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.

The AP [12/30/2025 12:28 PM, Staff, 31753K] reports that a surge of federal officers in Minnesota follows new allegations of fraud by day care centers run by Somali residents. President Donald Trump has previously linked his administration’s immigration crackdown against Minnesota’s large Somali community to a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which most of the defendants have roots in the east African country. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel both announced an increase in operations in Minnesota this week. The move comes after a right-wing influencer posted a video Friday claiming he had found that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud. Tikki Brown, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, said at Monday news conference that state regulators took the influencer’s allegations seriously. Noem posted on social media that officers were “conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud.” Patel said the intent was to “dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs.” FOX News [12/30/2025 12:57 PM, Louis Casiano, 40621K] Video: HERE reports federal authorities are launching a "massive operation" in Minnesota on Tuesday to "identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people," the Department of Homeland Security said. "Our investigative agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people. We will root out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota," the agency wrote on X. Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The DHS announcement came a day after the department said it had launched an operation to investigate fraud in the city of Minneapolis after the release of a video by an independent journalist that questioned daycare center operators in the area. Videos posted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday showed Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents going door-to-door questioning businesses. Minnesota has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after authorities revealed multi-million fraud operations in the state, resulting in dozens of arrests and indictments. Over the weekend, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau had moved resources into the state, pointing to the Feeding Our Future investigation, which uncovered an at least $250 million scheme that siphoned federal food aid intended for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patel’s announcement came in the wake of a viral video posted on social media Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley that highlighted alleged fraud involving Minnesota childcare and learning centers. Breitbart [12/31/2025 12:13 AM, Staff, 2416K] reports that federal charges have been filed against 98 people accused of embezzlement of public funds and — as Attorney General Pam Bondi stressed on Monday — 85 of the defendants are "of Somali descent.” Fifty-seven people have already been convicted in the scheme to divert $300 million in public grants intended to distribute free meals to children — but the meals never existed, prosecutors said. "What’s happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system," Vice President JD Vance posted on X. "Politicians like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich. But it’s a zero-sum game, and they’re stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans.” Republican elected officials and federal prosecutors accuse local Democratic authorities of turning a blind eye to numerous warnings because the fraud involved Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members. "When whistleblowers raised concerns, they were told that they shouldn’t say anything out of fear of being called racist or Islamophobic, or because it was going to hurt political constituency of the governor and the ruling party, the Democrats here," state representative Kristin Robbins, a Republican who is running for governor, told AFP. Democratic Governor Tim Walz — former vice president Kamala Harris’s unsuccessful running mate in 2024 — rejects the accusation. Right-leaning YouTube content creator Nick Shirley reignited interest in the case over the holidays with a video that he claims shows daycare centers which are siphoning public money. The video — which blew up on X with 127 million views and played repeatedly on Fox News — resonated with Trump’s "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) circles, who are opposed to what they deem to be overly generous social and immigration policies. The Trump administration responded to the outcry immediately, with Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin telling Fox News that hundreds of investigators were targeting local businesses in Minneapolis. "We believe that there is rampant fraud, whether it be daycare centers, health care centers, or other organizations," she said.

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CBS News [12/30/2025 11:55 AM, Staff, 39474K]
CNN [12/30/2025 6:38 PM, Steven Kern, 18595K]
NewsMax [12/30/2025 11:51 AM, Staff, 4109K]
(B) Oregon News Now Midday [12/30/2025 2:20 PM, Staff]

Daily Wire [12/30/2025 8:11 AM, Zach Jewell, 2494K] reports surveillance footage from a state fraud case prosecuted in 2018 shows that purported daycare centers linked to Somali immigrants in Minnesota were involved in fraud schemes as early as 2015. Video recorded outside one such facility in the Minneapolis area shows parents entering to drop off their children, only to leave with them minutes later, Fox 9 reported in 2015. The 10-year-old news report was shared on social media this week as Minnesota faces more fraud accusations. Fox 9 reported that in 2015, four purported daycare centers in Minneapolis were accused of billing the government even though children were not present at the facilities. Another video from inside another facility shows a man handing an envelope to what appears to be a parent of Somali descent. This is from a 2018 Minnesota criminal prosecution against Somali daycare fraudsters. In surveillance video, Somali parents would take their kids to the daycare, check them in, and then leave with them moments later. Hennepin County, which includes much of Minneapolis, opened an investigation after the state government identified unusually large billing amounts. Officials placed a camera on a telephone pole outside one of the centers to track how many kids were entering the facility and found that the center had lied about its enrollment numbers. "It’s hard to imagine they were serving that many people. Frankly, if you’re going to cheat, cheat little, because if you cheat big you’re going to get caught," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said at the time.

Politico [12/30/2025 8:17 PM, Jacob Wendler, 13586K] reports the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday froze hundreds of millions of dollars in child care funding for Minnesota, the latest in a series of moves against Gov. Tim Walz’s administration as it attempts to manage allegations of fraud. The funding freeze comes as Minnesota faces probes by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security over allegations that the state’s Democratic leaders were complicit in exploiting federal funds for nutrition and child care. Federal prosecutors have charged more than 90 people with defrauding the federal government as part of an investigation that dates back to 2021, and two leaders of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future were convicted of stealing federal nutrition funds in May. The allegations also triggered a state audit that concluded the Walz administration “did not effectively exercise its authority” to prevent the fraud. Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O’Neill alleged in a video posted to the department’s YouTube channel Tuesday afternoon that “the state of Minnesota has allowed scammers and fake day cares to siphon millions of taxpayer dollars over the last decade.” HHS currently provides Minnesota with $185 million in annual child care funding, according to Alex Adams, assistant HHS secretary for family support. Breitbart [12/30/2025 9:36 PM, Staff, 2416K] reports “You have probably read the serious allegations that the state of Minnesota has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares across Minnesota over the past decade,” said Jim O’Neill, HHS deputy secretary, in a social media post on Tuesday. In response to the “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country,” O’Neill said HHS officials have taken three actions. One is to require justification and a receipt or photo evidence before sending federal Administration for Children and Family funds to a state. HHS also launched a fraud-reporting hotline and email address, and identified individuals shown in a viral social media video at Minnesota daycare centers that appeared to have no children. “I have demanded from [Minnesota] Gov. Tim Walz a comprehensive audit of these centers,” O’Neill said. “This includes attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections.” Conservative activist Nick Shirley recorded and posted the viral video, which, along with FBI evidence, spurred U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem on Monday to launch what she called a “massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud,” according to CBS News. Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown told CBS News the department questions “some of the methods used in the video” but takes the fraud concerns raised in Shirley’s video “very seriously.” State officials visited some of the daycare centers featured in the video and said two of them were closed earlier this year, but officials at one said they intend to resume operations. CBS News looked at the records for several of the daycares cited and said all but two have active licenses to operate in Minnesota. State records show all of the active locations had been visited by state regulators over the past six months, with no evidence of fraud found, but citations were issued for staff training, safety, equipment, and cleanliness violations.

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Wall Street Journal [12/30/2025 9:27 PM, Sabrina Siddiqui, 646K]
NBC News [12/30/2025 8:00 PM, Raquel Coronell Uribe, 34509K]

FOX News [12/30/2025 10:08 PM, Jasmine Baehr, Bill Melugin, 40621K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reviewing immigration and naturalization cases involving migrants from 19 countries of concern, including Somalia, to determine whether any individuals obtained American citizenship through fraud that could warrant denaturalization, DHS confirmed to Fox News. "Under U.S. law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Fox News. The review focuses on whether fraud occurred during the immigration or naturalization process, such as marriage fraud or false statements made to obtain legal status or citizenship. The confirmation comes as Republican lawmakers have called for tougher consequences following Minnesota’s ongoing child care fraud scandal, which has involved millions of dollars in alleged misuse of federal funds. DHS emphasized that denaturalization, or stripping of citizenship, is governed by strict legal standards and applies only under limited circumstances. The review includes cases tied to 19 countries that DHS considers countries of concern, including Somalia. DHS did not specify how many cases are currently under review or whether any individuals have been referred for denaturalization proceedings. Denaturalization is a rare and intense legal process. Historically, the federal government has pursued only between a dozen and a few dozen cases per year, dating back to the 1990s. Prosecutors must prove that citizenship was obtained illegally, and denaturalization convictions require a high burden of proof that can often take years to litigate. The scrutiny also comes as the Department of Health and Human Services moved Tuesday to freeze child care payments to Minnesota, citing alleged fraud involving daycare providers across the state. HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said the state had "funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent daycares" over the past decade, prompting the agency to halt payments while the matter is reviewed. DHS did not provide a timeline for the review or indicate whether any denaturalization cases are expected to move forward in the near future. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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Reuters [12/30/2025 8:19 PM, Kanishka Singh, 36480K]

FOX News [12/30/2025 9:43 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports the No. 2 Republican in the House of Representatives believes it’s time to deport Somalis who participated in expansive fraud in Minnesota – even if they hold citizenship. "I have three words regarding Somalis who have committed fraud against American taxpayers: Send them home," Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in a press release Monday evening. "If they’re here illegally, deport them immediately; if they’re naturalized citizens, revoke their citizenship and deport them quickly thereafter. If we need to change the law to do that, I will." Emmer’s statement comes after recent revelations that fraud schemes targeting government benefit programs in the North Star State may have robbed taxpayers of up to $9 billion. In recent months, investigators have uncovered sweeping fraud schemes masquerading as daycare centers, medical providers and food assistance programs, siphoning millions in government funds by fabricating services or inflating the number of people they claimed to serve. According to Emmer, 90% of the people charged with fraud have a Somali background. "Our nation will not tolerate those who take advantage of our charity and refuse to assimilate into our culture," Emmer said.

FOX News [12/30/2025 11:22 AM, Staff, 40621K] Video: HERE reports CBP senior advisor Ron Vitiello weighs in as federal agents surge to Minnesota in a widening fraud case as Republicans call for deportations and possible denaturalization for those convicted.

The Hill [12/30/2025 1:54 PM, Max Rego, 12595K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shared a video Tuesday of its agents in Minnesota, amid a federal investigation into alleged fraud within the state’s social services programs. The video, which DHS shared to the social platform X, shows a pair of agents from its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) providing a person in a store, whose face is blurred, a notice of inspection. "Our investigative agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people," DHS said. "We will root out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota." DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that HSI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel were on the ground in Minneapolis as part of the department’s probe. Federal scrutiny of the alleged fraud in the state has been renewed in the wake of independent journalist Nick Shirley detailing his investigation into the matter on Friday. Earlier this month, federal prosecutors expanded their inquiry into illegal activity involving various programs in the North Star State. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday on X that the Justice Department has charged 98 people in connection with the sweeping case, 85 of which are of Somali descent.

FOX News [12/30/2025 12:23 PM, Taylor Penley, 40621K] Video: HERE reports that ICE told Fox News they’re on the ground in Minneapolis investigating allegations of fraud involving child care centers, as authorities follow a sprawling money trail that federal prosecutors say could ultimately total more than $9 billion. "We’re learning a lot," ICE Director Todd Lyons told "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday. Lyons shared that the agency is looking into possible criminal and terrorist ties overseas, adding that the probe speaks to the breadth of ICE’s work. "[We’re] going with criminal warrants to conduct these investigations," he said. "All too often you hear that ICE is just out there terrorizing the community or conducting administrative work. We’ve been on the ground in Minnesota conducting criminal investigations and Homeland Security investigations [and have] gone door to door to a lot of these suspected fraud sites all over St. Paul and Minnesota." The investigation follows widespread fraud allegations, including ones stemming from a viral video posted by independent journalist Nick Shirley showing visits to several Minnesota daycare facilities, including Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis, which appeared inactive during the visit despite receiving state childcare assistance funds. Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown said during a Monday news conference that prior inspections of the sites – which occurred at random and within the last six months – did not uncover fraud and children were active at the sites.

Daily Wire [12/30/2025 8:56 AM, Jennie Taer, 2494K] reports President Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief placed blame squarely on sanctuary laws for Minnesota’s fraud scandal. Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Fox & Friends Tuesday that sanctuary laws in cities like Minneapolis, which prevent local authorities from contacting or working with federal immigration agents, have provided a safe haven for fraudsters. Earlier this month, federal authorities revealed that at least $9 billion in taxpayer funds may have been stolen as part of a massive fraud campaign that’s largely been tied to Minnesota’s Somali community. The fraudsters allegedly funneled cash from state welfare programs through fake nonprofits and shell companies back to Somalia — and even Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, City Journal reported last month. "There’s always a tie when it comes to sanctuary jurisdictions, where you can hide in plain sight. You see a lot of these fraudsters use a lot of sanctuary rules and sanctuary protections to enact in criminal fraud just like this," Lyons said. Homeland Security Investigations agents conducted door-to-door inspections in Minneapolis on Monday, targeting suspected fraud sites. It comes after independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a now-viral 42-minute video last week alleging that numerous daycare and learning centers in the area had no children on-site, despite receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer funding. "We’ve been on the ground for so long looking into these states that are conducting these type of material fraud, and when Homeland Security Investigations goes into these businesses, there is criminal activity when it comes to labor trafficking, child trafficking, human exploitation and that’s what we’re looking at up there in Minnesota. And you’ll always come back to these sanctuary jurisdictions where you’ll find them hiding in plain sight and using those sanctuary protections to employ not only illegal aliens, but to conduct criminal fraud just like you’re seeing right now," he said.

CNN [12/30/2025 11:52 PM, Austin Mabeus, 18595K] reports CNN’s Whitney Wild had a chance to question YouTuber Nick Shirley after he posted a viral video in which he claimed to find widespread fraud at Somali-run childcare centers. CNN is looking into Shirley’s claims and has not independently verified the accusations. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NewsMax [12/30/2025 11:44 AM, Theodore Bunker, 4109K] reports Minnesota Department of Human Services officials confirmed Tuesday that a public website used to check licensing and inspection records for child care centers was offline following what the agency described as an unprecedented surge in traffic tied to a viral online video that alleges widespread fraud in taxpayer-funded day care programs. A notice on the DHS Licensing Information Lookup page said unusually high volumes of visits caused service disruptions and outages, and that the agency was working to restore access. Officials said the message would be removed once the issue is resolved. DHS did not immediately provide a timeline for full restoration. The outage comes amid mounting scrutiny of the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program and other publicly funded social services after YouTuber and independent journalist Nick Shirley posted a 42-minute video Dec. 26 alleging some licensed child care centers were inactive or empty despite receiving millions of dollars from the state. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Post [12/30/2025 5:13 PM, Anthony Blair, 42219K] reports GOP House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has called for the denaturalization and deportation of Somalis linked to the rapidly unfurling billion-dollar fraud scandal in Minnesota. Both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security say they are surging resources to investigate allegations of widespread fraud which have drawn national attention to the North Star State, home to the largest Somali population in the US. Of the 98 individuals charged so far in connection with the scheme, which has seen the brazen raiding of food, housing and childcare programs, 85 are of Somali descent, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Monday. So far, none of those charged with fraud have been charged with terrorism financing.

Breitbart [12/30/2025 10:55 AM, Amy Furr, 2416K] reports the manager of a daycare in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is fighting allegations of fraud as the investigation into the issue intensifies and the Somali community faces scrutiny. The Quality Learning Center was featured in a video by citizen journalist Nick Shirley who found its doors locked, no cars in the parking lot, and no children in sight during his recent visit, KARE 11 reported Monday. Ibrahim Ali is the facility manager, and he told the outlet it serves up to 80 children and has 25 employees. He claimed, "There’s no fraud going on whatsoever," and said the sign, which is misspelled to read "Quality Learing Center," was a mistake by a graphic designer. When pressed about Shirley’s video, Ali appeared to get defensive, asking, "Are you trying to record that we’re doing fraud, or are you trying to put the Somali name and fraud in the same sentence?". After Shirley posted his viral video, the daycare was reportedly full of children on Monday, the New York Post reported. One resident told the outlet, "We’ve never seen kids go in there until today. That parking lot is empty all the time, and I was under the impression that place is permanently closed.". When speaking with the Post, Ali claimed Shirley visited the site before opening hours and also said there were 16 children inside the building on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said agents from the DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations are investigating childcare and "other rampant fraud" in Minneapolis, Breitbart News reported Monday. In a statement Monday, Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown addressed the fraud allegations. "While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously," she said, per the KARE article

Daily Caller [12/30/2025 11:00 AM, Audrey Streb, 835K] reports the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner responded to the viral video alleging childcare fraud in the state on Monday. A highly circulated video by conservative Youtuber Nick Shirley allegedly exposed fraud among Somali-run businesses that received taxpayer funding, including day cares in Minneapolis that appeared to be empty — one of which displayed a misspelled sign reading "Quality Learing Center." Commissioner Tikki Brown said Monday that "there have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers" and "none of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud," according to the local news outlet and NBC affiliate KARE 11. "While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously," Brown said, according to KARE 11. "There have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers. None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud." Brown told the outlet that inspectors visited the day cares showed in Shirley’s video Monday to ensure children were present and that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was also checking the Minneapolis businesses.

FOX News [12/30/2025 10:28 AM, Staff, 40621K] reports Minnesota senatorial candidate David Hanh joins ‘Fox & Friends’ reacting to the fraud allegations mounting against Gov. Tim Walz and fellow lawmakers, his opponent wearing a hijab despite being Catholic and sharing his campaign messaging. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

The New York Times [12/30/2025 7:09 PM, Alan Feuer, 135475K] reports federal prosecutors in Nashville have insisted in the past few months that senior Justice Department officials had no involvement in their decision to file charges against Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, the immigrant who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador in March and then brought back to the United States to face indictment. But on Tuesday, excerpts from several emails released by a federal judge overseeing Mr. Abrego Garcia’s criminal case appeared to directly contradict those assertions, suggesting that Justice Department leaders — including Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general — played a greater role in bringing the charges than prosecutors have acknowledged so far. The emails, which were made public as part of a newly unsealed judicial order, largely reflected communications about the case that Robert E. McGuire, the acting U.S. attorney in Nashville, had with members of his staff and with Aakash Singh, a top official in Mr. Blanche’s office. They raised serious questions about whether the Justice Department had misled Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr., who is overseeing the case, by telling him that local prosecutors had acted alone in charging Mr. Abrego Garcia. “These documents show that McGuire did not act alone and to the extent McGuire had input on the decision to prosecute, he shared it with Singh and others,” Judge Crenshaw wrote in the unsealed order. “Specifically, the government’s documents may contradict its prior representations that the decision to prosecute was made locally and that there were no outside influences.” One of the emails, dated April 30, was written by Mr. Singh to Mr. McGuire and another prosecutor, Jacob Warren, as the government was building its criminal case against Mr. Abrego Garcia, who at the time was still in custody in El Salvador. In it, Mr. Singh made clear that charging Mr. Abrego Garcia was “a top priority” for Mr. Blanche’s office. In response, Mr. McGuire wrote, “We want the high command looped in.” CBS News [12/30/2025 5:24 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 39474K] reports that the Dec. 3 order was issued by U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw of Tennessee, who is overseeing Abrego Garcia’s smuggling case and reviewing a request from his lawyers to dismiss the charges on the grounds of vindictive prosecution. He said he reviewed over 3,000 documents. In the Dec. 3 order, Crenshaw said the Justice Department must produce certain documents that he said may be relevant, including the emails involving Singh. Last week, Crenshaw cancelled a planned January trial in Abrego Garcia’s criminal case, and instead scheduled an evidentiary hearing for Jan. 28 to determine whether the government can rebut the preliminary finding that the prosecution was vindictive. CNN [12/30/2025 3:09 PM, Devan Cole, 18595K] reports that the December 3 opinion from US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw made public on Tuesday is the latest sign that the Justice Department is increasingly on the defense in the case. Abrego Garcia is seeking to have the charges dismissed based on his claim that he’s the victim of a selective and vindictive prosecution that is the result of meddling by officials in Washington. Abrego Garcia is arguing that the criminal charges, which stemmed from a Tennessee traffic stop years earlier, were brought in retaliation after he challenged his unlawful removal to El Salvador earlier this year. A major hearing over Abrego Garcia’s effort to get the pair of charges tossed is set for late January. His trial, which had been scheduled for next month, has been postponed and a new date has not been set.

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Bloomberg [12/30/2025 4:49 PM, Jimmy Jenkins, 18207K]
AP [12/30/2025 4:20 PM, Travis Loller]
Washington Examiner [12/30/2025 9:17 PM, Kaelan Deese, 1394K]

CNN [12/30/2025 9:10 PM, Eliza Talmadge, 18595K] reports a judge has ruled that the Justice Department must turn over some documents to Abrego Garcia’s defense, as his lawyers argue the case should be dismissed on the basis of vindictive prosecution. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

USA Today [12/30/2025 4:29 PM, Evan Mealins, 67103K] reports a federal judge in Nashville has ordered the Department of Justice to hand over internal emails and records showing top DOJ officials pushed for criminal charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man who was illegally deported in March. This new evidence could reshape the entire case. The Dec. 3 order from Judge Waverly Crenshaw was unsealed Dec. 30. It revealed that Crenshaw reviewed new documents that provided more evidence that high-level DOJ officials, not just acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Rob McGuire, were involved in the decision to charge Abrego Garcia. The federal prosecutors in the case have said in a court filing that those DOJ officials provided "appropriate oversight" in a case that naturally involves multiple agencies. Crenshaw on Dec. 23 scheduled an evidentiary hearing Jan. 26 for the government to rebut the finding that Abrego Garcia’s prosecution is likely vindictive.

NewsMax [12/30/2025 11:18 AM, Charlie McCarthy, 4109K] reports the Department of Homeland Security’s recruitment effort is now focusing on adding deportation judges. In a push aimed at speeding up removals and tightening enforcement, DHS is urging Americans to "be the judge" and apply to join the Justice Department as immigration judges — a role the administration is pitching as central to restoring integrity to a system conservatives say has been overwhelmed by fraud and years of lax enforcement. "YOU BE THE JUDGE," DHS posted Tuesday on X. "Join @TheJusticeDept as a deportation judge to write the next chapter of America. Combat fraud and those who seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our immigration system." The recruitment messaging mirrors a new Justice Department hiring page that frames the job in sweeping, nation-shaping terms. "Help write the next chapter of America," the DOJ says. "Apply today to become a deportation judge." The site lists a salary range of $159,951 to $207,500 per year, with a recruitment incentive of 25% of base pay for first-time federal employees placed in certain high-cost locations, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston-area postings, and multiple cities in California. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agency had received more than 175,000 applications for ICE officer positions, with 1,200 to 1,500 new agents already deployed as part of the "Defend the Homeland" drive. Thousands more were expected to hit the field soon, with DHS officials signaling a sharp focus on arresting and deporting criminal illegal aliens, particularly in sanctuary jurisdictions.

Bloomberg [12/30/2025 11:21 AM, Kate Sullivan, 18207K] reports the US State Department said it had directed American embassies in the Western Hemisphere to report on “human rights abuses caused by mass migration,” amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to pressure allies to tighten their own immigration policies. “Mass migration and the criminal networks that enable it wrought havoc on America before President Trump secured the border,” the State Department posted Tuesday on X. “U.S. embassies will report on crimes resulting from mass migration and urge governments across the Western Hemisphere to combat these human rights abuses.” “Embassies will analyze government policies that facilitate mass migration or privilege migrants over citizens,” the department added, without providing further details on what the effort would entail. Still, the move offers to provide another platform for the Trump administration to pressure US security and economic partners to do more to clamp down on migration in their countries. The administration has increasingly sought to identify mass migration as a threat to the US and its allies, in particular Europe, with the State Department in November casting mass migration as presenting an “existential threat to Western civilization.” President Donald Trump’s new national security strategy also highlighted the issue, raising concerns about the perils of unchecked immigration and transnational criminal groups and offering blunt warnings that Europe risked “civilizational erasure” due to migrants. “The United States urges governments to protect their borders and defend their citizens against the human rights abuses caused by mass migration,” the State Department said Tuesday on X, adding that the US “stands ready to work alongside nations across the Western Hemisphere to end the global crisis of mass migration.”

FOX News [12/30/2025 12:43 PM, Alex Nitzberg, 40621K] reports that the U.S. State Department announced that it is directing American embassies located in the Western Hemisphere to report on human rights violations resulting from mass migration. "Mass migration and the criminal networks that enable it wrought havoc on America before President Trump secured the border. The State Department has now instructed U.S. embassies in countries in the Western Hemisphere to report on human rights abuses caused by mass migration," the department declared in a post on X. "Millions of migrants and waves of deadly drugs have flowed to America’s borders on transnational routes operated by terror organizations. Mass migration has endangered American citizens, threatened the economic security of American workers, and strained America’s asylum system," the State Department added in another post. The department noted that "narco-terror" groups involved in facilitating mass migration also participate in egregious human rights violations. "The narco-terror organizations that facilitate mass migration routinely engage in child trafficking, forced labor, sexual assault, and other heinous human rights abuses that threaten the citizens of nations throughout the Western Hemisphere and undermine the rule of law," a post asserted. "U.S. embassies will report on crimes resulting from mass migration and urge governments across the Western Hemisphere to combat these human rights abuses. Embassies will analyze government policies that facilitate mass migration or privilege migrants over citizens," the department noted in another post. The U.S. is prepared to work with other countries in the hemisphere to stop mass migration, said the State Department, which referred to the situation as a "global crisis."

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NewsMax [12/30/2025 11:21 AM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4109K]

FOX News [12/30/2025 3:29 PM, Michael Dorgan, 40621K] reports the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is moving to demolish a cluster of historic buildings at a long-vacant former psychiatric hospital complex in Washington D.C. that is being redeveloped into headquarters for the agency, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a Dec. 19 memo to the General Services Administration (GSA), obtained by the Post, that the buildings in question at St. Elizabeths’ 176-acre West Campus "present a risk to life and property" and that "demolition is the only permanent measure that resolves the emergency conditions." DHS included a security risk assessment report with the memo that Noem said supports immediate corrective action. The assessment states the vacant buildings could be accessed by unauthorized individuals and could provide a tactical advantage for small-arms or active-shooter scenarios. The report also warned of threats from "malicious insiders," including employees or contractors with legitimate access who could exploit the vacant buildings to target executives, disrupt operations or compromise sensitive information. In total, DHS is seeking to demolish 17 buildings. Four have already received approval from federal planning bodies, while the remaining 13 have not been reviewed or approved and are now being pushed through under the emergency demolition designation, according to preservation officials. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that buildings at the site need to be demolished for safety reasons.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [12/30/2025 6:00 AM, Paul Schwartzman, 24149K]

NewsMax [12/30/2025 5:21 PM, Theodore Bunker, 4109K] reports the Department of Housing and Urban Development says it identified about $5.8 billion in federal rental assistance payments in fiscal year 2024 that went to recipients flagged as potentially ineligible, including tens of thousands of tenants listed as deceased, according to a newly released internal financial review. The 183-page review examined nearly $50 billion in rental assistance distributed through two of HUD’s largest housing support streams: tenant-based rental assistance, which includes Housing Choice Vouchers that help eligible households rent in the private market, and project-based rental assistance, which is tied to specific subsidized developments. HUD officials said the potentially improper payments were spread across all 50 states, with the largest concentrations in New York, California and Washington, D.C. The review flagged more than 200,000 tenants for possible eligibility issues. Among those, about 29,700 tenants were listed as deceased, about 9,400 were identified as possible noncitizens and more than 165,000 appeared to have household incomes above eligibility thresholds for their areas, according to the report summary described by HUD. The figures reflect preliminary flags that require additional confirmation, HUD officials said. HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the findings point to broad weaknesses in oversight and internal controls, and the department plans additional reviews and enforcement steps. HUD said it is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to further review cases involving possible noncitizen recipients. The Daily Wire [12/30/2025 7:43 AM, Cameron Arcand, 2494K] reports "A massive abuse of taxpayer dollars not only occurred under President Biden’s watch, but was effectively incentivized by his administration’s failure to implement strong financial controls resulting in billions’ worth of potential improper payments," HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a statement on Tuesday. "HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable. Additionally, the Department is advancing efforts made under President Trump’s first administration to strengthen program integrity and ensure taxpayer-funded assistance serves the vulnerable communities it was intended for," Turner continued. "The Biden Administration prioritized illegal aliens over our own citizens, including by giving illegal aliens taxpayer-funded housing at the expense of Americans. Not anymore. The entire government will work together to identify abuse and exploitation of public benefits and make sure those in this country illegally are not receiving federal benefits or other financial incentives to stay illegally. If you are an illegal immigrant, you should leave now. The gravy train is over," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated, according to a press release at the time.

Reported similarly:
New York Post [12/30/2025 6:00 AM, Josh Christenson, 42219K]
Daily Caller [12/30/2025 11:18 AM, Melissa O’Rourke, 835K]

CNN [12/30/2025 5:34 PM, Elizabeth Hartfield, 18595K] reports lone actors and smaller groups with a range of ideological motives pose the most significant threat to New Year’s Eve celebrations like the one in Times Square, according to a joint assessment from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The report, which was obtained by CNN, specifically notes the threat from small groups of people “seeking to commit acts of violence motivated by a broad range of racial, ethnic, political, religious, anti-government, anti-immigration, societal or ideological beliefs and grievances.” There is no specific, credible threat, according to the assessment, which is done ahead of major events like New Year’s Eve and July Fourth. However, the overall so-called “threat matrix” remains elevated. The assessment notes persistent threats from both foreign and domestic actors, and cites the ongoing risks of targeted shooting events, as well as cybercrime. Notably, the assessment also discusses the concern about the use of vehicle ramming in attacks, like the one that occurred in New Orleans on January 1, 2025, killing 14 people. The city of New Orleans announced earlier this week it would activate its Emergency Operations Center to monitor activity across the city beginning New Year’s Eve and going through the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

CBS New York [12/30/2025 10:04 AM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports security is top of mind as we get closer to New York City’s New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. CBS News law enforcement contributor Richard Esposito offers insight on how the NYPD keeps the party safe.

CBS New York [12/30/2025 12:06 PM, Staff, 39474K] Video: HERE reports CBS News New York’s Tim McNicholas takes a look at what changes New York City is making to keep everyone safe at the 2026 New Year’s Eve celebration.

AP [12/30/2025 5:49 PM, Sara Cline and Jack Brook] reports as National Guard members roll into New Orleans to help with safety measures ahead of New Year’s celebrations, city officials are still seeking permanent security solutions nearly a year after a truck attack on Bourbon Street left 14 dead. The rampage, in which a man drove around a police blockade in the early hours of Jan. 1, revealed security vulnerabilities surrounding a famous street filled with boisterous bars, brass bands playing on cobblestone corners and a steady stream of partygoers carrying cocktails. While Louisiana officials say the tourist site is safe as they implement additional measures to crackdown on potential threats ahead of the attack anniversary, families of deceased victims say not enough has been done to ensure similar tragedies won’t happen again. Questions still swirl around the street’s barricade system, which is a patchwork of bollards, strategically parked police vehicles and 32 large steel barriers that officers push into place every night to form pedestrian zones.

New York Post [12/30/2025 8:03 AM, Anthony Blair, 42219K] reports newly released dashcam footage is believed to show missing Texas teen Camila Mendoza Olmos on the night of her disappearance, according to the lead investigating sheriff. The video, which shows someone resembling the 19-year-old walking close to her home around 7 a.m. Christmas Eve, was shared on Monday by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. "If you commute through this area or have dash cam or home surveillance footage that may have captured Camila — please contact the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office immediately," the office said in a Facebook post. Olmos vanished after going for one of her regular walks around the neighborhood early Dec. 24, her mother said. Cops have not ruled out kidnapping or human trafficking at this stage, although they are also investigating the possibility she disappeared of her own volition, Salazar told "Cuomo.". Authorities previously confirmed that Olmos, a US citizen, wasn’t detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The operation has since expanded to involve multiple agencies, including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local and state police forces.

Univision [12/30/2025 6:54 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed the discovery of a body located about a mile from the home of Camila Mendoza Olmos, the 19-year-old reported missing since the morning of Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, in San Antonio. During a press conference, the sheriff said that so far the identity of the localized person has not been confirmed, so the authorities continue with the corresponding proceedings to determine who it is. Salazar indicated that, in a preliminary way, the case is not investigated as a homicide, since the body has wounds that appear to be self-inflicted. However, he clarified that the investigation remains open and that it will be the forensic analysis that officially determines the cause of death. However, an important fact is that the body was found in a dress similar to the one that Camila wore on the day of her disappearance. In addition, they found a gun near the body, which coincides with the fact that the firearm that had disappeared from his home and that belonged to a relative of Camila. “This afternoon a team of officers with my agency, but also federal agents with the FBI were working together, they discovered a body right now, it’s too early to say who this body is or the way it passed away. Now we do not suspect homicide,” Javier Salazar told media.

NewsMax [12/30/2025 11:08 AM, Nicole Weatherholtz, 4109K] reports the CIA carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility along Venezuela’s coast in the first known U.S. attack on a target inside the South American country, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The strike reportedly targeted a remote dock that the Trump administration believed was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping, the sources said. CNN reported that no one was present at the facility at the time it was struck, so there were no casualties. Two sources said U.S. Special Operations Forces provided intelligence support to the operation, but Col. Allie Weiskopf, a spokesperson for U.S. Special Operations Command, denied that, telling the outlet, "Special Operations did not support this operation to include intel support." President Donald Trump appeared to first acknowledge the strike in an interview last week, though he offered few specifics, even after reporters later asked him directly about it. Trump said the U.S. attacked "in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs" but declined to say whether the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the operation. "So we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area," Trump said. "It’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement, and that is no longer around." The strike could further escalate tensions between the U.S. and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who Trump’s administration has been urging to step down through a military pressure campaign. The New York Post [12/30/2025 12:45 PM, Ryan King and Caitlin Doornbos, 42219K] reports that no one is believed to have been killed or wounded in the attack. However, two people were killed when a vessel was hit in the eastern Pacific on Monday — the 30th US strike since Sept 2. Attacks in international waters ordered by the Trump administration have killed at least 107 accused narcoterrorists. But the dock strike represents an escalation of the president’s pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whose illegal regime was described by Secretary of State Marco Rubio as "intolerable" for the United States earlier this month. USA Today [12/30/2025 6:59 PM, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, 67103K] reports Trump first mentioned the strike in a Dec. 26 interview on WABC radio, when he said that the U.S. had "knocked out" a "big facility where the ships come from" two days prior, without mentioning where the strike took place. Pressed about it by reporters at a Dec. 29 event at Mar-a-Lago with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the U.S. had struck a "dock area where they load the boats up with drugs.". "We hit all the boats, and now we hit the implementation area," he said. First CNN, and then New York Times, reported later that day that the CIA carried out a drone strike in December on a dock in Venezuela that the U.S. suspected was being used by the gang Tren de Aragua to load drugs onto boats. The Trump administration has designated Tren de Aragua a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. government agencies have not confirmed whether the operation took place. The CIA declined to comment, and the Pentagon referred questions to the White House. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Wall Street Journal [12/30/2025 5:59 PM, Shelby Holliday, Dustin Volz, and Costas Paris, 646K] reports a Central Intelligence Agency strike on a dock in Venezuela earlier this month was the first-known operation inside the country since President Trump authorized the spy agency to operate clandestinely against its drug traffickers and government. It was Trump who decided the strike wouldn’t remain a secret. He first mentioned it on a radio show that aired Dec. 26, saying the U.S. had destroyed “a big plant or facility where ships come from.” He has revealed more details in recent days, including that the target was believed to be an “implementation area” where boats were loaded with drugs. Pressed by a reporter on which arm of the government was responsible, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say.” But according to several U.S. officials, the CIA conducted the attack. When Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro made no public comment after the operation, Trump might have decided that disclosing it himself would send a clear message. “Trump is likely leveraging covert operations to pressure Maduro,” said Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned the reported strike in a post Tuesday on X. “Airstrikes on land targets. The illegality of Trump’s insane war in Venezuela is out of control,” Murphy said. “Remember, this has NOTHING to do with stopping drugs from entering America. Venezuela produces cocaine bound for Europe.”

CNN [12/31/2025 12:00 AM, Stephen Collinson, 606K] reports President Donald Trump has thrust the country into a significant new phase in his showdown with Venezuela with a CIA strike on a port facility. But as he approaches grave new decisions on even greater escalations, his team has not yet spelled out a clear consistent public rationale for its actions. Nor has it prepared the country for what might come next. Top officials haven’t explained how long the massive naval buildup in the Caribbean will last or what US service members will be asked to do in an operation that is already raising legal and constitutional alarms. Neither Trump nor his top foreign policy aides have sketched a preferred endgame for the confrontation, which has climbed a ladder of escalation: from diplomatic pressure to strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean to a blockade against oil tankers to, now, a land attack. If the goal really is to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, as recent comments from top officials and the logic of the deployment imply, there’s been no White House effort to show Americans the administration is planning for the aftermath. This is an especially relevant point given the quagmires that developed after US military action to topple the rulers of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar Tuesday that the CIA attack was a significant sharpening of US pressure and raised a knot of thorny questions. "Where it goes from here, I think, is the thing to be concerned about, because Trump clearly wants to drive Maduro from power," Smith said, arguing that boat strikes and other means of duress didn’t seem like they would have the intended effect. If they don’t, Smith continued, "What is Trump prepared to do next? How far is he willing to take this effort at regime change in Venezuela?". Perhaps Trump’s fogginess is deliberate. If the buildup and steady escalations are part of a psychological operations campaign to wrong-foot Maduro or to persuade his regime cronies they’d be safer without him, confusion and disorientation could act as weapons. Even from the outside, it’s obvious the CIA strike on the port facility — in which, sources said, no one was killed — is a performative warning that far greater US capabilities can be brought to bear. Yet the more serious the situation gets — especially now the US has crossed the threshold into land attacks — the more acute is the obligation to inform Americans of the administration’s plans. The founders never envisaged presidents being able to wage war on a whim. And large and intractable conflicts have sometimes started with discrete actions that mushroom into consequences that can cascade out of control. Take Vietnam as an example.

Univision [12/31/2025 1:00 AM, Staff, 5004K] reports Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the U.S. attack on a facility in Venezuelan territory was carried out in Maracaibo and targeted a cocaine factory. President Donald Trump said Monday that his country destroyed a dock where boats were allegedly loaded with drugs. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Federal News Network [12/30/2025 6:59 PM, Justin Doubleday, 986K] reports at the Department of Homeland Security, where you stand at the end of 2025 depends on where you sit. With the Trump administration emphasizing border security and mass deportations as top priorities, DHS components that work in those areas saw both major funding increases and workforce boosts. Meanwhile, other DHS components were swept up in the administration’s workforce reduction efforts. Some of those components were also in the crosshairs of new political leadership for program and funding cuts. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” tax and reconciliation measure passed in July only deepened those differences. The legislation provided billions in additional funding for select DHS components like Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Meanwhile, other offices such as the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have been hit by workforce reductions and funding cuts, ending support for programs and services like CISA’s Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. The Coast Guard’s workforce has swelled by nearly 2,000 as part of a recruiting campaign started by the Biden administration and further boosted under the Trump administration through the “Force Design 2028” initiative. But some components, including CISA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, underwent stark staff reductions driven by program cuts and voluntary departures. The Trump administration has also proposed some cuts to the Transportation Security Administration. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is further moving to eliminate TSA employees’ collective bargaining rights.

NPR [12/31/2025 5:00 AM, Brian Mann, 34837K] reports in his first year back in office, President Trump reshaped U.S. drug policy and the response to fentanyl deaths in sweeping, often chaotic fashion, rapidly dismantling efforts launched by the Biden administration aimed at expanding drug treatment. Many experts credit Biden-era public health policies with saving tens of thousands of lives. But with new laws, executive orders, budget cuts, and military redeployments, Trump pivoted the nation from those strategies to a militarized drug war. "From day one of the Trump administration we declared an all-out war on the dealers, smugglers, traffickers and cartels," Trump said in July, during a signing ceremony for the Halt Fentanyl Act. Trump has launched U.S. Naval strikes against alleged drug boats; designated drug cartels as terrorist organizations; classified fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction; and deployed National Guard troops in American cities and along the U.S.-Mexico border. Meanwhile, his administration threw into question support for even basic federally funded addiction treatment programs, at one point temporarily freezing $140 million in federal grants as front-line care providers scrambled to maintain services. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Chicago Tribune [12/30/2025 6:00 AM, Madeline Buckley, Christy Gutowski, and Joe Mahr, 4829K] reports a week before Halloween, the Trump administration compared the alleged violence its federal immigration agents encountered on a particular day in the Chicago area to a plot ripped from a Hollywood movie about the FBI takedown of a brutal drug cartel. The administration said U.S. citizens “stalked law enforcement, rammed vehicles, fled scenes, injured agents, and caused multiple accidents.” It called them “agitators” and “rioters.” Agents arrested six citizens, accusing them of impeding law enforcement and — in one case — alleging that a woman vowed to put out a hit on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Cmdr. Gregory Bovino. “And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer,” a news release warned, “you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” But, two months later, the allegations in that 24 hours have not withstood the harsh light of the federal court system. Just one of the six people has faced any federal charge. And that’s a misdemeanor ticket that agents themselves issued. It has yet to go in front of a judge. The day is emblematic of what the Tribune found to be a broader pattern of disconnect between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s rhetoric of the dangers to agents during Operation Midway Blitz versus the reality borne out in the federal courts.

CBS News [12/30/2025 3:27 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 39474K] reports a federal judge in California this week allowed officials to share some Medicaid information — including addresses and phone numbers — with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help that agency in its efforts to identify, arrest and deport immigrants suspected of living in the U.S. illegally. The ruling amounts to a partial legal victory for the Trump administration and its efforts to carry out a deportation operation of unprecedented proportions. U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria said in an order Monday the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, can receive biographical, contact and location information from the Medicaid program, for immigration enforcement purposes. That can include the immigration status of individuals, their address, phone number and date of birth. Chhabria said ICE’s data requests must be limited to people in the U.S. unlawfully. He blocked the agency from having access to a broader set of Medicaid information, including sensitive medical records and data on American citizens and lawful permanent residents. The Trump administration, on the other hand, has said the policy will allow officials to better enforce federal immigration law. In a statement to CBS News, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the ruling was a "victory for the rule of law and American taxpayers."

Reported similarly:
The Hill [12/30/2025 12:10 PM, Joseph Choi, 12595K]
Axios [12/30/2025 1:38 PM, Avery Lotz, 12972K]
NewsMax [12/30/2025 4:04 PM, Jim Mishler, 4109K]
USA Today [12/30/2025 5:05 PM, Christopher Cann, 67103K]
Washington Examiner [12/30/2025 11:29 AM, Molly Parks, 1394K]

Bloomberg [12/30/2025 12:57 PM, Ian Lopez, 91K] reports that the Trump administration’s health department is temporarily blocked from sharing certain Medicaid information with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a federal judge called the related federal policies “totally unclear” and apparently not “the product of a coherent decision making process.” Monday’s order from Judge Vince Chhabria of US District Court for the Northern District of California comes in a legal battle between states and the federal government over the use of state Medicaid data for immigration enforcement. In Chhabria’s view, it’s “an open question” whether federal policies greenlight the US Department of Health and Human Services to share “sensitive medical information about Medicaid patients” with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. That’s “information that’s difficult to imagine the agency needing for any legitimate purpose,” Chhabria wrote. Earlier this year, a group of states sued the Trump administration for sharing personal health data with DHS for immigration enforcement. Chhabria later blocked the DHS and the HHS from sharing the data, calling on the departments to complete “a reasoned decisionmaking process.” The HHS for its part put out a notice laying out how it would give ICE certain information within the bounds of federal law, while ICE issued a memo as well. Neither, however, addresses “why a more narrowly tailored policy” wouldn’t suffice for immigration enforcement purposes, Chhabria said. The case is California v. HHS, N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-05536, preliminary injunction 12/29/25.

Washington Post [12/31/2025 5:01 AM, Drew Harwell and Joyce Sohyun Lee, 24149K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are planning to spend $100 million over a one-year period to recruit gun-rights supporters and military enthusiasts through online influencers and a geo-targeted advertising campaign, part of what the agency called a “wartime recruitment” strategy it said was critical to hiring thousands of new deportation officers nationwide, according to an internal document reviewed by The Washington Post. The spending would help President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation agenda dominate media networks and recruitment channels, including through ads targeting people who have attended UFC fights, listened to patriotic podcasts or shown an interest in guns and tactical gear, according to a 30-page document distributed among officials in this summer detailing ICE’s “surge hiring marketing strategy.” The Department of Homeland Security has spoken publicly about its fast-tracked effort to significantly increase ICE’s workforce by hiring more than 10,000 new employees, a surge promoted on social media with calls for recruits willing to perform their “sacred duty” and “defend the homeland” by repelling “foreign invaders.” The agency currently employs more than 20,000 people, according to ICE’s website. But the document, reported here for the first time, reveals new details about the vast scale of the recruitment effort and its unconventional strategy to “flood the market” with millions of dollars in spending for Snapchat ads, influencers and live streamers on Rumble, a video platform popular with conservatives. Under the strategy, ICE would also use an ad-industry technique known as “geofencing” to send ads to the phone web browsers and social media feeds of anyone who set foot near military bases, NASCAR races, college campuses or gun and trade shows. The document was also distributed among ICE officials in the days after the agency published a request for bids seeking contractors who could use “precise audience targeting, performance media management, and results-driven creative strategies” to “accelerate the achievement of [its] recruiting goals.” The language in the published bid closely mirrored language in the strategy document. That same month, DHS awarded two marketing firms nearly $40 million to support ICE’s public affairs office “recruitment campaign,” according to federal awards data. It’s unclear how much of the spending and strategy have been carried out. But the plans outlined in the document have coincided with a rush of recruitment ads online seeking Americans who will “answer the call to serve.”

Federal Newswire [12/31/2025 12:57 AM, Staff, 986K] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported the arrest of several individuals described as "worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens" during the week leading up to Christmas. The arrests, announced from Washington, included people convicted of offenses such as felony sexual battery, assault, alien smuggling, and other crimes. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “This Christmas season, Americans can rejoice that these criminal illegal aliens are off their streets. Just yesterday, ICE arrested convicted sex abusers, violent assailants, and human traffickers. Our ICE law enforcement delivered the best gift for all Americans this year: safer neighborhoods.” ICE also noted that illegal aliens have an option to receive a $3,000 stipend and free flight home if they choose to self-deport via the CBP Home app before December 31, 2025.

The Hill [12/30/2025 5:23 PM, Max Rego, 12595K] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claimed Tuesday that Politico reporter Josh Gerstein was “inciting violence against federal agents.” Gerstein, a senior legal affairs reporter at the outlet, said Monday on the social platform X, “At some point, the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws.” The post referred to the ongoing federal investigation into alleged fraud within Minnesota’s social services programs, and laws that allow people to “stand their ground” and defend themselves or homes with the use of deadly force. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dispatched investigative agents to Minneapolis as part of its probe into alleged fraud in the North Star State. DHS said Tuesday on X that it is inspecting day cares, health care facilities and “other suspected sites.” Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday on X that the Department of Justice has charged 98 people in connection with the sweeping probe.

Reported similarly:
NewsMax [12/30/2025 10:56 PM, Sam Barron, 4109K]

Breitbart [12/30/2025 2:44 PM, Warner Todd Huston, 2416K] reports that comedian Shane Gilli is unhappy that the Department of Homeland Security is making meme-styled, funny videos for Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Gillis appeared on a recent edition of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast and took issue with the social media campaign the Trump administration is running for ICE. "You can’t defend it," Gillis said, adding, "f**king ICE is making funny videos about deporting people. I’m like, ‘damn dude,’ that’s f**king terrible.’" A few minutes later he added, "The truth, though, is like, yeah, sure, illegal immigration, we should fix that. Don’t f**king make it funny. It’s a serious thing. It’s a serious thing you’re doing." Gillis also added that "a lot" of the people running ICE "are obviously just weird f**king psychos, that are in that world." The comedian has taken aim at Donald Trump before. In July he took a shot at the president from the left’s paradigm of January 6 hysteria. Gillis trolled everyone during his ESPY Awards opening monologue in July, from Caitlin Clark to Jeffrey Epstein to Trump to Aaron Rodgers. "Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn; the last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died," said Gillis, referencing January 6. He then trolled the Trump administration for calling the Jeffrey Epstein files a "hoax." "There was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but it got deleted, must have probably deleted itself, right?" he said. "Probably never existed. Actually. Let’s move on as a country and ignore that."

Univision [12/30/2025 9:55 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports a Salvadoran family in Hyattsville is experiencing what they describe as a double tragedy : a family member is hospitalized with brain death, and the main breadwinner of the household has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement ( ICE ), and they are now asking for humanitarian release. Henry Sandoval Cruz was recently detained by federal immigration agents in Maryland . His family claims he is solely responsible for his brother, who remains on life support in a state hospital. Sandra Erazo, Sandoval Cruz’s wife, told Univision DC that the arrest occurred just days after her brother-in-law was taken to a medical center and declared brain dead on December 14. “Everything changed for us in 15 days,” Erazo recounted. “First they took my brother-in-law, and then, days later, they took my husband. Now everything is more difficult.” According to the family, Sandoval Cruz was stopped by immigration agents who asked him for his immigration documents . Since he didn’t have them, he tried to explain the situation by showing them a photo of his hospitalized brother, but he was still detained. The family asserts that Sandoval Cruz is the economic pillar of the household and the only person authorized to make medical decisions about his brother . “The only person who can disconnect him is him. He is his only brother,” Erazo said through tears. Meanwhile, the wife faces alone the burden of paying for housing, caring for the children, her brother-in-law’s medical care, and the uncertainty surrounding her husband’s immigration future. Immigration attorney Kelly Ortega, who was not involved in the case, explained that legal options exist, although they depend entirely on the discretion of immigration authorities. “One can request release under what is known as humanitarian parole and also a freeze on deportation ,” Ortega explained. “These measures can be granted for three, six, nine months, or up to a year, but everything must be documented, and there are no guarantees.” The lawyer stressed that these relief measures are not automatic and require demonstrating extraordinary humanitarian circumstances. Sandoval Cruz has been living in the United States for approximately nine years . According to his family, he was deported in 2016 and later re-entered the country. He is currently in ICE custody while his legal options are being evaluated. The family says they remain steadfast in their faith while awaiting a response from immigration authorities. They ask that the critical medical situation and the impact the detention is having on the entire family be taken into consideration. “We only ask for humanity ,” Erazo said. “That they allow us to face this tragedy together.”

New York Times [12/31/2025 3:00 AM, Jonah E. Bromwich, 135475K] reports Mahsa Khanbabai peered through the small glass window of a locked door in an immigration jail in Basile, La., watching two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents question a young Turkish woman. For six weeks, Ms. Khanbabai, a lawyer, had been fighting to free the woman, Rumeysa Ozturk. That day, a judge had agreed, but that was courtroom success, legal success. The young woman was still behind bars. Ms. Khanbabai had feared this. Since the woman’s dramatic March arrest in Somerville, Mass., the Trump administration had been eager to keep her in captivity. It was May 9, a Friday afternoon, and Ms. Khanbabai expected the jail to close for the weekend at 5 p.m. If Ms. Ozturk were not released by then, her lawyer worried, she might not be released at all. But a few minutes earlier, the two agents had finally retrieved Ms. Ozturk. Through the window, Ms. Khanbabai could see her filling out final paperwork. So why was the lawyer, 5-foot-4 on tiptoe, perched at the window as if she could micromanage the process? Chiding herself, she glanced away. When she looked back, the young woman had disappeared. Ms. Khanbabai felt a stab of panic. In the nine months since Ms. Ozturk’s detention, tens of thousands of people have been taken into ICE custody, a way station before their forced removal from the United States. The mass deportation of immigrants was a fundamental part of President Trump’s 2024 campaign, and voters were enthusiastic. But in some cases, the Trump administration has bent rules and tested laws, transporting detainees in the dead of night, on military planes, to countries not their own. Ms. Khanbabai was among the first lawyers to confront the deportation machine in a high-profile episode. Few knew how the administration might behave, or what laws and norms would be heeded. That day in Louisiana, Ms. Khanbabai had to improvise minute-by-minute decisions outside a rule-bound courtroom. Ms. Ozturk declined to speak for this article, or to have her picture taken. But Ms. Khanbabai’s account provides a look into the experience this year of immigration lawyers, who are fighting for clients against an administration that they no longer trust to follow the rules. “A David and Goliath situation,” said Ms. Khanbabai, in one of several interviews with New York Times in which she shared details of the episode. “It feels overwhelming.” Asked for comment, the Department of Homeland Security, which ICE is part of, provided a statement: “The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country.”

CBS News [12/30/2025 9:29 PM, S.E. Jenkins, 39474K] reports a 25-year-old Tarrant County woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for recruiting girls into sex trafficking and forcing them to have sex or money, officials said. Emily Hutchins pled guilty to aggravated promotion of prostitution, the Tarrant County District Attorney announced on Monday. In 2023, Hutchins recruited girls into sex trafficking, according to the District Attorney’s Office. She set up their prostitution ads and forced them to have sex for money. The DA said Hutchins kept the majority of the money the girls made. According to the news release, Hutchins also threatened the victims if they did not comply, many times, telling them they would have nowhere to live or that she would expose them to friends and family. The District Attorney’s Office thanks Arlington police for their work on this case.

USA Today [12/30/2025 11:28 AM, Paris Barraza, 67103K] reports California is shaping how immigration enforcement plays out in the state through legislation passed in 2025, including requirements that federal officers identify themselves and limits on where they can enter. The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants lacking legal status in the United States was felt throughout the year in Southern California. There were the raids that triggered days of protests in Los Angeles in June, spurring the president to deploy the California National Guard to the city despite pushback from Gov. Gavin Newsom. In the Coachella Valley, events were canceled over the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the area, the Desert Sun reported. To the northwest, a raid at Glass House Farms near Camarillo in July left a worker dead and hundreds of others under arrest, the Ventura County Star reported. This non-exhaustive list of laws, which provides parents and workers with information and guides how employees respond to federal officers, is among those passed this year, including numerous consumer protection laws. Immigration status now considered protected medical information. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Univision [12/30/2025 7:13 PM, Staff, 5004K] reports between 12 and 14 ICE Immigration agents raided the morning of Dec. 29 at a Home Depot in San Diego, California, and arrested more than 10 farmworkers from Haiti and Mexico. The Union of the Neighborhood organization provided Univision with the video of the arrest. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Reuters [12/30/2025 2:10 PM, Nate Raymond, 549K] reports that a federal judge on Tuesday blocked plans by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to end temporary protections from deportation that had been granted to hundreds of South Sudanese nationals living in the United States. U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley in Boston granted an emergency request by several South Sudanese nationals and an immigrant rights group to prevent the Temporary Protected Status they had been granted from expiring as planned after Jan. 5. Kelley issued the order after four migrants from South Sudan, along with African Communities Together, a nonprofit group, sued. The lawsuit alleged that action by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was unlawful and exposed them to being deported to a country facing a series of humanitarian crises. The Homeland Security Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson has previously said its actions were warranted given "renewed peace in South Sudan, their demonstrated commitment to ensuring the safe reintegration of returning nationals, and improved diplomatic relations.". Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem published a notice on Nov. 5 terminating TPS for South Sudan, saying the country no longer met the conditions for the designation. The Washington Examiner [12/30/2025 6:17 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K] reports "Because of the serious consequences at stake, both for the Plaintiffs and the Defendants, the Court finds an administrative stay appropriate, as it would ‘minimize harm,’ while allowing the assigned District Court Judge the time this case deserves," Kelley wrote in her ruling. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s decision to terminate TPS for South Sudan was slated to take effect at midnight on Jan. 6. In a statement to the Washington Examiner, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin criticized the judge and justified the termination, citing the need to improve conditions in South Sudan. "Yet another lawless and activist order from the federal judiciary who continues to usurp the President’s constitutional authority," she said. "Under the previous administration, Temporary Protected Status was abused to allow violent terrorists, criminals, and national security threats into our nation. TPS was never designed to be permanent. With the renewed peace in South Sudan, their demonstrated commitment to ensuring the safe reintegration of returning nationals, and improved diplomatic relations, now is the right time to conclude what was always intended to be a temporary designation.".

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New York Times [12/30/2025 3:00 PM, Tim Balk, 135475K]
The Hill [12/30/2025 10:29 AM, Zach Schonfeld, 12595K]
AP [12/30/2025 5:47 PM, Safiyah Riddle and Charlotte Kramon]

CBS Chicago [12/30/2025 5:39 PM, Sabrina Franza, 39474K] reports an immigrant seeking asylum in the U.S. said he won a jackpot at the Bally’s temporary casino in downtown Chicago earlier this month, but he can’t get paid because of his immigration status. The game of chance was more than a week ago, and still the winner hasn’t received a dime or an explanation. On Dec. 20, he hit the jackpot on a slot machine at the Bally’s temporary casino in River North. He said he presented Bally’s with his ID – a legitimate, limited-term REAL ID issued to immigrants like Nick. Elihu Feustel, a gaming consultant and casino expert, said a REAL ID is normally sufficient to cash in a jackpot anywhere in the country.

San Francisco Chronicle [12/30/2025 7:47 PM, Sara DiNatale, 4722K] reports roughly 17,000 immigrant truck drivers, largely asylum-seekers, who were slated to soon lose their commercial licenses will retain them for at least two months longer, the California Department of Motor Vehicles said Tuesday. The DMV told thousands of drivers their licenses would be cancelled starting Jan. 5, following a U.S. Department of Transportation audit that discovered issues in how the state assigned commercial licenses’ expiration dates to non-citizens with valid federal working permits. The extension comes a week after a group of immigrant truckers filed a class action lawsuit against California, arguing state officials bowed to pressure from the federal government and broke state laws on license renewals. “This is an important step towards alleviating the immediate threat that these drivers are facing to their lives and livelihoods,” Munmeeth Kaur, Legal Director of the Sikh Coalition, one of the parties on the lawsuit, said in a statement. “We intend to remain fully engaged with the state of California to ensure that they find and publicize a permanent solution for these drivers and their families.”

NewsNation [12/30/2025 5:34 AM, Salvador Rivera, 8017K] reports HBO has begun airing a documentary about the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who died while at the hands of Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The film is called "Critical Incident: Death at the Border," which details accounts of the Border Patrol’s involvement in Hernández’s death and the ensuing investigation, which has been described as a "cover up" by Andrea Guerrero, executive director of Alliance San Diego, a human rights advocacy group. Alliance San Diego has been seeking justice for Hernández and his family ever since he was killed. Hernández encountered the Border Patrol agents after trying to enter the country illegally; he had been deported days prior to the incident. "Anastasio was tragically tortured, beaten, kicked, stomped, and killed by border agents," Guerrero said. "Unfortunately, that was only the first part of the story — the second part was the cover-up." According to Guerrero, the Critical Incident Team that was sent to investigate Hernández’s death tried to exonerate U.S. Customs and Border Protection along with the agents involved of any civil and criminal liability.

The Hill [12/30/2025 4:54 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 12595K] reports U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said Tuesday federal immigration enforcement officers would remain in Chicago “for years,” even after months of controversy surrounding the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants in the Windy City. The post included a video of immigration officers chasing, tackling and arresting people, with an overlay of the song “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J. Clashes with the Chicago Police Department have caused confusion for federal law enforcement agencies. Still, Bovino says federal immigration efforts will persist.

Chicago Tribune [12/30/2025 3:44 PM, Caroline Kubzansky, 4829K] reports an the second day of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino’s brief, chaotic return to Chicago earlier this month, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervisor dialed 911 as a convoy of federal vehicles sped north on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. “This is Supervisory Border Patrol Agent (redacted),” the agent said. “How are you doing today?” The 12-minute conversation that followed between the 911 dispatcher, her supervisor and the Border Patrol supervisor shows that while Chicago police and emergency personnel did not assist Bovino’s caravan in its arrests or other immigration enforcement, local authorities coordinated with federal agents to meet their convoy as it traveled north toward Evanston and divert a pair of cars which the Border Patrol supervisor claimed were “trying to run us off the road.” Bovino, speaking with a Tribune photographer in the parking lot of an Evanston Home Depot later that day, said he and his men had “for the first time, (received) some assistance” from local law enforcement during their brief return to the area. Bovino didn’t elaborate on what that “assistance” was at the time, and the Chicago Police Department said in a statement that its personnel “only responded to the call they received regarding potential criminal action.” The 911 call and other newly released records show that Chicago police activated one of its department helicopters, stopped a man who had been following the federal convoy and gave him a “verbal warning” about driving while using a cellphone while responding to the feds’ “assist the police” request. And they highlight once again the fine line that local law enforcement in Illinois has had to straddle throughout Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration’s campaign to arrest and deport people living in and around Chicago without legal immigration status. While they are prohibited from aiding federal authorities with immigration enforcement, city police and other state and local agencies are still obligated to respond to general public safety threats and maintain order. Reached for a comment Monday afternoon, Chicago police representatives referred to the department’s earlier statement — that its officers had only responded to the feds’ 911 call of possible criminal behavior and that the department was conducting an internal review.

San Francisco Chronicle [12/30/2025 4:15 PM, Jack Lee, 4722K] reports earthquakes have unsettled San Ramon residents for months, with dozens of small quakes peppering the Tri-Valley area since November. The area around San Ramon has recorded 91 quakes stronger than magnitude 2 over November and December, through Tuesday morning. That tally is the highest on record for the area for a two-month period, according to a Chronicle analysis of U.S. Geological Survey data. Scientists can’t yet fully explain why these earthquake swarms occur. The Tri-Valley region overlies part of the Calaveras Fault where it branches into smaller subfaults. Researchers think earthquake swarms could potentially be caused by water or other fluid from deep in the Earth coming to the surface. The San Ramon area faced quakes stronger than magnitude 2 every single day from Dec. 10 to Dec. 24.

New York Times [12/31/2025 3:22 AM, Eric Schmitt, Nicholas Nehamas and Tyler Pager, 330K] reports the crew of an oil tanker fleeing U.S. forces in the Atlantic Ocean recently painted a Russian flag on the side of the vessel, in an apparent attempt to claim Russian protection, two American officials said on Tuesday. It’s the latest twist in a bizarre odyssey that began on Dec. 21 when the U.S. Coast Guard tried to intercept the ship, Bella 1, in the Caribbean Sea as it sailed toward Venezuela to pick up oil, putting it in the cross hairs of President Trump’s quasi-blockade of the Venezuelan government’s economic lifeline. The Bella 1’s crew members have since painted a Russian flag on the tanker during the escape and are now claiming Russian status, according to the U.S. officials, who were briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive operation. The tanker has been under U.S. sanctions since last year for transporting Iranian oil, which federal authorities have said is sold to finance terrorism. The ship also appears to have recently changed its course northwest, away from the Mediterranean Sea, possibly heading toward Greenland or Iceland, the officials said. It is not believed to be carrying cargo. The Bella 1’s location transponder has not been on since Dec. 17, meaning New York Times has not been able to track the vessel as it flees from U.S. forces. The White House declined to comment on the record. The Pentagon and the Homeland Security Department declined to comment. And the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. U.S. officials said the Coast Guard tried to intercept Bella 1 in the Caribbean after determining that it was not flying a valid national flag, making it subject to boarding under international law. But the ship did not comply and continued sailing. It has been pursued by U.S. forces ever since. American officials have not publicly explained why the Coast Guard is waiting to board the tanker, which is not capable of outrunning U.S. vessels. But boarding the fleeing Bella 1 would require a specialized boarding team capable of securing a moving vessel with a potentially hostile crew. It is unusual for civilian tankers to flee from such operations. The crews of two other tankers intercepted by U.S. forces near Venezuela this month both agreed to be boarded. The officials said they had obtained a seizure warrant based on the vessel’s previous involvement in the Iranian oil trade. The Bella 1 is part of a so-called ghost fleet of tankers that move oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela in violation of sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries. Most of the Bella 1’s crew are from Russia, India and Ukraine, according to one of the officials. The Coast Guard successfully boarded another tanker in the Caribbean earlier in the month, and the United States took possession of a third tanker on Dec. 10. It is now at a port in Texas. Federal officials say they are planning to seize more tankers involved in Venezuela’s oil trade, which provides the country with badly needed revenue.

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NewsMax [12/30/2025 4:41 PM, Michael Katz, 4109K]

Washington Times [12/30/2025 9:57 AM, Mike Glenn, 852K] reports the Coast Guard has awarded its first contracts to build polar icebreakers as part of a $6.1 billion trilateral partnership with the U.S., Canada and Finland. The Coast Guard has contracted with Louisiana-based Bollinger Shipyards and Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions to build up to six Arctic Security Cutter icebreakers as part of the trilateral Icebreaker Collaboration Effort. Bollinger Shipyards will construct four icebreakers at its shipyard in Houma, Louisiana, about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans. Rauma Marine will build the others at its facility in Rauma, Finland. The Arctic Security Cutters will enable the Coast Guard to secure Alaskan borders, facilitate maritime commerce vital to economic prosperity and respond to any crisis in the region, U.S. officials said. “Our adversaries continue to look to grow their presence in the Arctic. Equipping the Coast Guard with Arctic Security Cutters will help reassert American maritime dominance there,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said after the contracts were awarded on Friday. “Revitalizing the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking capabilities is crucial for our security and prosperity, and today’s announcement is an important step in that direction.” The Coast Guard currently has three operational polar icebreakers: the heavy Polar Star, the medium Healy and the Storis, a medium icebreaker that was originally built as the commercial vessel Alviq for oil exploration.

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Military [12/30/2025 12:47 PM, Nick Mordowanec, 2681K]

FOX News [12/30/2025 4:14 PM, Alexandra Koch, 40621K] reports following the Dec. 13 mass shooting at Brown University, school officials Tuesday announced new safety measures, including installing security cameras inside the Barus and Holley engineering and physics building where 11 students were shot, including two fatally. In a letter to the community, Brown University Department of Public Safety interim vice president Hugh T. Clements Jr. said immediate actions will include increased public safety staffing across campus, and continued use of card access, keys or ID checks for building entry. He added that before the Spring 2026 semester, university police will transition remaining buildings using key access to card access, expand blue-light phones with cameras, install security cameras in key locations, including the Barus and Holley buildings, and expand panic buttons in critical areas. New trauma-informed safety and active-shooter preparedness training will also be offered in the spring semester. The department said it will work on improving coordination with local agencies, enhancing emergency communications and training, and reinforcing awareness of safety and emergency resources.

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Washington Examiner [12/30/2025 6:55 PM, David Zimmermann, 1394K]

Blaze [12/30/2025 10:31 AM, Staff, 1442K] reports despite the U.S. Justice Department’s claim in a new court filing that there is "overwhelming evidence" of a Virginia man’s guilt in the D.C. pipe-bomb case, his location and movements on Jan. 5, 2021, do not appear to be as clear-cut as the FBI’s cellphone evidence implies. When the FBI arrested Brian Jerome Cole Jr. Dec. 4 at his mother’s home in Woodbridge, Va., agents filed a federal court affidavit that relied heavily on pings from Cole’s cell phone. Those pings placed him in a variety of general areas on Capitol Hill the night of Jan. 5. The FBI said the pings were "consistent with" the phone being in certain tower sectors where the hoodie suspect was known to be. Experts say cell-tower ping analysis is an imprecise method when trying to define a phone’s geographic location. The FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team field guide says a phone ping only indicates the device is somewhere within one of the three 120-degree sectors that radiate from the tower, which can reach a large area, depending on how far away the next closest tower is. Cole was charged in a criminal complaint with planting pipe bombs at the Democratic National Committee building and behind the Capitol Hill Club near the Republican National Committee building between 7:54 and 8:16 p.m. Jan. 5. The DOJ has charged the crime as an act of terrorism. Cole will be in federal court in Washington, D.C., Tuesday afternoon for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing. There, the government is expected to present enough of its case to establish probable cause that Cole committed the crimes with which he is charged. Cole’s defense team filed a motion to ensure the preliminary hearing takes place Tuesday in addition to a hearing on whether Cole will remain jailed until trial. If for any reason the DOJ is not ready to proceed with the preliminary hearing, Cole would have to be released from federal custody, defense attorney John Shoreman wrote in a filing Monday.

AP [12/30/2025 7:57 PM, Sara Cline and Jack Brook, 852K] reports National Guard members arrived in New Orleans Tuesday to help with safety measures ahead of New Year’s celebrations as city officials are still seeking permanent security solutions nearly a year after a truck attack on Bourbon Street left 14 dead. The rampage, in which a man drove around a police blockade in the early hours of Jan. 1, revealed security vulnerabilities surrounding the city’s famous street filled with boisterous bars, brass bands playing on cobblestone corners and a steady stream of partygoers carrying cocktails. While Louisiana officials say the popular tourist destination is safe and that they’ve implemented additional measures to crack down on potential threats, families of deceased victims say not enough has been done to prevent similar tragedies. The attack happened when Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck down Bourbon Street, plowing into crowds celebrating New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring dozens of others. Police shot and killed Jabbar, a U.S. citizen and Army veteran who had proclaimed his support for the Islamic State militant group on social media. In the wake of the rampage, city officials, state agencies and law firms representing victims’ families launched investigations into whether the attack could have been prevented. The investigations focused on the street’s bollard system of steel columns designed to block cars from entering the thoroughfare. The bollards were being replaced at the time. Among the victims were Nikyra Dedeaux, an 18-year-old about to start college who was on Bourbon Street with friends. Her mother, Melissa Dedeaux, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while many will ring in 2026 with fireworks and merriment, she will be grieving. She has been haunted by her daughter’s final moments, captured in graphic video that circulated on social media. “I’m a parent that had to wake up, log on my Facebook account and see my daughter’s last days — my daughter’s last time. I didn’t get to see her on Bourbon the night it happened. I saw her on a video,” she told the AP.

Daily Caller [12/30/2025 1:55 PM, Mark Tanos, 835K] reports that a Texas man thought he was handing bomb-making materials to an Islamic State (ISIS) operative, but he was actually meeting an undercover agent, prosecutors alleged. Federal authorities arrested 21-year-old John Michael Garza Jr. of Midlothian, Texas, on Dec. 22, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday. Garza provided explosive components to an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent he thought was a supporter of the foreign terrorist organization, according to a federal complaint. Prosecutors charged him with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, an international terrorism offense. The sting operation began in mid-October when an undercover New York City Police Department (NYPD) employee allegedly spotted Garza’s social media account following pro-ISIS pages. Garza said he was a 21-year-old Mexican-American residing in Texas after the NYPD undercover reached out, according to the complaint. "This case is a testament to the incredible work of our federal agents, who work tirelessly to save American lives," U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. "ISIS’s poisonous ideology must be ripped out root and stem — anyone who tries to commit violence on ISIS’s behalf will be found, arrested, and prosecuted. You cannot hide from us.". FBI Director Kash Patel called the arrest a warning. "Let this serve as a warning to those who plan to conduct attacks against the United States on behalf of terrorist organizations – you will be brought to justice," Patel said. He was set to appear for a probable cause and detention hearing Tuesday. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years behind bars.

The Hill [12/30/2025 11:31 AM, Emily Copeland, 12595K] reports federal charges have been brought against an alleged ISIS sympathizer in Texas. John Michael Garza, Jr., 21, is facing a terrorism charge after he allegedly supplied bomb-making materials to an undercover agent he believed to be an ISIS “brother,” according to a news release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). “During the meeting, Garza described how to mix the components and offered to send an instructional video explaining how to build the bomb,” the DOJ said. “Today’s announcement underscores the FBI’s commitment to combating terrorism and demonstrates our continuous work to disrupt and thwart terrorist plots against the American public,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Let this serve as a warning to those who plan to conduct attacks against the United States on behalf of terrorist organizations — you will be brought to justice.” ABC News [12/30/2025 6:07 PM, Meredith Deliso, 30493K] reports a 21-year-old Texas man accused of trying to support ISIS with bomb components and money has been ordered held pending his trial on an international terrorism offense, online court records show. John Michael Garza Jr., of Midlothian, was charged last week by federal complaint with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. During a detention and preliminary hearing in federal court in Dallas on Tuesday, the judge ordered Garza held pending trial, citing the nature of the alleged offense and finding that the defendant’s release poses a serious danger to the community, court filings show. The court found that the government "satisfied its burden to show that no conditions of supervision would mitigate the risk posed by Mr. Garza’s conduct and his desire to support a designated foreign terrorist organization," U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian McKay wrote in the detention order. The investigation began in mid-October, when an undercover New York City Police Department employee began engaging with an Instagram account allegedly belonging to Garza that "followed several pro-ISIS Instagram accounts and wrote a comment on a pro-ISIS post," according to the complaint. The NYPD employee portrayed himself as an ISIS fighter in Iraq, according to the complaint. Over the next several weeks, Garza allegedly sent the undercover NYPD employee "official ISIS media releases," a video depicting a suicide vehicle bombing and a bomb-making instructional video, and "shared that he ascribed to the ISIS ideology," the Justice Department said on Monday in a press release announcing the charge. The DOJ accused Garza of sending "small sums" of cryptocurrency -- including several payments worth approximately $20, according to the complaint -- to the undercover NYPD employee in November and December, allegedly believing that he was supporting ISIS causes, such as buying firearms. The NYPD reported the online communications to the FBI Dallas Division, according to the complaint.

CBS News [12/30/2025 12:13 PM, Staff, 39474K] reports an investigation that extended to the Philippines of two men accused of shooting dead 15 people at a Sydney Jewish festival has found no evidence that they were part of a "broader terrorist cell," police said on Tuesday. Sydney residents Sajid Akram, 50, and his 24-year-old son Naveed Akram spent most of November in Davao City in the southern Philippines, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said. They returned on a flight from Manila on Nov. 29. Two weeks later, they are accused of killing 15 and wounding another 40 in a mass shooting that targeted a Hannukah festival at Bondi Beach. Philippine National Police determined the pair rarely left their hotel during the visit, Barrett said. "There is no evidence to suggest they received training or underwent logistical preparation for their alleged attack," Barrett told reporters. "These individuals are alleged to have acted alone. There is no evidence to suggest these alleged offenders were part of a broader terrorist cell, or were directed by others to carry out an attack. However, I want to be clear, I am not suggesting that they were there for tourism," Barrett added.

Reuters [12/30/2025 11:05 AM, Bhargav Acharya, 36480K] reports the U.S. Treasury said on Tuesday it has added 10 individuals and entities based in Iran and Venezuela to its sanctions list, citing their aggressive weapons program. The U.S. Treasury has designated Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA and its chair, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, who it said have contributed to Iran’s trade of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drones, with Venezuela. "Urdaneta, on behalf of EANSA, has coordinated with members and representatives of the Venezuelan and Iranian armed forces on the production of UAVs in Venezuela," Treasury said in a statement. "We will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran’s military-industrial complex access to the U.S. financial system," said John Hurley, the department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence The U.S. has ramped up pressure on Venezuela in recent months, executing a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean. It has also sanctioned family members and associates of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.

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Washington Examiner [12/30/2025 3:25 PM, Emily Hallas, 1394K]

CNN [12/30/2025 11:33 AM, Haley Britzky, 18595K] reports roughly two dozen ISIS operatives have been killed or captured in Syria by US and partner forces since US airstrikes earlier this month, which were carried out in response to the killing of two American service members. "Nearly 25" operatives were killed or captured between December 20 and 29, a release by US Central Command said Tuesday; seven ISIS members have been killed, while the rest were captured during 11 missions. Four ISIS weapons caches were also destroyed, the release said. The missions follow large-scale strikes by the US on December 19 in Syria that hit roughly 70 targets. The retaliatory strikes came after two US service members and one civilian interpreter were killed in an attack on December 13 that the US has said was carried out by ISIS. A US official previously said US and partner forces had killed or detained around 23 people after the December 13 attack, separate from the roughly two dozen cited in the Tuesday release. "We will not relent," Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said in Tuesday’s release. "We are steadfast in commitment to working with regional partners to root out the ISIS threat posed to U.S. and regional security.". The two US service members and civilian interpreter were killed in Palmyra, Syria, due to injuries sustained "while engaged with hostile forces," the Army previously said. The Defense Department said the attack was carried out by a lone ISIS gunman. The soldiers were identified as 25-year-old Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar of Des Moines, Iowa, and 29-year-old Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown, Iowa. Both were members of the Iowa National Guard, which began deploying roughly 1,800 troops to the Middle East earlier this year as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the US mission to defeat ISIS. Three other Iowa National Guard members were injured in the attack. The retaliatory strikes on December 19 "destroyed ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria," Tuesday’s release said.

Bloomberg [12/30/2025 12:26 PM, Staff, 18207K] Audio: HERE reports US Targets Islamic State in Syria, Ukraine Peace Talks Hit Snag.

Bloomberg [12/30/2025 10:41 AM, Jen Judson, 18207K] reports US Central Command said US forces and partners killed or captured nearly 25 Islamic State operatives following large-scale airstrikes across Syria earlier this month. The strikes were in response to the killing of two US soldiers and an interpreter in the country. President Donald Trump had pledged to do “big damage” to the militants behind the deadly attack that he blamed on the Islamic State group. “We will not relent,” Admiral Brad Cooper, who commands CENTCOM, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are steadfast in commitment to working with regional partners to root out the ISIS threat posed to US and regional security.” The command said that “at least” seven Islamic State members were killed, and the rest were captured across 11 missions conducted from Dec. 20-29. On December 19, the US and Jordanian forces launched Operation Hawkeye Strike, hitting more than 70 targets, including Islamic State infrastructure and weapons sites, with over 100 precision munitions. The strike also included dozens of fighter aircraft, attack helicopters and artillery. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X directly following the strikes, “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”

Reported similarly:
AP [12/30/2025 4:30 PM, Ben Finley, Konstantin Toropin]
Reuters [12/30/2025 8:55 AM, Bhargav Acharya, 36480K]
FOX News [12/30/2025 10:17 AM, Alex Nitzberg, 40621K]

NewsMax [12/30/2025 5:34 AM, Staff, 36480K] reports Turkish police detained 357 suspects in a nationwide operation against the Islamic State group on Tuesday, the interior minister said, a day after three police officers and six terrorists were killed in a gunfight in northwest Turkey. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities carried out raids in 21 provinces across the country. "Just as we have never given an opportunity to those who try to bring this country to its knees with terrorism, we will never give ⁠them an opportunity in the future either," he said on X. Earlier, the Istanbul prosecutor’s office had said police raided 114 addresses in Istanbul and two other provinces, and various digital materials and documents were seized. Police clashed with the militants on Monday in an eight-hour siege at a house in the town of Yalova, on the Sea of Marmara coast south of Istanbul, a week after more than 100 suspected IS members were detained in connection with alleged plans to carry out Christmas ⁠and New Year attacks. Eight police officers and another security force member were wounded in the raid on that property, which was one of more than 100 addresses targeted by authorities on Monday. Turkey has stepped up operations against suspected IS terrorists this year, as the group returns to prominence globally.

CBS News [12/30/2025 11:09 AM, Staff, 39474K] reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian promised on Tuesday a harsh response to any attack, appearing to respond to a warning the previous day by President Trump over Iran’s purported attempts to rebuild its nuclear program. "Answer of Islamic Republic of Iran to any cruel aggression will be harsh and discouraging," Pezeshkian said in a social media post. Pezeshkian did not elaborate, but his statement came a day after Mr. Trump suggested the U.S. could carry out new military strikes if Iran attempts to reconstitute its nuclear program. Mr. Trump made the comment during wide-ranging talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.S. leader’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. "Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again," Mr. Trump said during a news conference with Netanyahu after their meeting. "And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that’s not happening." The two leaders discussed the possibility of renewed military action against Tehran months after a 12-day air war in June that killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, including senior military commanders and scientists. Iran’s retaliatory missile barrage killed 28 people in Israel. Mr. Trump suggested Monday that he could order another U.S. strike against Iran if he believes it’s needed. "If it’s confirmed, they know the consequences, and the consequences will be very powerful, maybe more powerful than the last time," Mr. Trump said.

Reuters [12/30/2025 10:28 AM, Olena Harmash, 36480K] reports President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Ukraine and the so-called ‘Coalition of the Willing’ group of nations backing Kyiv plan to hold their next meetings at the start of January. Zelenskiy said that the countries’ national security advisers would meet in Ukraine on January 3, and then leaders in France on January 6. The Coalition grouping led by Britain and France includes more than 30 nations, though it was not immediately clear which would be taking part in the meetings. "I am grateful to (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump’s team for their readiness to participate in all effective formats. We are not losing a single day," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.

Reuters [12/30/2025 1:14 PM, Olena Harmash, 36480K] reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday Kyiv was discussing with Washington a possible presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees, and also raised what he called a faked attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence. Zelenskiy told the media in a WhatsApp chat that Kyiv was committed to continuing talks on how to end the war triggered by Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion and he was ready to meet Putin in any format. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he and Zelenskiy were "maybe very close" to an agreement to end the war although "thorny" territorial issues lingered. He was more cautious than Zelenskiy on security guarantees, but said they were 95% of the way to such an agreement and that he expected European countries to "take over a big part" of that effort with U.S. backing. On Tuesday, Russia said its negotiating stance would toughen after it accused Kyiv of attacking one of Putin’s Russian presidential residences - an allegation that Kyiv said was baseless and intended to scuttle arduous peace talks. Zelenskiy said in his WhatsApp chat that a U.S. troop presence in Ukraine would be a major security boost for Kyiv. "Of course, we are discussing this with President Trump and with representatives of the (Western) coalition (supporting Kyiv). We want this. We would like this. This would be a strong position of the security guarantees," he said. The White House had no comment on the issue of dispatching U.S. troops to Ukraine under any peace settlement with Russia.

New York Times [12/31/2025 3:22 AM, Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, 330K] reports China intensified military exercises near Taiwan on Tuesday, firing long-range rockets into waters around the island. The People’s Liberation Army also sent out new amphibious assault ships while its vessels and aircraft practiced repelling an approaching enemy force, displaying its ability to both strike and isolate the island. Chinese long-range artillery units fired 27 rockets into waters to the north and southwest of Taiwan that China had earlier declared to be live-fire zones, Gen. Hsieh Jih-sheng, a Taiwanese defense official, told a news conference in Taipei. China’s main state broadcaster, CCTV, said that the Chinese units unleashed dozens of rockets that struck the sea to the north of the island. China’s military said its destroyers, frigates and fighter-bombers operated in nearby areas, where they tested their ability to spot and attack enemy aircraft, ships and submarines. It warned ships and aircraft not involved in the drills to stay away from seven live-fire zones, which were to be in force until the evening. Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said 11 Chinese navy ships and eight coast guard vessels came within 24 miles of Taiwan’s coast, a zone within which Taiwan enforces its laws. The ministry said Taiwanese forces responded by issuing radio calls for them to leave. The two-day exercises, called “Justice Mission 2025,” had started a day earlier, when Chinese bombers, fighter jets, warships, drones and missile units made a show of force that was accompanied by combative rhetoric and martial videos online. “In troop numbers these weren’t necessarily the largest, but the scope of the exercises grows ever larger,” General Hsieh said. “I think the signal is very clear — that they see the Taiwan Strait as their internal waters,” he added. China’s actions appeared intended as a warning that the People’s Liberation Army was honing its abilities to cut off Taiwan from any outside efforts to come to the island’s aid in a conflict, said Chieh Chung, a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taipei, an organization supported by the Taiwanese ministry of defense. Several of the exclusion zones “appear designed to block an advance toward Taiwan by Japanese Self-Defense Forces or U.S. forces stationed in Japan,” Mr. Chieh said in an interview. “The position and large scale of these zones project a stance saying ‘I will keep out foreign forces.’” The rockets were fired by Chinese long-range artillery units on the coast of Fujian, the mainland province opposite Taiwan, and landed outside the 24-mile boundary, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said. Taiwan’s coast guard said the Chinese units used PCH191 launchers, a nimble, relatively cheap weapon that China has made in larger numbers as an alternative to bigger, more costly missile launchers. China’s military released a video that also showed one of the launchers, which is pulled by a truck, firing a volley of ammunition, which the video said landed in a patch of sea off Taiwan. In a real war, Taiwan may have difficulty intercepting rockets launched from such mobile units, military experts have said.

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