Harvard University

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Harvard Braces for Staggering Payout in US Fight

New York Times reports the university is poised to settle with feds for $500M

(Newser) - Columbia paid a $200 million fine —so how much might Harvard have to shell out to settle its fight with the Trump administration? The New York Times is the first to put a number on it, and it's a big one: $500 million. The newspaper reports that the...

Why Some Families Seem to Have Only Boys or Girls
Why Some Families Seem
to Have Only Boys or Girls
NEW STUDY
Jul 26, 2025 7:30 AM CDT

Why Some Families Seem to Have Only Boys or Girls

Research finds that family patterns involving siblings influence the odds

(Newser) - A Harvard University study is challenging the long-held assumption that the odds of having a baby boy or girl are a simple coin toss. Drawing on records from more than 58,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study, researchers uncovered a pattern, per NPR : In families with at least...

8 Choir Kids Hospitalized After Mystery Illness at Concert

French singers fell ill after reporting strange odor inside Mass. church; no one else was affected

(Newser) - Eight children were hospitalized Tuesday evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after exhibiting seizure-like symptoms during a choir concert held at St. Paul's Parish. According to Fire Chief Thomas Cahill, the incident began around 7pm when a call came in about a child experiencing a seizure while participating in the...

Trump Administration Targets Harvard Again

State Department launches investigation into use of international visas

(Newser) - The State Department has launched an investigation into Harvard's handling of international visas, marking the third major federal action directed at the institution since it resumed talks with the Trump administration, per the New York Times . Secretary of State Marco Rubio notified Harvard President Alan M. Garber of...

Harvard Pleads Its Case Against Trump

Judge to begin hearing oral arguments following retaliation lawsuit

(Newser) - Harvard University will appear in federal court Monday to make the case that the Trump administration illegally cut $2.6 billion from the storied school—a pivotal moment in its battle against the federal government . If US District Judge Allison Burroughs decides in the university's favor, the ruling would...

Key Justice Department Unit Is Losing Lawyers Fast

Reuters says nearly two-thirds in division that defends Trump programs have quit

(Newser) - A Reuters investigation has uncovered a notable stat about Justice Department lawyers: Nearly two-thirds of the department's Federal Programs Branch—the unit tasked with defending key Trump administration policies in court—have left their positions since President Trump's election. Out of about 110 attorneys, 69 have either...

Trump Administration Threatens to Cut All Harvard Funding

Says university failed to protect Jewish students

(Newser) - The Trump administration has concluded that Harvard University failed to protect Jewish students from harassment and is threatening to cut all federal funding from the Ivy League school if it fails to take action. A federal task force sent a letter to Harvard on Monday finding the university violated civil...

Harvard Scientist Charged With Smuggling Frog Embryos

Embryo samples at center of legal battle for Russian national

(Newser) - A Russian scientist working at Harvard Medical School faces serious federal charges after allegedly smuggling frog embryo samples into the US and lying to customs officials—a case that is raising questions about how far the government will go in its pursuit of academics in the US who are...

DHS's Noem Lays Out Case Against Harvard
Kristi Noem
on Harvard:
'The Law
Is Clear'
OPINION
Jun 23, 2025 8:10 AM CDT

Kristi Noem on Harvard: 'The Law Is Clear'

Harvard failed to uphold rules on foreign students, she writes in op-ed

(Newser) - One of the larger battles being fought between Harvard and the Trump administration is over the university's ability to admit foreign students , who currently make up 27% of the student body. In a Washington Post op-ed, Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem lays out the administration's case...

Judge Gives Harvard a Win on Foreign Students

School can continue to host them as case proceeds in court

(Newser) - A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration's efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students, per the AP and the Harvard Crimson . An order from US District Judge Allison Burroughs preserves the ability of Harvard to host foreign students while the case is decided. It marks...

After 4 Months in Detention, Harvard Scientist Released

Russia's Kseniia Petrova still faces deportation, smuggling charges over frog embryos

(Newser) - Kseniia Petrova, a Russian scientist at Harvard Medical School, was released on bail on Thursday after spending four months in US detention . Petrova was initially detained in February at Boston's Logan Airport for failing to declare frog embryo samples she was carrying for research. Since then, she has...

Judge Hands Harvard a Win on Graduation Day

She extends order allowing university to continue enrolling international students

(Newser) - As Harvard University held commencement ceremonies Thursday, a federal judge extended her restraining order against the Trump administration's attempt to block international students from enrolling at America's oldest university. Judge Allison D. Burroughs said the order she issued last week will remain in place until a preliminary injunction...

One Punch 6 Years Ago Resonates Politically

Wall Street Journal traces Trump administration's battle with universities to a 2019 altercation

(Newser) - Much has been written about the Trump administration's fight with Harvard and other universities, but the Wall Street Journal traces the broad outlines of the current fight to a single punch in 2019:
  • That year, Hayden Williams got punched in the face after he set up a table at
...

DOJ: Scientist's Texts on Frog Embryos Did Her In
Judge:
Let Detained
Scientist
Out on Bail
UPDATED
May 29, 2025 7:00 AM CDT

Judge: Let Detained Scientist Out on Bail

Russian-born Harvard researcher accused of sneaking lab samples through Boston airport

(Newser) - A federal judge says a Harvard scientist from Russia should be released on bail after she was detained by immigration officials, reports the New York Times . "There does not seem to be either a factual or legal basis for the immigration officer's actions" against Kseniia Petrova, the judge...

Harvard Agrees to Give Up Its 175-Year-Old Slave Photos

This move ends a lengthy legal battle

(Newser) - Harvard University will give up what are thought to be the earliest photographs taken of enslaved people in America, ending a yearslong legal battle with a woman who says they feature some of her ancestors. Tamara Lanier has been fighting to obtain the 175-year-old images featuring a man who she...

Trump Yanks $100M in Federal Contracts From Harvard

Admin official calls it 'a complete severance' of the government's business relationship with the school

(Newser) - The Trump administration isn't done punishing Harvard. After cutting billions of dollars in federal funding, the federal government is now set to cancel all remaining contracts with the university, worth about $100 million, per CNN and the New York Times . In a Tuesday letter, the General Services Administration will...

Trump Threatens to Give Trade Schools Harvard's Grants
Trump Issues
New Threat to Harvard
May 26, 2025 3:07 PM CDT

Trump Issues New Threat to Harvard

He says grants could go to trade schools instead

(Newser) - President Trump on Monday escalated his war on Harvard, threatening to redirect $3 billion in grants for scientific and engineering research from the university to trade schools. The president posted on Truth Social that he's considering taking the grants away "from a very antisemitic Harvard" and giving them...

Future Queen Is Among Harvard Students in Limbo

Princess Elisabeth will spend the summer in Belgium waiting to see how Trump policy unfolds

(Newser) - The future queen of Belgium is among the thousands of international students whose lives could be upended by the Trump administration's feud with Harvard University. Princess Elisabeth, 23, is pursuing a master's degree in public policy at Harvard but it's not clear whether she will be able...

Judge Swiftly Grants Harvard's Request

Federal judge issues temporary restraining order against block on international students

(Newser) - Harvard University's request for a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration's block on international students was granted by a federal judge in Boston less than two hours after the university filed a lawsuit Friday morning. US District Judge Alison Burroughs said Harvard had shown that the Department...

Harvard Returns Fire Over Latest White House Move

School files lawsuit over Trump administration's decision to bar foreign students there

(Newser) - Harvard has responded to the latest salvo from the Trump administration —with another lawsuit. The university sued on Friday, a day after the White House announced the school could no longer enroll international students, reports the New York Times .
  • "We condemn this unlawful and unwarranted action," wrote
...

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