[KARAH RUCKER]

PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS LEAD TO DOZENS OF STUDENTS ARRESTED ACROSS SOME OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST ELITE COLLEGE CAMPUSES —

AND — DAY TWO OF TESTIMONY IN TRUMP’S CRIMINAL TRIAL.

WHO IS EXPECTED TO TAKE THE STAND.

THE MORNING RUNDOWN STARTS NOW.

TODAY IS TUESDAY, APRIL 23.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

I’M KARAH RUCKER.

SOME OF THE COUNTRIES MOST PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITIES ARE BEING INTERRUPTED BY PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS THIS WEEK —

THE WHITE HOUSE — CALLING SOME OF THE INCIDENTS “BLATANTLY ANTI-SEMITIC” AND “DANGEROUS”.

ANTI-ISRAEL STUDENT PROTESTS AGAINST THE WAR IN GAZA ARE LEADING TO A LARGE NUMBER OF ARRESTS.

CLASSES AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY  WILL REMAIN HYBRID UNTIL THE SEMESTER ENDS FOLLOWING LAST WEEK’S PROTESTS THAT LED TO 100 ARRESTS ON CAMPUS.

47 PROTESTERS AT YALE UNIVERSITY WERE ARRESTED MONDAY.

YALE RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING IT DOES NOT TOLERATE HARASSMENT.

DOZENS OF PROTESTERS AT **N-Y-U WERE **ALSO ARRESTED.

THE SCHOOL SAYING IT CALLED IN NYPD TO HELP “GAIN CONTROL” OF A “DISORDERLY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST.”

SCHOOL YARDS ARE CLOSING TO THE PUBLIC — AS STUDENTS SET UP PROTEST ENCAMPMENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA TO MIT.

THE GATES TO HARVARD YARD ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL FRIDAY.

TENSIONS — RISING — AS FREE SPEECH RIGHTS AND HATE CRIMES ARE ON A COLLISION COURSE ACROSS COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S CRIMINAL TRIAL IN NEW YORK CONTINUES TODAY.

THE PROSECUTION’S FIRST WITNESS — FORMER NATIONAL ENQUIRER PUBLISHER DAVID PECKER — IS EXPECTED TO BE BACK ON THE STAND TODAY.

IN OPENING STATEMENTS ON MONDAY – PROSECUTORS ARGUED TRUMP MET WITH PECKER TO SUPRESS NEGATIVE STORIES ABOUT HIM IN 2015.

ONE OF THEM — ABOUT AN ALLEGED PREVIOUS AFFAIR WITH ADULT FILM STAR STORMY DANIELS.

DEFENSE ATTORNEYS ARGUE TRUMP DID NOTHING CRIMINALLY WRONG AND SAY SOME OF THE PROSECUTION WITNESSES ARE LIARS AND BIASED AGAINST THE FORMER PRESIDENT.

ALSO TODAY –A JUDGE WILL HEAR ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER TO HOLD TRUMP IN CONTEMPT FOR ALLEGEDLY VIOLATING A GAG ORDER — OVER HIS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CRITICIZING THE TRIAL.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS HAS ANNOUNCED NEW RULES FOR NURSING HOMES —

SETTING A MINIMUM STAFFING LEVEL AND REQUIRING A PORTION OF FEDERAL FUNDING THEY RECEIVE GO TOWARD HIGHER WAGES FOR THEIR WORKERS.

IT’S THE FIRST TIME THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS IMPLEMENTING STAFF REQUIREMENTS FOR NURSING HOMES —

AFTER THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC EXPOSED STAFFING SHORTAGES.

THE NEW RULES INCLUDE HAVING A REGISTERED NURSE ON SITE AT EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY.

STAFFING LEVELS HAVE TO BE HIGH ENOUGH TO PROVIDE EVERY RESIDENT WITH NEARLY 4 HOURS OF CARE EACH DAY.

FOR A FACILITY WITH 100 RESIDENTS —

THERE HAS TO BE A MINIMUM OF 3 REGISTERED NURSES PLUS 11 NURSE-AIDES **PER SHIFT.

WHILE THE WHITE HOUSE SAYS ITS A STANDARD THAT MUST BE REACHED —

SOME NURSING HOMES HAVE SAID IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE BECAUSE OF A SHORTAGE OF WORKERS.

THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION IS SUING TO PREVENT TOP LUXURY BRANDS FROM MERGING OVER CONCERNS IT WOULD CRIPPLE COMPETITION IN THE INDUSTRY —

WHILE MAJOR GROCERY CHAINS KROGER AND ALBERTSON’S ARE SELLING OFF SOME OF THEIR STORES — IN HOPES THE FTC WILL ALLOW THEM TO MERGE.

THE FTC CAN BLOCK BIG BUSINESS ACQUISITIONS OUT OF CONCERNS IT MAY ALLOW COMPANIES TO GET TOO BIG AND HOLD TOO MUCH POWER IN A CERTAIN SPACE.

THAT’S WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW —

AS THE FTC MOVES TO BLOCK A DEAL THAT WOULD SEE TAPESTRY — THE OWNER OF COACH AND KATE SPADE — BUYING OUT CAPRI HOLDINGS — WHICH OWNS MICHAEL KORS AND JIMMY CHOO.

THE FTC SAYS THE ACQUISITION WOULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT AMERICAN SHOPPERS WHO BENEFIT FROM THE RIVALRY BETWEEN THE TOP BRANDS.

MEANWHILE —

GROCERY RETAILERS KROGER AND ALBERTSONS ARE IN A SIMILAR POSITION.

KROGER’S WANTS TO BUY ALBERTSONS FOR $25 BILLION.

FEDERAL REGULATORS SUED TO BLOCK THE DEAL BACK IN FEBRUARY.

THE GROCERY CHAINS ARE SELLING OFF 166 STORES IN HOPES THE FTC WILL ALLOW THE BUSINESS TRANSACTION TO GO THROUGH.

THE POPULAR RETAILER “EXPRESS” — OFTEN LOCATED INSIDE MALLS — HAS FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY.

IT PLANS TO CLOSE NEARLY 100 OF ITS 500 STORES.

THE COMPANY REPORTED  NEARLY $1.2 BILLION DOLLARS IN TOTAL DEBTS WITH $1.3 BILLION DOLLARS IN TOTAL ASSETS, ACCORDING TO ITS CHAPTER 11 FILING.

EXPRESS BEING THE LATEST VICTIM TO A BLEEDING OF STORES THAT LARGELY RELY ON MALL SHOPPERS.

PEOPLE HAVE CHANGED THEIR SHOPPING AND DRESSING HABITS —

THE STORE CHAIN’S CEO ACKNOWLEDGING WORKERS ARE DRESSING LESS FORMAL THAN THEIR CURRENT STYLE SELECTION.

AND SHOPPERS ARE MIGRATING TOWARD ONLINE RETAILERS.

FINALLY THIS MORNING — AFTER FIVE MONTHS — NASA’S VOYAGER 1 SPACECRAFT HAS RESUMED SENDING BACK DATA ON ITS ONBOARD SYSTEMS FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE NOVEMBER.

ENGINEERS AT NASA’S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY IDENTIFIED AND ADDRESSED A MALFUNCTION IN ONE OF VOYAGER 1’S ONBOARD COMPUTER CHIPS THAT DISRUPTED DATA TRANSMISSION.

SMALL ADJUSTMENTS TO THE CODE WERE SENT OVER RADIO SIGNAL THROUGH 15 BILLION MILES OF INTERSTELLAR SPACE — TAKING NEARLY 45 HOURS FOR SCIENTISTS TO HEAR BACK FROM THE SPACE CRAFT.

ONCE THE CHIP’S MALFUNCTION IS CORRECTED, THEY BELIEVE SCIENTIFIC DATA CAN START FUNNELING BACK TO EARTH.

VOYAGER 1 HAS BEEN IN SPACE SINE 1977.

THESE ARE YOUR TOP STORIES FOR THIS TUESDAY.

UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS. THAT’S STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.

WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE TOMORROW.

UNTIL THEN I’M KARAH RUCKER. HAVE A GREAT DAY!