President Joe Biden condemns Texas judge's decision to pause protections for the immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims senior White House officials pushed to "censor" some COVID-19 content during the pandemic.

'That ruling is wrong': Biden condemns Texas judge's order pausing immigration program

A federal judge in Texas on Monday ordered a temporary pause on the Biden administration’s new protections that would allow immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens a path to citizenship. 

President Joe Biden condemned the decision on Tuesday, lamenting the fact that "a single district court in Texas ruled that our work to keep families together has to stop."

"That ruling is wrong," Biden said. "These families should not be needlessly separated. They should be able to stay together, and my Administration will not stop fighting for them."

The administrative stay issued by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker comes just days after 16 states, led by Republican attorneys general, challenged the program that could benefit an estimated 500,000 immigrants in the country, plus about 50,000 of their children. The states accused the administration of bypassing Congress for “blatant political purposes.”

One of the states leading the challenge is Texas, which claimed in the lawsuit that it has had to pay tens of millions of dollars annually from health care to law enforcement because of immigrants living in the state without legal status.

President Biden announced the program in June. The court order, which lasts for two weeks but could be extended, comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security began accepting applications.

"The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date," Barker wrote.

Barker was appointed by former President Donald Trump in 2019 as a judge in Tyler, Texas, which lies in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The judge laid out a timetable that could produce a decision shortly before the presidential election Nov. 5 or before a newly elected president takes office in January. Barker gave both sides until Oct. 10 to file briefs in the case.

The policy in question offers spouses of U.S. citizens without legal status, who meet certain criteria, a path to citizenship by applying for a green card and staying in the U.S. while undergoing the process. Traditionally, the process could include a years-long wait outside of the U.S., causing what advocates equate to “family separation.”

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton cheered the order.

“This is just the first step. We are going to keep fighting for Texas, our country, and the rule of law,” Paxton posted on the social media platform X.

To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen by June 17 — the day before the program was announced.

They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country.

If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization.

Before this program, it was complicated for people who were in the U.S. illegally to get a green card after marrying an American citizen. They can be required to return to their home country — often for years — and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back in.

Israel says military rescued hostage abducted by Hamas

Israel's military said Tuesday that it rescued a hostage abducted by Hamas during the terror group's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.

Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued by Israeli forces in a "complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said. He is in stable medical condition.

"No further details can be published due to considerations of the safety of our hostages, the security of our forces, and national security," Israeli security forces said. "He is in a stable medical condition and is being transferred for medical checks at a hospital. His family has been updated with the details, and the IDF is accompanying them."

He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, located in southern Israel near the Gaza border, when he was abducted on Oct. 7. He has two wives and 11 children.

“We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” Faez, a family member, told Israeli media. “I hope that every hostage will come home so the families can experience this happiness.”

He is one of eight members of Israel's Bedouin minority who were abducted on Oct. 7.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue operation was part of the army's “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip,” adding that Israel is "committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages.”

Some 250 people were abducted during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, which saw 1,200 people, mostly civilians, killed — the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.

Israel's retaliatory strikes have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. It's unclear how many were fighters.

Some of the hostages were released during a cease-fire last year, though the terror group is still believed to be holding about 110 hostages. A third of that group are believed to be dead. Israel has rescued eight of the hostages taken on Oct. 7.

Talks moderated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar aimed at brokering a cease-fire and the release of hostages are still underway. 

Zuckerberg says White House pressured Facebook over some COVID-19 content during pandemic

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says senior Biden administration officials pressured Facebook to "censor" some COVID-19 content during the pandemic and vowed that the social media giant would push back if it faced such demands again.

In a letter to Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg alleges that the officials, including those from the White House, "repeatedly pressured" Facebook for months to take down "certain COVID-19 content including humor and satire."

The officials "expressed a lot of frustration" when the company didn't agree, he said in the letter.

"I believe the government pressure was wrong and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it," Zuckerberg wrote in the letter dated Aug. 26 and posted on the committee's Facebook page and to its account on X.

The letter is the latest repudiation by Zuckerberg of efforts to target misinformation around the coronavirus pandemic during and after the 2020 presidential election, particularly as allegations have emerged that some posts were deleted or restricted wrongly.

"I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn't make today," he said, without elaborating. "We're ready to push back if something like this happens again."

In response, the White House said in a statement that, "When confronted with a deadly pandemic, this Administration encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety. Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present."

Experts warn this year's U.S. election could be swamped by misinformation on social media with the proliferation of artificial intelligence and other tools to produce false news stories and content that could mislead voters.

Facebook in early 2021 appended what Zuckerberg called labels with "credible information" to posts about COVID-19 vaccines. That's after it moved in April 2020 — just as the virus had led to global shutdowns and radical changes in everyday life — to warn users who shared misinformation about COVID-19.

Conservatives have long derided Facebook and other major tech companies as favoring liberal priorities and accused them of censorship.

Zuckerberg has tried to change the company's perception on the right, going on podcaster Joe Rogan's show in 2022 and complimenting Republican nominee Donald Trump's response to an assassination attempt as "badass." He sent Monday's letter to the House Judiciary Committee, whose chairman, Jordan, is a longtime Trump ally.