A federal judge ordered a Venezuelan couple, accused by the Trump administration of being members of the Tren de Aragua gang, to be released, delivering a stinging rebuke of the government's evidence in the case.
Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday was making an announced trip to the southern border -- without reporters -- as he faces new scrutiny in Washington.
ABC News has confirmed that, in at least two separate meetings, Hegseth accused top-ranking military officers of leaking to the news media and threatened to polygraph them.
Hegseth also used the Signal app on a personal computer in his office that was connected to the internet on an unsecured commercial line, what's known as a "dirty line," two sources confirmed to ABC News Thursday. A Pentagon spokesman called that report "fake news."
Trump says he spoke with Netanyahu on trade and Iran
President Donald Trump spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu on trade and Iran on Tuesday morning.
"The call went very well -- We are on the same side of every issue," Trump wrote on social media.
President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 7, 2025.
Yuri Gripas/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The conversation between the two leaders comes as Trump touted "very good meetings" on Russia, Ukraine and Iran.
“So I will be giving you a full detail over the next three days, but we have very good meetings on Ukraine, Russia. We had very good meetings actually on Iran, too. We'll see how that works,” Trump teased on Monday.
Apr 22, 2025, 10:29 AM EDT
Rubio announces State Dept reorganization
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a reorganization of the State Department Tuesday, arguing, "In its current form, the Department is bloated, bureaucratic, and unable to perform its essential diplomatic mission in this new era of great power competition."
"Region-specific functions will be consolidated to increase functionality, redundant offices will be removed, and non-statutory programs that are misaligned with America's core national interests will cease to exist," he added.
Rubio said the reorganization will take place "methodically over the next several months."
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at the Quai d'Orsay, France's Minister of Foreign Affairs for high-level talks to discuss Ukraine and its security in Paris, April 17, 2025.
Julien De Rosa/Pool via AP
-ABC News' Shannon Kingston
Apr 22, 2025, 5:02 AM EDT
Trump to deliver commencement addresses at University of Alabama and West Point
President Trump will deliver commencement addresses at the University of Alabama and the United States Military Academy at West Point, he announced on Truth Social late Monday night.
“I have agreed to do the Commencement Address at two really GREAT places, the University of Alabama and, WEST POINT. Stay tuned for times and dates!!!”
Commencement at the University of Alabama takes place the weekend of May 2 and West Point will hold a graduation ceremony on May 24.
Trump previously delivered the West Point commencement address on June 13, 2020 during the pandemic.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez
Apr 22, 2025, 12:01 AM EDT
ICE must reinstate legal status of 133 international students on Tuesday
President Donald Trump's administration has until 5 p.m. on Tuesday to reinstate the legal statuses of 133 international students, according to an order granting temporary restraining orders on behalf of those plaintiffs filed in a U.S. District Court in Georgia on April 18.
The federal judge overseeing the case, Victoria M. Calvert, issued a TRO requested on behalf of students, all of whom claimed their student statuses had been unlawfully revoked.
The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU and other groups in the Northern District of Georgia, is among several that claim Immigration and Customs Enforcement "abruptly and unlawfully" terminated records on the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, a database that the Department of Homeland Security uses to monitor non-immigrant students.
A Department of Homeland Security seal on a podium at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters, Mar. 13, 2024.
Luke Barr/ABC News
The lawsuit claimed that by terminating these records, ICE is ending a student’s status and making them deportable.
"DHS’s act of unlawfully terminating SEVIS records appears to be designed to coerce students, including each Plaintiff, into abandoning their studies and 'self-deporting' despite not violating their status," the lawsuit said.
Some of the students represented in the lawsuit are nearing graduation or are enrolled in work programs.
Many of the plaintiffs had been charged with traffic violations, and in some cases minor misdemeanors, but later had their charges dropped. Others, including "Jane Doe #12," have never been arrested or cited for any traffic violation.
Government lawyers had argued that granting any relief to the students would affect the executive branch’s "control over immigration."
But the judge was not convinced — and ordered the administration to notify the court when it has complied. Calvert also ordered the government not to use the identities of the plaintiffs for any reason outside of the lawsuit.
