Freed American’s family to miss Taylor Swift concert for the very best reason
CNN
Miriam Butorin was supposed to attend Taylor Swift’s concert on Friday for her 13th birthday. She is missing it, but for the very best reason.
Miriam Butorin was supposed to attend Taylor Swift’s concert on Friday for her 13th birthday. She is missing it, but for the very best reason. Miriam’s mother, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, was released Thursday from Russian detention in a historic prisoner swap. The release of the 47-year-old journalist for the US-backed Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty was part of a complex prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other Western nations involving 24 detainees in total, including fellow freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. Kurmasheva had been detained in October 2023 and found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian army – charges her family and employer deny. Kurmasheva’s family joined President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday, where he shared the news that she was on her way back to the United States. There, the president led the crowd in singing happy birthday to Miriam. Minutes before midnight, in an incredibly emotional scene, she was reunited with her mother on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Kurmasheva was the final freed American to emerge from the aircraft that touched down late Thursday. She hugged Biden and the president pressed his forehead to hers. Kurmasheva also greeted Vice President Kamala Harris before running to her daughters and husband.
The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries formally signed a long-sought landmark free trade agreement on Saturday, capping more than a quarter-century of torturous negotiations to strengthen commercial ties in the face of rising protectionism and trade tensions around the world.
Judge restricts federal response to Minnesota protests amid outrage over immigration agents’ tactics
Immigration agents carrying out a sweeping operation in Minnesota can’t deploy certain crowd-control measures against peaceful protesters or arrest them, a federal judge ruled Friday. The order follows widespread outrage over a fatal shooting, reports of US citizens getting detained and Minnesotans getting asked for documents for no clear reason.
Celebrities and laypeople are sharing fond memories from 2016, the era of face “baking” and #ImWithHer, when some of the biggest national dramas pitted Kim Kardashian against Taylor Swift.
The anti-abortion movement is testing new strategies to force a legal confrontation over so-called shield laws in Democratic-led states that protect abortion providers in those states from prosecution.
After pushback from both gun rights and gun control groups, the Trump administration has quietly abandoned its plan to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives into the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to people briefed on the matter.
The smell of wet grass from the recent atmospheric river rains, mud and gasoline wafts through the warm Southern California air as Alec Derpetrossian works the chainsaw with a foreman, Randy Magaña, who helps him guide where to put the blade. Derpetrossian is still learning how to adequately use the large tool.
Franz Rowland has heard President Donald Trump endlessly brag about a roaring economy, but he’s seen few signs of it from his cotton farm here in southern Georgia.
Emergency call logs and reports detailing last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration officer reveal a greater sense of the organizational chaos and heightened emotion surrounding her final moments.
The Justice Department is investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey over possible obstruction of federal law enforcement, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The US-based rescue team Grey Bull has released a short video showing how they helped Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado escape the country last month.
FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche visited Minneapolis on Friday, according to a post on Patel’s X account.
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old man accused of killing Charlie Kirk, is expected to appear in a Utah court Friday afternoon for what could be a consequential hearing in the case.
The Trump administration took a major step toward giving President Donald Trump’s sweeping new ballroom the green light with the appointment of four new officials to a key Washington, DC, board this week.