Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, considered one of the Court’s liberal voices, denied an emergency appeal from a Mexican family facing deportation, siding with the Trump administration.
The family, who fled cartel threats in Guerrero, Mexico in 2021, claimed they risk death if forced to return. Despite detailed evidence of cartel violence, immigration courts denied their asylum claim. Kagan declined to block their removal, choosing not to refer the case to the full Court.
Meanwhile, legal analyst Kerri Urbahn criticized Chief Judge James Boasberg’s handling of another deportation case, calling his actions “desperate” after the Supreme Court vacated his order. The case involved a deported MS-13 gang member whose return Boasberg demanded despite the Court ruling it belonged in Texas, not Washington, D.C.
NBC Asks Epstein Survivors for ‘Dirt’ on Trump — It Backfires Spectacularly
Six women who say they were trafficked by Jeffrey Epstein or his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell made a public appeal on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., demanding the federal government release more investigative files. They also urged former President Donald Trump to publicly rule out a pardon for Maxwell. The women appeared alongside family members of Virginia Giuffre, a prominent Epstein accuser who died by suicide in April, and criticized what they called a long-standing failure to deliver justice.
Jess Michaels, who alleges Epstein raped her in 1991, described him as a “master manipulator” and said his behavior followed a calculated strategy that left young women and teenage girls defenseless. Michaels cited a “severe miscarriage of justice” and delays in accountability as her motivation for speaking out. Her remarks echoed the sentiments of other survivors who say they were also groomed and abused.
Wendy Avis and Jena-Lisa Jones, both of whom say they were 14 when Epstein abused them, condemned the silence of adults who may have witnessed the abuse. Jones stated that many people around Epstein “very clearly knew what was going on” but have refused to speak up. Avis, speaking publicly for the first time, stressed that victims like her still haven’t received justice, calling for broader recognition of the everyday people affected.
All six women, including Marijke Chartouni, Lisa Phillips, and Liz Stein, expressed deep frustration with the Justice Department. Stein accused officials of failing to protect or inform survivors and backed bipartisan efforts in Congress to force transparency. Their statements came just before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee released over 33,000 pages of Epstein-related documents.
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie are leading a legislative push to investigate alleged mishandling of the federal probes into Epstein and Maxwell. Maxwell, currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, continues to deny wrongdoing. Phillips warned that if the system continues to fail them, survivors are prepared to take justice into their own hands: “We’ll compile our own list.”
Following the tragedy on Sunday, over 280 individuals were rescued, and evacuation operations were still in progress.
According to Vice Admiral Denih Hendrata, commander of the Indonesian Fleet Command, the KM Barcelona 5 caught fire in waters close to Talise while it was traveling from Talaud, an island district in the province, to Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.
According to the senior commander, 284 passengers and crew members have been evacuated thus far from three navy ships that have been sent.
Source: Unsplash
However, according to Nuriadin Gumeleng, public relations officer for the Manado SAR Office, one terrible victim was a pregnant woman who was sent to Manado from Talaud.
“Currently, only one person has been identified as having died, a pregnant woman. Her body is now on land,” Gumeleng told local news site Harian Jogja.
Local fisherman helped with the rescue effort, saving a few people who were wearing life jackets as they floated to neighboring islands in the rough seas.
The precise number of passengers and staff members on board the boat was unknown, and there were no early reports of injuries.
As plumes of grey smoke rise above the debris, striking video of the tragedy shows the entire ship completely consumed by blazing orange flames.
A recording of the wrecked boat shows several passengers sitting on the side of the ship in orange life vests, driven into the sea, and a woman sobbing uncontrollably.
After swimming away from the boat, the camera suddenly shows several hundred individuals already in the water.
A man recounting his story of the horrific events appears to be saving a toddler from the sea in another video.
As the father talks, he is seen recording the debris from a distance while holding the small infant in his arms while the child coughs.
In one chilling broadcast uploaded to Facebook a passenger named Abdul Rahmad Agu pleaded:
“We are burning at sea… we need help… fast…”
Emergency personnel are rushing to make sure that every passenger is safe as rescue efforts continue.
The three rescue vessels sent to the area were identified as the KM Barcelona III, KM Venecian, and KM Cantika Lestari 9F by a Manado KSOP officer.
According to local publication IDN Times, the boat was supposed to dock at Manado Port when the catastrophe occurred.
Official updates have been requested, and families of those on board have been asked to remain calm.
A tourist boat carrying 53 persons sank in Vietnam a few days prior, killing at least 38 people.
The Wonder Sea boat was hit by strong winds in Halong Bay. Rescue workers rescued 11 people and recovered 37 bodies, while five people are still missing, according to Vn Express.