Student Gaza protests: top Republicans call on Biden to send in federal officers

Letter from 25 senators including Mitch McConnell says president ‘must act immediately to restore order’ on university campuses

Senior Republican US senators on Tuesday waded into growing tensions at leading universities over the Israel-Gaza war, demanding the Biden administration send in federal law enforcement officers to curb pro-Palestinian protests that have led to hundreds of arrests.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, and John Thune, his deputy, wrote to Merrick Garland, the US attorney general, and Miguel Cardona, the education secretary, calling demonstrators “antisemitic, pro-terrorist mobs”.

Continue reading...

Yale students continue hunger strike in protest over Israel’s war on Gaza

Protesters into seventh day of hunger strike in support of Palestinians and in effort to demand university divestment

A group of students at Yale University were on Friday into the seventh day of a hunger strike in support of Palestinians in Gaza and in a protest to pressure the university to divest from any weapons manufacturing companies potentially supplying the Israeli military.

The group titles itself Yale Hunger Strikers for Palestine and one protester, the graduate student Miguel Monteiro, described losing weight and feeling dizzy, while attempting to put the group’s efforts into a wider perspective.

Continue reading...

‘Autoantibodies’ may be driving severe Covid cases, study shows

Scientists find aberrant immune system in patients with virus could also be cause of ‘long Covid’

Dramatic levels of “friendly fire” from the immune system may drive severe Covid-19 disease and leave patients with “long Covid” – when medical problems persist for a significant time after the virus has been beaten – scientists have said.

Researchers at Yale University found that Covid-19 patients had large numbers of misguided antibodies in their blood that targeted the organs, tissues and the immune system itself, rather than fighting off the invading virus.

Continue reading...

Harvard and Yale students disrupt football game for fossil fuel protest

Students began campaigning in 2012 for both universities to stop investing in oil and gas companies that contribute to climate crisis

Students and alumni from Harvard and Yale disrupted the annual football game between the two elite universities on Saturday, occupying the field in New Haven, Connecticut, at half-time and demanding the colleges divest from investment in fossil fuels.

More than 200 protesters stalled the high-profile game for around an hour, many chanting: “Hey Hey! Ho Ho! Fossil fuels have got to go!” The protest was briefly booed by some in a crowd of 44,989 and discussed widely on social media.

Continue reading...

US college admissions scandal: how did the scheme work and who was charged?

Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin were among 50 charged in scheme to get children into universities via bribery and cheating

There are 50 people charged in the case, including actors Felicity Huffman, known for her role on the TV show Desperate Housewives and the feature film Transamerica, and Lori Loughlin, a cast member on the TV series Full House. Defendants in the case include parents and college athletics coaches.

Continue reading...

SNL’ debuts new season with focus on Kavanaugh hearing

Returning to form by opening its season 44 premiere with political humor, "Saturday Night Live" took advantage of the interest in Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's Thursday Senate hearing. In a 13-minute cold open, Matt Damon guest-starred as an angry Kavanaugh, aping the judge through a parodic "bro" interpretation.

Trump says FBI has ‘free rein’ in Kavanaugh investigation, yet…

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the FBI would have "free rein" to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, yet strict limits have been put on the agency's reach in the one week it has to complete its work. "I think it's going very well," Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a campaign rally in West Virginia.

FBI reaches out to 2nd Kavanaugh accuser, lawyer says

The FBI reached out to a second woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, the woman's lawyer said Saturday. Deborah Ramirez agreed to cooperate with the federal investigation into a sexual assault allegation professor Christine Blasey Ford made against Kavanaugh.

In Shelton, former neighbors divided on Ramirez’s accusations

This undated photo provided by Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence shows Deborah Ramirez. Ramirez went public with allegations that while in his first year at Yale University, Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh placed his penis in front of her and caused her to involuntarily touch it during a drunken dormitory party.

NYT ad supporting Ford echoes Anita Hill support in 1991

Sixteen-hundred men took out a full-page ad in The New York Times on Wednesday to voice their support for Christine Blasey Ford in a powerful show of force that mirrors a 1991 ad supporting Anita Hill. "We are 1,600 men who now stand behind Professor Anita Hill, as well as Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, because we believe them," the ad reads.

McConnell Says Kavanaugh Will Get Up-or-Down Vote

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will receive an up-or-down vote in the Senate "in the near future." McConnell on Monday angrily denounced Democrats, accusing them of waging a "smear campaign" against Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court.

Democrats ask Kavanaugh to withdraw as Republicans cast doubt on second assault allegation

The nation's capital was up late Sunday reacting to news that a second woman had lodged sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The story posted in the New Yorker details a party in a Yale University dorm room in the 1980s.

Brett Kavanaugh no stranger to D.C. legal, political circles Source: Cox Media Group

As President Donald Trump on Monday night selected federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Trump not only tapped a judge considered to have a strong conservative credentials, but also one whose roots run deep in Washington, D.C., in both the political and legal arena. "Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under law," the President said in the East Room of the White House.

BWW Interview: Francis Jue becomes David Henry Hwang (sort of) in…

This weekend is your last chance to see the spectacularly original Soft Power by David Henry Hwang and Jeanine Tesori at the Curran Theatre. The audacious and highly entertaining production, directed by Leigh Silverman and choreographed by Sam Pinkleton , features a gifted cast of all Asian-American actors led by Drama Desk Award nominee Francis Jue , in the very meta role of David Henry Hwang .

Clinton ribs Trump with Russian cap at Yale’s Class Day

Former Secretary of State and former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds up a Russian fur hat, an ushanka, with a Soviet era hammer and sickle emblem, to the Yale College class of 2018 during her Class Day address at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sunday, May 20, 2018. As a tradition, Yale students and faculty wear humorous and playful hats during a Senior Class Day ceremony.