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

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

The Washington Post [2/2/2025 7:10 PM, Maria Sacchetti and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, 40736K, Negative] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem has decided to end temporary humanitarian protections for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans who sought refuge in the United States in the past few years, putting them at imminent risk of being forced to return to the autocratic regime they left behind in South America. Noem wrote that conditions in Venezuela “no longer” met the criteria for its citizens to qualify for temporary protected status, which was set to expire in April for those who became eligible for it in 2023, according to a copy of the unpublished notice that DHS released Sunday. The Biden administration had extended their protections through the fall of 2026, citing extreme poverty and economic and political crises. But the Trump administration quickly reversed that decision, and now the group that received temporary protection in 2023 could lose it 60 days after the notice is officially published in the Federal Register. Officials did not say when it could publish. Noem also determined that allowing Venezuelans to live and work in the United States is “contrary to the national interest,” she said, citing gang activity — though criminals are generally ineligible for temporary protection — as well as the cost to cities such as New York to shelter migrants and other concerns. The New York Times [2/3/2025 3:21 AM, Hamed Aleaziz and Maggie Haberman, 740K, Negative] reports that those under T.P.S. from Venezuela who received the protections in 2023 will lose their temporary status 60 days after the government publishes the termination notice. Republican critics of the program have said that it has been used to allow migrants to stay much longer than intended and that it has transformed from something temporary to a more permanent arrangement. Vice President JD Vance slammed the program in October and hinted at a new approach. “We’re going to stop doing mass grants of Temporary Protected Status,” he said then. The notice indicates that more than 300,000 Venezuelans had T.P.S. through April. Another group of more than 250,000 Venezuelans have protections through September and for now will not be affected, but the decision suggests that they and others under T.P.S. could be in danger of losing their status in the future. Immigrant rights activists criticized the decision on Sunday. CBS News [2/2/2025 6:16 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Neutral] reports that Venezuelans enrolled in TPS under an earlier 2021 designation will continue to have that status through September, though those protections could also be phased out. Those whose TPS protections lapse and lack another immigration status will lose their ability to work in the U.S. legally and become vulnerable to being detained and deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has dramatically increased arrests across the country under President Trump. On Saturday, Mr. Trump said the Venezuelan government had agreed to accept migrant deportees from the U.S., after rejecting American deportation flights for years.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [2/2/2025 1:42 PM, Staff, 48128K, Neutral]
Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 6:55 PM, Kellie Meyer, 57114K, Negative]
Telemundo 48 [2/2/2025 10:00 PM, Staff, 70K, Neutral]

NBC News [2/2/2025 10:07 AM, Alexandra Marquez, 50804K, Negative] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday said that "due process will be followed" for all migrants housed at Guantanamo Bay in the wake of an announcement from President Donald Trump this week that his administration plans to house thousands of migrants at a military camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "Due process will be followed, and having facilities at Guantanamo Bay will be an asset to us," Noem said during an interview on NBC News’ "Meet the Press" on Sunday, adding that she appreciates "the partnership of the DoD in getting that up to the level that it needs to get to in order to facilitate this repatriation of people back to their country.” The move comes as the Trump administration in his first two weeks in office has prioritized executing his plans for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants from the U.S., plans that he oft-touted on the campaign trail last year. His plans to use Guantanamo Bay as a detention space come as immigration enforcement agencies have ramped up their activity in the past two weeks, escalating the need for more detention space for migrants while they are processed for deportation and repatriation to their home countries. The military facilities at Guantanamo have traditionally been used to house detainees suspected of contributing to the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. or other international terror attacks. Noem reiterated the Trump administration’s goal of housing the "worst of the worst" migrants at Guantanamo Bay, referring to those who have committed crimes while living in the U.S. illegally. "Remember that Guantanamo Bay — clearly this President has said that it will hold the worst of the worst, that we are going after those bad actors. This last week, I was in New York City. We were going after people that had warrants out for their arrest on murders and rapes, assaults, gun purchases, drug trafficking," Noem told "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker. Reuters [2/2/2025 1:31 PM, Staff, 48128K, Negative] reports the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Sunday declined to say whether migrant women, children or families would be included in Trump administration expansion plans for the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention center, saying instead the federal government would utilize all available facilities under the law. "We’re going to use the facilities that we have," she told NBC’s "Meet the Press" program. "We have other detention facilities, other places in the country. So, we will utilize what we have according to what’s appropriate for the individuals.” In separate Sunday interviews, Noem and Homan both reiterated that the administration was targeting "the worst of the worst" with its sweeps to detain people who are in the United States illegally, noting that a recent enforcement action in New York City focused on individuals with criminal arrest warrants. "The worst of the worst need to go to Guantanamo Bay," Homan told Fox News’s "Sunday Morning Futures" program. "We’ve had a migrant processing center there for decades ... We’re going to expand it a lot.” Noem said that the plan was not to hold people at Guantanamo indefinitely and that the administration would follow U.S. law. "The plan is to have a process that we follow that’s laid out in law and make sure that we’re dealing with these individuals appropriately," she said. "But it is an asset that we have that we fully intend to utilize.” Noem reiterated that the Homeland Security Department would work with Congress on the facility but gave no other details.

Washington Examiner [2/2/2025 12:14 PM, Elaine Mallon, 2365K, Negative] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said illegal immigrants sent to Guantanamo Bay won’t be housed there indefinitely. "That is not the plan," Noem said during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday when asked. "The plan is to have a process that we follow that’s laid out in law and make sure that we’re dealing with these individuals appropriately according to what the state and what the national lawsuit or law directs, so we will work with Congress to make sure that we’re addressing our legal immigration laws and using Guantanamo Bay appropriately.” In his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed dozens of executive orders to implement his plans to deport millions of migrants illegally residing in the country. However, Immigration and Customs Enforcement only has the detention space to hold 41,000 migrants, thus prompting the Trump administration to turn to the prospect of using military bases, like President Barack Obama did in 2014, to hold illegal migrants the Department of Homeland Security is seeking to deport. While Guantanamo Bay is widely recognized for holding terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks, the military base also has a couple of buildings to hold migrants caught on boats from Cuba and Haiti. This is known as the Migrant Operations Center, but it does not possess the 30,000 capacity that Trump claims it does, according to the Associated Press.

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NBC News [2/2/2025 9:31 AM, Staff, 50804K, Neutral] Video: HERE

Reuters [2/2/2025 8:58 PM, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart, 48128K, Neutral] reports U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s first trip since taking office will be to the United States’ border with Mexico on Monday, in the latest sign that fortifying the border will be a priority for the Pentagon under President Donald Trump. Trump has increasingly turned to the military to help carry out his immigration agenda, including sending additional troops to the border, using military aircraft to fly migrants out of the United States, and opening up military bases to help house them. "POTUS wants 100% operational control of the border—and we will deliver," Hegseth said on Sunday on X, referring to Trump, as he announced the trip to visit troops on the border. Trump declared a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on Saturday, citing the "extraordinary threat" from fentanyl and illegal immigration, and imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and an extra duty on Chinese goods. Republican Trump last week said he was expanding a detention facility at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold 30,000 people. His White House border czar, Tom Homan, has said he hopes to start moving migrants there within 30 days. Additional U.S. Marines arrived at Guantanamo Bay in recent days to prepare to expand a facility that holds migrants. The Pentagon has also started providing flights for the deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that U.S. military aircraft flew detained migrants to Honduras and Peru over the weekend. The military flights are a costly way to fly migrants. Reuters reported that a military deportation flight to Guatemala last week likely cost at least $4,675 per migrant. That is more than five times the $853 cost of a one-way first-class ticket on American Airlines from El Paso, Texas, the departure point for the flight.

Newsweek [2/2/2025 6:37 PM, Natalie Venegas, 56005K, Negative] reports protests have erupted across the country over the weekend in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which includes mass deportations and sweeping raids targeting illegal immigrants. Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment on Sunday evening. The Trump administration has vowed to conduct the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history targeting the estimated 11.7 million people who are in the country without legal status. A New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records." Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken. However, the policy has since sparked concerns about its impact on immigrant communities, families and the economy. As the Trump administration moves forward with its hard-line immigration agenda, immigration advocates across the country are mobilizing to protest and protect immigrant communities from potential raids and deportations. While immigrant rights advocates have been hosting workshops and sharing legal advice on social media with communities about knowing their rights, locals have begun organizing protests across the U.S. over the weekend. The most intense protests have occurred in California and Texas along the border and near halls of government, with demonstrations of civil disobedience. On Sunday a large crowd gathered in downtown Los Angeles, California in response to the recent increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and deportations.

Reuters [2/2/2025 6:41 PM, David Shepardson, 48128K, Neutral] reports the Trump administration said on Sunday that federal employees involved in public safety positions, such as air traffic controllers, are exempt from a financial incentive to quit government jobs. On Tuesday, the White House offered 2 million civilian full-time federal workers a "deferred resignation program" to remain on the payroll through Sept. 30 but without having to work. The Office of Personnel Management said in an updated fact sheet that the offer did not apply to "positions related to public safety and those in other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.” A White House spokesperson did not immediately comment on how many public safety positions are exempted. OPM previously said the offer was unavailable to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers and positions related to immigration enforcement and national security. President Donald Trump has imposed a hiring freeze on most federal jobs but exempted some positions. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN air traffic controllers and inspectors were exempt from the freeze and the FAA is actively hiring controllers. "The critical positions in regard to safety are not offered that early retirement. We’re going to keep all our safety positions in place, no early retirement," Duffy said. "We’re all going to stay and work and make sure our skies are safe.” Air traffic controllers received early retirement offers last week, sparking concerns among airlines about the impact a wave of departures could have on flights.

Washington Post [2/2/2025 6:19 PM, Perry Stein, et al., 40736K, Neutral] reports FBI officials sent out a questionnaire over the weekend to determine the involvement of thousands of FBI personnel in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple people who reviewed the document and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The online questionnaire landed in inboxes a day after the FBI’s acting director said the bureau would conduct a broad examination, at the request of the Justice Department, of anyone who touched the sprawling Jan. 6. investigation. It is the latest sign that the Trump administration aims to deliver on its promises to make dramatic changes in the FBI and root out people who President Donald Trump or his allies claim acted inappropriately. Acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove has asked for a list by Tuesday of all current and former FBI personnel assigned to investigations and prosecutions related to the Capitol attack and a separate terrorism case. The questionnaire appears to be part of the FBI’s attempt to compile that information. It was sent to managers in FBI offices across the country who may have overseen agents or other staffers who worked on a Jan. 6 investigation, according to the people familiar with the matter. The managers were instructed to tell relevant employees to complete the questionnaire by 3 p.m. Monday. The questionnaire, coupled with the recent abrupt firings of top FBI leaders and fears of more terminations, have created panic within the bureau about its future, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. The agency sent out an unusual message on Saturday saying that, despite rumors to the contrary, the acting director remained in place and had not been fired.

New York Times [2/2/2025 6:00 PM, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, Keith Bradsher and Susan Hopkins, 161405K, Neutral] reports the United States and its biggest trading partners were hurtling on Sunday into a new era of protectionism as Canada, Mexico and China said they would adopt countermeasures against new tariffs levied by President Trump. From honey to tomatoes, and from clothes to toilet bowls, a wide range of American goods that cross the border into Canada, worth more than $100 billion, will soon be hit with a 25 percent tariff. “We don’t want to be here,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a somber televised address from Ottawa on Saturday night in which he spoke of the deep bonds between the neighbors. “We didn’t ask for this.” On Sunday, China said it would “take corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its rights and interests.” It also said it would take legal action at the World Trade Organization. And in a video released on Sunday, President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico said that she would unveil the first steps of her government’s so-called Plan B plan on Monday if an agreement with the United States could not be reached. Ms. Sheinbaum earlier warned of retaliatory “tariff and nontariff measures.” The policy announced by Mr. Trump on Saturday hit Canada and Mexico with tariffs of 25 percent on all goods, with a carve-out for Canadian energy and oil exports. Those are to be taxed at 10 percent. He also placed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods. He also ordered an end to the ability of Americans to buy up to $800 of goods per day from each country without paying tariffs. It was a blow to the giant businesses that online companies like Temu and Shein have built by shipping directly from factories in China to American homes, bypassing American retailers.

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Washington Post [2/2/2025 9:02 PM, Amanda Coletta, Mary Beth Sheridan and Daniel Gilbert, 40736K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump vowed Sunday to move ahead with steep new tariffs on U.S. allies and trading partners, even as he seemed to acknowledge that it could inflict pain on U.S. consumers. Canada, meanwhile, targeted U.S. imports from oranges to motorcycles with its own tariffs, and Mexico readied financial countermeasures. “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!)” Trump posted on Truth Social. “BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.” Trump commented hours after imposing new levies on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, the nation’s three largest trading partners, bewildering the leaders of Canada and Mexico. The tariffs are set to take effect early Tuesday, when American importers will be assessed a new 25 percent tax on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10 percent on products from China. Most imports from Canada and Mexico currently face no tariffs, the result of a trilateral trade deal Trump reached with those countries during his first term. Many Chinese products already are assessed tariffs of up to 25 percent. Trump has said he’s adding 10 percent to Chinese products. The Washington Post [2/2/2025 12:00 PM, Ishaan Tharoor, 40736K, Neutral] reports that Trump casts the measures as punitive action to compel all three countries to do more to crack down on the passage of undocumented migrants and illicit drugs — in particular, Chinese-linked fentanyl — into the United States. But he has also harbored long-standing gripes over U.S. trade deficits with these countries and believes that further tariffs incentivize companies to relocate manufacturing operations and other elements of their businesses to the United States. He argued Sunday that whatever pain Americans may feel as a result of the tariffs will be “worth the price.”

Reported similarly:
Reuters [2/2/2025 11:15 AM, Douglas Gillison, 48128K, Neutral]
AP [2/2/2025 6:23 AM, Josh Boak, 581K, Neutral]

Reuters [2/2/2025 1:36 PM, David Lawder, 48128K, Negative] reports President Donald Trump’s new tariff orders against Canada, Mexico and China all contain clauses suspending a duty-free exemption for low-value shipments below $800 that is widely seen as a loophole that has allowed shipments of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals into the United States. Staunching that flow was a primary motivation cited by Trump in imposing sweeping import taxes on goods on the three largest U.S. trading partners. Absent a fully global end to the so-called "de minimis" exemption, it is not clear how effective Trump’s approach will be at curbing the flow of fentanyl. The suspension of the exemption is due to last as long as Trump’s tariffs are in place. It also could cause problems for Chinese e-commerce companies, including Shein and PDD Holdings’ (PDD.O), Temu, which have exploited the exemption to ship individual consumer goods packages directly from China to avoid previous U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. Such small shipments often are not screened at ports of entry, allowing shipments of drugs and their ingredients to enter undetected. A Reuters investigation last year revealed how Chinese chemical traders are using the de minimis exception to sneak shipments of precursors into the United States, from where they are conveyed across the border to fentanyl labs in Mexico. Overdoses of fentanyl, a powerful and addictive painkilling drug, killed nearly 75,000 Americans in 2023, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In announcing the punitive duties of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on Chinese imports, White House officials said on Saturday that the de minimis halt applied specifically to Canada. The officials criticized Canada for not cracking down on fentanyl trafficking shipments. But the orders for all three countries contain the same language addressing the de minimis exemption: "For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) of this section." That subsection of each order broadly identifies the imports subject to tariffs. Trump’s orders do not contain any language suggesting a global or permanent suspension of the de minimis status, leaving open the possibility that fentanyl shipments could still arrive unchecked as long as they do not originate from China, Canada or Mexico.

AP [2/2/2025 8:25 PM, Rob Gillies and Fabiola Sánchez, 30936K, Neutral] reports Canada and Mexico ordered retaliatory tariffs on American goods in response to sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, and businesses and consumers in both countries questioned Sunday how the new trade war might affect them. Canada initially ordered tariffs of 25% on American imports starting Tuesday, including beverages, cosmetics and paper products worth 30 billion Canadian dollars ($20 billion). A second list of goods was to be released soon, including passenger vehicles, trucks, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy products, aerospace products and more. Those goods were estimated to be worth 125 billion Canadian dollars ($85 billion). “We can play the game all they want,” Trump said. He said he plans to speak with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on Monday. Mexico has so far said only that it will impose retaliatory tariffs, without mentioning any rate or products. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke by phone Saturday after Trump’s administration imposed the new tariffs — 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico, with a lower rate of 10% for Canadian oil, and 10% on imports from China. Trudeau’s office said in a statement that Canada and Mexico agreed “to enhance the strong bilateral relations” between their countries. Canadian officials have had extensive dialogue with their Mexican counterparts, but a senior Canadian official said he would not go as far as to say the tariff responses were coordinated.

New York Times [2/2/2025 2:36 PM, Danielle Kaye, 161405K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s tariffs target countries that are major suppliers of a wide range of goods to the United States. For American families, the likely result is higher prices nearly everywhere they turn — in grocery aisles, car dealerships, electronics stores and at the pump. Mr. Trump on Saturday signed executive orders imposing tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners, which are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday. All goods imported from Canada and Mexico will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, except Canadian energy products, which will face a 10 percent tariff, according to the executive orders. The orders also imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods. While Mr. Trump on Sunday acknowledged that his new tariffs could cause “some pain,” he has insisted that they will not substantially increase prices for Americans and that foreign countries will bear the brunt. But trading data and economic studies suggest that consumers in the United States will probably see higher prices on wide range of products, from vegetables and meat to cellphones and cars. While some companies may opt against passing on the cost of the tariff, many are likely to raise prices on their products. “Because of the combination of these three countries, it’s going to be difficult to go down an aisle of a grocery store and not see some sort of inflationary effect,” said Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. Fresh produce, much of which is imported from Mexico, is one of the first categories where shoppers might notice an uptick in prices, potentially within a couple of weeks of the tariffs going into effect. These items, including avocados, tomatoes and strawberries, have a short shelf life. Grocery stores lack substantial inventory, meaning that consumers will quickly find produce that is subject to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. Price increases are poised to hit liquor aisles, too, especially beer and tequila. In 2023, nearly three quarters of U.S. agricultural imports from Mexico consisted of vegetables, fruit, beverages and distilled spirits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 10:37 AM, Sarah Fortinsky, 57114K, Neutral] reports Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Sunday that Mexico, Canada and China have an "opportunity" to partner with the U.S. to stem the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigration. In an interview on NBC News’s "Meet the Press," Noem defended President Trump’s decision to impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada and a 10 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the U.S. "These countries have an opportunity to get on board with the president of the United States and to partner with us to deal with illegal immigration, to take back their individuals that have been in our country illegally. We want to repatriate them home, and they can be partners," Noem said when asked whether the U.S. was in a trade war. "So economically, yes, they will feel pain. They will feel what these consequences are, and we’ll be able to continue to go forward with a president who’s strong, who’s putting America first," she continued. NBC News’s Kristen Welker noted that fentanyl is a much greater problem at the southern border than at the northern border, and much of it originates in China. Welker asked why, then, the U.S. is "punishing Canada, one of its closest allies, more than China.” "Canada has some work to do as far as helping us secure our northern border. So, we still know we’re extremely vulnerable across that northern border, that we have people coming into our country from China, from foreign countries. We have people on the terrorist watch list that come in over our northern border. And in fact, what we have sent a message this week on is that we’re not just going to enforce our southern border. We’re going to put extra resources at that northern border as well," Noem responded. "So, Canada needs to come to the table, they need to work with us to make sure that not only can we be good neighbors, but that we can help each other’s economies by getting in line and making sure that our immigration policies are followed and that those that are dangerous criminals face consequences," she continued. "The president has been very clear from the beginning that there’s a new sheriff in town, that he’s going to make sure he’s putting Americans first, and that Canada can help us, or they can get in the way, and they will face the consequences of it.”

NPR [2/2/2025 5:19 PM, Brian Mann, 35747K, Negative] reports President Trump says illegal street fentanyl is one of the main justifications for sweeping trade tariffs he plans to impose against Canada, China and Mexico on Tuesday. A statement issued by the White House describes the synthetic opioid as fueling a "national emergency" that warranted tough action. Experts say the reality is far more complex. President Trump and his team misstate key facts about the fentanyl crisis. On Inauguration Day, Trump said foreign drug cartels are "killing 250,000 [or] 300,000 American people per year." On Friday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said tariffs are warranted because fentanyl has "killed tens of millions of Americans.” While the overdose epidemic is a serious crisis, experts in law enforcement, drug policy research and public health agree street drugs have killed vastly fewer people. During the most severe period of the opioid crisis, in 2022 and 2023, total overdose deaths — including fentanyl, methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and all other drugs — peaked at around 114,000 fatalities per year. And while drug overdose deaths have been wrenching for many families, fentanyl deaths haven’t come close to killing tens of millions of people. State and federal data also shows the crisis was improving at an unprecedented pace before these tariffs were announced. Fatal overdoses from fentanyl and all other street drugs have plummeted nationally by more than 21% since June 2023, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falling below 90,000 deaths in a 12-month period for the first time in roughly half a decade. What role does Canada play in the U.S. fentanyl supply? Almost none. In its fact sheet, the Trump administration says Canada has a "growing footprint" in narcotics distribution with Mexican cartels active in the country. But law enforcement and drug policy experts agree that Canada plays a minimal role in fentanyl smuggling into the U.S.

Newsweek [2/2/2025 6:25 PM, Mandy Taheri, 56005K, Neutral] reports two days after a medical jet crashed in Philadelphia, the plane’s operator has identified the six people onboard who died, and Mayor Cherelle Parker reported a rising number of injuries. A Learjet 55 crashed around 6:30 p.m. ET Friday in northeast Philadelphia near the Roosevelt Mall. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the jet was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri. It was then bound for Mexico. All six people on the medical flight were killed, as well as one person, who was in their car at the time of the crash. The crash comes just days after a fatal midair collision on Wednesday night involving an American Airlines passenger plane and a Sikorsky H-60 military helicopter that resulted in 67 fatalities. Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, who was operating the flight, identified the individuals on the plane to CBS News. All of the victims were Mexican citizens. Perales and Juarez, piloted the jet, while Arredondo and Padilla provided medical assistance. Eleven-year-old Murillo, who was returning to Mexico after receiving months of treatment at Shriners Children’s hospital, was accompanied by her mother, Ozuna. The crash also took the life of an individual who was in their car at the time, that person has not yet been identified. Parker said Sunday that the number of injured has risen from 20 to 22, with five still hospitalized, including three in critical condition. At least 11 nearby homes were significantly damaged in the crash, which also sparked a fire. The crash site, in a heavily trafficked area, remained closed Sunday but is expected to reopen before rush hour Monday.

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 4:50 PM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports that operations to salvage the wreckage from a deadly collision between a US Army helicopter and a passenger jet continued Sunday as rescuers said 55 victims had so far been identified. Dozens of victims have been pulled from the icy Potomac River, and rescuers voiced confidence that those remainingwould be retrieved in the massive operation to recover the plane that collided in midair with a Black Hawk military helicopter. Washington fire chief John Donnelly said human remains of some of the 67 people killed in the crash had been found as efforts were made to lift the fuselage of the plane, adding that they were taken to the medical examiner. "Tomorrow there’ll be some lifting operations on the wreckage that’s in the water," he told a briefing Sunday. "So far, 55 victims have been positively identified...from this this accident," he added. Some 200 vessels were involved with the recovery and salvage efforts, the Coast Guard said. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is expected to compile a preliminary report within 30 days, although a full investigation could take a year. As the investigation searches for answers, aviation experts have homed in on whether the helicopter crew could see through military night-vision goggles and whether the Reagan National Airport control tower was understaffed. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday that staffing shortages had long been a problem for air traffic control, vowing to improve the situation. "Staffing shortages for air traffic control has been a major problem for years and years," he said on Fox News Sunday, where he promised to ensure "bright, smart, brilliant people in towers controlling airspace.” President Donald Trump has repeatedly tied the causes of the crash and staffing shortages to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, attributing them without evidence and before the formal crash investigation has concluded.

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 11:50 AM, Mallory Moench, 57114K, Neutral] reports Air traffic control staffing was "not normal" at the time of a mid-air collision between a military helicopter and passenger plane in Washington, DC that killed 67 people, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has acknowledged. US media reported that Reagan National Airport tower was understaffed during Wednesday’s crash, according to a government report. "I’ll take the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at their word that it wasn’t normal," Duffy said when asked about reports during the FOX News Sunday programme. So far, 55 victims have been recovered from the Potomac River, with divers continuing to search for 12 more. There were 64 passengers aboard the American Airlines flight when it collided mid-air with an army Black Hawk helicopter carrying three soldiers as crew. There were no survivors. At the time of the crash, one air traffic control worker was managing helicopters and some planes from the airport, a job normally done by two people, two sources told CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner. Duffy said "that was part of the review process that we have to do". He explained there was a "consolidation of air traffic controllers an hour before it was supposed to happen during the time of this crash. And so was, what was the appropriateness of that?". Duffy raised questions about whether controllers did "appropriately direct traffic, consistent with procedures at the FAA", as well as the elevation of the helicopter.

New York Times [2/2/2025 4:41 PM, Minho Kim, 161405K, Neutral] reports Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Vice President JD Vance joined President Trump on Sunday in blaming diversity hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration for the midair collision of a commercial jet and a military helicopter near Washington last week. “The person at the controls didn’t have enough staffing around him or her because we were turning people away because of D.E.I. reasons,” Mr. Vance said on Fox News, using the abbreviation for diversity, equity and inclusion. “D.E.I. policies have led our air traffic controllers to be short staffed — that is a scandal.” On Thursday, Mr. Trump, without evidence, linked his long-running complaints about diversity hiring practices to the crash near Ronald Reagan National Airport. The president quoted from the F.A.A. website, which he said had indicated that the agency was looking to hire people with disabilities. No evidence suggests that diversity hiring programs contributed to the crash on Wednesday night. Those programs — some of which started or continued under Mr. Trump’s first term — followed the same aptitude, medical and security standards used for hiring candidates without disabilities. In 2019, for example, a pilot program that the F.A.A. began for hiring 20 people with disabilities emphasized that those candidates would “receive the same rigorous consideration” as those considered for “a standard public opening for air traffic controller jobs.” But on Sunday, Mr. Duffy suggested without offering evidence that efforts to diversify hiring had affected the quality of the work force at air traffic control towers. “You can’t focus on diversity, equity and inclusion when you try to hire air traffic controllers,” Mr. Duffy said on Fox News. “You focus on the best and the brightest.” Michael McCormick, a former vice president of the F.A.A. Air Traffic Organization who oversaw hiring of controllers during his tenure from 2011 to 2015, said in an interview that Mr. Trump, Mr. Vance and Mr. Duffy were making “baseless claims.” He characterized diversity programs as a recruitment tool for reaching out to candidates with minority backgrounds and said they did not compromise hiring standards.

Washington Examiner [2/2/2025 10:26 AM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2365K, Neutral] reports Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) slammed the single bill the Florida legislature took up out of session, claiming it sets up Florida to become a “defacto sanctuary state.” DeSantis called the Florida legislature to meet in a special session to begin supporting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. However, the legislature opted to take up one immigration-related bill instead of the governor’s other recommendations. According to DeSantis, it turns Florida, which has no sanctuary cities, into a state that protects illegal immigrants under the state’s Department of Agriculture. “They also bar any involvement with ICE unless you do a ‘mother may I’ from the commissioner of Agriculture. So, what it does is it masquerades as a enforcement bill, but it makes Florida a defacto sanctuary state,” DeSantis explained on Fox News’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade on Saturday. “Final point is just this, I’ve never seen a more negative reaction for anything the Florida legislature has done from our grassroots than I have seen how they’ve done this bill. It’s almost unanimous — people want this problem solved once and for all. My set of proposals will do it in their set of proposals will make the problem worse.” Trump thanked DeSantis’s efforts to call the special session and encouraged other governors to follow suit. DeSantis confirmed he is working with this administration. DeSantis is likely to veto the bill should it pass the House and Senate. However, there is a chance his veto is overriden by a super majority, since the bill is supported by state House Republicans, including House Speaker Daniel Perez and Republican Senate President Ben Albritton.

CBS News [2/3/2025 12:24 AM, Dawn White, 52225K, Neutral] reports demonstrations continued for a second weekend throughout North Texas against the Trump administration’s effort to crack down on illegal immigration. Hundreds of people gathered outside Arlington City Hall Sunday afternoon holding signs and flags as some cars honked with their support. "As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, obviously, this is a very important personal subject to me. I wanted to put together a rally and protest with calls for action. I wanted to give a safe space community to build and gather," organizer Marisela Aramino said. Marie Esquivel said her father was deported to Mexico when she was a baby. "It’s very hard. Even now, I don’t really have a connection with my father," Esquivel said. Esquivel said she came to the protest to give a voice to those in her community. "Nobody really wants to go out anywhere where they used to go. Nobody wants to go to school," Esquivel said. The Tarrant County Democratic Party organized the event in response to recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. "We have to get people out of their houses or complaining on social media or in the media but not actually getting out and doing things. We need to connect with our neighbors," Tarrant County Democratic Party executive director Candice Sublett said. CBS News Texas asked organizers their response to opponents who say undocumented immigrants should have come into the country legally. "We have to help find a way to live with one another," Aramino said. "This is a human rights issue. It’s not okay to just try to rip people apart from each other." The organizers said the rally is just the beginning of their efforts. They have many future plans and ideas across North Texas. "That was one of the critical critiques that we’ve had as a county party is that we are not in the community enough, so we are going to make sure that we are in the community," Sublett said. An average of more than 1,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested each day since President Trump was sworn into office, according to ICE data. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

AP [2/3/2025 4:36 AM, Staff, 33392K, Negative] reports thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by President Donald Trump marched in Southern California on Sunday, including in downtown Los Angeles where demonstrators blocked a major freeway for several hours. Protesters gathered in the morning on LA’s historic Olvera Street, which dates to Spanish and Mexican rule, before marching to City Hall. They called for immigration reform and carried banners with slogans like “Nobody is illegal.” By the afternoon, marchers had blocked all lanes of U.S. 101, causing traffic to back up in both directions and on surface streets. The demonstrators sat down in lanes, while a cordon of California Highway Patrol officers stood by. It took more than five hours for the freeway to fully reopen, CHP Lt. Matt Gutierrez said Sunday evening. The CHP and the Los Angeles Police Department said there were no reports of arrests. To the east, hundreds of people protested in the city of Riverside. Passing motorists honked and yelled out in support of demonstrators waving flags at an intersection, the Southern California News Group reported. And in San Diego, hundreds rallied near the city’s convention center on Sunday. In Texas, demonstrators gathered in downtown Dallas on Sunday in a pair of protests against recent arrests by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Dallas police told The Associated Press that approximately 1,600 people gathered between the two rallies. Marchers carried Mexican and American flags and speakers expressed outrage about the rhetoric from Trump and his administration’s moves to increase deportations. Signs held by the protesters included one that read “Immigrants Make America Great.”

Reported similarly:
CBS News [2/3/2025 3:13 AM, Iris Salem, Dean Fioresi, 52225K, Neutral]

The Hill [2/2/2025 8:00 AM, Arturo McFields, 57114K, Neutral] reports President Trump has declared a National Emergency over the immigration crisis. He is willing to change things at home and abroad. It is not just about building walls and deporting migrants. No. It is about ensuring national security and guaranteeing that all countries assume responsibility for illegal migration and drug violence. Even though the challenge is massive and not free from controversies, his unconventional strategy seems to be working. For the last four years, the leftist governments of Mexico, Colombia and Honduras have been using migration as a political weapon. That’s all over now. In just one week, Trump managed to make clear that deportations will not be subject to negotiation. Mexico has been using migration as part of a domestic political campaign on behalf of its ruling party. Rather than help her migrants with more resources in Mexico’s consulates or through educational campaigns, President Claudia Sheinbaum has used the immigration issue as a political lever. She has been spouting nationalistic rhetoric against the U.S. "We are safer than the U.S. … We are not a colony of anyone. … Sovereignty is not to be trifled with.” But how her tone has changed. Last week, she accepted four flights full of migrants into Mexico within less than 24 hours — a record one-day number, according to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. "Remain in Mexico" has been reactivated as of Jan. 21, as Sheinbaum bends the knee to Trump. Mexico’s government is welcoming back migrants from Mexico and other nations. Asylum-seekers traveling to the U.S. through Mexico will now have to do their paperwork and wait for adjudication in that country instead of coming into the U.S. Colombian president Gustavo Petro, the former M-19 guerrilla leader, started a battle on X against Trump’s deportation policy, and he soon regretted it. Petro, who received thousands of migrants under previous administrations, prohibited the entry of U.S. aircrafts filled with migrants. He called Trump a slave owner, announced an economic war and threatened American residents in Colombia with irregular status. With this action, Petro threatened to dynamite the 200-year diplomatic relationship between Colombia and the United States.

NBC’s Meet the Press [2/2/2025 1:14 PM, Staff, Neutral] reports overnight, the president officially announcing the new tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, saying he wants those countries to do more to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The three countries are all slamming the move. They’re vowing retaliatory strikes. Is the United States now in a trade war? Secretary Noem says that those countries have the opportunity to get onboard with the President of the United States and to partners with the U.S. in order to deal with illegal immigration and to take back their individuals that have been in the country illegally. "Economically, yes, they will feel – they will feel pain. They will feel what this consequences are, and we’ll be able to continue to go forward with a president who’s strong, who’s putting America first." Secretary Noem states. Why is the United States punishing Canada, one of its closest allies, more than China, where fentanyl originates? "Canada has some work to do as far as helping us secure our northern border. So we still know we’re extremely vulnerable across that northern border, that we have people coming into our country from China, from foreign countries. We have people on the terrorist watchlist that come in over our northern border. And in fact what we have sent a message this week on is that we’re not just going to enforce our southern border. We’re going to put extra resources, resources at that northern border as well. So Canada needs to come to the table. They need to work with us to make sure that not only can we be good neighbors but that we can help each other’s economies by getting in line and making sure that our immigration policies are followed, and that those that are dangerous criminals face consequences. The president has been very clear from the beginning that there’s a new sheriff in town, that he’s going to make sure he’s putting Americans first, and that Canada can help us or they can get in the way, and they will face the consequences of it." Secretary Noem states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [2/2/2025 1:14 PM, Staff, Neutral] reports there are a lot of questions about the announcement this week that Guantanamo Bay will be used as a detention facility for migrants. Will people held at Guantanamo have the same due process rights and access to attorneys that they have here in the United States? Secretary Noem says that "Yes, due process will be followed and having facilities at Guantanamo Bay will be an asset to us in the fact that we’ll have the capacity to continue to do there what we’ve always done. We’ve always had a presence of illegal immigrants there that have been detained. We’re just building out some capacity. So we appreciate the partnership of the DOD in getting that up to the level that it needs to get to in order to facilitate this repatriation of people back to their countries. So remember that Guantanamo Bay clearly, by this president, has said that it will hold the worst of the worst, that we are going after those bad actors. This last week, I was in New York City. We were going after people that had warrants out for their arrest on murders and rapes, assaults, gun purchases, drug trafficking. In fact we had a member of TDA that was one of the ringleaders that we picked up that that week, had been trying to buy grenades. These are the types of individuals that we are targeting, we’re removing from communities, and that could end up having a stay at Guantanamo Bay before they are returned home to their countries to deal with." When asked if people could be held at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely, Secretary Noem had this to say, "That is not the plan. The plan is to have a process that we follow that’s laid out in law and make sure that we’re dealing with these individuals appropriately according to what the state and the national lawsuit -- or law directs. So we will work with Congress to make sure that we’re addressing our legal immigration laws and using Guantanamo Bay appropriately. But it is an asset that we have that we fully intend to utilize."

CNN’s State of the Union With Jake Tapper and Dana Bash [2/2/2025 9:37 AM, Staff, 446K, Neural] reports the FAA warning system that sends alerts to pilots about conditions that could affect the safety of their flights, that system’s been down since late last night. A similar outage two years ago temporarily forced to nationwide ground stop, leading to thousands of canceled and delayed flights. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says a backup system in being used. Secretary Duffy said that the NOTAM system did go down last night but as of right now the lead system is online and working. NOTAM is a system where pilots download their information, their flight details before they fly. "If the NOTAM system doesn’t work, planes don’t fly, but there was minimal disruption. But, again, as mentioned, this has gone down a couple of times over the last two years. There’s a process in place right now to get this system fixed. We want to expedite that and get this new system in place. This is an old system that needs to be upgraded." Secretary Duffy states.

NBC’s Meet the Press [2/2/2025 1:14 PM, Staff, Neutral] reports a horrific plan crash in the nations capital claimed 67 lives. Republican Senator Eric Schmitt has been paying close attention to the investigation. President Trump, for his part came out, he held a news conference, started with a moment of silence, quickly shifted to politics, including blaming diversity programs for the crash. Senator Schmitt is asked, "Do you believe that President Trump runs the risk of getting ahead of the facts by drawing conclusions that he himself says he has no evidence that diversity programs played a role?" Senator Schmitt had this to say: "My prayers, my family’s prayers are with them, and I know the country wants to wrap their arms around them too. They deserve a full investigation, and I think we’ve learned a few things already. But as it relates specifically to the president’s comments, this is nothing new, Kristen. This idea of emphasizing DEI across the federal government has real ramifications. The president said and as you just mentioned, not related specifically, we don’t know, the investigation will find out. But broadly speaking, DEI is poison. It’s hurt recruiting, it’s hurt hiring, it’s hurt retention. The hours spent on these struggle sessions during training is hours you don’t spend on safety. And that’s just a fact. And it’s evidenced by the fact that 1,000 people sued the air traffic control for not being hired because of their race. It’s evidenced by the fact that you have also people who were fired from air traffic controls, and pilots for not taking the Covid shot. And then, you know, the government then, of course, makes it a priority to hire 87,000 IRS agents to roam across the country and harass Americans. So this has become, Kristen, an obsession."

CNN [2/2/2025 4:00 AM, Priscilla Alvarez, 987K, Neutral] reports President Donald Trump has quickly mobilized wide swaths of the federal government to arrest and detain undocumented immigrants in the United States, part of a broader strategy to amass a large enforcement machine. The administration has sent troops to the US-Mexico border, utilized military aircraft to repatriate recent border crossers, and deployed people from multiple federal agencies, including those under the Justice Department, to augment immigration enforcement operations. Those shifts may cause tensions between agencies, as they compete for limited resources and manpower. The administration is also drawing up plans to expand the government’s holding capacity, turning to military bases and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And private contractors are discussing options amongst themselves as they look to ramp up detention capacity. “This gets them over one of the biggest hurdles they have which is resources,” said John Sandweg, former acting ICE director under the Obama administration, noting that getting additional funds from Congress will take time. “By elevating this to a national security priority, tapping into DOD’s abundant resources and DOJ with the federal agents, it’s an immediate surge of resources,” he added. The Trump administration is also expected to tap state and local law enforcement in the weeks to come to assist in their efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants. Combined, the efforts mark a dramatic scaling up of the administration’s enforcement apparatus and reflect Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda. White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller told CNN’s Jake Tapper Tuesday that arrest quotas for Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices of 75 per day should be treated as a “floor, not a ceiling.”

Washington Examiner [2/2/2025 5:02 PM, Asher Notheis, 2365K, Negative] reports Border czar Tom Homan warned sanctuary cities of bringing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement onto them by sheltering noncriminal illegal immigrants, some of whom he argued will still get arrested anyway. Homan touted how illegal border crossings have gone down by 93% since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, whom he called "the game changer" in securing the border and prioritizing national security. Homan assessed, however, that there is still more work to do amid deportations, in which just under 5,000 illegal immigrants were arrested in Trump’s first week in office, most of whom are criminals. "The noncriminals — and the media’s talking, ‘Who are these noncriminals?’ — the noncriminals are arrested in sanctuary cities because you force us into the community rather than arresting the bad guy in jail," Homan said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. "And when we find that criminal, he’s most likely with others, and they’re going to go too. So if you want to be a sanctuary city, you’re going to get exactly what you don’t want: more agents in the community and more noncriminals arrested.” Homan also detailed the Trump administration’s plan to house illegal immigrants in Guantanamo Bay, explaining that there has been a migrant processing center at the bay "for decades." He added that "the worst of the worst" will be held in his location.

FOX News [2/2/2025 6:20 PM, Stepheny Price and Bill Melugin, 49889K, Negative] reports U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a worksite raid at a car wash in Philadelphia that led to the arrest of seven illegal immigrants, the agency announced. ICE confirmed they conducted a worksite enforcement operation on Jan. 28 at Complete Autowash in Philadelphia based on allegations that employees were being subjected to labor exploitation. The agency said that ICE agents encountered, interviewed and arrested seven illegal aliens for immigration violations, who were later detained pending removal. When asked about the worksite raid, one senior ICE official’s reaction to the operation was "Wowsers," according to Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin. Melugin noted that worksite operations like this were not happening under the Biden administration. President Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan has repeatedly said that if someone is in the U.S. illegally, "they’re on the table," regardless of if they have criminal convictions. Of those arrested, ICE confirmed that six were from Mexico and one was from the Dominican Republic. "The successful execution of this worksite enforcement operation underscores our determined commitment to national security and public safety," Enforcement and Removal Operations Philadelphia acting Field Office Director Brian McShane said in a statement. "We were able to apprehend individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States. These operations highlight the dedication and diligence of our officers and agents in protecting our communities from potential threats by enforcing immigration laws in accordance with U.S. laws and Department of Homeland Security policies.”

FOX News [2/3/2025 3:17 AM, Elizabeth Pritchett, 49889K, Neutral] reports a Jamaican man illegally in the United States was arrested in the Florida panhandle last week for sex crimes involving a teenager, according to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Tommy Ford said Damian Gulgar, 44, is charged with unlawful sexual activity with a minor and engaging in sexual intercourse without disclosing a positive HIV diagnosis. Gulgar, who was arrested on Jan. 29, allegedly admitted to being HIV positive and being sexually involved with a teenager during an interview with law enforcement. Ford said the office became aware of the crime when it received a report surrounding the sexual abuse of a child earlier in January. The teenage victim was then interviewed by the Child Protection Team at the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, where the encounter with an adult man, later identified as Gulgar, was disclosed. The victim met Gulgar on a social media app and did not actually know who he was. Bay County authorities were able to successfully identify him as the suspect through techniques with crime analysts and search warrants. Authorities also learned Gulgar was in the U.S. illegally after overstaying a visa once it expired, Ford said in a news conference. The sheriff said the crime is "a very concerning situation" that involves a few things the office is working to combat: sexual abuse of children, children meeting and interacting with adults online, and illegal immigration. "Sexual abuse of children is something we are not going to tolerate. We’ve got zero tolerance for that. We’re proactive with that," Ford said. He also asked that parents monitor their kids’ social media accounts and educate them on the dangers of meeting up with people they have met online. On the illegal immigration front – Ford said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was notified of Gulgar’s arrest, which placed him on an ICE hold. "Once the state charges are resolved, then he’ll be turned into ICE custody," Ford said. He touched on illegal immigration in Florida, saying "the Biden administration did nothing" to help alleviate it and "put us in the situation we are in now." "This individual could be a sexual offender in Jamaica, or have a long rap sheet in Jamaica, we don’t have that information because they’re in the country illegally," Ford said. "I’m glad that we finally have an administration that is willing to step up and address this issue, because this is the kind of stuff that continues to happen and it’s not something we are going to tolerate." While he didn’t share specifics, Ford said Bay County authorities arrested nine illegal aliens accused of criminal acts during the end of January and transported them to ICE detention facilities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [2/2/2025 10:39 AM, Danielle Wallace, 49889K, Negative] reports Federal agents arrested another suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang member in Aurora, Colorado, Saturday morning. An illegal immigrant from Venezuela was charged locally with property damage and domestic violence, the Denver office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said. The arrest was carried out by ICE Denver and the Denver office for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The suspect will remain in ICE custody "pending a hearing before an immigration judge," ICE Denver wrote on X. The post did not further identify the suspect. The Trump administration said Friday it was in talks with El Salvador to revive an agreement that could allow the United States to send non-Salvadoran migrants to the Central American country. This time, though, the government would also aim to send members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to Salvadoran prisons, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the State Department’s special envoy for Latin America, said in a call with media outlets. Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in El Salvador as part of President Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown. Despite international human rights concerns, El Salvador has seen a sharp drop in violence in the country once plagued by the warring Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 gangs. Meanwhile, six Americans who had been detained in Venezuela in recent months were freed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro after he met Friday with a Trump administration official tasked with urging the authoritarian leader to take back deported migrants who have committed crimes in the United States. President Donald Trump’s envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, announced the release of the six men on social media.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 8:45 PM, Heather Willard, 57114K, Negative]

FOX News [2/2/2025 6:29 PM, Stepheny Price, 49889K, Neutral] reports a Wisconsin man has been charged with identity theft and impersonating a peace officer after prosecutors say he was caught posing as a U.S. Border Patrol agent twice in one week. According to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors charged 34-year-old Hank Glembin of New Berlin with two counts of identity theft and two counts of impersonating a peace officer after he claimed to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent on two occasions in January. In the complaint, obtained by FOX 6 Milwaukee, on Jan. 25, a Muskego police officer was responding to a deer that had been struck by a truck when Glembin pulled up and asked the officer if she needed assistance. The officer then asked Glembin if he was with the Muskego Department of Public Works and declined Glembin’s offer of help, according to the complaint. Glembin then told the officer, "I’m off duty right now. I’m with Border Patrol.” Glembin was reportedly wearing a black hat with "CBP" stitched in yellow, a green duty vest over a black jacket, and khaki pants, according to the officers’ notes in the complaint. Prosecutors said the officer also noted that Glembin had "DHS, CBP-BPA, and Agent H.D. Glembin" visible on his clothing. In addition to the fake logos on his clothes, the officer noted that Glembin had a handcuff case and a gun, which "appeared legitimate," attached to his belt. Glembin also had a white light mounted on one shoulder and a red light mounted on his other shoulder, the complaint read. According to the complaint, the officer said Glembin then pulled out an ID card that read "Department of Homeland Security" along with his image. Despite the officer telling Glembin that public works would take care of the dead deer, he dragged it into the ditch "unprompted.” Through further investigation, prosecutors said police confirmed Glembin’s uniform was "not consistent" with those worn by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 11:24 AM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 3:23 PM, Dave Burge, 57114K, Neutral] reports U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will visit Fort Bliss and the southern border on Monday, Feb. 3, Fort Bliss announced. Hegseth will visit Joint Task Force North, which is headquartered at Fort Bliss. This organization is part of U.S. Northern Command. Both have been providing support to the border mission with joint reception, staging, movement and training activities when troops arrive at Fort Bliss for the border mission. Fort Bliss said Hegseth will host a media event and is here to "see the efforts military men and women are undertaking in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection activities to secure the southern border." Fort Bliss said last week it has received about 750 active-duty forces that are part of the 1,500 Army and Marine Corps troops deploying to the southern border. They augment about 2,500 U.S. service members who are already deployed along the border, Fort Bliss said. About 100 soldiers from Fort Bliss’ 202nd Military Police Company will also deploy along the border and will be under the direction of Northern Command and JTF-N. "Whatever is needed at the border will be provided," Hegseth said on Jan. 27. "The. Defense Department will support the defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of. America’s southern border, including reservists, National Guardsmen and active-duty (personnel) in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land, and the directives of the.

San Diego Union Tribune [2/2/2025 9:43 PM, Paul Sisson, 2212K, Negative] reports a total of 23 migrants were detained by the U.S. Border Patrol Sunday morning after officials responded to two separate boat-based human smuggling attempts. The first occurred around midnight about 15 miles off Mission Bay when U.S. Coast Guard cutter Active interdicted a 25-foot panga. After crew members boarded the vessel, 16 people were found and determined to be undocumented migrants, the Coast Guard said in a statement. All claimed Mexican nationality and were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol custody. Later that morning, about 7:45 a.m., Border Patrol agents were called to Sunset Cliffs Beach where a small boat had been abandoned on the sand. “After a search of the area, agents found seven people hiding in nearby brush,” a Border Patrol statement said. “All seven people were determined to be illegally present in the United States. It was determined that all seven had disembarked the panga; the group was taken to a local Border Patrol station for processing.” The discovery of two smuggling boats early Sunday comes just over a week after a woman died when the smuggling boat she was riding in capsized in heavy surf near Ocean Beach. Maribel Merino Bernardo, 57, a Mexican national, drowned when the 25-foot cabin cruiser overturned on Jan. 25, sending more than 20 people into the water near the foot of Saratoga Avenue. Lifeguards and surfers rescued those they found in the water. Nine people were taken to the hospital, officials said at the time.

Government Executive [2/2/2025 7:35 PM, Edward Graham, 342K, Neutral] reports the Department of Homeland Security’s top watchdog is investigating the growing use of facial recognition technology in the security screening process at U.S. airports, a Democratic lawmaker announced on Friday. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and a bipartisan group of senators previously sent a letter to DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari in November calling for a thorough review of the Transportation Security Administration’s deployment of biometric technologies to verify travelers’ identities “from both an authorities and privacy perspective.” That request was signed by a total of 12 senators, including seven Democrats and five Republicans. In a Jan. 29-dated letter shared by Merkley’s office, Cuffari said his office was auditing TSA’s use of biometric tools to determine “the extent to which TSA’s facial recognition and identification technologies enhance security screening to identify persons of interest and authenticate flight traveler information while protecting passenger privacy.” TSA had deployed facial recognition technology to over 80 airports thus far, with plans to roll out the identity verification tools to more than 400 airports in the coming years. The new screening units, known as CAT-2 systems, take real-time pictures of travelers and then compare the images against their scanned photo identifications. Some lawmakers and privacy rights advocates have pushed back on TSA’s use of facial recognition, warning about the agency’s collection of Americans’ biometric data and expressing concerns that the adoption and normalization of the technology could set the stage for the deployment of further surveillance tools across the U.S. “This technology will soon be in use at hundreds of major and mid-size airports without an independent evaluation of the technology’s precision or an audit of whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to protect passenger privacy,” the senators wrote in their letter to Cuffari, adding that its deployment to all U.S. airports would make it “one of the largest federal surveillance databases overnight without authorization from Congress.” TSA has responded to criticism by noting that its screeners do not automatically store data and that traveler’s photos are immediately deleted after a match has been made. The agency has also noted that the facial recognition screenings are voluntary and that there are signs in airports with the new technology alerting travelers of their right to opt-out of the process.

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 10:13 AM, Tate Rosenberg, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) saw a slight decrease in firearms carried in carry-on luggage in Florida through 2024. The total number of firearms recovered through 2024, 817, is a slight decrease of the firearms recovered in 2023, which was 834. The following is a breakdown of several airports throughout the state showing their 2023 and 2024 statistics: Throughout Florida, TSA officers screened approximately 114.4 million departing travelers. The rate at which a firearm was detected was about every 140,000 travelers.

USA Today [2/2/2025 6:27 PM, James Powel, 6018K, Neutral] reports after nearly a month of destruction, smoke, and ash, the Eaton and Palisades fires that once ensconced Los Angeles have been fully contained, according to Cal Fire. The two fires sparked on Jan. 7 during a historic wind event and swept through the Pacific Palisades and Altadena, killing at least 29, burning over 37,000 acres, and leaving destroyed homes and livelihoods in their wake. "The conditions, that night, were unbearable," LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said during an interview with 60 Minutes. "It was a devil wind that came out, you know, that extreme Santa Ana wind condition.” The two blazes, currently under investigation, are the second and third most destructive wildfires in California history, according to Cal Fire. Pacific Coast Highway is set to see a limited reopening on Monday, with one lane of traffic each way and a reduced speed limit, according to an announcement by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Checkpoints in the area will remain in place, with responsibilities transferring from the Los Angeles Police Department to the California Highway Patrol and National Guard. The announcement said continued checkpoints came as a response to concerns the community had over safety in the burn area. The city had originally planned to remove the checkpoints on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Houston Chronicle [2/2/2025 3:49 PM, Shakari Briggs , 2315K, Negative] reports three men are accused of illegally catching 200 pounds of red snapper while aboard a lancha off the Texas Gulf Coast, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Officials transferred the men, who they said are Mexican fisherman, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for processing, the Coast Guard reported in a news release. "The seized fish will be split and donated to the Harte Institute to support illegal unreported and unregulated fishing research and Sea Turtle Inc. to help feed and rehabilitate turtles," officials said in the news release. The joint operation that led to the arrest included the Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crew, Coast Guard Cutter Edgar Culbertson, Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi watch standers and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews. They located and stopped the fishermen illegally fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line, officials said. In addition to the red snapper, Coast Guard personnel confiscated fishing gear and highflyers aboard the lancha — a fishing boat. "Lanchas are frequently used to transport illegal narcotics to the U.S. and illegally fish in the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone near the U.S./Mexico border in the Gulf of Mexico," officials said in the news release.

FOX News [2/2/2025 6:44 PM, Greg Wehner, 57114K, Negative] reports the Coast Guard intercepted a boat with 16 illegal aliens on board about 15 miles off the coast of Mission Bay in California on Sunday morning. The Coast Guard said in a press release that at about 12 a.m., cutter Active notified Joint Harbor Operations Center of a 25-foot panga-style vessel with about 15-20 people on board, about a mile south of their position. A panga boat is a narrow, high-bowed type of vessel often used by drug and human smugglers. The cutter Active and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations boat crew launched boarding teams to assess the situation. During the investigation, the Coast Guard boarding team discovered 16 immigrants aboard the panga. The initial interviews with the immigrants found they all claimed to be from Mexico, the Coast Guard said. All the immigrants were transferred into U.S. Border Patrol custody. "The Coast Guard remains committed to protecting lives at sea while working alongside our federal partners to combat illicit maritime activities," the Coast Guard said. "These operations highlight the coordinated efforts between agencies to secure our maritime borders." Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted several "alien expulsion flight operations" between California and Texas, which included intercepting a boat carrying illegal migrants that was sinking in U.S. waters. A photo shared by the military branch on X showed crews aboard the Active intercepting a vessel carrying nine illegal migrants bound for San Diego. "The migrant vessel began to sink shortly after the Active crew stopped the voyage," the post read. "All persons aboard the sinking vessel were safely removed and transferred to CBP."

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 2:30 PM, Amber Coakley, 57114K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 10:33 PM, Abigail Dye, 57114K, Negative] reports a group of four tactically-trained band dads jumped into action Saturday and apprehended an active shooter at a band competition at Pasadena Memorial High school. Pasadena ISD officials said a man in his 80s with a gun entered the school between 5-6 p.m. and fired two shots. One hit a door and another struck a 26-year-old victim in the shoulder, who the Angelton ISD says is a percussion technical consultant for Angleton High School. Officials say the victim was flown to a nearby hospital and is expected to be okay. After the shots rang out, the band dads jumped in. The four are 13-year air force vet Abram Trevino, 13-year Army vet Adam Curow, 4-year Marine vet Efrain (Polo) Castillo and 32-year Houston Police Sargent Joe Sanchez. "As soon as everyone was screaming and yelling, gunshots fired, Joe and myself looked at each other and ran straight to the door. By the time we got inside, Polo and Abram were right behind us as a band dad team," said Curow. The four say they and two other men took the suspect down to the ground and restrained him. "I grabbed his arms while Adam took the gun out. Once the gun was removed from his hands, we had no handcuffs, so I took my belt off and made a handcuff," said Sgt. Sanchez. The four worked together to keep the suspect restrained until law enforcement arrived. "I think anybody with our collective backgrounds would just do that, just out of nature," said Trevino. Pasadena Police identified the suspect as 83-year-old Dennis Brandl of Spring. Brandl told police that he was being chased by someone and that he was afraid he and his wife would be killed. The man drove from his home in Spring to the school in Pasadena and shot the victim. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

New York Times [2/2/2025 10:34 PM, Edward Wong, Erica L. Green and Karoun Demirjian, 161405K, Neutral] reports the two top security officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development were put on administrative leave on Saturday night after refusing to give representatives of Elon Musk access to internal systems, according to three U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. And the agency’s chief of staff, Matt Hopson, a Trump administration political appointee who had started his job days ago, has resigned, two of the officials said. The employees working for Mr. Musk’s task force who clashed with John Voorhees, U.S.A.I.D.’s director of security, and his deputy were seeking to enter a secure area of the agency’s offices to get at classified material, two U.S. officials with knowledge of the incident said. It is not clear exactly what exchange took place between them and Mr. Voorhees, who could not immediately be reached for comment. Mr. Hopson also could not be immediately reached. Mr. Voorhees and his deputy are the latest senior officials at the agency to be put on administrative leave. Last week, Trump administration appointees suspended about 60 senior officials and fired hundreds of contractors. There has been talk among current and former agency employees and lawmakers that U.S.A.I.D., which receives its funding from Congress, could be subsumed within the State Department in a drastically reduced form as President Trump continues to slash foreign aid. Mr. Trump, returning to Washington from his home in Palm Beach Sunday evening, disparaged the agency, telling reporters traveling with him that it was run by “radical lunatics.” He also praised Mr. Musk as “very smart.” Mr. Musk has posted a series of messages in recent days expressing fury at the aid agency and voicing conspiracy theories about it. “USAID is a criminal organization,” Mr. Musk wrote on Sunday in a social media post that many aid workers saw as confirmation the agency would soon be absorbed into the State Department and that some viewed as a potential threat to their personal safety. “Time for it to die.”

New York Times [2/2/2025 3:35 PM, Alan Rappeport, 161405K, Neutral] reports President Trump’s move this weekend to slap sweeping tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China is threatening to fracture the global trading system and a world economic order that once revolved around a U.S. economy that prized open investment and free markets. The speed and scope of the import duties that Mr. Trump unveiled in executive orders on Saturday prompted widespread criticism from many lawmakers, economists and business groups, who assailed the actions as economic malpractice. They warned that the tariffs, which were levied in response to Mr. Trump’s concerns about fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration, could inflame inflation, cripple American industries and make China an even more powerful global trade hub. Mr. Trump on Sunday defended the tariffs while acknowledging that there could be some negative consequences. “WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” he wrote on social media. The executive orders mean that on Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., all goods imported from Canada and Mexico will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, except Canadian energy products, which will face a 10 percent tariff. All Chinese goods will also face a 10 percent tariff. Canada and Mexico have vowed to retaliate swiftly with tariffs of their own, and China said it would pursue unspecified “countermeasures” to safeguard its interests.

Reuters [2/3/2025 4:08 AM, Simon Lewis and Elida Moreno, 48128K, Neutral] reports U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday warned Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino that Washington will "take measures necessary" if Panama does not immediately take steps to end what President Donald Trump sees as China’s influence and control over the Panama Canal. Mulino, after the talks with the top U.S. diplomat in Panama City, signaled he would review agreements involving China and Chinese businesses, and announced further cooperation with the U.S. on migration, but reiterated that his country’s sovereignty over the world’s second busiest waterway is not up for discussion. Rubio delivered a message from Trump that China’s presence - through a Hong Kong-based company operating two ports near the canal’s entrances - was a threat to the waterway and a violation of the U.S.-Panama treaty, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. "Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty," Bruce said. Rubio did not spell out exactly what steps Panama must take or what U.S. retaliation would look like. Upon returning to office, Trump threatened to take control of the Panama Canal, built by the United States in the early 20th century and handed over to Panama in 1999, claiming the canal is being operated by Beijing. He has refused to rule out use of military force over Panama, drawing criticism from Washington’s Latin American friends and foes alike. On Sunday, Trump said that he did not think troops would be necessary, but that Panama had violated the agreement and the United States would take back the canal. "China’s running the Panama Canal. That was not given to China, that was given to Panama - foolishly - but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen," Trump told reporters. "I don’t think troops will be necessary in Panama," he added. Rubio, a longtime China hawk during his Senate career, said last week on Sirius XM’s The Megyn Kelly Show that China could use the ports to shut down the canal, a vital route for U.S. shipping, in the event of a conflict between Beijing and Washington. The New York Times [2/3/2025 2:25 AM, Michael Crowley and Annie Correal, 161405K, Neutral] reports that the State Department’s summary of the meeting in Panama City, Mr. Rubio’s first with a foreign leader since becoming secretary of state, struck a tone that was sometimes aggressive. It said Mr. Rubio had told his host that Mr. Trump had made a “preliminary determination” that China’s government exercised control over the canal. “Secretary Rubio made clear that this status quo is unacceptable and that absent immediate changes, it would require the United States to take measures necessary to protect its rights under the treaty,” the State Department spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce, said in the summary. The statement referred to Mr. Trump’s assertion that the Chinese connection to the canal violates a treaty meant to ensure its neutrality. Ms. Bruce did not specify what those measures might be. Asked last month whether he would rule out putting military force behind his threats to reclaim the canal, which the U.S. controlled for nearly a century, Mr. Trump declined to do so. Speaking to reporters after meeting with Mr. Rubio, however, Mr. Mulino repeatedly played down the risk that Mr. Trump might seize the canal, by force or otherwise. “There is no question that the canal is operated by Panama and will continue to be so,” he said. “I don’t think there was any discrepancy on that,” he said. “I did not feel any threat,” Mr. Mulino said.

Reported similarly:
Wall Street Journal [2/2/2025 9:54 PM, Vera Bergengruen, Neutral]
CBS Miami [2/2/2025 7:04 PM, Kaia Hubbard, 52225K, Neutral] Video: HERE
Newsweek [2/2/2025 6:04 PM, Rachel Dobkin, 56005K, Neutral]

Wall Street Journal [2/2/2025 6:29 PM, Staff, Neutral] reports President Trump appeared to double down on his threats to seize the Panama Canal, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Panama Sunday with an ultimatum from the White House.

FOX News [2/2/2025 9:50 PM, Stepheny Price, 57114K, Neutral] reports Panama’s president vowed Sunday to end a key development deal with China after meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and after complaints from President Donald Trump that the Latin American country had ceded control over its critical shipping canal to Beijing. José Raúl Mulino, Panama’s president, said his nation’s sovereignty over the 51-mile waterway, which connects the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, will remain unchanged. But he said he would not renew a 2017 memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road global development initiative and that Panama would instead look to work more closely with the U.S. "I think this visit opens the door to build new relations … and try to increase as much as possible U.S. investments in Panama," Mulino told reporters after meeting with Rubio on his first international trip since being confirmed. Rubio, who was a senator representing Florida before Trump tapped him to be America’s top diplomat, said his team is ready to push the U.S. agenda. "Had the pleasure of meeting the incredible @USEmbPAN team during my first embassy meet and greet in my new role as Secretary of State!" Rubio wrote in a post on X. "Thankful for their dedication and ongoing efforts to promoting President Trump’s vision of an America First foreign policy." During his visit, Rubio wrote in a post on X that "the United States cannot, and will not, allow the Chinese Communist Party to continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area." Trump has complained that China exerts control over the canal and charges U.S. ships six-figure premiums to cross Panama’s isthmus. The canal was built over several decades by the U.S. and completed in 1914 but handed over to Panama during the Carter administration. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [2/2/2025 1:43 PM, Staff, 57114K, Positive] reports President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has clarified that of the approximately US$177 billion in aid approved by the US for Ukraine, the country has received about US$76 billion. Zelenskyy in an interview with Associated Press. "When I hear – both in the past and even now – from the US that America has provided Ukraine with hundreds of billions [of dollars] (177, to be precise, based on what Congress approved), as the president of a nation at war, I can tell you – we’ve received more than US$75 billion. So, when people talk about US$177 billion or even US$200 billion, we’ve never received that. We’re talking about tangible things because this aid didn’t come as cash but rather as weapons, which amounted to about US$70 billion. But when it’s said that Ukraine received US$200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programmes – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about US$76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not US$200 billion.” Regarding the suspension of funding for humanitarian programmes, Zelenskyy highlighted specific cases such as a US$200 million energy-related programme and others in healthcare and border security. "Those US$300-400 million are the programmes the state received. We will manage this. I will secure support either from European partners or through internal resources.” Zelenskyy emphasised to the US the importance of maintaining veteran and healthcare programmes during wartime. "There are also many other humanitarian programmes I’m uninformed about, except for knowing of their existence. Perhaps the US President’s administration will audit these programmes and find additional billions, but I don’t know where those funds went. When the war started, many Ukrainian organisations left the country, likely following signals from the US embassy. Probably, these various organisations were funded by different foundations.” In November 2024, Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine has not received even half of the weapons officially allocated by the United States and that Europe has helped Ukraine just as much as the US. On his first day as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending all foreign aid programmes for 90 days to assess their alignment with his political goals. Zelenskyy stated that US military aid to Ukraine had not been halted. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a suspension of all new foreign aid payments during this review. Officials and NGO representatives in Ukraine warned that without Rubio’s authorisation, essential programs, including support for schools, hospitals and efforts to develop economic and energy infrastructure, could face significant setbacks.

New York Times [2/2/2025 8:21 AM, Isabel Kershner, 161405K, Neutral] reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel arrived in Washington on Sunday afternoon for meetings this week with President Trump and senior administration officials at a pivotal moment for the Middle East. “This is an important meeting that strengthens the deep alliance between Israel and the United States and will enhance our cooperation,” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement on social media after Mr. Netanyahu’s flight landed. Mr. Trump has made it clear that he wants an end to the wars in the Middle East, which began with the October 2023 Hamas-led assault on Israel that led to 15 months of devastating conflict in Gaza that also spread to Lebanon. Before boarding his plane on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu made several references to “peace.” “The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East,” Mr. Netanyahu said. “I believe that we can strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,” he added. Mr. Netanyahu is expected to be the first foreign leader to meet with Mr. Trump since his inauguration last month. The Israeli leader is expected to hold formative discussions with the Trump administration about several crucial regional issues. Negotiations are supposed to start on Monday for the second phase of the cease-fire deal for Gaza that would turn the temporary truce that came into effect on Jan. 19 into a more permanent cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas and see the release of all the remaining hostages being held there. Attesting to the fragility of the situation on the ground, an Israeli aircraft on Sunday fired toward a vehicle in Gaza that the military said was advancing north along an unauthorized route instead of the agreed inspection route, breaking days of calm in the Palestinian enclave. Gaza’s Ministry of Health did not immediately report any fatalities.

CNBC [2/2/2025 10:45 AM, Kevin Williams, 36472K, Neutral] reports plenty of Americans are discovering the AI search powers of DeepSeek, the breakthrough Chinese generative AI app that surged to No. 1 downloaded status on Apple’s App Store last week. But in an era of U.S.-China technology rivalry and mistrust, and entities from NASA to the U.S. Navy and Taiwanese government prohibiting use of DeepSeek within days, is it wise of millions of Americans to let the app start playing around with their personal search inquiries? The sudden rise of DeepSeek — created on a rapid timeline and on a budget reportedly much lower than previously thought possible — caught AI experts off guard, though skepticism over the claims remain and some estimates suggest the Chinese company understated costs by hundreds of millions of dollars. Privacy advocates were caught off guard, too, and their concerns aren’t predicated on AI development costs, and they already warning that Americans are putting themselves and their privacy at risk. The amount of data and information that bad actors in China could harvest from DeepSeek is 20 times worse than what could be collected from a Google search, says Dewardric McNeal, managing director and senior policy analyst at risk management firm Longview Global, which advises companies on China strategy. There are obvious risks, he said, such as personal banking or health information that can be stolen, and prominent cybersecurity firms are already reporting vulnerabilities in DeepSeek. DeepSeek itself reported being hit with a major cyberattack last week. But McNeal is just as worried about the "bigger picture" competition between nations. "I want us to speak broader than just the narrow data; we often don’t speak about the degree to which this information paints a mental map through understanding queries," McNeal said.

The AP [2/3/2025 2:38 AM, Staff, 47097K, Neutral] reports U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada, Mexico and China is ramping up over the production and importation of the opiate fentanyl, along with trade surpluses and illegal border crossings by migrants from across the globe. China has reiterated its threat to take “necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests” following Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on China for allegedly doing too little to stem the production of precursor chemicals for fentanyl. The Foreign Ministry statement issued Sunday did not mention any specific retaliatory measures, but said “China calls on the United States to correct its wrongdoings, maintain the hard-won positive dynamics in the counternarcotics cooperation, and promote a steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relationship.” China says the U.S. action violates World Trade Organization rules and has vowed to bring a case before the body that governs global commerce. The Ministry of Public Security on Sunday made near identical charges and the Commerce Ministry also issued a closely worded statement. Trump accuses China of allowing the production of fentanyl, which is then made into tablets in Mexico and smuggled into and distributed throughout the U.S., which records some 70,000 overdose deaths from the drug annually. China says the U.S. must hold itself to account instead of “threatening other countries with arbitrary tariff hikes,” the Foreign Ministry said. “The United States needs to view and solve its own fentanyl issue in an objective and rational way ... (China is) one of the world’s toughest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation.” Experts say China executes an unknown number of people each year for smuggling drugs, but domestic drug use is relatively low. The Ministry of Public Security statement said the U.S. has not reported any fentanyl precursor seizures originating in China since Beijing began to take legal action. Newsweek [2/2/2025 9:41 AM, Ellie Cook, 6595K, Neutral] reports that the Trump administration hit Beijing with a 10-percent tariff, or a tax on foreign goods imported into the U.S., which is set to come into force on Tuesday. The president also ordered 25-percent tariffs to be imposed on Canadian and Mexican imports. Trump had floated tariffs of up to 60 percent against China, prior to the November elections. The move by Trump is likely to mean prices will go up in the U.S., affecting both domestic consumers and businesses. The president has framed the decision as crafted to help stop the flow of drugs like fentanyl, a powerful opioid, into the country, as well as stymie illegal immigration. China is major trade partner for the U.S., responsible for providing sizable chunks of electronic and automotive components. In 2023, Beijing was the U.S.’s fourth-largest goods trading partner, with total trade sitting at roughly $575 billion, according to Congressional research documents. The Chinese government said the decision "undermines the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, has described trade between the U.S. and China as "mutually beneficial," adding that "trade and tariff wars have no winners and are in the interest of no one." China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the new Republican administration’s "unilateral imposition of tariffs is a serious violation of WTO rules," referring to the Switzerland-headquartered World Trade Organization tasked with smoothing international trade. A spokesperson for the commerce ministry said Beijing would file a lawsuit with the WTO "for the wrong practices of the United States and will take corresponding countermeasures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests." It did not elaborate on what these countermeasures would be. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

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