What makes a Kentucky Derby champion? Big hearts, immense lungs and powerful legs

• April 30, 2025

By LAURA UNGAR and CHRISTINA LARSON, Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — On a crisp, clear morning, a chestnut thoroughbred thundered down the dirt strip at Churchill Downs, his exercise rider leaning forward above the saddle. Other horse-and-rider pairs followed.

Dr. Will Farmer looked down from a viewing point, admiring the speed and agility of the 1,000-pound animals.

The whole world will have the chance to see horses in action here Saturday, when the Kentucky Derby shines a global spotlight on equine athleticism. It’s the subject of a growing body of research that cites a constellation of characteristics: big hearts, immense lung capacity, robust musculoskeletal systems and long, thin legs – all of which helped horses survive in the wild.

“It goes back to the roots: They are an animal of prey,” said Farmer, a veterinarian and equine medical director at Churchill Downs Inc. “That’s how they got away from being eaten.”

Horses honed skills such as running, jumping and pulling as humans bred and trained them for various purposes over millennia. And the 151st Derby — horse racing’s most-watched event — will draw attention not only to the animals’ skills, but also to concerns about their treatment and health. Advocates have long raised concerns about deaths and injuries — calls that were amplified two years ago, when 12 horses died at Churchill Downs.

There’s no doubt that war, agriculture and societies have been transformed by the human-horse relationship.

“Horses allowed us to circumvent our own biological limitations as a species,” said Timothy Winegard, a historian at Colorado Mesa University and author of a recent book, “The Horse.” “We combined our brains with the horses’ size, strength, stamina and speed to form the most unstoppable animal coalition.”

What makes horses so powerful?

A horse’s heart and lungs are the source of its extraordinary power.

The heart averages 10 to 12 pounds, or about 1% of the animal’s body weight, compared with half a percent for the typical human heart. Secretariat, the storied horse that won the Triple Crown in 1973, was found after his death to have a heart weighing more than 20 pounds.

Horse hearts are built for exertion. The average horse can go from a resting heart rate of about 34 beats per minute to 220 or 240 while racing – faster than a human heart during maximum exertion.

“One thing that’s really unique about horses is that they have an incredible capacity to move blood around their bodies — their heart rate can go really high and still be safe,” said University of Connecticut researcher Sarah Reed, editor in chief of the journal Animal Frontiers.

They also have a lung capacity of 60 liters – 10 times that of humans.

“That massive lung field allows for oxygen to transfer from the air into their blood, which is vitally important for sustaining aerobic energy,” Farmer said.

Recent research in the journal Science found that a genetic mutation enables horses to avoid negative side effects of super high energy production.

“Horses are great athletes because they can deliver a lot of oxygen to their muscles – way more than an elite human can —and by elite human, I mean Olympic athlete,” said Gianni Castiglione, the study’s co-author. “They have a bigger tank of gas and they have a more efficient engine … and this mutation is contributing to both of those things.”

What is behind horses’ speed and other skills?

Other aspects of a horse’s biology enhance its abilities.

Horses store extra red blood cells in their spleens. These cells are released to carry even more oxygen around the body during intense exertion.

“Adrenaline when exercising causes the spleen to release extra red blood cells into circulation,” veterinarian Hilary Clayton said. “What horses are doing is essentially ‘blood doping’ themselves.”

Meanwhile, horses’ brains allow them to process sensory information and react quickly. That’s despite having frontal lobes, parts of the brain used for thought and planning that are proportionally smaller than those in humans.

“Brainwise, they’re designed with a real desire to play and run independent of any fear,” said Dr. Scott Bailey, a veterinarian at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, a thoroughbred breeding farm where Secretariat is buried. Horses are also able to focus intently, which “is really important for an athlete.”

Bone structure and musculature also help. The ligaments and tendons in their hind legs act like springs, Farmer said, helping propel them forward. Like other large prey animals, he added, they have “long, thin legs that are meant to run.”

What about the risks for horses?

The adaptations that make horses faster also predispose them to injury, Reed said. Their skinny legs absorb the impact of each stride, she said, and over time the repetitive stress of racing and training can lead to deformation of tendons and ligaments.

In 2023, deaths occurred not only at Churchill Downs, but other major racing venues, affecting public perceptions of the sport and sparking changes. Reviews found no single cause for the deaths. But for 2024, Churchill Downs upgraded equipment used on its dirt surface and added an equine safety and integrity veterinarian.

In its annual report, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority noted the steps being taken to reduce injuries and fatalities — expanded veterinary protocols, pre-race inspections and uniform medication oversight. And, it said, the rate of deaths at authority-accredited tracks dropped in 2024, by 27%.

What makes a champion?

Experts say a healthy, safe environment brings out the best in a horse — but they still don’t know what makes certain horses standouts at the race track.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” Bailey said. “Every thoroughbred owner is trying to match the genetics of the parents in order to make the horse with the greatest chance of winning.”

Breeding is only part of the equation, experts said; nurture, training and the horse-rider relationship also factor in. Each time a horse emerges seemingly out of nowhere to win the Kentucky Derby, Farmer is reminded of this.

“You don’t have to be this star-studded bred horse that cost a million dollars at sale to come and win and be a great runner,” he said, raising his voice slightly above the din of galloping hooves. “There are a lot of great horses.”

Larson reported from Washington, D.C.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

​ Orange County Register 

Vietnam celebrates 50 years since war’s end with focus on peace and unity

• April 30, 2025

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam on Wednesday celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of its modern nation with a military parade and a focus on a peaceful future.

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975 marked the end of a Vietnam divided into the communist North and U.S.-allied South, and the country’s top official told crowds the past decades had led to ever increasing unity.

“All the Vietnamese are the descendants of Vietnam. They have the rights to live and work, to have freedom to pursue happiness and love in this country,” said To Lam, the Vietnam Communist Party’s general secretary.

“In a spirit of closing the past, respecting differences, aiming for the future, the whole party, the people and the army vow to make Vietnam become a country of peace, unity, prosperity and development,” he added.

Thousands camped overnight on the streets of the former South Vietnamese capital, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after it fell to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, to get the best vantage point for the parade. Many lingered on the streets later in the afternoon and had picnics while waiting for drone and fireworks shows in the evening.

The red and yellow of Vietnam’s national flag was everywhere in the city — fluttering from buildings, painted on the faces of eager teenagers and on the T-shirts of those who had traveled to the city from all over the country.

“Now it’s time for peace,” said spectator Nguyen Thi Hue, a city resident. “Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants.”

One float carried the mythical Lac bird, Vietnam’s emblem, another a portrait of Ho Chi Minh.

Chinese, Laotian and Cambodian troops marched behind Vietnamese army formations, including some wearing uniforms similar to what was worn by northern Vietnamese troops during the war. Helicopters carrying the national flag and jets flew over the parade near Independence Palace, where a North Vietnamese tank smashed through the gates on the final day of the war.

Crowds soaked in the spectacle as they gathered outside the barricades and at some street corners where giant screens had been set up. Phones raised and eyes wide, people waved and cheered at the marching soldiers. Those at home huddled over their television sets.

Sitting next to Vietnam’s leader were Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen and Laotian Communist Party General Secretary Thongloun Sisoulith.

To Lam said beyond a victory over the U.S. and South Vietnam, the fall of Saigon was a “glorious landmark” that ended a 30-year fight for independence that began with the fight to oust French colonial troops.

He said Vietnam owes its position in the world today to support from the Soviet Union, China and solidarity from Laos and Cambodia, as well as “progressive” people all over the world including the U.S., he said.

Vietnam’s changing global approach

The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam’s comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.

“The war still defines Vietnam’s unity, and its unresolved divides,” Giang said.

For Pham Ngoc Son, a veteran who fought for the communists, today there is “only space for peace and friendship” between the U.S. and Vietnam.

“The war is over a long time ago,” said the 69-year-old who, during the war, served as an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south along the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret supply route used by North Vietnam.

Passage of time has led to improved relations with U.S.

This year also marks the 30-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the U.S.

In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the U.S. to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, the highest diplomatic status it gives to any country and the same level of relations as China and Russia.

There are new signs of strain in the relationship with Washington, however, with President Donald Trump’s imposition of heavy tariffs and the cancellation of much foreign aid, which has affected war remediation efforts in Vietnam.

Vietnamese officials say the relationship with the U.S. is anchored in American efforts to address war legacies such as Agent Orange contamination and unexploded ordnance in the countryside that still threaten lives.

The future of those projects is now at risk because of the Trump administration’s broad cuts to USAID.

Moreover, the export-dependent country is vulnerable in a global economy made fragile amid Trump’s tariff plans.

Vietnam was slammed with reciprocal tariffs of 46%, one of the highest. This puts a “big question mark” on what the U.S. wants to achieve in Asia, said Huong Le-Thu of the International Crisis Group think tank.

Previously, close ties with Washington have helped Vietnam balance its relations with its much larger and more powerful neighbor China, she said.

Vietnam is one of the countries, along with the Philippines, that has been involved in direct confrontations with China over conflicting maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Focus on economic and not strategic competition may mean that Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia become less important for the U.S.

“It really will be shaping up (on) how the new administration sees the strategic picture in the Indo-Pacific and where countries like Vietnam would fit in,” she said.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce on Tuesday refused to comment on reports that the Trump administration had discouraged diplomats from attending anniversary events. “I’m not going to discuss what has been suggested or not suggested,” she said.

The Embassy in Hanoi said U.S. consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Susan Burns had attended the event. U.S. ambassador Marc E. Knapper didn’t attend.

Who took part in the parade?

About 13,000 people, including troops, militias, veterans and local citizens took part in the parade. The route followed the main boulevard leading to the Independence Palace before branching into city streets and passed the U.S. Consulate.

A video of Chinese troops singing the iconic song “As If Uncle Ho Were With Us on Victory Day” during a rehearsal was shared widely on social media. Chinese leader Xi Jinping had visited Vietnam earlier in the month in a bid to present the country as a force for stability in contrast with Trump.

Hau Dinh in Ho Chi Minh City, and Matthew Lee in Washington, contributed to this report.

For more coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s end, visit https://apnews.com/hub/vietnam-war.

​ Orange County Register 

UK military launches airstrikes with US targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels

• April 30, 2025

By JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The British military launched airstrikes with the United States targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said early Wednesday, their first attack in Washington’s new intense campaign targeting the Iran-backed group.

The United Kingdom offered a detailed explanation for launching the strike, in a departure from the U.S., which has offered few details about what it says are more than 1,000 targets it has hit since beginning its campaign on March 15.

The campaign, called “Operation Rough Rider,” has been targeting the rebels as the Trump administration negotiates with their main benefactor, Iran, over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

UK strike hits near Yemen’s capital

The U.K. Defense Ministry described the site attacked as “a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some 15 miles south of Sanaa.”

Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s took part in the raid, dropping Paveway IV guided bombs, the ministry added.

“The strike was conducted after dark, when the likelihood of any civilians being in the area was reduced yet further,” the ministry said.

The British offered no information on the damage done in the strike, nor whether they believed anyone had been killed.

The U.S. military’s Central Command didn’t acknowledge the strike.

“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation,” U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said. “A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fueling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the U.K.”

The Houthis reported several strikes around Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which the group has held since 2014. Other strikes hit around Saada.

The British have taken part in airstrikes alongside the U.S. since the Biden administration began its campaign of strikes targeting the Houthis back in January 2024. However, this new strike is the first to see the British involved in the campaign under U.S. President Donald Trump.

UK strike comes after US allegedly hit prison

The joint U.K.-U.S. strike follows an alleged U.S. airstrike on Monday that hit a prison holding African migrants, killing at least 68 people and wounding 47 others. The U.S. military said it was investigating.

On April 18, an American strike on the Ras Isa fuel port killed at least 74 people and wounded 171 others in the deadliest known attack of the U.S. campaign.

The U.S. is conducting strikes on Yemen from its two aircraft carriers in the region — the USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea and the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea, targeting the Houthis because of the group’s attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on Israel.

The Houthis are the last militant group in Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance” that is capable of regularly attacking Israel. The rebels began their attacks over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli decision to block the flow of aid to Palestinians.

The American strikes have drawn controversy in the United States over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the unclassified Signal messaging app to post sensitive details about the attacks.

​ Orange County Register 

Mother’s Day 2025: What restaurants are offering, from strawberries to steak

• April 30, 2025

From take-home brunches to full sit-down meals, restaurants will be trying to offer mom something a little special on Mother’s Day.

It falls on Sunday, May 11, this year but many restaurant chains have specials all weekend or even longer.

Some full service restaurants take reservations, and it might be good to get one for the holiday.

Here are what some chains have announced on their websites, in social media or in news releases. Prices and participation may vary by location.

Full service

Black Angus Steakhouse: A Campfire Feast for Two costs $69 and includes choice of starter, entree, two sides and dessert. blackangus.com

California Pizza Kitchen: Guests can order heart-shaped pizzas May 10-12. Also, there will be Red-Berry Sangrias for $8. cpk.com

Claim Jumper Steakhouse & Bar: The chain will be serving Mother’s Day brunch 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Prices vary by location. Costa Mesa and San Diego Harbor restaurants won’t be participating. claimjumper.com

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse: A three-course brunch menu will be available 11 a.m.-3 p.m. May 10-11. Entrees range from $55 to $96 and include rack of lamb and filet mignon with North Atlantic lobster tail. flemingssteakhouse.com

Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar: A gift card promotion for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day runs through June 30. Customers who buy $50 in gift cards will get a $10 promo card in return. Lazy Dog recently launched its spring menu with such items as Spinach Enchilada Casserole, Loco Moco Fried Rice and Summer Market Salad. https://www.lazydogrestaurants.com/

Lucille’s BBQ: Moms will receive a $10 bonus card. A Mother’s Day weekend “Best of BBQ” menu features fried chicken, grilled salmon and ribs. lucillesbbq.com

Marie Callender’s: There will be dine-in three-course specials with entrees such as ham or salmon for around $25.99-$29.99. Takeout feasts are also available. And it’s fresh strawberry pie season. Whole pies cost around $22.99.

Mimi’s Cafe: Heat-and-serve brunch feasts that serve eight are available for around $159.99. There are also indvidual breakfast boxes for around $12.99 each. Seasonal dine-in specials include Tiramisu Stuffed French Toast, $16.99, and Pineapple Upside Down Muffins, $4.69. mimiscafe.com

Norms: Catered brunch that serves eight to 10 people costs $99.99 and includes scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, sausage and coffee. Dine-in specials include Filet Mignon Steak Omelette for $19.99 and Filet Mignon Steak Dinner for $21.99. Diners can get a free Tres Leches dessert with any filet mignon purchase through May 11. norms.com

North Italia: A $100 gift card purchase can get a $20 bonus card. The brunch menu includes seasonal specials such as Strawberry & Cream French Toast. northitalia.com

Ruth’s Chris Steak House: Restaurants will open early for brunch, including such items as Tenderloin Eggs Benedict. ruthschris.com

Polly’s Pies: The Orange County-based chain is offering a take-home fam feast through May 22. It includes a choice of pie. Prices are $94.99-$179.99. For dine-in, spring specials include Balsamic Avocado Toast, $15.99. pollyspies.com

Telefèric Barcelona: A special menu will feature such items as Crab Croquetas and Prime Wellington. telefericbarcelona.com

The Cheesecake Factory: Customers who buy a $50 gift card online can get a $10 bonus card for use May 12-June 4. The Cheesecake Factory recently refreshed its menu with more than 20 new items and cocktails. thecheesecakefactory.com

Fast casual, quick service

Dog Haus: Members get four-times loyalty points for ordering in advance for curbside pickup or delivery. doghaus.com

KFC: In time for Mother’s Day, the chain is bringing back chicken and waffles and introducing a new dessert, Strawberry & Crème Pie Poppers. Think of it as brunch in a bag. kfc.com

Mountain Mike’s: Heart-shaped pizzas will be available May 8-11. Get $3 off using the code HEARTMOM3. mountainmikespizza.com

Sweets

Baskin-Robbins: Customizable cakes include a Strawberries ‘n Cream Cake topped with real strawberries for around $48.99. baskinrobbins.com

Krispy Kreme: The current special is Craving Cheesecake Doughnuts, including one with cheesecake-flavored filling, strawberry icing and graham cracker topping. krispykreme.com

Nothing Bundt Cakes: A #NothingBundtMoms Sweepstakes runs through May 12. The grand prize is a $4,000 cruise gift card, a $2,000 flight gift card and $1,000 in cash. Baked goods include a “Best Mom A’round” decorated with a silk hydrangea. nothingbundtcakes.com

See’s Candies: The Mother’s Day Collection includes pastel boxes and keepsake tins decorated with butterflies and spring flowers. sees.com

​ Orange County Register 

Europe saw stronger growth at start of year, but Trump’s tariffs have darkened outlook

• April 30, 2025

By DAVID McHUGH

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy grew more strongly in the first three months of the year, only to see hopes for an ongoing recovery quickly squelched by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

Gross domestic product in the 20 eurozone countries grew 0.4% in the first quarter, improving on 0.2% growth in the last part of 2024, according to official figures released Wednesday by European Union statistics agency Eurostat.

But on April 2, just two days after the end of the quarter, Trump announced an onslaught of new tariffs on almost every U.S. trading partner and hit goods imported from the EU with a 20% tariff rate. That has led to widespread downgrading of Europe’s growth outlook for the year since its economy is heavily dependent on exports and the U.S. is its largest single export destination.

Although Trump has announced a 90-day pause on what he calls his “reciprocal” tariffs — so named because they are based on how he feels other countries have been treating the U.S. —prospects that the EU can strike a bargain to reduce the 20% figure are highly uncertain.

Meanwhile, other tariffs — such as a 25% rate on steel and aluminum and on cars, both of them for all trading partners, including Europe, remain in place. The costs of tariffs are paid by the companies that import European goods such as cars and pharmaceuticals, which then have to decide whether to swallow the costs or pass them on to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

As a result, indicators of business and consumer optimism in Europe have fallen. The European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator sagged to 93.6 in March, its lowest level since December. That drop in sentiment is “another illustration of how the last four weeks of tariff tensions and uncertainty have entirely wiped out the tentative return of optimism in the eurozone,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING bank.

“Unless there are major changes in U.S. trade policy, sentiment as well as economic activity in the eurozone will remain subdued over the coming months,” Brzeski said.

Before Trump’s announcement, hopeful signs had included a strong job market, with unemployment low at 6.1% and consumers beginning to spend more after several years of holding back because of inflation.

With inflation down to 2.2%, the European Central Bank has been lowering the cost of credit for consumers and businesses by cutting its benchmark interest rate seven times in its current easing cycle, most recently by a quarter of a percentage point on April 17.

On top of that, the German parliament has approved a 500-billion euro ($570 billion) investment fund that’s exempt from the country’s constitutional limits on debt. That decision by the incoming coalition of the center-right Union bloc and the Social Democrats has raised hopes of additional spending on pro-growth infrastructure over the coming years.

However, Trump’s tariffs have lowered expectations for Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy and its economic problem child. The outgoing government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz lowered its growth estimate for this year to zero after two previous years of declining output. Parliament is expected to elect center-right Union leader Friedrich Merz as chancellor on May 6 in the wake of a Feb. 23 national election.

​ Orange County Register 

Trump administration cuts $1 billion in school mental health grants, citing conflict of priorities

• April 30, 2025

By COLLIN BINKLEY, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is moving to cancel $1 billion in school mental health grants, saying they reflect the priorities of the previous administration.

Grant recipients were notified Tuesday that the funding will not be continued after this year. A gun violence bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022 sent $1 billion to the grant programs to help schools hire more psychologists, counselors and other mental health workers.

A new notice said an Education Department review of the programs found they violated the purpose of civil rights law, conflicted with the department’s policy of prioritizing merit and fairness, and amounted to an inappropriate use of federal money.

The cuts were made public in a social media post from conservative strategist Christopher Rufo, who claimed the money was used to advance “left-wing racialism and discrimination.” He posted excerpts from several grant documents setting goals to hire certain numbers of nonwhite counselors or pursue other diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“No more slush fund for activists under the guise of mental health,” Rufo wrote.

The Education Department confirmed the cuts. In an update to members of Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press, department officials said the Republican administration will find other ways to support mental health.

“The Department plans to re-envision and re-compete its mental health program funds to more effectively support students’ behavioral health needs,” according to the notice.

President Donald Trump’s administration has cut billions of dollars in federal grants deemed to be related to DEI and has threatened to cut billions more from schools and colleges over diversity practices. The administration says any policy that treats people differently because of their race amounts to discrimination, and it argues that DEI has often been used to discriminate against white and Asian American students.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

European universities strain for neutrality amid political chaos

• April 30, 2025

By Laura Alviž and Paula Doenecke, Bloomberg News

Universities on both sides of the Atlantic were under intense pressure to deal with campus conflict over political issues long before the Trump administration started cracking down on higher education.

In the past three years, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza, prompted by a Hamas attack, have led to student protests around the world and put university administrators in the uncomfortable position of having to take political positions – or try their best not to.

“These days, there is hardly a crisis that doesn’t hit the campus with unbridled force,” said Ulrich Rüdiger, rector of RWTH Aachen, one of Germany’s top research universities.

In countries like Switzerland and Germany, universities have generally tried to stay neutral, which has in turn raised questions about whether that’s a realistic goal, and what such neutrality might be in service of.

At the beginning of March, ETH Zurich received a questionnaire from the Trump administration asking whether a research project that receives US funding was in line with new government policies on diversity, equity and inclusion. The university, which has received about $2.5 million on average over the last 10 years from the US government, decided not to respond, according to ETH Zurich spokesperson Vanessa Bleich. Later in March, the university announced that it would not make official statements on geopolitical issues.

Switzerland guarantees freedom of research and teaching. At the same time, Swiss universities have to abide by laws restricting the export of technologies that can have both civil and military applications, including those designed in universities. As a result, ETH Zurich announced last year that it would increase scrutiny in the admission of foreign students, especially from China. The decision was denounced by students and researchers, including some who described the policy as in conflict with the country’s geopolitical neutrality.

In Germany, where the most universities are financed by the government, institutions have to be politically neutral when it comes to party politics, and follow German law. But that’s the extent of it – universities are free to take stands when not doing so would threaten their functioning, and they are allowed to uphold values enshrined in the country’s constitution, a policy that allows for broad interpretation.

Often, these actions are relatively uncontroversial. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, universities in Constance, Halle and Cologne, among others, issued statements expressing solidarity with Ukraine. The following year, the Technical University of Dresden campaigned for their research fellow, economist Gubad Ibadoghlu, to be released from prison in Azerbaijan. In early 2024, the HRK, an organization that represents Germany’s university rectors, called on the country’s scientific community to stand against discrimination in response to a secret meeting between members of the far-right AfD party and neo-Nazi sympathizers.

Israel’s war in Gaza, however, has complicated matters. As universities around the world have erupted in protest, German institutions have been influenced by the so-called reason of state doctrine, which mandates that the country defend and preserve the state of Israel. Consequently, many German universities have held fast to partnerships with Israeli universities, and in some cases, doubled down on them.

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, a German research university that considers itself politically neutral, said in March it was going to intensify its relationships with Tel Aviv University, the University of Haifa and Hasoub, an Arab-Israeli innovation center. KIT does not want to “exclude or separate itself,” but rather foster dialogue, the university said.

German society at large is more critical of Israel’s actions. A ZDF Politbarometer survey, one of Germany’s most important opinion polls, indicates that already in early 2024, only 18% of respondents still believed Israel’s military activity in Gaza was justified and 87% wanted Western governments to increase pressure on the Jewish state to ensure that aid reaches civilians.

As the government has taken additional steps to defend Israel under the banner of fighting antisemitism, questions have been raised about how far is too far. Last November, the HRK pushed back against news that Germany’s parliament intended to call out the country’s higher education sector for failing to act more decisively against antisemitism. The rectors’ organization called the move “objectively not necessary” and “not useful against the backdrop of university autonomy and academic freedom.” Three months later, the Bundestag passed a resolution calling on universities to take stronger stands against antisemitism.

While she thinks universities should try to steer clear of taking geopolitical positions, Jutta Günther, the rector of the University of Bremen, believes no one should be prevented from standing up for Germany’s constitution, the Basic Law. “We are not neutral towards the Basic Law, we are committed to it. It is the foundation that guarantees freedom of research and teaching in the first place,” she said. In an article Günther wrote for a German science and education website, she appealed to the scientific community to fight for democracy at a moment in which it is under attack.

Such actions are important, said Jonathan Dreusch, the political secretary at the German National Union of Students, but he cautioned that political stands must be taken organically, and not in response to outside pressures. “Universities must not become pawns. And this also includes instrumentalizing them for short-term political purposes, even with the best of intentions,” he said.

©2025 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Nigel Farage wants to transform British politics. He faces a key test this week

• April 30, 2025

By JILL LAWLESS

SCUNTHORPE, England (AP) — Tucking into tea and cake in the spring sunshine, Nigel Farage glows with anticipation and big ambitions.

The man who helped drag Britain out of the European Union wants to displace the Conservatives as country’s main party on the right, challenge left-of-center Labour for power and ultimately reach the prime minister’s office.

That seems like a longshot for the hard-right politician whose Reform UK party holds just four of the 650 seats in the House of Commons. But Reform has surged in opinion polls, and sees Thursday’s local elections in England as a pivot point in its quest to transform British politics.

“This is one of the big hurdles that we have to clear en route to the next general election,” Farage told The Associated Press about the upcoming vote at a cafe in the steel town of Scunthorpe. And when that national election comes, “we intend to completely change British history and win it.”

Reform on the rise

Reform got about 14% of the vote in last year’s national election, but polls now suggest its support equals or surpasses that of governing Labour and the opposition Conservatives.

The party blends Farage’s longstanding political themes — strong borders, curbing immigration — with policies reminiscent of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Farage says he plans “a DOGE for every county,” inspired by Elon Musk’s controversial spending-slashing agency.

“We have a plan,” Farage said. “You bring the auditors in, find out why all this money is being spent on consultants and agency workers, end work from home — boom, gone, done, over.”

The party appeals to many working-class voters who once backed Labour, and to social conservatives long drawn to the Tories. Some Conservatives are already suggesting an electoral pact between the two parties on the right for the next national election, due by 2029.

Farage laughs off the idea, saying that the Conservative Party “will be so small by then it won’t matter.”

The party has momentum, and it showed during Farage’s election walkabout in the Scunthorpe suburb of Ashby with Andrea Jenkyns, Reform’s candidate for mayor of the Greater Lincolnshire region of east-central England. Reform hopes to win the race and also gain hundreds of local council seats and a House of Commons lawmaker on Thursday.

High school students stopped to ask for selfies, while a passing van driver honked and shouted, “Go on, Nigel lad!” Farage has a level of recognition most politicians can only dream of. He also has a phalanx of security guards that is strikingly large for a British politician. In the past, he has been doused with a milkshake and pelted with cement on the campaign trail.

Economic insecurity

Farage found support from local businesspeople, including bakery owner Andrea Blow.

“The last six months has been really hard for small businesses. Everyone’s feeling the pinch,” Blow said, citing the rising cost of ingredients like chocolate and butter, a hike in payroll taxes for employers imposed by the Labour government and hard times in Scunthorpe, a town trying to shake off decades of post-industrial decline.

Scunthorpe’s fate is tied to a hulking British Steel plant that was long the town’s main source of jobs and still employs about 3,000 people. It was under threat of closure by its Chinese owner, Jingye Group, until the Labour government stepped in to pay for supplies of raw materials to keep the steel furnaces running. The plant’s long-term future remains uncertain.

Farage, a lifelong free-marketeer, now advocates nationalizing British Steel on the grounds of protecting jobs and national security. Critics say that’s evidence his views shift with the political winds.

Rival parties are concerned

The rise of Reform worries both Labour and the Conservatives.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said a strong result for Farage’s party on Thursday might scare both Labour and the Conservatives into toughening their stance on immigration and other issues to try to “become Reform-light.”

He said that would be a mistake.

“If we look all around Europe, the idea that you are best off tackling these radical right insurgencies by copying some of their policies and some of their rhetoric isn’t borne out by reality,” Bale said. “If you present people with a copy, they tend to prefer the original.”

A divisive politician

Farage is Reform’s biggest asset, but he also is a divisive figure who has said many migrants come to the U.K. from cultures “alien to ours.”

Critics say Farage stoked tensions by inaccurately suggesting police were withholding information about a stabbing rampage at a dance class that left three children dead in July. False claims that the attacker was an asylum-seeker sparked days of rioting across England.

Reform has also been dogged by some of the infighting associated with the previous parties Farage led, UKIP and the Brexit Party, though it has sought to become a slicker and more professional organization.

Farage’s status as Trump’s most prominent U.K. supporter could also have a downside, since polls suggest the US. president is broadly unpopular in Britain.

Farage distances himself from some Trump policies, including trade tariffs and a desire for the U.S. to make Canada its 51st state.

“I’m a friend of his, and our interests are similar, but they’re not symmetrical,” he said.

His argument that the U.K.’s net-zero carbon emission goals are “lunacy” also could limit Reform’s appeal to younger voters.

“They’re a party that thrives on division,” said 37-year-old Joe Richards, who plans to vote Labour in Scunthorpe and claimed Reform offers simplistic solutions to complex problems. “I don’t trust them as far as I can throw them.”

But another resident, retiree Tyna Ashworth, 71, said she is “willing to give Reform a go.”

“A lot of the politicians, they don’t listen. … They couldn’t live on my pension,” she said. “I’ve worked 50 years for this country, and I’ve worked hard. And I think I deserve to be able to live a decent life.”

​ Orange County Register