“A UC Berkeley graduate student is suing the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement amid widespread visa revocations for international students at universities across California. Zhuoer Chen, who is set to graduate from UC Berkeley in May with a master’s degree in architecture, is one of four plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit alleging that ICE’s sweeping effort to terminate the federal records of hundreds — possibly thousands — of international students occurred without notice, justification or legal basis. ‘The terminations have occurred without any consistent rationale or legal justification and are entirely arbitrary,’ the complaint states, describing the wave of record terminations in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System as ‘sweeping and unprecedented’ with ‘nationwide impact.’ SEVIS records are digital files maintained by the Department of Homeland Security that track international students’ visa status, academic enrollment and legal standing.” (04/18/25)
“Russian astronauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Wagner have returned to Earth along with American Donald Pettit after a seven-month science mission on board the International Space Station (ISS). The Russian Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft carrying the trio touched down southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 6:20am (01:20 GMT) on Sunday, the landing confirmed by the United States’s NASA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency. The timing of their parachute-assisted return to Earth coincided with the US astronaut’s 70th birthday, NASA said on the social media platform X.” (04/20/25)
“The U.S. military attacked an oil port in western Yemen, killing dozens of people as the Trump administration continues to intensify its strikes against the Houthi rebels [sic]. Houthi-aligned news organization Al-Masirah reported Friday that 38 people were killed and another 100 were injured in the U.S. airstrikes, making it one of the deadliest U.S. attacks in Yemen amid the Trump administration’s campaign against the Houthis that began in mid-March. The U.S. attack consisted of at least 14 airstrikes on the Ras Isa Fuel Port, Al-Masirah reported, citing unnamed local sources. Israel later Friday morning said a missile launched toward it from Yemen had been intercepted.” (04/18/25)
“Overnight Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Sumy have killed at least two people and wounded dozens more, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of stepping up its attacks on civilian targets following an agreement last month not to target energy infrastructure.” (04/18/25)
“Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen says he has met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who immigration officials say was deported by error, in El Salvador on Thursday, Van Hollen’s spokesperson confirmed to CBS News. The Democratic senator shared a photo with Abrego Garcia at what appears to be a restaurant. … The surprise meeting with Van Hollen marks Abrego Garcia’s first known appearance since last month, when his deportation to El Salvador’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center drew national attention and sparked a legal standoff with the Trump administration. The administration admitted in court papers Abrego Garcia was sent to El Salvador — along with hundreds of other Salvadoran and Venezuelan migrants — due to an ‘administrative error.'” (04/17/25)
“Luigi Mangione was indicted by a New York grand jury Thursday on four federal charges, including murder through the use of a firearm, which could make him eligible for the death penalty. Mangione is facing both federal and state charges in connection to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month directed the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in the case. Mangione is charged in the federal indictment with two counts of stalking, one count of murder through use of a firearm and one count of a firearms offense.” (04/17/25)
“The F.B.I. said on Thursday that it had arrested a man who it said was wanted in India in connection with terrorist activities. The man, Harpreet Singh, had entered the United States illegally [sic] and had been evading capture by using disposable phones and encrypted applications before his arrest in Sacramento on Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. Mr. Singh is suspected of collaborating with Pakistan’s intelligence agency and with a terrorist group linked to a Sikh separatist movement, the agency said. India’s National Investigation Agency in January announced a cash reward for the capture of Mr. Singh, saying he was wanted in connection with a grenade attack against a retired police officer in the Indian city of Chandigarh in September.” (04/18/25)
“The Lebanese military said it has detained a group of people linked to firing rockets into Israel last month. The army said in a statement late Wednesday that those detained included a number of Palestinians who were involved in firing rockets in two separate attacks toward Israel in late March that triggered [sic] intense Israeli airstrikes on parts of Lebanon. … The army said that a vehicle and other equipment used in the rockets attacks were confiscated and the detainees were referred to judicial authorities. The army said it had carried out raids in different parts of Lebanon to detain the suspects without giving further details.” (04/17/25)
“Several international students who have had their visas revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, arguing the government denied them due process when it suddenly took away their permission to be in the US. The actions by the federal government to terminate students’ legal status have left hundreds of scholars at risk of detention and deportation. Their schools range from private universities such as Harvard and Stanford to large public institutions such as the University of Maryland and Ohio State University and to some small liberal arts colleges. At least 901 students at 128 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since mid-March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements and correspondence with school officials.” (04/17/25)
“The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month on President Donald Trump’s bid to start enforcing his executive order that seeks to end automatic U.S. citizenship for some children born on American soil. But the court is not — at least for now — formally assessing the constitutionality of Trump’s attempt to eliminate the right to birthright citizenship. Rather, the court will consider a more technical issue, but one with potentially momentous consequences: the authority of lower-court judges to issue broad injunctions that block a president’s policies nationwide.” (04/17/25)
