College freshman is deported flying home for Thanksgiving surprise, despite court order

A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation of a court order, according to her attorney.

Any Lucia Lopez Belloza, 19, had already passed through security at Boston Logan International Airport on November 20 when she was told there was an issue with her boarding pass, said attorney Todd Pomerleau. The Babson College student was then detained by immigration officials and within two days, sent to Texas and then Honduras, the country she left at age 7.

"She's absolutely heartbroken," Pomerleau said. "Her college dream has just been shattered."

According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an immigration judge ordered Lopez Belloza deported in 2015. Pomerleau said she wasn't aware of any removal order, however, and the only record he's found indicates her case was closed in 2017.

"They're holding her responsible for something they claim happened a decade ago that she's completely unaware of and not showing any of the proof," the lawyer said.

The day after Lopez Belloza was arrested, a federal judge issued an emergency order prohibiting the government from moving her out of Massachusetts or the United States for at least 72 hours.

ICE did not respond to an email Friday from The Associated Press seeking comment about violating that order. Babson College also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Lopez Belloza, who is staying with her grandparents in Honduras, told The Boston Globe she had been looking forward to telling her parents and younger sisters about her first semester studying business.

"That was my dream," she said. "I'm losing everything."

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byVaclav Urich

in

November 29, 2025

College freshman is deported flying home for Thanksgiving surprise, despite court order

A college freshman trying to fly from Boston to Texas to surprise her family for Thanksgiving was instead deported to Honduras in violation...

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International rights group chief says Syria's reforms are promising but democracy is still lacking

BEIRUT (AP) — The secretary general ofAmnesty Internationalsaid Saturday that the new authorities inSyriahave taken steps to show commitment to reform, transitional justice and reconciliation but says democracy is still lacking.

A year after the fall of President Bashar Assad's government, Agnes Callamard, who visited Damascus this week, said that having legal reform plans before parliament, committees for transitional justice and welcoming international rights groups and other experts were signs that change is happening in Syria.

"All of those things are very good signs but they are not very deep," Callamard said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Messages left with Syrian officials seeking comment Saturday were not immediately returned.

After the fall of Assad in an offensive led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria remains unstable. Forces loyal to the government were blamed for taking part this year in sectarianviolence against members of the country's Druze and Alawite minoritiesin the coastal region and the southern province of Sweida that left hundreds dead.

The state has formed committees to investigate atrocities againstDruze in Sweidaand the trial of those suspected of involvement in the violence along the coast in Marchbegan last week.

Over the past year, scores of Assad-era officials have been detained and are expected to be put on trial in the near future to face charges for human rights violations committed over decades in the Arab country.

Callamard said she was told by Syrian officials, including the minister of justice, that hundreds of detainees are being held in "relation to abuses by the former regime."

"There is seemingly a process whereby charges will be drafted very soon," she said, asking what are the grounds for their arrest and who is going to try them. Callamard added that the legal framework needs urgent reform "because some of the most gruesome crimes under international law have not been domesticated."

Callamard said that she held talks with members of the National Commission on Transitional Justice and the National Commission for the Missing, on the process of collecting evidence from Assad-era prisons, adding that the process is ongoing and "will be a long process and slow."

She said that unlike Ukraine, where some European countries established teams of experts to support Ukrainian authorities in their investigation into atrocities "nothing like that is happening in Syria. Nothing. So that needs to change."

"We really need to see the international community doing a bit more of a leap of faith, hearing the cries for change of the Syrian people," Callamard said. She added that despite lack of movement by international community, several small civil society organizations are the one providing all that kind of evidence in Syria.

"My impression after that very short visit, arguably, is that for the international community, Syria is a problem that must be contained," she said. "It seems to me that very few countries are prepared to to do the leap of faith into that and frankly."

"Without that support, I don't know whether what's happening right now will be sustainable," she said.

Last month, Syria held its first parliamentary elections since Assad's fall but there was no direct popular vote in the elections. Two-thirds of the 210-member assembly seats were elected through province-based electoral colleges, with seats distributed by population, while one-third will be appointed directly by al-Sharaa. The new parliament will serve a 30-month term while preparing for future elections.

byVaclav Urich

in

November 29, 2025

International rights group chief says Syria's reforms are promising but democracy is still lacking

BEIRUT (AP) — The secretary general ofAmnesty Internationalsaid Saturday that the new authorities inSyriahave taken steps...

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Major winter storm could disrupt post-Thanksgiving travel rush

As the nation's airports prepare for one of the busiest travel days of the year, a major snowstorm could disrupt plans to close out the holiday weekend.

Winter storm warnings are in place for parts of 10 states, from Ohio to South Dakota. Major cities bracing for heavy snowfall include Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

Lighter snow is possible in cities including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit and Minneapolis.

"The combination of heavy snow rates along with gusty winds will create dangerous travel conditions due to limited visibility and snow-covered roadways," the National Weather Service said.

The same system could bring heavy rain and gusty winds to parts of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys late Saturday and into Sunday before reaching the East Coast later Sunday.

The National Weather Service also warned of potential flooding along the western Gulf Coast.

This active weather pattern comes as millions of Americans return home from the Thanksgiving holiday. Last year, the Sunday after Thanksgiving was the busiest day of the year at the nation's airports.

For drivers, AAA said to expect heavy traffic on interstates throughout the day Sunday.

byVaclav Urich

in

November 29, 2025

Major winter storm could disrupt post-Thanksgiving travel rush

As the nation's airports prepare for one of the busiest travel days of the year, a major snowstorm could disrupt plan...

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How identity thieves look to young athletes for a payday

Identity thieves have in recent years narrowed in on a particularly lucrative target: athletes on the verge of going pro.

A report from the fraud detection company SentiLink found that NBA and NFL draft picks from a recent five-year period were far likelier than the average American to be victims of attempted financial fraud such as fake loans and credit cards taken out in their names.

The figures have risen dramatically from 2020 through 2025. Of the NBA draft picks from that period, 20% saw suspicious credit activity such as credit card applications, and attempted auto and consumer lending loan applications. For NFL picks in the period, the figure was 15.2%. The national average is usually between 2-3%, the report found.

The data only flags suspicious attempts to take out loans and does not track confirmed instances of identity theft.

"Most draft prospects are young adults, typically 18–23 years old. This demographic often has limited credit histories, fewer active financial accounts, and inconsistent digital footprints," the report found.

"These characteristics make them ideal targets because fraudulent applications are less likely to trigger alerts associated with established credit behavior, and there is often less public information available to contradict a fraudulent application," it said.

The rise in identity fraud efforts around young athletes coincides with a national trend. While there are no comprehensive figures on how many Americans become victims each year, complaints to the Federal Trade Commission have risen nearly every year since it started tracking them in 2001,culminating in a record 6.5 million last year..

James Lee, the president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps Americans deal with identity theft, said young athletes make sense as targets.

"Professional athletes who are early in their careers make for easy targets because they are highly visible, are suddenly wealthy, but may not have the same level of personal protection and life skills to avoid being taken advantage of by professional criminals," said Lee, who was not involved in the study.

Trying to open a credit card or take out a bank loan in another person's name often require little more than some basic information about that person, such as their name, current address, birthday and family. It usually also requires a Social Security Number, but those are hacked and traded by cybercriminals so frequently that they're relatively easy to acquire.

Athletes competing to go pro are heavily scrutinized and generally see little expectation of privacy. Their names, ages and basic biographical and family information are widely plastered across sports websites, and they often publicly advertise on social media. And the fact that they are likely to frequently move among their home, college, training camps and the city where they're drafted means they may be less likely to see mailed credit alerts.

The attempts also echo aspate of home burglariesthat have plagued both leagues in recent years, particularly targeting them while they're playing in high-profile away games. Victims include NFL stars such as Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Shedeur Sanders and NBA stars such asShai Gilgeous-AlexanderandLuka Doncic. The FBI is helping investigate the break-ins for potential ties to international crime rings, NBC Newsreported last week. The agency did not respond when asked if it was also tracking identity thieves who target athletes.

SentiLink works with banks and other financial services to flag suspicious transactions and has a massive database of credit activity. Researchers at the company looked at the 1,292 NFL players drafted from 2020 to 2024, as well as the 288 NBA players drafted in that same period, and compared them to national averages.

David Maimon, SentiLink's head of fraud insight and the lead researcher on the study told NBC News that the data does not indicate a widespread organized criminal conspiracy and seems more like a phenomenon of more amateur criminals trying to take advantage of newly famous young men. He declined to share the names of which players have been particularly targeted, citing confidentiality agreements.

Most identity theft attempts are not made public. But they can be amateur and brazen, while others can use modern technology and manipulation techniques.

Some loan applications ask for a person to record a live video and move their head to prove their identity. But that can be easily fooled, Maimon said. Athletes' pictures are easy to find online and there are plenty of AI tools that can convincingly deepfake their heads turning, he noted.

Jason Rivarde, the commander of public affairs at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana, said his office had arrested two people earlier this year for allegedly attempting to take out loans by posing as Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans quarterback and 2025 first overall draft pick, as well as his father.

The pair were caught when an employee at a Jefferson County financial institution who had served them before recognized them trying to take out a loan in a third name, Rivarde said.

The Wards and the Titans did not respond to requests for comment.

The NBA and the NFL players unions both provide rookies with basic financial literacy training and recommend vetted financial advisers, spokespeople for the unions told NBC News.

But it's particularly hard for newly famous people to fully protect themselves from dogged identity thieves, especially if they have not yet hired advisers to handle their finances and closely watch their credit reports. Experts like Maimon say one of the best defenses is for everyone to keep their credit frozen, but that's a tall order for an athlete who signs a major contract and is inclined to buy items that require a credit check, such as vehicles and property.

byVaclav Urich

in

November 29, 2025

How identity thieves look to young athletes for a payday

Identity thieves have in recent years narrowed in on a particularly lucrative target: athletes on the verge of going pro. A report from th...

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Indiana finishes regular season with exclamation point. Now come the questions

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Speaking in the afterglow of his team's senior day win against Wisconsin almost two weeks ago,Curt Cignettiadmitted he struggles in the moment for perspective.

That a man in his position finds it difficult to "step back" — his words — "and think about what we've accomplished here" is understandable. Yet that perspective came easier Friday night, as Cignetti'sIndiana footballteam clinched its first appearance in theBig Ten championship gamewitha 56-3 routof rival Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium painted crimson by the very success Cignetti can't allow himself to soak in for fear of the complacency it might feed.

In that same monologue delivered earlier this month, Cignetti allowed for himself the best advice he could give his fans now too. Words that frame perfectly these heady, historic days for the program Cignetti has turned into the national force he said he would.

"It's been fun," Cignetti said. "Let's have more fun."

ForIndiana, these are the glory days. They may yet last awhile. None endure forever. Best enjoy these while they do.

Each week brings another first since, or never before, this season a race to rewrite as much of the record book as possible. Last season was the whirlwind rise, the season when nothing could go wrong because too much had gone right. But this one will be remembered forever.

The hows and whys of Friday night won't matter to anyone not of an Indiana persuasion. Fans get another year to bathe in a dominant rivalry showing, and this was certainly that. But on the field, No. 2 IU is chasing something far greater than anOld Oaken Bucket.

Whatever happens across the next eight days, or the next six weeks, this season has changed so much about Indiana for the foreseeable future. Maybe for good.

And while Cignetti and his players have the big prizes now firmly in their sights, there should be nothing wrong with stopping for a moment to appreciate seasons like these will in their own way last forever.

"First team in Indiana history to go 12-0 in the regular season," Cignetti said. "That's absolute. Whatever happens from here, this team will always be the first team."

On the topic of those hows and whys, Cignetti will still have enjoyed them Friday.

He said postgame he felt the Hoosiers (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) hadn't "improved" in the weeks leading up to wins over Penn State and Wisconsin.

"We asked our guys to do more," he said.

To the naked eye, Indiana appeared worn down, by the physical demands of six-straight weeks without a break, plus the mental and emotional toll of chasing a season that's a lot more rare than most fans realize.

Cignetti suggested there had been just five Big Ten teams to complete a 12-0 season since 2000. It was too late, too dark and too cold for anyone to do the research to either confirm or disprove his claim.(Editor's fact check: Big Ten teams to go 12-0 in the regular season since 2000 included 2015 Iowa; 2017 Wisconsin; Ohio State in 2002, 2006, 2012, 2013 and 2019; Michigan in 2022 and 2023; and 2024 Oregon.)The fundamental point remained anyway.

Even this kind of perfection is difficult. Arguably more so in the portal era. That difficulty was reflected in less-than-its-best IU performances across recent weeks.

Not this one.

Indiana led 28-3 at halftime and just loped away from there. The Hoosiers rushed for 355 yards. Four players found the end zone on the ground. By the end, Indiana had freshman handing off to freshman and still pounded its way through an overrun Purdue (2-10, 0-9) defense.

And when the Hoosiers were through, they celebrated retaining the Bucket with Cignetti, with their fans, with each other. There was, Cignetti admitted, a fair bit of cigar smoke hanging in the visitors' locker room late Friday night.

"There's a lot of celebrating going on in that locker room right now," he said. "They're having a good old time. But they also understand they get to enjoy it for 24 hours. They understand, it's a great night for Indiana."

That's his general rule: Twenty-four hours to enjoy a win, then it's on to the next thing.

The Hoosiers will need at least that long to start properly scouting their Big Ten championship game opponent — we won't know who they'll play Dec. 6 until sometime Saturday, depending upon results in Ann Arbor and potentially Seattle.

As for its own path to Indy, IU left no doubt.

"We wanted to walk out of this game with an exclamation point, and not a question mark," Cignetti said, "and we did."

His team walked out with more than that. As Indiana's team buses pulled away Friday, they did so with history onboard.

Not just a footnote, or a new career best. But the kind of thing that lasts forever, stamped in bronze and frozen permanently in the memory of a fan base now living through the best days of its program's existence.

For Indiana football, these are most certainly the glory days. Cignetti had those 12-0 Big Ten teams at the ready when he referenced the number. Michigan here, Ohio State there. Oregon last year.

"Indiana, now," Cignetti said, adding his trademark wink. "Add them to the list."

Add them to the list. Forever. It can get better than this, but not by much.

Want moreHoosierscoverage?Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Curt Cignetti leads Indiana football to first undefeated regular season

byVaclav Urich

in

November 29, 2025

Indiana finishes regular season with exclamation point. Now come the questions

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – Speaking in the afterglow of his team's senior day win against Wisconsin almost two weeks ago,Cu...

Read More