The Trump administration revealed on Sunday that it had deported hundreds of people from the U.S. after President Donald Trump invoked a wartime law to speed up the deportations of people connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The announcement was made in the face of a court order from a federal judge temporarily blocking the administration’s ability to use the law, the Alien Enemies Act, on Saturday night, and ordered any planes flying migrants out of the country to turn around. The judge stated that the restraining order would remain in effect for two weeks “or until further order of the court.”
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said that the Department of Homeland Security had arrested almost 300 members of the Venezuelan gang this weekend. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier on Sunday that “hundreds of violent criminals were sent out of our country” following Trump’s Saturday measures.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has launched military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Houthi-run health ministry said that at least 31 people were killed. Trump said the strikes would continue until the Houthis stopped their attacks on shipping vessels off the coast.
Education Department staff cuts could limit options for families of kids with disabilities
Annie Ma writes:
For parents of kids with disabilities, advocating for their child can be complicated, time-consuming — and expensive.
Changes at the Education Department are likely to make the process even more difficult, advocates for kids with disabilities say.
When a parent believes their child is not receiving proper services or school accommodations for a disability, they can seek remedies from their district. They can file complaints with their state, arguing the child’s rights have been taken away without due process of law, or even pursue litigation in state or federal courts.
Those processes often involve multiple sessions with hearing officers who are not required to be experts in disability law. Legal fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single case. Legal aid and other advocacy organizations that can provide free assistance often have more demand for their services than they can meet.
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Jasmine Crockett fires back at John Fetterman over senator’s criticism of Democrats
Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, has been critical of the more left-leaning members of his party, condemning their push for a government shutdown. He also joined in with the chorus of people who mocked the “Choose Your Fighter” TikTok video, in which some members of the House Democratic caucus participated in a social media campaign that highlighted their backgrounds.
John Bowden has the story:
Project 2025 author says Trump’s adoption of his ideas are beyond his ‘wildest dreams’
On the campaign trail, Democrats warned about the dangers of Project 2025 while Trump repeatedly distanced himself from it. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” he wrote on Truth Social last July.
Later that month, Paul Dans, a lawyer and chief architect of Project 2025, resigned. Now, he says he has no hard feelings and is thrilled that the second Trump administration appears to be following the controversial blueprint.
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‘No ceasefire will work’: Medics on Ukraine’s frontline scorn Trump’s peace talks
Sam Kiley writes:
Stunned, bleeding, disorientated and amazed at surviving a double land mine blast inside their armoured ambulance, the Ukrainian medical team had lost their radio and their bearings.
They knew a Russian ambush team was close and they had to get out of Niu York, near Donetsk, fast.
Their leader, Rebekah Maciorowski, a volunteer from Colorado, didn’t see the Ukrainian drones overhead that were flashing their beacons to lead her to safety. It was broad daylight.
Russian drones could also see them, they knew as they scuttled into an abandoned building. They were in the worst of military predicaments – a total loss of control.
“Getting blown up was not so traumatic compared to the situation that we were in with no comms. No comms, you know, in a grey zone, no communications, no navigational reference,” says Rebekah, 31, a permanent frontline medic in Ukraine since March 2022.
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Ivory Coast is losing US aid as al-Qaida and other extremist groups are approaching
Monika Pronczuk writes:
With its tomato patches and grazing cattle, the Ivory Coast village of Kimbirila-Nord hardly looks like a front line of the global fight against extremism. But after jihadis attacked a nearby community in Mali five years ago and set up a base in a forest straddling the border, the U.S. committed to spending $20 million to counter the spread of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group here and in dozens of other villages.
The Trump administration’s sweeping foreign aid cuts mean that support is now gone, even as violence in Mali and other countries in the Sahel region south of the Sahara has reached record levels and sent tens of thousands refugees streaming into northern Ivory Coast.
Locals worry they have been abandoned. Diplomats and aid officials said the termination of aid jeopardizes counterterrorism efforts and weakens U.S. influence in a part of the world where some countries have turned to Russian mercenaries for help.
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Tourists cancel their U.S. plans as Trump rocks international allies with policies and tariffs
President Donald Trump’s policies and rhetoric have driven some international tourists to cancel their trips to the United States.
Combined with an anticipated slide in domestic travel spending, these factors could contribute to a predicted $64 billion in losses for the U.S. travel industry in 2025, according to travel research firm Tourism Economics.
In a report published late last month, Tourism Economics predicted that “domestic travel will be negatively affected by slower income growth and higher prices” while international travel to the U.S. “will be hit by a trifecta of slower economies, a stronger dollar, and antipathy towards the US.”
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
VOICES: Trump’s 200% tariff on EU wine could pop the champagne bubble… and that’s a massive problem
Rosamund Hall writes:
The news cycle regarding tariffs is giving me flashbacks to my teenage history lessons, stirring memories about the repeal of the Corn Law and WE Gladstone’s subsequent budgets that removed nearly all protectionist regulations – Mr Bromfield, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re impressed.
Whilst economics is not my strength, I am aware that most economists assert that free trade is generally regarded as a good thing: more choice for consumers, competitive pricing and greater economic growth. Donald Trump obviously hasn’t got that memo.
You might be wondering what a wine writer is doing wading into this murky water of tariffs – well, so am I, but it’s because of one thing: the threat of tariffs on booze from the EU. Normally I’m writing about my despair at our own country’s approach to alcohol taxation, but Trump is rather stealing the headline on pretty much everything, so it might as well include this too.
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Keith Kellogg’s return to Ukraine diplomacy shows Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy
Mark Almond writes:
Donald Trump’s whirligig presidency continues with sudden reversals of foreign policy and key diplomatic appointments.
Retired lieutenant general, Keith Kellogg, had appeared “out” of Ukrainian affairs only a few days ago.
Eight weeks ago, the government in Kyiv and many friends of Ukraine abroad had celebrated his appointment as the president’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia as a victory for a hard-line stance against Putin’s aggression.
Kellogg’s own public statements on Russian war guilt and his daughter, Meaghan Mobbs’ very public role as a fundraiser for Ukraine led people to assume that fears that Trump would “sell out” the country were misplaced.
But Keith Kellogg was briefed against by the White House media team immediately after the Trump-Zelensky bust-up in the Oval Office. He had failed to join in the pile-on against the Ukrainian President. Kellogg was removed from his post. With the Kremlin against him too, it looked like the 81-year-old had reached the end of his long road of service to the USA.
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Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life’ with NOAA layoffs
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation’s Hurricane Hunters.
He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm’s power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
He said his job loss – and the thousands that have followed – are making Americans less safe.
“Because you could see the forecast improvements that we’ve come to count on or rely on could be reversed,” he told The Independent. “And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that’s not what we want to see.”
Julia Musto has the story:
What to know about El Salvador’s mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there
Marcos Alemn and Regina Garcia Cano write:
The crown jewel of El Salvador’s aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education are not allowed — became the latest tool in U.S. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration on Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.
The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.
Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend despite a federal judge’s order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.
What is the CECOT?
Source: independent.co.uk
