US halts student visa appointments and plans expanded social media vetting
The state department memo directed US embassies on Tuesday to remove any unfilled appointments from their calendars for students seeking visas, but said those with appointments already scheduled could go ahead.The message also said the state department was preparing for an "expansion of required social media screening and vetting" applicable to all student visa applications.Trump administration seeks to pull estimated $100m in Harvard fundingForeign students who want to study in the US are usually required to schedule interviews at an American embassy in their home country before approval.When asked about student visas, state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday: "We take very seriously the process of vetting who it is that comes into the country, and we're going to continue to do that."The Trump administration has frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for universities and moved to deport several students, while revoking thousands of visas for others. Many of these actions have been blocked by the courts.The White House has accused some US universities of failing to protect Jewish students on campus.Colleges have accused the Trump administration of trying to infringe upon universities' free speech rights.Harvard University has been the focal point of President Donald Trump's ire. He also accuses it of flouting a Supreme Court ruling by engaging in discriminatory admissions policies.Last week, the Trump administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students or host foreign researchers. A federal judge blocked the policy.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Harvard was handed the penalty for "fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus".
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The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Migrants at Ice jail in Miami made to kneel to eat ‘like dogs', report alleges
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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Major breakthrough in burglary of Joe Burrow's $7.5 million mansion after shocking sports star robbery epidemic
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Trump ‘named twice' to FBI by Epstein accuser as president peddles Gabbard's Obama conspiracy: Live
A Jeffrey Epstein accuser told the FBI on two occasions that President Donald Trump had ties to the disgraced financier, according to a new report. Maria Farmer said she urged the bureau to investigate people in Epstein's social circle, including Trump, in 1996 and again in 2006 after a 'troubling encounter,' she told The New York Times. Farmer recalled that during an alleged visit to Epstein 's office in 1995, Trump 'started to hover over her' and allegedly stared at her legs, leaving her feeling frightened. ''No, no. She's not here for you,'' Epstein reportedly told Trump, according to Farmer. The White House denied that Trump ever visited Epstein's office. The report lands amid MAGA backlash over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case. Amid the fallout, Trump has been accused by Democrats of trying to 'change the subject' by promoting Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard's conspiracy theory involving former President Barack Obama tied to the origins of the Russia investigation into Trump's 2016 campaign. Trump shared an AI-generated video on Truth Social Thursday, showing Obama being arrested by FBI agents in the Oval Office set to the Village People's YMCA. Epstein accuser 'named Trump twice' to FBI One of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers claimed she met Donald Trump in the convicted pedophile's New York office in what was described as a 'troubling encounter,' according to a report. Artist Maria Farmer said she urged the FBI to look into people in the disgraced financier's social circle, including the president, after the alleged encounter in the 90s, she told The New York Times. Farmer and her younger sister Annie, who testified at Ghislaine Maxwell's 2021 sex trafficking trial, have spoken publicly about their ordeal with Epstein before. But her account now sheds light on how the Epstein files could contain material that is 'embarrassing or politically problematic' to the president, the Times reports. Farmer's account is among 'the clearest indications yet' of how Trump may appear in the Epstein files, the Times notes, though the White House disputed the alleged encounter. Rhian Lubin has the full story: Artist Maria Farmer said she urged the FBI to look into people in the disgraced financier's social circle, including the president James Liddell21 July 2025 08:54
