Ryland Barton
Appearances
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Good morning.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Right. So Khalil's attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court in New York. They're challenging his arrest. And we now know there will be a hearing on that on Wednesday. As you said, he's still in detention in Louisiana. His lawyers are trying to get him back to New York. They say that his transfer down there undermines his ability to access legal counsel and his family.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
President Trump wrote on social media that Khalil's arrest was the first arrest of many to come. He said there are students at Columbia and other universities engaged in, quote, pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity. Khalil's attorneys say the Trump administration is using him as an example to stifle lawful dissent, which violates the First Amendment.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Khalil's wife, who's pregnant, also issued a statement asking for help to bring him back home. She described him as a loving husband and the future father of their baby and someone who's always willing to stand up for the oppressed.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
So green card holders have many of the same protections that U.S. citizens have, but they can be deported for certain reasons, committing crimes, not updating immigration officials on their whereabouts, for example.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
The administration says that since Khalil was one of the student leaders active in those protests opposing Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, he violated the administration's ban on anti-Semitism and supported a group considered to be a terrorist organization by the U.S., and that's grounds for deportation to them.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Khalil's attorney says immigration officials arrested him in the lobby of his university-owned apartment, initially telling him that his student visa had been canceled. But he's not on a visa. He's a lawful permanent resident, a green card holder. And they eventually told him that his lawful permanent residency had been revoked.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Trump officials have made several statements about this over the week. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on social media that the administration would revoke the visas or green cards of Hamas supporters so that they can be deported.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Right. The department's new secretary, Linda McMahon, told 60 colleges and universities they could lose funding depending on the outcome of investigations they've launched into anti-Semitism on their campuses. This letter they sent out to them also warned that they could lose federal funding if they don't do more to combat anti-Semitism.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
This list includes a wide range of Ivy League schools like Yale, state schools like Arizona State, small liberal arts colleges like Middlebury College in Vermont. And it comes after the administration canceled almost $400 million in federal funding for Columbia University, accusing it of allowing persistent harassment of Jewish students.
Up First from NPR
Ukraine Ceasefire Talks, Stock Market Slide, Columbia University Arrest Latest
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
Yeah, so this really volatile storm system affected a huge swath of the country that created a trail of destruction from Kansas and Oklahoma down to Texas and then over east to Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi. In the east side, on Friday and Saturday, the system dropped baseball-sized hail in some places, produced dozens of deadly tornadoes.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said that six people were killed in tornadoes there. Speaking on Sunday, he promised a quick response.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
Also, 12 people died in Missouri, where Governor Mike Cahill said yesterday that hundreds of homes, schools, and businesses were destroyed or severely damaged. In Arkansas, the National Weather Service said that damage from two of the tornadoes there showed they were likely F4s. That's the second strongest class of tornadoes, with one of them estimated to have a peak wind of 170 miles an hour.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
The last time that happened on the same day in the state was 1997. First responders across the region are still working to clear debris, restore power to homes, and eventually distribute supplies for recovery.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
So Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, there were hurricane-force winds. They created dust storms and wildfires. On Friday, eight people died in a 71-vehicle pileup in Kansas. That was after a dust storm suddenly reduced visibility to near zero. That closed Interstate 70 for over 24 hours. Another three people were killed in dust storm-related crashes in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
In Oklahoma, Governor Kevin Stitt said that high winds stoked more than 130 fires across the state, killing four and damaging or destroying nearly 400 homes. And in Texas on Sunday, officials say there's more than 42,000 acres were burning from 36 different wildfires, including a nearly 10,000 acre wildfire near Fredericksburg in central Texas.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
The threat of fires is expected to continue there into the next week.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
So the process is really just starting. President Trump said on his Truth Social account yesterday that he's monitoring the storm damage and that he and First Lady Melania Trump are praying for everyone impacted. He promised to assist state and local officials in the recovery. And he said National Guard troops were already deployed to Arkansas, where the most powerful tornadoes took place.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders surveyed damage there Saturday.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
This is just the beginning of tornado season and more severe weather could be on its way in the next several weeks.
Up First from NPR
Alien Enemies Act, Legal US Immigrants Denied Entry, Deadly Storm System
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
Hi, Leila.
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
Yeah, so we know very little about how exactly the meeting happened, but in an interview yesterday on All Things Considered, Van Hollen said soldiers had initially prevented him from reaching the prison.
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US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
So later in the day, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, tweeted that Van Hollen had met with Abrego Garcia and said that since Abrego Garcia had been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador's custody. The senator then tweeted out a picture of the two of them sitting at a table and said he had called Abrego Garcia's wife to pass along a message of love.
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said the meeting showed Democrats were prioritizing the welfare of what he called an illegal alien MS-13 terrorist. The Trump administration has repeatedly said Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, which is a transnational gang. But Abrego Garcia's lawyers dispute that, pointing to the fact that he doesn't even have a criminal record in the U.S.,
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
Yeah, so the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals tore into the administration, saying they are, quote, "...asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process." Judge J. Harvey Wilkinson, who was appointed by President Reagan, headed up that three-judge panel.
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
He noted that the Justice Department had already admitted it deported Debrego Garcia mistakenly and asked, quote, "...why then should it not make what was wrong right?" Earlier this week, a judge had ruled Abrego Garcia's lawyers should be able to question administration officials.
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US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
But the Department of Justice argues that that was untenable and said the government had no powers to return Abrego Garcia. But with this latest ruling, they have lost that argument. So now officials must explain what they're doing, if anything, to bring him back. Or they could appeal again, this time to the Supreme Court.
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US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
Yeah, so Judge Wilkinson said this is a slippery slope. In his order, he imagined a future in which there would be no assurances that the executive branch would not deport American citizens or train its powers on political enemies. He said we're in a moment where the executive and judicial branches are close to grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both.
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US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
But he also said there is an opportunity here, saying, quote, we yet cling to the hope that it is not naive to believe our good brethren in the executive branch perceive the rule of law as vital to the American ethos. This ruling follows a decision from U.S.
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US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
District Judge James Boasberg earlier this week, where he said he might hold Trump officials in contempt for disregarding his order to stop sending deportees to that same Salvadoran prison.
Up First from NPR
US Senator Visits Abrego Garcia, Florida State University Shooting, Fed Independence
Thank you.
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Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Well, Trump is directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting or CPB to stop sending money to NPR and PBS, saying that federal funding should not support what he calls biased and partisan news coverage. NPR and PBS have repeatedly said they are fair in their coverage. CPP is this independent nonprofit created by Congress in 1967 to partially fund public broadcasters.
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Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
And currently, NPR receives about 1% of its funding directly from CPP, and PBS gets about 15%. But the other part of this executive order tries to get at the indirect ways that the news organizations get federal dollars, and that's through local stations. They are banned from using CPB funds to pay for NPR or PBS content under the order.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Now, I should say CPB is also fighting a different move by the president earlier this week to fire board members. So it's unclear how they will respond to this order. They sued saying they're not a federal agency and that board members don't serve at the pleasure of the president.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
So not a whole lot so far. But in a statement, NPR said that the Constitution gives the power to Congress over these funding decisions, not the president, and that the executive order will, quote, have a devastating impact on local communities across America that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, lifesaving emergency alerts and public safety information.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Yeah, Layla, listeners might remember that back in late March, the heads of NPR and PBS testified at this House hearing called Anti-American Airwaves, holding the heads of NPR and PBS accountable. It was headed up by Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Here she is speaking to NPR CEO Catherine Maher.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Greene was referring to a social media post Marr made before she became NPR CEO. Marr said she regretted the post and wouldn't have made it today. And Marr and her PBS counterpart rejected accusations that their coverage is biased.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Yeah, so stations like Louisville Public Media, where I happen to be based and I'm sitting right now, they get an average of 8% to 10% of their revenue from CPB. That number is much, much higher for smaller rural stations, sometimes over 50% of their funding. Stations have been sounding the alarm on this in recent months.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
You can hear it in their fund drives saying it's an existential threat to their operations and their communities. And it's unclear what this executive order means for them, but a lot of content on stations is national NPR and PBS programming. NPR relies on these number stations to cover breaking news and provide context that national reporters just can't always do.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
And they're sometimes the only news option for people in remote places, providing life-saving emergency alerts about things like severe weather.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Right. A couple of weeks ago, we reported that Trump was planning to ask Congress to claw back two years worth of funding for CPB. That's $1.1 billion. We still haven't seen that materialize, though.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
Public Media Cuts, Waltz Out As National Security Advisor, Alien Enemies Act Ruling
Hi, Leila.