US judge presses Trump administration on its refusal to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday that she will order sworn testimony by Trump administration officials to determine if they complied with her orders to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland issued her order after Trump officials continually refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia. She said they defied a “clear” Supreme Court order.
She also downplayed Monday's comments by White House officials and El Salvador's president that they were unable to bring back Abrego Garcia, describing their statements as “two very misguided ships passing in the night.”
“The Supreme Court has spoken,” Xinis said, adding that what was said in the Oval Office on Monday “is not before the court.”
In her written order published Tuesday evening, Xinis called for the testimony of four Trump administration officials who work for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department.
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Harvard's challenge to Trump administration could test limits of government power
On one side is Harvard, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, with a brand so powerful that its name is synonymous with prestige. On the other side is the Trump administration, determined to go further than any other White House to reshape American higher education.
Both sides are digging in for a clash that could test the limits of the government’s power and the independence that has made U.S. universities a destination for scholars around the world.
On Monday, Harvard became the first university to openly defy the Trump administration as it demands sweeping changes to limit activism on campus. The university frames the government’s demands as a threat not only to the Ivy League school but to the autonomy that the Supreme Court has long granted American universities.
“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” the university’s lawyers wrote Monday to the government. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”
The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard. The hold on funding marks the seventh time the Trump administration has taken such a step at one of the nation’s most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Trump’s political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League.
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As Trump considers auto tariffs pause, parts exemptions could be key for US industry
DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump hinted that he might temporarily relieve the auto industry from “permanent” tariffs he previously imposed on the business. The president didn't specify how long the potential pause would be or what it would entail, but the auto sector is awaiting how rules might change on 25% tariffs based on U.S. parts, if duties remain on assembled vehicles.
Experts have said short pauses aren't likely to give carmakers enough of an opportunity to adjust their vast global supply chains, though parts exemptions would certainly bolster the industry amid Trump's trade war whiplash.
Trump told reporters Monday that automakers “need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So I’m talking about things like that,” referring to relocating production from Canada, Mexico and elsewhere. The news drove global auto stocks up Tuesday.
Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents domestic auto companies Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, said in a statement: “There is increasing awareness that broad tariffs on parts could undermine our shared goal of building a thriving and growing American auto industry, and that many of these supply chain transitions will take time.”
Trump first announced 25% automotive tariffs late March; the tariffs for completed vehicles took effect on April 3, while the parts tariffs were set to start 30 days later.
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Visa cancellations sow panic for international students, with hundreds fearing deportation
WASHINGTON (AP) — At first, the bar association for immigration attorneys began receiving inquiries from a couple students a day. These were foreigners studying in the U.S., and they'd discovered in early April their legal status had been terminated with little notice. To their knowledge, none of the students had committed a deportable offense.
In recent days, the calls have begun flooding in. Hundreds of students have been calling to say they have lost legal status, seeking advice on what to do next.
“We thought it was going to be something that was unusual,” said Matthew Maiona, a Boston-based immigration attorney who is getting about six calls a day from panicked international students. “But it seems now like it’s coming pretty fast and furious.”
The speed and scope of the federal government's efforts to terminate the legal status of international students have stunned colleges across the country. Few corners of higher education have been untouched, as schools ranging from prestigious private universities, large public research institutions and tiny liberal arts colleges discover status terminations one after another among their students.
At least 790 students at more than 120 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated in recent weeks, according to an Associated Press review of university statements and correspondence with school officials. Advocacy groups collecting reports from colleges say hundreds more students could be caught up in the crackdown.
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Records show Gene Hackman's wife researched symptoms of illness days before her death
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday released a trove of records related to the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, including a lengthy investigation report detailing some of the last emails, phone calls and internet searches by Hackman's wife indicating that she had been scouring for information on flu-like symptoms and breathing techniques.
Betsy Arakawa died in February of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare, rodent-borne disease that can lead to a range of symptoms that include flu-like illness, headaches, dizziness and severe respiratory distress, investigators have said. Hackman is believed to have died about a week later of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
The partially mummified remains of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were found in their Santa Fe home Feb. 26, when maintenance and security workers showed up at the home and alerted police.
Photos, hours of footage and other documents were made public Tuesday after a recent court order that mandated any depictions of the deceased couple would be blocked from view. Authorities said additional records including dashboard camera footage could later be released.
The records had been restricted from release by an earlier, temporary court order. The Hackman estate and family members had sought to keep the records sealed to protect the family’s privacy.
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What to know about Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the arson at his official residence
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A family member says the man charged with setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion has struggled with mental illness and was treated at a psychiatric hospital twice in recent years.
The fire left significant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests to evacuate the building early Sunday during the Jewish holiday of Passover. No injuries were reported, but authorities were still working Tuesday to determine a possible motive, including whether it had anything to do with Shapiro’s politics or religious beliefs.
The suspect, identified as Cody Balmer, 38, was arrested nearby later in the day, police said. Court records and interviews with family members show his life unraveled dramatically in recent years before authorities say he scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set the Democratic governor’s mansion ablaze.
Dan Balmer, an electrical engineer who lives in the Harrisburg suburbs, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had given Cody Balmer a place to live a couple years ago. He was involved in getting his brother treatment at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute twice, saying Cody Balmer exhibited disturbing behavior.
“He’s had ups and downs his whole life with the bipolar,” Dan Balmer said. “He doesn’t believe he’s bipolar, so he doesn’t take his medicine.”
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Biden alleges Trump has 'taken a hatchet' to Social Security in his first post-presidency speech
CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Joe Biden warned on Tuesday that President Donald Trump has “taken a hatchet” to Social Security, weighing in on a critical issue for millions of Americans as the 82-year-old Democrat briefly returned to the national stage.
Biden, who has largely avoided speaking publicly since leaving the White House in January, gave an evening speech at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. The former president was speaking as Democrats across the nation offered similar warnings for what they described as a Social Security Day of Action.
“In fewer than 100 days, this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction. It's kind of breathtaking," Biden charged during a speech that spanned just under a half-hour. “They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration.”
It was no coincidence that Tuesday’s appearance, which marked Biden's first major event since leaving office, was focused on Social Security. Democrats have increasingly focused on Trump's turbulent leadership over the popular government agency that provides benefits to more than 70 million Americans.
Both parties expect Social Security to emerge as a key issue in next year’s midterm elections.
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Israeli airstrike hits hospital entrance in Gaza, killing medic and wounding 9 other people
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the northern gate of a field hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing a medic and wounding nine other people, a hospital spokesman said.
The strike hit the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in the Muwasi area, where hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in sprawling tent camps. The wounded were all patients and medics, and two of the patients were in critical condition after the strike, said Saber Mohammed, a hospital spokesman.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Hamas said that strikes had caused them to lose contact with the unit guarding Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander. Hamas released a video of the 21-year-old soldier days earlier, likely speaking under duress.
Hamas said a direct strike hit the location where Alexander was being held and they were trying to reach them.
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Wink Martindale, the genial game-show host and an early TV interviewer of Elvis Presley, dies at 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wink Martindale, the genial host of such hit game shows as “Gambit” and “Tic-Tac-Dough” who also did one of the first recorded television interviews with a young Elvis Presley, has died. He was 91.
Martindale died Tuesday at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, according to his publicist Brian Mayes. Martindale had been battling lymphoma for a year.
“He was doing pretty well up until a couple weeks ago,” Mayes said by phone from Nashville.
“Gambit” debuted on the same day in September 1972 as “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker and “The Joker’s Wild” with Jack Barry.
“From the day it hit the air, ‘Gambit’ spelled winner, and it taught me a basic tenant of any truly successful game show: KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid,” Martindale wrote in his 2000 memoir “Winking at Life.” “Like playing Old Maids as a kid, everybody knows how to play 21, i.e. blackjack.”
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Pupy the elephant heads to a vast Brazilian sanctuary after 30 years in an Argentine zoo
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An unusual convoy neared Argentina's lush border with Brazil on Tuesday, after snaking through traffic-snarled roads for hours. Inside the specialized iron crate strapped to a truck and flanked by vans full of caretakers and veterinarians was Pupy, a female African elephant.
She is heading to a better life after spending more than 30 years in captivity as the last elephant of a Buenos Aires zoo that was often criticized for its conditions before it was turned into a nature preserve nine years ago.
Pupy (pronounced POOH'-pee in Spanish) embarked on her arduous 2,700-kilometer (1,670-mile) journey on Monday, from the trendy neighborhood of Palermo in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires to the Amazon rainforest of Mato Grosso state in Brazil.
The 3.5-ton pachyderm is expected to arrive at her new home at Elephant Sanctuary Brazil, the first refuge for elephants in Latin America, later this week — a voyage dependent on traffic, weather conditions and customs stops.
As of late Tuesday, Pupy was traversing the verdant northern Argentine province of Misiones, near the border with Brazil.
The Associated Press
