Speaker

Anil Kochhar hopes textile graduates of North Carolina State can leave with ‘greater freedom to pursue goals’Anil Kochhar, a North Carolina State University donor, gave graduates of the school’s Wilson College of Textiles a lot more than just words of wisdom when he delivered their keynote commencement address recently.The Indian American entrepreneur also announced that he would pay off any student loans taken out by the college’s graduating pupils during their senior year. Continue reading...

Rami Elghandour tells Guardian in exclusive interview that cancellation sends ‘dangerous’ message to studentsRutgers University abruptly rescinded its invitation to a prominent alum who was slated to deliver a graduation speech next week after some students complained about social media posts he had published about Palestine.Rami Elghandour – a tech entrepreneur, graduate of Rutgers’ School of Engineering, and executive producer of the Oscar-nominated film The Voice of Hind Rajab – was set to deliver a commencement address at the school’s campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey on 15 May. Continue reading...

Roberts-Smith, who has denied five charges of war crime murder, says he was always going to attend: ‘I never thought about not coming’Booing has marred Anzac Day commemorations in Melbourne and Sydney, while on the Gold Coast, the Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith attended the dawn service at Currumbin Beach.One man was arrested at the Sydney dawn service at Martin Place, where there was a small but noisy interjection of booing during the Indigenous acknowledgement of country. Continue reading...

Divers are installing waterproof speakers in the ocean to help pull a coral reef near Jamaica back from the brinkThe northern coast of Jamaica once served as the backdrop for scenes in the James Bond thriller No Time to Die. But today, beneath those same turquoise waves, a real-life mission is unfolding: the race to pull a dying coral reef back from the brink.However, the tools a team of divers are carrying to the seafloor are not what you would expect to find in a marine biologist’s kit. They are installing waterproof speakers at the bottom of the ocean, and the man leading the team is not a scientist. Continue reading...

New Mexico governor calls order ‘not serious’ as south-eastern counties note divisions with Democratic Santa FeThe speaker of Texas’s house of representatives says he is entertaining the idea of expanding the state by annexing some New Mexico counties.Dustin Burrows, who has been the chamber’s speaker since 2025, ordered a state legislative committee on 26 March to look into the legal and economic options to add “one or more contiguous counties” of New Mexico to the state of Texas. Continue reading...

• House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed with the Freedom Caucus to introduce a 60-day continuing resolution providing full DHS funding for ICE and CBP as a counter-proposal to the Senate-approved legislation. • The Freedom Caucus demanded the inclusion of voter ID requirements, border patrol funding, and resources for investigations into child sex trafficking before supporting any DHS funding measure. • The House proposal would require Senate reconsideration and further extend the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which has persisted for more than five weeks, with leadership uncertain whether to attempt passage today.

Critics have mocked Mike Johnson and Republicans for presenting the president with the newly concocted awardSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAmid an aggressive war in Iran, heightening and devastating pressure on Cuba, immigration enforcement operations throughout the country and a partial government shutdown, the lead Republican in the House has given Donald Trump a newly concocted award.Democrats, lawmakers and commentators are criticizing and ridiculing the “America First” award given to Trump on Wednesday evening during the National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser. Continue reading...