A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration’s request that it halt the next steps Judge Paula Xinis is seeking to take in the case concerning a migrant who was wrongly deported to El Salvador, with a strident warning about the rule of law and the possibility the dispute presented an “incipient crisis.”

The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said in its seven-page ruling Thursday that the Trump administration’s assertions in the case “should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.”

The unanimous ruling was written by Judge Harvie Wilkinson, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan. In it, he was extremely critical of the administration’s effort to undo some of Xinis’ recent orders in the case, sounding alarm bells about how its maneuverings in the matter have resulted in the two branches “grinding irrevocably against one another in a conflict that promises to diminish both.”

The appeals court used the order to weigh in on the broader atmosphere around President Trump’s conflict with the judiciary.

The Salvadoran government is “unfazed” by Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s attempt to visit deported Maryland resident Kilmar Armando Abrego García at the notorious CECOT prison, according to a high-level source close to the country’s president.

The Trump administration conceded in a court filing earlier this month that it mistakenly deported Abrego Garcia “because of an administrative error” and argued it could not return him because he’s now in Salvadoran custody.

In a video released Thursday, Van Hollen said he was blocked from entering the prison complex to visit Abrego García, one day after El Salvador’s vice president denied him access following an in-person meeting.

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele – who is out of the country – has no intention to return early or to meet with Van Hollen, the source said.

Nevertheless, the Salvadoran government is fully aware of the senator’s movements within the country, particularly when attempting to access highly sensitive or secure sites “as they would be with anyone approaching those locations,” the source said.

Salvadoran authorities have not formally charged Abrego Garcia, and are not bound by a strict timeline to do so, according to the source, under the country’s ongoing state of exception, which suspends certain constitutional rights.

More on the case: Abrego García’s family says that the Maryland man was never a gang member, and at least one US federal judge has expressed skepticism of the claim.

The Supreme Court last week said President Donald Trump’s administration must “facilitate” the return of the Maryland man.

President Donald Trump responded to a report that he had waved Israel off of striking Iran’s nuclear facilities as the US continues nuclear talks with Iran.

“I’d like to see that, that’s my first option. If there’s a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran. And I think Iran is wanting to talk,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “I hope they want to talk, it’s going to be very good for them if they do, and I’d like to see Iran thrive in the future, do fantastically well.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Trump urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear sites as soon as next month in order to let talks with Iran play out, which could impact planned engagements for Trump’s national security team in the coming days.

The report comes just days before Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet Saturday in Rome with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We’re not looking to take their industry, we’re not looking to take their land, we’re not — all we’re saying is … you can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

CNN’s Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that the United States will be “hearing” from Russia “this week” on the US proposal for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff are meeting with Ukrainian officials in Paris at a summit Thursday aimed at bolstering Ukraine’s defenses against Russia’s ongoing attacks.

The president was asked Thursday about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and again claimed that the war between Russia and Ukraine would not have started if he had been president.

“I don’t hold Zelensky responsible, but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started. That was a war that would have never started if I were president,” Trump told reporters, adding that he’s not a “big fan” of Zelensky.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said today that US President Donald Trump has accepted her invitation to come to Italy for an official visit, adding that he would have the opportunity to meet with other European leaders as well.

Speaking alongside Trump in the Oval Office, Meloni, who leads Italy’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party, tapped into her political similarities with Trump, and also touched on the war in Ukraine, an issue that has caused rifts between the US and Europe.

Meloni said she also believed that the US and Europe could work together on achieving “just and lasting” peace in Ukraine.

“We have been defending the freedom of Ukraine together,” Meloni said. The Italian Prime Minister has a staunch supporter of Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Supreme Court deferred a request from President Donald Trump that would have allowed him to immediately enforce a plan to end birthright citizenship against all but a handful of individuals, but it agreed to hear arguments about his request to limit lower court judges from handing down sweeping injunctions.

The high court will hear arguments in the case on May 15.

President Donald Trump indicated that he believes he has the power to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from his position after slamming Powell in a post on social media earlier Thursday and saying his termination “cannot come fast enough.”

“I don’t think he’s doing the job. He’s too late, always too late. Little slow, and I’m not happy with him. I let him know it, and if I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast,” Trump said, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has not shared that view, sat just feet away. Earlier this week, Bessent told Bloomberg in an interview that “monetary policy is a jewel box that’s got to be preserved.”

Trump ignored a follow-up question on whether he is trying to remove Powell.

Trump later chastised Powell for not bringing interest rates down and “playing politics.” “Interest rates should be down now,” he said, calling members of the Federal Reserve “not very smart people.”

Trump’s comments come after Powell on Wednesday said at an economic event in Chicago that the Trump administration has brought “very fundamental policy changes,” including sweeping tariffs that are “significantly larger than anticipated.” He said such changes are unlike anything seen in modern history, putting the Fed in uncharted waters and on a path to confront a challenge it hasn’t seen in decades.

Powell has pointedly noted that removing a Fed chair is “not permitted under the law,” and has said he intends to serve out the remainder of his term.

CNN’s Bryan Mena contributed reporting to this post.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said government officials from South Korea are traveling to Washington next week to firm up a trade deal.

Bessent, speaking alongside President Donald Trump and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office on Thursday, did not specify who would be meeting with the administration.

The meeting comes after Trump and members of his administration have met with a string of foreign officials, including from the European Union and Japan, since the president’s 90-day pause on “reciprocal” tariffs took effect last week.

Bessent also said negotiations with India are advancing “very quickly.”

President Donald Trump said today that he is not involved in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the US government.

“Well, I’m not involved in it,” he told reporters at the White House when asked if he will take steps to return Abrego Garcia if the court holds him in contempt.

He reiterated that he was elected to remove any criminals who are in the United States illegally. “I don’t see how judges can take that authority away from a president,” he added.

The Trump administration has claimed Abrego Garcia, who has not been charged with or convicted of any crime, is a member of MS-13. However, his wife and lawyers dispute that claim.

President Donald Trump said the United States and Ukraine could sign a minerals deal as soon as next week.

In the Oval Office, the president said, “We have a minerals deal which I guess is going to be signed on Thursday.” He then clarified, “next Thursday, soon.”

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “memorandum of intent” could be signed remotely later today, with a full agreement still being worked on.

Treasury officials have been working on the deal with a Ukrainian delegation visiting Washington this week, sources said. But the details of the minerals deal changed after that meeting and have been constantly shifting in recent weeks, according to the Ukrainians.

CNN’s Daria Tarasova-Markina, Victoria Butenko and Kylie Atwood contributed reporting to this post.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested today the Supreme Court could hold Cabinet secretaries in contempt if the Trump administration fails to adhere to the court’s order to “facilitate” the return of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador.

The Supreme Court ruled last week that President Donald Trump’s administration must “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia but stopped short of requiring the government to return him to the United States.

A federal judge overseeing the case in Maryland said yesterday that she has not seen any evidence that the Trump administration is complying with the order.

Asked if the US was experiencing a “constitutional crisis,” which he previously said would occur if the Trump administration defied court orders, Jeffries responded, “We’re in a crisis across the board, right?”

“The White House is seeking a confrontation with the courts, then the courts need to lean into that we will have the back of the courts, and it needs to use all of the tools available to it,’” he said.

Some organizations have started criticizing recent cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency to AmeriCorps members after volunteers who respond to disasters and help nonprofits were informed this week they would exit the program.

Gerry Seavo James, deputy director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, said AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps has been “a critical pillar of national disaster relief, wildlife recovery, and community resilience efforts.”

America’s Service Commissions, a non-profit representing state service commissions, said it is “alarmed” by the NCCC dismissals.

“This sudden freeze of AmeriCorps agency staff and the removal of NCCC members from service will have a detrimental impact on AmeriCorps members, volunteers, and our states and communities they serve,” the organization wrote on X.

AmeriCorps’ NCCC informed volunteers Tuesday that they would exit the program early “due to programmatic circumstances beyond your control,” according to an email obtained by The Associated Press.

US President Donald Trump has previously accused the European Union of “screwing” the US because it is running an overall trade surplus with the US.

But the issue is a bit more nuanced than that.

The US and the EU have the largest trading relationship in the world, having traded $1.4 trillion worth of goods and services in 2023 – roughly $5 billion a day – according to the latest available official data.

The US ran a relatively small overall trade deficit with the EU, importing some $125 billion worth of goods and services more than exporting to Europe.

That deficit was down to the US importing more goods from the EU than the EU imported from the US. The EU, however, ran a trade deficit in services, importing more services from the US than the US did from the EU.

Oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, aerospace and parts, business and financial services such as consulting and charges for intellectual property rights use made up most of US exports to Europe.

Meanwhile, the US imported pharmaceuticals and medicines, motor vehicles, machinery, business services and travel, which includes European visitors to the US.

President Donald Trump told reporters he’s not worried about US allies turning to China due to his tariffs.

“Nobody can compete with us,” Trump said at the White House. “Nobody.”

This comes as Chinese leader Xi Jinping visits three Southeast Asian countries: Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. On a visit to Vietnam, Xi urged the country’s leaders to resist “unilateral bullying.”

Trump, who often touts his good relationship with the Chinese president, was asked why he doesn’t just pick up the phone and call him.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she wants to invite President Donald Trump to visit Italy ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between the two leaders today at the White House.

Meloni said that she cannot make a deal on behalf of the European Union, but she suggested that she could serve as a key interlocutor between Trump and European nations. Senior Trump administration officials have said that they view Meloni, who shares Trump’s ideologies on issues like immigration, as a “valuable interlocutor.”

“My goal would be to invite President Trump to pay an official visit to Italy and understand if there’s a possibility when he comes to organize also such a meeting with Europe,” she said.

President Donald Trump expressed “100 percent” confidence that the United States would reach a trade deal with the European Union before his 90-day pause on tariffs is over.

“There’ll be a trade deal. 100 percent. Why you think there won’t be? Of course there’ll be a trade deal,” Trump told reporters at a bilateral lunch with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. “They want to make one very, very much. We’re gonna make a trade deal. I fully expect it, but it will be a fair deal.”

Trump did not say if he plans to meet with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, but mentioned more broadly that they’ve had “many” meetings with countries, including Japan.

As negotiations continue this week, Trump said his administration is “in no rush” to announce deals with specific countries, but “at a certain point” announcements will come.

Correction: A previous version of this post misstated Ursula von der Leyen’s title.

President Donald Trump once called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “a fantastic woman” who has “taken Europe by storm.”

She dined with him at Mar-a-Lago and was the only European leader who was invited to Trump’s inauguration in January.

Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy party is politically aligned with Trump on many issues, but not the two that are currently on top of Europe’s mind: tariffs and Ukraine.

Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and its President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom she met more than dozen times since Russia’s invasion in 2022 – which could put her on a collision course with Trump who has been pushing for the war in Ukraine to end even if it means Ukraine giving up some territory.

Italy is also a member of the European Union, so while Meloni is visiting the White House in her role Italian Prime Minister, she is also informally represents the EU.

She’ll likely seek to strike the right balance between the two roles – taking advantage of her good relationship with Trump while making the case against tariffs on the EU.Meloni has previously called the levies Trump imposed on the EU “wrong” and called for negotiations.

Meetings between Ukraine and the United States on a potential rare-earth minerals deal have been hailed as “really productive” and “positive” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A “memorandum of intent” could be signed remotely as early as today, the Ukrainian president said, with a full agreement still being worked on.

“Our side said OK; now with the American side, I understand that they are now working with the deputy prime minister on the text. But honestly, I think this is a memorandum,” he added.

Treasury officials have been working on the deal with a Ukrainian delegation visiting Washington this week, sources said.

Remember: The deal comes as the administration has renewed efforts in the last week to secure a peace deal to end the Ukraine war.

President Donald Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, and top Trump administration officials met with Europeans and Ukrainians in Paris today to discuss driving an end to the ongoing conflict.

The deal was supposed to be signed last month when Zelensky visited Washington, but instead his Oval Office meeting turned into an explosive argument between the two sides which abruptly ended his visit.

Attorneys for more than 100 foreign students whose international visas have been revoked argued in federal court today to stop the process.

The judge hearing the case did not immediately rule on the request, but did indicate she plans to grant some form of temporary relief.

All 133 foreign students are part of a lawsuit filed last week by Kuck Baxter, an Atlanta-based immigration attorney.

Students include citizens of India, China, Colombia, Mexico and Japan, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit names three Trump administration officials as defendants: US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons.

The White House and DHS have not responded to CNN’s request for comment.

The government argued during the hearing that granting temporary relief would be harmful to “the executive branch’s ability to control immigration.”

The gallery was packed with college-age spectators, some who shook their heads during the government arguments.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has arrived at the White House for a meeting with President Donald Trump.

Asked by a reporter how confident he is in making a trade deal with Italy, Trump mouthed, “very confident,” to which Meloni laughed. Trump pointed at her and said, “great person,” before they entered the West Wing.

In a bilateral meeting, they are expected to talk about a variety of topics, as Trump administration officials said they see her as a “valuable interlocutor” with the European Union — including on trade, immigration and efforts to end the Ukraine war.

Meloni is expected to push Trump on trade and tariffs.

An official said Trump is “taking this very seriously” and that the White House is “ready to make deals.”