George Floyd's murder, what's changed in five years?
On May 25th 2020, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The whole thing was caught on video and once it got out, it set America on fire. Protests spread across the country and then the world. Promises of sweeping changes to policing and greater commitment to racial justice and equity were made.
Fast forward to now, five years later, and the outlook is very different. There are more Americans killed at the hands of police, DEI initiatives have been rolled back and President Donald Trump is taking actions to give police more power.
We talk to Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison, about calls to pardon Derek Chauvin, the current state of policing and racial justice and where America could be headed.
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Toronto Star
24 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Trump once floated a plan to attract more foreign students. Now they feel targeted on all fronts
To attract the brightest minds to America, President Donald Trump proposed a novel idea while campaigning: If elected, he would grant green cards to all foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. 'It's so sad when we lose people from Harvard, MIT, from the greatest schools,' Trump said during a podcast interview last June. 'That is going to end on Day One.' That promise never came to pass. Trump's stance on welcoming foreign students has shifted dramatically. International students have found themselves at the center of an escalating campaign to kick them out or keep them from coming as his administration merges a crackdown on immigration with an effort to reshape higher education. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW An avalanche of policies from the Trump administration — such as terminating students' ability to study in the U.S., halting all new student visa interviews, moving to block foreign enrollment at Harvard — have triggered lawsuits, countersuits and confusion for international students who say they feel targeted on multiple fronts. In interviews, students from around the world described how it feels to be an international student today in America. Their accounts highlight pervasive feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity that have made them more cautious in their daily lives, distracted them from schoolwork and prompted many to cancel trips home because they fear not being allowed to return. For many, the last few months have forced them to rethink their dreams of building a life in America. A standout student from Latvia feels 'expendable' Markuss Saule, a freshman at Brigham Young University-Idaho, took a recent trip home to Latvia and spent the entire flight back to the U.S. in a state of panic. For hours, he scrubbed his phone, uninstalling all social media, deleting anything that touched on politics or could be construed as anti-Trump. 'That whole 10-hour flight, where I was debating, 'Will they let me in?' — it definitely killed me a little bit,' said Saule, a business analytics major. 'It was terrifying.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Saule is the type of international student the U.S. has coveted. As a high schooler in Latvia, he qualified for a competitive, merit-based exchange program funded by the U.S. State Department. He spent a year of high school in Minnesota, falling in love with America and a classmate who is now his fiancee. He just ended his freshman year in college with a 4.0 GPA. But the alarm he felt on that flight crushed what was left of his American dream. 'If you had asked me at the end of 2024 what my plans were, it was to get married, find a great job here in the U.S. and start a family,' said Saule, who hopes to work as a business data analyst. 'Those plans are not applicable anymore. Ask me now, and the plan to leave this place as soon as possible.' Saule and his fiancee plan to marry this summer, graduate a year early and move to Europe. This spring the Trump administration abruptly revoked permission to study in the U.S. for thousands of international students before reversing itself. A federal judge has blocked further status terminations, but for many, the damage is done. Saule has a constant fear he could be next. As a student in Minnesota just three years ago, he felt like a proud ambassador for his country. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Now I feel a sense of inferiority. I feel that I am expendable, that I am purely an appendage that is maybe getting cut off soon,' he said. Trump's policies carry a clear subtext. 'The policies, what they tell me is simple. It is one word: Leave.' From dreaming of working at NASA to 'doomscrolling' job listings in India A concern for attracting the world's top students was raised in the interview Trump gave last June on the podcast 'All-In.' Can you promise, Trump was asked, to give companies more ability 'to import the best and brightest' students? 'I do promise,' Trump answered. Green cards, he said, would be handed out with diplomas to any foreign student who gets a college or graduate degree. Trump said he knew stories of 'brilliant' graduates who wanted to stay in the U.S. to work but couldn't. 'They go back to India, they go back to China' and become multi-billionaires, employing thousands of people. 'That is going to end on Day One.' Had Trump followed through with that pledge, a 24-year-old Indian physics major named Avi would not be afraid of losing everything he has worked toward. After six years in Arizona, where Avi attended college and is now working as an engineer, the U.S. feels like a second home. He dreams of working at NASA or in a national lab and staying in America where he has several relatives. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW But now he is too afraid to fly to Chicago to see them, rattled by news of foreigners being harassed at immigration centers and airports. 'Do I risk seeing my family or risk deportation?' said Avi, who asked to be identified by his first name, fearing retribution. Avi is one of about 240,000 people on student visas in the U.S. on Optional Practical Training — a postgraduation period where students are authorized to work in fields related to their degrees for up to three years. A key Trump nominee has said he would like to see an end to postgraduate work authorization for international students. Avi's visa is valid until next year but he feels 'a massive amount of uncertainty.' He wonders if he can sign a lease on a new apartment. Even his daily commute feels different. 'I drive to work every morning, 10 miles an hour under speed limit to avoid getting pulled over,' said Avi, who hopes to stay in the U.S. but is casting a wider net. 'I spend a lot of time doomscrolling job listings in India and other places.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW A Ukrainian chose college in America over joining the fight at home — for now Vladyslav Plyaka came to the U.S. from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school. As war broke out at home, he stayed to attend the University of Wisconsin. He was planning to visit Poland to see his mother but if he leaves the U.S., he would need to reapply for a visa. He doesn't know when that will be possible now that visa appointments are suspended, and he doesn't feel safe leaving the country anyway. He feels grateful for the education, but without renewing his visa, he'll be stuck in the U.S. at least two more years while he finishes his degree. He sometimes wonders if he would be willing to risk leaving his education in the United States — something he worked for years to achieve — if something happened to his family. 'It's hard because every day I have to think about my family, if everything is going to be all right,' he said. It took him three tries to win a scholarship to study in the U.S. Having that cut short because of visa problems would undermine the sacrifice he made to be here. He sometimes feels guilty that he isn't at home fighting for his country, but he knows there's value in gaining an education in America. 'I decided to stay here just because of how good the college education is,' he said. 'If it was not good, I probably would be on the front lines.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ___ AP Education Writer Collin Binkley contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
CTV News
27 minutes ago
- CTV News
Victim count in Colorado firebombing attack climbs to 15, plus a dog
Bouquets of flowers are placed in a makeshift memorial for victims of an attack outside a courthouse in Boulder, Colo., on June 3, 2025. (David Zalubowski / AP Photo) BOULDER, Colo. — The number of victims in a Boulder firebombing attack on a group demonstrating for the release of Israeli hostages has climbed to 15, plus a dog, authorities said Wednesday. Boulder County officials who provided updates on the number of victims said in a press release they include eight women and seven men, ranging in age from 25 to 88. The Associated Press left an email message Wednesday with prosecutors seeking more details on the newly identified victims and the dog. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, had planned to kill all of the roughly 20 participants in Sunday's demonstration at the popular Pearl Street pedestrian mall, but he threw just two of his 18 Molotov cocktails while yelling 'Free Palestine,' police said. Soliman, an Egyptian man who federal authorities say has been living in the U.S. illegally, didn't carry out his full plan 'because he got scared and had never hurt anyone before,' police wrote in an affidavit. His wife and five children were taken into custody Tuesday by U.S. immigration officials, and the White House said they could be swiftly deported. It's rare that family members of a person accused of a crime are detained and threatened with deportation in this way. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Wednesday in response to the attack that federal authorities will begin to immediately crack down on people who overstay their visas. 'Anyone who thinks they can come to America and advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism — think again,' Noem said in a statement. 'You are not welcome here. We will find you, deport you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. Soliman told authorities that no one, including his family, knew about his plans for the attack, according to court documents that, at times, spelled his name as 'Mohammed.' According to an FBI affidavit, Soliman told police he was driven by a desire 'to kill all Zionist people' — a reference to the movement to establish and protect a Jewish state in Israel. Authorities said he expressed no remorse about the attack. A vigil was scheduled for Wednesday evening at the local Jewish community center to support those impacted by the attack. Defendant's immigration status Soliman was born in el-Motamedia, an Egyptian farming village in the Nile Delta province of Gharbia that's located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of Cairo, according to an Egyptian security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media. Before moving to Colorado Springs three years ago, he spent 17 years in Kuwait, according to court documents. He has been living in the U.S. illegally, having arrived in August 2022 on a tourist visa that expired in February 2023, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X. She said Soliman filed for asylum in September 2022 and was granted a work authorization in March 2023, but that it also expired. DHS did not respond to requests for additional information about the immigration status of his wife and children and the U.S. State Department said that visa records are confidential. The New York Times, citing McLaughlin, said his family's visas have since been revoked and they were arrested Tuesday by ICE. Hundreds of thousands of people overstay their visas each year in the United States, according to Homeland Security Department reports. The case against Soliman Soliman told authorities that he had been planning the attack for a year and was waiting for his daughter to graduate before carrying it out, the affidavit said. A newspaper in Colorado Springs that profiled one of Soliman's children in April noted the family's journey from Egypt to Kuwait and then to the U.S. It said after initially struggling in school, she landed academic honors and volunteered at a local hospital. Soliman currently faces federal hate crime charges and attempted murder charges at the state level, but authorities say additional charges could be brought. He's being held in a county jail on a $10 million bond and is scheduled to make an appearance in state court on Thursday. His attorney, Kathryn Herold, declined to comment after a state court hearing Monday. Witnesses and police have said Soliman threw two incendiary devices, catching himself on fire as he hurled the second. Authorities said they believe Soliman acted alone. Although they did not elaborate on the nature of his injuries, a booking photo showed him with a large bandage over one ear. The attack unfolded against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, which continues to inflame global tensions and has contributed to a spike in antisemitic violence in the United States. The attack happened at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot and barely a week after a man who also yelled 'Free Palestine' was charged with fatally shooting two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington. Six victims hospitalized The victims ranged in age from 25 to 88, and the nature of some of their injuries spanned from serious to minor, officials said. They were members of the volunteer group called Run For Their Lives who were holding their weekly demonstration. Three victims were still hospitalized Tuesday at the UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, spokesperson Kelli Christensen said. One of the 15 victims was a child when her family fled the Nazis during the Holocaust, said Ginger Delgado of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, who is acting as a spokesperson for the family of the woman, who doesn't want her name used. ___ Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker in Washington, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report. Colleen Slevin, Jesse Bedayn and Rebecca Santana, The Associated Press
Winnipeg Free Press
31 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Israel signed a record $14 billion in defense deals last year despite Gaza war criticism
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel signed defense contracts worth nearly $15 billion last year, surpassing its all-time record, the country's defense ministry said Wednesday, even as international outrage mounts over the war in Gaza. Over half the deals were with European countries. The contracts — a 13% increase from 2023, itself a record year — came as Israel faces growing international condemnation and isolation over the nearly 20-month war. Some of Israel's closest allies, including Canada and France, recently stepped up their censure of Israel's actions in Gaza, and the U.K. suspended free trade talks. Some critics of Israel's conduct in the Palestinian enclave have called for countries to suspend trade with it. Some countries have taken steps to suspend defense contracts with Israel. Spain on Tuesday said it had canceled a deal for anti-tank missile systems that were to be manufactured in Madrid by a subsidiary of an Israeli company. A breakdown of Israel's 2024 defense deals by region: — European countries: 54% — Asia-Pacific: 23% — Arab countries that have normalized ties with Israel under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords: 12% — North America: 9% — Latin America: 1% — Africa: 1% Nearly half the deals were for missiles, rockets and air defense systems, Israel's defense ministry said. Others included the sale of vehicles and armored personnel carriers, satellite and space systems and intelligence and cyber systems, among others. More than half of the agreements were worth over $100 million each. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the record amount was a 'direct result' of Israel's battlefield achievements throughout the wars that have roiled the Middle East since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. 'The world sees Israeli strength and seeks to be a partner in it,' Katz said in a statement. The war in Gaza has left much of the territory in ruins from Israel's punishing air campaign. The fighting has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. A nearly three-month blockade on aid into Gaza also strained ties with Israel's international allies. Israel began allowing limited aid into the territory last month.
