More than $2 billion in federal funds committed to Harvard University are likely to stay frozen by the Trump administration well into the summer after the sides met for the first time in a Boston courtroom in their high-stakes sparring match over political ideology in American higher education.

A U.S. district judge agreed to fast-track the oral arguments at Harvard's request during a brief convening in a packed Boston courtroom.

For decades, UC Davis stood tall among the world's giants in agricultural research. All that changed in a few short as the Trump administration froze funds, closed down labs and shut out scientists' ability to secure grants for future research.