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

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

The AP [1/16/2025 4:21 PM, David Klepper, 14282K, Neutral] reports President Joe Biden issued an executive order Thursday aimed at strengthening the nation’s cybersecurity and making it easier to go after foreign adversaries or hacking groups that try to compromise U.S. internet and telecommunication systems. The order calls for the development of minimum cybersecurity standards for government technology contractors and requires that contractors submit evidence that they’re complying. It is also aimed at making it easier for U.S. authorities to penalize foreign governments that target the U.S. with cyberattacks, in the wake of recent hacking incidents linked to China, Iran, Russia and North Korea. Among other changes, the order allows sanctions to be imposed on foreign hackers who target hospitals or other organizations with ransomware. The order requires federal agencies to improve cybersecurity to protect against the threat posed by powerful quantum computers, which experts say could be used to easily break into many systems. That could have direct national security implications if a foreign adversary builds a computer sophisticated enough to break American codes. The order comes just days before Biden, a Democrat, leaves office. Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s administration could rescind the policy in favor of its own proposals. But deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger said the order’s twin goals — strengthening cybersecurity and punishing those responsible for cyberattacks — should win bipartisan support. The order is intended to show that “America means business when it comes to protecting our businesses and our citizens,” Neuberger said while briefing reporters on the new policies. While the order sets out critical cybersecurity standards that should better protect businesses, governments and consumers, some of the reporting requirements could create compliance challenges for tech companies, according to Cory Michal, chief security officer at AppOmni, a software security company based in San Mateo, California. Biden’s order builds on several earlier actions to boost defenses against cyber intrusions, whether they target the government, critical infrastructure such as ports or power plants, U.S. businesses or individual users. Earlier this month, the White House announced a labeling program designed to help consumers pick smart devices that are more resistant to hacking. Under the cyber trust mark program, manufacturers of internet-connected devices can attach the label to let buyers know the product meets federal cybersecurity standards. MeriTalk [1/16/2025 3:18 PM, John Curran, 31K, Positive] reports that, "Building on the foundational steps I directed in Executive Order 14028 of May 12, 2021 (Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity), and the initiatives detailed in the National Cybersecurity Strategy, I am ordering additional actions to improve our Nation’s cybersecurity, focusing on defending our digital infrastructure, securing the services and capabilities most vital to the digital domain, and building our capability to address key threats, including those from the People’s Republic of China," President Biden said in the new order. "Improving accountability for software and cloud service providers, strengthening the security of Federal communications and identity management systems, and promoting innovative developments and the use of emerging technologies for cybersecurity across executive departments and agencies … and with the private sector are especially critical to improvement of the Nation’s cybersecurity," he said. The new order states that the government "must accelerate the development and deployment of AI, explore ways to improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure using AI, and accelerate research at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity.” The order tasks the Defense Department, Energy Department, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with launching a pilot program involving collaboration with "private sector critical infrastructure entities as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, on the use of AI to enhance cyber defense of critical infrastructure in the energy sector, and conduct an assessment of the pilot program upon its completion.” "This pilot program, and accompanying assessment, may include vulnerability detection, automatic patch management, and the identification and categorization of anomalous and malicious activity across information technology (IT) or operational technology systems," the order says. CNN [1/16/2025 5:30 AM, Sean Lyngaas, 57114K, Negative] reports that the directive also gives the Department of Homeland Security’s cyber agency more power to gather key data from other agencies’ networks to investigate sophisticated hacking operations and makes it easier for the Treasury Department to sanction cybercriminals or spies who disrupt critical US infrastructure. The executive order also calls for new programs to try to reduce the billions of dollars’ worth of identity fraud that has affected Americans and to use artificial intelligence to protect the American energy sector from hacks. The Washington Post [1/16/2025 5:30 AM, Ellen Nakashima, 40736K, Neutral] reports that the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, Anne Neuberger, called it the administration’s “capstone” cyber order — “designed to put the country on a path to defensible networks across the government and private sector.” The federal government has learned a lot over the past four years from responding to crises, from Russia’s compromise of the software contractor SolarWinds to China’s hack of the Treasury Department to Russian-speaking criminals’ ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, Neuberger said. “We’ve spent the better part of a year carefully reviewing incidents to determine exactly how the Chinese and other criminals got through the gate,” she said. Attacking software contractors in the supply chain was a favorite tactic, for instance, as in the SolarWinds breach in late 2020. In a couple of cases, hackers compromised keys these vendors used to secure their software, enabling them to penetrate sensitive Treasury Department office systems late last year, and in 2023 to break into Biden officials’ unclassified email accounts, including those of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [1/16/2025 4:02 PM, David E. Sanger, 161405K, Neutral]
NPR [1/16/2025 1:33 PM, Jenna McLaughlin, 35747K, Neutral]
NPR [1/16/2025 1:33 PM, Jenna McLaughlin, 35747K, Neutral]

The New York Times [1/17/2025 3:29 AM, Karoun Demirjian, 740K, Neutral] reports the House passed a bill on Thursday to mandate deportation and block entry into the United States for immigrants with uncertain status who are convicted of or admit to sex crimes or domestic violence, as a bipartisan majority approved the latest piece of a step-by-step crackdown being imposed by Republicans. G.O.P. leaders on Capitol Hill have been hammering at the issue of stricter immigration enforcement in the first days of the new Congress as a way to show how they will use their governing trifecta in Washington when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office on Monday. They are also testing how far they can push Democrats to the right on the issue after their defeats in the 2024 election. So far, the strategy appears to be working. The bill targeting immigrants convicted of violent crimes against women passed on Thursday by a vote of 274 to 145, with 61 Democrats joining all Republicans in backing the legislation. Last year, 51 Democrats voted to back the bill. That was the case even though the bill approved on Thursday in many ways duplicates existing law. Immigrants with contested legal status who are found guilty of rape, sexual assault or domestic violence can already be removed under current law, which calls for deportations for those committing “crimes involving moral turpitude.” The legislation was one of a series of narrow immigration bills that passed the House in the last Congress but died in the Democratic-led Senate, including measures to deport migrants accused of minor crimes, require proof of citizenship to vote, and deny funding to cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agencies. CBS Austin [1/16/2025 5:02 PM, Ian Kayanja, 581K, Negative] reports that in total, 61 Democrats, including Rep. James E. Clyburn (D, S.C.-06), supported pushing the measure across the finish line. "No family should endure the heartbreak the families of Laken Riley, Mollie Tibbetts, Karina Vetrano, and Maddie Hines have experienced," Mace said. "Every woman and every girl deserves to feel safe in their own community.” Mace’s bill comes after House Republicans managed to push the Laken Riley Act through, which, if signed into law, would require the detention of migrants arrested for non-violent crimes. The Senate is currently debating amendments to add to that legislation.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/16/2025 3:25 PM, Ashleigh Fields, 16346K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 11:13 AM, Rachel Schilke, 2365K, Neutral]

AP [1/17/2025 12:09 AM, Rebecca Santana and Stephen Groves, 14282K, Negative] reports South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency central to his vision of cracking down on illegal immigration, will face senators Friday at confirmation hearing that will be her first chance to lay out her vision for the sprawling Department of Homeland Security. Noem, a two-term governor and former U.S. congresswoman, was chosen by the president-elect to lead the department responsible for key immigration and border-related actions that will be central to his plans for mass deportations and tightened access at the border. The immigration and border-related agencies Noem would oversee include U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services. Beyond those agencies, the department is also responsible for securing airline transportation, protecting high-profile dignitaries, responding to natural disasters and more. She would replace outgoing DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was so vilified by Republicans angry at the number of migrants crossing the country’s southern border that they impeached him in early 2024. Noem would be entering a job that was a pressure cooker under the first Trump administration. Six people cycled through the homeland security secretary position during his four years in office. So far, she appears to have strong backing from GOP senators who will be crucial to her confirmation.

Sen. Rand Paul, the Republican chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee where Noem will testify, said he expected a straightforward hearing. “I’m not aware of any real specific complaints from the Democrats on Kristi Noem,” Paul said. “I think there’s a reasonable chance that she gets some Democrat support.” Still, Democrats are ready to question whether she is qualified to lead a department that is crucial to the country’s safety.

Reported similarly:
FOX News [1/17/2025 4:00 AM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Neutral]

Roll Call [1/16/2025 9:29 AM, Chris Johnson, 440K, Neutral] reports that a Senate panel voted Thursday to approve a resolution in support of the "Remain in Mexico" immigration policy, after a two-hour hearing about the border enforcement approach implemented in first Trump administration. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 8-6 along party lines to approve the measure on the policy, which requires asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border to stay outside of the United States as their claims are processed. Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., in his first hearing and markup leading the panel this Congress, condemned the Biden administration for reversing the immigration policies of the Trump administration. "President Biden discarded proven strategies like ‘Remain in Mexico,’ which was undeniably successful in deterring illegal entries," Paul said. "The results were immediate and disastrous. During the last full month of [the] Trump administration when ‘Remain in Mexico’ was in effect, border encounters were under 70,000. After its repeal, the number surged to over 100,000 and continued to rise." Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the committee, declined to offer support for the "Remain in Mexico" policy, cautioning against measures that would empower Mexican drug cartels, as some critics say happened with the Trump-era regulation.

Reported similarly:
Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 6:00 AM, Cami Mondeaux, 2365K, Neutral]

NBC News [1/16/2025 6:18 PM, Sahil Kapur, 50804K, Neutral] reports Sahil Kapur and Julie TsirkinThe Republican-controlled Senate is aiming to pass a bill to crack down on illegal immigration in the coming days, with the hope of sending it to incoming President Donald Trump next week as his first legislative victory. But Senate debate on the bill has dragged on this week, with two main hurdles still on the road ahead to passage of the Laken Riley Act, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain people who are charged, arrested or convicted for committing acts of "burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.” The first obstacle is securing 60 votes in the Senate to break a filibuster and end the debate, which means winning at least seven Democratic votes — or more if they vote when there’s an empty seat in Florida or Ohio. That could depend on whether Republicans allow more amendments, which leaders are being selective about, as they target a vote on final passage by Monday. "There are some Democrats who are trying to undermine the bill," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told NBC News. "Republicans are not going to undermine or weaken this lifesaving bill.” The second obstacle is sending the amended version back to the House for another vote after the Senate voted 70-25 to adopt an amendment by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to add assault of a law enforcement officer to the list of offenses by an unauthorized immigrant that triggers mandatory detention. The GOP-led House passed the initial bill 264-159 last week, with the support of 48 Democrats.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 8:03 PM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports U.S. Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) released the following statement after the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Mark Green, named him Chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence (CTI) for the 119th Congress. "From the Chinese Communist Party’s malign influence to homegrown violent extremists motivated by foreign terrorist organizations, our nation faces one of the most dangerous times in its history. Millions of illegal aliens, many of which are known terrorist threats, have poured into our nation, threatening the safety of every single American. My home state of Texas has faced the brunt of President Biden’s border crisis, and it is time to fulfill the mandate that the American people gave us on November 5th and bring law and order to the southern border. The Committee on Homeland Security is the most crucial in Congress when it comes to securing our border, and I am honored to serve on it for my third term. I am also proud to continue serving as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, where I will work tirelessly to implement President Trump’s America First agenda." Pfluger served as a member of the Committee of Homeland Security in both the 117th and 118th Congress, as well as Chairman of CTI in the 118th Congress. The committee was created in 2005 to ensure that the American people were protected from terrorist attacks, and has jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security.

AP [1/16/2025 4:30 PM, Staff, 47097K, Neutral] reports House Speaker Mike Johnson appointed Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., as the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Thursday after asserting that the panel needed a fresh start. "He has earned the respect of his colleagues through his years of faithful service on the committee and his steady approach to the challenges facing our country," Johnson said in announcing the appointment of Crawford, who is beginning his eighth term in the House. Johnson shocked lawmakers with the announcement Wednesday that he was removing Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio from the post. However, Turner had been at odds with President-elect Donald Trump on some issues. For example, he supported efforts to aid Ukraine in its attempts to repel Russia’s military. Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns that Turner’s removal weakens the panel’s independence in conducting oversight on intelligence matters. Trump has picked fierce loyalists to lead agencies with vast power for surveillance. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called Turner a "highly-principled leader.” "Mike Turner has robustly promoted the safety of the American people and the Free World and his unjustified ouster is likely being applauded by our adversaries in Russia and China. Shameful," Jeffries said.

FOX News [1/16/2025 8:36 PM, Alexandra Koch, 49889K, Neutral] reports President-elect Trump on Thursday announced multiple nominations just days before his inauguration on Jan. 20. In a series of posts on Truth Social on Thursday afternoon, Trump congratulated his picks. Nominees include a former test engineer of missile defense systems for secretary of the Air Force, as well as a trade partnership CEO for secretary for trade and foreign agriculture affairs. Trump selected Chris Stallings to be assistant administrator for disaster recovery and resilience of the Small Business Administration. Stallings currently serves as the director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and will work closely with Kelly Loeffler, the incoming small business administrator. "[Stallings and Loeffler will] make sure that when disasters happen, our Government responds quickly and capably to protect our Small Businesses, which are the backbone of our Economy," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump tapped Luke Lindberg as U.S. undersecretary for trade and foreign agriculture affairs at the Department of Agriculture.

CNN [1/17/2025 5:00 AM, Priscilla Alvarez, 987K, Neutral] reports Donald Trump’s team is finalizing an aggressive slate of immigration executive orders that are expected to be released only hours after the president-elect is sworn in, kicking off an immigration crackdown that will have implications for people nationwide, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The package of actions amounts to a dramatic shift in immigration policy that will affect immigrants already residing in the United States and migrants seeking asylum at the US-Mexico border. The planning includes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in major metropolitan areas, sending more Pentagon resources to the US southern border, placing additional restrictions on who is eligible to enter the US, along with rolling back Biden-era policies. "You’ll see removal planes, reports of arrests occurring, ICE action in sanctuary jurisdictions," one source told CNN, referring to the incoming administration’s deportation plans. "As you get into 30 days and first 100 days, that’s where you’ll see a consistent drumbeat." Sources maintain that the incoming administration will, at least initially, be focused on undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds who are eligible for removal in major metropolitan areas, like Washington, DC, Denver, and Chicago. But others who are encountered over the course of those operations could also be taken into custody, according to a source. The main players on Trump’s key agenda item include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, whose confirmation hearing is slated for Friday, as homeland security secretary, Tom Homan as border czar and Stephen Miller, incoming deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser.

Wall Street Journal [1/16/2025 9:00 AM, Tarini Parti, Brian Schwartz and Gavin Bade, Neutral] reports that, days before his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump made clear in a two-hour private meeting with Senate Republicans that he wouldn’t wait on them to start implementing his biggest policy priorities: overhauling the immigration system and dramatically reshaping the country’s relationship with its economic allies and adversaries. With the experience of governing and a better knowledge of the levers of power, Trump has drafted expansive plans for tariffs and border restrictions, the centerpieces of his 2024 campaign. He has already prepared roughly 100 executive orders, Trump told lawmakers in the meeting, and said he would press the limits of his presidential authority at times to go it alone on those issues, according to people who attended. Trump’s emphasis on immigration and trade reforms—the North Stars of his “America First” worldview—catapulted him to the presidency in 2016 and drove his historic return to the White House in the latest election. It sustained his fervent base of supporters over the past four years after he was defeated by President Biden in 2020 and admonished by many in his party over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Now, as he returns to power, Trump is betting he can turbocharge his nationalist trade and immigration agenda into a legacy-cementing policy record, powered by a more decisive electoral mandate than he had the last time. In his first administration, Trump, who was new to politics and governing, faced resistance from the establishment wing of the Republican Party inside and outside the White House. His own advisers were able to block some of his proposals, and the president was more tentative about legal risks. Trump has pitched tariffs—and the revenue he expects them to raise—as the solution for a host of issues, including creating more manufacturing jobs, reducing the national debt, subsidizing child care and even ending wars. Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social he’ll be creating an “external revenue service,” which will collect “tariffs, duties and all revenue that come from foreign sources.” Those tasks are currently handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trump hasn’t explained how an external revenue service would do things differently.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 6:48 AM, Amir Daftari, 56005K, Neutral] reports Michel Bérrios departed the United States just before the new year, exemplifying a trend of "self-deportations" driven by renewed fears of immigration crackdowns under President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration. Despite being legally in the U.S. under a humanitarian parole program, Bérrios left voluntarily, choosing uncertainty abroad over the anxiety sparked by anti-immigrant rhetoric. Bérrios, a former leader of Nicaragua’s student protests, is among those abandoning the U.S. as uncertainty grows over policies targeting migrants with temporary legal status. Immigration advocates say this preemptive exodus underscores how fear can achieve Trump’s goal of reducing immigration without government action. Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s office for comment via email. Trump has pledged to end programs like humanitarian parole and temporary protected status, impacting over 1.5 million migrants. During his first term, logistical hurdles and limited resources capped deportations at 350,000 annually. However, "self-deportation" offers a way for the administration to reduce the migrant population without expending significant resources. Bérrios’ case highlights the ripple effects of this strategy. Despite finding refuge in California, her experiences of persecution in Nicaragua and rising hostility in the U.S. made her question her safety, reflecting broader concerns among migrants with temporary legal standing. Bérrios arrived in the U.S. in 2023 through a Biden administration program granting two-year humanitarian parole to citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Her cousin, a U.S. citizen, sponsored her application, enabling her to work legally and escape political persecution.

Reuters [1/16/2025 1:44 PM, Robert Cyran, 48128K, Negative] reports that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to begin the nation’s largest deportation push in history on his first day in office. The potential economic harm from deporting a large chunk of the estimated 11 million immigrants residing in the country illegally is vast, ranging from stalling construction in the nation’s fastest-growing counties to higher food prices. That may be too much to bear. After all, a similar plan fizzled before. Some 48 million U.S. residents were born overseas, over 14% of the population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Since proportionally more immigrants participate in the workforce than native-born citizens, they account for nearly a fifth of all workers. While most immigrants are here legally, over 20% are not, estimates the Pew Research Center. Precisely how Trump will shift policy towards these groups is unclear. But nixing guidance limiting immigration enforcement against non-criminals or even mobilizing the national guard at the border could be on the table, Reuters reported. The further Trump ramps up this effort, the higher the cost. Undocumented immigrants account for 23% of construction labor, the Center for American Progress estimated in 2021. That rises to 44% for agricultural workers, according to a survey for the Department of Labor. Expelling them would tighten employment markets, stoking inflation, and suck demand out of the economy. Deporting 1.3 million people could reduce GDP by 1.2% and hike consumer prices by 1.5% by 2028, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Increasing deportations to 8.3 million would reduce GDP by 7.4% and raise prices by 9.1%, the think tank reckons.

The New York Times [1/16/2025 11:08 AM, Patricia Mazzei, 161405K, Positive] reports that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Thursday named Ashley Moody, the Republican state attorney general, to replace Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate, elevating a close ally to Mr. Rubio’s seat after he is confirmed as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s secretary of state. “I wanted somebody with a demonstrated record of delivering results,” Mr. DeSantis said in Orlando before announcing Ms. Moody as Mr. Rubio’s successor. The announcement came one day after Mr. Rubio’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee went smoothly. He is expected to win confirmation easily in a vote of the full Senate. Ms. Moody, like Mr. DeSantis, was elected to statewide office in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. She had been seen as a front-runner for Mr. Rubio’s seat, appearing by Mr. DeSantis’s side at recent public events in which she and the governor endorsed the incoming Trump administration’s hard line on immigration. Ms. Moody, 49, is a fifth-generation Floridian. Before being elected attorney general, she was a circuit court judge in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa. She had previously worked as a federal prosecutor. Ms. Moody and her husband, a law enforcement officer, have two sons. NPR [1/16/2025 1:31 PM, Padmananda Rama, 35747K, Negative] reports that "In every major battle we have had since I have been governor, she has been with us every step of the way — not just talk, it’s results," DeSantis said. "And these results are very, very important, and she understands the gravity of the moment." Moody has served as attorney general for Florida since 2019. Last year, as the state’s AG, she sued the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell and a former FEMA supervisor for allegedly violating the civil rights of Florida residents in the response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The lawsuit accused FEMA officials of discriminating against Trump supporters by withholding hurricane aid after reports that a FEMA supervisor directed workers to skip over houses that displayed Trump signs and flags. That supervisor was later fired. Moody, speaking at the press conference Thursday, also expressed her willingness to focus on illegal immigration in the U.S. Senate and other priorities of the incoming Trump administration.

Reported similarly:
Washington Post [1/16/2025 10:36 AM, Hannah Knowles and Lori Rozsa, 40736K, Neutral]
CBS News [1/16/2025 10:36 AM, Kaia Hubbard, 52225K, Positive]
Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 6:34 PM, Ramsey Touchberry and Mabinty Quarshie, 2365K, Neutral]

New York Times [1/16/2025 4:35 PM, Dana Rubinstein, 161405K, Neutral] reports when Mayor Eric Adams unveiled the final budget of his first (and possibly last) term in office on Thursday, there was no sign of proposed cuts to libraries in the $114.5 billion document, as there had been in years past. There were no warnings that the surge of undocumented migrants to New York City would prompt budget cuts. There were no new big-ticket initiatives, as one might expect in an election year, with the mayor facing a battalion of well-funded challengers and a federal corruption trial that is set to begin just weeks before the Democratic primary in June. Instead, the mayor offered a more optimistic budget blueprint, one filled with increasing revenues buoyed by surging business taxes and lower spending for a migrant influx that has slowed in recent months. “I think it’s really underrated how well of a fiscal manager I have been for the city,” Mr. Adams said on Thursday. “We turned the city around,” he added. During his budget address, Mr. Adams said his administration had “set the table for success” by managing expenses and spending strategically. The mayor’s budget projects spending some $2 billion less for asylum seeker services than originally projected through the 2026 fiscal year, an apparent byproduct of the outgoing Biden administration’s border restrictions and the city’s own efforts to pressure migrants to leave the shelter system. The city says it has seen 28 straight weeks of declines in its census of asylum seekers.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 8:32 PM, Chris Sommerfeldt and Josephine Stratman, 57114K, Negative]

New York Times [1/17/2025 3:29 AM, Maggie Haberman, Dana Rubinstein and Christopher Maag, 740K, Neutral] reports Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, his re-election chances in doubt and a federal indictment looming over him, flew to Florida on Thursday to meet with President-elect Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago just four days before the inauguration. The mayor, a Democrat, made the trip with no advance announcement. His aides said only that the two men would discuss “New Yorkers’ priorities” when they meet on Friday. Mr. Adams joins a diverse roster of leaders from around the world who’ve made the trip to Mar-a-Lago since the election, and he is not the first Democrat. John Fetterman, the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, met with Mr. Trump last week. Other recent visitors have included Viktor Orban, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary, and Justin Trudeau, the liberal prime minister of Canada, who is leaving office soon. The mayor requested the meeting, according to two people with knowledge of the trip. The city is funding the trip because it has a "city purpose,” the mayor’s spokeswoman said. No other city officials will accompany the mayor, aside from his security detail, she added. Mr. Trump, who was convicted of 34 felonies in New York City in May, and Mr. Adams have grown publicly closer since Mr. Adams’s indictment in September on five federal corruption charges. It is part of an investigation that the mayor argues is political retribution for his criticism of President Biden’s immigration policies. Mr. Trump has publicly commiserated with Mr. Adams and seconded his depiction of a Justice Department run amok. Mr. Adams has expressed openness to the notion of receiving a presidential pardon. While a pardon for Mr. Adams might clear up some legal problems for the mayor, it could also prove politically toxic for an incumbent already facing an uphill path to re-election in a highly competitive June primary in a city dominated by Democrats.

Miami Herald [1/16/2025 10:12 AM, Ana Ceballos, 6595K, Neutral] reports that
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office proposed that state lawmakers give him the extraordinary power to transport undocumented immigrants outside the United States, according to a list of proposals legislative leaders say they received from his office last week ahead of his push for a special session at the end of the month. The list also includes a proposition to make it a crime for law enforcement officers and elected officials to fail to fully cooperate with state and federal immigration directives. The proposals, which according to a spokeswoman for the Florida Senate were sent Friday to legislative staff for the Senate and House, are more detailed than the immigration policy ideas DeSantis has publicly released this week as he pushes the Legislature to take action in a Jan. 27 special legislation session to help carry out President-elect Donald Trump’s mass-deportation plans. The governor rolled out several immigration proposals on Wednesday. Among them were suggestions that the state program used to fly migrants to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 be authorized to "facilitate the deportation of illegal aliens" from the country, and that the state should create "penalties for non-compliance" with immigration enforcement policies. The governor did not discuss the idea that the program should operate outside of the country or that local officials should face criminal penalties for non-compliance.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 9:00 AM, Kristian Jaime, 57114K, Neutral] reports that the El Paso County Commissioners Court has unanimously passed a resolution condemning migrant deaths, reaffirming its commitment to supporting humanitarian efforts in the Borderland. During the Monday, Jan. 13 regular session of the legislative body, commissioners noted in the resolution, "in 2023, the International Organization for Migration identified the U.S.-Mexico border as the world’s deadliest migration route, with at least 5,405 deaths or disappearances recorded since 2014, and record-high fatalities beginning in 2021." Community organizations like the Hope Border Insititute also provided a report to commissioners outlining their investigation into the accurate number of migrant deaths along the border. Included in the data were also challenges facing unfettered research into the issue. Among them was a lack of transparency by medical examiners in their data of bodies that could be migrants and statistical holes where migrant deaths are not even counted in some border regions.

Dallas Morning News [1/16/2025 11:16 PM, Staff, 3419K, Negative] reports a Texas truck driver charged in the deaths of 53 migrants who rode in a sweltering tractor-trailer with no air conditioning pleaded guilty Thursday over the 2022 tragedy that became the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt across the U.S.-Mexico border. Homero Zamorano Jr. pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death, causing serious bodily injury, and placing lives in jeopardy; one count of transportation of aliens resulting in death; and one count of transportation of aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. The 48-year-old could face a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Justice Department announced. Zamorano is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24. Mark Stevens, Zamorano’s attorney, said in an email that he was unable to comment on a pending case. Authorities say Zamorano, who drove the truck, and other men charged in the smuggling attempt were aware that the trailer’s air-conditioning unit was malfunctioning and would not blow cool air to the migrants trapped inside during the sweltering, three-hour ride from the border city of Laredo to San Antonio. Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit while migrants screamed and banged the walls of the trailer for help or tried to claw their way out, investigators said. The truck had been packed with 67 people, and the dead included 27 from Mexico, 14 from Honduras, seven from Guatemala and two from El Salvador, according to Mexican authorities. Prosecutors have said migrants paid up to $15,000 each to be taken across the U.S. border. The incident happened on a remote San Antonio back road on June 27, 2022. Police officers detained Zamorano after spotting him hiding in nearby brush, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A search of Zamorano’s cellphone showed calls concerning the smuggling run. Surveillance video of the 18-wheeler passing through a Border Patrol checkpoint showed the driver matched Zamorano’s description, according to the indictment.

AP [1/16/2025 1:26 PM, Staff, 30936K, Negative] reports that one tribe in South Dakota lifted its order banning Gov. Kristi Noem from its territories just days before the Republican was set to appear before a U.S. Senate committee on her nomination to head one of the federal government’s largest agencies. Noem was cut off from entering a wide swath of tribal lands in South Dakota early last year after making public comments that tribal leaders were catering to drug cartels on their reservations. The Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe, one of the state’s nine tribes, issued a statement Wednesday dissolving its order that banned Noem from setting foot on their land and to lend support to her nomination by President-elect Donald Trump to secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. "The Governor issued an apology to us for the misunderstanding, which was exacerbated by misinformation," the tribe’s press release reads. "Since our first meeting, the Governor has shown us that she is committed to protecting the people of South Dakota including the citizens of the nine Tribal Nations, who share mutual borders with the state.” The Flandreau Santee Sioux tribe was not alone in the formal banishment of Noem last year. The Associated Press left messages Thursday with the other eight tribes in the state to seek information on Noem’s status on their land.

Reported similarly:

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 1:55 PM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2365K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 3:22 PM, Michele McPhee, 57114K, Negative] reports the Department of Justice has created an L.A.-based Joint Regional Fire Crimes Task Force "to investigate and prosecute fire-related crimes" as Los Angeles County recovers from devastating wildfires. The law enforcement collaboration includes representatives of the United States Attorney’s Office; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office; the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office; the Los Angeles Police Department; and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The focus will go after criminal actors who engage in looting, burglary, and impersonation offenses; crimes related to arson; illegal drone activity; and financial fraud "targeting both disaster victims and those wishing to make charitable donations." “Every crisis generates the best of us – brave first responders and ordinary people who step up financially to support victims – as well as the worst in our society, including those who steal well-intentioned money or defraud victims who are already suffering,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. As of Thursday morning, 47 fire-related arrests have been made since the start of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7. have been arrested for a variety of crimes, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna announced. This week Hochman announced he intends to pursue legislation to make larceny a felony. “There is a special place in jail for those who exploit the vulnerable in the wake of deadly fires,” Hochman said. “As hundreds of thousands of families face the unimaginable anguish of fleeing their homes, uncertain whether they’ll ever return, the last thing they should fear is the added trauma of criminals preying on their misfortune. Opportunistic burglars and looters who target fire victims in their time of crisis are not only breaking the law—they are further deepening the suffering of those already facing unimaginable loss. These criminals deserve the harshest penalties, and current laws simply do not go far enough to ensure they are held fully accountable."

Newsweek [1/16/2025 5:47 PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Negative] reports a member of the Sinaloa cartel was deported to Mexico last week, after serving three years of a seven-year prison sentence for drug trafficking. Mario Hidalgo, 46, is a known associate of the cartel’s former leader, Joaquin Guzman, a.k.a El Chapo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Thursday. Cartels have plagued U.S. officials for years through their activities in drug and human trafficking across the border with Mexico. In recent years, a concerted effort has been underway to target high-ranking members of Sinaloa and other major groups, with the U.S. working alongside Mexico to achieve its aims. According to ICE, Hidalgo was known to the U.S. for over 20 years, with 16 previous voluntary returns to Mexico between 2002 and 2003. Known as "El Nariz", or "The Nose", feds said he worked as El Chapo’s personal assistant, or errand boy, conspiring with others in the Sinaloa Cartel to traffic marijuana into the U.S. He was indicted in 2015, but his extradition didn’t happen until October 2020. Hidalgo pleaded guilty, admitting that he worked with at least five people to bring around six tons of marijuana into the U.S. in 2012 on a yacht out of San Diego. Authorities continue to battle cartels when it comes to the influx of drugs into the U.S., especially fentanyl, as well as human trafficking across the southwest border. President-elect Donald Trump has floated the idea, again, of designating the groups as terrorist organizations. ERO San Francisco acting Field Office Director Orestes Cruz, in a press release: "There is no safe haven for convicted drug traffickers and cartel members in the United States. This removal exemplifies our officers’ hard work and dedication to enforcing our nation’s immigration laws and public safety.”

Bloomberg [1/16/2025 6:00 AM, Staff, 21617K, Negative] reports Democrats finally seem to be converging on a more serious approach to immigration enforcement. It shouldn’t have taken a drubbing at the polls last year to do it, but better late than never. In recent weeks, Democrats have begun signaling their openness to a bill passed by the Republican-controlled House and named for Laken Riley, a young woman who was murdered by an unauthorized migrant in Georgia last winter. Among other things, the bill would mandate the federal detention of anyone unlawfully in the country who has been charged with theft-related crimes. Jose Ibarra, the man now serving a life sentence for Riley’s murder, shows why such a measure is common sense. A Venezuelan, Ibarra illegally crossed the southern border in 2022. After being permitted to enter the country temporarily, he was bused to New York City, where he lived (at taxpayer expense) in hotels. While there, he was arrested for child endangerment and quickly released. He later flew to Atlanta (again at taxpayer expense), where he was stopped by police (again) for stealing food and clothes from a Walmart. Rather than alerting immigration authorities, police (again) let him go. Finally, Ibarra found Riley, who was out on a morning jog on the University of Georgia’s Athens campus. He attempted to rape her, choked her and then bludgeoned her to death with a rock. Only after Ibarra was arrested for murder did the Department of Homeland Security take an interest in his brother, who had also been arrested multiple times after being apprehended at the border and released into the US — incredibly, after allegedly assaulting a US Border Patrol agent in the process. It bears repeating that the Ibarra brothers, who are suspected of having gang ties, are hardly typical. Most people residing in the country illegally are substantially less likely to commit other crimes than are native-born citizens. But when crimes can be directly tied to government failures, the injustices are magnified. And in too many recent incidents, the official failures have been profound. To be sure, Donald Trump and his fellow travelers have exploited such cases to inflame anti-immigrant sentiment. But Democrats could’ve assuaged such fears by endorsing some pragmatic reforms aimed at getting criminals like Ibarra off the streets. Greater cooperation between local and federal authorities should be a no-brainer — after all, President Barack Obama successfully pursued a similar strategy for much of his time in office.

The Hill [1/16/2025 2:30 PM, Don Wolfenseberger, 16346K, Neutral] reports that I recounted last week the brutal battle to elect a House Speaker on the opening day of the 119th Congress (Jan. 3, 2025). What is often overlooked on that same day is the House’s adoption of its own rules, which often include hints as to the two parties’ policy priorities for the new Congress. You can call it a "preview of coming attractions," but, put more simply, it is a clever way of trading opening salvos over the policy debates that will unfold over the ensuing 24 months. The Republican majority’s resolution for adopting House rules not only contained direct changes to its standing procedures, but other indirect institutional alterations ranging from budgetary processes to remote committee hearings and voting, to mandatory anti-harassment and anti-discrimination polices for House offices. However, in addition to those in-House additions and alterations, the resolution makes in order for the future consideration of 12 policy-related bills that will be brought up as privileged, debatable for one-hour reach, and not subject to any amendments. Five of the dozen relate to immigration and deportation. One such bill would make the assault on a law enforcement officer a deportation offense. Another would require the secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged with theft. Another bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

FOX News [1/16/2025 7:00 AM, Staff, 49889K, Neutral] reports bodies hanging beneath underpasses. Government institutions systematically bribed. Political candidates assassinated by the dozens. Teenage boys lured into "job centers" only to be tortured and killed. Police ambushed and executed. This is not a description of my time fighting terrorists abroad; it is the grim and harrowing reality of life in Mexico today. The crises spread beyond Mexico. The fentanyl trafficked into our country by the Mexican drug cartels and their Chinese partners kills around 80,000 Americans per year. That’s the equivalent of 25 9/11 attacks every year. This reality is what led to me working with then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy to establish a task force to combat the cartels. What exactly is a congressional task force? They vary in size and scope, but typically a task force is a group of members focused on a specific problem. We had no additional staff or resources, only a common goal. Despite severely limited resources, I personally traveled to eight locations across the country, went on three international trips, including two visits to Mexico City, held almost 30 briefings, and led the task force to generate a comprehensive list of legislative proposals. Our solutions varied in size and scope. In 2023, along with the incoming national security adviser for President Trump, Congressman Mike Waltz, I introduced the Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against cartels to empower the U.S. military to operate against cartels in coordination with Mexico. Our bipartisan task force largely agreed on the need for a "big" idea like this that vastly increases military cooperation with Mexico and takes the fight to the cartels. We also realized our laws do not adequately deter dealing fentanyl, and we worked on legislation to significantly increase penalties for cartel members and their facilitators, including local drug dealers, U.S. banks, and foreign governments complicit in their operations. We acknowledged the need to choke off the cartel’s weapon supply by focusing on southbound illicit flows across our southern border in addition to addressing northbound flows. We found that penalties on fentanyl precursor suppliers shipping product illegally to the U.S. were nothing but a slap on the wrist, thus necessitating higher penalties to deter Chinese companies from falsifying shipping manifests.

The Hill [1/16/2025 9:00 AM, Keith Naughton, 57114K, Neutral] reports that President-elect Donald Trump wants a deal. From out of nowhere, the incoming president decided one of his first foreign policy pronouncements would be a demand to better terms for passage in the Panama Canal, after not mentioning a word of it on the campaign trail. Naturally, he amped up the rhetoric for a time, only to move on to an old hobbyhorse, buying Greenland — an 836,000 square mile fixer-upper, whose name proves that in real estate, if you’re not lying, you’re not trying. If Trump can get a special canal EZ-Pass discount, that’s great. But that’s not the problem. The issue is one of priorities. America’s economic and security problems in Latin America do not start or end with canal tolls. Drug smuggling, illegal immigration and political instability in Mexico are, by far, the biggest crises. Fortunately, Team Trump has been focusing on those issues. What comes next is not Panama, it is Cuba. And after that, the most pressing are Venezuela and Nicaragua. Panama Canal tolls might not even make a top 10, taking into consideration lawless Haiti, unstable Honduras and Guatemala and money laundering, well, everywhere. It all adds up: The profits from ejecting the criminals running Cuba would be far greater than a mere canal discount. For decades, Cuba has engaged in espionage against the U.S. and has been a hub of anti-American activity in the Caribbean.

FOX News [1/16/2025 3:46 PM, Adam Shaw, 57114K, Neutral] reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is telling lawmakers that the Laken Riley Act, an anti-illegal immigration bill expected to hit President-elect Trump’s desk in the coming weeks, will cost an additional $3 billion due to the agency needing an additional 60,000 detention beds. ICE responded to questions by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., on the impact of the Laken Riley Act. The bill passed the House this month and looks likely to pass the Senate. It requires DHS to detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested for theft-related crimes. It also allows for states to sue DHS for alleged failures in enforcing immigration law. The bill is named after Laken Riley, a Georgia student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela last year. It has picked up the support of Republicans as well as a number of Democrats. ICE agents are pictured arresting a man. ICE agents arrested an Indian citizen following his convictions for child sex abuse. In the letter, obtained by Fox, ICE says it has identified tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who would meet the criteria for arrest both on its detained docket and non-detained docket. It said that its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) has estimated that the number of illegal immigrants on its national docket who meet the criteria would be over 60,000. The letter was first reported by Politico. "Since the Laken Riley Act requires ERO to immediately detain those noncitizens, ERO would then require, at minimum, 64,000 additional detention beds; however this does not account for other immigration enforcement mandates that may place a need for increased detention capacity.” ICE estimates that increasing that capacity would require a funding increase of approximately $3.2 billion. Additionally, it estimates that it will need 10 new Mobile Crisis Assistance Teams (MCAT) and a HQ law enforcement officer across eight field offices, requiring an additional nearly $15 million along with associated equipment. Notably, ERO says it currently possesses the authority to fulfill the requirements of the Act and would require no additional authorities. The agency warned that it may have to release tens of thousands of illegal immigrants if it does not get the additional bedspace. An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023, in New York City. "...[I]f supplemental funding is not received and ICE remains at its current bed capacity, the agency would not have the detention capacity to accommodate the immediate arrest and detention of noncitizens convicted or charged with property crimes," it says. "ERO anticipates that tens of thousands of noncitizens would need to be released by the end of the fiscal year, resulting in the potential release of public safety threats.”

NPR [1/16/2025 6:25 PM, Ximena Bustillo, 35747K, Negative] reports the Homeland Security Department is warning lawmakers in Congress that a proposed immigration enforcement bill would cost $26.9 billion to implement in its first year and "would be impossible for [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to execute within existing resources.” The Senate is currently weighing amendments on the Laken Riley Act, which would direct federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport anyone in the U.S. without legal status if they have been charged, arrested or convicted of burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting. The bill passed the House last week with more Democratic support than the previous time the body voted on it. The bill has been broadly seen as a marker emphasizing Washington’s focus on immigration and border security as President-elect Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated. Some Senate Democrats are giving the measure a chance. This week, a bipartisan set of procedural votes opened up the measure to further debate and changes. But the agency in charge of carrying out the potential new law warns that it may physically not be able to. New estimates from an internal ICE document obtained and verified by NPR show that the agency would need 110,000 more detention beds and over 10,000 enforcement and removal operations personnel to increase apprehensions, detentions and removals. More than 7,000 additional attorneys and support personnel would also be needed to handle immigration proceedings, according to the estimates. The document notes that a figure of $3.2 billion "has been shared widely as a cost estimate," but calls that number incorrect because it "does not represent the full cost of implementation." The document says the previous estimate -- outlined in a three-page memo from ICE sent in response to questions from one of the bill’s House sponsors -- was based "on only 60,000 beds.”

NPR [1/16/2025 6:04 PM, Meg Anderson, 35747K, Neutral] Audio: HERE reports when President-elect Trump takes office on Monday, he has vowed that one of his first priorities will be a mass deportation effort. An estimated 11 million immigrants are in the US without legal status. Trump’s plan raises a variety of concerns - from civil rights to logistics. One logistical question is where so many detainees would be held. Government officials and companies who run detention facilities are preparing. Before someone is deported, they are usually detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in one of around 130 facilities nationwide. The vast majority of those are owned or operated by private prison companies that contract with ICE. A spokesperson for GEO Group, one of those private companies, told NPR in a statement they are investing $70 million toward more housing, transportation and monitoring capabilities. On the government side, last year the Biden administration began exploring the possibility of adding facilities in at least eighteen states. Eunice Cho, senior staff attorney at the ACLU National Prison Project, says that could prove useful to the next administration. "Our concern, of course, is that the Biden administration has been moving to lay down the groundwork for expansion of detention facilities," Cho said. "The Trump administration might be able to pick up quite quickly from those plans.” Many sheriffs want to aid in deportations. Immigrants facing removal are often detained in county jails that rent out space to ICE or to private prison companies. That helps create a critical revenue stream for many municipalities. The Department of Homeland Security estimates it costs about $150 a day to detain an adult. There has been resistance among some law enforcement to work with ICE, who say collaborating with immigration authorities could erode public trust. But Jonathan Thompson, executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said there is "significant willingness" among the nation’s more than 3,000 sheriffs to help, offering bed space or participating in the federal 287(g) program, which gives local law enforcement authority to perform certain immigration duties.

Reuters [1/16/2025 7:59 AM, Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson, 48128K, Neutral] reports Blanca Figueroa and Severiano Martinez have known from the start of their eight-year marriage that she was at risk of deportation because she entered the United States illegally. Now - with President-elect Donald Trump expected to issue a flurry of executive orders aimed at speeding the deportation process on the day he takes office on Jan. 20 - that risk has become an overwhelming source of anxiety and discussion in their central Florida home. Figueroa, who is from Guatemala, and Martinez, who is a U.S. citizen, live with their seven-year-old son who was born in the U.S., and a teenage son from an earlier relationship who has a green card. Figueroa says she is the family’s main breadwinner and Martinez’s caregiver after he was injured at his job on a horse ranch. “He worries a lot that if they deport me that he would not be able to manage the house and the boys,” she told Reuters. About a third of the 1.4 million people expected to be prime targets for deportation - those like Figueroa with “final orders of removal” - live in the Florida and Texas enforcement areas, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement data obtained by Reuters. The two states have enacted their own laws cracking down on immigrants in the country illegally. At least another third of migrants living under final orders are in California and other “sanctuary” states that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Reuters spoke with half a dozen immigrants living in Florida and Texas with removal orders as well as immigration advocates and church leaders, who described rising anxiety and a scramble to meet with lawyers and make contingency plans for children and other dependents in case they are deported. They described their fear of being picked up by police indiscriminately or for driving without a license. John Budensiek, sheriff in Martin County, Florida - an hour’s drive north from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club - said that many offenders who pass through his jails could be “low-hanging fruit.” Budensiek, a Republican, said the sheriff’s office has “had a really rough time” getting ICE officers to pick up immigration violators from their jails during President Joe Biden’s presidency. “I believe that the Trump administration will be pretty aggressive with grabbing them up,” he said. An ICE spokesperson said the agency considers individual circumstances when determining whether to detain someone.

VOA News [1/16/2025 9:35 PM, Aline Barros, 2717K, Negative] reports one of President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promises was to urge the US Congress to pass legislation banning sanctuary cities. These jurisdictions limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Some local officials vowed to fight the new Trump administration. VOA’s immigration reporter, Aline Barros, has more. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/16/2025 8:32 AM, Michael Dorgan, Peter Pinedo, 49889K, Neutral] reports Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is hardening her approach to the state’s migrant crisis in the face of mounting safety concerns and just days before President-elect Trump is sworn into office. Healey, a Democrat, is proposing drastic changes to how the state houses migrants by proposing that all families staying in emergency shelters be in the country legally, with rare exceptions. The move would effectively prevent new migrants from staying in state shelters. The change, which comes after a review of the state’s right-to-shelter law, would see all shelter applicants be required to show that they are either a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident or are here "under the color of law." Exceptions are made for households that include children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. The governor is also looking to strengthen background checks for anyone staying at a shelter by requiring them to disclose criminal convictions in the state and elsewhere. Her proposal would require applicants to verify their identity, residency and immigration status before being housed. Currently, shelter applicants are allowed to be housed before providing any documentation. It would also limit those qualifying due to evictions to the state, not anywhere in the country. For instance, this would eliminate a scenario where a migrant is evicted in another state and then comes to Massachusetts and gets shelter benefits. "I believe these changes are appropriate and needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the state shelter system in a way that aligns with the original intent of the law," Healey said in a statement. "In addition, these proposed changes will allow us to continue to ensure the safety of our system, support cities and towns in addressing the needs of unhoused families in their communities and put us on the path toward a more fiscally sustainable shelter system.” The moves come amid safety concerns at the state’s shelters and various crimes being linked to illegal migrants in the state. Records from the state indicate there have been hundreds of serious incidents at the shelters, including rapes. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 4:07 PM, Bill Tomison, 57114K, Neutral] reports that, while Lilian Calderon, 30, who’s lived in Rhode Island for most of her life, remains in the custody of immigration officials in Massachusetts, the ACLU said Tuesday it’s suing the government to try and get her released. A judge ruled Tuesday morning that Calderon could not be removed from Massachusetts while the lawsuit is pending. Lawyers for the ACLU said they filed the lawsuit late Monday night, demanding Calderon be released. In a news conference at the office of the Rhode Island ACLU in Providence, a Massachusetts ACLU lawyer, Adriana Lafaille said Calderon and her husband, Luis Gordillo, had been following the rules the government laid down for her to get legal status, and keeping her behind bars now is violating her right to due process. “Lilian was following a process that the government itself created to allow people in her situation to come out of the shadows,” Lafaille said. Calderon had been brought to the United States from Guatemala when she was 3 years old. She grew up in Providence and married Gordillo, her high school sweetheart. The family’s lawyer, Martin Harris, said Calderon had applied for protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), also known as the “Dreamer” act, but it was denied because the government wasn’t satisfied with the amount of documentation they’d supplied. According to court documents, there wasn’t enough to prove that Calderon had been in the United States constantly since she arrived. Without a Social Security number, Harris noted, it’s hard for an undocumented immigrant to get a bank account and so many other things that would create a paper trail. Calderon was applying for lawful permanent resident status last month when ICE took her into custody.

New York Times [1/17/2025 3:00 AM, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, 161405K, Negative] reports so-called sanctuary laws enacted in hundreds of places across the United States, from big cities like Philadelphia and Chicago to rural counties in Nebraska and New Mexico, have become targets in the nation’s divisive immigration debate. Democrats have long championed the laws, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, as a way to create safe and welcoming environments for undocumented immigrants. President-elect Donald J. Trump and Republicans say they fuel crime and make cities unsafe. Now, as Mr. Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, the future of the sanctuary movement is likely to take center stage, most notably in New York, a city that is home to more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants and has long cherished its reputation as a safe haven. Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, is intent on changing the city’s sanctuary laws to allow his administration to work more closely with federal agents to deport criminals. But even as New Yorkers have signaled a greater appetite for a harder line on immigration as the city navigates a two-year migrant influx, many Democrats still oppose Mr. Adams’s stance.

CBS Miami [1/16/2025 3:27 PM, Mauricio Maldonado, 52225K, Negative] reports a federal judge in Miami has ordered the forfeiture of more than $20 million tied to a bribery and money laundering scheme involving a Venezuelan businessman and South Florida financial accounts, officials said. The U.S. government said the money came from illegal payments made by Naman Wakil, a Venezuelan national, to win lucrative food supply contracts with Venezuela’s state-run food agency, Corporación de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agrícola (CASA). According to court documents, between 2008 and 2014, Wakil paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes to CASA’s presidents. Federal officials said Wakil secured hundreds of millions of dollars in profits. He allegedly funneled the money into bank accounts in the Cayman Islands and Switzerland before moving the funds into South Florida and other locations. "This forfeiture shows that the United States will not tolerate the misuse of its financial system by those who try to launder illegal profits," said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida. Officials with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said the case reflects their commitment to fighting corruption and holding criminals accountable. "This case demonstrates our dedication to safeguarding the U.S. financial system from illegal activities," said Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of HSI Miami.

FOX News [1/16/2025 6:00 AM, Joshua Q. Nelson, 49889K, Neutral] reports the Chicago city council on Wednesday blocked a proposal that would have allowed local law enforcement to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain migrants with a criminal record. Chicago’s "welcoming city" ordinance, in compliance with the 2017 Illinois Trust Act, prohibits local law enforcement from participating in federal immigration enforcement. Ald Ray Lopez and Silvana Tabares wanted to change the ordinance to enable police to cooperate with ICE to target migrants who had been arrested for gang or drug-related activities or sexual crimes involving minors. Their measure received backlash from activist groups when they first introduced the measure in 2023. The two officials saw their proposed amendment get struck down by a 39-11 vote. Before Chicago officials voted down the proposed amendment, Jordan Kelly, a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and resident of 30th ward, spoke out against Lopez and Tabares’ proposed amendment. "Self-hating cowards such as Ray Lopez and Tabares want to turn our city into a hell for migrants who are not only Latin, by the way. CAIR Chicago has 40-50 open asylum cases currently. What do we tell these people and families if we don’t remain a sanctuary? Plus, our economy cannot handle mass deportations," Kelly said. Immigration has been heated issue in the Windy City as officials have had to grapple with a surge of migrants over the past several years. Many Chicago residents are frustrated with city officials, particularly Mayor Brandon Johnson and his handling of the situation. One resident who spoke at the city council meeting on Wednesday slammed Johnson. "Who are you loyal to? The American citizens in Chicago or the illegal immigrants in Chicago?," the man said. "The sanctuary law that Brandon Johnson allowed has brought criminals, drug dealers, and now terrorists.” The vote to block the measure came after Johnson last week issued new guidelines ahead of President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House. Johnson’s guidelines advise that if ICE should enter city property to "contact your agency or department’s designated attorney or general counsel for further guidance. Contact the highest ranking official or designated supervisor onsite and do not take any action until that person arrives.”

Reported similarly:
CBS Austin [1/16/2025 3:17 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 12:31 PM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2365K, Negative]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 6:00 AM, Isiah Holmes, 57114K, Neutral] reports a scene from the nine-day march to the Wisconsin State Capitol in 2022. Marchers, organized by Voces de la Frontera, demanded immigration reform from the federal government. (Photo | Joe Brusky) Some Milwaukee residents are alarmed over a plan to move an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into their neighborhood on the Northwest Side. Local officials said an ICE and Homeland Security building in downtown Milwaukee, which currently processes detainees, may move to 11925 W. Lake Park Drive, nestled in a neighborhood near freeway exits, a church, grocery store, and hotel. Ald. Larresa Taylor, who represents the 9th District, spoke at a press conference Wednesday afternoon saying she wanted to properly inform residents of the federal government’s intentions. “We never want anyone to be caught off guard,” said Taylor. She received an email from the Department of City Development on Dec. 9, she said, informing her of an application for “proposed minor modifications” to a building in the Park Place business park. The building is privately owned by Milwaukee Governmental LLC, which Taylor said requested the modifications to the building. The LLC is an affiliate of the Illinois-based WD Schorsch LLC, according to city assessment records, an entity that owns properties leased to federal government agencies, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Taylor said that although the 9th District – covering the uppermost northwest end of Milwaukee – is a growing district, this “doesn’t mean that we’re going to accept any and everything.” “And it certainly doesn’t mean that we’re going to allow someone to come into our district without warning, or without knowledge,” she added. Taylor said that the proposed facility would operate “exactly as they do downtown.” Although it is called the “Chicago Field Office”, the existing ICE facility in downtown Milwaukee is the one slated to move into the District 9 neighborhood. The facility is involved in processing ICE detainees, as well as immigrants who must come there for regular check-ins. Detainees who are being held for deportation are transferred to the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, where there is an ICE detention facility.

AZCentral [1/16/2025 7:48 AM, Ray Stern and Kunle Falayi, 6018K, Neutral] reports that, to carry out mass deportations, the next Trump administration will need to greatly expand the U.S. immigration detention system. There were more than 39,000 immigrants in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement across the U.S. as of the first half of fiscal year 2025. There are five facilities in Arizona used to house detained immigrants as of January 2025. They are a combination of ICE-owned facilities and contract facilities. The six detention centers in Arizona have a combined capacity of 3,341 beds. To carry out mass deportations, the next Trump administration may try to contract with county and state facilities to house detained immigrants.

Reuters [1/16/2025 5:23 PM, Daniel Wiessner, 48128K, Negative] reports A U.S. appeals court on Thursday upheld rulings requiring private prison operator GEO Group (GEO.N), to pay more than $23 million to the state of Washington and hundreds of immigrant detainees who were paid $1 a day to participate in a work program. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision, said that while GEO operates a Tacoma, Washington, detention center under a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it does not enjoy the immunity from state minimum wage laws afforded to the federal government. GEO was appealing a $17.3 million jury verdict for detainees who were paid $1 a day to cook, clean, perform repairs, and staff a barber shop and library at the detention center, and a separate $6 million award for the state. Washington had sued GEO for unjust enrichment for not paying detainees the minimum wage. The Washington Supreme Court, in response to certified questions from the 9th Circuit, ruled in 2023 that the detainees were GEO’s employees under state law and had to be paid the minimum wage. That left the federal court to consider GEO’s claim that because it was operating a government detention center, it was shielded from state wage laws just like the federal government. The 9th Circuit on Thursday said the government did not dictate the wages GEO must pay to detainees or require it to operate the work program and also rejected the company’s claim that the state minimum wage was preempted by federal immigration law. "There is nothing — either in federal law or in GEO’s contract with the federal government — that prevents GEO from paying Washington’s minimum wage to its civil detainees who perform work for the benefit of GEO," Circuit Judge William Fletcher wrote.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 4:36 PM, Dan Gooding, 56005K, Positive] reports that one of the United States’ most sought-after and controversial visas, the H-1B, will see sweeping changes Friday, aimed at making it easier for companies to hire and retain foreign workers. The new rules around the visa, designed to enable high-skilled workers to remain in the U.S. depending on employment status, are one of the final immigration policy changes under the outgoing Biden administration. The H-1B has been a major point of contention between high-ranking members ofPresident-elect Donald Trump’s new administration in recent weeks, with Elon Musk arguing in its favor, while others said it takes jobs from American citizens. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the H-1B would be updated a month ago, claiming it would streamline the approval process, and allow for greater oversight of the program. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas, in a December press release: "American businesses rely on the H-1B visa program for the recruitment of highly-skilled talent, benefitting communities across the country. These improvements to the program provide employers with greater flexibility to hire global talent, boost our economic competitiveness, and allow highly skilled workers to continue to advance American innovation."

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 1:04 PM, Logan Sparkman, 57114K, Negative] reports an undocumented Russellville woman was sentenced to 5 years in prison for using a false identity to obtain passports and vote in multiple elections. In September, the United States Department of Justice said Angelica Maria Francisco, 42, of Russellville pleaded guilty to two counts of false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, one count of false statements in application for a United States passport, five counts of use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced Francisco to serve 60 months in prison for those charges. According to the DOJ, Francisco assumed the identity of a United States citizen around 2011 and obtained a United States passport that year. She then used the to travel to and from her native country of Guatemala in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Records show she used the same identity to apply for a renewed passport in 2021 and travel to and from Guatemala again in 2022. Francisco used the same false identity to register to vote in Alabama in 2016, and she voted in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections, the DOJ said. “This sentence sends a clear message that any attempts by non-U.S. citizens to vote in the Northern District of Alabama are unacceptable and will result in serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona. “Maintaining the sanctity of the U.S. election system is one of the most important responsibilities of federal law enforcement. My office will remain vigilant in carrying out this mission and, to that end, will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who seek to undermine our elections.” The case was investigated by the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the East Metro Area Crime Center, and the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett A. Janich.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 2:36 PM, Jashayla Pettigrew, 57114K, Neutral] reports Oregon’s attorney general has joined a coalition of other state officials striving to preserve health care access for “Dreamers.” In 2012, the Secretary of Homeland Security established Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — meaning that some individuals who immigrated to the U.S. as children and meet certain guidelines wouldn’t have to fear immediate deportation. President Joe Biden, who served as vice president when the Barack Obama administration passed the initial policy, expanded it last May so DACA recipients were eligible for basic health coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The new rule went into effect on Nov. 1, just a few days before the presidential election. Some state officials have expressed concerns that the incoming Donald Trump administration will revoke the policy. On Wednesday, Oregon’s recently-elected Attorney General Dan Rayfield was one of 14 attorneys general that filed a motion to protect the impacted group’s ACA access. “Oregon has long been a national leader in our work to expand access to health care,” Rayfield said in a statement. “Today’s motion is an important step to protect our advancements and safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all Oregonians.” Attorneys general in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont also joined the motion. On the opposite end, the Oregon Department of Justice reported that another coalition of states led by Kansas filed a lawsuit in August to delay and eventually block Biden’s DACA expansion. DOJ said the policy was delayed in some states, but was protected for Oregon Dreamers. The state department has revealed other efforts to protect immigrants ahead of the nation’s political changeover. Former Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum released a toolkit that informed families on their protections if they encounter Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Telemundo 20 [1/16/2025 1:57 PM, Marinee Zavala, 34K, Positive] reports that days after Donald Trump’s arrival at the White House, more than 250 DACA beneficiaries legally crossed the border from Tijuana to San Diego, a journey that, they told us, lasted hours, but made them understand the complexity of their situation and the migrant community seeking asylum in the United States. The happiness and shouts of excitement could be heard for hours from the pedestrian crossing point of San Ysidro East, where they celebrated the safe return of hundreds of DACA beneficiaries, those adults who were brought to the United States by their parents as children. For up to 33 years, in the case of this man born in Michoacán, he told TELEMUNDO20, he remained in the United States, unable to leave the country. Just days before the change of government in the United States, those who currently have DACA in different parts of the United States said they know that things will not be easy. "We know that this administration is not going to make life easy for us, but if we are organized, we can demand that they pass a comprehensive immigration reform that can impact families like mine," added the DACA beneficiary originally from Michoacán. However, their hours in the city of Tijuana, visiting the IBERO university and migrant shelters in the city, they say also made them see how difficult the situation is for those who request asylum.

Telemundo51 [1/16/2025 11:22 PM, Staff, 283K, Negative] reports Cubans under the Visa Exemption Program (VWP) using an Electronic Travel Authorization System (ESTA) will not be able to enter the U.S. immediately, the State Department has said. After the island was removed Tuesday by Joe Biden’s administration from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, dual-citizens have quickly hoped that their entry into the U.S. without a visa would resume immediately, but this has not been the case. According to a State Department official, before the measure enters a vigour, the "report must be submitted to Congress at least 45 days before the proposed termination comes into effect." The 45-day period began from 14 January 2025. "With regard to eligibility for travel under the Visa Exemption Program, the current eligibility requirements remain in place," said the State Department, which said that specific doubts or questions about the travel process with the visa waiver from an ESTA would be clarified by the Department of Homeland Security. In exchange for leaving this list, the Cuban government promised to release more than 500 people imprisoned on the island, a process that began Wednesday and has continued today.

AP [1/17/2025 1:46 AM, Elliot Spagat, 30936K, Neutral] reports a nurse who fled Cuba as part of the Caribbean nation’s largest exodus in more than six decades needed a place to stay in Mexico as she waited to legally enter the U.S. using a government app. A woman who had lived her whole life in the same Tijuana neighborhood was desperate for medical help after a dog attack left her with wounds to her legs. A mutual acquaintance brought the two women together. Nurse Karla Figueredo stayed with Martha Rosales for three days in October 2023, waiting for a border appointment booked through the CBP One app and treating Rosales’ dog bites. When Figueredo left for the U.S., she got Rosales’ permission to give her name to other migrants. Word quickly spread and Rosales made her home part of a roster of at least three dozen migrant shelters in her hometown on the U.S.-Mexico border, temporarily housing people who use the CBP One app. “I told God that if they didn’t amputate my feet, I would help every Cuban,” said Rosales, 45, who was using a wheelchair after being attacked by five dogs until Figueredo helped heal her wounds. CBP One has brought nearly 1 million people to the U.S. on two-year permits with eligibility to work but could go away once President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Supporters say CBP One has helped bring order to the border and reduced illegal crossings. But Trump has said he would end it as part of a broader immigration crackdown. Critics say it prioritizes a lottery system over people who have long lived in the U.S. illegally while paying taxes and people who have waited years for visas. U.S. Customs and Border Protection debuted CBP One near the end of Trump’s first term as a way for customs brokers to schedule inspections and for visitors with short-term visas to extend stays. The Biden administration extended its use to migrants to replace an opaque patchwork of exemptions to a pandemic-related asylum ban that was then in place. CBP One is popular with Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians and Mexicans, likely because advocates in their communities promote it. Illegal border crossings by Cubans plunged under CBP One from a peak of nearly 35,000 in April 2022 to just 97 in September. Demand for appointments has far outstripped supply, with an average of about 280,000 people competing for 1,450 daily slots toward the end of last year, according to CBP. Winners must report to a border crossing in three weeks.

FOX News [1/16/2025 2:14 PM, Danielle Wallace, 49889K, Neutral] reports that Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., is introducing a bill that aims to redirect funding from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to fund the hiring of more Border Patrol agents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The bill, titled the "Diverting IRS Resources to the Exigent Crisis Today Act" or the "DIRECT Act," aims to "rescind certain balances made available to the Internal Revenue Service and redirect them to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection." Specifically, the proposal seeks to have "unobligated balances" appropriated or otherwise made available to the IRS for "enforcement activities" under federal law instead go to the CBP "for the salaries and expenses of new agents and officers hired for the security of the southern border of the United States," according to the bill’s language. Tenney is reintroducing the 2023 bill to the newly sworn-in 119th Congress. "The Biden-Harris administration has overseen the entry of over 10 million illegal immigrants into our country," Tenney said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Yet, instead of prioritizing border security and supporting CBP agents, they focused on sending the IRS to harass middle-class families. The DIRECT Act stops Biden’s IRS army from launching audits of middle-class families and reinvests those funds to hiring additional Customs and Border Protection agents to secure the Southern Border."

FOX News [1/16/2025 4:27 PM, Brooke Taylor, 49889K, Neutral] reports heartbreaking images of minors at the southern border—alone and clutching nothing but a piece of paper—have become tragically familiar. According to border patrol data, since President Biden took office in 2021, nearly 540,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended at the southern border. Many of these children fall prey to sex traffickers, facing unimaginable conditions and exploitation. Fox News recently spoke with a 20-year-old sex trafficking survivor, whose identity we agreed to conceal for his safety. He still lives in fear that his captors will find him. Trafficked from South America to Mexico and then across the border, he was finally rescued at the age of 18 and brought to Bob’s House of Hope. Bob’s House of Hope is the first safe house in the country dedicated specifically to male sex trafficking survivors. The victim shared harrowing details of his experience: trafficked six to eight times a day, beaten, and threatened with death if he dared to speak out. "I saw good people die," he said. Bob Williams, the founder of the safe house, was inspired to create this refuge after his own experiences. "They just feel that it just happens to girls and women," Williams said. "And that’s the problem. That’s the stigma that we have to change. The fact is that we believe up to 50% of human trafficking victims are boys and men.” Bob’s House of Hope welcomes both U.S. citizens and migrants. He works with law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and FBI. "As a survivor, I said we are going to take anybody because these kids that are migrants are protected under the Federal Sex Trafficking Act," Williams explained. Shockingly, many victims at Bob’s House of Hope have been trafficked by their own families, viewed as nothing more than dollar signs.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 4:20 PM, Salvador Rivera, 57114K, Positive] reports the Mexican Consulate in New York City has recovered a priceless document signed in 1554 that detailed how the Spanish planned to colonize, govern and account for Indigenous people in the Americas. The Proclamación de Huejotzingo was stolen in 1970 from a museum in Mexico and then resold over the years in the international black market for antiquities and art. It was signed by Fray Juan de Alameda, one of the original architects to many buildings, convents and churches in Mexico. The document also includes signatures from several illustrious figures who ruled Mexico at that time. It is said to be the foundation for how the Spanish administered Mexico and how they tried to integrate indigenous people into every day life. The official paper was found in March 2024 at John F. Kennedy Airport in a piece of luggage. It took several months for the Mexican government to prove the document’s historical value and that it had been stolen. On Wednesday, it was turned over to the Mexican Consulate in New York City, which thanked U.S. Customs and Border Protection for identifying and recovering the manuscript.

VOA News [1/16/2025 5:08 PM, Steve Herman, 2717K, Negative] Video: HERE reports that most Americans and visitors to the United States encounter Customs and Border Protection agents when they enter or return to the country at land crossings or airports. But CBP also is responsible for inspecting goods leaving the country, which creates a nearly impossible assignment of trying to intercept all stolen automobiles being shipped out of the U.S. At the Port of Baltimore, CBP scrutinizes several hundred vehicles every day, and on average will find one illegal export — nearly all headed to a particular region of the world, says Adam Rottman, CBP’s director at the Port of Baltimore. He acknowledges that CBP has neither the time nor manpower to inspect every shipping container. "I’d say 90 to 95% of every one of our stolen automobiles is headed to West Africa," he tells VOA. On any given day at the Port of Baltimore, CBP’s manifest of seized vehicles resembles the inventory of a small used car lot: a Kia purchased fraudulently at auction in New Jersey is bound for Ghana; a Mercedes-Benz valued at $48,000, purchased with a stolen identity in Ohio, is slated for shipment to Togo; a $75,000 Ford Raptor inside a container with one or two additional stolen vehicles and boxes of new power tools is headed for West Africa. CBP operates giant mobile X-ray trucks, the VACIS M6500s, which in minutes can scan shipping containers and determine if they should be opened for a closer inspection. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 4:04 PM, Gabby Allen, 57114K, Negative] reports a jury found a Rockville man guilty of drug-related charges after Dulles officers found cocaine hidden in several of his desserts and food items last year. According to court records from the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO), 69-year-old Gildo Ricci traveled from Colombia, landing at Dulles International Airport (IAD) at about 6:45 a.m. on April 25, 2024. At the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspection area, officers found Ricci had several desserts and foods with him, such as chocolate candies, cakes and soup mixes. One officer opened the chocolate candies and applied pressure to the various items, which emitted a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine. The cakes were coated in caramel and sprinkles, but upon a closer look, a CBP officer noticed the cake was unusually heavy. The officer tried cutting into it with a knife, but the knife couldn’t cut through. After removing the top layer of the cake, they found a foil-wrapped brick inside. Each cake contained a white powdery substance, which tested positive for cocaine. The same was true for one of the soup mix packets. Altogether, the CBP officers found 2.07 kilograms of cocaine in the food and dessert items. The USAO said $7,750 of counterfeit U.S. currency was also found in a child’s backpack within one of Ricci’s suitcases. Ricci was found guilty on charges of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. He faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 25.

FOX News [1/16/2025 8:00 AM, Adam Shaw, 49889K, Neutral] reports U.S. and Mexican law enforcement worked together to locate and shut down a man-made cross-border tunnel used by cartels to smuggle cargo into the U.S. across the southern border -- complete with lighting and ventilation. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, discovered the tunnel on Thursday. In a statement, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they discovered a man-made tunnel that breaches into the public storm drain. The six-foot tall, four-foot wide tunnel was covered by a 36-by-36 inch entry hole. It was sophisticated and equipped with lighting, a ventilation system, and was supported by wooden beams throughout. CBP said it worked with local and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the El Paso Police Dept and the Texas Department of Public Safety. It also worked with the Mexican government to uncover the tunnel. "We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations," El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good said in a statement. "Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector. With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all perpetrators to justice —those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways to entering the United States." FBI Special Agent in Charge John Maroles said the discovery underscores the vital importance of coordination and collaboration among our law enforcement agencies. "This successful binational operation exemplifies the strong partnerships between agencies in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, working together to secure our shared border and protect our communities. These partnerships are critical in ensuring the safety and security of our communities and our nation as a whole," he said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS News [1/16/2025 7:19 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 52225K, Neutral] reports the incoming Trump administration is planning to install Texas’ border czar as head of U.S. Border Patrol, replacing the career official who currently leads the agency in charge of stopping the illicit movement of migrants and drugs. Mike Banks, who has spearheaded Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border crackdown, is expected to be appointed Border Patrol chief after President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office, two sources familiar with the move told CBS News Thursday. Banks would replace current Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, a 28-year veteran career official at the agency. Owens is set to retire from government service in April, two U.S. officials told CBS News. In an internal message sent to agents Thursday and obtained by CBS News, Owens said the opportunity to serve as Border Patrol chief was "the highest honor I have ever received." "Looking ahead, I will leave with a profound sense of optimism about its future and that of our country," Owens wrote. "I will take comfort knowing that you are on our frontline, standing between the innocent and the evil." Banks’ appointment would be a departure from the general practice of Border Patrol having leaders that are career government officials, not political appointees. A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection official, Banks has been a key player in Texas’ aggressive effort to counter what the state has argued is the Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border amid record levels of migrant crossings. Since March 2021, Texas has bussed tens of thousands of migrants to major Democratic-led U.S. cities, deployed the National Guard to fortify the banks of the Rio Grande with razor wire and assigned troopers to arrest migrants on criminal trespassing charges. It also tried to enact its own immigration law to arrest and jail migrants suspected of entering the country illegally, though that measure is currently held up in court.

Reported similarly:
The Texas Tribune [1/16/2025 2:58 PM, Alejandro Serrano, 1609K, Positive]

FOX News [1/16/2025 12:12 PM, Peter Pinedo, 49889K, Neutral] reports that according to Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the state’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and Tren de Aragua (TdA) migrant gang activity have reduced illegal crossings by nearly 90% and resulted in close to 50,000 criminal arrests. Abbott’s office said that the Texas-led campaign called "Operation Lonestar," which was first launched in March 2021 and has seen the participation of over a dozen other Republican states, has led to 530,400 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 49,900 criminal arrests, with more than 42,900 felony charges. During this operation, Texas also became the first state to build a border wall on its own, continuing border wall construction at strategic points despite President Biden putting a stop to it in the early days of his administration. "Our top priority is the safety and security of Texans, including against the growing threat of Tren de Aragua," Abbott said on X. "We will not allow this gang to operate or gain a foothold in Texas." The governor’s office also said that during Operation Lonestar, Texas law enforcement seized over 620 million lethal doses of fentanyl, which they said is "enough to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, Mexico, and Canada combined." The office noted that Abbott designated TdA, whose violent crime has been sweeping across the nation, a foreign terrorist organization and launched a strike team to target, identify and arrest members of the group.

BorderReport [1/16/2025 6:12 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 153K, Neutral] reports a 1.5-mile segment of state-built border wall on newly acquired land in Starr County in South Texas is completed, officials say. Construction of the segment began less than three months ago when Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham came to rural Starr County in December to tout the benefits of the barricade in this spot. She told Border Report the land had been previously used by Mexican drug smugglers and cartel and she says it is the location where women and children were sexually assaulted. "When we purchased this land, we did so intending to fortify our southern border. The completion of this roughly 1.5-mile stretch of border wall is another step in the right direction in ensuring robust border security for our state," Buckingham said in a statement Wednesday. In addition to the 30-foot tall metal barricade, the Texas Facilities Commission has authorized the installation of security cameras to monitor the property, as well as lighting and motorized gates that are being installed to allow law enforcement vehicles to patrol the property, Buckingham said.

San Francisco Chronicle [1/16/2025 6:03 PM, Ko Lyn Cheang and Jessica Flores, 4368K, Neutral] reports farmworker communities across California, including in the Bay Area, are on high alert after a U.S. Border Patrol immigration raid in Kern County last week led to at least 78 arrests. The three-day operation in and around Bakersfield from Jan. 7-9 was called "Operation Return to Sender" and appeared to target undocumented farmworkers who are in peak citrus picking season. More than half of California farmworkers are undocumented, according to an estimate based on 2010 to 2018 data in a 2022 report by the Public Policy Institute of California. It was the first major workplace immigration raid in California since the election victory of President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to enact a mass deportation plan after he takes office Monday, and provides a glimpse at what the next four years could look like for California industries that rely on undocumented laborers, including vineyards. The operation was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector, which is headquartered near the U.S. Mexico border in Imperial, some 300 miles south of Bakersfield, where the raid occurred. On the El Centro Sector’s Facebook page, the official account for the sector wrote in a comment on a post that they arrested 78 in the operation, all of whom were unlawfully present in the U.S. The countries of citizenship of those arrested include Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico and China, the comment stated.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 4:14 PM, Brian Dillon, 56005K, Neutral] reports that Americans will soon have to get a REAL ID document for traveling via plane within the country, with just over 100 days left until the new rule comes into effect. It was announced in 2024 that beginning May 7, 2025, Americans will need the REAL ID, a standardized identification document in the United States, to board a plane going between U.S. airports. The REAL ID was introduced in the REAL ID Act passed by Congress in 2005, enacting the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation for the standardized issuing of identification. REAL ID will be needed for plane travel within the United States from May 7, but Americans planning to travel will need to make sure that they have taken action to update theirs before then. TSA recently announced its final ruling on the REAL ID, allowing agencies to enforce this rule in phases with details of these enforcements published for public availability. "Identity verification is foundational to security. I urge those who use a driver’s license or state-issued identity card as their primary form of identification to access federal facilities or board commercial passenger aircraft, to ensure these credentials are REAL ID-compliant," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske.

AP [1/16/2025 10:52 AM, Staff, 47097K, Positive] reports that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) marked another successful year, making significant strides to improve security and safeguard transportation systems, accelerate action and commit to our people. TSA and its partners remain ahead of threats to transportation security through a vigilant workforce, continuing to deploy technology, and new processes that increase security effectiveness, efficiency and the customer experience. The agency has also seen vast improvement in employee morale, retention and recruitment. "Last year, we reached a historic milestone with the highest passenger volumes and the largest screening workforce in the agency’s history - an achievement that reflects the dedication, resilience and vigilance of our people across the agency," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "In the face of record travel volumes and evolving threats to transportation, our workforce has risen to every challenge by remaining agile with unwavering professionalism, ensuring the safety of the traveling public and security of our transportation systems. I am immensely proud of their commitment to our mission, and the incredible support we continue to receive in our partnerships across government and the travel industry. We look forward to continuing this progress with more technology enhancements and better policies and procedures to increase security effectiveness, efficiency and the customer experience in 2025."

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 9:12 AM, Pete Syme, 57114K, Negative] reports that the Transportation Security Administration intercepted 6,678 firearms at airport checkpoints last year, it announced Wednesday. That’s an average of more than 18 firearms a day. The agency screened more than 904 million people, meaning there was an average rate of 7.4 firearms per every million people. It added that 94% of the firearms were loaded. The figures for 2024 represent a slight decrease from last year’s record 6,737 — but only by 0.9%. Nonetheless, it is still the only year in the past decade — except for 2020, when travel was crippled by the pandemic — that has seen a drop in the number of firearms detected at airports. The figure has more than doubled since 2015. One of the TSA’s interceptions last year included an airline crew member carrying a loaded 9mm handgun at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The TSA also released statistics for which airports see the most firearms. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines’ primary hub, saw the most at 440. It was closely followed by the 390 at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, which is American Airlines’ biggest hub. Four of the top 10 airports were in Texas, while two were in Florida.

New York Times [1/16/2025 5:47 PM, Christine Hauser, 161405K, Negative] reports that a Southwest Airlines pilot was removed from a plane at the airport in Savannah, Ga., on Wednesday and charged with driving under the influence, according to the authorities and jail records. Mark Howell, a regional spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, said on Thursday that one of its officers at Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport contacted law enforcement after “encountering an individual in the crew screening lane who smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated.” The pilot, David Paul Allsop, 52, was arrested by the airport police, Chatham County Sheriff’s Office records show. He was later released on a $3,500 bond, Brianna Jones, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman, said. Mr. Allsop “was seated in the cockpit performing preflight checks” when the police asked him to step out onto the jet bridge for questioning, the incident report said. Mr. Allsop, who the police said smelled like alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, admitted to drinking a “few light beers” the night before, according to the incident report.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 11:13 AM, Brenton Blanchet, 57114K, Negative]

Washington Post [1/16/2025 4:46 PM, Hannah Sampson, 40736K, Negative] reports that a Southwest Airlines pilot was charged with driving under the influence after he was arrested Wednesday morning at the airport in Savannah, Georgia. According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a security officer contacted local law enforcement after spotting someone “who smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated” in the lane for crew members inside the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Airport police arrested David Paul Allsop, 52, at 7 a.m. Airport officials did not immediately release information on his arrest, but booking information from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office includes the charge and shows that he was released on $3,500 bond. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. TSA said in its statement that the agency keeps close relationships with local law enforcement for scenarios like the one that unfolded Wednesday. “TSA always reminds passengers that if you see something, say something, and that is exactly what our Transportation Security Officer at Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) did when they saw something out of the norm,” the agency said.

ABC News [1/16/2025 4:33 PM, Leah Sarnoff, Sam Sweeney, and Clara McMichael, 57114K, Neutral] reports a Southwest Airlines pilot was arrested this week for allegedly reporting to work at a Georgia airport intoxicated, causing his Chicago-bound flight to be delayed for hours. The pilot, identified as 52-year-old David Allsop, was arrested at Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah on Wednesday after a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer noticed he allegedly "smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated," the agency said in a statement to ABC News. Southwest Airlines confirmed the pilot had been removed from duty and apologized to customers whose travel plans were disrupted. The flight Allsop was scheduled to operate, Flight 3772 headed to Chicago, was delayed several hours from 6:05 a.m. to 10:56 a.m. while Southwest got a new pilot, according to the airline. Allsop was taken into custody around 7 a.m. by the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office and charged with driving under the influence, according to the booking document obtained by ABC News. Ahead of his arrest, Allsop was removed from the cockpit while doing pre-flight checks, according to the booking document. He was given a sobriety test in the jet bridge, which he failed, and was subsequently taken into custody after refusing a blood test, the incident report said. Allsop told officers he had been drinking light beers the night before, and the report said the officer smelled alcohol and observed bloodshot eyes. The pilot was unable to maintain balance during the sobriety test and was unable to follow the tip of the officer’s pen with only his eyes and instead moved his neck and his head, according to the incident report.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 7:10 AM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] reports agents seized 498 firearms at security checkpoints in eight airports across Georgia last year and 440 of those were detected at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That’s a slight decrease from 451, the number of firearms discovered at the security checkpoints in 2023. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wants travelers to know that yes, you can fly with your firearms, but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. You can fly with unloaded firearms in a locked hard-sided container in your checked baggage only. You’ll also need to declare the firearm and/or ammunition to the airline when you check your bag at the ticket counter. The container must be locked and secure so no one but you can access it. If the case can be easily unlocked, it is not permitted. The TSA says the container that the firearm was in when you purchased it may not be secure enough to transport it in your checked baggage. If you bring an unloaded firearm with accessible ammunition to a security checkpoint, it carries the same civil penalty or fine as bringing a loaded weapon to the checkpoint. All firearm parts, such as magazines, bolts, and firing pins must be packed into your checked baggage. Toy guns and replica guns have to be packed into your checked baggage too. So if you want to keep your gun when flying, make sure you follow their advice.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 2:46 PM, Andy Koval, 57114K, Negative] reports the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detected 119 firearms at Chicago’s two airports last year. TSA officers found 78 firearms at O’Hare and 41 at Midway. The number is slightly below the 2023 total of 122 — which produced a record of 50 detected guns at Midway. When a firearm is detected at a security checkpoint, TSA officers immediately contact local law enforcement, who remove the passenger and the firearm. Depending on local laws, the law enforcement officer may arrest or cite the passenger. TSA does not confiscate firearms. “Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is a careless, dangerous mistake that can be easily avoided,” Illinois TSA Federal Security Director Jim Spriggs said. “When individuals bring firearms to our checkpoints, they are introducing a risk to everyone in the area. These incidents also slow down the checkpoint screening process for other travelers because when a firearm is detected, all activity in the lane comes to a complete halt until police arrive. Unloaded firearms can be packed with checked baggage and declared to the airline.”

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 1:18 PM, Iman Palm, 57114K, Neutral] reports thousands of wildfire victims have turned to GoFundMe and other crowdfunding sites to raise money to support themselves or loved ones impacted by the fires. However, those donations could limit monetary assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. However, it can only make funds available to cover costs not covered by other sources, such as insurance or donations like those that come from GoFundMe. “GoFundMe can be a great way to cover immediate expenses, but it’s important to know that using it for certain purposes might affect your eligibility for FEMA,” a spokesperson said in a video posted to X. “For example, FEMA may be able to help you to replace a car destroyed during the disaster but if your GoFundMe clearly states that the funds raised will be used to replace your car, FEMA won’t be able to help for that specific need.” “We know this can be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to manage so much, all at once. That’s why we encourage you to carefully consider how you describe your needs when creating a GoFundMe page.” According to the agency’s website, by law, they can’t duplicate benefits victims receive from another source. However, they still encourage people impacted by the wildfires to apply for federal assistance. Los Angeles County wildfire victims can apply for FEMA online or call the helpline at 800-621-3362 for assistance.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 6:10 PM, Ryley Ober, 57114K, Neutral] reports Gov. Josh Stein sent a letter Jan. 16 to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator, urging the agency to extend a program that has helped place thousands of displaced Western North Carolina residents in hotels since Tropical Storm Helene. In the letter, Stein asks FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell to extend the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program for eligible North Carolinians for an additional six months, through Sept. 30. “I know FEMA has been working to deliver aid, but the people of western North Carolina are experiencing chaos and uncertainty regarding temporary housing that is untenable.,” Stein said the letter. "People in the mountains of North Carolina are facing below freezing temperatures. Next week, our state will experience another cold snap that may bring more winter weather. I know that you agree that people are entitled to pass the winter safely and securely as they rebuild their damaged or destroyed homes." As a winter storm barreled through the region Jan. 10, thousands of residents in hotels by way of TSA vouchers were kept in a state of flux, unsure when their vouchers would expire — leading some non-profits to buy hotel stays for families as temperatures dropped to the teens. Before 3,500 WNC residents were sent away from hotels on Jan. 11, FEMA announced two last-minute extensions in lieu of the winter storm: On the evening of Jan. 9, the agency announced on social media that it would extend hotel stays until Jan. 12 for WNC households that were scheduled to check out. Then again on Jan. 11, the agency announced the checkout date was extended to Jan. 14. Most recently, FEMA granted an extension on hotel stays until Jan. 25. The agency posted the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, just before 8:15 p.m. Jan. 13, the night before many families would be forced to check out of the area hotels housing them.

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 12:38 PM, Asher Notheis, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) expressed enthusiasm for Donald Trump’s return to the White House in a matter of days, saying that the president-elect needs to drastically improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s handling of natural disasters. Budd said FEMA needs to communicate properly in its treatment of Hurricane Helene victims, citing how the agency was planning to "kick people out" of hotels shortly after a snowstorm before delaying the deadline to Jan. 25, five days after Trump’s inauguration. The North Carolina senator added that people were still getting kicked out of their housing, prompting him and other lawmakers to contact FEMA "late at night" and help those displaced from the hurricane to get their temporary shelter back. "This is what FEMA needs to do: They need to be there for real instances like western North Carolina, and Trump can’t get here fast enough," Budd said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. "We know his administration is going to make some great changes, and they’re going to communicate better, and they’re going to make it have a much better operation for FEMA because it desperately needs it."

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 12:50 PM, Dave Faherty, 57114K, Negative] reports that families in western North Carolina recovering from Helene are preparing to move out of hotels next week. Earlier this week, Sen. Ted Budd joined others in sharing his concerns that Helene victims are being forced out of hotels by FEMA. Channel 9′s Dave Faherty was in Newland Thursday where he spoke with several families about having a place to stay. Families at the Inn at Shady Lawn in Newland said their homes were damaged or lifted off their foundations during the flooding. For several months, they have gotten vouchers allowing them to stay in hotels after temporary assistance from FEMA. The vouchers are good through Jan. 24. Hotel residents told Faherty that while work has been done to repair their homes, there are still mold issues and other problems preventing them from moving back in. Terry McKinney and his wife are calling the Inn at Shady Lawn home. About a mile away, more than two feet of water flooded their home, and the walls were torn apart to keep the mold from growing. McKinney said he’s worried. FEMA said that 10,000 people have used transitional sheltering assistance since the storm. Officials said they let families know seven days before their checkout date. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX News [1/16/2025 2:07 PM, Stephen Sorace, 49889K, Neutral] reports that as fire crews continue to battle the wildfires consuming Los Angeles County, officials on Thursday said at least 36 people remain missing while two additional deaths brought the toll to 25. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna told reporters during a news conference that search and rescue teams discovered one of the deceased in the Eaton Fire area and the other in the Palisades Fire area. "We continue to work with multiple partners, not only in the recovery of remains, but then ultimately the identification of the deceased and then the notification to the next of kin," Luna said. Luna said it was likely that more remains would be discovered in these areas, which is why officials are keeping evacuation orders in place around those sites. "As we’re going through some of these grids, there are areas that we are holding because we believe there are deceased victims there," Luna said. "We have to hold for the right time and the right resources to process the scene correctly, and that’s going to take a little while. Please be patient with us.” As the death toll rose to at least 25, officials also said that at least 36 people were still unaccounted for in the wildfire areas. Luna said of the 43 total missing persons reported in the county, 12 have been found safe. There remain 31 active missing persons cases, 24 of which are in the Eaton Fire area and seven in the Palisades.

CBS News [1/16/2025 10:06 AM, Sarah Lynch Baldwin, Emily Mae Czachor, and Brian Dakss, 52225K, Neutral] reports that fires across the Los Angeles area have killed at least 25 people, destroyed more than 12,000 structures and charred more than 60 square miles. The Palisades and Eaton wildfires continue to burn today. The strongest winds have weakened, giving firefighters a much-needed break and easing some threats, for now. The National Weather Service said dangerous conditions are expected next week. Officials said tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles County remain under evacuation orders. Curfews were still in effect for the Palisades and Eaton fire zones from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

NBC News [1/16/2025 1:54 PM, Suzanne Gamboa, 50804K, Neutral] reports that for years, Aurys Hernandez worked alongside her mother, who two decades ago started the family’s day care business in their home in Altadena, California. It only took hours for the wildfires that leveled entire Los Angeles area communities last week to consume their home, and their livelihood. The blazes destroyed the remodeled garage where they had their licensed child care business. Gone is the brightly lit room where 12 to 15 children from mostly working-class families from Altadena and Pasadena played with multicolored toys and filled out worksheets. The photos of kids that adorned the walls are now cinders. "In three hours, everything’s gone. Our house, our homes, our job, everything," Hernandez, 45, told NBC News. Along with mansions and wealthy enclaves, California’s still raging wildfires have charred and turned to ash communities of working-class families. The merciless flames left gardeners, caregivers, domestic workers, child care providers and others without the tools needed to do their jobs. The conflagration wiped out the businesses where they worked and the homes of many employers and clients. "You have a tremendous number of Latinos who are the housekeepers," said Julián Castro, CEO of Latino Community Foundation, a San Francisco-based philanthropic organization. "They are the gardeners. They are day laborers. They are street vendors, and their lives have been turned upside down. Their livelihoods have been cut off."

New York Times [1/16/2025 11:24 AM, Colleen Hagerty, 161405K, Neutral] reports that Roya Lavasani spent nearly 30 years building a home and business for her family on a Malibu Street just off the Pacific Coast Highway. She and her husband, Majid Amirani, owned a four-unit condo, living in one unit and renting out the other three furnished spaces for a total of about $150,000 a year. The building had a shock of pink flowers outside the entrance, orchids potted inside and out, and a mix of fruiting trees around the property, including apple, loquat, nectarine, peach, and avocado surrounding the building that Ms. Lavasani was known to climb and prune. Years of careful attention and consistent income were lost last week when the Palisades fire burned down their property. The fire, now among the most destructive in California history, was one of multiple blazes that have swept through communities across Los Angeles County over the past week, putting nearly 200,000 people under evacuation orders. Many other residents have chosen to leave, chased out by the ash-clogged air or the fear that their homes, even beyond the evacuation zones, were no longer safe. Each evacuee had to make a calculation, weighing physical safety with the financial hits that can come with leaving — and potentially losing — a home.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 4:49 PM, Alexis Kayser, 56005K, Neutral] reports wildfires in Southern California have killed at least 25 people and destroyed at least 12,000 structures since they began burning January 7. Still, area health systems have largely remained operational. UCLA Health’s Family Medicine clinic in Pacific Palisades was destroyed in the fire, Phil Hampton, the health system’s senior director of communications, told Newsweek on January 14. The health system is contacting the clinic’s patients to offer appointments at other locations or virtual visits. In addition to the family medicine clinic, a small number of UCLA’s 280 community clinics temporarily closed—mainly because of public safety utility shutdowns and proximity to evacuation zones, according to Hampton. Some have reopened in recent days, but as of Tuesday evening, clinic operations were still impacted in Calabasas, Malibu and Pacific Palisades. Fortunately, all UCLA Health hospitals are outside of evacuation warning zones and have remained open and operational. Surgery and procedure scheduling processes have not changed, Hampton said. Cedars-Sinai has reopened the majority of outpatient offices and surgery centers that temporarily closed and resumed a full surgical schedule, the system reported. However, some locations in Altadena remain closed, and health care professionals in the Brentwood/West L.A. office are currently seeing patients virtually, according to the health system’s most recent update on Thursday.

New York Times [1/16/2025 10:45 PM, Kellen Browning, Jesus Jiménez and Jennifer Medina, 161405K, Neutral] reports Ivy Spruell was looking forward to celebrating her 17th birthday last week with friends. Her grandfather mailed her a card, which she tucked away to open the morning of her birthday, Jan. 10. And her boyfriend planned to come over to her Altadena home for a low-key party that evening. Instead, Ms. Spruell’s life was turned upside down by the Eaton fire that swept through her neighborhood on Jan. 7. Among blocks of devastation, her home still stands, but she and her mother cannot get to it. The one time they made it into the evacuated zone last week, before law enforcement cut off access, they piled some clothes and other necessities into trash bags. Since then, they have moved from place to place, staying with friends or at hotels, the smell of smoke seeping from Ms. Spruell’s rescued belongings, an unsettling reminder of the disaster. “It’s this constant, looming smoke that reminds you of home, which is, for me, personally, a really sad thing,” she said. “It’s hard that I don’t necessarily know where I’m going to be sleeping tomorrow or the day after, at this point.” More than a week after two major wildfires displaced tens of thousands of Los Angeles residents and leveled thousands of homes, evacuees said they felt stuck in a sort of post-disaster purgatory, shuttling among friends’ couches, shelters and hotel rooms, and getting turned away at cordoned-off areas. Those with homes still standing have been desperate to get back to check on pets, retrieve documents and medication, and assess whether their properties are still livable. And people whose houses burned want a sense of closure and a chance to sift through the rubble. “It’s the limbo of not having access to our things or our home,” said Julie Weingarten, 48, Ms. Spruell’s mother. “And then also the fear and anxiety around what it’s going to look like when we go back — I don’t know which is worse.”

Telemundo52 [1/17/2025 5:15 AM, Missael Soto, 124K, Negative] reports the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau has released the identities of at least 17 people who remain at risk or missing since the start of the Southern California wildfires. A total of 31 active missing persons cases remain under active investigation. Authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding these missing persons.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 3:25 PM, Dillon Seckington, 57114K, Negative] reports the US Department of Justice says that a Kansas City man pleaded guilty today to making a hoax phone call that led to an employee of the IRS being detained. That phone call also led to the IRS office on Pershing Road being locked down. The US DOJ says that Anthony Alford, 46, of Kansas City, Mo. pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of intentionally conveying false and misleading information. By pleading guilty, Alford admitted that he placed a phone call to emergency services claiming that someone was armed with a firearm and threatening to shoot people in the IRS building. Court records show that on September 10, 2024, Alford falsely reported the threat to 911. KCPD officers were dispatched and detained an employee at the IRS office. The B-wing of the IRS building was then sent into lockdown. The person who was detained, identified in court records as “Victim 1”, claimed she had been dating Alford for about a month and had been trying to break up with him. While she said that Alford had never been violent, she did say that he acted “controlling possessive and jealous behavior”, according to records. Those court records also show that Alford messaged Victim 1 saying he was “ [o]n the phone with IRS police have fun when you get there,” and “…just wait until you get to work.” Alford was arrested on September 25, 2024, when he said that Victim 1 did not make those threats and that he had been drinking when he made the 911 call.

CNN [1/16/2025 4:57 PM, Jamie Gangel and Whitney Wild] reports President-elect Donald Trump is expected to pick his current Secret Service detail leader, Sean Curran, to be the new director of the United States Secret Service, according to multiple sources familiar with the decision. For the past four years, Curran has led Trump’s detail and is known to have a close, personal relationship with the president-elect, sources said. Several sources, however, also raised significant concerns that Curran lacks the managerial experience to run an agency as large and complex as the Secret Service. On Trump’s detail, Curran supervised about 85 people. He has never managed the kind of budget or operations of the Secret Service. Further, multiple sources point out that Curran has never held a position at the agency’s headquarters and is not a member of the Senior Executive Service, which comprises the highest ranks in the service. Curran would replace acting Director Ronald Rowe, who had lobbied for the job after Kim Cheatle resigned after the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. In September, another man in Florida set up a “sniper’s nest” outside of Trump’s golf club as part of an apparent second assassination attempt on Trump. Curran’s ascent is atypical due to his rank and lack of headquarters experience. Other former agents who later became directors rose through the agency’s headquarters, such as Mark Sullivan and Jim Murray, and were already members of the Senior Executive Service. However, Curran’s rank fails to capture the responsibility of running Trump’s detail – even during years when Trump was neither president nor candidate. After leaving office, Trump’s risk level far outpaced his position as simply “a former.” A source familiar told CNN that Curran was active in pushing for more security resources for Trump, and later rushed to the stage as gun fire erupted around him at the Butler rally. While his heroism in the face of crisis is indisputable, his leadership leading up to the Butler rally has come under scrutiny. A blue-ribbon panel commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security recommended a leader with outside experience to serve as Secret Service director, and a major overhaul of operations and attitude. In its report, the panel wrote that it found “evidence that Secret Service personnel, including those associated with the protection of former President Trump, viewed themselves as operating under an informal mantra of, effectively, ‘do more with less,’ which is inconsistent with achieving excellence or “no fail” in the Service’s protective mission.” Further, the panel found “an insufficiently experienced-based approach by the former president’s detail regarding its selection of agents to perform certain security critical tasks.”

Reported similarly:
Reuters [1/16/2025 2:49 PM, Doina Chiacu and Jasper Ward, 48128K, Neutral]
ABC News [1/17/2025 12:03 AM, Katherine Faulders and Pierre Thomas, 57114K, Neutral]
Washington Examiner [1/17/2025 4:37 AM, Staff, 2365K, Neutral]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 7:54 PM, Liberty Simmons, 57114K, Neutral] reports thousands of National Guard troops are moving into D.C. for the Presidential Inauguration, providing support and security at the request of the U.S. Secret Service. As a result, spectators may see more of the National Guard over the next several days as over 7,800 of its members flood D.C. “Our motto is always ready, always there,” said D.C. National Guard Brigadier General Leland Blanchard. The members headed for the District are filing in from 40 states and U.S. territories. “I’m excited that we’re able to be part of this moment,” said Captain Ray Brown with the Maryland National Guard. “And that I know that I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life.” National Guard members will help with tasks like crowd management, traffic control, parade events, emergency response services and communication to facilitate the historic day. “They should be proud,” said Blanchard. “And again, this is what makes our nation a little bit different, this peaceful transition of power. We’re here as guardsmen to help support, law enforcement and support activities and just make sure that that we’re a little bit safer and that things are going well.” Baltimore native Ray Brown is a Maryland National Guard member and Baltimore City Police Officer back home. “So that’s given me an experience with public safety management as well as crowd management,” explained Brown.

Yahoo! News [1/17/2025 3:29 AM, Darryl Coote, 57114K, Neutral] reports the 20-year-old man who crashed a rented truck into barriers protecting the White House in 2023 as part of an attempt to overthrow the U.S. government and replace it with a Nazi dictatorship has been sentenced to eight years in prison, federal prosecutors said. Sai Varshith Kandula, an Indian national and lawful permanent resident residing in St. Louis, Mo., was sentenced to 96 months in a U.S. court on Thursday, the Justice Department said in a statement, adding that he also is to serve three years of supervised release. Though initially charged with multiple offenses, Kandula pleaded guilty in May to a single count of willful injury or depredation of property of the United States. Kandula was arrested on May 22, 2023, after driving a rented box truck into the security barricades on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street at around 9:35 p.m. No one was injured in the attack, which caused $4,322 worth of damage. According to court documents, Kandula flew from St. Louis to Dulles International Airport in Virginia the afternoon of the attack, renting the box truck at 6:30 p.m. After stopping for gas and food, he drove to Washington, D.C., where he crashed into the White House’s protective barriers, reversed the vehicle and then crashed into the metal barrier a second time, which disabled the truck. "Kandula next exited the vehicle and went to the back of the truck. From a backpack, he removed a flag, a 3-by-5 foot red-and-white banner with a Nazi Swastika in the center, and brandished it. U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Secret Service officers arrested Kandula at the scene and took him into custody," the Justice Department said. In his plea agreement, Kandula admitted he crashed the truck in an effort to gain access to the White House to seize political power with intent to replace the United States’ democratic government with a Nazi dictatorship that he would lead.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 7:20 AM, John Hayes, 57114K, Neutral] reports Oklahoma City Police have arrested three men accused in what authorities believe to be an organized effort to target customers of two popular metro ATMs. On January 10, Oklahoma City Police responded to the Bank of America location at 12203 Warwick Drive after reports that a deep insert skimmer had been installed on the ATM. A short time later, the same responding officer learned of two more skimming devices that had been recovered from a Bank of America ATM at the brick-and-mortar location at 2101 W. Memorial Road. “We believe it’s possible that there could still be some other victims affected by this crime,” said Oklahoma City Police Sergeant Dillon Quirk. “So definitely they want to keep an eye on their bank accounts, and that’s just always good practice to keep an eye on your bank accounts electronically.” According to court documents, when authorities reviewed the skimmers installed at the separate ATM locations, they noted they were identical. Pinhole cameras were also recovered. Both devices combined give thieves the opportunity to collect as much information from potential victims as possible to wipe out their bank accounts. Police were able to determine that the devices from the Memorial Road location had been installed around 8 to 9 hours prior to their discovery. Authorities requested footage from the crimes and were able to identify a clear photo of a Jeep Wagoneer with a Washington plate. Police determined the vehicle had been rented out of California on January 6 and wasn’t due back until February 5. Police tracked the vehicle to a northwest Oklahoma City Airbnb rental property. The property owner confirmed the location had been rented for January 8 through January 14. While monitoring the property, police noted a second rental vehicle pull up at the same location. “It’s pretty common that rental properties and rental cars can be used in these types of crimes,” said Quirk. “We’ve seen stolen vehicles used in crimes, so that possibility is always there.” After obtaining a search warrant, police determined the only occupants of the home were suspects Valentine Teogas, Sebastian Bulacu, and Florin Radu. All three of the men have home addresses in Washington. “These suspects are from out of town, part of a large transnational organized crime group,” said Quirk. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 12:44 PM, Staff, 57114K, Neutral] reports that Bollinger Shipyard has agreed to pay $1,025,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly billing the U.S. Coast Guard for labor provided by workers who were not eligible to work in the United States, according to a Department of Justice news release. Based in Lockport, Bollinger builds ships for the U.S. government, including the Coast Guard’s Fast Response Cutter. According to the release, the government alleged that 2015-2020, Bollinger knowingly billed the Coast Guard for labor prohibited under the FRC contracts. Specifically, the United States alleged that Bollinger was contractually required to confirm that its employees were eligible to work in the United States. The United States further alleges that Bollinger failed to comply with this requirement and, as a result, several ineligible employees worked on the contract. Further, the United States alleged that Bollinger billed the Coast Guard for the labor provided by the ineligible employees and received payment for those bills. "Today’s settlement sends a clear message that contractors providing services to DHS programs will be held accountable for breaking the law," said Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D. of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "DHS’ Office of Inspector General (DHS OIG) and our law enforcement partners will continue to prioritize protecting our national security from these kinds of schemes."

Reuters [1/16/2025 5:53 PM, Staff, 30936K, Negative] reports that FBI leaders have warned that hackers who breached AT&T’s (T.N) system last year likely stole months of agents’ call and text logs, prompting an urgent effort to safeguard confidential informants’ identities, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. The breach, believed to have compromised all FBI devices using the bureau’s AT&T public safety service, included agents’ mobile phone numbers and the numbers they used to call and text, according to a document reviewed by Bloomberg and its interviews with a current and a former law enforcement official. Last July, AT&T said that the company suffered a massive hacking incident as data from about 109 million customer accounts containing records of calls and texts from 2022 was illegally downloaded in April. FBI officials informed agents nationwide that details about their use on the telecom carrier’s network were likely among billions of records stolen, the report said, adding that while the hacked records did not expose the content of communications, they could link investigators to their secret sources, the report added. An FBI spokesperson told Reuters that the agency "has a solemn responsibility to protect the identity and safety of confidential human sources, who provide information every day that keeps the American people safe, often at risk to themselves."

Bloomberg [1/16/2025 6:03 PM, Jake Bleiberg and Jamie Tarabay, 57114K, Negative] reports US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s computer was infiltrated and unclassified files were accessed as part of a broader breach of the agency by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, according to two people familiar with the matter. The attackers also hacked the computers of two of Yellen’s lieutenants, Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Acting Under Secretary Brad Smith, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information. Fewer than 50 files on Yellen’s machine were accessed, one of the people said. Treasury spokesperson Chris Hayden declined to comment Thursday. The compromise of Yellen’s computer makes the Treasury breach the latest hack attributed to the Chinese government that has reached the top ranks of a US federal department. The attackers appeared to focus on Treasury’s role in sanctions, intelligence and international affairs, but didn’t penetrate the department’s email or classified systems, according to a Treasury report previously reviewed by Bloomberg News. Treasury staff were at Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday briefing congressional aides and lawmakers about the hack. The discussions occurred as the Senate Finance Committee held a confirmation hearing on Thursday for Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee as Treasury secretary. The Chinese operatives breached the top Treasury officials’ computers along with more than 400 laptop and desktop machines, accessing employee usernames and passwords as well as more than 3,000 files on unclassified personal devices, the report states. The intruders also accessed “law enforcement sensitive” data and material on investigations run by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, which reviews the national security implications of some foreign financing, according to the Treasury report.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 10:13 AM, Theo Burman, 56005K, Negative] reports that the FBI has revealed details of a huge international cyberattack carried out by a Chinese hacker organization. The group, Mustang Panda, used malware called PlugX to access thousands of computers worldwide, according to the Justice Department and FBI. Newsweek reached out to the FBI via email for comment. The group managed to hack computers in at least 170 countries, giving them considerable access to international communications. The FBI described Mustang Panda as "PRC state-sponsored hackers," as they were funded by the Chinese government and targeted European government devices in the cyberattack. The FBI said that it would conduct a "multi-month law enforcement operation" to combat malware developed and used by Mustang Panda, a hacker group reportedly in the employ of the Chinese government. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Justice Department said that thousands of devices across the world had been infected with PlugX malware, which targeted American, European and Asian governments and businesses since 2014. The international response to the cyberattack is being led by French authorities, who have developed the technology to remove the malware from devices.

Federal News Network [1/16/2025 5:43 PM, Justin Doubleday, 470K, Positive] reports CISA grew rapidly during the Biden administration, recruiting technical experts to lead key initiatives like "secure by design" and cyberthreat hunting teams. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s workforce more than doubled during the Biden administration, with CISA’s outgoing director praising the agency’s "world-class" cyber talent. CISA Director Jen Easterly said the agency has hired more than 2,200 people since July 2021. CISA’s staff now totals more than 3,300 employees. During a Wednesday event hosted by the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, Easterly noted her agency is still small compared to partners like the FBI and the Defense Department. But she said CISA hired "some world-class technical experts" in recent years. "Continuing to be able to hire and retain that kind of talent — talent that could be making a hell of a lot more money in the private sector — will be the key to enabling us to continue to grow in a way where we can really have an impact on driving down risk to the American people," Easterly said in what will likely be her last public address before she steps down Jan. 20. Under Easterly, CISA has positioned itself as the "nation’s cyber civil defense agency." After being established as a stand-alone agency in 2018, the cyber agency’s authorities and workforce have grown rapidly, largely in response to major cyber incidents ranging such as SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline. The agency has also recruited technical experts to lead its Secure-by-Design campaign, open source software security efforts, and other key initiatives. CISA has used a range of authorities to recruit new employees. The agency used the Cyber Talent Management System, which provides the Department of Homeland Security with special pay and hiring authorities, with "scalpel-like precision," Easterly said.

CyberScoop [1/16/2025 9:00 AM, Tim Starks, Neutral] reports one of the chief architects of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency campaign to get software developers to design their products with security in mind said he believes it could be one of the best tools the Trump administration has to counter China. Jack Cable, who is departing his role as senior technical adviser Thursday, said major hacking campaigns by Chinese hacker groups — like Salt Typhoon’s breach of telecommunications companies and Volt Typhoon’s infiltration of U.S. critical infrastructure networks in advance of any Taiwan conflict — underline the necessity of the secure-by-design initiative. “We know this is happening, and we know all too often this is leveraging vulnerabilities in network edge devices, and they are relatively simple vulnerabilities,” Cable told CyberScoop in an interview, referring to devices like routers. “Most of them are on the product security bad practices list we published at CISA that we know have been preventable for decades, and not only that, software manufacturers have also known how to prevent these at scale for decades. “I hope that the incoming administration can recognize that we do have a real ability to partner with the manufacturers of these edge devices,” he said. “The Trump administration has made it clear that they are going to be very active in defending against threats from the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” Secure by design was one of Cable’s two focus areas at CISA, along with open-source security. At the idea phase, secure by design didn’t begin with much partnership at all, according to Cable. When the agency brought a draft pledge to companies seeking public commitments to secure-by-design principles, Cable said the answer back was, “this isn’t going to get any traction.” So CISA workshopped ideas with industry and came back with something Cable said was ambitious, but also something that wasn’t unrealistic. It’s a voluntary pledge, one without any mechanisms to force companies to follow up. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t been successful, Cable said. That’s because of other kinds of pressure. “Part of the reason that pledge has been so effective is that it’s able to really motivate companies to do better, partially through peer pressure, partially through wanting to align with CISA and other governments who have been really defining what it means to be secure by design,” he said. “We’ve now seen over 250 companies sign on to the pledge, ranging from some of the largest in the world — like Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services — to startups and everything in between.”

The Hill [1/16/2025 3:52 PM, Julia Shapero, 57114K, Neutral] reports Microsoft’s top leaders met with President-elect Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday, a company spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft President Brad Smith chatted about cybersecurity and technology policy with Trump, Vance and Musk at the Palm Beach, Fla., resort, according to the spokesperson. The meeting was first reported by Semafor. Their discussions also included the $80 million Microsoft plans to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure around the world this year, a majority of which it intends to spend in the U.S. Microsoft became one of the latest tech firms to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, joining the likes of Amazon, Meta and Google. Numerous tech leaders have similarly journeyed to Mar-a-Lago in the months since the election in an apparent push to improve relations with the incoming president, who has often had a tumultuous relationship with the industry. Several tech executives, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, also plan to attend Trump’s inauguration Monday.

Yahoo! News [1/16/2025 1:22 PM, Staff, 57114K, Negative] reports a group of hackers reportedly linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has been attempting to steal WhatsApp data from employees of non-governmental organisations assisting Ukraine. Microsoft reported that the cyberattacks were organised by a group known as Star Blizzard, which is likely state-sponsored by Russia. Researchers discovered that the hackers had sent phishing emails posing as representatives of the US government. The emails invited recipients to join WhatsApp groups, supposedly to access information about initiatives supporting Ukraine. The messages contained QR codes which would purportedly provide additional details but were likely used to steal confidential information. Microsoft has not confirmed whether the hackers successfully breached any systems. However, the company noted that, working with the US Department of Justice, it has seized or blocked 180 websites linked to Star Blizzard since October.

FOX News [1/16/2025 1:29 PM, Audrey Conklin, 49889K, Negative] reports that a North Carolina man is charged with providing material support to ISIS after he allegedly made plans to travel to Morocco in December 2024 to join the foreign terrorist organization (FTO), according to federal court documents. Alexander Justin White, 29, of Durham, allegedly used social media — primarily Facebook and encrypted messaging apps (EMAs) — to "make posts about supporting ISIS and jihad" and communicate with other ISIS supporters about wanting to join the FTO. In those communications, White, using the pseudonym "Sulaiman Al-Amriki," unknowingly had online conversations with an undercover FBI agent, authorities said. "WHITE openly discussed his desire and intention to travel overseas to join ISIS with various individuals on Facebook and over EMAs," a federal complaint states. The suspect’s "many online conversations with various persons, as well as his communications with the [FBI confidential human source] and the [FBI Online Covert Employee] display a longstanding intent and desire to join ISIS which he prepared for and attempted on December 4, 2024," the complaint says. "He expressly acknowledged awareness of ISIS as a designated FTO and repeatedly expressed concern over being caught by law enforcement and the efforts he was taking to avoid capture."

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 3:50 PM, Jenny Goldsberry, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Cuba began releasing some of its prisoners Thursday in the hours after President Joe Biden lifted its status as a state sponsor of terrorism. President-elect Donald Trump gave Cuba the status in his National Security Presidential Memorandum 5 during his first term, and he is expected to revert the status once he takes office for a second term on Jan. 20. The Vatican has long lobbied Cuba to issue clemency ahead of the jubilee year. This followed Biden commuting 1,499 sentences and pardoning 39 Americans last month alone. Cuba plans to release as many as 553 prisoners in total. Some of the early releases included protesters from 2021, which added up to nearly the same number that Cuba has promised to release. "It is significant that Havana authorities linked this decision directly to Pope Francis’ appeal, who, in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, and then on several other occasions, called for acts of clemency, as has often occurred during the Holy Year," Cardinal Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said in a statement. "We hope that 2025 will continue in this direction and that good news will multiply, especially with a truce for the many ongoing conflicts.” Havana did not credit its new status but instead credited the jubilee year for inspiring its clemencies.

Reuters [1/16/2025 1:17 PM, John Irish, 48128K, Negative] reports that the U.S. Department of Justice vigorously opposed at a French court hearing in December the release of a Lebanese militant jailed for attacks on American and Israeli diplomats in France more than 40 years ago, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade (LARB), Georges Ibrahim Abdallah was sentenced to life in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders in Paris of U.S. military attaché Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov, and the attempted murder of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. "The United States of America submits that sending Mr. Abdallah to Lebanon, and specifically to his hometown would be a destabilizing influence in an already volatile region and would give rise to severe public disorder," the letter dated Dec. 16, just three days before an appeals court hearing in Paris, said. Requests for his release have been rejected and annulled eight times, including in 2003, 2012 and 2014, but a Paris court in November granted his release on condition that he leaves France and not return. It said that Abdallah, now 73 and a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause, had been irreproachable in prison and posed "no serious risk to renew terrorism acts.” The office of France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor appealed the decision, automatically keeping him in prison. The appeals hearing took place on Dec. 19 and judges are due to give their ruling on Feb. 20.

Yahoo! News [1/17/2025 12:25 AM, Abbey Fenbert, 57114K, Neutral] reports the Russian hacker group Star Blizzard launched a spear phishing campaign in November via the messaging platform WhatsApp, marking a change in longstanding tactics, Microsoft reported in a blog post on Jan. 16. Phishing messages use social engineering tactics to manipulate recipients, exploiting emotions to trick targets into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links. Star Blizzard sent invitations to join a WhatsApp group to current and former officials in government and diplomacy, international relations and defense researchers, and people and organizations offering assistance to Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale war, according to Microsoft. This is the first time the hacker group has been observed using this tactic. The shift to WhatsApp may be related to successful cybersecurity efforts exposing Star Blizzard’s techniques, Microsoft said. In the most recent campaign, Star Blizzard hackers impersonated U.S. government officials in emails directing recipients to join a WhatsApp group via QR code. The WhatsApp group claimed to focus on "the latest non-governmental initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine NGOs." The purpose of the campaign was to gain access to targets’ WhatsApp accounts and extract their data. While the campaign seemed to subside in late November 2024, Microsoft warned that the shift in tactics signals Star Blizzard’s versatility and "tenacity in continuing spear phishing campaigns to gain access to sensitive information."

MeriTalk [1/16/2025 12:42 PM, Lisbeth Perez, 31K, Neutral] reports that John Ratcliffe, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, pledged to lawmakers on Wednesday to keep the United States – and the intelligence agency – ahead of foreign adversaries on key emerging technology issues if the Senate confirms his nomination. During the Jan. 15 Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Ratcliffe told senators that as technological innovation has shifted from the public to the private sector over recent decades, "the CIA has struggled to keep pace." "Technology is more important than ever, whether it’s understanding our adversaries’ capabilities in AI and quantum computing, or their developments in hypersonics and emerging space technologies, or their innovations in counterintelligence and surveillance," he said. Ratcliffe explained that the recent creation of the CIA’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center, along establishing the new position of chief technology officer at the agency, were acknowledgments of this issue. "[It] showed an effort to increase technological cohesion internally and to build bridges with cutting edge technologists externally," he said. However, while these efforts are a step in the right direction, "much more has to be done," Ratcliffe said.

US News & World Report [1/15/2025 7:00 PM, Olivier Knox, 30936K, Neutral] reports that the only people apparently upset about Sen. Marco Rubio’s nomination to be secretary of state were a smattering of protesters who tried to interrupt the Florida Republican’s confirmation hearing before they were yanked out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee room. The demonstrators shouted about U.S. wars and about American sanctions hurting children in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela before they were removed. The Cuban American lawmaker was unmoved. “I get bilingual protesters,” he observed, as laughter rippled through the hearing room. That pretty much captured the tone of the hearing. It was unsurprising. Rubio has served in the Senate for years. And membership in that club has its advantages. What’s more, he was the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which prides itself on bipartisan cooperation on some of America’s most serious national security concerns. “I believe you have the skills and are well qualified to serve as secretary of state,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrat, declared at the outset of the hearing. “Sen. Rubio, I’m very, very happy that you’re nominated to this position,” declared Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2016.

AP [1/16/2025 5:50 PM, Tara Copp, 47097K, Positive] reports President-elect Donald Trump has named Troy Meink, a former Air Force KC-135 tanker aircraft navigator and former deputy of the National Reconnaissance Office, as his choice to serve as the top civilian leader for the Air Force. Meink has almost four decades of experience as both a military member and in government service in national security, including roles managing some of the nation’s most sensitive satellite intelligence capabilities and the military’s space portfolio. "Troy will work with our incredible Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to ensure that our Nation’s Air Force is the most effective and deadly force in the World, as we secure peace through strength," Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social. If confirmed, Meink would assume the role as the Air Force and U.S. Space Force, which was established by Trump during his first term and just hit its fifth year in existence — are hurriedly trying to reshape the nation’s space capabilities.

USA Today [1/16/2025 6:14 PM, Davis Winkie, 89965K, Neutral] reports that an outgoing Biden administration official warned against a looming Cold War-style nuclear arms race in a farewell speech. Jill Hruby, head of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the U.S. cannot build more nuclear weapons than Russia and China (and its "gigantic economy") in the decades to come, despite an ongoing $1.7 trillion nuclear arsenal modernization plan. "A nuclear arms race benefits no one," Hruby, whose agency builds and stores America’s nuclear weapons, said Thursday at the Hudson Institute think tank. Arms control experts are warning the stage is set for a costly new three-way arms race with Russia and China. The last remaining treaty between Russia and the U.S. limiting nuclear weapons deployments − New START − expires in early 2025. Pentagon officials estimate that China, which has no treaty restrictions on its nuclear warhead numbers, has more than 600 nukes today and will expand their arsenal to 1,000 or more by 2030. The U.S. has 5,580 nuclear weapons, and Russia has a stockpile of 5,044, according to the Federation of American Scientists. Hruby cautioned against taking the wrong lessons from the Cold War’s decades-long arms race.

MeriTalk [1/16/2025 10:10 AM, Andrew Rice, 31K, Positive] reports that the Senate held a pre-nomination hearing on Wednesday for Chris Wright – Trump’s nominee for Department of Energy secretary – in which Wright outlined his plans for expanding nuclear energy technology, AI development, and quantum technology. Protestors interrupted the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee hearing several times as Wright, a fossil fuel executive, sought to answer questions about his potential role as department secretary. In his opening statement, Wright highlighted the need to expand domestic energy production, which includes tapping into commercial nuclear production. Wright also highlighted his intention to work with Congress in support of national laboratories under the jurisdiction of the department and reduce restrictions for producing energy technology domestically. "America has a historic opportunity to secure our energy systems, deliver leadership in scientific and technological innovation, steward our weapons stockpiles, and meet Cold-War-legacy waste commitments," Wright said. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., questioned Wright about the use of energy technologies like nuclear power. Wright highlighted the importance of building energy technologies in facilities compared to on location to help decrease the costs of production. "Fortunately, with nuclear, we have a new generation of reactors that are smaller," Wright said. "The costs of those are going down."

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 3:52 PM, Tom Rogan, 2365K, Neutral] reports that three sources with knowledge of the situation, including one familiar with the issues that led to Wednesday’s decision, say that concerns related to Havana syndrome were partly responsible for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) decision to remove Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) as chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. What the government refers to as "Anomalous Health Incidents," Havana syndrome has afflicted hundreds of U.S. diplomats, intelligence officers, and military personnel globally since 2016. It was first reported by U.S. diplomats and CIA officers serving at the newly reopened U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba in 2016. AHI involves otherwise unexplained ailments, including dizziness, extreme pressure in the head, and unsteady gait. Some suspected victims now suffer serious, lifelong ailments. Others have even died prematurely. The notion that Turner was replaced partly due to his actions in relation to AHI stands in contrast to predominating media coverage. That media coverage has suggested that Turner was removed as a result of Johnson’s deference to President-elect Trump’s wishes. In contrast, the Washington Examiner understands that one motive for Johnson’s decision was his frustration at what he regarded as Turner’s obstruction of efforts to more seriously investigate AHI. A Capitol Hill source stated that the Speaker had pushed Turner to support greater committee work on AHI.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 4:19 PM, Monica Sager, 56005K, Neutral] reports that a video shows a reporter physically removed after interrupting Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a briefing on Thursday. Newsweek reached out to Blinken’s office for comment. Blinken held a press conference on Thursday to share more details about postwar Gaza plans. He shared the "core elements" just days before his term ends. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to pause the devastating war in Gaza, multiple sources confirmed Wednesday, raising the chance to end the deadliest conflict between the two enemies. The United States and Qatar confirmed the agreement. The war, which has gone on for over a year, has killed over 46,000 people in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry. The Associated Press reported that two journalists were removed after interrupting Blinken during the press briefing. They shouted and accused Blinken of being complicity with Israel’s violence against the people in Gaza. One of the men yelled, "Why aren’t you in The Hague?" referring to the world’s top war crimes court. Blinken stopped his comments briefly and asked the reporters to "respect the process," adding that he would take questions shortly. Both reporters were physically removed from the room. One of the men has been identified as Sam Husseini. He is a Jordanian-Palestinian writer and the communications director at the Institute for Public Accuracy. Husseini has reposted various videos "holding Blinken and this administration accountable" to his account on X, formerly Twitter.

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 11:44 AM, Brady Knox, 2365K, Neutral] reports that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that “everything is on the table” regarding retaliatory measures to President-elect Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs. Trudeau made the announcement at a news conference in Ottawa, surrounded by members of his government and the leaders of most of Canada’s provinces and territories. If Trump follows through on his threat to slap a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports, Ottawa is planning to restrict Canadian exports of energy and key materials, along with tariffs of its own. The United States and Canada are each other’s biggest trade partners, with hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imports and exports each year. Canada is also the main source of U.S. energy imports. According to data from the Canadian government, it supplied 61% of U.S. crude oil imports in 2021. In 2020, it supplied the U.S. with 98% of natural gas imports, 93% of electricity imports, and 28% of uranium purchases. While the U.S. economy would be hurt by Canadian retaliatory measures, the Canadian economy would be devastated by Trump’s plan. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce warned that 25% U.S. tariffs could send the Canadian economy into a recession by the summer, according to Politico.

VOA News [1/16/2025 6:34 PM, Anita Powell, 2717K, Negative] reports that Washington has slapped sanctions on Sudan’s army leader, citing his responsibility for war crimes in a conflict that has bled the oil-rich country dry over the last year — sparking a famine, killing tens of thousands of people and driving millions from their homes — just a week after the U.S. sanctioned his opponent for acts it described as genocide. Thursday’s sanctions on Sudanese Armed Forces leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and a Hong-Kong-based weapons supplier block them from entering or transiting the United States and restrict their access to any U.S. assets. This leaves both sides economically restrained in this brutal conflict that the State Department has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, but where Washington’s options are limited because of its strained diplomatic ties to the large African nation. This conflict also has drawn in outside players, with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates arming the rivals. During his final press conference on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the SAF of war crimes. In last week’s sanctions, the State Department accused the opposing Rapid Support Forces of genocide.

New York Times [1/17/2025 3:29 AM, Declan Walsh and Julian E. Barnes, 740K, Negative] reports Sudan’s military has used chemical weapons on at least two occasions against the paramilitary group it is battling for control of the country, four senior United States officials said on Thursday. The weapons were deployed recently in remote areas of Sudan, and targeted members of the Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries that the army has been fighting since April 2023. But U.S. officials worry the weapons could soon be used in densely populated parts of the capital, Khartoum. The revelations about chemical weapons came as the United States announced sanctions on Thursday against the Sudanese military chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, for documented atrocities by his troops, including indiscriminate bombing of civilians and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. The use of chemical weapons crosses yet another boundary in the war between the Sudanese military and the R.S.F., its former ally. By many measures, the conflict in Sudan has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with as many as 150,000 people killed, over 11 million displaced and now the world’s worst famine in decades. “Under Burhan’s leadership, the S.A.F.’s war tactics have included indiscriminate bombing of civilian infrastructure, attacks on schools, markets, and hospitals, and extrajudicial executions,” the Treasury Department said, using an acronym for Sudan’s armed forces. General al-Burhan responded with defiance: “We are ready to face any sanctions for the sake of serving this nation, and we welcome them,” he told reporters during a visit to El Gezira state.

Wall Street Journal [1/17/2025 4:50 AM, Summer Said, Jared Malsin and Anat Peled, Neutral] reports Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said negotiators have reached an agreement on a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip that would free Israeli hostages, ending two days of debate that had underscored the pact’s fragility. The prime minister, who had accused Hamas of reneging on parts of an agreement originally announced Wednesday, said the country’s security cabinet would meet to approve the deal Friday and that the full cabinet would be convened later to vote on it. The security cabinet convened Friday morning to discuss the deal, according to the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu’s office told the families of hostages that preparations were under way for the possibility of the deal going into effect as soon as Sunday. President-elect Donald Trump, who had pushed hard for a deal to be wrapped up before his inauguration Monday, weighed in again as negotiators debated the last points. “Frankly, it better be done before I take the oath of office,” Trump said in a radio show interview Thursday. “I assume it is now. You know, we shook hands, and we signed certain documents. But it better be done.” A day earlier, President Biden and the prime minister of Qatar had announced that both Israel and Hamas had accepted the truce, the result of a year of painstaking diplomacy. Palestinian militant group Hamas also said it had reached a deal with Israel, while Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed the agreement and urged the Israeli government to accept it. But as celebrations erupted across the Gaza Strip and leaders exchanged congratulations, Netanyahu raised uncertainty by accusing Hamas on Thursday of backing out of parts of the agreement during negotiations taking place in Qatar, creating what his office called “a last-minute crisis.” Hamas officials said Thursday the group remained committed to the deal. The negotiators worked late into the night Thursday to resolve the last-minute issues, Arab mediators said. In the end, nothing of substance was changed in the first of the deal’s three phases, they added, allowing it to proceed as agreed a day earlier. One issue that arose in the talks in the Qatari capital, Doha, was the matter of Israel’s withdrawal from a strip of land on the Gaza-Egypt border known as the Philadelphi corridor. Israeli officials said they want Israel’s forces to remain in the area longer. The text of the agreement, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, calls on Israel to gradually reduce its forces in the area in the first of the three phases of the deal. Israel agreed to stick with the original plan, the mediators said. At the same time, Hamas agreed to defer its demand that Israel release six prominent Palestinian detainees, including political leaders Marwan Barghouti and Ahmad Saadat, to a later phase of the deal, they added.

CNN [1/17/2025 12:00 AM, Abeer Salman, Ibrahim Dahman and Sandi Sidhu, 22417K, Neutral] reports more than 100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza following the announcement of a ceasefire and hostage release deal on Wednesday, according to a tally of data from the Gaza Civil Defense. The death toll includes at least 27 children. Local emergency crews have described scenes of relentless bombardment since Israel and Hamas reached a deal, which is expected to come into effect in the coming days, pending an Israeli cabinet vote to approve the agreement. Overnight, more than 20 people were killed by Israeli attacks on buildings sheltering people in Gaza, the Civil Defense said Friday. They included nine people killed after a family home was shelled in Al-Jarn, north of Gaza City, according to Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal. In Khan Younis, southern Gaza, four people were killed in an Israeli helicopter attack in the early hours of Friday, the Civil Defense said. Meanwhile, two bodies were recovered from another home in central Gaza after it was struck by Israeli forces, Basal said. Three bodies remained under the rubble, he said. CNN has contacted the Israeli military for more information about the attacks in Gaza early Friday.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 11:25 AM, Micah McCartney, 6595K, Neutral] reports that Beijing has issued a warning after the Biden administration’s parting shot in the long-running tech war between the U.S. and China. Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security with an emailed request for comment. The Bureau of Industry and Security on Wednesday unveiled new measures to encourage chip manufacturers like TSMC, Intel and Samsun to step up due diligence following revelations that TSMC chips had reached blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei. The measures aim to curb China’s access to chips powering AI and supercomputing, amid U.S. concerns over China’s civilian-military dual-use policy. Washington has kept up pressure on Taiwan, home of TSMC, and the Netherlands, where advanced chipmaker ASML is based, to align with its restrictions, which China says amounts to weaponization of trade. Asked about the forthcoming export controls on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun blasted the U.S.’ "malicious attempts to block and suppress China’s semiconductor industry," warning Washington’s mounting restrictions will hamper semiconductor industry advances worldwide and "benefit no one.” Guo continued his criticism during Thursday’s regular press conference after the measures were announced.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 9:37 PM, Aila Slisco, 56005K, Neutral] reports President Joe Biden reportedly has no intention of enforcing a TikTok ban that is set to go into effect on Sunday, deferring the fate of the ban to President-elect Donald Trump one day before he takes office. A bipartisan bill banning TikTok was passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden last year. While Trump previously called for a ban on the app due to its ties to the Chinese government, he has more recently been opposed to the ban and indicated that he will seek to reverse it. In a report published on Thursday night, an anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press (AP) that Biden would not enforce the ban if it goes into effect on Sunday as expected. The decision on implementing the law banning TikTok, and whether to enforce the ban at all, will instead fall on the incoming Trump administration. In a statement to Newsweek, Trump-Vance Transition Spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that "President Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to save Tik Tok, and there’s no better deal maker than President Trump.” Republican Congressman Mike Waltz, Trump’s nominee for national security adviser, told Fox News on Wednesday that the president-elect was working on "a deal" that would save the app from being banned, while crediting it in part to Trump’s 2024 election win. "President Trump has been very clear: Number one, TikTok is a great platform that many Americans use and has been great for his campaign and getting his message out," Waltz said. "But number two, he’s going to protect their data," he added. "He’s a deal maker. I don’t want to get ahead of our executive orders, but we’re going to create this space to put that deal in place.” The fate of TikTok remains a divisive issue in Washington. Some lawmakers remain staunchly opposed to allowing the app to operate in the U.S., while others from either side of the political aisle have argued in favor delaying implementation of the ban despite voting to pass it last year. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, during a speech from the Senate floor on Thursday: "It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers ... I have made my views clear to the current administration. And, I will work with the Trump administration and with both parties to keep TikTok alive while protecting our national security.”

New York Times [1/17/2025 3:29 AM, Maggie Haberman, David McCabe and Sapna Maheshwari, 740K, Neutral] reports President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating despite a pending legal ban until new owners are found, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The possible executive order, reported earlier by Washington Post, is under discussion as TikTok faces a deadline on Sunday to be banned in the United States unless it finds a new owner. The popular video-sharing app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Republicans have said for years that they see the app, which has been downloaded to millions of smartphones, as a national security risk. It has become a rare issue that has united both parties in Congress. If the Supreme Court upholds the law, which will ban the app unless ByteDance sells it to a non-Chinese company, special treatment from Mr. Trump might be the only way for TikTok to continue operating in the United States in the near term. The law requires app store operators like Apple and Google and cloud computing providers to stop distributing TikTok in the United States. An executive order could try to direct the government not to enforce the law or to delay enforcement to complete a deal, a move that past presidents have used to challenge laws. It is unclear if an executive order would survive legal challenges or persuade the app stores and cloud computing companies to take steps that could expose them to huge penalties.

Reuters [1/16/2025 7:36 PM, David Shepardson, 30936K, Neutral] reports that a growing number of lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to grant a reprieve to prevent TikTok from going dark in the United States as soon as Sunday, warning millions of creators and businesses could be hurt. "We’re asking for the ability to be able to try rationally to resolve this issue so TikTok does not go dark," Democratic Senator Ed Markey said on Thursday. "Let’s take a breath, try to step back, buy some time, try to figure this out." Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer spoke to Biden urging him to extend by 90 days a deadline for Chinese-owner ByteDance to sell TikTok U.S. assets and prevent a ban of the app used by 170 million Americans, an aide to Schumer said. "It’s clear that more time is needed to find an American buyer and not disrupt the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans, of so many influencers who have built up a good network of followers," Schumer said. A White House official said on Thursday that given that the Jan. 19 deadline date is "over a holiday weekend a day before inauguration, it will be up to the next administration to implement."

Reported similarly:
The Hill [1/16/2025 2:04 PM, Miranda Nazzaro, 16346K, Negative]
CBS Austin [1/16/2025 5:03 PM, Jackson Walker, 581K, Negative]

Washington Examiner [1/16/2025 11:41 AM, Annabella Rosciglione, 2365K, Neutral] reports that TikTok is considering making the app unusable in the United States on Sunday, taking the divest-or-be-banned law a step further than is required. Starting Sunday, U.S. app stores will no longer carry TikTok, meaning users will no longer be able to download it or update the app. The company, however, is weighing making the app unusable to U.S. users starting that day. If it is banned, TikTok plans that users attempting to open the app will see a pop-up message directing them to a website with information about the ban, according to Reuters. TikTok is also planning to give its users an option to download all their data to take a record of their personal information. President Joe Biden’s administration has been weighing options to keep the social media platform available to users beyond its ban date, according to NBC News. "Americans shouldn’t expect to see TikTok suddenly banned on Sunday," an administration official told the outlet. Some U.S. users have flocked to the Chinese app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote in English. On Tuesday, RedNote was the most downloaded free app in the U.S. Apple store. TikTok CEO Shou Chew has also been invited to attend the president-elect’s inauguration and sit in "a position of honor." The ban is set to take place the day before Trump becomes president again.

NBC News [1/16/2025 10:41 AM, Savannah Sellers, Jake Traylor and Rebecca Shabad, 50804K, Neutral] reports that TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been invited to and is expected to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, according to three sources familiar with the matter, two of whom are Trump transition officials. Chew was invited by the president-elect’s team and will sit on the dais in front of the Capitol where Trump will be sworn in as president. Chew is expected to sit alongside the CEOs and leaders of other Big Tech platforms, including Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to one of the officials. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is also planning to attend and sit with the other executives, one Trump transition official said. NBC News has reached out to representatives of TikTok and Google for comment. TikTok declined to comment and Google did not immediately respond. The New York Times was the first outlet to report about Chew’s inauguration attendance. Chew’s attendance comes as the popular TikTok app is preparing to possibly shut down Sunday, the day a U.S. ban is set to go into effect if the Supreme Court doesn’t overrule it.

Newsweek [1/16/2025 5:30 PM, Micah McCartney, 56005K, Neutral] reports that as self-described "TikTok refugees" pour onto the Chinese social media app RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, some foreign netizens are already running up against the country’s extensive censorship apparatus. Newsweek reached out to Xiaohongshu with a request for comment via a general contact email address. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has until Sunday to divest from the video-sharing site or see it banned in the U.S, as required by a law passed by Congress last year, citing risks to users’ data. Chinese companies are legally required to comply with government requests for information. The move would affect some 170 million American users and hit the pocketbooks of 2 million creators. Ahead of the ban, many have started accounts on RedNote, known in China as Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), earlier this week propelling the app to become the most downloaded on the Apple and Google app stores. RedNote is an amalgamation of lifestyle and social commerce content, featuring elements from TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. Many newcomers are bound to come up against government censorship, and some are already probing these limits.

Reuters [1/16/2025 6:14 AM, Alexandra Alper, 48128K, Neutral] reports the U.S. Commerce Department and FBI are both investigating a little-known telecoms hardware firm founded by senior Huawei veterans in China more than a decade ago over possible security risks, sources and documents show. Founded in 2014, Baicells Technologies opened a North American operation the next year in Wisconsin and has since provided telecoms equipment for 700 commercial mobile networks across every U.S. state, according to its website. The Commerce Department is investigating Baicells on national security grounds and has sent subpoenas to the company while the FBI’s interest in its equipment and Chinese origins dates back to at least 2019. Reuters is the first to report the existence of the two investigations and the FBI’s long-standing interest. This story is based on interviews with more than 30 current and former government officials, eight former Baicells employees and FBI emails obtained through a records request. Reuters was unable to determine when the Commerce Department opened its investigation or sent the subpoenas, nor its specific concerns about Baicells or its products. Reuters also couldn’t ascertain the specific focus of the FBI’s probe. The U.S. telecoms regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is advising the Commerce Department on its review, two people said. The FBI, the Commerce Department, the Justice Department and the FCC declined comment. Sun Lixin, Beijing-based chairman of Baicells Technologies Ltd, told Reuters the company’s North American operation will cooperate fully with any U.S. government inquiries. "Baicells does not believe there are any security risks associated with its radio products," he said in a statement. The investigations illustrate that years after sanctions decimated the U.S. businesses of fellow Chinese tech companies Huawei and ZTE (000063.SZ), Washington’s fears that Beijing is using telecoms equipment to spy remain strong, experts said.

CyberScoop [1/16/2025 9:00 AM, Greg Otto, Neutral] reports the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday against two individuals and four entities allegedly involved in generating revenue for North Korea through illicit remote IT workforce operations, the latest salvo in ongoing efforts to disrupt financial streams that support Pyongyang’s weapons programs. The sanctions focus on efforts in which North Korea sent thousands of skilled IT professionals outside of the country to secure freelance jobs under false pretenses and funnel their salaries back to Pyongyang. According to the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the North Korean government took up to 90% of earnings from this labor, directing the funds into programs responsible for developing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. According to OFAC, the North Korean office responsible for the scheme, Department 53, was created by the country’s Ministry of National Defense to make money through front companies in various industries like IT and software development, along with selling advanced military communications equipment and weapons. Treasury says that Department 53 was behind two front companies, Korea Osong Shipping Co. and Chonsurim Trading Corporation, that sent IT workers to Laos to gain employment working on various software projects. OFAC also sanctioned Chinese company Liaoning China Trade Industry Co., Ltd., accusing it of supplying crucial technological equipment to Department 53 in order to facilitate IT operations abroad. Two individuals, Jong In Chol and Son Kyong Sik, were also sanctioned for their roles in running the Department 53 front companies.

Reuters [1/16/2025 5:56 AM, Mikhail Flores, Karen Lema and Ethan Wang, 48128K, Neutral] reports the Philippines and China agreed to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite their disagreements in the South China Sea, their foreign ministries said on Thursday, as heated rows persist over vessels deployed around disputed features. The two countries on Thursday held a 10th round of talks under a bilateral consultation mechanism set up to address issues in the South China Sea, where disputes have been frequent and tense, with ties at their lowest point in years. Both countries said they agreed to advance coast guard and marine scientific cooperation and pledged to resolve issues peacefully. "We firmly believe that despite the unresolved challenges and differences, there is genuine space for diplomatic and pragmatic cooperation in dealing with our issues in the South China Sea," Philippine foreign affairs Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro said in her opening remarks, according to a statement. China said it called on the Philippines to remain committed to resolving differences through dialogue and consultation. Both agreed to boost communication and deepen dialogue, but also called out each other out over recent standoffs. U.S. ally the Philippines said it had expressed serious concern about the conduct of China’s coast guard, including its sustained presence in Manila’s exclusive economic zone. China, for its part, said it lodged complaints over recent "maritime infringements and provocations" and for "hyping up" maritime disputes. China’s expansive territorial claims in the key maritime trade route overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. A 2016 ruling of an international arbitral tribunal said Beijing’s claims, based on its historic maps, have no basis under international law, a decision China does not recognise.

{End of Report} RETURN TO TOP