The Headlines - Democrats Get a Boost, and U.S. Admits Deportation 'Error'

Episode Date: April 2, 2025

Plus, Val Kilmer’s legacy.On Today’s Episode:‘Big Psychological Boost’ for Democrats in String of Elections, by Katie GlueckCory Booker Condemns Trump’s Policies in Longest Senate Speech on Record, by Tim Balk, Mike Ives and Matthew Mpoke BiggTrump Is Set to Unveil Expansive Global Tariffs, by Ana SwansonU.S. Says Deportation of Maryland Man Was an ‘Administrative Error,’ by Ali Watkins and Alan FeuerProsecutors to Seek Death Penalty for Mangione, Bondi Says, by Glenn Thrush and Hurubie MekoU.N. Accuses Israel of Killing 15 Rescue Workers in Gaza, by Vivian Yee and Farnaz FassihiVal Kilmer, Film Star Who Played Batman and Jim Morrison, Dies at 65, by Bruce WeberTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, April 2nd. Here's what we're covering. All right, Wisconsin, we did it. The results are in for the state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin that had become a kind of temperature check on how voters feel about the Trump administration so far. Today, Wisconsinites stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price.

Our courts are not for sale. The liberal candidate Susan Crawford won despite the $25 million that Elon Musk and groups tied to him poured into supporting the conservative candidate. Crawford was up roughly 10 points as of early this morning. For Democratic leaders, the hope is that the local results send a national message that voters are fired up to push back against the Trump administration and its efforts to drastically reshape the federal government. Also last night, the results came in for two special elections in Florida for House seats. Republicans took both as expected, but Democrats cut sharply into their margins. In a district

where the last GOP candidate won by 33 points, the new representative's margin was down to 14. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, I rise with the intention to stand here until I can stand no longer, until I'm physically unable to stand anymore. Senator Cory Booker spoke from the Senate floor for over 24 hours, condemning President Trump in what is now the longest Senate speech on record. He started at 7 p.m. Monday evening. Have we once held this president to account?

And he went on through the night and the next day, talking about cuts to health care and education and the crackdown on immigration. My voice is inadequate. My efforts today are inadequate to stop what they're trying to do. It was not a filibuster, the tactic where lawmakers hold the floor to try and block a specific piece of legislation, for example. But Booker said it was his chance to call on other Americans to stand up to the Trump administration. Booker's speech broke the previous record held by Strom Thurmond, who set it trying to block a civil rights bill in 1957.

Booker wrapped up at 8.05 p.m. last night quoting John Lewis, the congressman and icon of the civil rights movement. He said for us to go out and cause some good trouble. It's getting good trouble. I yield the floor. The White House dismissed Booker's speech calling it, quote, a spoof. Now three quick updates on the Trump administration. First, he's with his trade and tariff team right now, perfecting it to make sure this is a perfect deal for the American people and the American worker.

President Trump will unveil an expansive new set of tariffs today. It's unclear exactly what they'll include, but they're likely to hit America's biggest trading partners and be a significant escalation toward a broader trade war that could raise consumer prices and slow the economy. Trump has said they're necessary to re-energize American manufacturing and stop other countries from, quote, ripping off the U.S.

Also, the error that you are referring to was a clerical error. It was an administrative error. The Trump administration admitted this week that it made an administrative error when it deported a man who was living in the U.S. legally to a prison in El Salvador. While acknowledging the error, the White House claimed that the man was a convicted gang member, though he never went on trial or pleaded guilty.

The man's family is pushing to have him returned. But in a court filing, government lawyers say there's nothing they can do to get him back since he's no longer in US custody. And Trump's Attorney General, Pam Bondi, said her team will seek the death penalty against Luigi Manjone, the 26-year-old charged with murdering a United Health Care executive last year. The very public killing on a Manhattan sidewalk shocked the country, The very public killing on a Manhattan sidewalk shocked the country, but also spurred a swell of support for Manjone, who some saw as a vigilante fighting corporate greed. Bondi's decision is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to revive capital punishment.

President Biden had previously put a moratorium on the death penalty for most federal offenders. In Gaza, the United Nations says Israeli forces killed 15 rescue workers as they tried to help civilians. It's a rare accusation for the UN to make. The organization has generally been cautious about assigning clear blame. According to UN officials, last Sunday, an ambulance crew headed out before dawn to help with evacuations. They were hit on the way. Several more ambulances and a fire truck then went out to rescue them, but they went silent too. It's an absolute horror. What has happened here? This should never happen. We should

never get to our illegal… absolute horror of what has happened here. This should never happen. The top UN humanitarian official in Gaza, Jonathan Whittle, said it took five days for him and a team to safely reach the site to see what happened. He said they found the ambulances, firetruck, and a UN vehicle crushed and partially buried, and they found most of the first responders in their uniforms in a mass grave. An Israeli military spokesman claimed that nine of those killed were Palestinian militants and that several vehicles were, quote, advancing suspiciously toward Israeli troops, prompting them to shoot. He did not directly say whether the militants were in the emergency vehicles or address

the full number of those killed. This morning, Israel announced it will be expanding its military offensive inside Gaza and seizing large portions of the territory after breaking the ceasefire with Hamas last month. And finally, the actor Val Kilmer has died at 65. The cause was pneumonia, according to his daughter. Kilmer rose to fame in the 1980s. ["Tryin' to Run, Tryin' to Hide"]

["Break All Truth to the Other Side"] He played everything from the brooding rock star Jim Morrison to Batman. -"Darkness is as clear as daylight." In an adaptation that was not widely appreciated. While he played plenty of leading men, his career arced toward him being a supporting player, stealing scenes as the bad boy or the bad guy, depending.

— You figured it out yet? — What's that? — Who's the best pilot? — In one of his most famous roles in Top Gun, Kilmer was the cool and cocky rival to Tom Cruise. Kilmer played that role again in 2022 in Top Gun Maverick, even though a battle with throat cancer had turned his voice thin and raspy.

The Navy needs Maverick. The Top Gun sequel was Kilmer's final performance. Thank you, Weiss. For everything. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a Times investigation into the dance group Shen Yun, whose performances have been promoted on billboards across the country. A look at the group's ties to a Chinese religious movement and its exploitation of young performers. That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.