Federal judge lets injunctions against deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia stand

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Paula Xinis left in place two injunctions against the re-arrest or detention of Maryland resident and immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

In March, the Trump administration sought to deport Abrego Garcia a second time, this time to Liberia and “in a matter of days.” He was deported in March 2025 to El Salvador and returned in June due to a protective order preventing him from being sent to El Salvador due to fears of gang persecution. He had agreed to be deported to Costa Rica instead, but the government has not accepted that request.

“The government is unwilling to send Mr. Abrego to Costa Rica for unexplained reasons,” Kilmar’s attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg said in a news release from the advocacy group We Are CASA. “Since they’re not allowed to deport him to Africa, the case remains at a stalemate caused by the government. What the judge pointed out is that this demolishes the government’s argument that what they’re trying to do is deport Mr. Abrego Garcia from the United States.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In a February ruling, Xinis found the government had not shown “good reason to believe” Abrego Garcia would be deported to a third-party country in the reasonably foreseeable future, citing a lack of firm assurances from any receiving nation. She also noted the need for guarantees he would not be sent back to El Salvador, where an immigration judge barred his removal in 2019 over fears of gang-related persecution.

—The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore Key Bridge collapse: Federal prosecutors hand down indictments

BALTIMORE — Federal prosecutors have charged Synergy Marine Group, Synergy Maritime and one employee in connection with the March 2024 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, alleging a conspiracy to conceal dangerous safety violations aboard the Dali container ship that contributed to the disaster and led to the deaths of six.

The indictment charges Singapore-based Synergy Marine Group, India-based Synergy Maritime and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, a 47-year-old Indian citizen who served as the Dali’s technical superintendent, with conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, false statements and willingly failing to immediately notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a known hazardous condition aboard the vessel.

Prosecutors allege the companies operated the Dali with an unauthorized fuel system that bypassed critical safety safeguards meant to prevent a total loss of power. The two corporations also face misdemeanor charges under the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act and Refuse Act for pollution released into the Patapsco River after the crash, including oil, shipping containers and debris.

“The indictment reveals a pattern of deception and egregious violations that led to the unsafe operation of the Dali, which recklessly endangered the public and resulted in the ship striking the bridge,” said Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul of the FBI Baltimore Field Office, speaking at a Tuesday news conference. “This indictment should send a message to all ship operators that circumventing safety requirements and breaking U.S. laws will not be tolerated.”

According to the indictment, the Dali suffered two blackouts in four minutes as it departed the Port of Baltimore before slamming into the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Investigators allege a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard likely triggered the first outage. Although the vessel briefly regained power, prosecutors say operators had altered the ship’s fuel s

—The Baltimore Sun

Advocates call on NC to reintroduce bathroom restrictions for transgender people

RALEIGH, N.C. — A socially conservative group is calling on North Carolina lawmakers to reintroduce broad restrictions on bathroom usage by transgender individuals, a decade after the controversial passage (and subsequent repeal) of House Bill 2.

At a press conference Tuesday outside the legislative building, the N.C. Values Coalition pushed for the state to ban transgender women from using women’s bathrooms in K-12 public schools and universities.

“Allowing students to access the opposite sex bathroom is harmful for all involved,” Ashley Vaughan, the group’s communications director, said. “Gender-confused students deserve care and compassion, but allowing them to access the opposite sex bathroom only adds more chaos and confusion to their lives.”

The coalition was joined by high school students from Cabarrus County, who said they did not wish to encounter “biological males” in the school restroom.

The press conference was frequently interrupted by a handful of counterprotesters, who accused the group of attempting to erase the existence of transgender people.

“Groups like NC Values Coalition and Moms for Liberty are leading the charge (to) erase LGBTQ-identifying people from North Carolina,” Heather Redding, one of the counterprotesters, said. “They are doing incredible harm to trans kids, in particular by limiting their access to anything that validates their identity.”

Redding also raised concerns about how such restrictions could be enforced without invading students’ privacy.

Asked how a hypothetical bathroom bill should enforce the restrictions, Vaughan said “people would be required to use the bathroom that corresponds with the biological reality that is listed on their birth certificate.”

There have been numerous reported cases of individual citizens mistakenly suspecting someone as transgender and questioning their presence in the bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex.

—The News & Observer

Prime Minister Keir Starmer dares UK challengers to take him on in play for time

Embattled U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer appeared to buy himself a reprieve from efforts to oust him, after a high-stakes Cabinet meeting that ended with a public show of support from a handful of key allies.

In a meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday, Starmer sought to hold back the gathering calls for his resignation, according to people familiar with the matter. The premier asked ministers to see him individually to talk about his future, rather than having that discussion around the cabinet table, said the people, who asked not to be identified while sharing private conversations.

Even as ministers were huddling behind closed doors, Starmer released a defiant statement denouncing efforts by Labour members of Parliament to force him out in the wake of last week’s disastrous local election results as “destabilizing” for the country. He indicated that he wouldn’t go without a leadership fight, in a challenge to potential rivals, such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

“The country expects us to get on with governing,” Starmer told ministers, according to a spokesperson. “That is what I am doing and what we must do as a Cabinet.”

Starmer’s remarks represented a last-ditch attempt to hang on to his job amid widespread speculation that he will be forced to announce a handover of power to a new leader as soon as Tuesday. At least two Cabinet ministers — Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood — have already urged the premier to set out a timetable for his departure. At least three junior ministers had resigned in an effort to pressure Starmer to step down.

People familiar with the thinking of several other Cabinet ministers said they didn’t think he could survive. Labour officials said Starmer’s strategy was to dare Streeting to announce a challenge. That’s because many on the left of the party don’t want to see him to become prime minister, thereby incentivizing them to prevent an immediate contest.

—Bloomberg News