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.

Politico [12/10/2025 6:34 PM, Eric Bazail-Eimil and James Bikales, 13586K] reports President Donald Trump said Wednesday that U.S. officials have seized a “very large” oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, a major escalation of the administration’s months of efforts to punish the South American petrostate. “As you probably know we have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually,” Trump said at an event at the White House. “It was seized for a very good reason.” The White House did not provide additional details about the vessel. But a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive seizure, said the ship was en route to Cuba, where the state firm Cubametales was planning to sell it to Asian energy brokers. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed in an X post that the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations and the Coast Guard “executed a seizure warrant” on the vessel, which she said was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. “For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations,” Bondi wrote. A video posted by Bondi showed armed operators descending ropes from helicopters onto the deck of the vessel before entering what appeared to be the bridge. Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at commodity tracking firm Kpler, said the ship seized Wednesday — believed to be a Panama-flagged tanker called Skipper — was not commercially trackable and probably had its automatic identification system turned off. Skipper is registered to Triton Navigation, a corporation registered in the Marshall Islands, according to the Treasury Department’s “Specially Designated Nationals” list. Treasury in 2022 called Triton one of a number of “shipping companies critical to the oil smuggling network” supporting Iran’s Hezbollah. Given U.S. sanctions, most of Venezuela’s oil production goes to China, including through third-party countries or on shadow tankers without tracking software. The action occurred two days after an interview with POLITICO in which Trump repeatedly declined to rule out sending troops to Venezuela to bring down leader Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump accused of exporting drugs and criminals to the United States. The Trump administration has spent months pressuring Maduro to cede power to the opposition, an escalation which has included restoring sanctions, building up the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean and using lethal force against boats the U.S. alleges are trafficking drugs in concert with the Venezuelan military. Cuba’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Attempts to reach Venezuela’s national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela were unsuccessful. Trump signaled the U.S. would keep the seized oil, but seemed unsure of its destination. “We keep it, I guess,” he said before suggesting that a reporter “get a helicopter and follow the tanker” to learn what port it was heading to. The AP [12/10/2025 6:03 PM, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin, 31753K] reports that the U.S. has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress. Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, "Well, we keep it, I guess." The seizure was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that the seizure was conducted under U.S. law enforcement authority. CBS News [12/10/2025 7:59 PM, Kathryn Watson, Jennifer Jacobs, Richard Escobedo, James LaPorta, Eleanor Watson, Nicole Sganga, 39474K] reports Venezuela’s government said in a statement that it "strongly denounces and repudiates what constitutes a shameless robbery and an act of international piracy." "In these circumstances, the real reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been exposed. It’s not migration. It’s not drug trafficking. It’s not democracy. It’s not human rights. It was always about our natural wealth, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people," the Venezuelan government said. The tanker is called The Skipper, according to three sources familiar with the seizure. The operation to seize it started at about 6 a.m. Wednesday and involved two helicopters, 10 Coast Guard members, 10 Marines and special operation forces, according to a senior military official and a source familiar with the operation. The Skipper had just left port in Venezuela when it was seized, they said. The helicopters used in the tanker seizure launched from the USS Gerald Ford and the boarding team was comprised of the Coast Guard’s Maritime Security and Response Team, an elite maritime-interdiction unit based on the East Coast in Chesapeake, Virginia, according to a senior military official and a source familiar with the operation. The USS Gerald Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S.’s fleet, arrived in the Caribbean last month amid a larger military buildup in the region. The Skipper was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 for alleged ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah. At the time, it sailed under the name Adisa. The 20-year-old tanker previously sailed under the name The Toyo in 2005, according to public maritime data. The operation was led by the United States Coast Guard, supported by Navy forces, according to U.S. officials. Any such operation would legally require the Coast Guard to be the lead agency, because the authorities used for these seizures fall under Coast Guard jurisdiction. While the U.S. government — particularly the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations — has seized sanctioned oil tankers before, conducting a fast-rope boarding from helicopters at sea is rare, though it is something the boarding teams train for. The Trump administration is considering more missions similar to Wednesday’s seizure, according to the senior military official and a source familiar with the operation. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] FOX News [12/10/2025 7:36 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] reports FBI Director Kash Patel said in an X post the administration’s "efforts to crush FTO’s" and cut off their resources will "continue day and night.” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem added, "If you threaten our nation or break the law, there is no place on land or sea where we won’t find you. Thank you to our brave service members. America FIRST.” President Donald Trump noted at the White House Wednesday that the tanker was the "largest one ever seized action," adding "other things are happening.” "You’ll be seeing that later," Trump said. "And you’ll be talking about that later with some other people.” The Navy confirmed to Fox News Wednesday that 15% of U.S.-deployed Navy ships are in the Caribbean region. It is unclear what percentage of U.S. Naval assets are in the region. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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FOX News [12/10/2025 9:36 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller discusses the U.S. seizing a Venezuelan tanker and claims CNN banned him from its network on ‘Hannity.’ [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo [12/10/2025 11:08 PM, Staff, 2218K] reports the Venezuelan regime denounced the confiscation of an oil tanker off the coast of the South American country on Wednesday as "a blatant robbery" and "an act of international piracy." "The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela denounces and strongly condemns what constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy, publicly announced by the President of the United States, who confessed to the attack on an oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea," the Venezuelan regime said in a statement. The text further stated that "this new criminal act adds to the theft of Citgo, an important asset of the strategic patrimony of all Venezuelans, confiscated through fraudulent judicial mechanisms and outside of any legal framework." "The Bolivarian Government reaffirms that it will resort to all existing international organizations to denounce this serious international crime and will defend with absolute determination its sovereignty, its natural resources, and its national dignity. Venezuela will not allow any foreign power to attempt to deprive the Venezuelan people of what belongs to them by historical and constitutional right," the text emphasized. Earlier on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had intercepted the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, raising tensions between the two countries.

NewsMax [12/10/2025 10:08 PM, James Morley III, 4109K] reports Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and other lawmakers renewed calls for congressional oversight Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S. seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the country’s coast, an operation U.S. officials described as a sanctions-enforcement action involving the Coast Guard and other agencies. "It sounds a lot like the beginning of a war," Paul told NewsNation’s Hannah Brandt, adding, "I’m not really in favor of beginning wars with other countries.” Paul has been one of the most vocal and consistent GOP skeptics of the administration’s expanding Venezuela posture and recently teamed with Democrat Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Chuck Schumer of New York, and Adam Schiff of California, on a War Powers Resolution aimed at blocking U.S. armed forces from engaging in hostilities "within or against" Venezuela without explicit authorization from Congress. Paul said that while he "detests" Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and socialism, it isn’t "the job of the American government to go looking for monsters around the world, looking for adversaries, and beginning wars.” Democrats also pointed to the tanker seizure as part of a broader pattern of escalation. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told the outlet he is "gravely concerned that [Trump] is sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela.” Other Republicans were less definitive than Paul, with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., saying he would "look into it," while Sens. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said they had not been briefed on the matter. The seizure involved the tanker Skipper (previously known as the Adisa), which U.S. officials said was tied to sanctioned oil networks. Venezuela’s government condemned the action as "international piracy.” James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The Washington Post [12/10/2025 12:09 PM, Marianne LeVine and Jacob Bogage, 24149K] reports the Department of Homeland Security recently signed a contract worth nearly $140 million to purchase six Boeing 737 planes for deportations — a move that will allow the agency to operate its own fleet after receiving a massive funding increase from Congress. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the arm of DHS that carries out deportation flights, has long relied on charter planes, but two officials familiar with the contract and records reviewed by The Washington Post indicate ICE has broader plans. Earlier this year, Congress signed off on $170 billion for President Donald Trump’s border and immigration agenda over four years as part of the GOP’s sprawling tax bill. The money for the planes is coming from that funding, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss information that had not been made public. The enormous infusion of cash opened the door for the Trump administration to spend extensively on immigration enforcement to meet the president’s goals of deporting record numbers of immigrants. Administration officials have set a goal of deporting 1 million people by the end of Trump’s first year in office. Trump border czar Tom Homan said the administration has made more than 579,000 removals, though it has not published official numbers. Nearly 66,000 immigrants are being held in detention, according to DHS data. Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokeswoman, said in a statement in response to an inquiry from The Post that the planes would save money “by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns.” McLaughlin said the effort would save $279 million in taxpayer dollars. She did not offer specifics. Bloomberg [12/10/2025 1:34 PM, Myles Miller and Siddharth Philip, 803K] reports that the aircraft will be acquired from Daedalus Aviation under a contract valued at about $140 million, according to a report first published by the Washington Post, which cited two people familiar with the agreement. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the deal by email and on social media. Contract documents had not yet appeared on federal procurement websites. “This new initiative will save $279 million in taxpayer dollars by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns,” said McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, in an emailed response to questions. “President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.” ICE Air Operations, the agency’s primary transport division, currently relies on a mix of chartered aircraft and commercial flights. It stages 12 aircraft from hubs in Arizona, Texas, Louisiana and Florida to transfer detainees between US detention facilities and to conduct removals overseas, according to its website.

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AP [12/10/2025 6:24 PM, Rebecca Santana, 852K] reports foreigners who are allowed to come to the United States without a visa could soon be required to submit information about their social media, email accounts and extensive family history to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel. The notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register said Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years’ worth of social media information from travelers from select countries who do not have to get visas to come to the U.S. The Trump administration has been stepping up monitoring of international travelers and immigrants. The announcement refers to travelers from more than three dozen countries who take part in the Visa Waiver Program and submit their information to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which automatically screens them and then approves them for travel to the U.S. Unlike visa applicants, they generally do not have to go into an embassy or consulate for an interview. DHS administers the program, which currently allows citizens of roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas. The announcement also said that CBP would start requesting a list of other information, including telephone numbers the person has used over the past five years or email addresses used over the past decade. Also sought would be metadata from electronically submitted photos, as well as extensive information from the applicant’s family members, including their places of birth and their telephone numbers. Asked at a White House event whether he was concerned the measure might affect tourism to the U.S., President Donald Trump said no. “We want safety, we want security, we want to make sure we’re not letting the wrong people come into our country,” Trump said. The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes before they go into effect, the notice said. CBP stressed in a statement Wednesday that the rule hasn’t yet gone into effect and wasn’t finalized. “Nothing has changed on this front for those coming to the United States. This is not a final rule, it is simply the first step in starting a discussion to have new policy options to keep the American people safe,” the agency said in a statement. “The Department is constantly looking at how we vet those coming into the country, especially after the terrorist attack in Washington DC against our National Guard right before Thanksgiving,” the statement read. “The Department is constantly looking at how we vet those coming into the country, especially after the terrorist attack in Washington DC against our National Guard right before Thanksgiving,” the statement read. The announcement did not say what the administration was looking for in the social media accounts or why it was asking for more information. But the agency said it was complying with an executive order that Trump signed in January that called for more screening of people coming to the U.S. to prevent the entry of possible national security threats. CNN [12/10/2025 8:18 AM, Lauren Chadwick and Michael Williams, 18595K] reports that the requirement would be for travelers using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, as part of a visa waiver program for citizens from 42 countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Israel and Qatar, as well as many other European countries. ESTA is an online application visitors from these countries use to travel to the US for under 90 days without a visa. Visitors using the online system are currently asked for information such as their passport and birth date, as well as any past criminal record. The proposed changes to the visa waiver application include making provision of social media history mandatory and adding "high value data elements," including the person’s phone numbers and email addresses over the prior five years, plus close family members’ names and birth dates, along with their birthplaces, residences and phone numbers over the prior five years. The new proposal – open for public comment through February 9 – would make that information mandatory, though it’s unclear how it would impact those wishing to come to the United States. CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, for comment.

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NewsMax [12/10/2025 7:55 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K] reports the Department of Homeland Security released new figures on Wednesday describing a combined total of more than 2.5 million people leaving the United States since January. According to DHS, enforcement actions have led to more than 605,000 deportations since Jan. 20. The department said it has focused on removing individuals it identifies as the most serious criminal offenders. The agency promoted the CBP Home app as a means for individuals to arrange transportation assistance. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the department’s approach is producing rapid results. "Since January 20, DHS has arrested more than 595,000 illegal aliens," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now. They know if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.” DHS credited President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to carry out targeted operations aimed at removing individuals with criminal records. The department said the decrease in the number of people residing in the country illegally is having effects at the local level, including reduced pressure on public services and changes in job availability. To take more control over the deportation process, DHS purchased a small fleet of Boeing 737s to handle transporting illegal aliens out of America. DHS will shift from relying solely on charter services to operating its own aircraft after Congress approved a major funding increase for Trump’s border and immigration agenda. Congress authorized $170 billion for immigration and border operations over four years as part of the GOP tax bill, and the plane funding comes from that package. The most recent update from ICE posted on its website about deportation flights notes the primary focus of "removing non-U.S. citizens who are in the country illegally is a core responsibility of ICE in support of the agency’s mission.”

New York Times [12/11/2025 3:24 AM, John Ismay, 153395K] reports a group of Democratic lawmakers said in a report released on Wednesday that the Pentagon had diverted at least $2 billion from its core missions this year to support the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The report found that shifting the funds had led to the pausing or canceling of programs, including the building of a pilot training facility, the repairing of schools for children of service members and the refurbishment of military barracks, something Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called a priority. The report says that military readiness “will suffer as a direct result of diverting” Pentagon resources for immigration missions that are “not consistent” with the military’s mission and that troops “have neither signed up nor been trained for.” Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, said the administration was “using the defense budget as a slush fund for political stunts.” The report cited as an example funds that had been allocated for building a jet-aircraft training facility in Mississippi and barracks for troops on overseas bases. The money was “reprogrammed” to build just 20 miles of President Trump’s wall along the southern border, lawmakers said. The Defense Department defended its use of resources to back Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda, saying in a statement that it could do so without undercutting other priorities. The military budget is nearly $900 billion a year. “The Pentagon is able to execute on many missions at the same time,” said Kingsley Wilson, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

AP [12/11/2025 12:02 AM, Gisela Salomon, 31753K] reports President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy split more than 5,000 children from their families at the Mexico border during his first term. Border crossings sit at a record low nearly a year into his second administration and a new wave of immigration enforcement is dividing families inside the U.S. Federal officials and their local law enforcement partners are detaining tens of thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants. Detainees are moved repeatedly, then deported, or held in poor conditions for weeks or months before asking to go home. The federal government was holding an average of more than 66,000 people in November, the highest on record. During the first Trump administration, families were forcibly separated at the border and authorities struggled to find children in a vast shelter system because government computer systems weren’t linked. Now parents inside the United States are being arrested by immigration authorities and separated from their families during prolonged detention. Or, they choose to have their children remain in the U.S. after an adult is deported, many after years or decades here. The Trump administration and its anti-immigration backers see "unprecedented success" and Trump’s top border adviser Tom Homan told reporters in April that "we’re going to keep doing it, full speed ahead.” Three families separated by migration enforcement in recent months told The Associated Press that their dreams of better, freer lives had clashed with Washington’s new immigration policy and their existence is anguished without knowing if they will see their loved ones again. For them, migration marked the possible start of permanent separation between parents and children, the source of deep pain and uncertainty. Antonio Laverde left Venezuela for the U.S. in 2022 and crossed the border illegally, then requested asylum. He got a work permit and a driver’s license and worked as an Uber driver in Miami, sharing homes with other immigrants so he could send money to relatives in Venezuela and Florida. Laverde’s wife Jakelin Pasedo and their sons followed him from Venezuela to Miami in December 2024. Pasedo focused on caring for her sons while her husband earned enough to support the family. Pasedo and the kids got refugee status but Laverde, 39, never obtained it and as he left for work one early June morning, he was arrested by federal agents. Pasedo says it was a case of mistaken identity by agents hunting for a suspect in their shared housing. In the end, she and her children, then 3 and 5, remember the agents cuffing Laverde at gunpoint.

AP [12/10/2025 6:32 PM, Staff, 31753K] Video: HERE reports American children in Louisiana are losing their caretakers and their teenage siblings are now having to shoulder the burden of paying rent after federal immigration agents swept up their parents in operation “Catahoula Crunch.”

Blaze [12/10/2025 11:15 AM, Cooper Williamson, 1442K] reports though Department of Homeland Security officials continue to bravely execute their deportation mandate, they have been met with a great deal of threats against their safety. In fact, a recent high-profile incident is only the latest example of what has reportedly been an 8,000% increase in death threats against immigration enforcement officials. On Tuesday, twin brothers were arrested in Abescon, New Jersey, after allegedly issuing death threats to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in general and to a high-profile DHS spokeswoman in particular, according to a DHS press release. The pair are accused of calling on people to "shoot ICE on sight" on social media. They also allegedly threatened to hang DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. "Let this be a warning to anyone who dares threaten or attack our brave law enforcement officers," said acting ICE Director Todd Lyons. "We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. We are NOT afraid of you." "The extreme rhetoric of the news media, sanctuary politicians, and activists is leading directly to our law enforcement officers facing an 8,000% increase in death threats against them. If you threaten our law enforcement or DHS officials, we will hunt you down and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

FOX News [12/10/2025 12:53 PM, Staff, 40621K] report that Fox News correspondent Nate Foy joins ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to report on the New Jersey twin brothers accused of making death threats toward DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [12/10/2025 11:15 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports Fox News’ Nate Foy reports on the arrest of two brothers accused of threatening Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley weighs in and discusses a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [12/11/2025 12:12 AM, David Klepper, Ben Finley and Konstantin Toropin, 31753K] reports Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities, an extraordinary move that has prompted legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on U.S. soil. The hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors. The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trump’s use of the National Guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations. Trump has justified the use of the military in American cities by saying the National Guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime. Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue. "Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts," Duckworth told The Associated Press. Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois National Guard, said domestic deployments have traditionally involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids. Duckworth said she has questions for the military about how Trump’s deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wants to know if Guard members will have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harms a civilian. "I’m deeply concerned that our nation’s military is being put in jeopardy by these policies," Duckworth said. The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the city’s mayor described as a targeted attack. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died a day after the Nov. 26 shooting, and her funeral took place Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is still hospitalized in Washington. Meanwhile, a federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House said it plans to appeal.

Chicago Tribune [12/10/2025 8:04 PM, Jeremy Gorner, 4829K] reports three hundred Illinois National Guard troops remain under Republican President Donald Trump’s control roughly a week after an initial 60-day federal activation order expired, continuing a clash over his unprecedented decision to seize authority over state soldiers who have spent almost their entire time confined to a base in northern Illinois and performing no operational missions. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said Wednesday that the 60-day federalization order — issued Oct. 4 in conjunction with the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz deportation efforts — was earlier extended for at least another month, even though the soldiers have mostly remained at an Illinois Army National Guard training site in Marseilles and were never deployed for the White House’s stated purpose of protecting federal officers and assets. “The Illinois National Guard was informed that the previous mobilization order for the federalized Illinois National Guard soldiers was amended and extended an additional 32 days,” a spokesperson for Pritzker’s office said in a statement, meaning the troops will remain federalized until at least roughly the end of the year. “Governor Pritzker strongly condemns the ongoing politicization of our brave servicemembers by the Trump Administration and remains unwavering in his opposition of federalizing members of the National Guard against the wishes of the Governor. The State of Illinois will continue to fight this blatant overreach to the fullest extent in the courts.” The ongoing federalization — the first in Illinois history over a governor’s objections — also drew heightened scrutiny after a federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of that state’s National Guard to California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The judge ruled that the White House overstepped its authority in extending a deployment in Los Angeles, a finding that could affect National Guard units in other states, such as Illinois, that the federal government has commandeered. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the judge’s decision. Pritzker has repeatedly denounced the president’s move as an abuse of power and unnecessary, noting the Illinois troops have neither patrolled streets nor guarded federal buildings and pointing out that Trump said he originally intended to send guard troops into Chicago to curtail crime. In addition, many agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol assigned to the Chicago region specifically as part of Operation Midway Blitz have left the area. In a statement, U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the National Guard deployment, said the soldiers “are conducting planning and training but not engaging in Federal Protection Mission operational activities.” A Defense Department spokesperson noted that federal personnel and property in the Chicago region could still require protection. But David Harris, a former adjutant general who oversaw the Illinois National Guard from 1999 to 2003, said he doesn’t see the troops doing anything productive under federal control. “One of the key things about any military operation is you have a mission to perform, whatever it is. The commander knows what the mission is and will do his or her best to achieve the mission. What is the mission of these soldiers at this point? What are they doing?” asked Harris, who is now the director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. “It really is in my mind unconscionable that they are still on federal duty.” “They’re planning and preparing for what?” Harris also said. “If there’s any danger out there to federal facilities in Illinois, why aren’t they guarding those federal facilities now?”

CBS News [12/10/2025 11:08 AM, [Editorial note: consult video at source link], 39474K] reports a federal judge in California blocked the Trump administration from deploying members of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and directed it to return control of the Guard to Gov. Gavin Newsom. The decision Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is the second in which he has ruled against the Trump administration in its efforts to federalize the California National Guard, under a law known as Title 10, and send troops to the streets of Los Angeles to protect federal personnel and property during immigration enforcement operations. Newsom, a Democrat, opposed President Trump’s move to call the state’s National Guard into federal service in support of the president’s immigration crackdown. Sought by California officials, the preliminary injunction granted by Breyer arose out of orders issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in August and October that kept 300 California National Guard troops under federal control to temporarily protect federal immigration agents and other government entities. The October order from Hegseth called for 200 of the California National Guard personnel to deploy to Oregon, with the remaining 100 troops sent to various locations throughout Los Angeles. The California National Guard members are set to remain in federal service through Feb. 2. [Editorial note: consult video at source link] The New York Times [12/10/2025 3:13 PM, Laurel Rosenhall, 135475K] reports that the ruling by Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Federal District Court in San Francisco applies to about 100 National Guard soldiers who remain in Los Angeles six months after protests erupted over immigration raids. Judge Breyer directed the federal government to return control of the troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, but he stayed his order until Monday. The Trump administration is expected to appeal. “The Founders designed our government to be a system of checks and balances,” Judge Breyer wrote in his decision. “Defendants, however, make clear that the only check they want is a blank one.” The White House expressed confidence that the administration would ultimately prevail in court. “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to deploy National Guard troops to support federal officers and assets,” Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement.

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NPR [12/10/2025 1:28 PM, Kat Lonsdorf, 28013K]
AP [12/10/2025 11:19 AM, Sudhin Thanawala, 31753K]

New York Post [12/10/2025 3:38 PM, Josh Koehn, 42219K] reports a federal judge has blocked the deployment of National Guard units in Los Angeles and ordered control of the soldiers’ activity to be returned to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying President Donald Trump overstepped his legal authority in ordering thousands of soldiers to the city this summer. The Trump administration, which ordered a total of 4,000 troops in response to violent clashes between law enforcement and protesters after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted a series of raids in early June, vowed to press ahead in the legal battle. Demonstrations that started as peaceful gatherings on June 6 soon turned aggressive as law enforcement began firing tear gas, flash bangs and less-lethal projectiles to get crowds to disperse crowds. Trump announced on June 7 he was federalizing National Guard troops and sending them to Los Angeles. States have control over National Guard units, but they can be called into federal service in emergency circumstances. San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer also rejected arguments from the Trump administration that courts have no power to review the president’s ability to take control of National Guard units during times of emergency during Wednesday’s ruling. While the ruling gives Newsom a victory, other matters in the legal battle remain unresolved. The federal government is appealing a ruling from August that found Trump’s deployment of federalized National Guard troops in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the military’s involvement in domestic law enforcement.

The Hill [12/10/2025 4:35 PM, Brett Samuels, 12595K] reports President Trump on Wednesday said he was happy with his Cabinet and specifically downplayed reports that he was frustrated with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Multiple reports have emerged from CNN, MS NOW and other publications that the administration is eyeing potential replacements for Noem. Those reports cited frustrations among lawmakers over her handling of disaster relief funds, as well as internal concerns about personnel decisions within the sprawling agency. Other members of Trump’s leadership team have faced criticism during their first year in office, including FBI Director Kash Patel and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But Trump has so far stopped short of ousting any members of his Cabinet, a departure from his first term when there was frequent turnover among top staff.

Politico [12/10/2025 5:55 AM, Myah Ward and Eric Bazail-Eimil, 13586K] reports the White House says Secretary Kristi Noem isn’t going anywhere. That hasn’t stopped people from floating possible replacements. Fox News contributor and former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, whose term ends in January, are among the names being discussed inside the Trump administration and on the Hill as potential Noem successors, according to an administration official and two people close to the administration. The conversations about potential replacements come amid heightened speculation that Noem’s days as a key executor of President Donald Trump’s mass deportations agenda may be numbered. There is increasing frustration with how she’s managed the agency, fear she’s bungled the billions of dollars in new funding her agency received this year from Republicans’ domestic policy and tax legislation. In addition, there are also concerns about Corey Lewandowski’s outsize role at DHS, and the tensions between Noem and Trump Border Czar Tom Homan about how to best execute the president’s immigration agenda. This story is based on conversations with 17 people, including administration officials, people close to the White House, and lawmakers. Many were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel issues. “I’m hearing from people that she’s about to leave,” said one person close to the administration, who added that Noem wouldn’t be fired. The exit could be graceful, the person said, with Noem leaving for “another opportunity” and being able to say she’s succeeded at DHS. Even as frustrations mount at the White House, a decision to remove her would ultimately have to come from Trump, who has repeatedly praised Noem in public for her leadership. And White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters Tuesday that he’s “thrilled with the job Secretary Noem is doing,” adding that her “track record as secretary of Homeland Security has been nothing short of extraordinary.” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Trump has “assembled the most talented and capable Cabinet in American history.” “Secretary Noem is doing a great job implementing the president’s agenda and making America safe again,” she said. “Reports of her departing are Fake News. President Trump, Secretary Noem, and Tom Homan are all on the same page when it comes to implementing the President’s agenda and the results speak for themselves — the border is secure and deportations continue to increase.” Noem also has defenders on Capitol Hill. Asked about her potential departure, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) insisted that “Kristi’s worked really hard.” But the praise for Noem and denials that she is on her way out have done little to tame discussions among people inside and close to the administration, who believe Noem will exit DHS in the months ahead. Immigration enforcement is one of the president’s most controversial domestic policies, and its ties to the use of the National Guard in U.S. cities have critics warning the administration is building a paramilitary police force. Noem has been the face of this policy and leaned into turning raids into made-for-TV productions, all of which has earned her scorn on the left. But her constant presence on television and penchant for live shots have also irked some in Trump’s orbit who see her as unserious and too focused on her 2028 ambitions, according to multiple administration officials and people close to the White House. “She’s not doing this so she can get a cushy job on Fox News when she leaves,” said the administration official. “Her best shot is to get out on the campaign trail now, start lining up endorsements from governors and then use that to negotiate a role in the next administration — secretary of State, vice president.” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, when asked to comment on growing speculation about Noem’s political future, said “I can’t speak for the President, but I’ve seen more credible reporting on Bigfoot.” Still, chatter about her departure has escalated in recent weeks, opening the door for others to position themselves to fill her role.

Axios [12/11/2025 5:00 AM, Brittany Gibson and Marc Caputo, 12972K] reports the acrimony is so deep between President Trump’s border czar and his homeland security secretary that the two officials barely speak to or meet with each other, insiders tell Axios. Tensions reached such a fever pitch last week that the White House was swamped with rumors and news stories claiming that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had lost Trump’s favor and was on her way out. Noem’s backers blamed the whisper campaign on supporters of her administration rival, border czar Tom Homan. Homan’s partisans deny any involvement. Neither Noem nor Homan are going anywhere, according to administration officials inside and outside the White House. Trump has shown no signs of wanting a change. "Kristi’s doing a great job," Trump, unprompted, recently told an adviser who relayed the conversation to Axios. "Her and Tom don’t get along," the president chuckled, the source said. "But they’re doing great." The adviser said Trump doesn’t mind the conflict: "Trump is like that. He kind of likes people competing against each other. He thinks it makes the product better."

NewsMax [12/10/2025 11:34 AM, Brian Freeman, 4109K] reports that two U.S. fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday, in what appeared to be an escalation of the Trump administration’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, The Guardian reported. FlightRadar24 showed a pair of F/A-18 Super Hornets flying together for about 40 minutes just north of Maracaibo, Venezuela’s most populous city. In addition, a pair of Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets also flew just north of the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday, according to The War Zone. Venezuela claims the gulf as part of its national territory, although the United States has historically challenged Caracas’ definitions of its boundaries. But the Pentagon played down the flights over the gulf in a statement to The Guardian. "The Department conducts routine, lawful operations in international airspace, including over the Gulf of Venezuela," a Pentagon official wrote. "We will continue to fly safely, professionally, and in accordance with international law to protect the homeland, monitor illicit activity, and support stability across the Americas." In recent weeks, the U.S. military has dispatched B-1 Lancer bombers and B-52 Stratofortress bombers in the area, having the planes fly along the coast of Venezuela, The Hill reported.

Washington Post [12/11/2025 5:01 AM, Noah Robertson, Alex Horton, and Ellen Nakashima, 32099K] reports in the minutes after U.S. forces attacked a suspected drug smuggling boat near Trinidad, Adm. Frank M. Bradley, the commander overseeing the operation, faced a choice. A laser-guided bomb had killed nine of the 11 people on board, sunk the boat’s motor and capsized the vessel’s front end, according to people who have viewed or been briefed on a classified video of the operation. As smoke from the blast cleared, a live surveillance feed provided by a U.S. aircraft high overhead showed two men had survived and were attempting to flip the wreckage. Ahead of the Sept. 2 mission, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given an order to U.S. forces to kill the passengers, sink the boat and destroy the drugs, three people familiar with the operation said. It appeared to Bradley that none of those objectives had been achieved, the admiral would later recount for lawmakers. The video feed showed that the two men were struggling to stay atop the flotsam, which people who’ve seen the footage described as roughly the size of a dining room table. Bradley turned to the military lawyer advising him and requested input, according to members of Congress who spoke with him privately last week and people later briefed on those conversations. Under the law of armed conflict, were the men now “shipwrecked” and therefore out of the fight, rendering them unlawful targets? The admiral decided that definition did not apply, these people said. Instead, what Bradley explained to lawmakers left some with the impression that there was a prevailing lack of certainty — about the existence of any drugs beneath the wreckage and whether the survivors had a means to call for help or intended to surrender — when he concluded that further action was warranted. He ordered a second strike, killing both men. Moments earlier, the video feed had shown them waving their arms and looking skyward, people who saw the footage said. It was unclear, they added, why they were doing so. The 30-plus minutes that elapsed between the first strike and the second has become the most consequential moment in Bradley’s three-decade military career — one that includes direct involvement in more than 1,000 lethal strikes governed by the law of armed conflict central to understanding the events of Sept. 2 and whether the strike survivors were lawful targets. The episode has put the admiral and his advisers under a spotlight alongside Hegseth, who has expressed support for Bradley while attempting to distance himself from the fallout.

USA Today [12/10/2025 3:11 PM, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, 67103K] reports the U.S. military knew the identities of the 11 men killed in a Sept. 2 boat strike in the Caribbean and approved the hit because the crewmembers apparently had loose ties to a drug cartel, the military commander who led the operation told lawmakers last week, according to two people with knowledge of the briefing. In a Dec. 4 classified briefing with a select group of lawmakers, Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, who has been on the hot seat for weeks due to his role in the attack, said the military deemed the people on board legitimate targets because some had contact with members of drug cartels the Trump administration has declared foreign terrorist organizations, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter. Bradley did not provide lawmakers with documentation that the boat carried drugs. He also stated that follow-up strikes sank the wreckage of the bombed boat, destroying possible evidence of drug trafficking, the people said. NBC previously reported that the 11 men were on an internal list of "narco-terrorists" who were cleared to be targeted. Bradley, the commander of Special Operations Command, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the Trump administration confirmed that he ordered a second strike on the wreckage of the boat roughly 40 minutes later, killing two people who had survived the first attack.

Telemundo [12/10/2025 4:57 PM, Staff, 2218K] reports President Donald Trump threatened Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday, saying he would be "next," alluding to the pressure his government is exerting against the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela. Responding to a question from the press at the White House about whether he plans to speak with Petro soon, Trump dismissed the idea, saying that the Colombian president "has been quite hostile toward the United States." Trump stated that Petro "is going to have big problems if he doesn’t realize" that Colombia is "producing a lot of drugs." The Colombian president has rejected these actions and asserted that his government’s anti-drug policy is the right one. Trump’s statements put Colombia in the crosshairs of Operation Southern Spear, which he ordered under the pretext of combating drug trafficking in Latin America, and which has heightened tensions with the Maduro regime.

Bloomberg [12/10/2025 1:39 PM, Daniel Seiden, 91K] reports that a jury properly convicted a former US Department of Homeland Security drug trafficking agent for crimes relates to his cash-for-protection scheme with a confidential source, the Seventh Circuit said Wednesday. The government presented sufficient evidence for the jury to conclude Anthony Sabaini filed false tax returns, structured cash bank deposits to avoid detection from law enforcement, and concealed material information from the government, Judge Joshua P. Kolar of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said in a decision to affirm the verdict. Sabaini used his position to steal money from investigative targets, including a drug dealer Sabaini… [Editorial note: consult extended commentary at source link]

Breitbart [12/10/2025 1:39 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports that an illegal alien who entered the United States as an Unaccompanied Alien Child (UAC) is accused of randomly shooting 61-year-old Michael Kasper in the parking lot of an Omaha, Nebraska, grocery store and then opening fire on responding police officers. On Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials revealed that Juan Ayala Ramos, who is charged with shooting Michael Kasper eight times while the man was loading his groceries into his car, is an illegal alien from El Salvador who crossed the border as a UAC in June 2007. According to police, Ayala Ramos randomly opened fire on Kasper in the grocery store parking lot on December 3, leaving the man with serious injuries and recovering in a nearby hospital. When officers with the Omaha Police Department pursued Ayala Ramos, the illegal alien made his way into a nearby gas station and barricaded himself in the bathroom. Body camera footage captured Ayala Ramos opening fire on the officers, who responded with gunfire, fatally shooting the illegal alien. FOX News [12/10/2025 5:17 PM, Bonny Chu, 40621K] reports federal officials have released a photo of the illegal alien accused of wounding four officers in Nebraska Dec. 3 after severely injuring a 61-year-old man in a suspected random attack. "This violent criminal illegal from El Salvador shot four police officers and a 61-year-old man in cold blood in Omaha on Dec. 3," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "Despite multiple previous criminal arrests, he remained at large in American communities." The suspect was identified as 28-year-old Juan Ayala-Ramos, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced Tuesday. Ayala-Ramos entered the U.S. illegally, possibly around 10 years old, as an unaccompanied minor in June 2007, according to local and federal officials. Later that year, an immigration judge administratively closed his removal case, effectively setting it aside without issuing a final decision, according to DHS. Ayala-Ramos was charged with assault by strangulation in 2019 and arrested for burglary and possession of a stolen gun in 2021. Kasper was hospitalized in serious condition but is expected to survive, the Omaha Police Department said Dec. 4. Authorities said the suspect had no known motive or connection to the victim. Responding police tracked Ayala-Ramos’ vehicle to a QuikTrip gas station, where he barricaded himself inside a bathroom stall. Body camera footage shows him emerging from the stall and firing at officers positioned near the entryway. Officers returned fire, fatally shooting Ayala-Ramos. Four of the six responding officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries by either gunfire or shrapnel.

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FOX News [12/10/2025 2:38 PM, Peter Pinedo, 40621K]

Blaze [12/10/2025 2:15 PM, Candace Hathaway, 1442K] reports that the Trump administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development blames rising housing and rental prices on the surge in immigration under Biden. HUD published the "Worst Case Housing Needs: 2025 Report to Congress" in November, a biennial report that analyzes problems impacting low-income renting families. It defines renters with worst-case needs as those who do not receive government housing assistance and spend more than half of their income on rent or live in severely inadequate conditions, or both. HUD argued that the uptick in immigration caused increases in housing demand and, in turn, prices. "Between 2021 and 2024, the foreign-born population of the United States increased by more than six million — the largest such increase over such a short period in American history. The foreign-born population now stands at more than 53 million individuals, making up the highest share of the American population in history," HUD reported. The department stated that the country’s foreign-born population has grown by 20 million since 2000, representing a 40% increase. In some regions of the U.S., such as California and New York, immigrants account for up to 100% of the rental growth and over 50% of all owner-occupied growth, HUD added. Nationwide, immigration accounts for two-thirds of rental demand growth, according to the department. The median monthly housing cost for renters in 2021 was $1,184, increasing nearly 17.5% to $1,391 in 2023, according to the report.

Chicago Tribune [12/10/2025 3:50 PM, Alexandra Kukulka, 4829K] reports the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Tuesday an immigration bill that the Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita criticized as a “watered-down, bizzaro world” version of an immigration bill that died last session. Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said she authored Senate Bill 76 to ensure that law enforcement officials in Indiana have proper training in immigration law enforcement. The bill ensures the state’s immigration laws “are being enforced and carried out,” she said. SB 76 states that if a law enforcement officer, government body, or educational institution is sued the attorney general can represent them in court. The bill also states that the enforcement of federal immigration laws may be carried out by federal, state or local law enforcement. It also removes mens rea standard, or criminal intent, when it comes to governmental or educational institutions for violating the citizenship and immigration status information and enforcement of federal laws. If someone is detained under an immigration detainer request, the bill states that the governmental body should give the judge authority to either grant or deny the person’s release on bail as well as record it in their file, and comply with and inform the detainee of the immigration detainer request. The bill prohibits an employer from recklessly or intentionally hiring or employing an illegal immigrant. If the attorney general or law enforcement agency finds probable cause that an employer has hired or employed an illegal immigrant, then the United States Department of Homeland Security will be notified, according to the bill. Under the bill, the Department of Correction will provide training to all sheriffs-elect on how to cooperate with the United States immigration and Customs Enforcement. Further, the bill requires the office of the secretary to submit a report to the legislative council with data with the number of noncitizens who are receiving benefits through the Indiana Residential Care Assistance Program, public assistance and welfare programs, family assistance services, Medicaid and Community Mental Health Services. Brown said she talked with Trump administration officials when crafting the bill. To enforce and fund the bill, Brown said the state will use resources within its disposal.

Federalist [12/10/2025 7:25 AM, Joy Pullmann, 785K] reports while the Indiana legislature’s congressional redistricting efforts generate massive national attention, a weaker immigration enforcement bill is quietly moving faster than a stronger, "gold-standard" bill supported by Gov. Mike Braun and border czar Tom Homan. The two immigration bills, Senate Bill 76 and House Bill 1039, include a lot of identical language. But SB 76 weakens and drops a number of HB 1039’s provisions. SB 76 is sponsored by Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, who faces primary challenger Darren Vogt after she single-handedly blocked an immigration enforcement bill similar to HB 1039 earlier this year. SB 76 passed the judiciary committee Brown chairs Tuesday afternoon 6-2. In response to a Federalist query about whether she’d give HB 1039’s Senate companion sponsored by ranking member Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, an equal hearing, Brown’s spokeswoman told The Federalist, "Sen. Brown is focused first on getting her bill through Committee and then she’ll see what the House does.”

Daily Wire [12/10/2025 12:40 PM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports Republican Indiana Senator Jim Banks is demanding that the Trump administration deport illegal immigrant drivers responsible for a string of fatal crashes in his state, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. In the last two months, the lives of four Indiana residents were taken, and eight others were seriously injured in collisions with illegal immigrants behind the wheel of cars and heavy trucks. Banks sent Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a letter on Wednesday, pushing her to deport the illegal immigrant drivers. The first in the series of crashes occurred five days before Thanksgiving, when an illegal immigrant with a fraudulent green card allegedly killed a 76-year-old man in a hit-and-run in Bluffton, Indiana, according to local reports. The next day, an intoxicated illegal immigrant driver in Owen County allegedly struck the parents of two young children who were on their way to pick up their kids from their grandparents’ house, according to Fox 59. "These tragedies were entirely preventable," Banks wrote in the letter. "Every individual who crosses our borders illegally commits a crime. The vast majority of illegal aliens commit further crimes once they are in the United States. Most illegal aliens commit Social Security or document fraud; many steal government benefits, assault our citizens, and terrorize our communities. Many also unlawfully procure driver’s licenses and trucking licenses — or simply drive without them — resulting in fatal accidents. We must deport every one of them." "The death of one American caused by an illegal alien is too many. President Biden and President Obama made every state, including Indiana, a border state. I applaud President Trump’s commitment to carrying out the largest deportation operation in American history, and I look forward to continuing to support your efforts in my great state. Hoosiers should not be forced to bear the consequences of open border policies any longer," he added.

(B) CBS Mornings Plus [12/10/2025 10:07 AM, Staff] reports that the Department of Homeland Security is calling a new law aimed at creating stronger protections for immigrants illegal. Governor Pritzker signed House Bill 1312 into law yesterday. The law makes it harder for ICE to make arrests near state courthouses, universities, hospitals, and daycares. It also allows for more civil lawsuits against officers and agents who violate people’s constitutional rights. DHS criticized the law, saying Pritzker violated the supremacy clause. The governor says this is in response to actions from the federal government.

Chicago Tribune [12/10/2025 12:12 PM, Madeline Buckley, 4829K] reports the federal government has agreed to extend until April a temporary restraining order requiring improved conditions at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview, putting off a courtroom faceoff that was scheduled for next week. In the wake of a class-action lawsuit filed in October, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman last month issued the temporary order requiring the federal government to provide immigration detainees enough food, water and bed space, among other remedies, finding that conditions at the ICE holding facility in Broadview do not “pass constitutional muster.” The complaint, filed on behalf of two former detainees of the west suburban facility, accuses DHS officials of warehousing people for days on end in dirty cells that were so overcrowded that people couldn’t lay down to sleep at night. The suit further alleges that government officials systematically deny detainees their right to consult with lawyers. In a court filing agreeing to the extension, the government indicated that the population at the facility has remained low since the majority of Border Patrol agents have moved on to enforcement operations in other states. Since the temporary restraining order was first issued, the parties have been working quickly to prepare for a hearing over a preliminary injunction, which, if granted, would provide longer-lasting requirements until a possible trial. That meant deposing key officials and collecting troves of video surveillance and other evidence that would have been aired at the hearing. Now, with the agreement to extend the temporary restraining order, if granted by a judge, puts off a preliminary injunction hearing or trial until April 19.

Blaze [12/10/2025 5:15 PM, Carlos Garcia, 1442K] reports Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said a new bill he signed on Tuesday is intended to limit the "depravity" of the Trump administration, but government officials say it’s unconstitutional. The law restricts federal immigration enforcement outside of state courthouses and allows residents to sue federal immigration agents if they believe their civil rights have been violated. It also restricts similar operations near hospitals, university campuses, and day-care centers. School officials are prohibited under the new law from reporting the immigration status of a student, employee, or another person associated with the student or employee. The Department of Homeland Security responded by accusing Pritzker of acting unconstitutionally against federal authority.

Univision Chicago WGBO [12/10/2025 5:26 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports last Saturday, December 6, an immigration operation in Elgin sparked tension between agents and residents after they chased a man who allegedly crashed his vehicle into federal agents and fled the scene to take refuge in an apartment complex. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the arrested man was identified as Luis Jesús Acosta Gutiérrez, an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant and alleged member of the Tren de Aragua (TdA). According to the official version, Acosta resisted arrest. DHS reported that Acosta entered the country illegally in April 2023, during the administration of former President Biden, and that he had Temporary Protected Status (TPS). His lawyer, Robert Held, maintains that the events unfolded differently. After several hours, Acosta was finally taken into custody, and both his lawyer and his aunt claim that he was beaten by immigration officers. The version of events presented by the family and the lawyer differs significantly from that published by the DHS. Currently, Acosta Gutiérrez remains in a detention center in Indiana, and his lawyer says he plans to meet with him very soon.

Chicago Tribune [12/10/2025 11:40 AM, Moriah Balingit, 4829K] reports not long after President Donald Trump took office in January, staff at CentroNía bilingual preschool began rehearsing what to do if Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials came to the door. As ICE became a regular presence in their historically Latino neighborhood this summer, teachers stopped taking children to nearby parks, libraries and playgrounds that had once been considered an extension of the classroom. And in October, the school scrapped its beloved Hispanic Heritage Month parade, when immigrant parents typically dressed their children in costumes and soccer jerseys from their home countries. ICE had begun stopping staff members, all of whom have legal status, and school officials worried about drawing more unwelcome attention. All of this transpired before ICE officials arrested a teacher inside a Spanish immersion preschool in Chicago in October. The event left immigrants who work in child care, along with the families who rely on them, feeling frightened and vulnerable. Trump’s push for the largest mass deportation in history has had an outsized impact on the child care field, which is heavily reliant on immigrants and already strained by a worker shortage. Immigrant child care workers and preschool teachers, the majority of whom are working and living in the U.S. legally, say they are wracked by anxiety over possible encounters with ICE officials. Some have left the field, and others have been forced out by changes to immigration policy. At CentroNía, CEO Myrna Peralta said all staff must have legal status and work authorization. But ICE’s presence and the fear it generates have changed how the school operates. Schools and child care centers were once off limits to ICE officials, in part to keep children out of harm’s way. But those rules were scrapped not long after Trump’s inauguration. Instead, ICE officials are urged to exercise "common sense." Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, defended ICE officials’ decision to enter the Chicago preschool. She said the teacher, who had a work permit and was later released, was a passenger in a car that was being pursued by ICE officials. She got out of the car and ran into the preschool, McLaughlin said, emphasizing the teacher was "arrested in the vestibule, not in the school." The man who had been driving went inside the preschool, where officials arrested him.

AP [12/11/2025 12:03 AM, Todd Richmond, 31753K] reports defense attorneys and prosecutors were set Thursday to choose the jurors who will decide whether a Wisconsin judge accused of helping a Mexican immigrant dodge federal officers committed a crime. Federal prosecutors charged Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan this spring with obstruction and concealing an individual to prevent arrest. They allege she showed 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz out of her courtroom through a back door when she learned federal authorities were in the courthouse looking to arrest him. Dugan is set to stand trial beginning Monday in the latest show of force in the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown. She faces up to six years in prison if convicted on both counts. Here’s what to know about the case, jury selection and the trial: According to an FBI affidavit, Flores-Ruiz illegally reentered the United States from Mexico in 2013. Agents learned that he had been charged in state court with battery in March and was scheduled to appear in front of Dugan on April 18. Agents traveled to the courthouse to arrest Flores-Ruiz after the hearing. A public defender noticed the agents in the corridor and told Dugan’s clerk about them. Dugan grew angry, according to the affidavit, declared the situation "absurd" and approached with another judge. Dugan argued with the agents over whether their warrant was valid and told them to speak to the chief judge. Dugan returned to her courtroom, told Flores-Ruiz to come with her and led him and his attorney out a back jury door to the public corridor outside the courtroom, the affidavit says. Agents on their way back from the chief judge’s office spotted Flores-Ruiz, but he made it outside. He was eventually captured after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November that he had been deported. Democrats insist President Donald Trump’s administration is trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to its immigration crackdown. The administration, for its part, has been vilifying Dugan on social media. FBI Director Kash Patel posted a photo of her being led out of the courthouse in handcuffs and the Department of Homeland Security posted that Dugan has taken the term activist judge "to a whole new meaning.” Dugan told police she found a threatening flyer from an anti-government group at her home and at her mother and sister’s homes four days after Flores-Ruiz was captured. Dugan’s attorneys have said they’re worried publicity about the case has tainted the jury pool. They sent a questionnaire to prospective jurors this fall in an effort to gauge their political involvement and leanings, asking whether they belong to political organizations, what radio shows and podcasts they follow, and what stickers, signs and patches they have on their cars, water bottles, backpacks and laptops. Attorneys on both sides have already agreed to strike 44 prospective jurors, online court records show. A group of 40 prospective jurors was scheduled to show up Thursday morning at the federal courthouse in Milwaukee and fill out yet another questionnaire about whether their views have changed since they completed the first survey. Attorneys plan to spend the day questioning them in person.

FOX News [12/10/2025 1:41 PM, Andrew Mark Miller, 40621K] reports that as Minneapolis continues to deal with the fallout of a massive fraud scandal likely amounting to over $1 billion, Fox News Digital spoke to three Republican lawmakers in the state who explained their belief that Gov. Tim Walz deserves much of the blame. "I would say the number one culprit in the fraud going on here in Minnesota is our executive," state Sen. Julia Coleman, who represents Carver County in southwest Minneapolis, told Fox News Digital. "Governor Tim Walz is in charge of making sure that the taxpayers’ dollars are protected.” Minneapolis has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks over a massive fraud scheme dating back to at least 2020 that permeated several departments and several nonprofits ranging from childcare services, to COVID-19 relief, to autism care, and is believed by many to eventually eclipse $1 billion in wasted state and federal taxpayer funds. "He had years to stop this," Coleman said about Walz, who has faced increasing backlash for not taking swift action to investigate the fraud. He said the governor "only seems to care now that it’s getting national attention.” State Rep. Mark Koran, who represents Minnesota’s District 28 in eastern Minnesota, told Fox News Digital the "scale and scope" of the fraud is "almost incomprehensible" and that the buck stops with Walz.

FOX News [12/10/2025 8:17 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to "reassess" her enforcement strategy after he said multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested during federal immigration operations across the state amid the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign. In a letter to Noem, Walz said he was writing with "serious concern" regarding arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis. "Reports indicate that some citizens were documenting federal activity, while others were going about their daily lives," he wrote. "This troubling pattern raised serious questions, not only about due process and the rights of U.S. citizens, but also about trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities.” "This series of incidents raises serious concerns about civil liberties and trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities," Walz said in a statement regarding his letter. "Minnesotans have long valued civic engagement, and detaining citizens for lawfully exercising those rights or going about their daily lives sends a deeply disturbing message. I am urging Secretary Noem to respect the constitution and for her administration to ensure that federal operations are conducted lawfully and with respect for the rights of all individuals.” He stated that the "forcefulness, lack of communication and unlawful practices" displayed by federal agents won’t be tolerated in Minnesota. He urged Noem to reassess the broader enforcement strategy. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Walz cited one alleged incident in which someone named "Sue" was physically pushed, handcuffed and taken to a federal facility after she refused to move back from a scene after being asked to do so while documenting a law enforcement operation. She was told she would be charged with obstruction, Walz said. Another person named "Mubashir" was chased, tackled and handcuffed before being detained despite stating his citizenship status, he said. The governor said those who document law enforcement activity "play an essential role in transparency, accountability and safeguarding civil liberties in Minnesota.” Immigration officials have said that individuals are free to watch and film law enforcement operations, but anyone obstructing authorities from doing their jobs could face arrest. In his letter, Walz urged Noem to review recent arrests made by federal agents to ensure they have a judicial warrant authorizing detention or seizure and to clarify the legal standard under which a citizen may exercise his rights to document and witness "aggressive law enforcement actions.” He also asked that she ensure ICE agents operating in Minnesota receive guidance and training on respecting the civil rights of U.S. citizens and residents.

Reported similarly:
FOX 9 Minneapolis [12/10/2025 7:12 PM, Kilat Fitzgerald, 40621K]

Axios [12/10/2025 6:20 AM, Alissa Widman Neese and Erin Davis, 12972K] reports President Trump’s hostile comments about Minnesota’s Somali immigrants are rippling through Central Ohio, home to the second-largest Somali population in the U.S. — most of whom are citizens. Many fear Columbus could be ICE’s next target, following arrests in Minneapolis last week. Local Somali leadership met last week over concerns about harassment and violence, and elected officials gathered Saturday to express support. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said city resources won’t be used to support deportation efforts or investigations solely based on immigration status. Trump said "their country stinks" and "they should be out of here" — but a majority of U.S. residents with Somali heritage are actually American citizens. Just over 82% in Ohio were either naturalized or born here, per the latest census data. Around 26,000 people of Somali heritage were estimated to live in Ohio as of 2023. That’s less than 1% of the state’s population, though the figures are likely underreported. Area officials estimate the population is closer to 60,000 people. That’s up from estimates of a few thousand in the late ‘90s and early 2000s.

New York Post [12/10/2025 2:26 PM, Ryan King, 42219K] reports that Maine’s Medicaid program was taken for millions of dollars by a contractor whose founder and CEO sought political office in his native Somalia last year, a whistleblower has claimed. The controversy surrounding Portland-based Gateway Community Services has drawn comparisons to the $1 billion social services fraud scandal roiling Minnesota, which has led to criminal charges against dozens of members of that state’s Somali diaspora. Christopher Bernardini, who worked as a program coordinator at Gateway between May 2018 and April 2025, claimed to NewsNation that his former employer billed taxpayers for services that weren’t provided and falsified records to support the fraud. "I just couldn’t fathom it — I thought we were helping people; I thought this was all on the up-and-up," Bernardini, who has since moved to Florida, told the outlet. "I have a passion for helping people, and I thought that we were doing the right thing this whole time." Gateway was contracted with Maine’s Medicaid service, known as MaineCare, to assist elderly, disabled and low-income residents. On its website, the organization claims to offer programs that "help people navigate care, understand insurance and safety net programs, and access essentials like housing and food. "The team also provides workforce support, helping individuals identify employment opportunities, training, and certifications to build skills for stability and long-term wellbeing."

NBC News [12/10/2025 1:42 PM, Alexandra Marquez, 34509K] reports that President Donald Trump on Tuesday denigrated immigrants from "s---hole countries," reviving a comment he used during his first term in office that sparked criticism. During a rally in Pennsylvania on affordability, Trump touted his administration’s decision to pause immigration from dozens of countries, including Somalia. "I’ve also announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries," he said. Then, reflecting on his 2018 meeting with senators during which he referred to certain nations as "s---hole countries," Trump said, "Remember I said that to the senators?" He said, "Our country was going to hell. And we had a meeting, and I say, ‘Why is it we only take people from s---hole countries, right?’ Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few? Let us have a few from Denmark. Do you mind sending us a few people? Do you mind?’" Trump pointed specifically to Somali immigrants, questioning why the United States has so many immigrants from the African nation and so few from European nations. "We always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right?" the president told the audience in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania. "Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships." White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement, "President Trump is right. Aliens who come to our country, complain about how much they hate America, fail to contribute to our economy, and refuse to assimilate into our society should not be here."

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [12/10/2025 3:25 PM, Amy B. Wang, 24149K]

CNN [12/10/2025 1:13 PM, Liberty Smith, 18595K] reports that Rep. Ilhan Omar has issued a response after President Trump insulted her during a rally in Pennsylvania last night. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NPR [12/10/2025 5:00 AM, Brian Mann, 28013K] Audio: HERE reports they survived some of the Afghanistan War’s most grueling and treacherous missions, regularly battling the Taliban in nighttime raids and urban gun battles. But once evacuated to the U.S., many Afghan fighters who served in "Zero Units" led by the CIA found themselves spiraling into despair because of what they saw as bureaucratic neglect and abandonment by the U.S. government, a former CIA operative and a former Afghan fighter involved in the units told NPR. Among their ranks was Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the man charged with killing one National Guard soldier and seriously injuring a second after opening fire on them in Washington, DC on Thanksgiving Eve. The sense of betrayal and frustration cut so deep, some Afghan soldiers living in the U.S. began threatening self-harm. "Unfortunately, four people took their lives," said Davud, who served as a combat translator in a Zero Unit for more than a decade. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 12:03 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1394K] reports Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg this week pushed forward his fact-finding inquiry into whether Justice Department officials under the Trump administration deliberately defied his emergency order blocking the removal of more than one hundred Venezuelan detainees to El Salvador earlier this year. Boasberg on Monday summoned former DOJ attorney-turned-leaker Erez Reuveni to testify next week on Dec. 15, saying the government’s recent declarations offer scant details about why the judge’s March instruction to halt the flights was allegedly ignored. Republican allies of President Donald Trump reacted in outrage to Boasberg’s latest move in the monthslong contempt inquiry that Boasberg has pushed since the Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March to deport illegal alien criminals with associations to the transnational gang Tren de Aragua. Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who called on the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to suspend Boasberg from his duties after Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) introduced articles of impeachment for the judge, said the judge’s continued pursuit of evidence to support contempt "is making mockery of our judiciary." "Rogue Judge Boasberg is holding sham ‘contempt’ proceedings for a case the Supreme Court said he had no jurisdiction over," Schmitt posted to X on Monday. "This is outrageous and he must be immediately SUSPENDED pending his impeachment inquiry." Boasberg stressed that it remains "premature" for him to recommend criminal prosecution of top administration officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, after she revealed last month that she was the official who directed the Venezuelan detainees to be delivered to Salvadoran authorities based on advice from senior DOJ lawyers. Boasberg also summoned Drew Ensign, the DOJ lawyer who received his order that "any plane containing these folks" needed to be returned to the United States, to appear for testimony the day after Reuveni.

FOX News [12/10/2025 7:03 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla called out his party colleagues’ "bull----" for ignoring citizenship reform in favor of stricter border security. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [12/10/2025 11:42 AM, Patricia Zengerle, 36480K] reports a broad swath of Americans oppose the U.S. military’s campaign of deadly strikes on boats suspected of carrying illegal drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela, including about one fifth of President Donald Trump’s Republicans, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. About half of respondents - 48% - said they opposed conducting the strikes that have killed 87 people without first getting authorization from a judge or court, while 34% said they supported them. Eighteen percent were unsure or undecided. Among Republicans, 67% supported the strikes and 19% opposed them. Among Democrats, 80% opposed the strikes and 9% supported them. The six-day poll, which concluded on Monday, comes amid mounting tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela, as Trump weighs options including land strikes to combat what Washington has portrayed as President Nicolas Maduro’s role in drug trafficking. Maduro has denied having links to the drug trade. Administration officials say the strikes are stopping "narcoterrorists," Venezuelan groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations who transport drugs to the United States that could kill Americans.

FOX News [12/10/2025 12:48 PM, Deirdre Heavey and Greg Norman, 40621K] reports that upon launching his campaign Wednesday morning, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander secured an early endorsement from Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in his congressional challenge against Rep. Dan Goldman. Lander is jumping into the race for New York’s 10th Congressional District after Goldman did not endorse Mamdani’s mayoral campaign earlier this year. Lander played a pivotal role in Mamdani’s Democratic primary upset in June, as the two candidates used ranked-choice voting to cross-endorse each other and consolidate support against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. While still a mayoral candidate, Lander was arrested by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents earlier this year for allegedly assaulting a federal officer. When ICE agents started kidnapping our neighbors, I fought back," Lander said before adding, "While our neighbors are being demonized and attacked, we can put our bodies on the line to protect them." "Another day with more politicians pulling a stunt in attempt to get their 15 minutes of fame while endangering DHS personnel and detainees. Here are the facts: Brad Lander showed up to 26 Federal Plaza unannounced with agitators and media and proceeded to obstruct law enforcement and cause a scene," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in September. "He yelled inside the building that he was ‘not leaving’ until detainees were ‘released.’ As a result of the chaos caused by Lander, Federal Protective Service called NYPD, and local police along with federal law enforcement arrested 71 agitators and sanctuary politicians including Brad Lander, two New York State Senators, and nine New York State Assembly Members," McLaughlin added.

CBS News [12/10/2025 5:54 PM, J.D. Miles, 39474K] reports security experts say providing protection for next year’s World Cup will be the biggest challenge for a sporting event in U.S. history. With the recent development and use of drones, much of that security will be focused on the air above the venues. Security experts say it’s no secret that anyone with a drone and bad intentions could wreak havoc on next year’s event.

Wall Street Journal [12/10/2025 5:45 PM, Staff, 646K] reports the Trump Administration’s national security strategy considers “nation-building” the epitome of what’s wrong with the previous U.S. approach abroad. So it’s worth noting that the Administration is plowing deeper into a nation-building project of its own—in Gaza. A few alarms should already be blinking: Two months in, not a single Hamas fighter has disarmed, as the Trump peace plan demanded. The latest from senior Hamas official Basem Naim is that any international stabilization force should remain by the border and not enter Gaza’s cities. He wouldn’t guarantee their safety, which explains why nations have hesitated to contribute. A new report out of Israel underscores other challenges ahead. The nonprofit NGO Monitor obtained 180 internal Hamas documents from 2018 to 2022 that detail how the terrorist group manipulates international human-rights and aid groups to serve its ends. Will this system continue in the “new Gaza”? Hamas has obligated NGOs to coordinate with its Ministry of Interior and National Security on all Gaza projects and services. This gives Hamas leverage to control their operations, which it does in part through “guarantors.” These are local Gazans, Ministry-approved, whom NGOs are required to give senior positions in Gaza. They serve as the points of contact between Hamas and the NGO, so the dealings don’t have to sully head offices in the West.

Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 6:00 AM, Phillip Linderman, 1394K] reports the horrific terrorist attack on National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe by a 29-year-old Afghan national has rightly prompted the Trump administration to order a re-vetting of all Afghan nationals who were admitted into the United States since 2021 and a reinvestigation of all immigrants from 19 nations with a high terrorism nexus, including Afghanistan. However, a small cadre of self-appointed "Afghan rescuers" has sought to paint this terrorist attack as an unfortunate outlier — a byproduct of post-traumatic stress disorder, mental illness, personal vendetta, or statistics — rather than the predictable result of a compromised U.S. vetting process and former President Joe Biden-era open-border immigration policies. The Thanksgiving week terrorist attack occurred despite the Trump administration’s wise decision earlier in 2025 to pause nearly all refugee admissions under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. However, that decision was undermined by the State Department’s Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts office, which used the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa pipeline and exemptions to the USRAP pause to continue bringing Afghan nationals from the refugee camp in Doha to the U.S. — including this very month. These actions in defiance of U.S. immigration policy show a naivete of the hostility many Afghans hold toward Western values, as well as their willingness to hide that hostility to improve their families’ economic prospects. In fact, long-standing U.S. refugee policy requires that an applicant must have a well-founded fear of persecution, in this case by the Taliban. Yet U.S. officials have documented cases of Afghan refugees traveling back to their home country after receiving legal permanent resident status in the U.S. After the tragedy of the failed war in Afghanistan, Americans admirably sought to rescue Afghans who were under threat from the Taliban — especially those Afghans who had worked with our military, intelligence, and diplomatic professionals. Had those Afghans been thoroughly vetted with careful, thorough scrutiny of their documentation, family and tribal relationships, travel history, and digital footprint, unacceptable security vulnerabilities would have been avoided. Most importantly, the U.S. could have rewarded those Afghans who were both deserving and at true risk of persecution, while preserving the security of the homeland.

Wall Street Journal [12/10/2025 3:39 PM, Robert B. Zoellick, 646K] reports the 2025 White House National Security Strategy is revealing—especially about Vice President JD Vance’s worldview. As a practical matter, the document won’t constrain Donald Trump’s ambition to become the “president of peace” through deals. But the authors of this document—likely led by Andy Baker, deputy national security adviser and a former aide to Mr. Vance—have explained how they would create a new framework after Mr. Trump’s destruction of the old order. The strategy forges an odd geopolitical-cultural amalgam of regional balances of power and calls for spiritual, familial and civilizational renewal. It foresees a competition among nation-states with spheres of influence, cultures of greatness, and nationalized economies—which make the strategy document reminiscent of rhetoric before World War I. The regional strategy opens with the Western Hemisphere, calling for a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine, imitating Theodore Roosevelt’s revision. Foreign policy is connected directly to domestic interests, calling for a halt of “destabilizing” migration and the use of the military against narco-traffickers. Instead of relying on the attractive power of the U.S. economy and democracy, the administration will impose economic costs to compel Latin American nations to play along. There is no hint about the administration’s plans for Venezuela, except that the strategy places a “high bar” for intervention and expresses a general desire to avoid wars. European policy represents the biggest change. The administration contends that Europe faces economic stagnation and “civilizational erasure.” It abhors the European Union’s shared sovereignty. Mr. Vance’s faith in national populism leads him to object to European democracies’ responses to historical fears about political extremism and Russian influence. The language disturbingly echoes Vladimir Putin’s criticism of Europe. For a document that praises America’s “past glories,” the plan dismisses beneficial ties with Britain, lumping it with Ireland as a place to which the U.S. is “sentimentally attached.” The strategy treats Europe and Russia as politically equivalent. The U.S. role will be to mediate a restoration of stable security in Europe. Ukraine is an irritant that gets in the way of a deal, with no recognition that Mr. Putin’s subjugation of Ukraine will increase dangers, not ensure security.

FOX News [12/11/2025 5:00 AM, Michael R. Pompeo, 40621K] reports the Venezuelan narco-state poses a clear threat to America’s security and prosperity. Two decades of socialism have destroyed this once wealthy country, spreading instability and transnational crime across the Western Hemisphere. After four years of appeasement under President Joe Biden, we cannot afford to ignore the problem any longer. President Donald Trump is sending a clear and necessary message to the Maduro regime that its days of destabilizing the Western Hemisphere with impunity are over. Trump is putting drug traffickers around the world on notice. Let’s be clear: Venezuelan narco-terrorists and their drug shipments represent a threat to the American people. Trump has both the right and the responsibility to use military force to stop them. In many ways, Trump’s approach is a continuation of the tough policies we pursued during my tenure as secretary of state under the first Trump administration. We recognized the dangers that this narco-trafficking dictatorship, aligned with American enemies like Iran, Cuba, China, and Russia, posed to our interests, and we were determined to do the necessary to protect the American people. That’s why we initiated a pressure campaign to isolate the regime and raise the costs for Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by crippling the country’s ability to export its biggest sources of revenue – cutting oil exports by 70% in just a few years. The Trump Justice Department indicted Maduro and his cronies on charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking, and the administration expanded its counter-narcotics operations targeting drug routes from Venezuela. We also put our support firmly behind the Venezuelan democratic opposition: When Maduro stole the 2019 presidential election from pro-democracy opposition candidate Juan Guaidó, we took the bold step of recognizing Guaidó as the rightful president of Venezuela and led diplomatic efforts to galvanize other countries to follow suit.

Daily Wire [12/10/2025 10:15 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports the Trump administration wants to deport more people at a quicker pace. In its latest move to ramp up the mass deportation effort, the Department of Homeland Security signed a roughly $140 million contract to buy six Boeing 737 planes to operate flights without the assistance of outside contractors, according to Washington Post. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation flights via what’s known as "ICE Air" have long relied on charter companies to carry out removals. Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said on X Wednesday that the effort will save American taxpayers $279 million. "These planes will allow ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns," McLaughlin said. "President Trump and @Sec_Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.” The Trump administration has already deported more than 579,000 illegal immigrants, according to President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan. Still, they are short of their lofty goal of carrying out one million deportations each year. The latest contract was awarded to Daedalus Aviation, which was established in February 2024 and "offers a full range of commercial and charter aviation services" and "provides comprehensive responsive flight operations tailored to the unique needs of each mission," according to Washington Post. Funding for the new initiative comes from the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill that gave DHS a whopping $165 billion earlier this year.

FOX News [12/10/2025 4:50 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports more than 2.5 million illegal immigrants have left the United States over the past year, including more than 605,000 deportations since President Donald Trump took office in January. The record-breaking figures provided by the Department of Homeland Security to Fox News Digital revealed that 1.9 million illegal immigrants have self-deported since Trump took office on Jan. 20. "Illegal aliens are hearing our message to leave now. They know that if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return," said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. The decline in the illegal immigrant population has resulted in a reduction in public services and a resurgence in local job markets, DHS said.

NBC News [12/11/2025 5:00 AM, Natasha Korecki and Matt Dixon, 43603K] reports there was a time when calling for the dismantling of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was considered too risky for a Democrat to campaign on. But today, images of aggressive immigration arrests in cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Charlotte, North Carolina, have led to anti-ICE sentiment creeping back into the party’s messaging. “Let me be clear: F--- ICE,” Patty Garcia, who is running for Congress in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, said when she launched her bid. “It’s time to abolish ICE and hold Trump and his entire clan accountable.” In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner — in what’s shaping up to be one of the highest profile races in the nation — vowed to hold ICE agents responsible and “make them take their masks off” if Democrats gained power in the midterms. “Organizations that are used to kidnap Americans are not organizations that should exist in the future,” Platner said at a town hall last month. “We need to have public hearings … frankly, probably trials down the road. Because the American people deserve to know what the hell is going on right now and how the people doing it can justify it to themselves.” In New York, a 25-year-old survivor of the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is making his first congressional bid on a platform that includes a call to abolish ICE. “An organization that can be turned into the President’s fascist secret police in a matter of months cannot be reformed, only dismantled,” Cameron Kasky, a candidate for New York’s 12th Congressional District, states on his website. All of the brazen talk by some Democrats comes as President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown increasingly draws political backlash at the ballot box, in polling and even among some in his own party. In most cases, Democrats have held back from calling for the outright abolition of ICE and instead are pushing for transparency, oversight or restricting local and state government cooperation with federal immigration officials.

Axios [12/10/2025 4:17 PM, Jessica Boehm, 12972K] reports increased immigration enforcement under the Trump administration is upending the child care industry and pushing many American mothers out of the labor market, per a new data analysis. The already-understaffed child care industry, in which 1 in 5 workers is an immigrant, is shrinking in response to deportation fears, the new report from the Better Life Lab at New America found. In turn, families have fewer care options, leading some mothers to pause their careers. Nationwide from January to July, about 39,000 foreign-born child care workers and 77,000 U.S.-born working mothers with preschool-aged children dropped out of the workforce amid the sharp increase in immigration enforcement, the analysis found. Researchers found that immigrant child care workers — particularly those with post–high school education — began exiting the workforce at a higher rate after President Trump in January scrapped policies that discouraged ICE activity at schools, churches and other "sensitive places." The number of U.S.-born child care workers also declined, especially among Hispanic-Americans, suggesting the "chilling effect" of ICE raids, report co-author and Arizona State University professor Chris Herbst said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

USA Today [12/10/2025 10:39 AM, Madeline Mitchell, 67103K] reports in early November, a nanny in a major U.S. city sent a last-minute text to the family she works for, letting them know she couldn’t come to work that day. Her brother had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. "I was with my sister-in-law and my nephew," recalls the nanny, who asked USA TODAY to withhold her name, citing fears of putting more of her family members at risk. "They were destroyed." The mother of the baby she nannies replied, questioning her citizenship. The nanny knew her boss’s politics, even though they’d never discussed it. She’d seen the family wearing red "Make America Great Again" hats in public, and spotted the pro-President Donald Trump flags inside their home. While the nanny was born in the United States, several of her family members were not. Her brother, who has since been deported to Mexico, lived in America since he was an elementary schooler, she says, and as far as she knows has no criminal record. "He’s the hardest working man I know," she adds. The nanny told her boss she needed a couple of days off to support her family while her brother was detained. "I woke up to a really long text (from the mother). She was saying, ‘What are we going to do now?... I understand it’s hard, but it’s not our problem.’ " Her boss told her government agents had a job to do, and that they "just want to get rid of any criminals." "I just started crying," the nanny says. "How can somebody have no compassion? Like, she doesn’t see how much I love her kid, how much I take care of her kid? And she can’t have a little compassion for me?".

FOX News [12/10/2025 7:00 PM, Alexander Hall, 40621K] reports New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani told MS NOW Wednesday he is willing to face whatever consequences come from defying President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. MS NOW reporter Jacob Soboroff, who interviewed Mamdani, recalled how U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem warned that Mamdani could be "violating the Constitution" after he posted a video giving residents advice on how to evade Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. "Gavin Newsom told me he was prepared to be arrested. Tom Homan threatened anybody that stands in the way could be arrested," Soboroff told Mamdani. "You’ve been arrested before, standing up for people’s rights. JB Pritzker told me that Donald Trump should ‘come and get me.’ Are you prepared to be arrested by the federal government if you stand up to their immigration enforcement?". "I’m prepared for any consequence that comes for standing up for New Yorkers because that’s my job," Mamdani replied. "That’s what I ran to do, and I think that it’s time that New Yorkers look at the City Hall that’s right here and see a reflection of their struggles as opposed to a reflection of the scandal that has engulfed so much of our politics.” "I’ve also heard you say that no one is above the law, and anyone can be held accountable, and that goes for the president of the United States. And it also goes for ICE agents," Soboroff said. "I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but is there a scenario in which the NYPD under you could arrest ICE agents on the streets of New York for their behavior towards immigrants?". "My focus is for the NYPD to not be assisting ICE in their immigration enforcement and to actually be following the policies of sanctuary city law. And I do believe, however, that for the law to have meaning, there has to be accountability for all of us. "And that is something that is necessary to speak about, to talk about, to act on, no matter who we’re referring to, because so many are losing faith in politics in this moment because they’re seeing inconsistency take place at every different facet of our society." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [12/10/2025 3:52 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] reports a man allegedly stabbed on Charlotte’s light rail last week by a criminal illegal immigrant said he has a tube running from his chest to a machine pumping blood out of his lungs, noting he was "luck[y]" to survive the brutal attack. Kenyon Dobie was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being stabbed in broad daylight Friday while riding the Blue Line, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). Warrants allege twice-deported illegal immigrant Oscar Solarzano, 33, of Honduras, broke into a railroad car carrying a large fixed-blade knife and challenged Dobie to a fight, cursing and shouting at others while intoxicated. After the stabbing, it was revealed Solarzano, who was deported by the Trump administration in 2018 and returned illegally in 2021 under the Biden administration before being deported a second time, was previously convicted of robbery in the U.S. and had a number of prior arrests for violent crimes, according to multiple Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources. Solarzano is charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with serious injury, breaking/entering a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon and intoxicated/disruptive behavior in connection to the recent attack, according to warrants. Bond was not set due to Solarzano’s immigration status, and he will be released into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to a release order filed in Mecklenburg County.

NPR [12/11/2025 4:44 AM, Leila Fadel, 34837K] reports a new report reveals the conditions at two immigration facilities in Florida. NPR’s Leila Fadel speaks with Amy Fischer of Amnesty International USA about the findings. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Detroit Free Press [12/10/2025 8:37 AM AM, Hannah Dellinger, 4030K] reports as four students seeking asylum in the U.S. remained in federal immigration custody Tuesday, Dec. 9, dozens of community members asked Detroit school officials to do more to protect U.S. newcomers. All four of the students went to Western International High School in southwest Detroit. Before public comment began at the Detroit Public Schools Community District board meeting, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the district and the board would release a statement calling for the students’ release. "These continue to be troubling times for the district and our immigrant population," Vitti said. "We do advocate for our federal government to find better uses of its time and resources to attack the real problems in our society and not immigrant populations." Vitti said the district will continue to work with advocacy groups to support the students and will distribute information to students about their rights. He said immigration officials have not attempted to enter district property.

CBS Chicago [12/10/2025 3:33 PM, Todd Feurer, 39474K] reports the Trump administration has agreed to extend a temporary restraining order requiring improved conditions inside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview for several more months. U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman in October ordered ICE to improve sanitary conditions inside the facility, and take steps to ensure detainees were given access to their lawyers, among other improvements, after determining the conditions inside were "unnecessarily cruel." The plaintiffs who brought the class-action lawsuit have argued conditions at the Broadview facility were overcrowded and dirty and not fit for humans, and that ICE regularly denied them their right to consult with their attorneys. That temporary restraining order is set to expire next week, when Gettleman was expected to hold a hearing on whether to issue a longer-term injunction, but last week attorneys for detainees who had sued the federal government and lawyers for the Trump administration agreed to extend the existing temporary restraining order until April 19, 2026. However, the two sides still disagree on whether conditions inside the facility have sufficiently improved, and whether the lawsuit can proceed directly to trial in April, or whether Gettleman should first hold a preliminary injunction hearing. The two sides were scheduled to hold a status hearing on the case on Thursday by phone, when Gettleman could formally extend the temporary restraining order as the two sides have agreed.

Univision Chicago WGBO [12/11/2025 2:30 AM, Staff, 5004K] reports on October 20, Nayra was intercepted by immigration agents in Cicero while on her way to the hospital to see her baby, who was 15 days old and in neonatal intensive care. “It’s traumatic,” says this young woman, who, despite recovering from a cesarean section, had to spend several hours at the Broadview detention center enduring pain and uncertainty about her baby’s health. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [12/10/2025 9:00 AM, Peter D’Abrosca Fox, 40621K] reports a small private college in Minneapolis is at the center of controversy after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused staff members of impeding ICE operations in order to protect an illegal alien student who the department says is also a registered sex offender. On Monday night, DHS, responding to a local news report, said on X that ICE agents arrested Jesus Saucedo-Portillo, a criminal illegal alien and registered sex offender with a prior conviction for driving while impaired. That arrest was hindered when a school administrator teamed up with campus security and attempted to prevent ICE agents from doing their job. Saucedo-Portillo is an undergraduate student at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. "Our officers told the school Administrator and campus security that ICE had a warrant for the illegal alien’s arrest. The school Administrator told ICE officers they were violating university policies," the statement said. "Our officers informed them that federal law supersedes any University policy and that if campus security would not stop blocking the law enforcement vehicle from exiting, they would be obstructing justice." Despite the warning, the administrator refused to back down and ordered campus security to block the ICE vehicle, according to DHS.

Breitbart [12/10/2025 3:02 PM, John Binder, 2416K] reports an illegal alien drunk driver has been deported from the United States after he killed 27-year-old Jasmine Carpio in a crash in Greeley, Colorado. On November 9, Carpio was driving to the hospital where she had recently started working when a drunk Eduardo Parra-Corral, a 19-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, ran a red light and struck her vehicle. Carpio was rushed to the hospital where she had worked, and died days later from her injuries. Carpio’s mother, Chrystal, told local media that Carpio was engaged and she and her fiancé had been saving money for their wedding. Parra-Corral was arrested by the Greeley Police Department on vehicular homicide charges. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of Parra-Corral and deported him to his native Mexico. Retired ICE official John Fabbricatore posted on X that Colorado officials had released Parra-Corral from jail, prompting federal agents to take custody of him.

(B) CBS Mornings [12/10/2025 8:56 AM, Staff] reports that four international students from the University of Iowa are settling their lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security after ICE terminated their status and revoked their visas earlier this year. A report says a federal judge blocked everything and forced DHS to fully restore their status. ICE had cited non-violent offenses for pulling visas in the first place, but only violent crimes can be used to do that.

FOX News [12/10/2025 10:29 PM, Michael Sinkewicz, 40621K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday accused Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., of joining a "rioting crowd" and attempting to interfere with agents during a mass arrest operation last week. The accusation came after Grijalva claimed she was "pushed aside and pepper sprayed" during an immigration raid on Dec. 5 in Tucson, an account ICE flatly rejected. "During the operation, U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva joined the rioting crowd and attempted to impede law enforcement officers, then took to social media to slander law enforcement by falsely claiming she was pepper sprayed," ICE said in a statement. Fox News Digital has reached out to Grijalva’s office for comment. ICE and its federal partners arrested 46 illegal immigrants during the operation, the result of a "multiyear investigation into a transnational criminal organization involved in labor exploitation, tax violations, and immigration violations," the agency said. ICE said "over 100 agitators" arrived at one of the locations it searched and "attempted to impede law enforcement operations.” "Agitators quickly turned violent, assaulting officers and slashing tires," ICE added. In a post on X on Friday, Grijalva said she was "pushed aside and pepper sprayed" after seeking information from officers during ICE’s operation near the Taco Giro restaurant. "ICE just conducted a raid by Taco Giro in Tucson — a small mom-and-pop restaurant that has served our community for years," Grijalva wrote. "When I presented myself as a Member of Congress asking for more information, I was pushed aside and pepper sprayed.” Grijalva also called ICE a "lawless agency" that is "operating with no transparency, no accountability, and open disregard for basic due process" in a separate X post. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin immediately disputed Grijalva’s account, saying she was never directly sprayed but merely in the "vicinity of someone who was.” "If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel," McLaughlin said. "But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who was pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement.” ICE said two people in the crowd were arrested – one for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer and another for damaging a government vehicle. Two Homeland Security Investigation Special Response Team operators were also injured. When reached for comment, DHS referred Fox News Digital to ICE’s statement on the operation and ICE declined to comment further, referring to DHS’ post on X. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reported similarly:
The Hill [12/10/2025 6:05 PM, Ryan Mancini, 12595K]

Axios [12/10/2025 9:18 AM, Kale Williams, 12972K] reports hundreds of students walked out of class this week to protest immigration enforcement activity in Washington County, which has become the epicenter of federal activity in the Portland area. Recent arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents near schools have created fear for some students. The latest: Students in Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove walked out of classes on Monday, into torrential downpours, to protest what they said was unfair targeting of immigrants in their communities. Several communities have declared a state of emergency over ICE enforcement in Washington County. That comes after a series of high-profile incidents, including federal agents pulling guns on a carload of students in Hillsboro and a McMinnville teen who had his car window smashed before he was arrested and held for several hours despite being a U.S. citizen. Of the nearly 375 arrests tracked across the state by the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition in November, 130 occurred in Washington County, per OPB. "Hearing all the stories about people who came here for a better life being taken back because of the color of their skin or the language they speak, it is just so unfair," Adrian Juc de Leon, a junior at Beaverton’s Southridge High School, told the Oregonian.

FOX News [12/10/2025 1:22 PM, Staff, 40621K] reports that San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond discusses his criticism of Gov. Gavin Newsom and California’s sanctuary policies after two deadly crashes involving illegal migrants and a rejected ICE detainer in an 11-year-old’s death. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Telemundo52 [12/11/2025 2:15 AM, Raymond Mesa and Elizabeth Chavolla, 76K] reports several bishops from California visited the Adelanto Detention Center to hold a mass for the immigrants detained there. A visit that is not authorized very often and that was part of a pastoral conference that seeks to establish a community outreach with the immigrant community, refugees and those who are in the process of immigrating. Bishops from Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento, and San Bernardino were seen entering the Adelanto Detention Center. “We have been blessed in some way to have the opportunity to enter this detention center to visit these families, our brothers and sisters, who have been detained,” said Alberto Rojas, bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino. It is not very common for visits to be allowed at this institution, but on this occasion almost a dozen bishops were granted access to hold a mass for those who are isolated from their loved ones while they wait for their case to proceed to immigration court. “Today, with a heart full of joy, but also with gratitude as a bishop for being able to at least see their faces, for we pray for them, for their families, that is what we do as a Catholic Church,” Rojas said.

Reuters [12/10/2025 8:39 PM, Jeff Mason, 36480K] reports President Donald Trump’s administration officially launched his "Trump Gold Card" visa program on Wednesday to provide a pathway, with a steep price, for non-U.S. citizens to get expedited permission to live in the United States. The website Trumpcard.gov, complete with an "apply now" button, allows interested applicants to pay a $15,000 fee to the Department of Homeland Security for speedy processing. After going through a background check or vetting process, applicants must then make a "contribution" -- the website also calls it a "gift" -- of $1 million to get the visa, similar to a "Green Card," which allows them to live and work in the United States. "Basically it’s a Green Card, but much better. Much more powerful, a much stronger path," Trump told reporters at the White House. "A path is a big deal. Have to be great people." Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said some 10,000 people have already signed up for the gold card during a pre-registration period and he expected many more to do so. "I would expect over time that we’d sell, you know, thousands of these cards and raise, you know, billions, billions of dollars," Lutnick told Reuters in a brief interview. The New York Times [12/10/2025 6:07 PM, Madeleine Ngo, 135475K] reports that after applicants are vetted and approved by the Department of Homeland Security, they will then have to pay $1 million to “receive U.S. residency in record time” and become lawful permanent residents. Businesses can also apply for a “corporate gold card” to sponsor their employees. Firms will owe a $15,000 processing fee and $2 million for each employee approved for the card, according to the site. The website also previewed the creation of a “platinum card,” which would allow foreign nationals to reside in the United States for up to 270 days each year without being subject to taxes on income earned abroad. Once the application and fee are received, the process is expected to take weeks. But officials noted that “a small number of countries may have wait times of up to a year or more based on visa availability.” Roll Call [12/10/2025 6:44 PM, Chris Johnson, 548K] reports "THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT’S TRUMP GOLD CARD IS HERE TODAY!" Trump posted on social media. "A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent." Qualified individuals and corporations, who contribute $1 million and $2 million respectively, will receive expedited EB-1 or EB-2 green cards following rigorous vetting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The site allows people to apply to "receive U.S. residency in record time" via a $15,000 DHS processing fee, a background approval and a contribution of $1 million. And it allows businesses to apply to receive U.S. residency "for your employees" via a $15,000 DHS processing fee, a background approval and a contribution of $2 million. The AP [12/10/2025 5:45 PM, Will Weissert, 31753K] reports that the president made no mention of requirements for job creation for applying corporations or on overall caps on the program, which exist under the current EB-5 program. Instead, he said he’d heard complaints from business leaders who had been unable to recruit outstanding graduates from U.S. universities because they were from other countries and lacked permission to stay. Bloomberg [12/10/2025 4:30 PM, Hadriana Lowenkron and Jennifer A Dlouhy, 18207K] reports that the president said the fees generated by the program “could be a tremendous amount of money” for the US government. The Gold Card highlights the tensions between the Trump administration’s aggressive clampdown on immigration, both legal and illegal, and its stated goal of reviving US industries and continuing the nation’s spirit of innovation. Business leaders who have cheered other aspects of Trump’s agenda, such as favorable tax policies and de-regulation, have expressed concerns about the impact the president’s immigration policies will have on the economy and labor supply by forcing highly skilled foreigners to seek work elsewhere. The Gold Card program, first announced in September, is an effort to encourage the world’s wealthy to emigrate to the US by offering them residency permits for a hefty price tag. An executive order on the Gold Card called for the secretaries of Commerce, State, and Homeland Security to “take all necessary and appropriate steps to implement the Gold Card program,” within 90 days. That deadline is Dec. 18. Individuals would pay $1 million and businesses $2 million to obtain US residency for individuals through the Gold Card. Applicants would also have to pay a $15,000 processing and vetting fee. A “Platinum Card” would also be available for $5 million, which would allow recipients to “spend up to 270 days in the United States without being subject to U.S. taxes on non-U.S. income.” The latter card was listed as “coming soon” on a government website as of Wednesday. Immigration experts have said that Congress would likely need to approve any changes to visa policies. Trump administration officials say they’re planning to rely on existing pathways, so that legislation would not be required. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X that the $1 million and $2 million payments would allow individuals to “receive expedited EB-1 or EB-2 green cards following rigorous vetting.”

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [12/11/2025 3:45 AM, Niha Masih, 32099K]
New York Post [12/10/2025 4:33 PM, Josh Christenson, 42219K]
AP [12/10/2025 5:45 PM, Will Weissert, 31753K]
ABC News [12/10/2025 6:38 PM, Staff, 30493K] Video: HERE
Axios [12/10/2025 4:03 PM, Josephine Walker, 12972K]
FOX News [12/10/2025 4:26 PM, Emma Bussey, 40621K]

Wall Street Journal [12/10/2025 12:00 PM, Konrad Putzier and Max Rust, 646K] reports the Trump administration is intensifying its crackdown on refugees, tightening rules for people seeking permission to live in the U.S. on humanitarian grounds. The move shines a spotlight on the three million U.S. residents who arrived as refugees, often putting down roots and rising up the economic ladder. Refugees commonly start out in poverty when they arrive in the U.S., but catch up quickly, according to studies of U.S. Census Bureau data. They have high rates of entrepreneurship and over time produce more in tax revenues than they receive in government benefits, a number of studies of census data show. The story isn’t all positive: Refugees—who are typically fleeing war, violence or persecution—are less proficient in English than other immigrants and a minority of them remain poor years after arriving in the U.S. President Trump directed his ire at Afghan refugees after an immigrant from Afghanistan became the suspect in the shooting of two National Guard members. He railed against Somalis in Minnesota, pointing to a sprawling fraud case that involved dozens in the Somali community there. Still, “refugees are one of the cleanest and clearest immigrant economic success stories,” said Giovanni Peri, a professor of economics at the University of California, Davis. The typical refugee initially consumes more in government benefits than they pay in taxes, but that flips after eight years in the country, according to a 2017 study by economists at University of Notre Dame. The study found that refugees pay $21,000 more in taxes than they receive in benefits during their first 20 years in the U.S.

USA Today [12/10/2025 6:20 AM, Ryan Murphy, 67103K] reports as people made their way into the Indianapolis Union Station for a naturalization ceremony, federal officials stopped certain applicants and told them that they wouldn’t be leaving the building with U.S. citizenship. The immigrants — who had already passed every step in the long naturalization process — needed only to take the oath of allegiance Dec. 9, 2025, to become citizens. A federal directive handed down by U.S. Immigration and Customs Services on Dec. 2, however, made that impossible for more than one third of people signed up for the Indianapolis ceremony. Zhibo Zhao, a US Citizenship and Immigration Services official present at the event, said oaths of allegiance for 38 of the 100 participants were "canceled." Though travel bans and restrictions have been in place for 19 countries since June, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced last week that the agency would immediately halt applications and asylum claims of people from all countries on the list: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen. The Trump administration deemed the countries "high risk" earlier this year. Zhao said the 38 people were notified two weeks ago that their citizenship ceremonies had been "canceled," though the agency didn’t announce plans to pause certain citizenship applications until Dec. 2. Zhao doesn’t know if these people now face deportation. When asked if their naturalization oaths would be rescheduled, he said "that is up to whoever’s in charge in Washington."

Univision [12/10/2025 3:13 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports after the controversy caused by the arrest of Mexican immigrant Jair Celis, when he was attending his last appointment with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during the processing of his ‘green card’, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded, calling him a “predator”, an accusation that Celis’s lawyer denies. Through a publication in X, the DHS stated: “Jair Celis Lecuona has a criminal record for sodomy of a minor and sexual abuse of a minor.” The publication adds that “Lecuona entered the United States on a tourist visa in July 2007, which required him to leave before January 21, 2008. In his application for permanent residence, he indicated that his occupation was a youth soccer coach. By illegally overstaying his visa, he was arrested for these heinous crimes against children. This predator has been placed in deportation proceedings. If you break the law, you will face the consequences. We will not grant green cards to child predators,” the DHS concludes. The DHS also discredits The Salt Lake Tribune in its publication about Jair Celis, in which it says that he followed the correct procedure to apply for residency in the country and was still detained. For his part, Adam Crayk, one of the Mexican immigrant’s lawyers, stated that the DHS assertion is false and defamatory. DHS accuses Jair Celis of "child abuse," but his lawyer claims defamation. The lawyer said these accusations stem from a sealed case involving the immigrant when he was around 16 years old, and which involved two teenagers with whom he had a relationship, not including the crimes that DHS publicly attributed to Jair Celis. Documents from the Department of Homeland Security indicate that the Mexican immigrant will be detained pending his deportation hearing. His appearance before an immigration judge is scheduled for January 14 at 8:00 a.m. in Las Vegas.

New York Post [12/10/2025 6:26 PM, Jeremy Louwerse, 42219K] reports an alleged MS-13 leader accused of working with an assassination squad that executed four people in Honduras, including the son of the country’s former president, was able to obtain a California driver’s license using his real identity, federal officials revealed Tuesday. Gerson Emir Cuadra Soto, aka "Fantasma," crossed into the US illegally from Mexico in 2022 after allegedly bribing his way out of a Honduran jail — but his extended taste of freedom was finally dashed on Monday when federal agents nabbed him in Nebraska, according to the Department of Justice. Before the 33-year-old Honduran national was arrested he somehow managed to get a driver’s license in the Golden State, providing a thumbprint which was eventually used to confirm the international fugitive’s identity, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint against Cuadra Soto. It’s unclear which California DMV office issued the illegal migrant a license. Just last month, California revoked 17,000 licenses after the Trump administration raised concerns about illegal immigrants improperly receiving them to drive trucks or buses. The crackdown came after Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant trucker with a California license, allegedly plowed his tractor trailer into eight cars, killing three people in a horrific pile-up in the state.

CBS News [12/10/2025 12:34 PM, Ahmad Mukhtar, 39474K] reports that Canada has launched a $1.2 billion initiative aimed at drawing leading researchers to the country, as the U.S. intensifies restrictions on highly skilled workers by charging $100,000 for H-1B visas. The Canadian government announced on Tuesday that its investment over 12 years will be used to recruit and support over 1,000 individuals advancing world-leading research in critical fields, including doctors and scientists. "As other countries constrain academic freedoms and undermine cutting-edge research, Canada is investing in – and doubling down on – science," Melanie Joly, Canada’s industry minister, said in a statement. "Today’s investment is about securing Canada’s place at the forefront of discovery and innovation and leveraging our strength in science to support our future well-being and prosperity for generations to come." While the initiative does not explicitly mention the United States, it appears aimed – at least in part – at attracting highly skilled workers like those who could hold H-1B visas. In September, President Trump signed an executive order requiring a $100,000 fee for H-1B skilled foreign worker applicants, saying it will spur companies to hire Americans instead of people from overseas. The fee applies only to new H-1B applicants who live abroad, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the visa program. More specifically, the $100,000 fee applies to H-1B applications filed on or after Sept. 21 by workers outside the U.S. and who do not currently hold such a visa, USCIS said in October.

Federal News Network [12/10/2025 5:30 PM, Terry Gerton, 986K] Video: HERE reports the Government Accountability Office reviewed the Department of Homeland Security’s and Customs and Border Protection’s reliance on soft-sided facilities amid surging apprehensions and billions in contract obligations. Here’s what GAO found, why it matters for cost and oversight, and what’s next for border infrastructure planning.

Reuters [12/10/2025 5:24 PM, Andrea Shalal, 36480K] reports the United States can use other measures to recreate the roughly $200 billion in revenues it is collecting under tariffs based on a 1977 law if the Supreme Court strikes down use of that law, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday. Greer, speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, said it would make sense for Congress to legislate new rules for U.S. trade in the longer term. He declined to provide any details on the Trump administration’s backup plan if the highest court upholds a lower court ruling that tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal, but indicated Washington would turn to other laws to justify new tariffs. Asked about how long companies would have to wait to receive refunds, if the tariffs were invalidated by the Supreme Court, Greer said that would be up to Treasury and Customs and Border Protection, adding that he met the CBP director on Tuesday, but was uncertain of the timeline. Greer said the U.S. was seeking a constructive relationship with China, dodging a question about the national security implications of a Trump administration decision to allow Nvidia(NVDA.O) to ship its second-most advanced AI chip to China.

The Hill [12/10/2025 3:23 PM, Taylor Delandro, 12595K] reports violent competition between drug cartels is increasing the dangers migrants face along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to new research from the University of California, Davis. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Social Forces, found that spikes in cartel violence push migrants toward more dangerous crossing points, increasing the risks of injury or death. The study examined Mexican government gun violence data, U.S. border enforcement records, news reports and nearly 5,000 migrant survey responses. Researchers analyzed how conflicts among criminal groups shape migrant risks in smuggling corridors near 23 Mexican cities from 2015 to 2019. A machine learning algorithm found that cities along the Texas stretch of the border carry higher risk scores than those in the western region, which includes New Mexico, Arizona and California. While migrants face danger wherever criminal groups operate, those risks soar when cartels battle for control. Migrants are more likely to be extorted, assaulted, abandoned or forced into harsher, deadlier terrain to avoid conflict zones. The research also found that stronger U.S. border enforcement — measured by encounters between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and migrants — affects both the central power of local criminal organizations and migrant routes.

New York Post [12/10/2025 9:58 PM, Jennifer Bain and Anna Young, 42219K] reports "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" actress who was struck and killed by a taxi while crossing a Midtown street was a Customs and Border Protection officer who had been looking forward to retiring — and was cherished for her warm greetings, her devastated neighbors told The Post. Wendy Davis — whose stage name was Wenne Alton Davis — worked full-time as a Customs agent at John F. Kennedy International Airport, even powering through the recent government shutdown without pay. She moonlighted as an actress, picking up small roles on the side, including a bit part as a cop in the Emmy-winning Amazon Prime series. "She was a very bright and kind person," her 80-year-old Queens neighbor, Miok Lee, said Wednesday night. "She was always very active. She did sports, I believe she did rowing. She was very lively. I saw her just a few days ago, and we said hello. Oh my gosh, it’s so sad, it’s so shocking, my goodness.” Davis was crossing Broadway near the West 53rd Street intersection just before 9 p.m. Monday when a 61-year-old Big Apple taxi driver in a Cadillac hit her while making a left turn, authorities and sources said. The 60-year-old Queens resident suffered severe head and body trauma and was rushed to Mount Sinai West Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, cops said. "She was the best, she was so nice," another Forest Hills neighbor said, adding that despite her long hours at work, she never missed a chance to offer a friendly greeting — even on bad days. "She was always working. I would see her walking out at 4 a.m. or coming back at 2 a.m. She was working towards her retirement. This is a shock," the stunned local continued, noting Davis lived alone with her beloved cat Roxie. "This last weekend she went to go visit her parents and now this happened. It’s unbelievable.” Davis had nine other acting credits listed on her IMDB, including small roles in the 2011 Michael Fassbender drama "Shame" and the 2004 short film "Ladies Room.” Neighbor Davin Hatsengate said he had no idea she moonlighted as an actress. "She was super friendly," the 51-year-old said. "I didn’t know she was an actress. I guess she just wanted to be a regular neighbor. It’s terrible.” The JFK Customs Hockey Club also mourned Davis’s tragic loss on Tuesday. "This heartbreaking loss is felt deeply across our entire JFK Customs family," the Instagram post read. "Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences are with Wendy’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. This tragedy has been felt throughout our brotherhood/sisterhood.” The driver who struck her remained at the grim scene and cooperated with investigators, police said. He had not been charged as of Wednesday.

Axios [12/10/2025 7:18 AM, Chelsea Brasted, 12972K] reports although Chicago and Los Angeles faced federal immigration crackdowns with occasionally explosive protests, Border Patrol agent in charge Gregory Bovino is praising the Louisiana operation as "much less violent" because the agency has "state and locals on our side." It’s a little more complicated than that, New Orleans politicians and polling say. With Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and much of the state’s law enforcement on board with immigration enforcement, Border Patrol agents have so far seemed to focus their work in Metairie, Gretna and Kenner. Meanwhile, it’s New Orleans’ name that dominates headlines and Department of Homeland Security press releases and social media promoting the work. Explaining the local political dichotomy is hard; putting "New Orleans" in a post on X is easy. "It is more than likely on this particular issue, in the greater New Orleans area, that New Orleans will stand alone," City Council President JP Morrell said Friday as city officials made transparency demands of the operation. "But that’s not unique in any issue with New Orleans." In an Instagram post Sunday, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno cited JMC Polling firm data that says nearly 80% of likely New Orleans voters opposed the operation just days before it began.

USA Today [12/10/2025 12:50 PM, Presley Bo Tyler, 67103K] reports on Saturday, Dec. 6, a convenience store manager in Louisiana locked out a group of Border Patrol agents, denying them entry to the store. Wayne Davis, who is assistant manager of the store in Kenner, was helping a customer when he noticed two unmarked SUVs pull into the parking lot and stop at the front of the store. After seeing agents wearing border patrol vests exit the two vehicles, Davis locked the door from behind the counter as the agents approached, WWL Louisiana reported. The agents kept trying to open the door, looking at Davis through the store window in confusion. This is when Davis began recording, WWL Louisiana reported. In the video, Davis is seen raising his middle finger to the agents outside before moving from his place behind the counter and standing at the entrance of the store. From behind the store’s closed door, Davis begins goading the agents lingering outside near the store’s front. "What do you want man, you want some chicken? You ain’t getting it here... Go somewhere else, you ain’t getting no chicken," Davis taunts.

Univision Chicago WGBO [12/10/2025 3:37 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports Luis Uribe, 44, an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Illinois, was formally charged with allegedly sexually assaulting and robbing several women in Chicago suburbs, according to a federal indictment. The indictment, filed in the United States District Court in Chicago, states that Luis Uribe, a resident of Pingree Grove, faces ten counts of deprivation of civil rights by using his authority and one count of displaying a firearm during a violent crime. The hearing to decide whether he will remain in custody is scheduled for December 15, 2025 at 1:30 pm, before Magistrate Judge Keri L. Holleb Hotaling. According to court documents, Uribe performed both customs and immigration duties for CBP and had the authority to carry a firearm and make arrests for serious crimes. The prosecution alleges that he used that position to sexually assault and rob two women, including an incident in which he allegedly brandished a firearm during one of the assaults.

FOX News [12/10/2025 9:52 PM, Bonny Chu, 40621K] reports the Trump administration announced Wednesday plans to establish a new militarized zone along the U.S.–Mexico border in California. The Department of the Interior said roughly 760 acres in San Diego and Imperial Counties will be placed under Navy jurisdiction to "strengthen ongoing border security operations.” Adding the installation will effectively allow federal personnel to detain suspected illegal immigrants for trespassing on U.S. territory. The department described the National Defense Area as a high-traffic corridor for illegal crossings. The zone will reportedly stretch from the western boundary of the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area to about one mile west of the California–Arizona state line, with Navy control set for three years. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the move directly advances what President Donald Trump has identified as his top national priorities. "President Trump has made it clear that securing our border and restoring American sovereignty are top national priorities," Burgum said. "This action delivers on that commitment. By working with the Navy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the President’s agenda to put the safety and security of the American people first.” The Department added that the corridor’s heavy traffic of illegal crossings has contributed to both "significant national security challenges" and environmental degradation. Militarizing the area will reportedly "enhance border operations while minimizing ecological damage" associated with sustained illegal activity. The Interior Department said it coordinated the move with the Navy to ensure it is lawful and consistent with the land’s original purpose — having been reserved in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt for border protection. In recent months, the administration has established several national defense areas, including sites in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. The moves were made to aggressively expand military authority along the southern border, including deploying federal troops and expanding rules to crack down on illegal migration, border security and overall crime. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Interior and the Navy for more information.

Reported similarly:
AP [12/10/2025 6:39 PM, Staff]

(B) CBS Mornings [12/10/2025 8:01 AM, Staff] reports the AAA is predicting another record-breaking holiday getaway. 122 million Americans are expected to go somewhere. The next big holiday travel rush starts a week from Saturday and AAA expects it will be the busiest end-of-year holiday stretch ever. The TSA screened more than 3.1 million on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, despite disruptive weather. The nation’s airlines say operations and bookings have bounced back from the government shutdown. AAA expects some of the busiest days will be the weekend before Christmas.

The Hill [12/10/2025 6:28 PM, Rachel Frazin, 12595K] reports the Trump administration is set to unveil its plan this week to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a proposal that is sure to be contentious but is not expected to go as far as earlier calls to eliminate the agency completely. Earlier this year, President Trump established a FEMA Review Council, tasking the group — jointly led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — with making recommendations for changes. On Thursday, the group is expected to announce and publicly vote on its recommendations, likely laying out how the administration plans to reform FEMA, which it has accused of being bloated and inefficient. The plan will be presented at a meeting that will be available for public viewing online. Noem and Hegseth will lead the meeting, and members of the review council will vote on the proposal. Earlier this year, both Trump and Noem floated nixing the agency altogether — and even fired an acting leader who advised against doing so. NewsMax [12/10/2025 4:06 PM, Solange Reyner, 4109K] reports that the task force, convened by President Donald Trump in January to consider changes to the agency, has recommended that FEMA not be abolished despite Trump’s assertion that it should be eliminated. Trump has also said states should take on more responsibility for responding to and preparing for extreme weather and other disasters. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has reportedly slashed the report from 160 pages to about 20, leaving council members and other emergency management leaders concerned that some of the recommendations about the country’s disaster preparedness won’t make it into the final copy, according to three people who spoke with The Associated Press last month.

CNN [12/10/2025 5:51 PM, Gabe Cohen, 18595K] reports a task force created by President Donald Trump plans to recommend the most sweeping overhaul of FEMA in decades, dramatically reducing the federal agency’s role in disaster response by cutting its workforce in half and rolling out a new block grant system designed to get aid to communities faster and with less bureaucratic hassle. The recommendations from the FEMA Review Council, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, do not propose eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, as Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem once vowed. The draft report does recommend changing the agency’s name as part of a rebranding effort, referring to it temporarily as “FEMA 2.0.” The council is expected to vote on the recommendations Thursday, after which the report will land on President Trump’s desk for review. Trump has been openly critical of the agency and at one point suggested he would phase it out after hurricane season, which ended this month. The recommended changes, the council argues, are aimed at streamlining operations, cutting red tape and fulfilling Trump’s desire to shift more responsibility for disaster response and recovery onto the states. The council also suggests raising the bar for states to qualify for federal assistance, a move that could leave states footing a much larger share of the bill for major disasters and handling smaller storms entirely on their own. The long-awaited report is the product of months of closed-door debate and political wrangling. Perhaps the most contentious recommendation is to keep FEMA under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security.

The New York Times [12/10/2025 3:54 PM, Scott Dance, 135475K] reports a leading proponent of election fraud conspiracy theories is set to oversee federal disaster response as the Trump administration prepares to drastically reshape the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a person familiar with the decision. The appointee, Gregg Phillips, will take over the agency’s Office of Response and Recovery as of Monday, according to the person. The office is the largest of FEMA’s divisions and central to its mission of helping disaster-struck communities, and its leader makes recommendations on whether federal disaster declarations and aid are warranted. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, confirmed that Mr. Phillips would be taking a senior leadership position at the disaster response agency and stressed his “experience in emergency and humanitarian response, state government operations and large scale program reform.” Mr. Phillips has worked in state human services agencies in Texas and Mississippi but his LinkedIn profile makes no mention of professional experience in emergency management. The Hill [12/10/2025 1:42 PM, Rachel Frazin, 8017K] reports "Gregg Phillips is joining the FEMA leadership team, bringing experience in emergency and humanitarian response, state government operations, and large scale program reform," said a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA, in an email. The spokesperson told The Hill that Phillips "will support FEMA leadership as the agency advances reforms aligned with the direction set by President Trump and Secretary Noem, focused on clarifying federal responsibilities, strengthening coordination with states, and improving accountability in disaster operations." The Handbasket, which first reported that Phillips will join the agency, said that he will lead the Office of Response and Recovery. This office distributes manufactured housing after disasters, provides assistance to communities after disasters or terrorism, provides core, coordinated disaster response and makes sure FEMA’s field operations are timely and effective. Phillips gained prominence for his election denial claims. In 2016, he tweeted that more than 3 million noncitizens voted, a claim that was later picked up by Trump. Politifact has rated the claim as false, saying that Phillips did not produce evidence to back it up. Various academic analyses have found that noncitizen voting is extremely rare.

Reported similarly:
CNN [12/10/2025 3:49 PM, Gabe Cohen, 18595K]

New York Times [12/10/2025 6:39 PM, Amy Graff, 135475K] reports forecasters on Wednesday warned of the possibility for “catastrophic flooding” in Western Washington, with some rivers projected to reach record levels in coming days, as a storm parked over the Pacific Northwest unleashed yet another day of heavy rain. Tens of thousands of people living along some areas of the Skagit and Snohomish Rivers, which flow from the Cascade Range into Puget Sound along the Pacific Ocean, were told to get ready to evacuate, as the area prepared for what could be some of its worst flooding in decades. Evacuation orders were in place for some residents along the Puyallup River, just southeast of Tacoma. Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington signed an emergency declaration on Wednesday afternoon and said he thought federal assistance would be necessary to “help save lives and help individuals save their homes.” He urged people to follow evacuation orders when they are issued. Unusually heavy rain has soaked the Pacific Northwest since Monday, as a sopping wet storm has draped across the region and into British Columbia, Canada. With more rain falling on Wednesday, forecasters urgently expanded flood warnings, as many areas that were already experiencing some flooding braced for more.

New York Times [12/10/2025 1:33 PM, Campbell Robertson, 135475K] reports that the morning after the flood, the volunteers showed up. The streets of Westernport, Md., had been buried in mud. The elementary school had been swamped, as had the firehouse, the town hall, the municipal garage and scores of homes. All of the city employees had lost their personal vehicles. Sewer and water lines were wrecked. Books from the library, also ruined, were scattered in the muck all over town. With so much destruction from the flooding in May, Westernport, which lies along the Potomac about 120 miles upriver from Washington, D.C., needed government help. So in June, state officials submitted a request for about $16 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The response was blunt: denied. Communities across the country are finding that FEMA has become much less willing to fund disaster repair and recovery under the Trump administration. Assistance has been delayed in some places; in others, aid has come in much smaller amounts than local officials had expected. Disappointment in government is not a new feeling in Allegany County, where Westernport is. Part of a working-class region in the mountains of western Maryland, the area had long struggled as mills closed, jobs disappeared and poverty spread.

Yahoo! News [12/10/2025 5:06 AM, Ryley Ober, 49624K] reports the Federal Emergency Management Agency released another $33 million for Tropical Storm Helene recovery projects in Western North Carolina, bringing the total public assistance funds to over $1 billion, the agency recently announced. The FEMA grants obligated to communities includes $1.3 million for permanent repairs to the Bee Tree Dam in Swannanoa, part of Asheville’s municipal water supply, according to a news release from Sen. Ted Budd’s office on Dec. 5. The largest sum in this round of funding is $7.7 million allocated to help rebuild the historic Asheville Municipal Golf Course, designed by Hall of Fame golf architect Donald Ross. Swannanoa River floodwaters significantly damaged the city owned gulf course’s front nine holes, which sit within the floodplain and floodway, leaving behind downed trees, debris, powerlines and multiple feet of silt. The city is undertaking a major rebuilding project on the 18-hole course with design and engineering professionals. The funding release comes after Budd and Sen. Thom Tillis, both Republicans, released their monthslong holds on President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security nominees, as reported by Politico. The senators had blocked the Senate confirmation of Trump’s nominees until they received assurances that additional Helene funding would be approved by FEMA, which is part of Homeland Security. Scenes along Swannanoa River Road show the utter destruction left in the wake of flooding resulting from Tropical Storm Helene on Sept. 28, 2024. "I am grateful for Secretary (Kristi) Noem working with me to more regularly approve reimbursements for Helene and past disaster recovery projects," Budd said in the release.

Axios [12/10/2025 5:22 PM, Melissa Santos, Christine Clarridge, 12972K] reports Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Wednesday over widespread flooding, and said he is seeking federal funds to help with the response. This week’s atmospheric river drenched parts of western Washington with more than 10 inches of rain, leading to evacuations and widespread flooding. And officials warn that the downpour’s not over. Rivers from Southwest Washington to the Canadian border were "at moderate to major flood stage levels" as of Wednesday, Robert Ezelle, director of the Washington Military Department’s emergency management division, said at a news conference. Record flood levels are expected in several areas, including along the Skagit River, where county officials were preparing Wednesday to evacuate 75,000 people living in low-lying areas, Ezelle said. Ferguson urged Washington residents to follow warnings from local authorities and to obey any evacuation orders related to the "historic flooding." Flooding may continue through Sunday as more rain pelts the region, Kirby Cook of the National Weather Service Seattle station told Axios. The Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 6:26 PM, Staff, 1394K] reports Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, on Wednesday, held a press briefing to announce he has requested a disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address widespread flooding across Western Washington after several days of near-record rainfall. Even as the governor spoke, several flood-prone communities were in the midst of evacuating residents and issuing emergency alerts to prepare for departure. "We need the federal government to grant that request. This is critical," Ferguson said from Camp Murray, where the state’s Emergency Operations Center has been activated 24/7. "If you receive an evacuation order, please, please follow that order.” Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, the current adjutant general for the Washington National Guard, told reporters 100 National Guard members have been activated to assist flooded communities today, and by Thursday, 300 will be activated. Robert Ezelle, director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division, said that tens of thousands of people may need to be evacuated in the Mount Vernon and Arlington areas.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [12/10/2025 6:05 PM, Anna Edgerton and Lauren Rosenthal, 18207K]

CBS News [12/11/2025 12:35 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports tesidents began packing up and fleeing rising rivers in western Washington state Wednesday as a new wave of heavy rain swept into a region still reeling from a storm that triggered rescues and road closures a day earlier. In the Pacific Northwest, an atmospheric river was swelling rivers toward record levels, with major flooding expected in some areas including the Skagit River, a major agricultural valley north of Seattle. In the town of Mount Vernon, officials ordered residents within the river’s floodplain to evacuate. Earlier in the day, dozens of vehicles were backed up at a sandbag-filling station in the town as residents prepared for what Mayor Peter Donovan described as "what increasingly appears to be a worst-case scenario here.” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a statewide emergency Wednesday, saying, "Lives will be at stake in the coming days." He estimated that as many as 100,000 Washington residents may soon face evacuation orders. "We expect rivers to hit historic levels as early as 4 a.m. tomorrow, lasting into Friday morning," Ferguson wrote on social media. Ferguson later posted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s National Weather Prediction Service had predicted 18 major floods and 15 moderate floods in the state. The National Weather Service warned of the possibility of "catastrophic flooding," specifically along the Skagit and Snohomish rivers. "Landslides are likely in areas of steep terrain within the considerable and catastrophic regions," the weather service said. Gent Welsh, adjutant general of the Washington National Guard, said hundreds of Guard members will be sent to help communities. In the Mount Rainier foothills southeast of Seattle, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies rescued people at an RV park in Orting, including helping one man in a Santa hat wade through waist-deep water. Part of the town was ordered to evacuate over concerns about the Puyallup River’s extremely high levels and upstream levees. A landslide blocked part of Interstate 90 east of Seattle, with photos from Eastside Fire & Rescue showing vehicles trapped by tree trunks, branches, mud and standing water, including a car rammed into the metal barrier on the side of the road. Officials also closed a mountainous section of U.S. 2 due to rocks, trees and mud. The state transportation department said there were no detours available and no estimated time for reopening.

New York Times [12/10/2025 9:37 PM, Chris Cameron, 153395K] reports a federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new regulation that criminalizes “creating a loud or unusual noise” near a federal building in Oregon, amid ongoing protests outside of immigration detention facilities in the state. Three times in November, federal agents arrested or threatened to arrest two protesters on a sidewalk outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Eugene, Ore. The agents cited new regulations that expand the government’s authority to arrest people near federal property. The law had previously prohibited “creating a loud or unusual noise, noxious odor or other nuisance” while on federal property. Last month, the noise prohibition was expanded to include “areas outside federal property that affects, threatens or endangers federal property or persons on federal property.” The two protesters, Chloe Longworth and Anna Lardner, filed a lawsuit over their treatment by federal agents. Two times, they were using a megaphone while protesting. Once, a federal officer threatened to arrest Ms. Longworth for “yelling.” Judge Ann Aiken of the Federal District Court in Oregon ruled that the plaintiffs had “raised serious questions” over whether the rule was vague and overly broad, and whether federal agents had infringed on their constitutional right to freedom of speech in a way that created a chilling effect on their regular protests.

NBC 8 Portland [12/11/2025 1:17 AM, Jamie Parfitt, 43603K] reports the Trump administration must halt enforcement of hurriedly adopted rules that criminalize "unusual noise" near federal property, a U.S. district court judge has ruled. Judge Ann Aiken — the same federal judge who blocked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from relocating a Coast Guard helicopter from Newport — granted a temporary restraining order in the noise case Wednesday. According to court filings from the Civil Liberties Defense Center, plaintiffs Chloe Longworth and Anna Lardner are two activists who have been protesting outside the Eugene federal building, which houses DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Protests tend to take place on city sidewalks, which surround the federal complex on East 7th Avenue between Pearl and High streets. Longworth and Lardner have been there at least once a week for months. Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Secretary of Homeland Security is empowered to protect federal property, and DHS has adopted a number of regulations to that end. But according to filings in the Eugene case, the Trump administration began considering new regulations in January regarding what they later called “rioter violence at federal buildings.” The new regulations were originally supposed to go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. But on Nov. 5, DHS suddenly announced it would be enforcing them immediately. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement in response to the ruling: “The plaintiffs in this case are suing because one of them wasn’t allowed to harass a janitor to the point where he needed a federal law enforcement escort to come in the building and the other wasn’t able to use a megaphone to disrupt people trying to work inside the building. Banning loud noises generally without regard to their content is simply not a First Amendment violation. In any event, the First Amendment does not protect intimidating and harassing janitors, megaphone or no megaphone.”

FOX News [12/10/2025 3:53 PM, Adam Sabes] reports the woman found dead with her two kids inside their Arkansas mansion made a cryptic Facebook post months before deputies found her dead. Charity Beallis, 40, and her two children were found dead with gunshot wounds at their home in Bonanza, Arkansas, Dec. 3 during a welfare check, according to the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office. The shooting took place one day after the final divorce hearing for Charity and her estranged husband, Randall, according to 5 News. Randall allegedly choked Charity Feb. 16, 2025, according to the report. While he was initially charged with aggravated assault on a family member, third-degree domestic battery and two counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor, he pleaded guilty to a single third-degree battery charge in October. He received a one-year suspended sentence and was issued a no-contact order for his wife or any of her family members, which Charity approved. Charity filed for divorce shortly after her husband was arrested. The divorce records indicate the two got married in 2015 and stopped living together in February. The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an update on Tuesday that the United States Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations are now among the agencies involved in the investigation. A suspect has not been named, deputies added, but they said 12 search warrants are in progress and six have been served.

CBS News [12/10/2025 1:04 PM, Kerry Breen, 39474K] reports the Coast Guard has seized more than 150,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since August as part of Operation Pacific Viper, the agency said Tuesday. The illicit drugs were nabbed in multiple interdictions of alleged drug boats, including one record-breaking bust earlier this month. In that incident, a "heavily laden" go-fast vessel was stopped with "disabling fire," the Coast Guard said in a news release. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro arrived and seized over 20,000 pounds of cocaine from the other boat, marking the agency’s largest at-sea interdiction since March 2007. Video shared by the Coast Guard showed the alleged drug boat being stopped by a helicopter crew who fired shots toward the vessel. It’s not clear what happened to the crew of the go-fast boat. The video also showed other Coast Guard seizures, including some clips of an unidentified crew apparently being taken into custody. Lynyrd Skinner’s 1976 song "Gimme Back My Bullets" played over the clips. Throughout Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard has sent additional assets, including cutters, aircraft and tactical teams, to the Eastern Pacific. About 80% of all U.S.-bound narcotics seizures occur at sea, according to the Coast Guard. "Operation Pacific Viper has proven to be a crucial weapon in the fight against foreign drug traffickers and cartels in Latin America and has sent a clear message that we will disrupt, dismantle and destroy their deadly business exploits wherever we find them," U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in the Coast Guard’s news release. "In cutting off the flow of these deadly drugs, the Coast Guard is saving countless American lives and delivering on President Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again and reestablish our maritime dominance." [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [12/10/2025 11:51 PM, Marianna Parraga and Jonathan Saul, 36480K] reports more than 30 U.S.-sanctioned oil vessels doing business in Venezuela could face punishment by Washington after the Coast Guard seized a supertanker carrying Venezuelan crude for export, according to shipping data. The seizure, announced by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, was the first of an oil cargo from Venezuela, which has been under U.S. sanctions since 2019, and the Trump administration’s first known action against a Venezuela-related tanker since he ordered a massive military buildup in the region. The U.S. action, as Trump ratchets up pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has put many vessel owners, operators and shipping agencies on alert, with many reconsidering whether to set sail from Venezuelan waters in the coming days as planned, shipping sources said. The targeting of Venezuela-origin cargoes is expected to create short-term export delays and could scare some vessel owners away, experts and analysts say. Washington had not previously interrupted Venezuela’s oil exports, which are carried by intermediaries in third-party vessels. Venezuela accused the U.S. of "blatant theft," describing the seizure as "an act of international piracy."

Daily Caller [12/10/2025 11:28 AM, Audrey Streb, 835K] reports a Ukrainian national has been charged for collaborating with two Russia-linked criminal groups responsible for carrying cyberattacks worldwide and against the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced late Tuesday. The EPA, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced Tuesday that indictments against Victoria Eduardovna Dubranova were unsealed in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The Ukrainian national was indicted with one count of "conspiracy to damage protected computers and tamper with public water systems," according to the EPA. "The defendant’s illegal actions to tamper with the nation’s public water systems put communities and the nation’s drinking water resources at risk," EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Craig Pritzlaff said in a statement. "These criminal charges serve as an unequivocal warning to malicious cyber actors in the U.S. and abroad: EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate threats to our nation’s water infrastructure and will pursue justice against those who endanger the American public. EPA is unwavering in its commitment to clean, safe water for all Americans." The EPA released resources on helping protect American water systems from cyberthreats on Oct. 23, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has listed access to clean and safe water for every American as a major pillar of his agency.

Federal News Network [12/10/2025 4:35 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports the Industry Engagement Platform is also a step toward CISA requiring just one account to work across the agency’s various services and info sharing portals. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency doesn’t want to leave companies hanging when they reach out to CISA with an important innovation or technology development. That’s a key reason why CISA earlier this month launched an Industry Engagement Platform, referred to as the IEP. The website provides an external portal where companies, nonprofits, academia and others can sign up to share information with the agency.

HS Today [12/10/2025 7:55 AM, Staff, 38K] reports the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC), in collaboration with U.S. and international government partners, have published the Principles for the Secure Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Operational Technology (OT). This joint guide provides four key principles that will help critical infrastructure OT owners and operators mitigate unique risks and achieve a balanced integration of AI into OT environments. “AI holds tremendous promise for enhancing the performance and resilience of operational technology environments – but that promise must be matched with vigilance,” said CISA Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala. “OT systems are the backbone of our nation’s critical infrastructure, and integrating AI into these environments demands a thoughtful, risk-informed approach. This guidance equips organizations with actionable principles that AI adoption strengthens—not compromises—the safety, security, and reliability of essential services.” This joint guide provides key principles that will help critical infrastructure owners and operators safely and effectively integrate AI into OT systems.

Reuters [12/10/2025 3:38 PM, Juby Babu, 36480K] reports OpenAI on Wednesday warned that its upcoming artificial intelligence models could pose a "high" cybersecurity risk, as their capabilities advance rapidly. The AI models might either develop working zero-day remote exploits against well-defended systems or assist with complex enterprise or industrial intrusion operations aimed at real-world effects, the ChatGPT maker said in a blog post. As capabilities advance, OpenAI said it is "investing in strengthening models for defensive cybersecurity tasks and creating tools that enable defenders to more easily perform workflows such as auditing code and patching vulnerabilities". To counter cybersecurity risks, OpenAI said it is relying on a mix of access controls, infrastructure hardening, egress controls and monitoring. The Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O) company said it will soon introduce a program to explore providing qualifying users and customers working on cyberdefense with tiered access to enhanced capabilities. OpenAI will also be establishing an advisory group, called the Frontier Risk Council, which will bring experienced cyber defenders and security practitioners into close collaboration with its teams.

CyberScoop [12/10/2025 6:35 PM, Matt Kapko, 122K] reports security experts have observed a steady increase in malicious activity from a widening pool of attackers seeking to exploit React2Shell, a critical vulnerability disclosed last week in React Server Components. Authorities are also responding to heightened concern about the defect, with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency shortening the deadline for agencies to patch the vulnerability to Friday. The agency previously set a deadline of Dec. 26 when it added CVE-2025-55182 to its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog last week. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said more than 50 organizations are impacted by attacks involving exploitation of the vulnerability with victims observed in the United States, Asia, South America and the Middle East. Evidence to back up widening concern about the defect is abundant, coming from many corners of the threat research community. Attackers of various types are flocking to the opportunity, including nation-state attackers, cybercriminals, botnets, and threat groups seeking to steal cryptocurrency and deploy cryptojacking malware. Shadowserver scans concluded the scope of potential impact is much greater than previously thought. On Monday, the organization found more than 165,000 IPs and 644,000 domains with vulnerable code placing those instances at risk of exploitation. Nearly two-thirds of those vulnerable instances are based in the United States.

CNN [12/10/2025 10:45 AM, Sean Lyngaas, 606K] reports the US has indicted a Ukrainian woman for her alleged involvement with Russia-backed cybercriminal groups that have caused disruptions at American water and meat processing facilities, the Justice Department has said. The case against Victoria Dubranova, 33, who was extradited to the US earlier this year and pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday, is a counterpunch from US law enforcement following years of cyberattacks on US victims from two shadowy groups of hackers that gained notoriety following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One of the groups, known as the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR), has claimed responsibility for hundreds of cyberattacks worldwide, including a hack in January 2024 in the town of Muleshoe, Texas, that wasted tens of thousands of gallons of water. Another attack by the group spoiled thousands of pounds of meat at a processing facility in Los Angeles in November 2024, causing an ammonia leak, the Justice Department said. The groups have forced water plant managers in small towns in the US to confront opportunistic attacks from hackers supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. US prosecutors allege that Russia’s GRU intelligence agency founded and funded CARR. The other hacking group, called NoName057, drew from members of an IT organization established by Putin’s order in 2018, according to the Justice Department. Indictments in the US Central District of California charge Dubranova with conspiracy to damage protected computers and tamper with public water systems, among other charges. She has pleaded not guilty, the Justice Department said. An attorney for Dubranova was not listed in court records.

Reported similarly:
CyberScoop [12/10/2025 9:40 AM, Greg Otto, 122K]
Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 6:01 AM, Staff, 1394K]

Reuters [12/10/2025 6:03 PM, Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk, 36480K] reports Trump administration officials have held advanced discussions on hitting U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, prompting serious legal and humanitarian concerns inside the State Department. The Trump administration, however, has accused the agency of links with Hamas, allegations UNRWA has vigorously disputed. It was not immediately clear if current U.S. discussions were focused on sanctioning the entire agency - or just specific UNRWA officials or parts of its operation, and U.S. officials do not appear to have settled on the precise type of sanctions they would deploy against UNRWA. Among the possibilities that State Department officials have discussed include declaring UNRWA a "foreign terrorist organization," or FTO, the sources said, though it is not clear if that option - which would severely isolate UNRWA financially - is still a serious consideration. Any blanket move against the entire organization could throw refugee relief efforts into disarray and cripple UNRWA, which is already facing a funding crisis.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [12/10/2025 9:50 PM, Greg Wehner, 40621K]

Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 5:04 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports the suspected gunman arrested in a shooting at Kentucky State University on Tuesday has been identified as Jacob Lee Bard, a 48-year-old man from Evansville, Indiana. Bard is accused of killing 19-year-old student De’Jon Darrell Fox Jr., who hailed from Indianapolis. Another student remains in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon. It remains unclear what led to the shooting, but it’s noteworthy that the gunman and the deceased student were from the same state. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) confirmed the incident was isolated and not random, suggesting the two may have known each other. He assured Kentucky residents that there was no threat to the public. Police quickly responded to the shooting around 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday on campus in Frankfort, Kentucky. The suspect was taken into custody about five minutes later. Bard has been charged with murder and first-degree assault in connection with the shooting. He is the father of at least one KSU student, according to a university spokesperson. Fox was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital about one hour after sustaining critical gunshot wounds. The coroner’s office performed the autopsy on Wednesday morning, but won’t release the final results until 14 to 16 weeks after the shooting.

Reuters [12/11/2025 3:26 AM, Olivia Le Poidevin, 36480K] reports Venezuela’s Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity over more than a decade in targeting political opponents, often with impunity, a U.N. Fact-Finding Mission found on Thursday. The independent mission’s latest report details GNB involvement in acts that may constitute crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, and torture during protest crackdowns and targeted political persecution since 2014 under President Nicolas Maduro. Victims were selected for perceived opposition to the government, the report stated. "The facts we have documented show the role of the GNB in a pattern of systematic and coordinated repression against opponents or those perceived as such, which has continued for more than a decade," said Marta Valinas, head of the fact-finding mission. The report comes as tensions have been rising for weeks between the Washington and Caracas, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly raising the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela to combat drug smuggling, which it calls "narco-terrorism". Maduro says Trump is trying to overthrow him to gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

New York Times [12/10/2025 7:34 PM, Megan Mineiro, 153395K] reports
he House on Wednesday approved a $900 billion defense policy bill that would codify much of President Trump’s national security agenda but seek to curb his move to withdraw from Europe and to mandate more Pentagon consultation with Congress. The 312-112 vote on the legislation, which would provide a 3.8 percent pay raise to U.S. troops, reflected bipartisan support for what is commonly regarded as a must-pass bill. It goes next to the Senate, which is also expected to approve it overwhelmingly, sending it to Mr. Trump for his signature. The measure includes an array of provisions that place Mr. Trump’s stamp on the U.S. military, including one that bans diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Defense Department. But to bring it up, House Republicans had to overcome resistance in their own ranks from hard-right members, some of whom said the measure, which seeks to block U.S. troops from withdrawing from Europe and would send new aid to Ukraine, abandoned the president’s “America First” promises. The legislation also reflected growing frustration among members of both parties with the way Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has run the Pentagon, especially when it comes to the administration’s boat strikes in international waters, which have killed at least 87 people since September. It would mandate that the Defense Department send Congress unedited videos that officials have so far been unwilling to show lawmakers of the maritime attacks, which Mr. Trump has said are being undertaken to target narco-terrorists trafficking drugs into the United States. And it would withhold 25 percent of Mr. Hegseth’s travel budget if he failed to give the congressional national security committees the video footage and the command orders behind the strikes.

Breitbart [12/10/2025 2:29 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports that the Justice Department has appealed a federal judge’s order blocking prosecutors from using evidence to bring a second indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. In a court filing Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutors said Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly’s temporary restraining order issued Monday "has effectively enjoined the government from investigating and potentially prosecuting Comey." A friend of Comey’s, attorney Daniel Richman, sought the restraining order to prevent prosecutors from using evidence he said was gathered illegally from his devices during a previous investigation looking into a possible national security leak. No indictments came of that probe, CNN reported. Now, the Justice Department seeks to use the evidence it gathered as part of a case charging Comey with lying to and obstructing Congress as to whether he leaked information about a 2016 investigation into President Donald Trump to the media through Richman. Most of the evidence from the case was based on emails and other information from Richman’s laptop. The judge said the evidence hadn’t been legally approved to be used in the current Comey investigation. Prosecutors said Richman’s request for a temporary restraining order shouldn’t be able to derail a criminal prosecution, CNN reported. Richman’s "motion is not designed to secure the return of property that he needs or wants," federal prosecutors said in their filing Tuesday. "It is a strategic tool to obstruct the investigation and potential prosecution of James Comey." Richman’s lawyers said Wednesday that the Justice Department’s latest filing shows the government doesn’t care about following the law.

FOX News [12/10/2025 6:10 AM, Alex Nitzberg, 40621K] Video: HERE reports Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky announced on Tuesday that he had introduced a measure to remove the U.S. from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, arguing that the decades-old alliance is obsolete, has been costly for American taxpayers and puts the nation at risk of engagement in foreign wars. "NATO is a Cold War relic. The United States should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our country, not socialist countries. Today, I introduced HR 6508 to end our NATO membership," Massie said in a post on X. GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida shared Massie’s post and wrote, "Co-sponsoring this.” "NATO was created to counter the Soviet Union, which collapsed over thirty years ago. Since then, U.S. participation has cost taxpayers trillions of dollars and continues to risk U.S. involvement in foreign wars. Our Constitution did not authorize permanent foreign entanglements, something our Founding Fathers explicitly warned us against. America should not be the world’s security blanket—especially when wealthy countries refuse to pay for their own defense," Massie said, according to a press release. Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah introduced the "Not a Trusted Organization Act," or "NATO Act" in the Senate earlier this year — Massie is now fielding companion legislation in the House. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Breitbart [12/10/2025 2:03 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports that US lawmakers are set to vote Wednesday on a sweeping annual defense bill bolstering European security, in a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s threats to walk away from the continent and his statements casting doubt on NATO’s future. The House vote comes on the heels of the publication of a national security strategy that amounted to an all-out attack on Europe —- rattling allied capitals and widening the biggest transatlantic rift in years. By contrast, the huge bill being considered in Congress, which would authorize nearly a trillion dollars in defense spending, has drawn attention for its pro-Europe orientation and strict limits designed to prevent Trump from reducing troop numbers, moving equipment or downgrading NATO-linked missions. "This legislation includes important House-passed provisions to ensure our military forces remain the most lethal in the world and can deter any adversary," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement. In his security strategy published last week, Trump lambasted Europe as an over-regulated, censorious continent lacking in "self-confidence" and facing "civilizational erasure" due to immigration. His administration accuses European nations of taking advantage of American generosity and of failing to take responsibility for their own destiny. The security strategy openly supports far-right European parties, questioning the continent’s commitment to peace and indicating that its security was no longer a top US priority.

FOX News [12/10/2025 1:57 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] reports that President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for Mexico to address the millions of gallons of raw and untreated sewage water that flow into the United States, creating health hazards in nearby communities, according to officials. "Mexico must take care of its water and sewage problem, IMMEDIATELY. It is a true threat to the people of Texas, California, and the United States of America!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. For years, sewage from border cities like Tijuana has seeped into the United States through the Tijuana River, with local leaders describing the issue as a health crisis. Officials have said the sewage impacts the area’s tourism — especially at local beaches — and the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, where Navy SEALs train. The crisis is blamed on Tijuana’s outdated wastewater infrastructure, which has been strained by the area’s skyrocketing population. San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond has called the matter one of the worst environmental and public health crises in the country that no one is talking about. "I’m glad to see the President finally address this decades-long crisis," he told Fox News Digital. "It’s impacted our military readiness, threatened national security, and created an environmental disaster for Southern California — all while Mexico has faced little to no accountability." "That must change," he added. "We need real enforcement, real consequences, and real action to protect our communities."

Reuters [12/10/2025 3:11 PM, Jasper Ward and Ryan Jones, 36480K] reports the United States will impose a phased-in tariff on some Nicaraguan goods starting Jan. 1 over labor and human rights concerns, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said on Wednesday, adding that the tariff will increase to 10% the following year and 15% in 2028. The tariff rate would apply to "all imported Nicaraguan goods that are not originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement," USTR said. It would stack on other tariffs, including an existing 18% reciprocal tariff, according to USTR. USTR said the timeline for the tariff increases may be modified if the U.S. determined that Nicaragua shows a lack of progress in addressing the labor rights concerns.

New York Times [12/10/2025 12:55 PM, Maya Tekeli and Jeffrey Gettleman, 135475K] reports that Denmark’s military intelligence service raised concerns for the first time about the United States in its annual threat assessment, saying in a report released Wednesday that shifts in American policy are generating new uncertainties for Denmark’s security. The report points to the United States’ use of tariffs against allies and its intensified activity in the Arctic, and raises many of the same concerns that European leaders have voiced about the direction of President Trump’s America-first foreign policy. “The United States uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to enforce its will, and no longer rules out the use of military force, even against allies,” the report said. Washington’s growing focus on competition with China, the report added, “creates uncertainty about its role as the primary guarantor of security in Europe.” The report lands at a time of heightened tension between the United States and Europe. Just last week, the Trump administration released a national security strategy paper of its own that called on European nations to take “primary responsibility” for their own defense and warned that Europe was facing the “stark prospect of civilizational erasure.” It said the United States should be “cultivating resistance” across Europe by supporting political parties that fight against migration and promote nationalism. Many of those political forces are on the extreme right and have been considered a threat to European democracies.

Reported similarly:
Bloomberg [12/10/2025 6:41 AM, Sanne Wass, 18207K]
CNN [12/10/2025 12:35 PM, Antonia Mortensen and Issy Ronald, 18595K]

Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 7:40 AM, Jamie McIntyre, 1394K] reports President Donald Trump was in a prickly mood as he sat down for an interview with Politico, which he made clear he was only doing because Politico had named him “the most influential person shaping Europe.” “Why would I talk about that to Politico? I’m doing this because you picked me as the man for Europe, and I thought it was an appropriate thing to do,” Trump harumphed. The resulting story was headlined, “The Most Influential Man in Europe Thinks Europe is Full of Losers.” One of those losers, in Trump’s view, is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he warned is running out of time to make peace with the uncompromising Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has yet to make a single concession. “Well, he’s gonna have to get on the ball and start accepting things,” Trump said of Zelensky. “You know, when you’re losing, ‘cause he’s losing.’” Asked by Politico’s Dasha Burns if his son Donald Trump Jr. was correct in telling a reporter Trump might “walk away from Ukraine,” Trump responded, “No, it’s not correct. But it’s not exactly wrong.” “It’s not easy with Russia, ‘cause Russia has the upper hand.

AP [12/10/2025 3:16 PM, Illia Novikov and Derek Gatopoulos, 31753K] reports Ukraine is expected to give its latest peace proposals to U.S. negotiators Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv’s effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. As tension builds around a U.S. push for a settlement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to President Donald Trump by phone Wednesday, according to officials. Negotiations are at “a critical moment,” the European leaders said in official statements. Washington’s goal of a swift compromise to stop the fighting that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 is reducing Kyiv’s room for maneuvering. Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing Trump he is willing to compromise, even as Moscow shows no public sign of budging from its demands. Ukraine’s European allies are backing Zelensky’s effort to ensure that any settlement is fair and deters future Russian attacks, as well as accommodating Europe’s defense interests.

Axios [12/10/2025 11:33 AM, Barak Ravid, 12972K] reports President Trump held a call on Wednesday with the leaders of France, the U.K. and Germany to discuss efforts to reach a peace deal in Ukraine, according to a White House official. The call took place amid growing tensions and distrust between the U.S. and European powers over how to end the Russia-Ukraine war and the Transatlantic relationship in general. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky faces growing pressure from the U.S. to swiftly accept Trump’s peace plan that includes major territorial losses and other concessions. Zelensky met on Monday with the leaders of Germany, France and the U.K. to send a united message to the Trump administration that its current peace plan is not acceptable. Trump harshly criticized European leaders in an interview with Politico published on Tuesday. He called them "weak" and defended his new national security strategy that calls for the U.S. to "cultivate resistance to Europe’s current trajectory." French President Emmanuel Macron said the call lasted 40 minutes and focused on advancing diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "The four heads of state and governments discussed the status of talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Intensive work on the peace plan is to continue in the coming days. They agreed that this is a crucial moment for Ukraine and for common security in the Euro-Atlantic area," the German chancellor’s office said in a statement.

Washington Examiner [12/10/2025 1:56 PM, Timothy Nerozzi, 1394K] reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to honor the White House’s demands for a federal election, but the logistics of voting in wartime may prove difficult. Zelensky told reporters Tuesday that he will pursue legislation that will allow Ukraine to hold elections during wartime, reversing his long-standing opposition to the idea less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump complained about the lack of "democracy" in the war-torn nation. "Look, I am ready for the elections, and not only that, I am now asking — and I am stating this openly — for the United States of America to help me," the Ukrainian president told the press, adding that he personally has "the will and readiness to do so." Under the current structure of the Ukrainian Constitution, elections are illegal during periods of martial law, which Zelensky instituted in 2022. A constitutional change will be required to allow citizens to vote on their next leader, with the Russian invasion ongoing. "In the next 60 [to] 90 days, Ukraine will be ready to hold an election," Zelensky predicted, explaining that he has tapped members of Parliament "to prepare legislative proposals on the possibility of changing the legislative framework and the law on elections during martial law." "I want and expect proposals from our partners and our MPs, and I am ready to go to the polls," he added. His term was due to expire last year, but that was delayed due to the war.

Reuters [12/11/2025 5:33 AM, Gnaneshwar Rajan, 36480K] reports the Trump administration is planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the International Stabilization Force in Gaza, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials. A United Nations Security Council resolution, adopted on November 17, authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who visited Israel this week, told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials that the Trump administration is going to lead the ISF and appoint a two-star general as its commander, Axios said. The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that an announcement about which world leaders will serve on the Gaza Board of Peace should be made early next year. The resolution, drafted by the U.S., described the Board of Peace as a transitional administration "that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for the redevelopment of Gaza” in line with Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the war with militant group Hamas.

CyberScoop [12/10/2025 4:40 PM, Derek B. Johnson, 122K] reports as the Trump administration considers loosening restrictions on the sale of high-performance computer chips that power modern artificial intelligence systems to China, his Department of Justice continues to prosecute businesses and individuals who sell or divert these same technologies to companies based in China. On Monday, federal prosecutors announced that it had secured a guilty plea from a Chinese-American citizen Alan Hao Hsu and his company Hao Global for a multi-million-dollar scheme to funnel advanced AI computer chips to Chinese businesses. In affidavits, investigators at the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security described the smuggled H100 and H200 chips as some of the most sensitive and controlled technologies under U.S. export laws. According to the plea agreement, his company sold NVIDIA chips totaling $160 million to Chinese businesses. According to a court documents obtained by CyberScoop, since at least Oct. 2024 through May 2025, Hsu and others used Hao Global to export, or attempt to export, more than 7,000 NVIDIA H100 and H200 Tensor Core GPUs that are used in many AI and high-performance computing systems. Prosecutors said these chips were designed “to process massive amounts of data, advancing generative AI and large language models and scientific computing.”

Reuters [12/10/2025 6:26 AM, Daphne Psaledakis and John Geddie, 34509K] reports the United States has for the first time criticised China for aiming radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, an incident over which the Asian neighbours have given differing accounts as tensions escalate. The run-in near Japan’s Okinawa islands comes after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan. China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100 km (62 miles) from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes on which Tokyo relies. "China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability," a State Department spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident. "The U.S.-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues." Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara welcomed the comments, saying they "demonstrate the strong U.S.-Japan alliance". Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun avoided direct criticism of the U.S. remarks, reiterating that China’s training and exercise activities were in line with international law and conducted safely in a restrained manner. "We hope that the international community can tell right from wrong and not be hoodwinked by the Japanese side. Japan’s allies, in particular, should heighten their vigilance and not be manipulated by Japan," he added. Japan late on Tuesday scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country. On Wednesday, Japan’s coast guard said its ships spotted four Chinese coast guard vessels inside what it says is its territory near the disputed but Japan-administered Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, and made them leave the territorial waters. China’s coast guard said it was carrying out a "legal" operation to safeguard the country’s rights and interests. China calls the uninhabited islands the Diaoyu. The Chinese fighter jets aiming their radars at the Japanese planes on Saturday was the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years. Such moves are seen as a threatening step because they signal a potential attack and may force the targeted plane to take evasive action. Tokyo blasted the moves as "dangerous". Beijing, however, said that the Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait. Speaking to reporters in Taipei on Wednesday, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said China’s drills were "very inappropriate behaviour"."We also call upon China to demonstrate the responsibility befitting a major power. Peace is priceless; war has no winners. Peace must be fostered by all parties, and China shares this responsibility," he said. Relations between Asia’s two largest economies have soured sharply since Takaichi told parliament last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a "survival-threatening situation" and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.

Beijing has demanded she retract the remarks, accusing Tokyo of threatening it militarily and advising its citizens not to travel to Japan. U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began, but President Donald Trump and other senior U.S. officials have remained silent. Trump, who plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks, phoned Takaichi last month, urging her not to escalate the dispute, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

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