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Daily Briefing: A Maryland senator in El Salvador

Nicole Fallert   Paste BN

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Check out Paste BN Studio IX, our exciting new hub for women's sports.

Here's the news to know on Thursday:

Maryland senator travels to El Salvador

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he wasn't able to access the infamous prison in El Salvador where Maryland father and sheet metal worker Kilmar Abrego Garcia is currently being held.

"I won’t stop trying": Van Hollen said he spoke with the vice president of El Salvador, Félix Ulloa, and asked for a meeting but was refused. He also said wasn't able to speak to Abrego Garcia by phone.

  • "If he ever ends up back inside the United States, he would immediately be deported again": The Trump administration on Wednesday defended the deportation of Abrego Garcia, despite admitting the man was wrongly removed from the country. 
  • The Trump administration also raised domestic violence allegations against Abrego Garcia. Paste BN spoke with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, about the alleged incident.
  • Meanwhile, Trump administration officials could face criminal contempt charges for violating a U.S. federal judge's order halting deportations of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang who had no chance to challenge their removals, a judge said on Wednesday.

RFK Jr. wants to find the 'cause' of autism. Here's what people in the autism community think.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier this month the government will know the cause of the "autism epidemic” by September, and will be able to "eliminate those exposures" that he says are behind the condition and increasing diagnoses. Kennedy’s statement was met with an overwhelming amount of contempt from much of the autism community, who express pride for their neurodivergence. But some parents of autistic children who disagree with Kennedy’s wording still want answers. 

More news to know now

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Anger erupts at Republican lawmakers' town halls

"Why is MTG supporting Musk and DOGE and the slashing of Medicaid, Social Security offices, libraries and more?"

~ One attendee identified as Sarah at a town hall held by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, on April 15. The contentious meeting involved three people getting arrested and two people being tased by police after threatening officers. It was one of multiple fired-up crowds Republican lawmakers are facing across the nation at public listening sessions.

Tariffs proves confusing — even for foreign countries

Amid a tense trade war with China, a White House statement that some Chinese goods face 245% tariffs generated confusion in Beijing. Was it another escalation? No. Trump's new tariffs on China still stand at 145%. But the White House quickly tried to clear things up, saying the 245% figure that they put into the April 15 document - outlining the context for a new executive order from President Donald Trump - represents all previous and new tariffs on some Chinese goods dating to the Biden and first Trump administrations. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. said in a statement "the U.S. has increasingly weaponized tariffs, to the point of losing rationality."

Today's talkers

The explosion that changed America

Thirty years after the Oklahoma City bombing, experts say its long-lasting impacts are complicated: From lessons learned about the power of a unified community to those less grasped about the grievances of growing right-wing extremism − all amid concerns the horrific event is slipping from memory. The incident on April 19, 1995, also ushered in a new era of homegrown violence that would gradually color American life. Paste BN spoke with survivors of the bombing, who say after that day, “kids have to live in fear for their lives."

Photo of the day: We can't wait to watch 'Tony & Ziva' 

Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are finally back as Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David in "NCIS: Tony & Ziva" ‒ and they're bringing their 12-year-old daughter Tali (Isla Gie) along for the adventure. Check out exclusive first-look photos of the eagerly awaited "NCIS" spinoff.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.

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