MIT Sued by Student, Instructor Over Alleged Campus Antisemitism
Lior Alon, a Jewish Israeli mathematics instructor, and William Sussman, a Jewish former PhD student, sued the Cambridge-based research university in Boston federal court Wednesday. They accused MIT of failing to respond to a 'surge' of hatred, making it difficult for them to participate in campus life and depriving them of educational and professional opportunities.
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Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Popular principal will stay at Toronto arts school after students, parents push back against transfer
A popular principal at Toronto's Rosedale Heights School for the Arts is staying put after a provincial school board supervisor reversed a decision to transfer him, following backlash from students and parents. Barrie Sketchley will now stay on as principal of the school where he spent over 30 years of his career until his retirement next June, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said Tuesday. The TDSB — which was recently taken over by a provincially-appointed supervisor due to government concerns of financial mismanagement — announced in June that Sketchley would be moved to Harbord Collegiate Institute for the upcoming school year. That led to pushback from parents and students, who said Sketchley was an integral part of the school community. In a letter to parents, guardians and students Tuesday, the board said its province-appointed supervisor had reversed the decision to transfer Sketchley. "Principal Sketchley's deep connection to students, families, and staff has shaped the identity of the school and we look forward to a wonderful school year ahead under Principal Sketchley's continued leadership," said the letter, signed by superintendent of education Jennifer Chan. A new principal will join Sketchley to work with administration for the school year, the letter said. The new administrator will work as the school's "Centrally Assigned Principal — Transitions," to support students and staff and "select system initiatives related to transitions," Chan wrote. The province and board have not commented on why Sketchley was originally set to be transferred. A spokesperson for TDSB said any further comment on the decision would have to come from the Ministry of Education. CBC Toronto reached out to the ministry Tuesday evening, but did not immediately hear back. The province's decision in June to take over four school boards, including the TDSB, prompted concerns from parents and students worried that their voices would not be heard in board decisions if their elected officials were no longer in charge. Reversal comes after student, parent backlash The original decision to move Sketchley led students at Rosedale Heights to walk out of class in protest this past spring. Many told CBC News at the time that Sketchley, who is in his 80s, had helped build Rosedale Heights into a leading arts school where students were given the best opportunities, and he could not be replaced. An online petition to reinstate Sketchley at Rosedale Heights, which garnered roughly 2,900 signatures, said the principal's "dedication to the arts and his unwavering support for his students have left an indelible mark on our community." "His absence would leave a void that no other can fill, and the community is deeply concerned about the future of our beloved school without his guidance," it read.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US axes mRNA vaccine contracts, casting safety doubts
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday announced it would terminate 22 federal contracts for mRNA-based vaccines, questioning the safety of a technology credited with helping end the Covid pandemic and saving millions of lives. The announcement, made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., marks his latest effort to weave vaccine skepticism into the core of US government policy. "We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted," Kennedy said in a statement. The health department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) is "terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu," he added. "We're shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate." The changes affect Moderna's mRNA bird flu vaccine -- a move the company itself disclosed in May -- as well as numerous other programs, including "rejection or cancellation of multiple pre-award solicitations" from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Sanofi. In total, the affected projects are worth "nearly $500 million," the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said. Certain late-stage projects were excluded from the move "to preserve prior taxpayer investment." "Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them," Secretary Kennedy said. "That's why we're moving beyond the limitations of mRNA and investing in better solutions." Since taking office, Kennedy, who spent two decades sowing misinformation around immunization, has overseen a major overhaul of US health policy -- firing, for example, a panel of vaccine experts that advise the government and replacing them with his own appointees. In its first meeting, the new panel promptly voted to ban a longstanding vaccine preservative targeted by the anti-vaccine movement, despite its strong safety record. He has also ordered a sweeping new study on the long-debunked link between vaccines and autism. Unlike traditional vaccines, which often use weakened or inactivated forms of the target virus or bacteria, mRNA shots deliver genetic instructions into the host's cells, prompting them to produce a harmless decoy of the pathogen and train the immune system to fight the real thing. Though in development for decades, mRNA vaccines were propelled from lab benches to widespread use through President Trump's Operation Warp Speed -- a public-private partnership led by BARDA that poured billions into companies to accelerate development. The technology's pioneers, Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work contributing "to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times." ia/jgc
Fox News
23 minutes ago
- Fox News
Jesse Watters: DOGE's 'Big Balls' was jumped by gang in DC
WARNING-Graphic Footage: Fox News host Jesse Watters has the latest on the crime on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
