Europe

Those dreams were crushed when USC Provost Andrew Guzman rescinded Tabassum's invitation to speak at graduation, citing security concerns over tensions related to “the ongoing conflict in the Middle East."He said in an announcement Monday that “over the past several days, discussion relating to the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tenor.”“The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” the announcement read in part. University officials did not respond to a request for details about threats the school may have received since the announcement or whether ...

A veteran teacher at an upper-crust Massachusetts boarding and day school for girls has resigned amid allegations that he groomed several students for sex during the 30-plus years he taught at Miss Hall’s School.Matthew Rutledge, who is 62 and mainly taught history at the school in Pittsfield, was placed on administrative leave on March 27 and resigned days later after a former student came forward and reported him to the school administration for allegedly sexually abusing and exploiting her when she was a student and after she graduated, according to a letter the school sent to alumni on April 3.That former student, Melissa Fares, disclosed that she reported Rutledge to the school in a post on April 8 to a private Facebook group of Miss Hall’s School alumni.Since then, two other women...

An editor for National Public Radio resigned Wednesday just days after he inflamed the ongoing culture war about mainstream media with an essay about what he considers the news outlet’s liberal leanings.Uri Berliner, who was a senior business editor, wrote an essay for the right-leaning online publication The Free Press in which he said he believes NPR is losing the public’s trust. NPR, a nonprofit radio network, has an “absence of viewpoint diversity,” he wrote in the essay, which was published April 9. It “has always had a liberal bent,” but now an “open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR,” he wrote.  The essay triggered a wave of scrutiny of NPR from conservatives, some of whom responded to it with calls to defund the news organization, which receives federal funding through t...

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.In today’s edition, campaign embed reports from rural Wisconsin, where Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin faces the challenge of running with Donald Trump on the ballot. Plus, chief political analyst Chuck Todd breaks down why Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is receiving interest from voters.Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.Tammy Baldwin fights to maintain appeal in Wisconsin’s Trump countryBy Sarah DeanREEDSBURG, Wis. — Dairy farmer Randy Roecker is at a breaking point — and he blames it partly on President Joe Biden, so is planning to vote for Donald Trump ...

On the day wildfires destroyed much of Lahaina and killed at least 101 people, poor communications between Maui’s mayor and top state and local emergency officials stymied their realization of how serious the situation was. At one point, Maui’s top emergency management official rejected an offer of additional help from Honolulu. And evidence since gathered indicates the catastrophic fire that exploded on the afternoon of Aug. 8 ignited in the same area where a downed powerline had sparked an earlier blaze that the county had quickly declared was "100 percent contained." Such details are among the latest to emerge about Maui's deadly wildfires through a comprehensive timeline released Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation commissioned by Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez.The mi...

Openly gay actor Maulik Pancholy was disinvited from speaking at a middle school anti-bullying assembly after concerns were raised about his political activism and what two school board members called his “lifestyle.”Pancholy’s scheduled appearance at Mountain View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, was unanimously overturned by the district’s school board in a public meeting on April 15. “If you research this individual, he labels himself as an activist, he is proud of his lifestyle and I don’t think that should be imposed upon our students at any age,” board member Bud Shaffner said at the meeting. Trisha Comstock, a former parent at the school, started a Change.org petition to reinstate the empathy and anti-bullying assembly.“What happened is homophobic. Anyone can go and ...

Columbia University’s president strongly denounced antisemitism during a congressional hearing Wednesday, saying that after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, “the world changed, and so did my focus.”“Antisemitism has no place on our campus, and I am personally committed to doing everything I can to confront it directly,” President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik told the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce. “Israel was brutally attacked by Hamas terrorists and very soon it became clear that these horrific events would ignite fear and anguish across our campus.”Shafik faced questions on her handling of antisemitism on campus after the Oct. 7 attack alongside two members of Columbia's Board of Trustees and the head of the university's antisemitism task force. She faced particular sc...

PHOENIX — For the second time in two weeks, Arizona Republican lawmakers rejected an attempt to repeal a near-total ban on abortion from 1864 that was upheld by the battleground state’s Supreme Court.The move to again block the Democratic-led effort came amid mounting pressure on state Republicans to repeal the ban, including from former President Donald Trump and Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake. Still, Democratic lawmakers have faced an uphill climb in repealing the ban, as Arizona Republicans hold a narrow two-seat majority in both legislative chambers. On Wednesday, only one Republican joined state House Democrats in their effort to repeal the abortion ban.Moments into the highly anticipated state House legislative session on Wednesday, Democrats introduced a bill to repeal th...

The NBA banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for allegedly betting on games, passing on information to gamblers and claiming illness to influence a wager, the league said Wednesday.A 6-foot-10 power forward and center, Porter attended the University of Missouri and has spent much of his pro career in the NBA's developmental G League.The 24-year-old played in 26 games this season for Toronto, averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per contest. He also got into 11 games for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2020-21, averaging 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds."There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter's blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the mos...

As he faces a mountain of legal woes, former WWE leader Vince McMahon is traveling, eating out and keeping in touch with friends and associates — including former President Donald Trump.McMahon resigned as executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment’s parent company almost three months ago after a former employee, Janel Grant, accused him in a bombshell lawsuit of sexual abuse and trafficking. He denied the allegations. McMahon, 78, is also facing a federal criminal investigation, although he hasn’t been charged.NBC News and CNBC talked to 11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE about how he’s been spending his time — and how the global brand he built over more than four decades is moving on without him. These people, including close personal associates and company insiders, dec...