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Feds Can’t Regulate “Ideological Diversity” at Schools Like Harvard
No civil rights law on the books requires “viewpoint diversity” in university admissions or hiring. No law of any sort entitles the federal government to reach into private universities to restructure their governance and disciplinary procedures or to require college brass to intervene to restructure named departments and schools. These are all things that the Trump administration is demanding of Harvard University on pain of massive peremptory cutoffs of funding for ongoing scientific research and other programs.
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EPA Plans Target Climate Change Initiatives
A Harvard expert in environmental law said a recent set of Trump administration regulatory changes targeting initiatives in the climate change battle will reverse progress made over decades.
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For-Profit Immigration Detention Expands as Trump Accelerates His Deportation Plans
The Trump administration is moving quickly to dramatically expand the nation’s capacity for detaining immigrants who do not have legal authorization to be in the United States. States may not be able to limit or block new contracts with private companies.
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China Targets Canada’s Election—and May Be Targeting Australia’s
Following Canadian authorities’ discovery of a Chinese information operation targeting their country’s election, Australians, too, should beware such risks. In fact, there are already signs that Beijing is interfering in campaigning for the Australian election to be held on 3 May.
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Showdown in the Middle East
In 2018, President Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, claiming that Obama’s deal wasn’t good enough and that he would get a better one by imposing “maximum pressure.” As was predicted in 2018, the Iranian response to the U.S. campaign of maximum pressure was not to offer the Americans more, but instead to press ahead with enriching Uranium to the point where they are now close to having enough to build some nuclear weapons should they choose to do so. Can a new round of negotiations, or military action, stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon?
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Where the U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Are Headed
The Iranian position remains that the talks should focus on the nuclear issue and sanctions relief, with Iran repeatedly stating that its nuclear program is only intended for peaceful purposes. Trump has said that he only wants assurances that Iran does not produce nuclear weapons. Thus, issues such as Iran’s support for regional proxies and its missile program could be off the table.
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In Trade War with the U.S., China Holds a Lot More Cards Than Trump May Think − in Fact, It Might Have a Winning Hand
While Trump’s tariffs will inevitably hurt parts of the Chinese economy, Beijing appears to have far more cards to play this time around, compared to the tariff conflict between the two countries during Trump’s first term in the White Houser. It has the tools to inflict meaningful damage on U.S. interests – and perhaps more importantly, Trump’s all-out tariff war is providing China with a rare and unprecedented strategic opportunity.
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How and Where Is Nuclear waste stored in the U.S.?
Around the U.S., about 90,000 tons of nuclear waste is stored at over 100 sites in 39 states, in a range of different structures and containers. For decades, the nation has been trying to send it all to one secure location. Perhaps there will be a temporary site whose location passes muster with the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, the waste will stay where it is.
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The Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism: Five Things to Know
The far-left Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism (ICSZ) uses scholastic veneer to establish anti-Zionist activism as an academic discipline and as the only acceptable moral and scholarly stance in academia.
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Far-Right Party Could Use Marine Le Pen Election Ban as Part of Battle Plan for Power in France
An expert in populist parties says the court’s decision could be exploited by the far-right party as part of its 2027 presidential election strategy.
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Can Border Patrol Go Through Your Phone? A Legal Expert Explains What Rights Travelers Have Entering the U.S.
A Northeastern legal expert explains the complexities involved with searches of phones and social media and what rights citizens and visitors have when entering the country.
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Experts Explain Signal, Cybersecurity, and How a Journalist Was Sent High-Level Military Intelligence
“The practice of not using SCIFs (Secure Compartmented Information Facilities) for the planning and implementation of conflict with a foreign state is an egregious breach of national security protocols,” said Virginia Tech’s cybersecurity expert Aron Brantly. “That the principals group was using this as a means of communications is a profound violation of US classification laws and standards and constitutes a grave threat to U.S. national security.”
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“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline
Declining vaccination rates have caused the Texas measles outbreak, and vaccination rates for other childhood diseases have fallen as well. Deep cuts to public health jobs and funding, and HHS’s ambivalent messaging about vaccines, make it harder for agencies to fight outbreaks and prevent disease with vaccines.
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Some Measles Response Plans Crash to a Halt after Trump Cuts
Cities and states fighting a historic measles outbreak find themselves undermined by the Trump administration as they struggle to provide crucial vaccinations and overcome disinformation.
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Public Health Groups Call for Kennedy to Resign or Be Fired as Biomed Sector Airs Concerns
In the wake of dramatic cuts to US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) staff, cutbacks for state public health efforts, and mixed messages on battling measles and other infectious diseases, two public health groups called for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign or be fired.
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The long view
Factories First: Winning the Drone War Before It Starts
Wars are won by factories before they are won on the battlefield,Martin C. Feldmann writes, noting that the United States lacks the manufacturing depth for the coming drone age. Rectifying this situation “will take far more than procurement tweaks,” Feldmann writes. “It demands a national-level, wartime-scale industrial mobilization.”
No Nation Is an Island: The Dangers of Modern U.S. Isolationism
The resurgence of isolationist sentiment in American politics is understandable but misguided. While the desire to refocus on domestic renewal is justified, retreating from the world will not bring the security, prosperity, or sovereignty that its proponents promise. On the contrary, it invites instability, diminishes U.S. influence, and erodes the democratic order the U.S. helped forge.
Fragmented by Design: USAID’s Dismantling and the Future of American Foreign Aid
The Trump administration launched an aggressive restructuring of U.S. foreign aid, effectively dismantling the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The humanitarian and geopolitical fallout of the demise of USAID includes shuttered clinics, destroyed food aid, and China’s growing influence in the global south. This new era of American soft power will determine how, and whether, the U.S. continues to lead in global development.
Water Wars: A Historic Agreement Between Mexico and US Is Ramping Up Border Tension
As climate change drives rising temperatures and changes in rainfall, Mexico and the US are in the middle of a conflict over water, putting an additional strain on their relationship. Partly due to constant droughts, Mexico has struggled to maintain its water deliveries for much of the last 25 years, deliveries to which it is obligated by a 1944 water-sharing agreement between the two countries.
How Disastrous Was the Trump-Putin Meeting?
In Alaska, Trump got played by Putin. Therefore, Steven Pifer writes, the European leaders and Zelensky have to “diplomatically offer suggestions to walk Trump back from a position that he does not appear to understand would be bad for Ukraine, bad for Europe, and bad for American interests. And they have to do so without setting off an explosion that could disrupt U.S.-Ukrainian and U.S.-European relations—all to the delight of Putin and the Kremlin.”
How Male Grievance Fuels Radicalization and Extremist Violence
Social extremism is evolving in reach and form. While traditional racial supremacy ideologies remain, contemporary movements are now often fueled by something more personal and emotionally resonant: male grievance.