Author: Sky York Journal

Sky York Journal BALTIMORE—In surprise testimony in federal court Thursday, an immigration officer revealed that more than 100 asylum seekers were wrongfully deported in violation of a court-ordered settlement agreement in a long-running case that has gotten national attention. Before today, the number of wrongfully deported asylum seekers in the case was thought to be less than a dozen. But under persistent questioning from plaintiff’s counsel, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services asylum officer Kimberly Sicard testified that in the past three to four weeks it had come to her attention that more than 100 asylum seekers covered by the settlement…

Sky York Journal Since President Donald Trump started to wage war against Iran without authorization from Congress and seemingly without much logistical or financial planning, there have been reports that the White House may request that congressional lawmakers authorize emergency supplemental funding to bolster his unauthorized war. Early reporting on the possible supplemental request suggested that the White House may ask for up to $50 billion in new money. But, according to new reporting by the Washington Post, the Pentagon asked the Trump White House to approve a more than $200 billion request that it wants to send to Congress…

Sky York Journal ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Dr. Adam Ratner hovered over a gravely ill infant in a New York City intensive care unit on a grim day in 2022. The 3-month-old girl spiked a fever two days earlier and had become lethargic. Soon she was having seizures and struggling to breathe. She didn’t register Ratner’s towering frame or the bright hospital lights. Her eyes stared up and to the right, eerily frozen.  He ran his hand over the soft spot on her head,…

Sky York Journal This story was first published by Hechinger Report. It also appeared in Chalkbeat and South Dakota Searchlight. Susan Gilkerson, a math teacher and school bus driver, stood before a South Dakota education board and issued a warning.  The proposed math standards the board was considering — just 36 pages, less than half the length of standards adopted in 2018 — were so scant that teachers won’t know how to use them, Gilkerson said. The existing standards detail not just which math concepts should be taught but also the specific skills students need to demonstrate to show they understand them, said Gilkerson,…

Sky York Journal Markwayne Mullin has an incredible story. The Republican U.S. senator is an entrepreneur and former mixed martial arts fighter. That unique experience has been a core part of Mullin’s political brand and featured in multiple campaign ads, including one that showed off his punching bag workouts alongside footage of President Donald Trump declaring, “Markwayne Mullin, you don’t want to fight with him.” However, following his nomination by Trump to lead the Department of Homeland Security, some aspects of Mullin’s record have come under scrutiny. And TPM has found that Mullin has a pattern of making improbable claims…

Sky York Journal President Donald Trump rose to prominence in part because of voter perception of his business and economic acumen, and his populist appeals to a coalition of mostly white, working-class voters who’ve long felt locked out of economic mobility by Democratic policies perceived as elitist and out-of-touch. Nevermind that Trump was born to rich parents and is himself a billionaire. During the 2024 election, Trump and the GOP walloped the Biden administration for rising inflation and economic volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The president’s rhetorical approach to kitchen table issues like employment, wages, and energy prices helped…

Sky York Journal President Trump won a key victory on Friday in a case that tested his efforts to stage explicitly political terrorism prosecutions of activists who oppose him. A Texas jury found eight members of a supposed North Texas “Antifa cell” guilty of material support for terrorism over a July incident in which the group staged a demonstration outside an ICE detention facility. The group allegedly damaged property at the center and shot fireworks; one member, Ben Song, was convicted of attempted murder of a government official for allegedly shooting a police officer. The case was the first time…

Sky York Journal On Wednesday, fresh off his various hockey exploits, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel rolled out a unique partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  “I’m thrilled to announce this historic seminar between the FBI and the UFC at Quantico,” Patel said in a statement that was released by the mixed martial arts organization. “This is a tremendous opportunity for our FBI agents to learn and train with some of the greatest athletes on earth — helping the world’s premier law enforcement agency be even better prepared to protect the American people.” According to the statement, the…

Sky York Journal Trump’s war on Iran is illegal. Congress hasn’t authorized it; administration officials are still struggling, two weeks in, to define why they started it and what they’re hoping to achieve.  But there’s a way that the Trump administration could obtain a kind of approval from Congress — one that Presidents have used as a backdoor greenlight for war. And, reports say, it’s on its way to doing so. The administration is expected to ask Congress to pass an emergency supplemental funding bill. Depending on which report you consult, that could be up to $50 billion in new…

Sky York Journal “This is a case about swinging dicks,” began 9th Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke in his dissent.  The case in question centered on the policy of two Korean spas in Washington state that allowed only “biological women” to use their services — or more specifically, barred trans women who had not yet undergone surgery. Washington’s Human Rights Commission took enforcement action against the Spa for violating an anti-discrimination state law. The spas sued, arguing that the enforcement action had violated their First Amendment rights. A district court dismissed the complaint, and a 9th Circuit panel upheld that dismissal. In…