U.S. Arrests 2nd Person Tied to Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia
The New York Times
The action came less than a week after Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and a prominent figure in campus demonstrations, was arrested.
A second person who took part in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University has been arrested by U.S. immigration agents, after overstaying a student visa, federal officials said on Friday, the latest turn in the crisis engulfing the Ivy League institution.
The person, identified by the authorities as Leqaa Kordia, is Palestinian and from the West Bank. She was arrested in Newark on Thursday, officials said. Her student visa was terminated in January 2022, and she was arrested by the New York City police last April for her role in a campus demonstration, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement.
The agency also released a video on Friday that it said showed a Columbia student, identified as Ranjani Srinivasan, preparing to enter Canada after her student visa was revoked.
The announcements, by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, reflected an escalation of the Trump administration’s focus on Columbia, where protests over the war in Gaza last year ignited a national debate over free speech and antisemitism, and prompted similar demonstrations at dozens of other campuses.
The actions came during a tumultuous week at the university, which has experienced a series of escalating controversies since the arrest by federal immigration agents last weekend of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia graduate and prominent figure in pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations.
On Friday, more than 200 students gathered outside Columbia’s main campus gates to protest the university’s handling of Mr. Khalil’s arrest. Demonstrators wore kaffiyehs, waved Palestinian flags and carried banners with slogans like “Free Mahmoud,” “I.C.E. off our campuses” and “Columbia You Can’t Hide.”
Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin was charged with second-degree murder in a Long Island court on Thursday. Authorities said he had acknowledged hurting the child.
On spending, oversight and other issues, Republican lawmakers have willingly ceded power traditionally reserved for Congress to the Trump White House.
Trade wars with allies could spiral as the president tries to get trading partners to back down from retaliation with new threats of his own.
The mother at the center of the case, January Littlejohn, was a guest of the first lady Melania Trump at President Trump’s speech to Congress last week.
Thomas John Sfraga appropriated the name from a scheming “Seinfeld” character as he bilked friends and neighbors. He was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Thursday.
The president offers many reasons for imposing tariffs, including revenue, leverage over competitors and job creation. But history suggests a more complex history.
The nonprofit No One Left Behind has raised millions of dollars for flights and other assistance to prevent Afghans from being stranded abroad and face retribution from the Taliban.
At least 800 education department research employees and outside partners have lost jobs. The cuts will decimate research and data collection.
There were protests, arrests, the departure of the school’s president. Then, a new administration arrived in Washington.
Trial-court judges continue to block the president’s agenda with injunctions that apply across the country. Some conservatives want to limit that power.
Stuck to lampposts and floorboards, reminders of Covid’s darkest days are everywhere.
Republicans in the Minnesota House lost a one-seat edge in the Capitol, where tensions over party dominance have simmered for weeks.
Five years later, the coronavirus pandemic may seem far away and foggy, or as visceral as yesterday. Here are some stories of those enduring changes.