AFP USA

US President Donald Trump called Harvard a “joke” Wednesday and said it should lose its government research contracts after the prestigious university refused demands that it accept outside political supervision.Trump’s administration also threatened to ban the famed seat of learning from admitting foreign students unless it bows to the requirements, as US media reported that officials were considering revoking the university’s tax-exempt status.”Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.”Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”Trump is furious at the storied institution for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political slant and ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard this week.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also canceled $2.7 million worth of research grants to Harvard on Wednesday and threatened the university’s ability to enroll international students unless it turns over records on visa-holders’ “illegal and violent activities.” “If Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students,” a DHS statement said, with Secretary Kristi Noem accusing the university of “bending the knee to antisemitism.”International students made up 27.2 percent of Harvard’s enrollment this academic year, according to its website.Other institutions, including Columbia University, have bowed to less far-ranging demands from the Trump administration, which claims that the educational elite is too left-wing.Harvard has flatly rejected the pressure, with its president, Alan Garber, saying that the university refuses to “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”- Tax exemption -Trump also said Tuesday that Harvard “should lose its Tax Exempt Status” as a nonprofit educational institution if it does not back down.CNN and the Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was now making plans to do so following a request from Trump.White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told AFP by email that “any forthcoming actions by the IRS will be conducted independently of the President.”Demonstrating the broadening resonance of the row, Golden State Warriors basketball coach Steve Kerr spoke out in support of Harvard.Kerr, sporting a Harvard T-shirt, called the demands on the university the “dumbest thing I’ve ever heard” and cited his backing of “academic freedom.”- Government seeks control -The payments frozen to Harvard are for government contracts with its leading research programs, mostly in the medical fields where the school’s laboratories are critical in the development of new medicines and treatments.Trump and his White House team have publicly justified their campaign against universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and a need to reverse diversity programs aimed at encouraging minorities.The anti-Semitism allegations are based on controversy over protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year.Columbia University in New York — an epicenter of the protests — stood down last month and agreed to oversight of its Middle Eastern studies department after being threatened with a loss of $400 million in federal funds.The claims about diversity tap into long-standing conservative complaints that US university campuses are too liberal, shutting out right-wing voices and giving preference to Black people and other minority groups over whites.In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over the inner workings of the country’s oldest and wealthiest university — and one of the most respected educational and research institutions in the world.In a letter sent to Harvard, the administration’s demands included:- ending admissions that take into account the student’s race or national origins- preventing admission of foreign students “hostile to the American values and institutions”- ending staff hiring based on race, religion, sex or national origin- reducing the power of students in campus governance- auditing students and staff for “viewpoint diversity”- reforming entire programs for “egregious records of anti-Semitism or other bias”- cracking down on campus protests.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni heads to Washington on Thursday to meet with Donald Trump, hoping a personal charm offensive can help convince the US president to cut a more favourable deal on EU tariffs.The far-right Meloni — described by Trump as a “fantastic leader” and who shares many of his conservative views — has looked to maintain ties with the mercurial leader despite the widespread disruption caused by his tariff policies.Still, she has criticised as “wrong” his 20 percent duties on exports from the European Union, which he later suspended for 90 days. Since Trump’s trade war with the bloc began, Meloni has urged Brussels not to retaliate, calling for cool heads while casting herself as the only EU leader to potentially de-escalate the conflict through her personal relationship with the US president.Her meeting with Trump at the White House does not come without risk, however. Italian newspapers on Wednesday floated the possibility that Meloni could end up in a trap similar to the White House meeting in February with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump and his Vice President JD Vance berated his guest in front of reporters.Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow’s Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy “horrible and vile”. The only EU leader to be invited to Trump’s inauguration in January, Meloni has acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on her quick visit. “We know we’re going through a difficult period, let’s see how it goes in the coming hours. I don’t feel any pressure, as you can imagine, for my next two days, let’s say,” she joked at an awards ceremony for Italian goods Tuesday. “Surely I am aware of what I represent and I am aware of what I am defending,” she added.- ‘Need to talk’ -Meloni has said the goal should be to eliminate so-called reciprocal duties on existing industrial products as part of a “zero for zero” formula, as floated by the European Commission earlier this month.”We absolutely must avoid a tariff war,” Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told reporters Tuesday, saying Meloni would seek in Washington to “convince everyone we need to talk”.Meloni’s decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, concerned her visit could undermine the unity of the bloc.”If we start having bilateral discussions, obviously it will break the current dynamic,” France’s industry minister, Marc Ferracci, warned last week, saying “Europe is only strong if it is united”.A French government spokeswoman said later, however, that all voices that helped encourage dialogue with the United States were welcome.A European Commission spokeswoman had a similar line on Monday, noting that while the EU alone could negotiate trade agreements, Meloni’s “outreach is very welcome”.Her meeting was “closely coordinated” with the EU, the spokeswoman said, noting that Meloni and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen have been “in regular contact”.Following Thursday’s meeting with Trump, Meloni will fly back to Rome on Friday in time to host JD Vance, with whom she has a meeting planned.Trump’s threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world’s fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.During her meeting, Meloni is also likely to discuss with Trump his demands for NATO allies to spend more on defence. Trump wants the current target raised from two to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a huge demand for debt-laden Italy, which currently spends around 1.5 percent. 

A US government agency has asked for a criminal probe of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of President Donald Trump’s main adversaries, on grounds of alleged mortgage fraud, US media said Wednesday.James drew the wrath of Trump after leading a civil fraud case against him that saw the Republican ordered to pay a multi-million dollar penalty last year.Trump and allies on the right regularly attacked James during the trial in New York, and he has put revenge against his foes high on the agenda since returning to the White House in January.US media reported the Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate James, alleging that she “appeared to have falsified records” related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York to obtain better loan terms.”Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution,” her office said in a statement.”She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,” it added.US Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Fox News channel that she and her staff were “reviewing” the allegations.The housing agency did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comment.”Based on media reports, Ms Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,” the housing agency wrote in its referral letter, parts of which were carried in US media.In James’s civil case, Trump was found liable for fraud by conspiring to alter his net worth to get better loan and insurance terms. Trump and his older sons were ordered to pay $454 million.The US president has vowed repeatedly to exact vengeance on those he feels wronged him during and following his first 2017-2021 term.His second term in office has seen FBI and Justice Department staff involved in criminal cases against Trump fired, among other acts of retribution.

Inflamed by endless claims of liberal “deep state” operatives targeting their president for prosecution, Donald Trump’s supporters dreamed of the day when he would return to office and take his revenge.But three months into his second term, the promised arrests and show trials of high-profile Democrats have not materialized — and Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement is losing patience.Frustrated MAGA figures have been complaining for weeks over the pace of efforts by the FBI and Justice Department to deliver on Trump’s threats to target the lawmakers, journalists and prosecutors he considered “enemies from within.”This is especially true among “J6ers” — hundreds of MAGA rioters convicted over the 2021 US Capitol insurrection, and then repeatedly promised vengeance by Trump on the presidential campaign trail.The Republican leader may have hoped for plaudits over his order to criminally investigate two officials from his first term who defied him, and for his strong-arming of law firms that represented his adversaries.But MAGA has indicated that it will only be fully appeased by significant indictments on the Democratic side.And what MAGA wants, it often gets — several members of the White House National Security Council seen as insufficiently loyal learned this recently when they were fired at the behest of far-right influencer Laura Loomer, who has Trump’s ear.- ‘You’ve been let down’ -The targets of the angry backlash are Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Patel’s second-in-command, former talk show host Dan Bongino.Bongino and other right-wing influencers have been telling their audiences for years that a criminal cabal of Democrats, guilty of calumnies against the Trump family, were about to get their comeuppance.Rattled by accusations that he is letting the side down now he is on the other side of the fence, he has taken to X multiple times in recent weeks to protest that he was working hard in his new job.In an appeal for patience this week, Bongino said cryptically that he was developing “a number of significant initiatives to ensure that the mistakes of the past are never repeated.””I know you’ve been let down in the past,” he said on X. “You’re owed better. And we’re going to produce it.”The deputy director didn’t address anyone in particular in his posts, but the replies were dominated by MAGA figures angry over the lack of political prosecutions.”We aren’t trying to be the enemy. We want justice!” Richard “Bigo” Barnett, who was photographed with his feet on then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the Capitol riot, posted separately.”We want the promises made kept! We stood! We showed up when Donald asked! We have seen nothing.”- ‘Scared in the corner’ -Despite receiving more than 1,500 pardons and commutations from Trump, the J6ers have been among the most disgruntled MAGA figures. Suzzanne Monk, founder of the “J6 Pardon Project,” has been tracking the arrests of insurrectionists during Democratic president Joe Biden’s first year and comparing them unfavorably with the threadbare action against Democrats under Trump.”Today is April 16th,” she posted Wednesday. “By 4/16/21, the Biden regime had already arrested 406 January 6th Defendants and would go on to convict 99.7% of their arrests. How many arrests has Pam made?”To be clear, the only Democrats credibly accused of crimes in the Trump era were investigated — by Biden’s justice department.But MAGA is demanding heads on spikes.Tom Fitton, head of the right-wing group Judicial Watch, echoed many MAGA figures in giving Trump a pass on the lack of prosecutions — arguing that the president has a lot on his plate.But he told Trump ally Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast that Bondi and Patel need to be “much more aggressive.” “There may be good people working at the FBI, but they’re scared in the corner and unable to do anything,” said Fitton.

Erik and Lyle Menendez will appear in a Los Angeles court on Thursday in a bid to persuade a judge to reduce their life sentences for the shotgun murders of their own parents.The brothers — who are among America’s most infamous murderers — are hoping the current life-without-parole term will be cut to one that could allow them to walk free, more than 35 years after the brutal double killings.During blockbuster trials in the 1990s, prosecutors said the men killed Jose and Kitty Menendez in their luxury Beverly Hills home to get their hands on a $14 million fortune.They initially blamed the deaths on a Mafia hit, the first of five disparate explanations they offered.But at trial they claimed they had acted in self-defense, striking first before their abusive and controlling father could kill them, after years of emotional and sexual abuse.A lengthy campaign, backed by their family and with growing support from the public, whose appetite for the case was whetted by a hit Netflix series, has sought to have them freed.Supporters say Erik Menendez, 54, and Lyle Menendez, 57, have been model prisoners, who are reformed, and deserving of a second chance.Their hand was strengthened by the former chief prosecutor for Los Angeles, who asked the court to resentence the men.But when the more hardline Nathan Hochman became district attorney last year, he reversed course.He says the men have not atoned for their crimes and continue to lie about the murders, in which they repeatedly shot their parents, including in the knees.He also points to the premeditated nature of the slayings — the men had tried to set up alibis in advance — and their efforts to get people to cover for them after the fact.And he claims that their unwillingness to come clean about the true circumstances of the crime makes them ineligible for parole.However, last week Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic rejected his office’s effort to withdraw its resentencing motion.The hearing, which begins on Thursday morning in Los Angeles, is expected to last up to two days.The brothers’ original trials were huge events, and the case saw a surge of renewed interest last year with the release of the Netflix hit “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.”

Rights groups are increasingly worried that El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison is becoming a “black hole” for the United States to rid itself of expelled migrants or other unwanted people with no legal consequences.A US senator who traveled to the Central American country Wednesday to try and retrieve a man wrongly deported and locked up there was sent away without even being able to speak to him.The man, Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is one of nearly 300 migrants — mostly Venezuelans — the Donald Trump administration has sent to El Salvador since January without any kind of court hearing.Once there, they were locked up in the infamously harsh Terrorism Confinement Center built to house gangsters rounded up in President Nayib Bukele’s iron-fisted anti-crime drive.Observers say most of the migrants had committed no crime, and many had enjoyed asylum status in the United States.None have been heard from since they were sent to El Salvador, where they are now in legal limbo.Human Rights Watch, in a report last week, said El Salvador and the United States have subjected dozens of people to “enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention.”At the CECOT, they are held incommunicado, not allowed even contact with lawyers.”What they are trying to create here is a Guantanamo on steroids… a black hole where there is no legal protection for the people there,” Juan Pappier, HRW’s America’s deputy director, told AFP, referring to the US prison for terror suspects at a military base in Cuba. It is synonymous with torture and other abuses.- ‘Illegally abducted’ -The deportation of Abrego Garcia in particular has sparked an outcry and set off a legal crisis.Trump officials have claimed he is an illegal migrant, a gang member and involved in human trafficking. He has never been convicted of any crime and had been granted a protected status that should have barred his deportation to El Salvador.A federal judge, backed by the Supreme Court, has ordered Abrego Garcia’s return, but the Trump administration contends he is now solely in Salvadoran custody.Bukele, who has proudly adopted the moniker of “world’s coolest dictator,” has said he does not have the power to send the man back.Hoping to heap political pressure on the Trump administration, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen visited El Salvador on Wednesday to plead the case of Abrego Garcia, who he said was illegally abducted from the United States.Van Hollen met Vice President Felix Ulloa, who denied him all access to the man.”His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” the senator said of the response he got from Ulloa.Washington and San Salvador have shrugged off criticism of their collaboration, and Trump on Monday warmly thanked Bukele for “helping us out” with his administration’s mass deportation drive.El Salvador is receiving $6 million to house the migrants, and Bukele left Monday’s meeting with an agreement for his country to join the US Global Entry program, which allows expedited visa entry.”Bukele’s cooperation with President Trump’s agenda, including disappearing people overseas… and into prisons notorious for abuse, is unprecedented, rights-violating and extreme,” Noah Bullock of Central American rights group Cristosal said on X.- 350 deaths -AFP interviewed several relatives of Venezuelans detained in El Salvador, all of whom insisted their loved ones were not criminals.Alexis de Hernandez, mother of 31-year-old Andry Hernandez Romero, said her son was rounded up “just for having tattoos” — a common complaint in this drama.US officials have claimed the markings indicate loyalty to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, but experts note that the group — unlike Salvadoran gangs — does not use tattoos for clan identification. According to Cristosal, nearly half of the CECOT detainees it has been able to trace had asylum status in the United States or were applying for asylum, “which should protect them from deportation.”Trump has encouraged Bukele to build more jails and said Tuesday he would “love” to start also sending American citizens who commit violent crimes to the CECOT.The Washington-based WOLA advocacy group warned in a commentary published Monday “that thousands of citizens are languishing in Et Salvador’s abusive prison system” and “at least 350 people have died in custody as a result of these conditions.””Corruption and lack of transparency (in El Salvador) should be of bipartisan concern” for the United States, it argued. “The US must not only monitor how its financial assistance is being used, but also examine whether it is inadvertently supporting a government that systematically withholds information and evades accountability.”

The Trump administration aims to remove degradation of habitat from its definition of “harm” to endangered species, proposing Wednesday a rule change that would open the door to human activity in ecologically sensitive environments.The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said  the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act should exclude “actions that impair the habitat of protected species.”Environmental groups said the rule change would allow timber, oil and mining activity, as well as other activities by individuals and the government, to destroy the habitats of endangered animals.”For 50 years, the ESA has saved numerous species — including iconic American species like bald eagles, gray wolves, Florida manatees, and humpback whales — from extinction,” environmental law organization Earthjustice said.”One key to this success has been its definition of harm, which recognizes the common-sense concept that destroying a forest, beach, river, or wetland that a species relies on for survival constitutes harm to that species,” it said, adding that the group was prepared to challenge the proposal in court.”There’s just no way to protect animals and plants from extinction without protecting the places they live, yet the Trump administration is opening the flood gates to immeasurable habitat destruction,” said Noah Greenwald, codirector of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Without a prohibition on habitat destruction, spotted owls, sea turtles, salmon and so many more imperiled animals won’t stand a chance,” said Greenwald. “Trump is trying to drive a knife through the heart of the Endangered Species Act.”The proposal will now be open to public comment for 30 days.Since its 1973 enactment, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with saving iconic species such as the gray wolf, bald eagle and grizzly bear from extinction.President Donald Trump ran on a platform that promised to roll back environmental regulations that crimp economic development.In February, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a call for proposals to unleash US energy, potentially opening up fragile landscapes from the Arctic to the Grand Canyon and even national monuments for exploitation.Days later, Trump said his administration aimed to cut about 65 percent of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump’s administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.”You know, there’s a man — he lives in the States — Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars,” Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering.”These are the kind of people who don’t often appear in the human population, charged-up with a certain idea.””If it seems incredible even today, such ideas often come to fruition after a while. Just like the ideas of Korolev, our pioneers, came about in due time,” Putin added.Korolev is considered the father of the Soviet space programme, developing the first satellite Sputnik as well as Vostok 1, which carried first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961.Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump’s most powerful advisor, is the head of SpaceX — a US company that launches rockets for NASA and owns the Starlink satellite internet network.Musk has been a frequent critic of Ukraine, which is currently battling a three-year Russian offensive.The billionaire accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month of wanting a “forever war”, and in February said Kyiv had gone “too far” in the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet French leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine, his office said, amid flailing efforts to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire.Rubio and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff would also discuss tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme and Middle East trouble spots, in talks with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, according to a French diplomatic source.No specific proposals for the talks have been made public, but Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in a bid to press US President Donald Trump’s efforts for a ceasefire.Trump pledged before taking office that he would quickly end the war raging since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, and he has voiced frustration at Moscow’s tactics.Witkoff said this week, however, after his third meeting with Putin, that he still sees a peace deal “emerging”.Rubio will be on his third trip to Europe since becoming the top US diplomat, having already attended the Munich Security Conference and a NATO meeting in February and March.For Europe, Ukraine has become more critical following Russia’s recent missile strikes on two Ukrainian cities that left dozens of civilians dead. Barrot said on Wednesday that Putin “has again showed that his cruelty is limitless and that he has no intention of starting a ceasefire” as proposed by the United States and Ukraine last month.France, Britain and Germany were surprised by Trump opening talks on improving ties with Russia, but have sought a coordinated European response to protecting Ukraine, during the conflict and in any ceasefire.Britain and France have proposed a mainly European “reassurance” force prepared to go to Ukraine if a ceasefire starts. However, many European leaders say it would need US support.The State Department said only that Rubio and Witkoff would meet European officials to discuss Trump’s efforts to “advance” the goal of stopping the Ukraine war.A French diplomatic source said Rubio and Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file”.The United States and Iran are to hold a second round of indirect talks on Iran’s nuclear programme in Rome on Saturday.The talks have become more important after Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, warned on Wednesday that Iran was “not far” from possessing a nuclear bomb.Talks to end the Gaza war have also stalled, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian territory. The UN says Gaza now faces its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war in October 2023, after the Hamas attacks.Separately, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will travel to Washington on Thursday.He was set to meet with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for talks also dominated by Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.Lecornu was also expected to meet with National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy.burs/tw/rjm

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers asked Wednesday he be allowed to spend the night in the hospital during his retrial on rape charges, saying the movie mogul’s health was deteriorating rapidly because of “mistreatment” in New York’s notorious Rikers prison.In papers filed with the court, a lawyer said 73-year-old Weinstein had received lacking care in prison while suffering from a number of “serious medical conditions,” including leukemia, diabetes, thyroid problems, obesity, back pain, sciatica and other health woes.”He is consistently mistreated for serious infections, medication is given incorrectly, or not at all, he is experiencing unhealthy and atypical weight gain, and he is forced to endure freezing temperatures while not even being provided clean clothing,” said lawyer Imran Ansari.All this justifies transferring Weinstein for observation to Bellevue Hospital where he has already been taken in recent months for urgent health care, the attorney said.Weinstein is back in court because his 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.The voiding of the jury’s verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence and the promotion of justice for them.Looking feeble, Weinstein is attending the retrial from a wheelchair and his lawyers have complained repeatedly that in prison he does not get proper medical care.Situated in the East River between the Bronx and Queens boroughs, Rikers Island prison has long had a reputation for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence.High profile prisoners have included John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman, rapper Tupac Shakur, Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.- Conviction overturned -The onetime Miramax studio boss was charged with the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan. In 2020, a jury of New Yorkers found Weinstein guilty of two out of five charges — the sexual assault of Haleyi and the rape of Mann.But the conviction and the 23-year prison sentence were overturned in April 2024.In a hotly debated four-to-three decision, New York’s appeals court ruled that jurors should not have heard testimonies of victims about sexual assaults for which Harvey Weinstein was not indicted.Since his downfall, Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lupita Nyong’o and Ashley Judd. Weinstein has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.Accusers describe the movie mogul as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actors and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.By Wednesday, nine jurors had been selected out of the required 12, not including the six alternates also needed.Several dozen prospective jurors have indicated they could not give Weinstein a fair trial because of what they know about the case. Judge Curtis Farber said he hopes to conclude jury selection this week, allowing the trial to get fully underway next Monday or Tuesday.