Good morning.
The Internal Revenue Service is reportedly considering whether to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status in what would probably be an illegal move amid Donald Trump’s concerted attack on the independence of US institutions of higher education.
Trump on Tuesday called for Harvard, the US’s oldest and wealthiest university and one of the most prestigious in the world, to lose its tax-exempt status, CNN first reported.
The US president said in a post on his Truth Social platform: “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’ Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!”
What else is happening with students? Several international students who have had their visas revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it suddenly took away their permission to be in the US.
Maryland senator meets Kilmar Ábrego García in El Salvador amid battle over US return
In El Salvador, the Maryland senator, Chris Van Hollen, met Kilmar Ábrego García, who was sent there by the Trump administration in March despite an immigration court order preventing his deportation.
Van Hollen posted a photo of the meeting on X, saying he also called Ábrego García’s wife “to pass along his message of love”.
The lawmaker did not provide an update on the status of Ábrego García, whose attorneys are fighting to force the Trump administration to facilitate his return to the US.
How did El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, reacted to the meeting? He posted images of the meeting minutes before Van Hollen shared his post, saying: “Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody.”
Why was he deported? Trump officials have said that Ábrego García, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, has ties to the MS-13 gang, but his attorneys say the government has provided no evidence of that and Ábrego García has never been charged with any crime related to such activity.
US will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress made soon, Rubio says
Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done,Marco Rubio said today.
The US secretary of state said in Paris, after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders: “We’re not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end.
“So we need to determine very quickly now – and I’m talking about a matter of days – whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks. If it is we’re in. If it’s not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well.”
What is happening with the Ukraine mineral deal? The Guardian has obtained the memorandum of intent to be signed next week by Ukraine and the US over a minerals deal. It envisages setting up a joint investment fund between the two countries. The draft recognises the “significant financial and material support” Washington has given Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale 2022 invasion.
In other news …
Two people were killed in a mass shooting at the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee on Thursday, and six others were injured, police said. The 20-year-old suspect is believed to be a student and the son of a sheriff’s deputy.
Luigi Mangione was indicted yesterday on a federal murder charge in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson, a necessary step for prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
US airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 33 people and wounded 80 others, Houthi-run media said early today, which if confirmed would mark one of the deadliest days of a campaign launched under Trump.
The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality-control program for its food-testing laboratories as a result of staff cuts, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
Don’t miss this: Is it curtains up on a new generation on Broadway?
For much of the past decade, probably longer, regularly attending Broadway shows has been a bit like buying property: yes, some well-to-do younger people can do it, but for the most part, it’s something most frequently enjoyed by baby boomers. But for the last year or so, younger audiences are helping to reposition this typically older-skewed activity with hot ticket gen Z stars and impassioned online fanbases.
Climate check: Conservationists sue Trump administration over rollback of green policies
Conservationists have sued the Trump administration over its attempts to boost the oil industry by rolling back green policies. Filed by the environmental not-for-profit Center for Biological Diversity, the litigation focuses on Trump’s day-one “unleashing American energy” executive order. In an effort to boost already booming US energy production, the emergency declaration directed federal agencies to identify all policies and regulations that “unduly” burden fuel producers.
Last Thing: A true good boy – rancher’s dog leads two-year-old Arizona child to safety
A two-year-old boy who spent a night alone in the Arizona wilderness was led to safety by a rancher’s dog and was recovering safely at home with his family on Thursday. The toddler, identified as Boden Allen, disappeared from his home, ending up several miles away and in territory where mountain lions live and roam, according to police officials. Scotty Dunton, a rancher whose property is 7 miles away from Allen’s home, said that his dog, Buford, had discovered the wandering boy and appeared to have protected and shepherded him to safety.
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