Dec 19 Deal allows Cubans to sign with big league baseball teams without defecting By Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press Major League Baseball, its players' association and the Cuban Baseball Federation reached an agreement that will allow players from the island nation to sign big league contracts without defecting, an effort to eliminate the dangerous trafficking that had gone on… Continue reading
Dec 19 Judge blocks Trump administration restrictions on who can apply for asylum By Colleen Long, Associated Press The judge said the administration's policy on asylum seekers violates federal immigration law and that "it is the will of Congress -- not the whims of the executive" that sets the standards for expedited removal. Continue reading
Dec 19 What's the status of Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall? By Nomaan Merchant, Colleen Long, Associated Press President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers are in a standoff over funding the government, and the main sticking point is Trump’s demand for $5 billion to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Here's a look at where things stand… Continue reading
Dec 19 More migrant kids held in mass shelters, AP investigation finds By Garance Burke, Martha Mendoza, Associated Press Decades after the U.S. stopped institutionalizing kids because large orphanages were causing lasting trauma, it is happening again. The federal government has placed most of the 14,300 migrant children in its care in detention centers and facilities packed with hundreds,… Continue reading
Dec 18 Watch 5:42 Why a federal judge delayed Michael Flynn's sentencing A federal judge postponed Michael Flynn’s sentencing Tuesday to better enable him to cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation. The judge also told Flynn, "Arguably, you sold your country out." William Brangham asks former Department of Justice official Carrie Cordero… Continue watching
Dec 18 U.S. officials baffled by large migrant groups flocking to remote New Mexico border crossing By Elliot Spagat, Colleen Long, Associated Press Large numbers of Guatemalan families and unaccompanied children are surrendering to U.S. immigration agents in an extremely remote and dangerous stretch of New Mexico desert. Continue reading
Dec 18 Watch 4:29 How Trump may have used his charitable foundation for personal and political gain As the New York attorney general investigates allegations of criminal misconduct by the Trump Foundation, the president announced he is shutting it down. The Washington Post’s David Fahrenthold has been reporting on scrutiny of the organization since before the 2016… Continue watching
Dec 18 U.S. reverses fingerprinting rule for households sponsoring migrant children By Colleen Long, Associated Press The Trump administration policy required fingerprinting for all adults living in a household where a migrant child would live. Parents and other sponsors have said the fingerprinting rule had slowed placement of children in homes, in part because some members… Continue reading
Dec 18 Watch 12:11 Do the recommendations from the school safety commission go far enough? Citing a "holistic" approach to school safety, a federal commission led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has released proposals on student mental health, cyber bullying and discipline. For different perspectives on the report, Amna Nawaz talks to Catherine Lhamon, former… Continue watching
Dec 18 Flynn sentencing abruptly postponed to allow for cooperation in Mueller probe By Eric Tucker, Chad Day, Associated Press A federal judge abruptly postponed the sentencing of Michael Flynn, on Tuesday, saying he could not hide his disgust for Flynn's crime of lying to the FBI and warning that he could send the retired Army lieutenant general to prison. Continue reading