Latest news with #CaitlinOchs
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Columbia University reaches $200 million settlement with Trump
A view of the main campus of Columbia University in New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Listen to article Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay over $200 million to the US government in a settlement with President Donald Trump's administration to resolve federal probes and have most of its suspended federal funding restored. Trump has targeted several universities since returning to office in January over the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled college campuses last year. He welcomed the agreement between his administration and Columbia in a post on social media late on Wednesday. In March, the Trump administration said it was penalizing Columbia over how it handled last year's protests by canceling $400 million in federal funding. It contended that Columbia's response to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of the university community was insufficient. Read: Columbia University concedes to Trump's demands in bid to restore funding "Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants that were terminated or paused in March 2025 will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored," the university said in a statement. Columbia said it also agreed to settle investigations brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $21 million and that its deal with the Trump administration preserved its "autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making." Read more: Columbia University interim president resigns amid Trump administration pressure After the government canceled funding, the school acquiesced later in March to a series of demands that included scrutiny of departments offering courses on the Middle East and other concessions that were widely condemned by US academics. Policy shifts Last week, Columbia adopted a controversial definition of antisemitism that equates it with opposition to Zionism. The school said it would no longer engage with the pro-Palestinian group Columbia University Apartheid Divest. "Imagine selling your students out just so you can pay Trump $221 million and keep funding genocide," the pro-Palestinian group said on Wednesday, calling the settlement a bribe. Israel denies genocide accusations in Gaza and casts its military attack as "self-defense" after a deadly October 2023 attack by the Palestinian Hamas group. Campus protesters demanded an end to US support for Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza and a commitment that the university will cease investing any of its $14.8 billion endowment in weapons makers and companies that support Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. Members of the Columbia faculty and staff protest against the university's policies at the Columbia University campus in New York City, US, June 6, 2025. REUTERS/Ryan Murphy/File Photo Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Columbia agreed "to discipline student offenders for severe disruptions of campus operations, make structural changes to their Faculty Senate, bring viewpoint diversity to their Middle Eastern studies programs, eliminate race preferences from their hiring and admissions practices, and end DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs." The government has labeled pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government has wrongly conflated their criticism of Israel's actions with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism. New oversight measures Wednesday's announcement came a day after Columbia disciplined dozens of students over a May pro-Palestinian protest in which demonstrators seized its main library. The agreement asks Columbia to "undertake a comprehensive review of its international admissions processes and policies," according to the deal's terms. Also read: Teacher unions sue Trump administration over $400m Columbia funding cut Columbia is required to designate within 30 days an administrator answerable to the university president and responsible for overseeing the deal's compliance. The deal requires Columbia to appoint an additional administrator to look at alleged antisemitism and suggest recommendations. Rights advocates have also raised concerns about anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab bias during the Israel-Gaza war. The Trump administration has not announced steps to tackle Islamophobia. Trump has also attempted to use federal funding leverage with other institutions, including Harvard University. His administration has tried deporting foreign pro-Palestinian students, including at Columbia, but faced judicial roadblocks. Rights advocates have raised due process, academic freedom and free speech concerns.
The Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- The Standard
Columbia University to pay $200 mn in clash with Trump
A view of the main campus of Columbia University in New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
IOL News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Historic vote: U. K. Parliament decriminalises abortions in England and Wales
British lawmakers voted Tuesday to decriminalize the termination of pregnancies after 24 weeks in England and Wales, marking the biggest change to abortion laws in England and Wales in decades. Image: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs British lawmakers made a historic decision on Tuesday by voting to decriminalise the termination of pregnancies after 24 weeks in England and Wales. This landmark amendment, which passed with a vote of 379 to 137, will prevent the criminal prosecution of individuals suspected of having unlawful abortions, marking a significant shift in abortion laws that have remained largely unchanged for decades. Abortion in England and Wales is illegal under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act - a Victorian-era law that makes abortion a criminal offense that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. That bill was written at a time when women could not vote, own property after marriage, or access higher education. Tuesday's vote follows an increase in recent years in investigations and prosecutions of people suspected of having illegal abortions. Many people, including residents, are surprised that abortion is technically illegal in England and Wales, given the widespread access to the amended 1967 Abortion Act carved out exceptions, allowing abortions at up to 24 weeks if approved by two doctors. But outside of specific criteria, it is still a criminal offense. Tuesday's vote will remove the criminal penalties for having an abortion, even outside of these parameters. Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour lawmaker who championed the amendment, said it was a 'once in a generation' opportunity and the 'right change at the right time.' Antoniazzi also insisted that the rules under the 1967 act for how abortion services are provided will not change. Until recent years, prosecutions were almost unheard of. Campaigners report that approximately 100 women have been investigated for suspected unlawful abortions over the past decade. Among them was Nicola Packer, 45, who was arrested in a hospital after taking abortion pills during the coronavirus lockdown. She denied knowing that she was 26 weeks pregnant. Four years later, after a trial in which intimate details of her personal life were examined, a jury found her not guilty. But the case sparked calls to update abortion laws. 'There must be no more Nicola Packers,' Antoniazzi told the House of Commons on Tuesday. Louise McCudden, U.K. head of external affairs for MSI Reproductive Choices, one of Britain's biggest abortion providers, called the prosecutions 'a real anomaly in our law. Even in places like Texas, they don't tend to prosecute the woman herself.' 'The investigations themselves have been horrific,' McCudden said. 'In some cases, women have been separated from their children, their names made public, they've received death threats, they didn't take pills but had a stillbirth or a miscarriage.' The rise of investigations coincided with a legal change that allowed access to abortion pills that can be taken at home at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Surveys show that the overwhelming majority of Britons favor making abortion legal. But polls also show that most people don't support extending the legal time limit beyond 24 weeks' gestation. Critics of the amendment argued that it would effectively legalize self-induced abortion at any point up until birth. Rebecca Paul, a Conservative member of Parliament, told the House of Commons that the change would mean 'fully developed babies up to term could be aborted by a woman with no consequences.' In interviews, abortion care doctors said that they will still be bound by the same rules as before – including the 24-week limit in most cases, mandatory legal forms, and the requirement of two signatures – and that they could face prosecution if they do not adhere to them. Many European countries in recent years have expanded abortion rights. Denmark and Norway recently extended the legal limit from 12 to 18 weeks. Last year, France enshrined abortion as a 'guaranteed freedom' into its constitution, and Ireland liberalized its laws after a public referendum in 2018. Other countries have maintained or tightened access. The current Polish government has failed to deliver on a pledge to liberalize the country's extremely restrictive laws. In 2022, Hungary made it mandatory for those seeking an abortion to listen to fetal vital signs. Campaigners on both sides of the debate have said they have been energized by the rollback of abortion rights in the United States. Stella Creasy, a Labour lawmaker who has been pushing for a more comprehensive reform of abortion law, told Parliament on Tuesday: 'Listen to our American counterparts who bitterly regret not having acted under Biden and Obama … and now find themselves with medics being prosecuted and dragged across state lines.' Tuesday's vote was a free one, allowing lawmakers to vote their conscience rather than in line with their party - as is customary with ethical issues such as abortion or assisted dying. The amendment is part of the Crime and Policing Bill, which is weaving its way through Parliament and is likely to become law later this year.
Straits Times
15-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Estee Lauder Chairman Emeritus Leonard Lauder dies at 92
FILE PHOTO: Leonard Lauder arrives for the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Gala in New York City, NY, U.S. November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo Estee Lauder said on Sunday that its chairman emeritus, Leonard Lauder, died on Satuday at the age of 92. Lauder joined the company in 1958 and played a key role in transforming the business from a handful of products sold under a single brand in U.S. stores to a multi-brand cosmetics giant. He was the son of company founders Estee Lauder and Joseph Lauder. He served many roles at Estee Lauder over six decades and led the launch of many brands including Aramis, Clinique and Lab Series, the company said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Estee Lauder chairman emeritus Leonard Lauder dies, company says
FILE PHOTO: Leonard Lauder arrives for the Elton John AIDS Foundation's Gala in New York City, NY, U.S. November 5, 2018. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs/File Photo
