Menendez brothers resentenced after 35 years, allowing parole
Lyle and Erik Menendez, who have spent more than three decades behind bars for the grisly shotgun murders of their parents in the family's luxury Beverly Hills home, could soon walk free after a judge on Tuesday reduced their life sentences.
The ruling came after an emotional court hearing in Los Angeles during which the men took full responsibility for the 1989 double killing.
"I do believe they've done enough over the last 35 years that one day they should get that chance" to be freed, Judge Michael Jesic said.
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Japan Times
4 hours ago
- Japan Times
U.S. judge orders release of pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil
A U.S. judge ordered on Friday that Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil be released immediately from immigration custody, a major victory for rights groups that challenged what they called the Trump administration's unlawful targeting of a pro-Palestinian activist. Khalil, a prominent figure in pro-Palestinian protests against Israel's war on Gaza, was arrested by immigration agents in the lobby of his university residence in Manhattan on March 8. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has called the protests antisemitic and vowed to deport foreign students who took part. Khalil became the first target of this policy. After hearing oral arguments from lawyers for Khalil and for the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz of Newark, New Jersey, ordered DHS to release him from custody at a jail for immigrants in rural Louisiana by as soon as 6:30 p.m. Friday. Farbiarz said the government had made no attempt to rebut evidence provided by Khalil's lawyers that he was not a flight risk nor a danger to the public. "There is at least something to the underlying claim that there is an effort to use the immigration charge here to punish the petitioner (Khalil)," Farbiarz said as he ruled from the bench, adding that punishing someone over a civil immigration matter was unconstitutional. Khalil was the latest in a string of foreign pro-Palestinian students arrested in the U.S. starting in March who have subsequently been released by a judge. They include Mohsen Mahdawi and Rumeysya Ozturk. Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., says he is being punished for his political speech in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Khalil condemned antisemitism and racism in interviews with CNN and other news outlets last year. The Syrian-born activist plans to return to New York to be with his wife, Dr. Noor Abdalla, and their infant son who was born during Khalil's 104 days in detention. "This ruling does not begin to address the injustices the Trump administration has brought upon our family, and so many others," Abdalla said in a statement. "Today we are celebrating Mahmoud coming back to New York to be reunited with our little family and the community that has supported us since the day he was unjustly taken for speaking out for Palestinian freedom." The White House condemned the decision to release Khalil, saying he should be deported for "conduct detrimental to American foreign policy interests" and fraudulently obtaining a student visa. "There is no basis for a local federal judge in New Jersey — who lacks jurisdiction — to order Khalil's release from a detention facility in Louisiana," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. "We expect to be vindicated on appeal." Even though a federal judge ordered Khalil be freed, the immigration proceedings against him continue. The Louisiana immigration judge in his case on Friday denied his asylum request, ruled he could be deported based on the government's allegations of immigration fraud, and denied a bail hearing. Farbiarz's decision rendered the bail request moot. Like others facing deportation, Khalil has avenues to appeal within the immigration system. Farbiarz is also considering Khalil's challenge of his deportation on constitutional grounds, and has blocked officials from deporting Khalil while that challenge plays out. Earlier this month, Farbiarz ruled the government was violating Khalil's free speech rights by detaining him under a little-used law granting the U.S. secretary of state power to seek deportation of noncitizens whose presence in the country was deemed adverse to U.S. foreign policy interests. On June 13, the judge declined to order Khalil's release from a detention center in Jena, Louisiana, after Trump's administration said Khalil was being held on a separate charge that he withheld information from his application for lawful permanent residency. Khalil's lawyers deny that allegation and say people are rarely detained on such charges. On June 16, they urged Farbiarz to grant a separate request from their client to be released on bail or be transferred to immigration detention in New Jersey to be closer to his family in New York. At Friday's hearing, Farbiarz said it was "highly unusual" for the government to jail an immigrant accused of omissions in his application for U.S. permanent residency. Khalil, 30, became a U.S. permanent resident last year, and his wife and newborn son are U.S. citizens. Trump administration lawyers wrote in a Tuesday filing that Khalil's request for release should be addressed to the judge overseeing his immigration case, an administrative process over whether he can be deported, rather than to Farbiarz, who is considering whether Khalil's March 8 arrest and subsequent detention were constitutional.
Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Dodgers say team kept U.S. immigration agents from accessing Dodger Stadium
The Los Angeles Dodgers said Thursday that the club barred federal immigration agents from the Dodger Stadium parking lot as a fresh wave of raids continued across the United States' second-biggest city. The Dodgers, who have been criticized for their failure to publicly comment on the U.S. government's immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, said in a statement that the team denied access to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who "requested permission to access the parking lots." "They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization," the statement said, adding that the team's game later Thursday would go ahead as scheduled. Images and video shared on social media showed a line of unmarked trucks and masked agents at one Dodger Stadium entrance while protesters nearby chanted "ICE out of LA." The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later said the agents at the venue were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not ICE. "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers," DHS said in a statement. "CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement." The incident comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in Los Angeles, which has become ground zero of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across the United States. The city has seen scattered violence but mostly peaceful protests in recent weeks, ignited by an escalation in federal immigration sweeps that have targeted migrant workers in garment factories, car washes and other workplaces. Local media on Thursday reported further raids across the city targeting Home Depot (a home improvement retailer) locations, where day laborers often gather in parking lots seeking work. In addition to the mobilization of ICE agents, Trump has ordered the deployment of thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to the city in response to the protests — a move opposed by city leaders and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is a Democrat. The incident at Dodger Stadium on Thursday comes as the reigning World Series champions have faced criticism for their response to the immigration crackdown. The team has a heavily Latino fan base, with some claiming a sense of betrayal over the franchise's failure to speak out against the ongoing raids. As of early Thursday, the Dodgers have made no formal statement in regard to the immigration raids across the city. The team's failure to condemn the immigration offensive came under scrutiny last weekend, when Latin American pop singer Nezza defied Dodgers officials and sang the U.S. national anthem in Spanish before a home game. Speaking outside Dodger Stadium on Thursday after federal agents left the venue, one 27-year-old fan among a small group of protesters said she felt let down by the team. "They've been very quiet since these ICE raids started, and I think it's very hypocritical of them not to say anything when the majority of their fan base is the Latino population here in Los Angeles," said Paola, who asked only to be identified by her first name. "It 100% feels like betrayal. I was born and raised here, I've supported them my whole life — for them not to come out and support us during these times is messed up." Los Angeles Times sports columnist Dylan Hernandez has slammed the team's response to the immigration crackdown. "The Dodgers boast that more than 40 percent of their fan base is Latino, but they can't even be bothered to offer the shaken community any words of comfort," Hernandez wrote. "How ungrateful. How disrespectful. How cowardly." While the Dodgers have remained silent, the team's popular outfielder Enrique Hernandez lashed out against the raids in a statement on Instagram. "I am saddened and infuriated by what's happening in our country and our city," wrote Hernandez, who is from Puerto Rico. "This is my second home. And I cannot stand to see our community being violated, profiled, abused and ripped apart. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and human rights."
NHK
3 days ago
- NHK
Los Angeles lifts curfew for downtown district
The Los Angeles mayor has lifted a curfew that she imposed on part of the city's downtown area to rein in criminal activity that followed protests against raids on undocumented migrants. Karen Bass made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday. She said, "The curfew, coupled with ongoing crime prevention efforts, have been largely successful in protecting stores, restaurants, businesses and residential communities from bad actors who do not care about the immigrant community." Los Angeles police say they arrested more than 570 people during the curfew, which was put in place on June 10. The mayor introduced the measure in a bid to curb looting, vandalism and other criminal behavior that emerged in the wake of angry protests against raids on undocumented migrants by the Trump administration. Trump posted on social media on Sunday that officials "must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside." Members of the National Guard and Marines continue to be deployed in Los Angeles.
