Appeals court orders ICE to return detained Turkish Tufts University student to Vermont

(AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a judge’s order to bring a Turkish Tufts University student from a Louisiana immigration detention center back to New England for hearings to determine whether her rights were violated and if she should be released. A judicial panel of the New York-based U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied a government request to delay the transfer of Rumeysa Ozturk. Lawyers presented arguments at a hearing Tuesday. Ozturk has been detained for six weeks. She was surrounded in Massachusetts on March 25 and briefly confined in Vermont before she was taken to Louisiana. The government argued the immigration court has jurisdiction over Ozturk’s request for release.

House Republicans push to sell thousands of acres of public lands in the West

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have added a provision to their sweeping tax cut package that would authorize the sale of thousands of acres of public lands in Nevada and Utah. The proposal prompted outrage from Democrats and environmental groups who called the plan a betrayal that could lead to increased drilling, mining and logging in the West. The plan would sell thousands of acres of public lands in the two states, and calls for some of the parcels to be considered for affordable housing projects. It’s now part of Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts that is moving through Congress.

Vance says Russia was ‘asking for too much’ in its initial Ukraine peace offer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance says Russia was “asking for too much” in its initial peace offer as the United States looks to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine. The vice president spoked Wednesday at a Washington meeting hosted by the Munich Security Conference, and didn’t elaborate on the Moscow’s terms. But Vance said he wasn’t pessimistic about the possibility of a peace deal. By contrast, President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war. Vance said the U.S. would like the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to sit down directly to negotiate a long-term settlement.

3 former officers acquitted in fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he fled a traffic stop

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis officers were acquitted Wednesday of state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols after he ran away from a traffic stop, a death that sparked nationwide protests and prompted renewed calls for police reforms in the U.S. A jury took about 8 1/2 hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in state court in Memphis. After the jury’s verdict was read, the defendants hugged their lawyers as relatives of the former officers cried. Martin Zummach, Smith’s attorney, told The Associated Press by text: “It’s easy to defend a good person. It’s nerve racking to represent an innocent man. “