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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.

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