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A U.S. immigration court has terminated the Trump administration's attempt to deport a Tufts University student and pro-Palestinian activist who has been critical of Israel, her lawyers said Monday.

The court terminated the government's removal proceedings on Jan. 29, finding that the government has not met its burden in proving thatRümeysa Öztürk, a Ph.D. student from Turkey studying children's relationship to social media, should be deported, the lawyers said.

The termination was noted Monday in a filing on behalf of Öztürk with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, where she is challenging her arrest and detention.

"Today, I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that despite the justice system's flaws, my case may give hope to those who have also been wronged by the U.S. government," Öztürk said in a statement Monday. "Though the pain that I and thousands of other women wrongfully imprisoned by ICE have faced cannot be undone, it is heartening to know that some justice can prevail after all."

Immigration officers detained Öztürk in March, and a federal judge ordered her release in May, pending proceedings on the merits of her habeas corpus petition. Terminating removal proceedings "does not moot her habeas case," her lawyers wrote.

Her legal team's filing says the immigration court in question denied a key argument the Trump administration used toupend the immigration statusof multiple students and campus activists critical of Israel amid its war with Hamas militants in Gaza.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson characterized the immigration court decision as "judicial activism" and called Öztürk a "terrorist sympathizer."

"Visas provided to foreign students to live, study, and work, in the United States are a privilege, not a right — no matter what this or any other activist judicial ruling says," the spokesperson said in a statement Monday. "And when you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country."

Immigration court proceedings are generally not public, and the decision ruling that Öztürk cannot be deported was filed under seal, her lawyers said in their filing. They offered to provide a copy to the appeals court under seal.

Öztürk was arrested March 25 in Somerville, Massachusetts. In supporting her release from an immigrant detention facility,Tufts said in Aprilthat Öztürk had co-authored an opinion piece in the student newspaper criticizing the university's response to the war in Gaza and demanding it divest from ties to Israel.

The Trump administration cited a rarely used provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if it is determined their presence would result in "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States."

In their filing Monday, Öztürk's lawyers, including counsel from the ACLU of Massachusetts, highlighted what they called the "dangers" of the government's interpretation of the act.

"Under the government's view," they wrote, "it could punitively detain any noncitizen in retaliation for her speech for many months, so long as it simultaneously institutes removal proceedings—no matter how unmeritorious—all without any federal court review of the lawfulness of detention at any time."

Defense team member Mahsa Khanbabai said in a statement Monday that the Trump administration "has manipulated immigration laws to silence people who advocate for Palestinian human rights and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza."

Khanbabai added: "I hope that other immigration judges will follow her lead and decline to rubber stamp the president's cruel deportation agenda."

The Department of Justice sued to strike down the ban in November 2025 after it was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September. In a ruling on Feb. 9, U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder preliminarily struck down the law, and upheld another California law that requires federal officers to display their identification while performing their official duties.

The Trump administration hailed the ruling as a win, with Attorney GeneralPam Bondicalling it a "key court victory." The Justice Department argued in the lawsuit that immigration agents "face a real threat of criminal liability from state officials who have made clear their intent to target federal officers and disrupt federal law enforcement activities, including federal immigration enforcement."

"These federal agents are harassed, doxxed, obstructed, and attacked on a regular basis just for doing their jobs. We have no tolerance for it," Bondisaidin her statement on Feb. 9.

Gov. Gavin Newsom also counted the ruling to uphold the identification law as "a clear win for the rule of law," and said "no badge and no name mean no accountability."

After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents (ICE), communities across the U.S. are protesting against Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions.

Pictured here, Demonstrators gather for a protest calling for the removal of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, 2026 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Protests were held across the United States in response to ICE enforcement activity.

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'ICE Out' protests spark marches, confrontations across US

After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents (ICE), communities across the U.S. areprotestingagainst Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions.Pictured here, Demonstrators gather for a protest calling for the removal of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, 2026 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Protests were held across the United States in response to ICE enforcement activity.

More:Safety measure? Or intimidation tactic? Masked ICE agents spark the debate

In the ruling, Snyder said that the federal government would likely prove the mask ban to be unconstitutional because it treated state officers differently than federal officers; the law included local law enforcement officers and federal officers but not state officers.

The ruling comes as political tension is heightened over PresidentDonald Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions in primarily Democrat-led states and cities. Weeks of protests have spread nationally after federal officers fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, inMinneapolis, where the administration recently announced the departure of hundreds of immigration enforcement personnel. In videos and photos, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agents are routinely seen wearing face coverings while conducting operations, making arrests and clashing with protesters.

Los Angeles has also been atarget for enhanced immigration enforcement, which sparked protests that at times turned violent last summer.

More:White House negotiating with Democrats on DHS reform as deadline nears

Scott Wiener, the state senator who introduced the mask ban, said in a statement that he will introduce new legislation to include state officers, and said the ruling demonstrates that California has the right to block officers from covering their faces if state officers are included.

"Today's federal court ruling is a huge win: The Court ruled that California has the power to protect our community by banning officers, including federal agents, from wearing masks and thus inflicting terror and shielding themselves from accountability," Wiener, a Democrat whose area of representation includes San Francisco, said.

"ICE and Border Patrol are covering their faces to maximize their terror campaign and to insulate themselves from accountability. We won't let them get away with it," Wienersaid.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Judge blocks California mask ban for federal agents

Russian forces usedcluster munitionsin an attack on a market in Ukraine killing seven as envoys from Moscow and Kyiv met in Abu Dhabi last week foranother roundof U.S.-brokered talks. No breakthrough was made, although a new prisoner swap was agreed.

After saying in 2024 that he could end the war in a day, then 100 days, U.S. President Donald Trump has now given Ukraine and Russiauntil Juneto come to an agreement.

The EU is convinced that Russia is not negotiating seriously and it doubts that European and Ukrainian interests are being represented by the Trump administration, so work has begun on "a sustainable peace plan" that might force Moscow's hand.

"We have just seen increased bombing by Russians during these talks," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said, including the targeting of Ukraine'selectricity gridduring what has been the coldest winter of the war.

Kallas said that the 27-nation bloc is "very grateful" for U.S. diplomatic efforts so far, but "to have sustainable peace also, everybody around the table including the Russians and the Americans need to understand that you need Europeans to agree."

"We also have conditions," Kallas told reporters in Brussels. "And we should put the conditions not on Ukrainians that have already been pressured a lot, but on the Russians."

Kallas said these conditions could include demands that Russia return possibly thousands of childrenabducted from Ukraineand limits on the size of the Russian armed forces once the war is over. Russia insists on a cap for Ukraine's forces.

"The Ukrainian army is not the issue. It's the Russian army. It's the Russian military expenditure. If they spend so much on the military they will have to use it again," Kallas said.

A draft list of conditions is likely to be shared among EU member countries in coming days for a possible discussion when the bloc's foreign ministers meet on Feb. 23.

Kallas said that Ukraine is reliant on the United States for support and that this dependency has seen it forced to make almost all the concessions.

"Pressuring the weaker party is always maybe getting the results faster but it's only a declaration that we have peace. It's not sustainable peace. It's not going to be a guarantee for Ukraine or anybody else that Russia is not going to attack again."

She said that the Europeans do not want to start a separate track of peace talks, which Russia in any case would likely dismiss, but she said that it is important "to change the narrative."

"Everybody wants this war to stop, except the Russians," she said. "We can push them into the place where they actually want to end this war. They're not there yet. Unfortunately, it's not an easy solution."

Kallas cited recent intelligence estimates that President Vladimir Putin is struggling to find recruits to continue his war effort and insisted that EU sanctions are damaging Russia's economy as inflation there runs high.

The EU is also working on a ban to halt repairs and other services to ships carrying Russian oil. Kallas hopes to bring the Group of Seven nations onboard in talks at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

"We can push them into the place where they actually want to end this war. They're not there yet. Unfortunately, it's not an easy solution," she said.

"It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Tracy Scroggins," his family said ina statement provided to TMZ.

"Tracy was a devoted father, cherished family member, and loyal friend whose life was marked by remarkable strength and perseverance. While many knew him for his career as a professional football player in the NFL, those closest to him knew him as a kind-hearted and generous man who cared deeply for his family and friends."

The family also said in its announcement of Scroggins' death that the 56-year-old had suffered symptoms suspected to be from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) during his post-playing career.

CTE is only diagnosable through a neuropathological autopsy performed after a person's death. It was not immediately clear whether Scroggins' family would have his brain tested.

"Playing in the NFL gave Tracy the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream and to rise from poverty," the statement read. "However, unfortunately, the NFL was also ultimately the cause of his untimely demise. Tracy spent every moment of retirement courageously battling the devastating effects of CTE. While our hearts are heavy, we find comfort in knowing that he is finally at peace."

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Scroggins was one of nearly 5,000 players to file concussion-related lawsuits against the NFL before the league's sweeping concussion settlement in 2015.

Scroggins filed an additional claim against the NFL in 2016. His lawyer at the time – Tim Howard – stated his client was suffering from symptoms consistent with CTE.

"He can't remember where he is or where he's going,"Howard told USA TODAY Sports in 2016. "He hasn't been able to hold a job over the last six years. Beyond memory issues, he suffers from depression and has angry outbursts."

Scroggins was a defensive mainstay for Detroit

Scroggins played 10 NFL seasons, all for theLions, after being selected in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft. The Tulsa product played 142 games and made 89 starts while playing both defensive end and linebacker.

Scroggins racked up 60½ career sacks – seventh-most in franchise history – and was named the No. 90 player in the ranking of the greatest players franchise history bythe Free Pressin 2019.

TheLionspaid homage to Scroggins with a social media post shortly after his death was announced:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tracy Scroggins, Detroit Lions great, dies after suspected CTE battle

Golden State coach Steve Kerr announced the news prior to the Warriors' game on Monday evening versus the Memphis Grizzlies.

Curry will not play vs. Memphis on Monday or San Antonio on Wednesday, missing his fourth and fifth consecutive games. He is suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as runner's knee.

The Warriors are hopeful that Curry will return after the All-Star break when they host the Boston Celtics on Feb. 19.

"It's a matter of learning as I go what works rehab-wise," Curry told ESPN. "Because it's still painful. You have to try to get rid of all the inflammation and pain. It's something we still have to monitor and injury-manage, but it's something where, if I come back too early, it could flare up."

Curry has missed 14 games to date, but is averaging 27.2 points per game, the fifth-highest per game total of his 17-year career.

He has not played since leaving a Jan. 30 home game vs. Detroit.

Curry joins the Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (abdomen) as All-Stars who will miss Sunday's game in Los Angeles. Gilgeous-Alexander has been replaced on the Team World roster by the Houston Rockets' center Alperen Sengun.

The NBA hasn't announced a replacement for Curry on Team USA.

--Field Level Media