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A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s effort to force public colleges and universities in 17 states to hand over detailed race-based admissions data.

U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor found that the Department of Education likely has the authority to “collect, analyze, and make use of the data,” but the process was performed in a “rushed and chaotic manner.”

“The manner in which [National Center for Education Statistics] handled that process simply cannot be squared with the requirements of the [Administrative Procedure Act] — and, indeed, epitomizes arbitrary and capricious agency action,” Saylor wrote.

He granted a preliminary injunction to the 17 Democratic-led states that challenged President Trump’s executive order from August, which directed the Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “expand the scope of required reporting to provide adequate transparency into admissions” within 120 days.

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Global approval of China surpassed the U.S. in 2025, the widest favorability gap between the two countries in almost 20 years, according to a new Gallup poll released Friday.

Gallup found that China’s global approval rating last year reached a median of 36 percent in support of the country’s leadership. U.S. leadership saw its median approval rating drop to 31 percent, a fall of 8 percentage points since 2024. China’s approval rose from 32 percent in 2024.

Disapproval of China’s leadership remained flat at 37 percent, Gallup found. U.S. leadership’s disapproval reached a record-high of 48 percent.

Last year was the second year on record where both countries registered negative net global approval ratings. The median net approval for China dipped to -1, with the U.S. dropping down to a median net approval of -15, the lowest on record.

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Iraqi authorities are continuing the search for American journalist Shelly Kittleson who was kidnapped March 31 on a busy street in central Baghdad, Reuters reported.

The Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah was responsible for Kittleson's kidnapping, according to The New York Times, which reported that the group offered on April 1 to negotiate with the Iraqi government for her release in exchange for several militia members being held by authorities.

“We will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible,” Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said in a March 31 post on X. Johnson did not refer to Kittleson by name.

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Two United Nations experts have called on Israel to immediately release Palestinian doctor Hussam Abu Safiya from detention following reports that he had been subjected to "severe torture". 

Special Rapporteurs Tlaleng Mofokeng and Ben Saul said on Tuesday that the former director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza faced severe torture and "other cruel and degrading treatment", leaving him in a "dire" health condition.

“The conditions of his detention appear to be flagrantly arbitrary and manifestly inconsistent with the Mandela Rules, which establish the obligation of states to ensure prisoners have access to healthcare," they added. 

The Nelson Mandela Rules are a set of standards unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly in late 2015 to ensure a fair and humane treatment of detainees.

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An Israeli soldier has shared a photo online in which he appears to use a blindfolded Palestinian man to advertise a private business.

The image, which has circulated widely on social media, shows a Palestinian father who was reportedly detained by Israeli forces during a raid on his home in the occupied West Bank.

He is seen blindfolded and holding a sign bearing the Instagram handle @shilo_jewlry, alongside the words “Happy Passover” in Hebrew.

Amid a wave of online outrage, the account has since been deleted.

Social media users reacted with shock, describing the image as “depraved” and “abhorrent”.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that Ukrainian expert teams are actively working across the Middle East and Gulf region, assessing defense systems, advising governments, and laying the groundwork for long-term military cooperation.

During an off-the-record meeting with journalists on April 2, Zelensky said Ukrainian teams are already on the ground in several countries.

“Our expert groups are there to analyze what is happening in a particular country – what level their defense is at, what changes are needed, what can strengthen them,” he said.

According to the president, this effort has now moved into a second phase, where partner countries are outlining their needs and priorities.

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As Department of Justice officials are working to acquire sensitive voter registration data from states and have recently disclosed a plan to share it with the Department of Homeland Security, a key privacy officer in DOJ's division tasked with enforcing civil and voting rights laws has resigned.Kilian Kagle was the chief FOIA officer and senior component official for privacy for DOJ's Civil Rights Division before leaving his post in recent days. His resignation has not been previously reported.

For nearly a year, the DOJ has been making unprecedented demands for sensitive voter data from most states — including voters' driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth and addresses — that some say violate privacy law.

In some cases, like in California, the demands went further, to include party affiliation and voting history. The agency has said it needs this data to ensure states are performing voter list maintenance and removing ineligible registrants. DOJ has sued more than two dozen states that have not turned over their voter lists.

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It has only been a couple days since NASA successfully launched astronauts to the moon for the first time in over half a century. But the Artemis II mission's four-person crew has already delivered striking postcards from their journey: behind-the-scenes photos of what they've been up to in the cabin, and jaw-dropping visuals of the planet we call home.

Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman snapped a photo of the Earth nearly eclipsing the Sun, and what's known as zodiacal light nearby — which, during an eclipse, takes a triangular shape when sunlight bounces off of dust particles. In the same image, Earth is flanked by the northern and southern auroras at its top right and bottom left.

Another photo, also by Wiseman, shows Earth's terminator line, which separates day from night.

The crew is working with NASA's science team to determine what other photos may be of interest once they start to orbit the moon, said Lakiesha Hawkins, the acting deputy associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

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