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.

New York Times [2/23/2025 7:50 PM, Carol Rosenberg, 161405K] reports the military transported about 15 immigration detainees from Texas to the U.S. base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Sunday, bringing in new migrants who have been designated for deportation days after it cleared the base of its first group of deportees. No new migrants had been sent to the base since the Homeland Security Department cleared it of 178 Venezuelans on Thursday. A brief announcement did not identify the nationalities of the newest arrivals. Nor did it give exact figures. But a government official said they were in the category of “high-threat illegal aliens,” and therefore were being held in Camp 6, a prison that until last month housed detainees in the war on terrorism. Last week, the Trump administration delivered 177 Venezuelan men who had been designated for deportation from Guantánamo to the Venezuelan government on an airstrip in Honduras. It is unclear why those men had to be taken to Guantánamo on 13 military flights from El Paso from Feb. 4 to Feb. 17, and then shuttled to an air base in Honduras on two chartered U.S. aircraft. On Feb. 10, Venezuela sent one of its commercial airliners to El Paso for 190 other Venezuelan citizens the United States wanted to deport. Juan E. Agudelo, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who is based in Miami, said in a court filing on Thursday that the administration was using Guantánamo to “temporarily house aliens before they are removed to their home country or a safe third country.” Mr. Agudelo was unable to predict the length of the average stay for a migrant before deportation beyond “the time necessary to effect the removal orders.” Sunday’s transfer happened without advanced notice. The U.S. government declined a request last week from a consortium of U.S. civil liberties lawyers that asked for 72 hours’ notice before more people in homeland security custody were sent there. The government said in a filing that it had made arrangements for would-be deportees being held there to speak by phone with lawyers. Three of the men who were sent home on Thursday had one-hour calls with lawyers who had sued for access to the migrants and specifically named those three.

CBS Detroit [2/23/2025 12:40 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K] reports the Trump administration has prepared plans to implement a policy that would allow U.S. immigration officials to swiftly expel migrants on the grounds that they could spread diseases like tuberculosis, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News. The plans would revive a border measure known as Title 42 that the first Trump administration enacted at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to authorize summary expulsions of migrants. The Biden administration kept that policy in place amid record levels of illegal crossings at the U.S. southern border until letting it expire in 2023. The revival of Title 42 would also add another layer to an unprecedented web of border measures enacted by President Trump since taking office to close down the American asylum system. One of those actions has allowed U.S. border officials to quickly deport migrants from the U.S., without granting them an opportunity to request asylum, a right foreigners have under domestic and international refugee law. The authority underpinning that policy, called 212(f), permits presidents to ban the entry of foreigners whose arrival is deemed to be "detrimental" to the U.S. But the new measure would invoke the Public Health Service Act, found in Title 42 of the U.S. code, to empower officials to expel migrants without any of the processing outlined in federal immigration law, which says those on U.S. soil can request asylum even if they enter the country illegally. The internal documents obtained by CBS News indicate the CDC is planning to issue an order that would label unauthorized migrants trying to enter the U.S. as public health risks, citing concerns that they could spread communicable diseases like tuberculosis. Customs and Border Protection officials would be charged with enforcing the CDC’s order and directed to expeditiously expel migrants to Mexico, their home country or third nations willing to accept them, the documents show. Just like the 212(f) proclamation, the Title 42 order would allow border agents to ignore U.S. immigration law, denying migrants the right to seek asylum.

Reported similarly:
Univision [2/23/2025 4:00 PM, Staff, 7281K]

Reuters [2/24/2025 5:06 AM, David Lawder, 48128K] reports Canada and Mexico are expected to intensify efforts this week to avoid punishing 25% tariffs on their exports to the U.S. in talks to persuade President Donald Trump’s administration that their steps to increase border security and curb fentanyl trafficking are working ahead of a March 4 deadline. Canada and Mexico have both taken steps to beef up border security, which bought them about a month’s reprieve from the tariffs that could wreak havoc on a highly integrated North American economy. The negotiations this week, along with new reports from the Department of Homeland Security, will help determine whether the Trump administration extends the tariff suspension for longer, said Dan Ujczo, a lawyer specializing in U.S.-Canada trade matters. Even if that happens, he said, Trump will likely maintain the tariff threat at least until there’s clear evidence the border measures are halting migrant and fentanyl flows. "There’s progress being made on the security front," said Ujczo, senior counsel with Thompson Hine in Columbus, Ohio. "But it’s overly optimistic to think that those tariffs would be fully rescinded.” The White House, U.S. Trade Representative’s office and Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment on the negotiations expected this week ahead of the March 4 deadline to implement the tariffs, which would apply to over $918 billion worth of U.S. imports from the two countries, from autos to energy.

AP [2/23/2025 6:58 PM, Staff, 47097K] reports they once braved the jungles of the Darien Gap, trekking days along the perilous migrant passage dividing Colombia and Panama with a simple goal: Seek asylum in the U.S. Now, boat-by-boat, those migrants – mainly from the Andean nations of Venezuela and Colombia – have given up after President Donald Trump’s crackdown on asylum, and are returning to the countries they once sought to escape.

The New York Times [2/23/2025 7:54 PM, Chris Cameron and Maggie Haberman, 161405K] reports several Trump-appointed agency leaders urged federal workers not to comply with Elon Musk’s order to summarize their accomplishments for the past week or be removed from their positions, even as Mr. Musk doubled down on his demand over the weekend. Their instructions in effect countermanded the order of Mr. Musk across much of the government, challenging the broad authority President Trump has given the world’s richest man to make drastic changes to the federal bureaucracy. The standoff serves as one of the first significant tests of how far Mr. Musk’s power will extend. As the directive ricocheted across the federal government, officials at some agencies, including the F.B.I., the office coordinating America’s intelligence agencies and the Departments of Defense, State, Energy, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, told their employees not to respond. Mr. Musk’s email had even reached the inboxes of sitting federal judges — who are in the judicial branch, not the executive. The administrative office for the federal courts advised judges and staff that “this email did not originate from the judiciary or the administrative office and we suggest that no action be taken.” The public pushback reflects a growing unease — and, in some cases, alarm — behind the scenes across the Trump administration about the perception of Mr. Musk’s unchecked power. The unease runs from lower staff to some cabinet secretaries, who have tired of having to justify specific intricacies of agency policy and having to scramble to address unforeseen controversies that Mr. Musk has ignited. Those officials are aware that he has influence over the president privately, and they fear him using X, the social media website he owns, to single out people he views as obstructing him, according to one senior administration official. The Hill [2/23/2025 4:20 PM, Lauren Irwin, 16346K] reports that a growing list of agencies, including the Pentagon, FBI, State Department and intelligence community, on Sunday had told their employees to hold off. The Department of Defense shared a message to its employees on the social platform X, noting it is responsible for reviewing employee performance. "When and if required, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you have received from OPM. For now, please pause any response to the OPM email titled ‘What did you do last week,’" Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Darin Selnick said in a statement. FBI Director Kash Patel also told employees to hold off on responding to the email. Patel said the bureau would be handling responses to OPM’s request and would be coordinating employee reviews that align with the FBI’s procedures. NBC News reported the State Department also instructed its employees not to respond. "The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside of their Department chain of command," read a notice from Tibor Nagy, acting under secretary for management at the State Department. And New York Times reported that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard sent similar guidance to employees of agencies she oversees in the intelligence community (I.C.). "Given the inherently sensitive and classified nature of our work, I.C. employees should not respond to the OPM email," Gabbard reportedly wrote. The email has also elicited an angry response from federal employee unions. In a letter addressed to OPM acting director Charles Ezell, along with Musk, Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), directed its 800,000 members to not respond to the received request. In his letter, Kelly said the email fails to identify legal authority for OPM to make the request. "Federal employees report to their respective agencies through their established chains of command; they do not report to OPM," Kelly said. USA Today [2/23/2025 8:37 PM, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, 89965K] reports that workers at the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Education and Commerce, as well as at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Institutes of Health and the Internal Revenue Service also were told not to respond pending further guidance, according to sources and emails reviewed by Reuters. The email demanded responses by 11:59 p.m. ET Monday, even though many employees are currently on leave, and some are unable to access email or not allowed to work outside of normal business hours.

Reported similarly:
Los Angeles Times [2/23/2025 11:58 AM, Steve Peoples, 17996K]

Univision [2/23/2025 10:31 AM, Staff, 7281K] reports Republican state lawmakers have threatened lawsuits, fines and even jail time for local officials who resist President Donald Trump’s offensive to detain and deport undocumented immigrants on a large scale. Congressmen in more than 20 states have introduced bills against so-called ‘sanctuary policies’ that limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to an AP analysis using Plural software. Some of these states have already banned ‘sanctuary policies’, but are now proposing harsher punishments for mayors, councilmen and other state government officials who violate the ban. One such bill was introduced in Georgia, where it has already been approved by the Senate and passed the House. Opponents of the proposal argue that it could lead to local police officers detaining immigrants for longer than authorized by federal law because they fear being sued. "We are threatening our local law enforcement, which is doing the best job it can to keep our communities safe," said that state’s Democratic Sen. Nikki Merritt. The legislative bill in Georgia comes as the Trump administration began taking legal action against governments that adopted policies that make it harder for federal authorities to make arrests and deportations. The Justice Department sued Illinois, Chicago and Cook County, alleging that they violate federal law by not cooperating with immigration authorities. A Georgia law enacted last year already requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities to identify and apprehend undocumented immigrants. Otherwise they can lose state funds or face lesser charges. The law recently passed by the Senate goes a step further by allowing individuals to sue local governments, officials, and employees who violate the rule. Those who defend the rights of immigrants in Georgia say that the law, if it is also approved in the lower house, will increase the fear in communities that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will detain their loved ones in their homes, churches or schools. "This is all part of Donald Trump’s war on immigrants, and people at the local level are trying to make themselves look good to him through legislation that doesn’t solve any problems," said Charles Kuck, an immigration attorney in Atlanta. Mike Mitchell, deputy executive director of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association, said the organization maintains a "neutral" stance on the bill, but noted that sheriffs are already following the guidelines of the immigration law. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Washington Post [2/23/2025 1:47 AM, Rachel Pannett, 40736K] reports President Donald Trump said Sunday that Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and New York police officer turned conservative radio host and podcaster, will be deputy director of the FBI. Trump said in a social media post that Bongino — whom he described as “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country” — had been named to the position by FBI director Kash Patel. Patel was narrowly confirmed by the Senate last week. The FBI deputy director is not appointed by the president himself and does not require Senate confirmation. They take the lead on day-to-day operations at the agency, including oversight of high-profile and sensitive investigations. Typically, such appointees have had long careers as FBI agents before assuming the role. Bongino worked as a Secret Service agent on the protection detail for presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He struck up a relationship with Trump during the 2020 presidential campaign, when the president invited him into the Oval Office to discuss campaign strategy. Bongino has built a media empire adopting pro-Trump views, including widely debunked claims about the “rigging” of the 2020 presidential election. The appointment, which places a second Trump ally at the top of the FBI, may add to concerns about the lack of experience among those running the country’s premier law enforcement agency. Since Trump’s inauguration, at least eight top FBI officials have been forced out, while up to 1,500 staff and agents are set to be transferred out of the bureau’s Washington headquarters to satellite offices across the country, Washington Post reported. Patel — a former Trump aide, federal prosecutor and assistant public defender — was sworn in despite concerns from Democratic senators and two Republican senators who voted against his nomination that he lacked the temperament and experience needed for such a powerful law enforcement role. Like Bongino, Patel’s record diverges from those of his recent predecessors at the FBI, who had held senior roles with the Justice Department before being tapped as directors. Bongino, a former Fox News commentator, hosts “The Dan Bongino Show,” a podcast that claims to debunk “both liberal and Republican establishment rhetoric.” A recent episode discussed Patel’s appointment and “what it means for the agency and for America.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [2/23/2025 11:14 PM, Adam Goldman and Devlin Barrett, 161405K]
Reuters [2/23/2025 9:42 PM, Pete Schroeder, 57114K]
NBC News [2/23/2025 11:53 PM, Ken Dilanian and Nnamdi Egwuonwu, 50804K]

CBS Boston [2/23/2025 6:46 PM, Matt Schooley and Logan Hall, 52225K] reports Tom Homan, the "border czar" for President Donald Trump’s administration, is setting his sights on the City of Boston’s sanctuary city policies. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Homan issued a warning specifically to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. "The police commissioner of Boston, you said you’d double down on not helping the law enforcement offices of ICE. I’m coming to Boston, I’m bringing hell with me," Homan said, prompting applause from the crowd. "You’re not a police commissioner. Take that badge off your chest, put it in your desk drawer. Because you became a politician. You forgot what it’s like to be a cop.” Homan accused the state’s police forces of neglecting their duty in targeting criminals who are in the country illegally. He said, without citing specifics, that he found multiple cases where criminals who he alleges were in the country illegally were in jail but subsequently released. "And guess what. The men and women of Immigrations and Custom Enforcement found those predators and they’re locked back up. And we’re going to deport them from the United States," Homan said. Boston is a sanctuary city. Mayor Michelle Wu will join the mayors of New York, Chicago and Denver to testify before a congressional oversight committee hearing investigating sanctuary city policies early next month.

CBS New York [2/24/2025 4:53 AM, Katie Houlis, 52225K] reports the asylum seeker center at New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel will close, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday. A date for its closure has not been announced. For nearly two years, the hotel has been serving as an intake center for migrants just arriving in the city, offering legal and medical services, along with shelter for families with children. Adams calls the closure a milestone in the city’s asylum seeker crisis. In a statement, Adams said in part, "Now, thanks to the sound policy decisions of our team, we are able to announce the closure of this site and help even more asylum seekers take the next steps in their journeys as they envision an even brighter future, while simultaneously saving taxpayers millions of dollars.” According to the city, in recent months, the number of migrants registering for services at the Roosevelt has fallen to about 350 per week. The mayor’s office says the intake functions and supportive services the center offered will be integrated into other areas of the system. This is the latest closure announced as part of Adams’ plan to shutter 53 migrant shelters by June. The mayor says the number of asylum seekers arriving in New York City has been declining, with fewer than 45,000 migrants currently in the city’s care. The site opened in May 2023 to serve as both a new arrivals center and shelter for asylum seekers. At the time, about 4,000 migrants were arriving in the city each week, according to the mayor’s office. During summer 2023, dozens of asylum seekers ended up sleeping on the street outside the hotel for several nights after being told the shelter, which was the city’s largest intake center, had reached capacity. According to the mayor’s office, more than 173,000 migrants have registered at the Roosevelt Hotel since it opened.

CBS Miami [2/23/2025 12:13 PM, Kaia Hubbard, 52225K]
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday that Democratic governors won’t "sit idly by" as President Trump threatens to retaliate if state leaders don’t comply with his agenda. "Don’t think that you can just come in and bully us around and not expect a reaction from governors," Hochul said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” When governors from both sides of the aisle met with Mr. Trump at a White House event Friday, the president called out Maine Gov. Janet Mills, saying that her state wouldn’t get federal funding if it doesn’t comply with an executive order barring transgender athletes from competing on women’s sports teams. Mills replied, "See you in court.” Hochul said Mr. Trump and his administration are "flooding the zone," citing disputes over FEMA recovery funds in California, lawsuits in Illinois and the confrontation with Mills. "What they’re trying to do is create this theater of all kinds of activity that is trying to be a distraction to us," Hochul said. "And when someone floods the zone in a football game, what you need to have is the defenders be very disciplined, smart, but also stand their ground.” Hochul also met privately with Mr. Trump at the White House on Friday, a meeting that took place days after his administration revoked federal approval for congestion pricing in New York City. The Trump administration said last week that it would pull the approval of New York City’s congestion pricing, which requires drivers entering lower Manhattan and Midtown to pay $9 tolls if they enter the areas during peak hours. Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social that "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD," claiming to have saved New York while he declared "LONG LIVE THE KING!".

CBS Detroit [2/23/2025 7:44 PM, Veronica Ortega, 52225K] reports the American Red Cross is providing basic health and medical support to families and individuals impacted by the water main break in Southwest Detroit. Its community partner is Latino Americans for Social and Economic Development (La Sed) on Vernor Highway in Detroit. For 60 years, the nonprofit has provided services and resources to Latinos in the area. "It’s a very small community, a small-town feel for such a large city, but we do try to take care of each other," Mary Carmen Muñoz, executive director with La Sed said. The water main break is the largest disaster relief effort the community has ever undertaken. "The average size of a home is approximately five people — three-and-a-half children and two adults at least. So that is close to 1,500 people that you’re trying to assist," Muñoz said. The Red Cross is assisting families with any medications or medical equipment that was lost in the incident. There’s also a nurse and mental health services available at the nonprofit’s location. "This is very traumatic for a lot of people to lose everything. The Red Cross provides comfort, care and compassion," Kathryn Jacek, a volunteer with the American Red Cross said. Families can also get personal hygiene products, baby formula and diapers. The most popular items are cleaning supplies to sanitize homes. "We can provide resources, but they must be registered by the city of Detroit so that they then can assess, do they need a new water heater? Do they need a furnace?" Guadalupe Lara, director of the nonprofit’s Senior Wellness Program said. Leaders at La Sed say some people have expressed fear of letting the city into their homes because of ongoing immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I just think people should not be afraid. I think that the mayor has reiterated that they are not looking at any of these things. They’re looking at homeowners who own their home and to try to assist them," Lara said.

Washington Post [2/23/2025 3:34 PM, Max Boot, 40736K] reports in his first weeks in office, President Donald Trump did serious damage to America’s soft power by moving to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development and defund the National Endowment for Democracy. Now he seems bent on damaging U.S. hard power, too. In a Friday night massacre, Trump fired Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the second African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations, and Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of of staff the Air Force, along with the top lawyers — the judge advocates general — for the Air Force, Army and Navy. Another female officer — Adm. Linda Fagan, commandant of the Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security — was fired by the administration last month. Hegseth justified this purge based on the supposed need to restore the U.S. military’s “warfighter ethos” and to stop focusing on DEI, or diversity, equity and inclusion. But the actual message the moves might send is far more chilling: namely, that the armed forces should be run by White men, and (as made clear in the selection of Brown’s replacement as Joint Chiefs chairman) that those men will be chosen more for perceived political loyalty than for professional qualifications. Those are highly corrosive signals to send, and they are likely to hamper the armed forces’ recruiting efforts and morale, given that about 18 percent of active-duty personnel are female and more than 30 percent are members of racial minorities. That’s all the more so because these changes are accompanied by promises of major cutbacks in programs and personnel. The Pentagon is firing thousands of civilian workers (many of them veterans), and Hegseth has demanded plans to cut the services’ budgets by 8 percent. Initially, he made this sound like an 8 percent cut in the overall defense budget, which would be disastrous at a time of growing threats from China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. Hegseth then clarified that it was an 8 percent cut from existing programs to be redirected into new priorities such as the “Iron Dome for America.”

Washington Post [2/23/2025 2:19 PM, Staff, 40736K] reports regarding the Feb. 23 front-page article “Pentagon cull sends U.S. into unknown”: As former secretaries of the military departments and retired four-star uniformed officers, we are deeply alarmed by the decision to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations and the top military lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force without due cause. These actions by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth jeopardize the strength, stability and integrity of our armed forces. For 236 years, the U.S. military has upheld the principle of civilian control — a cornerstone of our democracy and an essential guarantee of sound national security decision-making. Civilian control means military leaders are mindful that it is the president and his appointed civilian defense leaders who set policy, which the military executes by implementing the president’s lawful orders. But this principle does not compel military leaders to demonstrate partisan loyalty to the president or to execute unlawful orders. Their oath is to support and defend the Constitution, not of loyalty to any individual. Healthy civil-military relations require mutual trust and respect so civilian leaders will seek out the “best military advice” of the nation’s nonpartisan career military leaders, who will in turn be unafraid to provide that counsel. Civilian control and healthy civil-military relations are what make America’s system for providing for the nation’s security both unique and effective. They are designed to ensure that our armed forces serve as effective instruments of American foreign policy rather than as a tool for domestic political ends. Firing officers for implementing the policies of previous civilian leaders undermines these principles, creating an untenable environment where military leaders risk retribution for following lawful orders at the time those orders were given. If the defense secretary seeks change, he should adjust policy, not purge personnel.

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [2/23/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 554K] reports Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with a record number of drones. This is just before the three-year anniversary of the bloody war that Putin launched. But as Trump sends more signals he’s losing patience with Ukraine and President Zelenskyy, his administration in a proposed U.N. resolution is refraining from condemning or even acknowledging Russia as the aggressor in this conflict or expressing belief in Ukraine’s territorial integrity. President Trump has elevated his longtime close personal friend Steve Witkoff to the center of some of his biggest global challenges. Witkoff has been a central negotiator with Russia. He met directly with Vladimir Putin. And just before Trump took office, Witkoff negotiated the Israel-Hamas cease-fire and is currently working on phase two. Hamas freed six hostages yesterday, and they turned over the body of Shiri Bibas. That’s the Israeli mother who was kidnapped with her two children on October 7 and killed in custody by Hamas, according to the Israeli government. Israel is right now delaying the release of 620 Palestinian prisoners, "until the release of the next hostages has been assured and without the humiliating ceremonies", Hamas has been staging. What does this all mean for phase two of the cease-fire? Does Ambassador Witkoff expect phase two to go forward. Ambassador Witkoff says that he expects the next phase to go forward, they have to get an extension of phase one. Witkoff will be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday to negotiate the extensions. He goes on to say that there is hope to have the proper time to begin phase two and finish it, get more hostages released and move forward with discussion. When asked if Netanyahu wants to move forward with the cease- fire? Or does he want to resume the war to try to eliminate Hamas, Ambassador Witkoff had this to say, " believe the prime minister is well-motivated. He wants to see hostages released. That’s for sure. He also wants to protect the state of Israel. And so he’s got a red line. And he said what the red line is. And that is that Hamas cannot be involved in a governing body when this thing is resolved. And so I think he’s trying to square the circle on both of those things. But we have talked extensively, Ron and I, the prime minister, and everybody is focused on bringing people home alive."

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [2/23/2025 12:50 PM, Staff, 554K] reports Russia seized Ukrainian territory in 2014 with Crimea. They have been going into the Donbass region and seizing land in Eastern Ukraine long before they attacked three years ago, when they did the full-frontal assault. Ambassador Witkoff just suggested Russia was provoked. Trump is publicly attacking Zelenskyy as a dictator. He blamed him for starting the war in the first place, called for new elections in Ukraine, took NATO membership for Ukraine off the table. He said it’s unlikely Ukraine will be able to get back its territory seized by Russia. Russian state TV suggests that President Trump is getting all of this straight from his conversations with President Putin. Witkoff was asked if he thinks that its good for Russians to think that the Trump administration is in total alignment with the way Putin sees things? " I think we have had, by my estimation, almost a million-and-a-half deaths here. And, finally, we have a leader -- that is President Trump -- who is determined to end the carnage. And so the only way you are going to end the carnage is if you have a relationship with the leaders of both countries that are involved. I was -- I went over to Russia. I had a meeting with President Putin. It was a long meeting, positive, constructive. Lots of good things got discussed, in large part because the president enjoyed a positive relationship with President Putin from his first term in office. And that then evolved into a positive conversation with the president on a telephone call from the White House. And then there was a positive conversation with President Zelenskyy. So I think you have got to have these relationships. You have got to have communication. That is the only way you get deals done," Ambassador Witkoff states.

CBS’ Face The Nation [2/23/2025 12:16 PM, Staff, 4924K] reports U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will be headed to the Mideast this week to work on a hostage deal. Prime Minister Netanyahu has changed his negotiating team. Will we get to phase two of this hostage deal? And can we get that American citizen Edan Alexander out any time soon? U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff will be headed to the Mideast this week to work on a hostage deal. "We will get to stage two – or phase two. And I’m very focused on that, and I think it’s going to happen. I’m going there probably Wednesday evening. I will spend five days there as soon as I arrive, making – going to various countries, including Qatar, Egypt, Israel, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. And, as to Edan Alexander, he’s front and center for us. I know his parents. We talk all the time. He’s critical. It’s one of President Trump’s most important objectives is to get all Americans home. And we’re going to be successful in getting Edan home, I believe," Witkoff comments. In the second phase, talking about what comes next for Gaza becomes part of that. For that day after, do Hamas leaders need to leave Gaza? Are you discussing that? And, if so, where would they go? "The May 27 protocol agreement signed last May 27 sets forth that the phase two negotiation is much about two things, A, a permanent cease-fire, a cessation of all violence, and, in addition to that, the fact that Hamas cannot be allowed to come back into the government. And I think the way you square that circle is that Hamas has to go. They’ve got to leave," Witkoff states.

FOX News Sunday [2/23/2025 10:42 AM, Staff] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joins ‘Fox News Sunday’ to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and changes at the Pentagon.

Reuters [2/23/2025 8:00 AM, Marisa Taylor, Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke, 48128K] reports the Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president’s mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo outlines an unprecedented push to target migrant children who crossed the border illegally as unaccompanied minors. It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations. More than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data, as the number of migrants caught crossing illegally reached record levels. Tens of thousands have been ordered deported over the same time frame, including more than 31,000 for missing court hearings, immigration court data show. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the memo and the Trump administration’s plans. During his first term, Trump introduced a "zero tolerance" policy that led to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the border. The children were sent to children’s shelters run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a government agency housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, while their parents were detained or deported. The separation of families, including babies from nursing mothers, was met with widespread international outrage. Trump halted the policy in 2018, though up to 1,000 children may still remain separated from parents, according to Lee Gelernt, the lead American Civil Liberties Union attorney in a related legal challenge. As well as enforcing immigration laws, the memo, headlined the "Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation," said the initiative aims to ensure that children are not victims of human trafficking or other forms of exploitation. Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 1:56 PM, Peter Wade, 57114K] reports that the memo, titled "Unaccompanied Alien Children Joint Initiative Field Implementation," stated that children would be deported if they have existing deportation orders or served with a notice to appear in immigration court. Children labeled as "flight risks," such as immigrants who failed to appear at a hearing, are to be prioritized. The remaining minors are prioritized as "public safety" or "border security." This is a severe departure from ICE’s usual prioritization targeting adults with criminal records for deportation action. Children who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian are put in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) until they can be placed in a home with a sponsor, usually a parent or other relative, to await legal proceedings. "These children may have histories of abuse or may be seeking safety from threats of violence. They may have been trafficked or smuggled," ORR says on its website. According to ORR data, it has released 27,840 children to the care of a sponsor. Some of these children have been exploited as child laborers in the U.S. after their release. According to the memo, the new initiative seeks to make sure children are not trafficked or exploited in other ways in addition to carrying out deportations and legal action. President Donald Trump chose a longtime immigration enforcement official, Mellissa Harper, to lead ORR, prompting concerns that ORR data could be used to arrest and deport immigrants. Also last week, NPR reported that numerous ICE officers obtained access to an ORR database maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services that lists approximately 4,100 unaccompanied children who crossed into the U.S., which some fear the administration would use for immigration enforcement and deportations. Homan in late January did not rule out that possibility. Univision [2/23/2025 6:45 PM, Staff, 7281K] reports that the memo does not detail, at this time, when the implementation phase to track these unaccompanied minors is expected to begin.

Reported similarly:
ABC News [2/23/2025 7:06 PM, Luke Barr and Laura Romero, 57114K]

Univision [2/24/2025 1:48 PM, Staff, 7281K] reports that, in Fresno, California, rumors on social media about impending immigration raids on the city’s schools caused panic among some parents, even though it was false information. In Denver, an actual raid on an apartment complex caused many students to stay home, according to a lawsuit. And in Alice, Texas, a school official incorrectly informed parents that Border Patrol agents could board school buses to check their documents. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are already affecting schools across the country, as officials are forced to respond to growing anxiety among parents and their children, including those legally residing in the U.S. Trump’s executive actions greatly expanded eligibility for deportation and made way for immigration agents to enter schools, places that along with hospitals and churches have been considered sensitive. Trump’s executive actions greatly expanded eligibility for deportation and made way for immigration agents to enter schools, places that along with hospitals and churches have been considered sensitive. Many public and school officials have been working to encourage immigrants to send their children to school, but some have done just the opposite. Meanwhile, Republicans in Oklahoma and Tennessee have introduced proposals that would make it difficult, if not impossible, for children who are in the country more irregularly than those born in the United States to undocumented parents to attend school. In assessing the risks, many families face difficulty separating fact from rumor. In the Alice Independent School District in Texas, school officials told parents that the district "received information" that Border Patrol agents might ask students their status during school trips on buses passing through checkpoints up to 62 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The information turned out to be false. Angelib Hernandez, of Aurora, Colorado, started leaving her children at home a few days a week after Trump took office. Now she no longer sends them. She worries that immigration agents will visit her children’s schools, detain them and separate her family. "I’ve been told, ‘I hope they never detain us while we’re alone,’" she said. "That would terrify them," he added.

New York Times [2/23/2025 8:52 AM, Dionne Searcey and Ana Ley, 161405K] reports the party dresses must be double-pressed, the hedges shaved into sharp rectangles. The hand soap and lotion dispensers must be formed into neat lines along bathroom sinks. Caterers need to slip out of view as soon as the oysters and cocktails are served. Wealthy residents of the Hamptons demand perfection. Now, many of the people who make it so — Latino immigrants, some of them undocumented — are panicking about President Trump’s deportation orders. The fear is on display outside a convenience store where day laborers sprint into a nearby field when a stranger approaches. It is present in the nervous apologizing of a longtime housekeeper when she interacts with the police after a minor automobile scrape. And it courses through a small encampment in the woods where a landscaper is awaiting warmer weather so he can start cutting grass again to send money home to his family in Mexico. “Everybody is living in fear,” said Sandra Melendez, a trustee for the village of East Hampton and an immigration lawyer. “They think Immigration is coming out to get them.” In recent weeks, President Trump has begun carrying out his plan for mass deportations across the nation, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents forcing undocumented immigrants back to their countries of origin. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary, and federal officers arrived in New York City last month in a show of force that resulted in more than three dozen arrests. While it is unclear whether arrests are being executed in New York en masse, the actions have terrified people who work in factories, farms and schools. In the Hamptons, with miles of privet hedges and luxury homes, Latino immigrants make up the bulk of the work force, logging 12-hour days flipping mattresses, scrubbing toilets and hanging drywall, and in the summer tending vineyards and assembling patio furniture under the hot sun. Some of the workers arrived illegally, crossing the U.S. border after grueling desert or jungle treks. Some have legal working papers but are worried they could be swept up in raids or that their undocumented family members and friends could. Some believe President Trump is only going after criminals; others aren’t sure that’s true.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 3:27 PM, Staff, 57114K] reports a disturbance call led to the arrest of a 33-year-old undocumented immigrant. On Jan. 23, Town County deputies were called to a home on Natures Way regarding a disturbance. The call led to the arrest of Faustina Diaz Perez, 33 an undocumented immigrant. Perez was charged with three counts of obstruction of law enforcement. The sheriff’s office contacted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and a hold was placed on Perez immediately. Last Saturday, Perez was taken into ICE custody from the Towns County Detention Center for deportation.

Chicago Tribune [2/23/2025 9:01 AM, Madeline Buckley, et al., 4917K] reports immigration agents swept the Chicago area on Jan. 26 and their presence quickly rippled across the city and suburbs, lighting up phone screens with frenzied reports of sightings. A Hermosa couple hid in their attic when agents were spotted on the street. An agent in an ICE vest walked past homes in South Chicago. Government officials stood in a ring with with geared-up law enforcement in a photo posted to social media. TV personality Phil McGraw even joined in, contributing to the sense of spectacle, even as residents hid in their homes in fear. The scenes played out in neighborhoods on the North, South and West sides of the city, along the Indiana border and in the suburbs after six days of anticipatory tension following the inauguration of President Donald Trump. U.S. Immigration and Customs and Enforcement publicized more than 950 arrests nationwide that day, and Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at least 100 people were arrested in Chicago and the surrounding area. A month later, though, precise information about who was swept up and why remains elusive, as federal officials have declined to release detailed information about raids in Chicago. And even though national data from the first few weeks of the Trump administration have begun to trickle in, an independent group that compiles the figures said in a news release Wednesday that its analysts found inconsistencies. In a system where people can be detained with little public information available, rosters for out-of-state jails that hold many Chicago-area detainees offer one of the only glimpses of people taken into custody amid the heightened fear and uncertainty of the past several weeks.

Yahoo! News [2/24/2025 12:00 AM, Melissa Torres, 57114K] reports Santa Fe residents are expressing concerns Sunday evening after a man was detained by ICE agents at a gas station off of Airport and South Meadows Road on Saturday. “An individual was detained by ICE,” emphasized Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber. In the wake of the Trump Administration’s crack-down on undocumented immigrants. Many communities in New Mexico are expressing concerns, especially in Santa Fe, after a man was taken into custody by ICE agents at a Speedway gas station. “He was identified as someone who had a criminal record and was therefore on their lookout,” continued Webber. Mayor Webber says the city and law enforcement were made aware of this incident by community members. “The Santa Fe Police Department had no role in it, did not participate, nor were we informed before it happened by the federal authorities,” said Webber. ICE reportedly identified the “criminal alien offender” by conducting a traffic stop. “I can tell you that its received a great deal of attention in our community, a lot of concern. I think anytime there is an ICE arrest or ICE moves in, people feel very uncertain. It raises the level of fear,” shared Webber. Webber says that the city does not know the extent of ICE operations at this time. “My hope is that this is a very isolated incident based on one individual who has a criminal record and that they’re focusing on that very narrow and specific kind of ICE activity,” he says. The City of Santa Fe reaffirmed its commitment to its residents by emphasizing its goal to keep mixed-status families, employers, and local businesses informed and safe. “While there is fear and concern, at the same time, there are things we can do to be helpful and supportive of each other,” emphasized Webber. On Thursday, the City of Santa Fe will host a community meeting along with the New Mexico consulate out of Albuquerque to discuss some of these concerns moving forward.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 12:55 PM, Moe K. Clark, 57114K] reports President Donald Trump has identified state and local law enforcement agencies as being pivotal in his plans to deport millions of undocumented people from the U.S. But the extent of how his undertaking will play out on the ground remains unclear, especially in Washington and other “sanctuary states” that have local laws prohibiting such collaborations. Washington’s “sanctuary law,” formally called the Keep Washington Working Act, restricts the extent to which local law enforcement agencies may participate in federal immigration enforcement actions. The law prohibits the use of county jails for immigrant detention and does not allow local law enforcement to interview or detain those suspected of being an undocumented immigrant. In a survey conducted by InvestigateWest and Cascade PBS, the majority of Washington sheriffs said they would focus their resources on public safety and local laws, not federal immigration enforcement. “We recognize that immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and not a part of my elected office or sworn duty. Therefore, we focus our resources and efforts on local law enforcement matters just as we have always done,” Pacific County Sheriff Daniel C. Garcia wrote in a statement. “We will not detain or arrest individuals solely based on suspected immigration violations.” But some responses were less clear-cut. “The Pierce County Sheriff Office will abide by all enforceable U.S. immigration laws and legal mandates,” wrote Sheriff Keith Swank, who took office on Jan. 15. “Law enforcement agencies are obligated to honor applicable federal detainers. I believe there will be more legal guidance in the near future.”

CNN [2/23/2025 3:05 PM, Josh Campbell, et al., 57114K] reports US immigration officials launched a new round of enforcement operations in the Los Angeles area Sunday, according to two people familiar with the effort. The new effort in Southern California follows recent operations ordered by the Trump administration to apprehend individuals unlawfully residing in places such as Chicago and New York. Video posted on social media by community activists appeared to show federal agents gathered outside one residence east of downtown Los Angeles. In the video, activists can be seen and heard using megaphones to speak with residents inside the home. "There’s presence of ICE here so don’t open your door. They are not allowed to go in unless they have a judicial warrant signed by a judge," one activist can be heard saying over a megaphone. The video captures the incident for about 20 minutes before the vehicles with the apparent federal agents drive away. It is unclear how many individuals have been detained as part of Sunday’s operations. CNN has reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment. Sources previously told CNN that US immigration officials were planning for a wave of enforcement actions to detain and deport individuals in the Los Angeles area. About 150 activists from the Community Self Defense Coalition are patrolling the Los Angeles area throughout the day, a member of the group told CNN. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were expected to be assisted by agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; FBI and US Customs and Border Protection, sources said. Los Angeles is one of a number of Democratic-led cities in California, Colorado and Illinois that have instituted sanctuary city policies restricting cooperation with federal immigration officials’ efforts to arrest, detain or gather information on migrants. The move comes as the Los Angeles area continues to recover from January’s devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that killed 29 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.

Los Angeles Times [2/23/2025 10:42 PM, Rachel Uranga, Keri Blakinger , Ruben Vives and Jessica Garrison, 57114K] reports that, for days, rumors that the federal government was planning a massive immigration enforcement sweep in Los Angeles County on Sunday had put officials on alert and cast a pall of fear and unease across many immigrant communities. But by midafternoon, it appeared that the operation — if indeed one had been launched — had not been anywhere nearly as widespread as many had predicted. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would not say whether any special operations had taken place or release arrest figures for the day. Representatives for the FBI, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department either referred questions to ICE, had no information or said they were not involved in federal immigration actions. Officers at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles — a lockup run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons — had been asked to prepare for an influx of up to 120 new bookings from expected immigration raids this weekend, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Typically, the downtown facility is staffed to receive new inmates only on weekdays, the officials said, and handling weekend intakes required ordering staff to come in on their days off. The staff came in as directed, but by midafternoon immigration officials had dropped off fewer than a dozen people for processing, according to one of the sources. “We are hearing they aren’t getting the numbers they want,” the source said, adding that the numbers could rise if officials started bringing in detainees from San Bernardino County later in the evening. Both sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. When reached by email for comment, a federal prison spokesman confirmed that the agency is assisting ICE by housing some detainees, but declined to comment on any plans to house migrants in the Los Angeles detention center. He said the agency would not comment “on the legal status of an individual, nor do we specify the legal status of individuals assigned to any particular facility, including numbers and locations.”

Miami Herald [2/24/2025 12:06 AM, Michelle Theriault Boots, 6595K] reports federal immigration authorities are trying to deport a Somali asylum seeker living in Anchorage, as his attorneys argue he should not be held because his country is on a list of nations the U.S. has determined are too dangerous to return migrants to. Roble Ahmed Salad, 27, is one of five people detained in Alaska by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement so far this year, amid a nationwide immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump. The federal attorneys representing immigration authorities in the case say Salad has been ordered deported since 2023 and should be removed from the Unites States imminently. On Feb. 7, Salad’s attorneys challenged his detention in federal court here, saying the government’s hold of him was illegal because he had complied with all legal requirements and, under the law, can’t be deported. Salad’s attorney, Margaret Stock, wrote in a court filing that in her 35 years of practicing immigration law, she had "never seen ICE detain a person in this circumstance.” "The expensive mess that ICE has created is evident from the history of the events in this case," she wrote. The attorneys representing the U.S. government in the case declined an interview request. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage said in a statement that it "works alongside partner federal agencies to uphold the nation’s immigration laws.” The court fight cracks a window into complicated and often opaque immigration proceedings, and reveals the resources the government has dedicated to its efforts to deport Salad, an Anchorage assisted living home caretaker. The Daily News obtained the names of all of the people picked up by ICE in the state so far this year through jail records. Only one of the five appeared to have a criminal record in Alaska, a misdemeanor conviction for applying for a driver’s license without citizenship status 15 years ago. The federal immigration agency pays the state $212 per day to house immigration detainees, who while in ICE custody are not charged with a crime but with civil immigration code violations. Detainees are dressed in prison garb, at times shackled and treated as any other inmate at the Anchorage jail. None of the other four people detained, who include Mexican and Guatemalan nationals, are still being held in Alaska jails or prisons. It’s not clear where they are now.

FOX News [2/23/2025 11:13 AM, Michael Lee, 49889K] reports that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will release parts of Prince Harry’s immigration records with some redaction, in the ongoing lawsuit over the royal’s move to the United States. The move comes after federal Judge Carl Nichols ordered the agency to provide the court with a redacted version of Harry’s file for review with the ultimate goal of making the records public, according to a New York Post report Friday. At issue is whether the British royal lied on immigration documents or was given preferential treatment when he moved to the U.S. in 2020, with Harry later revealing in his memoir "Spare," which was released in 2023, that he had used illegal drugs. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, sued DHS in an attempt to get Harry’s record released, hoping to find out if the 40-year-old royal failed to disclose his former drug use on his immigration application. In a DHS filing to the court, the agency said it could turn over "items 1-3" of Harry’s records with some redactions, but would not release "item 4." It is unclear what information the items DHS is set to release will contain, though Nichols said at the hearing earlier this month that he wanted the records to be disclosed "in stages" in order to prevent violating U.S. privacy laws. DHS will have until March 6 to provide the redacted version of the records for the judge’s review, the report notes. Nile Gardiner, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, has argued that "transparency" is important when it comes to how immigration cases are handled.

CNN [2/23/2025 9:00 AM, Rebekah Riess, 57114K] reports an elderly Nevada man looking for love was allegedly drugged and pushed across the US border into Mexico in a wheelchair by a "sinister" scammer before being found dead in a Mexico City hotel room – one of nearly a dozen victims who fell prey to her deceit, the FBI said Friday. Aurora Phelps, 43, a Las Vegas woman with dual citizenship in the US and Mexico, has been charged in a 21-count indictment for her alleged romance scheme, where investigators say she used online dating apps to lure and drug mainly older men to gain access to their banks, cars, social security and retirement accounts. She even sold more than $3 million in Apple stock belonging to one victim, according to the FBI’s Las Vegas field office. Phelps, who is in custody in Mexico, has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, six counts of bank fraud, three counts of identity theft, one count of kidnapping and one count of kidnapping resulting in death, according to the federal indictment. The charges can carry a sentence of up to life in prison. US prosecutors say they are working on extraditing her back to the US to face these charges. "This is technically a romance scam, but this is a romance scam on steroids," Spencer Evans, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas division, said in a news conference Friday. "We have not seen one like this in recent history that’s as nefarious, as sinister.” Three of the four victims identified in the indictment are dead, the FBI said, though the charges implicate Phelps in only one of the deaths.

FOX News [2/23/2025 1:45 PM, Michael Lee, 49889K] reports the downtown Washington, D.C., Ronald Reagan building will undergo a dramatic shift as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) takes over the longtime headquarters of the Agency for International Development (USAID), Fox News Digital has confirmed. "CBP has signed a license agreement to occupy approximately 390,000 usable square feet in the USAID tower," a CBP spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The news, which was originally reported by Politico, comes after a federal judge on Friday declined to keep in place a temporary block that was preventing President Donald Trump from removing all but a small number of USAID staffers, clearing the way for the administration to continue its dramatic cuts to federal departments, according to a report from the Associated Press. USAID, a decades-old foreign assistance agency, was one of the first targets for cuts by the new administration, sparking a lawsuit filed by unions representing federal workers in an attempt to block the layoffs. The suit accused the Trump administration of stalling medical evacuations for USAID staffers and family members overseas and cutting off contractors from emergency communications while also challenging the constitutionality of the administration’s sudden cuts, which the suit argues requires congressional approval. "At present, the agency is still standing," U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols wrote in the ruling. "And so the alleged injuries on which plaintiffs rely in seeking injunctive relief flow essentially from their members’ existing employment relationships with USAID.”

Washington Examiner [2/23/2025 3:19 PM, Liam Hibbert, 2365K] reports a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill to use image technicians to ebb the flow of drugs smuggled into the United States from the southern border. The Border Enforcement, Security and Trade Facilitation Act of 2025 comes amid increased conversation around border security in President Donald Trump’s second term, and in response to high-profile drug busts on the southern border. It would create technician jobs in border security for five years, but with no clear plan for the future. The bill is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona; James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, and John Cornyn, R-Texas. "Customs and Border Protection needs more trained personnel to stop illegal drugs, weapons and human smuggling from entering our country," Kelly said in a statement this week. "By adding image technicians to identify threats at ports of entry, we’re giving law enforcement another essential tool to secure the border while keeping trade flowing.” It is unclear exactly what impact the technology would have on smuggling of drugs or other illicit goods. The bill also left out the program’s cost. Kelly’s press office did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square on either of these issues. Nearly 1,000 pounds of fentanyl – the drug that has become the center point of the substance abuse issue in the U.S. in recent years – was seized along the southwestern border in January 2025. It was the month’s lowest tally since 2022.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 3:19 PM, Isaac Goffin, 57114K] reports U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced it seized 200,000 counterfeit U.S. Forever Stamps from Hong Kong at its Port of Birmingham. According to a Friday news release, the counterfeit stamps discovered have an estimated list price of $146,000. The CBP stated officers during an operation selected two packages for inspection based on specific criteria. Though their contents initially appeared authentic, the CBP noted a detailed examination showed the packed stamps were counterfeit and in violation of intellectual property rights laws. “Protecting America begins with the shared commitment and determination of dedicated CBP Officers, Agriculture Specialists, and support staff,” said CBP Birmingham Port Director Steve Robinson in a statement. “Together, they play a vital role in safeguarding consumers and businesses from counterfeit goods. Economic security is national security.” Shipments from China and Hong Kong made up about 90% of the total CBP intellectual property rights quantity seized in fiscal year 2024, according to the law enforcement agency. The CBP stated it works with Homeland Security Investigations agents and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to stop illegally imported counterfeit U.S. Forever Stamps.

CBS Miami [2/23/2025 10:22 AM, Staff, 52225K] Video: HERE reports investigators said they stopped the operation off the coast of Miami on Tuesday.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 11:46 AM, Dave Burge, 57114K] reports U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico, says he wants answers after his office received reports that U.S. Border Patrol agents boarded a bus of Las Cruces High School students and "harassed" them Friday, Feb. 21 when they were on their way to a swim meet in Albuquerque. Vasquez’s office says they were told that students and coaches were aboard a charter bus on Friday when they were stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint. "The situation escalated after agents questioned the driver, who was unable to respond in English. Rather than de-escalating, an agent proceeded to board the bus, ignored attempts by coaches to explain the situation, and demanded information from the students, leaving them rattled and shaken," Vasquez’s office said. "Harassing and frightening children does not make New Mexico safer," Vasquez said in the news release. "No student should have to fear law enforcement while traveling to a school event.” A Customs and Border Protection spokesman said the charter bus was unmarked without any school markings and that Border Patrol routinely inspects charter buses that go through checkpoints. In a longer statement, Border Patrol said agents from the Las Cruces station conducted a "routine immigration inspection" at checkpoint on Interstate 25. The school bus they boarded was an "unmarked charter bus" with no school decals and was treated as a standard charter vehicle, Border Patrol said. They also said that checkpoint inspections in the El Paso Sector "play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of our nation’s borders.” Here is the entire statement from the El Paso Sector Border Patrol about Friday’s incident: "On February 21, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Agents from the Las Cruces station conducted a routine immigration inspection at a checkpoint on Interstate 25. During this operation, agents boarded an unmarked charter bus carrying personnel from the Las Cruces Independent School District. The bus had no school decals, and as such, was treated as a standard charter vehicle. The agents’ primary objective was to verify the legal status of the passengers. After completing the verification process, all individuals were confirmed to be legally present in the country and disembarked without incident. "Checkpoint inspections in the El Paso Sector, play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of our nation’s borders. They are instrumental in deterring illegal immigration and ensuring that those traveling within the country comply with immigration laws. By conducting these inspections, Border Patrol agents help safeguard the security and well-being of communities throughout the United States.”

NBC News [2/23/2025 2:03 PM, Claudio Lavanga, Mirna Alsharif, Nollaig O’Connor and Jay Blackman, 57114K] reports an American Airlines flight traveling from New York to New Delhi was diverted to Rome Sunday due to a bomb threat, according to a source familiar with the situation. In a statement, American Airlines said Flight AA292 was traveling from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Indira Gandhi International Airport before it diverted to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue," adding later that it "was determined to be non-credible." Per Indira Gandhi International Airport’s protocol, an inspection was required before the plane landed there. The bomb threat made against the flight was sent via email, according to the source familiar with the situation. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported the security issue. “Safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement. Flight AA292 requested a flight diversion to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at around 2 p.m. local time, said Roberto Rao, a spokesperson for the airport. “We immediately agreed and organized a safe landing,” Rao told NBC News. “We don’t know what the security concern was, but my opinion is that it was serious enough to divert the plane, but not urgent, because we received the alert when the plane was over the Caspian Sea, a three hours’ flight from Rome.” The American Airlines plane was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets when it arrived in Italian airspace, according to Rao, and landed in Rome at around 5:30 p.m. local time, per the Federal Aviation Administration. American Airlines said the plane was met by local law enforcement upon its arrival to Rome, inspected and cleared to depart again for New Delhi “as soon as possible tomorrow” after the crew gets some rest. CBS News [2/23/2025 6:52 PM, Lucia Suarez Sang, 52225K] Video: HERE that a spokesman for the Leonardo da Vinci International (FCO) Airport told CBS News that the 199 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the aircraft were made aware of the problem while it was over the Caspian Sea. They said it landed at FCO airport because it can cope with this type of incident, however, they did not elaborate on the reason for the change in flight plans. An American Airlines spokesperson told CBS News Flight 292 was diverted due to a security concern, but did not elaborate. "The flight landed safely at FCO, and law enforcement inspected and cleared the aircraft to re-depart," the spokesperson said, adding that the issue was determined to be "non-credible.” The FCO spokesperson said two Italian military fighter jets flanked the plane as it arrived at Rome’s airport. Fire trucks were visible on the landing strip on one side of the plane after it landed. No injuries were reported. The airport continued to operate normally, the spokesman told the Associated Press. A spokesperson for American Airlines told CBS News that "safety and security are our top priorities and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 10:00 AM, McKenna Galloway, 57114K] reports a woman has been charged after a handgun was discovered in her carry-on bag at a Pittsburgh airport. According to a Facebook post made by the Allegheny County Police Department in Pennsylvania, the incident occurred at 3:34 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers "observed a handgun within a passenger’s carry-on bag at the main security checkpoint of Pittsburgh International Airport" and notified police. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also notified. The woman was identified as 31-year-old Janessa Mann of Bridgeport and it was determined she did not have a valid concealed carry permit. She is now facing one felony charge for carrying a firearm without a license. The Allegheny County Police Department added a reminder to the post that those who bring firearms into an airport security checkpoint can face federal civil fines from TSA up to $10,000, while repeat offenders can be fined up to $13,910.

CBS Austin [2/23/2025 4:50 PM, Ian Kayanja, 581K] reports Rep. Nancy Mace introduced Friday the Alien Removal Not Resort Stays Act, aiming to terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s program that aids undocumented migrants. The proposed legislation seeks to redirect funds from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for enforcement, detention, and deportation efforts. "The past four years have been a free-for-all for illegal aliens—sanctuary cities handing out benefits and Biden’s DHS waving people through like it’s a theme park entrance," said Mace (R, S.C.-01). "The left has spent billions of our tax dollars housing illegal aliens in hotels. It’s insanity, and it stops now.” The money is separate from disaster relief funds. The Shelter and Services Program, also known as SSP, is administered by FEMA in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Congress appropriated $650 million for the program in fiscal year 2024 to provide financial support to nonfederal entities. Of that, $640.9 million was "to support sheltering and related activities provided by non-Federal entities, in support of relieving overcrowding in short-term holding facilities of U.S. Customs and Border Protection." The remaining $9.1 million was for FEMA’s administrative costs. Still, Mace emphasized that those who break U.S. laws should not receive taxpayer-funded accommodations. "If you break our laws, you shouldn’t get a taxpayer-funded stay at a resort—you should be detained and deported. It’s time to shut off the gravy train," she said.

NBC News [2/23/2025 2:43 PM, Angela Yang, 50804K] reports the death toll from last week’s severe weather in Kentucky has risen to 21, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Saturday. The state was hit with deadly flooding amid freezing temperatures last weekend, which continued to devastate the central Plains as another storm system brought more heavy snow and wind. "I’m sad to share the number of those lost to the weather this week has grown to 21, with the most recent a man in Logan County," Gov. Andy Beshear wrote on X Saturday. "These are our fellow Kentuckians, each one a child of God gone too soon. Please join Britainy and me as we pray for their families.” Other reported victims of the storms include several adults who died from hypothermia or flooding, as well as at least one child who died with their mother when their car was swept away. Around 60 million people were under winter weather alerts from the Central Plains to the Carolina coast last week as the storm system intensified. Gov. Andy Beshear provided an update following a major flooding event during a press conference at the Pike County Courthouse in Pikeville, Ky., on Feb. 17. Beshear announced this weekend that Kentucky has received a disaster declaration from the White House and is waiting on approval for direct assistance from the federal government. The state has also applied for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Beshear has been urging residents to donate to his Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund, which he set up for those impacted by the storms that began on Feb. 15. Funds will first go toward paying for funerals, he said.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 12:20 PM, Chandler Farnsworth, 57114K] reports the City of Las Vegas continues to battle problems with its water system, leading to constant repairs, and residents demanding answers. City leaders held a special meeting Friday, hoping it would shed light on the weeks-long situation. "I don’t have any faith in the plant that we have anymore because it’s just a constant thing," said one resident during the meeting. Low pipe pressure leading to unsafe drinking water, pipe leaks, and not enough water are just some of the problems residents and Las Vegas city leaders have been battling this month. It’s the city’s latest issue in a slew of problems that have plagued the town’s water system over the last year. "I want to know, why did all of our water tanks empty out so fast?" another resident questioned during the meeting. In the most recent update, city leaders explained how they believe the situation is taking a turn for the better. "I think, for the most part, most residents have water right now," said Las Vegas Mayor, David Romero. "There is one area that there was a discovered leak, I believe it affects six homes. So, right now, I believe that’s the only issue we’re dealing with.” City leaders say what caused all these issues is still unclear. According to the city, once water pressure has stabilized, all leaks are repaired, and the situation is under control, there will be an investigation into what the root problem was. However, something that was mentioned during the meeting was that workers ran into problems while they were doing routine maintenance on the city’s decade-old water system at the beginning of the month. According to Mayor Romero, the city received about $98 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last fall to make upgrades to its water system- including the treatment plant. As of February, the city is working on a design for a new plant, but construction could be a couple of years away.

NPR [2/23/2025 8:34 AM, Ayesha Rascoe, 35747K] reports that the Palisades and Eaton wildfires left a vast amount of toxic debris. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Tony Briscoe, environmental reporter at The Los Angeles Times, about where the cleanup stands. [Editorial note: consult audio at source link]

Washington Examiner [2/23/2025 10:03 AM, Emily Hallas, 2365K] reports Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) requested billions of dollars in federal aid to help Los Angeles rebuild after fires destroyed large swaths of California’s largest city. This week, Newsom lobbied for nearly $40 billion worth of funding in a letter to key power players in Washington, D.C., including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the House Appropriations Committee chairman. "Los Angeles is one of the most economically productive places on the globe, but it can only rebound and flourish with support from the federal government as it recovers from this unprecedented disaster," Newsom wrote. "Make no mistake, Los Angeles will use this money wisely. California will ensure that funds will serve individuals, communities, property owners, and businesses that suffered losses from these devastating fires.” The bulk of the proposed package, $16.8 billion in funds administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, would go toward repairing miles of destroyed public infrastructure, fire response costs, debris removal, and hazard mitigation money to help prevent another crisis, according to the document sent to congressional leaders. The financial aid request comes as the total economic loss from the Los Angeles fires has been estimated to cost more than $250 billion. Newsom approved a $2.5 billion package to help the region recover in late January after over 16,251 structures were destroyed when the fires tore through roughly 37,400 acres. "It looks like you got hit by a bomb," President Donald Trump told Newsom as the two men surveyed the damage last month. Newsom’s proposal calls for nearly $10 billion to be allocated toward housing costs and infrastructure, while $5.3 billion administered by the Small Business Administration would be allocated toward handing out low-interest loans to businesses, residents, and nonprofit groups. Another $4.3 billion would be set aside for economic development grants spearheaded by the Commerce Department to help businesses and make public works investments. Two billion dollars would go toward low-income housing tax credits.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 8:06 PM, Staff, 57114K] reports the U.S. Coast Guard announced that they have detained two illegal immigrants, one with an outstanding felony warrant, following a routine vessel inspection. On Thursday, February 20, during a routine vessel inspection of a commercial fishing boat, a boarding team member found that two of the individuals amongst the crew were violating the "75/25″ rule. The rule, under 46 U.S.C. 8103, states "not more than 25 percent of the total number of unlicensed seamen on the vessel may be aliens lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.” "The Coast Guard stands firm in its mission to safeguard our waters and enforce the law," said Lt. Samantha Corcoran, public affairs officer for the First Coast Guard District. "This detention highlights our vital role in upholding maritime regulations and protecting national security at sea.” The Coast Guard safely detained the two without incident and transferred them into the custody of awaiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from the Boston Field Office.

The New York Times [2/23/2025 6:30 PM, Sara Ruberg, 161405K] reports that, at least three people died and one person was still missing after a boat they were in capsized in the frigid waters of the Ambrose Channel near Staten Island on Sunday, officials said. One passenger was in critical condition, the police said, and another passenger was in stable condition. One person was still missing in the water, according to a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman, Petty Officer Second Class Sydney Phoenix. Emergency operators received a call about a boat taking on water a little after noon on Sunday, according to a Coast Guard news release. It wasn’t immediately known how it overturned or what kind of boat it was. The Coast Guard believes the missing person is in the water about five miles southeast of Breezy Point, N.Y. The search for the person was continuing as of 8:30 p.m. Two of the five people who were in the boat were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and three others were taken to the Coast Guard station in Sandy Hook, N.J. Four of the five people pulled from the water were unresponsive, according to the Coast Guard. A police spokesman said three of those on board had died. New York City’s fire and police departments are investigating with the U.S. Coast Guard. The water temperature near the Battery in Manhattan was 36 degrees on Sunday afternoon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Ambrose Channel runs between Brooklyn and Staten Island and extends into the Atlantic Ocean. It is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. FOX News [2/24/2025 2:34 AM, Christina Shaw, 49889K] reports that the U.S. Coast Guard and the New York City police and fire departments are involved in recovery efforts for the remaining boater. Coast Guard officials said they received a notification at 12:04 p.m. from New York City 911 operators about a boat taking on water near Breezy Point. Three rescue boats and an MH65 Helicopter were deployed to assist rescue efforts already in progress by Sandy Hook Pilots and the New York Police Department’s Aviation Unit. Rescuers were able to recover and transport five people – two were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and three were taken to the Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook. Four of the five boaters were unresponsive after CPR was administered. Since those efforts, three people have been pronounced dead, one person is in critical condition and another is in stable condition. The identities of the boaters have not yet been released as of early Monday morning.

Reported similarly:
CBS News [2/23/2025 11:35 PM, Naveen Dhaliwal, 52225K]
USA Today [2/23/2025 10:35 PM, Thao Nguyen, 89965K]

FOX News [2/23/2025 11:11 PM, Stepheny Price, 57114K] reports video from the U.S. Coast Guard shows the moment three boaters were rescued after their vessel capsized off the coast of Florida over the weekend. The rescue mission took place on Sunday after the Coast Guard was called out to find three overdue boaters off Captiva Island. A family member of one of the boaters notified the Coast Guard around 1 a.m. on Sunday that their last contact with the three boaters was at 8 p.m. on Saturday, and that they were on a 20-foot center console. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 helicopter aircrew flew out to search for the missing boaters following the report. Video shows the crew finding the three missing boaters sitting on top of their capsized boat – all reportedly in good health. The aircrew also called in assistance from the Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach boat crew, who arrived at the scene and safely transferred all three boaters aboard. They were then transported to emergency medical services at the Coast Guard station to be evaluated. "We were able to locate and rescue the three boaters thanks to the quick coordination of the Coast Guard and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, along with the use of critical search tools," Chief Warrant Officer Dennise Werre of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg said in a statement. "Completing a float plan with a loved one prior to going out on a vessel is critical. Float plans provide first responders with information such as the intended route, how many people are aboard, and what safety equipment may be available." Officials were unsure of what caused the boat to capsize.

CBS Miami [2/23/2025 10:23 AM, Staff, 52225K] Video: HERE reports investigators believed most of the people found were passengers in a smuggling operation.

Yahoo! News [2/24/2025 1:07 AM, Anna Ashcraft, 57114K] reports a boat carrying over a dozen migrants was intercepted by the Coast Guard Friday night. The U.S. Coast Guard reports a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) patrol aircraft spotted a panga-style boat in the Pacific Ocean 22 miles west of Encinitas at 7:20 p.m. Friday. The CBP aircraft tracked the boat until it crossed into the U.S. Contiguous Zone, then notified the Coast Guard Sector San Diego. The crews of the Coast Guard Cutter Benjamin Bottoms and the Coast Guard Cutter Haddock were deployed and made contact with the boat, which was carrying 13 migrants, who all claimed Mexican nationality. The migrants, 10 men and three women, were brought to Sector San Diego, then transferred to San Clemente Border Patrol personnel.

CNBC [2/23/2025 1:19 PM, Kevin Williams, 36472K] reports a popular medical monitor is the latest device produced in China to receive scrutiny for its potential cyber risks. However, it is not the only health device we should be concerned about. Experts say the proliferation of Chinese health-care devices in the U.S. medical system is a cause for concern across the entire ecosystem. The Contec CMS8000 is a popular medical monitor that tracks a patient’s vital signs. The device tracks electrocardiograms, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, non-invasive blood pressure, temperature, and respiration rate. In recent months, the FDA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) both warned about a "backdoor" in the device, an "easy-to-exploit vulnerability that could allow a bad actor to alter its configuration.” CISA’s research team described "anomalous network traffic" and the backdoor "allowing the device to download and execute unverified remote files" to an IP address not associated with a medical device manufacturer or medical facility but a third-party university — "highly unusual characteristics" that go against generally accepted practices, "especially for medical devices.” "When the function is executed, files on the device are forcibly overwritten, preventing the end customer—such as a hospital—from maintaining awareness of what software is running on the device," CISA wrote. The warnings says such configuration alteration could lead to, for instance, the monitor saying that a patient’s kidneys are malfunctioning or breathing failing, and that could cause medical staff to administer unneeded remedies that could be harmful. The Contec equipment’s vulnerability doesn’t surprise medical and IT experts who have warned for years that medical device security is too lax. "This is a huge gap that is about to explode," said Christopher Kaufman, a business professor at Westcliff University in Irvine, California, who specializes in IT and disruptive technologies, specifically referring to the security gap in many medical devices. The American Hospital Association, which represents over 5,000 hospitals and clinics in the U.S., agrees. It views the proliferation of Chinese medical devices as a serious threat to the system.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 2:00 PM, Staff, 57114K] reports some public services are currently down in Anne Arundel County due to a "cyber incident," and officials say they are actively working to address the issues and restore full access as quickly as possible. The county confirmed that 911 services remain operational for emergencies, as well as 311 for reporting concerns about county services. Annapolis, meanwhile, is not currently experiencing any service interruptions. The county says it is working closely with the Office of Information Technology, public safety officials, and cybersecurity experts to investigate the cyber incident that originated externally. As of 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 23, 2025, county officials have implemented precautionary measures, including limiting Internet access to safeguard systems while recovery efforts continue. Cybersecurity specialists have indicated that the incident could span several days, with no clear timeline for when full-service restoration will occur. County officials are actively engaging with each department to assess their operational needs during this period of disruption and ensure the continued delivery of essential services. It’s currently unclear which public services have been impacted. The county has not revealed the departments or agencies that have been affected by the cyber incident.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 9:11 PM, Laura Morrison, 57114K] reports the Cleveland Municipal Court is going to be closed to the public Monday following a "cyber incident," a court employee confirmed to the FOX 8 I-Team. Deputy Court Administrator Mike Negray also released a statement Sunday saying that an investigation is underway into the incident’s "nature and scope.” While the situation is assessed, the systems that were affected have been shut down as a precautionary measure, Negray said. Those include internal systems and computer software platforms. It was not clear what led to the incident or how long the court is going to be closed. "We take cyber threats extremely seriously and are working expeditiously to rectify the situation as soon as possible," Negray said.

Telemundo [2/23/2025 3:44 PM, Staff, 283K] reports U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restrict access to U.S. technology, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, to what he calls "foreign adversaries," including Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Russia and China. The executive order does not specify in detail what measures will be taken to restrict the access of these "foreign adversaries" to US technology. Under the label of "foreign adversaries", the order identifies China, Hong Kong, Macau, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and the "regime of Venezuelan politician Nicolas Maduro", according to the text. Trump justifies his decision on the grounds that "economic security is national security" and argues that the country must protect its sensitive infrastructure and technologies, from artificial intelligence to semiconductors to advances in biotechnology. The executive order focuses particularly on China, noting that companies linked to Beijing have used investments in the U.S. Since returning to the White House on January 20, Trump has announced several trade restrictions aimed at balancing the balance of trade and pressuring countries such as Mexico and Canada to make concessions on immigration and anti-drug trafficking efforts. Trump’s new restrictions come after his predecessor, Joe Biden, took steps to limit exports of semiconductors and artificial intelligence technology to China, prompting Beijing to respond with export controls on graphite, a key material for electric vehicle batteries. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [2/23/2025 1:36 PM, Julian E. Barnes, 161405K] reports Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday defended President Trump’s firing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s top military officer, arguing that he was “not the right man for the moment.” President Trump removed the chairman, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., on Friday and nominated a retired three-star general to replace him. Mr. Hegseth followed that announcement by removing the chief of naval operations and the Defense Department’s top military lawyers. Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Hegseth said “nothing about this is unprecedented,” adding that presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama have fired or dismissed officers. A chairman of the Joint Chiefs has never been fired, though when the position had two-year terms, the George W. Bush administration declined to renew the term of Gen. Peter Pace in 2007, citing opposition in Congress. “This is a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take,” Mr. Hegseth said. But Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said the series of firings “was completely unjustified.” Mr. Reed said on ABC News’s “This Week” that the administration wanted the Defense Department to be beholden to the president. “They want everyone there to do what they’re told, regardless of the law,” he added. The firing of the lawyers, he added, was startling and had prompted some talented leaders to question if they should stay in the military. “If you’re going to break the law, the first thing you do is you get rid of the lawyers,” Mr. Reed said. Mr. Hegseth rejected the criticism, and said that traditionally senior military lawyers had been chosen by one another. But, he said, he wanted “fresh blood,” and that he would open up the positions to a broader candidate pool to find the best military lawyers to lead each of the armed services. “Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don’t exist to attempt to be roadblocks,” Mr. Hegseth said.

Bloomberg [2/23/2025 1:41 PM, Staff, 21617K] reports two of President Donald Trump’s top advisers declined to describe Russia as the aggressor in the war in Ukraine, as the administration seeks Vladimir Putin’s support for a peace deal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz both avoided direct answers in television interviews on Sunday, portraying the question as a distraction from Trump’s diplomacy. “My question is, does all the finger-pointing and pearl-clutching make peace more likely?” Hegseth said on Fox News Sunday. Asked whether it’s fair to say that Russia attacked Ukraine without provocation in 2022, he said, “Fair to say it’s a very complicated situation.” Pressed on the point, he acknowledged there was “an invasion into Ukraine” without naming Russia. Trump made it clear last week that he has all but abandoned years of US support for Ukraine, deriding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy while seeking to blame him and former US President Joe Biden for Russia’s invasion. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will propose a United Nations resolution on Monday that will “chart the path to peace.” As of Friday, the US draft didn’t condemn Russia for the invasion and drops references to Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Washington Examiner [2/23/2025 12:02 PM, Mike Brest, 2365K] reports President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff believes an agreement with Ukraine regarding its rare earth minerals will be signed this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially declined the offer brought to him by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, which caused a rift between the two countries that devolved into Trump calling Zelensky a "dictator," with the U.S. leader also claiming Zelensky was responsible for Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. The two sides have continued the negotiations despite the frustration from the Trump administration, and Witkoff predicted on Sunday that a deal would be finalized this week. "I expect to see a deal signed this week," Witkoff, who has participated in discussions on the deal, said on CNN’s State of the Union. "You saw President Zelensky waver in his commitment towards that a week ago; the president sent a message to him, he’s not wavering anymore. I think there’s a reason he’s not wavering. It’s because he realizes that we have done so much, and that agreement belongs being signed, and I think you’ll see it signed this week.” Trump administration officials have described the offer as a long-term economic partnership, though many details remain unclear. "We discussed this issue about the mineral rights, and we explained to them, ‘look, we want to be in a joint venture with you’ not cause we’re trying to steal from your country, but because we think that’s actually a security guarantee," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview on X with Catherine Herridge. "If we’re your partner in an important economic endeavor, we get to be paid back some of the money the taxpayers have given, close to $200 billion, and now we have a vested interest in the security of Ukraine.” The negotiators from the U.S. and Ukraine are "working on a draft agreement between our governments," Zelensky said on Friday. "This agreement can add value to our relations—what matters most is getting the details right to ensure it truly works.” In the aftermath of the Ukrainian leader’s initial refusal to sign the deal, Trump argued that he was responsible for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sentiment that significantly contradicts the version of events agreed upon by the Western world.

Washington Examiner [2/23/2025 4:22 PM, Asher Notheis, 2365K] reports National security adviser Mike Waltz slammed the Hamas terrorist group’s handling of a conclusive ceasefire deal between it and Israel, stating that it is "absolutely" impacting the deal’s prospects. Hamas just released the body of hostage Shiri Bibas on Saturday, which came after the group had released the body of an anonymous Gazan woman and claimed it was the body of Bibas, though forensic intelligence later confirmed it was not. Waltz stated that President Donald Trump is "horrified" by Hamas’s "despicable" behavior, adding that his administration will see how exactly these recent actions by the terrorist group might affect ceasefire negotiations in the week to come. "Hamas needs to change and change yesterday in how it’s conducting this," Waltz stated on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. "It’s unacceptable. Not just to the Israelis, but the entire world. And I’ll tell you, the end goal of Hamas cannot and will not be allowed to rule Gaza going forward, and ever do this again is absolutely also in play.” Waltz also raised the possibility of Hamas’s actions creating an "extension" of the current stage of the ceasefire deal, which is still in its first phase and is set to expire at the start of March. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East envoy, stated in an appearance on CNN that such an extension is needed, and that he would be traveling to the region this week to negotiate, noting his trip would be "probably Wednesday.” The national security adviser added that the Trump administration would "certainly entertain" the possibility of Israel destroying Iran’s nuclear program. Waltz stressed that the Middle Eastern country cannot have a nuclear weapon, and "all options are on the table" to prevent this.

Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 11:13 AM, Heather Miller, 57114K] reports Kash Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director last week, is expected to be named the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a Justice Department official told The Associated Press. If he’s sworn in as head of the ATF next week as expected, that would put Patel in charge of two of the Justice Department’s largest agencies. It’s an unusual arrangement that raises questions about the future of the bureau that’s long been criticized by conservatives. As FBI director, Patel is at the top of America’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he will do President Donald Trump’s bidding. He was confirmed by the Senate in a 51-49 vote – GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against him. ATF is a separate agency with about 5,500 employees and is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws around firearms, explosives and arson. Among other things, it’s in charge of licensing federal firearms dealers, tracing guns used in crimes and analyzing intelligence in shooting investigations. The last confirmed ATF director was Steve Dettelbach, a former federal prosecutor, who led the agency from July 2022 until last month. He was the first confirmed director since 2015 as both Republican and Democratic administrations failed to get nominees through the politically fraught process.

FOXNews.com [2/23/2025 4:13 PM, Emma Colton, 49889K] reports President Donald Trump is set to have another busy week meeting with foreign leaders in the nation’s capital as administration leaders continue working out a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Trump will meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron in his fifth week back in the Oval Office, national security advisor Mike Waltz said on Fox News’ "America Reports." The announcement follows Macron calling for an emergency meeting of world leaders after the Trump administration excluded Europe from sitting at the negotiating table to settle the war between Ukraine and Russia. "Just a few months ago, everyone was talking about this war as though it would never end," Waltz said on "America Reports" after confirming Starmer and Macron will visit Washington, D.C. "In just a very short amount of time, President Trump has us, everyone – the Ukrainians, the Russians, the Europeans – talking about it now and debating.… Only President Trump could drive that shift in conversation. And we have to acknowledge that that’s happened.”

Washington Examiner [2/23/2025 2:22 PM, Mike Brest, 2365K] reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’s "ready" to resign if it means bringing peace to his country, also suggesting he could step down in exchange for ascension into the NATO alliance. "If it’s about peace in Ukraine and you really want me to leave my position, I am ready to do that," Zelensky said at a Kyiv press conference on Sunday. "Secondly, I can exchange it for NATO, if there is such an opportunity.” The comments from Zelensky come in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s accusation that he is a "dictator without elections.” "We have a situation where we haven’t had elections in Ukraine, where we have martial law, essentially martial law in Ukraine, where the leader in Ukraine, I mean, I hate to say it, but he’s down at 4% approval rating," Trump said from Mar-a-Lago last Tuesday. "And where a country has been blown to smithereens, you got, most of the cities are laying on their sides. The buildings are collapsed.” Ukraine has not held elections since the war began nearly three years ago because the government imposed martial law, and elections are not allowed under martial law in Ukraine. Zelensky’s term should have ended last year, and his approval rating is also disputed. The Ukrainian leader also claimed that Ukraine’s ascension into NATO was "still on the table" during the "Ukraine. Year 2025" conference in Kyiv. Witkoff, on Sunday, said that Russia was "provoked" into starting the war, claiming that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO instigated the war. "The war didn’t need to happen. It was provoked," he said on CNN, later adding, "It doesn’t necessarily mean it was provoked by the Russians. There were all kinds of conversations back then about Ukraine joining NATO. The president has spoken about this — that didn’t need to happen. It basically became a threat to the Russians, and so we have to deal with that fact.”

AP [2/23/2025 11:03 PM, Justin Spike and Illia Novikov, 63K] reports a contentious Trump administration proposal to allow $500 billion worth of profits from Ukrainian rare earth minerals to go the U.S. as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday, indicating a more equitable deal is in the works. Zelenskyy had earlier declined a U.S. draft agreement on exploitation of his country’s valuable minerals such as lithium used in the aerospace, defense and nuclear industries because it did not contain security guarantees and came with the $500 billion price tag. "The question of $500 billion is no longer there," Zelenskyy told a news conference at a forum of government officials in Kyiv marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader said considering aid as a debt to be repaid would be a "Pandora’s box" that would set a precedent requiring Kyiv to reimburse all its backers. MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. "We do not recognize the debt," Zelenskyy said. "It will not be in the final format of the agreement.” No further details were given on the state of negotiations. Ukraine has insisted on security guarantees that it needs to deter any potential Russian aggression in the future. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said on CNN’s "State of the Union" that he expects a deal this week allowing the U.S. to play a greater role in exploiting Ukraine’s mineral resources. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told the Fox News Channel the administration’s minerals plan was to create a U.S.-Ukraine partnership, calling it a "win-win.” "We make money if the Ukrainian people make money," Bessent said. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, left the Kyiv forum early along with Economic Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko for what Yermak said were talks with U.S. officials on a potential deal. Later Sunday, Yermak posted on social media that he’d spoken with U.S. officials, including Bessent and Trump’s national security adviser Mike Walz, saying it had been a "constructive conversation.” "We are making progress ," Yermak wrote. "The USA is our partner and we are grateful to the American people.”

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/23/2025 8:55 AM, Staff, 57114K]

AP [2/23/2025 10:31 PM, Edith M. Lederer and Matthew Lee, 30936K] reports the U.S. has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed U.N. resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in favor of an American proposal that does not mention Moscow’s invasion, a U.S. official and a European diplomat said Sunday. But Ukraine refused to pull its draft resolution, and the U.N. General Assembly will vote on it Monday, the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two European diplomats said. The 193-nation General Assembly then is expected to vote on the U.S. draft resolution, according to the diplomats and the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because private negotiations are still ongoing. The Trump administration is also seeking a vote on its proposal in the more powerful U.N. Security Council. China, which holds the Security Council presidency this month, scheduled a vote on the U.S. resolution for Monday afternoon. The dueling resolutions — the first since the invasion — highlight the tension between the U.S., Ukraine and European countries in the five weeks since President Donald Trump took office and has opened talks with Russia after years of isolation in a bid to end the war. European leaders were dismayed that they and Ukraine were left out of preliminary negotiations between the U.S. and Russia last week. The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body on Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, has been paralyzed by Russia’s veto power. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, and its votes are closely watched as a barometer of world opinion. However, its resolutions are not legally binding, unlike those adopted by the Security Council. Since Russian forces crossed Ukraine’s border on Feb. 24, 2022, the assembly has adopted half a dozen resolutions condemning the war and demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

VOA News [2/23/2025 10:09 AM, Staff, 2717K] reports the Kremlin on Sunday hailed dialogue between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — two "extraordinary" presidents — as "promising," and vowed it would "never" give up territory seized in eastern Ukraine. Trump broke with Western policy earlier this month by phoning Putin to discuss how to end the conflict in Ukraine — a call hailed by Moscow as ending three years of isolation for the Kremlin leader since he launched his full-scale offensive in February 2022. Top Russian and U.S. officials then met in Saudi Arabia last week to discuss a "restoration" of ties and start a discussion on a possible ceasefire — all without the involvement of Kyiv or Europe. "This is a dialogue between two extraordinary presidents," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV on Sunday. "That’s promising," he added. "It is important that nothing prevents us from realizing the political will of the two heads of state.” Trump’s overtures to Moscow have triggered alarm in Kyiv and across Europe. But it is unclear whether his moves will be able to bring Moscow and Kyiv closer to a truce.

AP [2/23/2025 7:31 PM, Staff, 47097K] reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Syria’s new army or the insurgent group that led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad to "enter the area south of Damascus" as his government made clear Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period. Netanyahu’s comments Sunday at a military graduation led to new concerns over the Israeli presence, and sway, in a swath of southern Syria as Damascus’ new leaders attempt to consolidate control after years of civil war. "Take note: We will not allow HTS forces or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus," Netanyahu said, referring to Syria’s new authorities as well as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group. "We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda from the forces of the new regime. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria." Defense Minister Israel Katz added that Israeli forces will remain on the peak of Mt. Hermon in southern Syria and in a buffer zone "for an indefinite period of time to protect our communities and thwart any threat." He said Israeli forces have built two posts on the mountain and another seven in the buffer zone "to ensure defense and offense against any challenge." After the fall of Assad in December, Israel seized the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory. The zone was set up under a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syria’s new authorities and U.N. officials have called for Israel to withdraw.

AP [2/23/2025 6:49 PM, Tia Goldenberg and Majdi Mohammed, 50804K] reports Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot return. Associated Press journalists saw several tanks move along unpaved tracks into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel. Israel is deepening its crackdown on the Palestinian territory and has said it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks. It launched the offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold — and expanded it to nearby areas. Palestinians view the deadly raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to “increase the intensity of the activity to thwart terrorism” in all refugee camps in the West Bank. “We will not allow the return of residents, and we will not allow terrorism to return and grow,” he said. Earlier, Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare for “an extended stay” in some of the West Bank’s urban refugee camps from which about 40,000 Palestinians have fled, leaving them “emptied of residents.” The camps are home to descendants of Palestinians who fled during wars with Israel decades ago. It was not clear how long Palestinians would be prevented from returning. Katz said Israeli troops would stay “for the coming year.” Netanyahu said they would stay “as long as needed.” Tanks were last deployed in the West Bank in 2002, when Israel fought a deadly Palestinian uprising. The Palestinian foreign ministry called the Israeli moves “a dangerous escalation of the situation in the West Bank,” and urged the international community to intervene in what it termed Israel’s illegal “aggression.” “Even if they stay, we will return to the camp at the end,” said Mohamed al-Sadi, one of those displaced from Jenin. “This camp is ours. We have no other place to go.”

Reported similarly:
New York Times [2/23/2025 1:00 PM, Isabel Kershner, 161405K]

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