By MICHAEL CASEY

BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Trump administration can end legal protections for around 430,000 migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Related Articles

The EPA wants to end a requirement that large polluters report their greenhouse gas emissions

Trump administration to award a no-bid contract on research into vaccines and autism

California lawmakers pass bill barring authorities from wearing face masks

Lawsuit says US held West African migrants in straitjackets for 16 hours on flight to Ghana

Man arrested in Charlie Kirk’s killing had no known criminal history, had become ‘more political’

The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest twist in a legal fight over Biden-era policies that created new and expanded pathways for people to live in the United States, generally for two years with work authorization. The Trump administration announced in March it was ending the humanitarian parole protections.

“We recognize the risks of irreparable harm persuasively laid out in the district court’s order: that parolees who lawfully arrived in this country were suddenly forced to choose between leaving in less than a month — a choice that potentially includes being separated from their families, communities, and lawful employment and returning to dangers in their home countries,” the judges wrote. “But absent a strong showing of likelihood of success on the merits, the risk of such irreparable harms cannot, by itself, support a stay.”

In a two-page ruling, the court lifted a stay issued by a district court and is allowing the administration to end humanitarian parole for those groups while the lawsuit plays out. The ruling Friday is a victory for the Trump administration but doesn’t change anything on the ground.

Esther Sung, the legal director of Justice Action Center, a co-counsel in the case, said the ruling “hurts everyone.”

“People who came here from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela did everything the government asked of them, and the Trump administration cruelly and nonsensically failed to hold up the government’s end of the bargain,” Sung said. “While we are deeply disappointed by this decision, we will continue to advocate zealously for our clients and class members as the litigation continues.”

A district court issued a stay in April halting the administration’s decision, but the Supreme Court lifted the lower court order at the end of May with little explanation.

The Trump administration had argued the appeals court should follow the Supreme Court and reverse the district court ruling.

The protections for people fleeing turmoil in their home countries were always meant to be temporary, and the Department of Homeland Security has the power to revoke them without court interference, the Justice Department said in a court filing.

Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that ending parole on a case-by-case basis would be a “gargantuan task” that would slow the government’s efforts to press for the removal of the migrants.

“The Secretary’s discretionary rescission of a discretionary benefit should have been the end of the matter,” lawyers for the government wrote in their brief.

Plaintiffs, including people who benefited from the legal protections, urged the appeals court to endorse the district court ruling, which found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem could not categorically end protections for these groups, but instead had to evaluate each case individually. They also cited the district court’s finding that Noem ignored the humanitarian concerns that led to the legal protections in the first place.

“The district court applied the law correctly and did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that Secretary Noem’s action inflicted irreparable injury on the class members (among others) and that the public interest and balance of the equities tip sharply in favor of preliminary relief,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in a brief.

Republican President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to deport millions of people. Since taking office, he has sought to dismantle Biden administration policies that expanded paths for migrants to live legally in the U.S.

The Trump administration’s decision was the first-ever mass revocation of humanitarian parole, attorneys for the migrants said in court papers, calling it “the largest mass illegalization event in modern American history.”

By MATTHEW BROWN

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A cloud of smoke from two pounds of methamphetamine seized by the FBI and incinerated inside a Montana animal shelter prompted its evacuation and sent workers to the hospital, city officials in Billings said.

The smoke started to fill the building during a drug burn on Wednesday, apparently because of negative pressure that sucked it back inside, Billings Assistant City Administrator Kevin Iffland said Friday. A fan was supposed to be on hand in such situations to reverse the pressure so smoke would flow out of the building, but Iffland said it wasn’t readily available.

The incinerator is used primarily to burn the carcasses of animals euthanized or collected by the city’s animal control division. But every couple of months local law enforcement or FBI agents use it to burn seized narcotics, Iffland said.

Fourteen workers from the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter went to the hospital as a precaution, he said. The dogs and cats at the shelter were relocated or put into foster homes.

Animal crates sit outside the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Billings, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Some workers had symptoms such as not feeling well. “I don’t know if it was from the smoke inhalation or exactly what it was,” Iffland said.

Billings resident Jay Ettlemen went to the shelter on Friday to donate dog food and said he was angry when he found out about the drug burns.

“Why the hell are they destroying drugs inside the city limits?” Ettlemen asked. “There’s so many other places in the middle of nowhere.”

The FBI routinely uses outside facilities to conduct controlled drug evidence burns, agency spokesperson Sandra Barker said. She referred further questions to Billings officials.

A sign is posted on the door of the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Billings, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

A city animal control supervisor who was present for Wednesday’s burn declined to go the hospital, Iffland said. The FBI agents were told to go to the hospital by their supervisor.

The incinerator is meant to operate at a certain temperature so it doesn’t emit toxins. Iffland said officials were trying to determine if it was at the appropriate temperature Wednesday.

The shelter will remain closed until it can be tested for contamination. Shelter workers were tested for potential exposure and Iffland said he did not know the results.

By JAIMIE DING

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A dying octopus in a Southern California aquarium is receiving an outflowing of love and well wishes as she spends her final days pouring her last energy into caring for her eggs — even though they will never hatch.

Related Articles

Meth burn by FBI smokes out Montana animal shelter

The world’s tallest sunflower blooms in an Indiana backyard as a tribute to Ukraine

False threat led to Naval Academy lockdown and then a mistaken shooting

Federal government sues Uber over alleged discrimination against people with disabilities

OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft to change its corporate structure

Many on social media have reminisced about seeing the giant Pacific octopus named Ghost when they had visited the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Some shared that they had a tattoo of Ghost or would wear a sweater emblazoned with the beloved cephalopod in her memory.

“She is a wonderful octopus and has made an eight-armed impression on all of our hearts,” the aquarium said on Instagram.

Ghost laid eggs earlier this week and entered the last phase of her life cycle, known as senescence. During this period, the octopus will neglect her own basic needs like eating, instead focusing on protecting her eggs and aerating them to prevent bacteria or other harmful agents from growing on them.

Ghost’s eggs are unfertilized and will never hatch, however. In the wild, giant Pacific octopuses spend their whole lives alone and only come together for a brief instance to reproduce.

“You really can’t combine males and females for any period of time because they don’t naturally cohabitate,” said the aquarium’s vice president of animal care, Nate Jaros. “They’re at high risk or aggression or even potentially death.”

Ghost is originally from the waters of British Columbia, Canada, and arrived at the aquarium in May 2024 from a scientific collector. She was only 3 pounds then but now weighs more than 50 pounds.

The average giant Pacific octopus lives for three to five years. Ghost is estimated to be between two and four years old, Jaros said.

Ghost was a “super active and very physical octopus” who enjoyed spending time with humans, Jaros said.

She was trained to voluntarily crawl into a basket so staff would weigh her and monitor her diet. Sometimes, she would push aside food her caregiver was offering just to interact with them more, Jaros said.

“Octopus in particular are incredibly special because of how charismatic and intelligent they seem to be, and we really form tight bonds with these animals,” Jaros said.

Her caregivers engage her in enrichment activities multiple times a day, putting food inside of toys and puzzles with moving parts to simulate what a octopus would do to hunt live crabs and clams in the wild.

One time, staff spent hours building a large acrylic maze for Ghost to explore.

“She mastered it almost instantly,” Jaros said.

While Ghost receives special attention in a private tank during her last days, the aquarium has already received a new octopus that will carry on her mission of educating the public. Staff will name the 2-pound octopus after spending some time assessing its personality, but it is already “super curious” and “seems to be a very outgoing animal,” Jaros said.

Marine biology student Jay McMahon, of Los Angeles, said he was glad he was able to visit the aquarium in the last few weeks and see Ghost one more time. He said he was inspired to pursue his studies after his parents brought him to the aquarium when he was 4.

“When you make a connection with an animal like that and you know they don’t live for that long, every moment means a lot,” he said. “I just hope she encourages people to learn more about the octopus and how important they are.”

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and OBED LAMY

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — When Ukrainian immigrant Alex Babich stands in his Indiana backyard craning his neck to look 35 feet into the sky, he isn’t just staring at a sunflower. He is looking at his roots — and his future legacy.

Related Articles

Meth burn by FBI smokes out Montana animal shelter

Fans bid farewell to beloved California octopus Ghost as she cares for eggs in final stage of life

False threat led to Naval Academy lockdown and then a mistaken shooting

Federal government sues Uber over alleged discrimination against people with disabilities

OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft to change its corporate structure

The flower, nicknamed “Clover” and confirmed Wednesday by Guinness World Records as the tallest sunflower ever measured, stretches as high as a telephone pole.

Achieving the feat holds special significance for the 47-year-old Babich since sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine.

Born and raised in Ukraine, he immigrated to the U.S. at age 14 in 1991 after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Seven years ago, he started growing sunflowers as a symbol of his love for his home country. Babich’s first sunflower was 13 feet tall, then 15, then 19. Quickly, he began asking himself, “How far can we take this?” Babich said the record-breaking flower was the result of “trial and error over years.”

“It’s one of my kids,” he said. “You’re out there every day taking care of it.”

Babich’s 10-year-old son also had an important contribution that earned the towering flower its name. He would climb onto the scaffolding and place four-leaf clovers on the sunflower’s leaves, for good luck.

“I’m going to die someday, but the stories of this flower will live on,” he said. “My kids will be telling this story to the grandkids.”

Alex Babich, pose in front of the structure that surrounds his nearly 36-feet high sunflower that holds the world record for the tallest flower at his home in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

When measuring day came on Sept. 3, Babich was nervous.

About 85 people had gathered to watch, including several master gardeners from a local university and representatives from the Allen County Department of Weights and Measures. Babich was on a WhatsApp call with a representative from Guinness World Records. A camera crew was filming, and a drone flew overhead. Even Icy D. Eagle, the mascot of the Fort Wayne Komets minor league ice hockey team, was there, according to Guinness.

They used a 40-foot cherry picker to measure the flower. Clover was 35 feet and 9 inches, 5 feet taller than the previous world record holder in Germany.

“It’s very emotional,” Babich said. “It’s as good as it gets for someone who grows giants.”

Alex Babich, climbs on the structure that surrounds his nearly 36-feet high sunflower that holds the world record for the tallest flower at his home in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Growing up amid food shortages in Ukraine sparked Babich’s love for gardening. His affection for sunflowers deepened after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“We just pray that the war will end, that the killing will stop,” Babich said. “We just hope this inspires some people in the right places. It’s been long enough.”

The sunflower has long been a national symbol representing peace in Ukraine, and since 2022, it has become a symbol of solidarity with the embattled country. In one viral video clip in the war’s early days, a Ukrainian woman confronted a Russian soldier, ultimately offering to “put sunflower seeds in your pocket so they grow when you die.”

In 1996, ministers from the U.S., Russia and Ukraine planted sunflowers at the Pervomaysk missile base to mark the country’s nuclear weapon disarmament. In 1986, after the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant that later brought Babich’s family to the U.S., scientists planted sunflowers to remove toxins from the soil.

Alex Babich, climbs on the structure that surrounds his nearly 36-feet high sunflower that holds the world record for the tallest flower at his home in Fort Wayne, Ind., Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Babich’s sunflower will soon be the star of a documentary, titled “Bloom,” planned for release this summer. In the meantime, Babich has started planting sunflowers around campsites he visited with his family and passing out seed packets to children at festivals.

Plastered onto the seed packets are stickers with the words “Spread the love – sunflower seeds.”

Fernando reported from Chicago.