Jailed college activist appears in court

JENA, La. -- Detained Columbia University student activist Mahmoud Khalil appeared briefly Friday in immigration court at a remote Louisiana detention center as his lawyers fight in multiple venues to free him.

Khalil, 30, a legal U.S. resident with no criminal record, sat alone next to an empty chair through a brief court session that dealt only with scheduling. His lawyer participated via video.

Marc Van Der Hout said he had just started representing Khalil and needed more time to speak to him, get records and delve into the case. An immigration judge set a fuller hearing for April 8.

Khalil was detained March 8 by federal immigration agents. He served as a spokesperson and negotiator last year for demonstrators who opposed Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has asserted that Khalil organized protests that harassed Jewish students and "distributed pro-Hamas propaganda." Hamas is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization.

The U.S. government is seeking to deport Khalil under a rarely used statute that allows for removing noncitizens who pose "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."

Khalil, an Algerian citizen who was born in Syria to a Palestinian family, has said in a statement that his detention in Jena, La., reflects "anti-Palestinian racism" in the United States.

Trump taps Beach as new US treasurer

President Donald Trump named Georgia state Sen. Brandon Beach as his administration's treasurer, meaning his signature will soon appear on U.S. currency.

Senate officials announced the appointment Friday at a committee hearing.

A local business booster, the Republican stepped back from the Develop Fulton economic development agency during the 2024 campaign to focus full-time on helping Trump's presidential bid.

First elected to the Georgia Senate in 2013, Beach has taken conservative stances, including allowing people to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, restricting abortion and supporting a version of the "religious liberty" measure.

As treasurer, Beach would oversee the U.S. Mint, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the storage of gold at Fort Knox. He'll also serve as an adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He does not need U.S. Senate approval to assume the post.

Measles outbreak expands in Texas

DALLAS -- The Texas measles outbreak has grown to 309 confirmed cases, not counting dozens of additional cases in neighboring states.

Cases have been identified in three additional counties, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services' Friday update.

Those three counties are in west Texas near the original outbreak area. The majority of cases -- 211 of the 309 confirmed cases -- are in Gaines County, near the New Mexico border, where the outbreak originated.

Since the outbreak began, 40 Texans have been hospitalized, according to the Department of State Health Services. One school-aged child in Texas has died.

In addition to the Texas cases, New Mexico and Oklahoma have reported measles cases that are believed to be linked to the Texas outbreak.

Oklahoma has reported four probable cases. New Mexico reported 38 cases as of Tuesday, along with two hospitalizations. One adult in New Mexico has also died.

The vast majority of the Texas measles cases have been among people who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is not known, according to the state health department.

Colorado deputy discovers escapee

One of two men who escaped from a Colorado immigration detention center was arrested Friday after being found by a sheriff's deputy about 12 miles away.

An Adams County sheriff's deputy approached Joel Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, around 4:30 a.m. because he seemed suspicious, sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Adam Sherman said. When it was determined he was one of the two men who escaped Tuesday night from the detention center in Aurora, Colo., he was taken into temporary custody until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived, Sherman said.

The other person who escaped remained at large. They apparently walked out of doors that opened during a power outage at the facility, which is operated by The GEO Group under a contract with ICE.

ICE officials said they immediately asked local authorities for help finding the men, but Aurora police Chief Todd Chamberlain said they were not notified until more than four hours after the escape.

Gonzalez-Gonzalez, who is from Mexico, had been jailed in Adams County from Feb. 9-12 in connection with local criminal charges, Sherman said. He is being represented in that case by a public defender.

ICE said it arrested Gonzalez-Gonzalez on Feb. 12 and he was taken to its detention center pending immigration proceedings.

It is unknown whether Gonzalez-Gonzalez has a lawyer representing him in his immigration case.