U.S. and world news for June 12

Flightcrew declared emergency before Air India Boeing jet crash

The flightcrew of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in India’s western city of Ahmedabad this morning made a mayday call, declaring an emergency, shortly after the airplane took off. It reached about 700 feet and then crashed, causing an enormous explosion and fire. It was initially believed that all 242 people on the airplane and an as yet undetermined number of people on the ground were killed, but there were reports that at least one person on the airplane may have survived. Air India said in a statement that of the 242 people on board, 169 were Indian nationals and 53 were British nationals. There were also seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national, the airline added. The flight, AI171, was bound for London’s Gatwick Airport.

Nationwide protests over Trump’s ICE actions continue

Demonstrations against the Trump Administration’s immigration crackdown have continued to spread across the U.S. On Wednesday, police in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle and Spokane, Washington, arrested dozens of anti-ICE protesters. An overnight curfew was enacted for a second night in downtown LA to “stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the president’s chaotic escalation,” LA Mayor Karen Bass said. A similar curfew was also announced in Spokane. More than 1,800 “No Kings” events to protest the administration’s actions are scheduled to take place on Saturday, the same day as Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C. Ahead of that parade, Trump told reporters that any protesters should be prepared to be met with a show of force.

Bus with humanitarian aid workers attacked, allegedly by Hamas

A bus carrying more than two dozen workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid initiative, was attacked late Wednesday. “We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,” the GHF said in a statement. The aid group accused Hamas of carrying out the assault; the militant group has not yet responded to the allegations. The GHF was established amid Israeli accusations that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza and profiting off its sale but the organization has been controversial from the get-go and criticized by multiple international aid agencies. Also on Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency announced the recovery of two deceased hostages during a military operation.

Federal judge orders release of Columbia University student

A federal judge has granted Mahmoud Khalil’s habeas corpus petition and blocked the Trump Administration from continuing to detain the former Columbia University graduate student. During the 2024 demonstrations on campus, Khalil served as a liaison between students protesting the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and school administrators. He was one of the first in a series of high-profile arrests of pro-Palestinian student activists caught up in the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses and his detention sparked protests across the U.S. In the three months he was imprisoned in Louisiana, Khalil missed his own graduation and the birth of his first son. In other immigration news, Khaby Lame, the world’s most popular TikTok personality and a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, has left the U.S. after being detained at the airport by immigration agents in Las Vegas for allegedly overstaying his visa.

American Medical Association says Kennedy should reverse vaccine panel dismissal

The American Medical Association has adopted a resolution calling for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse his decision to remove the members of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel. “With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses,” AMA President Dr. Bruce Scott said in a statement. Kennedy’s action to get rid of people on the panel with proven expertise and replace them with people who reflect Kennedy’s anti-vaccine stands has drawn rebukes from physicians, nurses, former health officials as well as the AMA.

Judge declares mistrial for third charge in Harvey Weinstein case

The judge in the trial of former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein today declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third charge in the case. The jury in New York convicted Weinstein of forcibly subjecting a woman to a criminal sex act in 2006. He was found not guilty of another charge and the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third charge. Weinstein is 73. In 2020, Weinstein was convicted of sex crimes and sentenced to 23 years in prison in New York; however, in 2024, the state’s highest court awarded him a new trial. Weinstein was also convicted of sex crimes in 2022 and sentenced to prison in California; he is currently appealing that case.