☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

Hard Numbers: Gay resigns, Danish Queen steps down, #FreeMickey, and a Calmer New Years’ Eve in Paris

January 02, 2024
Billy Pickett
Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing titled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 5, 2023.
Harvard University President Claudine Gay testifies before a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing titled "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 5, 2023.
REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

2: Claudine Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, stepped down on Monday, almost a month after her counterpart at Penn, Elizabeth Magill, resigned in the wake of their Congressional testimony last month on campus antisemitism. Gay has also faced mounting allegations of plagiarism, and her departure means two of the three presidents who testified have now stepped down. That sound you hear? MIT President Sally Kornbluth counting her blessings.

52: In a surprise move, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark — the longest-serving monarch in Europe — has decided to abdicate the throne after 52 years in power. The 82-year-old royal says she wants to leave the responsibility to “the next generation.” (Who knows, maybe the final season of “The Crown” got her thinking?). She will be succeeded by her eldest son, the famously climate-friendly Crown Prince Frederik.

95: Oh Mickey, you’re so fine. And thanks to US copyright law, now you’re free. As of Jan. 1, early versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse from the 1928 short film “Steamboat Willie” are now public intellectual property. The reason: The US caps character copyrights at 95 years. Hollywood wasted no time in dropping the trailer for a new slasher film starring Mickey on a murderous rampage. Ron DeSantis has been trying to warn us …

10: The notoriously ... impassioned French public had a calmer New Year’s celebration than usual earlier this week. According to authorities, overnight arrests and vehicle fires in Paris were both down about 10% from the year before. This is good news for French law enforcement officers, who vowed to tighten security during a time of heightened terror threats in hopes of inspiring confidence in the country’s security apparatus ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

More from GZERO Media

Hard Numbers: American teacher released in Russia, Unemployment rising in US cities, Monkey leaves millions without power, Trump more popular than Petro in Colombia

Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher detained in Russia since August 2021, gestures on an airplane flying him back to the United States after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff secured his release February 11, 2025.
Adam Boehler/Handout via REUTERS

3.5: Marc Fogel, a 63-year-old American teacher imprisoned in Russia since 2021 for marijuana possession, has been released following negotiations by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. Fogel, who taught at the Anglo-American School of Moscow, served 3.5 years of a 14-year sentence for bringing medical marijuana into the country.

Trump and Jordan talk Gaza, ceasefire hinges on hostage release

President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Jordan's King Abdullah attend a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 11, 2025.
REUTERS/Nathan Howard

King Abdullah II of Jordan visited US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday to discuss Gaza’s post-war future, including Trump’s plan to relocate some 2.1 million Palestinians to other countries in the Middle East.

Trump’s plan to send migrants to Guantánamo meets first legal hurdle

The first U.S. military aircraft to carry detained migrants to a detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, who Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin called "highly dangerous criminal aliens," is boarded from an unspecified location on Feb. 4, 2025.

DHS/Handout via REUTERS

On Sunday, Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales of the Federal District Court for New Mexico granted a temporary restraining order on jurisdictional grounds barring three Venezuelan men from being moved to the US military base at Guantánamo Bay.

Indian PM Narendra Modi meets Trump: what's on the agenda?

A boy holds a placard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the "Howdy Modi" event in Houston, Texas in 2019. This week the two men will meet for the first time since Trump's re-election.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The two men have enjoy a famously good rapport, but tough issues are on the agenda.

A milestone moment in Sudan’s civil war?

Plumes of smoke rise during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, on Sept. 26, 2024.
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

Sudan’s Armed Forces may be headed for a milestone after nearly two years of war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces appear to be closing in on Khartoum, the country’s capital, advancing to within just two kilometers of the country’s presidential palace.

"Walmart has helped us lead the trend of non-alcoholic beer"

Walmart

Walmart is fueling American jobs and strengthening communities by investing in local businesses. Athletic Brewing landed a deal with Walmart in 2021. Since then, co-founders Bill Shufelt and John Walker have hired more than 200 employees and built a150,000-square-foot brewery in Milford, CT. Athletic Brewing is one of many US-based suppliers working with Walmart. By 2030, the retailer is estimated to support the creation of over 750,000 US jobs by investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown, or assembled in America. Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to US manufacturing.

Tools and Weapons – In Conversation with Dr. Fei-Fei Li

Microsoft

In this new episode of Tools and Weapons, Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and Dr. Fei-Fei Li reflect on poignant moments from her memoir, "The Worlds I See: Curiosity, Exploration, and Discovery at the Dawn of AI," highlighting the crucial role of keeping humanity at the center of AI development. They also explore how government-funded academic research, driven by curiosity rather than profits, can lead to unexpected and profound discoveries that propel innovation and economic opportunities. Dr. Li is a pioneering AI scientist breaking new ground in computer vision, and she is a Stanford professor who is currently leading the innovative start-up World Labs. While her career is deeply rooted in technical expertise, Dr. Li's journey is driven by an insatiable curiosity. Subscribe and find new episodes monthly, wherever you listen to podcasts.

Elon Musk’s government takeover is powered by AI

Courtesy of Midjourney

In the first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, the president dispatched the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and an army of engineers to hack and slash the federal bureaucracy. But Musk isn’t just seizing control of the executive branch; he’s using artificial intelligence as his weapon of choice.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.