By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

The foreign men convicted of crimes who were placed on a deportation flight headed for the chaotic nation of South Sudan were originally from countries as far away as Mexico and Vietnam. They had lived in various places from California to Iowa, Nebraska to Florida, with one serving a sentence of nearly 30 years.

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They were accused and convicted of crimes ranging from murder, to rape, robbery and assault.

Despite their criminal records, a federal judge says the White House violated a court order on deportations to third countries, adding these eight migrants aboard the plane were not given a meaningful opportunity to object that the deportation could put them in danger.

Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston ordered a new set of interviews with the migrants, either back in the U.S. or abroad. Trump administration officials accused “activist judges” of advocating the release of dangerous criminals.

“No country on Earth wanted to accept them because their crimes are so uniquely monstrous and barbaric,” said Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.

These are the migrants who were part of the deportation flight.

SOUTH SUDAN: Dian Peter Domach

The only man from South Sudan on the flight was 33-year-old Dian Peter Domach. He was convicted in 2013 of robbery, for which he was sentenced to 8 to 14 years in prison; and of possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person, for which he was sentenced to 6 to 10 years. Those sentences were to be served one after the other. The Department of Homeland Security said Domach was also convicted of driving under the influence.

While in prison, he was convicted of “assault by a confined person” and sentenced to an additional 18 to 20 months. According to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Domach was released on “discretionary parole” on May 2 and arrested by immigration authorities six days later.

Records said he represented himself on appeal and in the most recent prison assault case.

LAOS: Thongxay Nilakout

One of the two deportees with life sentences is 48-year-old Thongxay Nilakout from Laos. He was convicted of killing a German tourist and wounding her husband in 1994 when he was 17. The couple was visiting a popular tourist lookout east of Los Angeles during a trip to see their daughter.

Nilakout was sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2023 after his case was reviewed following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said mandatory life sentences for minors were unconstitutional.

He was arrested by immigration authorities in January.

MYANMAR: Kyaw Mya

Kyaw Mya, a man from Myanmar who lived in Iowa, was convicted of sexually abusing a child under 12 years of age and sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to the Department of Homeland Security. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February.

An attorney for Mya did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

MYANMAR: Nyo Myint

Nyo Myint, another Burmese deportee, lived in Lincoln, Nebraska. He was accused in 2017 of sexually assaulting a 26-year-old woman with “diminished mental capacity” who ended up pregnant. The woman’s sister said the victim had a mental capacity equal to a 3-year-old and that Myint had told her he was the child’s father.

An arrest affidavit filed by the police said Myint admitted to having sex with the woman at least two times, saying he knew her since 2003 and knew she had gone to a school for children with mental disabilities. He admitted he made a mistake and felt it was wrong to have sex with her.

He was given a 12- to 14-year prison sentence in 2020 but released on probation in May 2023. ICE took custody of Myint in February.

Nathan Sohriakoff remembers defending Myint in the Nebraska case and communicating with him via interpreters. He hadn’t heard he was part of the deportee group, which Trump administration officials are calling “barbaric monsters.”

“He was a small man, very petite. He didn’t speak a word of English and didn’t resist the charges,” Sohriakoff said. “I don’t remember feeling like he was dangerous. My general feeling of him was that he was limited in his ability as well, like cognitively, but not to the degree that I felt he was incompetent.”

VIETNAM: Tuan Thanh Phan

The Department of Homeland Security says the flight included a Vietnamese man. Tuan Thanh Phan was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree assault and sentenced to 22 years in prison. He was arrested by ICE earlier this month.

CUBA: Enrique Arias-Hierro and Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quiñones

The Department of Homeland Security says the flight included two men from Cuba: Enrique Arias-Hierro and Jose Manuel Rodriguez-Quiñones.

Florida court records show Arias-Hierro, now 46, served 15 years in a state prison after being convicted of robbery, kidnapping and falsely impersonating an officer. Homeland Security officials say he was also convicted of homicide and armed robbery, but the records in Miami-Dade County did not include that.

The attorney who last served as his public defender in 2024 did not respond to an email and phone call seeking comment. Arias-Hierro was taken by ICE earlier this month.

There was no further information immediately available on Rodriguez-Quiñones.

MEXICO: Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez

A Mexican man was also placed on the deportation flight. The Department of Homeland Security says Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

It was unclear why he would be flown to South Sudan or beyond when Mexico is just south of the United States.

Associated Press writer Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.

Calling all contractors, woodworkers, landscapers and homeowners in Eagan — there’s a new tool shop in town.

Acme Tools opened its newest storefront, and fourth for the state, in Eagan on Wednesday with a nearly 16,000-square-foot showroom. The family-owned retailer expects to employ some 40 workers at the new location, according to a company news release.

Located at the corner of Yankee Doodle Road and Denmark Avenue, the storefront at 1271 Town Centre Drive spans over 41,000 square feet with offices, a warehouse and a full-service department.

“The Eagan store also supports the growing outdoor power equipment category with cordless and gas products for both homeowners and landscapers,” said Paul Kuhlman, president of merchandise operations for Acme Tools, in the release.

Based in Grand Forks, N.D., Acme Tools was founded in 1948 by George Kuhlman. His son, Daniel Kuhlman, eventually took over and now at the helm are his sons Steve and Paul Kuhlman.

Named by George Kuhlman, “acme” means “the point at which someone or something is best, perfect or most successful,” according to the company’s history.

Acme Tools has 11 retail stores across Minnesota, Iowa and North Dakota and employs some 600 workers.

Other Minnesota locations include the Duluth store, which opened in 1995, then the Bemidji location in 2004 and Plymouth in 2005.

“Acme Tools is pleased to be adding a second Twin Cities location in Eagan to better serve our customers in the St. Paul area,” said Steve Kuhlman, president of corporate operations for Acme Tools, in the release.

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By GEOFF MULVIHILL and DAVID A. LIEB

The U.S. social safety net would be jolted if the budget bill backed by President Donald Trump and passed Thursday by the House of Representatives becomes law.

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It would impose work requirements for low-income adults to receive Medicaid health insurance and increase them for food assistance as well as cut funding for services like birth control to the nation’s biggest abortion provider.

Supporters of the bill say the moves will save money, root out waste and encourage personal responsibility.

A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over a decade.

The measure, which also includes tax cuts, passed the House by one vote and could have provisions reworked again as it heads to the Senate.

Here’s a look at the potential impact.

Work would be required for most people to get Medicaid health insurance

Starting next year, many able-bodied Medicaid enrollees under 65 would be required to show that they work, volunteer or go to school in exchange for the health insurance coverage.

Some people who receive Medicaid were worried Thursday that they could see their coverage end, even if it is not immediately clear whether they might be covered by an exception.

Raquel Vasquez, a former cook who is battling two types of cancer and has diabetes, said she believes she could be affected because she has not been able to qualify for Social Security disability benefits. “I cannot even afford this life now because of my disabilities,” said the 41-year-old Bakersfield, California, resident. “But my country won’t even help me.”

About 92% of people enrolled in Medicaid are already working, caregiving, attending school or disabled. That leaves about 8% of 71 million adult enrollees who would need to meet the new requirement. An estimated 5 million people are likely to lose coverage altogether, according to previous estimates of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office.

Only Arkansas has had a work requirement that kicks people off for noncompliance. More than 18,000 lost coverage after it kicked in 2018, and the program was later blocked by federal courts.

FILE – In this Sept. 12, 2018, file photo, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, center, talks at a news conference at the State Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., about the state’s work requirement for its expanded Medicaid program. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)

“The people of Arkansas are generous and we want to help those who cannot help themselves, but we have no interest in helping those who are unwilling to help themselves,” said Arkansas Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester, a Republican. “I’m glad the federal government is starting to align with our thinking.”

Work requirement could hit harder in rural areas

Increased eligibility checks and red tape related to work requirements may result in some people wrongly getting booted off, said Eduardo Conrado, the president of Ascension, a health care system that operates hospitals across 10 states.

That could spell trouble for rural hospitals, in particular, who will see their small pool of patients go from paying for their emergency care with Medicaid coverage to not paying anything at all. Hospitals could have to eat their costs.

“Adding work requirements is not just a policy change, it’s a shift away from the purpose of the program,” Conrado said of the rule.

That is also a concern for Sandy Heller, of Marion, Massachusetts.

Her 37-year-old son, Craig, has Down syndrome and other complicated medical needs.

She worries the changes would make it harder for hospitals in out-of-the-way places like hers to stay afloat and offer the services he could need.

If they don’t, he would have to travel about 90 minutes for care.

“It could mean life and death for my son if he needed that medical care,” Heller said.

More people would be required to have jobs to receive food assistance

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, already requires work for some of its roughly 42 million recipients. Adults ages 18-54 who are physically and mentally able and don’t have dependents must work, volunteer or participate in training programs for at least 80 hours a month, or else be limited to just three months of benefits in a three-year period.

The legislation passed by the House would raise the work requirement to age 65 and also extend it to parents without children younger than age 7. The bill also would limit the ability to waive work requirements in areas with high unemployment rates.

The combination of those changes could put 6 million adults at risk of losing SNAP benefits, according to the liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Like work requirements for Medicaid, those for SNAP tend to cause a decrease in participation without increasing employment, according to an April report by the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project.

States that cover immigrants lacking legal status would lose federal funds

Under the bill, the federal government would punish states that use their own state dollars to provide Medicaid-covered services to immigrants lacking legal status or to provide subsidies to help them buy health insurance.

Some states that provide that sort of coverage extend it only to children.

Those states would see federal funding for the Medicaid expansion population — typically low-income adults — drop from 90% to 80%.

That could mean states pull back that Medicaid coverage to avoid the federal penalty, said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families.

KFF said the provision could affect 14 states that cover children regardless of their immigration status.

This month the Democratic governor of one of them — California’s Gavin Newsom — announced a plan to freeze new enrollments of adults in state-funded health care for immigrants who do not have legal status as a budget-balancing measure.

The bill could curtail abortion access by barring money for Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood says a provision barring it from receiving Medicaid funds could lead to about one-third of its health centers closing.

FILE – Security personnel stand outside a recently opened Planned Parenthood clinic, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pittsburg, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

The group said about 200 centers are at risk — most of them in states where abortion is legal. In those states, the number of Planned Parenthood centers could be cut in half.

Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, also offers other health services, including birth control and cancer screening.

Federal money was already barred from paying for abortion, but state Medicaid funds in some states now cover it.

“We’re in a fight for survival — not just for Planned Parenthood, but for the ability of everyone to get high-quality, non-judgmental health care,” Planned Parenthood President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America celebrated the provision, saying “Congress took a big step toward stopping taxpayer funding of the Big Abortion industry.”

Health services for transgender people would be cut

Medicaid would stop covering gender-affirming care for people of all ages in 2027 under one provision.

Further, coverage of the treatments could not be required on insurance plans sold through the exchanges under the Affordable Care Act.

Trump has targeted transgender people, who make up around 1% of the U.S. population, since returning to office, including declaring that the U.S. won’t spend taxpayer money on gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 19. The care includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries.

The bill would expand that to all ages, at least when it comes to Medicaid.

Some states already block the coverage, and some require it. It’s unclear how much Medicaid has spent on providing gender-affirming care, which has only been recently added to some coverage plans in some states.

Associated Press reporters Devna Bose in Jackson, Mississippi; Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas; Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut; Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Amanda Seitz in Washington; and Leah Willingham in Boston contributed to this article.

By ALAN SUDERMAN

It’s not an official holiday – yet – but for many cryptocurrency enthusiasts “Bitcoin Pizza Day” is still special. Thursday marks the 15th anniversary of the first known use of cryptocurrency to buy real-world goods.

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The 10,000 bitcoin that software developer Laszlo Hanyecz paid for two Papa John’s pizzas delivered to his Florida home on May 22, 2010, were worth about $41 at the time. Today they’re worth $1.1 billion, as bitcoin hits record high prices.

Several cryptocurrency companies are announcing promotions and other celebrations to mark Bitcoin Pizza Day. Bitget, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced that it’s giving away pizzas to more than 2,000 people at gatherings held around the world.

Here’s the backstory of Bitcoin Pizza Day:

Humble Beginnings

The first bitcoin was created in early 2009 by the digital currency’s still unknown creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. It started as a passion project for libertarian-minded computer nerds who wanted to create a digital payment system that didn’t rely on a third party – like a government or financial institution – for transactions.

Hanyecz was an early enthusiast and became active on an early bitcoin internet message board, offering technical advice on how to “mine” bitcoin more effectively.

Central to bitcoin’s technology is the process through which transactions are verified and then recorded on what’s known as the blockchain. Computers connected to the bitcoin network race to solve complex mathematical calculations that verify the transactions, with the winner earning newly minted bitcoins as a reward in a process known as mining.

In the early days, enthusiasts could mine bitcoin through their home computers and Hanyecz accumulated thousands of the new digital asset. Nowadays, mining bitcoin has become a highly competitive field with multi-billion-dollar companies using specialized computers in entire data centers to acquire new bitcoins.

‘No weird fish topping’

No one quite knew what to do with the bitcoin they were mining at first. On May 18, 2010, Hanyecz tried an experiment and posted a message offering 10,000 bitcoins for pizza.

“I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc.. just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that,” Hanyecz wrote.

Three days later, Hanyecz wondered if he needed to up the price.

“So nobody wants to buy me pizza? Is the bitcoin amount I’m offering too low?” he wrote.

But the next day, Hanyecz said he’d successfully traded his bitcoin for pizza. Another bitcoin enthusiast from California had paid for the Papa John’s pizza in exchange for the cryptocurrency, according to a book about bitcoin’s early history, “Digital Gold.”

“A great milestone reached,” said another early bitcoin enthusiast on the message board congratulating Hanyecz.

Tremendous growth

It did not take long for bitcoin to take off after the first pizza deal. Bitcoin started getting more publicity and grew, thanks in part to the popularity of an online black-market site, Silk Road, which only accepted bitcoin.

By February 2014, with bitcoin trading at around $600, Hanyecz marveled at what the digital currency had become.

“I mean people can say I’m stupid, but it was a great deal at the time,” Hanyecz wrote on the bitcoin message board. “I don’t think anyone could have known it would take off like this.”

Five years later, when bitcoin was trading as high as $11,000, Hanyecz reflected on what buying that first pizza meant for bitcoin.

“It made it real for some people, I mean it certainly did for me,” Hanyecz said on the television show “60 minutes.”

Hanyecz has largely stayed out of the public spotlight in recent years and efforts to contact him by The Associated Press were unsuccessful.

All-time highs

After many years of fits and starts, bitcoin now appears firmly entrenched in the mainstream financial system. While it hasn’t taken off as a way to pay for everyday items like pizza, bitcoin has found popularity as a kind of “digital gold,” or a way to store value.

Retirement accounts can buy bitcoin ETFs, more and more companies buy bitcoin as corporate treasuries, and President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order establishing a government reserve of bitcoin.

Bitcoin was trading at about $111,000 on Thursday morning — a new record. That price gives it a market cap of more than $2 trillion, or about the same as Amazon.