Alien Enemies Act of 1798; Boston immigration : NPR

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Today’s top stories

Severe weather across the South and Midwest over the weekend caused tornadoes, dust storms, wildfires, and heavy rain, resulting in at least three dozen deaths in the U.S. The storms continued to hit the East Coast overnight but have largely moved offshore. Residents across the nation are still taking stock of the damage.

• 🎧 The volatile storm system created a trail of destruction from Kansas and Oklahoma, down to Texas, and east over to Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi, NPR’s Ryland Barton tells Up First. In Missouri, 12 people died, and hundreds of homes, schools and businesses were destroyed. Damage from two tornadoes in Arkansas showed they were likely EF-4s, the second strongest class of tornadoes. On Friday, eight people died in a 71-vehicle pileup in Kansas after a dust storm reduced visibility to near zero. President Trump said he is monitoring the storm damage and promised to assist officials in the recovery efforts.

The Trump administration this weekend deported about 250 people it accused of being members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua to El Salvador. Trump invoked a rarely-used law called the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expel them without due process. A federal judge is trying to stop this.

• 🎧 In Trump’s order, he described the gang as a force invading the U.S.NPR’s Adrian Florido says. The ACLU sued to stop the deportations. The organization acted quickly because once the U.S. turns someone over to a foreign government, federal courts lose jurisdiction. Judge James Boasberg of the federal district court in D.C. said he didn’t think the Alien Enemies Act authorized the immediate deportations. He told the government to turn back any planes that might be in the air already, but that didn’t happen.

A federal judge in Boston is scheduled to hold a hearing this morning about what he considers “serious” allegations that Customs and Border Protection officials disobeyed his court order by sending a doctor legally working in the U.S. back to Lebanon. In a separate case, a German-born green card holder is being detained, raising concerns about an immigration crackdown in Boston.

• 🎧 Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist, visited her family in Lebanon. When she returned to the Boston airport, she was detained for 36 hours and had her phone taken away. Her lawyers made a frantic call to the airport control tower, trying to stop her plane from taking off and sending her back. Today, government officials are expected to share their accounts of what happened. NPR’s Tovia Smith says this is being seen as Trump making good on one of his central campaign promises.

Deep dive

Enrollment in online college is becoming an increasingly popular option. However, many students wonder why it costs just as much as in-person programs. According to an annual survey of college online-learning officers, 83% of online programs in higher education cost students as much or more than the in-person options. In addition, about a quarter of universities add a “distance learning” fee. One of the reasons behind the higher-than-expected cost is that colleges and universities use online education to subsidize everything else they do.

• 💻 Universities say they spend more than anticipated on advising and support for online students whose academic performance lags behind their in-person counterparts.
• 💻 This year, for the first time, more American college students will be learning entirely online rather than 100% in person, according to Richard Garrett, chief research officer for Eduventures, an arm of Encoura, a higher education consulting company.
• 💻 Today, online classes for in-state students at four-year public universities average $341 a credit compared to $325 a credit for face-to-face tuition. This adds up to about $41,000 for an online degree compared to $39,000 for the in-person option.
• 💻 Garrett says that community colleges charge online students the same as or more than in-person students, likely because their tuition is already comparatively low overall.
• 💻 There are signs that pricing could fall as competition intensifies from national nonprofit providers such as Western Governors University and Southern New Hampshire University.

Picture show

This year marks the third Global Ability Photography Challenge, which showcases work from photographers with a disability. Youth4Jobs, a nonprofit in India, organized the competition, which garnered 320 entries from 14 countries. Vicky Roy, an eminent photographer and one of this year’s judges, says people with disabilities narrate stories differently due to their lived experiences and they have access to stories beyond non-disabled individuals’ reach. Here’s a look at the photos from the eight winnerswho represent a range of disabilities, including speech and hearing impairments, intellectual disabilities and low vision.

3 things to know before you go

1. A four-person crew entered the International Space Station early yesterday morning as part of a mission to relieve Suni Williams and Butch Wilmorewho can now return to Earth after more than nine months in space.
2. NPR’s College Podcast Challenge has narrowed down its list to 10 finalists. The winner will be announced next month and will take home a $5,000 cash prize. Listen to the finalists’ entries here.
3. The Vatican released yesterday the first photo of Pope Francis since he entered the hospital over a month ago for bronchitis. In the image, he is seen praying Inside Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.