from prisoners many years ago are displayed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, Poland, on Thursday, January 23. It has now been 80 years since the Soviet Army liberated Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp complex where more than 1.1 million people were murdered. Oded Balilty/AP
People cross barriers near an area where dozens of people were killed in a crowd crush in Prayagraj, India, on Wednesday, January 29. The tragedy happened as tens of millions of Hindu devotees went to bathe in a river on one of the most sacred days of Maha Kumbh Mela, or the festival of the Sacred Pitcher. Atul Loke/The New York Times/Redux
Detained migrants sit on a US Air Force plane as they await takeoff in Tucson, Arizona, on Thursday, January 23. The Trump administration has moved with lightning speed to roll out the president's immigration agenda, effectively closing off the US southern border to asylum seekers, severely limiting who's eligible to enter the United States and laying the groundwork to swiftly deport migrants already in the country. Senior Airman Devlin Bishop/DoD/Handout/Reuters
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US President Donald Trump's nominee for health and human services secretary, testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, January 29. Kennedy tried to downplay his anti-vaccine rhetoric and other controversial stances regarding public health, and he rebuked statements that he is a vaccine skeptic despite an extensive, recorded history of his linking vaccines to autism in children.Syrian civil defense workers known as the White Helmets collect human remains found in two separate basements in Sbeneh, Syria, on Tuesday, January 28. They said the charred remains belong to at least 26 victims of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Since Assad fled the country on December 8 following the collapse of his regime, Syrians are starting to uncover mass graves across the country. Omar Albam/AP
Women embrace in the reception area at The Skating Club of Boston on Thursday, January 30. Several members of the figure skating community were aboard the jet that collided with a US Army helicopter near Washington, DC, on Wednesday. The Skating Club of Boston named six victims, including Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the 1994 world champions in pairs. Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Hindu holy men take a dip in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj, India, on Wednesday, January 29. Deepak Sharma/AP
A Palestinian man waves Thursday, January 30, as he arrives in Khan Younis, Gaza, after being released from Israel as part of its ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel released 110 detainees on Thursday after eight hostages were released from captivity in Gaza. Jehad Alshrafi/AP
Ashley Warbington, holding a sign that says 'keep families together,' is carried out of a House committee meeting by state troopers in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday, January 29. At least three woman were ejected from the meeting on immigration, according to the Associated Press. George Walker IV/AP
A woman takes photos outside the Maraya concert hall in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, January 27. Maraya, the world's largest mirrored building, was designed by Florian Boje. Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images
An antique wooden ice sailing yacht, built during the 1800s, is sailed on the frozen Hudson River near Athens, New York, on Saturday, January 25. The yacht is maintained and sailed by members of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. Mike Segar/Reuters
Liri Albag, an Israeli soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Israel in October 7, 2023, makes a heart gesture at the window of a helicopter as she and other released hostages are transported to a medical complex in Petah Tikva, Israel, on Saturday, January 25. Rami Shlush/Reuters
From left, Herbert Lin, Juan Manuel Santos, Robert Socolow and Suzet McKinney reveal an updated Doomsday Clock at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, January 28. The clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest the world has ever been to that marker, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which established the clock in 1947 as a symbolic attempt to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world.
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Wall Street Journal
9 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
About That ‘Panel' of M.D.s
As Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel notes in his May 27 letter, the nation deserves to have the president monitored by more than one doctor. He suggests a panel of three independent physicians, whose ethical duty would be to the American public, each chosen by one of three large and prominent medical associations: the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Count me as skeptical. Why should we expect a group of physicians to be objective and nonpolitical in such a politically charged time? Does anyone think such a panel—largely made up of physicians chosen by liberal medical associations—would give a clean bill of health to Donald Trump? Recall that each of those groups is vested in the dogma of DEI, the opposite of disinterested nonpartisan inquiry. They put identity politics above excellence.
Forbes
11 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Threatens To Nix Musk's Government Contracts, As Friendship Publicly Implodes
President Donald Trump suggested he could revoke Elon Musk's government contracts Thursday as their alliance imploded in a very public fashion over the course of several hours Thursday in a feud over Trump's signature policy bill. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the ... More White House in Washington, DC, on May 30, 2025. (Photo by ALLISON ROBBERT/AFP via Getty Images) 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!' Trump wrote on Truth Social, amid a barrage of attacks from Musk. Trump's threat came after Musk accused Trump of 'ingratitude' and said he would have lost the election without him, after the billionaire donated more than $250 million to help elect him last year. Trump insinuated in an Oval Office press conference Thursday the Tesla CEO opposes his 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which Musk has been ranting about all week, because he is 'upset' the electric vehicle incentive was removed, adding that he's not sure he'll remain friends with Musk and alleging Musk 'knew the inner workings of the bill.' Musk didn't reject the accusation about the EV tax credits in a tweet responding to Trump, writing it was 'very unfair!!' that oil and gas subsidies were left in the bill, adding in a subsequent tweet 'this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!' Trump also suggested Musk is suffering from what he refers to as 'Trump derangement syndrome,' which Trump describes as people turning on the president after they leave his administration. Earlier Thursday, Musk reposted a 2013 tweet from Trump that said he was in disbelief and 'embarrassed' Republicans were extending the debt ceiling, captioning the repost 'wise words,' after Trump said Wednesday the debt limit should be 'entirely scrapped' as a provision of his 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act,' which would raise the debt ceiling ahead of its expected expiration date in August. Musk said repeatedly last year he supports eliminating the EV tax credit—statements that hurt Trump's argument he only opposes the bill because it gets rid of the incentive. 'I think we should get rid of all credits,' Musk said in December when asked by a reporter on Capitol Hill if he supports getting rid of the electric vehicle tax credit, Politico reported. The House-passed version of the bill would phase out the $7,500 tax credit for some EV buyers by 2026. $2.4 trillion. That's how much the bill would add to the federal debt over the next decade, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office released Wednesday that estimates it would cost $4.2 trillion, mostly from tax cuts, and save $1.8 trillion. 'I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot,' Trump said while sitting next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office Thursday. Musk—who left his White House role Friday—has fired off dozens of tweets this week attacking Trump's policy bill over the amount it's expected to add to the federal debt. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk wrote Tuesday on X in his initial post bashing the legislation, calling it a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled . . . disgusting abomination.' Musk attacked Trump directly over the bill for the first time since he began his days-long rant moments before Trump sat down with Merz by reposting the president's 2013 tweet about the debt ceiling. In other tweets this week targeting the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' Musk threatened Republicans who voted for it, warning that 'in November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people' and calling for lawmakers to 'KILL The BILL.' Until Trump's comments Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.—who shepherded the bill through the House—was the top Republican defending the legislation against Musk's criticism. Johnson said Wednesday Trump is 'not delighted that Elon did a 180.' The bill, passed by the House in a party-line vote last month after last-minute revisions to appease Republican holdouts, is currently being negotiated by the Senate. Republican leaders have set a July 4 deadline to put the bill on Trump's desk for signage, but GOP resistance in the upper chamber—and some expressions of regret from a few House Republicans who said they were unaware of certain provisions—threaten to delay its passage. The legislation would fulfill Trump's key campaign promises, including an extension of his 2017 tax cuts, no taxes on tips and overtime and additional border security, paid for, in part, by cuts to Medicaid. Tensions between Musk and Trump were palpable during the joint press conference they held Friday to mark Musk's last day leading the Department of Government Efficiency. While the two praised each other, their once-lighthearted rapport appeared stiff and uneasy. Musk in particular appeared to be in an odd mood, prompting social media users to claim he was 'tweaking out,' suggesting he may have been under the influence of drugs, as the press conference was held hours after a New York Times report alleging Musk engaged in heavy drug use while he campaigned for Trump last year. Musk also sported a black eye during the press conference, which the Tesla CEO claimed he got from his five-year-old son. 'KILL The BILL': Musk Deepens Rant Against Trump's Signature Policy Legislation (Forbes) Musk Calls For Ending Electric Vehicle Tax Credit—Which Could Help Tesla (Forbes) Musk Cuts Off Reporter Asking About Drug Use Allegations—Including Ketamine, Ecstasy And Adderall (Forbes)
15 minutes ago
Top US universities raced to become global campuses. Under Trump, it's becoming a liability
WASHINGTON -- Three decades ago, foreign students at Harvard University accounted for just 11% of the total student body. Today, they account for 26%. Like other prestigious U.S. universities, Harvard for years has been cashing in on its global cache to recruit the world's best students. Now, the booming international enrollment has left colleges vulnerable to a new line of attack from President Donald Trump. The president has begun to use his control over the nation's borders as leverage in his fight to reshape American higher education. Trump's latest salvo against Harvard uses a broad federal law to bar foreign students from entering the country to attend the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His order applies only to Harvard, but it poses a threat to other universities his administration has targeted as hotbeds of liberalism in need of reform. It's rattling campuses under federal scrutiny, including Columbia University, where foreign students make up 40% of the campus. As the Trump administration stepped up reviews of new student visas last week, a group of Columbia faculty and alumni raised concerns over Trump's gatekeeping powers. 'Columbia's exposure to this 'stroke of pen' risk is uniquely high,' the Stand Columbia Society wrote in a newsletter. People from other countries made up about 6% of all college students in the U.S. in 2023, but they accounted for 27% of the eight schools in the Ivy League, according to an Associated Press analysis of Education Department data. Columbia's 40% was the largest concentration, followed by Harvard and Cornell at about 25%. Brown University had the smallest share at 20%. Other highly selective private universities have seen similar trends, including at Northeastern University and New York University, which each saw foreign enrollment double between 2013 and 2023. Growth at public universities has been more muted. Even at the 50 most selective public schools, foreign students account for about 11% of the student body. America's universities have been widening their doors to foreign students for decades, but the numbers shot upward starting around 2008, as Chinese students came to U.S. universities in rising numbers. It was part of a 'gold rush' in higher education, said William Brustein, who orchestrated the international expansion of several universities. 'Whether you were private or you were public, you had to be out in front in terms of being able to claim you were the most global university," said Brustein, who led efforts at Ohio State University and West Virginia University. The race was driven in part by economics, he said. Foreign students typically aren't eligible for financial aid, and at some schools they pay two or three times the tuition rate charged to U.S. students. Colleges also were eyeing global rankings that gave schools a boost if they recruited larger numbers of foreign students and scholars, he said. But the expansion wasn't equal across all types of colleges — public universities often face pressure from state lawmakers to limit foreign enrollment and keep more seats open for state residents. Private universities don't face that pressure, and many aggressively recruited foreign students as their numbers of U.S. students stayed flat. The college-going rate among American students has changed little for decades, and some have been turned off on college by the rising costs and student debt loads. Proponents of international exchange say foreign students pour billions of dollars into the U.S. economy, and many go on to support the nation's tech industry and other fields in need of skilled workers. Most international students study the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math. In the Ivy League, most international growth has been at the graduate level, while undergraduate numbers have seen more modest increases. Foreign graduate students make up more than half the students at Harvard's government and design schools, along with five of Columbia's schools. The Ivy League has been able to outpace other schools in large part because of its reputation, Brustein said. He recalls trips to China and India, where he spoke with families that could recite where each Ivy League school sat in world rankings. 'That was the golden calf for these families. They really thought, 'If we could just get into these schools, the rest of our lives would be on easy street,'' he said. Last week, Trump said he thought Harvard should cap its foreign students to about 15%. 'We have people who want to go to Harvard and other schools, they can't get in because we have foreign students there,' Trump said at a news conference. The university called Trump's latest action banning entry into the country to attend Harvard 'yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights.' In a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's previous attempt to block international students at Harvard, the university said its foreign student population was the result of 'a painstaking, decades-long project' to attract the most qualified international students. Losing access to student visas would immediately harm the school's mission and reputation, it said. 'In our interconnected global economy," the school said, 'a university that cannot welcome students from all corners of the world is at a competitive disadvantage.'
