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The world moves fast. Daybreak keeps you up-to-date.
Enjoy everything you need to know to stay informed — on campus and off — in this digestible, efficient podcast. Daybreak is produced by Vitus Larrieu '26, Isabel Jacobson '25, and Eden Teshome '25 under the 147th Managing Board of The Daily Princetonian. The theme music was composed and performed by Ed Horan, and the cover art is by Mark Dodici.
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For The Daily Princetonian, I’m Vitus Larrieu. You’re listening to Daybreak.
Today on Daybreak, we cover a column calling for the end of restrictive early action, a walkout protest [quote] “in solidarity with Palestine,” updates on the Washington Bridge Closure, the election of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House, and the potential de-escalation of tensions between India and Canada.
It’s Thursday, October 26th.
In his first column, Contributing Columnist Brian Hegarty discusses his view that Princeton’s restrictive early action admissions contribute to inequality in the admissions process. We sat down with Brian to learn more about his position.
[interview]
You can read Brian’s column at dailyprincetonian.com, or at the link in the show notes.
In local news, a state official confirmed on Monday that the Washington Road bridge project is near completion. Since the start of construction on July 26, the bridge closure has caused traffic delays in the Princeton area of 15 minutes to more than half an hour. One reader of Planet Princeton told the publication that traffic jams have increased her commute from McCaffreys on Harrison Street to MarketFair to 45 minutes. She stated [quote] “That is normally a 15-minute drive from Harrison to Route 1.” The New Jersey Department of Transportation has determined that Washington Road will reopen “sometime after October 31.”
Yesterday, students staged a walkout protest at the Frist Campus Center North Lawn at noon. The protest brought a large crowd of students, who held signs and chanted slogans. The walkout was met with a silent counter-protest from students holding Israeli flags and signs, one of which read “family murdered by Hamas” with photos of victims. Following the walkout, the pro-Palestine group marched to Nassau Hall and dissipated afterwards.
After 23 days, 4 Republican nominees, and 4 failed House floor votes, the United States Congress has elected Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House. Johnson won the speakership with 220 votes, representing the entire Republican House caucus that was present at the time of the vote. In a speech following the vote, Johnson said that [quote] “We are going to fight, we're going to fight vigorously over our core principles because they're at odds a lot of times now in this modern era,” going on to state that [quote] “we will defend our core principles to the end.” Shortly after being elected speaker, Johnson moved to vote on a resolution in support of Israel. He also called on Congress to address migration at the U.S. border with Mexico as well as inflation and federal spending.
Johnson is currently the vice chair of the House Republican Conference and a former chair of the Republican Study Committee, a group of fiscal conservatives. His record includes votes against certifying the 2020 election results, opposition to increased Ukrainian aid, and a strong history of opposition to same-sex relationships. Johnson now has the responsibility to consider spending bills that will keep the government funded past a November 17th deadline and funding for military assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
In international news, India eased a month-long visa ban on Canadian nationals entering the country this past Wednesday. Tense diplomatic relations between the countries were brought to a head last month when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were [quote-unquote] "credible allegations" of Indian government involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh-Canadian activist. The end of the ban potentially marks a de-escalation of animosity between the countries. However, days earlier, Canada issued a statement saying that it is recalling 41 of its 62 diplomats in India, following India’s threat to strip diplomats of their immunity, a possible violation of the Geneva Convention. India did not publicly mention taking away these immunities, but the country did say that they asked Canada to reduce its number of diplomats in India to match the amount of diplomats that India has in Canada. India also said in Wednesday’s statement that emergency services will still be handled by the Indian High Commission and consulates in Vancouver and Toronto. Canada continues its investigation into Nijjar's murder.
Weather: Expect some warmer weather! Today will be sunny with a high of 78 and a low of 53.
That’s all for Daybreak today.
Today’s episode was written by Maya Mukherjee, Synai Ferrell and me, sound engineered by me, and produced under the 147th managing board of the ‘Prince.’ Our theme was composed by Ed Horan, Class of ’22. For the Daily Princetonian, I’m Vitus Larrieu. Have a wonderful day.
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