Critics are sounding the alarms as the future of Penn Station is now in Amtrak’s hands. Editor’s warning: mentions of violence and death.

Happening in the World: Israeli airstrikes in the past 24 hours killed 51 Palestinians, the local Health Ministry said Sunday, bringing the Palestinian death toll from the 18-month-old war to over 52,243. Israel ended the ceasefire by launching a surprise bombardment on March 18 and has been carrying out daily waves of strikes. Israel has also sealed off Gaza’s two million Palestinians from all imports, including food and medicine, for nearly 60 days. Aid groups say thousands of children are malnourished. (AP) 

Happening in the US: ICE officers have in recent days deported the Cuban-born mother of a one-year-old girl—separating them indefinitely—and three children ages two, four, and seven who are US citizens along with their Honduran-born mothers, their lawyers said Saturday. The three cases raise questions about who is being deported and why amid a battle in federal courts over whether President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone too far and too quickly at the expense of fundamental rights. (AP) 

Happening in NYC: America’s national railroad is now in charge of what could be one of New York City’s most ambitious public works projects in recent memory. The Trump administration yanked the Penn Station redevelopment project from the MTA earlier this month, citing its “history of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement.” US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put Amtrak in charge of delivering what he called “a world-class Penn Station.” But a look at Amtrak’s recent history shows its own watchdog inspector general routinely finding evidence of inefficiency, waste, and mismanagement. (Gothamist)  

Happening in Our Community: “Climate Knowledge, Science Skepticism, and White Supremacy in 20th-Century Southern Africa” will be held Wednesday, April 30, from 4:30 to 6 pm in 513 Fayerweather Hall. In this talk, Professor Meredith McKittrick of Georgetown University will share an unexplored aspect of Apartheid in South Africa—climate science. Register here.

Penn Station via Flickr