News briefs

Tribune News Service on Oct 9, 2025

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Trump hails Columbus Day: ‘We’re back, Italians’

President Donald Trump Thursday hailed the upcoming Columbus Day holiday, taking credit for returning its traditional focus as a celebration of Italian American pride.

“In other words, we’re calling it Columbus Day,” Trump said at a White House Cabinet meeting. “We’re back, Italians,” he added. “We love the Italians.”

In announcing the federal holiday on Monday, Trump portrayed his action as restoring the luster to a holiday that has become controversial in recent years as critics reassess Columbus’ mixed historical legacy.

“Our nation will now abide by a simple truth: Christopher Columbus was a true American hero, and every citizen is eternally indebted to his relentless determination,” Trump said in a proclamation. He said he was restoring Columbus Day as a federal holiday, but its status has never actually changed.

—New York Daily News

Trump administration cuts grants to Colorado colleges serving high percentage of diverse students

DENVER — Colorado colleges — primarily in rural, underserved areas of the state — are losing millions in funding after the Trump administration last month announced an end to $350 million in federal grant programs for minority-serving institutions across the country.

The state is home to 14 minority-serving institutions, or public colleges and universities with a high percentage of specific demographic groups — Hispanic, Native American or Black students, for example — and a large concentration of students with financial need.

In Colorado, 13 of those schools are designated as Hispanic-serving institutions, meaning they have 25% or higher Hispanic or Latino undergraduate enrollment. One school, Fort Lewis College, is a Native American-serving nontribal institution.

“We’re going to continue to do our best to meet the needs of our students, but it will be challenging, given we’ve been greatly supported by these resources for many years,” said Kristyn White Davis, vice president of enrollment management, marketing and extended studies at Colorado State University Pueblo, which is losing more than $3 million.

—The Denver Post

Species that can live 500 years offers warning of North Atlantic ‘tipping point’

Just as tree rings can tell us how old a tree is and the climate conditions it endured, bivalves like quahog clams and dog cockles can tell a story about the history of the ocean. And they’re telling us we may be headed for a “tipping point,” according to a study led by the University of Exeter and published Oct. 3 in Science Advances.

Quahog clams can live for more than 500 years, and the layers of their shells can give an unbroken “annual record of ocean conditions,” according to a news release from the University of Exeter.

Variations in the layers, which represent growth rates, give a broad picture of ocean conditions from year to year rather than specific details about any given year’s climate, researchers said.

Analysis of the shells, specifically layer widths and isotopic composition, revealed changes in temperature, salinity and ocean currents, according to the study. It also revealed a prolonged period of declining resilience to environmental changes, researchers said.

—Miami Herald

EU Commission of Ursula von der Leyen survives no-confidence votes

STRASBOURG, France — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her team survived two votes of no confidence at the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg on Thursday.

The two motions, one tabled by the far-right Patriots For Europe group and one by the Left, failed to win the necessary backing of at least 360 votes, representing two-thirds of all votes cast.

The motion by the far-right was supported by 179 lawmakers, while 378 voted against it and 37 abstained. The Left's initiative was backed by 133 parliamentarians, while 383 voted against and 78 abstained.

"I deeply appreciate the strong support received today," von der Leyen wrote on X after the vote. "The Commission will keep working closely with the European Parliament to tackle Europe’s challenges. And together deliver results for all European citizens," she stated. Von der Leyen and her team had previously faced a vote of no confidence in July.

—dpa