Harvard University is suing Donald Trump’s administration after it rejected a list of demands from the White House and had $2.2bn (£1.6bn) of government funding frozen.

The Ivy League institution, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is accused of ideological bias and allowing antisemitism during campus protests last year against Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Trump administration, which began a review of $9bn (£6.7bn) in federal grants for Harvard in March, had demanded the university screen international students for those “hostile to the American values” and the end of all diversity, equality and inclusion programmes.

The university’s president Alan Garber has remained defiant and rejected those and other reforms, prompting the US President to question whether the university should lose its tax-exempt status.

Mr Trump accused the institution of pushing what he called “political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?'” in a post on Truth Social.

Harvard has seen student-led protests in recent days calling on the institution to resist interference by the federal government.

Harvard’s lawsuit, filed in Boston, described the research funding freeze as “arbitrary and capricious” and violating its First Amendment rights.

“The government has not – and cannot – identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation,” the court documents revealed.

On Monday, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields issued a defiant response to the lawsuit: “The gravy train of federal assistance to institutions like Harvard, which enrich their grossly overpaid bureaucrats with tax dollars from struggling American families is coming to an end.

“Taxpayer funds are a privilege, and Harvard fails to meet the basic conditions required to access that privilege.”

The Trump administration has also paused some funding for universities including Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern and Brown over the campus protests.

Read more from Sky News:
Turkish student detained at university
Is Trump’s deportation policy firm or cruel?
Anti-Trump protests sweep America

But protesters, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza is wrongly associated with antisemitism.

Mr Garber said the institution would continue to fight hate and fully comply with anti-discrimination laws.

The American Council on Education, a non-profit organisation with more than 1,600 member colleges and universities, supported the legal action by Harvard.

“It has been clear for weeks that the administration’s actions violated due process and the rule of law. We applaud Harvard for taking this step.”

Hundreds of passengers have been taken off a plane after one of its engines caught fire as it was about to take off, airport officials have said.

The Delta Air Lines plane carrying nearly 300 people was pushing back from the gate at Orlando International Airport in Florida when smoke began to appear from the engine on its right wing on Monday.

There were no initial reports of injuries, the airline said.

Pictures and video published on social media showed flames and smoke rising from the Airbus A330 and passengers sliding down an escape chute as they left the aircraft.

Pope dies latest: King Charles leads tributes

The plane was heading for Atlanta, a journey of more than 400 miles with a flight time of around one hour and 40 minutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is going to investigate what happened.

Flight 1213 had 282 passengers and 12 crew members, Delta said.

The airline said its flight crews “followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s two engines were observed”.

A social media user posted a video of what appeared to be a serious fire and flames coming from the Airbus plane, and another video of passengers exiting the plane via a slide.

Orlando International Airport said on X that the fire was on the ramp area and that the airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting team responded quickly. Airbus did not immediately comment.

Delta said maintenance teams will check the aircraft, and the airline will bring in additional aircraft to help customers reach their final destinations on Monday.

It’s the latest in a series of high-profile aviation incidents that have raised questions about how safe flying is in the US.

Read more:
Sky News journalists ‘deepfaked’
Worst UK airports for delays
What are your rights if your flight is delayed or cancelled?

Last month, an engine on an American Airlines jet caught fire after the plane diverted to Denver, forcing the evacuation of passengers onto the wing of the aeroplane. The engine caught fire while taxiing to the gate.

In January, 67 people died after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.

Rachel Reeves will pledge to “stand up for Britain’s national interest” as she heads to Washington DC amid hopes of a UK/US trade deal.

The chancellor will fly to the US capital for her spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the first of which began on Sunday.

During her three-day visit, Ms Reeves is set to hold meetings with G7, G20 and IMF counterparts about the changing global economy and is expected to make the case for open trade.

Politics latest: Tributes paid to Pope Francis

Her visit comes after Donald Trump imposed blanket 10% tariffs on all imports into the US, including from the UK, and as talks about reaching a trade deal intensified.

The chancellor will also hold her first in-person meeting with her US counterpart, treasury secretary Scott Bessent, about striking a new trade agreement, which the UK hopes will take the sting out of Mr Trump’s tariffs.

In addition to the 10% levy on all goods imported to America from the UK, Mr Trump enacted a 25% levy on car imports.

Ms Reeves will also be hoping to encourage fellow European finance ministers to increase their defence spending and discuss the best ways to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Read more:
Mission: Impossible? Chancellor heads to the IMF
Starmer and the King pay tribute to Pope Francis

Speaking ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “The world has changed, and we are in a new era of global trade. I am in no doubt that the imposition of tariffs will have a profound impact on the global economy and the economy at home.

“This changing world is unsettling for families who are worried about the cost of living and businesses concerned about what tariffs will mean for them. But our task as a government is not to be knocked off course or to take rash action which risks undermining people’s security.

“Instead, we must rise to meet the moment and I will always act to defend British interests as part of our plan for change.

“We need a world economy that provides stability and fairness for businesses wanting to invest and trade, more trade and global partnerships between nations with shared interests, and security for working people who want to get on with their lives.”