The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., March 7, 2025. (Christopher Capozziello/The New York Times) By BRET STEPHENS University administrators sometimes ask how their institutions can best serve democracy. For decades, many believed that their role was to serve as instruments of social change. Diversity, equity and inclusion programs, especially in hiring and admissions, were one part of the tool kit. Politicized academic departme

By GREG JAFFE, ERIC SCHMITT and HELENE COOPER Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired earlier this week after months of infighting with senior Pentagon leaders and disagreements over how to revive the Navy’s struggling shipbuilding program. Phelan is leaving the Pentagon and the Trump administration effective immediately, wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, in a terse statement. In his role leading the Navy, Phelan had championed the “Golden Fleet,” a major in

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida during a meeting with President Donald Trump and other Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Jan. 9, 2025. DeSantis has called state lawmakers for a special redistricting session — but he has yet to unveil a new map for legislators to consider. (Doug Mills/The New York Times) By TIM BALK, NICK CORASANITI, REID J. EPSTEIN and PATRICIA MAZZEI Frustrated Republicans are looking to rebound from another setback in a nationwide redistr

Rep. Roberto López Román By THE STAR STAFF New Progressive Party Rep. Roberto López Román has filed House Bill 1115, which proposes eliminating the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission, but the labor sector representative on the panel, economist Iyari Ríos González, cautioned against the risks of the measure. Ríos noted that the bill aims to dissolve the wage-evaluation committee at a time when it is actively investigating potential minimum wage increases for agricultural, tax-

Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard By THE STAR STAFF In a pivotal move that could reshape Puerto Rico’s economic landscape, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its acronym in Spanish) has thrown its full support behind House Bill 1213, the measure that would overhaul the island’s notoriously cumbersome permitting and planning system. The DDEC, along with its Office of Permit Management (OGPe), presented a comprehens

La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández By THE STAR STAFF La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández denied claims by General Services Administration (GSA) head Karla Mercado Rivera regarding the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning fiscal tool. Mercado Rivera had labeled as “defamatory and completely false” one of the responses Domenech submitted to the Senate as part of the extensive request for information on several topics. “I

Natural and Environmental Resources Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez By THE STAR STAFF In a new report that adds to other recent findings regarding the management of public resources in various entities, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico identified significant deficiencies in the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), the watchdog entity announced Thursday. Audit Report OC-26-21, which covers the period from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025, issued

By THE STAR STAFF The Senate Committee on Transportation, Telecommunications, Public Services, and Consumer Affairs on Thursday evaluated House Bill 911 during a public hearing that raised concerns regarding the penalties, the definition of “voceteo” (loud vehicle audio systems), and the scope of the proposed ban. “An analysis of the statements presented today reflects that, generally speaking, the entities testifying agree on the need to evaluate amendments to the bill,” Sen

Peñuelas Mayor Josean González Febres, right, led a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Irving Torres Rodríguez and about 30 farmers from the southern coastal municipality with the aim of listening to their needs and presenting a work plan to strengthen the local agricultural sector. By THE STAR STAFF Peñuelas Mayor Josean González Febres led a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Irving Torres Rodríguez and about 30 farmers from the southern coastal municipality with the aim of