Air India Flight AI171 crashed near Ahmedabad, India, shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London Gatwick, only reached an altitude of 625 feet before going down near a doctors' hostel. The flight carried 242 passengers and crew, including 169 Indian, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian national, and emergency teams quickly cleared a significant portion of the impacted area, transporting injured victims to nearby hospitals. Both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed their devastation and commitment to aid, while Air India Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran offered condolences and pledged full support to the victims' families.
Another major development reported is the collective resignation of the 12-member Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board on Wednesday. The board accused the Trump administration of undermining the nearly 80-year-old scholarship program through unauthorized interference, specifically alleging that the White House blocked a "substantial" number of merit-selected scholarship recipients for the 2025-2026 academic year and initiated an "unauthorized review process" threatening about 1,200 foreign recipients' awards. The board emphasized their congressionally mandated final approval role and called the administration's actions "antithetical to the Fulbright mission". However, the State Department dismissed these claims as "false" and accused the board members of being "partisan political appointees," asserting that the final say over academic suitability aligns with President Trump’s Executive Orders.
In a controversial move, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. significantly reshaped the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by removing all 17 previous members and appointing eight new ones, many of whom are described as Covid vaccine skeptics. Kennedy claimed the new appointees are "committed to evidence-based medicine" and "demanding definitive safety and efficacy data" for vaccine recommendations. Among the new members are Dr. Robert Malone, identified as an mRNA vaccine pioneer turned skeptic who has spread misinformation, and Vicky Pebsworth, a nurse with ties to anti-vaccine groups.
This reshuffle has drawn criticism, with experts like UCSF law professor Dorit Reiss calling the new lineup "unworthy of public trust" and "lacking scientific expertise". Despite this, the White House has stated that Trump himself appointed Kennedy and trusts him to "restore trust in public health". The briefing suggests that this change is not just about the panel's composition but also about the message it sends regarding vaccine confidence, portraying it as a "bold gamble" likely to generate more debate than clarity.
Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, the United States has begun evacuating non-essential personnel from diplomatic and military posts across the region, including the US embassy in Baghdad. This partial withdrawal stems from fears of retaliation as Israel reportedly prepares for potential strikes on Iran, coinciding with stalled nuclear talks with Tehran. While intelligence suggests Israel is gearing up for military action, President Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that strikes on Iranian nuclear sites were "off the table for now". American officials are concerned the escalating situation could lead to dangerous reprisals, prompting these precautionary measures to safeguard US staff.
Finally, the briefing highlights two other notable incidents: an LAPD helicopter warning anti-ICE protesters, stating, "I have all of you on camera. I’m going to come to your house". Civil liberties experts like Jonathan Markovitz of the ACLU criticized this as "an overt attempt to frighten and intimidate" and "fundamentally antidemocratic and authoritarian," raising concerns about facial recognition use for reprisals.
Additionally, a federal judge ruled that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination alone was not sufficient to justify detaining and deporting Syrian national Mahmoud Khalil, who was accused of Hamas ties due to his role in organizing campus protests. Judge Michael Farbiarz found Rubio's stance insufficient to uphold Khalil’s detention, despite potential grounds from the Department of Homeland Security, and ordered Khalil’s release due to "irreparable harm," allowing time for an appeal.
