Latest news with #FirstAmendment.
India Today
11 hours ago
- Politics
- India Today
Trump admin races to strike deal with Harvard by end of June: Report
The Trump administration is increasing efforts to reach a settlement with Harvard University in the long-standing legal confrontation with the prestigious institution, according to The Washington Post. A deal could be finalised by the end of the month. The goal is to set a national precedent that will basically be a blueprint for the rest of higher education, the report claimed. advertisementThe university has been one of the primary targets of the Trump administration's pressure campaign on higher education, focusing on alleged antisemitism, diversity policies, anti-Israeli protests, and hiring practices. Despite the pressure, Harvard has been receiving support for resisting what it calls overreach from the federal government. Harvard has no intention of surrendering its core FUNDING FREEZE TRIGGERS WIDER SUPPORT Harvard has sued the administration twice to halt punitive measures, most notably a freeze on over $3 billion in federal research funding. The university argued that this action endangers scientific and medical projects. More than 40 groups have filed amicus briefs in court supporting Harvard's case, including alumni associations, hospitals, research universities, and former US officials."These cuts threaten everything from the development of cancer treatments to economic stability in more than 20 states," the briefs claim. advertisementIn response to the legal pressure Harvard has exerted, a coalition of 16 Republican-led states filed a brief on Monday in support of the Trump administration's stance. The attorneys general of those states alleged that Harvard has allowed antisemitism on campus and argued that institutions receiving federal funds must be held accountable under anti-discrimination laws."Harvard's current, suffocating atmosphere of antisemitism is illegal," the brief stated. "And that illegal conduct is not protected by the First Amendment."FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FOREIGN STUDENTS AT CENTRE OF DEBATEThe centre of Harvard's argument is that the administration's actions violate the university's First Amendment rights and that federal procedures under Title VI were not followed. The university contends that the government is trying to control campus speech and force ideological conformity."The government cannot attempt a hostile takeover of any private institution, much less a private college or university," the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a brief. Harvard is seeking a court ruling in the US District Court in Massachusetts that would resolve the case before it goes to trial on July 21. In a related development, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction to block the State Department and Department of Homeland Security from barring international students and scholars from entering the US to study or work at Harvard. The administration had earlier revoked Harvard's certification to host foreign students, prompting a lawsuit in May.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump's war on the media: A deep dive into his assault on press freedom
Live Events Suspicious of media (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel With lawsuits and tirades about "the enemy of the people" Donald Trump has launched a frontal assault on the mainstream media, while empowering conservative bloggers and podcasters to get his radical agenda president has stepped up his long-established hostility towards TV news channels like CNN and newspapers such as The New York Times, but even the respected Associated Press news agency has been under intense AP has become a test case for editorial independence after it was barred from the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision to refer to the "Gulf of Mexico" -- and not the "Gulf of America" as decreed by well as his fiery rhetoric against the press, Trump has sued private channel CBS, regional newspaper The Des Moines Register, and pressured ABC which paid $15 million when threatened with a defamation lawsuit."The White House's moves to curtail journalists' abilities to do their jobs and document what's happening is unprecedented," said Katherine Jacobsen, the Committee to Protect Journalists' US program director."This attempt to control the narrative threatens both freedom of the press , and American democratic values."The Trump administration has moved fast -- pressing to dismantle US overseas outlets Voice of America , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, and threatening to starve NPR public radio and PBS television of federal cheerleader and dismantler-in-chief Elon Musk has even said the team behind CBS's flagship "60 Minutes" show deserve prison."Wielding the power of the government to stifle free speech and to threaten news organizations -- I think we're in a new territory," said City University of New York journalism professor Reece Federal Communications Commission -- headed by a Trump ally -- has launched probes into CBS, ABC and NBC, alongside NPR and PBS, he said as an United States fell from 45th to 55th place in 2024 in the World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).It is unclear how far Trump can go in a country that has a rich tradition of investigative reporting and where freedom of speech is protected by the Constitution's First Amendment."His ability is limited," said Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy."He can try to find some targets here and there, but he certainly hasn't been able to do anything about The New York Times, which has been doing excellent reporting on the chaos of the Trump administration."But Kennedy warned Trump was seeking to design a media system where the Times "will simply be ignored by everybody, except their core audience."Trump is drawing on mounting suspicion and disregard for traditional media among ordinary 31 percent of people surveyed by Gallup in 2024 said they trusted the mainstream media to provide complete, accurate and unbiased information -- a figure that was above 50 percent in the its first 100 days, the White House has welcomed influencers, podcasters, and commentators aligned with his agenda and on whom Trump relied during the election campaign -- not known for speaking truth to such figure, Real America Voice's Brian Glenn, joined the official pile-on against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when he visited Washington."Why don't you wear a suit? You're at the highest level in this country's office and you refuse to wear a suit. A lot of Americans have problems with you not respecting the office," Glenn said to the wartime leader, parroting White House talking points."Trump cultivated relationships with independent, alternative right-wing media way, way back in 2015 and 2016," said Peck, a move born of necessity because Fox News, with its conservative viewership, had yet to support the has continued the successful "flood the zone" strategy to dominate the news cycle, pioneered by his one-time adviser Steve the news gets ever more hectic -- and hard to cover -- Kennedy said the question now is whether any outlets are "big enough to cover everything that's happening?"
