Today's Higher Ed story

Court hands Harvard a win over Trump in funding battle

What happened
A federal judge in Boston yesterday ruled that the Trump administration's revocation of more than $2 billion in grants to Harvard violated the university's First Amendment rights and federal civil rights and procedural laws. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ordered the administration to restore Harvard's research grants and barred future cuts that violate her guidance.

Who said what
President Donald Trump launched a government-wide assault on Harvard in April, after the private university rejected his demands for broad internal changes. The White House argued that terminating "nearly a thousand federal grants" for everything from cancer research to efforts to alleviate battlefield injuries was "necessary to compel the university to do more to combat antisemitism," The Washington Post said.

In her ruling, Burroughs said a "review of the administrative record" made it clear the Trump administration "used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country's premier universities." The funding cuts and other punitive measures did not target antisemitism, she added, and amounted to "retaliation, unconstitutional conditions, and unconstitutional coercion."

What next?
Harvard's "significant victory" in court could "revive" its "sprawling research operation," The Associated Press said, but whether the university "actually receives the federal money remains to be seen." The White House said it would "immediately move to appeal this egregious decision" and insisted Harvard "remains ineligible for grants in the future." Still, the ruling was "an interim rebuff" of Trump's "campaign to remake elite higher education by force," The New York Times said, and it "could give Harvard new leverage" in "parallel settlement talks" with the White House.

Today's EPSTEIN FILES Story

Epstein accusers urge release of all files, hint at own list

What happened
Dozens of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse joined a rally outside the U.S. Capitol yesterday to urge the Trump administration to release all of its files on Epstein and his convicted sex-trafficking associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. The rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who are seeking support from colleagues to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Who said what
Epstein survivors, some speaking publicly for the first time, "tearfully recounted stories of sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein" and "the other powerful men they were trafficked to," the Miami Herald said. They backed the Massie-Khanna bill and "revealed they are planning to build their own 'client list.'" Lisa Phillips said she and other survivors "will confidentially compile the names we all know were regularly in the Epstein world."

President Donald Trump, a former longtime friend of Epstein, dismissed the rally as a "Democrat hoax that never ends." It's "not a hoax," Massie said. "There are real victims to this criminal enterprise and the perpetrators are being protected because they are rich and powerful." Massie told The New York Times he thought "the administration did a 180 on this because they discovered not thatTrump would be implicated, but some of their biggest donors and friends would be implicated and/or embarrassed."

What next?
Republican leaders are "hoping mightily that they have done enough to stop Massie and Khanna's momentum," the Times said. But after a lawyer for Epstein survivors said they were scared to share the client names, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) volunteered yesterday. "If they want to give me a list, I will walk in that Capitol on the House floor, and I'll say every damn name."

It's not all bad

Mexico's jaguar population has grown to 5,326, up from 4,100 in 2010, according to the latest census by the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation. This "extraordinary" increase is due primarily to larger protected areas that give the animals more room to roam, said lead researcher Gerardo Ceballos. Still, jaguars remain at risk of becoming extinct, and conservationists say more progress needs to be made against habitat loss, rancher conflicts and poaching.

Under the radar

China and Taiwan's world war of words

The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II has "set off a bitter battle of narratives" between China and Taiwan, Reuters said. China accused Taiwan of "blaspheming" against those who died fighting Japan during the war, amid rising tensions ahead of yesterday's military parade in Beijing to mark the anniversary of Japan's surrender. Taiwan says China is falsely claiming credit for leading the fighting during the war and insists that most of the combat was by the forces of the Republic of China — a term Taiwan still uses as its formal name.

The government in Taipei called on people not to attend Beijing's military parade and threatened punishment, including the loss of pension rights for current or former senior defense, intelligence and diplomatic officials who do go.

Meanwhile, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, has accused Taiwan of "slandering and obliterating" the Communist Party's role as the "backbone" of the fighting against Japan and said Taipei's claims were an insult to "all the loyal martyrs and heroes and a shameless betrayal of the entire Chinese nation." She went on to insist that the people of Taiwan "should not, and cannot, be absent from the relevant commemorative activities" and any threats or attempts to dissuade them were nothing but "despicable acts that betray history and the nation."

The war of words comes after years of increasingly close Chinese military activity around the island. Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te said the "most valuable lesson" to be learned from conflict was that "unity ensures victory, while aggression inevitably fails."

On this day

September 4, 2002

Singer Kelly Clarkson became the first winner of the reality TV show "American Idol." She went on to become a household name, releasing eight studio albums and hosting her own daytime talk show. "American Idol" also became a massive success and recently concluded its 23rd season.

TODAY'S newspaperS

'No deals'

"Epstein's accusers demand 'no deals,'" USA Today says on Thursday's front page. "Epstein victims say they will compile their own 'client list' and demand accountability," the Miami Herald says. "Florida plans to end vaccine mandates," The Washington Post says. "States unite to counter CDC chaos," the Los Angeles Times says. "HHS staff: Kennedy should resign," says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "White House calls in reinforcements for siege on wind energy," The New York Times says. "Trump's efforts have sucked wind out of the industry's sails," The Boston Globe says. "Influencers mount TikTok war against Mormon church," says The Wall Street Journal.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

No quiero AI

Taco Bell is reassessing its use of AI in drive-thru lines following reports of glitches, delays and "trolling" by customers ordering "18,000 cups of water," said The Wall Street Journal. The company is "thinking carefully about where and where not to use this tech" and analyzing data from 2 million AI transactions. Dane Mathews, Taco Bell's chief digital and technology officer, has had "mixed experiences" with the system, saying that "sometimes it lets me down, but sometimes it really surprises me."

Morning Report was written and edited by Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz, Chas Newkey-Burden, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.