AFP USA

Hundreds of thousands of young faithful cheered Pope Leo XIV Saturday as he arrived by helicopter for an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, in a rock star welcome for the new head of the Catholic Church.Pilgrims began crying and cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling, dusty, open-air site in Rome’s eastern outskirts, where young pilgrims from 146 countries around the world had assembled as part of a “Jubilee of Youth”.After entering his popemobile, the first American pope smiled broadly and waved to throngs of young, screaming pilgrims lining his route — many of them running for a better vantage point — who had spent the day in the hot sun listening to music, praying and talking with fellow believers.”The pope is here!” announced an excited voice over speakerphones to thunderous applause and deafening cheers from the crowd. Among them was French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, whose voice was hoarse from singing and screaming for hours.”We’re too happy to be here! Seeing the pope, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” she croaked happily to AFP. The attendance numbers were not immediately available. Ahead of the event, the Vatican said that up to one million pilgrims were expected. Most attendees said they would camp overnight for a Sunday morning mass at the site led by the 69-year-old Leo marking the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage, a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year.Leo was to lead the vigil from a massive stage with a golden arch and towering cross dominating the vast open area — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields.”I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.”The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said ahead of the pope’s appearance, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or took a snooze in the sun.Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds earlier Saturday, who lounged among blankets, cushions and umbrellas. In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, which she said was “literally invaded by hundreds of thousands of young men and women” who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating in an extraordinary party”.- Water and suncream -The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, comes nearly three months after the start of Leo’s papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off for the venue in Tor Vergata after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – Open-air confessional –  Throughout the week, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s contemplate economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change. Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”. The Vatican said the pope on Saturday met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night. Rai News reported that the young woman died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome.Amid tight security, more than 4,300 volunteers worked the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, organisers said. 

Swarms of enthusiastic young Catholics gathered under the hot sun in Rome on Saturday in a festive, open-air celebration to be capped by an evening prayer vigil led by Pope Leo XIV.The Vatican said it was expecting up to one million young people for the vigil, which, together with a Sunday mass, marks the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage — a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year. By Saturday afternoon, the vast open area on the outskirts of Rome — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields — was packed by young people. Crowds continued to arrive, music blared over loudspeakers, and a festive atmosphere prevailed. “I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.The massive stage with its golden arch and towering cross was not visible from his seat, but a video screen was nearby. “The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or took a snooze in the sun.Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds ahead of the pope’s arrival. “The world needs you!” screamed a performer from the stage to the pilgrims who sprawled with blankets, cushions, umbrellas and flags across the dusty area. Most pilgrims said they planned to spend the night, to attend a final mass Sunday morning led by the pope. In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, which she said was “literally invaded by hundreds of thousands of young men and women” who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating…in an extraordinary party”.- Water and suncream -The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, has seen young pilgrims from more than 146 countries flood the city.It comes nearly three months after Leo, 69, the first American pontiff, began his papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off for the venue in Tor Vergata east of Rome after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – Open-air confessional –  Throughout the week, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s contemplate economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change. Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”. As Parisian student Alice Berry explained: “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”The Vatican said the pope on Saturday met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night. Rai News reported that the young woman died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome. 

Tucked inside President Donald Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill last month was a little-noticed provision to relocate the iconic Space Shuttle Discovery from a museum outside Washington to Houston.The plan now faces legal uncertainty, with the Smithsonian Institution arguing Congress had no authority to give away what it considers private property — even before accounting for the steep logistical and financial challenges.”The Smithsonian Institution owns the Discovery and holds it in trust for the American public,” the museum network, which receives substantial federal funding yet remains an independent entity, said in a statement to AFP on Friday.”In 2012, NASA transferred ‘all rights, title, interest and ownership’ of the shuttle to the Smithsonian,” the statement continued, calling Discovery one of the museum’s “centerpieces” that welcomes millions of visitors a year.The push to move Discovery from the Air and Space Museum’s site in northern Virginia began in April, when Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican who faces a tough primary challenge next year by state attorney general Ken Paxton, introduced the “Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act,” naming Discovery.The legislation stalled until it was folded into the mammoth “Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law on July 4. Its passage allocated $85 million for the move, though the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has projected a far higher cost of $325 million, adding that the NASA administrator’s power over non-NASA entities is “unclear.”To comply with Senate rules, the bill’s language was modified such that Discovery is no longer named directly. Instead, the bill refers to a “space vehicle,” though there is little doubt as to the target.NASA’s administrator — currently Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, serving in an acting capacity — was given 30 days to identify which spacecraft is to be relocated, a deadline coming up on Sunday.- End of an era –  NASA’s Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, after a 30-year run that carried America’s post-Apollo space ambitions. The four surviving orbiters — Atlantis, Endeavour, prototype Enterprise, and Discovery — were awarded to Florida, California, New York, and Virginia through a ranked selection process.Discovery, the most flown, was chosen as a vehicle-of-record in a near-complete state, intended for study by future generations.”There was not a lot of support within Houston to want a shuttle,” space historian and editor of collectSpace.com Robert Pearlman told AFP, adding that a proposal to house it at Space Center Houston was relatively weak.But after the announcement, Texas — home to the Johnson Space Center, which oversees NASA’s human spaceflight — felt snubbed, and allegations of political interference by then-president Barack Obama swirled. A NASA inspector general probe found no evidence of foul play.- Enormous challenges -Relocating Discovery now would pose major technical hurdles. NASA had modified two Boeing 747s to ferry retired shuttles — one is now a museum piece, and the other is out of service.That leaves land and water transport. “The nearest water entrance to the Potomac River is about 30 miles away,” Pearlman said — but it may be too shallow for the orbiter and required barge, requiring a 100-mile journey instead.A water transport would require a massive enclosed barge, he added. The US government owns only one such vessel, controlled by the military. Loaning it to a civilian agency would require another act of Congress, and the alternative would involve building one from scratch.Dennis Jenkins, a former shuttle engineer who oversaw the delivery of retired orbiters to their new homes, told CollectSPACE.com he could see costs reach a billion dollars.Nicholas O’Donnell, an attorney at Sullivan & Worcester with expertise in art and museum law, told AFP that assuming Smithsonian has valid paperwork, “I don’t think Secretary Duffy or anyone in the federal government has any more authority to order the move of Discovery than you or I do.”The government could invoke eminent domain — seizing private property for public use — but it would have to pay fair market value or try to sue.The Smithsonian is unlikely to want a court battle, and while it’s legally independent, its financial reliance on federal funds leaves it politically vulnerable, said O’Donnell.

Thousands of young Catholics began assembling Saturday for an evening prayer vigil  led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage and a key event in the Jubilee holy year that is expected to draw up to a million people.The “Jubilee of Youth” — when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church’s power — has seen young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome, waving flags, singing or praying in groups.It comes nearly three months after Leo, 69, the first American pontiff, began his papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. On Saturday morning, thousands of young pilgrims had already gathered at the vast open space in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood where the pope will lead the vigil, the ground already dotted with blankets and mattresses. Elsewhere in the Eternal City, numerous groups of young people were seen preparing to set off for the venue. On the plaza outside the Basilica of St John Lateran, they filled water bottles, applied suncream and checked bags of food and snacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a swarm of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the Pope up close.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, excited to experience the “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim, Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late Pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – ‘What is his message?’ -Since the youth jubilee began on Monday, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events throughout the city.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held and youths lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages.Of the many languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital this week, Spanish seemed to dominate. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries were represented and it expects up to a million people to attend the vigil.The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change rises among the under-30s, with many saying they were curious to hear the Church’s position on global warming, wars and economic inequalities. Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome. “We are still trying to understand his leadership,” she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about “third world countries”. As Parisian student Alice Berry exclaimed: “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”- Raising voices -The youth pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and more than three years of war in Ukraine. The Vatican has praised young Catholics who managed to travel to Rome from war-scarred countries, with Pope Leo saying the voices of the world’s youth “will be heard to the end of the earth”.   In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signalling the Vatican’s openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth. More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organisers. Rome authorities have tightened security in the city — which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundated the city. 

An international team of four astronauts aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked Saturday with the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).”Docking confirmed!”, SpaceX posted on social media, along with a video showing the spacecraft making contact with the ISS at 2:27 am Eastern Time (0627 GMT), far above the southeast Pacific Ocean.American astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov are joining the ISS on a six-month mission.They lifted off Friday morning from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, their capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket.It is the 11th crew rotation mission to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry.”We have cold drinks, hot food, and us waiting — see you soon,” the ISS crew told the new arrivals shortly after contact, according to the posted video.”Hello Space Station — Crew 11 is here and we are super excited to join,” Fincke replied.As part of their stay, the Crew-11 astronauts will simulate Moon landing scenarios that could be encountered near the lunar South Pole under the US-led Artemis program.Using handheld controllers and multiple display screens, they will test how shifts in gravity affect astronauts’ ability to pilot spacecraft, including future lunar landers.Continuously inhabited since 2000, the ISS functions as a testbed for research that supports deeper space exploration — including eventual missions to Mars.Among Crew-11’s more colorful cargo items are Armenian pomegranate seeds, which will be compared to a control batch kept on Earth to study how microgravity influences crop growth.The ISS is set to be decommissioned after 2030, with its orbit gradually lowered until it breaks up in the atmosphere over a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, a spacecraft graveyard.

Up to a million young Catholic believers are expected Saturday for a night-time vigil led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage, a key event in the Jubilee holy year.The “Jubilee of Youth” — when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church’s power — has seen thousands of young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome this week.It is taking place just under three months since 69-year-old Leo — the first American pope — took over the papacy.Large groups of pilgrims have packed the streets of Rome all week, waving the flags of their countries or cities and chanting religious songs.Excitement has mounted over the course of the week for the new pope’s final appearance to the youths on Saturday.”I feel mainly curiosity, as we don’t know him very well yet,” Parisian student Alice Berry, 21, told AFP. “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”- Uncertainty, anxiety -Various events have been planned for them by the Church throughout the city, including at Circus Maximus, where on Friday approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession.Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome, where youth lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages.Spanish was one of the main languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital.The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty hits young people across the world and as climate change anxiety rises among the under-30s. Many young pilgrims said they wanted to hear the Vatican’s position on climate change, wars and economic inequalities. Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome. “We are still trying to understand his leadership,” she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about “third world countries”. The pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over starvation in Israel-blockaded Gaza, and more than three years into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. – Night vigil -The Vatican has praised Catholic youths who travelled to Rome from war-scarred countries like Ukraine or Syria, with Pope Leo repeatedly calling for the youths to “pray for peace”. The voices of the amassed young people “will be heard to the end of the earth,” Pope Leo told them earlier this week. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries are represented.  The mass that is the climax of the event will take place in Rome’s Tor Vergata area in a vast open-air space with a newly built stage for the pope.It is the same area used 25 years ago for the last youth jubilee under Pope John Paul II. More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organisers. In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signalling the Vatican’s openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth. Rome authorities have tightened security in the city — which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundated the city. 

US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines Friday in an extraordinary escalation of what had been an online war of words with a Russian official over Ukraine and tariffs.Trump and Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, have been sparring on social media for days.Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform abruptly took that spat into the very real — and rarely publicized — sphere of nuclear forces.”Based on the highly provocative statements,” Trump said he had “ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.””Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances,” the 79-year-old Republican posted.Trump did not say in his post whether he meant nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed submarines. He also did not elaborate on the exact deployment locations, which are kept secret by the US military.But in an interview with Newsmax that aired Friday night, Trump said the submarines were “closer to Russia.””We always want to be ready. And so I have sent to the region two nuclear submarines,” he said.”I just want to make sure that his words are only words and nothing more than that.”Trump’s remarks came hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had started mass producing its hypersonic nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile, and could deploy them to Belarus, a close Russian ally neighbouring Ukraine, by year-end.The nuclear sabre-rattling came against the backdrop of a deadline set by Trump for the end of next week for Russia to take steps to ending the Ukraine war or face unspecified new sanctions.Despite the pressure from Washington, Russia’s onslaught against its pro-Western neighbor continues to unfold at full bore.An AFP analysis Friday showed that Russian forces had launched a record number of drones at Ukraine in July.Russian attacks have killed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians since June. A combined missile and drone attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday killed 31 people, rescuers said.Putin, who has consistently rejected calls for a ceasefire, said Friday that he wants peace but that his demands for ending his nearly three-and-a-half year invasion were “unchanged”.Those demands include that Ukraine abandon territory and end ambitions to join NATO.Putin, speaking alongside Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, said Belarusian and Russian specialists “have chosen a place for future positions” of the Oreshnik missiles.”Work is now underway to prepare these positions. So, most likely, we will close this issue by the end of the year,” he added.- Insults, nuclear rhetoric -The United States and Russia control the vast majority of the world’s nuclear weaponry, and Washington keeps nuclear-armed submarines on permanent patrol as part of its so-called nuclear triad of land, sea and air-launched weapons.Trump told Newsmax that Medvedev’s “nuclear” reference prompted him to reposition US nuclear submarines.”When you mention the word ‘nuclear’… my eyes light up. And I say, we better be careful, because it’s the ultimate threat,” Trump said in the interview.Medvedev had criticised Trump on his Telegram account Thursday and alluded to the “fabled ‘Dead Hand'” — a reference to a highly secret automated system put in place during the Cold War to control the country’s nuclear weapons.This came after Trump had lashed out at what he called the “dead economies” of Russia and India.Medvedev had also harshly criticized Trump’s threat of new sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine.Accusing Trump of “playing the ultimatum game,” he posted Monday on X that Trump “should remember” that Russia is a formidable force.Trump responded by calling Medvedev “the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President.”Medvedev should “watch his words,” Trump posted at midnight in Washington on Wednesday. “He’s entering very dangerous territory!”Medvedev is a vocal proponent of Russia’s war — and generally antagonistic to relations with the West.He served as president between 2008-2012, effectively acting as a placeholder for Putin, who was able to circumvent constitutional term limits and remain in de facto power.The one-time reformer has rebranded over the years as an avid online troller, touting often extreme versions of official Kremlin nationalist messaging.But his influence within the Russian political system remains limited.In Kyiv on Friday, residents held a day of mourning for the 31 people, including five children, killed the day before, most of whom were in a nine-storey apartment block torn open by a missile.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said only Putin could end the war and renewed his call for a meeting between the two leaders.”The United States has proposed this. Ukraine has supported it. What is needed is Russia’s readiness,” he wrote on X.burs-sms/sco/tym

Columbia University’s $200 million agreement with President Donald Trump’s administration marks the end of a months-long showdown, but academics warn it is just the first round of a government “assault” on higher education.Academics from Columbia and beyond have expressed concerns that the deal — which makes broad-ranging concessions and increases government oversight — will become the blueprint for how Trump brings other universities to heel.The New York institution was the first to be targeted in Trump’s war against elite universities, for what the US president claimed was its failure to tackle anti-Semitism on campus in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests.It was stripped of hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding and lost its ability to apply for new research grants. Labs saw vital funding frozen, and dozens of researchers were laid off.But Columbia last week agreed to pay the government $200 million, and an additional $21 million to settle an investigation into anti-Semitism.According to Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, the lack of due process — with the government slashing funding before carrying out a formal investigation — left Columbia in an “untenable position.”Columbia law professor David Pozen agreed, saying the “manner in which the deal was constructed has been unlawful and coercive from the start” and slamming the agreement as giving “legal form to an extortion scheme.”- Federal oversight -The deal goes beyond addressing anti-Semitism and makes concessions on international student admissions, race and ethnicity considerations in admissions and single-sex spaces on campus, among other issues.Columbia also agreed to appoint an independent monitor to implement the deal, share ethnicity admissions data with the government and crack down on campus protests.Many of the provisions “represent significant incursions onto Columbia’s autonomy,” said Pozen.”What’s happened at Columbia is part of a broader authoritarian attack on civil society,” he said, pointing to similar pressures on law firms and media organizations to fall in line.According to the law professor, the deal “signals the emergence of a new regulatory regime in which the Trump administration will periodically and unpredictably shake down other schools and demand concessions from them.”In the coming weeks, Pozen said he expected the “administration will put a lot of pressure on Harvard and other schools to follow suit.”Harvard University has pushed back against the government, filing a lawsuit in a bid to reverse sweeping funding cuts.But Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard, said that “in terms of academic freedom and in terms of democracy, the (Columbia) precedent is devastating.”- ‘First round’ – Education Secretary Linda McMahon said she hoped the Columbia deal would be a “template for other universities around the country.”On Wednesday, McMahon announced a deal with Brown University to restore some federal funding and end ongoing investigations after the Ivy League school agreed to end race considerations in admissions and adopt a biological definition of gender.Brown President Christina Paxson admitted “there are other aspects of the agreement that were not part of previous federal reviews of Brown policies” but were “priorities of the federal administration.”Harvard is reportedly considering forking out $500 million to settle, according to the New York Times.Others have made smaller concessions to appease the government, with Trump’s alma mater the University of Pennsylvania banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, and the University of Virginia’s head resigning after scrutiny over its diversity programs.Brendan Cantwell, a professor at Michigan State University who researches the history and governance of higher education, said government interference in universities “has not happened at scale like this, probably ever in American history.”While some university staff see striking an agreement as the quickest way to reopen the federal funding spigot, Cantwell warned that concessions such as sharing ethnicity data from admissions could be “weaponized” and provide fodder for future probes.Levitsky agreed, saying: “Extortionists don’t stop at the first concession. Extortionists come back for more.””There’s a very high likelihood that this is just the first round,” he said.Pozen noted that it will be harder for “major research universities to hold the line” compared to smaller colleges which are less reliant on federal funding.But Levitsky still urged Harvard to stand its ground and “fight back,” including in the courts. “Fighting an authoritarian regime is costly, but that’s what we have to do,” he said. “This is an unprecedented assault, and universities need to work together.”

An investigative hearing into a deadly mid-air collision of a US Army helicopter and a passenger plane that killed 67 people in Washington has revealed a discrepancy in the chopper’s altitude displays.The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the US agency tasked with examining major accidents, held hearings from Wednesday to Friday, with rigorous questioning of experts and various other parties including regulators and air traffic controllers.There were no survivors in the January 29 mid-air collision involving the Sikorsky Black Hawk military helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 operated by a subsidiary of American Airlines.The passenger plane from Wichita, Kansas was coming in to land at Reagan National Airport — just a few miles from the White House — when the Army helicopter on a training flight collided with it.After examining flight recorder data, the NTSB first reported a discrepancy in the helicopter’s altitude readings on February 14.As part of the investigation, tests were conducted with three of the same helicopter models — Sikorsky Black Hawk Lima — belonging to the same battalion. The findings revealed this week showed differences between the altitude indicated by the radar altimeter and the barometric altimeter on the aircraft.Investigator Marie Moler noted that the altimeters “showed an 80- to 130-foot (24- to 40-meter) difference in flight” although the differences were within 20 to 55 feet in a controlled test environment. “Once the helicopter rotors were turning and producing lift and thrust, the altimeter readings lowered significantly and stayed lower throughout the flights,” Moler said.NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy called the discrepancy significant, calling for more investigation. “I am concerned. There is a possibility that what the crew saw was very different than what the true altitude was,” Homendy said. “A 100-foot difference is significant” in this case, she added.In the Potomac River area where the collision occurred, helicopters are required to stay below 200 feet, officials said during the hearings.President Donald Trump was quick to blame diversity hiring policies for the accident although no evidence has emerged that they were responsible.Federal Aviation Agency air traffic control specialist Clark Allen told the hearing there was sufficient supervisory staff present in the control tower that night.The collision was the first major plane crash in the United States since 2009 when 49 people were killed near Buffalo, New York.

A combination of tact and tenacity is credited for Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s successful dealings with US counterpart Donald Trump, most recently convincing him to delay a sky-high import tariff meant to come into effect Friday.The pair are known to get along despite sitting on opposite sides of the political aisle, earning Mexico’s first woman president the epithet of “Trump whisperer.”At least three times now, the US president has granted Mexico tariff relief and Trump has described Sheinbaum as a “wonderful woman” to the envy of a host of other world leaders who have found exchanges with Trump can be tetchy.On Thursday, Trump agreed to delay by 90 days a 30 percent general tariff on imported Mexican goods, just hours before it was to take effect.It was the outcome of the ninth phone conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to power in January with a strong rhetoric against undocumented migrants and fentanyl flowing from America’s southern neighbor.How did she do it? “With a cool head,” the president herself told reporters Friday.The 63-year-old physicist and dedicated leftist added that she avoids “confronting” the magnate, all the while insisting on Mexico’s sovereign rights in dealing with a man known to respect strong leaders.Sheinbaum has said that Mexicans should “never bow our heads” and Trump has acknowledged her mettle, remarking: “You’re tough” in one phone call, according to The New York Times. “Mexico represents a lot to the United States… they are aware of that,” Sheinbaum explained.- ‘Ability to convince’ -Thanks to the USMCA free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, nearly 85 percent of Mexican exports have been tariff-free.And while a 30 percent general tariff has been delayed, for now, Mexico’s vital automotive sector is the target of a 25 percent levy, albeit with discounts for parts manufactured in the United States.Its steel and aluminum sectors, like those of other countries, are subject to a 50 percent tariff.Mexico’s government nevertheless claims the latest delay as a victory. “Without being sycophantic, I can tell you that the way our president handles her conversations, her approach, the firmness with which she defends Mexico’s interests, her ability to convince President Trump, is very significant,” Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard, who leads trade negotiations, told reporters Thursday.- Give and take -Sheinbaum seems also to have adopted a give and take approach, deploying thousands of border troops to assuage Trump’s concerns about migration and drug flows.The president insists she has “not yielded anything” in negotiations with Trump, and talks are ongoing between the neighbors for a security agreement to tackle the problem of fentanyl and drug trafficking.Sheinbaum has also raised the possibility of importing more US products to reset the trade balance.Some fear the Mexican leader is merely buying time.The latest tariff delay “does not solve the issue of uncertainty; we return to the starting point,” Diego Marroquin, a trade expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told AFP.