Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220m as settlement to Trump administration<\/p>\n
Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement<\/a> with the U S government to pay $200m to settle multiple investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws.<\/p>\n The university also agreed to pay a further $21m \u201cto settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u201d.<\/p>\n In return for the massive payments, to be made over three years, \u201ca vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 \u2013 will be reinstated and Columbia\u2019s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored\u201d, according to the university.<\/p>\n The agreement was signed by the university trustees and three Trump administration<\/a> cabinet members: Pam Bondi, the attorney general, Linda MacMahon, the education secretary, and Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary.<\/p>\n The settlement comes after Columbia already gave in to many of the Trump administration\u2019s demands, agreeing last week to adopt<\/a> a controversial definition of antisemitism that precludes criticism of Israel and expelling or suspending over 70 students<\/a> who briefly occupied a campus library reading room in May to protest the Israeli assault on Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n On Monday, Harvard University argued in federal court<\/a> that the Trump administration\u2019s decision to cut $2.6bn in funding from that university, over similar claims, was an illegal, politically motivated attempt to pressure the school into adopting policies on student conduct, admissions, antisemitism and diversity more in line with the president\u2019s own views.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.33 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Closing summary<\/p>\n This brings our live coverage of the day in US politics to an end, but we will be back on Thursday to continue chronicling the second Trump administration<\/a> in real time. Here are the latest developments:<\/p>\n A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Donald Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> declaring an end to birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, affirming a lower-court decision that blocked its enforcement nationwide.<\/p>\n The House oversight subcommittee on federal law enforcement voted to issue a subpoena to the justice department compelling \u201cthe full, unredacted release\u201d of files from the federal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n Columbia University signed an agreement<\/a> with the US government to pay $221m to settle multiple investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination and equal opportunity employment laws.<\/p>\n Trump repeated his tale that the king of Saudi Arabia told him during a visit to the kingdom in May: \u201cYou have the hottest country anywhere in the world\u201d. Trump did not meet the king during his trip but was hosted by the crown prince, whom US intelligence says approved the murder of a US-based journalist.<\/p>\n The White House press secretary expressed \u201coutrage\u201d that, during the Obama administration, \u201cthe intelligence community was concocting this narrative \u2026 that the president\u2019s son was holding secret meetings with the Russians\u201d. Donald Trump Jr admitted in 2017 that he had secretly met a Russian who promised to deliver Russian government dirt on Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n Trump signed executive orders, including one<\/a> that would bar the US government from buying or promoting AI models that \u201cembrace wokeism and critical race theory\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.15 EDT<\/p>\n In 2017, Donald Trump Jr admitted meeting Russian who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. Today, the White House press secretary called that a lie.<\/p>\n Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters<\/a> earlier on Wednesday that it was an \u201coutrage\u201d that, during the Obama administration, \u201cthe intelligence community was concocting this narrative that the president colluded with the Russians, that the president\u2019s son was holding secret meetings with the Russians.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these lies\u201d, Leavitt said, \u201cthat were never true\u201d.<\/p>\n While Trump and his aides have for years tried to maintain that every accusation that his 2016 campaign was aware of or encouraged the Russian attempts to damage Hillary Clinton were false, it is very odd that Leavitt chose to call the idea that the president\u2019s son met secretly with the Russians false, because Donald Trump<\/a> Jr admitted it was true in 2017.<\/p>\n He even provided documentary evidence for how the meeting came about. On 11 July 2017, Donald Trump Jr tweeted<\/a> a copy of an email exchange he had in June of 2016 with a publicist for a powerful Russian oligarch. The email showed that the British publicist, Rob Goldstone, on June 3, 2016, offered to pass on secret information about Clinton from one of the most senior officials in the Russian government.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Crown prosecutor of Russia\u201d Goldstone wrote, in reference to the prosecutor general of Russia, Yuri Chaika, \u201coffered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government\u2019s support for Mr. Trump\u201d, Goldstone added.<\/p>\n The younger Trump replied to this offer of Russian government help: \u201cif it\u2019s what you say I love it\u201d. Six days later the president\u2019s son, along with his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump\u2019s campaign manager Paul Manafort, met in Trump Tower with Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was described to him by Goldstone as a \u201cRussian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Federal appeals court blocks Trump’s ‘unconstitutional’ attempt to end birthright citizenship<\/p>\n A federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that Donald Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> declaring an end to birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, affirming a lower-court decision that blocked its enforcement nationwide.<\/p>\n The 2-1 ruling from a divided panel of the ninth US circuit court of appeals comes after Trump\u2019s plan was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire. It brings the issue one step closer to coming back quickly before the supreme court.<\/p>\n The appeals court ruling blocks the Trump administration<\/a> from enforcing the order that would deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the United States without permanent legal status or temporarily.<\/p>\n \u201cThe district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order\u2019s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,\u201d the majority wrote.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.25 EDT<\/p>\n Trump keeps saying Saudi king praised his leadership in May; there is no record they met<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I traveled to the Middle East in May, every leader I met was thrilled to do business with American tech firms, and with America, and they were all thrilled to meet me\u201d, Donald Trump boasted<\/a> at an AI summit earlier on Wednesday.<\/p>\n He then regaled the assembled industry leaders with a story he has told dozens of times in the months since, despite the fact it seems to reveal that the president is confused about who hosted him on his visit to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n \u201cThe king of Saudi Arabia\u201d, Trump recalled, \u201csaid, \u2018You know what? One year ago, your country was dead, it was a dead country\u2026. You had a dead country, and today, Mr President, you have the hottest country anywhere in the world\u2019.<\/p>\n According to Trump, the leaders of Qatar and UAE echoed those comments by Saudi king. \u201cThey said that and they mean it so strongly\u201d, the president said to widespread applause.<\/p>\n The problem with this anecdote is that Trump was not hosted by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, the 89-year-old monarch who has largely retreated from public life and took no part in the lavish ceremonies and meetings Trump attended in Riyadh.<\/p>\n Instead, Trump met with crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom\u2019s de facto ruler, who approved the 2018 murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a US intelligence report<\/a> made public three weeks after the end of Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n During a speech to a Saudi investment forum during his trip, Trump criticized his predecessor Joe Biden for keeping his distance from the crown prince and lavished praise<\/a> on him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Columbia University agrees to pay more than $220m as settlement to Trump administration<\/p>\n Columbia University announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement<\/a> with the U S government to pay $200m to settle multiple investigations into alleged violations of federal anti-discrimination laws.<\/p>\n The university also agreed to pay a further $21m \u201cto settle investigations brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission\u201d.<\/p>\n In return for the massive payments, to be made over three years, \u201ca vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 \u2013 will be reinstated and Columbia\u2019s access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored\u201d, according to the university.<\/p>\n The agreement was signed by the university trustees and three Trump administration<\/a> cabinet members: Pam Bondi, the attorney general, Linda MacMahon, the education secretary, and Robert F Kennedy Jr, the health secretary.<\/p>\n The settlement comes after Columbia already gave in to many of the Trump administration\u2019s demands, agreeing last week to adopt<\/a> a controversial definition of antisemitism that precludes criticism of Israel and expelling or suspending over 70 students<\/a> who briefly occupied a campus library reading room in May to protest the Israeli assault on Palestinians in Gaza.<\/p>\n On Monday, Harvard University argued in federal court<\/a> that the Trump administration\u2019s decision to cut $2.6bn in funding from that university, over similar claims, was an illegal, politically motivated attempt to pressure the school into adopting policies on student conduct, admissions, antisemitism and diversity more in line with the president\u2019s own views.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.33 EDT<\/p>\n House oversight subcommittee votes to subpoena Epstein files from justice department<\/p>\n The House oversight subcommittee on federal law enforcement voted on Wednesday to issue a subpoena to the justice department compelling \u201cthe full, unredacted release\u201d of files from the federal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender who socialized with future president Donald Trump throughout the 1990s.<\/p>\n A motion introduced by<\/a> congresswoman Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania Democrat, passed by a vote of 8-2<\/a>, with three votes coming from Republicans Nancy Mace, Scott Perry and Brian Jack, requires that files be released to the subcommittee.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Congresswoman Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania Democrat, introduced a motion to compel the justice department to turn over its files related to Jeffrey Epstein to the House oversight subcommittee on federal law enforcement.Share<\/a>Trump signs executive order barring government from using ‘woke’ AI models<\/p>\n Donald Trump just completed his remarks to a summit of artificial intelligence industry leaders in Washington and signed three executive orders, including one<\/a> that his aide, the White House staff secretary Will Scharf, said<\/a> would bar the US government from buying or promoting AI models that \u201cembrace wokeism and critical race theory and all of these terrible theories that have done so much damage to our country\u201d.<\/p>\n In his earlier remarks, Trump claimed<\/a> that his predecessor Joe Biden had \u201cestablished toxic diversity, equity and inclusion ideology as a guiding principle of American AI development\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the American people do not want woke Marxist lunacy in the AI models,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.51 EDT<\/p>\n Trump tells AI leaders they should not have to worry about copyright laws<\/p>\n In a rambling set of remarks at an AI summit at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington on Wednesday, Donald Trump<\/a> just told assembled industry leaders that he wants them to \u201cchange the name\u201d of artificial intelligence and that they should not be forced to pay the authors of articles or books they use to train their large language models.<\/p>\n The subject of the summit, Trump said at the start of his remarks, was \u201cthe greatest power of them all, the brain power\u201d.<\/p>\n He went on to boast, as he does at political rallies, about the scale of his victory in the 2024 presidential election, saying that he won by \u201cmillions and millions of votes\u201d (it was 2 million), and that he won far more \u201cdistricts as they would call them\u201d (he meant counties) than Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n \u201cAround the globe, everybody is talking about artificial intelligence,\u201d Trump said, before veering away from his prepared remarks to say: \u201cArtificial \u2013 I can\u2019t stand it. I don\u2019t even like the name, you know I don\u2019t like anything that\u2019s artificial. So could we straighten that out please? We should change the name.\u201d<\/p>\n As some in the crowd laughed, Trump added: \u201cI actually mean that. I don\u2019t like the name artificial, because it\u2019s not artificial, it\u2019s genius, it\u2019s pure genius.\u201d<\/p>\n Given that one of Trump\u2019s first acts in office was to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, he might indeed mean it.<\/p>\n The president then called for what he called \u201ca commonsense application of artificial and intellectual property rules\u201d. Trump appeared to have accidentally added the word \u201cartificial\u201d to his prepared remarks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so important,\u201d the president continued. \u201cYou can\u2019t be expected to have a successful AI program when every single article, book or anything else that you\u2019ve read or studied, you\u2019re supposed to pay for.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Gee, I read a book, I\u2019m supposed to pay somebody,\u2019\u201d the president added, dismissing the intellectual property concerns of authors whose work has been used without payment in a sarcastic aside.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, we appreciate that, but you just can\u2019t do it, because it\u2019s not doable,\u201d the president went on. \u201cAnd if you\u2019re going to try and do that, you\u2019re not going to have a successful program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a person reads a book or an article, you\u2019ve gained great knowledge. That does not mean that you\u2019re violating copyright laws or have to make deals with every content provider,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a big thing that you\u2019re working on right now.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a018.43 EDT<\/p>\n Yemen attack plans Hegseth shared in Signal chat were from classified email – report<\/p>\n An independent Pentagon inspector general reportedly has evidence that the detailed attack plans for strikes on Yemen shared in at least two Signal group chats by defense secretary Pete Hegseth in March were, in fact, classified, contradicting repeated claims to the contrary from Trump administration<\/a> officials.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pentagon\u2019s independent watchdog has received evidence that messages from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s Signal account previewing a U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen derived from a classified email labeled \u201cSECRET\/NOFORN\u201d, the Washington Post reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to the Post, the Pentagon watchdog discovered that the 15 March strike plans Hegseth dropped in one Signal group that mistakenly included the editor of the Atlantic, and a second chat that included his wife, had first been shared \u201cin a classified email with more than a dozen defense officials\u201d sent through a secure, government system by General Michael Erik Kurilla, the top commander overseeing US military operations in the Middle East.<\/p>\n After the revelation<\/a> that Hegseth had shared the secret attack plans on Signal with a journalist before the strikes, the defense secretary told reporters<\/a> \u201cnobody was texting war plans\u201d. His chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said at the time: \u201cthere were no classified materials or war plans shared\u201d.<\/p>\n Another participant in the Signal group, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, testified to congress<\/a> in March that \u201cthere was no classified material that was shared\u201d in the chat.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Maya Yang<\/p>\n A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that Kilmar \u00c1brego Garc\u00eda must be released from jail as he awaits trial on human smuggling charges.<\/p>\n The decision from judge Waverly Crenshaw means that Donald Trump\u2019s administration can potentially attempt<\/a> to deport the Maryland father of two to his native El Salvador or a third country for a second time.<\/p>\n Crenshaw, sitting in Nashville, agreed with an earlier decision by a magistrate judge, concluding that prosecutors had not provided enough evidence to show \u00c1brego is either a danger to the public or a flight risk.<\/p>\n The judge said in his decision that the government \u201cfails to show by a preponderance of the evidence \u2013 let alone clear and convincing evidence \u2013 that \u00c1brego is such a danger to others or the community that such concerns cannot be mitigated by conditions of release\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the bail ruling, \u00c1brego is not expected to walk free. His legal team has requested a 30-day delay in implementing the decision, opting to keep him in criminal detention while they consider next steps.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in a separate courtroom in Maryland, US district judge Paula Xinis, who is overseeing a civil case \u00c1brego filed, issued a 72-hour freeze on any further attempts by the Trump administration<\/a> to deport him. Xinis ruled that \u00c1brego must be returned to Maryland on an order of supervision.<\/p>\n