Political Glance
A US federal judge this week ruled in favour of a prominent Palestinian-American academic and activist in a decision that deemed the search and seizure of his phones by customs officers to be illegal.
Osama Abu Irshaid, the executive director of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), had his phones taken from him and searched at Washington Dulles International Airport on two occasions in 2024, upon his return from trips to the Middle East.
On Wednesday, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia determined that Abu Irshaid was indeed entitled to his Fourth Amendment claim, because "the evidence marshaled by Defendants... does not rise to the level of reasonable suspicion" of ongoing criminal activity, the decision read.
The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires that warrants be issued by a judge based on probable cause.
"Not only is this a victory for Dr Abu Irshaid, but a victory for the pro-Palestine movement overall. For decades, allies who support Palestinian human rights have been systematically targeted by the US government for daring to speak out against Apartheid Israel," AMP said in a statement following the ruling.
US judge rules in favour of Palestinian-American activist after phone seizure
Memphis rallies for progressive Democrat after four fatal shootings by taskforce: ‘Fight of our lives’
More than a thousand people rallied for Justin Pearson, a Democratic state representative running for Congress, in the wake of four fatal shootings by members of the Memphis Safe Task Force over the last two months.
Crowds packed New Direction Christian Church in the city’s Hickory Hill neighborhood in support of Pearson, who is running in the now-fractured ninth congressional district’s Democratic primary.
“Today we are in the fight of our lives to make this district, our state, and this nation better for ourselves and for those who will come after us,” Pearson said.
“If God be for us, it doesn’t matter if every white supremacist in the Tennessee General Assembly is against us, and that nothing can separate us from the love of God that’s found in Christ Jesus. No matter what they call us, no matter where they redline us, no matter how they try and lynch us, no matter what. Grandmama said, “‘If God be for us, it doesn’t matter who or what is against.’”
U.S. To Tighten Visa Regulations For Foreign Students, Journalists
The Trump administration moved on Thursday to tighten the duration of visas for foreign students, cultural exchange visitors and journalists.
The new final rule from the Department of Homeland Security creates a fixed time period for F visas for international students, J visas that allow visitors on cultural exchange programs to work in the U.S., and I visas for members of the media. Those visas are currently available for the duration of the program or employment in the U.S.
Under the new regulations, the student and exchange visa periods would be no longer than four years. The visa for journalists — which currently can last years — would be up to 240 days or, in the case of Chinese nationals, 90 days.
The effective date is 60 days from publication in the federal register, subject to congressional review. President Donald Trump, a Republican, kicked off a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January 2025. His administration has increased scrutiny of legal immigration, revoking student visas and green cards of university students over their ideological views and stripping legal status from hundreds of thousands of migrants.
Appeals court says NJ’s AR-15, high-capacity magazine bans violate Second Amendment
A federal appeals court invalidated New Jersey’s ban on “assault” firearms and high-capacity magazines in a 10-5 vote on Friday, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment.
The decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals hands gun rights advocates one of their biggest legal victories yet on the issue as the Supreme Court gears up to provide a nationwide resolution next term in a separate case.
“The text of the Second Amendment covers all magazines, not just magazines that New Jersey considers ‘standard capacity,’” U.S. Circuit Judge Arianna Freeman wrote for the majority.
New Jersey originally enacted the restrictions in 1990. It effectively bans magazines exceeding 10 rounds and weapons deemed an “assault firearm,” a definition that covers AR-15s and similar models.
It’s the latest gun restriction to fall in the wake of the Supreme Court’s expansion of Second Amendment rights. A test laid out by the high court’s 6-3 conservative majority requires states to point to historical analogues to justify their gun control measures.
Trump fires new US attorney in Seattle an hour after federal judges appoint him
Donald Trump fired the new top federal prosecutor in Seattle on Wednesday less than an hour after the attorney was unanimously appointed by the federal judges in the district, highlighting tensions between the courts and the president over the powerful positions.
Roger Rogoff, a former judge and veteran state and federal prosecutor, was sworn in as US attorney before 8am at the US courthouse in downtown Seattle. In a phone interview, he said he then went to the US attorney’s office and asked to meet with Charles Neil Floyd, whose 120-day interim term in the position ended in February.
As he waited in a lobby, Rogoff said, he received an email from the Trump administration informing him he had been removed from the position. He is consulting with other lawyers about suing over his firing, he said.
Presidents normally appoint US attorneys, the top federal prosecutors in each judicial district. The positions require Senate confirmation, except in temporary appointments. When temporary appointments expire before a nominee is confirmed, the judges in a judicial district can name a US attorney.
NBC, ABC, CNN don’t carry Trump speech on networks
ABC News, NBC News and CNN will carry the president’s remarks on separate streaming platforms or editorial live updates.
Trump has teased “big news” ahead of this speech, in which he is expected to address his previous unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden.
A spokesperson for CNN said that the network will monitor Trump’s remarks as a “news event,” coupled with analysis and commentary from experts in elections, intelligence and the FBI.
“A live feed of the speech, alongside analysis and expert commentary, will be available on CNN-dot-com and available on CNN’s All Access streaming platform,” the spokesperson noted.
White House officials and Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the networks’ decision.
“Cowards. NBC and ABC don’t want you to hear the truth. All they want to do is hide the facts from YOU,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote in a social media post ahead of Trump’s speech.
“Tune in @WhiteHouse at 9:00pm EDT, where we always get bigger ratings than any of the networks,” he continued.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Rips 'Warmonger' Lindsey Graham's Legacy: ’He Was A Murderer’
Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tore into the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) legacy on Monday, saying that while he “was funny, fun-loving” he was also a “murderer” who demanded war.
“I disagreed wholeheartedly with many of his policies,” Greene said on progressive news show The Young Turks. “He was a neocon warmonger. He was a murderer. He wanted to wipe out and kill many innocent people in Iran, in Gaza, in Lebanon. He supported war more than anything.”
She told host Cenk Uygur that Graham, who died Saturday at the age of 71, “never wanted peace” and “the only time he may have been interested in peace was because this war is hurting the midterms” for President Donald Trump and the Republicans.
Greene called Graham a “dedicated Zionist,” and bashed his foreign policy positions, claiming that he worked “diligently” to “send as much money as possible, weapons as possible for Israel.”
She expressed her agreement with some voices on the left who have criticized Graham in the wake of his death, including Uygur’s cohost Ana Kasparian, who simply wrote on X, “Good riddance.”
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