
English university students must face ‘shocking' ideas in a drive to protect free speech on campus
LONDON (AP) — Students at English universities must prepare to confront ideas they find uncomfortable and shocking, the national regulator for higher education said as it released new guidelines governing free speech on campuses across the country.
The Office for Students said Thursday that freedom of speech and academic freedom are crucial to higher education, so the guidelines are designed to ensure that universities don't stifle any form of legal speech on their campuses or in their classrooms.

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Winnipeg Free Press
28 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
North Carolina Green Party retains official status despite failing vote thresholds
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Green Party will remain an official party in North Carolina, able to field candidates statewide through the 2028 elections, even though their 2024 nominees for governor and president failed to get the votes required by state law. The Republican-led State Board of Elections voted 3-2 on Thursday to continue recognizing the North Carolina Green Party, potentially affecting close contests for president, U.S. Senate and governor or other statewide and local offices. Without Thursday's action, the party would have joined four other small parties who also failed to reach the vote thresholds necessary and are thus no longer recognized — the Constitution, Justice for All, No Labels and We the People parties. None of their candidates received at least 2% of the total vote for governor or president to remain an official party. That means voters who are registered with those four parties are moved to unaffiliated status on voter rolls starting next week. Those groups also would have to collect about 14,000 signatures to regain official party status — an effort that takes time and money. But the North Carolina Green Party petitioned the board this spring to apply another standard. State law also says a group of voters can become a political party if they 'had a candidate nominated by that group on the general election ballot' in at least 35 states in the prior presidential election. The group presented a Federal Election Commission document showing Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, appeared on the November 2024 ballot in 38 states. In seven states, however, she was not the nominee of the party or of a Green Party affiliate, according to the commission document. For example, she was an independent candidate in three of the seven. Democratic board member Jeff Carmon said he wasn't convinced the standard was met because Stein failed to be nominated in 35 states by the Green Party or an affiliate. Republican members decided otherwise. Although Stein may have been listed as the nominee for a different party or as independent, she was the national Green Party candidate, board Chairman Francis De Luca said. The three Republican members agreed that the North Carolina Green Party could remain an official party. The two Democrats voted no. The board shifted from a Democratic majority to a Republican majority last month after a 2024 state law took appointment authority away from the governor and to the state auditor. With Thursday's action, there will be four recognized political parties in North Carolina — Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Green. As of last week, the largest bloc of North Carolina's 7.53 million registered voters are unaffiliated, at 2.85 million. About 4,000 voters are registered with the Green Party.


Winnipeg Free Press
28 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Former Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley dies of suspected heart attack
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former state Sen. Frank Niceley, a farmer and longtime conservative lawmaker known for his colorful comments on Tennessee's Capitol Hill, died Thursday. He was 78. Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Coffey confirmed that Niceley was found on a tractor on his family farm in Strawberry Plains on Thursday and later died at the hospital. Coffey said the cause of death is a suspected heart attack. The Republican was first elected to a state House seat in 1988. He served two, two-year terms, then was out of the Legislature until he won a return to the House in 2004. In 2012, Niceley won a seat in the Senate, where he remained until he lost a Republican primary election in 2024 to now-Sen. Jessie Seal. The most recent boundaries of Niceley's district covered Claiborne, Grainger, Hancock, Jefferson, Sevier and Union counties. Niceley spoke 'in a way that makes you laugh, learn, and then Google a few things afterward,' as a resolution passed this year described it. Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally said on social media that Niceley was the 'unofficial historian' of the Senate and a 'Tennessee original in every possible sense.' 'Fiercely independent, deeply rooted in his community, and unwavering in his convictions, he brought a farmer's wisdom and a statesman's heart to public service,' McNally said. Niceley's meandering stories and commentary sometimes created controversy. He sparked national criticism in 2022 after seemingly praising Adolf Hitler on the Senate floor as an example for people who are homeless while discussing a bill that toughened penalties for camping on public property. The year before, Niceley commented that with the movement of companies from northern cities to the South, 'I think I can tell my grandson the war between the states is still going on and we're winning.' Niceley was in tune with fellow Republicans on many major topics, but he also had an independent streak and his own priorities. He successfully pushed legislation to allow industrial hemp growing. He opposed making cockfighting a felony offense. He criticized the addition of toll lanes on highways through public-private partnerships. And he was against the statewide expansion of a school voucher program. The voucher stance prompted outside political spending against him in his 2024 primary loss.


Toronto Star
39 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Judge orders Columbia protester Mahmoud Khalil freed from detention
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the U.S. government to free former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from the immigration detention center where he has been held since early March while the Trump administration sought to deport him over his role in pro-Palestinian protests. Ruling from the bench in New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue to detain a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. More from The Star & partners