ICE officer charged with lying about shooting turns himself in to feds, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with lying to investigators about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown turned himself in Thursday to federal authorities, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Christian Castro was taken into federal custody on charges of making false statements to investigators about the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in January, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

The federal charges follow Castro's release from jail last week after Texas’ governor refused to immediately sign an extradition warrant to hand him over to Minnesota authorities, who have charged him separately with assault and false reporting of a crime related to the same shooting.

Federal authorities had initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the confrontation. But federal prosecutors dropped charges against the men after video evidence showed the officers may have lied about the encounter, and officials opened an investigation.

Castro is the first federal immigration officer to be prosecuted by the Trump administration related to actions taken during the massive Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities that began in January 2026. No attorney is listed for Castro in the case brought by Minnesota and it was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

Trump again appeals to Supreme Court on mail-voting restrictions with midterm elections looming

BOSTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to reject an order by a federal judge that halts it from implementing a new rule regulating mail ballots, hours after being unable to tell that judge whether the computer system that would govern the entire project was operational yet.

The administration filed its appeal the afternoon before mail ballots were scheduled to be sent out by North Carolina, which on Friday kicks off a wave of states shipping ballots out for the rapidly approaching midterm election. Its appeal was part of a flurry of last-minute litigation as the federal government struggles to implement President Donald Trump's restrictions on mail ballots before the midterm elections in November, and came even as legal wrangling over Trump’s executive order continued in lower courts.

The high court's conservative majority previously allowed the president’s plan to move ahead, but they have not decided whether it is legal.

Under Trump’s executive order, the U.S. Postal Service could refuse to deliver ballots from states that do not follow a uniform envelope style and submit lists of eligible voters to an online portal that was apparently still inactive Thursday.

During a hearing in Boston, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani repeatedly questioned Department of Justice attorney Michael Velchik about whether the Postal Service could actually implement Trump's plan from an executive order he issued last spring. The key piece is the online portal, which would track tens of millions of mail ballots. States would be required to upload their list of mail voters to the portal to have ballots delivered, and if the data there didn't match what was on the envelopes, the ballots would not be sent.

Lindsay Clancy trial ends without a verdict for a sixth day after drama in the courtroom

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — The deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial went home without a verdict Thursday in a dramatic sixth day of deliberations, after the jury’s foreperson sent the judge a note saying a single juror won’t follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt.

Details of the jury room conflict weren’t revealed by the judge and only briefly discussed in open court, but they raised the possibility that a single holdout was standing in the way of a verdict on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three children.

The jury will return Friday to see if it can reach a decision. Before sending the jury home, the judge refused the defense’s request to remove one of the jurors following heated discussions among the parties.

Clancy, a 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse, doesn’t deny strangling her children in the basement of their home in 2023 before trying to take her own life. Her attorney argues that postpartum psychosis led to her actions, while prosecutors say she knew what she was doing when she killed Cora, Dawson and Callan Clancy, ages 5, 3 and 8 months.

Clancy’s livestreamed trial has generated intense interest, with reporters and spectators packing the courtroom. The case has also sparked deep public divisions over her culpability and the issues around maternal mental health after childbirth.

Gloria Steinem, defining symbol of women’s movement and eloquent advocate for equality, dies at 92

NEW YORK (AP) — Gloria Steinem, the celebrated author and activist who became the most visible symbol of the U.S. women’s movement and remained a fierce and eloquent advocate for equality for six decades, has died. She was 92.

With her trademark streaked hair parted down the middle and large aviator glasses, Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. Magazine, was a hugely recognizable presence wherever she went. And she went everywhere: Much of her life as an advocate was spent on the road, speaking at college campuses and community centers, at rallies and marches.

“You can’t do it on the phone or on the web,” she told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. “You have to be there with all five senses. It should be obvious that people can’t empathize with each other unless we’re in the same room.”

Steinem, who had been in declining health, died Wednesday at her home in New York City, according to a post on her social media page. She had recently completed a memoir, to be released this fall.

“Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the post said. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves.”

Gloria Steinem in her own words on women's rights, abortion politics and being called the B-word

Author and feminist icon Gloria Steinem was famously quotable, balancing blunt talk with a wit that could be cutting and disarmingly self-effacing.

In interviews and emails with Associated Press reporters over the decades, Steinem insisted that sexism “is not inevitable,” declared “there is no democracy” without abortion rights and concluded that the correct way to respond when called the B-word was to say: “Thank you.”

It's no surprise that Steinem titled a 2019 compilation of some of her most famous quotes: “The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off!”

She also refused credit for things others said first. While the quip “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” has often been attributed to Steinem, she wrote to Time magazine in 2000 to point out that it originated with Australian writer and activist Irina Dunn.

Here are examples of Steinem, who died Wednesday at age 92, in her own words.

Missouri court blocks Trump-backed US House map and orders it to be put to a vote

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has unanimously blocked new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump from being used in the November election and ordered a statewide vote on whether to uphold or reject the new map.

The decision Thursday marks a rare setback for Republicans in a national redistricting battle. Republicans had hoped Missouri’s new congressional boundaries could help them win an additional seat and hold onto their slim House majority in the midterms.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, a Republican, said she would immediately appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that the decision “has thrust our state into a full‑fledged constitutional crisis.”

Missouri’s new districts were used in the August primaries. But the state Supreme Court said they cannot be used in the November general election — or ever again, unless voters first uphold the new districts passed by the Republican-led Legislature.

The court ruled that the new districts were effectively placed on hold in December, when opponents submitted over 300,000 petition signatures seeking to put the map to a vote of the people. Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins waited until primary election day in August to reject the petition. He asserted that the referendum process cannot be used for congressional redistricting. A lower court agreed, but the Supreme Court overturned Hoskins’ decision.

The gunman in a deadly Minneapolis shooting had left a long trail of warning signs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The man who carried out Wednesday's deadly shooting in a Minneapolis apartment building had threatened his neighbors, repeatedly showed off his pistol and warned he was planning to shoot people, according to building residents, court documents and law enforcement officials.

The building's owners were trying to evict him. At least one person had asked for a restraining order to be placed on him. The police investigated him in June for displaying a weapon, but the county attorney's office decided not to file any charges.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Carlton Johnson shot and killed two of his neighbors and left five more people — two police officers, an ex-girlfriend and two building employees — injured. He was killed, officials said, by police officers who raced into the building just 2 minutes and 26 seconds after the first call to the city's 911 system.

In Johnson's building, he was known for his drinking, his anger and the pistol he kept tucked into his waistband.

“As soon as I heard the shots I knew who it would be,” said Chris Miller, who lives in the building on the edge of downtown Minneapolis, in a dense neighborhood where luxury highrises bump up against low-income residences. Miller said Johnson, 35, had showed him his pistol a few days earlier, saying he planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend and two building managers because of the eviction threat. Miller reported the threat to building managers, though it's not clear what happened after that.

Trump administration pushes to remove tax exemption for private colleges with DEI policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would strip private schools and colleges of their tax-exempt status if they provide targeted help to students based on their race, a significant escalation in the White House's campaign to eradicate diversity programs directed at Black, Hispanic and other minority students.

The Treasury Department proposed the change Thursday in a new regulation that, if made final, would kick in after May 2027. The rule is broadly aimed at ending any policies or programs that help students because of their race, and it specifically says such benefits in admissions, scholarships and facilities “would be incompatible” with the rule.

It’s the latest attempt by the Trump administration to pressure schools and colleges to weed out diversity, equity and inclusion policies that had become common before President Donald Trump returned to the White House with a promise to end them. Trump officials have used Civil Rights-era laws to unwind the policies, saying they discriminate against white and Asian American students.

Higher education leaders criticized the proposal.

“The administration’s latest rules changes are its most blatant attack to keep working class Americans and people of color from accessing higher education and a better life,” Mike Gavin, Alliance for Higher Education president and CEO, said in a statement. “By claiming that efforts to increase fair opportunity for all students are discriminatory, the administration is trying to gaslight the American people into believing that up is down and black is white.”

Louisiana judge rules against NCAA, clearing path for ex-NFL players to join LSU roster

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s chances of fielding former NFL players improved Thursday night when a Louisiana judge issued a preliminary injunction against the NCAA in a high-profile eligibility case.

East Baton Rouge Parish Judge William Jorden issued his ruling the night before LSU was due to submit its 105-man roster to the Southeastern Conference, which last week announced heavy potential punishment for football and basketball teams that bring in ex-pros.

The ruling clears the way for LSU to list some former NFL players on its roster. How many games they might be eligible to play remains to be seen as the matter continues working its way through the courts.

“It’s not about coach Kiffin. It’s not about LSU. It’s about treating these kids fairly,” said Tony Clayton, an attorney for the athletes. “Today, justice was served. And justice was serve to the SEC. It was served like a cold cup of gumbo. And that judge forced him to eat it.”

Jorden said he considered sanctions against the SEC and the NCAA but ruled he was not ready to issue any at this time.

Maria Bartiromo out at Fox News after more than a decade; no reason specified

Fox News Media has parted ways with politically influential financial journalist Maria Bartiromo after more than a decade, the company announced Thursday hours after Fox Business Network aired the final episode of the show that bears her name. The company did not specify the reasons for her separation.

“We thank Maria for her work over the last 12½ years,” a Fox statement read, “and wish her all the best on her next chapter.”

There was no immediate reaction from Bartiromo. Her X account still showed a banner photo Thursday afternoon encouraging people to “grab yourself a cup of coffee, and join us every morning for Mornings With Maria.”

On his Truth Social platform late Thursday, President Donald Trump wrote: “I can’t believe Maria Bartiromo is no longer going to have her great show(s) on FoxNews/Business. Three different shows, always number one. Maria is a total professional, and a true warrior. Her fans, of which there are many, will not be happy. God bless you, Maria!”

Other high-profile, on-air personalities that have left Fox News Media in recent years include Tucker Carlson and Bill O’Reilly. Former Fox personality Pete Hegseth left the network in 2024 after being nominated as Trump's secretary of defense.