内容摘要：J.C. Escarra had an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the eighth as part of his first three-hit game.

J.C. Escarra had an RBI double in the second and a run-scoring single in the eighth as part of his first three-hit game.

Universities worldwide are always trying to recruit from one another, just as tech companies and businesses in other fields do. What’s unusual about the current moment is that many global recruiters are targeting researchers by promising something that seems newly threatened: academic freedom.French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen attend the “Choose Europe for Science” event at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP, File)

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen attend the “Choose Europe for Science” event at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Monday, May 5, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP, File)European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month that the European Union intends “to enshrine freedom of scientific research into law.” She spoke at the launch of the bloc’s “Choose Europe for Science” — which was in the works before the Trump administration cuts but has sought to capitalize on the moment.Eric Berton, president of Aix-Marseille University, expressed a similar sentiment after launching the institution’s “Safe Place for Science” program.

“Our American research colleagues are not particularly interested by money,” he said of applicants. “What they want above all is to be able to continue their research and that their academic freedom be preserved.”It’s too early to say how many scientists will choose to leave the U.S. It will take months for universities to review applications and dole out funding, and longer for researchers to uproot their lives.

Plus, the American lead in funding research and development is enormous — and even significant cuts may leave crucial programs standing. The U.S. has been the world’s leading funder of R&D — including government, university and private investment — for decades. In 2023, the country funded 29% of the world’s R&D, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

But some institutions abroad are reporting significant early interest from researchers in the U.S. Nearly half of the applications to “Safe Place for Science” — 139 out of 300 total — came from U.S.-based scientists, including AI researchers and astrophysicists.“This is where Trump and MAGA excel –- if somebody who looks like me is your enemy, then you don’t care if the guy in the White House is peeing on your leg and telling you it’s rain,” he said, referring to Trump’s “Make American Great Again” movement.

By definition, a “listening tour” is not meant to produce concrete action. Elridge and Nicholas Hazelett, the Johnson County Democratic chair who is a college student doubling as a Paintsville City Council member, acknowledged that the small crowd was Democrat-friendly. Despite a few recent converts, no one was there waiting to be convinced.Across the street, antiques shop owner Michelle Hackworth said she did not even know Democrats were holding a meeting. Calling herself a “hard-core Republican,” she smiled when asked if she had consider attending.

“They wouldn’t convince me of anything,” she said.Michelle Hackworth discusses U.S. politics standing in her Paintsville, Ky., antiques store, Friday, May 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)