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Aden Holloway's phone allegedly contained "drug transactions" prior to his Monday arrest on a felony drug charge, but attorneys for the Alabama guard say the 21-year-old's constitutional rights were violated when police searched his home,according to an ESPN report.

Holloway wasarrested Monday following that search. He was charged with first-degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp.

The2.1 pounds of marijuana allegedly found at Holloway's apartment is significant,as any amount 2.2 pounds or higher is considered enough to warrant a drug-trafficking charge in Alabama.

Holloway, a junior, was removed from campus and was not with his Crimson Tide teammates in Tampa, Florida, for their90-70 first-round winover Hofstra in theNCAA tournamentonFriday.

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What charging documents revealed

According to charging documents, the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force found the "drug transactions" on Holloway's phone after seizing $400 located in a jacket. Holloway said he got the marijuana out of state for personal use.

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"The money is being seized due to seeing drug transactions on Holloway's phone, with people texting that they were going to get up with him after the season," said a complaintfiled by prosecutors on Friday."Holloway had smaller denominations in his possession which is indicative of narcotic sales. The marijuana was in separate packing, from plastic bags to prepackaged marijuana to vacuum sealed bags."

A "trash pull" conducted by police at Holloway's apartment found marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia inside containers with the Alabama star's name on them in garbage bags. According to police, the garbage was pulled following unspecified "complaints."

The pulling of trash violated Holloway's constitutional rights, according to his attorney, Jason Neff, who added he will seek to have what police found in Holloway's apartment disallowed as the legal process moves forward.

"In review of the probable cause [search warrant], once this case moves forward, we would challenge the basis of the search with a motion to suppress evidence for the violation of his Fourth Amendment [rights],"Neff told ESPN.

The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against "unreasonable searches and seizures."

Neff also said that he is looking to meet with Alabama school officials next week in hopes of overturning the ban on Holloway attending classes, which could potentially allow him to suit up again for the Crimson Tide should they reachnext weekend's Sweet 16.

What's next for Holloway?

Alabama coach Nate Oats said before the Hofstra game that he still supports Holloway.

"I've got three daughters; they've made mistakes," Oats said. "You don't disappear on them when they need your help. I won't be disappearing on him. I talked to him yesterday morning on the phone and the night before that. I've talked to him every day. I'm going to continue to talk to him, love him, help him through this, and we'll see where it all takes him."

First-degree possession of marijuana in Alabama is a Class C felony in the state. If Holloway is convicted, he could face up to 10 years in a state penitentiary and up to a $15,000 fine. He could also receive a six-month driver's license suspension and have to take mandatory drug-awareness classes, perPolson law firm.

Holloway was bonded out of Tuscaloosa County jail early Monday morning. His bond was set at $5,000.

Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe return as Jamie and Claire Fraser one final time in the eighth season of Outlander

NEED TO KNOW

• Balfe tells PEOPLE how the cast felt when filming wrapped on the season and why they all took time off to process the experience

• New episodes of Outlander premiere Fridays on Starz

Creating the final season ofOutlander— and then saying goodbye after more than a decade — was no easy feat.

StarsCaitríona BalfeandSam Heughan, who have led the hit Starz series since 2014, spent nearly a year filming the eighth season — and thenhad to return for some reshootstoo.

Balfe, 46, tells PEOPLE that she and her costar "felt so much responsibility to make it right, and everything felt heightened."

"It was an emotionally taxing nine months," she says of filming.

When production wrapped, she, Heughan, 45, and their costars all needed to decompress. "We all went and did something right after," she says.

"I went off and did a retreat, and [Heughan] went and climbed the Himalayas," she reveals. "Sophie [Skelton] went to Africa, Richard [Rankin] learned how to fly. I think we all had that initial ... I wouldn't say exorcist, but it's like that [process] of releasing it."

A retreat wasn't all that they did to move on from the career-defining roles. "All of us took some time off as well," Balfe adds. "Because I think you do — well, at least for me, I'll speak for myself — but I wanted to process it and I wanted to honor the experience of the character by letting it go, in a healthy way."

"I don't know, I think you can maybe make yourself a bit mad sometimes if you don't sit in the experience for a while," she says.

Her final moments on set were particularly emotional, she told PEOPLE at the season 8 premiere in New York City earlier this month. "I burst into tears," she admitted of her final scenes. "That moment was very, very emotional."

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She took a few things to help remember her run as Claire, though: her character's rings. "I had a lot of weddings. I had a lot of marriages. I deserved the hardware," she said.

The final season brings "some answers" for fans, Balfe said, as well as some "new locations." She also teased that "a lot of reunions are going to be very exciting for fans."

Going into season 8, though, she said she "had no idea what was going to happen," given author Diana Gabaldon hasn't released the 10th and final book of the series yet.

"Obviously, we have diverged from the books more, because Diana's still writing, so it wasn't clear where [showrunner] Matt [Roberts] was going to take the story, and I wouldn't have wanted to have had his job, because it's a really tough job to have," she told PEOPLE. "Every single person wants their character to have their moment or whatever, so it would be hard to listen to everybody. So he kept his cards very close to his chest, which I totally understand."

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In the final season, Jamie and Claire realize that "the war has followed them home to Fraser's Ridge, now a thriving settlement that has grown and flourished in their absence" and "the Frasers are confronted with the question of what they are willing to sacrifice for the place they call home and, more importantly, what they would sacrifice to stay together," per a synopsis.

"While the Frasers keep a united front against outside intruders, family secrets finally coming to light threaten to tear them apart from the inside. Although they've left the war for America's freedom behind, their fight for Fraser's Ridge has only just begun."

New episodes ofOutlanderdrop Fridays on Starz.

Read the original article onPeople

For decades,The Price Is Rightlooked like the definition of wholesome TV — bright lights, a cheerful audience, and a host who genuinely seemed kind and likable. But people who worked on the show claim things were a lot messier behind the scenes.

On E!'s docuseriesDirty Rotten Scandals, formerThe Price Is Rightmodels and staff claim the workplace duringBob Barker's tenure was deeply uncomfortable and hostile. From allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, their accounts paint a very different picture of one of TVs most recognizable franchises.

Here's a breakdown of the biggest bombshells fromDirty Rotten Scandals: The Price Is Right.

Holly Hallstrom claimed she was pressured to undergo cosmetic surgery to keep her job

In part 1 of the documentary, formerThe Price Is RightmodelHolly Hallstromclaimed the pressure on the models wasn't subtle — it was constant. She said that producers wanted them in bathing suits "every opportunity they got," and made a point of reminding them how replaceable they were.

"The producers would call us every week and say, 'We would like to use you this week,' like, we were weekly contract players when actually, we were a huge part of the show," she said.

But the most disturbing claim came when Hallstrom alleged that producer Frank Wayne pulled her aside one day with a very specific message about her appearance. She recalled him telling her, "We really need a model who can fill out a bathing suit. I would advise you to use your hiatus wisely."

Hallstrom said the implication was clear: "I had to go get breast implants, and I had to pay for it myself."

"They could do that back then," she said, "and there was nothing you could say."

Bob Barker allegedly ruled thePrice Is Rightset with a strict and controlling style

Hallstrom alleged that in 1988, after Barker took over as executive producer, he "controlled with an absolutely ruthless iron fist." She noted that if anything went wrong, Barker would lash out.

"If something happened on set, like if he didn't have a prop that he was supposed to have, or if there was stop downs during taping — if it made him angry, he had to just shred someone," Hallstrom said. "A cameraman, a cable puller, anyone, venting his rage without ever considering how humiliating this was to whoever he was shredding. And he didn't care."

Things allegedly escalated in a way that stuck with the crew. Former stage manager Robert Cisneros recalled a frightening moment backstage when a camera operator suddenly swung his equipment while filming was underway. According to Cisneros, the camera hit model Janice Pennington.

"There's a ledge and about a three-foot drop to the concrete floor, and he hit Janice, and she went over," he remembered. "And then people started screaming."

What happened next, Cisneros said, summed up the environment on set: Barker allegedly insisted the show continue, and filming picked back up quickly.

As award-winning journalist David Kushner put it, "That episode revealed the attitude behind the scenes, which is, you're kind of on your own. You get hit by a camera, we don't have your back."

Katherine Bradley and Claudia Jordan claimed they experienced racism onThe Price Is Right

In response to growing criticism of CBS allegedly being labeled the "Caucasian Broadcast System," the network began making changes toThe Price Is Right, including casting its first Black "Barker's Beauty."

For Kathleen Bradley, it was a huge moment. As the first permanent Black model on the daytime game show, she called it "the modeling gig of all time" and said those early days on the show were some of "the happiest moments" of her life.

But according to Bradley, there was another side to the experience. Over time, she claimed she received racist backlash from fans about her presence on the show. She also remembered hearing troubling things behind the scenes.

"One of the members on the production team brought to my attention that inside a production meeting, when the models weren't in there, they would use the N word," Bradley revealed in the documentary.

Years later, Claudia Jordan joinedThe Price Is Rightand said she experienced similar discrimination. She remembered hearing comments that leaned into racial stereotypes, including producer Phil Wayne allegedly telling her, "Let's make a reverse Oreo, Claudia, you get in the middle of the two white models." Jordan also claimed that Wayne referred to her as the "ass model, because stereotypically, Black women have a larger behind."

Jordan said the racism went beyond comments and extended to how the show operated behind the scenes. She added producers screened audience members for contestants and often relied on stereotypes, including negative portrayals of Black people.

She also said there were limits placed on how many Black contestants could appear at one time. "They were only allowed to have two Black contestants on the show at a time, and that was a direct order from Bob Barker," she said, adding that production allegedly let Bob know the contestant's race in advance. "They would have a letter B written on the card... It was pretty sad. A Black contestant may try to hug Bob Barker and he'd kind of shrink away from them."

In another part of the documentary, Hallstrom claimed that Barker had "always said that Black men are the most diseased people on Earth."

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Several former models and employees alleged they experienced sexual harassment on set

Game show historian Christian Carrion stated that Barker was known to comment on contestants appearances, and former models claimed that that kind of attitude helped shape the atmosphere on the set ofThe Price Is Right.

In the documentary, Bradley said things felt normal at first when she joined the show, but that quickly changed. She said she began noticing that some men on set wouldopenly stare and act inappropriatelytoward the models.

"The guys were kind of talking, looking, gawking at the girls," she claimed, adding that she later found out it was more common than she thought.

Producer Barbara Hunter added, "It became common knowledge to stay away from this person or stay away from that person. There was stuff going on where you had to say, 'Hey, stop that.'"

Hunter also described an incident where a man allegedly groped her in an elevator, claiming he "just stuck their hands right on my boobs." She said she pushed him away but didn't report it at the time because "it became instinct to know how to handle it."

Bradley later claimed a stagehand repeatedly behaved inappropriately, including rubbing up against her and other models. She reported this, but alleges nothing was done. Eventually, she took matters into her own hands by intentionally hitting him in the groin with a golf club.

"We were so exhausted and tired of the treatment, and you just have to do what you have to do," she said in the documentary.

Hallstrom even claimed that bringing concerns to Barker wouldn't have helped, as he told anyone who complained to "get over it or look for a new job."

Carrion said that CBS eventually responded to complaints about sexual harassment by introducing what was called a "10-second rule," meant to limit how long people could stare at models. But Hallstrom alleged the rule wasn't really enforced, calling it a "joke" and a way to make it look like something was being done so complaints would go away.

Bob Barker had an affair withThe Price Is Rightmodel Dian Parkinson

Eventually, long-timePrice Is Rightmodel Dian Parkinson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Barker and Parkinson reportedly had an affair during their time on the show. It started off quietly, but didn't stay that way for long, according to the documentary.

Hallstrom said she and Pennington picked up on it early, noticing what was going on before most of the crew did. "Janice and I first realized long before the rest of the set knew that Dian and Bob were having sex," she recalled.

Bradley claimed that Parkinson confided in her about the relationship, and she was "really kind of surprised because Bob also had a girlfriend." But over time, Bradley said it became harder to hide, as their behavior on set made it obvious something was going on. Bradley also remembered Parkinson going to Barker's dressing room during breaks, "and that's when some hanky panky was going on."

According to Hallstrom, the dynamic on set began to shift because "everyone was basically kissing her behind because she may potentially be the new Mrs. Barker."

Things didn't stay smooth, though. Hallstrom said she later got a call from Bob's girlfriend, who told her she knew he was involved with Parkinson. Hallstrom also recalled the two discussing Parkinson's dating history, which included relationships with "several Black men," which caused friction between Barker and Parkinson.

Tensions soon came to a head on set as the two got into a heated argument. "The whole set was dead silent, listening, and Dian comes out of Bob's dressing room and goes up the stairs and Bob's assistant goes running after her saying, 'Dian, you've got to apologize to Bob,'" but Parkinson refused.

Shortly after, Parkinson was approached byPlayboyto pose for the magazine. She agreed, which "did not go over well with Barker," according to Bradley.

"Pretty much, that was the end of Dian Parkinson being onThe Price Is Right," she noted, adding that "Dian was not happy. She was very bitter. She wanted to get back at him... She said, 'He was sexually harassing me and forcing me to do things to him in the dressing room, where I didn't want to do it. And I'm going to get my attorney, I'm going to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against them.'"

Parkinson eventually dropped her lawsuit, but her time on the show was effectively over.

Hallstrom said Parkinson's final appearance onThe Price Is Rightmarked the last time anyone on set saw her. According to a message in the documentary, "Multiple attempts were made to contact Dian Parkinson for comment, but her whereabouts remain a mystery."

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Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

A flash flood warning for Hawaii's Oahu island has been extended Saturday as the threat for the imminent failure of the Wahiawa Dam continues to loom following heavy rainstorms.

State officials reported "catastrophic" damage as major rains pummeled the area for the second significant rain event in a week.

Dangerous flooding is continuing to impact Hawaii's Oahu island, prompting more than 230 rescues.

At a press briefing Friday evening, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said emergency crews have already rescued more than 230 people from life-threatening conditions.

3 life-saving tactics to use if in a car during a flash flood

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said there were no confirmed fatalities or missing persons as emergency responders -- including firefighters, the National Guard and military personnel -- have been deployed across affected areas.

The island's emergency management office reported flooding and closed roads on the windward side of the island due to earlier flooding.

The heaviest rain is expected to continue through Saturday for most islands, with the Big Island getting the heaviest rain on Sunday and thunderstorms possible at times, which may include damaging winds.

The very saturated soil and the possibility of wind gusts up to 45 mph could more easily take down trees and power lines.

Additional rainfall accumulations between 2 and 7 inches are likely through the event this weekend.

Earlier Friday, an evacuation order was issued for Haleiwa and Waialua, including areas near the Wahiawa Dam, according to Oahu Emergency Management, which warned that the dam "may collapse or breach at any time."

The dam "has not failed but is at imminent risk of failure," Oahu Emergency Management said mid-morning local time Friday.

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Video Survival tips if you get trapped in a flash flood

Later, the agency said dam levels were trending down but with more rain expected, some evacuation orders remained in place.

At the press briefing Friday evening, officials said they are closely monitoring water levels at the Wahiawa Dam and others. The governor stressed that there are no reports of structural damage. Concerns centered on rising water levels and the risk of overflow, which could affect stability.

Authorities said widespread damage has already been reported to homes, roads, schools, airports and at least one hospital on Maui, where patients had to be relocated. The full financial impact is still being assessed, but early estimates suggest losses could surpass $1 billion.

At a press briefing earlier Friday, the Honolulu mayor said "dozens, if not maybe hundreds of homes" had been affected by the flooding.

"There's no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic," he said.

Search and rescue operations were ongoing on Oahu's north shore, according to Honolulu spokesperson Ian Scheuring, who did not have an official number of people rescued so far.

Dangerous, unprecedented heat wave hits the West

On Oahu, all state departments have closed and employees not involved in disaster response and preparedness were sent home Friday due to the weather conditions.

The latest flood threat comes a week after a damaging flood event that washed away roads and damaged homes.

A flash flood emergency was issued for northern Oahu earlier Friday for "catastrophic" flooding. Local emergency personnel had reported "life-threatening flash flooding" early Friday across northern Oahu, according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

"Floodwaters have cut off road access in and out of Haleiwa, and widespread flooding of roadways and low-lying areas is ongoing," the NWS said, warning that "significant runoff continues to produce high water levels and dangerous flooding impacts."

ABC News' Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.

Darrell Green may have retired from the NFL in 2002, but that isn't stopping the Hall of Famer from getting back on to the field for a different type of football at age 66.

Green, who played 20 years in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with Washington, is in Chula Vista, California, this weekend to take part in the national flag football team trials. He will be one of many athletes attempting to earn a spot on the 2026 U.S. squad that will compete at the world championships in Germany in August.

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According to Callie Brownson, USA Football's senior director of high performance and national teams, the longtime NFL cornerback qualified for this stage of the process through a digital combine via "impressive" testing results. "He's a rare athlete who has stayed in shape and is ready to compete this week," she saidvia The Associated Press.

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Green will try to make an already competitive team. The U.S. men's national squad has won six of the pastseven IFAF world titles since 2010.

"There's nothing like getting on that field and competing on behalf of this country," Green saidvia USA Football's Instagram page. "And then topping that off standing on that top podium getting that gold [medal]. I've done it in track in college and high school; I've been in Super Bowls, this is the granddaddy of them all. Don't feel sorry for me, don't feel bad for me. I'm a competitor just like everybody else and I'm gonna give it my best and walk away with my head up, either way."

Green was the 28th overall pick by Washington in the 1983 NFL Draft. Along with two championships, he was a four-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler and a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-time Team.

Prior to his NFL career, Green was a track and field standout at then-Texas A&I University, earning back-to-back All-America honors in 1981 and 1982.

In October 2023, theInternational Olympic Committee executive board approvedflag football among five sports that were added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics schedule. This past December, theNFL voted to fund and launch a professional flag football league, months after the league approved a resolution allowingplayers to participateat the LA Games. Injury protection and salary cap credit will be offered to teams that lose players to injury.

Nicholas Brendon died "in his sleep of natural causes" at age 54, his family said in a statement on Friday, March 20

NEED TO KNOW

• Brendon is best known for playing Xander on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• The actor "had struggles in the past," his family said, but he "was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing"

Nicholas Brendon, the actor best known for his role as Xander onBuffy the Vampire Slayer, has died. He was 54.

"We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes," his family said in astatement sharedon his official Instagram page on Friday, March 20.

"Most people know Nicky for his work as an actor and for the characters he brought to life over the years. In recent years Nicky has found his passion in painting and art," the family added. "Nicky loved to share his enthusiastic talent with his family, friends and fans. He was passionate, sensitive and endlessly driven to create."

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The statement added, "Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was. While it'sno secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications andtreatment to manage his diagnosisand he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support."

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Brendon rose to fame as Xander Harris onBuffy the Vampire Slayer,which aired seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, alongside costars Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz. He also appeared in movies likePsycho Beach Party, UnholyandCoherence. His other TV shows included Bradley Cooper'sKitchen ConfidentialandCriminal Minds, in which he played the recurring character Kevin Lynch.

In the years afterBuffy, Brendon spoke out about struggling with depression as well as alcohol and substance addictions, checking into rehabbetween multiple arrests, including for domestic violence chargesand prescription fraud.

He toldThe A.V. Club in 2017that landing his role onBuffywas a "dream" come true.

"There were so many times I'd just be on set and in this place of wonder, saying, 'Oh my God. I can't believe I'm a part of this show,' " he said at the time, adding, "There were so many wonderful moments on it. You cannot just pick one. I think probably, when I booked it, when I got the phone call on a Tuesday at about 10 a.m., that's kind of where this whole journey started for me. Twenty years later, it's really still going."

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The boy in the grainy video feed sounded desperate.

"I don't want to be here anymore," he said. "Nothing is good here."

Since early March, 9-year-old Deiver Henao Jimenez had been held with his parents at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas, where children have complained of limited education, lights that never turn off and moldy food. Now he was on a video call with someone who said she wanted to help: Ms. Rachel.

Wearing her signature pink headband,the popular children's entertainerleaned toward the screen, trying to comfort the boy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said in a warm, high-pitched voice familiar to millions of children and parents. "A lot of people want to try to help."

Deiver told her he missed his friends and that the food at Dilley made his stomach hurt. But that wasn't what worried him most. Before he was detained, he had won his school spelling bee and placed third at regionals, earning a spot at New Mexico's state competition in May.

"I want to leave and go to the spelling bee," he said.

Ms. Rachel tried to reassure him.

"You have a real gift for spelling. You're so smart."

Then her smile faltered.

"It was unbelievably surreal to see this sweet little face and feel like I was on a call with somebody who's in jail," Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, told NBC News in an exclusive interview this week. "It broke me, and it was something I never thought I'd encounter in life."

Like many Americans, Accurso said she first became aware of the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, in January, after federal immigration agents detained the father of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minneapolis and sent them both to the remote, prisonlike facility. A photograph of the child — wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack — spread widely online, drawing national attention to the center and the treatment of families held there. They were eventually released butthe family's asylum claim was denied this week.

In the first year of its expanded immigration crackdown, the Trump administration placed more than 2,300 children into detention with their parents, with the overwhelming majority held at Dilley, according to figures provided by court-appointed monitors. Many have been held forseveral weeks or months.

During that time, Accurso — whose educational videos for babies and toddlers have made her one of the nation's most recognizable kids' entertainers — has become an increasingly prominent voice speaking out on behalf of vulnerable children. She has drawn attention to the plight of children in war-torn Gaza, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars and drawing backlash from critics who have accused her of picking sides in global conflicts.

She has repeatedly defended her advocacy under a simple mantra: "I see all children as precious and equal."

After her video call last week with Deiver and another boy held at Dilley, Accurso told NBC News she is now embarking on a new mission closer to home: working with lawyers and immigration rights activists "to close Dilley and make sure that kids and their parents are back in their communities where they belong."

Parents and immigration lawyershave described childrenthere losing weight after findingworms in their food, growing anxious as guards patrol andstanding in line for hoursfor single doses of medicine. Some havesuffered medical emergencieswhile detained.

About 50 children remained at Dilley this week, down from about 500 in January,The New York Times reportedFriday based on a review of government figures and advocacy group estimates. Some of the families were released in the U.S.; others were deported. It's unclear what led to the sharp decline, but it follows months of pressure from human rights advocates, Democratic members of Congress and immigration lawyers.

The Department of Homeland Security didn't answer questions about the families Accurso met over video. The agency has disputed reports of poor conditions as "mainstream media lies," saying families at Dilley are provided comprehensive care in a facility "purpose-built" for their needs.

The more Accurso read about Dilley after Liam's detention, she said, the more unsettled she became. Then, last week, she got a chance to hear directly from children held there.

Journalist Lidia Terrazas, who has spent months reporting on conditions inside Dilley for theSpanish-language network N+ Univision, set up the video call.

Before chatting with Deiver, Accurso spoke to Gael, a 5-year-old with significant developmental delays. The boy, who is nonverbal, was in the process of being assessed for autism when he and his parents were detained in El Paso at a routine immigration check-in, according to the family's lawyer, Elora Mukherjee. Like Deiver's family, Gael's parents fled Colombia, have pending asylum claims and no criminal history in the U.S., and had been working and living in the country for years before their arrests, the families' lawyers said.

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Mukherjee, a professor at Columbia Law School and the director of its Immigrants' Rights Clinic, said Gael has a history of severe constipation that had been managed at home with a specialized diet, including fresh fruit and soups. In detention, she said, his condition spiraled.

In a brief video interview on Friday, Gael's parents, Nelsy and Leonardo, told NBC News their son's condition had continued to deteriorate in detention, both physically and emotionally. They asked to be identified only by their first names, fearing retaliation should they be deported to Colombia.

"This is not a place for him because he needs special care," Leonardo said, as Gael wandered around the bare, gray meeting room. "No human being should ever go through this."

On Accurso's call with her, Gael's mother said her son had not been able to poop in nine days and was struggling to eat, gagging when he tried. The facility had been treating him with laxatives and later an enema, but his condition hadn't significantly improved, his mother said. His stomach was visibly distended, Accurso said, leaving her "incredibly worried."

"Imagine if your child hadn't pooped in nine days," she said. "This is not normal. This is an important medical situation."

As his mother spoke, Accurso slipped into character and tried to engage him — singing "Wheels on the Bus," holding up a toy and talking to him about his love of trains — but he appeared restless and overwhelmed, she said.

Amid his confusion and discomfort, Gael has grown increasingly distressed at Dilley, Mukherjee said, at times hitting himself — behavior his parents had not previously seen.

"Treating a child this way is a crime," Accurso told NBC News. "It's neglect and child abuse."

Accurso said she was no less concerned about Deiver.

In their brief conversation, he moved quickly past the conditions inside the facility to what he was missing outside it — his classmates, his gifted and talented courses and, most of all, the spelling bee he had been preparing for.

"He's so proud," Accurso said.

The juxtaposition, she said, was difficult to process: a child talking about his love of pizza and school one moment, then asking for help getting out of a federal detention center the next.

"We're trying to get a child out of a jail to do a spelling bee," she said. "I just never thought those words would go together."

Accurso recalled winning her own second-grade classroom spelling bee with a lucky guess on the word "chocolate" — a small, long-ago victory she still remembers in vivid detail.

Moments like that are more than milestones, said Accurso, who has master's degrees in music education and early childhood development. They shape how children see themselves — their confidence, their sense of belonging, their sense of what comes next.

Taking those kinds of opportunities away from a child, she said, "is cruelty."

After speaking with the children, Accurso said she initially hesitated to speak out publicly.

Her advocacy for children in Gaza had led to a torrent of criticism from right-wing groups that accused her of antisemitism for centering Palestinian children rather than Israelis. Accurso has pushed back on those claims, noting that she advocates for children suffering on both sides of the conflict. The controversy has led to threats against her family, she said, and she worried that speaking out about ICE detention might inflame the situation.

But she kept coming back to the example set by Fred Rogers, the late children's television icon she considers her hero, who used his platform to speak out on behalf of children.

Ultimately, she said, the decision felt clear.

And unlike in the past, when she painstakingly sought to frame her activism as apolitical, Accurso said she is ready to embrace the label.

"I am political," she said. "It's political to believe that children are worthy of love and care, and that every child is equal, and that our care shouldn't stop at what we look like, our family, at our religion, at a border."

If being political is what it takes to bring Gael home, or to get Deiver to his spelling bee, Accurso said, then her conscience leaves her no other choice.