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Today’s best stories
Anti-Gaza war protests on college campuses have spread across the country, and tensions are high in many schools. Students at Columbia, Yale and New York universities have been arrested in recent days. Columbia announced yesterday that all classes would meet remotely to try to “defuse resentment.” Students from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan established solidarity camps with Gaza yesterday.
Students occupy the Columbia University campus Friday, calling on the school to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images
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Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images
Students occupy the Columbia University campus Friday, calling on the school to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Alex Kent/AFP via Getty Images
- NPR’s Jasmine Garsd spoke with Columbia students. “The message was very clear,” she said First. Students demand their schools to “disclose and end investments in weapons technology and Israel.” A pro-Israel protester told him she felt attacked and wanted the school administration ousted. But Garsd also spoke with Jewish students who were part of the camp. “What is clear from the time spent at these protests is that there is not one unified, monolithic Jewish voice,” she said.
British lawmakers today approved a plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government will pay Rwanda to process and resettle asylum seekers the UK does not want. Supporters of the policy see it as a creative solution to fix a broken system. Critics say it is a violation of human rights.
- Sunak considers this policy a “powerful deterrent” to stop people from risking their lives to enter the U.K. illegally, NPR’s Lauren Frayer said. He wants deportation flights to take off as soon as possible, to coincide with his party’s re-election campaign this fall. Frayer says legal challenges could mean only a few people will be deported to Rwanda. Critics question whether this is worth hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money and whether it damages the UK’s reputation for human rights.
Starbucks is going to the Supreme Court today. The case is not about coffee but about the power the government should have to protect workers during a labor investigation. In February 2022, seven Starbucks employees in Tennessee were fired days after announcing their intention to unionize. Starbucks said the workers broke several company rules, including when they let a television crew into a closed store. The justices will hear arguments on whether a lower court erred in ordering Starbucks to reinstate the employees while the investigation is ongoing.
- Labor laws in recent decades have made things more difficult for unions to organize and file suit, NPR’s Alina Selyukh reports. But companies now say labor officials under the Biden administration have become more aggressive. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Starbucks, it could shift the power dynamic between federal labor watchdogs and companies that resist unionization.
Listening of the day
Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) have teamed up with the United Nations Museum – UN Live to re-release songs with the sounds of nature for Earth Day.
Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel.
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Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel.
Artists UMI (left) and Louis VI (right) have teamed up with the United Nations Museum – UN Live to re-release songs with the sounds of nature for Earth Day.
Ryusei Sabi, Orson Esquivel.
The United Nations released a mixtape. Artists like Ellie Goulding, Brian Eno and the estate of David Bowie have partnered with the United Nations Museum – UN Live, an arm of the UN that aims to reach young people through pop culture. The project features songs remixed with nature sounds. Streaming royalties will be donated to conservation organizations.
How to Thrive as You Age
Vença-Stastny/Getty Images
Vença-Stastny/Getty Images
How to Thrive as You Age is a special series from NPR’s Allison Aubrey on the secrets and science of longevity.
A drug taken by millions of people to treat diabetes may have more advantages. Scientists who study the biology of aging designed a clinical study of metformin to test whether its anti-inflammatory effects can help promote a longer, healthier lifespan.
- Metformin was first used to treat diabetes in France in the 1950s. The FDA approved it to treat type 2 diabetes in the 1990s.
- Since then, researchers have discovered several surprising results, including a lower risk of several types of cancer, better cardiovascular outcomes, and a lower risk of mild cognitive decline.
- But the evidence is observational and does not prove cause and effect. Scientists want to know whether these benefits in people with diabetes will also be seen in healthy adults.
- The FDA does not currently recognize age as a treatable condition. Researchers hope this clinical trial will encourage a paradigm shift from treating each age-related medical condition separately to treating these conditions together by targeting aging.
3 things to know before you leave
A new version of the popular board game Catan, releasing this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay.
Catania GmbH
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Catania GmbH
A new version of the popular board game Catan, releasing this summer, introduces energy production and pollution into the gameplay.
Catania GmbH
- The new edition of the beloved board game Catan introduces a 21st century twist: pollution.
- NASA says the Voyager 1 space probe is sending meaningful information again. For months, NASA had been fixing a problem that caused the probe to send inconsistent messages.
- In a major case of homelessness, The Supreme Court yesterday appeared to side with an Oregon city’s crackdown on sleeping in public.
This newsletter was published by Majd Al-Waheidi.
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