By Jade Walker

Even though I suffer from trypanophobia (an overwhelming fear of needles), I received the shingles vaccine last weekend. I did it because I had chicken pox as a kid and do not want to experience this painful viral infection as an adult. According to a new study, there’s an additional benefit to the shingles vaccine: it may also reduce the risk of dementia. Now, I’m just hoping pharmaceutical companies will devise a less-traumatic way of administering vaccinations, like a lotion — or maybe in chocolate ice cream. 

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Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Harvard

Defy President Donald Trump and retribution will be swift. That’s the message the White House is sending to Harvard University after the school refused to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies, audit the viewpoints of students, faculty and staff and alter rules for on-campus protests. In response, the Trump administration froze $2.2 billion in federal grants at Harvard. The IRS is reportedly making plans to rescind the university's tax-exempt status. The Department of Homeland Security canceled two federal grants worth $2.7 million and threatened to strip Harvard of its ability to enroll international students unless it turns over its disciplinary records. And Trump trashed the school in a rant on his Truth Social site. As the university grapples with the sudden loss of funding, Harvard researchers are scrambling to figure out what to do about studies that are already in progress. Yet even as each school weighs having to cut budgets and staff, nearly 800 faculty members have signed a letter urging the university to resist the Trump administration’s demands. 

Deportation flights

A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that “probable cause exists” to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for violating his orders on deportation flights. US District Judge James Boasberg held an emergency hearing on March 15 and ordered the administration to pause its historic deportation campaign and turn around any planes carrying migrants that were already in the air. The administration did not do so. Boasberg is now seeking sworn statements about the officials who decided to ignore his order. If those statements aren’t satisfactory, he plans to call witnesses to testify at a hearing or in depositions. Boasberg could then ask the Justice Department to prosecute the officials or appoint a special prosecutor to the case.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is in the dark due to another island-wide blackout. The power outage occurred in the US territory on Wednesday afternoon as thousands of tourists packed into hotels to celebrate Easter vacation. It’s unclear what caused the blackout but officials said the electricity will not likely come back for another 48 to 72 hours. Residents are frustrated and angry because such outages have befallen Puerto Rico for years. The issue has only gotten worse since 2017 when Hurricane Maria pummeled the island and destroyed the power grid. Utility crews are still struggling to rebuild it.

Health budget cuts

The Trump administration plans to cut roughly one-third of the federal health budget, according to a memo from White House budget officials reviewed by CNN. Slashing tens of billions of dollars a year from the Department of Health and Human Services would likely lead to the elimination of dozens of programs, including grants and residency programs for rural hospitals and state offices. According to the memo, the plan calls for slashing the CDC’s budget by more than 40% and eliminating both its global health center and programs focused on chronic disease prevention and domestic HIV/AIDS prevention. Programs on gun violence, injury prevention, youth violence prevention, drowning, minority health and others would be eliminated entirely. The National Institutes of Health’s budget would also be reduced by more than 40%.

Meta

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent 10 hours on the stand this week defending his company against accusations that it bought competing social media companies in an effort to dominate the market. The blockbuster antitrust trial was focused on Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp and whether purchasing them created a monopoly. During his testimony, Zuckerberg pushed back on the Federal Trade Commission’s allegations, even as an email produced in court showed he had once suggested breaking off both companies. In another email from 2011, Zuckerberg noted that Instagram was becoming “a large and viable competitor.” A year later, Facebook acquired the company for $1 billion. And in 2013, Zuckerberg told an executive that he worried WhatsApp would develop features similar to Facebook and Instagram, and that Google might decide to acquire it. Facebook bought WhatsApp for $19 billion one year later. During cross-examination, Zuckerberg said he thought it was “extremely unlikely” that WhatsApp would build competitive features after meeting the platform’s co-founder. He also claimed that Meta had made both platforms better for users after acquiring them.

Hearing could determine fate of Menendez brothers

Erik and Lyle Menendez, who were given life behind bars for the 1989 murders of their parents in Beverly Hills, will have a hearing today to determine whether their sentence should be revised. If the judge grants the revised sentence, a parole board will review their case and could recommend them for parole. 

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New Emmy host announced
The Television Academy announced on Wednesday that comedian Nate Bargatze will emcee the Emmys in September. He's currently performing his "Big Dumb Eyes World Tour" to sold-out crowds around the world.

Fyre Fest 2’s future in doubt
Tickets for the festival are no longer available for purchase as organizers look for new locations to hold the event. The original 2017 Fyre Festival was so poorly managed that it inspired the 2019 documentary, “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.”

Saints win fleur-de-lis logo lawsuit
A federal court has dismissed a legal claim against the New Orleans Saints over the trademark of the fleur-de-lis symbol. Michel J. Messier, who says he is the “direct descendant of the Kings of France,” claimed that he and his family owned the “intellectual property rights" to the fleur-de-lis and sought to cancel the NFL franchise’s patent for the symbol.

Bummed about the closure of Party City?
The party supply company’s decision to shutter its 700 stores earlier this year left many wondering where to find decorations for birthday parties and holiday events. Michaels would like to fill that void. In addition to selling arts and crafts supplies, the retailer has expanded its party supply offerings to include 300 new balloon options and more than 500 celebration products.

Billie Eilish used to hate her name
But now, the Oscar and Grammy Award-winning singer has had a change of perspective.

$5.5 billion

That’s how big a financial hit Nvidia says it’s going to take after Washington placed fresh restrictions on the export of its H20 AI chips to China. 

“This is not about the money. It’s a minuscule amount of money in the federal budget, though it’s critical to meeting public media’s civic responsibilities. This is about attacking a free press.”

— Jim Schachter, CEO of New Hampshire Public Radio, commenting on the Trump administration’s attempt to defund NPR and PBS.

A fantastic find under the sea

Scientists have captured the first confirmed footage of the elusive colossal squid in its natural environment.

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