Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

Breitbart [8/9/2025 1:08 PM, John Binder, 3077K] reports President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending former President Joe Biden’s so-called "quiet amnesty" for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens as the agency reopens deportation cases that had previously been administratively closed. For years under Biden, the nation’s immigration courts were instructed to dismiss deportation cases or close deportation cases for illegal aliens rather than adjudicating their asylum claims — the overwhelming majority of which are typically found to be invalid. Last year, the House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement — led by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) — issued a report detailing the scope of Biden’s "quiet amnesty" via administrative closures. NewsMax [8/9/2025 6:26 PM, Jim Thomas, 4622K] reports that under Biden, immigration courts were instructed to dismiss or close many deportation cases rather than fully adjudicate them. Most of those asylum claims are typically found to be invalid, according to DHS. "Biden chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including criminals, into the country and used prosecutorial discretion to indefinitely delay their cases and allow them to illegally remain in the United States," DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said. "Now, President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem are following the law and resuming these illegal aliens’ removal proceedings and ensuring their cases are heard by a judge.".

The Washington Post [8/9/2025 1:42 PM, Jacob Bogage and Kadia Goba, 32099K] reports the Internal Revenue Service clashed with the White House over using tax data to help locate suspected undocumented immigrants hours before Trump administration officials forced IRS Commissioner Billy Long from his post Friday, according to two people familiar with the situation. The Department of Homeland Security sent the IRS a list Thursday of 40,000 names of people DHS officials thought were in the country illegally and asked the IRS to use confidential taxpayer data to verify their addresses, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. The Treasury Department, the parent agency of the IRS, and DHS agreed to an arrangement in April to facilitate such data sharing — over the objections of the tax service’s privacy lawyers. DHS officials have suggested they would eventually ask the IRS for help locating 7 million people. There are about 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to federal estimates. On Friday, though, the IRS responded that it was able to verify fewer than 3 percent of the names immigration enforcement officials submitted, the people said. The names the agency could match were mainly the individuals for whom DHS provided an individual taxpayer identification number. White House officials requested additional information on the taxpayers the IRS identified, the people said — specifically, if any of them had claimed the earned income tax credit, which can reduce the tax bill for some low-income filers. The IRS declined to provide that information, citing taxpayer privacy rights. Long had previously told agency executives that his agency would not furnish confidential taxpayer information outside of the confines of the IRS’s agreement with DHS, the people said. Breitbart [8/9/2025 7:47 PM, Elizabeth Weibel, 3077K] reports that the Treasury Department and DHS were reported to have signed a partnership that would allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to locate illegal aliens living in the U.S. On Tuesday, Washington Post reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had signed a memorandum that allows ICE agents to request tax information on illegal aliens the agency is looking to locate and deport. Under the terms of the deal, Noem or ICE Director Todd Lyons can submit a request to the IRS for information regarding an illegal alien who has been ordered to be deported. From there, IRS officials could hand over information on such illegal aliens. Several sources told NBC News that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was temporarily going to be leading the IRS.

The Hill [8/10/2025 6:00 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 18649K] reports some higher education advocates have long sought transparency in college admissions data, but President Trump’s latest actions to bring that dream to reality comes with trepidation in how the administration will use the information. In a memorandum signed Thursday, the president moved to require universities to give the Department of Education more admissions data. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is then instructed to build it into a database easily accessible to parents and students. While the information could be eye-opening into how institutions are choosing students, it comes with a backdrop of fear the president will target universities that produce unfavorable data in his view. “I’ll say lots of folks in the space, researchers and think tanks alike, have wanted more transparency on the black box that is college admissions. So, I think that from that perspective, lots of folks would be interested in seeing this data. What I question with this administration is the intention around the collection of the data,” said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of EdTrust. McMahon has 120 days to expand the scope of reporting requirements, leaving universities with the options to submit or fight in the legal the system. The move was made over the administration’s concern universities are using “race proxies” such as diversity statements, to circumvent the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that stated race cannot be considered in college admissions. “American students and taxpayers deserve confidence in the fairness and integrity of our Nation’s institutions of higher education, including confidence that they are recruiting and training capable future doctors, engineers, scientists, and other critical workers vital to the next generations of American prosperity. Race-based admissions practices are not only unfair, but also threaten our national security and well-being,” the order reads.

FOX News [8/9/2025 8:30 AM, Staff, 46878K] reports DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss how sanctuary city leaders are refusing to honor ICE detainers. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [8/9/2025 11:45 AM, Rachel Wolf, 46878K] reports Michelle and Joe Abraham’s lives changed forever in January 2025 when their 20-year-old daughter, Katie, was killed in a hit-and-run allegedly caused by a Guatemalan national who was in the country illegally and is suspected of driving under the influence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a video of Katie’s parents speaking about their daughter and the immense loss they experienced. Katie and her friend, Chloe Polzin, were at a stoplight when a suspected drunk driver, now believed to be an illegal immigrant, struck their car and fled from the scene. Katie died at the scene, while Chloe succumbed to her injuries the next day at the hospital. "These two young women—college students with their entire lives ahead of them—were killed by an illegal alien who should have NEVER been in our country. This tragedy was senseless and completely preventable," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release. She went on to slam Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, saying that he and other political leaders who promote sanctuary policies are putting Americans in danger. Urbana Police say the suspect, identified as Julio Cucul Bol, a Guatemalan national, initially used an alias when speaking with authorities. Bol is charged with two counts of leaving the scene of a personal injury crash resulting in death, two counts of reckless homicide and aggravated driving under the influence resulting in death.

NewsMax [8/9/2025 6:13 PM, Jim Mishler, 4622K] reports federal immigration agents have intensified enforcement actions in the Los Angeles area this week. Critics are upset and say the Trump administration is flaunting a temporary federal court order that set up racial profiling protections against enforcement methods based on appearance, language, and locations of contact. L.A. police had to shut down an enforcement protest Friday night that got out of control. What began on Wednesday with a "Trojan horse" sweep at a Home Depot where agents hid inside a rented Penske truck to move up close to potential illegal aliens, has been followed, according to the Los Angeles Times, with a series of immigration enforcement stops, including two in the same day outside an L.A. metro area business. The federal temporary restraining order covering immigration stops in California was upheld last Friday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which led to an appeal by the Trump administration to the U.S. Supreme Court. The government said the ruling "threatens to upend immigration officials’ ability to enforce the immigration laws in the Central District of California by hanging the prospect of contempt over every investigative stop." Mark Rosenbaum with Public Counsel, an organization involved with a legal challenge to the arrest of five people detained during recent immigration enforcement actions in L.A., told the Times the government appeal was "unprecedented." He said, "The brief is asking the Supreme Court to bless open season on anybody on Los Angeles who happens to be Latino.".

Breitbart [8/9/2025 1:00 PM, Staff, 3077K] reports President Donald Trump announced he will hold a press conference at the White House on Monday outlining a plan to "essentially stop violent crime" in Washington, D.C., following a recent federal law enforcement surge in the city. President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post Saturday morning that he will host a White House press conference Monday to detail actions aimed at addressing violent crime in Washington, D.C. The announcement comes after a series of recent federal actions in response to violent incidents in the city. On August 7, Trump ordered federal law enforcement agencies — including the U.S. Park Police, FBI, DEA, ATF, and divisions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement — to patrol D.C. for seven days. The move followed the assault of Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old software engineer and member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who is known online by the name "Big Balls." The Daily Caller [8/9/2025 2:16 PM, Matthew Brooks, 1010K] reports that Trump continues to say that D.C. has become "one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World. It will soon be one of the safest!!!" This comes on the heels of a wave of violent crime in the city, including an attack on a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency employee during an attempted carjacking, which left the employee bloodied and resulted in the arrests of two 15-year-old suspects. In response to the attack, Trump increased the presence of federal law enforcement in D.C. by having the FBI, DEA, and Homeland Security coordinate with the DC Metropolitan Police in an attempt to curb crime. The violent crime prompted Trump to announce that he was looking into having the federal government "run D.C." The press conference will be held Monday at the White House. The Washington Examiner [8/9/2025 1:03 PM, Brady Knox, 1934K] reports that the press conference could include an announcement that the administration is taking over the Metropolitan Police, which Trump said he was "considering" earlier this week. Despite Trump’s growing concerns, his Federal Emergency Management Agency announced in a grant notice posted last week that it would reduce the capital’s urban security fund by 44% from last year. The Hill [8/9/2025 11:03 AM, Steff Danielle Thomas, 18649K] reports that the effort has been led by the U.S. Park Police and includes officers and agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), divisions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies, according to the White House. Friday marked the second day of the patrol and Trump added officers from the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Marshals Service to the fray. Over 120 officers were assigned to high-traffic areas and will be highly visible and marked, a White House official said. On the first night, according to the official, arrests were made for possession of stolen firearms and illegal drugs. The latest threats of a takeover come after a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) official, known as "Big Balls," was attacked in the city by a group of teenagers. Two 15-year-olds were arrested in connection to the incident and charged for the attempted carjacking.

Politico [8/9/2025 9:56 AM, Ben Johansen, Irie Sentner and Nicole Markus, 16523K] reports two Washington officials on Friday began pushing back against President Donald Trump’s use of federal law enforcement in the District, even as the mayor and most of the city council remained quiet. Meanwhile, an administration official didn’t rule out further measures including federalizing the local police. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat and the District’s non-voting representative in Congress, called the use of federal agencies “a disproportionate overreaction that’s offensive to D.C.,” and At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson called it an “extreme” move. The comments come amid silence from other local officials, a void that is at odds with five years ago, when D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and members of the city council denounced the White House’s threat to federalize the local police following the murder of George Floyd. The mayor’s office declined to comment Friday. All but two members of the 13-person D.C. Council either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries. Bowser’s office was given a heads up by the White House before Thursday’s announcement and had been in communication with them, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive details. The mayor’s office declined to comment on the specifics. Trayon White, who on Friday was sworn in as commissioner for parts of Southeast D.C., including Anacostia and Congress Heights, said that “We don’t need federal interference,” adding that it has only “crippled Washington D.C. and the progress we’ve made over the last four decades.” Southeast resident and Council Chair Phil Mendelson, in a statement, did not address Trump’s move but defended the city’s progress on stamping out crime. Trump’s announcement came after an aide was attacked in Northwest D.C. “Crime in the District is at the lowest rates we’ve seen in 30 years,” Mendelson, a longtime city official, said. “The Council will continue to proactively look at ways we can improve our laws and support our officers. But prosecutorial declinations remain high, and the police closing of cases with arrests remains low, and both will make the biggest difference in deterring crime.”

Washington Post [8/10/2025 5:00 AM, Olivia George, John D. Harden, and Jenny Gathright, 32099K] reports President Donald Trump once again catapulted crime in D.C. into the national conversation with renewed threats last week of a federal takeover and an image of a young federal staffer, beaten and bloodied, after an attempted carjacking. He has since ordered more federal law enforcement agents to be deployed on city streets and called for teenagers as young as 14 to be charged as adults as he continues to cast the capital as overrun with violent youngsters. And on Saturday, he said he would continue addressing the issue in a Monday news conference. Local and federal data, though, paint a contrasting picture. D.C. police have made about 900 juvenile arrests this year — almost 20 percent fewer than during the same time frame last year. About 200 of those charges are for violent crimes, and at least four dozen are for carjacking. This summer, D.C. officials have also implemented stricter curfew laws for teens in response to concerns about large brawls — recorded in videos that spread on social media — breaking out in communities across the city. Violent crime in D.C. has been on the decline since 2023, when a generational spike in killings rendered the nation’s capital one of America’s deadliest cities, plunging communities into grief and igniting a local political crisis that escalated to Congress. The decrease is part of a nationwide drop that in 2024 brought homicide rates to their lowest level in decades. This year, homicides are down more than 30 percent in data that The Washington Post collected from more than 100 police departments in large U.S. cities. Reports of burglaries and robberies also dipped by double-digit percentages. Not captured in statistics, though, is the grief, pain and shattered sense of safety that follow each crime.

NBC News [8/9/2025 8:05 PM, Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst, Rebecca Cohen, and Suzanne Gamboa, 44540K] reports shots were fired early Saturday morning near the prison facility in Texas where Ghislaine Maxwell is being held, sources familiar with the situation told NBC News. Officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons heard the gunshots outside of Federal Prison Camp Bryan before responding and engaging with the suspected shooter, the sources said. The BOP confirmed that a shooting took place near the prison in Bryan at 1:15 a.m. Saturday. No guards or staff members were injured, the sources and the BOP said. The shooting appeared to be the result of a block party near the prison where two rivals — or rival gangs — took part in a shootout. The shootout was not directly related to Maxwell’s incarceration at the prison, the sources said. The BOP said in a statement that an investigation is ongoing. "We are deeply grateful to our staff and law enforcement partners for the rapid and professional response," the BOP said.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [8/9/2025 2:55 PM, Josh Christenson and Joe Marino, 49956K]

USA Today [8/9/2025 1:21 PM, Josh Meyer, 75552K] reports Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has ruled out any U.S. military "invasion" into Mexico following the Trump administration’s reported plans to use military force against Latin American drug cartels. Sheinbaum comments are in response to a New York Times report Aug. 8 that President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to target transnational fentanyl traffickers that use Mexico as a base of operations. The Times said Trump had secretly signed a directive to begin using military force on foreign soil against cartels. In February, the U.S. designated the Sinaloa Cartel and other Mexican drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, which some analysts have warned could be a stepping stone to such military action. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the new directive to Reuters but said military action against the designated groups did not appear imminent and it was unclear exactly what type of operations they would carry out.

CBS New York [8/10/2025 12:10 AM, Katie Houlis, 51860K] reports New York City’s last migrant hotel will be closing in the coming months, Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday. The city started using the Row Hotel on Eighth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen as an emergency shelter for migrants and asylum seekers in 2022. The mayor didn’t give an exact date for the hotel’s closure. He says the closure marks "yet another major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis.” Migrants continue to leave NYC’s shelter system, mayor says. At the beginning of the year, the mayor announced a plan to close 53 migrant shelters by June as the number of asylum seekers arriving in the city continues to wane. New York City has closed 64 emergency migrant sites, including all tent-based facilities, the mayor says. Earlier this summer, the city shut down the migrant intake center at Manhattan’s Roosevelt Hotel, saying the number of arrivals had dwindled to about 100 per week. At the height of the asylum seeker crisis, the intake center was helping about 4,000 migrants each week, the city said. According to the mayor, the city has helped over 200,000 migrants leave the shelter system since 2022. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Blaze [8/10/2025 4:30 AM, Glenn Beck, 1805K] reports that, for decades, the media and federal agencies have warned Americans that the greatest threat to our homeland is the political right — gun-owning veterans, conservative Christians, anyone who ever voted for President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden once declared that white supremacy is "the single most dangerous terrorist threat" in the nation. Since Trump’s re-election, the rhetoric has only escalated. Outlets like Washington Post and the Guardian warned that his second term would trigger a wave of far-right violence. The real domestic threat isn’t coming from MAGA grandmas or rifle-toting red-staters. It’s coming from the radical left — the anarchists, the Marxists, the pro-Palestinian militants, and the anti-American agitators who have declared war on law enforcement, elected officials, and civil society. On July 4, a group of black-clad terrorists ambushed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado, Texas. They hurled fireworks at the building, spray-painted graffiti, and then opened fire on responding law enforcement, shooting a local officer in the neck. Journalist Andy Ngo has linked the attackers to an Antifa cell in the Dallas area. Authorities have so far charged 14 people in the plot and recovered AR-style rifles, body armor, Kevlar vests, helmets, tactical gloves, and radios. According to the Department of Justice, this was a "planned ambush with intent to kill.” And it wasn’t an isolated incident. It’s part of a growing pattern of continuous violent left-wing incidents since December last year. Most notably, in December 2024, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione allegedly gunned down UnitedHealth Group CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Mangione reportedly left a manifesto raging against the American health care system and was glorified by some on social media as a kind of modern Robin Hood. One Emerson College poll found that 41% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said the murder was "acceptable" or "somewhat acceptable.” The next month, a man carrying Molotov cocktails was arrested near the U.S. Capitol. He allegedly planned to assassinate Trump-appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. In February, the "Tesla Takedown" attacks on Tesla vehicles and dealerships started picking up traction. In March, a self-described "queer scientist" was arrested after allegedly firebombing the Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Graffiti on the burned building read "ICE = KKK.” In April, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-Pa.) official residence was firebombed on Passover night. The suspect allegedly set the governor’s mansion on fire because of what Shapiro, who is Jewish, "wants to do to the Palestinian people.” In May, two young Israeli embassy staffers were shot and killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Witnesses said the shooter shouted "Free Palestine" as he was being arrested. The suspect told police he acted "for Gaza" and was reportedly linked to the Party for Socialism and Liberation. In June, an Egyptian national who had entered the U.S. illegally allegedly threw a firebomb at a peaceful pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado. Eight people were hospitalized, and an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor later died from her injuries. This is not a series of isolated incidents. It’s a timeline of escalation. Political assassinations, firebombings, arson, ambushes — all carried out in the name of radical leftist ideology. This isn’t just the work of fringe agitators. It’s being enabled — and in many cases encouraged — by elected Democrats.

CNN [8/10/2025 6:00 AM, David Culver and Rachel Clarke, 21433K] reports it’s summer in south Florida, the land of eternal warmth. Driving in Palm Beach County — home to Mar-a-Lago — the windows are up, and the AC is blasting to counter the oppressive heat and humidity outside. A warning pops up on the Waze navigation app: "Icy road ahead." There is no actual danger of frozen water — instead, this is one of the ways communities are getting the word out of potential deportation operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, universally known by their acronym, ICE. User-driven services like Waze and Ring camera alerts as well as more traditional social media like Facebook and WhatsApp groups are being used across the United States to warn of government agent activity amid the ongoing crackdown on people living here without documentation. It’s a phenomenon that’s grown since the second inauguration of President Donald Trump and his administration’s focus on mass deportations, first of those already in ICE custody and then arresting hundreds of people every day. "I heard from a friend that it’s pretty icy over by Mission Donuts today," one user posted on Reddit, in Oceanside, southern California in June. "Icy conditions SIZE: between 4-7 officers," someone commented in another forum for Cleveland residents. Chicagoans are used to icy roads in winter, but the sudden number of alerts in spring and summer led to a whole thread explaining what was going on. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS last month found a majority of Americans — 55% — said the president has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the US illegally, up 10 points since February. And while the genesis of these reports on social apps may have been people trying to be helpful, both the government and migrants’ advocates say there can be issues.

New York Times [8/10/2025 3:30 AM, Matt Flegenheimer, 153395K] reports my session with Dr. Phil had reached an impasse. About three hours in, seated inside the Dallas mega-mansion where he is steering his herky-jerk transition from daytime TV behemoth to MAGA-friendly newsman, the once-licensed psychologist was giving no ground on what seemed to me an obvious point. “I don’t think I’m qualified to talk about politics,” he said, steepling his fingers in contemplation. And so, he insisted, he really hadn’t. This was difficult to square with recent events. In the last two years, Dr. Phil (surname: McGraw) had ended his flagship talk show and created his own news and entertainment network, trafficking daily in conservative-coded subjects — “Dr. Phil: The Hidden Gem in Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’” “Dr. Phil Investigates: Are Schools Secretly Transitioning Your Child?” — in an unswerving crusade against “the woke left.” Most strikingly, Dr. Phil had secured intimate access to embed with a camera crew on Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, pledging to agents that his broadcasting aim was to “tell your story and have your back.” Dr. Phil likes to say that his focus is social and cultural issues and always has been, since his Oprah-ordained rise as a tough-loving public mediator of family dramas. It is the politicians, he says, who have lurched into his lane, not the other way around. And his macro point was this: “I’ve spent so much of my life focused on why people do what they do,” Dr. Phil said, by way of mission statement, “and don’t do what they don’t do.”

FOX News [8/9/2025 7:16 PM, Alexandra Koch and Bill Melugin, 46878K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested an illegal immigrant from Guatemala just hours after he was released by Rhode Island authorities despite being charged with multiple child sex crimes and having an active ICE detainer. Josue Santiago Perez Gomez, who is living in the U.S. illegally, was charged with patronizing a minor for commercial sexual activity, indecent solicitation of a child and procurement of sexual conduct for a fee, according to ICE. The Portsmouth Police Department arrested Perez Gomez July 12 on those charges. ICE Boston immediately filed an immigration detainer, but police did not honor it, and Perez Gomez was released hours later, ICE said in a news release. Portsmouth police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Earlier in the day, ICE Boston officers had arrested Perez Gomez on immigration violation charges and served him with a notice to appear before a Justice Department immigration judge. An ICE spokesperson told Fox News Digital Perez Gomez poses a "clear threat" to children. "Josue Santiago Perez Gomez stands accused of some disgusting and disturbing crimes and represents a clear threat to the children of our Rhode Island communities," ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting field office Director Patricia Hyde wrote in a statement. "Releasing an alleged child sex offender the very day of his arrest begs the question: What is the point of arresting him at all?

New York Times [8/9/2025 5:00 AM, Shayla Colon, 153395K] reports the last time that Wilmer Gutièrrez had heard from his son, he was in an immigration detention center in Texas, not far from the border with Mexico. The phone call was brief and urgent. “Pay attention,” his son, Merwil Gutièrrez, said from the facility, his second stop after being arrested in front of his Bronx apartment building. “They are going to take us out again.” Then, he was gone. It was the middle of March. For more than four months, his father would know little about his son’s fate. Mr. Gutièrrez, who had come to New York from Venezuela with his father two years ago seeking asylum, had become one of an increasing number of immigrants taken into custody by federal authorities, their whereabouts unknown or unclear to their families. It turned out that he had been sent to a notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador, where he remained for months. Then in July, his relatives received another phone call. This time, they learned that Mr. Gutièrrez, who is 20, was bound for Venezuela, one of more than 200 men who were returned to their homeland in exchange for the release of 10 Americans from Venezuelan custody. Mr. Gutièrrez’s case illustrates the fraught, frenzied nature of some of the apprehensions undertaken during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has unfolded amid a national debate about who should be targeted for deportation and who should get to stay in the United States. Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary with the Department of Homeland Security, said that F.B.I. agents and city police officers had arrested Mr. Gutièrrez on several gun charges, which she said made him a candidate for deportation. The department issued a news release enumerating the charges. But there is no evidence that authorities in New York sought to follow through on those charges. The Police Department has repeatedly said that there are “no arrests on file” for Mr. Gutièrrez, and no cases connected to him appear in state or federal databases.

Telemundo [8/9/2025 6:42 PM, Staff, 177K] reports the story of Ursula Borja Valle, a 54-year-old immigrant from Mexico, has taken a dramatic turn. After two decades living in Florida, with no criminal record and a fragile medical history due to an aneurysm, Borja was detained by ICE while attending an immigration appointment to process Parole in Place, a benefit designed to protect immediate family members of active military personnel, veterans, and reservists. Her son, Cpl. José Manuel Vilchis Valle, is an active-duty Marine based in South Florida. He says the program should prevent his mother from facing deportation. "We are devastated… Since they took her out of the detention center at 2:00 a.m., we haven’t had any contact with her. All we want is to prevent her deportation and for her to be able to stay here with us," he said. Borja was initially held at the Broward Transitional Center in Pompano Beach, but recent ICE detainee locator records show she was transferred to the US Border Patrol Central Processing Center in Texas. For the family, this move could be a sign that deportation is imminent.

NPR [8/9/2025 7:05 AM, Jasmine Garsd, 37958K] Audio: HERE reports in early July, they drove out to the swamplands in the Everglades with their baby, to fish for perch. Unable to show a driver’s license, the couple were arrested and taken to a local jail where they were separated. M. says this was the last time she saw her husband, before he joined the hundreds of detainees at the controversial makeshift detention center, which has been dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz." She told NPR their story on the condition of anonymity for the entire family, because she fears retaliation from immigration officials. M. and the child were released later that night. She was required to wear an ankle monitor and ordered to leave the country within three months. No one would tell her where her husband had been taken. Since it opened, the facility has been a magnet for lawsuits, filed by human rights groups and even environmental lawyers. It is unique in that it’s run entirely by the state of Florida. But so far, the numbers don’t support the president’s assertion. According to recent DHS statistics, 71% of people in immigration detention nationally have no criminal convictions. A Miami Herald investigation found that one-third of the immigrants being held at "Alligator Alcatraz" have no criminal convictions. Of those who do have convictions, the crimes range from traffic violations to illegal reentry and attempted murder. The Trump administration vehemently disputes charges that the detention facility is inhumane.

Breitbart [8/9/2025 10:05 AM, Randy Clark, 3077K] reports United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Houston arrested more than 350 illegal alien gang members during the first six months of the Trump administration. The group of violent offenders has cumulatively been convicted of nearly 1,700 crimes. According to ICE, the group of foreign gang members illegally entered the United States 1,434 times, with one member of the group accumulating 40 illegal entries into the country alone, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from the Houston Enforcement and Removal Operations team. Among the criminal aliens arrested were convicted murderers, child predators, thieves, and arsonists. The arrests in the area surrounding Texas’s largest city highlight what the agency says is its focus on arresting and removing the "worst of the worst" criminal illegal aliens. The agency has touted the arrests of violent offenders recently through social media posts and recent press releases highlighting high-profile offenders. The illegal aliens taken off the Houston streets were members of more than 40 different criminal gangs. The group included 39 MS-13 gang members, 25 Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang members, 159 Paisas gang members, 12 Surenos-13 gang members, and 26 Tango Blast gang members. Other well-known gangs represented in the group include the Latin Kings and the 15th Street gang. According to ICE, the 1,685 criminal convictions were for a wide variety of offenses, including abduction, homicide, sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, promotion of child pornography, aggravated assault, domestic violence, burglary, alien smuggling, sex trafficking, organized crime, drug trafficking, drug possession, arson, trespassing, unlawful possession of a firearm, illegal entry, illegal reentry, fraud, escape and evading arrest.

FOX News [8/9/2025 11:31 AM, Bonny Chu, 46878K] co-owner of a Trump-branded burger chain in Texas is facing deportation as officials allege that the Lebanese national overstayed his visa, engaged in "sham" marriages and has a criminal record that includes an assault charge. The 28-year-old restaurateur, Roland Mehrez Beainy, entered the United States in 2019 as a non-immigrant visitor and remained in the country illegally when his visa expired in February 2024, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News Digital on Saturday. Officials said Beainy’s political leanings won’t shield him from President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said officials revoked Beainy’s petition for immigration status after members of his own family admitted that his marriage was "a sham designed to game the system." The restaurateur was arrested by ICE in May and placed into immigration proceedings, but was granted bond in June, the agency said, adding that his deportation case will continue to proceed through the courts.

Reported similarly:
Breitbart [8/9/2025 12:02 PM, Amy Furr, 3077K]

Los Angeles Times [8/10/2025 6:00 AM, Jenny Jarvie and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee, 14672K] reports ever since federal immigration raids ramped up across California, triggering fierce protests that prompted President Trump to deploy troops to Los Angeles, the state has emerged as the symbolic battleground of the administration’s deportation campaign. But even as arrests soared, California was not the epicenter of Trump’s anti-immigrant project. In the first five months of Trump’s second term, California lagged behind the staunchly red states of Texas and Florida in the total arrests. According to a Los Angeles Times analysis of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement data from the Deportation Data Project, Texas reported 26,341 arrests — nearly a quarter of all ICE arrests nationally — followed by 12,982 in Florida and 8,460 in California. Even in June, when masked federal immigration agents swept through L.A., jumping out of vehicles to snatch people from bus stops, car washes and parking lots, California saw 3,391 undocumented immigrants arrested — more than Florida, but still only about half as many as Texas. When factoring in population, California drops to 27th in the nation, with 217 arrests per million residents — about a quarter of Texas’ 864 arrests per million and less than half of a whole slew of states including Florida, Arkansas, Utah, Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Nevada. The data, released after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the government, excludes arrests made after June 26 and lacks identifying state details in 5% of cases. Nevertheless, it provides the most detailed look yet of national ICE operations. Immigration experts say it is not surprising that California — home to the largest number of undocumented immigrants in the nation and the birthplace of the Chicano movement — lags behind Republican states in the total number of arrests or arrests as a percentage of the population.

Breitbart [8/9/2025 9:03 AM, Neil Munro, 3077K] reports President Donald Trump’s deputies told the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday that the Attorney General can give work permits to migrants, even though Congress explicitly bars the hiring of illegal migrants. The lawsuit was launched by American professionals against President Barack Obama’s 2015 decision to provide work permits to the spouses of the H-1B workers widely used to replace American professionals. Obama’s deputies justified the jobs giveaway by saying it helped companies to retain white-collar workers imported from India and other nations. The case is critical because it may decide if federal law gives the President’s deputies unlimited power to award work permits even though Congress has also set various rules governing which migrants can work in the United States.

NPR [8/10/2025 5:00 AM, Ximena Bustillo, 37958K] reports the Trump administration is stripping protections of some asylum applicants who filed as far back as 2019. NPR has learned that dozens of immigrants across the U.S. have received letters in the mail notifying them that their asylum cases have been dismissed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. The reason, according to the letters: These asylum-seekers, many of whom entered between 2019 and 2022, did not receive a mandatory screening, known as a "credible fear" interview, at the border. The interview is conducted by an asylum officer once someone has been detained or has arrived in the United States. It is meant as an opportunity for a person to describe any fear of persecution they may face if they are returned to their home country. The U.S. didn’t have enough asylum officers to do credible fear interviews for every person crossing the border, given the huge influx of border-crossers starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, at the end of the first Trump administration and during the Biden administration, experts told NPR. Now it appears that the new Trump administration is dismissing applications, effectively making people start over on a process they began years ago. This round of asylum case dismissals is the latest effort by the Trump administration to strip protections from those who have been in the U.S. for years.

Washington Post [8/10/2025 6:00 AM, Angie Orellana Hernandez, 32099K] reports a rare sight was captured by a night-vision trail camera in July: a grown jaguar, roaming through southern Arizona. Researchers at the University of Arizona’s Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center call him Jaguar Number Four, a big cat that roamed across the United States-Mexico border through the San Rafael wildlife corridor. As of July 4, the same cat has been detected five times by cameras placed south of Tucson, said Susan Malusa, director of the Wild Cat Center. The sightings excited the Wild Cat Center’s team, as it showed the wildlife corridor had not yet been interrupted by the southern border wall, which partially bisects the sprawling grasslands and woodlands that ocelots, mountain lions, bobcats and, yes, even jaguars, traverse. However, the researchers’ fears have not completely abated, as construction on a 27 mile segment of the wall is estimated to begin in late August under the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on migrant crossings. Two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation CATalyst, filed a lawsuit July 9 against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem over the expansion. The lawsuit challenged Noem’s authority to waive “bedrock environmental protections” to quicken construction, arguing that it would destroy the “border’s last remaining significant wildlife corridor.” “It would certainly be an existential threat to the natural recovery of jaguars north of the border,” said Russ McSpadden, a southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment Saturday.

Los Angeles Times [8/9/2025 11:09 PM, Adithi Ramakrishnan, 14672K] reports an executive order signed by President Trump this week aims to give political appointees power over the billions of dollars in grants awarded by federal agencies. Scientists say it threatens to undermine the process that has helped make the U.S. the world leader in research and development. The order issued Thursday requires all federal agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, to appoint officials responsible for reviewing federal funding opportunities and grants, so that they "are consistent with agency priorities and National Interest.” It also requires agencies to make it so that current and future federal grants can be terminated at any time — including during the grant period. Agencies cannot announce new funding opportunities until the new protocols are in place, according to the order. The Trump administration said these changes are part of an effort to "strengthen oversight" and "streamline agency grantmaking." Scientists say the order will cripple America’s scientific engine by placing control over federal research funds in the hands of people who are influenced by politics and lack relevant expertise. "This is taking political control of a once politically neutral mechanism for funding science in the U.S.," said Joseph Bak-Coleman, a scientist studying group decision-making at the University of Washington. The changes will delay grant review and approval, slowing "progress for cures and treatments that patients and families across the country urgently need," the Assn. of American Medical Colleges said in a statement. The administration has already terminated thousands of research grants at agencies such as the NSF and NIH, on topics including transgender health, vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and diversity, equity and inclusion. It has also threatened funding for scientific research in its battle with prominent universities, including Harvard and UCLA. The order could affect emergency relief grants doled out by FEMA, public safety initiatives funded by the Department of Justice and public health efforts supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say the order is likely to be challenged in court.

NBC News [8/9/2025 1:30 PM, Denise Chow, 44540K] reports strong and potentially destructive thunderstorms are expected to pummel parts of the Midwest, central Plains and Southeast this weekend, with heavy rainfall and flash flooding possible over the next couple of days. Sweeping rain and powerful wind gusts early Saturday already left more than 50,000 people without power in Nebraska, according to PowerOutage.us. More severe weather could be on the way, according to the National Weather Service. The agency is forecasting “numerous nocturnal thunderstorms” across portions of the Midwest through the weekend and into Monday. Clusters of strong to severe thunderstorms, particularly in the nighttime hours, could drop “very heavy rain” along a corridor stretching from northern Missouri through southern Iowa and into southern Wisconsin, according to the National Weather Service. In the Southeast, storms could develop and linger over northern Florida and southern Georgia this weekend, fueling heavy rainfall over the area.

USA Today [8/9/2025 1:02 PM, Mike Snider, 75552K] reports the National Hurricane Center is tracking two weather systems in the Atlantic Ocean – neither of which pose immediate risk to the United States – while Henriette and Ivo wax and wane in the Pacific Ocean. A tropical wave, called Invest 96L, dispensing disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the central tropical Atlantic, could gradually develop during the early or middle part of next week as the system moves northwestward to northward across the central Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on Saturday morning, Aug. 9. However, the NHC puts its likelihood of developing into a tropical depression at 20% over the next seven days. The hurricane center also said another tropical wave, off the west coast of Africa in the Eastern Tropical Atlantic is also producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms and could gradually develop into a tropical depression. The system is expected to deliver local heavy rainfall Sunday and Monday across parts of the Cabo Verde Islands. The NHC gives this system a higher chance of developing (40%) over the next seven days. Neither system is currently expected to develop soon or threaten land. That doesn’t mean those who live along the U.S. coast should become complacent as an above-normal hurricane season is still expected.

Telemundo52 [8/9/2025 9:22 PM, Staff, 103K] reports officials reported that evacuation alerts were lifted Saturday morning in Los Angeles County for the 5370-acre Canyon Fire, which is burning along the Los Angeles-Ventura county line near Val Verde, west of Castaic. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, alerts were lifted at 7 a.m. Saturday. Evacuation orders in the county were reduced to one alert on Friday. Evacuation alerts in Ventura County have also been lifted, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. Containment of the fire was at 47 percent, according to Cal Fire. At least one firefighter was injured Friday when a white fire truck overturned. The firefighter was ejected near the fire. Aerial footage showed the rescue operation for the critically injured firefighter, who was conscious and alert before being transported to the hospital. Some 391 firefighters from the Los Angeles and Ventura County fire departments were battling the blaze with the help of the Angeles National Forest and Cal Fire. They kept up the fight Friday amid high temperatures that remained below triple digits, slightly cooler than Thursday. "Today, firefighters are making good progress in extinguishing the fire, aided by favorable weather conditions and the continued use of firefighting aircraft making repeated water and retardant drops to slow the fire’s progress and support crews on the ground," the VCFD said at 1:12 p.m. Friday. "The fire remains active and is spreading eastward toward the community of Castaic in Los Angeles County." LACFD officials stated that helicopter crews conducted water drops on the fire during the night of Thursday into Friday, taking advantage of lower winds. The strategy proved effective and helped boost containment efforts. The fire started around 1:30 p.m. Thursday and quickly moved to a second alarm as it spread through a remote area east of Lake Piru. The flames quickly spread through the brush. Initially estimated to encompass about 30 acres, within two hours the fire had burned 1051 acres of brush. By late Thursday, its extent was approaching 5000 acres. In the face of the advancing fire, evacuation advisories were issued in the Val Verde area. The advisory was later upgraded to an evacuation order and expanded to include Hasley Canyon and other areas, while other neighborhoods were placed under additional advisories. One structure was reported destroyed, but no homes were burned and no other injuries were reported. There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Los Angeles Times [8/10/2025 6:00 AM, Hayley Smith, 14672K] reports a bolt of lightning strikes deep inside a California forest in the middle of the night. The spark becomes a flame, and within seconds, a satellite dish swirling overhead picks up on the anomaly and triggers an alarm. An autonomous helicopter takes flight and zooms toward the fire, using sensors to locate the blaze and artificial intelligence to generate a plan of attack. It measures the wind speed and fire movement, communicating constantly with the unmanned helicopter behind it, and the one behind that. Once over the site, it drops a load of water and soon the flames are smoldering. Without deploying a single human, the fire never grows larger than 10 square feet. This is the future of firefighting. On a recent morning in San Bernardino, state and local fire experts gathered for a demonstration of the early iterations of this new reality. An autonomous Sikorski Black Hawk helicopter, powered by technology from Lockheed Martin and a California-based software company called Rain, is on display on the tarmac of a logistics airport in Victorville — the word “EXPERIMENTAL” painted on its military green-black door. It’s one of many new tools on the front lines of firefighting technology, which experts say is evolving rapidly as private industry and government agencies come face-to-face with a worsening global climate crisis. For many attendees, the trauma of January’s firestorm in the Altadena and Pacific Palisades neighborhoods of Los Angeles remains top of mind. “The dream is the evolution of this,” said Maxwell Brodie, Rain’s chief executive. “The dream is to be able to live in your neighborhood knowing that there is protection from catastrophic high-intensity fire, and to feel safe. And I think that if we look hard at what is likely coming over the decades ahead, there’s no time to waste.”

CNN [8/10/2025 5:30 AM, Alexandra Skores, 21433K] reports President Donald Trump told reporters last month the donated Qatari jet could be ready for his use as Air Force One in February 2026, well ahead of the long-delayed delivery of two presidential planes from Boeing through a more traditional acquisition process. “They say February,” Trump said in late July, when asked by a reporter when he expected to be flying on the new plane. “Much sooner than the others. The others are being built.” But former Defense officials and aviation analysts express deep skepticism about how realistic that timeline is, citing the immense task of upgrading a foreign government’s plane to meet Air Force One’s distinct requirements and ensuring it is safe and secure for a president to fly on, especially internationally. Andrew Hunter is a former assistant secretary of the Air Force under the Biden administration. He oversaw an annual budget of more than $54 billion for hundreds of acquisition programs, including Air Force One. He thinks it would be “challenging, if not impossible,” to complete the jet in that timeframe without Trump waiving some of the requirements that typically need to occur before a president can fly on a new plane. “It would not be possible to replicate all the capabilities of an Air Force One on (the donated jet), on any time frame shorter than what they’re doing with (the Boeing program),” he said. Beyond the timeline concerns from an aviation perspective, the plan to use a donated Boeing 747-8 from Qatar poses a lot of questions and has drawn bipartisan scrutiny. Many are skeptical of the legality and ethics of accepting such a gift. Others are worried about the threat to security, based on how much goes into a jet fit for the leader of the United States. But Trump remains undaunted and continues to project optimism about the timeline.

CBS Colorado [8/9/2025 6:59 PM, Christa Swanson, 51860K] Video HERE reports a man was arrested in the Denver metro area after police said he stole thousands from an ATM in Cañon City in a "jackpotting" scheme. Cañon City police said Joel Alejandro Morantes-Leal is facing charges for cybercrime and third-degree burglary after a bank ATM was compromised in May. Authorities said Morantes-Leal stole $68,000 from the ATM in Cañon City. The Cañon City Police Department said they were working with regional and federal law enforcement to locate Morantes-Leal, who they said is an undocumented Venezuelan national. Morantes-Leal was arrested in the Denver metro area on May 29 in connection with an investigation into similar crimes. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Detroit Free Press [8/9/2025 8:56 AM, Dan Basso, 4241K] reports a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew based at Air Station Detroit rescued four people from a capsized boat off Erie, Pennsylvania, according to a Facebook post on Aug. 9. The Coast Guard said three people had escaped the boat while the fourth had to be rescued from an air pocket under the hull. "Station Erie arrived on scene and rescued 3 of the survivors with the 4th still trapped under the hull. The helicopter crew acted swiftly and deployed the rescue swimmer to safely extract the survivor who was found alive in an air pocket under the vessel," the Coast Guard said in the post. The Coast Guard did not provide information on the people rescued.

Wall Street Journal [8/10/2025 5:00 AM, Natalie Andres, 646K] reports days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center where her husband worked at the municipal bond desk of Cantor Fitzgerald, Kai Thompson Hernandez got a strangely reassuring message from his boss. Stop hoping for survivors. No one in the top floors made it out, the chief executive of the firm, Howard Lutnick, told anxious families waiting in a hotel ballroom. Lutnick, who lost a brother in the attacks, survived only because he was running late that day dropping his son off at kindergarten. Hernandez remembers some criticized the message as heartless, but the new widow found it necessary to begin the long process of mourning her husband Glenn Thompson. Nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorists crashed hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and, after passengers resisted, a Pennsylvania field. Military trials against some of the hijackers’ alleged conspirators have dragged on for decades, and two wars yielded few tangible wins. Instead, the families have channeled their ire into a multiyear lawsuit against Saudi Arabia, where most of the attackers were from. Now, Lutnick is the Commerce secretary, and Hernandez and other families who lost loved ones that day see him as their last hope for justice. More than 100 family members of Cantor Fitzgerald employees who were killed during the attacks sent a letter to Lutnick last week asking him to demand that the Saudi government “accept responsibility for the actions of their predecessors.” They added in the letter, “Please help ensure our voices are heard and the truth finally comes out.” A Commerce Department spokesman said Lutnick has read the letter. “He deeply appreciates their thoughts and concerns,” the spokesman said. Lutnick himself is a plaintiff in the families’ lawsuit against Saudi Arabia. Hernandez and other families of those killed that day are urging Trump and Lutnick to use their leverage with Saudi Arabia. They also hope the U.S. will use new evidence to charge and then push Riyadh to extradite Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national, for his alleged role in helping carry out the terrorist attack almost 24 years ago. Saudi Arabia has denied complicity in the attacks.

FOX News [8/10/2025 3:11 AM, Landon Mion, 46878K] reports that, six people, including a 5-year-old girl, were wounded in a shooting Saturday night in Baltimore, Maryland, according to police. Baltimore Police responded to a call at around 8: 45 p.m. regarding a shooting at Spaulding and Queensberry Avenues, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said at a news briefing. Officers arrived at the scene to find six victims — four males and two females, including the 5-year-old girl, who was shot in the hand. Worley said the child’s injury does not appear to be serious. The young girl, as well as a 23-year-old woman and three men aged 32, 33 and 52, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Worley said. Another victim, a 38-year-old man, was listed in critical condition and underwent surgery at a hospital, the commissioner said. Homicide Detectives were called to the scene, given the severity of the 38-year-old man’s condition. Worley said it appeared people were hanging out outside when a gunman opened fire. No suspects have been arrested in connection with the shooting. The incident remains under investigation.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [8/9/2025 12:56 AM, Jack Moore, 31733K]

Axios [8/9/2025 12:07 PM, Crystal Hill, Thomas Wheatley, 13599K] reports a police officer was fatally shot while responding to an "active shooter" incident near Emory University’s Atlanta campus and the CDC that also left the gunman dead late Friday afternoon, authorities said. DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said the officer "received gunfire and lost his life" while responding to a report of an active shooter in the area of 1600 Clifton Road. No civilians were harmed. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the officer as David Rose with the DeKalb County Police Department. They also identified the suspect as Patrick Joseph White, 30, of Kennesaw. Schierbaum said  authorities don’t know if the shooter was struck by police gunfire or if the wound is self-inflicted. "This was an active shooter incident," Dickens said. Schierbaum said the nearby CDC campus received "multiple rounds into their buildings" but police "are not aware of any injury that occurred to anyone on that location." Police also declined to comment on the shooter’s potential motive.

Reported similarly:
Daily Caller [8/9/2025 11:32 AM, Melanie Wilcox, 1010K]

New York Post [8/9/2025 11:34 AM, Georgia Worrell, 49956K] reports the deranged man who fatally shot a cop at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters has been identified by Georgia authorities as 30-year-old Patrick Joseph White. White, of Kennesaw, Georgia, unleashed a barrage of bullets on the health agency before storming into a CVS located on the Emory University campus in Atlanta around 4:50 p.m. Friday, the police department said. Dekalb County police officer David Rose, 33, was reportedly struck and killed while responding to reports of the active shooter at the Clifton Road drugstore, which is located across the street from the CDC’s main campus. Rose – a heroic officer who joined the department in September 2024 – was rushed to Emory University Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The gunman was also found shot at the scene, though authorities have not said if his fatal wound was self-inflicted. Law enforcement sources told CNN the shooter likely targeted the CDC after he became sick with an apparent illness he blamed on the COVID-19 vaccine, according to police interviews with the suspect’s family Friday. Emory University issued an urgent active shooter alert around 5 p.m., urging all students to "RUN" and "HIDE," while the CDC campus was placed on lockdown. Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said Friday that the shooter sprayed multiple rounds at law enforcement and the health agency, located right next to the university, which also houses a daycare with 92 children in its care. None of them were harmed. Authorities confirmed that no other civilians were injured in the shooting.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [8/9/2025 1:26 PM, Staff, 51860K]
NewsNation [8/9/2025 12:44 PM, Ashley N. Soriano, 5801K]
USA Today [8/9/2025 12:39 PM, Jeanine Santucci, 75552K]
Daily Caller [8/9/2025 2:36 PM, Melanie Wilcox, 1010K]

New York Times [8/9/2025 1:58 PM, Rick Rojas, Sean Keenan, Apoorva Mandavilli and Glenn Thrush, 138952K] reports the shimmering low-rise metal and glass towers at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were pocked with dozens of bullet holes. Law enforcement officials said that Patrick Joseph White, a 30-year-old from the suburbs of Atlanta, opened fire on the complex of buildings on Friday afternoon. He had become fixated with the coronavirus vaccine, believing that it was the cause of his own physical ailments, officials said, and he attacked the institution that has been at the center of rampant conspiracy theories and misinformation about the federal government’s response to the pandemic. Mr. White was found fatally shot, although it was unclear if he had been killed in an exchange of gunfire with the police or it was self-inflicted, police officials said. An officer from the DeKalb County Police Department — a rookie not even a year into the job — was killed. Investigators on Saturday were piecing together Mr. White’s history, trying to understand what precipitated the spray of gunfire.

FOX News [8/9/2025 4:39 PM, Peter D’Abrosca, 46878K] Video HERE reports an Army veteran suspected in a bar shooting massacre that claimed four lives in a rural western town of 9,000 people sparked a massive manhunt that lasted a full week. Michael Paul Brown, 45, of Anaconda, Montana, was the state’s most wanted man until his time on the lam ended near a barn just under six miles from the scene of his horrific crime. Now he is behind bars, where he is likely to remain for the rest of his life. The officials said he was taken to a local hospital to be medically cleared, and was then booked into jail. Citing an ongoing investigation, authorities provided few other details. The charges against Brown have not been made public, nor has his motive for the alleged killings. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [8/9/2025 4:42 PM, Kiki Intarasuwan, 51860K] reports President Trump on Saturday said he is nominating State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce as the next deputy representative to the United Nations. "Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job," the president said in a Truth Social post. Bruce will receive the rank of ambassador, Mr. Trump said, if her nomination is confirmed by the Senate. It’s unclear who will replace Bruce’s position in the State Department. Mr. Trump has nominated Mike Waltz, his former national security adviser, to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. His confirmation has stalled since he testified in his Senate confirmation hearing last month about the administration’s foreign policy and his plans for the role if he is confirmed. If they are both confirmed, Bruce would serve under Waltz and assume the duties of the U.N. ambassador when he’s absent.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [8/9/2025 4:44 PM, Natalie Allison and Adam Taylor, 32099K]
FOX News [8/9/2025 6:20 PM, Brie Stimson, 46878K] Video: HERE

NewsMax [8/9/2025 12:14 PM, Jim Morley, 4622K] reports President Donald Trump’s use of reciprocal tariffs has been used to achieve national security objectives far outside the scope of their economic veneer, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. According to internal government documents reviewed by the outlet, State Department officials considered urging U.S. trading partners to oppose reducing greenhouse gas emissions from global container ships. A draft "action memo" advised Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the issue was raised during trade talks with maritime nations like Singapore as the administration sought "to inject this issue into the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations." In an executive order signed at the end of July, Trump noted that the tariffs would serve a dual purpose and repeatedly labelled the economic ramifications of a global trade imbalance a "threat."

AP [8/10/2025 12:09 AM, Staff, 24051K] reports the threats, pressure and ultimatums have come and gone, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained Moscow’s uncompromising demands in the war in Ukraine, raising fears he could use a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska to coerce Kyiv into accepting an unfavorable deal. The maximalist demands reflect Putin’s determination to reach the goals he set when he launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Putin sees a possible meeting with Trump as a chance to negotiate a broad deal that would not only cement Russia’s territorial gains but also keep Ukraine from joining NATO and hosting any Western troops, allowing Moscow to gradually pull the country back into its orbit. The Kremlin leader believes time is on his side as the exhausted and outgunned Ukrainian forces are struggling to stem Russian advances in many sectors of the over 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line while swarms of Russian missiles and drones batter Ukrainian cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also has stood firm in his positions, agreeing to a ceasefire proposed by Trump while reaffirming the country’s refusal to abandon seeking NATO membership and rejecting acknowledgment of Russia’s annexation of any of its regions. In a memorandum presented at talks in Istanbul in June, Russia offered Ukraine two options for establishing a 30-day ceasefire. One demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — the four regions Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured. As an alternate condition for a ceasefire, Russia made a “package proposal” for Ukraine to halt mobilization efforts, freeze Western arms deliveries and ban any third-country forces on its soil. Moscow also suggested Ukraine end martial law and hold elections, after which the countries could sign a comprehensive peace treaty. Once there’s a truce, Moscow wants a deal to include the “international legal recognition” of its annexations of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and the four regions in 2022. Russia says a peace treaty should have Ukraine declare its neutral status between Russia and the West, abandon its bid to join NATO, limit the size of its armed forces and recognize Russian as an official language on par with Ukrainian -– conditions reflecting Putin’s earliest goals. The memorandum that Ukraine presented to Moscow in Istanbul emphasized the need for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to set stage for peace negotiations. It reaffirmed Ukraine’s consistent rejection of Russian demands for neutral status as an attack on its sovereignty, declaring it is free to choose its alliances and adding that its NATO membership will depend on consensus with the alliance. It emphasized Kyiv’s rejection of any restrictions on the size and other parameters of its armed forces, as well as curbs on the presence of foreign troops on its soil. Ukraine’s memorandum also opposed recognizing any Russian territorial gains, while describing the current line of contact as a starting point in negotiations. The document noted the need for international security guarantees to ensure the implementation of peace agreements and prevent further aggression. Kyiv’s peace proposal also demanded the return of all deported and illegally displaced children and a total prisoner exchange. It held the door open to gradual lifting of some of the sanctions against Russia if it abides by the agreement. Trump has often spoken admiringly of Putin and even echoed his talking points on the war. He had a harsh confrontation with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, but later warmed his tone. As Putin resisted a ceasefire and continued his aerial bombardments, Trump showed exasperation with the Kremlin leader, threatening Moscow with new sanctions. Although Trump expressed disappointment with Putin, his agreement to meet him without Zelenskyy at the table raised worries in Ukraine and its European allies, who fear it could allow the Russian to get Trump on his side and strong-arm Ukraine into concessions. Trump said without giving details that “there’ll be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both” Russia and Ukraine as part of any peace deal that he will discuss with Putin when they meet Friday.

The Hill [8/9/2025 6:36 PM, Filip Timotija, 18649K] reports the White House is considering inviting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to an Alaskan summit between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a White House official told The Hill’s sister network NewsNation. It is unclear if Zelensky would attend the meeting with the two leaders as meeting details have yet to be finalized. Trump announced Friday that he will meet with Putin in Alaska next week to discuss ending the over three-years long war between Russia and Ukraine. The president has not ruled out hosting a meeting between the two Eastern European leaders — a move that was previously shot down by the Kremlin. "The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin," a senior White House official told NewsNation’s Libbey Dean on Saturday. The possible invite comes after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, their fifth summit this year. Their meeting took place just two days before the president was set to impose new sanctions on Moscow.

Bloomberg [8/9/2025 6:35 PM, Staff, 19320K] reports President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv won’t cede territory to end the war with Russia as European leaders pledged their continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty. “We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force,” European leaders said Saturday in a joint statement. “The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.” The statement was backed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Finland. President Donald Trump announced Friday that he’ll meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, with the apparent exclusion of Zelenskiy from talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, now halfway through a fourth year. Zelenskiy’s comments were his first response to news of that meeting, as well as reports that talks between Washington and Moscow center around a deal that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion, according to people familiar with the matter. That includes a demand by Putin that Ukraine cede Crimea, which Kremlin forces illegally annexed in 2014, as well as its entire eastern Donbas area. Such an outcome would require Zelenskiy to withdraw troops from parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions still held by Kyiv.

AP [8/10/2025 6:46 AM, Staff, 56000K] reports the Taliban are investigating explicit death threats against dozens of Afghan women working for the United Nations, according to a report published Sunday. In its latest update on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, the U.N. mission to the country said that dozens of female national staff were subjected to explicit death threats in May. The threats came from unidentified individuals related to their work with the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, other agencies, funds, and programs, “requiring the U.N. to implement interim measures to protect their safety,” according to the report. It said that the Taliban told the U.N. mission that their personnel were not responsible for the threats. An Interior Ministry investigation is underway, the report said. Afghan authorities, including the Interior Ministry, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the report or the investigation.

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