Scholars stranded in America and abroad amid funding freeze of State Department programs

The U.S. State Department has frozen funding indefinitely for thousands of scholars participating in long-established cross-cultural programs connecting the U.S. to other parts of the world. Department officials temporarily paused spending in February in an effort to review its programs and activities. That included programs such as Fulbright, Gilman and Critical Language scholarships. Some scholars and advocacy groups have said the flow of funds have since dried up for yet there is no communication from U.S. officials on whether that will change. The State Department did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the funding freeze.