The Trump administrations has threatened Harvard’s profitable portfolio of patents amid its long-running dispute with the college, accusing it of breaching authorized and contractual necessities tied to federally funded analysis.
In a letter, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick demanded that Harvard present inside 4 weeks an inventory of all patents stemming from federally funded analysis grants, together with how the patents are used and whether or not any licensing requires “substantial US manufacturing”. Harvard didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
Many civil rights consultants, college and White Home critics consider the Trump administration’s concentrating on of colleges for supposedly failing to handle antisemitism on campus is a pretext to say federal management and threaten educational freedom and free speech.
Trump administration threatens Harvard federal funding and patents
In his letter to Harvard, Lutnick additionally mentioned the commerce division had begun a “march-in” course of underneath the federal Bayh-Dole Act that might let the federal government take possession of the patents or grant licenses.
As of 1 July 2024, Harvard held greater than 5,800 patents, and had greater than 900 know-how licenses with over 650 business companions, according to the Harvard Workplace of Expertise Improvement.
Tammy Bruce nominated for US deputy ambassador to UN
Donald Trump mentioned on Saturday he was nominating former Fox Information commentator Tammy Bruce as the subsequent US deputy consultant to the United Nations.
Bruce has been serving because the chief spokesperson for the state division since Trump took workplace this 12 months. Trump mentioned Bruce, who had no prior international coverage expertise earlier than changing into spokesperson in January, “will signify our nation brilliantly on the United Nations”.
IRS commissioner reportedly eliminated over immigration coverage dispute
The removal of the Inside Income Service (IRS) commissioner Billy Lengthy after simply two months got here after the federal tax assortment company mentioned it couldn’t launch some data on taxpayers suspected of being within the US illegally, it was reported on Saturday.
The Washington Put up reported the Division of Homeland Safety had despatched the IRS an inventory of 40,000 names that it suspected of being within the nation illegally. DHS requested the tax service to crosscheck confidential taxpayer knowledge to confirm their addresses.
The IRS reportedly responded that it was in a position to confirm fewer than 3% of the names on the DHS listing, however declined requests for additional data, citing taxpayer privateness rights.
‘We’re at battle – convey it on’: Democrats able to battle soiled to cease Trump
Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic Nationwide Committee, talking in Chicago this week, mentioned: “It is a new Democratic social gathering. We’re bringing a knife to a knife battle, and we’re going to battle fireplace with fireplace.”
It was a brutally sincere acknowledgement of what a decade of Donald Trump’s politics has wrought. Out go the courtly and courteous playing-by-the-rules Democrats satisfied that Maga is a passing section, a fever that will break. In come a brand new technology of pugnacious Democrats ready to take off the gloves and battle soiled.
The set off for this scorched-earth approach is Trump’s push to search out extra Republican seats within the Home of Representatives forward of subsequent 12 months’s essential midterm elections by way of gerrymandering, a means of manipulating electoral maps to learn one social gathering over one other.
How did we get all this gerrymandering? A quick historical past
Excessive GOP gerrymanders have remade American politics over the past 15 years. They’ve locked Republicans into workplace in state legislatures nationwide, even in purple states when Democratic candidates win extra votes. They’ve delivered a dependable and enduring edge to the GOP within the race for Congress.
How did we get right here? How did gerrymandered traces, slightly than voters, achieve the ability to find out winners and losers?
Pete Hegseth reposts video that claims ladies shouldn’t be allowed to vote
The US protection secretary, Pete Hegseth, lately shared a video during which a number of pastors say ladies ought to now not be allowed to vote, prompting one progressive evangelical group to specific concern.
Hegseth reposted an almost seven-minute report CNN segment on X on Thursday that focuses on pastor Doug Wilson, a Christian nationalist. Within the phase, he raises the concept of ladies not voting.
Doug Pagitt, a pastor and the chief director of the progressive evangelical group Vote Frequent Good, mentioned the concepts within the video had been views that “small fringes of Christians hold” and mentioned it was “very disturbing” that Hegseth would amplify them.
Below-fire FDA determine returns simply days after leaving
Vinay Prasad is returning to his function overseeing vaccine, gene remedy and blood product regulation on the US Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) a bit greater than per week after he left the company.
Two days earlier than Prasad stepped down final month, Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer and conspiracy theorist, had launched misleadingly edited audio to counsel Prasad had admitted sticking pins in a Trump voodoo doll, when the total audio made it clear that he was speaking concerning the sort of factor an imagined liberal Trump-hater would do.
Prasad is an oncologist who was a fierce critic of US Covid-19 vaccines and masks mandates.
What else occurred as we speak:
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A Georgia man who opened fireplace on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta on Friday, killing a police officer, had blamed a Covid-19 vaccine for making him depressed and suicidal, a regulation enforcement official mentioned.
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Paperwork filed lately within the New Orleans Roman Catholic archdiocese’s five-year chapter case present extra readability on how claims will be doled out to survivors of clergy abuse if a proposed settlement is accredited.
