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In the news today: Harvard University becomes the latest target in the Trump administration’s approach to fighting campus antisemitism; the White House fires career Justice Department prosecutors; and a stroke survivor speaks again with the help of an experimental implant. Also, Pope Francis paved the way for the canonization of a new saint.

A student protester stands in front of the statue of John Harvard, the first major benefactor of Harvard College, draped in the Palestinian flag at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

EDUCATION

Trump task force to review Harvard’s funding after Columbia bows to federal demands

Harvard University has become the latest target in the Trump administration’s approach to fighting campus antisemitism, with the announcement of a “comprehensive review” that could jeopardize billions of dollars for the Ivy League college. Read more.

Why this matters:

• A federal antisemitism task force is reviewing more than $255 million in contracts between Harvard and the federal government to make sure the school is following civil rights laws, the administration announced Monday. The government also will examine $8.7 billion in grant commitments to Harvard and its affiliates.
  
  

• Dozens of other universities have been put on notice by the Trump administration that they could face similar treatment over allegations of antisemitism. The federal government is a major provider of revenue for American universities through grants for scientific research.
  
  

• Instead of going through a lengthy process that allows the Education Department to cut funding from schools that violate civil rights laws, the Trump administration has found quick leverage by pulling contracts and grants. The tactic is being challenged in a federal lawsuit brought by the American Association of University Professors and the American Federation of Teachers.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

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• Judge pauses Trump administration plans to end temporary legal protections for Venezuelans
  
  
• Alabama can’t prosecute groups who help women travel to get an abortion, federal judge says
  
  
• Trump pardons Navy veteran convicted in Capitol riot
  
  
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• Trump’s nominee to be the next Joint Chiefs chairman will face senators’ questions
  
  
• Nonprofit groups sue Trump administration over election executive order, calling it unconstitutional
  
  
• Hegseth orders fitness standards to be gender neutral for combat jobs. Many already are
  
  
• EPA chief Zeldin says he is closing the agency’s one-room museum, saving taxpayers $600,000 a year
  
  
• US sanctions 6 officials over erosion of Hong Kong autonomy. China threatens to counter
  
  
• Trump has dubbed April 2 ‘Liberation Day’ for tariffs. Here’s what to expect
  
  
• A Senate vote to reverse Trump’s tariffs on Canada is testing Republican support
  
  
• Louisiana voters reject constitutional amendments championed by Republican governor
  
  
• The key places to watch in Tuesday’s elections in Wisconsin and Florida

POLITICS

White House abruptly fires career Justice Department prosecutors in latest norm-shattering move

The firings of career Justice Department lawyers by the White House is a sign of President Donald Trump’s tightening grip over the law enforcement agency known for its long tradition of political independence. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The terminations marked an escalation of norm-shattering moves that have caused turmoil at the Justice Department and raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the agency’s independence from the White House. There are questions about how outside influences may be helping to shape government personnel decisions.
  
  

• A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Monday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the White House “in coordination with” the Justice Department has dismissed more than 50 U.S. attorneys and deputies in recent weeks.
  
  

• Adam Schleifer, who was part of the corporate and securities fraud strike force at the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, received an email Friday saying he was being terminated “on behalf of President Donald J. Trump,” according to the person familiar with the matter. The email came an hour after right-wing activist Laura Loomer called for him to be fired in a social media post that highlighted Schleifer’s past critical comments about Trump.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Defense Department to offer new round of voluntary resignations, retirements. There are few details
  
  
• Layoffs begin at the nation's health agencies
  
  
• All Institute of Museum and Library Services employees have been placed on administrative leave

SCIENCE

A stroke survivor speaks again with the help of an experimental brain-computer implant

Scientists have developed a device that can translate thoughts about speech into spoken words in real time. Although it’s experimental, they hope the brain-computer interface could someday help give voice to those unable to speak. Read more.

Why this matters:

• A new study described testing the device on a 47-year-old woman with quadriplegia who couldn’t speak for 18 years after a stroke. Doctors implanted it in her brain during surgery as part of a clinical trial. It “converts her intent to speak into fluent sentences,” said Gopala Anumanchipalli, a co-author of the study published Monday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
  
  

• A team in California recorded the woman’s brain activity using electrodes while she spoke sentences silently in her brain. The scientists used a synthesizer they built using her voice before her injury to create a speech sound that she would have spoken. They trained an AI model that translates neural activity into units of sound.

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• Bitcoin investor buys an entire SpaceX flight for the ultimate polar adventure
  
  
• WATCH: NASA’s newly returned astronauts say they would fly on Boeing’s Starliner capsule again

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IN OTHER NEWS

READ

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Training exercise: In Lithuania, 3 US soldiers found dead in an armored vehicle. 1 is still missing
Gaza Strip: Israeli troops killed 15 Palestinian medics and buried them in a mass grave, UN says

Storm damage: Wild weather blamed for deaths of 3 kids in Michigan and a man in an Amish buggy in Indiana

Fire safety inspections expedited: Ex-FDNY chief gets nearly 2 years in federal prison for accepting bribes

Blessed María Carmen Rendiles: Venezuela will have its first female saint after approval from Pope Francis
Today in History: In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage

WATCH

Hours-long fire: Burst gas pipe sparks colossal fire in Malaysia

A CHANGE OF PACE

Chase Benoit, who is incarcerated at the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, holds a pair of service dogs in training in San Quentin, Calif., Friday. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Tears and tail wags: Inmates reunite with service dogs they raised
Hugs, tears, barking and tail wagging abounded at San Quentin’s prison when two black Labradors reunited with the incarcerated men who helped raise them to be service dogs. The emotional encounter Friday was a full circle moment after two inmates helped launch the prison’s puppy training program in April 2023.

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