South African police rescue kidnapped American missionary

South African police rescued a kidnapped American missionary. And the U.S. military prepares to assume a larger role at the southern border. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

American missionary rescued in shootout: South African police

South African police claimed they rescued an American missionary, reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint during a church service Thursday, April 10, in what they described as a “high-intensity shootout.”

The Fellowship Baptist Church of Tennessee confirmed on its Facebook page Wednesday morning, April 16, that missionary Josh Sullivan is safe. However, South African police have not yet identified the person they rescued by name.

A police spokesperson reported that three unidentified suspects were killed during Tuesday’s operation, which the South African Police Service’s elite Hawks unit led.

Six armed men reportedly kidnapped Sullivan during a church service last Thursday night near the city once known as Post Elizabeth.

South African investigators said they learned that the captors were holding an abducted American citizen, believed to be Sullivan, at a safe house there. When officers approached, the suspects inside a vehicle opened fire and attempted to flee. That ultimately resulted in the fatal shootout.

A police spokesperson said the officers found the American inside the exact vehicle as the suspects, and he was “miraculously unharmed.” They said medical personnel assessed him, and he remains “in excellent condition.”

Judge orders Trump officials to testify in Maryland man deportation case

The federal judge overseeing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, mistakenly deported to El Salvador, ordered the sworn testimony of Trump administration officials to determine whether the administration complied with her orders to facilitate his return.

The order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland comes after the administration refused to retrieve Abrego Garcia and defied a Supreme Court order to do so. Trump administration lawyers contended that “facilitate” only means “to remove domestic obstacles.”

Xinis called on four Trump administration officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the State Department to testify. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers have requested that the administration be held in contempt of court due to its inaction.

The judge stated she wants to review all evidence submitted by the administration, including sworn depositions, which must be completed by next Wednesday, April 23.

Trump administration officials claimed they lacked the authority to bring the Salvadoran national back from his native country. During a White House visit on Monday, April 14, El Salvador’s president said he would not return Abrego Garcia. He said that would be smuggling “a terrorist into the United States.”

Biden criticizes Trump administration’s handling of Social Security

During one of his initial public outings after exiting the White House, former President Joe Biden criticized what he perceives as cuts to Social Security under the Trump administration.

During a speech at the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD) in Chicago on Tuesday, April 15, Biden said the Trump administration has inflicted “breathtaking” and “devastating” damage on the program.

“Why are these guys taking aim at Social Security now? Well, they’re following that old line from tech startups. The quote is, ‘move fast, break things.’ They’re certainly breaking things. They’re shooting first and aiming later. As a result, the result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights. My friend Gov. [Martin] O’Malley knows what they’re really up to. He says, and I love his quote, ‘They want to wreck it so they can rob it.’ You want to wreck it so they can rob it. Why do they want to rob it? In order to deliver huge tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations and keep it going. They want to make permanent the 2017 tax cuts which overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations.”

Former President Joe Biden, April 15, 2025

The former president’s remarks come as Democrats have criticized President Donald Trump’s leadership concerning Social Security, which benefits more than 70 million Americans.

The Social Security Administration responded to Biden’s remarks on X, saying, “Former President Joe Biden is lying to Americans.”

Trump has repeatedly promised to protect Social Security and ensure higher take-home pay for seniors by ending taxation on Social Security benefits. The Trump administration also accused Biden of making illegal payments to millions of undocumented immigrants.

US Army to control ‘buffer zone’ along Mexico border

As Trump continued his crackdown on illegal border crossings, the administration ordered U.S. Army soldiers to patrol a 170-mile buffer zone along the southern border between Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico. It labeled the area a “national defense area.”

Soldiers will apprehend trespassers in the area or on the property, akin to the consequences faced by those who illegally enter a military base.

American officials told ABC News that the initial phase of the zone would extend from a base in southeastern Arizona eastward into New Mexico.

Some analysts believe it’s a way for the administration to militarize the border and allow soldiers to perform law enforcement duties by declaring federal property a military base, where migrants caught crossing illegally will be detained.

On a related note, two service members were killed, and a third was seriously injured when their military vehicle crashed in New Mexico on Tuesday morning, April 15, near the border.

The wreck occurred on New Mexico Highway 9 near the Santa Teresa border in Dona Ana County, New Mexico, about a dozen miles north of El Paso, Texas.

So far, the military has not released any information about the victims.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth assigned service members to border patrol duties as part of a mandated task force aimed at combating illegal immigration and the drug trade.

Ongoing measles outbreak is underreported: CDC

The CDC indicated that health authorities have missed numerous cases of measles, and the agency faces challenges in responding to support requests from states dealing with outbreaks.

This comes as the measles outbreak in western Texas continues to grow, with 561 confirmed cases, according to new data published Tuesday. That marks an increase of 20 new cases over the last five days.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, almost all cases are in unvaccinated individuals or those with an unknown vaccination status. Over 700 measles cases have been reported nationwide so far this year, making it the second-worst year on record in decades.

‘Bookstore brigade’ forms human chain to move 9,100 books to new home

Any avid book lover knows it’s a hassle to pack up and move tomes from one place to another. However, one Michigan bookstore seems to have discovered a “hack” for this.

Residents of all ages lined the streets of downtown Chelsea, Michigan, to help Serendipity Books move to its new home, just a block from its old one. The so-called “bookstore brigade” consisted of a human chain of 300 people.

Volunteers transported over 9,000 books one by one, ensuring they remained alphabetized and delivering them directly to their correct shelves at the new location. The store owner mentioned that it was an effective way to engage the community.

The move took just under two hours — much less time than if she had hired a moving company to pack and unpack everything. This also proves that “many hands make light work.”