Also, the U.S. accused Russia of using chemical weapons. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
President Biden delivered an unscheduled address from the White House today in which he denounced the violence and the antisemitism that have erupted on several college campuses. It is the first time the president has addressed at length the pro-Palestinian protests that have disrupted the end of the school year at dozens of universities coast to coast.
“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” Biden said. “People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked.”
Biden, however, rejected the idea of deploying National Guard troops to quell the protests, a move some Republicans have suggested. He also said that the protests — which vary in their demands, but typically call for an end to the war in Gaza — had not influenced his views on the war between Israel and Hamas.
The demonstrations carried on: Hours ago, the police removed protesters who had been occupying a library at Portland State University in Oregon. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, activists erected 30 new tents, a day after a previous encampment was cleared. In total, nearly 2,000 arrests have been made nationwide. Here’s a breakdown of where the arrests have taken place.
Some colleges, including Brown and Northwestern, have ended encampments by striking deals with protesters, drawing criticism from some Jewish leaders.
For more: This is how Columbia University students seized Hamilton Hall.
Trump’s defense lawyers turned up the heat
The lawyers defending Donald Trump in his Manhattan criminal trial have spent much of it trying to delay the proceedings and to downplay the charges against him as mere bookkeeping oversights. But today, during cross-examination, Trump’s lawyers went on the offensive, questioning the reliability of one of the prosecution’s witnesses.
Trump’s defense team sought to cast Keith Davidson, a lawyer who negotiated the hush-money payment on behalf of Stormy Daniels, as a shakedown artist who had also taken aim at celebrities including Charlie Sheen, Hulk Hogan and Lindsay Lohan. Here’s more on what happened today.
Google’s antitrust trial is wrapping up
Lawyers for the Justice Department and Google began delivering their closing arguments in a trial that arose from a U.S. lawsuit accusing the tech giant of illegally maintaining a monopoly over online search. The decision, which could come in weeks or months, is likely to set a precedent for the government’s other efforts to rein in Big Tech.
During arguments today, the judge overseeing the case questioned the government’s position that Google’s dominance had hurt the quality of the experience for searching for information online. He questioned Google’s defense that there were alternatives: “Certainly I don’t think the average person would say, ‘Google and Amazon are the same thing,’” the judge said.
The U.S. accused Russia of using chemical weapons
The State Department said Russia had used chloropicrin, a “choking agent” widely used during World War I, and tear gas against Ukrainian troops. Both gasses are banned under a decades-old chemical weapons treaty signed by Russia.
Officials said that the U.S. was planning to impose sanctions on three state entities linked to Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programs and four companies that support them.
More top news
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Middle East: Although a spokesman had said that Hamas’s position on Israel’s current cease-fire proposal was “negative,” the group said it would return to in-person negotiations.
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Media: Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo Global Management expressed interest in acquiring Paramount for $26 billion.
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Environment: President Biden expanded two national monuments in California.
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Politics: Defending U.S. immigration, President Biden said that Japan and India were struggling economically because they were “xenophobic.”
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Investigation: U.S. soldiers exposed to thousands of blasts from firing weapons like mortars say that they have debilitating symptoms of brain injury — but no diagnosis.
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From the Magazine: In an interview, Brittney Griner reveals the humiliation she felt — and the friendships she made — during 10 months in a Russian prison, and her path to recovery.
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Sports: The Philadelphia Union signed 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan for $5 million, the biggest contract for a homegrown U.S. star in Major League Soccer history.
TIME TO UNWIND
Netflix made a surprise hit out of a true-ish story
The most watched show on Netflix right now is “Baby Reindeer,” a seven-episode thriller about the life of a floundering comedian and bartender who is being stalked and tormented by a woman with whom he maintains a codependent connection.
Early in the first episode, a message across the screen reads “This is a true story,” and in many ways it is: The lead actor, Richard Gadd, is playing himself. Other aspects are fictionalized. We broke down what we know about the real back story.
What is a song?
For most music fans, a song is a simple thing to define: It’s the melodies, the lyrics and the grooves that come out of your speakers. According to the law, it’s a bit more complicated.
During a dispute last year over whether Ed Sheeran had copied Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On,” the jury was not allowed to hear Gaye’s actual recording. Instead, jurors had to make their decision based only on a bare-bones version of sheet music, which Sheeran’s lawyers argued was the only version with ownership protections. The jurors sided with Sheeran.
Dinner table topics
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Skate migration: Black roller skaters from across the country bring their styles to Atlanta, which has quite a few moves of its own.
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Talking A.I.: Voice assistants are getting better, but people have found the technology uncool for more than a decade.
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What subscription? Among the free streaming services, few are as enjoyable and reliable as Shout! TV, Jason Bailey writes.
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Their ‘Love Story’: Proposals have become a regular feature of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.
WHAT TO DO TONIGHT
Cook: This pie maximizes the best part of spanakopita.
Watch: “I Saw the TV Glow” is an outstanding not-quite-horror film.
Read: In Heidi Reimer’s new novel, a daughter grapples with being parented by a celebrity.
Listen: Our music critic made a playlist entirely about coffee.
Plan: We have tips for safely enjoying trips to high mountains.
Detect: Osteoarthritis is a common joint condition. Here’s what to know.
Hunt: Which Brooklyn apartment would you buy with a $500,000 budget?
Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all of our games here.
ONE LAST THING
They used to give out Olympic medals for art?
It’s true. For decades, beginning with the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, the Games included competitions in painting, sculpture, architecture, music and literature. In fact, the statue pictured above was awarded a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris.
The founder of the modern Games believed that they should honor both body and mind, art and sport. But after his death, and with the disruption of World War II, the arts contests faded. My colleague John Branch traveled across Europe to find out what happened.
Have an acclaimed evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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