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Now, let’s get to the news:
As the Trump administration accelerates mass deportation efforts, over a dozen U.S. citizens have already been swept up in immigration enforcement, raising alarms among lawyers and civil rights advocates. Though the government claims it doesn’t deport citizens, past investigations and a 2021 GAO report show ICE has mistakenly targeted dozens, with experts warning the system is moving too fast and with too few safeguards.
The U.S. Department of Education will resume collection efforts on defaulted student loans starting Monday, exposing millions of borrowers to wage garnishment, tax refund seizures, and other penalties. With over 5 million Americans already in default, the Trump administration estimates that number could double in the coming months. Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the move, saying taxpayers should not be “collateral for irresponsible student loan policies.”
Trump says he wants to reopen Alcatraz as a functioning prison for the most violent offenders. The facility was originally closed in the 1960s due to high operating costs—three times more expensive than other federal prisons, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
Donald Trump says he plans to impose a 100% tariff on all movies produced outside the United States. “Other nations have been stealing the movies…So that is a threat to our country in a sense.”
Cardinal Dolan responded to Trump posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope, saying, “I hope he didn’t have anything to do with that… It was not good… brutta figura.”
A hacker has breached TeleMessage, a little-known Israeli company that modifies messaging apps like Signal for U.S. government use, gaining access to government communications and data. While messages from cabinet members—including Mike Waltz—were not compromised, the breach exposes that archived chat logs are not end-to-end encrypted between the modified app and the customer-controlled archive.
Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood has canceled its annual Cinco de Mayo parade and festival for the first time in 45 years, citing fears over President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Organizers and advocates say both undocumented and legal Latino residents are afraid to attend public events due to increased ICE raids in sanctuary cities and reports of arrests at schools, churches, and workplaces. Similar cancellations have occurred elsewhere, including Philadelphia’s El Carnaval de Puebla, as communities prioritize safety over celebration.
Washington, D.C. has secured the 2027 NFL Draft, with plans to host the event on the National Mall. President Trump is expected to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris to formally announce the news.
British authorities are investigating two potentially state-sponsored plots involving mostly Iranian nationals, according to a senior official familiar with the matter. Eight people were arrested across the U.K. over the weekend—seven of them Iranian nationals—with three detained under the 2023 National Security Act for suspected ties to a foreign power. While the plots are officially considered separate, investigators are exploring whether they were directed by the same entity.
Trump’s pick for D.C. U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, has appeared on Russian state media more than 150 times, according to The Washington Post.
Mike Pence, while accepting the JFK Profile in Courage Award, said the failure of the January 6 attack “became a triumph of freedom.”
Autism advocates are criticizing a planned national database backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling it a “slippery slope to eugenics” and raising concerns about privacy and potential misuse. Though HHS denies it’s a registry, the agency confirmed the database will support a $50 million autism study, with results expected within months. A petition opposing the effort surged from 2,500 to nearly 35,000 signatures in just 24 hours.
Three people were killed and five others injured in a shooting at a restaurant in Glendale, Arizona. Authorities are investigating the incident.
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson defended the potential downsides of Trump’s economic policies on CNN, saying a “pretty severe recession” was “what it took” to curb inflation in the 1980s.
During a hearing in Luigi Mangione’s Manhattan federal murder case, Judge Margaret Garnett warned prosecutors—including top Trump officials—to avoid public comments that could jeopardize Mangione’s right to a fair trial. She specifically instructed the government to relay her directive to acting prosecutor Jay Clayton and asked that he pass it along to Attorney General Pam Bondi and her team.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
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