What happened
President Donald Trump yesterday doubled his $500 million demand from Harvard University, ramping up his long-running feud with the university over disputed claims of antisemitism. Harvard is “feeding a lot of ‘nonsense’ to the Failing New York Times” about the cash demand being dropped, Trump said in a series of social media posts Monday night and yesterday morning. “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University.”

Who said what
Trump’s “blistering attack” on Harvard followed a New York Times report that he “privately told negotiators he was willing to drop his demand for a $200 million payment” and $300 million workforce training investment if it “would secure an agreement,” the Times said. This “sudden shift was characteristic” of Trump’s “vacillating demands” while trying to “hammer out a Harvard deal” he views as central to his “broader push to alter the culture of a higher education system he had derided as a factory of ’woke’ ideology.”

With the new cash demand, “both sides appear to move further from reaching a deal,” The Associated Press said. Trump’s “outburst” leaves Harvard and the White House “firmly entrenched” in a conflict that he has repeatedly “said was nearing an end” since June. 

What next?
Trump “fired a new shot in his war with Harvard,” but “the battleground has changed” in the university’s favor, The Wall Street Journal said. Harvard “rode into 2026 on the back of significant court victories” that restored $2.2 billion in funding and “halted Trump’s bids to block international students.” The fight isn’t over, the Times said, but Harvard has “seen that it can survive bombardment from the White House.”

What happened
The U.S. yesterday shot down an Iranian uncrewed drone in the Arabian Sea and intervened when two Iranian military vessels intercepted a U.S. merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said. The incidents occurred amid heightened tensions in the region as President Donald Trump ramps up the U.S. military presence in the region and both countries prepare for bilateral talks later this week. 

Who said what
A U.S. Navy F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone that "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincolnwith “unclear intent,” about 500 miles from Iran’s southern coast, U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement. Several hours later, the guided missile destroyer USS McFaul intervened and escorted the Stena Imperative to safety after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces, backed by another drone, “harassed” and attempted to board the U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed ship.

Trump threatened to attack Iran last month “after its government brutally crushed anti-government protests,” killing thousands of demonstrators, The New York Times said. “As the protests have ebbed,” he “shifted his focus to demanding a deal that would end Iran’s nuclear program,” among other stipulations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on social media yesterday his envoys would “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the U.S., but only in a “suitable environment” that is “free from threats and unreasonable expectations.”

What next?
Yesterday’s skirmishes strained but did not derail “already tenuous negotiations over the staging” of the upcoming meeting, The Washington Post said. Multilateral talks were scheduled to begin Friday in Istanbul, but Tehran “requested a new format and location for the meeting,” and now just Iranian and U.S. envoys are expected to meet in Oman.