The Full Belmonte, 3/31/2023
Trump loses control
Former President Trump talks with reporters Saturday on his plane en route to West Palm Beach, Fla., after a campaign rally in Waco, Texas. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP
“President Trump, who has spent his life ruthlessly maneuvering to get his way, now is at the mercy of a justice system he can't bully — and, ultimately, in the hands of a Manhattan jury.
Why it matters: Trump, after becoming the first president to be impeached twice, now has the added distinction of being the first ex-president to face criminal charges.
What's happening: A grand jury in Manhattan indicted Trump on charges related to a 2016 illegal hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The specific charges aren't public.
CNN analyst John Miller — a former NYPD deputy commissioner with enviable law-enforcement sources — reports Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud.
Each count could refer to a single document or even a single accounting entry, CNN analysts noted.
Trump is expected to turn himself in Tuesday, ‘at which point the former president will be photographed and fingerprinted [electronically, not with ink] in the bowels of a New York State courthouse, with Secret Service agents in tow,’ the N.Y. Times reports (subscription).
‘Trump has for decades avoided criminal charges despite persistent scrutiny and repeated investigations, creating an aura of legal invincibility’ that was shattered yesterday.
An NYPD spokesperson told Axios that every officer will report in full uniform today as a ‘precautionary measure’ in response to the indictment.
Front pages of today's New York Times, Wall Street Journal
Between the lines: Of all the investigations Trump faces, the case by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is viewed by most legal experts as the thinnest — unless the prosecutor has something surprising up his sleeve.
State of play: Most Republicans think this helps Trump in the short run — and could even provide a glide path to the '24 Republican nomination, Axios' Zachary Basu notes.
This freezes the race at a time when Trump holds a huge lead in GOP polls. That's likely to grow with the saturation coverage ahead.
Indictment-themed GOP fundraising texts and emails started instantly, with Trump as a martyr.
With Trump taking up all that oxygen, it'll be even harder for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — or any Trump '24 rival — to gain traction.
Every potential '24 Republican candidate is being forced to defend Trump, when they otherwise might be attacking him or trying to differentiate themselves.
DeSantis tweeted that Bragg ‘is stretching the law to target a political opponent’: ‘It is un-American. ... Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances.’
Mike Pence, in a prescheduled CNN interview, told Wolf Blitzer: ‘I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.’
Screenshot via Truth Social
The long run: For the general election, with suburban women as a potentially decisive bloc, it's a totally different story.
An indicted (at least) standard-bearer isn't a great look for attracting swing voters.
Trump didn't seem to get much sleep. He posted at 2:46 a.m.: ‘WHERE'S HUNTER?’” [Axios]
Nine Soldiers Killed in Army Black Hawk Helicopter Crash in Kentucky
The two aircraft were flying a routine training mission out of the Fort Campbell military base
“Nine U.S. soldiers died when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a training exercise in Kentucky, the Army said.
The HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, which were flying a routine training mission out of the Fort Campbell military base, crashed in Trigg County, Ky., at around 10 p.m. local time Wednesday, an Army spokesman said during a press conference Thursday.
There were no survivors in the crash, he said.
‘We are currently in the process of notifying the families of those involved,’ he said, adding they wouldn’t immediately announce any further details about casualties.
The Fort Campbell facility houses the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and sits on the Kentucky-Tennessee border roughly 60 miles northwest of Nashville.
The two crews were flying after dark and using night vision goggles, the spokesman said. The helicopters landed in an open field across from a residential area.
There were no additional casualties from the crash. A team of investigators was on the ground probing the cause, he said….” Read more at Wall Street Journal
'QAnon Shaman' freed early from federal prison
Image caption,
Jacob Chansley left federal prison for a halfway house in Arizona
By Chloe Kim
“The US Capitol rioter known as the QAnon Shaman has been released early from prison to a halfway house.
Jacob Chansley, 35, was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November 2021. He was originally projected to be released this July.
He has been moved to a ‘residential re-entry management’ facility in Phoenix, Arizona, and is expected be released on 25 May, according to prison records.
He received one of the longest terms handed down to any of the rioters.
Chansley - convicted of a felony count of obstruction - was one of nearly 1,000 criminal defendants charged in the 6 January 2021 riot, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol as lawmakers certified President Joe Biden's election victory….” Read more at BBC
US Justice Department sues Norfolk Southern following February’s train derailment in East Palestine
By Tierney Sneed
A large plume of smoke is seen rising over East Palestine, Ohio, where about 50 Norfolk Southern train cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in a fiery crash in early February.
Gene J. Puskar/AP/FILE
CNN —
“The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway Company on Thursday, seeking damages for alleged Clean Water Act violations for the pollutants that were said to have been discharged with the train derailment in Ohio earlier this year.
CNN has reached out to Norfolk Southern for comment.” [CNN]
The horrific rise of xylazine, the flesh-destroying drug making fentanyl even deadlier
The tranquilizer is increasingly mixed with the opioid in the US, giving rise to deadly overdoses and disturbing wounds
Fri 31 Mar 2023 01.00 EDT
“Fentanyl – the deadliest drug in the country – is getting even more dangerous. Across the United States, the opioid is increasingly being mixed with xylazine, a powerful tranquilizer that’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in animals such as horses. But on the streets it’s known as ‘tranq’ or ‘tranq dope’, and it’s been linked to horrific side effects and a growing number of deadly overdoses across the country.
The substance was first found mixed with heroin in Puerto Rico as early as two decades ago. Today the national epicenter of the crisis is Philadelphia, where xylazine appeared in the drug supply as early as 2006, and was found in over 90% of the city’s lab-tested dope samples in 2021.
Last week, the US Drug Enforcement Administration issued an alert about a ‘sharp increase in the trafficking of fentanyl mixed with xylazine’, saying it had seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 out of 50 states. The FDA has vowed to crack down on imports of the drug, and a new bill in Congress would add xylazine to the DEA’s list of controlled substances.
But doctors and advocates say that there’s still a glaring lack of understanding about the problem and how to fight it.
James Latronica, an addiction medicine doctor and the public policy chair of the Pennsylvania Society of Addiction Medicine, has been treating patients who have taken xylazine for years now. Xylazine isn’t something people are seeking out purposefully, he says. ‘You have an unregulated, unknowable supply that can be cut with whatever is at hand,’ and from a supplier’s perspective, ‘it’s likely that it’s simply cheaper than fentanyl’.
Xylazine adds multiple layers of complexity to an already treacherous drug crisis. Xylazine is a depressant. It slows a person’s breathing and heart rate, and lowers their blood pressure. An overdose can put them into a coma-like state, leaving them frozen and vulnerable for hours on the street.
Typically, rescuers use a medication called naloxone (often sold as Narcan) to reverse fentanyl overdoses, but if someone takes too much fentanyl mixed with xylazine, even Narcan might not wake them. Rescuers might end up using too much of the medication, which could make the person vomit and possibly choke.
Xylazine has an especially devastating side effect: gruesome wounds that don’t heal. The exact reason for this still isn’t understood, but scientists suspect xylazine could be affecting blood circulation in a way that affects skin repair. That means that for someone using xylazine, something as small as a pimple or a needle puncture could turn into large sores of dying flesh, in some cases eating through to the bone.
The shame of the wounds dissuades some patients from seeking help, ‘and then those ones get worse’, says Latronica. Around two years ago, he encountered an addiction patient who had repeated infections on his arms, but had no health insurance and struggled to get assistance. ‘Eventually, he just stopped going until his arm was so bad that it was gangrenous. And there was nothing to do except to amputate it.’
Despite the hallmark symptoms, Latronica didn’t have a way of confirming if the patient was using xylazine, because there weren’t readily available tests. ‘Unfortunately, doctors and public health are always behind. We’re having conferences and learning about xylazine, but it’s been around for several years already – and that’s probably the single most frustrating part of this field.’
Local non-profits are desperately trying to help. In 2021, Shannon Ashe, a Philadelphia social worker, co-founded The Everywhere Project, a group of volunteers that provide food, clothing, wound care, and clean supplies to people using substances like xylazine. What she witnesses is undeniably grim: ‘the wounds look as if people have been through some sort of horrendous chemical warfare,’ she says. But they’re not chemical burns – ‘they’re coming from the inside.’
To reduce stigma, Ashe says, tackling xylazine requires an approach called harm reduction: ‘meeting people where they are, without judgment, in a way that respects their goals for themselves.’ Her group doesn’t require abstinence: ‘If people want to do that, that’s great. If you want to go to treatment, that’s wonderful, we’ll literally get you an Uber. But that’s not our end-all be-all goal.’ Requiring that someone stop using xylazine before helping them is just another ‘unrealistic expectation that leads us to the same spot,’ she says, ‘which is more dead people.’”… Read more at The Guardian
Forces behind anti-trans bills across U.S.
Data: Trans Legislation Tracker. (Legislation includes introduced bills and resolutions. Texas legislature meets every other year.) Cartogram: Simran Parwani/Axios
“The sudden flood of state-level efforts to restrict transgender rights is being fueled by many of the Christian and conservative groups that led the charge against Roe v. Wade, Axios' Russell Contreras writes.
Why it matters: These groups — including the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel and the American Principles Project — are behind a multimillion-dollar effort targeting LGBTQ rights through ‘parents' rights’ bills.
What's happening: The groups have provided templates and support for similarly worded bills that seek to ban minors from attending drag shows, prevent trans youths from receiving gender-affirming care, and restrict their participation in high school sports.
The groups have raised tens of millions of dollars to fuel lobbying on abortion and transgender issues.
Travis Weber, the Family Research Council's vice president for policy and government affairs, said Christian activists aren't seeking to impose their beliefs — they're fighting against beliefs being imposed on them.
‘These ideas are presented to their children without their consent,’ Weber said. ‘Americans are reacting to what they are seeing, and it's being reflected in some of these laws moving.’
The other side: Critics and civil liberties advocates say anti-transgender proposals reflect a narrow worldview on gender and other issues while endangering free speech and non-discriminatory education.
‘They want to preserve their vision of a white, Christian America,’ said Robert P. Jones, CEO of Public Religion Research Institute, a nonpartisan group that examines religion and policy.
State of play: Roughly 8 in 10 Americans believe there's some discrimination against transgender people, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
The survey also found that most Americans favor laws to protect trans people from discrimination.
But the survey gave a clue why conservative Christians and Republicans have focused on high school athletes in many bills: It said about 6 in 10 Americans favor requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams that match their sex at birth.
By the numbers: The ACLU is tracking 430+ bills targeting LGBTQ rights concerning schools, health care and free speech.
Trans Legislation Tracker, a data collection website that uses information from different civil rights groups, says it has followed 493 anti-transgender bills in 47 states.
Roughly 5% of the anti-trans bills introduced in state legislatures this year have passed, an Axios review found.
The new laws are mainly in the South and Midwest.” [Axios]
FBI: Mandalay Bay shooter in Las Vegas who killed 60 was angry about how casinos treated him
“A trove of documents recently released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that the shooter who killed nearly 60 people at a Las Vegas concert in 2017 was ‘very upset’ about how casinos were treating him.
The documents reveal the strongest indication yet of a motive for the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.
Stephen Paddock, 64, a regular gambler who had a penchant for video poker killed himself at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino before he could be apprehended. The documents provide the most detail into Paddock's possible motive and gambling habits….” Read more at USA Today
Finland receives Turkey endorsement to join NATO
“Finland received the final approval it needed to join NATO when Turkey's parliament voted unanimously in favor Thursday, days after Hungary’s parliament also endorsed Helsinki’s accession. They were the last two holdouts in the way of Finland's membership, and they remain the only ones among NATO's 30 nations yet to accept Sweden's application despite expressing support for expansion. Alarmed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-long policy of nonalignment and applied to join the Western military alliance, which requires unanimous approval.” Read more at USA Today
Turkish lawmakers vote in favor to approve Finland's application to join NATO, in the Turkish parliament on March 30, 2023.
ADEM ALTAN, AFP via Getty Images
“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to enroll into the army 147,000 conscripts aged between 18 and 27 during the spring draft that will start tomorrow, according to the Kremlin.” [Bloomberg]
“Bolsonaro back in Brazil. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrived back in Brazil after three months in the state of Florida, during which time some of his supporters stormed government buildings. He was greeted by hundreds of supporters in Brasilia. He told one television network, ‘I’m not without a mandate, but I’m not retired.’” [Foreign Policy]
Oscar Pistorius parole: Victim Reeva Steenkamp's mother against release
Image caption,
June Steenkamp, arriving at the prison, said she did not believe Oscar Pistorius had been rehabilitated
By Andrew Harding
BBC News, Atteridgeville prison
“The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman who was murdered by Oscar Pistorius, says she does not feel the former Paralympics star is remorseful.
June Steenkamp spoke as she arrived for a parole board hearing that is considering whether he be freed early.
He has so far served half of his 13-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend a decade ago.
If he is granted parole, Pistorius, now aged 36, could be released from jail within a matter of days.
The six-time Paralympic gold medallist has expressed his deep remorse for killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day in 2013, but continues to maintain he shot her by mistake, believing she was a robber.
‘I don't believe his story. I don't believe Oscar is remorseful… or rehabilitated,’ Mrs Steenkamp said on Friday morning.
She had said that it would be hard to see her daughter's killer again, but in the end he was not in the room when she appeared before the board. Pistorius will appear separately.
The hearing is taking place at Atteridgeville prison, a low-security facility in rolling fields just outside the city of Pretoria.
The former amputee sprinter recently met Barry Steenkamp, Reeva's father, as part of a mandatory process known as ‘victim-offender dialogue’.
But the Steenkamps' lawyer, Tania Koen, said the couple still felt Pistorius had intended to kill their daughter - and her death was a life sentence for them.
‘For them, it's 10 missed birthdays, it's 10 Mother's Days, Father's Days, Christmases - so time hasn't healed for them,’ she told reporters at the prison.
‘They don't feel that he should be released,’ she said, adding that they expected a decision to be taken later on Friday.
Image caption,
Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at their home in Pretoria on Valentine's Day 10 years ago
Pistorius was initially found guilty of culpable homicide, but on appeal by the prosecutor he was convicted of murder, on the grounds that he must have known his actions - shooting three times through a locked bathroom door in his Pretoria home - would lead to the death of whoever was on the other side….” Read more at BBC
“While President Joe Biden embarks on a tour to promote the impact of his economic agenda on America, it’s already sending shockwaves across the globe.
The suite of policies enacted so far amounts to a US industrial policy with massive state intervention in the economy — and is forcing governments from Europe to Asia to respond in kind.
The Chips and Science Act puts about $50 billion into domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The Inflation Reduction Act brings nearly $400 billion in funding for clean technology. Management consultancy McKinsey & Company sees about $2 trillion in new federal spending being freed up over the next 10 years.
The concern in foreign capitals is that businesses active in areas eligible for US funding will relocate to take advantage of the subsidies on offer. Swedish battery maker Northvolt is one among countless companies now weighing whether to build new facilities in Europe or the US.
The European Union is floating a raft of subsidies in response. South Korea passed its own ‘K-Chips Act’ today, while Canada allocated money in this week’s budget to weaken the gravitational pull south. The UK, denied the EU’s firepower, announced its answer today.
Biden’s measures aim to bolster US jobs and investment, but they also target China by keeping America ahead in key technologies. In that respect, they act as an arm of foreign policy.
Washington ally Japan has won an agreement for US tax breaks on critical minerals for electric vehicles. The EU is working on a similar deal.
It’s already clear that the new US approach constitutes the core of a Biden 2024 reelection campaign, should he run.
Equally evident is that the world economy is being reshaped as a result”.— Alan Crawford [Bloomberg]
Biden in Durham, North Carolina, on Tuesday. Photographer: Cornell Watson/Bloomberg
“Several major news organizations have rejected Elon Musk's demand of paying to keep their checkmarks on Twitter. The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, POLITICO, and Vox all scoffed at the notion on Thursday that they would pay Twitter for the feature, which intends to signify the handle is "verified." Musk is aiming to charge organizations that want to retain a checkmark adjacent to their account name $1,000 a month, plus an additional $50 a month for each affiliated account. The feature has been helpful to Twitter's entire community, giving the public an easy way of distinguishing between authentic and inauthentic users. But with a growing number of news organizations and public figures saying they have no plans to fork over any money for the checkmark, analysts say it could create confusion and misrepresentation. Twitter announced last week that it will begin "removing legacy verified checkmarks" starting April 1.” [CNN]
Panera to adopt palm-reading payment systems, sparking privacy fears
Bakery is first restaurant chain to use Amazon One biometric technology, which faces scrutiny from lawmakers and activists
“The US bakery and cafe chain Panera will soon allow customers to pay with the swipe of a palm, marking the first restaurant chain to implement the new technology and raising alarm among privacy advocates.
The company announced last week it would roll out biometric readers in coming months that will allow customers to access credit card and loyalty account information by scanning their palms. Called Amazon One, the system was developed by Amazon and is in use at some airports, stadiums and Whole Foods grocery stores.
Panera, which has more than 2,000 locations across the country, is the first nationwide restaurant chain to use the tool. Through the new program, visitors will scan their palms to be greeted by name and receive customized order recommendations based on past preferences. They will also be able to pay with the palm-scanning tech….” Read more at The Guardian
DeSantis’ board says Disney stripped them of power
FILE - People visit the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., April 18, 2022. The first meeting of the new board of Walt Disney World’s government — overhauled by sweeping legislation signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as an apparent punishment for Disney publicly challenging Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill — dealt with the rote affairs any other municipal government handles. Board members on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, faced calls for better firefighter equipment, lessons on public records requests and bond ratings. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
“LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers.
The current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said at a meeting that their predecessors last month signed a development agreement with the company that gave Disney maximum developmental power over the theme park resort’s 27,000 acres in central Florida.
The five supervisors were appointed by the Republican governor to the board after the Florida Legislature overhauled Disney’s government in retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation that bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, as well as lessons deemed not age-appropriate.
In taking on Disney, DeSantis furthered his reputation as a culture warrior willing to battle perceived political enemies and wield the power of state government to accomplish political goals, a strategy that is expected to continue ahead of his potential White House run.
The new supervisors replaced a board that had been controlled by Disney during the previous 55 years that the government operated as the Reedy Creek Improvement District. The new board members held their first meeting earlier this month and said they found out about the agreement after their appointments.
‘We’re going to have to deal with it and correct it,’ board member Brian Aungst said Wednesday. ‘It’s a subversion of the will of the voters and the Legislature and the governor. It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern.’
Under the terms of the agreement, the district is prohibited from using the name “Disney” or any symbols associated with the theme park resort without the company’s permission, nor can it use the likeness of Mickey Mouse, other Disney characters or other intellectual property in any manner. The company can sue for damages for any violations, and the agreement is in effect until perpetuity, according to the declaration.
If the agreement is deemed to violate rules against perpetuity, it will be in effect until 21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of England’s King Charles III, the declaration said.
In a statement, Disney said all agreements were above board and took place in public.” [AP News]
“SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Professors at the New College of Florida are using personal email because they’re afraid of being subpoenaed.
Students are concerned, too. Some fear for their physical safety. Many worry their teachers will be fired en masse and their courses and books will be policed. It’s increasingly hard to focus on their studies.
For years, students have come to this public liberal arts college on the western coast of Florida because they were self-described free thinkers. Now they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of America’s culture war.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has targeted the tiny school on the shores of Sarasota Bay as a staging ground for his war on “woke.” The governor and his allies say New College, a progressive school with a prominent LGBTQ+ community, is indoctrinating students with leftist ideology and should be revamped into a more conservative institution.
Students and faculty say America should take note because the transformation at New College could become a blueprint with national implications as DeSantis gears up for a likely presidential bid.
‘I’m sorry, but this isn’t an indoctrination facility. This isn’t a factory that pumps out, you know, non-binary communists,’ says Viv Cargille, 20, a marine biology major from Miami. She is passionate about researching dolphin acoustics but finds it mentally exhausting to focus on classes in a climate she describes as turbulent, volatile and anxiety-inducing.
Her roommate Olivia Pare, a second-year biology major, wishes the politicians would leave their school alone. ‘My biggest frustration is the way it is impacting my education. I am here to learn. I am not here to be more woke — whatever that is,’ Pare said. When she does research in the organic chemistry lab, ‘we’re not talking about organic chemistry anymore — we’re talking about whether my professor will get her tenure approved.’
In January, DeSantis and his allies overhauled the 13-member Board of Trustees and installed a majority of conservative figures. The new trustees promptly fired the college president and replaced her with a Republican politician, the first of several administrators to lose their jobs. Next, they dismantled the office of diversity and equity. They have not revealed future plans but trustees have posted vague warnings on social media like: ‘You will see changes in 120 days.’
Changes so far have come in tandem with a new bill DeSantis unveiled Jan. 31 aimed at overhauling higher education in Florida. The bill would ban gender studies majors and minors, eliminate diversity programs and any hiring based on diversity, weaken tenure protections and put all hiring decisions in the hands of each university’s board of trustees.
The effect at New College has been chilling and disruptive. Students and faculty compare the upheaval to a ‘hostile takeover that feels even more jarring because of what the school has represented to so many students for so many years: a haven of open-mindedness and acceptance in a place of idyllic beauty, with palm-tree-lined paths along a stretch of white-sand coast.
‘It felt very much like New College was a little bubble in Florida, said Willem Aspinall, 19, an environmental studies major who grew up in a Chicago suburb. ‘Now it feels like that has kind of been burst. The campus feels a lot less safe now.’
Students and faculty are afraid of one thing most of all: The extinction of New College as they know it.
They are not wrong to worry.
One of the new trustees is Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute and architect of the right-wing outrage against critical race theory, a legal term that has come to represent teaching about the ongoing effects of slavery. Rufo actively posts on social media about his vision for the future of New College, often in militaristic terms. He has referred to new trustees at the public institution as the ‘landing team,’ saying, ‘We got over the wall,’ and referencing an operation to ‘recapture the college.
New College has its problems. The college performs poorly in certain state metrics, including a decline in enrollment until last year. Students complain of mold in dorms, broken elevators and other delayed maintenance because of years of underfunding. Some students say they would welcome more conservative students to balance the left-leaning student body. DeSantis and the new trustees cite the challenges as justification for the state intervention.
‘We will be shutting down low-performing, ideologically-captured academic departments and hiring new faculty,’ Rufo said in one tweet. ‘The student body will be recomposed over time: some current students will self-select out, others will graduate; we’ll recruit new students who are mission-aligned.’ He and others have posted plans to ‘redesign the curriculum’ with a goal of making the school more politically conservative.
Some students are fleeing, for schools that feel safer. Many on campus have voiced a concern that the politically charged spotlight on their school could invite danger. Several professors who asked not to be named are sending out resumes. Trustee meetings have become a focal point of student protests, and the only source of information on the school’s fate.
New College has long been an anomaly in a state filled with large public universities. It has barely 700 students, no fraternities or sororities and no football team. It is Florida’s designated honors college and produces an impressive number of the state’s Fulbright scholars. It has a uniquely self-directed curriculum that allows students to design individualized majors. The average class size is 11 students. There are no letter grades; students get detailed ‘narrative evaluations’ as part of a pass-fail system.
The academic freedom is mirrored by a student body that feels free to express itself, say students and faculty, who describe New College as a haven for brainy kids who are high-achieving and intellectually curious. Some were the quiet kids in high school, or were bullied for being queer or different, or struggled socially because of autism or other disabilities. Some were homeschooled or come from alternative educational backgrounds that led them to be self-directed in their schooling. They arrived at New College and felt welcome in a way they never had before, say parents, students and faculty.
There is a long table in the center of the New College dining hall that epitomizes the school’s culture of acceptance, according to several students. People sitting there invite newcomers to come join them. Anyone walking in knows they never need to eat alone.
‘It is one of the most unique places I think that exists in American higher education,’ says Elizabeth C. Leininger, a neuroscientist and associate biology professor, who knows all her students by name. She compares an education at New College to small, private liberal arts schools at a fraction of the cost. In-state tuition at New College is $7,000 and out-of-state is $30,000, but many students get scholarships that cut tuition by at least half.
For the first time in her academic career, Leininger is wondering if some of her courses, like ‘Sex, Gender, Mind and Brain,’ will court trouble.
‘I would have to think very carefully about how I am going to teach that class now,’ said Leininger, a graduate of Swarthmore College who did her Ph.D. at Columbia University, where she also taught. Like other faculty, Leininger is using personal email or encrypted messaging platforms when discussing the upheaval, fearing school email accounts will be subpoenaed. ‘There is very much a policing of ideas.’
Students, too, have shifted conversations on organizing protests to encrypted platforms like Signal and Slack to ensure privacy, says Gaby Batista, 19, an anthropology major who has taken personal precautions as well. ‘I’ve made my Instagram private and took off my pronouns.’
For parents who have felt the intense heartache of watching their child struggle and then the deep relief of seeing them thrive, the upheaval at New College is making them relive a painful past.
Psychologist Joyce White calls the experience ‘devastating’ and ‘destabilizing’ for the parents and students, particularly those who endured childhood bullying only to find themselves again feeling targeted. White’s daughter, Lola, is a third-year biology major at New College with plans to be a veterinarian. Lola is autistic, has ADHD and ‘lives in a constant state of anxiety,’ her mother said. Ever since she was a child, Lola excelled at school but found it very stressful. She has difficulty adapting to change and feeling like she belongs. Until fifth grade, Lola threw up every day on the way to school, her mother said. The pandemic wreaked havoc on her mental health and disrupted Lola’s college plans. She attended community college online for two years, before transferring in the fall of 2022 to New College.
‘We found this little school that was perfect for Lola,’ said White, who moved her family from Minnesota to Sarasota to ease Lola into college. It wasn’t easy at first, adjusting to the Florida heat and to in-person classes, but Lola was settling in. She loved her small classes at New College and the ability to meet professors one-on-one. Her confidence was growing, which made her less introverted. She felt safe, and one day she joked with another student that she had no friends. The student responded, ‘You’re our friend,’ and invited Lola to study with her group at the library.
‘I felt like I could connect to the people here. The kids are accepting – of anyone. There is no judgment,’ said Lola. She was amazed at the resources the school offered to help students who were struggling. She was assigned an academic adviser, a career coach and a special adviser for transfer students. ‘When I told them I was struggling, they reached out even more. No one has ever done that for me before in education,’ Lola said, seated beside her mother at sunset on a recent evening along the school’s private beach.
‘It’s been such a long road, and I finally felt like I could see light at the end of the tunnel,’ said White, who recognizes in herself feelings of anxiety and depression as she worries if Lola will find her path again. ‘Now it feels like everything has blown up.’ She adds, ‘I’m trying to put on a brave face for her.’
Two of Lola’s friends are transferring out of New College. Lola has struggled lately with panic attacks, stress and difficulty concentrating on schoolwork. But for now, she plans to stay. ‘I can do it, but there will be repercussions on my mental health.’
Meanwhile, students and faculty are noticing new restrictions they worry are aimed at curtailing freedom of expression. Faculty received a memo recently with new recommended guidelines for email signatures: They “should only include” name, title, college address, logo and phone number, which faculty see as a ruling that disallows pronouns. An event known as V.I.P. Weekend that was organized by the diversity and equity office to host prospective students overnight was also abruptly canceled. And maintenance crews recently were instructed to wash away chalk drawings and messages that covered a campus overpass, part of a longstanding tradition of eclectic artwork and expression. Many of the chalk messages voiced outrage at DeSantis and the new trustees or carried messages of support, such as: ‘Diversity is our strength.’
Faculty are advising students to concentrate on schoolwork and block out the noise, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that the worst is yet to come, said Aspinall, the environmental studies major.
‘I’m concerned they’re going to take a school that does not indoctrinate students and turn it into a school that does.’” [AP News]
People walk along the waterfront at New College of Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Gwyneth Paltrow gets vindication at ski collision trial
By SAM METZ
Gwyneth Paltrow not at fault for ski collision, jury decides
Gwyneth Paltrow has won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided that the actor wasn’t at fault for the crash. The jury verdict came Thursday in a packed court room in Park City, Utah. (March 30)
“PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t to blame for a 2016 collision with a retired optometrist on a beginner run at a posh Utah ski resort during a family vacation, a jury decided Thursday following a live-streamed trial that became a pop culture fixation.
A jury awarded Paltrow $1 — a symbolic amount she asked for in order to show it wasn’t about money — and delivered her the vindication she sought when she opted to take it to trial rather than settle out of court.
‘I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,’ Paltrow said in a statement released by her representatives that she also posted as an Instagram story for her 8.3 million followers. She also thanked the judge and jury for their work.
As Paltrow left court she touched Terry Sanderson’s shoulder and told him, ‘I wish you well,’ he told reporters outside court. He responded, ‘Thank you dear.’
Paltrow’s attorney, Steve Owens, added in a statement he read outside court that ‘Gwyneth has a history of advocating for what she believes in – this situation was no different and she will continue to stand up for what is right.’
Paltrow, an actor who in recent years has refashioned herself into a celebrity wellness entrepreneur, looked to her attorneys with a pursed lips smile when the judge read the eight-member jury’s verdict in the Park City courtroom. She sat intently through two weeks of testimony in what became the biggest celebrity court case since actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off last year….” Read more at AP News
ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL
As Women’s Basketball Grows, Equity Is Trying to Catch Up
The N.C.A.A. has begun putting in place recommendations from a report on the disparities between men’s and women’s basketball. But there are differing assessments for a path forward.
By Billy Witz
“In Seattle, there was enough black and gold in the arena to turn it into Iowa-by-the-sea. (And enough Sue Bird jerseys to serve as a reminder of who has been the building’s regular resident.) In Greenville, S.C., the vocal crowds were overwhelmingly clad in red — as if unbeaten South Carolina, the reigning champion, needed any advantages beyond forward Aliyah Boston, its relentless rebounding and a stifling defense.
The N.C.A.A.’s experiment of winnowing the usual four regional sites for the Division I women’s basketball tournament down to two this year — and packing eight teams into two cities — may have created a travel burden for some teams, but the four-day basketball fiestas on opposite ends of the country seem to be an idea worth holding on to.
Attendance for the regional semifinals and finals topped 85,000, more than 35 percent higher than last year’s combined attendance in Bridgeport, Conn.; Wichita, Kan.; Spokane, Wash.; and Greensboro, N.C.
‘Kudos to the creativity, to see what we can draw,’ Maryland Coach Brenda Frese said begrudgingly, not caring for playing a veritable road game for a spot in the Final Four any more than she liked the whistles that sent her players parading to the bench with foul trouble in Monday’s loss to South Carolina.
It has been two years since the inequities between men’s and women’s college basketball, which had been hiding in plain sight for decades, were laid bare by a video of the paltry weight lifting equipment at the women’s tournament and sparked national outrage.
The N.C.A.A. commissioned a report by the civil rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan that highlighted systemic inequities and suggested remedies to help the women’s game thrive amid its increasing popularity. But the path of women’s basketball growth, whether it’s a race to catch up to the men’s game or evolving into something that’s distinct alongside it, is not exactly clear.
‘There’s some pressure to build it the same as the men,’ said Tara VanDerveer, the long-tenured Stanford coach. ‘But when you have a chance to build something, you should build it the way you want to build it.’
A number of quick fixes were made last year. They were mostly easy and obvious: expanding the women’s tournament from 64 teams to 68, matching the men’s field, and using March Madness branding for both events, which the N.C.A.A. had previously resisted. The N.C.A.A. also beefed up staffing for the women’s tournament, paid referees the same as in the men’s tournament and made sure players in both tournaments received the same swag bags filled with T-shirts, caps, towels and other branded merchandise.
The spending gap between the tournaments, which had been $35 million, according to the report, was narrowed by millions last year.
A notable change this year in both tournaments has been on television when the ball stops bouncing. One commercial after another features prominent faces in the men’s and women’s games. There’s South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley pitching supplemental health insurance alongside the recently retired Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski; the former Gonzaga star Chet Holmgren hawking cellphone coverage with the former South Carolina standout and current W.N.B.A. star A’ja Wilson; or Stephen Curry, the Golden State star, peddling sports apparel with Boston and Staley.
That sort of synergistic branding is something Kaplan’s report urged the N.C.A.A. to seek with its advertising and broadcast partners.
Charlie Baker, the new N.C.A.A. president, will have a decision to make in the coming months about the direction of the women’s tournament as its media rights come up for bid.
The current contract with ESPN, which expires next year, includes the broadcast rights to the women’s basketball tournament along with more than two dozen other N.C.A.A. championship events, including the baseball and softball World Series, the volleyball tournaments and the men’s basketball National Invitation Tournament. The network paid the N.C.A.A. $41.8 million in 2021, according to the Kaplan report.
The negotiations come at a time when interest in the women’s game is surging, with increased attendance and television ratings. In addition to the record crowds last weekend, this year’s tournament also set a record for attendance in the first and second rounds, which are played on the home courts of the 16 top-seeded teams.
The Kaplan report suggested that if the rights to the women’s basketball tournament were sold separately, they could be worth between $81 million and $112 million in 2025. But Mark Emmert, the former N.C.A.A. president, told The New York Times last year that even if those figures were accurate, there were other considerations. ‘It’s not just about money,’ he said. ‘It’s about making sure we can use our championships to promote these amazing athletes.’
The suggestion is that perhaps the N.C.A.A. would take less to broadcast a prized commodity like women’s basketball in exchange for ensuring that, say, the lacrosse championships were also being broadcast on a national network.
If future revenue balloons, as many expect, there will be even greater cries for the N.C.A.A. to adopt a similar model for the women as for the men in distributing tournament revenue. The N.C.A.A. will distribute $170 million, or about 27 percent of the total payout, to its conferences through a formula that rewards them for their performance in the men’s tournament. Revenue from the women’s tournament is distributed evenly across the 32 conferences.
Though a revenue distribution system based on wins in the women’s tournament may not have a drastic impact on any school’s bottom line, it can be argued that adopting the men’s model, which has been in place since the 1980s, would incentivize schools to invest in women’s basketball the way they have for the men.
The N.C.A.A. transformation committee, tasked with rewriting the N.C.A.A. constitution last year, urged that the model for men’s basketball should be used for more sports in Division I.
The N.C.A.A. has hired Endeavor, a media rights consulting firm that has worked on recent media rights deals with the Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences, to assist with negotiations. Its agreement with the N.C.A.A. runs through June, according to the Sports Business Journal….” Read more at New York Times
Ultramassive black hole discovered by UK astronomers
Durham University scientists say black hole about 30 billion times the mass of the Sun is first to be found with gravitational lensing
PA Media
“An ultramassive black hole about 30bn times the mass of the Sun has been discovered by astronomers in the UK.
Scientists at Durham University said the gargantuan black hole was one of the biggest ever found. The team described their findings, published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, as ‘extremely exciting’…. Read more at The Guardian
“Lives Lived: Yang Bing-yi opened a modest shop in Taiwan in 1958. He built it into a dumpling and noodle empire, earning a Michelin star and introducing the soup dumpling to a global audience. Yang died at 96.” [New York Times]