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Duke is seeking a national title. Top recruits Cameron and Cayden Boozer want a prep crown as well

MIAMI (AP) — Cameron and Cayden Boozer have one goal this week. They want to win the biggest trophy that has eluded them throughout their careers at Miami powerhouse Christopher Columbus High.

“Got to win nationals,” Cameron said.

This time next year, one might think he’ll be saying exactly the same thing at the college level.

The Duke-bound twin sons of longtime NBA forward Carlos Boozer have a national championship in mind this week — the high school version — while the school at which they’ll be enrolling in a couple months is favored to win the NCAA title at the Final Four that starts Saturday.

The Boozer twins are essentially a reminder that whether presumed No. 1 draft pick Cooper Flagg leaves Duke for the NBA as many expect or not, the Blue Devils will be loaded again next season with the consensus top high school recruiting class in the country and likely right back in the national-title picture.

Duke is winning this year while playing a ton of freshmen. It’ll likely have to follow the same formula next year.

“Age is just a number,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “And obviously it’s different to have three freshmen starting. (In the regional final) we played five freshmen on a team that’s going to a Final Four. I think for our program, we’ve always thought about doing things differently.”

That recruiting class is led by Cameron Boozer, the now two-time Gatorade national player of the year. He won it two years ago as a sophomore. The winner last year — that would be Flagg, a top contender for college player of the year this year. And now that Flagg is in college, the best-high-school-player trophy is Boozer’s once again.

“His game is already elite,” said Miami Heat forward Kevin Love, himself a former Gatorade player of the year who surprised Cameron Boozer with the trophy in a ceremony at Columbus High last week.

Cameron Boozer, a 6-foot-10 power forward, is averaging 22.6 points, 12 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks through 30 games this season — during which he and his brother, a 6-foot-4 point guard, led Columbus to a 27-3 record and fourth consecutive Florida state title.

“He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever met,” Cayden Boozer said of his twin brother. “I’m a little bit more shy when you when you first meet me, but I open my shell once I get to know people. And he’s one of the funniest guys I know. Very goofy.”

The Boozer twins were recruited by basically everybody at the Division I level, but Duke — where Carlos Boozer played for three seasons under coach Mike Krzyzewski — wasn’t a lock to get them. Miami pushed hard for the twins, and some experts actually expected them to sign with the Hurricanes before the Blue Devils wound up winning the commitment in October.

It should be noted that the twins weren’t a recruiting package deal. Things just worked out that way.

“We never really discussed even if we wanted to (go to school together) until basically the end,” Cayden Boozer said. “We were just going through it by ourselves, seeing what school was the best fit for both of us as individuals. Then when it came down to the wire, we were like, ‘Do we want to do this together? Yeah, I think we should.’ So, obviously, we’re able to go to the same school together, which is an amazing feeling.”

The national high school tournament, now called the Chipotle Nationals, brings together 10 boys teams and four girls teams. It starts Wednesday and runs through the two championship games on Saturday in Fishers, Indiana, near Indianapolis.

There’s no shortage of well-known programs in the tournament. Montverde Academy and IMG Academy from Florida have both their boys and girls teams in the fields. The boys field also includes Link Academy of Missouri, Long Island Lutheran of New York, Brewster Academy of New Hampshire, CIA Bella Vista of Arizona, Prolific Prep of California, Wasatch Academy of Utah and Dynamic Prep of Texas. The girls field, along with the two Florida schools, includes Westtown School of Pennsylvania and Faith Family Academy of Texas.

Some of the names are instantly recognizable: Carmelo Anthony’s Syracuse-bound son Kiyan Anthony plays for Long Island Lutheran, Dynamic Prep is coached (and the school was founded) by former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal, and Heat assistant coach Malik Allen has his sons Dante and Kayden at Montverde.

But plenty of eyeballs will be on the Boozer twins, and rightly so. That’s been the case for years and they handle it with ease.

“I still haven’t reached any of my dreams,” Cayden Boozer said. “We’ve been able to win at the high school level, but I still haven’t gone to college. And only the 1% are able to make it to the NBA. So, I’m just pushing myself to chase my dreams because this is just the beginning of what I really want to do. Having that in mind allows me to be able to push myself.”

They both have pushed plenty. They didn’t become blue-chip recruits because of the family name. They earned the trip to where they’re at.

“The thing about expectation is other people’s expectations don’t really matter,” Cameron Boozer said. “You kind of have to focus on the game and be present in every game. If you always are focusing on the outside noise and who’s saying this, who’s saying that and who expects this and that, you’re never going to have good games. Just go out there and think about basketball.”

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Houston defense thrives on bringing out the ugly during latest March Madness run

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Houston Cougars like mixing it up.

They enjoy seeing opponents colliding, sprawled across the floor. They thrive on rebounding and have used the relentlessly hard-nosed defense that has become their trademark during coach Kelvin Sampson’s 11-year career to take them places once considered unthinkable.

It’s why they’re now considered one of the country’s most successful, consistent teams annually — and why they’re one of four teams still playing Saturday in March Madness.

“That’s what we do,” Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player Emanuel Sharp said after Sunday’s 69-50 win over Tennessee. “We’re a great defensive team and that’s how we like to set the tone of the game, on the defensive end. I think when we come out with the right intensity, we’re a hard team to beat.”

The Cougars (34-4) certainly haven’t lost much this season.

Their 17-game winning streak is the longest in Division I, they swept the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament titles and now they’ve reached the Final Four for the first time since losing to 2021 national champion Baylor in a March Madness that will always be remembered as the tournament played in the Indiana COVID-19 bubble.

That loss came in a national semifinal, where the Cougars are 2-4 all-time. They’ll face five-time national champion Duke in San Antonio, a 3 1/2-hour drive from their campus, as they try to reach their first title game since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 1983 and 1984.

“We didn’t get good the last 36 hours,” Sampson said when asked about Houston’s quick turnaround between the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. “We just went through the Big 12 Tournament, played three games there. The thing I like about this team, I don’t think they overreact to anything, good or bad. Kind of keep an even keel.”

Perhaps that explains why the Cougars didn’t even flinch after the 62-60 late-night, last-second win over Purdue in the Sweet 16 and facing the Vols in the Elite Eight.

How stingy have the Cougars been?

After allowing a Division I low 58.3 points during the regular season, Houston has allowed just 56.5 points in four NCAA Tournament games while allowing just one team, Gonzaga, to top 60 points. They also allowed the lowest scoring totals last weekend — twice.

Tennessee missed its first 14 3-pointers, shot a dismal 28.8% from the field and despite playing well defensively against Kentucky simply couldn’t match the Cougars toughness.

“They do what they do,” deflated Vols coach Rick Barnes said in his opening statement after the loss. “That’s why they’re where they are, that’s the standard of their program.”

Yet in a college basketball era where faster, higher-scoring games seem to be all the rage, this Final Four seems to be all about the defense.

Duke swarmed Alabama’s 3-point shooters, holding the Crimson Tide nearly 40 points below their previous game’s scoring total to win the East Region title. Florida’s defense spurred a late run to get past Texas Tech in the West Region and South Region champ Auburn is allowing just 65 points per game in the tourney.

But nobody has done it better than Houston, and that’s by design.

Sharp, who is 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, and LJ Cryer, at 6-1, 200, may not look like the most imposing backcourt but they revel in getting physical. Plus, Cryer comes with a championship pedigree, part of Baylor’s title team.

Houston forwards Ja’Vier Francis, J’Wan Roberts and Joseph Tugler stand 6-8, not nearly as big as some of the other frontline beasts in San Antonio, but they are experienced, tough and muscle bound.

The inside-out defensive combination has made Houston almost unbeatable. Since starting the season at 3-4, they’ve gone 30-1 and broken the school’s single-season victory record.

“We’re able to do some things that may be outside the box, whether it’s spending extra time on baseline out of bounds plays, we spend a lot of time on that, offensively and defensively,” Sampson said. “We take pride on not being scored on in baseline out of bounds. If you watch (Tennessee) when they beat Auburn or beat Alabama, they played a certain way. But we play the way we play and our kids are very confident in our approach and our defense.”

And now Sampson will find out if that defense is good enough to carry him to his first championship game in three Final Four trips — or bring Houston its elusive first title.

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Val Kilmer, star of ‘Top Gun,’ ‘Batman Forever,’ ‘The Doors,’ dead at 65

Val Kilmer, the star of '80s and '90s blockbusters including Top Gun, Batman Forever and Tombstone, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 65.

The actor’s daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, confirmed the death, saying he died Tuesday in Los Angeles of pneumonia, the AP reported. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, but recovered after two tracheotomies.

Kilmer, born in LA, was a graduate of the Juilliard School's drama division. He began his career as a theater actor in off-Broadway plays before finding Hollywood fame in the early 1980s with roles in the spy spoof Top Secret! and the cult comedy Real Genius.

Kilmer became a major star when he landed the role of Tom "Iceman" Kazansky in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise. The film made $344 million at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of the decade.

He followed the success of Top Gun with a string of well-received roles throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s: as dashing swordsman Madmartigan in Ron Howard's fantasy film Willow; as rock icon Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors; and as gunslinger Doc Holliday in the western drama Tombstone, alongside Kurt Russell.

In 1995, Kilmer stepped into the role of the Caped Crusader, replacing Michael Keaton in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever. While the film was a massive box-office success, Kilmer opted not to reprise the role for the next installment.

In Val, the 2021 documentary about his life, Kilmer said he found the Batsuit limiting, saying, "Whatever boyhood excitement I had was crushed by the reality of the Batsuit ... Yes, every boy wants to be Batman. They actually want to be him ... not necessarily play him in a movie."

Kilmer returned as "Iceman" in the 2022 sequel to Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick -- it was his final film role.

UConn’s Bueckers, UCLA’s Betts and Booker of Texas among women’s John R. Wooden Award finalists

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paige Bueckers of UConn is one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award that goes to the nation’s outstanding women’s college basketball player.

The other finalists are Lauren Betts of UCLA, Madison Booker of Texas, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and JuJu Watkins of Southern California.

Bueckers, Betts and Booker will lead their teams at the Final Four in Tampa, Florida, this weekend.

Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the Trojans’ second-round NCAA Tournament win over Mississippi State.

“Thank you all for the incredible love and support. Seeing all your messages and kind words has meant the world to me. y’all have given me so much hope,” Watkins posted on Instagram after the Trojans lost to Bueckers and UConn in the Elite Eight on Monday.

“Right now, my heart is with my teammates — I wish I could have been out there battling, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fight we’ve fought together.”

The Wooden Award winner will be honored April 11 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Voting was done by sportswriters and sportscasters nationwide.

Also named Tuesday to the Wooden All-America team were: Georgia Amoore of Kentucky, Ta’Niya Latson of Florida State, Oliva Miles of Notre Dame, Aneesah Morrow of LSU and Hailey Van Lith of TCU.

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Israeli operation in Gaza expanding to seize ‘large areas,’ defense minister says

(LONDON) -- Israel's renewed military operation in the Gaza Strip "is expanding to crush and cleanse the area of ??terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and seize large areas that will be annexed to the security zones of the state of Israel," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Wednesday.

The minister said that a "large-scale evacuation of the Gazan population from the fighting areas" is accompanying the expanded military campaign in the strip.

"I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to eliminate Hamas and return all the kidnapped," Katz added. "This is the only way to end the war."

Israel renewed its assault on neighboring Gaza in March after a pause of nearly two months, during which time 33 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas in exchange for some 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, according to The Associated Press.

Israel is demanding the immediate release of all remaining hostages -- consisting of 59 people, 24 of whom are still believed to be alive -- who were abducted to Gaza during the Hamas-led surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he ordered renewed strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to free half of the remaining hostages as a precondition for extending the ceasefire, the first phase of which expired on March 1. The bombardment resumed with "full force," the prime minister said on March 18, adding that further negotiations "will continue only under fire."

Israel's renewed operations in Gaza sparked condemnation from regional powers including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the resumption was "fully coordinated with Washington."

Israeli leaders have consistently expressed their intention to fully destroy Hamas and remove the Palestinian militant group from power in Gaza. Israel intends to retain security control over the territory as part of any post-war settlement, Netanyahu, Katz and other top officials have said.

Katz last month also announced the creation of a new directorate within the Israeli Ministry of Defense to facilitate the "voluntary emigration" out of strip. The directorate's work aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's suggestion that Palestinians be resettled outside of Gaza, Katz said in February.

Palestinian, United Nations and human rights organizations have suggested that the U.S.-Israeli resettlement policy is akin to "ethnic cleansing." Israel has denied such allegations.

Gaza has been devastated by the war that was sparked by the Oct. 7 terror attack, in which some 1,200 people were killed in Israel, according to the Israeli government.

Israel's subsequent operations in Gaza have killed more than 50,300 people and injured more than 114,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health. More than 1,000 people have been killed since the resumption of Israeli strikes on March 18, the ministry said.

ABC News' Morgan Winsor contributed to this report

Meet 5 of the alleged gang members the Trump administration sent to an El Salvadoran mega-prison

Maiker Escalona was a barber in Venezuela. (Raida)

(NEW YORK) -- Over the last month, the Trump administration has sent over 200 alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador to be detained in a notorious mega-prison with a track record of human rights abuses.

An official with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged that "many" of the men lack criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose" and "demonstrates that they are terrorists with regard to whom we lack a complete profile."

The families of some of the men -- who learned about their whereabouts by seeing them in promotional videos shared by the El Salvadoran and United States governments -- have denied any gang affiliation in court filings and shared their stories with ABC News. They said that they fear for the safety of their loved ones and do not know if they will ever return.

Maiker Espinoza Escalona - Deported to El Salvador under Title 8 on March 30

Escalona was detained by U.S. authorities last year when he tried to enter the United States to seek asylum with his partner Yorely Bernal Inciarte and their one-year old baby.

The family was immediately separated, with Escalona sent to a detention center in El Paso, Texas.

On Sunday, Escalona was deported to El Salvador under Title 8, with authorities alleging he was a member of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua -- an accusation his family denies.

"They are liars," said Raida, Inciarte's mother, of the Trump administration. "I cannot believe that half of Venezuela is Tren de Aragua. That can't be."

According to Escalona's sister, he entered the United States to pursue a career as a barber and does not have a criminal record in Venezuela. She suspects he and his wife were detained based on their tattoos.

"He finished high school, he took courses in barbering and set up his barbershop in Venezuela. But things got a bit tough in Venezuela, so he emigrated to have a better life," she said.

Jose Franco Caraballo Tiapa - Deported to El Salvador on March 15

Tiapa, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the U.S., was detained by immigration officials during a routine ICE check-in last month.

His wife Ivannoa Sanchez told ABC News she believes her husband is one of the hundreds of Venezuelan men who earlier this month was sent by plane to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.

According to Sanchez, the couple crossed the U.S. border in November 2023 and surrendered to authorities. After claiming asylum and being detained for a few days, ICE released them and ordered them to check in routinely with the federal agency.

Sanchez said the couple had gone to several of their scheduled check-ins without experiencing any issues. But on Feb. 3, Tiapa was not allowed to return home with his wife despite being scheduled to have his first court appearance in his asylum case in March.

Sanchez provided ABC News with documents that confirmed Tiapa's scheduled appointment with an immigration judge on March 19. She also provided ABC News with documents that show Tiapa does not have a criminal record in Venezuela.

"He went to his routine ICE appointment and he didn't come out," Sanchez told ABC News.

Sanchez said that after being detained in Dallas, her husband was transferred to a detention center in Laredo, Texas, where she was able to speak with him regularly. In mid-March, she said her husband told her that he believed he was going to be transferred and possibly deported, and she now believes he is detained in El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison.

"He has never done anything, not even a fine, absolutely nothing," Sanchez said of her husband. "We chose this country because it offers more security, more freedom, more peace of mind. But we didn't know it would turn into chaos."

Francisco Garcia Casique - Deported to El Salvador on March 15

Garcia Casique was detained by immigration authorities last month after going to an ICE office for a routine appointment, his brother told ABC News.

Garcia Casique originally entered the United States in December 2023 and surrendered to authorities, according to his brother Sebastian. After appearing before an immigration judge, Garcia Casique was released with an ankle monitor. A review of federal court records found no criminal court cases associated with Garcia Casique.

According to his brother, Garcia Casique was a professional barber who aspired to start a career in the United States.

"[He] was hoping for a better future to help us, help all the family members, and look at the situation now," his brother said.

Earlier this month, Garcia Casique called his family from the detention center in Texas where he was being held to let them know that he believed he was being deported to Venezuela. A few days later, his family recognized his brother in a photo posted on social media by the White House.

"It's a nightmare," his brother told ABC News.

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia - Deported to El Salvador on March 15 due to 'administrative error'

Abrego Garcia -- a Salvadoran national who has two U.S. family members and protected legal status -- was sent to El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison due to an "administrative error," according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

Abrego Garcia entered the United States in 2011 when he was 16 to escape gang violence in El Salvador, according to his lawyers. He received a form of protected legal status in 2019, married a U.S. citizen, and has a 5-year-old child.

Earlier this month, he was detained by ICE officials who informed him that his immigration status had changed, sending him to a detention center in Texas before being removing him to El Salvador on Mar. 15.

While the Trump administration has argued that Abrego Garcia is a MS-13 member who is a "danger to the community," his attorneys said that he "is not a member of" and "has no affiliation with Tren de Aragua, MS-13, or any other criminal or street gang," and that the U.S. government "has never produced an iota of evidence to support this unfounded accusation."

Jerce Reyes Barrios - Deported to El Salvador on March 15

Reyes Barrios was a professional soccer player in Venezuela who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border legally in 2024 after being detained and tortured by the Maduro regime, according to his attorney Linette Tobin.

He was immediately detained after authorities accused him of being a member of TdA based on what they said was a gang-affiliated tattoo, and they claimed a photo showed him throwing up gang signs. However, the tattoo in question was an homage to the Real Madrid soccer team logo adorned with a rosary and the word "Dios" meaning God, according to the artist who did the piece.

Barrios did not have a criminal record in Venezuela, according to government records reviewed by ABC News, and he worked as a professional soccer player and children's soccer coach.

"He collaborates with the schools to teach children his techniques. A lot of children admire him because he's a goalie," his family member Ayari del Carmen Pedroza Guerrero said in an interview with ABC News.

Border czar Tom Homan defended Barrios' removal when pressed about the lack of evidence regarding his alleged gang affiliation by ABC's Jonathan Karl.

"We got to count on the men and women who do this every day for a living, who designated these people as a members of TdA, through, like I said, various law enforcement methods," Homan said. "This will be litigated."

Democrat Kamlager-Dove takes aim at DOGE ahead of potential State Department cuts

(WASHINGTON) -- As Democrats continue to express frustrations over Elon Musk's outsized role in reshaping the federal bureaucracy, a new effort on Capitol Hill takes aim at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while proposing guardrails to reassert congressional oversight authority over the executive branch.

California Democratic Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove is proposing the Defending American Diplomacy Act, which would prohibit the executive branch from reorganizing the State Department without Congressional consultation and approval.

"They are gutting foreign assistance, and I'm not going to be complicit in that," Kamlager-Dove, who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, told ABC News in an exclusive interview ahead of the bill's release Wednesday. "It is unfortunate that they are crushing USAID -- What that means is American farmers are not going to have contracts that they would normally have to produce crops to sell them to other countries. By crushing foreign assistance, it also means that people in other spaces are going to get sick."

The measure, which has more than 20 Democratic original cosponsors, requires any major reorganization of the State Department to be passed into law by an act of Congress and calls for the secretary of state to submit a detailed plan to Congress about the administration's intended reorganization and an assessment of any impacts to the U.S. diplomatic toolbox.

"We have three pillars: defense, development and diplomacy," Kamlager-Dove said. "All of those things are very important when you are trying to stop us from going into war. And if we are going to get rid of those tools in our toolbox because of some dodgy thing called DOGE that is using taxpayer dollars to actually hurt taxpayers, I feel like I have a responsibility to step up and say no."

The bill has consequences for noncompliance built into the legislative text, directing Congress to cut funding for DOGE and even prohibit travel for President Donald Trump's political appointees, including every member of his cabinet, if the administration initiates a reorganization that circumvents Congress.

"DOGE has been operating in the shadows," Kamlager-Dove said. "So part of the noncompliance elements of the bill is about bringing in a little sunlight so that we have a sense about what is actually going on."

While the administration has signaled that some eliminated jobs could be potentially absorbed by other federal agencies, the bill also prohibits that from happening without Congressional say-so.

Kamlager-Dove explained that her gripe with DOGE "is not about efficiencies."

"It is about unlawfully accessing our systems and our codes and stealing taxpayer dollars and doing things in the shadows," the representative said.

"The American people deserve to know what is happening, and if what DOGE is doing is so great, then I would think they would be more than willing to come to Congress and share with us and the American people all that they are doing," she added. "But the reality is they are not willing to share that information."

With narrow Republican majorities in both chambers and a Trump White House -- there is virtually no chance the bill becomes law in this session of Congress. But at a minimum, it gives Democrats who are powerless on the legislative front another messaging tool to campaign alongside their hopes to seize congressional majorities.

Still, Kamlager-Dove argues the measure is more than a messaging bill.

"There is a lot of dysfunction with this Republican Congress right now, and the reason why we probably won't have this come up for a vote is because Republicans are too afraid of the bill. If it does come up for a vote, then they would have to put their cards on the table," Kamlager-Dove said. "They would have to say, I recognize that Congress is being complicit in self-neutering itself and yielding all of its power to Donald Trump."

Despite the long odds, Kamlager-Dove maintains optimism that her bill won't be lost among thousands of other bills as Democrats toil in the minority.

"My hope is that having this bill, having other bills like this, talking about these issues in committee, will rattle their brains and clear out the hypnotic fog that they're in," she said. "If you continue to beat the drum, you do make headway, and that's what this bill is about: Beating the drum."

Elizabeth Warren launches campaign to investigate Department of Education closure: ‘I will fight it with everything I’ve got’

(WASHINGTON) -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is launching a "Save Our Schools" campaign on Wednesday against President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon's attempt to dismantle the Department of Education.

"The federal government has invested in our public schools," Warren said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. "Taking that away from our kids so that a handful of billionaires can be even richer is just plain ugly, and I will fight it with everything I've got."

Warren suggested she is working with students, teachers, parents and unions to "sound the alarm" nationwide.

"My starting point with this campaign is that I know the power of telling stories and the power it brings to organize people into the fight. We need numbers to win, and this is how we start," Warren said.

In a short video obtained by ABC News that Warren is posting to her roughly 20 million social media followers Wednesday morning, Warren says she is launching an investigation into reported plans to replace Department of Education call centers with chatbots. ABC News has not independently confirmed these reports.

Warren said that through a combination of federal investigations, oversight, storytelling and even lawsuits, she will work with the community, including lawmakers in Congress, to do everything she can to defend public education. Warren did not provide further details on how she plans to challenge the administration through federal oversight and lawsuits.

A former special education teacher, Warren said she opposes the Trump administration's agency overhaul because she said it may result in fired teachers and increased class sizes, adding that programs for students with special needs will "disappear." However, the Trump administration has vowed to keep statutory funding, such as the programs for students with special needs.

Trump said those services for students with disabilities, such as those protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, will be rehomed in other departments, including the Department of Health and Human Services, which is undergoing massive layoffs itself.

"They think that the American people are stupid [and] will be fooled by slapping a different title on the door and that somehow our kids will get the help that they're entitled to," Warren told ABC News.

"No one is fooled and certainly not the kids who need that help," she added.

The Trump administration has said it is returning education to the states in dismantling the federal department and that students will be better served by their state departments.

The campaign is also personal for Warren. In the video obtained by ABC News, Warren said she has seen with her own eyes what the Department of Education does for special needs families and that she is doing everything she can to "fight back."

Warren said she was inspired by her second grade teacher to join the education ranks.

"Whenever someone asked about my future, I would stand a little taller and say: 'I'm going to be a teacher,'" Warren recalled. "It guided my entire life."

Last month, Trump signed an executive order that aims to gut the Department of Education. It directs McMahon to close the department using all necessary steps permitted under the law. Still, eliminating the department would require an act from Congress because it was created by Congress.

The campaign comes in the wake of the department cutting nearly half its workforce last month. Hundreds of employees in the Federal Student Aid Office were let go, which Warren said could have "dire consequences" on the tens of millions of student loan borrowers who rely on the department's $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio to achieve higher education. Trump has said student loans will now be handled by the Small Business Administration.

"The Department of Education (ED) appears to be abandoning the millions of parents, students, and borrowers who rely on a functioning federal student aid system to lower education costs," Warren and a group of Democratic senators wrote in a letter urging McMahon to reinstate the fired federal employees.

The FSA's operations have already been affected, according to a source familiar. The federal student loan website was down briefly less than 24 hours after the agency cuts. Fired IT employees were called frantically to join an hourslong troubleshooting call to restore the website for millions of borrowers, according to the source.

As part of Warren's campaign launch, the senator said she will also highlight the real-world impact on educators, students and families through a series of story collections. She said she is encouraging community members to share submissions on how public education has influenced their lives and what it means to them. Warren told ABC News she did a similar campaign with federal employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earlier this year.

However, Warren's investigations and federal oversight could be hampered by Democrats' position in Washington.

"Democrats are in the minority in the House and the Senate, and obviously we don't have the White House, but not having as much power as we want does not mean having no power," Warren told ABC News. "We've still got a lot we can do, and this combination of investigations, oversight, storytelling and lawsuits is that we can combine more power and push back hard, and it's already yielded some results."

Meanwhile, the administration's quest to abolish the department has already triggered a legal battle by a coalition of states and education and civil rights groups, including ??a group of teachers unions and public school districts in Warren's home state of Massachusetts.

The senator said she is hopeful every person who cares about education joins her campaign.

"We've got to fight for an America where it's not just the kids of billionaires who get a good education but it's every kid in every community who gets a great education," she said. "This fight is our fight."

Trump announces ‘historic’ tariffs as he says America’s been ‘looted, pillaged’

(WASHINGTON) --

President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a long-promised, sweeping set of baseline tariffs on all countries and what he described as "kind reciprocal" tariffs on nations he claimed were the worst offenders in trade relations with the U.S.

"My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day," Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, claiming the action will free the U.S. from dependence on foreign goods.

"April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed and the day that we began to make America wealthy again," he said.

The new measures -- which Trump described as "historic" -- include a minimum baseline tariff of 10% and further, more targeted levies on certain countries like China, the European Union and Taiwan.

"We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us," he said, adding, "because we are being very kind."

"This is not full reciprocal. This is kind reciprocal," he said.

Trump held up a chart with a list of nations and what the new U.S. tariffs against them will be. At the top was China, which Trump said was set to be hit with a 34% tariff rate as he claimed it charged the United States 67%.

The 10% baseline tariff rate goes into effect on April 5, according to senior White House officials. The "kind reciprocal" tariffs go into effect April 9 at 12:01 a.m., officials said, and will impact roughly 60 countries.

Trump described trade deficits as a "national emergency" and that his actions will usher in what he called "the golden age of America."

"In short, chronic trade deficits are no longer merely an economic problem. They're a national emergency that threatens our security and our very way of life. It's a very great threat to our country," he said.

Wednesday's tariff announcement is a moment months in the making for the president, but one that comes with significant political and economic risk.

Some experts warn his moves could cause the economy to slide into a recession and markets seesawed ahead of Wednesday's announcement, after weeks of turmoil as Trump's tariff policy shifted and took shape.

The White House had been mum on details ahead of Wednesday's event. One senior administration official said the situation was "still very fluid" after meetings on Wednesday morning and that Trump and his top advisers were trying to find some common ground where they agreed.

Some options debated in recent weeks, ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang reported, were a 20% flat tariff rate on all imports; different tariff levels for each country based on their levies on U.S. products; or tariffs on about 15% of countries with the largest trade imbalances with the U.S.

Wednesday's tariffs build onto levies already imposed by the administration, including on steel and aluminum as well as certain goods from China, Canada and Mexico.

The actions have strained relations with Canada and Mexico, two key allies and neighbors. Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week the U.S. and Canada's deep relationship on economic, security and military issues was effectively over.

Canada has vowed retaliatory tariffs and Mexico said it will give its response later this week. The European Union, too, said it has a "strong plan to retaliate."

But Trump and administration officials are plowing full steam ahead, arguing America's been unfairly "ripped off" by other nations for years and it's time for reciprocity.

"For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike," Trump said on Wednesday.

The economy was the top issue for voters in the 2024 presidential election, with Americans casting blame on President Joe Biden for high prices and Trump promising to bring families financial relief.

The administration has painted tariffs as a panacea for the economy writ large, arguing any pain experienced in the short term will be offset by what they predict will be major boosts in manufacturing, job growth and government revenue.

"Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country, and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base," Trump said. "We will pry open foreign markets and break down foreign trade barriers. And ultimately, more production at home will mean stronger competition and lower prices for consumers."

But economists say it will be American consumers who bear the brunt of higher costs to start.

It's unclear how much leeway the public is willing to give Trump to get past what he in the past called "a little disturbance."

Already, little more than two months into his second term, polls show his handling of the economy is being met with pushback.

An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey published on Monday found a majority of Americans (58%) disapprove of how Trump has been handling the economy.

On his protectionist trade negotiations with other nations, specifically, 60% of Americans said they disapproved of his approach so far. It was his weakest issue in the poll among Republicans.

Trump's GOP allies on Capitol Hill have said they're placing trust in the president, but acknowledged there will be some uncertainty to start.

"It may be rocky in the beginning but I think this will make sense for Americans and it will help all Americans," House Speaker Mike Johnson said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday alongside other members of Republican leadership.

Democrats, meanwhile, pledged to fight the tariffs "tooth and nail" and were trying to force a vote aimed at curtailing his authorities to impose levies on Canada.

"Trump's done a lot of bad things. This is way up there," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier on Wednesday.

ABC News' Mary Bruce, Katherine Faulders and Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.

Supreme Court takes up bid to defund Planned Parenthood

(WASHINGTON) -- The battle over taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood takes center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in a dispute over South Carolina's exclusion of the group from the state Medicaid program because it provides abortions.

On the line is the ability of Medicaid beneficiaries to freely choose a healthcare provider, including physicians at Planned Parenthood who provide services other than abortion, like contraception treatments and cancer screenings.

South Carolina's two Planned Parenthood clinics have served mostly low-income, minority women for more than 40 years. Hundreds of their patients are Medicaid recipients.

The case also implicates the millions of federal dollars Planned Parenthood receives in the form of reimbursements for treating Medicaid patients each year.

According to Planned Parenthood, 34% of its overall revenue, or $699 million, comes from government grants, contracts, and Medicaid funds.

In 2018, South Carolina's Republican governor Henry McMaster issued executive orders disqualifying Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services.

Julie Edwards, a Medicaid beneficiary and type-1 diabetic who sought medical care at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Columbia, SC, sued the state alleging a violation of the Medicaid Act, which guarantees a "free choice of provider" that is willing and qualified.

"Medicaid beneficiaries often face significant barriers to obtaining care, particularly in South Carolina. Twenty-five percent of state residents live in medically underserved areas," the plaintiffs wrote in their brief to the high court.

"[Congress] enacted the free-choice-of-provider provision to ensure that Medicaid patients, like everyone else, can choose their own doctor," they wrote. "Congress specifically enacted this provision in response to some States' efforts to restrict Medicaid patients' choice of provider."

The state argues that Congress never intended to give individuals the right to sue over access to a particular provider and that there are plenty of other clinics available to serve Medicaid recipients.

"Congress wanted states to have substantial discretion to innovate with their Medicaid programs," the state wrote in its brief to the high court. Allowing individuals to sue over access to specific providers would "subject the state to unanticipated (and expensive) lawsuits."

While federal law already prohibits any government funding of abortions, South Carolina contends it has the right to target non-abortion funding to abortion providers. "Because money is fungible, giving Medicaid dollars to abortion facilities frees up their other funds to provide more abortions," the state told the court.

"[Planned Parenthood] can restore Medicaid funding if it stops performing abortions— but it has chosen not to do so," South Carolina wrote.

If the justices allow the suit to go forward, Edwards and Planned Parenthood can continue to challenge the clinics' exclusion from the state's Medicaid program in a lower court.

If the justices side with the state, they would bolster efforts to cut off Planned Parenthood from sources of government funding and effectively limit the number of providers available to Medicaid recipients.

A decision in the case is expected by the end of the Court's term in June.

Over 1,900 researchers describe ‘assault’ on science by White House: ‘We see real danger’

(WASHINGTON) -- Nearly 2,000 scientists, engineers and researchers penned an open letter this week to President Donald Trump's administration, calling for a stop to its "assault" on science.

The letter was signed by elected members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, a congressional chartered organization that provides independent analysis and helps inform public policy decisions.

The group made clear the signatories are expressing their own views and not those of the National Academies or their home institutions.

"We are speaking out as individuals. We see real danger in this moment," the letter said, in part. "We hold diverse political beliefs, but we are united as researchers in wanting to protect independent scientific inquiry. We are sending this SOS to sound a clear warning: the nation's scientific enterprise is being decimated."

"We call on the administration to cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science, and we urge the public to join this call," the letter continued.

The group called out the Trump administration for actions including the ending funding for research, firing scientists and removing public access to data.

Recently, several active research grants related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, as well as gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion, were canceled at the National Institutes of Health. According to termination letters sent to researchers at various universities that were reviewed by ABC News, the projects were canceled because they did not serve the "priorities" of the current administration.

Additionally, earlier this year staff were laid off across the Department of Health and Human Services as part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effort to shrink the size of the federal government.

Earlier this month, HHS also appeared to have taken down a webpage from the Office of the Surgeon General that included an advisory on gun violence. In a statement to ABC News, the HHS said that the department "and the Office of the Surgeon General are complying with President Trump's Executive Order on Protecting Second Amendment Rights."

The White House did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment on the letter.

"If our country's research enterprise is dismantled, we will lose our scientific edge," the letter goes on. "Other countries will lead the development of novel disease treatments, clean energy sources, and the new technologies of the future. Their populations will be healthier, and their economies will surpass us in business, defense, intelligence gathering, and monitoring our planet's health. The damage to our nation's scientific enterprise could take decades to reverse."

The letter comes as layoffs begin at HHS, including at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration.

Up to 10,000 people are expected to lose their jobs in this round of layoffs, an amount that could significantly alter the department's roles and abilities. That's in addition to the nearly 10,000 who have already left the agency in the last few months through buyout offers or early retirements.

ABC News' Hannah Demissie, Cheyenne Haslett and Etic Strauss contributed to this report.

Cory Booker broke a record with his 25-hour Senate floor speech. How did he prepare to do it?

(WASHINGTON) -- After creating history by smashing the record for the longest Senate speech in history, Sen. Cory Booker told reporters as he walked off the floor that he was achy and tired, but grateful for his time.

"I didn't know how long I could go. I'm so grateful I lasted for 25 hours," Booker said.

Without taking a seat for the entirety of his speech, dehydration, the New Jersey senator said, had its pros and cons.

Booker sidestepped a question of whether he had any sort of device or diaper on to help him with bathroom demands.

However, he did say he didn’t need to use the restroom for the entirety of the 25 hours because of an incredibly rigorous fasting routine.

“My strategy was to stop eating. I think I stopped eating on Friday, and then to stop drinking the night before I started on Monday. And that had its benefits and it had its really downsides," he said.

"The biggest thing I was fighting was that different muscles were starting to really cramp up, and every once a while, spasm or something.”

Booker's speech, which began Monday evening, continued for a total of 25 hours and 4 minutes, surpassing the previous record set by Sen. Strom Thurmond, who filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes.

Booker was "very aware" of Thurmond's record going into the speech.

"I was very aware of Strom Thurmond’s records since I got to the Senate. I always felt that it was a strange shadow to hang over this institution,” Booker told reporters.

“The mission was really to elevate voices of Americans to tell some of their really meaningful stories, very emotional stories, and to let go and let god." To prepare, Booker said he tried to make himself as light as possible, and took everything out of his pockets except for a notecard with a handwritten Bible verse on it: Isaiah 40:31. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint," Booker read.

He relied on his faith, he said, at one point praying with Reverend Sen. Raphael Warnock ahead of the speech.

For the entirety of his marathon talk-a-thon, Booker occupied the small square of space surrounding his desk.

2 men face federal charges after woman, teen drown in alleged smuggling attempt

(DALLAS, TEXAS) -- A woman and a teenager drowned during an alleged smuggling attempt after the driver of their vehicle drove into a canal while fleeing authorities following major flooding in Texas, authorities said.

Now, two men face federal charges in connection with their deaths, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.

The DOJ said the incident occurred Friday morning in McAllen, which saw record rain bring severe flooding last week.

U.S. Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance spotted a white Ford F-150 that had "previously identified as being involved in alien smuggling," according to the federal complaint. The agents surveilled the vehicle and saw a "body swap of suspected illegal aliens" with a black Ford Explorer, according to the complaint.

Agents followed the Ford Explorer and approached the vehicle after it stopped at a low spot in a flooded road, according to the complaint.

The driver of the Ford Explorer -- identified by the DOJ as Jose Alexis Baeza-Combaluzier, a 26-year-old Mexican national -- then fled and drove through the flooded area, according to the complaint.

The agents found the vehicle approximately half a mile away in a nearby canal, according to the complaint. The agents jumped into the canal and were able to rescue Baeza-Combaluzier and four migrants, including an undocumented Guatemalan and her 13-year-old son, according to the complaint.

Two other occupants of the vehicle drowned, the DOJ said. The rescued mother's 14-year-old son was found in the recovered vehicle, and the body of another woman was recovered from the canal, according to the complaint.

Baeza-Combaluzier and the alleged driver of the white Ford F-150 -- Vicente Garcia Jr., 18, of Roma, Texas -- have been charged in the smuggling deaths, the Justice Department said.

Baeza-Combaluzier was denied bail during a court appearance on Monday and is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, court records show. ABC News has reached out to his public defender for comment and has not gotten a response.

Garcia is expected to make his initial appearance on Wednesday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.

If convicted, they face up to life in prison or the possibility of a death sentence, prosecutors said.

Keanu Reeves to star in ‘John Wick: Chapter 5’

John Wick is coming back in a big way.

The popular Keanu Reeves character will return in the upcoming film John Wick: Chapter 5, Lionsgate announced during CinemaCon 2025 on Tuesday.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Reeves will reteam with director Chad Stahelski for the film. The actor will also produce alongside Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee.

"Keanu, Chad, Basil, and Erica would not return unless they had something truly phenomenal and fresh to say with these characters and this world," Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate's Motion Picture Group, said in a statement to the outlet. "We can’t wait for audiences to see where the journey takes us next."

The news of Reeves' return for a fifth installment of the franchise is significant, as the fate of his character was left on an ambiguous note at the end of the 2023 film John Wick: Chapter 4.

In other John Wick news, a spinoff film starring and directed by Donnie Yen centered around his character, Caine, is entering production in Hong Kong later in 2025.

Additionally, Lionsgate is making an animated film about John Wick. Reeves will produce the anime alongside Stahelski, Iwanyk and Lee. It will be directed by Shannon Tindle from a script by Vanessa Taylor.

The film's story will go back in time before the events of the first John Wick film as the assassin completes the Impossible Task — which is killing all of his rivals in one night — to free himself from his obligation to the High Table.

"To have the opportunity to develop a John Wick anime seems to be the perfect progression for the John Wick world," Stahelski said. "I feel John Wick is the perfect property for this medium — anime holds the potential to expand our world, our characters, and our action in ways unimaginable before.”

Teens who allegedly failed to put out cigarettes accused of causing massive South Carolina wildfire

(TABLE ROCK, SC) -- Three teenagers are accused of causing a massive fire that ignited in a South Carolina state park after failing to extinguish cigarettes while on a hiking trail, officials said.

The teens -- Nyzaire Jah-Neiz Marsh, 19, Tristan Tyler, 18, and Isaac Wilson, 18 -- were arrested Tuesday on charges in connection with the origin of the Table Rock Fire, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

The teens were among several hikers who had been evacuated from Table Rock State Park in Pickens County on March 21 after first responders discovered the rapidly growing wildfire while searching for a missing hiker, the commission said.

They were questioned about the origins of the fire, and investigators "obtained evidence that they allege identified these subjects as suspects in the origin of the Table Rock State Park fire," the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

According to the arrest warrant affidavits, "the suspects took part in smoking activities on a hiking trail at the state park and did not extinguish their cigarettes in a proper and safe manner, which officials allege led to the ignition of the Table Rock Fire," the South Carolina Forestry Commission said.

The three teens are charged with one count each of negligently allowing fire to spread to lands or property of another, a misdemeanor, the commission said. They were booked and released on $7,500 bonds. Online court records did not list any attorney information for them.

If convicted, they face up to 30 days in jail or a $200 fine.

A fourth suspect, a juvenile, was also charged with one count of the same offense and released into the custody of his parents, the commission said.

The Table Rock Fire has burned more than 13,000 acres total in South Carolina and North Carolina since igniting on March 21, the South Carolina Forestry Commission said Tuesday. It was 30% contained as of Tuesday morning.

Fire crews responded from multiple states to help battle the blaze, which prompted the evacuation of more than 1,400 homes and businesses on Thursday.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a burning ban for all counties on March 21 due to the elevated wildfire risk.

The following day, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency to support the response to the Table Rock Fire.