(BALTIMORE) — A federal judge in Maryland is hearing arguments from the federal government Tuesday over the 20-year-old Venezuelan man deported to El Salvador whose removal violated a previous court settlement, according to a court order.
The hearing comes two weeks after U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher, a Trump appointee, ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of the man, identified as Cristian in court filings.
In her opinion, Judge Gallagher referenced the case of wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and said that “like Judge [Paula] Xinis in the Abrego Garcia matter, this court will order Defendants to facilitate Cristian’s return to the United States so that he can receive the process he was entitled to under the parties’ binding Settlement Agreement.”
The class action case from 2019 was filed on behalf of individuals who entered the U.S. as unaccompanied minors and later sought asylum.
The group sued the government to be able to have their asylum applications adjudicated while they remained in the United States. The parties settled in 2024.
But in a court filing on Monday, attorneys for the Department of Justice called Cristian a member of the Venezuelan criminal gang Tren de Aragua and argued that, if returned, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would deny his asylum application because of his alleged gang membership.
The government said USCIS issued an “Indicative Asylum Decision” last week “making clear” that if the 20-year old Venezuelan returned to the U.S., the agency would deny his asylum application.
“USCIS based this decision on Cristian being [redacted] TdA which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and described as “a brutal organization ‘that uses murder and torture to achieve its aims,” the government said.
A man crashed his vehicle through the gates of actress Jennifer Aniston‘s Los Angeles home on Monday, police sources confirmed to ABC News.
The Friends star was home at the time, police sources said.
Private security at the Bel Air home detained the driver, who is currently in LAPD custody, sources close to the investigation told ABC News. He will be booked Monday night for felony vandalism due to the damage, the sources said.
The incident does not appear to have been an accident, though there is also nothing to indicate yet that the driver was targeting Aniston, the sources said. The LAPD’s Threat Management Unit, which has handled cases involving Aniston before, is going to handle the case out of an abundance of caution, the sources said.
The suspect, who has a minor criminal history, was not actively being investigated for anything involving Aniston before the incident, the sources said.
Investigators are currently looking into the suspect’s background and social media, the sources said.
Aniston’s representatives declined to comment on the incident.
Law enforcement sources told ABC News this incident highlights the need for celebrities and high-profile types to be prudent and take measures to have high-level, on-site security.
(LONDON) — TThe Israeli military on Tuesday launched an attack on Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport and other civilian sites, claiming they were used by Houthi militants.
The strike came two days after a ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis landed near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday that the central Yemen airport “is used by the Houthi terrorist organization for the transfer of weapons and operatives, and is regularly operated by the Houthi regime for terrorist purposes.”
The airport strike led “to its complete shutdown,” the IDF said. Israel also targeted power stations and a concrete factory, which it accused the Houthis of using to build tunnels and military infrastructure.
“This is another example of the Houthi terrorist organization’s use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist operations,” an IDF spokesperson said in a statement.
Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson, posted an evacuation warning on social media prior to the strike.
“We call upon you to evacuate the airport area — Sana’a International Airport — immediately and warn everyone in your vicinity of the need to evacuate this area immediately,” Adraee said. “Failure to evacuate and move away from the place exposes you to danger.”
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney/ Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney meet on Tuesday at the White House for a high-stakes, and possibly tense, meeting amid a tariff trade war between the two neighbors and allies.
The two leaders will greet each other at 11:30 a.m. ET and then hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office.
Carney’s visit comes off the heels of his election win to replace Justin Trudeau that was fueled, in part, by his anti-Trump platform.
After his victory, Carney warned Canadians: “Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never, that will never ever happen.”
Trump, meanwhile, has taken relentless aim at Canada since returning to office in January. He’s threatened to make Canada the 51st state and slapped steep tariffs on the nation, which is one of the United States’ biggest trading partners.
Trump has said he’s “not sure” what the prime minister wants to discuss but added that Canada “wants to make a deal,” while Carney said on Friday that they will focus on “trade pressures and the broader future economic and security relationship.”
“I’m not pretending these discussions will be easy — they won’t proceed in a straight line,” Carney said last week. “There will be ups and downs, zigzags along the way. But as I said in my remarks, I will fight for the best possible deal for Canada. I will only accept what’s in the best interest of Canadians, and I will take as much time as necessary to achieve that.”
The historically friendly relationship between the U.S. and Canada is now on edge. Trump and Carney’s face-to-face meeting in the Oval Office could yield progress on easing tariffs or strain the relationship even further.
One advantage for Carney compared to his predecessor going into this meeting is his lack of history with Trump. Trudeau left his post with a bruised relationship with the president, who Trump repeatedly trolled as “governor” rather than prime minister. The two leaders were unable to work out a tariff deal.
A 25% tariff imposed by Trump remains in place for Canadian goods that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (or USMCA) as well as a 10% tariff on Canadian oil imports and 25% tariff on all cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum.
Canada’s retaliatory action includes a 25% tariff on vehicles imported from the U.S. that are not compliant with USMCA. In March, Canada imposed $21 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs were applied on items like American orange juice, whiskey, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.
Canada also has a lot to lose if Trump follows through with threat to impose 100% tariffs on films produced outside the U.S.
Mandy Moore is joining Nate Bargatze in his feature film acting debut. The actress will star alongside Bargatze in the upcoming film The Breadwinner, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Moore will play a supermom wife in the comedy film, which was co-written by Bargatze and will be directed by Eric Appel …
The Chi is getting a group of new actresses for the upcoming seventh season. Kyla Pratt, Punkie Johnson, Reagan Gomez and Tammy Townsend are joining the cast in guest starring roles, SHOWTIME has announced. The upcoming new season of The Chi premieres May 16 on demand and for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers before debuting on air on May 18 …
Tulsa King has a new cast member. Kevin Pollak has joined the cast of the hit series for season 3, Paramount+ has announced. Pollak will play Special Agent Musso, an FBI agent with an ax to grind, in the drama series starring Sylvester Stallone …
(LONDON) — The Israeli military on Tuesday issued an evacuation warning for Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport, saying being in the nearby area “exposes you to danger.”
Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson, posted the warning on social media two days after a ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis struck near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.
“We call upon you to evacuate the airport area — Sana’a International Airport — immediately and warn everyone in your vicinity of the need to evacuate this area immediately,” Adraee said. “Failure to evacuate and move away from the place exposes you to danger.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(COLUMBIA, SC) — The body of a young woman was discovered inside a rented house in Columbia, South Carolina, over the weekend, according to a press conference held by Columbia Police Department on Monday.
She was later identified as Logan Federico, a 22-year-old from Waxhaw, North Carolina, police said. Her cause of death was a fatal gunshot wound to the chest, according to Columbia Coroner Naida Rutherford.
The college student was spending the weekend with friends in a rented house in South Carolina when she was “randomly murdered by a career criminal” who was “on a spree of thefts, break-ins and credit card fraud,” the CPD said.
Alexander Dickey, 30, allegedly broke into a neighboring home around 3 a.m. and stole a firearm, credit and debit cards, and keys to a vehicle, the CPD said.
The suspect then allegedly entered the house where Federico was staying, entered her room, and shot her, police said, before fleeing the scene in a stolen vehicle.
Dickey is believed to have used the stolen cards to make purchases across Lexington County before his stolen vehicle broke down, officials said. He had it towed back to a residence in Lexington County, where investigators said they tracked him down.
When law enforcement closed in, Dickey fled into nearby woods, leading to a manhunt in severe weather conditions, police said. He later broke into another home and set it on fire, they added.
Officers were able to extract Dickey through a window and take him into custody, the CPD said.
Federico’s father, Steve Federico, spoke through tears during the press conference.
“I am Logan Haley Federico’s father, better known as ‘Dad,’ or her hero. Unfortunately, that day, I could not be her hero,” he said. “My daughter, I cherished. She was a strong, fun-loving individual who did what she wanted to do and was spicy.”
“My daughter was working hard at school, working two jobs, to become a teacher. She loved and adored kids, children of all ages,” he said. “The message I wanted to send to Dickey, who took my daughter’s life — this is from her: ‘You can’t kill my spirit. You might be able to kill my body … but you cannot kill my love that my family and friends shared with me.'”
“Logan was not an intended target,” Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said at the press conference, adding that her death “touches all of us in a way that it’ll never leave us.”
He said that the CPD issued warrants charging Dickey with murder, two counts of first-degree burglary, weapons possession and larceny. The Lexington County sheriff said Dickey was also charged with burglary first degree and arson second degree, and that he was denied bond.
(WASHINGTON) — Escalating an ongoing clash between President Donald Trump’s administration and Harvard University, the Department of Education announced an immediate pause on Harvard’s grant funding — making the school ineligible for new research grants until it agrees with compliance criteria.
“Harvard is not eligible for any new grants from the federal government until they demonstrate responsible management of the university,” a senior official from the Department of Education said on a call with reporters on Monday.
The pause extends to medical research funding, according to the senior official, but does not impact federal student aid.
The official said public confidence in the university is at an all-time low — and that Harvard has failed to combat antisemitism and discrimination on its campus.
It has also abandoned the rigor of academic excellence and has become a leftist institution with “zero viewpoint diversity,” according to the official, who said that only 3% of Harvard’s faculty identifies as conservative.
“Today, we received another letter from the administration doubling down on demands that would impose unprecedented and improper control over Harvard University and would have chilling implications for higher education,” Harvard said in a statement to ABC News.
The statement called the move retaliatory and implied that its efforts are illegal.
“Harvard will continue to comply with the law, promote and encourage respect for viewpoint diversity, and combat antisemitism in our community,” it said, adding that the school would “continue to defend against illegal government overreach.”
The weeks-long feud between Trump and Harvard stems from several investigations by federal agencies, including the Department of Education and the Health and Human Services Department. They are probing into accusations ranging from failure to disclose foreign gifts to discrimination on the basis of race within the Harvard Law Review.
The administration has also launched a wide-reaching antisemitism task force review, which froze 2.2 billion dollars in funding for the institution last month.
But the university has refused to comply with demands, with Harvard President Alan Garber claiming that Trump has exceeded his executive authority.
“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Garber wrote in a statement to the Harvard community in April.
In order for Harvard to return to compliance under federal law, the university would have to come into agreement with the administration, according to the senior official.
There was no announcement about the university’s tax-exempt status, which Trump threatened to take away on May 2.
The president can’t unilaterally revoke a school’s tax-exempt status under federal law, but sources told ABC News that the Internal Revenue Service is considering revoking the school’s status.
A Harvard spokesperson told ABC News last week that there’s no “legal basis” to rescind the university’s tax-exempt status and that it would endanger the school’s ability to carry out its mission.
“The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth,” the spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.
The move would not only lead to “lost opportunities for innovation” for Harvard itself, the spokesperson said.
“The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America,” they explained.
(WASHINGTON) — After having his security clearance revoked by President Donald Trump, high-profile whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking to have his security clearance restored — saying that it was revoked for “improper political retribution.”
“The Trump Administration is seeking to neutralize someone viewed as an adversarial threat,” the complaint, filed in Washington, D.C., stated.
In March, Trump issued a presidential memorandum that revoked the security clearances of more than a dozen individuals, including Zaid, former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Hillary Clinton — a move the complaint says is “a dangerous, unconstitutional retaliation by the President of the United States against his perceived political enemies.”
In his memorandum, Trump wrote he had “determined that it is no longer in the national interest” for Zaid and others to have access to classified information.
Zaid, according to his complaint, has represented “whistleblowers in every administration” dating back to Bill Clinton, doing so “without regard to party politics” — and that the revocation of his clearance is now “undermining” his ability to fully represent his clients.
According to the complaint, Zaid has had access to classified information in some capacity for about three decades, since approximately 1995. His first “fully approved” clearance, according to the complaint, came in 2002 as part of ongoing litigation. He was granted a “secret” clearance, which he maintained for years, until he was increased during the first Trump administration to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS-SCI) as part of a case he was handling for a DHS whistleblower. He was last “read out” of his security in 2024, though it was not fully processed until 2025.
“In summary, Mr. Zaid has been a practicing attorney for over thirty years and for most of his professional career he has maintained authorized access to classified information,” the complaint states. “Indeed, far from being a security risk, he has established himself and has been recognized by legal and non-legal entities as a leader in the legal community and in the national security field specifically.”
Zaid’s complaint says he has already suffered real-world harms as a result of Trump’s memo after it was “blindly implemented” by a number of agencies. In one instance, the complaint says Zaid was notified in an email from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s inspector general’s office that he was “denied access to a client’s classified complaint” because he no longer had a security clearance.
“In sum, Mr. Zaid currently represents multiple clients for whom he now cannot access relevant classified information as part of his effective and zealous representation,” the complaint states.
Attorneys for Zaid, including Abbe Lowell and Norm Eisen, say in the complaint that they suspect Zaid “came onto President Trump’s radar” when he represented a whistleblower in 2019 who filed a complaint about Trump’s 2019 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leading to his first impeachment.
The complaint says the revocation is a violation of First and Fifth amendments, and asks a judge to declare the presidential memorandum unconstitutional, block any further implementation, rescind the revocation, and “Require the Defendants to conduct a name-clearing hearing.”
“No American should lose their livelihood, or be blocked as a lawyer from representing clients, because a president carries a grudge toward them or who they represent,” Zaid said in a statement. “This isn’t just about me. It’s about using security clearances as political weapons.”
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump late Sunday proposed a 100% tariff on foreign-made films, saying the policy would counteract financial incentives that have drawn Hollywood productions overseas.
“WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” Trump said in a post on social media.
Movie studios have increasingly moved production abroad in recent years as a means of cutting costs, industry analysts told ABC News, but it remains unclear how adding a tariff would succeed in boosting domestic production.
Instead, it could send costs soaring, the analysts said. It could also reduce the number of Hollywood films produced each year and potentially increase ticket prices, they explained.
“Essentially what Trump is trying to do is make it untenable for U.S. movie studios to produce movies abroad — and the whole idea is that will stimulate production in the U.S.,” said S. Mark Young, an accounting professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business who studies the movie industry.
“But it would cost more money for film production in the U.S.,” Young added. “Where’s that going to come from?”
Here’s what Trump’s proposed tariff on foreign-made films could mean for Hollywood and moviegoers:
Why are U.S. studios filming some movies overseas? The rise of streaming services over the past decade fostered a surge in demand for scripted television and movies, as well as a spike in spending among studios, London-based consulting firm Olsberg SPI found last year.
In 2022, 599 scripted series aired in the U.S., registering more than double the 288 scripted series aired in 2012, Olsberg SPI said, noting that growth ebbed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic but the overall production rate still surpasses what it was a decade ago.
Alongside that growth, the provision of production incentives worldwide surged nearly 40% over the past seven years, Olsberg SPI said, as nations vied for about $250 billion in global content spending.
But the incentives drawing production away from Hollywood aren’t all originating overseas; a slew of states have also boosted financial incentives to compete with moviemaking mainstays California and New York.
Financial incentives abroad have caused some productions to shift overseas, but they’re hardly the only reason, Jennifer Porst, a professor of film and media at Emory University told ABC News.
COVID-19 lockdowns sent studios seeking alternative locations, as did widespread labor strikes in 2023 and the increasingly global audience with streaming subscriptions, Porst said.
“There are a whole range of reasons for why production comes and goes,” Porst added. “Part of that is due to financial incentives.”
What is Trump’s proposed tariff on foreign-made films?
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump sharply criticized the production of Hollywood films overseas, claiming the trend had “devastated” parts of the U.S.
Trump claimed without evidence that the use of financial incentives abroad amounted to a “national security threat,” saying that — in his view — such productions involve “messaging and propaganda.”
Trump ordered the United States Trade Representative to begin the process of implementing a 100% tariff on foreign-made films.
In a statement on Monday, the White House said the policy hadn’t been finalized.
“Although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the Administration is exploring all options to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard our country’s national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again,” White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai told ABC News.
The proposal of a tariff on an intangible product like films poses a challenge for policymakers, since the U.S. cannot impose a direct tax on a film as it would a durable good, Tejaswini Ganti, a professor of anthropology at New York University who studies global film, told ABC News.
“If it’s a tax on people going abroad to shoot, what is the tax on? Is it going to be, ‘Here’s the final budget and we’ll add a tax on it’?” Ganti said. “What is the thing being taxed?”
Ganti also questioned the notion of a national security risk posed by Hollywood productions made abroad.
“If a Hollywood film is shot, say, in the United Kingdom, I don’t understand how that is a national security threat,” Ganti said. “It’s still an American story, just shot somewhere else.”
What could Trump’s proposed tariffs mean for Hollywood and moviegoers?
It remains unclear whether Trump’s tariff proposal would bolster domestic movie production, analysts said. Instead, the policy may force movie studios to choose between the tax burden associated with foreign-made films or the elevated cost of U.S. production, resulting in more expensive projects, fewer overall films and even less domestic output, they said.
“President Trump figured out the fastest way to dramatically reduce the number of films produced each year in America,” Rich Greenfield, a media and technology analyst at LightShed Partners, said in a post on X.
Greenfield followed with multiple rocket ship emojis to indicate the anticipated rise in costs if the tariff plan moved forward.
“It would be a disaster,” Young said, noting the likely added cost burden of a potential 100% tariff. “You can’t wave a magic wand and expect more money to appear.”
In an effort to weather added costs, the film industry may become more reliant on big-budget franchise films, leaving less opportunity for midsize or small-budget movies, Young added.
The extra tax burden could even hit the pockets of U.S. moviegoers, Ganti said.
“Could it lead to higher ticket prices? Sure,” Ganti added.
