(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to reduce the Department of Education to its essential functions. The directive tells what’s left of the agency to prioritize sending money to school choice programs across America.
These programs — which are also referred to as school vouchers and school freedom — allow parents to take tax dollars allocated for their children to attend public schools and, in most cases, use that money to send them to private schools.
The argument supporting this movement is that private schools often provide a better education for children.
In Tennessee, where supporters of the programs refer to them as scholarships, State House Rep. Todd Warner is a proud product of rural public schools. He’s a self-described “die-hard Republican,” but told ABC News that he believes what some conservatives are currently trying to do to education is wrong.
“Public schools are the backbone of the community,” Warner said. “On Friday nights, Friday night lights, the football game. It’s where everybody comes together. It’s where we tailgate and see each other’s family before the game. It’s where we cheer each other’s children on.”
For the past four years at the Tennessee Statehouse, Warner represented what he refers to as “country folk” from counties so red that Confederate flags continue to fly over a few homes and monuments.
“I’m in favor of reducing the Department of Education on the federal level,” Warner said. “I would love to see President Trump send more money back to the states. I’m good with that, but I don’t want to see that go to the private sector. I want to see it help our public schools.”
Warner is currently working to limit the number of vouchers in Tennessee.
He may have a life size Trump cutout in his office and hang his red hat on the wall above a dead buck, but Warner told ABC News that he doesn’t mind being called a sellout in Nashville because he knows that at home in the district he represents south of the city, his constituents know that isn’t who he is.
“You know, the best memories in life that I have,” Warner said. “Some of them are in the public school, in high school, you know, with those teachers, with those coaches. And it’s that way in a lot of rural Tennessee. I mean, it’s the public school or it’s nothing.”
(PALM BEACH, Fla.) — A Florida man was arrested after driving a car into a group of protesters at a Tesla dealership on Saturday, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect, 44-year-old Andrew Dutil, “drove his vehicle, jumping the curb onto the sidewalk at a slow rate of speed into a crowd of protestors,” police said in a statement.
Police received “numerous calls” regarding a black Nissan SUV driving “up on a curb in front of the Tesla dealerships almost striking multiple pedestrians,” according to police.
The protesters moved out of the way to avoid being struck by Dutil’s vehicle, police said.
When police arrived on the scene, Dutil’s car was parked on the curb in front of the dealership with multiple people surrounding it, authorities said.
Dutil was arrested and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail “without incident,” police said.
There were no reported injuries among the protesters, police said.
Karen Holland, who was participating in the peaceful protest, told police that Dutil’s vehicle “drove by earlier in the day and was yelling at all of the protestors,” officials said.
When Dutil returned and started driving up on the curb toward protesters, Holland said she was “in fear for her life and believed she was going to get struck by the vehicle,” police said.
Dutil was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent, police said.
The incident Friday comes as many Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations have suffered vandalism, arson attacks and protests since CEO Elon Musk began his role with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Additional protests occurred at Tesla dealerships in Colorado Springs, Boston, Memphis and Milford, Connecticut, over the weekend. In Boston, demonstrators were seen holding signs that read, “This ends here,” and “Recall Elon.”
In a public announcement on Friday, the FBI said incidents targeting Teslas have been recorded in at least nine states since January, including arson, gunfire and graffiti.
“These criminal actions appear to have been conducted by lone offenders, and all known incidents occurred at night,” the FBI said. “Individuals require little planning to use rudimentary tactics, such as improvised incendiary devices and firearms, and may perceive these attacks as victimless property crimes.”
Another recent Tesla incident occurred in Fargo, North Dakota, where fire crews found a “small fire in wood chips at the base of the electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot” early Friday morning, according to the Fargo Fire Department.
Officials said the fire is considered “suspicious” and the cause is under investigation. It is unclear whether the fire damaged the chargers, authorities said.
The New York City Police Department is also asking for the public’s help in identifying two men who spray-painted a swastika on a Cybertruck on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Tesla did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(WASHINGTON) — The Venezuelan migrants removed by the Trump administration to El Salvador last week deserved to have a court hearing before their deportations to determine whether they belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, a federal judge ruled Monday morning.
In a ruling denying the Trump Administration’s request to dissolve his order blocking the deportations, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg wrote that Trump’s “unprecedented use” of the Alien Enemies Act does not remove the government’s responsibility to ensure the men removed could contest their designation as alleged gang members.
Trump last week invoked the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime authority used to deport noncitizens with little-to-no due process — by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the U.S.
“The Court need not resolve the thorny question of whether the judiciary has the authority to assess this claim in the first place. That is because Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on another equally fundamental theory: before they may be deported, they are entitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all,” Judge Boasberg wrote in his ruling Monday, adding the men were likely to win their case.
Judge Boasberg acknowledged that the use of the Alien Enemies Act “implicates a host of complicated legal issues” but sidestepped the larger question of whether the law was properly invoked, instead focusing on the due process deserved by the men. He added that the men have been irreparably harmed by their removal to an El Salvadoran prison where they face “torture, beatings, and even death.”
“Federal courts are equipped to adjudicate that question when individuals threatened with detention and removal challenge their designation as such. Because the named Plaintiffs dispute that they are members of Tren de Aragua, they may not be deported until a court has been able to decide the merits of their challenge,” he wrote.
Judge Boasberg also cast doubt on the Trump administration’s allegation that the decision risks national security, noting that the men would still be detained within the United States if they had not been deported. During a court hearing on Friday, DOJ lawyers acknowledged that the men deported on the Alien Enemies Act have the right to a habeas hearing — where they could contest their alleged membership in Tren de Aragua — but declined to vow that each man would be given a hearing before they were removed from the country.
Boasberg’s ruling comes as a federal appeals court prepares to hear arguments Monday over the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act for last week’s deportations.
If the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals overturns Boasberg’s blocking of the president’s use of the centuries-old wartime law, the Trump administration could exercise the authority to deport any suspected migrant gang member with little-to-no due process.
Lawyers representing the Venezuelan men targeted under Trump’s proclamation have argued that the president exceeded his authority by using the Alien Enemies Act against a gang — rather than a state actor — outside of wartime.
“The President is trying to write Congress’s limits out of the act,” the plaintiffs argued, adding that U.S. presidents have used the law three other times during or immediately preceding a war.
But the Trump administration has argued that the judiciary does not have the right to review the use of the Alien Enemies Act, alleging the deportations fall under the president’s Article II powers to remove alleged terrorists and execute the country’s foreign policy.
“The President’s action is lawful and based upon a long history of using war authorities against organizations connected to foreign states and national security judgments, which are not subject to judicial second guessing,” DOJ lawyers have argued in court filings.
Last week, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg temporarily blocked the president’s use of the law to deport more than 200 alleged gang members with no due process, calling the removals “awfully frightening” and “incredibly troublesome.” An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement subsequently acknowledged in a sworn declaration that “many” of the noncitizens deported last weekend under the Alien Enemies Act did not have criminal records in the United States.
The Trump administration is asking the appeals court to overturn Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking the deportations, while Judge Boasberg continues to examine whether the Trump administration deliberately defied his order by sending the men to an El Salvadoran prison rather than returning them to the United States as he directed.
“The government’s not being terribly cooperative at this point, but I will get to the bottom of whether they violated my order and who ordered this and what’s the consequence,” Boasberg said on Friday.
With deportations under the Alien Enemies Act temporarily blocked, the Trump administration has vowed to use other authorities to deport noncitizens. Over the weekend, Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced that the country had reached an agreement to resume repatriation flights of Venezuelan migrants from the U.S.
“We’re going to keep targeting the worst of the worst, which we’ve been doing since day one, and deporting from the United States through the various laws on the books,” border czar Tom Homan told ABC’s Jon Karl on Sunday.
The three-person panel hearing today’s arguments includes two judges nominated by Republican presidents, including one nominated by Trump himself. The D.C. Circuit is the last stop before the Trump administration could take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Trump nominated three judges during his last term, solidifying the court’s conservative majority.
(POLK COUNTY, N.C.) — Evacuation orders were issued Sunday for parts of Polk County, North Carolina, where three large wildfires have burned more than 3,000 acres combined and two of the blazes remain out of control, according to authorities.
The three separate fires — the Black Cove Fire, Deep Woods Fire and the Fish Hook Fire — were all burning about 30 miles southeast of Ashville, according to the North Carolina Forest Service.
The fire ignited last week but grew rapidly over the weekend, fueled by low humidity and dry vegetation, officials said. The fires are burning in an area where Hurricane Helene swept through in September, leaving behind numerous downed trees, which are also helping to fuel the fires, officials said.
The Black Cove Fire had burned 2,076 acres and was 0% contained as of Sunday night, according to Kelly Cannon, spokesperson for Polk County government. The Deep Woods Fire was also 0% contained on Sunday after burning 2,545 acres, Cannon said.
Evacuation orders issued Saturday evening by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety remained in effect Sunday for residents in the area of the Black Cove Fire, officials said.
The Fish Hook Fire in Polk County was 50% contained on Sunday, after burning 199 acres, Cannon said. Evacuation orders were lifted Sunday, allowing residents to return to their homes.
The causes of the fires remain under investigation.
Due to multiple wildfires in the area, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality issued a “Code Red” alert signaling unhealthy air for Polk County, and a “Code Orange” in Rutherford County, signaling unhealthy air for people sensitive to smoke. South Carolina wildfires
Wildfires extended into neighboring South Carolina, prompting Gov. Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency on Saturday.
A wildfire in the Table Rock State Park on the South Carolina-North Carolina border in Pickens County, South Carolina, started on Friday night and quickly spread to 35 acres, according to McMaster.
On Sunday, the Table Rock Fire had grown to 110 acres, according to Pickens County Emergency Management. Information on how much of the fire has been contained as of Sunday afternoon was not immediately available.
McMaster said his executive order declaring a state of emergency for the Table Rock Fire area will help bolster resources for firefighters working to contain the blaze. The governor said his order includes a statewide ban on residents setting outdoor fires until further notice.
“Given the elevated risk of wildfires throughout the state, the statewide burning ban will remain in effect until further notice. Anyone who violates this ban can and will go to jail,” McMaster said.
It’s the second time this month that McMaster declared a state of emergency in his state due to wildfires. A series of wildfires broke out during the weekend of March 2 and 3 in the Carolina Forest near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in Horry County, quickly spreading to more than 1,600 acres and threatening the communities of Walkers Woods and Avalon before firefighters brought the blaze under control, according to the South Carolina Forest Commission.
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — One person is dead and three others are still missing after a boat capsized on St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department responded to a reported capsized vessel with multiple people in the water at 8 p.m. on Friday.
Four people were pulled from the water upon arrival of first responders and four more were unaccounted for.
Multiple agencies’ boats, search teams, helicopters and a drone unit continued search efforts for the missing people. One of the four missing people was found dead.
The search for the remaining three missing people continued through the night and into the morning.
The boat, which had flipped over, has been recovered and towed, officials said.
(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) — Three people were killed and 15 were injured in a shooting at a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Friday night, according to police.
The deceased are two 19-year-old men and one 16-year-old boy. The injured range in age from 16 years to 36 years, according to a police statement to ABC News on Saturday.
Police were dispatched to the shooting shortly after 10 p.m. Friday at Young Park, the Las Cruces Police Department said.
“Officers arrived and learned of multiple gunshot victims. Most were transported to local hospitals. Some were taken to University Medical Center of El Paso,” police said.
The names of the dead and injured will not be released at this time, the police department said.
At a press conference Saturday morning, Las Cruces officials said an unsanctioned car show was being held at the park prior to the shooting. There was an altercation between two groups of people that led to an exchange of gunfire.
Police said they have not made any arrests, but are actively following leads.
“Las Cruces police is receiving assistance on this investigation from the FBI, ATF, New Mexico State Police and the Dona Ana County Sheriff’s Office,” authorities said.
Young Park and all roadways leading to the park are temporarily closed while investigators conduct their work.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — Columbia University appears to have ceded to the Trump administration’s demands after a threat to withhold $400 million in federal funds.
The school posted a four-page memo entitled “Advancing Our Work to Combat Discrimination, Harassment, and Antisemitism at Columbia.” Columbia’s response is being closely watched by other schools that became flashpoints for pro-Palestinian protests last year.
The Trump administration canceled $400 million worth of grants and contracts to Columbia University, accusing the university of “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.” The administration sent a letter last week, listing out nine demands Columbia must comply with by Thursday “as a precondition for formal negotiations” regarding federal funding.
Columbia agreed to ban masks, one of the Trump administration’s key demands, saying in the memo, “Public safety has determined that face masks or face coverings are not allowed for the purpose of concealing one’s identity in the commission of violations of University policies or state, municipal, or federal laws.”
The university also agreed to stricter controls over its Middle East Studies department, which will now be overseen by a new senior vice provost who “will conduct a thorough review of the portfolio of programs in regional areas across the University, starting immediately with the Middle East.”
Columbia’s Board of Trustees issued a statement supporting the move on Saturday.
“We have and continue to support Interim President Armstrong’s approach, including today’s presentation of the University’s progress and deeply thoughtful actions. We are grateful for her principled and courageous leadership during this unprecedented time, and for the steps she has and is taking to strengthen our institution,” the Board of Trustees said.
“There are many, inside and outside of our community, who are wondering about and characterizing our decision to hold discussions with the federal government. We engaged with the agencies that serve as our regulators on issues that matter both to them and to us. Our goal has been to demonstrate the significant advances we’ve made, discuss the plans for the months ahead, and present Columbia-driven decisions made in accordance with our values and our mission,” the board said.
The memo promised the new senior vice provost would make sure the curriculum is “comprehensive and balanced” and the faculty represent an “intellectually diverse academic environment” as the Trump administration tries to crackdown on left-wing ideology on campus.
The university will also establish a Provostial Advisory Committee on Academic Freedom and Freedom of Expression tasked with advising university leadership on how to protect academic freedom at Columbia.
“The committee members will serve as trusted advisors, both to consult on university policies and procedures and to ensure that our decisions are consistent with our values,” Columbia said in the memo.
Columbia will also establish a commission tasked with examining events on campus since Oct. 7, 2024 — the anniversary of the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war — and “present an analysis with the underlying causes.” The committee will create a report with recommendations to ensure members of the Columbia community “are held accountable for actions that hinder the academic pursuit of any individual within the community.”
The committee will also offer recommendations for a disciplinary process.
(NEW YORK) — A Cornell University graduate student filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at going after universities and “foreign national” protesters, then he was asked to surrender to ICE.
Momodou Taal, a Ph.D. student in Africana Studies at Cornell University, filed the suit on Saturday hoping to prevent the administration from targeting him and others who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests. An attorney for Taal said he had been targeted by some of the same groups that had advocated for Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest and that his client feared he could be next.
Taal is a citizen of the U.K. and Gambia and is in the United States on a student visa.
According to court records, Taal was temporarily suspended from Cornell in April and September of 2024 for his participation in student protests. Instead of imposing sanctions that could have affected his immigration status, the university chose to allow Taal to continue studying remotely until Spring 2025 when his full access to the campus would be restored, his lawyers said.
In an X post on Wednesday, Taal said law enforcement agents “from an unidentified agency” had been seen parked outside his home in Ithaca, New York.
“Trump is attempting to detain me to prevent me from having my day in court,” he wrote.
On Thursday, attorney Eric Lee filed an affidavit, stating, “It appears the government is attempting to detain Mr. Taal imminently.” Witnesses had seen an undercover law enforcement official parked outside Taal’s home, his attorney said. The man allegedly showed the witnesses a badge “indicating he is a member of law enforcement.”
Taal’s attorneys petitioned for a temporary restraining order seeking to prevent his arrest.
However, on Friday, his attorneys said they received an e-mail from a Justice Department lawyer asking Taal to turn himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“ICE invites Mr. Taal and his counsel to appear in-person at the HSI Office in Syracuse at a mutually agreeable time for personal service of the NTA and for Mr. Taal to surrender to ICE custody. Accordingly, if you are interested in proposing such a date and time, we will promptly forward it to ICE for consideration,” the email read.
On Friday, Lee posted on X and condemned the Trump administration’s move.
“The Trump administration responded to Momodou Taal’s lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the executive orders by sending agents to stake out his house, he said. When we asked the Court to enjoin the administration from detaining Mr. Taal as the case progresses, the administration responded by ordering him to surrender to ICE. This does not happen in a democracy.”
(NEW YORK) — Powerful winds and wildfire warnings persist in several states, with some areas still fighting existing flames, as a new cross-country storm emerges in the Pacific Northwest on Friday.
Red flag warnings are in place for areas in the Southwest, including New Mexico and north-central Texas, where wind gusts will reach up to 40 mph on Friday paired with a relative humidity down to 10%.
Firefighters have continued to battle the Gail Fire in New Mexico, which has burned 238 acres and is 10% contained, officials said on Thursday.
The southern half of Missouri and northern half of Arkansas also face red flag warnings on Friday, with wind gusts up to 45 mph and a relative humidity of 20% to 25%.
According to the Arkansas Forestry Division, 96 wildfires statewide have been contained, but four new wildfires are active.
“We are mobilizing all resources and working closely with local, state and federal partners,” the forestry division said in a statement on Friday.
Southeast Florida also remains under fire weather alerts, with red flag warnings in place from Orlando to Stuart and elevated fire dangers from West Palm Beach down to Miami. The humidity will be as low as 20% in these parts of the state, creating ideal conditions for existing fires to spread.
In Miami-Dade County, a fire has burned 25,000 acres and is 30% contained, officials said. It is burning in largely unoccupied parts of the Everglades.
Along with the threat of wildfires, other parts of the country will experience frigid temperatures, with central Mississippi, nearly all of Alabama and most of Georgia under frost and freeze warnings on Friday.
As the weekend progresses, a new cross-country storm will bring strong winds to the Midwest, heavy snow to the North and severe storms to the South.
The storm will begin with rain and mountain snow throughout the Pacific Northwest on Friday. Oregon is expected to be hit with 10 inches of snow in the mountains during the day and into the evening Friday. Idaho and western Montana should expect 8 to 16 inches of snow Friday night into Saturday morning.
By Sunday, strong to severe winds of up to 40 to 60 mph are expected across the Great Plains and upper Midwest, creating a threat for dust storms, ground blizzards and the destruction of power lines and trees.
Michigan Wolverines logo on the end zone pylon during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Michigan Stadium on November 2, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The former co-offensive coordinator for the University of Michigan’s football team has been charged with hacking into thousands of athlete and alumni accounts and downloading private data, including “intimate” photos, over an eight-year span, according to federal investigators.
Matthew Weiss, 42, who was also the team’s quarterbacks coach, allegedly gained unauthorized access to a student-athlete database of over 100 colleges and universities, and downloaded the personally identifiable information and medical data of over 150,000 athletes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Weiss has been charged with 24 counts — 14 counts of unauthorized access to computers and 10 counts of aggravated identity theft — according to the attorney’s office.
Weiss allegedly used the data and internet research to obtain access to social media, email and cloud storage accounts of more than 2,000 athletes and over 1,300 students and alumni from universities across the country, according to the attorney’s office.
Weiss then downloaded personal, intimate photos and videos that were never intended to be shared beyond intimate partners, according to the attorney’s office.
Weiss’ attorney, Douglas Mullkoff, did not immediately respond to a call or email request for comment from ABC News.
In addition to personally identifiable information and medical data of over 150,000 athletes, Weiss also downloaded athletes’ passwords by cracking encryption protecting the passwords, the indictment said.
“Weiss primarily targeted female college athletes. He searched and targeted these women based on their school affiliation, athletic history and physical characteristics,” according to the indictment.
Months, and in some cases years, after gaining access to some accounts, Weiss returned looking for additional photos and videos, according to the indictment.
“Weiss kept notes on individuals whose photographs and videos that he viewed, including notes commenting on their bodies and their sexual preferences,” the indictment said.
Cheyvoryea Gibson, special agent in charge of the FBI in Michigan, said in a statement that the FBI and University of Michigan police “worked relentlessly on this case to safeguard and protect our community.”
“Our office will move aggressively to prosecute computer hacking to protect the private accounts of our citizens,” acting U.S. Attorney Julie Beck said in a statement Thursday. “We stand ready with our law enforcement partners to bring those who illegally invade the privacy of others to justice.”
Weiss obtained access to the database of information by “compromising the passwords of accounts with elevated levels of access” including trainers and athletic directors, according to the indictment.
If convicted, Weiss could face up to five years in prison on each count of unauthorized access and two years on each count of aggravated identity theft, according to the attorney’s office.
Weiss started his career at Michigan as a quarterbacks coach in 2021 and then became co-offensive coordinator as well the following the year. Before that, he worked as coach in various capacities for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens from 2009 to 2020.
He was fired in January 2023 with little explanation by the university. Athletic Director Warde Manuel said in a statement the termination came “after a review of University policies.”
Weiss acknowledged an “ongoing investigation” and told ESPN at the time of his firing that he was “fully cooperating.”
“I have nothing but respect for the University of Michigan and the people who make it such a great place,” Weiss tweeted after his firing. “I look forward to putting this matter behind me and returning my focus to the game I love.”
