Columbia University said on Wednesday it will pay more than $200 million to the U.S. government to settle federal probes and regain most of its suspended federal funding, after months of scrutiny from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Trump welcomed the agreement in a post on his Truth Social account, calling it a “historic” deal and praising Columbia for agreeing to end its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, admit students “based only on merit,” and compensate Jewish employees who were “unlawfully targeted and harassed.”
The settlement follows the Trump administration’s decision in March to cancel $400 million in federal funding, citing Columbia’s “insufficient response” to alleged antisemitism and harassment of Jewish and Israeli members of its community during pro-Palestinian campus protests.
"Under today's agreement, a vast majority of the federal grants which were terminated or paused in March 2025 - will be reinstated and Columbia's access to billions of dollars in current and future grants will be restored," the university said in a statement.
Columbia said it will also pay $21 million to settle U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations. The university stressed that the deal preserves its "autonomy and authority over faculty hiring, admissions, and academic decision-making."
Trump has increasingly targeted universities since returning to office in January, focusing on campuses where large pro-Palestinian demonstrations have taken place.
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Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 12th of August, covering the latest developments.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Taiwan staged military defence drills on Wednesday as China concluded joint naval exercises with Indonesia in waters east of the island.
Washington’s counter-narcotics push is expanding as Colombia’s new conservative government backs deeper security cooperation.
Meta said it had removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16, as the country’s internet regulator weighs enforcement action over its teen social media ban.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used Pacific Fleet drills to criticise Japan, NATO and possible Western moves against Russian commercial ships. He made the comments during his first visit to Iturup, a Japan-claimed island at the end of the Kuril chain near the island of Hokkaido.
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