Pro-Palestinian campus protests spread

And Trump appears to get some immunity support

Sign up for Reuters newsletters Weekend Briefing From Reuters Daily Briefing By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor Thanks for reading the Weekend Briefing. We have an excellent story out today on solar panels and how the renewable-energy boom puts some of the most valuable U.S. agricultural soil at risk. Reporter PJ Huffstutter joins our World News podcast to talk about solar's expansion into America's farming heartland. Students protest on Columbia University campus, New York City. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs Faculty panel rebukes Columbia leadership for police crackdown on protesters What's going on: While Columbia University in Manhattan remains the epicenter of the student movement protesting Israel's war in Gaza, campus demonstrations have spread across the United States, including to the University of Southern California, which canceled its main graduation ceremony. Read our "explainer" about the origins of the protests. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the protests were a hallmark of American democracy, while criticizing demonstrator silence on Hamas. Middle East latest: An Egyptian delegation met Israeli counterparts to seek a way to restart talks to end the Gaza war and release Israeli hostages, the U.N. closed one case and suspended three more in its investigation of reports that UNRWA staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any decisions the World Court makes will not stop its Gaza assault. Trump election-subversion case bogs down Delay of play: Donald Trump got another break when the Supreme Court signaled some support for his immunity claim, even as more of his allies faced prosecution for his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss. And former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified at Trump's hush-money trial that he suppressed a story about an alleged affair to help the former president's 2016 White House bid, even though it would have boosted newspaper sales. I also recommend this story on Trump's testing of the limits of the old saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Pennsylvania post-mortem: Voting in the battleground state highlighted weaknesses for President Biden and Trump in their White House bids. Biden struggled with voter turnout and the Palestinian protest movement, and plenty of Republicans threw their support behind former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley. The state represents 19 Electoral College votes toward the 270 needed to win, and is a toss-up between the two candidates. Oil, chemical-industry lobbyists have thoughts on plastics pollution Showing up: Nearly 200 fossil-fuel and chemical-industry lobbyists joined U.N. talks in Ottawa on the first global treaty to curb plastic pollution. Negotiators need to get agreement on a final draft by the end of the year, and as you might expect, some of these groups oppose strict production caps and product phase-outs. Copper and gold: Google's parent Alphabet announced its first stock dividend and Microsoft added about $54 billion to its market value after both companies reported quarterly results showing the results of their investments in artificial intelligence. For investors who prefer more tangible assets, mining company Anglo American rejected a $39 billion offer from BHP as undervalued. A takeover would create the world's largest miner of copper, a metal central to the clean-energy shift. Narendra Modi and the Muslim 'infiltrators' What did he say? The Indian prime minister in a speech last weekend said the rival Congress Party could confiscate and redistribute Indian wealth to "infiltrators" who have "more children." The comments refer to Muslims, India's largest religious minority. The BJP and its affiliates often criticize Muslims for high birth rates and invoke fears that its population could overtake that of the majority Hindus. Talk about a big job: As India's massive election continues and the rhetorical heat rises, groups like this one in Bengaluru are monitoring the spread of misinformation in coordination with the country's election commission. Before I forget…   King Charles will return to public duties for the first time since he was diagnosed with cancer. He is making progress following treatment and recuperation, Buckingham Palace said.   Portugal was responsible for crimes committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, its president said, suggesting there was a need for reparations. This comes after Haiti demanded reparations from France and support grows among African and Caribbean nations for a tribunal on slavery atrocities.   The UK's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is official. That nation's president said it would take as many migrants as Britain sends and urged "shouting" critics to let the plan proceed.   Wall Street banks and brokerages often publish notes by equity analysts about publicly traded companies. Why are they staying away from the Trump Media & Technology Group?   Don't look now*: Venice's new tourist fee was meant to keep the storied city's most picturesque districts from being overrun, but some locals say they don't like it. (My cousin paid the fee, then some seagulls stole his pistachio cannoli. He didn't have to pay extra for that privilege.)   If you read only one snooker story in your life, make it this one about the fabled Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, which an Iranian player said "smells really bad."   * Julie Christie, are you reading this? Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Weekend Briefing is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this newsletter? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036