Chris Van Hollen’s campaign for Abrego Garcia in El Salvador: A message to the president and to the government of El Salvador

Round and round it goes with no resolution. In an attempt to see the man, Sen. Chris Van Hollen flew to El Salvadoran. He was denied the ability to see or talk to him. He posted a picture of him with Abrego. The White House made it clear by the middle of the week that AbregoGarcia wouldn’t be allowed back into the country.

Abrego Garcia, 29, is a Salvadoran citizen who lived and worked legally in Maryland for about 15 years before he was wrongly deported to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador last month — despite the fact that he was granted protections by a judge years earlier over concerns for his safety if he were to return there.

The situation galvanized Van Hollen, to personally campaign for — and try to visit — Abrego Garcia, who is being held in a notorious mega-prison known as CECOT.

“The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration, to let the government of El Salvador, know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family,” Van Hollen said from the airport. “We are going to continue fighting for justice because we think this is a huge injustice.”

The American embassy could be able to make a phone or video call with Abrego, according to Van Hollen. He said he plans to ask the embassy to do so, as he continues the fight for Abrego Garcia’s return.

She accused Van Hollen of “potentially using taxpayer dollars” to fund his trip and slammed Democrats for supporting Abrego Garcia’s release instead of efforts to improve border security, which she said would make Americans safer.

Leavitt was joined at the press briefing by Maryland resident Patty Morin, whose daughter Rachel was raped and murdered in 2023 by a fugitive from El Salvador, Victor Martinez-Hernandez, 24, who was convicted of the crime on Monday. Morin also spoke critically of Van Hollen.

“To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge, or barely acknowledge, my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother … so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that’s not even an American citizen?” she said.

Van Hollen’s office released a statement about the conviction in the case on Monday, thanking those who made the verdict possible. He said that the country can improve its public safety and border security by supporting immigrant communities and respecting the right of individuals who are here legally.

Rep. Riley Moore and Rep. Jason Smith Visited the Central Bank of Ecuador (CECOT) in Response to President Trump’s Comments on the Plan to Lower Interest Rates

Two Republicans, West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore and Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, posted photos to social media of themselves touring CECOT on Tuesday. They spoke highly of Trump’s plan to deport immigrants and Moore said that he would support the president’s efforts.

In two separate letters this week, Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Maxwell Frost of Florida and Delia Ramirez of Illinois, asked the chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., to authorize a Congressional Member Delegation to visit CECOT.

Garcia and Frost wrote that a “Congressional delegation would allow Committee Members to conduct a welfare check on Mr. Abrego Garcia, as well as others held at CECOT.”

They said that congressional oversight is necessary as a response to President Trump’s recent remarks in which he expressed a desire to send ‘homegrown criminals’ to this facility.

President Trump is criticizing the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates, even as his tariffs make that more difficult. Yesterday, while speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump suggested that there’s a groundswell of people demanding lower rates. So far, most of that pressure is coming from the president. Trump said in a social media post that Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough.

Trump’s visit to El Salvador: The case for a U.S. citizen in the United States and the return of a deported Maryland man

He’d recommend contempt charges if the DOJ didn’t pursue them, and he’d be willing to appoint an outside prosecutor to do so. Paula Xinis, the judge who presided over the Abrego case, said that she had nothing from the administration, who she had to show evidence of what they were doing to bring the man back. The government had asked the appeals court for a stay on the proceedings, but the court denied the request.

Which one is weighing out? At the end of the day, a true constitutional crisis would come if the Trump administration exhausts its appeals and defies the Supreme Court, if it rules against the administration. Maybe that would come if Trump follows through on his musings about sending “homegrown” criminals, in other words, U.S. citizens, to El Salvador.

The Supreme Court said the administration had to “facilitate” the man’s return, but it also said the courts should show “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters during the meeting in the Oval Office that no court in the US has the right to conduct foreign policy. I am not sure what the confusion is. This person is a member of the nation of El Salvadoran. He was illegally in the United States and was returned to his country.”

The week had a lot of news about President Trump and the continuing struggle over the narrative around a Maryland man who has been deported before. But there was also continued concern around Trump’s tariffs — with the Federal Reserve chair saying they’re likely to lead to higher prices — and the tension between the scientific establishment and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who made some big pronouncements during his first news conference as health and human services secretary.

President Trump met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele at the White House on Monday. The president’s inner circle and the Salvadoran president played a faux blame game on the deported Maryland man.

The judge who has been against the administration’s deportation policies said this week that there was probable cause for contempt charges. He’s giving the Trump team a chance to give him some answers, which he says have shown a disregard for his orders, until Wednesday.

Source: 5 takeaways from the week: Nearing a constitutional crisis?

Vaccines, Down’s Syndrome, and Alzheimer’s Disease: What Robert Kennedy Jr. has to say about autism and vaccines in the United States

Could there be environmental causes (other than vaccines)? That’s Kennedy’s theory. Science is dispassionately letting evidence dictate answers.

For years Robert Kennedy Jr. has doubts on the safety of vaccines and believes that they could be a cause of children with Down’s Syndrome. That’s despite research thoroughly debunking the idea (and links to other, non-vaccine-related factors such as a father’s age). And despite decades of research and difficult finding answers, he’s promising as director of Health and Human Services under the Trump Administration to uncover the true cause of Alzheimer’s by September.

“One of the things I think we need to move away from today is this ideology that this diagnosis, rather the relentless increases, are simply artifacts of better diagnoses, better recognition,” Kennedy said. He also said: “Doctors and therapists in the past weren’t stupid; they weren’t missing all these cases. The epidemic is real. External factors, environmental exposures are where we’ll find the answer.

His own organization said this week that increased diagnoses and better diagnostic tools are to blame for the increase in children being found to have autism.

Source: 5 takeaways from the week: Nearing a constitutional crisis?

Waiting and Watching for the Fed, and Trump’s Possible Role in the Mexican-Mexican-American Abelian War: The Case of Abrego Garcia

So, for now, he said, the Fed will wait and watch. With how quickly Trump has been changing his mind, or, as he says, being “flexible,” it could be waiting and watching for a while.

Powell said this week that Trump’s tariffs are likely to lead to higher inflation, and he was not the only one who thought so.

“Evidence’ against Abrego Garcia consisted of nothing more than his Chicago Bulls hat and hoodie, and a vague, uncorroborated allegation from a confidential informant claiming he belonged to MS-13’s ‘Western’ clique in New York — a place he has never lived,” she said in a ruling.

He could face danger or death if he were to be sent back to El Salvador. The evidence that he is a gang member is flimsy, says the judge overseeing his case.

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The Sudan crisis: What has been lost? And why did the United States come to terms? A U.K. Foreign Minister, David Lammy, spoke at the euclep summit, April 3, 2020

A 20-year-old man is in custody after a shooting at Florida State University in Tallahassee left two people dead and six people hospitalized, according to law enforcement. The alleged gunman has been identified as Phoenix Ikner, the son of a current and longtime Leon County deputy. The sheriff says he had access to his mother’s gun.

Sudan’s devastating civil war entered its third year this week. Since the fighting began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in the capital, Khartoum, tens of thousands have lost their lives. According to the United Nations, hundreds of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The peace talks were started in London by foreign ministers from 20 countries. During his opening remarks, the conference host, U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated, “Many have given up on Sudan. That is wrong…. We cannot look away. Check out these photos documenting the crisis.

Source: FSU shooting leaves two dead. And, Trump criticizes Fed chairman over interest rates

New Music and Drinks from Michael B. Jordan, Your Friends and Neighbors (Album of New Songs), a Movie, and a Video Series by Leila Fadel

Michael B. Jordan is in the movie “Sinners”, which tells the story of two brothers who return to their hometown to set up a juke joint. However, they are warned by a spiritual healer about people who make music so true it conjures spirits and pierces the veil between life and death. Click here to check out the trailer.

Jon Hamm plays a wealthy guy who becomes less rich by turning to crime in a show called Your Friends and Neighbors. This week, there’s a documentary, a comedy, and more.

The book “Vanishing World” is about Japan where children are conceived via artificial insemination is the norm and physical sex is frowned upon. These are some notable new reads this week.

A third of new albums by boygenius, two-thirds of Carolina Chocolate Drops, and one-quarter of TV on the Radio were released at midnight. Listen to the best songs from each album on NPR Music’s curated playlist.

🍦 Food: With her cookbook, Malai, and South Asian-inspired treats, she hopes to change the way ice cream is seen in the US. Bavishi was visited by Morning Edition’s Leila Fadel at her D.C. shop, where they tasted some ice cream to see if they could turn her passion into a career.