The 40-something single dad shaping liberal media from his laptop

Acyn Torabi dominates the internet with fast-cut clips of political mayhem. Are they news, or something else?

The Washington Post (Gift)

The Mystery of ICE’s Unidentifiable Arrests

In early March, the agency announced that it had arrested forty-eight people in New Mexico—a month later, their identities and whereabouts remain unknown.

The New Yorker

‘50501’ protesters denounce Trump administration in nationwide rallies while supporting impacted communities

“We are sending a clear and urgent message to the country and to those in power: the people are paying attention, we are organizing, and we will not accept authoritarian overreach, fascist policy, or the dismantling of our rights under the Constitution,” Sarah Parker, one of the 50501’s national coordinators, told CNN.

“The administration’s continued targeting of marginalized communities, the criminalization of dissent, and the erosion of civil liberties demand a response — and this is ours.”

CNN

More than 700 protests held across U.S. in second ‘day of action’

Thousands of people across more than 700 locations in the United States demonstrated against President Donald Trump on Saturday, protesting his administration’s policies during the second “day of action” organized by the 50501 movement.

UPI

Trump Officials Blame Mistake for Setting Off Confrontation With Harvard

An official on the administration’s antisemitism task force told the university that a letter of demands had been sent without authorization.

The New York Times

Pentagon turmoil deepens: Top Hegseth aide leaves post

The latest incidents add to the Pentagon’s broader upheaval in recent months, including fallout from Hegseth’s release of sensitive information in a Signal chat with other national security leaders and a controversial department visit by Elon Musk.

Politico

The Supreme Court’s Late-Night Rebuke to Trump Is Extraordinary in More Ways Than One

The court didn’t even wait to let Alito write his dissent.

Slate

Indonesian man details surprise ICE arrest in Minnesota hospital; judge denies release

Critics condemn the “silent” nature of his arrest as part of an aggressive new trend in immigration enforcement.

The Minnesota Star Tribune

The CFPB Has Been Gutted

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terminated the positions of 1,400 of the agency’s 1,700 employees; medical debt and student loans will now be deprioritized.

Wired

Federal judge extends block on Florida immigration law that led to arrest of a U.S. citizen

“We appreciate that the federal courts have seen through this blatantly unconstitutional law, but the reality is that, without enforcement, it seems that local law enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol are continuing to ignore the judge and order,” said Miriam Fahsi Haskell, an attorney for Community Justice Project representing the plaintiffs, in a phone interview with the Phoenix. “The reality is that once a person is arrested under SB 4C and booked into jail, that person risks then having an ICE hold on them.”

Florida Phoenix

Korean adoptees in U.S. feel used and abandoned by the system

An investigation by a government commission found babies were often marketed as orphans as a way to make them more adoptable.

AsAmNews

Take It Down Act nears passage; critics warn Trump could use it against enemies

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has been speaking out against the bill, saying “it could be easily manipulated to take down lawful content that powerful people simply don’t like.” The EFF pointed to Trump’s comments in an address to a joint session of Congress last month, in which he suggested he would use the bill for his own ends.

“Once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law. And I’m going to use that bill for myself too if you don’t mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online, nobody,” Trump said, drawing laughs from the crowd at Congress.

Ars Technica

A day of pushback in Milwaukee for U.S. Senator Ron Johnson and the Trump administration

Constituents of Wisconsin Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson held an “empty chair” town hall Saturday at Nicolet High School in Glendale.

The progressive groups Grassroots North Shore, Grassroots Germantown, League of Progressive Seniors and Worth Fighting for Wisconsin had invited the senator to take feedback about cuts to federal programs and services and other Trump administration efforts.

Organizers placed a few stuffed and rubber chickens at Johnson’s empty chair, they say reflected their view that the senator was “too cowardly” to come to the town hall, held during Congress’ April recess.

WUWM 89.7

She grew up believing she was a U.S. citizen. Then she applied for a passport

Suddenly, the document she always relied on — a delayed registration of birth, which is fairly common among adoptees — was no longer enough. She realized the papers that would prove she was a citizen were not just missing — they had never existed in the first place.

NPR

Van Hollen: ‘I am not defending the man, I am defending the rights of this man to due process’

“I am not defending the man. I’m defending the rights of this man to due process,” Van Hollen told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday. “And the Trump administration has admitted in court that he was wrongfully detained and wrongfully deported. My mission and my purpose is to make sure that we uphold the rule of law, because if we take it away from him, we do jeopardize it for everybody else.”

ABC News

This Midwestern city has long been a federal hub. The pain from DOGE’s cuts is everywhere

The impact of the cuts by Trump appointees and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency can be found everywhere in the Kansas City metropolitan area, which has long been a major hub for federal agencies about 1,000 miles away from Washington, D.C. Money once promised to the region for public health, environmental, diversity, food aid and an array of other programs has been axed, and thousands of local jobs are in jeopardy.

With nearly 30,000 workers, the federal government is the largest employer in the region. One longtime Kansas City economic researcher said he believes the region could lose 6,000 good-paying federal jobs, which in turn would wipe out thousands of others in service industries.

AP News

Judge Blocks Trump’s Anti-Trans Passport Policy

“The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote in the partial injunction. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”

Huffpost

Marco Rubio’s State Department Redefines What It Calls “Human Rights”

Human rights reports under Marco Rubio’s State Department are about to look a whole lot worse.

The New Republic

Pope Francis Has Died

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, made history as the first pope from the Americas.

Town and Country

‘Sell America’: investors are increasingly avoiding the US – here’s what it means for Australian markets

After decades as a safe haven, Donald Trump’s economic upheaval has some traders looking to put their money elsewhere – and countries looking to decouple their economies

The Guardian

How to dismantle democracy: Lessons aspiring autocrats may take from Hungary’s Orban

“The offices for the prime minister and his cabinet used to be down there next to the parliament building,” he continues, pointing to Budapest’s other big pointy-towered tourist attraction in the distance, across the river. “But Orban decided he wanted to move here, into a castle. Even Matyas Rakosi, Hungary’s most brutal communist dictator, refused to move his office here, but Orban wants to play king, so the national gallery will eventually need to be moved out of the castle to make way for him.”

NPR

Migrants Are Heading South

For years, millions of people traveled through Central America north to the United States. Now that flow is changing direction.

The Atlantic

France’s president says making Haiti pay for its independence was unjust

France “subjected the people of Haiti to a heavy financial indemnity, … This decision placed a price on the freedom of a young nation, which was thus confronted with the unjust force of history from its very inception,’’ Macron said in a statement.

NBC News

Israeli military admits ‘professional failures’ over Gaza paramedic killings

IDF says it is dismissing deputy commander for giving ‘inaccurate report’ on shooting that caused global outcry

The Guardian

Iran reaffirms ties with Russia despite warming relations with US

“The core message was that Iran aims to foster balanced and constructive relations globally, without compromising its existing ties with friends,” Jalali stated.

bne Intellinews

Son of jailed Egypt opposition leader arrested, sent to prison

Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali announced on Saturday that Egyptian authorities have transferred Ahmed Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh to the Tenth of Ramadan Prison, days after his arrest at the Katameya Traffic Unit in New Cairo while he was renewing his car licence.

Ahmed is the son of jailed former presidential candidate and Strong Egypt Party leader Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, who is currently one of Egypt’s 60,000 political prisoners. 

The New Arab

Lebanese president says disarming Hezbollah ‘delicate’ as Israel kills two

Joseph Aoun makes the comment as the Lebanese army says it foils a rocket attack on Israel.

AlJazeera

‘Scare campaign’ accusations, costings and more debates: watching the home stretch of the Australian election

The Coalition appears to be losing support, but the latest Essential poll shows 47% of voters on the fence, making the final 12 days crucial

The Guardian

After Brief Face-to-Face With Vance, Pope’s Easter Address Denounces ‘Contempt’ for Migrants

“How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants,” the speech read. “I appeal to all those in positions of political responsibility in our world not to yield to the logic of fear which only leads to isolation from others, but rather to use the resources available to help the needy, to fight hunger, and to encourage initiatives that promote development. These are the ‘weapons’ of peace: weapons that build the future, instead of sowing seeds of death.”

“May the principle of humanity never fail to be the hallmark of our daily actions,” the pope’s speech continued before condemning military attacks that violate international law: “In the face of the cruelty of conflicts that involve defenseless civilians and attack schools, hospitals, and humanitarian workers, we cannot allow ourselves to forget that it is not targets that are struck, but persons, each possessed of a soul and human dignity.”

Common Dreams

Thousands in Sikh community celebrate Vaisakhi

Vaisakhi, also called Baisakhi, is the festival that celebrates the founding of the Sikh community, the Khalsa, in 1699.

It was originally a harvest festival in the Punjab region of India until it became Sikhs’ most important festival.

BBC

Armed Israeli settlers storm West Bank, destroy Palestinian villages

Israeli settlers stormed West Bank villages, destroyed Palestinian private property, and built new illegal outposts

The New Arab

Zelenskyy accuses Russia of violating Putin’s Easter ceasefire 2,000 times

He said that, as of 6pm UK time, the Russian army had violated the ceasefire “more than two thousand times”, adding that there had been 67 Russian assaults against Ukrainian positions in various directions.

“In practice, across all main frontline directions, Russia has failed to uphold its own promise of ceasefire,” he wrote on social media.

He also said he had received no response from Russia to his proposal for a full ceasefire for 30 days, adding: “If Russia does not agree to such a step, it will be proof that it intends to continue doing only those things which destroy human lives and prolong the war”.

The Guardian