Remembering John Thornton, founder of The Texas Tribune
Thornton conceived of the idea of a nonprofit news enterprise to engage Texans with their government, and then helped support similar outlets across the country. He died Saturday at 59.
Massachusetts judge charges ICE agent with contempt of court
A Massachusetts judge on Monday found a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in contempt of court for detaining a Dominican man in the middle of his trial last week. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville accused ICE Agent Brian Sullivan of violating the rights of the defendant, William Martell-Lebron. Sullivan did not appear in court for the hearing. “This is a disturbing case,” Summerville said. “It’s a case of obstruction of justice. It’s a case of violating the defendant’s right to be present at trial and confront witnesses against him. Couldn’t be more serious.” Martell-Lebron was taken into custody last week following the second day of his trial on charges that he provided false information in a driver’s license application. Summerville dismissed the charges against Martell-Lebron. MAN POSTS VIDEO URGING PEOPLE TO ‘SHOOT AT ICE AGENTS ON SIGHT’ Summerville also criticized assistant district attorneys from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office and ordered them to investigate Sullivan. COLLEGES IN ICE’S DEPORTATION CROSSHAIRS SHELLED OUT DISCOUNTS, FINANCIAL AID TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: GOP REP The assistant district attorney told the court he was aware ICE agents were stationed outside the courthouse but was not aware why and denied working with or providing information to federal agents. Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden was expected to hold a news conference later Tuesday.
At least 95 arrested in Zimbabwe after antigovernment protests
Police say suspects in custody are among 200 people who gathered at Harare’s Freedom Square and threw stones at officers. Zimbabwe police say they have arrested 95 people on charges of promoting public violence for taking part in demonstrations that called for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to leave office. A large police deployment in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, and other cities on Monday, largely neutralised a call by war veterans for large protests against plans to extend Mnangagwa’s rule. Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party said in January that it wanted to extend Mnangagwa’s term in office by two years until 2030. Eighty-two-year-old Mnangagwa, who first came to power in 2017 after his long-term mentor Robert Mugabe was deposed in a military coup, is serving his final term. Independence war veterans led by Blessed Geza previously supported Mnangagwa but have turned against him, accusing him of seeking to cling to power. ‘Enough is enough’ The men and women in custody appeared before a court on Tuesday. They were among 200 people who had gathered at Harare’s Freedom Square and are accused of throwing stones at police and temporarily barricading a main road, according to a copy of the police charges cited by the AFP news agency. Advertisement They had chanted slogans such as “Enough is enough” and “Mnangagwa must go,” the charges said. These acts violated laws against breaching the peace and participating in a gathering with the intent to promote public violence, they added. Security forces had been out in force on the streets of the capital on Monday, and the demonstrations were limited, but shops, schools and businesses were closed in what many said amounted to a stay-away protest. Geza thanked his followers on social media for heeding his call to protest. He said he would not call for new demonstrations but promised a series of events to send Mnangagwa and his “corrupt cabal” packing. Adblock test (Why?)
Yet another Israeli war crime is buried in the sand as the world looks away
Every day, Mohammad Bahloul gambled with his own life in the hope of saving others. As a medic in the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), he would step into the unknown each workday, never knowing if he would return to his family. A week before Eid al-Fitr, Mohammad was dispatched to Rafah’s Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood to recover the wounded and dead in the aftermath of Israeli attacks. Shortly after he and a team of medics and first responders arrived on the scene, Israeli ground troops encircled the area and closed off all the roads in and out. As the PRCS lost contact with its team, rumours began to spread across Rafah that those stuck inside would be massacred. During the attempts of rescue teams to reach the area, UN workers witnessed civilians trying to flee being shot dead. On March 29, they were finally able to reach the area where the PRCS teams were attacked. There, the teams discovered the mangled remains of ambulances and UN and Civil Defence vehicles as well as a single body – that of Muhammad’s colleague, Anwar Alatar. Advertisement On March 30, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, they went back and uncovered 14 more bodies buried in the sand in a mass grave. All of them were still dressed in their uniforms and wearing gloves. Among them were Mohammad and his colleagues Mustafa Khafaja, Ezzedine Sha’at, Saleh Moammar, Rifaat Radwan, Ashraf Abu Labda, Mohammad al-Hila, and Raed al-Sharif. The killing of these paramedics is not an isolated incident. Israel has been systematically targeting medical and rescue workers as part of its genocidal war – a war against life itself in Gaza. Only in Gaza, medical uniforms and ambulances do not offer protection, which international law affords. Only in Gaza, medical uniforms and ambulances can mark people as targets for execution. For the seven agonising days in which Mohammad’s fate remained unknown, his father Sobhi Bahloul, a former principal at Bir al-Saba’ High School in Rafah, whom I have known for decades, and his mother Najah, prayed for a miracle to save their son. They imagined that Mohammad had escaped just before the area was sealed, or that he was hiding under the rubble of a house, or perhaps that he was kidnapped by Israeli soldiers but was still alive. As Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian national poet, said, Palestinians are suffering from an “incurable malady: hope”. Although the Bahloul family dared to hope, they also carried within them the dread that Mohammad would never be seen again. They knew the stories. In January 2024, the paramedics sent to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab who lay in a car, injured and bleeding, beside her slain relatives, were also targeted and murdered. Likewise, in December 2023, the medics dispatched to rescue Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa, who was bleeding in a street in Khan Younis after being hit by an Israeli drone, were also killed. Advertisement For seven long days, hope battled fear. “May God return you and all your colleagues to us safe and sound,” Sobhi wrote on Facebook above a photo of his selfless son. A photo of Mohammad Bahloul who was killed on March 23 by Israeli soldiers in Rafah [Courtesy of Sobhi Bahloul] The family had already suffered so much during the genocide, having lost many loved ones. Early on, they had to flee from their home in eastern Rafah to al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, searching for an illusion called safety. When the ceasefire was announced, the family marched back to their home in the eastern part of Rafah with thousands of others. They found their home destroyed but did their best to restore two rooms to functionality where they could sleep. During that period the children resumed their education in makeshift tents because so many schools had been destroyed. Just a week before Mohammad disappeared, an air raid flattened the house across the street from the family home, and his father’s car was severely damaged. Once again, the family fled, carrying what little they had left. With each displacement, their possessions dwindled – an unbearable reminder that as belongings shrink, so too does dignity. But Mohammad had no time to help his father pitch another displacement tent. He immediately returned to his duty, working around the clock with his fellow medics in Khan Younis, answering endless calls for help, rushing from one horror to the next. Even during Ramadan, the holiest month of the year, he barely had a moment to break his fast with his family and play with his five children – among them Adam, his three-month-old baby boy. Advertisement The holy month ended with the heartbreaking news of his murder. On Eid, I tried to reach Sobhi, but there was no answer. On his Facebook, I found these painful words: “We mourn our son, Muhammad Sobhi Bahloul, a martyr of duty and humanitarian work. To Allah we belong, and to Him we shall return.” Despite the Israeli army’s attempt to cover up its crime by burying it in the sand, evidence speaks for what happened. A statement released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health on March 30 said the Israeli forces carried out an execution and that some of the victims were handcuffed and had injuries to the head and chest. The chief of the UN humanitarian affairs office in Palestine, Jonathan Whittall, said the paramedics and first responders were killed “one by one”. Israel, of course, used the familiar playbook of denial and obfuscation. It first claimed the paramedics were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Then it claimed that its soldiers fired on the ambulances because they were “advancing suspiciously toward” them. Meanwhile, in an act of blatant cynicism, the Israeli government announced it was sending a rescue mission of 22 to Thailand and Myanmar following the deadly earthquake. Ten days earlier, it sent a medical delegation to North Macedonia. From Asia to Europe, it seems acceptable that a country that has massacred more than 1000 health
Libya: A Voice for Reconciliation
A poet and a composer are inspired by Libyan history to create a modern peace anthem for their divided country. Could Libya solve its political problems by revisiting a decades-old agreement that once brought its warring tribal factions together in national reconciliation? Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been in a constant state of turmoil. Now, poet Ahmed al-Terkawi and composer Hanan al-Ruwaie embark on a creative project together to seek inspiration from Libyan history – specifically the 1946 Harabi Charter – to create a musical work of hope for Libya’s future. But first, they meet writers, historians, today’s tribal elders and descendants of the original charter signatories. This enables them to understand the country’s history and how Emir Idris al-Senussi persuaded warring tribes to set aside their differences and come together in an unusual act of reconciliation. Both of them gather all they need to write and then perform their powerful anthem calling for peace in their war-torn country. Adblock test (Why?)
Kunal Kamra shares ‘step-by-step guide’ on how to ‘kill’ an artist ‘democratically’
In his latest post on X post, stand-up artist Kunal Kamra shared a satirical ‘step-by-step guide’ on how to ‘kill’ an artist ‘democratically’, which appears to reflect on the aftermath of his controversial joke on Eknath Shinde.
SCOOP: Judge Boasberg impeachment push gains support despite House GOP leaders’ resistance
FIRST ON FOX: A resolution to impeach U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg is still gaining support despite House GOP leaders’ hesitation to move on such a measure. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced an article of impeachment against Boasberg last month after he issued an emergency order temporarily halting the Trump administration’s deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. Reps. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., signed onto the bill as co-sponsors last week, Fox News Digital was told, despite House GOP leaders signaling around the same time that they have little appetite to pursue that route. The resolution now has 22 total co-sponsors – suggesting the effort is still alive and well among conservatives in the House Republican conference. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? President Donald Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport suspected Tren De Aragua gang members to a detention facility in El Salvador. Boasberg’s standoff with the Trump administration, which includes accusations the White House ignored his initial order that the administration has denied, has sent shock waves through Capitol Hill. Republicans see it as one of the most egregious examples of “rogue judges” blocking Trump’s agenda. Trump himself singled out Boasberg and called for his impeachment over the legal showdown. ‘WOEFULLY INSUFFICIENT’: US JUDGE REAMS TRUMP ADMIN FOR DAYS-LATE DEPORTATION INFO More than a dozen injunctions have been levied against various Trump policies, with targets ranging from birthright citizenship reform to the Department of Government Efficiency. However, House GOP leaders are hesitant to support impeachment as a method to target Boasberg and other judges – believing it to be a less effective route to accountability. Several rank-and-file Republican lawmakers suggested to Fox News Digital last month that they would not support such a move, giving it long odds of success in the House. Gill’s resolution accused Boasberg of abusing his power. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He could still force a House-wide vote on the measure by reintroducing it as a “privileged resolution,” giving leaders two legislative days to hold at least one procedural vote. As of last week, however, Gill told Fox News Digital he had no plans to do so. It comes as House Republicans coalesce around legislation by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to limit district judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill is expected to get a vote on Wednesday afternoon.
EXCLUSIVE: GOP firebrand dares Dems to condemn attacks on Elon Musk’s Tesla
EXCLUSIVE: Amid an ongoing spate of violent attacks, threats and vandalism against Tesla owners and dealerships and widespread “Tesla Takedown” protests across the country, the GOP is challenging Democrats to condemn the attacks as domestic terrorism. Republican firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. The measure slams unnamed members of the Democratic Party, who it says, “have made calls for their supporters to incite and engage in domestic terrorism by attacking Tesla vehicles and facilities to protest Elon Musk,” and it condemns the wave of “domestic terrorism attacks” targeting Tesla cars and dealerships. “The definition of terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. That is exactly what has been going on across the country at Tesla dealerships, and it is what innocent Americans who chose Tesla as their preferred vehicle are facing in the wake of violence from Radical Left-Wing domestic terrorists who hate President Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Boebert told Fox News Digital. OVER 200 ‘TESLA TAKEDOWN’ PROTESTS ERUPT NATIONWIDE The resolution cites “at least” 80 incidents of arson or vandalism against Tesla vehicles and 10 incidents of vandalism against Tesla dealerships, charging stations and facilities throughout the U.S. and Canada. Incidents include individuals setting fire to cars and equipment by throwing Molotov cocktails, shooting up buildings and vehicles, and marking private property with words like “Nazi” and “Long Live Ukraine.” Among the incidents cited by the resolution is the March 18, attack in Las Vegas, in which a person dressed in black shot at Tesla cars at a Tesla collision center, ignited several of them with Molotov cocktails, and spray-painted the word “Resist” on the front doors of the shop. A suspect, Paul Hyon Kim, 36, has been arrested by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in connection with the incident. Kim has been charged with multiple crimes ranging from destruction of property, arson and possessing a fire device, according to jail records. TIM WALZ SAYS HE WAS JOKING WHEN HE MOCKED TESLA’S FALLING STOCK: ‘THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO SENSE OF HUMOR’ The resolution also mentions the Mach 6 attack near Portland, Oregon, when at least seven gunshots were fired into a Tesla showroom in the middle of the night, shattering windows, damaging three cars and destroying equipment. Despite these incidents, few Democrats have unequivocally denounced the violence, even as the FBI has launched a task force to crack down on Tesla crime, the Justice Department announced charges against arson suspects and Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the attacks “domestic terrorism” – an issue Democrats have railed against for years. Many Democrats have actually doubled down on their inflammatory rhetoric against DOGE-chief Musk, labeling him a “threat to democracy” and a “Nazi.” THE LOUDEST SILENCE: TOP DEMOCRATS REMAIN MUM AMID VIOLENT ATTACKS ON TESLA The measure condemning the spate of domestic terrorism against Tesla owners and dealers currently has the support of eight staunchly conservative co-sponsors, Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Brandon Gill, R-Texas, Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Barry Moore, R-Ala., Troy Nehls, R-Texas, Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., and Greg Steube, R-Fla. “The American people deserve to know where their representatives stand when it comes to condemning domestic terrorism,” said Boebert. “My House resolution will make clear where all members of Congress stand: Do they condemn domestic terrorism against Tesla, or do they endorse it completely?”
Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg’s DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
Federal Judge James Boasberg is facing mounting criticism from President Donald Trump and his allies as he presides over multiple high-profile lawsuits targeting the Trump administration – cases that have now brought the judge’s personal and professional ties under fresh scrutiny. Boasberg, who was previously appointed to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and reportedly once roomed with Justice Brett Kavanaugh at Yale, has become a flashpoint for conservatives who accuse the judiciary of bias against the Trump administration. Now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Boasberg’s recent orders halting deportations of violent illegal immigrants and overseeing cases tied to leaked internal communications have amplified claims of partisanship and drawn fierce rebukes from Trump and his allies. “The Chief Justice handpicked DC Obama Judge Jeb Boasberg to serve on the FISA court,” said Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project. “The DC federal judges are in a cozy little club, and they protect their own.” His comments echo a broader sentiment on the right that Boasberg’s judicial decisions – and his close ties within the legal establishment – reflect a partisan tilt against the president. Boasberg, a Washington, D.C., native, earned an advanced degree in Modern European History from Oxford University in 1986 and later attended Yale Law School, where he lived with Kavanaugh, according to multiple reports. TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE BOASBERG, ‘RADICAL LEFT JUDGES’ FOR HALTING DEPORTATIONS OF VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS He graduated in 1990 and clerked for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Keker & Van Nest in San Francisco as a litigation associate from 1991 to 1994. He later worked at Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd & Evans in Washington from 1995 to 1996. After serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Boasberg was appointed in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush to serve as an associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the local trial court for the District. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where he was confirmed by the Senate and received his commission on March 17, 2011. Boasberg was appointed to serve a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court, by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The FISA Court is made up of 11 federal judges, all of whom are hand-selected by the chief justice. After undergoing rigorous background checks, FISA Court judges are then responsible for approving surveillance requests and wiretap warrants submitted by federal prosecutors, law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Most of the court’s work remains classified. Boasberg served as the court’s presiding judge from 2020 to 2021 before returning to the D.C. District Court. After Boasberg on March 15 ordered the Trump administration to halt its deportations of illegal immigrants under a 1798 wartime authority, Trump took to Truth Social to call for his impeachment. The president’s remarks echoed a growing chorus of conservatives who have recently called for the impeachment of federal judges overseeing his administration’s legal battles. JUDGE IN CROSSHAIRS OF TRUMP DEPORTATION CASE ORDERS PRESERVATION OF SIGNAL MESSAGES “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote in the post. In an unprecedented move by the nation’s high court, Roberts released a public statement shortly thereafter, denouncing impeachment as an appropriate response to judicial disagreements. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose,” he said in the statement released in mid-March. Trump once again unloaded on Boasberg in a March 30 Truth Social post after the judge extended his restraining order on March 28. The extension will run through April 12. “People are shocked by what is going on with the Court System. I was elected for many reasons, but a principal one was LAW AND ORDER, a big part of which is QUICKLY removing a vast Criminal Network of individuals, who came into our Country through the Crooked Joe Biden Open Borders Policy! These are dangerous and violent people, who kill, maim and, in many other ways, harm the people of our Country,” Trump wrote on the social media platform. WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS? “The Voters want them OUT, and said so in Record Numbers. If it was up to District Judge Boasberg and other Radical Left Judges, nobody would be removed, the President wouldn’t be allowed to do his job, and people’s lives would be devastated all throughout our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” he continued. Boasberg came under additional fire after he was randomly assigned to preside over a lawsuit involving the Trump administration’s leaked Signal chat. After Boasberg was assigned to the case, Trump again took to Truth Social and accused Boasberg of “grabbing the ‘Trump Cases’ all to himself.” Davis also took to social media, writing, “Judge Jeb Boasberg is lighting on fire his legitimacy over an unnecessary, lawless, and dangerous pissing match with the President Jeb will lose. “Let’s hope the Chief Justice doesn’t light the entire federal judiciary’s legitimacy on fire by siding with his personal buddy Jeb,” Davis wrote. At the start of the March 27 hearing, Boasberg emphasized that he was randomly assigned to the case through a docket computer system. “That’s how it works, and that’s how all cases continue to be assigned in this court,” Boasberg said during the hearing. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Supreme Court, and the D.C. District Court for additional comment. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Emma Colton and Alex Nitzberg
Second COVID nursing home death’s case against Cuomo tossed
A federal judge has dismissed a class-action lawsuit accusing former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration of being responsible for the deaths of their loved ones in nursing homes during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Polk Failla wrote on Monday that although what happened was heartbreaking, the families’ legal arguments didn’t meet the standard for suing in federal court. Cuomo, who was governor at the time, issued a March 2020 directive that initially barred nursing homes from refusing to accept patients who had tested positive for COVID-19. The directive was aimed at freeing up beds for overwhelmed hospitals. NYC MAYOR SAYS CUOMO SHOULD ‘ANSWER’ COVID NURSING HOME ALLEGATIONS More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients were released from hospitals into nursing homes under the directive, which was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated outbreaks. The eight plaintiffs in the case argued that their loved ones contracted COVID-19 in nursing homes and died as a result of the directive. They accused Cuomo and his administration of being civilly liable for their deaths as well as being liable for failing to accurately report the number of nursing home deaths in New York state that resulted from the virus. Failla, an Obama appointee, said the government wasn’t directly responsible for the deaths, even if its policies had tragic consequences. “The Court’s sympathy for Plaintiffs and their loved ones simply cannot supplant governing law,” Failla wrote. She wrote that the plaintiffs’ arguments did not meet the high bar of “shocking the public conscience” which is needed for this type of lawsuit and that officials acted during a fast-moving crisis. The family members accused the defendants of violating the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment. They also brought state law claims including wrongful death and gross negligence under New York law. Failla dismissed most of the claims on jurisdictional grounds and without prejudice. “The Court does not question the sincerity or depth of Plaintiffs’ loss,” she wrote. “But the law, as it currently stands, does not permit recovery against the Defendants for the harms alleged.” She also emphasized that the case was dismissed based on legal standards, not a denial that harm occurred. FORMER GOV. ANDREW CUOMO LAUNCHES NYC MAYORAL BID Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi welcomed the ruling and noted it was the second such case to be tossed on similar grounds. “Anytime this issue gets taken out of the press or the political arena and into the courts, the truth wins,” Azzopardi said. Azzopardi said the case follows three separate probes by the Justice Department as well as the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. “Once again, justice has prevailed.” Cuomo, who is currently running for New York City Mayor, has previously said that the directive was based on Center for Diseases and Prevention (CDC) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance at the time. A report released in March 2022 by the New York state comptroller found Cuomo’s Health Department “was not transparent in its reporting of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes” and it “understated the number of deaths at nursing homes by as much as 50%” during some points of the pandemic. The former governor was grilled by Republican lawmakers last year about following which House Republicans subsequently recommended the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against him. They accused him of intentionally lying to Congress during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the excessive number of nursing home fatalities. A state report later commissioned by Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, found that while the policies on how nursing homes should handle COVID-19 were “rushed and uncoordinated,” they were based on the best understanding of the science at the time. Cuomo ultimately resigned from office in August 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Fox News’ Greg Norman Bradford Betz, Maria Paronich and the Associated Press contributed to this report.