US prosecutors move to drop charges against Harvard researcher

Federal prosecutors in Boston have moved to dismiss criminal charges against Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born Harvard Medical School researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos into the United States. The move followed a judge’s order allowing Petrova to seek government records for her claim that the Trump administration selectively or vindictively prosecuted her. Prosecutors called the allegations meritless but said continuing the case would divert resources from more substantial federal interests. Petrova, who has said her supervisor asked her to bring the samples for research, had pleaded not guilty; the court must still act on the dismissal request.