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(JENA, La.) — An immigration judge has given lawyers representing the Department of Homeland Security a little over 24 hours to provide Mahmoud Khalil’s legal team with evidence that he is removable from the U.S. under the allegations lobbed against him.
Khalil, legal permanent resident with a green card, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at his Columbia University housing in New York last month.
Khalil, a leader of the encampment protests at Columbia last spring, was detained on March 8, then taken to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, before ending up in a Louisiana detention center, his attorneys said.
At an immigration hearing in Jena, Louisiana, on Tuesday, Judge Jamee Comans set another hearing for Friday to give Khalil’s team time to review the evidence and respond to it.
Comans said she will then make a determination whether he is removable or order him to be released.
Khalil’s wife, who appeared via video feed at his hearing, is set to give birth within “a couple of weeks,” according to Khalil’s lawyer, Marc Van Der Hout.
(DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) — The death toll has continued to rise after the roof of a Dominican Republic nightclub collapsed during a concert.
At least 44 people were killed and 160 people injured at the Jet Set nightclub, located in the capital of Santo Domingo, according to the Dominican civil defense.
A search-and-rescue operation was underway in the rubble following the collapse, police said.
The incident happened at 12:34 a.m. Tuesday, during a concert by the Dominican merengue singer Rubby Pérez, according to the national police. The roof collapsed within seconds, police said.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred at the Jet Set nightclub,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a post on social media. “We have been following the incident minute by minute since it occurred. All relief agencies have provided the necessary assistance and are working tirelessly in the rescue efforts. Our prayers are with the affected families.”
The deceased included Montecristi Gov. Nelsy Milagros Cruz Martinez, according to national police and Abinader’s office. She was the sister of former MLB star Nelson Cruz, who shared a statement from the Cruz Martinez family on social media that said her “legacy of service and love for others will live forever in our hearts.”
Many families gathered at the scene looking for their loved ones who were inside the club, according to DJ Shakirax, who was at the nightclub and shared videos from the scene.
An investigation into the cause of the collapse is underway, police said.
There was a fire in 2023 that damaged part of the nightclub, authorities said.
(WASHINGTON) — Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump and House Republicans holding out against voting for the Senate-approved budget bill to fund Trump’s agenda, according to a top GOP leadership aide.
GOP leaders are again relying on Trump to help get the bill across the finish line this week before the House takes a two-week recess.
Johnson has promised to pass the Senate’s amendment to the House budget blueprint, with a vote planned Wednesday. But like the first time the House passed the budget blueprint in February, Johnson has several public holdout votes to flip — and is counting on the president to deliver them.
Speaker Mike Johnson met Tuesday at the White House with President Donald Trump and House Republicans holding out against voting for the Senate-approved budget bill to fund Trump’s agenda, according to a top GOP leadership aide.
GOP leaders are again relying on Trump to help get the bill across the finish line this week before the House takes a two-week recess.
Johnson has promised to pass the Senate’s amendment to the House budget blueprint, with a vote planned Wednesday. But like the first time the House passed the budget blueprint in February, Johnson has several public holdout votes to flip — and is counting on the president to deliver them.
“I think we’ll be moving forward this week,” he said.
Asked before the meeting what his message to the holdouts was, Johnson said “We have to get the job done. The American people are counting on us, and we are optimistic we’ll move this ball forward.”
Several of the GOP holdouts are invited to meet with Trump, but Reps. Ralph Norman and Tim Burchett — two of the holdouts — told reporters that they weren’t invited to the meeting.
Another hard no vote, Rep. Chip Roy, told reporters that there are “enough” Republicans opposed to the measure to kill it. He said he asked senators to come to a meeting to explain the math on a whiteboard that shows how their plan would reduce the deficit, but “they can’t prove the math.”
Johnson can afford to h= three votes, but up to a dozen Republicans have signaled they’re not yet convinced to vote for it.
Passing this legislation through both chambers is required to kick off the process to craft the massive budget bill that includes much of Trump’s sweeping domestic agenda.
Johnson also told reporters that the White House will provide holdouts with “a combination of commitments and assurances and all the leaders in both chambers.”
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said, “The president’s been our best advocate and whip to get this agenda moved forward every step of the way. And this bill is no different. Failure is just not an option.”
(FRISCO, Texas) — The family of a 17-year-old student charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of another student at a high school track meet last week is “sincerely saddened” over the death, the teen’s attorneys said in their first public statement since the incident.
The incident occurred on April 2 at a Frisco Independent School District stadium during a track and field championship involving multiple schools in the district.
Austin Metcalf, 17, an 11th grader at Frisco Memorial High School, died after police said another student stabbed him during an altercation in the bleachers at the meet.
The suspect in the deadly stabbing — Karmelo Anthony, a student at Frisco Centennial High School — has been charged with first-degree murder, police said.
His family has retained Dallas-Fort Worth-area defense attorneys Billy Clark of the Clark Law Firm and Kim Cole of K Cole Law in the case, according to a joint press release from their firms.
“Karmelo and the entire Anthony family are sincerely saddened that a life was lost and offer their condolences to the family of Austin Metcalf,” the attorneys said in a statement on Monday.
“During this difficult time, we urge the public to refrain from rushing to judgment before all the facts and evidence are presented,” they continued. “Karmelo, like all citizens of the United States, is entitled to a fair and impartial legal process; we are committed to ensuring that Karmelo’s rights are indeed protected throughout each phase of the criminal justice system.”
Anthony is being held in the Collin County jail on $1 million bond.
The attorneys said they plan to work with the Collin County District Attorney’s Office to seek a reduced bond and a “better determination of the filed charge.”
“This will certainly be a long road ahead and during this challenging time, we ask for prayers for both families and we ask for your patience and respect for the legal process as we seek the truth,” the attorneys said.
In the wake of the incident, Anthony’s family has launched a fundraiser on the platform GiveSendGo, which as of early Tuesday afternoon has raised more than $236,000. The fundraising page did not detail how the funds will be used.
Anthony allegedly confessed to the killing and officers say he told them he was protecting himself, according to the arrest report.
One officer who responded to the scene said Anthony told him unprompted, without being asked any questions about the incident, “I was protecting myself,” according to the arrest report.
When the officer advised another responding officer that he had “the alleged suspect,” Anthony reportedly responded, “I’m not alleged, I did it,” according to the arrest report.
Anthony “made another spontaneous statement” and reportedly asked an officer if what happened “could be considered self-defense,” according to the arrest report.
The stabbing occurred under the Memorial High School tent in the stadium bleachers at approximately 10 a.m. on April 2, according to the arrest report.
Responding officers said they spoke to multiple witnesses, including one who reported that the altercation began after Metcalf told Anthony to move out from under their team’s tent, according to the arrest report.
The witness reported that Anthony allegedly reached inside his bag and said, “Touch me and see what happens,” according to the arrest report.
Metcalf grabbed Anthony to move him, according to a witness, and Anthony allegedly pulled out what the witness described as a black knife and “stabbed Austin once in the chest and then ran away,” the arrest report stated.
“Just doesn’t make any sense,” Metcalf’s mother, Meghan Metcalf, told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA in emotional remarks last week. “Just because the kid was mad, my son is not here anymore, and I don’t understand it.”
Frisco Police Chief David Shilson called the incident a “senseless act of violence” in a lengthy statement last week while offering his “deepest condolences to all the families involved especially the Metcalf family.”
He also warned that false information related to the stabbing was being circulated on social media and “to only trust information that comes from official releases and verified sources.”
Shilson said police are investigating a fake account created using his name that was “perpetuating misinformation” on the incident. Police said they are pursuing felony charges.
(WASHINGTON) — The State Department has moved to squeeze lifesaving foreign aid dramatically for countries around the world, according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The latest cuts include the termination of all remaining U.S. Agency for International Development contracts supporting the delivery of food, water and medicine to populations in Afghanistan and Yemen, the cancellation of the largest World Food Programme (WFP) contract for Somalia, and the termination of several awards that funded the delivery of critical assistance in Syria and Lebanon, three officials told ABC News.
Jordan, Haiti, Gaza, Niger, Palau and Papua New Guinea, as well as several other countries and major aid groups, also saw significant lifesaving aid contracts terminated in recent days, they added.
The latest round of cuts to aid totals over $1.3 billion, according to OneAID, a grassroots advocacy group made up of former and current USAID experts and partners.
It also marks an apparent reversal for the State Department, which previously granted exemptions for the funding to continue after the Trump administration’s sweeping reduction in U.S. foreign aid prompted widespread backlash.
The WFP confirmed on Monday that the U.S. government had informed the organization that funding for emergency food assistance in 14 countries had been terminated.
“If implemented, this could amount to a death sentence for millions of people facing extreme hunger and starvation,” the WFP said in a statement. “We are in contact with the US administration to seek clarification and to urge for continued support for these life-saving programmes.”
ABC News reached out to the State Department for comment on the cuts but did not receive a response.
It’s unclear what motivated the latest round of funding cancellations, but one official said they were ordered by Jeremy Lewin, the USAID deputy administrator for policy who previously worked with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to dismantle the agency.
The official also said many of the programs hit by the latest cuts were recently granted hiring privileges or had spending modifications to their contracts approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
These special permissions were viewed as an indication that State Department leadership viewed the work as essential for fulfilling its mission of delivering “core life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance” amid the Trump administration’s review of all foreign aid spending.
Shortly after returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump ordered all a freeze on all foreign assistance for 90 days, leading to a flurry of stop-work orders and hiring freezes affecting a broad range of humanitarian aid work.
Since then, the Trump administration has moved to cancel some $60 billion worth of foreign aid grants and contracts, but senior officials like Rubio have promised that the most essential assistance would continue.
“This is not about getting rid of aid. This is about restructuring how we’re going to do aid,” Rubio said last month.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a drop in oil prices and borrowing costs as a sign that sweeping new tariffs bode well for the U.S. economy.
Experts who spoke to ABC News largely rejected the notion, saying the trends indicate expectations of an economic slowdown that would diminish energy demand and send money flooding into bonds as safe-haven investments.
A drop in oil prices and borrowing expenses could offset some of the damage caused by a potential downturn, some experts noted, but such relief is unlikely to offset acute economic pain.
“The reason those prices have fallen is not positive,” Dominic Pappalardo, chief multi-asset strategist at Morningstar Investment Management, told ABC News. “Oil prices and Treasury yields fell because there are concerns about economic growth going forward.”
Oil prices plummeted about 15% last week as Trump’s tariff announcement roiled global markets and triggered warnings about a possible recession.
Meanwhile, 10-year Treasury yields last week fell below 4% for the first time in nearly six months. The yield on a 10-year Treasury bond, or the amount paid to a bondholder annually, helps set interest rates for just about any loan, including credit cards and mortgages.
“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday morning outlining the benefits of his tariff policy.
He repeated the sentiment hours later, boasting of low borrowing costs and predicting the price of a gallon of gasoline would fall to $2.50. The current national average price of a gallon gas is $3.25, according to AAA.
“We have everything down at levels that nobody ever thought possible,” Trump said.
The drop in oil prices and borrowing costs will likely offer some near-term improvements for U.S. consumers, including lower gas prices, experts said.
“Motorists can expect gas prices to begin falling nearly coast-to-coast, with oil now at its lowest level since the early days of the pandemic in 2021,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC News in a statement.
In the case of oil, prices are dropping as forecasters increase the odds of a possible U.S. recession, which would reduce economic activity and slash demand for oil. If appetite for oil falls, the price will too.
“In addition to falling oil prices, the stock market has dropped sharply, and the risk of a recession has increased – raising the likelihood of reduced global energy and oil demand, which is sending prices lower,” de Haan said.
The recent decline in Treasury yields owes to hotter demand rather than a cooling off, experts said.
The price of a bond moves in the opposite direction as its yield, or the amount of interest accrued by a bondholder. In other words, when bond yields go down, bond prices go up. The decline in yields over recent days has resulted from a surge in demand as investors flee stocks and seek out safe-haven assets.
“Risky assets sold off and safe investments like Treasury bonds saw prices increase as Treasury yields fell,” Pappalardo said.
The Trump administration has largely declined to rule out the possibility of a recession. Speaking at the White House last month, Trump said a “little disturbance” may prove necessary to rejuvenate domestic production and reestablish well-paying manufacturing jobs.
On Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields ticked up slightly as the Trump administration signaled negotiations with some countries targeted by tariffs.
“Any good news of decreasing the tariffs is going to cause oil and yields to rally,” Derek Horstmeyer, a finance professor at George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, told ABC News. “It improves the economic picture.”
Even after the increases on Tuesday, oil prices and Treasury yields remained well below levels seen last week.
Horstmeyer said the benefits of lower oil prices and borrowing costs may offer consumers a false sense of reassurance.
“Falling oil prices always make people feel good,” Horstmeyer added. “They’re usually seen as bad forward indicators, so it portends what’s to come.”
(WASHINGTON) — The IRS and Department of Homeland Security have reached a data-sharing agreement to support the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda, according to a court filing late Monday night.
Under the terms of the agreement, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would submit names and addresses of immigrants living in the United States without legal status who have final removal orders, which would be used to check against IRS taxpayer records.
“As laid out in the MOU, DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it,” the court filing said. The actual memorandum of understanding was filed in court and said the agencies are exercising this authority under the president’s executive order.
“Each request will attest that [redacted] information will only be used by officers and employees of ICE solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings or investigation that may lead to such proceedings,” the MOU said.
A spokesperson for the Treasury Department confirmed the MOU and said the basis is legal.
“The Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement’s efforts to combat illegal immigration,” the Treasury spokesperson said.
“The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” the spokesperson added. “After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump’s highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people.”
The MOU, according to a Treasury Department official, creates guardrails for the agencies to follow in carrying it out.
Consistent with IRS privacy protection laws, specifically Internal Revenue Code Section 6103, the Treasury Department is committed to protecting the taxpayer data of lawfully abiding persons, the official said.
However, Section 6103 has a criminal exemption. This exemption obligates the IRS to assist law enforcement in the pursuit of criminals and will be used against any migrant who has overstayed for more than 90 days as part of the carveout.
Veterans of the IRS have raised concerns about the unprecedented use of tax data and the use of exceptions to the strict laws governing its use, some of which are meant to help law enforcement in criminal investigations.
Section 6103 requires that the IRS keep individual taxpayer information confidential with certain limited exceptions, including with law enforcement agencies “for investigation and prosecution of non-tax criminal laws” with approval from a court, according to the agency’s website.
Current and former agency officials also said they worry the new policy could affect tax collections and discourage immigrants without legal status who are working from paying taxes for a variety of reasons.
The IRS has allowed immigrants without legal status to file income tax returns with individual tax numbers. These migrants contributed $25.7 billion in Social Security taxes using borrowed or fraudulent Social Security numbers, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
The court filings were filed in a case attempting to stop the MOU from being signed.
A senior DHS official said that under the Trump administration, “the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems.”
“Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood into our country — he lost them due to incompetence and improper processing,” a DHS official said. “Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense.”
(CHICAGO) — A Chicago man was charged in connection to a series of sex crimes targeting women at least five times over the past three years, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Chakib Mansour Khodja, a 36-year-old Jefferson Park resident, was charged with 16 felonies and two misdemeanors on Monday, including aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated kidnapping while armed, home invasion with a dangerous weapon and public indecency with lewd exposure, police said in a press release.
The earliest incident allegedly occurred on May 7, 2022, and the latest on Feb. 2, police said.
“This man was a violent, serial predator who literally went out hunting for his victims,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said during a press conference on Monday.
In February, Khodja allegedly “approached the female victims from behind (twice on the sidewalk and once in an apartment building hallway)” and sexually assaulted them, police said. In one of these instances, he was armed with a sharp object, police said.
“These women survived something that was horrible and terrible and it’s something that they will continue to live with throughout the rest of their days,” CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said.
Investigators used video surveillance and DNA evidence to connect Khodja to the crimes, police said.
The suspect was arrested on April 4 at O’Hare Airport, when he was coming back from out of town, police said.
Khodja made his first court appearance on Monday, officials said. He was held pending trial.
He was appointed a public defender, but the lawyer was not named in court records.
“Today, the city is safer. Today, every single woman in the city, every single man who has a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister should all be breathing a sigh of relief,” O’Neill said.
Snelling said officials are still determining if there are any additional victims of Khodja’s attacks.
(SELDEN, N.Y.) — A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing his grandmother and injuring his mother in Selden, New York, according to police.
Vanessa Chendemi was allegedly stabbed by her son at about 9:45 p.m. Monday after which she ran out of her house and a passing motorist stopped to offer assistance, the Suffolk County Police Department said. Upon arriving at the scene, officers said they found 56-year-old Concetta Chendemi with stab wounds in the residence.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
Vanessa Chendemi, 36, was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition, Suffolk County police said.
The suspect fled the scene after the stabbing, police said. He was later arrested at around 11:20 p.m.
The accused stabber — who has not been identified by police because he is a minor — has been charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.
(AUSTIN, Texas) — The measles outbreak in western Texas is continuing to grow, with 24 new cases confirmed over the last five days, according to data published Tuesday.
Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
Three of the 505 cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.
At least 57 measles patients have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.
Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under.
Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 328 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
