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"Republicans take aim at university funding amid campus protests."

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By Sarah Naffa May 01, 2024

In the news today: House Republicans are placing another pressure point on campus administrators who are struggling to manage protests; Florida’s 6-week abortion ban takes effect; and states far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tougher immigration laws. Also, a sneak peek at meals offered to athletes and visitors during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Thank you to everyone who responded with good humor to yesterday's subject line glitch that caused the word "Test" to appear at the top of the newsletter. (Our favorite replies include: "your test worked. Maybe you should do this every time, I immediately opened it!" and "It’s a true relief to me that even the most important news agency in the world can, at times, send out an email and forget to add a title to it. In fact, I love you guys even more for it.") Pro-Palestinian protesters camp out in tents at Columbia University on Saturday in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) POLITICS House Republicans launch an investigation into federal funding for universities amid campus protests The investigation, announced Tuesday, places another pressure point on campus administrators who are struggling to manage pro-Palestinian encampments, allegations of discrimination against Jewish students and questions of how they are integrating free speech and campus safety. Read more.

Why this matters: The House investigation will follow several recent high-profile hearings that precipitated the resignations of presidents at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. And House Republicans promised more scrutiny, saying they were calling on the administrators of Yale, UCLA and the University of Michigan to testify next month. Republicans are turning to the issue at a time when election season is fully underway and leadership needs a cause that unites them and divides Democrats. The House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden has fallen flat and the Republican conference is smarting after a series of important bills left GOP lawmakers deeply divided. Democrats, meanwhile, have feuded internally over the Israel-Hamas war and how campus administrators have handled the protests.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University while clashes break out at UCLA Trump’s comparison of student protests to Jan. 6 is part of an effort to downplay the Capitol attack Student protesters reach a deal with Northwestern University that sparks criticism from all sides U.S. NEWS Florida’s 6-week abortion ban takes effect today The ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant, takes effect Wednesday, leaving some doctors concerned that women in the state will no longer have access to much-needed health care. Read more.

Why this matters: The rules are affecting not just women who want therapeutic abortions, procedures to terminate viable pregnancies because of personal choice, but also nonviable pregnancies for women who want to have babies. Dr. Leah Roberts, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist in Boca Raton, said the anti-abortion laws being enacted by Florida and other red states are being vaguely written by people who don’t understand medical science. The new ban has exceptions for saving a woman’s life, and in cases involving rape and incest, but health care workers are still prevented from performing an abortion on a pregnancy that they know may become deadly until it becomes deadly, Roberts said. There’s also the psychological trauma of having to carry a fetus that the mother knows will never be a healthy baby. Another emerging concern is that the restrictions will prompt veteran doctors to leave Florida, as they have in other states that have enacted abortion bans. Women in Florida would also have to travel far from home to get abortions, with the closest state after 12 weeks being Virginia or Illinois, but before 12 weeks would be North Carolina.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ 17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion New reporting requirements for life-saving abortions worry some Texas doctors Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to let Arizona doctors provide abortions in California ADVERTISEMENT IMMIGRATION States far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tough immigration laws Some Republican-led states are rushing to give broader powers to local police and impose criminal penalties for those living in the U.S. illegally as the issue of immigration enforcement remains central to the 2024 elections. Read more.

Key points: What’s the latest: Oklahoma is among several states jockeying to push deeper into immigration enforcement. State Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill on Tuesday that creates the new crime of “impermissible occupation,” which imposes penalties of as much as two years in prison for being in the state illegally.  What’s happening in Texas: Lawmakers in Oklahoma, Iowa and Idaho have followed Texas' lead after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill last year that would allow the state to arrest and deport people who enter the U.S. illegally. That law is currently on hold while the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considers a challenge brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. What happens next: Like Texas’ new law, many of the bills are almost certain to face legal challenges because immigration is a federal, not a state, issue under the U.S. Constitution, said Kelli Stump, the president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US and Mexico will boost deportation flights and enforcement to crack down on illegal migration More than half of foreign-born people in US live in just 4 states and half are naturalized citizens Trump says he’ll use National Guard to deport migrants, doubling down on anti-immigration rhetoric ADVERTISEMENT IN OTHER NEWS READ Cease-fire deal: Blinken is in Israel to tell its leaders ‘the time is now’ for a cease-fire in Gaza Escaping war: A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane Overturned conviction: Harvey Weinstein to return to court on Wednesday after his 2020 rape conviction was overturned Less dangerous drug: What marijuana reclassification means for the United States Paris Olympics: Athletes will feast on freshly baked bread, select cheeses and plenty of veggies Today in History: In 2011, President Barack Obama announces the killing of Osama bin Laden WATCH Rail accident: Metro train collides with bus in downtown Los Angeles, injuring more than 50 Tornado damage: See the damage in this town from tornadoes in Oklahoma Japan tourism: This town has built a giant screen to block the view of Mount Fuji Sports Bra: A pub for women’s sports fans plans national expansion Movie premiere: Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day are on the red carpet as Beavis and Butt-head A CHANGE OF PACE A turtle hatchling at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht) A rescue effort is underway after 500 baby sea turtles were washed ashore in South Africa An aquarium in South Africa is monitoring over 500 endangered baby loggerhead sea turtles that were washed up on beaches by a rare and powerful storm and rescued by members of the public. While the storm was a major shock to the turtles, who are vulnerable to extreme weather and climate change, it has also given conservationists a valuable insight into another increasingly common danger: plastic pollution. ADVERTISEMENT

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