Friday, February 27, 2026

Mamdani helps free Columbia student

Plus: Hillary faces Epstein deposition ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Feb 27 2026

 

Clearing snow by day and freeing students in immigration detention by night is just a day in the life for New York City's new mayor.

Hi there, This is America readers, I'm Phillip M. Bailey, chief political correspondent at USA TODAY.

Zohran Mamdani , the magnetic democratic socialist, might be taking a lot of flak for his threat to raise property taxes, but that charm has spawned a buddy cop relationship with President Donald Trump that appears to have helped leverage the freedom of a foreign student at Columbia University.

Officials at the Ivy League school allege the U.S. Department of Homeland Security misrepresented themselves to gain access to a residence hall where five agents detained Elmina Aghayeva, an Azerbaijan-born student, "without any kind of warrant," according to university leaders.

Aghayeva was freed several hours later, however, after Mamdani spoke with the president during their second meeting in the Oval Office. The mayor also spoke to Trump and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles about four other students targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but their status remains unclear. 

Usa Trump New York Protest

NYPD officers detain demonstrators during a protest organized by Columbia University students and professors against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies and to demand that the school establish itself as a sanctuary campud on February 5, 2026.

Amr Alfiky

For more on Columbia and Mamdani's relationship with Trump, check out USA TODAY's coverage:

Columbia student released after school says ICE lied to access dorm, arrest her: Homeland Security has ignored questions about Columbia's accusations while saying the dorm building manager and Aghayeva's roommate permitted agents to enter.

Protesters gathered at Columbia University demanding Aghayeva's release: Watch.

'Bad policy, but nice guy': At his Feb. 24 State of the Union  speech, Trump complimented Mamdani, inaccurately labeling him a communist, as the two discussed building thousands of housing units in New York City.

Hillary Clinton berates lawmakers after Epstein deposition

House Republicans hauled former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton  before the powerful Oversight Committee for more than six hours as part of its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The former Democratic presidential candidate came out of the closed-door deposition swinging at lawmakers, saying their questions were not serious, and that her testimony should have been open to the public.

Clinton said that she told the panel she knew nothing  about Epstein's criminal activity, but blasted committee members for asking off-topic questions including about UFOs and the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy. She urged lawmakers to ask President  Donald Trump, who defeated her in the 2016 election, "directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files."

Former President Bill Clinton is among the elite figures to appear in the files with or near Epstein and unidentified women. He has repeatedly denied any knowledge of, or wrongdoing associated with, the late financier's alleged crimes, but will testify before the committee on Feb. 27.

In this 2016 photo, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton makes a concession speech as former President Bill Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine look on in New York on Nov. 9, 2016.

The Epstein depositions demonstrate how the Clintons hold far less power in the Democratic Party, and American politics, than they once did.

A "Now Hiring" sign hangs in the window of a hair salon in Medford, Massachusetts.
 

AI just put more than 4,000 people out of work. Is your job next?

Square and Cash App operator Block said it would slash nearly half its workforce as AI reshapes its business, fanning fears of mass layoffs to come.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks during the California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, California, U.S. February 21, 2026. REUTERS/Manuel Orbegozo
 

Antisemitic remarks at S.F. Mayor Lurie's event receives backlash

How antisemitic remarks overshadowed San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie event aimed at promoting the city's economic recovery and housing development.

Cuban coast guard ships docked at the port of Havana on February 25, 2026. Cuba's coast guard said on February 25, 2026, it shot dead four people and wounded six others traveling in a US-registered speedboat during an exchange of fire near Cuba's shores that came amid heightened tensions with Washington. (Photo by Adalberto ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images)
 

Cuban shootout involved stolen Florida boat, US citizens: What we know

Cuba says the participants in an incident with a speedboat off its coast have a history of criminal and violent activity. Here's who they are.

Tiffany Barrera heard her partner Jose Sanchez be arrested over the phone in late 2025. He was deported to Mexico two days later, she said, and died in early January.
 

Her partner died after deportation. Now, she can't pay her bills

Jose Sanchez died trying to cross the Rio Grande after he was deported in November. Now his partner is adjusting to life as a single mom of five.

 

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