Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard, announced today that she will resign after weeks of criticism over her response to antisemitism on campus and questions about her academic record. Her resignation ended a turbulent tenure that began in July.
Support for Gay began eroding after what some saw as the university’s initial failure to forcefully condemn the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and some student responses. Calls for her ouster intensified last month when she said at a congressional hearing that it “depends on the context” whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated Harvard’s conduct rules. More recently, she has faced repeated accusations of plagiarism in her scholarship. A Harvard investigation found instances of inadequate citation in her work.
Some faculty members voiced dismay with what they described as a political campaign against Gay. Hundreds had signed public letters asking Harvard’s governing board to resist pressure to remove her. But ultimately, Gay wrote that “it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign.”
Her stint was the shortest of any president in the history of Harvard since its founding in 1636. She was the institution’s first Black president, and just the second woman to lead the university. Gay was also the second Ivy League leader to lose her job in recent weeks, following the resignation of Elizabeth Magill of the University of Pennsylvania.
“TWO DOWN,” Representative Elise Stefanik crowed on social media. Stefanik’s questions during the congressional hearing put Gay and Magill on the spot about antisemitism on their campuses. On Fox News, she promised that an ongoing congressional investigation of the universities would continue.
A senior Hamas leader was killed in Beirut
The deputy head of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, and two leaders of its armed wing were killed in an explosion in Lebanon today. They died in a fiery blast in a suburb of Beirut, the nation’s capital city, which had previously been untouched by the conflict.
Two senior U.S. officials confirmed that Israel was responsible for the strike, which occurred amid a meeting between Palestinian factions. One official said it was most likely the first of many covert strikes Israel will carry out against Hamas officials or operatives with any connections to Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appeared unlikely to immediately challenge a Supreme Court ruling rejecting a law limiting its own powers.
In Gaza, Israel’s military said it had begun withdrawing some troops. For now, however, heavy fighting has appeared to continue.
A Japanese passenger plane exploded after a collision
A Japan Airlines flight carrying 367 passengers and 12 crew members collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft today while landing at an airport in Tokyo. The crash killed five Coast Guard members and caused the passenger jet to burst into flames. But the airline said that every person on the Japan Airlines plane was able to evacuate to safety.
“The crew was spectacular in their reaction times,” one aviation expert said. “It really is a miracle.”
The Coast Guard members had been en route to deliver supplies to the region affected by the powerful earthquake that struck western Japan yesterday, killing at least 55 people.
Russian missiles struck Kyiv
About a hundred missiles as well as drones hammered Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities this morning in a large-scale Russian attack that killed at least five people and injured nearly 130 others.
The barrage, which officials said included advanced hypersonic missiles, came a day after President Vladimir Putin promised to retaliate for a Ukrainian assault on a Russian city. The attacks were the latest in an escalating cycle of air assaults between the two countries, as both sides look for ways to inflict damage away from the largely deadlocked front line.
More top news
Congress: Federal prosecutors charged Senator Robert Menendez with using his influence to aid the government of Qatar. He had already faced similar charges related to Egypt.
Court: Donald Trump’s lawyers filed an appeal seeking to overturn Maine’s decision to bar him from the state’s Republican primary ballot.
Business: Tesla sales rebounded in the last quarter of 2023 after a huge price cut, but its worldwide sales were surpassed by the Chinese maker BYD.
South Korea: Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the country’s main opposition party, was stabbed in the neck by a 66-year-old man.
Law: Jury selection began today in the trial of Wayne LaPierre, the longtime leader of the National Rifle Association, who is accused of corruption.
Health: More women who are not pregnant are ordering abortion pills just in case, especially in states where access is threatened.
Economy: California’s minimum wage rose to $16 an hour on Jan. 1, the second-highest statewide minimum in the nation.
Britain: A strained power grid and red tape on construction have slowed the country’s economy.
Crime: Kimberlee Singer, a Colorado woman who was accused of murdering two of her children, was arrested in London.
Sports: Jennifer Hermoso, the Spanish soccer star, testified about the unwanted kiss given to her by the country’s former soccer boss, in a hearing to determine if he will be charged.
Lives lived: Frank Ryan, a star quarterback in the 1960s who later introduced computers to the House of Representatives, died at 87.
TIME TO UNWIND
What do you expect from 2024?
One of my colleagues counts on rosettes becoming a go-to fashion choice. Another anticipates more elementary-school children showing up for class with smartwatches. Other predictions sound more unlikely. But the nice thing about this time of year is that almost anything seems possible.
As far as this year’s cultural events, our critics shared their most anticipated picks — including the last season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Move around to ease your fatigue
When you’re wiped out, getting up and moving might sound like a real drag. But the less active we are during the day, the more tired we feel. So, for today’s energy challenge, try to exercise for at least three minutes.
If you’re still feeling fatigued, take our short quiz to help identify what could be causing the sluggishness.
Dinner table topics
Unlikely new star: Jelly Roll, a rapper-turned-country singer known as much for emotional openness as for hits, is a surprise success and a Grammy contender.
Renovating a kitchen? Don’t forget the most crucial thing: light.
Football superstar: A plan was hatched to make the N.F.L. player Travis Kelce “as famous as The Rock.” It began long before you might have thought.
Baby T. rex or Nanotyrannus? A dinosaur fossil for sale in London embodies one of the most heated debates in paleontology.
WHAT TO DO TONIGHT
Cook: Start the year with a quick sheet-pan paneer tikka.
Watch: Stream these nine movies before they leave Netflix this month.
Read: The historian Jill Burke’s new book explores 16th-century beauty secrets.
Cut back: Dry January can feel rough at first. But it could have numerous benefits.
Decipher: There are so many different salts. Here is an explanation and a little advice.
Workout: You can upgrade your home gym without spending too much.
Compete: Take our quiz to see how well you know these worlds built by fantasy authors.
Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here.
ONE LAST THING
Mickey Mouse could star in your next film, free of charge
Yesterday, thousands of copyrighted works published in 1928 entered the public domain after their 95-year term expired, including Tigger, Peter Pan and the original, black-and-white version of Mickey Mouse.
This means that those characters and stories can be remade without permission. For example, Tigger will soon join his old friend in the sequel to “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” in which the lovable bear becomes a sledgehammer-wielding maniac.
Have an imaginative evening.
Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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