The Republic

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lightsaber with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand from “The Empire Strikes Back” has sold for $3.75 million at auction. Heritage Auctions announced the results of its Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction on Monday. The lightsaber, used onscreen by Mark Hamill in the climactic Cloud City fight where Darth Vader declares “I am your father” in the 1980 “Star Wars” sequel, included a severed hand effects rig used for when Vader sliced it off.

The Justice Department is investigating whether Harvard University is allowing Chinese donors to create scholarships that exclude American students, adding to the barrage of federal inquiries the Trump administration has opened in its battle against the Ivy League school. Justice Department officials announced the new review Monday, saying Harvard’s foreign funding disclosures “raised concerns” about possible discrimination against U.S. students.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats could vote as early as this week on the order of their primary calendar for the 2028 presidential election, although the decision wouldn’t be final until the full Democratic National Committee agrees. The panel that sets the party’s voting order could make that determination as early as Friday when it meets in Washington, two people with knowledge of the party’s process but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Road deaths are declining in the U.S. and worldwide, but lower-income countries aren’t experiencing much of the improvement, according to a study published Monday. Global rates of road injuries and deaths each fell more than 30% between 1990 and 2023, according to the study published in Lancet Public Health, which noted the progress varied from country to country. Pedestrian and vehicle occupant deaths rose over that time in six countries — including the United States.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to pitch off a mound sometime later this week, but there is no timetable for his return to the rotation. Ohtani had been scheduled to start against the Phillies in the finale of the three-game series in Philadelphia on Wednesday. But left knee irritation that kept him out of last week’s All-Star Game scrapped those plans. The four-time MVP last pitched on July 3.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan activists on Monday accused authorities of violating a court order from last month halting the setting up of an American-backed Ebola quarantine center after reports surfaced that Americans were being quarantined in the country. The center was meant to take in and quarantine Americans evacuated from Congo, where an Ebola outbreak that erupted two months ago has so far killed at least 930 people, out of the 2,344 cases confirmed there.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A 19-year-old bought a warmup jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA finals for $3.07 at an Oregon thrift store. Now it could fetch over $150,000 at auction. Quinn Brown had been eyeing a massive bin of clothes at a Goodwill store outside Portland in January when he saw someone toss a Lakers jacket with Chamberlain’s name on it back on the pile. Brown, who resells used clothes online, quickly grabbed it. The jacket is now on auction at Sotheby’s.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products. The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump will be returning to an older Air Force One plane for about a month as the new, Qatari-gifted jet undergoes “additional upgrades and enhancements.” Trump’s use of the new red, white and navy blue aircraft has faced much scrutiny not only because it was gifted by a foreign government, but also because it appears to not be equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

CHICAGO (AP) — Connor Bedard never wavered. Whenever the young center was asked about his future, he always responded with similar variations of the same message. All the way to his $75 million, five-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. “I’ve said (it) so much and it’s not anything fake. Chicago’s really, you know, the only place I want to play,” Bedard said. Bedard’s new deal was announced on Saturday, a day after his 21st birthday.