As Oregon State and Washington State prepare to face the dissolution of the Pac-12, athletes have left in droves, including some of the schools' biggest names. Eight players from the Oregon State women's team that went to the Elite Eight this month have entered the transfer portal. Twelve players from Washington State's men's basketball team have entered the portal. The departures were not unexpected but they have nonetheless stung the fanbases. On Monday, the NCAA formally moved the what was left of the conference out of the Power Five.
By JAMES POLLARD, NOREEN NASIR and NICK PERRY - Associated Press
Updated
Columbia University students who inspired pro-Palestinian demonstrations across the country say they have reached an impasse with administrators and intend to continue their encampment until their demands are met. The announcement Friday after exhaustive negotiations comes as Columbia’s president faces harsh criticism from faculty. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested across the nation, sometimes amid scuffles with police. Other schools have been quick to call law enforcement to douse demonstrations before they can take hold. Columbia officials have said they will seek other options if the negotiations with protesters fail.
By MATTHEW PERRONE and ZEKE MILLER - Associated Press
Updated
President Joe Biden’s administration is again delaying a sweeping plan to ban menthol cigarettes. The decision is certain to infuriate anti-smoking advocates but could avoid angering Black voters ahead of November elections. Biden’s top health official said Friday the administration would take more time to consider feedback on the ban. The announcement is another setback for the health officials at the Food and Drug Administration. They drafted the ban and predicted it would prevent hundreds of thousands of smoking-related deaths.
Rhona Graff, Donald Trump’s longtime executive assistant, has been called to the stand in the former president’s hush money trial in Manhattan. Graff started working for Trump in 1987 and left the Trump Organization in April 2021. She has been described as his gatekeeper and right hand, and was among several people involved in keeping his records. Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, the first prosecution witness called, testified Thursday that Graff was often the conduit for his communications with Trump. Graff says porn actor Stormy Daniels was once at Trump’s offices in Trump Tower.
A measure of inflation closely tracked by the Federal Reserve remained uncomfortably high in March, likely reinforcing the Fed’s reluctance to cut interest rates anytime soon and underscoring a burden for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Prices rose 0.3% from February to March, the same as in the previous month. It was the third straight month that the index has run at a pace faster than is consistent with the Fed’s 2% inflation target. Measured from a year earlier, prices were up 2.7% in March, up from 2.5% in February. After peaking in 2022, the Fed’s favored inflation index cooled for most of 2023. Yet so far this year, the index has remained stuck above the Fed’s target rate.
