Wednesday Briefing: Clashes escalate on U.S. campuses

May 1, 2024

	By Amelia Nierenberg

Good morning. We’re covering pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses and Donald Trump being held in contempt of court.

Plus, the Tony nominations.

Student protesters standing outside the doors of a building that they had seized at Columbia University. Two of them are wearing keffiyehs.

Students seized a building at Columbia University yesterday. Bing Guan for The New York Times

Tensions rise on U.S. campuses

Clashes between the police, university administrators and protesters over the war in Gaza intensified at U.S. universities.

Columbia University in New York said it would expel students who had occupied a school building as part of a pro-Palestinian demonstration early yesterday. The students behind a larger campus encampment said an “autonomous subgroup” had seized the building.

Police officers have made new arrests at schools in California, North Carolina, Georgia and other states. In Virginia, officers used pepper spray at a campus on Monday. At the University of Texas, state troopers in riot gear broke up an encampment and arrested about 50 people.

But there were signs that some protests might be waning. Police officers ended the eight-day occupation of an administration building at a state school in California. And encampments at Yale and the University of Pittsburgh appeared to have been vacated.

In the Middle East: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel once again vowed to invade Rafah, in southern Gaza. The move could undermine efforts to negotiate a cease-fire agreement after nearly seven months of war.

Donald Trump is sitting at a table wearing a blue suit, red tie and American flag pin.

Donald Trump had repeatedly attacked witnesses and the jury in social media posts. Pool photo by Seth Wenig

Trump held in contempt of court

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York fined him $9,000 after he broke an order that barred him from making statements that attacked witnesses and jurors. The judge warned Trump that he could be jailed for further violations.

The ruling marked a new low in relations between the court and Trump, who stands accused of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal involving a porn star, Stormy Daniels. Trump has been at the trial every day, though he has largely been relegated to the sidelines, and has complained in front of cameras about the gag order and the judge.

Already, prosecutors have raised four new potential violations. They weren’t covered by yesterday’s order, but will be discussed at another hearing tomorrow.

Testimony: Daniels’s lawyer described how he struck a deal that bought the silence of another woman, a Playboy model, who had shopped a story of a 10-month affair with Trump.

A man wearing a blue suit and light blue tie walks carrying a folder.

Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of Binance, walking into court yesterday. Grant Hindsley for The New York Times

Binance’s chief was sentenced

Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of the giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison yesterday. He pleaded guilty to violating U.S. money-laundering rules.

The sentence was much shorter than the three years that prosecutors had demanded for a man who was once the most powerful figure in the global crypto industry — and a much lighter penalty than other crypto executives have faced since the industry imploded in 2022.

Context: Binance was the world’s largest crypto company, processing as much as two-thirds of all transactions. But it also faced investigations by several U.S. agencies into whether Zhao had broken the law to build his empire.

Eyes on the future: Since pleading guilty, Zhao has already been planning a comeback and networked with other entrepreneurs across the U.S. to set up his next act.

MORE TOP NEWS

Sudanese refugees cook food over a fire outside their makeshift shelters.

Sudanese refugees cooking outside their makeshift shelters in Chad last week. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Sudan: U.S. and U.N. officials fear a resurgence of ethnic slaughter in the Darfur region. A paramilitary group has encircled the last city there held by the military. Here’s a primer on the war.
Ukraine: Kyiv officials said a Russian airstrike killed five people and wounded about 30 others in Odesa.
Drugs: The Justice Department plans to recommend that the U.S. government ease restrictions on marijuana.
The U.S.: Four law enforcement officers were killed on Monday while serving a warrant in North Carolina, the police said.
London: A man with a sword killed a 14-year-old boy and injured several other people.
Mali: The government said it had killed a top Islamist commander who helped lead a 2017 attack that killed four U.S. and four Nigerien soldiers, as well as an interpreter.
Astronomy: Scientists used Google Cloud to identify 27,500 overlooked space rocks, more than those that were discovered by all of the world’s telescopes last year.

Business

Tech: E.U. regulators are investigating Meta for spread of disinformation, deceptive advertisements and potential failure to protect election integrity.
Climate: Germany hopes hydrogen will help it be a leader in green energy.

Health

Mammograms: U.S. experts recommended starting regular mammograms at age 40, reversing longstanding guidance that most women wait until 50.
Depression: Showering can be especially difficult during a dark period. Here are ways to make it easier.

MORNING READ

A view of a valley, with large rock formations and trees with orange foliage.

The Cochamó Valley is known as the Yosemite of South America. Puelo Patagonia

A wealthy businessman has agreed to sell a vast swath of Chile’s wilderness for $63 million. The buyers: a band of activists who have spent years thwarting his efforts to develop the property. They have two years to raise the necessary funds.

The deal is a case study in modern-day conservation. It took a unique confluence of legal, financial and political resources — plus a bit of luck — to protect the lands from relentless development.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Judd or dud: Can you tell the difference between Donald Judd’s furniture and a fake? Kim Kardashian couldn’t.
Gongs and chimes: Can a sound bath wash away your worries?
Mourning and laughter: After a comedian’s sudden death, stand-ups came together to grieve, and to confront comedy’s eternal question: Too soon?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times .

BROADWAY

“Hell’s Kitchen,” the Alicia Keys musical, top, and “Stereophonic,” a behind-the-music play. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Nominees for Broadway’s top prize

The nominees for the Tony Awards, which honor the top Broadway shows, were announced yesterday. “Hell’s Kitchen,” a semi-autobiographical Alicia Keys musical, and “Stereophonic,” about a group of musicians struggling to record an album, each got 13 nominations and tied for the most nods.

“For theatergoers, this is an exciting time, with so many options,” our theater reporter Michael Paulson said. “There are 35 shows now running, and they’re really varied in terms of style and content. For producers and investors, it’s a bit scarier, because Broadway has just become riskier than ever. So now everyone is watching to see how the new shows fare, and what kind of difference the nominations make.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

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Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Cook: Honey-garlic chicken breasts are big on flavor when you’re short on time.

Read: New novels from R.O. Kwon, Kevin Kwan and Miranda July are coming out next month.

Play: No Rest for the Wicked, from the video game studio known for the Ori series, offers players a dark fantasy inspired by Dark Souls and Diablo.

Maintain: What’s the best way to clean your microwave? We asked a professional with 40 years of experience.

Play: Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today. See you tomorrow. — Amelia

You can reach us at briefing@nytimes.com.

Thank you to Michael Paulson.

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