Do Not Support Draft Tax Bill: Rep. Mike Lawler
Rep. Mike Lawler says he would not support the draft tax bill as it stands with the $30k SALT cap for couples. He speaks with Kailey Leinz and Michael Shepard on 'Balance of Power.' (Source: Bloomberg)
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15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What to know about activist Mahmoud Khalil and his release from immigration detention
A Palestinian activist who participated in protests against Israel has been freed from federal immigration detention after 104 days. Mahmoud Khalil, who became a symbol of President Donald Trump 's clampdown on campus protests, left a federal facility in Louisiana on Friday. The former Columbia University graduate student is expected to head to New York to reunite with his U.S. citizen wife and infant son, born while Khalil was detained. Here's a look at what has happened so far in Khalil's legal battle: The arrest Federal immigration agents detained Khalil on March 8, the first arrest under Trump's crackdown on students who joined campus protests against Israel's devastating war in Gaza. Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, was then taken to an immigration detention center in Jena, a remote part of Louisiana thousands of miles from his attorneys and his wife. The 30-year-old international affairs student had served as a negotiator and spokesperson for student activists at Columbia University who took over a campus lawn to protest the war. The university brought police in to dismantle the encampment after a small group of protesters seized an administration building. Khalil was not accused of participating in the building occupation and wasn't among those arrested in connection with the demonstrations. But images of his maskless face at protests, along with his willingness to share his name with reporters, made him an object of scorn among those who saw the protesters and their demands as antisemitic. The legal fight Khalil wasn't accused of breaking any laws during the protests at Columbia. However, the government has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the U.S. for expressing views the administration considers to be antisemitic and 'pro-Hamas,' referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Khalil's lawyers challenged the legality of his detention, arguing that the Trump administration was trying to deport him for an activity protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified Khalil's deportation by citing a rarely used statute that gives him power to deport those who pose 'potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.' The initial ruling Immigration Judge Jamee E. Comans ruled in April that the government's contention was enough to satisfy requirements for Khalil's deportation. Comans said the government had 'established by clear and convincing evidence that he is removable.' Federal judges in New York and New Jersey had previously ordered the U.S. government not to deport Khalil while his case played out in court. Khalil remained detained for several weeks, with his lawyers arguing that he was being prevented from exercising his free speech and due process rights despite no obvious reason for his continued detention. Release granted Khalil was released after U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be 'highly, highly unusual' for the government to continue detaining a legal U.S. resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. 'Petitioner is not a flight risk, and the evidence presented is that he is not a danger to the community,' he said. 'Period, full stop.' During an hourlong hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had 'clearly not met' the standards for detention. Speaking Friday outside the detention facility, Khalil said, 'Justice prevailed, but it's very long overdue. This shouldn't have taken three months.' Legal fight continues The government filed notice Friday evening that it's appealing Khalil's release. The Department of Homeland Security said in a post on the social platform X that the same day Farbiarz ordered Khalil's release, an immigration judge in Louisiana denied Khalil bond and 'ordered him removed.' That decision was made by Comans, who is in a court in the same detention facility from which Khalil was released. 'An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr. Khalil should be released or detained,' the post said. Farbiarz ruled that the government can't deport Khalil based on its claims that his presence could undermine foreign policy. But he gave the administration leeway to pursue a potential deportation based on allegations that Khalil lied on his green card application, an accusation Khalil disputes. Khalil had to surrender his passport and can't travel internationally, but he will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the U.S., including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress. Khalil said Friday that no one should be detained for protesting Israel's war in Gaza. He said his time in the Jena, Louisiana, detention facility had shown him 'a different reality about this country that supposedly champions human rights and liberty and justice.' In a statement after the judge's ruling, Khalil's wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, said she could finally 'breathe a sigh of relief' after her husband's three months in detention. The judge's decision came after several other scholars targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A guide to the 'doomsday plane': The US airborne command center
As President Donald Trump weighs whether he will target Iranian nuclear facilities amid escalating Israel-Iran conflict, the president's U.S. Air Force E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the "doomsday plane," is now attracting attention, having reportedly landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., earlier this week, according to the New York Post and other media. In response to inquiries about the alleged Nightwatch landing, officials from Joint Base Andrews told Fox News Digital that "as a matter of operational security, we cannot comment on specific location or purpose of the [National Airborne Operations Center] or other aircraft on our flightline." Other reports say the plane is no longer in the Washington area and is back at its home base. Iran Warns Us Joining Conflict Would Mean 'All-out War,' Refuses Demands To Give Up Disputed Nuclear Program Here's what to know about the E-4B Nightwatch: The E-4B is a Boeing 747-200 that has been militarized and is operated by the U.S. Air Force. Designed during the Cold War, the plane can remain airborne for up to a week and is able to refuel in midair. Sixty-seven antennas and satellite dishes allow the Nightwatch to communicate with individuals worldwide. Read On The Fox News App The U.S. maintains a fleet of four E-4Bs, built at a cost of $438.76 million each. The E-4B is designed as a mobile command post that allows national security officials, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the President, and the Secretary of Defense to continue running the government during a nuclear conflict. According to a USAF press release, it is also used for international travel by the Secretary of Defense. "Additionally, the E-4B provides outside the continental United States travel support for the Secretary of Defense and his staff to ensure Title 10 command and control connectivity." According to the Aviation Zone, in 1994 FEMA was authorized to use the plane as a control and command center during natural disasters. In Iran's 'Forever War' Against The Us, Regime Has Targeted, Killed Americans Worldwide Publicly available U.S. Air Force data states that "at least one E4-B is always generated as a NAOC and on alert 24 hours a day, 7 days a week" to support senior defense officials. The E-4B can hold a crew of 112. Onboard, officials have access to 18 bunks, six bathrooms, a conference room, communications space, a briefing room and a rest area. The Air Force says that "the conduct of E-4B operations encompasses all phases of the threat spectrum." The Nightwatch can withstand an electromagnetic pulse and can survive nuclear blasts and cyberattacks. Netanyahu Declares Israel 'Will Exact The Full Price' After Iranian Strike Hits Hospital In Israel Leaders within Iran have threatened retaliation against the U.S. in the event it enters the Israel-Iran conflict. Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer and CEO of the cybersecurity firm Fortalice Solutions, told Fox News Digital that the Islamic Regime may prepare a high-impact cyberattack on the U.S. "as it becomes more and more desperate." The president is said to be deciding whether to use the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver a series of 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrators, also known as "bunker busters," to destroy Iran's well-fortified Fordow nuclear facility, which may lie further than 300 feet below mountainous rock. While Israel targeted facilities associated with the Iranian military and Iran's nuclear program, on June 19, Iran struck Soroka Hospital, the largest hospital in southern Israel, with a ballistic missile, causing damage. Original article source: A guide to the 'doomsday plane': The US airborne command center
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mahmoud Khalil vows to resume pro-Palestinian activism after release from US jail
By Jonathan Allen NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) -Mahmoud Khalil vowed to resume his pro-Palestinian activism as he returned to New York a day after he was released on bail from a jail for immigrants, even as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration said it will continue its efforts to deport the recent Columbia University graduate. He arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on Saturday afternoon to cheers and ululations from friends and supporters. Khalil, 30, was reunited with his wife, a U.S. citizen, and greeted at the airport by U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York. "Not only if they threaten me with detention, even if they would kill me, I would still speak up for Palestine again," Khalil said, holding a bouquet of flowers. "I just want to go back and just continue the work that I was already doing, advocating for Palestinian rights, speech that should actually be celebrated rather than punished." Khalil, who recently graduated from Columbia University in Manhattan, was a prominent figure in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel student protest movement that swept campuses last year. Federal immigration agents arrested him in the lobby of his Columbia apartment building on March 8, making him the first target of Trump's effort to deport international students with pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel views. Ocasio-Cortez, speaking alongside Khalil at the airport, condemned the Trump administration for what she called "persecution based on political speech." "Being taken is wrong. It is illegal," she said. "It is an affront to every American." "Free Palestine!" Khalil said with a raised fist as he left the airport. Khalil was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and became a U.S. lawful permanent resident last year. Nonetheless, citing an obscure part of federal immigration law that has not been invoked in more than 20 years, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had determined that Khalil and several other foreign pro-Palestinian students at U.S. schools must be deported because their presence here could harm the government's foreign policy interests. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly conflates their criticism of the Israeli government, one of the United States' closest allies, with antisemitism. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey ruled that the government could not detain or deport Khalil based on Rubio's determination, finding the Trump administration was violating Khalil's constitutional right to free speech. On Friday, he ordered the Trump administration to release Khalil on bail while he continues to fight the government's deportation efforts and his lawsuit accusing the government of wrongful detention. A spokesperson for Trump said in a statement after the ruling that Khalil should be deported for "conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests" and for omitting or incorrectly describing his employment history on his application for form to become a permanent resident. Khalil has said his application form was correct and the allegations of omission are spurious. Also on Friday, an immigration court in Louisiana ruled that Khalil must be deported. He will now challenge the decision in the immigration court, which is run by the Department of Justice rather than the government's judicial branch, through the Board of Immigration Appeals. The Trump administration appealed Farbiarz's rulings on Friday evening to the U.S Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
