Latest news with #MatthewHealey
UPI
30-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Joint Task Force on anti-Semitism accuses Harvard of Civil Rights Act violation
"Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination," read a letter in part on Monday to University President Alan Garber from the federal government's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. File Photo by Matthew Healey/ UPI | License Photo June 30 (UPI) -- The Trump administration on Monday threatened more funding cuts to Harvard University after a federal task force claimed the Ivy League school was in "violent violation" of the Civil Rights Act over a perceived failure to protect Jewish students. "Harvard holds the regrettable distinction of being among the most prominent and visible breeding ground for race discrimination," read the letter in part to University President Alan Garber from the federal government's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism. The letter, signed by four federal officials from the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, the U.S. General Services Administration, and Assistant U.S. Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon, cited the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on Harvard's admission practices. It said that its Title VI investigation via the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin -- concluded that Harvard allegedly failed to suppress anti-Semitism on its Boston-based campus. "That legacy of discrimination persists with Harvard's continued anti-Semitism," it stated, adding that any institution refusing to "meet its duties under federal law may not receive a wide range of federal privileges." The task force listed in its examples a series of allegations that it says Harvard "did not dispute our findings of fact, nor could it." It indicated a quarter of Harvard's Jewish students felt unsafe, saw negative bias and reported alleged assaults during campus demonstrations that federal officials claimed violated university policy, among a number of other issues. In their letter, it went on to express how the Holocaust engulfed Europe "due to the '[d]isbelief, incredulity, and denial on the part of both victims and onlookers' which 'worked to the advantage of those who wanted to eradicate the Jews.'" "Failure to institute adequate changes immediately will result in the loss of all federal financial resources and continue to affect Harvard's relationship with the federal government," the letter continued. "Harvard may of course continue to operate free of federal privileges, and perhaps such an opportunity will spur a commitment to excellence that will help Harvard thrive once again." On Monday, the university pointed to "substantive, proactive steps" officials took to address "the root causes of antisemitism" on campus, saying Harvard is "far from indifferent on this issue and strongly disagrees with the government's findings." "In responding to the government's investigation, Harvard not only shared its comprehensive and retrospective Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israeli Bias Report but also outlined the ways that it has strengthened policies, disciplined those who violate them, encouraged civil discourse, and promoted open, respectful dialogue," a university spokesman told The Hill in a statement. Harvard previously refused to give in to the administration's demands to end its diversity, equity, inclusion and other policies, leading to a lawsuit over a pause in more than $3 billion in federal funds and Trump's order to rid Harvard's long-existing right to enroll foreign students. This month, the president in a social media post said a deal with Harvard could arrive but offered no other detail and has not spoken of it since.
Boston Globe
03-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Dollar General posts record sales as bargain stores attract more people anxious about the economy
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up GOVERNMENT Advertisement R.I. Commerce secretary resigns to lead new state nonprofit to capitalize on 2026 World Cup Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner addressed the media during a press conference in 2023. Matthew Healey for The Boston Globe R.I. Commerce Secretary Liz Tanner has resigned from her post. Instead, she will lead Ocean State 2026, a new nonprofit organization created by Governor Dan McKee that will be dedicated to ensuring Rhode Island maximizes the economic opportunities of next summer's World Cup, a press release from the governor's office confirmed. Treasurer James Diossa will serve as chairman of the nonprofit's board. 'This world-class soccer event presents a major opportunity to showcase Rhode Island on the global stage — and we're ready to seize it,' said McKee. 'This new nonprofit will help ensure we're attracting visitors, supporting local businesses, and driving economic activity in the state.' It's unclear who will serve as Commerce's new cabinet-level secretary. A spokeswoman for the governor's office could not be immediately reached for comment. Seven tournament matches will be played at Gillette Stadium from June 13 to July 9, 2026. Throughout the course of the tournament, an estimated one million people are expected to travel through the Providence area with a projected economic impact of more than $330 million. Ocean State 2026 will focus on maximizing the tournament's potential to boost tourism in Rhode Island, support local businesses, enhance workforce development, and showcase the state as a premier global destination, according to a government press release. The nonprofit will lead business sponsorship efforts to support tournament-related activities in Rhode Island. They'll also work with local agencies, like Boston 2026, to ensure a 'a unified and impactful presence before, during, and after the tournament.' Ron O'Hanley, State Street's chief executive, will chair the honorary board of Boston 26. During Tanner's tenure, she oversaw the expansion of broadband infrastructure through over $100 million in federal funding, the launch of programs tailored to the needs of small businesses, and completion of major economic development projects. Her last day as secretary of Commerce will be July 4. — ALEXA GAGOSZ Advertisement BIOTECH Watertown cancer drug firm iTeos shutting down iTeos Therapeutics, a cancer-fighting biotech based in Watertown, is winding down operations just weeks after shelving its most advanced drug candidate due to underwhelming clinical data. The 12-year-old biotech had been collaborating with the British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline on the immuno-oncology drug candidate. The companies scrapped that program after mid-stage clinical trials delivered disappointing results. iTeos ended the first quarter of 2025 with more than $624 million in hand and several oncology assets, plus a potential obesity treatment. The publicly traded biotech plans to return as much capital as possible to shareholders, according to a May 28 company news release. The immuno-oncology company had 173 employees at the end of last year, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. iTeos's announcement came the same week that Keros Therapeutics of Lexington said it was ending development of a drug candidate to treat high blood pressure. Keros said it was laying off 45 percent of its workforce, which will leave the company with 85 full-time employees. — JONATHAN SALTZMAN Advertisement TRADE Trump's tariffs expected to drag down the global economy A worker sewed garments along a production line at Thanh Cong Textile Garment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. LINH PHAM/NYT President Trump's trade war is expected to slow growth in the world's leading economies, including the United States, this year and in the years to come, unless world leaders can resolve their differences over trade. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development slashed its outlook for global output to 2.9 percent this year, from 3.3 percent in 2024, the organization said in its economic report released Tuesday. Economic growth in the United States is expected to be particularly weak, the organization said, rising 1.6 percent this year, a drop from the 2.2 percent projected in March, and 1.5 percent in 2026, down from its previous estimate of 1.6 percent. The US economy grew 2.8 percent in 2024. 'Through to the end of 2024, the global economy showed real resilience,' said Mathias Cormann, the organization's secretary-general. 'But the global economic environment has become significantly more challenging since.' In the first three months of the year, economic growth in the countries monitored by the organization, which is based in Paris, 'dropped abruptly' to 0.1 percent from the last three months of 2024, which is 'the slowest rate of growth since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic some five years ago,' Cormann said. — NEW YORK TIMES Advertisement ENERGY Meta becomes the latest big tech company turning to nuclear power for its AI needs The Clinton Clean Energy Center in Clinton, Ill. John Dixon/Associated Press Meta has cut a 20-year deal to secure nuclear power to help meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook's parent company. The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant. The agreement announced Tuesday is just the latest in a string of tech-nuclear partnerships as the use of AI expands. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center was actually slated to close in 2017 after years of financial losses but was saved by legislation in Illinois establishing a zero-emission credit program to support the plant into 2027. The Meta-Constellation deal takes effect in June of 2027, when the state's taxpayer funded zero-emission credit program expires. With the arrival of Meta, Clinton's clean energy output will expand by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs, and bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, according to the companies. — ASSOCIATED PRESS HIGHER EDUCATION Education Department says it will not garnish Social Security of student loan borrowers in default The US Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. Al Drago/Bloomberg Borrowers who have defaulted on their federal student loans will no longer be at risk of having their Social Security benefits garnished, an Education Department spokesperson said Tuesday. The government last month restarted collections for the millions of people in default on their loans. An estimated 452,000 people aged 62 and older had student loans in default, according to a January report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The department has not garnished any Social Security benefits since the post-pandemic resumption of collections and has paused 'any future Social Security offsets,' department spokesperson Ellen Keast said. 'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting Social Security recipients who oftentimes rely on a fixed income,' Keast said. Advocates encouraged the Trump administration to go further to provide relief for the roughly 5.3 million borrowers in default. 'Simply pausing this collection tactic is woefully insufficient,' said Persis Yu, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. 'Any continued effort to restart the government's debt collection machine is cruel, unnecessary, and will further fan the flames of economic chaos for working families across this country.' — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement
New York Times
15-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
History Lessons on One-Inch Templates
In the 1920s and '30s, a lot of overseas correspondence was conducted by mail. Clerks at The New York Times were instructed to remove stamps from arriving letters and tape or paste them in an album, country by country. Why? A good guess is that stamp collecting, or philately, was seen as a splendid way for young people — like newspaper clerks — to learn history by osmosis. The Times's album testifies to the collapse of the Weimar Republic in Germany, where hyperinflation drove stamp prices into the hundreds of millions of German marks, followed by the rise of the Third Reich (when swastikas began to appear on postage). Stamps labeled 'Philippine Islands, United States of America' recall the period of American control there; those labeled 'Palestine' recall the British mandate. The embryonic Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic repurposed stamps bearing the double-headed eagle of imperial Russia by overprinting a hammer and sickle. 'These are the kinds of things that really teach you about the world,' Matthew Healey said recently as he looked over the postage album at the Museum at The Times, where the album is kept today. Mr. Healey was a layout editor at The Times from 2004 to 2012 and now edits a quarterly newsletter called The Philatelic Communicator. His father, Barth Healey (1939-2008), was a Times editor who wrote the stamp column, an exploration of stamp collecting and design, from 1988 to 1993. Given the poor condition of the album, Mr. Healey said it had no monetary value. In other words: It's worthless but priceless.
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
🌭 A compromise for the next act at Federal Hill's Old Canteen?
The folks that run the The plan is to still change the name to Wally's and serve hot dogs, but eliminate the word 'Wieners' or the picture of a hot dog on their sign when they eventually reopen the restaurant on The Hill. In other words, they might be a little less flashy. A neon sign for Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen Italian Restaurant on Atwells Avenue in Providence, R.I., in 2022. Matthew Healey for The Boston Globe Advertisement The bigger picture: Heritage has been But Simone and members of the Federal Hill Commerce Association were not thrilled with the idea that a hot dog might be the first thing visitors see when they visit Providence's Little Italy. I Still, it's important to give credit where credit is due: Brad Head from Heritage and his company have listened to feedback and are making a few changes to ensure that the restaurant opens smoothly. The Providence Board of Licenses is expected to meet next week to approve the licenses Heritage needs to open. This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you'd like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Dan McGowan can be reached at
