Less than two months ago, when the Trump administration turned off the Voice of America's networks and websites, Kari Lake, a fierce loyalist to President Donald Trump, said the agency is “unsalvageable.” “We look forward to working with you all,” Lake wrote in a Friday night memo to the staffers she sidelined back in March. About 1,400 VOA employees and contractors at VOA and its parent agency, the US Agency for Global Media, now have access to their email accounts and other systems again, according to a Friday memo from the Justice Department. Staffers will be allowed back to their offices beginning next week, and that's when VOA programming will resume, the memo stated. Voice of America is a government-funded entity that produces journalism and promotes democratic values outside the United States, countering foreign propaganda efforts by other countries. Getting back online will be no small task. It happened abruptly on Saturday, March 15, after Trump — who had been critical of VOA for years — signed an executive order to drastically shrink the US Agency for Global Media and several other agencies. VOA staffers were told to stop working in the middle of their shifts. Web producers were told to stop posting stories. Some VOA radio stations started to play music in lieu of news. The VOA home page has been frozen in time ever since, with old stories from that day. Lake and her deputies also terminated the financial support for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and other broadcasters that have historically relied on the government. Those broadcasters tried to stay on the air and online in limited fashion, but as funds have run out, they have resorted to layoffs and other cost-cutting maneuvers. At VOA, staffers have been stuck in a form of bureaucratic limbo. In April, some started to look for other work while others held out hope that the courts would intervene. And on April 22, that's what Judge Royce C. Lamberth did; he said the administration was “likely in direct violation of numerous federal laws” and ordered the administration to bring VOA staffers back to work. It was just a preliminary injunction, though, and the administration immediately appealed, as it did when courts ruled in favor of Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe. On Thursday, an appeals court stayed, or paused, the rulings pertaining to those broadcasters, pending further review, but did not stay Lamberth's order about VOA. That's what apparently led to the return-to-work message on Friday night. A Trumpian press release in March accused the US Agency for Global Media of “massive national security violations,” “obscene over-spending” and “a product that often parrots the talking-points of America's adversaries.” Lake, who was chosen by Trump to overhaul the operation, said she was happy to “DOGE” herself “out of a job.” And now that the courts have reaffirmed that Congress created and funded the international broadcasters, Lake has changed her tone. US market indices are shown in real time, except for the S&P 500 which is refreshed every two minutes. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City's police department provided federal immigration authorities with an internal record about a Palestinian woman who they arrested at a protest, which the Trump administration is now using as evidence in its bid to deport her, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. Its distribution to federal authorities offers a glimpse into behind-the-scenes cooperation between the NYPD and the Trump administration, and raises questions about the city's compliance with sanctuary laws that prohibit police from assisting with immigration enforcement efforts. She was detained during a voluntary check-in with immigration officials in Newark, New Jersey, on March 13, then flown to an immigration jail in Texas. Her arrest was announced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the next day in a statement that cited an expired visa and her role in “pro-Hamas protests.” It remains unclear how immigration authorities were able to learn about Kordia's presence at the protest near Columbia last April. At the demonstration, police cited Kordia with disorderly conduct. City law generally prohibits police from sharing information about arrests with federal immigration officials, although there are exceptions for criminal investigations. On March 14, an NYPD officer generated a four-page report on Kordia and shared it with Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. “It seems to be a clear violation of the law,” Philip added, “and raises questions about what guardrails, if any, the NYPD has around sharing information with a federal government that is seeking to criminalize speech.” Kordia's case stood out among those ensnared by Trump's crackdown. She maintained no social media presence and did not appear on any of the public lists maintained by pro-Israel groups that seek to identify people who participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Her name was not mentioned in news reports about the demonstrations. While the Trump administration identified her as a Columbia student, she has never been affiliated with the university and was not enrolled in any college when she joined a protest in 2024 outside Columbia. “The investigation revealed nothing except that Ms. Kordia sent a single payment to a Palestinian family member in 2022, which itself is protected First Amendment” rights, the filing states. At an April 3rd hearing, the federal government pointed to Kordia's prior arrest for protesting as a reason she should not be released. An immigration judge found no evidence she had acted violently at the protest and agreed to grant Kordia a $20,000 bond, which her family paid. The government has appealed that decision, keeping her detained for now. In a petition seeking her release, attorneys for Kordia, a devout Muslim, said she had been denied halal meals since arriving at the jail. As a result, she has lost 49 pounds (22 kilograms) and fainted in the shower, according to facility records shared with her attorneys. “The only reason she's confined right now is because of her political viewpoint.” When asked by the AP last month if the NYPD could turn over information to ICE about a summons issued to a protester, the mayor stressed it could only do so if there was a criminal investigation. “We're not allowed to collaborate for civil enforcement, period,” Adams said. “We have no record that this happened,” Adams added at the time.

Rescue workers arrive to the scene after a deadly collision between a pickup truck and tour van near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho on Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP) — The deaths of at least six Italian and Chinese tourists in a fiery van crash in Idaho near Yellowstone National Park are a reminder that the roads leading into the popular international destination can be as dangerous as the region's grizzly bears and boiling hot pools. The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco said eight Chinese citizens were injured in the crash. The accident comes after a crash in 2019 of a bus from Las Vegas carrying Chinese tourists that rolled over near southern Utah's Bryce National Park, killing four people and injuring dozens more. The highway where the accident happened south of West Yellowstone, Montana, offers a way to get between Yellowstone and Grand Teton at this time of year, before a north-south route is plowed and the park fully opens for summer. Seventeen percent of Yellowstone's visitors came from other countries in 2016, according to a park visitor use study with the most recent comprehensive data available. The COVID-19 pandemic changed those numbers significantly, said Brian Riley whose Wyoming-based business, Old Hand Holdings, markets the Yellowstone region in China and runs tours. The pandemic put a sharp brake on tourism of all kinds but especially from China, which has yet to recover, Riley observed. “Foreigners in general they don't feel safe over here like they did before,” Riley said Friday. The U.S. tourism industry expected 2025 to be another good year for foreign visitors. But several months in, international arrivals have been plummeting. Angered by President Donald Trump's tariffs and rhetoric, and alarmed by reports of tourists being arrested at the border, some citizens of other countries are staying away from the U.S. and choosing to travel elsewhere. Riley, who grew up in Jackson, Wyoming, just south of Grand Teton and lived in China for a time to learn Mandarin and why Chinese wanted to visit the U.S., is more focused of late on getting them to visit Hawaii, a state perceived as less dangerous. Yellowstone's crowds peak in the summer, but international tourism peaks in spring and fall, according to Riley and West Yellowstone Mayor Jeff McBirnie. Many foreign visitors are parents of international students at U.S. colleges and universities. “They're like, ‘Hey let's drop our kid off and go on vacation for a week.' Or kid's graduating, let's get them through college and go on vacation,'” said McBirnie, who owns a pizza place in town. “They really bring a huge economic impact to this town.” Yellowstone suffered a one-two punch between the pandemic and devastating floods in 2022 that cut off access to parts of the park for months. Tourism rebounded with 4.7 million visitors last year, Yellowstone's second-busiest on record. The first death involving a passenger vehicle in Yellowstone came just a few years after the park was completely motorized and a fleet of buses replaced the stage coaches and horses used for transport in the park's early years. In 1921, a 10-passenger bus went off the road in the Fishing Bridge area of the park and down an embankment, killing a 38-year-old Texas woman when her neck was broken, according to park historian Lee Whittlesey. Auto deaths, Whittlesey wrote, are “legion” in the park, to the point that he felt them too ordinary to include in his tally of fatalities. Another accounting of deaths in Yellowstone says at least 17 people died inside the park in motor vehicle crashes since 2007, ranking it the second most common cause of deaths behind medical issues. Whittlesey presaged the chapter of his book covering road deaths with a quote attributed to the 15th century soothsayer Mother Shipton: “Carriages without horses shall go, And Accidents fill the world with woe.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a public address in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Vucic, 55, suddenly fell ill during a meeting in the U.S. on Friday and decided to return home against the advice of U.S. doctors, said cardiologist Dragan Dincic, from Belgrade's Military Hospital, where Vucic was treated upon arrival. Dincic said Vucic took additional therapy after the incident and was now in “stable and satisfactory condition.” Dincic added that Vucic won't be hospitalized but “cannot be expected to return to his regular activities for several days.” Vucic was previously in Miami, Florida, where he had met with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. Vucic had said he also was hoping to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Richard Grenell, U.S. presidential envoy for special missions, expressed hope that Vucic would recover. “Sorry to miss you but hope all is ok,” Grenell wrote on X. Serbia's populist leader also has said he would travel to Russia later this month to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite warnings from European Union officials that this could affect Serbia's bid to join the bloc. Vucic has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. He also has been under pressure at home following six months of persistent anti-corruption protests triggered by the collapse of a roof at a train station in the country's north that killed 16 people.

A federal judge ruled President Donald Trump‘s executive order seeking to revoke contracts and security clearances from the Perkins Coie law firm is unconstitutional. In the executive order, Trump said the top Democratic-linked law firm conducted “dishonest and dangerous activity,” noting its connections to pushing the Russia collusion claims during Trump's first term. “No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers,'” Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in her Friday ruling in favor of Perkins Coie. Perkins Coie celebrated the ruling as affirming the “core constitutional freedoms all Americans hold dear,” in a statement after the ruling. This ruling affirms core constitutional freedoms all Americans hold dear, including free speech, due process, and the right to select counsel without the fear of retribution. We are pleased with this decision and are immensely grateful to those who spoke up in support of our positions,” the law firm said. “As we move forward, we remain guided by the same commitments that first compelled us to bring this challenge: to protect our firm, safeguard the interests of our clients, and uphold the rule of law,” the statement added. The Justice Department previously defended the order as “not designed to punish” but rather “designed to fulfill the concerns that were laid out” in the executive order. The executive order was one of several targeting law firms linked to the Democratic Party and firms that had been adversarial toward Trump. Some law firms negotiated with Trump either after being targeted or to avoid being targeted, while others, like Perkins Coie, challenged the orders in court.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Fox News Digital asked travelers about REAL ID at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C., with some passengers sharing why they're skipping the new identification. While many public policy leaders believe implementation of REAL ID requirements across the country will bolster national security, some more libertarian critics say the Bush-era protocol could come at a cost to individual liberty and bigger government, with one expert telling Fox News Digital it essentially sets up a de facto national ID system and treats law-abiding Americans with suspicion. When Congress debated REAL ID in 2005, libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, strongly opposed the move, positing that it constituted a national ID card that had no limitations on what type of information could be stored on it, posing a significant threat to American civil liberties. This year, however, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) set a new deadline for obtaining a REAL ID of May 7. Having REAL ID-compliant identification will be required to board domestic commercial airline flights and to access some federal facilities like courthouses or military bases. So, should citizens be concerned about getting a REAL ID? Fox News Digital spoke to two policy experts, one supportive and one critical, for their views. When Congress was voting on REAL ID in 2005, prominent libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, strongly opposed the move, positing that it constituted a "national ID card" that had no limitations on what type of information could be stored on it, posing a significant threat to American civil liberties. Simon Hankinson, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation's Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital that requiring additional documentation to obtain a REAL ID will have a significant impact on identifying and cracking down on terrorism and other illegal activity in the U.S., including illegal immigration. By requiring a REAL ID to fly, Hankinson explained that IDs offered by liberal states to illegal immigrants will no longer allow those illegals to easily move about the country unchecked. He pointed to the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, in which several of the al Qaeda terrorists involved had obtained valid state licenses, which were accepted for boarding their flights. And while Hankinson acknowledged that concerns about data privacy are legitimate, he pointed out that most Americans already have much of their information stored in databases such as that of the Social Security Administration. Some women are having a hard time getting their REAL ID due to marriage name changes. Still, he compared the risk-reward scenario posed to the nation by REAL ID to nuclear power. "If it's done right, you can mitigate the risks, and you can have, like France, 75, 80% of your power from nuclear power plants," he said. But Jim Harper, a senior fellow of digital privacy and constitutional law at the American Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital that though REAL ID is not technically a national identification card, since it is issued by individual states, obtaining one enters private citizens into a national database, effectively making it a national identification system. And historically, national ID systems have been used for terrible things," he said. "We want to make sure that we don't position ourselves in the United States ever to have that much authority reside with the government. And so, for two decades now, I've been arguing against REAL ID, simple as that." What is the problem with being entered into a national system? Harper explained that his concern is that setting up such a system treats American citizens as suspects before they have committed any crimes. "I reject the idea of having law-abiding American citizens put into a national I.D. That's not the way we do law enforcement in this country, to treat people as suspects from go," he said. That's not how it's supposed to work." That's not the way to do it." Starting May 7, passengers will be required to have a REAL ID or other compliant identification in order to travel. Harper predicted that the federal government will ultimately bend on enforcing REAL ID requirements and continue to "kick the can down the road" as they have done for two decades. What's more, according to both Hankinson and Harper, citizens in most states will still have other options available to them if they want to opt out of getting a REAL ID. Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Idaho State Police say seven people died when a pickup truck and a tour van collided in eastern Idaho Thursday evening near Yellowstone National Park. Both vehicles caught fire after the crash, which remains under investigation. BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A pickup truck collided with a tour van carrying a number of foreign travelers on a highway leading to Yellowstone National Park, leaving seven people dead and eight others injured, Idaho State Police said. The crash happened just before 7:15 p.m. Thursday on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho, police said in a news release. Police have not said what exactly caused the wreck, but the Dodge Ram truck was traveling west while the Mercedes van was traveling east toward Yellowstone when it happened. Both vehicles caught fire, police said. The truck driver was identified Friday as Isaih Moreno, 25, of Humble, Texas. Identifying the others will take some time, according to police. Fremont County coroner, Brenda Dye, told The New York Times that she was waiting for DNA test results to identify the six others because the bodies were unrecognizable. China's Consulate General in San Francisco said that five Chinese citizens were killed in the accident and another eight were injured. It was in contact with the family members and providing support, it said. It was not immediately clear why there was a discrepancy between the figures given by Chinese officials and the Fremont County coroner. The van was carrying a tour group of 14 people, and the surviving occupants were taken to hospitals with injuries, police spokesperson Aaron Snell said. The others were taken to area hospitals with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening, police said. Rescue workers arrive to the scene after a deadly collision between a pickup truck and tour van near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho on Thursday, May 1, 2025. Merrill said he often sees tourist vans on the highway. “It is a very dangerous highway because it leads to the main entrance of Yellowstone National Park,” he said. Due to the remote location, Merrill said he anxiously awaited the help of first responders. “It took an unnervingly long time for help to arrive just because of the location,” he said. Police said Friday that a Fremont County sheriff's deputy arrived shortly after the crash and, with the help of bystanders, immediately helped injured van occupants as it caught fire. The state is working with local officials to get “answers on what led to this terrible tragedy,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little said in a social media post. An average of about 10,500 vehicles traveled that portion of the highway daily in 2023, according to the agency. ___ Dupuy reported from New York City. Associated Press reporter Lisa Baumann contributed to this story from Bellingham, Washington.

Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Now, new research based on a signal uncovered in archival space mission data may point to a potential clue: magnetars, or highly magnetized neutron stars. Scientists believe lighter elements such as hydrogen and helium, and even a small amount of lithium, likely existed early on after the big bang created the universe 13.8 billion years ago. “It's a fun puzzle that hasn't actually been solved.” Previously, the cosmic production of gold has only been linked to neutron star collisions. Astronomers observed a collision between two neutron stars in 2017. The collision event, known as a kilonova, also created heavy elements like gold, platinum and lead. Kilonovas have been likened to gold “factories” in space. It is believed that most neutron stars mergers occurred only in the past several billion years, said study coauthor Eric Burns, assistant professor and astrophysicist at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. But previously indecipherable 20-year-old data from NASA and European Space Agency telescopes suggests that flares from magnetars that formed much earlier — during the infancy of the universe — may have provided another way for the creation of gold, Burns said. Occasionally, magnetars unleash a bonanza of radiation due to “starquakes.” On Earth, earthquakes occur because Earth's molten core causes motion in the planet's crust, and when enough stress builds up, it results in volatile movement, or the ground quaking beneath your feet. Related article ‘Black widow' is heaviest neutron star after devouring its stellar companion On magnetars these starquakes produce very short bursts of X-rays. Just like on Earth, you (have) periods where a given star is particularly active, producing hundreds or thousands of flares in a few weeks. It's likely that the flares heat and eject the crust material at high speeds, according to recent research by several coauthors of the new study, including Patel's adviser Brian Metzger, a professor of physics at Columbia University and senior research scientist at the Flatiron Institute in New York City. The scientists searched for evidence in wavelengths of visible and ultraviolet light. But Burns wondered whether the flare might create a traceable gamma ray as well. He looked at gamma ray data from the last observed giant magnetar flare, which appeared in December 2004 and was captured by the now retired INTEGRAL, or INTErnational Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, mission. “When initially building our model and making our predictions back in December 2024, none of us knew the signal was already in the data. And none of us could have imagined that our theoretical models would fit the data so well. It was quite an exciting holiday season for all of us,” Patel said. “It very cool to think about how some of the stuff in my phone or my laptop was forged in this extreme explosion (over) the course of our galaxy's history.” Related article Explosion 1 million times brighter than the Milky Way creates rare elements “The production of gold from this magnetar is a possible explanation for its gamma-ray glow, one among many others as the paper honestly discusses at its end,” Troja said. Troja added that magnetars are “very messy objects.” Given that producing gold can be a tricky process that requires specific conditions, it's possible that magnetars could add too much of the wrong ingredients, such as an excess of electrons, to the mix, resulting in light metals like zirconium or silver, rather than gold or uranium. “Therefore, I wouldn't go so far as to say that a new source of gold has been discovered,” Troja said. “Rather, what's been proposed is an alternative pathway for its production.” The researchers believe that magnetar giant flares could be responsible for up to 10% of elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way galaxy, but a future mission could provide a more precise estimate, Patel said. NASA's Compton Spectrometer and Imager mission, or COSI, expected to launch in 2027, could follow up on the study's findings. The wide-field gamma-ray telescope is designed to observe giant magnetar flares and identify elements created within them.

Polls have closed in Australia in a national election dominated by cost-of-living concerns that's being closely watched abroad for signs of a Donald Trump-inspired swing against conservative candidates. Early counts suggest a swing towards Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left government, according to national broadcaster the ABC and CNN affiliate Sky News. Albanese is defending his position against challenger Peter Dutton's center-right Liberal Party, which is promising to get the country “back on track” after three years in opposition. Albanese voted in his safe Labor electorate of Grayndler in Sydney early on Saturday afternoon, flanked by his son Nathan, fiancée Jodie and dog Toto. Observers will be examining the results for signs of blowback against Australia's conservative candidates from US President Trump's whirlwind 100 days in office – after comparisons were drawn between Dutton's policy offerings and those of the US leader. Another center-left prime minister, Mark Carney of Canada – which like Australia is a G20 and Commonwealth nation, as well as US ally – recently scored an election win widely chalked up to anti-Trump sentiment. In Australia, almost half of the 18 million registered voters cast their ballots before election day, and the remainder are expected to attend voting centers to comply with compulsory voting laws, with the threat of fines for no-shows. The tradition began decades ago but in recent years has become more organized with an online map built by volunteers showing where voters can find a ballot box with a barbecue. A warm Autumn Saturday allowed a dip in the ocean before voting for some, with many swimmers on Sydney's Bondi Beach heading to the ballot box in their Speedos. Australian elections tend to focus on domestic issues – housing, health and the economy – but this one has been influenced by international events. Albanese called the election in late March, just before Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, sending global markets into a tailspin. As with almost all other US allies, Australia was not spared from the tariffs, something Albanese criticized as “against the spirit of our two nations' enduring friendship.” Dutton has placed the blame for inflationary pressures firmly on the Labor government, routinely questioning whether voters feel “better off than they were three years ago.” Both parties say they'll make it easier for first-time buyers to get a house, by either cutting the size of the minimum deposit, or offering tax deductions on mortgage repayments – both measures analysts say will likely drive house prices higher. A fierce competition for young voters has played out on social media, making this election “drastically different” from those of the past, said Andrea Carson, a professor of political communication at La Trobe University in Melbourne. “Instagram and TikTok (are) really taking over some of the space that was occupied by Facebook,” Carson said. However, the lack of any regulation requiring truth in political advertising has allowed political parties, as well as third-party campaigners, to say whatever they like about their rivals. Many electorates, such as the hotly contested Wentworth in Sydney's east, have seen a deluge of flyers and signs pushing personal attacks against candidates. The Australian Electoral Commission stated in April that it “cannot, and has never been able to, regulate truth.” Commentators will be watching this year to see if more seats go to so-called Teal candidates, independents backed by funds raised through campaign group Climate 200. In 2022, the new Labor government committed to net-zero targets and immediately began the work of driving carbon emissions down in a country which derives a significant portion of its wealth from extracting fossil fuels. This time around, there has been no promise of bolder climate action from Labor, even as activists have ambushed leaders on the campaign trail. “When will you listen to young people?” one protester yelled at Albanese on April 8 at a press conference to announce more funding for mental healthcare. For the candidates who've worked for weeks to push their message through the noise of competing election campaigns, Saturday could turn into a long, tense evening.

Members of the Chinese Communist Party, a sanctioned Chinese research university, and Chinese state-owned enterprises have all routed donations to UC Berkeley, according to documents received by the Washington Free Beacon via a public records request. Tsinghua isn't the only Chinese university with questionable ties that UC Berkeley has financially entangled itself with. The University of Science and Technology of China sent $60,000 to UC Berkeley to support its chemistry program in 2023. Just a year later, the Department of Commerce blacklisted the Chinese university for “acquiring and attempting to acquire U.S.-origin items in support of advancing China's quantum technology capabilities, which has serious ramifications for U.S. national security given the military applications of quantum technologies.” Vincent Cheung Sai Sing, a longtime member of an advisory body to the CCP, provided UC Berkeley with $336,000 to fund “research units” in 2023. Additionally, the university received $160,000 from a charity funded by Charles Yeung, a CCP National People's Committee member, and $75,000 from ByteDance early investor Duane Ziping Kuang for the university's international relations and business programs, respectively. Syngenta, a Chinese state-owned agricultural technology company, donated $21,000 to UC Berkeley's natural resources program in 2022. Much more of China's financial links to U.S. higher education will likely be revealed to the public after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April directing the secretary of education to “take appropriate steps to reverse or rescind any actions by the prior administration that permit higher education institutions to maintain improper secrecy regarding their foreign funding.” Many universities have taken funding from China, Qatar, Russia, and other nations with which the United States has strained diplomatic relations. UC Berkeley did not respond to a request for comment.

Sitting inside her new apartment in kibbutz Tzora, a leafy community just west of Jerusalem, Almog Holot ran her fingers over a bowl of crystals as the wind chime on her balcony blew in the breeze. Eighteen months ago, she spent 12 hours gripping the handle of her safe room door in kibbutz Nirim as she, along with her mother and her children – then 6 and 8 years old – hid from Hamas militants, who threw grenades at their house, ransacked their home and terrorized their community. Holot and her ex-husband, who is from Nirim, a kibbutz about 2 kilometers (approximately 1.2 miles) from the Gaza border, had decided to raise their family there, believing it was the best place for their children. “Kibbutzes are like paradise on earth in many ways,” she said. “Most of the time it was really peaceful,” she said. Like many residents of kibbutzim – or communal settlements – located near the Gaza border, Holot says she holds left-leaning political views. “I can no longer say that 95% of them (Palestinians) want to live in peace,” Holot said, adding that many in her community were “surprised” by the attacks, but not because of the actions of Hamas. And it turned out, no, they're not,” she said, alleging that “common people of Gaza” were involved in the looting of October 7 and expressed support for the attacks. It's an attitude that Avida Bachar, from nearby kibbutz Be'eri also shares. Prior to October 7, Bachar believed that Palestinians and Israelis could coexist. Now, he believes that Israel should raze Gaza and take complete control of it. That is a different system, and we have to do it,” he said, acknowledging that his support of such an extreme idea would have surprised him prior to the war. Such shifts in attitudes aren't surprising for survivors of extreme trauma, said Merav Roth, a Haifa-based clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst. Roth, who established a philanthropic long-term therapeutic organization for the victims of October 7 and who regularly works with survivors and returned hostages, told CNN that survivors rely on disassociation as a coping mechanism. “It takes most of your energy just to survive mentally. And that's why they don't have spare energy to think of ‘the other,'” Roth said, adding that they are often in “fight or flight” mode and react in “binary, primitive ways.” So, by operating with a mentality of “I don't want to think about them. It's the type of protection Holot seeks for herself and her children, who both suffer from PTSD. While Holot said that she does not support US President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu politically, their call to relocate Palestinians in Gaza to third countries – a “voluntary” emigration plan approved by Israel's cabinet in March that critics say could amount to ethnic cleansing – has given her pause. “Would I want to get up tomorrow morning, wake up and see that all the people in Gaza disappeared and everything is peaceful? On the same note, I would like to get up tomorrow morning and find out that all the people in Gaza want peace,” she said, before adding: “But do I think (either) is possible? In the 1990s and 2000s, the conflict was a dividing line between left and right, split 50-50 along political lines, according to Tamar Hermann, a public opinion and polling expert at the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), a Jerusalem-based think tank. Holot and Bachar's views mirror a wider shift in attitudes among Israeli Jews to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the idea of a two-state solution since October 7. But the major shift has been among those on the left, who used to support a two-state solution but now see a Palestinian state as unfeasible anytime soon, she said. Meanwhile, across all political lines, very few Jewish Israelis (5%) believe that Hamas would end its struggle against Israel even if there was a Palestinian state, according to an IDI opinion poll conducted 13 months ago. Holot, who still identifies as on the left, said she believes left-wing activists outside of Israel who demonstrate for a “Free Palestine” do not fully understand Hamas' ideological stance, instead only focusing on images of Palestinian suffering. Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 52,000 people since October 2023 – among them 16,000 children – according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. 2,100 Palestinians have been killed since Israel reignited its aerial and ground campaign last month, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire. “I'm very sad for this reality, but I'm very stable about knowing that it's not our fault and their leaders brought it upon them,” Holot said, echoing a wider national sentiment. Nearly all Jewish Israelis (94.5%) believe that Hamas bears a great deal of responsibility for the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to the IDI poll. But Roth, who believes in a two-state solution, still has hope for peace. She said some of the returned hostages and survivors she's worked with have told her: “'I will fight for the two-state solution. After her former boyfriend was killed at the Nova music festival in southern Israel, she too, wanted revenge. It was really difficult,” Avidor told CNN last month. “Now I am ashamed and frightened of the fact that these words came out of my mouth,” Avidor, who describes herself as being from a right-wing family, said: “I was completely inside the Israeli narrative. As Israel escalated its war on Gaza, Avidor said something changed for her. “I thought, there is probably some other girl on the other side of the gate in Gaza that is feeling exactly what I feel, that someone she loved got killed, and revenge is the answer…(but) revenge is what makes such things to happen in the first place.” Avidor began to engage with left-wing activist groups that support Palestinian self-determination and volunteered as a “protective presence” for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, who have suffered an increasing number of attacks by Jewish settlers since the start of the war. Still, she remains committed to a different way forward, saying that it is her “duty” to advocate for “human beliefs in this very dark time.” Avidor acknowledges that she did not experience the first-hand trauma that many kibbutzniks did, and expresses deep sympathy for them. “I can understand that people who endure such a trauma (flips) their life upside-down,” Avidor said. But she pushed back on the idea that October 7 is a reason for them to stop seeing a path forward to peace with Palestinians. “I mean, they say: ‘Okay, we were the the good Jews who helped you and took you to the hospital when you're sick…' but now they strip them from their humanity,” she said. Not every survivor has faltered in their vision for peace. At her father's graveside at kibbutz Nir Oz several weeks ago, Sharone Lifschitz read one of his poems to friends and family attending his headstone-setting ceremony, as the sound of bombs exploded a mile away in Gaza. “In the poem, he makes a small wish, and the little prayer is that there will be a week in which no Palestinians will be killed,” Lifschitz told CNN. Oded Lifschitz, a lifelong peace activist, was kidnapped age 83 from the kibbutz on October 7, along with his wife Yocheved, who was freed weeks after her capture. She and her mother continue to embody Oded's ideology, saying that peace with Palestinians is the only way forward. “I don't want to teach them bad things about humanity. So, I prepare them to keep thinking that Hamas is bad and the people are good… even if I don't feel it myself,” she said.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Alain Hamel, the father of deceased UCSB student Liz Hamel, discusses the investigation into how his daughter fell from her college dorm on ‘America Reports.' A Washington state father is pressing for answers about the investigation into his 18-year-old daughter's on-campus death at a California university earlier this year. Liz Hamel, 18, was found unconscious outside a dorm on the campus of the University of California Santa Barbara Feb. 14 after apparently falling from a breezeway. But what happened leading up to her death remains a mystery. "Over the past few months, we've been briefed by UC Santa Barbara PD, and they've been very kind to us. But, of course, since it's an ongoing investigation, they can't give us a tremendous amount of details," Alain Hamel, Liz's father, told Fox News "America Reports" co-anchor Sandra Smith in an interview Friday. A Washington state father is pressing for answers about the investigation into his 18-year-old daughter's on-campus death earlier this year. Hamel, who lives in Seattle, told Fox News his family reached out to the community this week for help finding a man who was with his daughter the night she fell. "I think it was incredibly successful. … I can't say enough for Santa Barbara. They really helped us so much to move the investigation forward," Hamel said. "An individual who was identified in relation to the incident at our residence hall has been located and interviewed," UC Santa Barbara said in a statement. "The investigation is still ongoing, and we cannot discuss any additional details at this time. UCPD is keeping the family informed and is working closely with (the) Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office. Liz Hamel died after apparently falling from a dorm breezeway in February. "UCPD is committed to continue its comprehensive investigation to seek answers related to this tragic event and has been working closely with the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office since the early stages of the investigation." Hamel said he doesn't know the man who was with his daughter and neither did his daughter's friends. He is not a suspect in her death. Hamel said, as far as he knows, they met at a noodle bar that night, "and they hit it off, and it was Valentine's Day. So, I think that might've had something to do with it. And, yeah, they were photographed together only from a certain angle. And then they left a little after 10:06 (p.m.). And then, to my knowledge, at 10:27 is when she was found unconscious, having fallen from that breezeway." "She was great," Hamel said of his daughter Liz. And, you know, we were so lucky to have 18 years with her. "She was great," Hamel said of his daughter. And you know, we were so lucky to have 18 years with her. A tipline is available at 805-335-3851 for anyone with information surrounding Liz's death. By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The UN warns a crisis in Haiti is escalating as gang violence across the country continues to worsen. The Trump administration on Friday officially designated two of Haiti's most powerful gang networks, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs). The announcement was made in a formal statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who declared that "the age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over." "These gangs have killed and continue attacking the people of Haiti, Haitian security forces and multinational security support (MSS) mission personnel and are committed to overthrowing the government of Haiti," Rubio said. "Their ultimate goal is creating a gang-controlled state where illicit trafficking and other criminal activities operate freely and terrorize Haitian citizens." Former police officer-turned-gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Chérizier walks past reporters in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11, 2024. Viv Ansanm formed in September 2023 through an alliance between Haiti's two main gang factions, G-9 and G-Pép. The coalition has carried out coordinated attacks on Haitian infrastructure, including prisons, government buildings and the Port-au-Prince international airport. These attacks were part of a broader campaign that helped force the resignation of former Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry. A man carrying his belongings observes burned vehicles after gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 9, 2024. Gran Grif operates mainly in the Artibonite region, a vital agricultural area. The State Department said the gang has been responsible for 80% of civilian death reports in that area since 2022. In February 2025, Gran Grif was linked to an attack that killed a Kenyan officer with the MSS mission. According to NPR reporting from 2024, Viv Ansanm was spearheaded by Jimmy Chérizier, known as Barbecue, a former police officer turned gang leader. Chérizier helped unify rival gangs under a shared goal of opposing the Haitian government. In an interview with NPR, he defended the gang's actions and blamed Haiti's political elite for fostering the lawlessness. A woman carries her belongings as she flees armed gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 9, 2024. "These designations play a critical role in our fight against these vicious groups and are an effective way to curtail support for their terrorist activities," Rubio said. He also warned that U.S. citizens and lawful residents who engage in transactions with these groups are exposing themselves to sanctions and prosecution. Rubio praised the Haitian National Police and international partners for their efforts in pushing back against the gangs. "We commend the extraordinary bravery of the Haitian National Police and all international partners supporting the MSS mission for their ongoing efforts to establish stability and security in Haiti," he said. The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

President Donald Trump appeared to dismiss growing concerns that his economic policies could cause a recession, telling NBC News that the economy would be “OK” in the long term even if a recession happens in the near future. “Some people on Wall Street say that we're going to have the greatest economy in history. Because some people on Wall Street say this is the greatest thing to ever happen,” Trump said in an interview clip from “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” released on Friday. Pressed on whether he would be okay with a recession in the short term to achieve his long-term goals, the president said, “Look yes, everything's OK. What we are — I said, this is a transition period. Trump's economic policies — and particularly the trade war he has ignited with his whipsaw, abrupt tariffs — have already sent the world's largest economy into reverse: Gross domestic product, which measures all the goods and services produced in the economy, registered at an annualized rate of -0.3% in the first quarter, as businesses hoarded goods and consumer spending decelerated, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was far worse than economists had expected, and it marked the worst quarter since 2022. Trump has warned previously that Americans would see some economic “disturbance” throughout a transition period as his policies reset the global economic order for friend and foe alike. He has imposed sweeping global tariffs (and paused some of them), and he has levied especially high import taxes against China, a major US trading partner. Earlier this week, for example, he acknowledged that tariffs could lead to shortages and higher prices for everyday Americans. And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.” Trump and some administration officials have also previously signaled that tariffs may plunge the economy into a recession — and that may be an acceptable outcome. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested America needed a “detox” period. If Trump's tariffs succeeded at restoring America's manufacturing prowess, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said a recession would be “worth it.” And Trump has sometimes declined to rule out a recession as a result of his actions. The US economy is powered by consumption — about two-thirds. And throwing sand into that growth engine can cause major disruptions. But it's too early yet to tell if the US is in a recession; the official definition of a recession in the United States is “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months.” The clip is part of a larger interview expected to air on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday. US market indices are shown in real time, except for the S&P 500 which is refreshed every two minutes. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices Copyright S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates. Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited.