Harvard Nears ‘Mindbogglingly' Historic US Deal, Trump Says
By and Anika Arora Seth
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President Donald Trump said his administration has been holding talks with Harvard University and may announce a deal over the next week, potentially ending a standoff that has jeopardized billions of dollars of the school's funding and ignited a rollicking legal fight.
'They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,' Trump said Friday on Truth Social. 'If a Settlement is made on the basis that is currently being discussed, it will be 'mindbogglingly' HISTORIC, and very good for our Country.'
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33 minutes ago
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History from New Journal archives: Coons as NCCo executive, rescue of last covered bridges
"Pages of history" features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at June 22, 2005, The News Journal The small green-and-white signs outside the New Castle County Government Center beckon visitors and employees to 'please play on the grass.' It's more than a friendly sentiment from County Executive Chris A. Coons, who commissioned the signs shortly after he took office in January. The message is symbolic of his leadership and what he hopes is a sea change from the previous administration, when the signs in front of the glass-front building read 'please stay off the grass.' Former county executive Tom Gordon and his chief administrative officer Sherry Freebery are under federal indictment for alleged corruption. Since Coons took the helm, he has been working to establish a different tenor inside the halls of county government. He has tackled some of the big things: getting County Council approval of a $214 million budget; examining the operations of major county departments, including police; starting programs to address rentals, neglected and abandoned property; and coming up with nontraditional employee incentives. He's also pounced on some little things, such as the new 'please play on the grass' signs, to set himself apart from his predecessor. In fact, there is a growing list of actions Coons has taken to dismantle what Gordon and Freebery left behind. Gordon renamed the Newark Free Library when it became part of the county system. Coons gave it back the old name. Gordon removed the nonprofit Friends of Rockwood volunteers from the historic Rockwood Mansion after disagreements over the mansion's contents and operation. Coons invited the group back into the house. ... Gordon has openly criticized Coons, saying the new executive is trying to steal his legacy instead of creating one of his own. But Coons says it's not about Gordon. 'If you look at how I conducted my campaign, it wasn't about any of my opponents,' Coons said. 'Some things were done right. Some things were done wrong. You take the right and build on it, and leave the wrong and move on.' As president of County Council during Gordon's tenure, Coons often found himself at odds with the two top leaders. But now that he's in the executive's chair, he's forging ahead with some initiatives once blocked by Gordon. For example, the council is poised to approve a new code to regulate rental properties. Coons failed to get the measure through council when he was president because, he said, Gordon lined up support against him. ... Gordon says Coons has done nothing of substance yet and is still enjoying the honeymoon that comes with being newly elected. ... 'He didn't set the world on fire as president of council,' Gordon said. 'We changed the course of county government. We're the reason the Newark Library is there. We built Rockwood Park. We changed land use procedures. I upgraded the salaries of women who were not being paid commensurate with the men. He'll never accomplish half of our accomplishments.' Recent news about Chris Coons: 'This is life and death': How Trump's proposed Medicaid cuts could impact Delawareans June 24, 1925, The Evening Journal Somewhere in the West, a Wilmington boy in whose veins there lurks a drop of Nomadic blood, is learning the ways of the men who have become the most romantic figures of American song and story – the western cowboy. The boy is Charles A. Wilson, 17, of Concord Street, who has been missing from his home since May 20. His mother has heard indirectly that the youth is in Oklahoma and that he intends to become a cattleman like the heroes of the screen and stories of the plains which he has seen and read since childhood. Charles' father died six days after the boy left home, presumably with Ringling Brothers' Circus. His uncle sent out word of the missing youth, and the news of his father's death was radioed from stations in Philadelphia and the West. The boy learned in this manner of the death of his father, but wrote to one of his companions in Wilmington that he couldn't get home as he had only 70 cents. He is said to have expressed regret at the death of his father but wrote that it was impossible to get home. Mrs. Wilson said today she would not try to induce her son to return as he would be of little use to her when under restraint and that since early childhood he had always wanted to become a cowboy. The family paid little attention to the boy's threats to run away until the day he failed to come home. Mrs. Wilson said he was a reader of western stories and loved to go see western pictures at the movies. ... She said he was always a dutiful son. Catch up on history: History April 27-May 3 from News Journal: Explosion kills 2, lottery $186,000 over budget June 26, 1975, The Morning News The only two covered bridges left in the state, long-time victims of neglect and vandalism, soon should be rescued. The bridges over Red Clay Creek near Ashland and Wooddale were probably built before 1850, according to Edward F. Heite, historic registrar in the state division of historical and cultural affairs. Vandals have hacked their initials into both bridges, and in March, someone set fire to the Wooddale bridge. ... Heite and Robert McDowell, the state's bridge engineer, explained what is being done to keep the last two covered bridges in the state from following 34 others into history books and old photographs. At Ashland, the state plans to build a new bridge alongside the old one, to detour heavy traffic from it. Then the state will renovate the covered bridge for pedestrians. Money for the 1976 project is in the state's bond bill. At Wooddale, repairs would come under the federally funded National Register of Historic Places program. The project will include repairs, paint and installation of a fire alarm. A separate, modern bridge would not be built because the Wooddale bridge is only used for access to a few private homes and does not carry as heavy a traffic load as the Ashland bridge does. Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: History from New Journal: Coons as NCCo executive, last covered bridges
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
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In Alberta, separatism is on the ballot in a rural byelection on Monday
OTTAWA — Cameron Davies, the leader of the separatist Republican Party of Alberta and the party's candidate for Monday's Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills byelection, admits that his party's name and MAGA red branding are causing some confusion at the doors. 'It certainly has come up in conversation,' Davies told the National Post on Thursday. 'People want to know more about it, what it means and that's just an opportunity to explain why the word 'republican' and why a constitutional republic is something we want to look at.' Davies' Republican party isn't formally aligned with the more well-known one south of the border — notably swapping out the latter's elephant for a more local buffalo as its logo — but it does aspire to make Alberta an independent republic governed similarly in principle to the U.S. 'The form of government Canada has doesn't work for Alberta, and the form of government we have here in Alberta doesn't work for Alberta,' said Davies. Davies, an ex-UCP organizer, is one of two separatist candidates who'll be on the ballot in Monday's byelection in the south-central Alberta riding, where the governing United Conservative Party won more votes than anywhere else in the province in 2023's provincial election. The other is employee benefits specialist Bill Tufts, running under the banner of the Wildrose Loyalty Coalition. Under normal circumstances, the byelection would be a tap-in for first-time UCP candidate Tara Sawyer. But these are anything but normal circumstances, with support for Alberta separatism spiking on the heels of the federal Liberals fourth straight election win. What's more, Davies and Tufts have a fortuitous piece of Alberta election lore to point to. Western Concept candidate Gordon Kesler notched a surprise 1982 byelection win in predecessor riding Olds-Didsbury, briefly becoming the first and only separatist to hold a seat in Alberta's legislature. Kesler is still active in the area's politics and is backing Davis in the byelection. Ex-Alberta MLA Derek Fildebrandt, whose now-defunct riding of Strathmore-Brooks crossed into the riding's east end, says he expects the Republicans to place a strong second, possibly even pushing the UCP below a majority vote share. 'Based on my gut, nothing hard,' said Fildebrandt. The UCP's Nathan Cooper won in dominant fashion with 75 per cent of the vote in 2013. Davies says he'd be happy with 20 per cent of the riding's vote, around what the populist Wildrose party got in its first election in 2008. '(Wildrose) got around 20 per cent of the vote, and that was after being a party for close to a year,' said Davies. The Alberta Republicans, formerly the Buffalo Party of Alberta, formally launched on February 11. Davies was acclaimed as leader two months later in April. 'Anything at or above 20 per cent is a significant gain, given how short of a runway we've had,' said Davies. Davies, who lives just outside the riding in south Red Deer, says he typically gets between 12 and 18 volunteers each day and has knocked on 20,000 doors in the riding, which is home to about 50,000 people. Tufts, for his part, says he's in it to win it. 'Well, we would like to win,' said Tufts. Tufts said that the contest's timing, outside of a general election, gives him an opening. 'Byelections can be quite tumultuous events, typically because of the low voter turnout. So I think we've had an opportunity to go out there and work hard, knock on the doors and explain our position.' Tufts pointed out that both Kesler and Alberta's first Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman won office in byelections. He said he was optimistic that his party's brand recognition would propel him past Alberta Republican candidate Davies and into the winner's circle. 'The Wildrose has been around for a long time … so I think there's a lot of credibility with the name, the recognition of our brand and our policies that resonate with a lot of voters,' said Tufts. The populist Wildrose Party merged with the rival Alberta Progressive Conservatives in 2017 to form the UCP but Tufts' Wildrose Loyalty Coalition lives on as a splinter group. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith led the Wildrose Party from 2009 to 2014 before defecting to the PCs in a disastrous floor-crossing. Tufts says that a revitalized Wildrose caucus could hold the UCP to account and keep it from getting weak-kneed in seeing through the results of a successful referendum on independence, drawing a comparison to the recent Liberal-NDP supply and confidence agreement. 'Look at who the most powerful party in Ottawa was over the last few years: that was the NDP,' said Tufts. Katherine Kowalchuk, a separatist who lives in the riding, says she'll be voting Republican. 'The sense that I get from Cam (Davies) is that he's prepared, he has conservative viewpoints on things… and I think that he has the ability to stand by those convictions,' said Kowalchuk. 'We need to fight for our strong Alberta heritage rooted in family and freedom, and Cam is really the only candidate that's talking about this.' Kowalchuk ran in the riding for the Alberta Independence Party in 2023, winning 4.7 per cent of the vote. Pollster Dan Arnold, an executive with Pollara Strategic Insights says that Alberta's budding separatist movement could hardly have picked a better time and place for its first electoral test. He noted that support for Alberta independence among committed voters was at 24 per cent in mid-May, the highest level his firm has seen since it started polling Albertans on the topic in 2011. 'My assumption is the reason you're seeing the numbers edging up is because (separation) is now in the spotlight,' said Arnold. He said that the UCP will likely get spooked if the separatist vote breaks the double-digits. '10 per cent can grow over time to 20 per cent and then you're getting into vote split territory,' said Arnold. Arnold noted that Smith has dialled up the rhetoric against Ottawa's equalization program in recent days, likely in an effort to shore up soft separatists in the province. 'In our past polling, we've generally found that nobody really knows what equalization is but, at least in Alberta and Saskatchewan, they think it's unfair to their province.' Smith said on Monday that Quebec, the program's biggest recipient, should develop a resource 'royalty framework to wean them off the equalization that comes from western Canada.' Arnold said that 35 per cent of UCP voters see Smith as a separatist. Ironically, this could be a problem for her with her base, with polls showing that over half of UCP voters would vote 'yes' in a referendum on independence. Sawyer says she's not a separatist and believes in a strong Alberta within a united Canada. She told National Post that she's not playing the over/under game. Instead, she's focused on earning the trust of voters and winning the seat. 'We are working hard and earning every vote,' said Sawyer. Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills is one of three byelections scheduled for Monday, with the NDP tipped to win two Edmonton-area races. National Post Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
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Trump Frantically Tries to Stop MAGA Civil War Over Iran
Donald Trump is trying to stave off a MAGA civil war over America's involvement in the Middle East that threatens to tear apart his conservative base. After the president abruptly left the G7 in Canada to meet with his national security team in Washington, the White House went into overdrive to assuage 'America First' die-hards who are angered that the U.S. could be dragged into Israel's battle against Iran. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' he posted on Truth Social on Tuesday, calling for Iran's 'unconditional surrender." 'He is an easy target, but is safe there - we are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' As tensions simmered, Vice President J.D. Vance took to social media to talk up the 'remarkable restraint' the president had shown in trying to keep American troops and citizens safe. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared on Fox News to assure people there had been no change in the military's defense posture in the region. On social media, Trump's rapid response team posted video after video to demonstrate that he 'has always been consistent' on Iran. And at the White House, his communications team fired off a press release documenting 15 times that Trump stated Iran 'cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon'. The messaging efforts point to the dilemma Trump faces as he tries to balance his support for Israel with ongoing demands from within his base to avoid another war in the Middle East. Having come to office promising no more 'endless wars,' Trump must now decide whether to help Israel destroy a deeply buried Iranian nuclear enrichment facility at Fordow using a 30,000 pound U.S. bomb known as a 'bunker buster'. But such a move would risk any remaining chance of the nuclear disarmament deal Trump has been pursuing and further divide the very base that got him elected. 'We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran,' Trump said on Tuesday. 'Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, but it doesn't compare to American made, conceived and manufactured 'stuff'. Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA.' Others in MAGA, however, are not convinced of America's ongoing role. Carlson, a former Fox News host, entered the fray last week, calling Trump complicit and suggesting that the administration 'drop Israel [and] let them fight their own wars.' This led to Trump suggesting on Monday that he was irrelevant now that he no longer had his own television show, which in turn, led to Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene siding with Carlson. 'Tucker Carlson is one of my favorite people. He fiercely loves his wife, children, and our country. Since being fired by the neocon network Fox News, he has more popularity and viewers than ever before,' she said. Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk had earlier warned the issue could cause 'a massive schism in MAGA and potentially disrupt our momentum and our insanely successful Presidency.' MAGA activist Jack Posobiec agreed, saying that 'a direct strike on Iran right now would disastrously split the Trump coalition.' But Vance's lengthy post on X sought to de-escalate tensions. Noting the 'crazy stuff' that was being put out on social media, he said that Trump had been 'amazingly consistent, over 10 years, that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.' 'He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,' Vance added. 'That decision ultimately belongs to the president. And of course, people are right to be worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.'
