Judge orders Trump administration to facilitate return of Venezuelans deported to El Salvador
In an aerial view Salvadorian armed forces stand guard outside CECOT (Counter Terrorism Confinement Center) where thousands of accused gang members are imprisoned on December 15, 2025 in Tecoluca, El Salvador. John Moore/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of the Venezuelan migrants who were were deported to El Salvador’s CECOT prison last year in violation of a court order.
Boasberg on Thursday criticized the administration’s refusal to offer remedies for the deportees for what he called “flagrant” due-process violations.
“Our starting point is the Court’s prior finding that the deportees were denied due process,” Boasberg wrote. “Against this backdrop, and mindful of the flagrancy of the Government’s violations of the deportees’ due-process rights that landed Plaintiffs in this situation, the Court refuses to let them languish in the solution-less mire Defendants propose.”
The judge’s order requires the government to provide “boarding letters” and cover the financial cost of air travel for the Venezuelans currently in third countries who “so desire” to return to the U.S.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Former NBA player Damon Jones departs after his arraignment hearing at U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York on November 24, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he tipped off sports bettors about an injured LeBron James and used his own celebrity to lure high rollers to rigged poker games.
Jones, 49, is the first defendant in either case to plead guilty following the arrests of nearly three dozen people at the start of the pro basketball season.
Jones, who wore a black suit and black shirt, entered his guilty pleas during back-to-back hearings Tuesday in Brooklyn federal court.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” Jones said during the hearing before Magistrate Judge Joseph Marutollo.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(MINNEAPOLIS) — A suspect has been apprehended after a 26-year-old man was fatally shot while attending a prayer service in Minnesota, authorities said.
Khalid Ibrahim Abdi was shot multiple times just before 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Canterbury Park Expo Center in Shakopee, about 25 miles outside of Minneapolis, the Shakopee Police Department said.
He was taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center and later died from his injuries, police said.
A suspect was taken into custody Thursday morning and is being held pending charges, police said. The suspect’s name has not been publicly released.
Abdi was a member and field representative of the AFSCME Council 5 labor union, according to AFSCME Council 5 executive director Bart Andersen.
“It is with unimaginable sadness and heartbreak to share that we lost our union brother and AFSCME Council 5 Field Representative Khalid Abdi today, who was shot and killed while attending an Eid prayer gathering,” Anderson said in a statement.
“Khalid will be forever remembered for his tenacious organizing spirit, his warm and inviting presence, and his unyielding passion and drive to fight for the working-class and all historically marginalized communities,” Anderson said.
“Please keep Khalid’s family, friends, neighbors, and all of us coworkers in your thoughts,” he continued. “Khalid’s tenacity, heart, and joy lives in all of us forever.”
Protesters hold signs reading “justice for Casey Goodson Jr.” during the protest. Various Black Lives Matters groups collaborated with the family of Casey Goodson Jr. to put together a protest commemorating Casey Goodson Jr. on his 24th Birthday, January 30th. Casey Goodson Jr. was shot and killed by Columbus Deputy Jason Meade in early December 2020,. (Photo by Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Opening arguments in the re-trial of Jason Meade are set to begin in a Columbus, Ohio, courtroom on Thursday morning as the former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy faces charges of murder and reckless homicide in the fatal 2020 shooting of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr.
A jury, made up of nine women and three men, was seated on Wednesday afternoon, according to ABC Columbus station WSYX.
Meade’s second trial comes more than two years after his first trial ended in a mistrial in February 2024, as jurors failed to reach an agreement on the verdict. He has pleaded not guilty.
Meade, who testified during his first trial, claimed that he shot Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020, because he said the man waved a gun at him. Goodson’s family said that he was shot while returning from a dentist appointment and was walking into his grandmother’s home with a Subway sandwich in his hand.
A gun was found in Goodson’s possession with the safety on, according to police. Goodson was a legal gun owner and had a concealed carry permit, which was found in his wallet, police said.
No body camera video of the incident exists because at the time Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies were not issued body-worn camera equipment.
Meade was working with the U.S. Marshals in search for a potential violent fugitive when he fatally shot Goodson.
Goodson was not the target of the search.
The Franklin County Coroner’s Office found that Goodson had been shot six times from behind, including five times in his back.
A judge ruled ahead of the trial that Meade will be allowed to argue self-defense during his second trial, according to WSYX.
Prosecutors had argued that Meade should not be able to claim self-defense because he caused the situation that led to Goodson’s death, WSYX reported, but the judge ruled that Meade does have the option to argue self-defense because no evidence has been presented yet in this new trial.
Seth Walton, an attorney representing Goodson’s family, told ABC News on Wednesday that the family has endured “years of coordinated lies and distortions” as they cope with Goodson’s death.
“The only evidence that Casey Goodson, Jr. did anything to contribute to his own death comes from Jason Meade, and Jason Meade alone,” Walton said. “No independent witness. No footage. Just the word of the man who shot him in the back. And yet, despite everything Meade has claimed, the facts and evidence were strong enough to indict him and nearly convict him at the end of the last trial.”
Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 9 — the union that represents Meade — has supported him and claimed that shooting was justified.
“We just want the facts of this case to get out there, and where the jury lands, the jury lands,” Steel told WSYX.
“The reality is, he was not just an innocent person with a subway sandwich; he was an individual with a gun, pointed a gun at a cop, and the cop reacted,” Steel added.
ABC News reached out to Meade’s attorneys for comment.
Meade was charged with two counts of murder and one court of reckless homicide in Dec. 2, 2021 and was indicted by a grand jury.
Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Tyack appointed two special prosecutors in June 2021 to investigate the case, citing a potential conflict of interest with his office, which has represented the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in legal proceedings.
The charges against Meade were brought by special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer following an investigation by the Columbus Division of Police and the local branch of the FBI.
Meade was placed on administrative leave amid the investigation before retiring on disability on July 2, 2021.
This case led to widespread outrage and fueled pressure for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office to equip deputies with body-worn cameras — a new policy that was rolled out in 2022, WSYX reported.
