AURN News

A federal judge has found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court after deportation flights to El Salvador continued despite a direct court order to halt them.

Judge James Boasberg said the administration tried to outrun the legal system — even launching deportation flights during the March 15 court hearing.

Those aboard were deported under Trump’s newly invoked Alien Enemies Act — a wartime law not used since World War II — targeting alleged gang members from Venezuela. But the plaintiffs say their clients were not gang members and that they were ripped off without due process to avoid a Salvadoran prison notorious for human rights violations.

It didn't stop there. Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeted a mocking post from El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele reading, "Oopsie. Too Late."

Boasberg called the administration's actions "gleeful defiance." The administration has until April 23 to reverse the damage or name names identifying who made the call to ignore the judge.

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(AURN News) — As President Joe Biden faced mounting pressure over his 2024 re-election bid, one relationship loomed large behind the scenes: his strained connection with former President Barack Obama. A new must-read book, "Fight," by veteran political reporters Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, reveals how years of tension between the two men came to a head in the final months of Biden’s presidency. This week in a special series, AURN News is giving you all of the palace intrigue behind the Biden, Harris, and Trump 2024 campaigns.

"Biden had never gotten over the affronts," Allen and Parnes write in "Fight," describing the former vice president’s lingering resentment. "And he no longer trusted Obama's political judgment. After Hillary's shattering 2016 loss, Biden told everyone who would listen that he would have beaten Trump and that Obama had been wrong."

In an interview with AURN News, Allen elaborated on what he described as a deep fracture.

"They both think they're the big dog," Allen said. "Joe Biden thinks that Barack Obama doesn't get elected without Joe Biden being his Vice President, which I think is ridiculous. But, Biden always felt like Obama kind of snubbed him some, and particularly because in 2016 Obama got behind Hillary Clinton at a time when Joe Biden wanted to run and thought it was his turn."

According to Allen, Obama had misgivings about Biden’s abilities even before the 2020 campaign. "Obama told anyone who would listen that Biden wasn’t up to it — to run," he said. "And Biden ran anyway and won the presidency. And at this point, Biden no longer thinks that Obama’s got particularly good judgment."

While the public saw them as close allies, the authors say that dynamic had faded. "They don't even speak," Allen told AURN News, "unless there's some pressing need."

Obama, known for his calculated post-presidency presence, remained mostly out of sight — but not out of mind. "He wants to do it without fingerprints," Allen said. "He wants to be able to affect things without getting his hands terribly dirty."

The relationship degraded to the point where, according to "Fight," Biden and Obama were once put on the phone together "just so their aides could tell a reporter that they had spoken."

The authors portray the collapse of the Obama-Biden partnership not only as personal but consequential. Their lack of unity, they argue, continued to destabilize the Democratic Party during a time of crisis.

This is THE book of 2025 — and a must-read. Get your copy today!

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"I'm here at the airport. I'm about to board my flight for San Salvador. The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration, to let the government of El Salvador know we are gonna keep fighting. What bullies do is they begin by picking on the most vulnerable. But if we get rid of the rule of law and due process in the United States, it's a short road from there to tyranny."

That message came from Sen. Chris Van Hollen moments before boarding his flight to El Salvador this morning. He’s traveling to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident currently detained in a Salvadoran prison.

Meanwhile, two House Democrats — Reps. Robert Garcia and Maxwell Frost — are requesting an official congressional delegation (or CODEL) to visit the prison where Trump’s deportees are being held.

But here's the catch: a Republican committee chair has to sign off. Without it, lawmakers can go informally, but they lose access to security protections and oversight power.

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On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the D.C. Emancipation Act, granting immediate freedom to enslaved people in Washington, D.C., and offering up to $300 in compensation to Union-loyal slaveholders.

Lincoln envisioned “compensated emancipation,” a plan where slave owners would be paid and formerly enslaved people would be colonized abroad—to the Caribbean, Latin America, or West Africa. He hoped this would encourage border states to gradually end slavery. Congress even offered federal funds to states adopting abolition, but the plan failed as border state senators rejected it.

Before the Act, D.C. was a hub for slave trading, where enslaved people were held in pens or marched in chains through the streets.

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Alphonso David, President & CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum talks Trump tariffs, the elimination of DEI and the socio-economic future of Black America.

Watch the video version of the interview here.

And subscribe to On the Record with Ebony McMorris here.

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U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney has stepped into the immigration debate by temporarily blocking the Trump administration from deporting certain individuals — including Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is currently imprisoned in El Salvador.

The decision comes amid broader concerns over the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act — a rarely used law now being invoked to target immigrants.

Judge Sweeney's order prevents the deportation of non-citizens in custody who may be affected by this controversial law, ensuring they have the opportunity for a fair hearing in court before any action is taken against them. This ruling is particularly crucial for Garcia, who has faced significant dangers in El Salvador and was previously protected from deportation by a U.S. immigration judge.

As the legal landscape continues to shift, Sweeney's actions represent a pushback against what many see as an overreach by the administration.

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(AURN News) — Buying a home just got even harder as mortgage rates jumped sharply and bond market volatility returned in force.

According to a report by Mortgage News Daily, the 10-year Treasury saw the biggest week-over-week increase since 1981, a move that quickly rippled through lending rates.

Lenders have now raised the typical rate for a 30-year fixed conventional mortgage to 7.125%, the outlet reports. That’s a half percentage point higher than last week and marks the biggest single-week jump since 2022.

The spike in rates adds more pressure to prospective homebuyers already facing high prices and limited supply — making the path to homeownership, often called the American dream, even more difficult.

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According to USA TODAY, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture—opened nine years ago to national acclaim—is now facing criticism from President Donald Trump.

In a recent executive order, Trump accused the museum of promoting “ideological indoctrination” and distorting American history.

The museum, visited by 1.6 million people in 2024, highlights both the struggles and triumphs of the Black experience, from slavery to hip-hop.

Shortly after the order, museum director Kevin Young resigned. Supporters argue the museum fills critical gaps in education and preserves a rich cultural legacy.

Trump’s executive order leaves the museum’s future uncertain, but its significance remains widely affirmed.

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Harvard University has taken a strong stance against the Trump administration, refusing to comply with demands that could alter its policies — leading to a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal grants and $16 million in contracts.

In a statement, Harvard President Alan M. Garber asserted that the university would not compromise its independence or constitutional rights. The administration’s demands included eliminating diversity and inclusion programs, as well as imposing restrictions on campus protests.

It marks a critical moment in higher education as Harvard is the first elite institution to openly challenge the White House.

The administration claims these changes are necessary to combat antisemitism and ensure federal funds are not used to support perceived discrimination.

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(AURN News) — New data from the University of Michigan shows continued trouble for the U.S. economy, as consumer sentiment dropped 11% since March and more than 40% since December.

No generation or demographic was unscathed by the decline, which reflects deepening concern over business conditions, inflation, and the labor market.

“Consumers report multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession: expectations for business conditions, personal finances, incomes, inflation, and labor markets all continued to deteriorate this month. The share of consumers expecting unemployment to rise in the year ahead increased for the fifth consecutive month and is now more than double the November 2024 reading and the highest since 2009,” the University said.

Inflation expectations for the year ahead rose from 5% in March to 6.7% this month, as Americans continue to worry about the high cost of living they’ve been burdened with.

The latest report comes as President Donald Trump’s second term continues on an economic roller coaster, marked by tariff wars and elevated inflation.

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