Massachusetts
Trump launches race-based discrimination probes of Harvard Law Review
The Trump administration on Monday announced federal officials are launching investigations into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review, saying authorities have received reports of race-based discrimination “permeating the operations” of the journal.
The investigations come as Harvard fights a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants the Trump administration imposed after the university refused to comply with demands to limit activism on campus. A letter sent to the university earlier this month called for the institution to clarify its campus speech policies that limit the time, place and manner of protests and other activities. It also demanded academic departments at Harvard that “fuel antisemitic harassment” be reviewed and changed to address bias and improve viewpoint diversity.
Monday marked the first time both sides met in court over the funding fight. The investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services were announced separately on Monday, with authorities saying they were investigating policies and practices involving the journal’s membership and article selection that they argue may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the federal government, the editor of the Harvard Law Review reportedly wrote that it was “concerning” that the majority of the people who had wanted to reply to an article about police reform “are white men.” A separate editor allegedly suggested “that a piece should be subject to expedited review because the author was a minority.”
“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement. “Title VI’s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. No institution — no matter its pedigree, prestige, or wealth — is above the law.”
A spokesperson for Harvard Law said in a statement that a similar claim was dismissed in 2018 by a federal court.
“Harvard Law School is committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations,” said Jeff Neal. “The Harvard Law Review is a student-run organization that is legally independent from the law school.”
Harvard is among multiple universities across the country where pro-Palestinian protests erupted on campus amid the war in Gaza last year. Republican officials have since heavily scrutinized those universities, and several Ivy League presidents testified before Congress to discuss antisemitism allegations. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution was the fifth Ivy League school targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration seeking to force compliance with its agenda.
Florida
Man charged with killing estranged wife in Spain dead from apparent suicide
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida businessman charged with kidnapping and killing his estranged wife in Spain was found dead from apparent suicide Monday morning in a South Florida federal prison, his defense attorney said.
David Knezevich, 37, was awaiting trial at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. He was charged last year with kidnapping and killing 40-year-old Ana Hedao Knezevich, who went missing in a case that has drawn international media attention.
Knezevich’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, said she learned that he was found dead in his cell but didn’t offer any details about how he died.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Knezevich was found unresponsive in his cell shortly after 8 a.m. EMS personnel eventually pronounced Knezevich dead. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service were notified.
Ana Knezevich disappeared from her Madrid apartment in February 2024, five weeks after she had moved there. Her body still hasn’t been found.
A man in a motorcycle helmet was seen sneaking into her apartment building and disabling a security camera, and was later seen wheeling out a suitcase.
Prosecutors say they have strong evidence Knezevich was the man in the helmet. They say he flew to Turkey from Miami six days before Ana’s disappearance, then immediately traveled to his native Serbia, where he rented a car. Security video captured Knezevich at a Madrid hardware store the same day his wife disappeared, and his rental car had been driven 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometers) when it was returned five weeks later, officials said.
The couple was in the middle of a contentious divorce while fighting over millions of dollars in properties, according to prosecutors. They had been married for 13 years.
Weintraub has said the split was amicable and the financial arrangements were being worked out.
Washington
Suspect in Noem’s purse theft is charged in federal court
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of stealing a purse from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was charged Monday in federal court with aggravated identity theft, robbery and fraud.
Video captured Mario Bustamante Leiva taking Noem’s purse while she dined at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., on April 20 under the protection of Secret Service agents, investigators said. He later used Noem’s stolen credit cards to buy over $200 in food and alcohol at a different restaurant, according to a Secret Service agent’s affidavit.
Police and federal agents arrested Bustamante Leiva on Saturday. Court records didn’t immediately list an attorney representing him.
The agent’s affidavit doesn’t name Noem, but the information in court records matches details of the theft from her.
Bustamante Leiva, 49. also is suspected of stealing purses from two other people at other restaurants earlier this month, the affidavit says.
Investigators said they identified Bustamante Leiva as a suspect in the thefts after he used a stolen gift card to make a purchase at a motel. He was shown a photo of Noem and told investigators that he didn’t know who she was, according to the affidavit. Investigators said they recovered Noem’s purse and wallet from his motel room.
In a prepared statement, Noem referred to the suspect as a “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.” Authorities said there was no evidence Noem was targeted because of her position.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer against Bustamante Leiva, a native of Chile, according to U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr.’s office.
Trump launches race-based discrimination probes of Harvard Law Review
The Trump administration on Monday announced federal officials are launching investigations into Harvard University and the Harvard Law Review, saying authorities have received reports of race-based discrimination “permeating the operations” of the journal.
The investigations come as Harvard fights a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants the Trump administration imposed after the university refused to comply with demands to limit activism on campus. A letter sent to the university earlier this month called for the institution to clarify its campus speech policies that limit the time, place and manner of protests and other activities. It also demanded academic departments at Harvard that “fuel antisemitic harassment” be reviewed and changed to address bias and improve viewpoint diversity.
Monday marked the first time both sides met in court over the funding fight. The investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services were announced separately on Monday, with authorities saying they were investigating policies and practices involving the journal’s membership and article selection that they argue may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the federal government, the editor of the Harvard Law Review reportedly wrote that it was “concerning” that the majority of the people who had wanted to reply to an article about police reform “are white men.” A separate editor allegedly suggested “that a piece should be subject to expedited review because the author was a minority.”
“Harvard Law Review’s article selection process appears to pick winners and losers on the basis of race, employing a spoils system in which the race of the legal scholar is as, if not more, important than the merit of the submission,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor in a statement. “Title VI’s demands are clear: recipients of federal financial assistance may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin. No institution — no matter its pedigree, prestige, or wealth — is above the law.”
A spokesperson for Harvard Law said in a statement that a similar claim was dismissed in 2018 by a federal court.
“Harvard Law School is committed to ensuring that the programs and activities it oversees are in compliance with all applicable laws and to investigating any credibly alleged violations,” said Jeff Neal. “The Harvard Law Review is a student-run organization that is legally independent from the law school.”
Harvard is among multiple universities across the country where pro-Palestinian protests erupted on campus amid the war in Gaza last year. Republican officials have since heavily scrutinized those universities, and several Ivy League presidents testified before Congress to discuss antisemitism allegations. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution was the fifth Ivy League school targeted in a pressure campaign by the administration seeking to force compliance with its agenda.
Florida
Man charged with killing estranged wife in Spain dead from apparent suicide
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida businessman charged with kidnapping and killing his estranged wife in Spain was found dead from apparent suicide Monday morning in a South Florida federal prison, his defense attorney said.
David Knezevich, 37, was awaiting trial at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. He was charged last year with kidnapping and killing 40-year-old Ana Hedao Knezevich, who went missing in a case that has drawn international media attention.
Knezevich’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, said she learned that he was found dead in his cell but didn’t offer any details about how he died.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Knezevich was found unresponsive in his cell shortly after 8 a.m. EMS personnel eventually pronounced Knezevich dead. The FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service were notified.
Ana Knezevich disappeared from her Madrid apartment in February 2024, five weeks after she had moved there. Her body still hasn’t been found.
A man in a motorcycle helmet was seen sneaking into her apartment building and disabling a security camera, and was later seen wheeling out a suitcase.
Prosecutors say they have strong evidence Knezevich was the man in the helmet. They say he flew to Turkey from Miami six days before Ana’s disappearance, then immediately traveled to his native Serbia, where he rented a car. Security video captured Knezevich at a Madrid hardware store the same day his wife disappeared, and his rental car had been driven 4,800 miles (7,700 kilometers) when it was returned five weeks later, officials said.
The couple was in the middle of a contentious divorce while fighting over millions of dollars in properties, according to prosecutors. They had been married for 13 years.
Weintraub has said the split was amicable and the financial arrangements were being worked out.
Washington
Suspect in Noem’s purse theft is charged in federal court
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man accused of stealing a purse from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was charged Monday in federal court with aggravated identity theft, robbery and fraud.
Video captured Mario Bustamante Leiva taking Noem’s purse while she dined at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., on April 20 under the protection of Secret Service agents, investigators said. He later used Noem’s stolen credit cards to buy over $200 in food and alcohol at a different restaurant, according to a Secret Service agent’s affidavit.
Police and federal agents arrested Bustamante Leiva on Saturday. Court records didn’t immediately list an attorney representing him.
The agent’s affidavit doesn’t name Noem, but the information in court records matches details of the theft from her.
Bustamante Leiva, 49. also is suspected of stealing purses from two other people at other restaurants earlier this month, the affidavit says.
Investigators said they identified Bustamante Leiva as a suspect in the thefts after he used a stolen gift card to make a purchase at a motel. He was shown a photo of Noem and told investigators that he didn’t know who she was, according to the affidavit. Investigators said they recovered Noem’s purse and wallet from his motel room.
In a prepared statement, Noem referred to the suspect as a “a career criminal who has been in our country illegally for years.” Authorities said there was no evidence Noem was targeted because of her position.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer against Bustamante Leiva, a native of Chile, according to U.S. Attorney Ed Martin Jr.’s office.
